Your top video games of the new millennium?
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RiotRaven said:Alot, I run steam and own practically every game they've made and finished them all too. As gaming companies go for me they are tied up there with Nintendo and Old Rare.
That's cool.
Is 3 a lot though?
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GTA: SA & RDR come to mind for me. Open world games with fun storylines always are the best for me. Can't wait for GTA V
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I really don't understand the obsession with Elder Scrolls or Fallout Games, because their so buggy, specially when released, that it's just a pain to play them. I think that mainly pertains to console gamers, though, since the mod community for Bethesda is really what makes the games for me.
When I look at Bethesda, I say, bad game company, so you can make a large world, how about making it so it doesn't freeze up in the first 30 minutes? But when I look at Bethesda's modding community, I say good games, simply because the modding community is what makes the games good, not Bethesda.
Farcry 3 > ANY Bethesda game
BUT, that is pure opinion.
When I look at Bethesda, I say, bad game company, so you can make a large world, how about making it so it doesn't freeze up in the first 30 minutes? But when I look at Bethesda's modding community, I say good games, simply because the modding community is what makes the games good, not Bethesda.
Farcry 3 > ANY Bethesda game
BUT, that is pure opinion.
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Grand Theft Auto series;
I remember how magical this series was for me the first time I played it. The first day I played GTA3, it was the last day before starting high school the next day. Terrible times lol. But this game definitely eased my pain a little and it gave me something to look forward to when I got home. That's the nostalgia memory I have of GTA3. Vice City took it to an even higher level. San Andreas was also great but not as replayable as the first two. Fuck me, that city was too large lol. It got tiresome having to travel halfway across that map to do something.
Hitman series;
I just played Silent Assassin, Contracts and Blood Money for the first time last Spring. Shame what I've been missing all these years. While the stealth isn't really as smooth or realistic as Splinter Cell (see below), it's still fun as fuck to try and come up with several different plans and strategies of getting to your target(s) and killing them. I beat all three on Professional Mode (the hardest difficulty) but was stuck on the final mission of Blood Money for the longest time.
Splinter Cell series;
The best and most realistic game series ever when it comes to stealth.
Metal Gear Solid series;
I love this game more for it's plot than it's gameplay, which doesn't exactly set me apart from most of it's fans. Even though the one with the greatest story (MGS) came out in 1998, the next three were also great. Gameplay wise, they kept getting more and more fun, but storywise, I have a love-hate relationship with the second and fourth games, although they're still both epic. The third was virtually flawless.
I remember how magical this series was for me the first time I played it. The first day I played GTA3, it was the last day before starting high school the next day. Terrible times lol. But this game definitely eased my pain a little and it gave me something to look forward to when I got home. That's the nostalgia memory I have of GTA3. Vice City took it to an even higher level. San Andreas was also great but not as replayable as the first two. Fuck me, that city was too large lol. It got tiresome having to travel halfway across that map to do something.
Hitman series;
I just played Silent Assassin, Contracts and Blood Money for the first time last Spring. Shame what I've been missing all these years. While the stealth isn't really as smooth or realistic as Splinter Cell (see below), it's still fun as fuck to try and come up with several different plans and strategies of getting to your target(s) and killing them. I beat all three on Professional Mode (the hardest difficulty) but was stuck on the final mission of Blood Money for the longest time.
Splinter Cell series;
The best and most realistic game series ever when it comes to stealth.
Metal Gear Solid series;
I love this game more for it's plot than it's gameplay, which doesn't exactly set me apart from most of it's fans. Even though the one with the greatest story (MGS) came out in 1998, the next three were also great. Gameplay wise, they kept getting more and more fun, but storywise, I have a love-hate relationship with the second and fourth games, although they're still both epic. The third was virtually flawless.
So back on page one, I said I was too lazy to do the entire process that would lead to me actually making a top list of my favorite video games of the new millennium. However, I said that I probably will later and later has come. And what I did was, I went through the list of every system I've played, looked through the entire catalogue from 2001 to present, wrote down every game that might make the list, and then I took that list and I limited it down to twenty. And yes, I'm doing twenty. Now while through all eleven pages of this, I happen to notice something I didn't quite expect but most of my games aren't mentioned in this thread. I mean obviously some are but most weren't and I just found that interesting. And I will be explaining all my choices (not in depth though) so this will probably be pretty long even by my standards so I'm just expecting skims at most. Which is totally fine, I just enjoying ranking stuff. Also, there is a level of objectivity here in this list. So it's completely subjective.
