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mattyb · Dec 15, 2009, 08:57 AM

Gamasutra Asks Readers To Vote For 'Game Of The Decade'

Gamasutra is asking its users to vote for their 'Game Of The Decade' -- the video game title that they think was the absolute best of the last ten years, from January 2000 to date.

Well?

Dork. · Dec 15, 2009, 09:09 AM

Duke Nukem Forever

Arkham_c · Dec 15, 2009, 09:22 AM

Clearly it's WoW. 10 bazillion people can't be wrong.

mattyb · Dec 15, 2009, 09:30 AM

Hmmm. I wonder what weighting sales will have. Wii Sports anyone?

The Final Dakar · Dec 15, 2009, 11:42 AM

Tough question. I'll have to see a few nominees before I start riffing on it.

imitchellg5 · Dec 15, 2009, 12:12 PM

Really hard one. I can think of a lot of games that shouldn't win, but not any that should. For me personally, it'd be KOTOR, but I doubt the masses would agree.

Chuckit · Dec 15, 2009, 12:24 PM

Perfect Dark. (Seriously, that was this decade. I can't help but find it odd that it would be in contention here.)

The Final Dakar · Dec 15, 2009, 12:46 PM

Really? If so, just barely, I imagine.

Jawbone54 · Dec 15, 2009, 01:04 PM

I've never played WoW, but I'd have to agree that it was probably the "biggest" game of the decade. I'd need to see the nominees too.

imitchellg5 · Dec 15, 2009, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Perfect Dark. (Seriously, that was this decade. I can't help but find it odd that it would be in contention here.)

Oh oh oh, I would agree with that one.

sek929 · Dec 15, 2009, 01:30 PM

Hard question, my answer would change depending on the criteria.

If I'm going for 'Most Innovative' 'Most Unique' and 'Best Gameplay Mechanic' it's Portal all the way, or I guess the Orange Box since HL2 is an amazing series too. Metroid Prime would be up there as well.

Honestly, I love Perfect Dark, but the framerate was nearly unbearable....everything else was brilliant, but it was held back by the hardware.

subego · Dec 15, 2009, 05:11 PM

I wanna say GTA III, both for creating the "sandbox" genre as we know it today, and (this is the biggie), removing penalties for failure.

The later ones inexplicably left this model.

The Final Dakar · Dec 15, 2009, 05:12 PM

That was my initial pick.

SpaceMonkey · Dec 15, 2009, 05:20 PM

I agree with many of the comments in the OP's link that say Deus Ex.

If we could extend the "last ten years" criteria slightly I would say Counter-Strike, which was released in Summer 1999.

eyevaan · Dec 17, 2009, 02:43 PM

I thought at first read - hey this is easy - and then you start digging... Deux Ex, GTA 3, WoW how about Halo but then as I pondered my personal needs from a game and chatting with a number of people... it comes to this - for me - open world (therefore NOT rail shooter), RPG, FPS - Fallout 3.

however

if we were talking about Macs only - although I have never played it - WoW would have to rank as the extensive hours spent in other Blizzard ventures (WarCraft III was insane) have caused me to loose entire segments of the years.

KCrosbie · Dec 17, 2009, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by subego

I wanna say GTA III, both for creating the "sandbox" genre as we know it today, and (this is the biggie), removing penalties for failure.

Yeah, that was my initial first thought as well. I need to put some thought in this one.

This will spark a great thread. I can tell already.

sek929 · Dec 17, 2009, 05:50 PM

Fallout 3 is among one of my favorite games ever, but it is extremely buggy. Too buggy to be considered Game of the Decade IMO.

olePigeon · Dec 17, 2009, 05:55 PM

Return to Dark Castle.

Peter · Dec 18, 2009, 06:36 AM

gotta be WoW.

subego · Dec 20, 2009, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by sek929

Fallout 3 is among one of my favorite games ever, but it is extremely buggy. Too buggy to be considered Game of the Decade IMO.

Really? Like what? I've only hit odd physics bugs, like dead bodies flinging themselves 50 yards down a hill, or stepping on a tin can wrong and having it shoot out like a watermelon seed.

I've had a few crashes, but I'm doing so much save scumming they haven't caused a problem.

subego · Dec 20, 2009, 05:43 PM

To add something on topic:

Anything Fallout is going to sell me. Period. I almost should recuse myself from voting on it.

But, having played through about half of it now, most of the tension is coming from ammo and stimpak management. That's certainly in-genre, but I can't shake this feeling that there's something really unfun about wondering if I'm going to have enough ammo or health to make it through the game. Have I already ****ed the game up?

