"Game of the Decade"

[Jisho23]

We all browse the web, we know whats going on on Gamefaqs (polling GOTD). I'm curious what people are hopefully more intelligent than the average gamefaq forum crawler is (this is in jest).

Mainly, what I'm always concerned with--especially topics like this--is how do we evaluate these games? If we go based upon cultural impact then this is really a contest between Halo and World of Warcraft, both of those games have change the modern face of gaming in a way the likes of which is unprecedented. Those games also happen to be extremely good, but then what about a game like GTAIII? Just as influential, but I doubt most people would play the original GTAIII over San Andres. If we judge games based upon gameplay... well, then that would almost totally ignore the impact that many games had when they were released.

Anyway, I'm curious what people here think on the topic and if they have any games they feel really do deserve that coveted title.

[Hawksmoor]

I think I'd have to go with Ico.

[Enigmus]

Team Fortress 2. It's one of the only first person shooters I'll play because it oddly reminds me of Doom in a way, such as frenzied gameplay and the amount of fan modifications.

[SpaceHarrier]

I agree with you that the evaluation part can be tricky.. Do I answer from my gut, with the game that moved me the most? Was the most fun? Or do I try to objectively pick them apart to decide what moved videogames forward as an interactive medium? Or choose from games that spawned the most countless imitators or received the most consumer attention?

Basically, is the "Game of the Decade" just MY favorite game, or is it externalized to include other factors?

By the way, I'm going with Super Mario Galaxy.

[Gooch3008]

Halo is so over-hyped.

[G-Boobie]

What criteria are they using to judge the "game of the decade"? Sales? Popularity? Innovation? Story? Platform? Technology?

This smells like page view bait. Besides, it'll end up being a Mario game of some kind anyway.

[kupomogli]

Just as influential, but I doubt most people would play the original GTAIII over San Andres. If we judge games based upon gameplay... well, then that would almost totally ignore the impact that many games had when they were released.

Innovation has nothing to do with a game being a good game. Sure GTA, Dragon Warrior, and Space Invaders are the first ones in their specific types of genres, but does being the first mean they're better than if they were the 50th? No.

These games were good when they were the only ones of their kind. Space Invaders still holds up but I can name atleast five clones that are better, one of which is a fake game on Retro Game Challenge. With Dragon Warrior almost every jRPG that's came out afterwards is a better game.

That doesn't mean an innovate game can't be better than games that have been released after it. For example, Tetris is only worse than the Puzzle Bobble games. I think that innovation deserves its own poll altogether as it's unfair that a bad game is ranked higher than a good/better game just because it came out first.

[Nebagram]

On gamefaqs gotd will be one of the following four: Twilight Princess, FFX, FFXII or Kingdom Hearts, I guarantee you that.

I've actually been working on a little project whereby I look at all the games from a particular year and work out my own personal game of the year and those in the runners-up spots. Then I take all the gotys and work out a game of the decade (and before you say anything, I have a very boring job with unlimited use of email for personal purposes, so yeah).

For 2000-2009 my 'game of the decade' wound up being San Andreas, with Fallout 3 2nd and Mario Galaxy 3rd.

[Jisho23]

Innovation has nothing to do with a game being a good game. Sure GTA, Dragon Warrior, and Space Invaders are the first ones in their specific types of genres, but does being the first mean they're better than if they were the 50th? No.

These games were good when they were the only ones of their kind. Space Invaders still holds up but I can name atleast five clones that are better, one of which is a fake game on Retro Game Challenge. With Dragon Warrior almost every jRPG that's came out afterwards is a better game.

That doesn't mean an innovate game can't be better than games that have been released after it. For example, Tetris is only worse than the Puzzle Bobble games. I think that innovation deserves its own poll altogether as it's unfair that a bad game is ranked higher than a good/better game just because it came out first.

I mostly agree with that logic that games are constantly innovating, improving, and replacing the older games. But at the same time, I think that logic can lead to us kicking some of these classics to the curb. It impossible to completely ignore the impact a game has had on gamer and cultural lexicon.

And I wish I could be completely objective and totally remove myself from that degree of bias, but I really can't, and I don't think anyone can completely do that.

