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[TheSpaceBetween]

The list was step one for me, which took a long time. I'll update it with my thoughts later, which will also take a long time .

1. Metroid Prime ; Metroid Prime is the greatest game of the sixth generation and the greatest video game of all time. It's a funny thing... Before Prime I never had an affinity for the series. I had played and got pretty far in each of the three games that preceded it but never beat them. For some reason, I had a curiosity about Metroid Prime. I knew it had been a long time since the last Metroid game and my older brother informed me that it would be in first person. I think the fact that it was in first person is what made me curious about it. At that time, I didn't frequent video game sites on the internet so I had no idea it was being made by a Western developer, and had no idea that it was made amongst Retro Studios' troubled beginnings. All I know is that when I finally did get it for Christmas in 2002, it blew me away. It opened my imagination to what games could be. Every aspect of the game was perfect. The game was absolutely DRIPPING with beautiful graphics, and oozing out weird ambient and technoindustrial tunes and sound effects that hit all the right spots in my brain. It played like a dream with it's incredible level design and mechanics, awesome boss battles and mysterious explorations. The story was nonintrusive and let me learn about things at my own pace. It was hard too. I could go on and on in praise, but that might take all day. I think the amazing thing is that Metroid Prime really didn't do anything new. But at the same time, it seemed like a game from the future, way ahead of it's time. The reason it's so great is simply in it's design. Everything is designed perfectly and impeccably with painstaking attention to detail. This kind of game can only be designed by people who love video games. Retro Studios seem to make video games just for me. Everything I love about games is expressed through their work, whether it's Metroid or Donkey Kong. I will never forget my first experience with Metroid Prime, my favorite of all time.

2. God of War ; I've always been a huge fan of Greek Mythology, so I was ecstatic when I finally got to play God of War. David Jaffe was one of my favorite Western developers thanks to Twisted Metal 2, and he absolutely delivered the goods with God of War. Much like Metroid Prime, God of War didn't really do anything new, but everything it did do it did damn well. People like to categorize, but God of War is hard to define. At it's core it is a hack'n'slash action game, but it is so much more. There is a grand scale to every aspect of it's design, from the bosses to the locations to the story, you really get the feeling of going on an adventure. Epic music and some of the best art direction in the industry make it an audiovisual feast, and add a mysterious and absolutely fantastic atmosphere. What most separates God of War from games like Ninja Gaiden and Bayonetta is the level design. Where in the latter two games levels are basically just places for you to fight the next wave of enemies, God of War's levels are oftentimes directly integrated into the gameplay. There are all sorts of traps that are coming into play that make each combat sequence unique. Kratos can swim, he can climb, he can swing, he can balance, and he can perform all sorts of contextual actions to solve various puzzles. That the game expands beyond traditional hack'n'slash design allows the game to have fantastic pacing, always changing things up to keep the player engaged. And then there is the character of Kratos himself. Love him or hate him, he fits the game/series to a tee. Especially in this game, he was definitely a character I was compelled to play as, blurring the line between hero and villain. It's a shame that it was shunned by gaming media in the 2005 game awards for Resident Evil 4. It is easily up there with RE4 in terms of design, creativity, and originality. It is one of my favorite games of all time and I can't wait for GOW 4.
3. Resident Evil Remake ;
4. Mario Kart: Double Dash ;
5. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal ;
6. Okami ;
7. Killer7 ;
8. Silent Hill 4: The Room
9. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door ;
10. Half-Life 2 ;


Honorable Mentions I REALLY wish I could have put in my list:

x. Resident Evil 4 ;
x. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ;
x. Metroid Fusion ;
x. God of War II ;
x. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ;
x. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando ;
x. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty ;

 

[Floridian]

Looks like it's gonna be a tight race between RE4 and MGS3 for GOTG.

I could see SSB:Melee getting a top 3 spot.

 

[ForsakenLotus]

Hey Ani, is there a chance we will get a compatiblity score similar to GOTY threads? I'd like to know if I have a bestie on GAF

 

[Tailzo]

1. Shenmue ; More than a game for me. It was the first time I felt as strongly about the world, characters and I felt like a part of Dobuita. Excellent music too.
2. Shenmue 2 ; The japanese voicetrack was a welcome change, and the game was huge! I still want the sequel, and I truly miss Ren, Joy, Ryo and the rest of the characters.
3. Skies of Arkafia ; Joyful and colorful exploration and a happy tone was a fresh experience among more serious rpgs.
4. Suikoden 3 ; Several playable characters, awesome music and a really interesting story had me hooked.
5. Phantasy Star Online ; My first experience with an online rpg. It was so nice to play 4 player and leveling both yourself and your MAG.
6. Final Fantasy XII ; I liked Ivalice and the setting was nice. Only downside was the awful Vaan.
7. Suikoden 5 ; After the dissapointing 4, I was so happy with this one. Nice story and 108 stars to find.
8. Shadow Hearts Convenant ; The ring added suspense to the combat and I liked the main characters.
9. Baten Kaitos ; Prerendered gorgeous art with a nice battle system made me like it despite the main character.
10. Grandia 2 ; Awesome fighting system with addicting battles made it a classic in
my opinion.

x. Animal Crossing ; I got up early to play, and was excited for mundane tasks. Magic!
x. Seaman ; I want another game where I talk to my fish.

 

[AniHawk]

Hey Ani, is there a chance we will get a compatiblity score similar to GOTY threads? I'd like to know if I have a bestie on GAF

i will talk to cheesemeister about using parser for that. that's one thing i am really interested in seeing too.

 

[Lernaean]

Best gen ever for me, so let's do it.

1. Resident Evil 4 ; Also known as the GoAT. Little can be said that i, and many others here, haven't already said. It rejuvenated an entire series, it renovated entire genres, not just one, it had the best pacing, the best content in both quality and quantity. Imo, no game has surpassed the mastery of this one. It still is the GoAT and i can't imagine how good the game that beats it is gonna be. Also the only game that is a perfect 10/10 for me. I can't say that for any other game. Perfection.

2. Resident Evil (Remake) ; It's been debated a million times, and i always give the same answer. RE4 is the GoAT, but REmake is the best RE.
It took the masterpiece that was Resident Evil originally, created the most stunning visuals at the time, and actually still looks amazing as the recent remaster has proven, then added a few tweaks and additions, and created the best RE game to date. No RE will ever be better than this one. This is Mikami's mastery distilled, and only close second to RE4 as one of the best games i ever played.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; I always consider this one and MGS2 equally good, so i put MGS3 in the third place just because of Big Boss and out of hype for BB's upcoming game. Also i thought that Outer GAF could torture me if i had it under MGS2. What can i say about this game. I am a MGS fan, no doubt about it, but MGS3 is very special to me. Maybe because it was my first time seeing the world through the eyes of BB, maybe because of how much freedom the game seemed to be giving you for the time. I was hooked. But as i said, it shares a piece of my heart with another game, which brings us to...

4. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty ; Yeah this too. Best MGS for some, hated by others, because it tricked them concerning the protagonist, MGS2 is also a favorite of mine. It was spectacular for its time, the level design was the best I've seen in any game, expansive enough, but completely rid of all the fat and bone. You had the fillet, exactly what was needed, designed with amazing precision, and a story that sounded too deep for my young mind. I was in love with that game, and still am.
For the record, both MGS2 and 3, are still seeing regular play thanks to Vita and the MGS HD Collection. Amazing games.

5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; It was a funny time then. People were frothing from their mouth, unable to comprehend how Nintendo betrayed them so severely releasing this abomination, which was anathema to the LoZ series. And there i was, i fell in love with it from the first time i saw it. Its vibrant palette, the subtle but so expressive animation, the feeling of the bright sun and the ocean spray, in this living, breathing, interactive cartoon. I know how good it is, and i know what's the general consensus about this game is, especially in comparison to the big guns of the series, like OoT, but I'll say it. WW is my favorite Zelda and I'm very glad that, first and foremost, after all these years, a lot of people realized how good it is and express it, and secondly that it is the game that Nintendo decided to make an HD remaster for. An all times classic.

6. Ikaruga ; An arcade game in the top10 GoTG list. Bloody hell, i haven't checked, but i wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only one that put it on that list. You know, me and this game have a history. First i played it in the arcades, and i was getting my ass handed to me, but i kept going back every day, like an addict. Then i bought a Japanese DC for it, and between DC and arcade, i actually got good in it, and then i couldn't stop playing.
I also hunted too much for it, and was literally hoarding it. The treasure (pun intended?) vault now contains 2 DC copies, one sealed. 2 GC copies, one Japanese, sealed, and two years of savings to make my own Ikaruga NAOMI cab, and that's only from the gaming side of things, with various merch in my collection. I still am an addict, and i play now and then on Steam, but i suck hard these days. Hell, good times.

7. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne ; Well i have a soft spot for SMT. I'm not really deep into JRPGs, i like very few, but these few i like, i love them. And no JRPG series do i love more than SMT. Little to say here. Nocturne is my favorite SMT game still. Can it be surpassed? Sure it can. But it still is the best and for the time it was phenomenal.

8. Metroid Prime ; What a shock it was back then. Playing one of my favorite series and it was looking so lifelike. The environments, the enemy design, the sound direction and soundtrack. You really felt like you were alone in a hostile environment, and it felt so good. We need that new RETRO Metroid asap.

9. F-ZERO GX ; I'm not into racers, there i said it. And still this is one of my favorite racers of all time, maybe my favorite. A relic from a time when Sega still mattered. Still playing it now and then, it makes me feel so sad about how things turned, but so grateful games like this exist.

10. REZ ; A prime example of game experimentation that Sega was so good at during the NAOMI/DC era. Just a rail shooter to some, one of the most important and generation defining games for me, if only for its presentation. I wish Sega cared to make a Steam port of this game.
If you have an active XBOX360 and you don't have this game... why are you still reading? GO!