This is really brought out when comparing it to GTA III. There was that point in the game where you realized "hey... I can't **** this game up". You even start trying to **** the game up, and it won't let you.

shifuimam · Dec 20, 2009, 08:38 PM

Commander Keen 5.

klb5090 · Dec 20, 2009, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by sek929

Fallout 3 is among one of my favorite games ever, but it is extremely buggy. Too buggy to be considered Game of the Decade IMO.

At first glance Fallout 3 jumps out as Game of the Decade only becuase its so fresh in my mind, and although it probably isn't #1 over the past decade its in the top 5 IMO

Tyinturru · Dec 20, 2009, 11:24 PM

personally, i enjoyed endless ocean for wii

....i have the feeling i'm gonna be alone on this

sek929 · Dec 20, 2009, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by subego

Really? Like what? I've only hit odd physics bugs, like dead bodies flinging themselves 50 yards down a hill, or stepping on a tin can wrong and having it shoot out like a watermelon seed.

I've had a few crashes, but I'm doing so much save scumming they haven't caused a problem.

I've had entire areas (usually outdoor) become impassable due to very strange visual glitches, like looking at fractured iTunes visualization. I've had enemies suddenly raise hundreds of feet into the air. My first play through alone i estimate it crashed at least a dozen times. I've gotten stuck in quite a few objects and killed by stepping on shopping carts. Radscorpions sometimes seem to exist slightly below ground. In VATS I've had the text and %s disappear leaving only the green selection bars.

If it wasn't for my saving and the game's rigorous autosave feature it would have been maddening.

Originally Posted by subego

But, having played through about half of it now, most of the tension is coming from ammo and stimpak management. That's certainly in-genre, but I can't shake this feeling that there's something really unfun about wondering if I'm going to have enough ammo or health to make it through the game. Have I already ****ed the game up?

You'll be fine, keep doing side missions and explore constantly, you'll eventually have a laughable amount of both ammo and stimpacks. Obtaining the Nuka Grenade schematics can be really helpful, as it's one of the most powerful weapons in the game. Selling ammo you don't use can be a great way to get money too, since it takes up no space in your inventory.

finboy · Dec 21, 2009, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by sek929

You'll be fine, keep doing side missions and explore constantly, you'll eventually have a laughable amount of both ammo and stimpacks. Obtaining the Nuka Grenade schematics can be really helpful, as it's one of the most powerful weapons in the game. Selling ammo you don't use can be a great way to get money too, since it takes up no space in your inventory.

True dat. Take all ammo b/c you never know when you'll need it. Plus, in The Pitt there's a way to convert it to whatever you're using.

Quest for Bobbleheads. They give some significant advantages midway through the game. Early in the game you're too weak to get most of them.

Fallout 3 gets my vote for best game, but I can see the argument for GTAIII and the sandbox model. I hate the game, but I can't disagree that it was fundamental in gaming.

The Final Dakar · Dec 21, 2009, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by finboy

I hate the game, but I can't disagree that it was fundamental in gaming.

Any game which inspires a myriad of imitators (and many legitimate variations) must have done something very right.

subego · 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by sek929

If it wasn't for my saving and the game's rigorous autosave feature it would have been maddening.

Playing so late may have helped me, since I have all the patches. I've only gotten trapped once. Certainly no wonky physics kills.

I still get perpetual motion femurs though.

Originally Posted by sek929

You'll be fine, keep doing side missions and explore constantly, you'll eventually have a laughable amount of both ammo and stimpacks.

I'm figuring I'll be fine... but it's because I'm being psycho about ammo/stimpak discipline. I enjoyed the game a lot more in the first few hours when I was assuming it was going to be less stingy. When I see a baddie I want to go in screaming "eat lead mutha****er!" not "wait... low on .32 caliber, switching to AK".

Originally Posted by sek929

Obtaining the Nuka Grenade schematics can be really helpful, as it's one of the most powerful weapons in the game.

As my luck would have it, as soon as I got the schematics, not a Nuka Quantum in sight.

Originally Posted by sek929

Selling ammo you don't use can be a great way to get money too, since it takes up no space in your inventory.

Sell it? Sell it? The only good ammo is lodged in a super mutant's brainpan!

subego · Dec 21, 2009, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by finboy

I hate the game, but I can't disagree that it was fundamental in gaming.

What was the turnoff?

Laminar · Dec 21, 2009, 01:35 PM

Oni or GTA.

subego · Dec 21, 2009, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Oni

Really? I let bad press chase me off that one.

Chuckit · Dec 21, 2009, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Oni or GTA.

Oni! Great game that sadly got the short shrift when Microsoft decided it wanted Halo.

