2000-2009 Games of the decade discussion

Well I decided to make a thread for the previous decade instead of the current decade since I consider most digitians to be patient gamers. The PC game deals thread is most active game thread anyways. Hopefully most people here have played most of the games in the previous decade. So what you do think were the best games released between Jan, 2000 to Dec, 2009 ?

1. Your top 10 games of the previous decade
2. Best game design (gameplay mechanics, puzzles, play balancing, scenarios, etc.)
3. Best audio (sound effects, musical composition, sound design, orchestration, etc.)
4. Best innovation
5. Best narrative (story, plot construction, dialogue, branching narratives, etc.)
6. Best technology (graphics, artificial intelligence, networking, physics, etc.)
7. Best visual art (animation, modeling, art direction, textures, etc.)
8. Best trailer of a game released in previous decade (can be CGI or gameplay)

^^Will be difficult to decide the Top 10 since there are many games released in 10yrs span.

Zangetsu said:
^^Will be difficult to decide the Top 10 since there are many games released in 10yrs span.

Well you could use metacritic to search for games
Best Video Games of All Time

I am going to write my own answer after sometime.

Half-Life 2
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Portal
Deus Ex
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Max Payne
Counter-Strike
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Dragon Age: Origins
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

Best game design: Deus Ex. Probably the first game that offered different ways of completing a mission. And your actions have consequences later. It's also a game that used keyboard and mouse well. You could use the keyboard to enter keycodes and usernames/passwords. You could use the KB to write notes as well. And instead of aim assist there was weapon sway. Absolutely no hand-holding. Some other notable mentions: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Portal, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.

Best audio: Halo: Combat Evolved

Also the alien sounds - the small monkey alien saying that guy is devil.
Some other notable mentions: Dragon Age: Origins, Dead Space, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (dat M1 Garand sound)

Best innovation : Portal. The interaction between portals and physics just created some interesting puzzle levels. Some other notable mentions: Counter-Strike(this concept was new at the time

), Deus Ex (immersive sim), Max Payne (slo mo), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (the original Call of Duty)

Best narrative : Dragon Age: Origins. Developed at the time when Bioware still wrote stories :cry:

Some other notable mentions: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Portal, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2 : Episode 2, BioShock, Half-Life 2, Deus Ex.

Best technology : A tough choice between Crysis and Half-Life 2. I'll go with Half-Life 2 as it uses physics in actual gameplay a lot. Some other notable mentions: Gears of War, PoP: Sands of Time.

Best visual art : Prince of Persia 2008. Kind of water color like art which was excellent. Some other notable mentions: Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Gears of War, Half-Life 2, Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within, PoP: Sands of Time.

Best trailer:

My top games of the last decade:
1. CoD MW
2. CoD MW2
3. NFS MW
4. GTA San Andreas
5. Crysis
6. Devil May Cry 3
7. Mass Effect 1
8. GTA Vice City
9. NFS Carbon
10. FIFA 10 (I played just 10 & 08, liked 10 more)

GAME DESIGN: Mass Effect because of the choices & its repercussions

GAME AUDIO: None (Don't remember any)

INNOVATION: GTA San Andreas, the open world, being able to do anything you want made it just way too enjoyable

NARRATIVE: CoD Modern Warframe 1 & 2, liked the story a lot

TECH, VISUAL ART & TRAILER: Crysis, the game just looked great for its time. No wonder "can your PC run crysis" was a thing.

chimera201 said:
Half-Life 2

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

Portal

Deus Ex

Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Max Payne

Counter-Strike

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Dragon Age: Origins

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

Best game design: Deus Ex. Probably the first game that offered different ways of completing a mission. And your actions have consequences later. It's also a game that used keyboard and mouse well. You could use the keyboard to enter keycodes and usernames/passwords. You could use the KB to write notes as well. And instead of aim assist there was weapon sway. Absolutely no hand-holding. Some other notable mentions: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Portal, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.

Best audio: Halo: Combat Evolved

Also the alien sounds - the small monkey alien saying that guy is devil.
Some other notable mentions: Dragon Age: Origins, Dead Space, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (dat M1 Garand sound)

Best innovation : Portal. The interaction between portals and physics just created some interesting puzzle levels. Some other notable mentions: Counter-Strike(this concept was new at the time ), Deus Ex (immersive sim), Max Payne (slo mo), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (the original Call of Duty)

Best narrative : Dragon Age: Origins. Developed at the time when Bioware still wrote stories
Some other notable mentions: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Portal, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2 : Episode 2, BioShock, Half-Life 2, Deus Ex.

