The Ten Most Important Games of the Past Decade
by Shay Willard | Wednesday, December 30, 2009
PHOTO: video game night, invasion from space #1 on Flickr by gnackgnackgnack CC BY-NC
As we near the end of 2009, not too many sites out there have begun their best of lists for the past year—expect those in early 2010. For the time being, most organizations are filling their top ten quota by looking back on the last decade. Take a look at Destructoid’s Top 10 list of the 2000-2009 (or, if you’ve got a few spare minutes, you can check out their full Top 50 list or their Top 10 worst games list).
Eager to join in the opinion argument, I’ve compiled a top ten list (of sorts) of the most important games to grace our fingertips since 2000. Defining “important” is a bit tricky, so I’ve added a brief description to each game that defines it, in my mind, as an important moment in these last ten years of gaming history. Without further ado, Geek Force Five presents…
The Top 10 Most Important Games of the Past Decade!
10. Ratchet and Clank 2
In the 1990s, platforming made the jump to three dimensions. All too quickly, the formula became just that – formulaic. Instead of Mario or Donkey Kong traveling from the left side of the level to the right, he would travel from a hub world to extension worlds – and by collecting objects, like stars or bananas, he would open up new sections of the hub world. Between Mario, Donkey Kong, Banjo, and Crash, these 3d platformers were beginning to lose their sparkle. Then the Ratchet and Clank series appeared. By adding action elements from first person shooters (also known as guns), Insomniac was able to breathe life into the old “jump and collect” system. The series finally came into its own with the second installment, making the game play faster and adding the simple RPG elements of experience gathering weapons. The replay value was huge, the gameplay addictive, the world vast, and the humor humorous. The series got better and worse in many ways after, but this game paved the way for other games of a similar type—Jak 3, Metal Arms, and some other games that tried like Shadow the Hedgehog. Although none have done it quite as well as Ratchet, its influences can be seen in games from Borderlands to Mario Galaxy.
Ratchet and Clank 2, Going Commando, was developed by Insomniac Games in 2003.
9. Guitar Hero
Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the power Guitar Hero has held over our hearts the past 4 years. Giving birth to a brand new genre originally attempted by games like Parappa the Rappa and Space Channel 5, Guitar Hero took the rhythm formula and added the illusion of stardom by supplying the player with real songs and a more real rock experience. Who would have thought how satisfying five plastic buttons and a sideways trigger would feel? Satisfying enough to give birth to 5-7 sequels (depending on if you count 80s and Aerosmith), and to create two other franchises Rock Band and the new sleeper Band Hero—not to mention other knock offs like Donkey Kong Jungle Beats and Wii Music. These titles have opened up a whole new segment of the gamer populace—making gaming a more accessible hobby to those who are frightened away by men with large mustaches and blue hedgehogs.
Guitar Hero was developed by Neversoft and Harmonix in 2005.
8. Deus Ex
Deus Ex streamlined a genre that originated in System Shock 2 a year prior. Not to infer that System Shock 2 was a bad game, but it had certain elements to it that Deus Ex widdled down and made more accessible to gamers. Removing a complicated leveling system and adding one slightly more sensible, Deus Ex combined fast paced, tight first person play with well rounded role playing elements to create a new, easy to enjoy experience. Combined with the excellent writing and customizable arsenal, Deus Ex was a nearly perfect game that started a new type, reiterated in new classics like Bioshock, Borderlands, Fallout 3, and Call of Duty 4.
Deus Ex was developed by Ion Storm in 2000.
7. Bioshock
Since Deus Ex, many games tried to relive the glory—including its unfortunate sequel—but very few succeeded in creating the same kind of experience. Bioshock used a similar formula—albeit a bit watered down (pardon the pun)—and created an even more realistic, immersive world that had no choice but the submerge you in a plot line so intense, you continued to play simply to answer one question—“What the hell happened here?” It also breathed life into a genre filled by repetitive war games and sequels—giving hope to a future of far better games that will try to add a little spice to the meal – philosophy.
Bioshock was developed by 2k games in 2007.
6. Wii Sports
These next two items on the list fall under the category of “really important” for no other reason than their effect on the general populace outside of the typical gaming community. The reason I pick Wii Sports is because of its representation of the new Wii generation as a whole. We all know the family that bought the Wii and a few extra controllers and stopped there—spending their days only playing Wii Sports, thinking its the best thing ever. Mention something like Mad World or No More Heroes to them and they think you’re talking about James Bond movies. Wii Sports is a fun party game, sure, but a lot of casual gamers out there don’t know much about the Wii world outside of the release title. Despite my misgivings for this group of people, they are nevertheless a new and important member of the gaming community—folks that are once successful motion peripheral away from becoming more active gamers.