Now before I begin, I have to go over some ground rules. Obviously anything released before 2001 doesn't count, nor does anything I haven't played count (Bioshock Infinite & Red Dead Redemption; and the later the year, the less games I've played). There's a lot I haven't played. No games from portable systems were considering because . . . I didn't want to do all that extra work. In fairness, Mario Kart DS at the very least, would've definitely made it high on the list. Also, no compilation games or re-released games (with one arguable exception) for obvious reasons. Finally, no two games in the same series. You will see games from the same franchise but not the same series and the reason for that is obvious.
I'll begin with the runner ups and unlike doing it in the traditional way, I'm just going to list my favorite game from every year discounting those that actually made the list. Without further ado, let's finally begin . . .
Yes, I seriously just wasted all that time to create this list and post it. But I had fun doing it, and if anyone actually reads all this, or half this, I hope it wasn't mind-numbingly boring. Also, if anyone actually does read all this, jesus christ you deserve some kind of medal.
Now before I begin, I have to go over some ground rules. Obviously anything released before 2001 doesn't count, nor does anything I haven't played count (Bioshock Infinite & Red Dead Redemption; and the later the year, the less games I've played). There's a lot I haven't played. No games from portable systems were considering because . . . I didn't want to do all that extra work. In fairness, Mario Kart DS at the very least, would've definitely made it high on the list. Also, no compilation games or re-released games (with one arguable exception) for obvious reasons. Finally, no two games in the same series. You will see games from the same franchise but not the same series and the reason for that is obvious.
I'll begin with the runner ups and unlike doing it in the traditional way, I'm just going to list my favorite game from every year discounting those that actually made the list. Without further ado, let's finally begin . . .
Runner-ups
2001 ~ Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002 ~ *sigh* Super Monkey Ball 2 (Don't kill me; Star Fox Adventures was a close second here, better?)
2003 ~ WWE Here Comes The Pain
2004 ~ Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005 ~ Resident Evil 4
2006 ~ WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
2007 ~ God Of War II
2008 ~ Mario Kart Wii
2009 ~ Resident Evil 5
2010 ~ Halo: Reach
2011 ~ Kirby's Return To Dreamland
2012 ~ Halo 4
2013 ~ Rayman Legends (yes, I know it's not released yet. The demo I played was just really fun and the only thing I've played from games released this year or going to be released this year . . . Beyond: Two Souls will most definitely end up as my favorite this year though)
XX
Battle Stadium D.O.N is a unique entity on this list as it's one that hasn't been released outside of Japan. However, thanks to the internet, I'm able to play this fighting game crossover of the battle shonens in Japan. The gameplay here is relatively simple, but enjoyable. I really find the combined health gauge system a fun one. But let's not beat around the bush here, a big reason why this game is on the list is fanboyism. Yes, I'm a big DBZ fan (it being my childhood). And yes, I'm a big One Piece fan (just finished the terrible Long Ring Long Island arc). And yes, Naruto at points didn't suck. The game doesn't suck, it is fun, and it gets the properties right. I have no problem listing this as my number twenty as I have a lot of fun with it.
However, it does have one big fatal flaw. Now, I'm not referring to the lack of variety in gameplay, which is a big flaw and I docked it down for it; I'm talking about it having the worst unlocking system I have ever seen in a game. Okay, to unlock someone, you have to go through story/arcade mode. When you win a battle, you earn coins (you earn more if you do the bonus objective), at the very end of mode, you go to a slot machine. Now, unlocking characters by luck is bad enough, but they make it worse. Before you can even have the option to unlock a character, you have to align something right to be ABLE to unlock a character. That means you have to be successful twice on one of the particular images in order to unlock one character. It's frustrating as hell and I haven't been able to unlock anyone yet because I don't have dumb luck. I'll try to keep these shorter than this.
XIX
There isn't much to say about this game, it's just incredibly solid platformer and being that I love platformers this was right up my alley. Also, even though it always halted our progress, it's really fun that I'm able to kill my brother and vice versa.
XVIII
WWE Raw 2 was a massive improvement over it's terrible predecessor Raw. The season mode is one of my favorites in all of wrestling games, maybe even my favorite. It's fast paced sure, but I think that works to it's benefit. But there is a lot to do during it, you can develop relationships with wrestlers, call someone out, interfere in a match, etc. It's also multiplayer, which is a humongous plus for me. Besides season mode, it has the best Royal Rumble in wrestling game history for two reasons. I) you can leave the ring under the bottom rope to avoid elimination/fight eliminated people/bring a weapon into the ring and II) you aren't limited to thirty guys. You can have a 70+ man Royal Rumbles if you want. Also, it was the last game that allows you to truly customize a wrestler. You can't change everything (like Rey Mysterio must wear a mask - there is a mask with essentially no face covering though) but you can still change attires and stuff like that. Which is much better than being able to change the colors of the attires.