Honorable Mentions:

x. Shenmue ; A grand adventure, one of the most important games of that gen, and a real shame it was so much overlooked back then. I highly doubt a third entry would mean anything today, not with all the games of its kind existing out there, but back then it looked almost impossible that such a game existed.

x. Cosmic Smash ; Another reason i got this Japanese DC, and another great experimental Sega game. Actually, for a while now, i was thinking that my next project will be a working Cosmic Smash NAOMI cab. Wish me luck (and some fast cash).

x. Jet Set Radio ; The Sega craze continues. Excellent game i spent countless of hours with. Also its sequel is worthy of note too. Another great series that died along with Sega. A damn shame.

x. Luigi's Mansion ; For some reason i was extremely deep into this game for a while. I loved the new series of troubles the mascots got themselves into and i firmly believe that the series deserve a decent new console entry.

x. Panzer Dragoon Orta ; I love all PD games, so naturally this one is worth a mention. Another great series that died along with Sega. At least i got my time in this world with it.

x. Devil May Cry 3 ; I already liked the series, i already was into the genre, but DMC3 is the game that made a fan out of me. A fan that still believes.
Just because a couple of people i know may rip me apart for not having it in the top10, I'm sorry, but the series and genre in general became mechanically mature to me during DMC4. Not having a game in your top10 in a gen as big as this one, does not mean it's not good enough though.

 

[Bass260]

Looks like it's gonna be a tight race between RE4 and MGS3 for GOTG.

I think the top 4/5 will end up:

Resident Evil 4
Metal Gear Solid 3
Super Smash Bros Melee
Metroid Prime
Half-Life 2

Judging by ballots so far. Wind Waker could be high up too.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

Are you going to count Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black as separate games?, How are you going to deal with Director's cut editions and things like that? I'll alter my list (that I haven't written) depending on how you are going to deal with those cases.

 

[Camwi]

Are you going to count Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black as separate games?, How are you going to deal with Director's cut editions and things like that? I'll alter my list (that I haven't written) depending on how you are going to deal with those cases.

I was wondering this as well. Those Ninja Gaidens are practically the same, and Sigma is not far off.

 

[Scotch]

Is Counter-Strike eligible? Its beta release was in 1999, but the first retail release by Valve was in 2000.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

I was wondering this as well. Those Ninja Gaidens are practically the same, and Sigma is not far off.

It's a difficult topic because there are some editions that include improved graphics (like NG Black) but then you have cases like Persona 3 and P3: FES, the latter includes a whole new chapter and adds some changes that improve world exploration... I still believe P3: FES and Persona 3 should be counted as the same game though...

 

[Rapscallion]

10. Resident Evil 4 ; Still arguably the best Resident Evil game out there. Strayed away from a lot of things that held me back from getting into previous resident evil games.

9. Star Wars Battlefront 2 ; Probably the worst designed game on my list, but I still love it. I've yet to play a game that is as fun as SWBF2 online. It's an absolute blast.

8. Smash Brothers Melee; The game on my list that I've played the most. It's just one of the most solid and fun party and fighting games of all time.

7. Shadow of the Colossus ; A great game with a great sense of adventure and scope. Unlike anything else out there.

6. Okami ; The closest a franchise can get to Zelda levels of quality.

5. LOZ: Wind Waker ; A beautiful experience from start to finish. Maybe not the best 3d zelda, but still an amazing game.

4. Persona 4; One of the best RPGs of all time with an amazing cast of characters.

3. Paper Mario 2; This one is the game I look back on the most. The game is just so inventive, silly, and fun that I just love it.

2. Kingdom Hearts 2; The perfect sequel; it took everything KH1 did well and expanded upon it.

1. Shenmue 2; Just an amazing game and franchise. I can't really put into words the connect I have with these games. They're just great.

Honorable mentions:
X: Sly Cooper and the Theivus Raccoonus
X Ratchet an Clank (original)
X Star Wars Battlefront 2
X: Psychonauts
X Pikmin 2
X: Dragon Quest 8


Games that probably would have made the list if I wanted to include multiple titles from a franchise:
XX: Shenmue
XX: Kingdom Hearts
XX: Persona 3 FES

 

[dragonyeuw]

Grand theft auto III- Not my favorite game on this list, but I believe it fathered the modern open-world games that( along with FPS) have dominated the last 15 years of console gaming. This was a defining moment for that time period in general( grittier, more violent media being consumed by the increasingly cynical masses in the wake of 911)
Halo 2- THE multi-player experience of the generation.
Resident Evil 4- Reinvented the Resident Evil formula, to amazing results. Really pushed the GC's hardware, and one of the best looking games of the generation.
Star wars knights of the old republic- Arguably the greatest product to come from that franchise since Empire Strikes back.
Metroid Prime-One of the finest console FPS ever created, arguably the best in the series, and one of Nintendo's best. Still holds up well 13 years later

 

[SeventhSon]

I'm going to be fighting for Halo CE and Morrowind personally.

You have my axe for Morrowind.

I'll post my full ballot soon.

 

[MiamiWesker]

I can see who will win this already and it is proof that gaf has amazing taste. So let me add to the lead.

1. Resident Evil 4 ; Perfection. The greatest action game ever made. The greatest paced game ever. game design that needs to be studied for generations.

2. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ; If this came before OoT everyone would call this the greatest game ever made. The best dungeons in the series. The best main quest. A masterpiece.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3 ; The most amazing final two hours ever put in a game. The best collection of boss battles in one game. Absolute genius game design with crazy attention to detail.

4. Metroid Prime ; One of the best designed games I have ever had the pleasure of playing. The action and exploration come together perfectly.

5. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas ; the best of the GTAs, no game was as ambitious and fun.

6. Grand Theft Auto Vice City ; That soundtrack! That amazing city (I am not bias)! This one took GTA to new heights.

7. Half-Life 2 ; The RE4 of FPSs, perfectly paced and varied. The greatest FPSS ever made.

8. Star Wars KOTOR ; My favorite RPG ever cause I am a SW nut and it introduced me to Bioware games.

9. Devil May Cry 3 ; The best hack and slash action game of all time.

10. Phantasy Star Online ; My best online experience, spent hundreds of hours on this gem.

Honorable mentions: MGS2, Zelda WW, God of War 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, Resident Evil Code Veronica, NFL2K1, Ninja Gaiden, Virtua Fighter 4 Evo

 

[Kagutaba]

1. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ; Starbreeze combines all good things in the galaxy's tensest prison break, showing us that even games based on movies can be brilliant. Most games struggles with achieving in one genre, Escape from Butcher Bay on the other hand excels in horror, stealth, good old general shooting, first person fisty cuffs and RPG-like questing, creating in Butcher Bay one of the most immersive and enjoyable hell holes in gaming.

2. Silent Hill 2 ;

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ;

4. Silent Hill 3 ;

5. Ninja Gaiden Black ;

6. Resident Evil 4 ;

7. Halo Combat Evolved ;

8. Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic ;

9. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory ; (Xbox)

10. Shadow of The Colossus ;

 

[Iva Demilcol]

I've been reading everyone's choices for GotG and I'm surprised by the absence of some games that in their time were regarded as the best of the best. It seems that there are a bunch of titles that will definitively compose the top 5 (MGS3, RE4, SSB Melee, Halo CE, Shadow of the Colossus) so, to be honest I'm more excited to see what games would be on Top 6 to Top 20.

Let's see, what's the logic behind my list? Well, the logic behind my list is that there is no logic behind my list: I cannot rank aspects that are totally subjective, I cannot rank how much love I have for some games either, I can rank the number of times I've finished a game though, their size (which in the past was an indication of how "big" a game was), and other things that in the context of this list may not mean anything at all. So, there's no logic behind my list other than what I now think about my gaming experience during the 6th generation.

So, let's see...

1. Jet Set Radio Future ; The first game I got for the xbox. I was impressed by Jet Grind Radio when I had the chance to play it on a Dreamcast that was not mine, so when I found out that I could play the sequel on the xbox, Jet Set Radio Future became the reason to own an xbox. Now, Jet Set Radio Future may not mean anything to most people, but to me JSR as a series is what games should aspire to be (you know, arcadey with tons of cool characters, an amazing soundtrack, a vibrant and colorful world...). I was expecting a better game than Jet Grind Radio before playing Future, but by the time I had cleared the first chapter it was obvious that the game was a beast in terms of game content; my brother and I (and my cousins too) had a lot of fun playing the multiplayer too, something that the first game was missing. I play Jet Set Radio Future every once in a while, and I'm still waiting the day I can play the third game of the series, every E3 and TGS that comes and goes is like a little torture though.

2. Phantom Dust ; An obscure, sci-fi tactical action Japanese styled game that was released for the most unappropriated system. A game difficult to describe because it is the amalgamation of a wide variety of mechanics: it takes elements from fighting, strategy games, shooters and card games. In the end it was a great effort to try to appeal to the Japanese market, so good it was at that that it wasn't going to be released for the western market. Fortunately, Majesco -a small publisher- released the game but without the proper adds the game was ignored by almost everyone. For the ones who played it though, it is one of the best titles of the 6th gen. I'd like to see a re-release of the game on the xb live marketplace.

3. Persona 3: FES ; I loved everything about this game: the characters, the atmosphere, the music, personae design, the story and so on. I may be wrong here but I consider P3 FES the first game where the relationship between the MC and NPCs have a real impact in the way you play. There are many things that can be said about P3 and P4, the most relevant aspect of them though is that you don't need huge budgets to create a game like those two, instead of throwing money at the dev team and wait for it to create something out of it, you have a team that carefully crafted a world that sucked you in.

