It has been an amazing decade for gaming, seeing three different generations of consoles vying for our hard earned cash and attention. We’ve seen a titan fall in the form of Sega, and a phoenix rise in Nintendo, along with everything else in between.
The following are the games that I feel have made the largest impact on me personally. Being inspired by Desrtuctoid.com’s top fifty games of the decade, I am applying the same rules as they did for theirs in that I will choose only one game from each franchise and the game must have been released in the last ten years. Games that don’t make it into the top ten will get an honourable mention so this is where any sequels or spin-offs will be placed. You guys know me best so there are certain genres that won’t make an appearance and an abundance of others.
So, without further ado, I present my top ten:
10. Halo
The big kahuna that revitalised console FPSs with its regenerating health system. The story is classic sci-fi at its best, without the convoluted plots of its sequels. Halo 2 added a bit of diversity to the levels and missions, and included dual weapon wielding, and Halo 3 was presented in HD along with, but these were merely incremental upgrades, neither adding anything particularly special to the mix.
The AI was incredible, flanking you to flush you out and sending kamikaze Grunts with plasma grenades at you. The addition of your AI, Cortana, made for some witty banter and companionship along the way, adding commentary to an otherwise dialogue-less Master Chief (apart from in cut-scenes). The only major fault I had with Halo was the thrilling end sequence, or at least what was meant to be thrilling. My warthog simply couldn’t navigate through the tunnels properly and thus I had to restart the level, over and over again. This is going to be a problem plaguing more and more games in their bid to become ever more cinematic.
09. Soul Calibur 2
Soul Calibur 2 became the GameCube’s first decent fighting game, with its controls optimised to make use of the Cube’s joypad. This game is the pinnicle of the series for me, retaining what was great about Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, but kicking it all up a notch. The sequels have felt a little confused, lacking identity and cramming too many elements in such as making your own character, and slowing everything down. The roster was good too, having at least one character to suit all the different fighting styles one would expect in a weapon based fighting game.
The console specific characters were a clever marketing ploy, trying to tap into recognisible faces that would appeal most to the target console audience. To the best of my knowledge, few people ever used the unique characters, though Link was the better of bunch.
It has aged well and still makes an appearance at fighting game tournaments the world over. Sadly, the last two releases haven’t set the world alight and the inclusion of Yoda and Darth Vader possibly received more attention from Namco than the rest of the game did, leaving myself and other fans cold.
08. Resident Evil (Remake)
For me, this is the ultimate Resident Evil; it retains all the character of the first two games in the series, and until they remake Resident Evil 2 properly (none of this Darkside Chronicles malarky), then it will remain king of the hill. The visuals are gorgeous, almost photo realistic at times and the dialogue has received some much needed attention, though at the expense of classic lines like “master of unlocking”.
The game has been padded out too, adding an extra sub-plot about the daughter of one of Umbrella’s developers and without a doubt, taking inspiration from Resident Evil 3’s Nemesis. The puzzles have also been shifted around, or even changed entirely adding a lick of fresh paint to the tried and tested. The zombies have also gotten smarter and faster, being able to walk up stairs, open doors, and come back from the dead if you do not decapitate or burn them.
It was a close call between this and Resident Evil 4, though I ultimately felt Resident Evil 4 was too far removed from its origins. Change Leon and remove all the other familiar characters and it could be any generic third person action-shooter.
07. Initial D – Special Stage
A home console version of Sega’s immensely popular arcade racer, it is closest to the Arcade Stage version 2. It was the next logical step after creating a hit manga and anime, allowing people to re-enact the famous race battles themselves. Featuring the largest roster of cars and music of any of the games, this was a must-have if you were a fan of Initial D and had a PS2 capable of playing the import.
The game plays like a cross between Sega Rally and Gran Turismo with arcadey handling but requiring enough precision to nagivate some of the wildest mountain passes. The cars are slowly upgraded using points earned for setting new personal records. Sadly, the only major omission is a split screen mode for two player races. There isn’t even an option to system link so it is very much a solo affair and you’ll need to visit an arcade if you want to challenge somebody.
Graphically, it’s ropey with no anti-aliasing at all, and the people at the finish line looking like cardboard cutouts. If you can look past this, it is an immensely satisfying racer with that “just once more” feeling about it.
06. Dead Rising
Now this is sandbox gaming! You’re stuck in a shopping centre, over-run by zombies and you have almost everything at your disposal to purge the undead hoarde. The game clearly lampoons George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, or more precisely, it’s modern day remake, with a character that even resembles Ving Rhames.