The gameplay's also pretty fun but there are much better wrestling games in terms of gameplay. Two cool features are that you can have different referees with different attributes (like a slow counter) and that you have a finisher for every grappling situation is also nice. Oh, and there's a pretty bad interference glitch, but that tickles me more than irritates me.
XVII
This is a very fun mascot fighter in the same vein of Smash Bros. Now if I can go on a tangent, screw anyone who dismisses this game as simply a Smash Bros. clone. For starters, they added their own spin on it, so it's not just a Smash Bros. clone. Secondly, that's how genre's get started. I love the Smash games, why wouldn't I want more games out there that have a similar gameplay style? Especially if they do add something different to it and make it a different playing experience. Which is what they do here, and it's fun and different experience. Rant done.
Back to just this game, I love how everyone plays. There's such a variety here and everyone truly feels like they were just ripped out of their own game and placed in this one. Also, the stages being a combination of two franchises is brilliant. I also enjoy being able to level up and customize characters and finally, I like that we are still getting new content. I haven't gotten the latest DLC yet, but I can't wait to play as Zeus from the God of War franchise.
XVI
I won't spend long on this one, now in fairness Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is probably better than this one but I have trouble remembering it (though what I do remember, I like it better than 3's countpart [story & leveling up]) so I didn't put it on the list. At worst, when I do replay it, I switch the three to a two. But here, gameplay's solid, the amount of characters is godly (fanservice of this nature works with me) and Ultimate Battle mode was pretty fun.
XV
I want to preface this by reiterating that we all different opinions and we should hear them out before right out condemning them for it.
I'm not actually sure if this game is considered good by you guys, but a lot of people I've come across online seem to carry the opinion that this game is boring as hell. And, I understand why, but those reasons are the same reasons why I got addicted to this game. Simplicity is great in video games, and this one was really simple but it worked. I liked fishing, I liked interacting with the community (especially after taking a long break from the game, they get really mad), I liked experiencing the different holidays, I liked being able to play NES games like Excitebike, I liked being able to design the clothes. I don't know, maybe it was just a more direct form of escapism, I was living a life in there where everything was just simple, everything was just good, and everything could be the way I wanted it to be, while still involving some part of effort on my part. But I devoted too much time into this world for it to not be placed on this list.
XIV
I have nothing but praise for this X-Box exclusive. The story was very solid, and I just love the idea and no I won't spoil it. You can throw any aspect you'd expect in this type of game and I guarantee it was solid here. And the characters, the characters you got in your team were so awesome. Especially HK-47 (his return in the second game was the best part of that game). And while this isn't my favorite Star Wars game, it is the most immersive of all the games that I've played. I never felt more attached to Star Wars universe then when playing this game, and that still stays true.
XIII
I don't actually care for first person shooters. If this thread was about favorite game genres, even if I went broad as hell, FPS still wouldn't make the top five. And not going broad, it definitely wouldn't make the top twenty. And what make's Halo 2 different is much the same of what makes Master Chief different from the other spartans . . . luck.
You see, I was never a big Halo and I'm still not but my brother and his best friend are huge Halo fans. Halo 2 came out during the right time where the three of us could get together a lot to play Halo 2. And we played a lot, we made a bunch of our own characters with our own overarching plot (well, I didn't but they did [mostly the best friend]) and it was a lot of fun because of it. Of course, Halo 2 was good on it's own merit, and it had Breaking Benjamin on the soundtrack which was awesome, but without all that past/nostalgia fun we had with the game, it wouldn't of made this list.
XII
I love Sonic The Hedgehog! . . . Then Sonic 2006 came out and well, Sonic died to me. I didn't play a single new Sonic game after that and while Colors looked good, it wasn't until Sonic Generations that the series recaptured my interest. This game is the perfect combination of new and old; nostalgia and standing on it's own. This game doesn't need the nostalgia to be good, the levels for both classic and modern are really fun without the added nostalgia but man, does that nostalgia add a hell of a lot. The whole game up until the Modern era levels is just a mark out experience, revisiting some of my favorite levels with new twists to them. It's also the first platinum I ever got.
