These are the ten best games of the decade, dammit

We grew tired of seeing others post their top games of the decade. So here's VentureBeat's votes for the ten best. Take the reader poll and vote for your own favorite.

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

I stopped reading when I saw Halo above Uncharted 2.

[OmarJA-N4G]

Bot reaction: YAY! HALO IZ TEH BESTEST & AWESOMEST GAME EVA! :)

[Tr10wn]

Halo 1>Halo 2>Uncharted 2>Halo 3 sorry but is the truth

[-Alpha]

I know UC2 fans are going to flip out after seeing Halo over Uncharted 2, but I don't mind calling Halo CE the best game of the decade (though I would award the PC version the honor) considering how solid the game was and how much it affected the rest of the upcoming decade. Would call it the best of the decade personally? Not sure-- ten years is a lot of time for competition to grow and adapt and the feat of coming out early in the decade and staying relatively high is amazing enough.

I completely disagree with putting MW2 up there. CoD4 was a breath of fresh air and was actually fairly competitive, and though MW2 is great fun it isn't as well tuned as CoD4 was (hacks, glitches, AR's dominating EVERYTHING, etc)

Though Wii Sports sold a ton I don't include it as one of the pinnacles of the decade either. I know it's your personal list, so that makes me want to blog my own list.

Where is Shadow of the Colossus? Grand Theft Auto? Why is #4 an honorable mention but not any of the one's from last gen?

[The BS Police]

Alot of terrible choices on this list but Halo 1 took it's rightfull spot.

[Bungie]

HALO

nuff said

[Skip_Bayless]

Just vote for Uncharted 2. Come on N4G lets do our work. We must erase all non-believers.

[pansenbaer]

"So here’s my favorite games of the past 10 years and my reasons for liking them so much."

It doesn't really look like its in a particular order (yes I see 1-10) But most people that do a 'best 10 games' list, if they are ordering them, go from 10 to 1. Just an observation.

[Stinger_209]

woah woah hold the phone where's gta 3 or san anderas those were 100 times than gta 4.
Mw2, wii sport shouldn't be there mgs4 and killzone 2 should. Article fail= author retard

[MVGeneral]

Im a fan of Uc2 but this list is bad really really bad

where is:
Any Metal Gear Solid Games
Fallout 3
Mario Galaxy
Resident evil 4
Gran turismo
Grand theft auto
Cmon games that changed genres and took risks not rehashes.

Mw2 is a rehash
Halo is deserved on that list but not #1.
Wii sports ahahahahaha

Bury this immediately

[Jaces]

"I am a believer in the cult of Master Chief."

I couldn't take the list seriously after reading that bit.

[ico92]

MGS 4 ? mario galaxy ? metroid prime ? san andreas ?

[Anorexorcist]

No MGS4 or Grand Theft Auto III

MGS4 was such an amazing conclusion to such an iconic game character and gaming franchise that has been around longer than the franchises linked to all of the 10 ten picks. It's omission is seriously F'ed up! The author is very short-sighted.

I would certainly argue that Grand Theft Auto III had, AT THE VERY LEAST, just as much of an impact on the industry as Halo did.

The list continues to fail with the inclusion of Wii Sports at #8

"This game (Wii Sports) is one of the most important in the history of games because it showed off what the Wii could do."

Well Killzone 2 showed off what the PS3 could do. Why wasn't that included as well?

The author is all over the place with this list, and for the most part he is in all the wrong places. Mission: Failed!

[haqshot]

1. World of Warcraft
2. Half-Life 2
3. Counter-Strike
4. Halo series
5. Call of Duty series
6. The Sims series
7. Guitar Hero series
8. Grand Theft Auto series
9. Super Mario Galaxy
10. Uncharted 2 or God of War series

By the way, I hate Halo. Absolutely can't stand it. People complain about Wii being casual, but if Wii is the casual console then Halo was the casual FPS. That game takes no skill. It's only on this list because I can't deny its impact in bringing tons of crybaby 10 year olds to console online multiplayer.

#1 and #2 on this list are completely non-negotiable. World of Warcraft IS the game of the decade, and no game has had a bigger impact this decade on the popular FPS genre than Half-Life 2.

[ReservoirDog316]

I think it's somewhat possible that this guy likes FPS games...

