Numbers are pretty cool and in the world of gaming(or really, any sort of entertainment medium) people often like to take notice when games or franchises have ageed to ten years, or some other decade. This year though A LOT of very important games and system turn ten.

2001 was a very important year in gaming. Industry changing, genre (re)defining games were released and consoles were launched. You could argue that it was the most important year in gaming in the past decade.

Final Fantasy X was the series first foray into the then new generation of consoles with fully voice acted cut scenes to show for it. Back in a day when fans weren't as divided and Square didn't end with Enix, Final Fantasy X was met with both great critical reception, currently being the fourth highest rated game of the series with over a 91% average on gamerankings as well a a huge sales success being the fastest selling rpg at one time as well as currently being the second best selling Final Fantasy game of all time.

Reception for the title was so good that it convinced Square to break away from their tradition and make a direct sequel to the title which has since become a trend for the series.

Grand Theft Auto III really pushed the envelope on mature content in game and recieved tons of controversy for it. More importantly though it practically invented the open world action adventure sub genre. The massive sandbox it provided attracted many new gamers to the fold and offered many hours of fun unlike anything else around at the time making the PS2 the console to own.

Despite the plot really going off the deep end and Raiden not being Snake MGS2 was an amazing improvement over the original game in terms of graphics and gamplay. Players could now hang from ledges, aim from first person, drag fallen foes to hide their bodies from patrolling gaurds and more. MGS2's one of the earliest examples of mocap in gaming and aside from resolution the game looks very good even today. The game just felt ahead of it's time and was really impressive.

What could I possibly say about Halo here that I haven't already? Halo launched a generation of shooters, it's credited for many gameplay conventions you see in many games even outside of it's own genre such as the regenerating health models and the two weapon capacity. Halo validated the XBOX's existence, being the highest rated game of that year on gamerankings. It was a game worth getting friends together and playing all night at a lan party.

Similar to Halo and it's XBOX, Super Smash Brothers was THE reason you got a Gamecube. The mother of all cross over fighters, Super Smash Brothers Melees was all you wanted in a fighter. Accesibility but a good level of depth. A large roster full characters from gaming's most beloved granchises. Super Smash Brothers was great, but Melee took it to the next level.

2001 saw the release of many great new game franchises such as Devil May Cry, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Red Faction, Max Payne and Project Gotham Racing. And it saw the launch of many sequels such as Sonic Adventure 2, Silent Hill 2, Dragon Warrior(Quest) VII, Mario Kart Super Circuit and Twisted Metal: Black. 2001 saw too many games I could possibly recount but it was a year full of many great games and surely the gamers will remember them.

I tend to agree that was a year when a lot of important games came out, I am not sure Final Fantasy X had as much an impact as those other games highlighted. Devil May Cry was more important if you ask me. Also granchises made me, think of what classic video game characters would look like portrayed as Grannies.