Best Video Games of the Decade

Video Games hit a high note in the decades past-from being first invited into our household with the popular title Pong to being mesmerized by the true 3-D graphics of the best that the 90's had to offer in console form-and it's only natural for us to hope for the same in the future. Unfortunately, we have to make a pit stop in the recent past to look at the decade that we live in now to notice that the only big things to happen in Video Games come in the form of innovation.

We witnessed the arrival of a new player in the form of Microsoft with their bold but chunky black and green machine called the XBOX, saw the hitch on the breaths of fans everywhere as Sega bade farewell to the console wars and stepped into the developers saddle and witnessed in awe as Sony tried hard and succeeded in outselling the upstart with the first new system of the decade-the Sony Playstation 2. They each had their run, with Nintendo being that all too familiar voice promising nostalgic bliss with renovated classics or a double dose of sequels, until the imminent and expected mid-decade fall from grace.

The latest systems arrived en-masse to duke it out with the Microsoft XBOX 360, not excluding the Sony PS3, down to the underdog Nintendo Wii.

Ah, the Wii. Suddenly, the modern gamer was introduced to their casual counterpart as everyone in the family picked up a Nunchuk and started swinging the Light Saber against your Darth Maul.

Still, there's plenty of room for gems to breed over the years. Unique games were spread below our Christmas tree under tinsel and bow to have gone on to win awards that we never even knew existed. So without further ado, here is my pick for the best of the best, even the best of sequels. Mind you, this is in no specific order and focuses a good deal on consoles than PC.

The Top 10 Video Games of the Decade!

(Drum roll, please!)

1. MMORPG: The World Of Warcraft

From William Shatner to Robin Williams, from Kanye West to Vin Diesel.. And yes boys, even Cameron Diaz-Hollywood has spoken and they love WoW! Released for Windows PC and Mac, the WoW world blew out of proportion to billions! With Game of the Year editions selling for less than the cost of your date, you're bound to pay a copy of this than the check. Like with any MMO, there are monthly fees to consider as well as expansions.

Notable MMO runner-ups:

Any NCSoft MMO:

NCSoft presented us with the interesting concept of free MMO gameplay for as long as you owned the software with Guild Wars and its expansions followed subsequently by two titles with striking resemblance to each other called City of Heroes and the City of Villains. All of their games have sequels and expansions with a larger following that continue to follow the company in its every new hit.

Final Fantasy XI:

Square-Enix, or Squaresoft as most of you recall, released a Final Fantasy based MMORPG on the dying Playstation 2 console, one of the few games to ever utilize the hard-drive adaptation to the system. In 2002, players from Japan were already enjoying the game in full with later adaptations being made to the United States and European countries. The gameplay alone limited the user base with its console friendly controls as opposed to mouse inputs along with the lack of a tutorial and insane difficulty that limited casual playability. While the game mechanics and the difficulty was curbed over the years, the game still garners mixed reactions. It does have gimmicks that other MMOs can't compete with such as full on cut-scenes to follow an unforgettable and expansive storyline as well as an auto-translation function to droll out commands to your fellow Adventurers or to simply ask for help in a break in language barriers. Why? The servers cater to every continent that has seen a release of this game, with major languages such as Japanese, French, German, English and more.

If you're interested in picking this title up, I suggest you wait for the next big MMO from Square-Enix slated for 2010: http://finanfantasyxiv.com

2. FPS: Halo (XBOX, 360, PC)

Originally released as a first generation XBOX game, Halo series spawned off sequels and side stories to keep us entertained. This is a best selling series in the systems but a the same time, Halo has received mentions across the board for the best sold first-person shooter game^[1]. That's one number that's hard to top at over 8 million in sales! Graphics and the fun-factor has Halo fans still popping in the original over the sequel for online matches, but the 2^nd and finale of the series are not to be missed by anyone willing to take the fight to the Horde.

Notable FPS runner-ups:

Crysis (Windows PC):

The game that made or broke your system-the Crytek laboratories created the ultimate graphical first-person experience in the form of Crysis, utilizing their own Cry Engine 2 graphics to boast a surreal world that had the potential of putting your beast of a gaming machine on the map. The game's fun-factor is limiting due to the lack of a user base, however, it has spawned a cult following in the wake of billion-barrel-explosions.

3. Action: Stealth- Metal Gear Solid (PS2, PS3, Windows PC)

Originally released on the Playstation and then on the Playstation 2 with the final chapter in the unlikely bad-ass Snake's dysfunctional family seeing a possible release on another system for once. The XBOX 360 fans were in unanimous uproars when both Microsoft and developer Konami considered the system but we have yet to see any progress on the exclusivity of the title.