Best technology : A tough choice between Crysis and Half-Life 2. I'll go with Half-Life 2 as it uses physics in actual gameplay a lot. Some other notable mentions: Gears of War, PoP: Sands of Time.

Best visual art : Prince of Persia 2008. Kind of water color like art which was excellent. Some other notable mentions: Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Gears of War, Half-Life 2, Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within, PoP: Sands of Time.

Best trailer:

Agreed with everything. Add Morrowind in it and this list would be my choice as well.

anupam_pb said:
My top games of the last decade:
1. CoD MW
2. CoD MW2
3. NFS MW
4. GTA San Andreas
5. Crysis
6. Devil May Cry 3
7. Mass Effect 1
8. GTA Vice City
9. NFS Carbon
10. FIFA 10 (I played just 10 & 08, liked 10 more)

GAME DESIGN: Mass Effect because of the choices & its repercussions

GAME AUDIO: None (Don't remember any)

INNOVATION: GTA San Andreas, the open world, being able to do anything you want made it just way too enjoyable

NARRATIVE: CoD Modern Warframe 1 & 2, liked the story a lot

TECH, VISUAL ART & TRAILER: Crysis, the game just looked great for its time. No wonder "can your PC run crysis" was a thing.

I see a mainstream gamer here...

When I think about games non-critically NFS:MW 2005 and PoP: Warrior Within comes to mind. PoP:WW is actually my favorite out of all the PoP games so is NFS:MW 2005.

chimera201 said:
I see a mainstream gamer here...

When I think about games non-critically NFS:MW 2005 and PoP: Warrior Within comes to mind. PoP:WW is actually my favorite out of all the PoP games so is NFS:MW 2005.

I played a lot of those games in 2010 when I got a gaming PC. I wasn't into hack & slash, still ain't into it, but somehow liked DMC 3 & 4. I don't like Skyrim, but I liked Witcher 3 a lot. So I mostly play shooters. I have heard of PoP, played Forgotten Sands & the classic first game, but didn't like it too much to give others a try.

Sadly no great racing game these days. Played FH4 & F1 2019 this year, but after a point, it gets boring. I played NFS MW almost 3 times back in the day.

Yeah I played NFS:MW 3 times to completion as well. Give PoP:WW a try although the graphics will be outdated. It is actually the best game contrary to critical reception. And I know the reason why critics hated it even if they don't admit it in their reviews.

1. Dragon Age Origins
2. Half Life 2
3. Elder Scrolls III
4. Dark Souls
5. Dragon Age Origins
6. Crysis
7. Unsure about this, maybe CoD4 ?
8. Wrath of the lich king trailer, still get goosebumps..

Nerevarine said:
1. Dragon Age Origins
2. Half Life 2
3. Elder Scrolls III
4. Dark Souls
5. Dragon Age Origins
6. Crysis
7. Unsure about this, maybe CoD4 ?
8. Wrath of the lich king trailer, still get goosebumps..

Dark Souls is a 2011 game.
Warcraft cinematics are great.

Why are we talking about last decade?

Anorion said:
Why are we talking about last decade?

Because most of us wouldn't have played most of the games in this decade especially recent years. Kind of pointless talking about this decade if we haven't played the games.

1. Deus Ex
2. GTA III
3. Portal
4. World of Goo
5. Sins of a Solar Empire
6. Prince of Persia
7. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
8. Borderlands
9. Burnout Paradise
10. Mirror's Edge

Mobile games: Snake II, Orbital, Angry Birds, Canabalt

chimera201 said:
Because most of us wouldn't have played most of the games in this decade especially recent years. Kind of pointless talking about this decade if we haven't played the games.

I really played most of my games this decade than the previous one, easily by a long shot. Better internet helped me a lot.

Actually this decade played a lot of games from all the decades... steam and rereleases on app store means that now games have much longer shelf lives, and don't just die, so the release date is not so important now

There are GOTY threads for recent years:
Game of the Year 2019
Game of the Year 2018
Game of the Year 2017

Wow. Will have to sit for sometime and see which games I have played till now. I have played so many games from that decade that don't even remember which games are from that particular decade.