A Decade Gone by – Best Games of the Decade
15.Resident Evil
“Writhe in my cage of torment, my friend. Hasta Leugo!â€
Resident Evil has been a household name in the survival horror genre for quite sometime now. Although the games saw a downhill ride thanks to its awkward camera angles and its fan following was declining at a rapid speed. Capcom finally took hold of the situation and that’s when Resident Evil 4 came into the picture.
Doing away completely with the set camera angles and introducing a Behind the Shoulder view which followed Leon(our hero) everywhere he went in a fully 3D world to explore. Resident Evil 4 was a completely new avatar of the series. It was a lot more fun to play, offered you with plenty of “ZOMG that’s scary†moments thanks to its innovative camera angle and was also not short of variety. Resident Evil 4 is as close to perfecting the survival horror genre as any game could go and hence it has earned a well-deserved spot in our GOTD list.
14.Company of Heroes
“We’re being sent on a coffee and donut run. Only problem is that the Nazis drank all the coffee and donuts and now we gotta go beat the shit out of them.”
We thought that we had enough of the Nazi killing, WW2 games after the barrage of countless games depicting the period. Well, we thought wrong. With Company of Heroes, Relic took their rightful place next to RTS greats Blizzard and Ensemble. Detailed graphics, slick presentation and Relic’s unique take on the genre helped Company of Heroes breathe new life into the degrading RTS genre. With very little resource management and heavy emphasis on the strategic action, we ended up with a game that was the closest possible thing to a real war. Making the units use the terrain as cover, executing covering fire and flanking the enemy, destroying buildings to reveal hidden enemies; Company of Heroes was a revolution. The game was no slouch on the multiplayer front as well. Frenetic battles played out like a digital rendition of tug of war; anything could happen at any given time. Hats off to Relic, for giving us pure gold.
13.Demon’s Souls
“Boletaria has one final hope. A lone warrior has braved the baneful fog. Has the land found its savior, or have the demons found a new slave?â€
Being the most recent game on the list is a testament to the brilliance of Demon’s Souls in itself. From Software’s engrossing action RPG came out of nowhere and caught us all by surprise. In a day and age where games are constantly becoming easier and more accessible, Demon’s Souls felt like a time capsule back to the days of the golden age of 8-bit games. While for many games, being extremely hard can be their downfall; Demon’s Souls embraced the difficulty and made it a reason we kept going back to the dreary world of Boletaria. The game never felt cheap or frustrating…what it did was present us with insurmountable odds to overcome, making it that much more satisfying when we finally did kill a boss or got past what earlier seemed like an impossible area. Of course, at its heart Demon’s Souls is a single player RPG, but the developers incorporated online functionality so well, that we can’t think of playing it any other way. Leaving helpful or mischievous notes on the ground for other players to read, watching someone’s death reel, calling in other players to help you out or invading someone’s world to slay them and regain your body…why didn’t anyone else think about all these wonderful features before? To put in simple words, Demon’s Souls is a game that dared to do something out of the box and hence deserves the acclaim.
12.Gran Turismo 3-A-Spec
“The Real Driving Simulatorâ€
Like the PS3, the PS2 too had teething problems early on and a somewhat mediocre launch line-up. Then in 2001, Gran Turismo 3-A Spec kicked in the door and silenced critics by showing the world what Sony’s powerhouse was truly capable of. It was for the PS2 what MGS4 was for the PS3 – the first real system seller; the first killer app. You didn’t have to be a fan of racing sims to appreciate what GT3 brought to the table. Jaw dropping visuals are a given with Gran Turismo games these days, but back then, it was sensational and unlike anything else on the market. Beyond the out-of-this-world visuals however, Gran Turismo 3-A Spec was a racing sim unlike any other. Although the number of cars saw a drastic drop to 150 from over 600 in GT2, each of those 150 were accurately modelled down to the finer details and each of them sounded and handled differently. It was unheard of and it brought a completely new challenge to racing games. So good was Gran Turismo 3, that its successor, which came a full four years later, was only barely able to improve upon it. Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since 2001, but no game has managed to influence the racing genre the way Gran Turismo 3-A Spec did. It is not only one of the most defining games of the decade, but the greatest racing game ever made.
11.Metroid Prime
“Evil must be exterminated. But first it must be found.â€
Re-inventing a classic franchise that was so near and dear to all gamers meant that Retro studios had its task cut out for them. Not only was the 2D side scrolling Metroid making the jump to 3D, but also changing genres into something no one saw coming – First Person Shooter. While we didn’t think so at first, we soon realized that Metroid Prime was at its heart a Metroid game, through and through. The perspective may have changed, but the exploration elements, puzzle solving and platforming were intact and the FPS perspective view helped add another layer of gameplay. Retro Studios did well to gel great art design with good technology to make Metroid Prime look as good as the PC shooters of its time. The fog on the visor, water dripping down the gun or the reflection of Samus Aran’s face on the visor during an explosion; it were these little details that set Metroid Prime apart from its peers. Nintendo took a lot of flak when they first showed Metroid Prime to the public. However, on release, there was no doubt about it – Metroid Prime was one of the best games ever made.
Next Page-Two spartans, Mister Crow and an old friend