Wii Sports was developed by Nintendo in 2006.
5. Bejeweled
Pop Cap games reached a new casual audience with their yearly installments of puzzle games—and bejeweled started it all. A simple color matching game that launched a thousand ships—the monopoly of Pop Cap over the casual market, and the starter of games that played off the formula—Bejeweled Twist, the Puzzle Quest series, and this year’s Gyromancer. Pop Cap games has proven time and time again at its ability to create addictive, appealing simple games that everyone can play—and afford to play. But as many online critics have said, and I agree, developers like Pop Cap make too much money—and the casual gaming market represents a huge chunk of change. The gaming industry is just that—an industry: a profit seeking entity. The fear that games like Bejeweled represent is that the industry may soon spend too much of its time making fluff games and not enough time making core, artistic games.
Bejeweled was developed by Pop Cap games in 2001.
4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Replublic
KoToR, also like many other games on this list, was chosen because of how it ushered in a new mechanic—namely, the ability to make moral decisions and have it actively effect not only the plot line but also the gameplay. In addition, KoToR also proved to us that it is possible to make a licensed game well—a fact uncertain at the time. Even now it is a rarity. KoToR was also the first very successful game by Bioware—giving it the money and name it needed to make such renowned games as Jade Empire and Mass Effect—games that utilized the same moral system as KoToR. It influenced other great games like Bioshock, Prototype, and Fable.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was developed by Bioware in 2003.
3. Portal
In addition to the subtle humor and mysterious plot line, Portal continued Valve’s steady production of innovative games. Let’s talk about deceptively simple, family-friendly game play! Even though it doesn’t have any obvious influences in contemporary games since its release, it introduced the gamer populace to several memes that will live in infamy—“The Cake is a Lie,” The Weighted Companion Cube, and that catchy song that some other silly games try very hard to copy—like Pop Cap’s Plants vs. Zombies. I personally hope that Portal begins a new trend in gaming—namely, short games that have a vast amount of time invested in the polish and therefore shine brightly.
Portal was developed by Valve in 2007.
2. Halo
The influences that Halo has over current first person shooters is undeniable—the simplification of the genre had its roots in Bungie’s early title. While games like Deus Ex and Bioshock are doing their best to complicate gameplay, Halo and its sequels continue to make the games easier to handle—by introducing life regeneration (which is in practically every action game now, including Gears of War and, sadly, the upcoming Deus Ex 3) and decreasing the total arsenal at any given time to two guns (see this year’s Call of Juarez, which now that you mention it, also uses regenerating health). Halo also achieved something that so many other games had failed to do—balancing the weapons. Every weapon had an equal drawback to it, so even with the lack of character customization, each player could still develop their own unique play type.
Halo was developed by Bungie in 2001
1. Grand Theft Auto 3
We’ve all played it, or at the very least seen it played. If you haven’t, then you’ve heard of it. As much as the game is important because of its mastery of open world gameplay and excellent combination of driving and shooting that influenced tons of games to follow, GTA3 makes the top of the list because of one simple word: controversy. GTA3 shoved the gaming culture into the limelight and began to make mainstream people question gamers, and the gaming industry in general. Many people who had never even heard of video games before suddenly thought all of them were about killing hookers and stealing money. GTA3 made gamers need to defend their hobby, and in some cases feel embarrassed—for no good reason. Given violent standards today, GTA3 is tame. But this game is still one of the mostly widely known games out there—and most of the people who know about it have never even played it.
Grand Theft Auto 3 was developed by Rockstar Games in 2001.
Honorable Mentions
There were some games I wanted to include in the list but couldn’t find enough justification for them, so instead I put them here.
Call of Duty Four (Infinity Ward: 2007)
I personally have never seen the appeal of the game, but everyone else likes it so someone must have done something right somewhere.
World of Warcraft (Blizzard: 2005)
I actually wanted to put Everquest on the list, because they defined and set the standards for MMoRPGs, but Everquest was made in 1999 so didn’t fit the requirements. World of Warcraft is, however, the most popular MMoRPG out there right now, so they deserve a mention.
Shadow of the Colossus (Team Ico: 2005)
Simply put, this was one of the greatest games of the past decade if not the best. Sadly, it was so original unto itself that I can’t think of any reason to put it on the list other than “it was really good.” It hasn’t had any great influences and isn’t all that famous. Trust me, I’d rather have this on the list than Bejeweled.
God of War (SCE Studios: 2005)
Much like the above title, God of War was good. Great. Awesome. It also introduced the famous “button mashing sequences” to the world and was the most violent game ever created at the time of its release. Sadly, its influence over other games has not been a positive one—those button mashing sequences got old really quickly.
Think of some other games that had a huge effect on the industry or out culture produced in the last 10 years? Let us know in the comments below!
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