It’s time for endless top 10 lists. So what makes my list special? The answer is that while other top 10 lists are merely the opinions of people, this list has been put together by teams of scientists working in laboratories for months on a new super computer to determine the definitive list of the 10 best games released in the decade based on their quality, design, and impact.
Here they are:
#10 Bejeweled
This game has sold over 47 trillion copies in over 5 million countries on 3 million devices. It has single handedly helped replace Solitaire as the game people spend crazy amounts of time on without admitting it.
#9 Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty 4 was the very first game that featured the player holding a weapon of some sort from the “first person” perspective and then shooting other people.
Or not. What made Call of Duty 4 special is that it helped mainstream these types of games in a way nothing before it had. Sure, you reading this have played Counterstrike endlessly. Heck, I probably shot you through a wall (damn punk buster). But normal people play Call of Duty. Even people who watch the footed ball sport game on TV.
#8 The Orange Box
Half-Life, Counterstrike, Portal. These are the games you must play to be a man – even if you’re a woman. Without their success, the 3D engine that powers them, Source, wouldn’t have been able to be used on other titles that we enjoy today. Titles that involve killing zombies. Moreover, the success of the Orange Box helped launch the increasingly ubiquitous Steam digital distribution platform.
Can you imagine life without Team Fortress? Do you want to live that life? I didn’t think so.
#7 Wii Sports
Without the Wii thousands of children whose parents happily let them watch hours of Sponge Bob would be deprived of playing video games on the basis of it not being “active”. Wii Sports helped get millions of Wii’s into people’s houses where children could quickly migrate to games that were more fun.
#6 Knights of the Old Republic
Okay: Watch this: JAR JAR. Note the involuntary tremor you just experienced. Knights of the Old Republic was so good that helped save the Star Wars universe. Moreover, apparently there was a way to win the game as a good guy…
JAR JAR!
#5 Halo
Halo demonstrated that yes, a first person shooter on the console can be fun. Not for me. But for other people anyway and that opened the consoles to a whole new world of awesome games.
#4 The Sims
Allegedly not everyone plays The Sims to lock up their Sims in a room and watch them starve to death. At least, that’s what my team of therapists claim.
#3 Guitar Hero
A court order prevents me from playing this game again but it and its similar “Rock Band” have become a genre of their own that has really helped expand the realm of gaming to another level.
#2 Grand Theft Auto III
This urban training tool took on a life of its own. Social services continues to complain that I allow my children to play the games but as my driveway full of stolen sports cars indicates, it can pay dividends.
#1 World of Warcraft
Pretty much everyone has played this game at one time or other. Sure, games like Ultima Online and Everquest were first but nothing in that genre has had the impact of World of Warcraft.
Consider this, World of Warcraft allegedly grossed approximately $1 billion in 2008. If World of Warcraft was a country, it would be richer than Liberia.
Now, I’m sure this list doesn’t have every favorite game of all time. No Super Mario Galaxy? No Metroid Prime? What about Soul Calibur? Resident Evil 4? Don’t blame me, blame the scientists and their sentient machines!
See you next decade!