Now, it does have it's faults. For starters, it's really short. That's it's biggest detriment on this list. But also, I think they had some questionable level choices on here. Like Sonic Adventure, Speed Highway was probably my least favorite level and definitely not one of the standouts. Twinkle Park on the other hand was awesome and they could've done so much more with that level.
XI
This one's easy, I love tactical RPG's and this is definitely the best one I've played this millenium so far and maybe ever (Final Fantasy Tactics is up there too). They just have everything that makes these games so fun perfected and I really love grinding and this series is kind of made for that. I still haven't finished the story because it's so fun just battling in the Item World for hours on end. Now, once I do finish story, then yeah it could change it's position but right now it holds firmly as my number eleventh.
X
Okay, this is the one that is an arguable exception. The gamecube version was released within a year of the Dreamcast so I count it. Now, I absolutely love this game (big duh, right?). The story is great, the Sonic & Shadow levels are great, the Tails/Eggman levels are great, and the Chao Garden is awesome (though the butchering of the Dark Garden from the Dreamcast version is NOT OKAY!). The big downside to this is that the Knuckles/Rouge levels are awful, and I liked those levels in the first game! But otherwise, I love this game.
IX
Incredible gameplay (I've had a lot of competitive twenty plus minute matches; great graphics (honestly kind of prefer them to several later games); great roster; the only game with good commentary (this is the only game where lines won't be repeated over and over again in a single match, I went forty minutes without hearing repeated dialogue here. Why it's only good here I have no idea); Season mode is a lot of fun; & it introduced GM Mode, my favorite mode in any wrestling game.
VIII
First thing that needs to be addressed, Budokai & Budokai Tenkaichi are not the same game series. In Japan Budokai Tenkaichi series is referred as Sparking! series. Atari changed the name probably so they could capitalize in on the success of the Budokai series, already having a pre-established market. Or maybe they just thought Sparking! sounded stupid.
Anyway, easily the best gameplay of any DBZ game; a great roster; Dragon Arena's is amazing; leveling up system is fantastic; the story mode is one of the series best; but ultimately it's the gameplay that pushes this one over.
VII
Not only do I consider this the best Star Wars game, but I consider this the best shooter game. I love everything about this game, and there is too much to talk about so I'll just say this game is incredible and the fact that a third game is probably never coming out is really depressing. It's probably my most wanted sequel. Oh, and I'm just going to throw this out there because why the hell not, despite all evidence suggesting to the contrary, I'm not really a Star Wars fan.
VI
Soul Calibur is one of my favorite video game series but I still feel it's peak came with the third installment. I actually like the character creation here over the other two (and it's not just because you can create KOS-MOS but that does help [I can also create Dante from Devil May Cry, Cloud from Final Fantasy, Great Saiyaman from DBZ, Harley Quinn from Batman; etc.]). While V does have better gameplay & graphics, III is superior in every other way. But the best part of the game is definitely the Chronicles of the Sword, which is just incredible and makes perfect use of the character creation feature.
V
You all saw this coming, maybe not at number five but I've made it really obvious that I love Heavy Rain. In fact, I feel like I've praised it more than enough on here, so I won't anymore.
IV
It feels a bit odd to put a skateboarding game over Heavy Rain but god dammit if it's not one of the most perfect games you'll find out there. Now, obviously not everyone is going to have this as a favorite but that's not what I mean by perfect. What I mean is that this game has everything a skateboarding game should have, and they have it done without flaw. For what it is, I can't think of a single objective problem with it, it accomplishes everything a skateboarding game should and so much more. More subjectively, the soundtrack is by far the best in the series and one of my favorites in video games period. I love the roster, specifically the special characters. My favorite being the two crossover characters, Wolverine & Darth Maul (Darth Maul especially, and again, not really a Star Wars fan despite everything pointing to that). Finally it has the best levels in any Tony Hawk game.
III
This game just resonates with me. I love the story, which is good because there's about 80 hours of cutscenes I believe. It's really long story but it's so good and enjoyable to watch. I also really love the characters, which is where this story shines because a lot of it's just build up for the next games and developing the characters. A lot of stuff do happen but it's more of a foundation for the rest of the series and I personally think this game has the best story of the trilogy. The Battle system is awesome (also probably my favorite in the series), and well you know I'm just going to say everything's awesome so I'll just end it here.