4. Action: Survival Horror- Resident Evil 5(PS3, 360, Windows PC)

There is no bigger name than Resident Evil(well, perhaps F.E.A.R.) in terms of the survival-horror genre and Resident Evil 5 was the cake and the icing. An amazing update to the graphics, a stimulating story and breathtaking, jaw-dropping moments make the Hollywood worthy storyline come to life. The series also spawned the theater counterparts that fans were less than supportive of but the games still compel us to count our bullets and prey.

5. Action-First Person Shooter: BioShock(PS3, 360, Windows PC, Mac)

From the team at 2KGames most notable for their sports titles comes a palpable, underwater world where puzzle-solving and shooting combine with an almost RPG flare to bring us to the world of Rapture. The game has you getting to know Big Daddy's and Little Sisters along with numeric upgrades to have this game standing out from the bunch.

Notable runner-up:

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena(360, PS3, Windows PC, Mac)

If we thought Hollywood was only good for bringing us half-assed kiddie games not even worth a mention in the upcoming releases, you're wrong! Vin Diesel's own Tigon Studios had a hand in developing the game true to the series following the story of Riddick, with the actor reprising his role and delivering with bravado. Assault on Dark Athena is a remake of the original Escape from Butcher Bay, with newly added content to make it even more appealing. If you didn't try it when it was on the XBOX, now the original is represented better than before in multiple platforms.

6. Action-Platforming: Devil May Cry (PS2, PS3, 360, Microsoft Windows)

Devil May Cry was originally released for the Sony Playstation 2 in 2001, pulling weight from acclaimed creation team of Capcom(notable for Street Fighter series), with a large fan base and with over-a-million sold, the Greatest Hits rights. The game spawned sequels up to 4, with the latest being a cross-platform release on the XBOX 360 and Windows PC. Up until then, Playstation held exclusive rights to this thrilling action-platformer, with its unique anti-hero protagonist Dante coping with his family tree.

7. Action-Adventure: Ninja Gaiden(XBOX, 360, PS3)

Released and re-released as Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden Sigma(PS3), we saw a classic hit turn to gold in the hands of the famed Dead or Alive franchise designer Tomonobu Itagaki as he pulled Ryu Hayabusa from the one-on-one brawl to his owl world of monster slaying mayhem. The game was crammed with difficult missions in Black and was redesigned with additional content as well as harder setting in Sigma. The polished look really brought us to the possibilities of the Next-Gen platforming games.

8. Puzzle: FPS-Portal(PS3, 360, Windows PC)

For fewer than we expected, Valve released a uniquely packed box with a peculiarly colored cover to the stores in our neighborhood. Suffice it to say that this Orange Box, a compilation of their best games including Half Life 2: Episode Two and Team Fortress 2, included one new surprise. Players were put in the springy supporting shoes of Chell, who wakes up to find herself in a facility with an artificial intelligence named "GLaDOS", leading the player in a satirical and ingenious gem of a game that's worth buying the entire package for!

9. Fighting: Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)

Surprised? Having sold over 8.43 million sold^[2], it has grossed the highest sales of any fighting game to date. The game is classified as a fighter with a hardcore and a casual gamer following. However, given the characters who were involved in the game, it has garnered unfavored looks from some. And let's face-it! No list is complete unless we have Mario.

Notable Fighter runner-ups:

Soul Calibur IV(Namco), Tekken 5(Namco), Dead or Alive 4(Tecmo)

With the fall of the high kings such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter(even though we saw it reborn in SFIV in 2009), we have beautified Japanese brawlers in these three titles. Few are drawn to the majesty and customizations of Soul Calibur, others are interested in the fisticuffs of Tekken and then another following focused its polygons on emphasizing smooth movement of traditional martial arts with the elements familiar to us in movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(or the other notable assets on Kasumi). I will suggest all three titles but I can't specifically recommend one over the other due to how they favor three different sub-styles. Of course, if all else fails, pick up a copy of Street Fighter 4 to relive the good old days, in 3D!

10. Racing: Burnout Paradise/ Need For Speed: Undecover(PS3, XBOX 360)

Burnout series might not be your first choice for a racing game but I myself have enjoyed the series since its conception in 2001. The games mix of unreal explosions, the fact that it rewards players for damage caused and focuses on fun as much as head-on one-on-one races, makes it my pick for the best racing game of the decade. But, if you're more for solely hitting the road for pure races, NFS: Underground delivers the brand name cars and the right touch of speed. While not the latest incarnation of the NFS franchise, Underground was by far my favorite due to its mix up of street racing with the traditional brand.

There you have it-my picks for the decade. There are a few categories missing from the list such as Role-playing. While I can cite numbers and tell you that the best role playing game might be a Final Fantasy title by Square-Enix or that Zelda title, that is one genre where even I will disagree with my own choices.

Look for my other lists of Top 10 in gaming and write your comments on which ones would have been your pick for the Best 10 Games of the Decade nominees.

^{Citations:
[1]Brendan Sinclair, Gamespot, January 2008 http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184291.html
[2]Nintendo Fiscal Year End Report http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2009/090508e.pdf#page=6}