[Rob2600]

For game of the decade (2000-2009), we have to look at games for all of these consoles:

Sony PlayStation
Nintendo 64
Sega Dreamcast
Sony PlayStation 2
Microsoft Xbox
Nintendo GameCube
Microsoft Xbox 360
Sony PlayStation 3
Nintendo Wii

So, we should consider classics like Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Jet Grind Radio, Soulcalibur, and Resident Evil 4, in addition to newer games like Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

[buzz_n64]

In my opinion it should be one of the following-

Super Mario Galaxy
Grand Theft Auto III
Halo

[diskoboy]

Jet Grind Radio.

I bought the import months before it was released in the US, only because I had to have that badass Japanese game case. I naturally bought it when it was released in North America - and when the DC was dead, and all the stores had started to get rid of their DC inventories, I bought about 3 extra copies for $7 per.

To this day, I still play JGR at least twice a week.

Bioshock would come in a very close second. GTA Vice City get's my 3rd place vote.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Fallout 3. First game in a long time, that gave me that "Wow Factor." There's not a gaming experience in recent memory that is as exciting as: stepping outside of vault 101 for the 1st time to see a demolished Washington DC that you're free to explore. The game is as nuanced as it is vulgar, and I've put many hours into it.

[The 1 2 P]

I'm going to go with Burnout 3, which was the most fun I have ever had with a racing game. The campaign(or world tour mode) is very long and engaging. But beyond that it's just plain fun. Add to that the countless hours spent playing against real people all over the world(and I do mean all over the WORLD) on XBL and you have your game of the decade. My runner-up would have to be Halo 2 for basically the same two reasons: great single player campaign complimented perfectly with legendary online multiplayer.

Of course, those are my two main criteria today but for games released between 2000-2003 the main focus wasn't on online multiplayer the way it is today in 2010. So that would be another thing to factor in when deciding exactly which games would be considered in such an undertaking.

[Jisho23]

Ok, I guess I'll actually decide on something.

Believe it or not, I really do feel that "Dwarf Fortress" is a game of special note. To date, as far as I know, the game is by and large the most open ended strategy game ever released and sheer scale and scope of the game (the game creates an entire unique history for every game you create) is simply monstrous. Yeah, it takes roughly about an hour to fully understand the interface and then another to actually understand what you are doing. But once you do manage to get over those hurdles you do learn to appreciate how much thought and depth there is to it.

Otherwise, Mass Effect 2. I'm almost certain I can call it RPG of the decade--but not without contest. But in ME2, for the first time I felt that I was truly controlling a character within an interactive story, not just accomplishing goals. Roleplay is tricky that way, older games do in many ways give more options but you never got that impression of a character coming to life on screen.

[badinsults]

There can only be one.


Paper Mario

[RASK1904]

Sware we already did this. Start with best games for each system. Or best game of each year. Then you run into the best game of 2000 is very good but nowhere near as good as the best game of 2009/10. So really the best game of the decade is the best game of this/last year. It realy isnt much of a "oh wow we have 10,000 games to chose from". Games get better every year. In ten years the games have gottin way better. Game of the year is a way better argument/discussion.

[Dr. Dib]

I'm going to go with Duke Nukem Forever. It was developed throughout the entire decade. If only it had come out December 31st 2009, that would have been awesome. But instead it won't come out until next year.

See, the game can still be milked for jokes!

[kupomogli]

My game of the decade would be Brigandine Grand Edition. The game is just an update of Brigandine Legend of Forsena and much like Legacy of Darkness, it's pretty much the same game on the exact same system. The game elements were tweaked quite a bit to provide a "technically" better experience.

Elements other than black and white are changed to rock, paper, scissors type Red > Green > Blue. There's new classes such as Lizard King and Knight Blade(Dinadin only,) and more class specific skills. The 3d animations while are awesome to watch once in awhile are removed for nice looking 2d animations that display right on the battlefield.

But how do you make an already perfect game better? Add multiplayer. The multiplayer mode is awesome. Similar to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms multiplayer, you can have multiple setups where certain portions of the land are divided between certain countries. Not only that but you can have as many players as countries who can be controlled by AI or player control.

Anyways. Brigandine is one of my favorite games and Grand Edition is just as good in my opinion only slightly better due to the multiplayer. Does suck that everything is in Japanese but it's not difficult to play in Japanese. This is one game I would buy on PSN if it received a localization.

[Hawksmoor]

Innovation has nothing to do with a game being a good game. Sure GTA, Dragon Warrior, and Space Invaders are the first ones in their specific types of genres, but does being the first mean they're better than if they were the 50th? No.

I assume you're speaking of GTA3, right? If so, I think it's somewhat inaccurate to say it was the first of its kind, given the fairly well-documented influence Shenmue had on GTA3's development.