II
The third and final wrestling game on the list is none other to the sequel of the also great Day Of Reckoning. Listen, when it comes to modes, Day of Reckoning 2 is one of the barest out there. It has a story mode, which is fun and it's a good story, but once that's done all you're really left with it exhibition. So then, why exactly is this my number two game of the new millennium? Because all you need is exhibition to have fun with this game. At least, all I need. Hands down this is the best gameplay in a wrestling game I have ever played. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it's essentially an improved version of the wrestling games on the N64 like No Mercy. It has new elements to it, and your mileage may vary but I think it's much better than No Mercy in the gameplay department. I do miss the physics in the first game, the second one tones them down, but the new submission system and addition of stamina more than make up for it.
The create-a-character mode is also great and my favorite in any wrestling game. But the gameplay is what makes it and I've had some of the most fun playing this game, which can have some chaotic matches. Nothing like playing a fatal four way steel cage match on Day Of Reckoning 2, as it's so chaotic it's almost guaranteed to go the entire time limit and be a blast for the whole thirty minutes. I also really love fatal four way Last Man Standing matches, tons of fun. It just goes to show, sometimes great gameplay is all you need.
And finally, my favorite game of the new millenium . . .
I
Do I even have to say anything? I probably don't, I probably didn't for most of these, but I will. If you skimmed through all of these, you probably saw this coming when I mentioned how I love the series when talking about Playstation All-Stars and it hadn't come up yet. Some people do prefer Melee and I understand that but Brawl in my opinion is just so much better than Melee and Melee is a fantastic game on it's own right. But ignoring that, the reason this game is the best is because it has the best of everything. Subspace Emissary is awesome. The levels are some fun platformer, the bosses are really fun especially the last one, the cast of characters are used really well which is very impressive, and it is just a good story with a lot of badass moments and even some laughs and poignancy.
And honestly, if it just had Subspace Emissary and their exhibition mode, it still probably would've topped the list. It definitely would be in the top five. Because it's like my number two pick, the gameplay is fun enough to carry the lack of modes and as I just detailed, I loved Subspace Emissary. But what makes this number one, is they beyond and above with the modes and variety. There is a lot to do in this game, you've got Classic mode, All-Stars mode, Tournament mode, a boss battle rush mode, Events mode (which is basically objectives based battles), Break the targets!, & Home-run mini-game. I don't even think that's all of them, but if it is that's still a hell of a lot to keep you occupied.
Finally, you can just see how much effort they put into this and how much respect they've paid to the history of Nintendo (and Sonic/Metal Gear). All the music from past franchises, all the characters they've picked, all the levels, all trophies, all the stickers. For instance, here's some Sonic trivia for you guys, the majority Sonic's moveset in Brawl comes from Sonic The Fighters, that terrible arcade Sonic fighting game. And it's such a cool thing. Now, if I had any complaints about the game, it'd be that I wish Mewtwo and Roy made the final product, but all things considered those are nitpicks.
I think I've made it abundantly clear, why Super Smash Bros. Brawl is my favorite game of the new millenium, without any shadow of a doubt.
2001 ~ Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002 ~ *sigh* Super Monkey Ball 2 (Don't kill me; Star Fox Adventures was a close second here, better?)
2003 ~ WWE Here Comes The Pain
2004 ~ Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005 ~ Resident Evil 4
2006 ~ WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
2007 ~ God Of War II
2008 ~ Mario Kart Wii
2009 ~ Resident Evil 5
2010 ~ Halo: Reach
2011 ~ Kirby's Return To Dreamland
2012 ~ Halo 4
2013 ~ Rayman Legends (yes, I know it's not released yet. The demo I played was just really fun and the only thing I've played from games released this year or going to be released this year . . . Beyond: Two Souls will most definitely end up as my favorite this year though)
XX
Battle Stadium D.O.N is a unique entity on this list as it's one that hasn't been released outside of Japan. However, thanks to the internet, I'm able to play this fighting game crossover of the battle shonens in Japan. The gameplay here is relatively simple, but enjoyable. I really find the combined health gauge system a fun one. But let's not beat around the bush here, a big reason why this game is on the list is fanboyism. Yes, I'm a big DBZ fan (it being my childhood). And yes, I'm a big One Piece fan (just finished the terrible Long Ring Long Island arc). And yes, Naruto at points didn't suck. The game doesn't suck, it is fun, and it gets the properties right. I have no problem listing this as my number twenty as I have a lot of fun with it.