It’s such a whacky and creative game, and the 360 achievements systems lends itself well to the environment with such classic requests like asking you to bowl a strike of ten zombies using a bowlingball. There is the well known supposed fault where the game allows you to embark on a mission, regardless of whether you have time to complete it or not. If you fail and the game autosaved, you need to start all over again. The saving grace is that you gain experience and new melee moves like in an RPG, and it is virtually impossible to complete the story on your first try.
I have lost count of number of times I have tried to go after some of the hardest to get achievements, but that’s the mark of a game with great replay value.
05. Ico
For me, this was one of the biggest reasons to own a PS2. You play Ico, a young lad doomed to execution for bearing horns at birth. Through sheer luck, you managed to escape from your iron maiden style cell and encounter a ethereal looking girl, named Yorda. It is your job to help her escape the castle, where her evil step-mother is planning to transfer her soul into Yorda’s body. Oh, and neither of you speak the same language yet both characters are full of expression and never do you feel like you’re fighting a battle on your own.
Largely a niche title upon initial launch, it continues to command fairly high sums on eBay. It is very much a modern day fairytale and blurs the lines between games, movies, and interactive entertainment.
04. Shadow of the Colosus
The spiritual sequel to Ico, it has you playing Wanda, another young chap on a quest to save his dying lady friend. Having only your trusty steed, Agro, to aid you, your journey has you stalking giants across the landscape. Each giant is significantly different from the last, some taking humanoid form, some animal, and some resembling err… I’ll leave that one for you guys to interpret when you play.
Games don’t come much more epic than this, with former flatmates commenting that I sounded like I was commanding Middle Earth armies from my room, based purely on the soundtrack. At only 8 – 10 hours long, it is fairly short but it is very easy to pick up again after breaks because defeating each giant is a puzzle in itself.
Like Ico, it commands high prices on the used market so feel free to borrow this from me if you have trouble finding it yourself.
03. OutRun 2 (Can’t decide on the version)
When it comes to arcade racers, Sega certainly are the masters and OutRun 2 is quite possibly the piece de resistance. There’s so many variations of this game that it was difficult to pin down exactly which version I like most, though if pressured, it would probably be Special Tours (arcade only), or Coast 2 Coast (home version of Special Tours with a few extras).
The gameplay is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Are you a flashy player that drifts through every corner, or are you a speedster, only drifting where absolutely necessary? Manual transmission or automatic? Testerossa or Enzo? Lord knows how much money I’ve pumped into this franchise, both at the arcade and through home versions.
02. The Legend of Zelda – The Twilight Princess
It was a close call between this and Wind Waker, but Twilight Princess just nails it because it feels like a more complete game. I remember the first time I had a chance to play this was at Sam’s house on his newly bought Wii. I was in awe at the fantastic graphics, despite them being displayed on a humble 14″ TV. I would have to wait nearly a month before I could play my GameCube version and for that, I despised Nintendo. The game was actually in a near ready to ship state almost a year earlier, but they decided to also make it a Wii launch title, thus delaying things further.
It’s the Zelda game I have spent the most time on, clocking up over 64 hours of gameplay. It’s also the my most thoroughly completed Zelda game, with only a small number of Poe souls left to collect before scoring 100%. It feels very much like a greatest hits of Zelda, utilising the best gimmicks from past Zelda games. It does become a Zelda game by the numbers, though some of the weapons are used so well in some dungeons that this can be forgiven. The story and cinematics are right out of this generation, drawing the player into the world of Hyrule.
This is said to be the last Zelda game in the traditional sense. This is a huge shame because gamers who consider themselves hardcore have bypassed the Wii completely, so it’s unlikely to do well at all amongst the console’s casual demographic. Sad days ahead…
01. Uncharted 2 – Among Thieves
Hardly surprising that this is at the top of my list. The first Uncharted raised the bar for in-game cinematics and story telling and the sequel raises the bar even further.
I won’t repeat what I’ve already written in my original review so will use this chance to comment about the multiplayer. I’ve now clocked up over 140 hours and have reached level 51 out of 60 possible ranks and it’s still fresh. From time to time, you find a stand-out player to pick up some new tricks from. It would be great if Naughty Dog could release some new maps soon because their most recent new offering, “The Fort” isn’t all that fun to play on. It’s designed for snipers and that’s just dull and goes against the spirit of the game.
