@metal underscore mills
Absolutley! Very few characters created have ever had this much depth, charisma, and pure likability!
have a great one
Sieferx2's forum posts
AH great choices !!!
@Jack268
Im surprised 2 world of warcraft expansions were put on your list, and not the original world of warcraft back in 2004 ! ???? lol
@Fancy soap man
Great choices, although persona 3 and nocturne? You must have a penchant for the "brutal" JRPG ! =)
Keep the lists coming!
RULES: Only one game per respective year ( and the game has to have been released that year in the US.)
and Only one TIE. So choose wisely.......
It took many hours of research and narrowing down which games meant more to me, but here is my favorite games of the decade by year.
2000 - Pokemon Gold and SILVER.
Pokemon gold and silver were not just sequels, they were sequels to a damned pokemon phenomenon! Sequels so revered they received remakes on the DS ten years later and even those games received incredibly high marks from reviewers. Taking an impressive visual leap for the series ( from classic gameboy to the gameboy color) and also providing 100 brand new pokemon, including pokemon you can only catch at different times of day (night and morning). How many mornings did i wake up far earlier, before school, than i should have to catch a pokemon? You really dont want to know...
Hell even the next pokemon games released a few years later on the game boy advance (ruby and sapphire) regressed back to the standard non internal clock days of pokemon. Regressed!!! Perhaps Pokemon gold and silver were just too ambitious for their own good. Roll all these new features up into a package that included the classic pokemon gameplay that ignited the pokemon phenomenon and you have the game that impressed me most in 2000...but it was damned close.
Runners up: Skies of Arcade, FF9, Majoras Mask
2001-Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty TIE HALO:Combat Evolved
One of the bravest games ever created, and a technical achievement with production values at the time rivaled by none. The follow up to the playstation classic that spawned one of the most legendary characters in all of gaming, solid snake. Oh yeah and speaking of snake...you dont get to play as him in Metal Gear Solid 2.What??? Yet I still pick this game as the finest of the year? To be honest you do play as snake for the games prologue and then BAM its newcomer Raidens show from then on out. However the game doesnt suffer at all for this controversial bait and switch of the lead protagonist. In fact Kojima ended up creating another classic character that will even headline his own metal gear game this year(metal gear rising) now that snake’s story is done. Deep down even the haters now this game is a work of art.
TIE~
HALO:Combat Evolved
A game that made me as a young teenager fall in love with first person shooters. Halo was the killer app for the xbox that nearly validated the systems entire early existence. Ok Halo did validate the systems entire early existence.
Halo is a perfectly cut game steak with no fat whatsoever. Just the feel of the game at the time for me was truly "magic". Halo featured amazingly polished visuals at the time, and some of the most strategic gameplay found in any first person shooter. Cap off this creation with a beautiful sci fi setting and a classic theme that gamers will hum for ages and you have the birth of the console FPS shooter phenomenon(sorry goldeneye). Did i mention that Halo also revolutionized console Co-operative play and multiplayer for the masses? Ah dragging 1000 pound xbox's over to your best friends Lan Party truly was the stuff of legend for many nerds. Halo is undeniable.
Runners up: FF10. God this was a great year~
2002-METROID PRIME
Wait..."the new metroid game is going to be a first person shooter"? I still remember my early thoughts when i first heard of metroid primes existence. Metroid prime took the classic metroid series and genre swapped it. No longer a classic 2d, platformer/action adventure title, Metroid Prime took the nostalgic sci fi world of metroid and flipped the entire feel of the game inside out. In doing so retro studios did one of the most difficult things you can do, and in the process created a classic of its very own. The key here is that retro studios managed to keep the "essence" of what makes a metroid game, well, a metroid game.
Love the world of Metroid? Retro studios said, "so do we! Now lets step inside samus's visor". How cool is that ? The great news was that the world of metroid is apparently just as interesting from any perspective and there are other studios that can make a game that feels like a classic nintendo game. No easy feat. Nostalgia, respectful homage, staggering polish and incredibly fresh perspective gave Metroid Prime world class gaming status, and solidified retro studios as one of the premiere development studios in all of gaming.
runners up : Kingdom hearts, Metroid:fusion( this really was the year of the metroid!)
2003-LEGEND OF ZELDA:Wind Waker
Wind Waker made me fall in love with zelda, and perhaps i was a little late to the party. Then again it seems like every gamer has their zelda game. A zelda game that brought them into the magic of this legendary gaming series. Perhaps it was wind wakers gorgeous cel shading visuals or Water world/aquatic theme setting that allowed me my own entry in the beloved franchise. Wind Waker affected me in ways very few action adventure games have. Im sure my unusual fetish for all things "water" related in gaming didnt hurt either...