4. Ninja Gaiden Black ;
5. Shadow of the Colossus ;
6. Soul Calibur II ;
7. Panzer Dragoon Orta ;
8. Halo: Combat Evolved ;
9. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King ;
10. Jet Set Radio ;

Honorable Mentions:
- Soul Calibur
- Otogi II: Immortal Warriors
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
- Project Gotham Racing 2
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
- Resident Evil 4
- Psychonauts
- Guilty Gear XX #Reload
- Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
- Shenmue II
- Rally Sport Challenge 2
- Ico
- Super Smash Brothers Melee
- Fable
- Sonic Adventure 2
- Power Stone

 

[flatearthpandas]

This is going to end up heavily edited, I'm sure, but here goes:

1. Neverwinter Nights ; The Persistent Worlds of Neverwinter Nights are to this day the most impressive online roleplaying experiences I've encountered. Living and evolving worlds with dedicated communities. The player impacting the story and the world were not just feelings or hype as in almost every game that has ever made this claim: it was reality. And it was amazing. Beyond Persistent Worlds, the toolsets also allowed people to create campaigns above and beyond what the single player experience was able to provide. An amazing package overall.
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee
3. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem ; I adore this game. I can't really justify it's place on a GotG list apart from that, but I love it. I love the Lovecraftian atmosphere. I love the insanity meter. I loved the different time periods. I loved playing as the various men and women throughout the game, all of whom went through hell and kicked ass.
4. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
6. Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age
7. World of Warcraft ; It's honestly crazy to even think that World of Warcraft came out in this generation. Vanilla was a bit of a mess and no one knew what the hell we were doing, but it was a lot of fun and something of a phenomenon.
8. Animal Crossing ; This was probably the first non-online game I put hundreds of hours into. I remember walking to the closest niche gaming shop, having heard rumor of the game but knowing nothing that it was supposed to be something different. I managed to get the only copy and before I knew it I was competing with three of my siblings to donate fossils and get a statue built. It is still hard to describe Animal Crossing, but whatever it is it has, it had it out of the gate.
9. Guitar Hero 2 ; Another unconventional game that took everyone by surprise. Not really much to say here.

x. Tales of Symphonia ; While Final Fantasy was introducing me to the wonderful world of corridors and sequels, Tales delivered what I had come to expect from Final Fantasy in previous generations. The series may be a bit stagnant today, but this game is a nice bundle of nostalgia for me.
x. Halo: Combat Evolved ; I really don't care for FPS games, but it's hard to ignore Halo for a GotG. I bought an Xbox to practice it so I could play with my friends. Everyone played it. It could be LAN'd between Xboxes and before I knew it there were parties dedicated to playing this game.

 

[SirUltimos]

I'm going to reserve this post while I'm working on my list.

 

[kittens]

I'm glad folks mentioned Zero Mission -- I added it to my list at number three.

 

[Scotch]

Cutting down my shortlist of 30 games down to 10 was so hard, this list might look completely different on any other day. Alas, here's my list after considerable thought:

1. Half-Life 2 ; I just love every bit of that world.
2. Rome: Total War ; So many hundreds of hours wasted. No regrets.
3. Halo: Combat Evolved ; That I put this game so high in spite of the Library level says something about how much I loved the rest of the game.
4. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; Bought a GameCube just for this game. Did not disappoint. More than a decade later it still looks gorgeous.
5. Mafia ; I'm not talking about the console port here, on PC this game was a true classic. It came out a few months after the PC version of GTA3, and trumps that game in almost anything. Highly atmospheric game with some of the best mission design.
6. Battlefield 1942 ;
7. Grand Theft Auto III ;
8. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault ; Saving Private Ryan was still fresh on my mind, and this game allowed me to play it. Incidentally, it also had fantastic multiplayer. I mean, these were the guys that later founded Infinity Ward.
9. Project Gotham Racing 2 ; I wanted to have this game on here somewhere because this is my favorite racing game of all time. It was the perfect package. A diverse, captivating singleplayer career that made you go back to improve your times, try out different cars in many different classes, and reach for that coveted platinum in every race. A vast multiplayer mode on the young Xbox Live-service that set the benchmark for every online racegame since. Outstanding graphics of course. But most of all, a driving model I fell completely in love with.
10. God of War ; I immensely enjoyed Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden, but God of War is the game that tops the genre for me, having a more interesting story than both former games and a setting I adore. The variation between violent action and puzzle-solving kept me engaged throughout, with beautiful visuals and music to boot.

x. Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis ; Fell just outside the top 10, because, well, lots of things about it weren't very good. Awful voice-acting, controls, bugs, and everything else that's still plaguing Bohemia's games to this day. But damn it if it didn't give me some of most amazing gaming experiences ever. That mission where you're stranded alone in the woods? Fuck. This game did the open world with drivable and flyable vehicles before Halo and Battlefield, and it was amazing.
x. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ;
x. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ;
x. Rallisport Challenge 2 ; The greatest rally game of all time.
x. Warcraft 3 ; As much as I loved this game, I can't put it in my top 10, because this is where we saw the first signs of Blizzard stories turning to shit.
x. Max Payne ;
x. Resident Evil 4 ;
x. Counter-Strike ; I started playing this game in 1999, so it can't count. Besides, to me this game is inextricably connected to Half-Life, which is very much not part of this generation. Still, it's the game I played most between 2000 and 2005 and it would top this list without question.

 

[Eolz]

Just wanted to more or less post what I didn't do some pages ago. Now that the list is made, here you go!

Wow, didn't see the thread.

1. Metroid Prime ; Nobody believed Metroid could successfully transfer to a 3D gameplay. Even less when it was shown as a first-person game, developed by an american studio as their first game. Then it was released and everything changed. Superb graphics, music, and surprisingly good gamepad controls (FPS using platforming and Z-targeting), Metroid Prime showed everyone how good a 3D Metroidvania could be, with an alien atmosphere and the sensation of really being alone against the environment, that no other game (outside of this series) really got as well. No developer did this kind of game again, and if they did, it is not even remembered for just being half (or less) as good as this.

2. Half-Life 2 ; the first game revolutionized the FPS genre (remember when they were called Doom-clones before HL1 was released?), and the second one had really a lot to live up to. It did. After delays and other problems, Valve released a game even better than what people expected. Once again, it shaped the future of the FPS genre, through storytelling, AI, graphics, physics, gunplay, and countless other elements. I'm not surprised Valve doesn't want to release Half-Life 3, just try to live up to that.

3. Freelancer ; People being excited for Star Citizen should play what could be called its prototype. Good story, excellent universe, surprising controls that are even better than a joystick, and persistent servers. This is what makes Freelancer a game ahead of its time. Microsoft cancelling Freelancer 2 and the lack of a remake makes me sad.

4. F-Zero GX ; Not only it is the best F-Zero game, but it's the best futuristic racing game AND arcade racing game of its time. Back then, its reveal blew everybody's mind by showing the collaboration of Nintendo, Sega and Namco on a single game. To this day, it is still a really good looking game, and amazing to watch for speedruns. Its story mode is extremely difficult too, and the ship creation allows some really interesting races.

5. God Hand ; The only 3D BTA of this kind. Adaptative difficulty and different controls from the usual bunch make it not only a memorable gameplay, but one of the very best 3D BTA that nobody really expected. Add to that a very japanese ambiance, fun music and characters, and weird enemies, and you get an awesome game that doesn't really take itself seriously.

6. World of Warcraft ; Impossible to not put this game in this list. It did not exactly revolutionize this genre, but no other game could surpass it for a long while in its sub-genre. The WoW from now is sadly very different from the WoW from then, but it still deserves the merits of the original. Extremely popular for a lot of good reasons, why do you think so many publishers tried to make this famed "WoW-killer"?

7. Resident Evil 4 ; Nobody expected that for this saga and this genre. Revolutionized it. Extremely stressful rather than scary, and a special atmosphere. Awesome in every category. Received better ports later on (Wii/HD), but for a while, it was a superb GC exclusive. The PS2 version is meh, the PC one is really bad (until the latest remaster).

8. Killer 7 ; A game that is disturbing, confusing, and amazing. The artstyle is special, the controls aren't found anywhere else, the characters are weird, the music doesn't really fit. But strangely, all of this forms a coherent package that will stay in your mind for the rest of your life. A cult classic that more people should at least try. Suda51's masterpiece.

9. Ninja Gaiden Black ; The first Ninja Gaiden was already an excellent reboot of the extremely difficult series of games on NES, but this "remaster" fixed a lot of things and expanded its gameplay to make it one of the best 3D BTA ever, with a very different style than its competitors. This isn't about style or QTEs. This is about efficiency and an even harder difficulty than before. Yes, there is some balancing problems (Izuna Drop being one) and its sequels aren't as good, but it is still one of the best examples of transitioning a 2D game to 3D, while keeping its legacy and making it evolve beyond what could be done without efforts. Developers didn't just pour love for this franchise to make this game, they poured sweat and blood. And you can definitely still feel it.

10. Halo ; Basically the continuation of GoldenEye showing multiplayer FPS can be perfected on console. Also, Microsoft's mascot. They found one quickly.


x. Mother 3 ; I would have put it higher in the list if the fan translation had been released in this time period. This game just is the perfect conclusion of the Mother saga. A game that is really deep, and that will make feel a lot of emotions.
x. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; Arguably the best 3D Zelda, that has since been perfected with its HD remaster. It's still more or less the only "open-world" 3D Zelda game, despite its flaws, and it is deceptively dark. Still aged really well, thanks to its artsyle.
x. Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition ; Had to make a choice between this and NGB. Still in the top 5 ever of the best 3D BTA. Shame there's no good port on PC, because that mod allowing you to switch styles is SSS-tier.
x. Rez ; Synesthesia. Still plays from time to time this hypnotizing mix of shooting shapes moving to the rhythm of some great music. Sadly, this kind of game probably wouldn't be made today (and no, the spiritual sequel is pretty bad). If you have to play it, buy a 360, the exclusive remake is amazing.
x. Deus Ex ; The perfect evolution of its own sub-genre. Everything was great at the time in this game, and it still holds its own in terms of gameplay. Would have still put System Shock 2 in the top 10 if it had been possible.

Feel free to point any mistake.

 

[Dion Blaster]

Thanks for doing this Anihawk. At what point will we have to PM you if we edited our ballot? And for DMC3 do we have to specify that it was the special edition?

