10. Guitar Hero
Playing Guitar Hero for the first time was a revelatory experience. It represented an amazing new way to interact with games thanks to its use of the guitar peripheral.
Guitar Hero didn’t just change the games industry; it had a major impact on music too and has proven itself as a great way for people to learn of new bands. While the original Guitar Hero mostly used cover versions of songs, now artists regularly launch albums through Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5 and find they can make more revenue through downloads than from CD sales.
Guitar Hero was the vanguard for the decade’s trend towards social gaming. By appealing to people’s universal love of music is succeeded in appealing to a market that normally wouldn’t even consider playing a video game.
9. Super Mario Galaxy
Even since it’s reveal the Wii has faced harsh cynicism from gamers who see Nintendo’s pursuit of a broader audience as a betrayal of the core gamers who supported them through the troubled N64 and Gamecube eras. Super Mario Galaxy proved that the classic game design that has made Nintendo so revered amongst gamers lives on.
Galaxy takes the pitch-perfect mechanics that have become synonymous with Mario and moves them into space where traditional concepts such as gravity can be jettisoned freely. It’s a game of prodigious imagination, colour and variety. Sometimes you’ll be upside-down, sometimes you’ll be flying through space but you’ll always be in control. Every level is unique and unpredictable. This is traditional gaming at its best, the way only Nintendo could do it.
8. Half-Life 2
The original Half-Life redefined video game narrative by telling a compelling story without ever breaking from the first person perspective of silent hero Gordon Freeman. Half-Life 2 built on that by introducing more complex, credible characters for you to interact with, particularly Alyx, one of the most convincing digital actors yet seen.
Half-Life 2 didn’t just push the boundaries of story telling in games. With the Gravity Gun it also played a huge part in establishing the potential of physics-based interactions. As soon as you pick it up every object in the world becomes a tool to be manipulated. Out of ammo? Grab a detached radiator, plank, toilet or anything else that isn’t nailed down to shield yourself then blast it at your Combine enemies. Its versatility is unrivalled. They even use it to implement some ingenious puzzles.
Valve also saw fit to revolutionise the distribution model of games through Half-Life 2’s episodic content. Although each episode ultimately took ( a lot ) longer than the originally intended six months, Valve can still be credited with popularizing the idea of releasing smaller chunks of content more regularly. A concept that is more relevant now than ever before as DLC and subscription-based models become more widespread.
7. Final Fantasy XII
When Yasumi Matsuno took over directorial duties on Final fantasy XII he dared to redefine one of the most recognisable series’ in all of gaming. He cast aside the ageing traditions of the Japanese Role Playing Game and by skilfully weaving elements of western RPG and MMO design into a new battle system created a hybrid that was revolutionary but perhaps too iconoclastic for some. Those who approached it with an open mind discovered a nuanced system which did away with much of the busy-work inherent in the genre.
By programming your characters reactions to the circumstances of battle through a simple scripting system you could program the game to handle most battle scenarios but the option to take over full control of your party was always there when the situation required it.
The plot was also a refreshing change for the Final Fantasy series. Moving away from inter-personal drama, which had become the norm in the post-FFVII era of the series, XII focused on complex political intrigue between warring nations. Although, the plot and design were compromised from Matsuno’s original vision – Vaan replaced Balthier as the lead at the behest of Square-Enix management – FFXII stands out as radically original instalment in the Final Fantasy series.
6. Shadow of the Colossus
Few games challenge the player to question their actions. As you ride across the game’s vast plains, following the beam of light that leads to the next colossus, it’s hard not to wonder who the real villain is. Can it be justified to kill the seemingly peaceful colossi in order to revive someone you love? Shadow of the Colossus doesn’t try to answer that question, instead it allows the players to reach their own conclusions.
The battles themselves are the highpoint of the game. Each one is a unique combination of organic terrain puzzle and brutal combat. A beautiful score builds and releases with the pace of the action as you scale the incredible behemoths in search of their weak points. The victories feel hollow, more likely to elicit guilt than satisfaction but that’s part of what makes Shadow of the Colossus so special.