However, it does have one big fatal flaw. Now, I'm not referring to the lack of variety in gameplay, which is a big flaw and I docked it down for it; I'm talking about it having the worst unlocking system I have ever seen in a game. Okay, to unlock someone, you have to go through story/arcade mode. When you win a battle, you earn coins (you earn more if you do the bonus objective), at the very end of mode, you go to a slot machine. Now, unlocking characters by luck is bad enough, but they make it worse. Before you can even have the option to unlock a character, you have to align something right to be ABLE to unlock a character. That means you have to be successful twice on one of the particular images in order to unlock one character. It's frustrating as hell and I haven't been able to unlock anyone yet because I don't have dumb luck. I'll try to keep these shorter than this.
XIX
There isn't much to say about this game, it's just incredibly solid platformer and being that I love platformers this was right up my alley. Also, even though it always halted our progress, it's really fun that I'm able to kill my brother and vice versa.
XVIII
WWE Raw 2 was a massive improvement over it's terrible predecessor Raw. The season mode is one of my favorites in all of wrestling games, maybe even my favorite. It's fast paced sure, but I think that works to it's benefit. But there is a lot to do during it, you can develop relationships with wrestlers, call someone out, interfere in a match, etc. It's also multiplayer, which is a humongous plus for me. Besides season mode, it has the best Royal Rumble in wrestling game history for two reasons. I) you can leave the ring under the bottom rope to avoid elimination/fight eliminated people/bring a weapon into the ring and II) you aren't limited to thirty guys. You can have a 70+ man Royal Rumbles if you want. Also, it was the last game that allows you to truly customize a wrestler. You can't change everything (like Rey Mysterio must wear a mask - there is a mask with essentially no face covering though) but you can still change attires and stuff like that. Which is much better than being able to change the colors of the attires.
The gameplay's also pretty fun but there are much better wrestling games in terms of gameplay. Two cool features are that you can have different referees with different attributes (like a slow counter) and that you have a finisher for every grappling situation is also nice. Oh, and there's a pretty bad interference glitch, but that tickles me more than irritates me.
XVII
This is a very fun mascot fighter in the same vein of Smash Bros. Now if I can go on a tangent, screw anyone who dismisses this game as simply a Smash Bros. clone. For starters, they added their own spin on it, so it's not just a Smash Bros. clone. Secondly, that's how genre's get started. I love the Smash games, why wouldn't I want more games out there that have a similar gameplay style? Especially if they do add something different to it and make it a different playing experience. Which is what they do here, and it's fun and different experience. Rant done.
Back to just this game, I love how everyone plays. There's such a variety here and everyone truly feels like they were just ripped out of their own game and placed in this one. Also, the stages being a combination of two franchises is brilliant. I also enjoy being able to level up and customize characters and finally, I like that we are still getting new content. I haven't gotten the latest DLC yet, but I can't wait to play as Zeus from the God of War franchise.
XVI
I won't spend long on this one, now in fairness Budokai Tenkaichi 2 is probably better than this one but I have trouble remembering it (though what I do remember, I like it better than 3's countpart [story & leveling up]) so I didn't put it on the list. At worst, when I do replay it, I switch the three to a two. But here, gameplay's solid, the amount of characters is godly (fanservice of this nature works with me) and Ultimate Battle mode was pretty fun.
XV
I want to preface this by reiterating that we all different opinions and we should hear them out before right out condemning them for it.
I'm not actually sure if this game is considered good by you guys, but a lot of people I've come across online seem to carry the opinion that this game is boring as hell. And, I understand why, but those reasons are the same reasons why I got addicted to this game. Simplicity is great in video games, and this one was really simple but it worked. I liked fishing, I liked interacting with the community (especially after taking a long break from the game, they get really mad), I liked experiencing the different holidays, I liked being able to play NES games like Excitebike, I liked being able to design the clothes. I don't know, maybe it was just a more direct form of escapism, I was living a life in there where everything was just simple, everything was just good, and everything could be the way I wanted it to be, while still involving some part of effort on my part. But I devoted too much time into this world for it to not be placed on this list.
XIV
I have nothing but praise for this X-Box exclusive. The story was very solid, and I just love the idea and no I won't spoil it. You can throw any aspect you'd expect in this type of game and I guarantee it was solid here. And the characters, the characters you got in your team were so awesome. Especially HK-47 (his return in the second game was the best part of that game). And while this isn't my favorite Star Wars game, it is the most immersive of all the games that I've played. I never felt more attached to Star Wars universe then when playing this game, and that still stays true.
XIII
I don't actually care for first person shooters. If this thread was about favorite game genres, even if I went broad as hell, FPS still wouldn't make the top five. And not going broad, it definitely wouldn't make the top twenty. And what make's Halo 2 different is much the same of what makes Master Chief different from the other spartans . . . luck.
