A Decade Gone by – Best Games of the Decade
10.Unreal Tournament 2004
“Hostile process terminated. Witness my perfection!â€
Let us get this straight. Unreal Tournament 2004 is the pinnacle of twitch shooters. This is the best fast-paced shooter we have ever played and we don’t think there will ever be a game as awesome as UT2k4. To have such a wide array of weapons, game-changing power-ups, diverse modes, varied battlefields and yet keep the game expertly balanced…no one could have done it better than Epic studios. People advocate games like Counter Strike, Team Fortress and Quake being the best multiplayer experiences but Unreal Tournament 2004 takes the cake and the icing as well. Hearing someone pick up a weapon on the other side of the map, anticipating their route, performing a wall-dodge onto a lift jump and landing a sweet shock-combo to get a multi-kill…this is probably the closest we got to being a merciless predator. Whether playing a lone-wolf style 1 vs 1 deathmatch or a more tactical based Onslaught mode, Unreal Tournament 2004 never, ever, disappointed. To top it all off, the vast mod community has ensured that the game still lives on with new maps and mods releasing frequently even 6 years after release. Unreal Tournament 2004 is truly the king of multiplayer shooters.
9.Chorno Cross
“I will find you… even if I have to search the world over… sometime… somewhere… I’m sure.”
A lot of people may cry foul that we did not add a Final Fantasy game to the list. That would mean a lot of people may not have played Chrono Cross. Chrono Trigger was an amazing game, but that and Chrono Cross got lost in the Final Fantasy hype. Anyone who has played Chrono Cross will swear by its innovative battle system, gripping storyline and phenomenal music. It is one of those games which keeps you awake at night, even after you have completed it days before. The game succeeded not only at creating some of the best characters in gaming but also developing them throughout the length of the astounding campaign. And the visuals…oh the glorious visuals. Having Square Soft at the helm meant amazing art direction and a sublime story were a given. Chrono Cross has cemented itself has one of the best RPG experiences in history.
8.God of War
“And Kratos cast himself from the highest mountain in all of Greece. After ten years of suffering, ten years of endless nightmares, it would finally come to an end. Death…would be his escape…from madnessâ€
Creating a memorable character and successful franchise in a sequel-driven economy is a difficult task. This makes God of War an even bigger achievement as it came and blew our socks off. David Jaffe and his team embedded the story of Kratos in Greek mythology with such finesse that anyone new to the mythos scene can mistake it for the real thing. God of War was ahead of its time in graphics, gameplay and presentation. The game was expertly paced, balancing its deep, intense combat with intelligent puzzles. We cannot forget our first sighting of Ares stomping over a war-torn Athens or Kronos crawling in the desert of lost souls with Pandora’s temple tied to his back. The developers craved for nothing less than perfection in every aspect, and the result of this was a sublime, cinematic experience. The character of Kratos resonates with us in a weird way; he is the extension of the rage and fury that lies deep within all of us. God of War, people, is nothing less than a god among games.
7.Super Mario Galaxy
“It’s-a-me! Mario!â€
It’s quite a feat for a franchise to survive and persevere for almost 30 years. A certain Italian plumber, however, seems to have no problem doing so, and is still going strong. With Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo raised the bar from what you would expect from a platformer. Platformers these days are a dying breed, usually latching onto game mechanics from other genres to feel fresh but Super Mario Galaxy stays true to its roots and yet innovates on so many fronts. The variety and creativeness of the gameplay at show here is astounding. Mario games have always been about responsive controls and unadulterated fun; Super Mario Galaxy retains all of that and also is the first Mario game that we can label as ‘Epic’. 1982, 1996, 2007 or 2020…no matter what the year…Mario is here to stay.
6.Halo: Combat Evolved
“Halo? Well, I don’t care if it’s God’s own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant hoola hoop, we’re not gonna let them Covenant scum have it!â€
If there is any game that can be credited with single-handedly saving a video game console from doom and propelling it to new heights, its Halo. Halo reinvented the way we thought about first person shooters on consoles. The control scheme, regenerating shields, the holy trinity of grenades, guns and melee…all of these mechanics have become standard fare in so many of today’s shooters. Halo also introduced console gamers to sprawling lush environments which were a breath of fresh air, compared to the overused drab corridors. All this would be for nothing if the game didn’t boast amazing A.I. routines for the formidable enemies: The Covenant. Apart from the mesmerizing campaign, Halo also innovated on the console multiplayer front and arguably was the force behind Microsoft’s Xbox Live service. And while some may argue otherwise, Master Chief is without doubt, one of the most iconic video game characters of our generation. Take a bow Bungie. You have earned your place in video game history.
Next Page – The hand that we never left and slow motion pain