The ageing hardware of the PS2 at times struggled to keep up with the immense scale of the game but the brilliance of its vision was clear. Shadow of the Colossus presents one of the strongest cases for games as an art form.
5. Deus Ex
Building on the foundation laid down by earlier FPS/RPG hybrids such as System Shock, Deus Ex offered an unprecedented amount of freedom to the player. It was one of the first games to truly allow the player to choose how to progress based on their own personality.
There were multiple ways to achieve every objective. You could focus on sheer force, putting your skill points in guns and explosives, and fight your way through or you could rely on stealth and move through the shadows without resorting to violence.
A complex conspiracy story inspired by the likes of “The X-Files” and a huge cast of interesting characters completed the package making Deus Ex one of the most compelling adventures of the 21st century.
4. Resident Evil 4
Capcom took a major risk with Resident Evil 4, completely throwing out the series’ ageing gameplay and rebuilding it from scratch. It paid off and everyone immediately knew that RE4 was something special.
Replacing the archaic tank-controls with an over-the-shoulder perspective made for a more action-orientated adventure with scares coming less from atmosphere and more from huge monsters like El Gigante.
RE4 is also largely responsible for the massive resurgence of quick-time events in games this decade, feeling fresh at the time, they offered a way to make complex action scenes interactive. RE4 redefined the action game. Its influence can be felt in everything that came after, most notably in games like Gears of War and Dead Space.
3. Silent Hill 2
It doesn’t play like a great game; the movement is clunky, the combat is awkward, and the camera often gets in the way of the action. But despite these flaws, Silent Hill 2 is an unforgettable journey that transcends its mechanical failings.
The story of James Sunderland’s visit to the quiet fog-ridden town of Silent Hill in search of a wife he had thought long dead is one of the most powerful ever told in a game. Every element of this masterpiece has been carefully designed to create an incredibly cohesive experience; from the disturbing imagery of the alternate Silent Hill, to the hauntingly beautiful score by Akira Yamaoka and the monsters manifested from the secret desires of James’s psyche. Silent Hill 2 is a shining example of how to use all the tools of the interactive medium to tell a nuanced tragedy.
2. Grand Theft Auto 3
No one game this decade has impacted the games industry as significantly as Rockstar did with Grand Theft Auto 3. It defined the now ubiquitous sandbox genre and gave rise to a parade of imitators and it broke new ground by showing that an engaging story could be told in a non-linear fashion.
Of the countless open-world games that followed, few could match Rockstar’s relentless attention to detail, just about anything you could think do in GTA3 from stealing ambulances and fire trucks to picking up hookers was rewarded and experimentation with emergent gameplay was encouraged.
GTA3 also pioneered the use of licensed soundtracks through its radio stations. Their edgy, satirical sense of humour drew extensively from pop culture and GTA quickly entered the pop culture lexicon itself, reaching the mainstream consciousness in a way that no game had done before.
1. Metal Gear Solid 3
After questioning the nature of society and the self in Metal Gear Solid 2, Kojima decided to tell a more personal tale with MGS3. Exploring the events that turned a loyal soldier into the villainous mercenary leader known as Big Boss, we are introduced to The Boss, a legendary US military leader, and the maternal relationship she shares with Snake. Believing the Boss to have betrayed the US, Snake is sent to the jungles of Russia to stop her and her private squad, the Cobra Unit.
It’s not lacking Kojima Productions’ usual attention to detail, from the many ways to defeat The End to capturing rare mythological animals or listening to lengthy conversations about early James Bond movies there’s always more to see. The pace changes confidently throughout, going from the slow measured progress of stealth to the frenetic action of encounters with the Cobra Unit and reaching a climax with a fantastic motorbike chase before slowing down for the denouement.
It’s funny, thought provoking, poignant and always fun to play. It’s a masterpiece of art and science, combining fluid writing and excellent characters with varied and refined gameplay and a hint of post-modernism. It’s a complete and almost perfect experience.