[jadenkorri]

also written by a 10 year old... I'm serious, why you ask, "SIMS", let alone his honorable list, in it Final Fantasy VII, that was released in 1997 NA, let alone WTF is "ilovebees.com". If even updated it and didn't even correct the bees thing.

[vhero]

As much as I hate Halo for literally "milking" the market the first game deserves the praise and deserves to be one of the games of the decade definitely. Modern Warfare 2 should definitely NOT be on that list maybe the first one should but not the sequel as its basically the same game with additions. Obviously though a 360/shooter fan wrote the article so whatever.

[ShinRyuHadoken]

THIS IS THE STUPIDEST LIST I EVER SEE ON ANY GAMING SITE.

[KiRBY3000]

when there is absolutely not a single PS2 game in the list. nice job failing. this list is nothing but a bunch of popular franchises.

[Myst]

Ah that's rude of me, anyway at least U2 made it and Halo. I don't know about two call of Duties needing to be put on a list though was their that much of a change from each one? Not really a fan so I can't really say as to what it has done.

Also I'd say some of the honorable mentions should be up there on the top ten, but that's just me. To each their own I suppose.

[whothedog]

OMG what a horrible horrible list, all games from this gen pretty much too, I don't think so. Guitar Hero? Two Call of Duty's? I mean they might be good but sh*t. This is the worst list of lists I seen so far.

Wii Sports over SOTC, KOTOR?!

[Nac]

I too was wondering where KotOR was!!

[shutupandplay]

Anybody see the "honorable mentions?" Those are WAAAAAAY better than the winners.

[Chitown71291]

1). LittleBigPlanet
2). Shadow of Colussus
3). Halo 1
4). Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
5). Metal Gear Solid 4
6). Half Life 2
7). God of War
8). The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
9). Uncharted 2
10). Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

[ZombieAutopsy]

List is terrible, nuff said.

[TheDudeAbides]

not tired

[-MoOkS-]

Top ten games of the decade -

1 - Halo Combat Evolved
2 - GTA3
3 - Gears of War
4 - Metroid prime
5 - GTA SA
6 - Halo 2
7 - Half life 2
8 - Forza
9 - CoD4 ( xbox 360 version )
10 - MGS4

[Greywulf]

Was better.

[OmarJA-N4G]

Whatever helps you sleep at night junior. :)

[AngryFork]

No GTA or MGS on the list? lol k. I'd gut out atleast half of that list and replace it with better games.

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

Oh great... The best games of the decade and they included only current-gen games and just ignored the PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, Dreamcast, etc...

The tittle should read: "The best games of the last 5 years" because the "decade" started in 2000 not in 2005.

[lonestarmt]

haha thats exactly what I was thinking. bubble for noticing it.

[Black Maverick]

Been a gamer since I was born (1985)

The best list I could come up with:
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Metal Gear Solid 3
4. Shenmue
5. Half-Life 2
6. GTA: SA
7. Super Mario World
8. Sonic 3
9. Final Fantasy IV
10. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Honorable Mentions:
Halo: Combat Evolved
Kingdom Hearts 2
Final Fantasy 12
Uncharted 2
KOTOR
Persona 3: FES
Mega Man 5
Ico

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

Oh yeah, let's ignore Golden Eye for the N64 all together and the fact that Nintendo invented the analog stick and Sony improved it by adding a second one.

To tell you the truth, none of those games should be on that list. And what's the point in including Modern Warfare 1 and 2? I mean, they both are the same thing. On top of that all the games except for maybe 2 are from less than 5 years ago. And no Metal Gear Solid game or FF game mentioned is a sin.

[Anorexorcist]

Goldeneye proved that FPS's could be critically and commercially successful on consoles way before Halo.

The author of this list is obviously very short-sighted.

[AliTheBrit19]

Weird list

No Elder Scrolls, really?

[lowcarb]

What happened to breakdown, Riddick original, oddworld, rainbow6 for Xbox, splinter cell, HL2 and many more?

[mxrider2]

1. Killzone 2
2. Uncharted 2
3. Demon's Souls
4. Little Big Planet
5. Halo 1
6. God of War
7. Need for Speed most wanted
8. Rock Band
9. Zelda Occarina of time (cant remember if that was this generation if not my bad)
10.Warhawk

[BattleAxe]

Good choices!