The graphical style was incredibly controversial at the time with zelda diehards and nintendos bold move paid off. Remember zelda fans, not all zelda games have to look exactly the same!There was a time when nintendo took risks, although i cant barley remember it...like a faint melody echoing in the lost catacombs of my mind...but lets not get off track here.The Landmark cell shading visuals(at the time) really made the world feel "alive", more so for me than any game in the series prior. All the usual zelda staples of polish, ingenuity, and pacing were here as well, but the package never looked this good.
Maybe im alone in this, but ill trade in my horse for a talking boat any day.
Runner up:Knights of the old republic, Pokemon Ruby/Saphire
2004- WORLD OF WARCRAFT
11 million people play this game. It is a phenomenon. I blame this game for causing me to fail serveral classes when i attended college as a young lad( responsible of me huh? lol). Blizzard created a dangerous beast with world of warcraft, and i dont regret any of my time spent with this MMORPG classic. Taking the life-suck that is the MMORPG and introducing it to the world like crack cocaine wrapped in a cheesburger(bad metaphor?)Haha. Losing your life had never been so…accessible.
In all seriousness though, world of warcraft truly does feature one of the most impressive "worlds" ever created, and is a game that should be experienced by anyone with full understanding of the experience they are about to undertake. WOW has been enchanting nerds for nearly six years now...i wonder how many years are still left to come?
Damn you World of warcraft, damn you.
2005-Shadow of the Colossus-
The second most epic tale of love ever created for a videogame ( Final fantasy 8 anyone?) wrapped up in what is easily in my opinion the most "epic" gameplay mechanics ever constructed. You will literaly scale beasts in this game the size of mountains and slowly stab them to death until they come crashing down to earth with the seismic force of a dying mountain. Then you will feel very very sad for what you have just done...and yet you will do it again many many times. All for the sake of love.
Shadow of the colossus is truly a must experience game, boasting graphics far to ambitious for the ps2 at the time, and one of the most heart pounding soundtracks ever created, selecting shadow of the colossus was a rather easy choice for me this year(despite both guitar hero, and god of war being released). Conceptually this game just triggers things within my soul that few games have,and is a gleaming reminder of some of the uniquely powerful experiences only our medium can deliver.
Runners up: God of war, Guitar Hero
2006-Gears of War
This year was a bit of a gaming "lull" in the decade for me,but i still remember laying down gears of war under my Christmas tree as a "gift to my self" that year, only to find the temptation too strong not too open it 2 weeks early. Needless to say that night me and my two roomates devoured this game, in a ravenous fury of late night gaming that is truly was best experienced with a good friends via co-op. Gears looked fantastic, and was cliffy B's third person entry into the realm of top tier game developers.
Utilizing the strategic simplicity and controls( that reminded me of a wierd blend between Resident evil 4 and HALO) gears of war felt like a surprisingly fresh game experience. Multiplayer here also provided one of the most visceral experiences one can have via land party or xbox live. In fact if i had to describe gears of war in one word it would be indeed "visceral". Although i wasn't nearly as impressed with gears of war 2, the original will always hold its special place in gaming history for me.
Runners up:Oblivion
2007-BIOSHOCK
The easiest choice on my list ( and 2007 was a great year! Mass effect,halo 3,Assassins creed) bioshock is a classic:plain and simple. Everything here is Grade A plus quality, ingenuity,and story telling. Not to mention Bioshock featured one of the biggest OMG plot twists since Knights of the Old Republic. With Bioshock Ken Levine asserted himself as one of the most important people in our industry.
Underneath the unbelievably stylistic visual presentation, and irresistibly potent storytelling was one of the most addicting RPG/FPS ever created. Providing the player with tons of creatively, and an almost unreal layer of depth to the gameplay. Infused throughout bioshocks incredible storytelling was many layers of deep philosophical intrigue,and fascinating moral dilemmas. Bioshock left me thinking long after the final credits had rolled.
Nothing here is revolutionary, but everything here gaming of the highest caliber.
Runners up: Mass effect, Halo 3, Assassins Creed
2008- BRAID
An xbox live arcade game of the year? It absolutely was for me, as i was totally caught up in the BRAID phenomenon. Tims Story just Spoke to me on an incredibly profound level. Truly remarkable that a game that feels so "niche" (being a puzzle/platformer) could have such a powerful affect on so many people.
The music is beautiful, the visuals were dreaming and haunting bring to life the gorgeous painting worlds, and the gameplay brilliantley incorporated the different "themes" within each area of the game in many incredibly ingenious ways.
Sure the game was probably a bit too challenging for its own good, but the insane layers of mind bending puzzles added a metaphorical core to Tims enchanting little quest. Braid wove my mind in so many directions i began to look at videogames in general differently..and thats saying something. A masterpiece.
