Many a game came out over the last decade, over 11,000 incidentally, but the great majority of them were garbage churned out to either confuse consumers into purchasing them instead of a decent game, or just to make money off of people that don’t check games’ metascores. There were, however, also a good number of superb games that came out in the last 10 years. Game Usagi sifted through thousands of games to present to you this list of the best of the best from the last decade. Read on to find out what games made the list:
#10 – Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) (2008)
If ever there was a long-tail seller of a game, it is Brawl. With essentially unlimited appeal covering anyone who likes any single one of Nintendo’s plethora of exclusive IPs, as well as the Metal Gear and Sonic franchises. Brawl made the list because:
- 36 of the most famous video game composers made new arrangements of their classic songs for the game
- 35 characters from many of Nintendo’s first party IPs and the more popular third party IPs too
- 41 stages covering nearly all Nintendo IPs including ones without playable characters
- Very fair fighting balance considering the wide range of characters and locations
- Every control scheme available on the Wii at the time is usable and fully customizable
- Wicked fun every time
#9 – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (PS1, N64, Dreamcast, PC/Mac) (2000)
THPS2 was huge in both gameplay and quality compared to other games of the time and has the highest metascore of any game in the last decade with a 98. THPS2 made the list because:
- Introduction of Create-a-Skater feature now one of the greatest joys in the series
- Introduction of Park Editor feature, also a huge staple in the series
- Many more tricks and grinds added making Tony Hawk gameplay more varied and surprising
- Lots of places to skate about and have fun just bumming around
#8 – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360, PS3, PC/Mac) (later Wii) (2007)
CoD4 revolutionized First Person Shooters, primarily in the online category. Millions of gamers flocked online across all of the platforms to play online due not only to the tight and fantastic gameplay, but also to the ingenious leveling and equipment-upgrading systems. This paved the road for the set-ups for many recent FPS online modes including the also sublime, but quite similar Modern Warfare 2. CoD4 made the list because:
- Revolutionized online FPS play making it addictive as you’re always just one level away from unlocking something cool
- Introduced Prestige mode allowing gamers to continue leveling up at the price of all of their lovely leveled-up equipment and other unlocks
- Single-player, while short, was varied and involved and no slouch compared to other prestigious FPS games
- Paved the way for better online play for most successive FPS games
#7 – Bioshock (Xbox 360, PS3, PC/Mac) (2007)
Bioshock combined successful elements of various genres and put them all into a tight, immersive, and wondrous package. With huge emphasis put into creating a highly detailed universe and environment for the characters to exist in, everything became not only more believable, but inspiring and sometimes daunting. Bioshock made the list because:
- Immersive and intricately crafted digital world
- Multi-layered characters given histories and reasons for their actions
- Complex and deep storyline that perfectly blends the world with its characters and the characters with one another
- Great blending of RPG elements in clever ways to enhance FPS gameplay
- Use of respawning machines to put you right back into the action after deaths
- Morality-based dealings with Little Sisters that effect game ending
#6 – Soul Calibur II (GCN, PS2, Xbox) (2003)
Soul Calibur II is still a shining star in the fighting game genre and is quite easily better than both Soul Calibur III and Soul Calibur IV. The inclusion of Link as a well-developed bonus character in the GameCube version of the game made it sell more on that platform than the other two in spite of a much smaller install base. Soul Calibur II made the list because:
- “Weapon Master Mode” is easily the best single-player mode ever included in the franchisee
- The extra characters of Link (GCN), Spawn (Xbox), and Heihachi Mishima (PS2) were plausible and a good fit for the series
- Large amount of unlockable weapons and costumes
- Introduction of arena walls in Soul Calibur series
- Good graphics and music, even by today’s standards
- Much improved controls and movement over first installment in series
#5 – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN) (2003)
Wind Waker took the gaming world by surprise. The vast majority of games and systems that were coming out at the time were focusing largely on graphics and making things as photorealistic as possible. This, coupled with a tech demo that was used for the GameCube that featured a “realistic” (much inferior to those seen eventually in Twilight Princess) Link and Ganondorf, led everyone to believe that the next Zelda game would be a graphical tour-de-force. Well it certainly was looking back on it, but at the time you would have thought the world was ending. Wind Waker made the list because:
- It taught us all to shut up and appreciate graphical styles that were not photorealistic, opening the doors for games like Viewtiful Joe, Okami, Mad World, and Prince of Persia (2008).
- The graphical style very much added to the gameplay and made Wind Waker what it is today
- A respectable Zelda series installment with as deep of gameplay and clever of puzzles as ever
- Introduced a new Toon Link style seen in many other Zelda games as well as Smash Bros. Brawl
#4 – Half-Life 2 (PC, Xbox) (Later in Orange Box on Xbox 360 and PS3) (2004)
Half-Life 2 is undoubtedly the standard by which other FPS games are judged. Perfect in almost every way, it’s rare to see this much work go into an FPS game, and was especially at the time of its release. HL2 made the list because:
- Industry-standard voice acting and lip-sync
- Great graphics and physics for the time (still pretty decent today)
- Low system requirements considering complexity
- Unanimously chosen as the best game of 2004
- Deep story with characters you actually care about
- GRAVITY GUN!!