[lonestarmt]

geez did you guys even own a PS2? you know the best system so far for games? haha are any of you guys older than 16? lol gosh I feel old.

[Nac]

Was in the 90's.

[BattleAxe]

There are quite a few more games that I would like to put on the list, but these were the ones that resonated with me. All of these games were epic for their online play and/or single player campaigns.

1. Socom 2
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune
4. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
5. Metal Gear Solid 4
6. Metal Gear Solid 3
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. Rainbow Six Vegas
9. Killzone 2
10.BattleField: Bad Company

[lonestarmt]

Dude, like shooting games much? lol

Its ok though you said personal list, so its all good!

[LEGENDARY PELON]

you fangirl!!

[eagle21]

fail. F-

[redneck_smith]

IN MY OPINION HALO IS THE WORST GAME IVE EVER PLAYED 1/10

[starmin76]

Seriously, Bioware is one of the best devs of the decade. Not including at least one of their games is foolish.

[lonestarmt]

wth? this list is dumb. How old is this guy? With only 10 games in 10 years thats really hard to do. however he left out a crap load.
this list or top 15 in my mind should be not in any order.

1. GTA3
2. GTA san andreas
3. Zelda twilight princess
4. Halo
5. Call of duty modern warfare
6. Final fantasy 10
7. MGS3
8. Okami
9. Super mario Galaxy
10. Dragon quest 8
11. Persona 3
12. KOTOR
13. Kingdom hearts
14. Marvel vs. Capcom
15. Shadow of the colossus

Boom thats the freaking truely system or genre unbiased list.

[omodis420]

Good to see Bioshock get the love it deserves. Kinda lame they list as just an Xbox 360 game. It has been on 360, PC and PS3.

[Nac]

But Halo 1 deserves to be on that list.

[unknownhero1123]

1. halo CE
2.breakdown
3.MGS4
4.god of war
5.uncharted 2
6.disaster report
7.mass effect
8.KoTOR
9.killzone 2
10.gta vice city

[tunaks1]

well that was a terrible list

[LEGENDARY PELON]

Halo Combat Evolved deserves to be #1!
and you all know it so stop bs!!

I wouldnt doubt if the Halo Series is one of the best of all time as well!!!

[chidori666]

my list:

1.killzone2 ( best fps of this gen)

2. devil may cry 1

3. moto storm pr ( best racing game in years)

4. metal gear 3 ( best mgs in the series

5. star ocean 3 ( ps2 game)

[Quadrix]

A swear, a majority of these lists just take all the most-known game titles and assemble them in a random order.

[The_Zeitgeist]

Very true. How else would you explain Assasins Creed 2?

[The_Zeitgeist]

God of War 1 and 2 should have been on the list. As well as Zelda Twighlight Princess and Braid.

[Jack Bauer]

a lot better game sthis decade, but i was ok with the list until i saw wiisports on there...fail.

[The_Zeitgeist]

Wii sports deserves a spot. It was innovative. It showed what the Wii is capable of in the right hands. (at least control wise)

[Shadow Man]

1.MGS3
2.Halo CE
3.GTA Vice City

[quen_gta2]

There should be guidelines for making these decade list. First of all you should never double up, because it takes a spot away from a much needed game. For example take off Modern Warfare 2 if you already have Modern Warefare listed. If you happen to like both God of Wars list both as the same item. Here is an example of my top 10 favorites from this decade(in random order):

1. Halo CE
2. GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas
3. God of War 1 and 2
4. Uncharted 1 and 2
5. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
6. Bioshock
7. MetalGear Solid 4
8. Shadows of the Colossus
9. Call of Duty 4(online part only)
10. Gran Turismo 3 and 4

I couldn't list any Wii games because I don't play them that often. I liked Killzone 2 and Gears of War, but they don't deserve to be on a game of the decade list.

[JeepGamer]

What is this, a list of 'The best games that I can remember because I've played them or their sequels in recent history' or a top 10 of the decade?

[nogolis]

Wrong on damn near every level. Where's ICO or Shadow Of the Collosus? Lame. and Halo? Please.

