In The Year 2000….Liugeaux’s Top 10 of the Decade

We are 10 years into the new millennium and I don’t have hoover boards, flying cars, or food in pill form, but what we do have are some kick ass games to play.  I’ve compiled a list of my top 10 games of 2000-2009.  Now before throwing the inevitable “How can you exclude game x?”, remember that I am only one man and can only play so many games.  The games I’m listing here are games that have either had a profound impact on my gaming habits, consumed ridiculous amounts of my life or left an imprint so strong they cannot go unmentioned.  Let’s see what I’ve chosen.
10. Burnout Paradise
Burnout has always been the critics favorite arcade-style racing game, but never sold as well as it’s EA stablemate Need For Speed (probably because of the licensed cars). Paradise brings much needed open world gameplay to the series and its year’s worth of DLC updates makes it a compelling purchase to this day. It’s seemingly never-ending list of online content is what made it the the only racing game to get my attention in almost a decade.

9. Bioshock
I have gushed about Bioshock before, and with good reason. Bioshock’s gameplay may not be perfect, but what it lacks is more than made up for in the story, atmosphere, and characters. To this day, Bioshock’s plot twist is something that I refuse to spoil for anyone and it holds the distinction of being one of the games I simply could not put down.

8. Metroid Prime Trilogy
I know that put the “trilogy” on this list is a kinda cheating, but I felt that I had to put one of the Prime games on the list, so why not make it the best package. My purchase of Metroid Prime was done as “why not” purchase. The game was $4.99 and I had run out of games to play. I wasn’t playing FPSs and I wasn’t too familiar with Metroid. By the time I was done, I found myself wanting to play more FPSs and being disappointed with many that I would pick up and play later.  As good as the original Gamecube titles were, I highly recommend you pick up the full proper experience and grab the Trilogy. The point and shot controls are near perfect and you get all three fantastic games.

7. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2 is the newest game on my list, but its no less deserving than any other. By blending cinema quality cut scenes with an extremely solid single player campaign, Uncharted creates an experience that is more like an interactive movie than a video game. Its big in scale, with action set pieces that Indiana Jones, John McClane and Jason Bourne would kill for. So far its one of the only games that has proven that the PS3 has significantly more horsepower than its competitors.

6. Super Mario Galaxy
As almost a joke, the idea of Super Mario Galaxy, seemed ludicrous. It was almost like Miyamoto said, “we’re out of ideas, let’s send his ass to space.” What came of this decision is the most engaging Mario adventure since Super Mario 64. Adding almost a 4th dimension to the adventure, Galaxy’s puzzles and gameplay mechanics are truly revolutionary and left me blown away.

5. Shadow of the Colossus
Team Ico’s second outing on the PS2, was one of the most interesting games ever released and truly a marvel for its time period.  Released towards the end of the PS2’s hey day Shadow, threw all gaming conventions out the window and gave players exactly what they wanted, Boss Fights. As simply a series of elaborately well orchestrated puzzle-like boss fights your character, Wander, must find the weakness of each colossus in the game and exploit it to defeat it. This combined with a brilliant art style and hauntingly vague story makes Shadow an absolute must-play on the PS2.

4. The Orange Box
Again, I’m kind of cheating by putting The Orange Box in this list, but its inclusion is more of a symbol for the roll that Value has had in gaming since the turn of the century. With the release nearly half a dozen critically acclaimed and eqaully fantatic games (many of which are included in The Orange Box) Valve has cemented themselves as one of the few publishers that can find success on the PC, and with the advent of Steam, Valve has revolutionize digital distribution and helped numerous smaller developers become overnight hits. Oh, and on top of that, The Orange Box is hands down the Best Deal in Gaming History.

3. Super Smash Bros. Melee
Two Smash Bros games were released in the past ten years, but only one kept my attention for a solid five of those, and that would be Melee. Melee is easily one of the most balanced fighting games to ever be released and its equally as exciting as it is pure fan service. Even if you are not that good at it, buying SSBM is still a good idea for all Nintendo-philes.

2. Lumines 2
Not since Dr. Mario, and Tetris has a pure puzzle game been so effective at destroying my time. Lumines 2 improved on much of the problems that Lumines had and took the puzzle genre on a much needed acid trip. Its deceptively simple gameplay, mixed with music and atmosphere creates an experience that even after sinking 60+ hours into it I regret not having played more. To this day Lumines 2 is the only PSP game I take on every single road trip.

1. Rock Band 2
What can I say about Harmonix and Rock Band 2 that I haven’t already said. As the creators of Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution, Harmonix had already established themselves as the leading rhythm game developer, but Rock Band and its infinitely improved sequel combined everything they have learned and brought the genre to levels not previously seen. So much so, that even with RB2 being over a year old, their competitors, with 6 games released since RB2, haven’t even come close to eclipsing the sheer quality of the Rock Band product.

I know that the last one there was pretty predictable, but again, this is my list. I encourage anyone else to share their 10 below and lets start a new decade with some strong titles. Tony Hawk Ride, we’ll try to forget about you…okay.