SpaceMonkey · Dec 22, 2009, 06:32 PM

Oni? A game I mostly enjoyed but....game of the decade? Mediocre, somewhat cliché story, mechanics not really different from any other 3rd person action game at the time, and ridiculously easy (you could basically beat the game using nothing but left punch -- no incentive to learn any of the special moves). As it was first conceived it might have been in the running, but the finished product IMO is decidedly...not.

Jawbone54 · Dec 22, 2009, 07:48 PM

All I remember about Oni is that I had a blast with it. Definitely not the game of the decade, but definitely one of my fondest early PS2 memories.

The more I think about it, the more GTA III really seems to be the only game that really deserves the spot. There were so many great games the last 10 years, but none of them rocked the world the way GTA did.

sek929 · Dec 22, 2009, 07:57 PM

The shooting aspect of GTAIII was horrible, just terrible. The first GTA game that got the aiming and shooting right was San Andreas.

subego · Dec 22, 2009, 10:31 PM

Better maybe, but not what I'd call "right", say, compared to Mercenaries or Crackdown or something.

Regardless of game, push in the left stick to crouch is on the short list for ****ups of the decade.

Laminar · 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

Oni? A game I mostly enjoyed but....game of the decade? Mediocre, somewhat cliché story, mechanics not really different from any other 3rd person action game at the time, and ridiculously easy (you could basically beat the game using nothing but left punch -- no incentive to learn any of the special moves). As it was first conceived it might have been in the running, but the finished product IMO is decidedly...not.

I loved it. The levels were detailed and huge like I'd never seen before. The mix of weapons and hand-to-hand combat was fantastic. It wasn't just a run-through-everything-guns-blazing game. Sometimes it paid to be quiet, then sneak up behind a guard and snap his neck. Kind of a predecessor to the 3D Metal Gear Solids.

Now I need to see if my Mini can play this game...

edit: It's fun. But not game of the decade.

The Final Dakar · Dec 23, 2009, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by sek929

The shooting aspect of GTAIII was horrible, just terrible. The first GTA game that got the aiming and shooting right was San Andreas.

Yeah but GTA III was the giant leap forward (See the GoldenEye vs. PerfectDark discussion). San Andreas was really gimmicky, anyway.

Laminar · Dec 23, 2009, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Yeah but GTA III was the giant leap forward (See the GoldenEye vs. PerfectDark discussion). San Andreas was really gimmicky, anyway.

But you could fly a jetpack. A JETPACK.

The Final Dakar · Dec 23, 2009, 12:53 PM

And I loved that thing with all my heart. Best way to travel.

Laminar · Dec 23, 2009, 01:29 PM

But I can't even count the number of hours spent playing two player co-op.

The Final Dakar · Dec 23, 2009, 01:33 PM

It was unbearable. I did enjoy the two-player rampages, though.

lpkmckenna · Dec 23, 2009, 07:32 PM

I loved Oni also. Still loaded on my laptop. My "perfect game" would combine Oni and Unreal Tournament.

Probably WoW deserves it. Or Bejewelled.

SpaceMonkey · Dec 24, 2009, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Sometimes it paid to be quiet, then sneak up behind a guard and snap his neck. Kind of a predecessor to the 3D Metal Gear Solids.

My experience was exactly the opposite. You could sneak up on people, but it never really "paid" to. Stealth was never necessary for beating any levels.

mattyb · Dec 31, 2009, 04:29 AM

Votes are in.

jokell82 · Dec 31, 2009, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by mattyb

Votes are in.

I can't really argue with WOW, but Deus Ex above Half Life 2? Not too sure about that one...

The Final Dakar · Dec 31, 2009, 10:58 AM

I have no idea how I forgot about the Sims. I spent countless hours playing that and its sequel.

Peter · Dec 31, 2009, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by jokell82

I can't really argue with WOW, but Deus Ex above Half Life 2? Not too sure about that one...

Deus Ex is better than Half Life 1, which is better than Half Life 2. IMHO.

jokell82 · Dec 31, 2009, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Peter

Deus Ex is better than Half Life 1, which is better than Half Life 2. IMHO.

I agree that Half Life 1 is the better of the 2, but I don't agree that Deus Ex is better than either. Half Life 1 is probably my favorite game of all time, up there with some of the SNES classics (Super Metroid, Zelda:Link to the Past, FFVI). Deus Ex was good, but not #2 of the decade good.

subego · Dec 31, 2009, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

I have no idea how I forgot about the Sims. I spent countless hours playing that and its sequel.

I'm guessing its age plays a part. I forgot it too.

If it was released 2 months earlier it would have qualified for the 90s list.