Runners up: Metal Gear Solid 4
2009-Borderlands
Borderlands was a dream come true. I cant believe it took this long to meld a top tier first person shooter with a top tier “loot collecting” RPG. A very simple idea, fuse the super addictive gameplay elements of games like world of warcraft and Diablo with an incredibly stylistic first person shooter. Dark gritty cell shading allowed the game to separate itself from the host of other “wasteland” themed games like fallout. The world was a bit too small and recycled for its own good but GOD was it addicting while it lasted. There was much room for improvement here (weak character customization, repetitive enemies, lack of diverse environments) but overall Borderlands was incredible. I know its just a rumor but Borderworlds could be life changing.
In a year for me that saw some great follow-ups(Assassins creed 2,Modern warfare 2) I leaned toward the most original piece of work.
2010 - ????? So what game takes the cake for 2010 ?
So what games defined a decade for you and why? Myself and giantbombers would sure love to see~
have a great one
morgan
@imayellowfellow
I agree with the corny one liners you mentioned..."yeah we got em" exclamations during the fight scenes, or the epic dogfight toward the end.
Then again 3d films are simply for the 'experience" and the world of tron tickles that inner techno geek like no other. Add in all the lovley ladies, amazing design and set pieces, and cap it all off with the best score of the year and you have a great film.
I cant argue its the "best " movie of the year...best its defintley the most entertaining.
have a great one
I agree that the movie had its fair share of corny one liners, especially during battles....but the dialogue was if nothing else interesting. Every word spoken seems to have an extra layer of depth. much like the ship scene i mentioned with sam and quorra...that scene has 3 layers of metaphors coded in.
I wish i could have seen in the imax. I sat really close at my theatre and was totally immersed. I know alot of people get sick during 3d which i think is unfortunate, but as far as 3d goes it doesnt get much better than this. THe whole world had a PG mass effect vibe going on......just great stuff.
have a great one
Avatar was great fun, but nothing will prepare you for the visual orgasmica that is Tron Legacy. Despite what your feelings may be on 3d in general, Tron Legacy just may end up being the greatest use of the technology to date. Many will probably argue that Avatar was a better film, and that’s fine,argue that all you want. The genius here is that Tron Legacy uses the 3d of the film to magnify the entire STYLE of the visual presentation, and anyone with a love for the imaginative glow of a hyper futuristic cyber world will find legacy nearly irresistible.
The music here may just edge inception for soundtrack of the year. The initial trailers were early indications of the dark electronic fueled tone daft punk were going to infuse throughout legacy, but I was surprised by how orchestral the final product was. This balance was crucial for maintaining the tone of the film, while allowing the truly epic moments to soar to stratospherical heights. Including a finale so spectacular my body felt frozen as chills ran through my body as the the climax of the film is perfectly accentuated by the daft punks stellar score. Then again I am a viewer that totally immerses himself in the film I am watching so if you are somebody who enjoys fidgeting, tampering with your cell phone, or bullshitting with your friends throughout your movie experience than you may not experience this emotional response.
Jeff bridges is fantastic and even newcomer Garrett Hedlund does a great job as Sam Flynn. The father son bond feels if nothing else genuine enough to make the whole film work. The dialogue is better than you would expect for such a film as well. Take a scene where Sam is sitting with Quorra (played by the lovely Olivia wilde) toward the middle of the film and Quorra is inquiring about Sam's world, the real world. She asks Sam about the sun, (something we all I think its fair to say take for granite) and he chuckles as he responds" ive never been asked to describe the sun before. Its beautiful, radiant, warm.." and he delivers this as he stares into quorra's eyes adding another layer of depth to the scene.The dialogue does have a handful of corny one liners thrown around during some of the films action scenes, but luckily those moments are few and far between.
Allot of tron is pure visual dazzle to be sure, but isn’t that what 3d is all about? I don’t necessarily think we need to experience the coens brothers classics or the next scorcese film in 3d but TRON LEGACY much like AVATAR proves that 3d has its place and can truly provide us with an experience like no other. An experience where we can step inside another world, far more beautiful and interesting than our own. I didn’t want Legacy to end, I could have watched it for hours and hours and hours. Legacy was so visually arresting even the normal theatre buzz killers like the fat stinky guy who spills his drink during the middle of the movie or the noisy children seated behind me couldn’t dampen my enjoyment. In fact I realized how great 3d films are at making it easier to block everyone else out at a movie...and that my friends is no easy feat. Tron isn’t a 9 or a 10 on the visual level, it’s an 11. Legacy will arouse your soul in a way that unfortunately makes our world seem quite bland by comparison.