 

[shinobi602]

1. Shenmue II ; This was the pinnacle of that entire generation for me. Yu Suzuki crafted such an intricately detailed in the first game and expanded upon that two-fold in this one. I fell in love with the characters, I was absolutely engrossed in the plot and getting revenge on Lan Di for the death of my father. Traveling throughout out Hong Kong, partaking in arm wrestling matches, participating in fighting tournaments, learning new martial arts moves, talking to SO many NPCs, shopping, walking through the bustling streets...it was all so good. So, so good...damn you Sega. Damn you to hell.

2. Halo: Combat Evolved ; Hooked me right from the start. I was used to playing first person shooters on a console with games like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, but Bungie expertly nailed the gameplay and control scheme to perfect refinement. The action, the combat scenarios and level design was beautifully crafted and well thought out. Weapons felt so fun to use, the Covenant felt like fresh, intriguing enemies, and the story had its claws in me deep. I wanted to learn more, I wanted more of that universe.

3. God of War II ; The original GOW was an impeccable action experience and introduced the GOW universe to me, but God of War II took everything the original did and implemented new additions and improvements throughout the board. I actually felt like I was traveling these ancient, faraway mythical lands. It really nailed that sense of epic adventure. The boss fights were downright incredible and a sight to behold. The opening Colossus fight? Shit, one of the best intros I've encountered in a game. Improvements to the combat were easily noticeable. New weapons and magical attacks were icing on the cake. Superb SSM, superb.

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; Rockstar basically took everything they learned from GTA 3 and Vice City, mixed it together, threw in a ton of fun side activities, the biggest city they've created thus far, fucking jetliners, car customization, bicycles, the whole shebang. Damn it was good.

5. Knights of the Old Republic ; Loved the characters, loved the open ended expanse, the decisions you could make, the combat system...one of Bioware's greatest achievements.

6. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors ; I probably played this game for about 1000 hours in multiplayer. I would honestly say the multiplayer was the most addictive thing I've ever played in a game. Managing resources, developing strategies with your mates and watching as hundreds of longbowmen, paladin knights, war elephants, etc had at it on a single map was so, so satisfying. It'll always hold a special place in my heart.

7. Half-Life 2 ; Coming off the brilliant HL1, it felt like 20 years waiting for the damn thing...when it came it delivered in spades. The physics were so damn fun to play around with, loved the characters, trekking across the different areas in the game gave me an actual sense of covering real ground. The gunplay and gun feedback was intensely satisfying. Fantastic.

8. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty ; The original Metal Gear Solid was the best Playstation game I had played, so to say I was hyped would be a massive understatement. The "twist" in the latter half of the game didn't bother me at all. I actually liked Raiden. The stealth was really satisfying when done right, the cutscenes, the character performances, the level design...everything was brilliant. Love the series.

9. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind ; This was my first Elder Scrolls game and it left a huge mark on me. Played the Xbox version as I didn't really have a gaming capable PC so upon stepping out of the boat into Tamriel, seeing the reflective water, talking to the denizens of the game, I was taken aback by just how gorgeous everything looked. I explored that world for countless. Excellent quests. Peachy.

10. Golden Sun ; By far the best JRPG I've ever played. This little game on my GBA took over my life when it came out. The characters, though fairly generic in nature were very likeable, the story was interesting, and the world, my God the world was just gorgeous and absolutely HUGE! The battle system was a supremely refined turn-based system utilizing summoned Djinn monsters. Goddamn it was so damn good...I'd kill for a proper continuation of that.


Honorable Mentions:

X. Shenmue
X. Command & Conquer: Generals
X. Advance Wars
X. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
X. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
X. Ninja Gaiden
X. Super Smash Bros. Melee
X. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
X. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
X. Halo 2

 

[Firemind]

I don't normally do these ballots, but I feel obligated to call attention to one of the greatest handheld series ever and give it a proper place considering it's dead now.

1. Advance Wars ; My most vivid memory was playing this gem for countless hours every day after release: finishing the tutorial, going through the campaign, earning medals and coins as I go, all culminating in the most epic final battle I've witnessed as a pre-adolescent. I was facing incredible odds and to turn the tides I had to make very precise movements to avoid suffering irreversible losses by the dreaded Meteor Strike. When I finally beat it, I felt tremendous joy. And sadness because the game was over. Or so I thought. If it had ended with the campaign, it'd still be an incredible game. Later on I realized it has much more content than I ever could ever dream of: the War Room, Advanced Campaign, a map editor, single- and multicart multiplayer, you could even play multiplayer with just one GBA if you wanted to. So much content stored in such a tiny cartridge was mindblowing to me. Later instalments added more bloat to an otherwise perfect game. They are all excellent, but the first one will always be special to me.

2. Metroid Prime ; I can't accurately describe what fantastic work Retro Studios has managed to deliver with their first game. Lots of insiders had doubts whether a new studio could capture the essence of Super Metroid. They delivered it in spades and then some. Just like in Super Metroid, you felt isolated. No one can hear you [scream]. Whenever you step inside a laboratory, it's abandoned. Everything that's left are corpses and logs of space pirates who were leading experiments on metroids. The bird ancestors who granted you powers have all mysteriously vanished. All that's left is you, the player, and the planet. Sometimes hostile, often a thing to behold. The architecture was something else in 2003. Every room had their own uniquely designed fauna. The rooms loaded quickly too. How Retro Studios has managed that is nothing less than astonishing. Metroid Prime joins the ranks of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time as one of the best transitions to three dimensions.

3. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; The fan favourite. And who can blame them? The tepidly received GameCube at the time needed a miracle to light up the audience and give Nintendo the first system seller which it was sorely lacking. It needed Super Smash Bros. Melee. It's the perfect storm, really. This was during a time when couch multiplayer was still a thing. Dorms and living rooms were littered with game consoles and controllers. Before they had Super Smash Bros. on the N64 of course, but it was released pretty late in its lifesplan and for many it was considered a spinoff party game masquerading as a fighting game. Melee obliterated its predecessor in terms of content and popularity. Everyone was playing the game, mastering the controls or simply having fun with a bunch of friends. And your friends' friends. And your friends' friends' friends. We were partaking in something special indeed. Super Smash Bros. is here to stay.

4. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction ; It is the only expansion of Diablo II, but the birth of patch 1.10 led to an amazing amount of new builds, with the Hammerdin being perhaps the most notorious. While bots ruled the game and its economy, it was still very much enjoyable because of how massive the loot was integrated into the game design. Anything was possible, from melee sorcerers to shapeshifting paladins. You just needed the right pieces. And so I and many others spent countless hours doing yet another run, trying to find that elusive item that kept eluding us (or snatched by another player). It wasn't a perfect multiplayer game, but the loot was and isn't that what's most important? Rest in piece, Blizzard North.

5. Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (imported: Europe) ; While this isn't the game that started it all in the West and propelled the series to international allure, this particular game laid the groundwork. Personally, I was only interested because it starred Roy, a fighter you may know from a certain series, and because it bears similarities with Advance Wars. Little did I know how brilliant a decision it was to fuse Advance Wars with RPG elements. The content wasn't as varied and beginner friendly as its prequel, but it was more than enough to get me hooked. Frustration crept in at times, but with some determination I managed to beat it one whole year later. The fact that I couldn't read Japanese is a testimony of its strong mechanics. So much so that I decided to write a guide for it. Now there's a fan translation for whoever wants to know what happened to Eliwood, Hector and co.

6. Golden Sun ; The second book is arguably more grandiose in scope and story than the first book, the first book's coming-of-age story is a tightly designed role-playing package, which is perfect for a portable game. While the dialogue isn't something to write home about, the class system and how it ties into your available magic and summons is genius. For many inexperienced JRPG players, such as myself, it wasn't immediately apparent. Only over the course of the game I realized the potential of swapping djinns to change to more powerful classes. Backed by impressive visuals, a mesmerizing soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba and superbly designed puzzles, it's no coincidence it's a favourite among many JRPG enthusiasts. Its sequel cemented its status as one of the best JRPGs the generation had to offer.

7. F-Zero GX ; Blistering. Relentless. Intense. Words to describe F-Zero GX. Amusement Vision's Toshihiro Nagoshi hit the nail right in the head. For the first time, it wasn't all about blistering, relentless, intense racing. The story mode fleshes out our bounty hunter Captain Falcon and the world of F-Zero, the first in the series to do so. Grand prix mode tasks you to battle, sometimes, literally, through a competition with 29 other racers. After completing a certain difficulty, the game unlocks a short FMV for the character you've completed with. Everything screams polish, from the solid 60 frames per second to the techno electronic synth rock soundtrack providing that extra adrenaline rush. It's a proper shame nothing has been done with the series ever since. The first and, for the time being, the last time we enter F-Zero's gravity defying universe.

8. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ; When people ask about Nintendo magic, I often refer to Paper Mario. Only Nintendo could create a world where it's inhabited by Mario's enemies turned friendly. Goombas and koopalings are examples of yesteryear's enemies that eventually join your party, each with their own distinct and charming personality. The Thousand-Year Door is as whimsical as you'd expect from a Mario RPG. The writers weren't shy in making fun of characters. Bowser for instance is both fearsome and brilliant in his comedic timing. The game even breaks the fourth wall every now and then (listen in the conversations between the ravens). The combat mechanics are solid and intuitive; the accompanying sound effects are like music to my ears. The role-playing mechanics are easy to grasp and difficult to customize (shall I put it into HP, FP or BP?). For a week, I was taken into Mario's world and its magic.

9. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow ; Hate the term Metroidvania or not, it aptly describes the game. Exploring a huge castle, looking for upgrades in every nook and cranny, fighting monsters several sizes bigger than you. Same old vampire slaying stuff. What makes Aria of Sorrow more incredible than other games in the series is the elegantly designed soul system, Ayami Kojima's artwork and Michiru Yamane's compositions. It's a shame Aria of Sorrow is the last Metroidvania to employ their talent together and it's a damn shame Koji Igarashi isn't working on the series anymore. Gothic horror will never be the same. What is Konami? A miserable little pile of snakes.