[Sonicwolf]

What we should do is figure this out for real. We should find the highest rated game by year for the 2000s decade and then find out which of those is the highest rated.

If it is Halo, I will vomit.

[RP2A03]

The highest rated games for each year from 2000 thru 2009 according to Metacritic:

2000: Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC) -- 95

2001: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PC) -- 97


Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) -- 97


2002: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) -- 95

Madden NFL 2003 (PS2) -- 95

2003: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) -- 94

Madden NFL 2004 (PS2) - 94

NCAA Football 2004 (PS2) -- 94

2004: Half-Life 2 (PC) -- 96

2005: Resident Evil 4 (PS2) -- 96

2006: Out of the Park Baseball 2007 (PC)-- 96
...Wait WTF?! And with a 4.4 average user score too! Something smells fishy here. http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/out-of-the-park-baseball-2007

2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 97

2008: Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360) -- 98

2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) -- 96


And the Metacritic Game of the Decade* is...


Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360)


*Does not include GameCube, Dreamcast, GameBoy Advance, Xbox, Nintendo 64, PS1, N-Gage or any other such lesser platform.

[Jisho23]

My game of the decade would be Brigandine Grand Edition. The game is just an update of Brigandine Legend of Forsena and much like Legacy of Darkness, it's pretty much the same game on the exact same system. The game elements were tweaked quite a bit to provide a "technically" better experience.

Elements other than black and white are changed to rock, paper, scissors type Red > Green > Blue. There's new classes such as Lizard King and Knight Blade(Dinadin only,) and more class specific skills. The 3d animations while are awesome to watch once in awhile are removed for nice looking 2d animations that display right on the battlefield.

But how do you make an already perfect game better? Add multiplayer. The multiplayer mode is awesome. Similar to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms multiplayer, you can have multiple setups where certain portions of the land are divided between certain countries. Not only that but you can have as many players as countries who can be controlled by AI or player control.

Anyways. Brigandine is one of my favorite games and Grand Edition is just as good in my opinion only slightly better due to the multiplayer. Does suck that everything is in Japanese but it's not difficult to play in Japanese. This is one game I would buy on PSN if it received a localization.

Is Grand edition that much of a step up? I wasn't especially impressed w/ the original. I'd love to give it another shot.

[kupomogli]

Is Grand edition that much of a step up? I wasn't especially impressed w/ the original. I'd love to give it another shot.

If you didn't like the original then you probably won't like Grand Edition. I didn't put every single change on there. I'll message you all the changes.


[/B][CENTER]And the Metacritic Game of the Decade* is...


Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360)

I don't mind that game. I thought almost all previous GTA games sucks. The fourth one is my favorite next gen title. Uncharted 2 is the second best in that listing and Resident Evil 4 is okay. I've never played Half Life 2 but probably good.

[Rob2600]

The highest rated games for each year from 2000 thru 2009 according to Metacritic:

2000: Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC) -- 95

2001: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PC) -- 97


Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) -- 97


2002: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) -- 95

Madden NFL 2003 (PS2) -- 95

2003: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) -- 94

Madden NFL 2004 (PS2) - 94

NCAA Football 2004 (PS2) -- 94

2004: Half-Life 2 (PC) -- 96

2005: Resident Evil 4 (PS2) -- 96

2006: Out of the Park Baseball 2007 (PC)-- 96
...Wait WTF?! And with a 4.4 average user score too! Something smells fishy here. http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/out-of-the-park-baseball-2007

2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 97

2008: Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360) -- 98

2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) -- [B]96

It'd be better to list the top five highest-rated games of each year. That'd give us a better representation of the best games of the decade to choose from.

[Jisho23]

I think it goes without saying that using metacritic to judge this may not be the best option...

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Come on people, clearly each and every one of us should be able to collectively agree on the single best game of the past decade across all developers and consoles.


...

...

...

...

...pppffffshhhhhhhhhhh ...ahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHhahaha OH, oh, (wipes tear) I'm sorry I tried, but I just couldn't keep a straight face there.

[RP2A03]

It'd be better to list the top five highest-rated games of each year. That'd give us a better representation of the best games of the decade to choose from.

Ask and ye shall receive.