#3 – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64) (2000)
Arguably both better and worse than its immediate predecessor Ocarina of Time (considered the best game ever made), the one thing that can be said about Majora’s Mask is that today’s Nintendo (also called Grey Logo Nintendo) would never make such a game. Easily the darkest game ever made by Nintendo, Majora’s Mask definitely stands out in both the Zelda series and video games as a whole. Majora’s Mask made the list because:
- Lets you experience first-hand the various other species in the Zelda universe through the innovative mask system
- Lets you play as a Deku Scrub, Zora, and Goron (very awesome)
- Very dark setting and serious consequences (everybody dies) for failure
- Clever slants on familiar characters and concepts from Ocarina of Time
- Perhaps a side of the Zelda universe that we will never see again
#2 – Portal (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) (2007)
Looking back over the last decade it’s hard to think of a game that was such an instant classic or as original as Portal. With no preamble you’re dropped into this strange, cold, scientific world with nothing to know or trust except for a creepily familiar female computer voice telling you what to do. As you move through the challenges you become increasingly aware that all is not right behind the clean, orderly world that is in front of you. Portal made the list because:
- For having essentially 2-4 characters (if you count the companion cube and the sentries), it has a lot of personality
- Best ending song ever (Still Alive)
- Best ending sequence ever (DOS-like terminal)
- Best ending boss for a very long time (GLaDOS)
- For having many layers of meaning in a game that could easily have been about jumping around
- For introducing the Portal Gun to a wider audience than Narbacular Drop
- The Companion Cube in general
- THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!
#1 – Metroid Prime (GCN) (later in Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii) (2002)
There you have it, the best game of the decade. Compared to the FPS fare of 2002 and even most FPS games today, Metroid Prime looks, plays, sounds, and feels better than most else of what is out there. The last console Metroid game before Metroid Prime was Super Metroid almost ten years before it in 1994. This step was not only considerable, but done with such style, grace, and depth that it took the gaming world by storm. Even compared to its own successors, Metroid Prime shines as the best in the series. Its attempted refresh for inclusion in the Metroid Prime Trilogy unfortunately came at the loss of some of its more ambient effects, but the motion control does work quite well for the game. We’d suggest trying out both to find what you prefer the best first before choosing which edition to play. Anyways, here’s why this game shines as the brightest star of gaming from the last decade:
- Graphics that still rival most offerings on the Wii, and even comparable in quality (not polygons obviously) to many current generation PC/Xbox 360/PS3 shooters.
- A huge world to explore with many organic details inspired some of the longevity of other FPS games of the decade
- Little details and nuances (like Samus’ eyes reflecting in the visor) were all carefully considered and included
- Many collectibles and upgrades to make you tangibly notice your progress through the game
- Music was astounding and is still one of the best examples of prime (ha) game music composition
- All of the elements that were adored in the earlier Metroid games made a very smooth and clever transition to 3D
- Expanded the general universe and lore surrounding the Metroid series making all of the entries more meaningful
- 3D Samus without a helmet in the end if you played your cards right : D
So, those were the best games of the last decade, and if you’ve missed playing ANY of them, them you should be both pitied and shamed. Borrow someone’s GCN/PS2/Xbox and get your game on with these fantastic games already!!
Our shortlist of games for this Top 10 was actually 19 games long, so here are some Honourable Mentions for inclusion in the list and a couple short points as to why they also stood out this past decade:
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox, PS2, GCN, PC) (2005)
- Easily the best currently available Splinter Cell game
- Great splitscreen multiplayer
- Improved stealth and CQC mechanics over first game
Batman Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) (2009)
- Not only the first decent Batman game, but also a very good game
- Spectacular voice-work from 90’s Batman cartoon TV Series voice actors
- Great reimagining and portrayal of many classic Batman villains
Paper Mario (N64) (2001)
- At the time, the best Mario RPG since Mario RPG
- Innovative badge and dodge systems to keep the game active and customizable
- Impeccable art direction and great uses of the two-dimensional concept
Halo 2 (Xbox) (2004)
- Improved on the first Halo’s mechanics in every way
- Great multiplayer both on- and offline
- Such a considerable jump in graphics quality that Halo 3 didn’t look too much different
Gears of War (Xbox 360, PC) (2006)
- Graphics that most companies still only dream of creating
- A very unique and involving new franchise and world
- 2nd-person camera basically now an industry standard for cover-and-shoot 3rd-person shooters
LittleBigPlanet (PS3) (2008)
- Introduction of the Play, Create, Share game structure
- Supremely good level editing set-up
- Tons of personality and the only decent exclusive multiplayer PS3 game (just kidding, or am I?)
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) (2008)
- Ginormous, if somewhat barren, world to explore
- So many weapons, armors, and items that it’ll make you head spin
- Great story and gameplay, one of the only first-person games from which you could easily get 100 hours of gameplay
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) (2006)
- Lush, expansive, open world full of many characters and secrets
- Pioneered the mechanics for today’s first-person RPG games
- Lots of voice acting and expansions keep the world alive and fresh
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) (2005)
- Pushed the PS2 hardware to its absolute graphical limits
- Managed to be engaging being made of only boss battles
- Invokes a true sense of wonder, even today, as your tiny character glances up at the huge hairy beasts knowing you’re going to have to somehow take them down