You see, I was never a big Halo and I'm still not but my brother and his best friend are huge Halo fans. Halo 2 came out during the right time where the three of us could get together a lot to play Halo 2. And we played a lot, we made a bunch of our own characters with our own overarching plot (well, I didn't but they did [mostly the best friend]) and it was a lot of fun because of it. Of course, Halo 2 was good on it's own merit, and it had Breaking Benjamin on the soundtrack which was awesome, but without all that past/nostalgia fun we had with the game, it wouldn't of made this list.
XII
I love Sonic The Hedgehog! . . . Then Sonic 2006 came out and well, Sonic died to me. I didn't play a single new Sonic game after that and while Colors looked good, it wasn't until Sonic Generations that the series recaptured my interest. This game is the perfect combination of new and old; nostalgia and standing on it's own. This game doesn't need the nostalgia to be good, the levels for both classic and modern are really fun without the added nostalgia but man, does that nostalgia add a hell of a lot. The whole game up until the Modern era levels is just a mark out experience, revisiting some of my favorite levels with new twists to them. It's also the first platinum I ever got.
Now, it does have it's faults. For starters, it's really short. That's it's biggest detriment on this list. But also, I think they had some questionable level choices on here. Like Sonic Adventure, Speed Highway was probably my least favorite level and definitely not one of the standouts. Twinkle Park on the other hand was awesome and they could've done so much more with that level.
XI
This one's easy, I love tactical RPG's and this is definitely the best one I've played this millenium so far and maybe ever (Final Fantasy Tactics is up there too). They just have everything that makes these games so fun perfected and I really love grinding and this series is kind of made for that. I still haven't finished the story because it's so fun just battling in the Item World for hours on end. Now, once I do finish story, then yeah it could change it's position but right now it holds firmly as my number eleventh.
X
Okay, this is the one that is an arguable exception. The gamecube version was released within a year of the Dreamcast so I count it. Now, I absolutely love this game (big duh, right?). The story is great, the Sonic & Shadow levels are great, the Tails/Eggman levels are great, and the Chao Garden is awesome (though the butchering of the Dark Garden from the Dreamcast version is NOT OKAY!). The big downside to this is that the Knuckles/Rouge levels are awful, and I liked those levels in the first game! But otherwise, I love this game.
IX
Incredible gameplay (I've had a lot of competitive twenty plus minute matches; great graphics (honestly kind of prefer them to several later games); great roster; the only game with good commentary (this is the only game where lines won't be repeated over and over again in a single match, I went forty minutes without hearing repeated dialogue here. Why it's only good here I have no idea); Season mode is a lot of fun; & it introduced GM Mode, my favorite mode in any wrestling game.
VIII
First thing that needs to be addressed, Budokai & Budokai Tenkaichi are not the same game series. In Japan Budokai Tenkaichi series is referred as Sparking! series. Atari changed the name probably so they could capitalize in on the success of the Budokai series, already having a pre-established market. Or maybe they just thought Sparking! sounded stupid.
Anyway, easily the best gameplay of any DBZ game; a great roster; Dragon Arena's is amazing; leveling up system is fantastic; the story mode is one of the series best; but ultimately it's the gameplay that pushes this one over.
VII
Not only do I consider this the best Star Wars game, but I consider this the best shooter game. I love everything about this game, and there is too much to talk about so I'll just say this game is incredible and the fact that a third game is probably never coming out is really depressing. It's probably my most wanted sequel. Oh, and I'm just going to throw this out there because why the hell not, despite all evidence suggesting to the contrary, I'm not really a Star Wars fan.
VI
Soul Calibur is one of my favorite video game series but I still feel it's peak came with the third installment. I actually like the character creation here over the other two (and it's not just because you can create KOS-MOS but that does help [I can also create Dante from Devil May Cry, Cloud from Final Fantasy, Great Saiyaman from DBZ, Harley Quinn from Batman; etc.]). While V does have better gameplay & graphics, III is superior in every other way. But the best part of the game is definitely the Chronicles of the Sword, which is just incredible and makes perfect use of the character creation feature.
V
You all saw this coming, maybe not at number five but I've made it really obvious that I love Heavy Rain. In fact, I feel like I've praised it more than enough on here, so I won't anymore.