10. OutRun 2 ; There are not a lot of things more enjoyable in life than riding a Ferrari and drifting a corner with the hair of a supermodel wavering in the wind at your side. Unfortunately, not everyone is a multi-millionaire. Fortunately, OutRun 2 lets you do just that, complete with steering wheel and gearbox. Whenever I wander into an arcade hall, the first thing I try to look for is if they have an OutRun 2 cabinet. When they do, oh boy, there goes all my coins. It's an absolute joy to play this game over and over again. Every time you learn something new; how to take corners, where you can shave off a few seconds and make it in time for the next stage. The next thing you know, you can take on the most difficult route. Thrilling and, most of all, fun. No Ferrari, supermodel or driver's license required!

x. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising ; The sequel that started the arms race. While the new additions and buffs made it play differently than its predecessor, it meant sacrificing balance. Still, a near flawless game by any generation's standards.
x. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings ; I've been told it's not elligble, but I've wasted way too hours on this, largely because I suck at real-time strategy games.
x. Animal Crossing ; A game with no end goal. After you paid off the mortgage (damn you, Nook!), you were free to do whatever you wanted. Fishing, catching bugs, doing chores, bullying your neighbours playing NES games; Animal Crossing was your playground. Even in Tamagotchi, your pet could die. In Animal Crossing, the most you're going to get is weed infestation and a deserted village.
x. Baten Kaitos ; It has a stunning art direction and a fantastic soundtrack. The card-based battle system is also different and the story is standard jrpg fare with twists and turns. One of the few RPGs for the GameCube, which might have made it more endearing.
x. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon ; It's one of the launch games for the GBA and I remember how hard it was to see anything. Years later, it's remedied by the backlit SP. It's pretty challenging and while it has a level-up system, the game doesn't provide you with overpowered weapons unlike the other GBA Castlevanias. A true classic.
x. Counter-Strike ; Played it a lot online and at LAN parties. What more has to be said?
x. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat ; The bongos added so much fun to this game. Not only did it add more interactivity (my hands got sore from all the clapping), the chain combo system made it easy to learn but hard to master. The development team went on to make Super Mario Galaxy. It's only fitting Jungle Beat was the catalyst of bringing fun back to games.
x. Eternal Darkness ; I've never actually beaten the game (holy shit the maximillian chapter was mindboggling; I felt so helpless), but I certainly appreciated Silicon Knights for the sanity mechanic. Psycho Mantis on a whole another level. It was brilliant.
x. Final Fantasy: Chrystal Chronicles ; It's like Baldur's Gate with a Final Fantasy theme going. The mechanics were easy to grasp. The fun came from working together as a team to defeat larger than life bosses. Only fun as a multiplayer with 3 or 4 people, but when you get four GBAs and link cables going (and three hookers of course), oh boy, you're in for a treat!
x. Fire Emblem ; Advance Wars in a RPG dressing, basically. It's much more random in nature, which makes for interesting decisionmaking. The story is kind of by-the-books; it's the characters and mechanics that make it enthralling even to this day.
x. Golden Sun: The Lost Age ; Golden Sun with bells and whistles; this is a proper direct sequel. Though sometimes I wish they somehow could have fitted both games into one cartridge.Then it'd surely be one for the ages instead of lost.
x. Halo: Combat Evolved ; Played it a lot while at my mate's home. Goldeneye part deux now with vehicles!
x. Ikaruga ; The only stage I could properly chain was the first stage, but that doesn't diminish its elegant scoring system. I watched many videos of people trying for high scores and it always blew my mind. My first real experience with bullet hell.
x. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga ; Charming as ever, Alpha Dream knocked it out of the park with their interpretation of a Mario RPG. The game that started the series is still very much enjoyable and, unlike Paper Mario, it's portable.
x. Metroid Fusion ; Certainly different in approach than Super Metroid, but what Metroid Fusion did amazingly was create suspension with SA-X. It felt like a proper homage to its inspiration: Alien. It even has heads shaped like Xenomorphs as enemies!
x. Resident Evil 4 ; Not a fan of horror games. Resident Evil 4 was alright. huehuehue
x. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis ; I gave this the nod over Final Fantasy Tactics as I find Tactics Ogre brings more to the table with its political plot, class system and weapon crafting system. There are a lot of secret classes too. Wish they released this out in Europe. The game is nowhere to find now in English. :x
x. Tales of Symphonia ; Loved its characters, even Colette. You wanted to go on for their sake in an ever increasingly supressing world. Some of the writing was gruesome for a game presented in many bright colours.
x. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; I thought it was brilliant at the time, but over the years I can see its shortcomings necking it in the grand Zelda hierarchy, HD remake or not.
x. Warcraft 3 ; One of the best real-time strategy games I've had the pleasure of playing. The hero aspect was brilliantly executed and went on to inspire League of Legends and Dota. The campaigns were a treat to play through too. Frostmourne hungers!

 

[Marceles]

1. Half-Life 2; I mean....come on. COME ON, this is Half Life 2. If you were there when Steam first released, and anticipated this game being released and downloadable, then you know how every expectation of the game was blown away times infinity. From the intro, to first getting the gravity gun, to first entering Ravenholm, to getting the speed buggy, to using the guide laser rocket launcher, to getting the bug fruit, etc etc etc...the Source engine, the graphics, the everything. My brain is exploding revisiting this game.

2. Grand Theft Auto 3; A very ambitious game. First walking around the city and hearing each person have their own quote and thinking someone is talking next door or outside of your house. The radio station using songs from Scarface + real songs + its own Game Radio station was awesome. Roaming around the huge city and truly feeling like you're in a sandbox. I think many games owe a lot to this game

3. World of Warcraft; There was a time where you couldn't escape people talking about this game. It has an incredible fanbase, so many viral videos of how addicted people are to it, I'd say more about it if I'd actually played it but I missed the boat. No one with a straight face could say "PC gaming is dead" after this game released

4. Shenmue; The effort put into this game was so good that even the devs didn't think they were worthy enough to finish the story. Innovations all over the place, addictive, graphics were incredible, I loved it

5. Marvel vs. Capcom 2; This game was fighting game overkill done in the best way possible. As tough as it was to find a fighting game to be arcade perfect, MvC2 delivered. 56 playable characters, music that hurt player's ears at launch but is now considered classic, the most played game at EVO (10 years) and is still played in tourneys to this day. I don't think since Tekken 3 that there was a fighting game where you thought you were getting more than your money's worth at the time

6. Metroid Prime; Samus's jump into first person was done perfectly. Classic Metroid gameplay plus the new additions like scanning, great environments and enemies, incredible graphics. This game made owning a Gamecube a must

7. Resident Evil 4; Kicked off the new direction of the RE franchise with a bang, and from the most unlikely platform. It was executed flawlessly IMO and had everything you could want in an action/horror game

8. God of War; Absolutely epic, great story and voice acting, action packed and entertaining, had platforming and puzzles, graphics were incredible for its time, it had the total package

9. Gran Turismo 3; Personally this was the highlight of the Gran Turismo series. The amount of cars traded in for upping the graphics. More car customization, F1 cars, rally cars, many tracks, driving around to Lenny Kravitz and pumping you up for each turn. Amazing game

10. Mario Kart - Super Circuit; Before Mario Kart went completely into 3D, this was the most complete Mario Kart ever, and for it to be the first Mario Kart on handheld it was very well done. New and retro tracks and all the modes you could ever want in a Mario Kart

 

[niccoolnic]

Will be adding my thoughts when I get home from work.

1. Shadow of the Colossus;
2. Metroid Prime;
3. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal;
4. Kingdom Hearts;
5. Mother 3;
6. God of War II;
7. Final Fantasy XII;
8. Halo 2;
9. Star Wars Battlefront II;
10.Resident Evil 4

 

[gelf]

This is the toughest list I could ever compile. its the greatest generation for me and the only one I owned every system and so had access to all the best exclusives. I may add more later.

1. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution ; Still the best 3D fighting game. I'd say it just beats the more recent VF's thanks to having the most helpful training mode I've ever seen and the best quest mode in the series. Those two modes gave me the start I needed in VF and make it the only fighting series I feel somewhat proficient in to this day.

2. Outrun 2006 ; Driving perfection, drifting around beautiful landscapes with blue skies never felt so good.

3. Panzer Dragoon Orta ; The reason I still have my original Xbox hooked up to a CRT. Beautiful environments with some tough but fair rail shooting. The additional gameplay options over PD Zwei like boost and morph add more depth to the gameplay.

4. Resident Evil Remake ; The best looking game of the entire generation and the best entry in the entire Resident Evil series. The atmosphere and level design of the mansion is hard to beat.

5. Ninja Gaiden ; Still my favorite character action game, it really blew my mind at the time as the boss fights where unreal and the combat had much more depth then any third person hack and slash at the time.

6. Half Life 2 ; I still don't believe any single player FPS has surpassed HL2. A wonderful varied journey from start to finish and the gravity gun is one of the most fun to use weapons of all time.

7. We Love Katamari ; We never got the original in the UK so this was my first experience of Katamari Damacy. Pure joy in a game, going from rolling up matchsticks to continents in the later missions feels so good.

8. Metal Gear Solid 3
9. Skies of Arcadia
10. Jet Set Radio


Honorable mentions, this list could go on forever if I didn't hold myself back.
x. Civilization IV
x. Resident Evil 4
x. Metroid Prime
x. Shenmue
x. Shadow of the Colossus
x. Viewtiful Joe
x. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
x. Advance Wars

I feel I might change my mind at some point before the deadline but this is my list for now.