2000:
1. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC) --95

2. SSX (PS2) -- 93

3. The Sims (PC) -- 92

4. Madden NFL 2001 (PS2) -- 91

4. DOA2: Hardcore (PS2) -- 91

4. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2(PC) -- 91

4. The Longest Journey (PC) -- 91

4. The Operative: No One Lives Forever (PC) -- 91
2001:
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PC) -- 97

1. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) -- 97

3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2) -- 96

4. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec -- 95

5. Devil May Cry (PS2) -- 94

5. Madden NFL 2002 (PS2) -- 94
2002:
1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) -- 95

1. Madden NFL 2003 (PS2) -- 95

3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PS2) -- 94

3. Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2) -- 94

5. Grand Theft Auto III (PC) -- 93

5. NFL 2K3 (PS2) -- 93
2003:
1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) -- 94

1. Madden NFL 2004 (PS2) - 94

1. NCAA Football 2004 (PS2) -- 94

4. SSX 3 (PS2) -- 93

4. World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 International (PS2) -- 93

4. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2) -- 93

4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) -- 93
2004:
1. Half-Life 2 (PC) -- 96

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) -- 95

3. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2) -- 93

3. Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC) -- 93

3. World of Warcraft (PC) -- 93

3. World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International (PS2) -- 93
2005:
1. Resident Evil 4 (PS2) -- 96

2. God of War (PS2) -- 94

2. Civilization IV (PC) --94

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC) -- 93

5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (PC) -- 92
2006:
1. Out of the Park Baseball 2007 (PC)-- 96

2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) -- 95

3. Gears of War (360) -- 94

3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC/360) -- 94

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2) -- 94
2007:
1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 97

2. BioShock (PC/360) -- 96

2. The Orange Box (PC/360) -- 96

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3/360) -- 94

4. Halo 3 (360) -- 94
2008:
1. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360) -- 98

2. LittleBigPlanet (PS3) -- 95

3. World of Goo (Wii) -- 94

3. BioShock (PS3) -- 94

3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) -- 94
2009:
1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) -- 96

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) -- 94

2. Street Fighter IV (PS3) -- 94

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360) -- 94

5. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS) -- 93

5. Street Fighter IV (360) -- 93

5. Braid (PS3) -- 93

5. Flipnote Studio (DS) -- 93


Of course this list is a bit flawed, being Metacritic's. A number of great games were left out because they were on one of the "lesser" platforms. If we are going to get serious with this list, some of those games will have to be added to the list.

[kupomogli]

[/INDENT]
3. Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2) -- 94
[INDENT]4. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (PS2) -- 93

And then you have retarded scores like this. So VF4 gets a 94 and then VF4 Evolution gets 93. Same game but two new fighters and that one quest mode of sorts where you go to different arcades fighting better players, etc. It also included the original game but I think it had the graphics of the original game but all the Evolution characters and attacks.

[portnoyd]

I think the winner is pretty obvious at this point and something we can all agree on. Zach and Cody The Suite Life for the DS.

[Flashback2012]

I think the winner is pretty obvious at this point and something we can all agree on. Zach and Cody The Suite Life for the DS.

OMFG YES!!

Wait...is it really better than such classics as Homie Rollerz, Wizards of Waverly Place: Spellbound, or Sonny With A Chance? :?

[Jisho23]

OMFG YES!!

Wait...is it really better than such classics as Homie Rollerz, Wizards of Waverly Place: Spellbound, or Sonny With A Chance? :?

Those games got nothing of Phineas and Ferb Ride Again!

[heybtbm]

For 2000-2009 my 'game of the decade' wound up being San Andreas, with Fallout 3 2nd and Mario Galaxy 3rd.

Good list. Maybe switch Mario Galaxy 1 with MG2 and add Resident Evil 4 somewhere in there.

[Rob2600]

Ask and ye shall receive...

Of course this list is a bit flawed, being Metacritic's. A number of great games were left out because they were on one of the "lesser" platforms. If we are going to get serious with this list, some of those games will have to be added to the list.

Why would you purposely leave off highly-rated games just because you think they're for "lesser" platforms? Where's The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for GameCube?

[Solertia]

My favorite game of the decade is probably Tales of Symphonia, and it has already won its first match-up on GameFAQs' bracket (against Resident Evil 5), which is nice to see.

[Robocop2]

Look deep into your soul, the answer you seek for your question is obvious. Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is the only choice.

[fredoche711]

I'll have to go with those choice :

-Perfect dark ( N64 )
-Metroid Prime ( GC )
-Shadow of Colossus ( ps2 )
-Half-Life 2 ( pc )

[RP2A03]

Why would you purposely leave off highly-rated games just because you think they're for "lesser" platforms? Where's The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for GameCube?