IV
It feels a bit odd to put a skateboarding game over Heavy Rain but god dammit if it's not one of the most perfect games you'll find out there. Now, obviously not everyone is going to have this as a favorite but that's not what I mean by perfect. What I mean is that this game has everything a skateboarding game should have, and they have it done without flaw. For what it is, I can't think of a single objective problem with it, it accomplishes everything a skateboarding game should and so much more. More subjectively, the soundtrack is by far the best in the series and one of my favorites in video games period. I love the roster, specifically the special characters. My favorite being the two crossover characters, Wolverine & Darth Maul (Darth Maul especially, and again, not really a Star Wars fan despite everything pointing to that). Finally it has the best levels in any Tony Hawk game.
III
This game just resonates with me. I love the story, which is good because there's about 80 hours of cutscenes I believe. It's really long story but it's so good and enjoyable to watch. I also really love the characters, which is where this story shines because a lot of it's just build up for the next games and developing the characters. A lot of stuff do happen but it's more of a foundation for the rest of the series and I personally think this game has the best story of the trilogy. The Battle system is awesome (also probably my favorite in the series), and well you know I'm just going to say everything's awesome so I'll just end it here.
II
The third and final wrestling game on the list is none other to the sequel of the also great Day Of Reckoning. Listen, when it comes to modes, Day of Reckoning 2 is one of the barest out there. It has a story mode, which is fun and it's a good story, but once that's done all you're really left with it exhibition. So then, why exactly is this my number two game of the new millennium? Because all you need is exhibition to have fun with this game. At least, all I need. Hands down this is the best gameplay in a wrestling game I have ever played. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it's essentially an improved version of the wrestling games on the N64 like No Mercy. It has new elements to it, and your mileage may vary but I think it's much better than No Mercy in the gameplay department. I do miss the physics in the first game, the second one tones them down, but the new submission system and addition of stamina more than make up for it.
The create-a-character mode is also great and my favorite in any wrestling game. But the gameplay is what makes it and I've had some of the most fun playing this game, which can have some chaotic matches. Nothing like playing a fatal four way steel cage match on Day Of Reckoning 2, as it's so chaotic it's almost guaranteed to go the entire time limit and be a blast for the whole thirty minutes. I also really love fatal four way Last Man Standing matches, tons of fun. It just goes to show, sometimes great gameplay is all you need.
And finally, my favorite game of the new millenium . . .
I
Do I even have to say anything? I probably don't, I probably didn't for most of these, but I will. If you skimmed through all of these, you probably saw this coming when I mentioned how I love the series when talking about Playstation All-Stars and it hadn't come up yet. Some people do prefer Melee and I understand that but Brawl in my opinion is just so much better than Melee and Melee is a fantastic game on it's own right. But ignoring that, the reason this game is the best is because it has the best of everything. Subspace Emissary is awesome. The levels are some fun platformer, the bosses are really fun especially the last one, the cast of characters are used really well which is very impressive, and it is just a good story with a lot of badass moments and even some laughs and poignancy.
And honestly, if it just had Subspace Emissary and their exhibition mode, it still probably would've topped the list. It definitely would be in the top five. Because it's like my number two pick, the gameplay is fun enough to carry the lack of modes and as I just detailed, I loved Subspace Emissary. But what makes this number one, is they beyond and above with the modes and variety. There is a lot to do in this game, you've got Classic mode, All-Stars mode, Tournament mode, a boss battle rush mode, Events mode (which is basically objectives based battles), Break the targets!, & Home-run mini-game. I don't even think that's all of them, but if it is that's still a hell of a lot to keep you occupied.
Finally, you can just see how much effort they put into this and how much respect they've paid to the history of Nintendo (and Sonic/Metal Gear). All the music from past franchises, all the characters they've picked, all the levels, all trophies, all the stickers. For instance, here's some Sonic trivia for you guys, the majority Sonic's moveset in Brawl comes from Sonic The Fighters, that terrible arcade Sonic fighting game. And it's such a cool thing. Now, if I had any complaints about the game, it'd be that I wish Mewtwo and Roy made the final product, but all things considered those are nitpicks.
I think I've made it abundantly clear, why Super Smash Bros. Brawl is my favorite game of the new millenium, without any shadow of a doubt.
Yes, I seriously just wasted all that time to create this list and post it. But I had fun doing it, and if anyone actually reads all this, or half this, I hope it wasn't mind-numbingly boring. Also, if anyone actually does read all this, jesus christ you deserve some kind of medal.
Totally forgot about Tony Hawk Pro Skater. 3 is indeed one of the best games ever. Miss that shit.