@haggis
I agree with you in many ways...however if your comparing the speed at which other entertainment mediums produce their product a video game usually takes much more time, energy, and money than lets say a book, or most tv shows. If we are receiving games every year we will know deep down that alot of copy and pasting is going on....and eventually that recycled feeling will wear away at the franchise's luster.
Halo, metal gear solid, zelda, all examples of series that remain relevant by pacing themselves over time. Too much of a good thing is always a bad thing... right?
great thoughts though! Its such an interesting move from ubisoft.....so ...odd...
have a great one
mo
Assassins creed brotherhood is one of the strangest entries in a popular franchise i have seen in some while. Brotherhood is an honest to god sequel to Assassins Creed 2, yet it bears no 3 in the title. The entire story picks up directly after the ending of Assassins Creed 2,and in many ways it feels as though your picking up the "exact" same game at first....but only at first, which in truth is quite jarring. Even weirder is the inclusion of multiplayer modes in a game that is so centralized around a sole "assassin" and yet the end result is one of the most refreshing multiplayer games ive played in years. Shame on Ubisoft for releasing another assassins creed game within one year of its predecessor...and shame on me for liking it so much.
Its only natural to assume a sequel should improve upon its predecessor, but after only one year i was surprised at how much brotherhood truly does improve over assassins creed 2.The characters (even though many are quite familiar of course) seem more fleshed out, and the villian this time is much more interesting. Cesare Borgia has an interesting persona and his demented sexual relationship with Lucrezia (his sister..) was far more interesting (albeit less epic) than anything found in assassins creed 2. The music also seemed a bit more operatic, and attention grabbing than the the first two assassins creed games.
Rome still feels as lovingly handcrafted as any other assassins creed cities, but handcrafted from allot of recycled parts. This "recycled feeling" seems magnified because of the length of time between the release of brotherhood and Assassins Creed 2. Regardless of the end result if we had played brotherhood a year later and it had a "3" in the title, would we have been a bit more impressed by rome? Its hard to say ..but it is an interesting thought. As a matter of fact after playing Brotherhood and experiencing a twist in the games finale thats nearly impossible to see coming, im not sure why UBISOFT didn’t label the game "Assassins Creed 3", its almost as if they are acknowledging how rushed the entire product feels, even if only on a subconscious level.
Hell it shouldn’t matter if a game comes out a few months after its predecessor, as long as the final product is good right? Playing brotherhood just a really strange experience to have so soon after Assassins Creed 2 took the world by storm just last november.Instead of really blowing our minds with a follow up in a few years ubisoft seems to be feeling some pressure to keep the franchise as relevant as possible. Odd considering how well Assassins Creed 2 was received critically and financially speaking. As great as Brotherhood is (and to be honest i enjoyed it much more than Assassins Creed 2) You just cant shake the feeling ubisoft is not pacing the series correctly, and Assassins Creed 3 will more than likely suffer for it.
I hope im wrong.
@Mau64
I defintley understand where your coming from.
Although id say as far as donkey kong is concerned...for a "2D" platformer, the level design and variety was just as impressive, and the visuals were much stronger than SMG2. I just think it must be taken into account what can be done with a "2d'"sidescroller, and that makes the game at least "equally" as impressive if nothing else.
have a great one
@mesoian
yousaid.
And that's fair, because all Mario Galaxy 2 is is more Mario Galaxy.
However, that being said, MG2 is still a better put together game than Donkey Kong Country Returns. While it doesn't do anything new, MG2 takes the gameplay formula that had already been establish and further perfected it. DKCR has a LOT of problems from the lack of responsive controls to a very very spartan layout to some very poor design choices (ALL of world 4 is terrible. All of it) . Next year, if Retro gets another go at it, I think we'll see something really impressive, but this year with this iteration, DCKR failed to surpass Mario Galaxy as the better game.
Donkey kong country returns just seemed to brim with more energy than SMG2. The controls felt tighter, and to be honest it looked MUCH better.
I think people forget SMG2 fatal flaw, in that in order to progress from one world to the next the game throws an "arbitrary number of stars up" that the gamer must have collected. How frustrating is it to get to the end of the world and have the game tell you " stop dude you need 7 more stars before you can fight this boss". Its a cheap method of extended the playfthrough to be honest.
Both games use the traditional life system...which...is more of a neutrality i guess. Also SMG2 felt very...."recycled". I think those are many fair reasons why DKCR should get the nod this year
There is a bit of a subconcious bias from the gaming massess simply because SMG2 stars....well...mario for christsake. Thats not to say that its an incredible game, but stepping back DKCR stands out as the must play platformer of 2010 (barley edging super meat boy).
Have a great one
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