I was being sarcastic when I said "'lesser'". They left out those systems in their score list.

[maxlords]

Of the things I've seen matched up on there so far....every single one I've voted for has been a losing game (in the matchup). Figures.

,,!,, Gamefaqs fanboys

[RP2A03]

Metacritic just added a link to scores on most of the legacy platforms (GameCube, Dreamcast, GameBoy Advance, Xbox, Nintendo 64, PS1) that were previously omitted. Unfortunatly those games are still not in the highest scoring games list which means that I have to look at the scores for each individual platform. The modified list is as follows:

2000:
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS) -- 98

2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (DC) -- 97

2. NFL 2K1 (DC) -- 97

2. Perfect Dark (N64) -- 97

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) -- 95

5. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC) --95
2001:
1. Halo: Combat Evolved (XB) -- 97

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2) -- 97

1. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) -- 97

4. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2) -- 96

5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBA) -- 95

5. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2) -- 95
2002:
1. Metroid Prime (GCN) -- 97

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA) -- 95

2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) -- 95

2. Madden NFL 2003 (PS2) -- 95

5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PS2) -- 94

5. Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2) -- 94
2003:
1. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN) -- 96

1. Grand Theft Auto Double Pack (XB) -- 96

3. The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition (GCN) --95

4. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) -- 94

4. Madden NFL 2004 (GCN/PS2) -- 94

4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XB) -- 94

4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) -- 94

4. NCAA Football 2004 (PS2) -- 94
2004:
1. Half-Life 2 (PC) -- 96

2. Halo 2 (XB) -- 95

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) -- 95

4. Burnout 3: Takedown (XB) -- 94

5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (XB) -- 93

5. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2) -- 93

5. Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC) -- 93

5. World of Warcraft (PC) -- 93

5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International (PS2) -- 93
2005:
1. Resident Evil 4 (GCN/PS2) -- 96

2. Ninja Gaiden Black (XB) -- 94

2. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (XB) -- 94

2. God of War (PS2) -- 94

2. Civilization IV (PC) --94
2006:
1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN) -- 96

1. Out of the Park Baseball 2007 (PC)-- 96

3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) -- 95

4. Gears of War (360) -- 94

4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC/360) -- 94

4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2) -- 94
2007:
1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 97

2. BioShock (PC/360) -- 96

2. The Orange Box (PC/360) -- 96

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3/360) -- 94

4. Halo 3 (360) -- 94
2008:
1. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360) -- 98

2. LittleBigPlanet (PS3) -- 95

3. World of Goo (Wii) -- 94

3. BioShock (PS3) -- 94

3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) -- 94
2009:
1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) -- 96

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360) -- 94

2. Street Fighter IV (PS3) -- 94

4. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS) -- 93

4. Street Fighter IV (360) -- 93

4. Braid (PS3) -- 93

4. Flipnote Studio (DS) -- 93


And the Metacritic Game of the Decade is...


Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360)
and
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS)

[BetaWolf47]

Mine have to be Super Mario Galaxy, Beyond Good and Evil, and probably Banjo-Tooie. Yeah, unfortunately I have barely played much outside of Nintendo systems.

[Rob2600]

Out of the Park Baseball 2007 (PC)-- 96

You also need to take into consideration the number of review scores each game has received. Out of the Park Baseball only has 5 professional review scores.

By comparison, Super Mario Galaxy has 73 scores, God of War has 75 scores, and Resident Evil 4 (GameCube) has 82 scores.

I think games with fewer than a dozen scores shouldn't be counted.

[Dobie]

When going "Game of the Decade," my criteria wouldn't be straight metacritic scores. The game in question needs to be a "king maker." A seller of systems, spawner of genres, franchises, and myriad copycats. It must make an indelible imprint upon the larger gaming community--for good or bad. It must sell to casual and hardcore alike. It needs to be THE game every other developer aspires to make.

The games that immediately come to mind are GTA3, Halo, and Wii Sports. Being an unabashed Halo fan, it gets my vote. It is the game that established Microsoft's Xbox, the game that sold millions on the potential of Xbox Live, the game that every other shooter on the console aspires to be and is compared to. But any of these (and others as well) could be considered highly worthy. Honorable mentions to CoD4,THPS2, HL2.

[RP2A03]

You also need to take into consideration the number of review scores each game has received. Out of the Park Baseball only has 5 professional review scores.