 

[Fancy Clown]

1. Resident Evil 4; Pretty much the perfect game. It has satisfying gameplay, great level design and pacing, amazing aesthetics, is long, has tons of other content, a fun story, etc. Just the best.
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater; Pretty much the same that applied to RE4, plus the best boss fights ever. Depending on the day this is my #1, but the opening isn't as good as RE4, and the gameplay (while amazing, and more complex) isn't as satisfying as RE4 on a base level, so I'll put it at number 2 today.
3. Half-Life 2
4. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
5. Resident Evil REmake
6. Shadow of the Colossus
7. Soul Calibur 2
8. God of War 2
9. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
10. Jak 3

 

[RespectThySole]

1. Metroid Prime ;
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; Possibly my most played game of all time. It strikes the perfect balance between deep and accessible. It's a game that the hardcore fighting game enthusiast can enjoy as well as one that a casual gamer at a party can just pick up and play. The fact that it is still being played at Evo over a decade after it's release even with multiple sequels already out is just a testament to it's greatness.
3. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes ;
4. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind ;
5. Halo 2 ;
6. Project Gotham Racing 2 ;
7. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ;
8. Silent Hill 2 ;
9. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire ;
10. NBA Street Vol. 2 ;

Honorable mentions:

x. Final Fantasy X
x. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
x. Freedom Force
x. Halo: Combat Evolved
x. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
x. Ninja Gaiden Black
x. Devil May Cry 3
x. Jet Set Radio Future
x. Soul Calibur
x. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
x. Kingdom Hearts 2
x. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
x. God of War
x . Viewtiful Joe
x. Max Payne
x. Max Payne 2
x. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
x. Call of Duty 2


Will add more comments later.

 

[SunBroDave]

Super hard list to compile. There were just so many fantastic games that generation.

1. Super Smash Bros Melee ;

It's Smash. The Smash. Melee is so incredibly designed that it's not only fun for casuals, but there's a near limitless skill ceiling for those looking for an in depth fighter. This game was released in 2001 and yet it's never been bigger, still played in dorm rooms around the world today.

2. Kingdom Hearts II ;

I miss the good ol' days of Square. Somehow they just nailed it with this game, creating compelling original characters to fight with and square off against classic FF and Disney characters. The series has since jumped the proverbial shark with dreams and time travel and other insanity from the mind of Mr. Nomura, but KH2 was so good that even after all this time, I can't wait for KH3.

3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ;

IMO its far and above better than any of the Star Wars films. Great gameplay, tons of content, and that twist. Oh man that twist. Games with choices get a lot of flak but in KoTOR it really feels like your decisions have an impact. Especially towards the end. Also, without KoTOR there would be no Mass Effect.

4. Guitar Hero III ;

This was it for Guitar Hero. GH3 was so hugely popular that I can still remember everyone in high school raving about it. This was the golden age of rock. Through the Fire And Flames.

5. Jak II ;

This game makes The Precursor Legacy look like a tech demo. Incredibly ambitious with a huge city, drivable vehicles, compelling characters and voice acting, and phenomenal story. This game is still my favorite of the franchise.

6. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door ;

Like Paper Mario 1, only waaaay more fleshed and absolutely gorgeous. One of the best RPGs on the Gamecube.

7. Halo 2 ;

The best multiplayer experience on the original Xbox, period.

8. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ;

The sense of adventure you get from sailing around the ocean is palpable even when putting in the game today. It's the second best 3D Zelda after Majora's Mask.

9. Dark Cloud II (a.k.a. Dark Chronicle) ;

The original Dark Cloud was a surprise hit for me, but this game completely blows the first one out of the water. Monstrous game with gorgeous cel shaded graphics, incredibly engrossing story revolving around family, awesome city building and customization, and incredibly fun and diverse combat. And you can drive a robot with samurai swords and propeller legs. 10/10.

10. Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean ;

Incredible RPG. Massive game. Great enemy and level design. Very interesting poker-style turned base combat that felt like a mix between a card game and real time combat. Super compelling story and a twist that leave you stunned. This was a Gamecube game that was two discs of pure awesomeness.

 

[ohlawd]

ahh shit I knew I should have looked at my own collection instead of just Wikipedia and memory

Forgot to mention Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles ;_;

A Final Fantasy spinoff better than mainline Final Fantasy ;_;

 

[Tidus_Great]

1. Final Fantasy X (for me this is the best game ever one of the early cinematic, voice acted games. The story was fantastic and the gameplay and experience were top tier)

2. Metal Gear Solid 2

3. Metal Gear Solid 3

4. Xenosaga Episode 1

5. Shadow hearts Covenant

6. Silent Hill 2

7. God of War

8. Final Fantasy 9

9. Soul Reaver 2

10. Star Wars KOTOR

Honorable mentions
X. Shadow of the Colossus
X. Half Life 2
X. Shadow Hearts
X. Xenosaga Episode 2
X. Vagrant Story

Basically i'm a big fan of RPGs and story driven games. PS2 for me dominated this time.

 

[megalowho]

Top 10:

1. Civilization IV ; The best version of the best game ever?
2. Rez ; An audiovisual trip inside the machine. Replayable, timeless, perfect.
3. Deus Ex ; A leap in narrative and emergent design the industry is still catching up with.
4. Shadow of the Colossus ; Poetic giant killing simulator. Epic and understated. A+ horse tech.
5. Persona 4 ; P3 reinvigorated JRPG's for me but P4 is an all time favorite regardless of genre.
6. Resident Evil 4 ; Tense and satisfying action on a different level than its peers. Technically impressive, content filled, no filler.
7. World of Warcraft ; The first year of WoW was a special time. Landmark release that's still chugging along.
8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; The perfect balance between the Zelda formula and something different. Stands the test of time.
9. Katamari Damacy ; Conceptually brilliant. Crazed happiness. Soundtrack of the generation. Got me to finally buy a PS2.
10. NBA Street Vol. 2 ; The pinnacle of arcade basketball. Stylish gameplay and presentation, historically minded. Three different Jordans.

Honorable Mentions:

x. Metroid Prime
x. Knights of the Old Republic
x. Psychonauts
x. Ikaruga
x. Half-Life 2
x. The Sims
x. Animal Crossing
x. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
x. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
x. Bully

 

[Zissou]

3. World of Warcraft; There was a time where you couldn't escape people talking about this game. It has an incredible fanbase, so many viral videos of how addicted people are to it, I'd say more about it if I'd actually played it but I missed the boat. No one with a straight face could say "PC gaming is dead" after this game released

uhhhhh... wat?

 

[AniHawk]

Thanks for doing this Anihawk. At what point will we have to PM you if we edited our ballot? And for DMC3 do we have to specify that it was the special edition?

start doing that sometime next week. i haven't started compiling anything yet.

for dmc3, you can list whichever version if you want - i'll be combining games that got same-gen updates as one title, but specify where the points went within those, if people put the effort in to make the distinction.

 

[balohna]

1. Metroid Prime ; classic Metroid gameplay translated beautifully into 3D. It still looks and sounds great today.
2. Soul Calibur ; intuitive, beautiful, crazy addictive. The best game on the Dreamcast.
3. Metal Gear Solid 2
4. Unreal Tournament 2004
5. Halo 2
6. Super Smash Bros. Melee
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
8. Final Fantasy X
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
10. Panzer Dragoon Orta

 

[gokieks]

1. Ico ; My favorite “surprise game” ever. From an unknown developer at a time before when every bit of information of every new game is disseminated on the internet, and featuring a cover that is undescriptive at best, it was a game I truly had no expectations for when I bought it. Yet this 7 hour long (at most) game, with an action quotient of nearly zero and effectively no replay value, ended up being one of my favorite games of all time, because it simply has an atmosphere and charm that is nearly unmatched (sorry, but not even by Shadow of the Colossus). And despite there being no (intelligible) dialogue, the development of the relationship between Ico and Yorda is among the best in all of gaming. I will forever hold that anyone who played the game to the end and did not feel for the pair simply has no soul.

2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ; If I had been told at the turn of the millenium that an RPG set in the Star Wars universe may become arguably the best Star Wars game ever made, I'd have laughed. But KotOR delivered almost everything I could have ever wanted out of a Star Wars RPG, and in spectacular fashion. Yes, the fact that it came after the release of the divisive first 2 movies of the prequel trilogy probably helped perceptions (certainly there were plenty of proclamations of it being a better Star Wars than them), but the game is absolutely solid on it's own. The story, setting, and characters are all very well done (HK-47 is one of the most memorable characters in a videogame ever), and the gameplay felt fast-paced and action-oriented enough despite, at it's core, still being a D&D roll-based system.

3. Metroid Prime ; I was never a die-hard Metroid fan, but even so I had the fear shared by many that the move from 2D side-scrolling to 3D first-person shooter (yes yes, "First-Person Adventure" and all that - you still shoot things, and often) would not turn out to be the best idea ever. Sure, Nintendo has pretty much proven that they're the standard of excellence when it comes to 2D->3D transitions with Mario and Zelda on the N64, but this wasn't EAD. But then the game came out, and I finally bought a GCN bundled with the game, and my lord did Retro Studios succeed brilliantly. Sure, there may have been a little too much scanning (optional, but I'm obsessive-compulsive), the doors that don't quite open fast enough are annoying, and first-person platforming is never quite as good as in third-person, but it felt unique from more or less every other FPS game out there, and more importantly, still felt like Metroid.

4. SSX Tricky ; I was one of the lucky 500K that got a PS2 at launch, and had the foresight to buy with it SSX, the best of the launch titles by far. I've never been a big sports gamer, and my interest in extreme sports, in video form or otherwise, was basically nil. But SSX completely shattered my expecations, and redefined the genre as far as I'm concern. And then a year later, SSX Tricky was released and took it to its pinnacle by being a bigger and better version, and remains the standard by which all snowboarding games will ever be judged. There are those who claim SSX 3 is a better game, but they are wrong, because Tokyo Megaplex is not in SSX 3. =)

5. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ; I think I might have played the original PoP at some point, but I certainly didn't have any attachment to it. And I also tried the absolutely atrocious PoP 3D, which obviously didn't endear me to the series either. But in just a few short hours, Sands of Time has made me such a fan that I've bought every single subsequent game in the franchise. Sure, the combat was simple and rather repetitive, and some platforming bits were tedious thanks to the camera angle. But the time rewind mechanic, the eminently likeable prince, Farah, and the banter between them, and the brilliant way the story was narrated came together to make a game that truly defined the action-platformer, even to this day.