[Mac is OK]

Bad list IMO. Metal Gear Solid 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Resident Evil 4, Half-Life 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (haven't finished IV yet)are a must in my list.

[PISSIO]

halo > all

[sealion88]

come on that game owned every MMO

[Staircase]

This is a really, really uninspired list. All the games listed are amazing, jaw dropping games. But they really missed out on some of the sleeper hit titles, and genres other than shooters. It feels like it was just one publicist that decided this himself.

[ForROME]

I loooove Uncharted 2, but I wont lie, HALO had the most impact on me in the past decade.

When I saw UC2 I was stoked and played through and thought what a dam good game.

When I saw HALO CE and played it, It blew my mind, and the co op just iced it.

[haqshot]

1. World of Warcraft
2. Half-Life 2
3. Counter-Strike
4. Halo series
5. Call of Duty series
6. The Sims
7. Guitar Hero
8. Grand Theft Auto series
9. Super Mario Galaxy
10. Uncharted 2 or God of War series

[keysy420]

how can the same game be there twice.

[keysy420]

san andreas

[ATi_Elite]

I figured Halo the TRIBES VENGEANCE rip of would be number one. The atmosphere created by the single player was already done by any action survival horror game ( Silent Hill Resident Evil)

The multiplayer ( the real asset of Halo) is a direct but refined rip off of Tribes Vengeance from the PC it offers nothing revolutionary and the enemies in Halo have NO A.I.

Although Halo was a great game and millions loved it (then Hated Halo 2) it belongs on this list but..........

Not at number one. Only Grand Theft Auto 3 or World of Warcraft or Half Life 2 can be number 1 that's it PERIOD.

These games were truly revolutionary.

Oh and by the way Mr. Editor Goldeneye and Perfect Dark on the N64 proved a FPS could be done right on a console.

[menoyou]

Halo on the article image? I already knew it was going to be BS. When
I read the list it was worse than I expected.

[Figboy]

my personal top 10 games of the past decade would be:

10) GTA Series (III, Vice City, and San Andreas of course)
9) Prince of Persia Trilogy (Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and Two Thrones)
8) Knights of the Old Republic Series
7) Sly Cooper Series
6) Ratchet and Clank Series
5) Metal Gear Solid Series
4) God of War Series
3) inFAMOUS (that series is going to blow up with part 2)
2) Uncharted Series
1) Ico and Shadow of the Colossus (or, the Fumito Ueda Series)

those are the games of the last 10 years that i can pop in and play at any time and never be bored. i would have thrown in the Dark Cloud series and Rogue Galaxy, but i don't play them nearly as often as the games listed above.

[HOSe]

wind waker > tp (this games gay)

[BinkyStalls]

MGS > FPS

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

yeah if you like silly soap opera's.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Honestly. Impossible to figure out. Just to many damn games.

[Duxer]

What about: Final fantasy X, ICO, Shadow of Colussus, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, LBP, RE4, GTA3, GTA:VC, GTA:SA, God of war, God of war 2...

You could do a whole list without any "next-gen" titles IMO.

[pcz]

if you are a complete moron. Idiotic list

[unicronic]

...nuff said

[Two-Face]

These games should be in a list of games of the decade:

Baldur's Gate II(PC)
Resident Evil 4(GameCube)
Metroid Prime(GameCube)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater(PS2)
Half-Life 2(PC)
Deus Ex(PC)
Max Payne(PC)
Halo: Combat Evolved(Xbox)
Grand Theft Auto III(PS2)
Super Smash Bros. Melee(GameCube)

[RockmanII7]

BS list.

[deno]

Top Honor.
1. shenmue (dreamcast)
2.shadow of the colossus
3. halo ce
4. sonic adventure (dreamcast)
5. metal gear solid 4
6. uncharted 1
7. gears of war
8. mario galaxy
9. ratchet and clank
10. soul calibur (dreamcast)

[Sickr]

Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess, anyone?

Uncharted 2 was absolutely brilliant from start to finish, but for me these two games shone the most. Oh well.

[Relientk77]

what the hell does this guy have against RPGs?

I mean Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 1 and 2 kickass yea.. but wheres the RPGs

Diablo 2
Rogue Galaxy
Grandia 2
Final Fantasy X
...
etc