By comparison, Super Mario Galaxy has 73 scores, God of War has 75 scores, and Resident Evil 4 (GameCube) has 82 scores.

I think games with fewer than a dozen scores shouldn't be counted.

Agreed. The following have been removed from the list for low review count:

The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition (GCN) 2003 -- 8 critic reviews; also because it is a re-release of previously relesed games

Out of the Park Baseball 2007 (PC) 2006 -- 5 critic reviews

Flipnote Studio (DS) 2009 -- 7 critic reviews

I also removed Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) 2003 because it is a remake.





2000:
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS) -- 98 -- 19 critics

2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (DC) -- 97 -- 18 critics

2. NFL 2K1 (DC) -- 97 -- 22 critics

2. Perfect Dark (N64) -- 97 -- 30 critics

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) -- 95 -- 27 critics

5. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC) --95 -- 30 critics
2001:
1. Halo: Combat Evolved (XB) -- 97 -- 68 critics

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2) -- 97 -- 34 critics

1. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) -- 97 -- 56 critics

4. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2) -- 96 -- 42 critics

5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBA) -- 95 -- 16 critics

5. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2) -- 95 -- 55 critics
2002:
1. Metroid Prime (GCN) -- 97 -- 70 critics

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA) -- 95 -- 30 critics

2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) -- 95 -- 62 critics

2. Madden NFL 2003 (PS2) -- 95 -- 25 critics

5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PS2) -- 94 -- 27 critics

5. Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2) -- 94-- 36 critics
2003:
1. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN) -- 96 -- 80 critics

1. Grand Theft Auto Double Pack (XB) -- 96 -- 33 critics

3. Madden NFL 2004 (GCN/PS2) -- 94 -- 19 GCN; 29 PS2 critics

3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XB) -- 94 -- 72 critics

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC) -- 94 -- 30 critics

3. NCAA Football 2004 (PS2) -- 94 -- 15 critics
2004:
1. Half-Life 2 (PC) -- 96 -- 81 critics

2. Halo 2 (XB) -- 95 -- 91 critics

2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) -- 95 -- 80 critics

4. Burnout 3: Takedown (XB) -- 94 -- 76 critics

5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (XB) -- 93 -- 74 critics

5. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2) -- 93 -- 52 critics

5. Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC) -- 93 -- 48 critics

5. World of Warcraft (PC) -- 93 -- 57 critics

5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International (PS2) -- 93 -- 28 critics
2005:
1. Resident Evil 4 (GCN/PS2) -- 96 -- 82 GCN; 38 PS2 critics

2. Ninja Gaiden Black (XB) -- 94 -- 32 critics

2. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (XB) -- 94 -- 70 critics

2. God of War (PS2) -- 94 -- 75 critics

2. Civilization IV (PC) --94 -- 50 critics
2006:
1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN) -- 96 -- 16 critics

2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) -- 95 -- 73 critics

3. Gears of War (360) -- 94 -- 88 critics

3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC/360) -- 94 -- 54 PC; 90 XB360 critics

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2) -- 94 -- 53 critics
2007:
1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 97 -- 73 critics

2. BioShock (PC/360) -- 96 -- 44 PC; 88 XB360 critics

2. The Orange Box (PC/360) -- 96 -- 34 PC; 54 XB360 critics

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3/360) -- 94 -- 44 PS3; 70 XB360 critics

4. Halo 3 (360) -- 94 -- 86 critics
2008:
1. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360) -- 98 -- 64 PS3; 86 XB360 critics

2. LittleBigPlanet (PS3) -- 95 -- 85 critics

3. World of Goo (Wii) -- 94 -- 21 critics

3. BioShock (PS3) -- 94 -- 51 critics

3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) -- 94 -- 82 critics
2009:
1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) -- 96 -- 105 critics

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360) -- 94 -- 67 PS3; 100 XB360 critics

2. Street Fighter IV (PS3) -- 94 -- 61 critics

4. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS) -- 93 -- 85 critics

4. Street Fighter IV (360) -- 93 -- 77 critics

4. Braid (PS3) -- 93 -- 21 critics
I think we have Metacritic sorted out enough that we can start adding games that got left out but deserve to be in the running. Off the top of my head I can think of Paper Mario: TTYD and Metroid Prime 2. Unfortunately, I am in a similar situation as BetaWolf47 and have little experience outside of Nintendo so I will need input from those more knowledgeable on other platforms; although opinions on Nintendo games are more than welcome. I would also be willing to add Wii Sports to the list with some more persuasion.