6. World of WarCraft ; Well, there really isn't much to say about this, is there? It's a hard one to judge because the game has evolved so much, but even as someone who quit the game years ago, it's still hard to argue against this being one of the best, and certainly one of the most important, games ever. There have always been issues in the game (the evolution of PvP certainly comes to mind), but looking back, from saving up enough gold to buy the first mount to stepping foot into Molten Core for the first time to killing C'Thun to taking flight on a flying mount, the game is chock full of some of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker ; I still remember the divisive opinions that "Celda" raised back then, and how many people hated it for the visual style right off the bat. But while I was not initially enamored with it, I had full faith that Nintendo would still make a wonderful Zelda game, and I was right. The art style was charming and beautiful, and gameplay was top-notch as one would expect from one of Nintendo's flagship franchises. Sure, there were some annoyances with the boat travel, but that was just a minor blemish on an otherwise fantastic game.

8. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 ; This was during my high school years, and for about a year I went to GameWorks after school on a nearly daily basis to play this game, to the tune of god-knows-how-much money. And then I bought a Dreamcast basically specifically for this game. While Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 3 remains my favorite fighting game, this is actually the one I would say I had the most fun with.

9. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV ; Still Civ, just bigger and better, and with fantastic modding support. I actually liked Civ III, but Civ IV was the first game in the series that I would’ve said was better than Civ II. Old quirks remain (hello thar, tank-killing archers!), even half a decade later, it was still the standard of its class (and even with Civ V’s release, many may argue that it still is).

10. Shadow of the Colossus ; I don’t think of it as being the utterly brilliant game that Ico was, but it definitely shares a lot of the same strengths, and established Team Ico as a developer whose products I wouldn’t hesitate buying even sight unseen. The premise is unique, and the first time you see some of the colossi is truly breathtaking. But... those horse controls. More than even the technical performance issues, that is the reason why I can't love this game without reservation like I do Ico. I understand it (unlike most games where the control represents the horse, the controls in SotC is more like representing the rider of the horse), but that doesn't change the fact that it's makes the gameplay, of which horseback travel makes up a substantial amount, frustrating.

x. Half-Life 2 ; It's honestly hard to remember now, but Steam was, to put it lightly, not the greatest thing back then, but HL2 made putting up with it worthwhile. Still one of the best story-driven FPS, it truly was a next-gen leap from the original Half-Life. Oh, and the gravity gun is one of the best weapons in a game ever.

x. Bangai-O (Dreamcast, EU in 2000 / NA in 2001) ; One of the most delightfully weird games I've ever played. I could not begin to remember what the "story" is (though I do remember the completely absurd - and more than a little reminiscent of KKK - death screen), but running around collecting space fruit and building up a massive slowdown-triggering explosive attack is immensely satisfying.

x. Ikaruga ; Shmup is a genre that I enjoy despite being not great at, and Ikaruga remains my favorite in the genre, with a level of depth that I found utterly fascinating depite not having the skills to truly reach it. Watching a skilled player go through the game in dot eater mode is simply amazing.

x. Soul Calibur II ; Still my favorite 3D fighting game. While it was the platform-exclusive characters (or really, just Link) that got the attention, the game was very solid in its own right, and featured what is arguably still one of the best and most interesting single-player modes in a fighting game.

x. Final Fantasy XII ; Unlike many, FFX was a game that actually turned me off the franchise, and FFXII was the one that got me back on. Thanks to World of WarCraft I didn't actually play it until many years after release (and the IZJS version via PCSX2 rather than real PS2 hardware), so it might not actually be eligible, but since this is honorable mentions, who cares.

x. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht ; It's no Xenogears, but I loved it all the same. But I never got around to playing the sequels (again, thanks to WoW), and now my RPG backlog is at the point where I don't know if I ever will.

x. Tsukihime ; I never know how to really count visual novels in these types of lists, because they're just so different, so I guess I'll just list it here. I am an unabashed Type-Moon fanboy, and while Fate is propelled them to superstardom (in so far as there is such a thing for VN makers), Tsukihime was the one that made me fall in love with Nasu's style of work.

x. Fate/stay night ; Which is not to say that I didn't love F/sn as well, though there's probably no real point in talking about it on this list.

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

I managed to narrow it down to 20.
I had a GC/GBA for this gen, and I think this is around when I started getting out of PC gaming. My brother got a PS2 later, which I used to play the longest game ever known as Okami. I got Ico and it's sequel on PS3 but haven't played them yet. Mega Man Zero games could have made it, but the only one I've played extensively was 4


1. F-Zero GX ; my first F-Zero, and what a ride it was. I got all the others except the N64DD one now, but I'll probably never get to them.

2. Metroid Fusion ; my first Metroid. Later, I played Super Metroid and found out what perfect level design means, but Fusion still remains strong. This reminds me I need to play the Hard mode found in the Japanese version...

3. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 ; the best football game I've ever played (disclaimer: my first game of the franchise was PES5/WE9, before it was FIFA). The only reason I don't reinstall it is because I'll get hooked and waste hours and hours on it.

4. Animal Crossing ; started the addiction to doing chores, which continues with New Leaf to this day

5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ; objectively, probably the best 3D Zelda, though I put OoT and Majora over it on my favorites list. At least, best dungeons is a fact, while the overworld suffers from being barren. Same will happen with Wii U Zelda I bet, which is why I wanted them to take the Skyward Sword overworld design further, but I digress.

6. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; this is the last Smash I played extensively, as I barely touched Brawl and 3DS. I never liked fighters, but Smash hooked me on N64 and this perfected the formula

7. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ; I need to replay this. What I remember was a solid RPG with great dialogue. And no, I won't whine about Sticker Star, cause I really liked it as well.

8. Metroid Zero Mission ; more Metroid, more goodness. Beat it like 7 times to unlock all the pictures.

9. Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ ; my favorite Mario Kart. Love the handling and the mini boost system. And pretty much all the tracks are good.

10. Super Mario Sunshine ; my favorite 3D Mario. The FLUDless levels haven't been surpassed (disclaimer: don't own Wii U). A replay is in order.


x. Chibi-Robo! ; an overlooked action-adventure.

x. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat ; bongo platformer. Also on Wii with some slight changes.

x. Fire Emblem ; my introduction to Strategy RPGs.

x. Wario Land 4 ; high quality platformer. Need a new Wario Land developed in-house (Shake It was good, but doesn't compare to 2-4)

x. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga ; start of this lovely Mario sub-series.

x. Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green ; after playing this, I called it quits to Pokemon due to fatigue. Still haven't gone back, the farewell was good enough.

x. Ninja Five-O ; quality action-platformer

x. Okami ; dungeons are very weak, but exploring the overworld with those graphics is a joy

x. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 ; I really suck at RTS and haven't actually played one in ages, but I remember being glued to this and Age of Empires II around this time

x. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; I've never actually done any missions myself, but it was fun enough just running around the world causing mayhem.

 

[AAK]

2000-2005? So Games like God Hand, MGS3: Subsistance, God of War 2, KOF XI, don't count? IF so:

1. Devil May Cry ; This is the videogame that made me the hardcore gamer I am. To this day I am wowed by the combination of the deep combat system, the cinematic camera angle, and beautifully gothic art direction. This is still probably the greatest single player game of all time for me.
2. Tekken Tag Tournament
3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
6. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
8. Tekken 5
9. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
10. Resident Evil 4

Honorable Mentions:
x. Dead to Rights
x. Soul Calibur II
x. Burnout 3: Takedown
x. God of War

 

[myco666]

2000-2005? So Games like God Hand, MGS3: Subsistance, God of War 2, KOF XI, don't count? IF so:

1. Devil May Cry ; This is the videogame that made me the hardcore gamer I am. To this day I am wowed by the combination of the deep combat system, the cinematic camera angle, and beautifully gothic art direction. This is still probably the greatest single player game of all time for me.
2. Tekken Tag Tournament
3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
6. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
8. Tekken 5
9. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
10. Resident Evil 4

Honorable Mentions:
x. Dead to Rights
x. Soul Calibur II
x. Burnout 3: Takedown
x. God of War

2000-2005 is just for PC and Arcade. For PS2/XBOX/GCN/DC you can vote anything that was released on those systems.

 

[Dragon Puncher]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater; The best Metal Gear and a game that really hit me emotionally when I first played it.

2. Grand Theft Auto 3: Vice City; Just pure fun, awesome style and probably the best soundtrack of all time.

3. Shadow of the Colossus; SotC is a game that takes a ton of risks and succeeds on pretty much every level.

4. Sid Meier's Civilization 4; For all the games in the top 10, this is by far the one I've spend the most time with and I pretty much enjoyed every minute. The base game was a huge improvement over civ3 and the expansions gave it staying power for years to come.

5. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4; Hands down the best RPG of the generation. Also helped quite a bit by some uncharacteristically good english voice acting.

6. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening; I really wanted GoW II on the list as well, but I only had "room" for one character action game and Devil May Cry 3 is just the superior game. It doesn't have quite the spectacle of GoW II, but it has the better and more fluid fighting system and a completely bonkers story that I still love to this day.

7. Virtua Figther 4: Evolution; Virtua Fighter 4 was a great fighting game, less accesable, but leaps and bonds deeper than Tekken and Soul Calibur. With Evolution Sega not only rebalanced the game and added to great new characters, they also created the best single player mode ever included in a fighting game.

8. Silent Hill 2; Scary as shit, amazing monster design and with a story so deep and filled with mind fuckery that I probably only truly understod it 10 years after I originally played it.

9. Mario Cart: Double Dash!!; Mario Cart + co-up = Fun times for all.

10. Guitar Hero; Besides being a great game that I had a ton of fun with, Guitar Hero was a revolution that almost overnight gave a niche genre massive mainstream appeal. Therefore I think it deserves a spot.

Overall a great generation. It's really sad how far the japanese gaming industry has fallen since the golden years, though.

Edit: Question I couldn't find the answer to in the OP. Do upgraded versions of games (Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance, Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, etc.) count towards the points given to the original game or are they their own separate entry?

 

[RespectThySole]

Edit

 

[thestopsign]

Shit there are so many games to put on this list. I will have to relegate many, many great games to honorable mentions I think.

1. Counter Strike: Source The sheer amount of hours I put into this game is unreal. I don't think I'll ever be as good at any competitive multiplayer map as I was at Office. I played it through my friends Steam account at first and put in over 400hrs on his, until he got tired of me kicking him off by logging in. Then I put another 1000+ hours on my account. I can go back to it and still be pretty good to this day. I keep trying to get into CS:GO, but it has not clicked with me yet.

2. Metroid Prime I am sure whatever has been said about this game, has been said by others more eloquently. This game is a study in game design, from the opening sequence to the ending credits. Everything about it is just exquisite. Not to mention, the game is probably the biggest underdog story in gaming history, you can't write a better story than the cycle that this game went through during its development.

3. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos The campaign was wonderful. The idea of heroes was unique and addicting. The multiplayer provided my friends and I numerous crazy memories, and that all does not include how freakin' addicted we got to DotA when we discovered it in high school. We had school Mac Books provided to us that we could take home, but they were monitored to make sure we were using them for educational purposes only. We figured out to turn off our WiFi and create our own LAN to play during school hours to circumnavigate the rules and not get in trouble. Funny thing is, that since we taught everyone to do that, most of our grade would be playing some sort of game or other (Starcraft, Age of Empires, and Civilization were all popular even with "cool"/jocks kids).

4. Cave Story So I've already established how nerdy my friend group was during high school. This was one of the games we found and played religiously, one of my friends could play all the music on piano, and we had all beaten multiple times. Besides Minamoto, there is no man I admire more than the mysterious Pixel that designed a masterpiece on his own. We eventually figured out how to program, and made our own engine from scratch that closely mimicked Cave Story. I composed music for it using OrgMaker II, the music maker that Pixel programed himself. We never got enough content/art assets to make a whole game, but what we had was real good and had some interesting movement concepts.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess I have a deep-rooted love for the Zelda franchise like many on here. I have never played a Zelda and left disappointed. They are basically my happy place.

6. Resident Evil 4 Most hyped I've ever been for a game that I "wasn't" allowed to play at the time due to a protective older brother. I mostly just watched him play it, and play it, and play it. He went through it maybe four times in the first year, and I dutifully watched him almost every minute. Of course since then, I have played through it multiple times and still reference the "What are ya buyin'? line almost daily.

7. Half Life 2 I remember waiting up late the release night and trying to get Steam to work with my older brother. I think we finally got it real late at night and we accidentally had the volume too loud and my Mom woke up and made us go to bed as soon as we got the game running.

8. Katamari Damaci This is weird shit done right. The ball rolling is incredibly satisfying, the music is one of a kind catchy, the characters are out of this world (literally) weird. In fact, when my brother and I were feeling mischievous we would blast Katamari on the Rocks to wake up my older sister, she hated that song.

9. Super Monkey Ball 2 To keep on that whole ball theme. In a weird way this is my favorite Gamecube game. I put so much time into it trying to get better times. I never even played the multiplayer that much.

10. Dragon Quest VIII This is the only Dragon Quest I've fully played. The game kind of swept me away for 70 some hours and then I landed back on planet Earth. Looking at it, it is hard to detail why it is such a great game. The combat was a bit slow and could be tedious, the pacing almost died in certain spots if you had to grind, the story wasn't great, but damnit is it ever a good game.

As you can probably tell if you bothered to read my list, most of the game I played up there I had some sort of personal connection that just elevates them above these honorable mentions. I tried to include almost every game I considered truly great during that time period, that I had the fortune of playing. I only got a PS2 way after its time had come, so most of those games are me going back through and picking what I wanted to play. I never was too enticed by the Xbox, I have tried out Ninja Gaiden/Ninja Gaiden Black and played through all of the Halos.

x. F-Zero GX
x. Diablo II
x. Super Smash Bros. Melee
x. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
x. Viewtiful Joe
x. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire
x. Star Wars: Rogue Leader II
x. Sly Cooper: A Band of Thieves
x. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
x. Command and Conquer: Red Alert II
x. Civilization III
x. Tales of Symphonia
x. Final Fantasy XII
x. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
x. Final Fantasy X
x. Mother 3
x. Age of Empire II
x. Guitar Hero
x. Metal Gear Solid II: Sons of Liberty
x. Shadow of the Colossus
x. Advanced Wars
x. Golden Sun

 

[Camwi]

My second favorite generation after the 16-bit era, so this is going to be hard.

1. Resident Evil 4 ; Some people say there’s no such thing as a perfect, 10/10 game. I respectfully disagree. There are several games that I would describe as perfect, and Resident Evil 4 is one of them. Every aspect of the game is amazing. It’s one of those games you can replay over and over and over again and never get bored.

2. Metroid Prime ; The perfect translation from a 2D series to a 3D world. I absolutely love the way that Samus is alone on this planet, so there’s no dialogue in the game, and yet a story unravels as you explore and scan things.

3. Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn ; Extremely deep in so many ways, from the story, to the characters and their relationships with one another, to the combat. Easy to spend an enormous amount of hours in the game.

4. Diablo 2 ; I could spend literally a hundred hours playing through the game over and over again on multiple difficulties with one character class, stop playing for a year, and then spend ANOTHER hundred hours on a different class. It was just non-stop fun.

5. Final Fantasy 12 ; My second favorite Final Fantasy game, after FF3/6. I loved the large, beautiful environments. One thing that stuck out in my mind is the fluidity of the battles. I loved the fact that the game didn’t stop and bother you with a random encounter. Don’t want to fight in a battle? Just hold the escape button and you won’t be bothered.

6. Dark Cloud 2 ; This might be the biggest jump in quality from the first game in a series to the second. Does everything better than the first game and then some. You can spend a huge amount of hours playing through the game, and then get lost in some of the mini-games like golfing through the levels, or fishing.

7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; Hard for me to choose between GTA3 and San Andreas, but I guess San Andreas wins for being more fleshed out. Loved the usual whacky Rockstar characters and the enormous environment. I also wish they’d bring back gang territories.

8. Burnout 3: Takedown ; The greatest sense of speed that I’ve ever played in a game. Road Rage and Crash mode were the stand-outs that made this game so, so good.

9. World of Warcraft ; One of the best MMORPGs that I’ve ever played, and I got into the game really late.

10. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne ; I loved the challenge and the crazy demonic characters. More RPGs should also follow Nocturne’s ability to speed up battles.

Honorable Mentions (I hate that I couldn't include 'em)
x. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
x. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
x. Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
x. Half-Life 2
x. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
x. Ninja Gaiden Sigma - Duh, I played this on the PS3.
x. Advance Wars
x. REmake
x. God of War

 

[ngff02]

1) Diablo 2: LoD ~ one of the best PC multiplayer games ever
2) Metroid Prime
3) Knights of the Old Republic
4) Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
5) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
6) Shenmue
7) Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
8) Grand Theft Auto 3
9) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
10) Final Fantasy X

x. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
x. Metroid Fusion
x. Halo (PC)
x. FFXII
x. Tekken Tag Tournament
x. Persona 4
x. Lumines
x. Ridge Racer PSP
x. Metal Gear Solid 2

 

[FourMyle]

1. Resident Evil 4 - The perfect Survival Horror/Action game. The atmosphere is immediate and unforgettable, the pacing knows exactly when to amp up/wind down up and the graphics as well as art direction are masterful even to this day. The gunplay is unique and every well placed shot feels rewarding. Mastering the controls is satisfying in ways very few games are. I could go on, and on but you get the idea.

2. Capcom vs. SNK 2 - Peak 2D fighting. This game took everything the entire Street Fighter series had been building up to till that point and combined it together in a way that only Capcom was capable of pulling off. And make no mistake, this is a SF game through and through. All the SNK mechanics in the game are "filtered" through a SF lens, which IMO was the right thing to do.

3. Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

4. Marvel vs. Capcom 2

5. Final Fantasy X

6. Halo 2

7. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

8. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

9. Ninja Gaiden Black

10. Ragnarok Online

 

[Devil]

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; Porbably my most played offline game ever and to this day my favourite fighting game, if not game in general, of all time.
2. Resident Evil 4 ; Probably my favourite SP game of all time. It's perfect. I own it three times, would buy again.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker ; Even with the issues it has it's such a great experience.
4. Half Life 2 ;
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ;
6. Shadow of the Colossus ;
7. Final Fantasy X ;
8. Metroid Fusion ;
9. Metroid Prime ;
10. Counter Strike: Source ;


Honourable mentions (no order):

x. Pokemon Ruby/Saphire ;
x. Metal Gear Solid 3 ;
x. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time ;
x. Battlefield 2 ;
x. Mario Kart: Double Dash ;
x. Tekken 5 ;
x. Metroid: Zero Mission ;
x. GTA: Vice City ;
x. Burnout 2/3 ;
...and some more.

 

[backflip10019]

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; Possibly my most played game ever. Such a fantastic couch co-op game.
2. Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II ; Played the absolute shit out of this game. My first console game that I brought online. Much of the fun was due to the duping glitch, but damn did I love the hell out of it.
3. Halo 2 ; One of the best online multiplayer experiences I've ever had.
4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ;
5. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal ;
6. Resident Evil 4 ;
7. Kingdom Hearts II ;
8. God of War II ;
9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ;
10. Halo: Combat Evolved ;

x. Fable ;
x. Katamari Damacy ;
x. SSX Tricky ;

 

[Barry Burton]

EDIT: I'll just add a new post to the thread once I'm done writing comments, etc.