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[Sidewinder]

1. Demon's Souls ; There's no doubt in my mind that this is both my abolute favourite of last gen but also one of the most important games released in that era. I remember reading about it on Eurogamer, NeoGAF and a german gaming forum. At first I was scared by the hardcore difficulty that was often mentioned, but the sheer beauty of the screenshots, the overwhelming atmosphere and the highly praised gameplay made me take a leap of faith and I imported the asian version of the game. What followed were 80 hours of gaming bliss: scary, powerful enemies that could strike you down in an instant followed by terrifying, heart-pounding boss batles, the true relief after finding yet another shortcut, mesmerizing locations, legendary NPCs and a worthy OST to accompany it all. A true masterpiece!
2. WipEout HD ; Simply the best arcade racer of last gen and one of the best ever made. Gorgeous graphics paired with exhilariting speed, marvelous track design, a legendary OST and masterful gameplay.
3. Last of Us ; The pinnacle of cinematic gaming, an emotional rollercoaster with an outstanding story and dialogues, very solid gameplay, beautiful soundtrack and scenery. Naughty Dogs at their best!
4. Mirror's Edge ; Not only does it set a new aesthetical standard, who'd have known that FPS games could be anything else than brown, it does also bring a breath of fresh air to the genre with parcours and its flowing gameplay.
5. Super Mario Galaxy ; Best platformer of the gen (haven't played No. 2 yet) and a true Nintendo gem.
6. GTAV ; Monumental game.
7. Just Cause 2 ; Pure unadultered fun, sandbox the game.
8. Deus Ex Human Revolution ; Worthy sequel to the legendary original game.
9. Dead Space ; Survival horror at its finest and in space!
10. Battlefield 1943 ; Best MP experience of the gen.

x. Okami
x. Flower
x. Journey
x. Motorstorm Pacific Rift
x. Uncharted 2
x. Dark Souls
x. Donkey Kong Country Returns
x. Valkyria Chronicles
x. Little Big Planet
x. Gran Turismo 5
x. Dirt 2

 

[NinjaBoiX]

Already voted so just some honourable mentions:

WipEout HD Fury : gorgeous aesthetics and blazingly fast & tight gameplay

Ikaruga XBLA : not technically from that gen but it's the first time I played this Treasure (sorry)

Limbo : such a concise, well crafted little game

Burnout Paradise : my go to "have a mess around for a bit" game of the gen

Zak and Wiki : little Wii gem that not enough people played

Dead to Rights : I'm not even joking, there was something I loved about this game

 

[Eolz]

1. Super Mario Galaxy; Switching up a bit the Mario formula once again, this is a marvel in terms of gameplay, OST, atmosphere, accessibility, etc. Its sequel is also fantastic, but misses the sheer charm of this one.
2. The Orange Box; One of the best compilations ever made, and at launch nonetheless!
Hl2ep2 is the best single player game Valve has made, and also arguably their last one. Ends on a great cliffhanger like most of the series, and led to even bigger expectations for this franchise going forward.
TF2 has been fantastic from the start, and completely exceeded expectations, before coming a classic multiplayer game over time, source of hours and hours of fun.
Portal launched a fantastic new IP, with dark humour fitting perfectly this first person puzzle game with a unique concept.
3. Dark Souls; Fantastic game on many aspects (gameplay, structure, atmosphere, storytelling, music, etc) that changed the industry forever. Didn't age too well graphically sadly.
4. Red Dead Redemption; The best single player game Rockstar has ever made, and that put solid foundations for all their multiplayer going forward.
5. Portal 2; Still one of the best coop games around, and a great single player game just like Valve knows how to make them!
6. STALKER Call of Pripyat; This is a special game. Buggy and hard in some bad ways, this is the best of the franchise, with a memorable semi open world and atmosphere. Nothing else like it, with its highs and its lows.
7. Burnout Paradise; the best Burnout game around, and still one of the best arcade racing games as well! Going open world was worrying, but it worked really well, both in single and multiplayer.
8. Metroid Prime Trilogy; I think it counts, by making Metroid Prime 1 and 2 even better with those new controls, and by including 3 to finish the trilogy. No other game tried to be a 3D Metroidvania, and this package proves both how good it is, and how hard it must have been to make it.
9. GTA V; Really good single player, fantastic multiplayer that made me spend hours and hours on two generations, and actually made me do the switch to continue playing.
10. Mass Effect 2; the last great Mass Effect game, did it from start to finish in a weekend. Great storytelling and characters, good gameplay, great OST, and made one of the best new IPs of that gen even better.

x. Sin & Punishment 2
x. Crysis
x. World in Conflict
x. Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
x. Chrono Trigger DS
x. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's inside story
x. Fallout New Vegas
x. Ninja Gaiden 2
x. Nier
x. Uncharted 2
x. VVVVVV
x. Minecraft
x. Batman Arkham City

Obviously missing a ton of great games, but that list is already big enough.

Does The Orange Box count? I would replace some stuff with it if it does.

 

[SxP]

1. The Last of Us ; I don’t need to go into detail about the story and characters, because everybody knows how unbelievably good they are. But what keeps it together is the cohesiveness and believability of the world and the characters and stories within the world, the perfect pacing of both the overall game and the smaller sequences of the game, and of course the fantastic soundtrack. Couple that with fantastically tense gameplay and tight stealth and combat, and you get the best game of the last generation. I remember that about halfway through the game I was frustrated yet again by a lack of supplies and how I only managed to edge past every encounter. It felt like I was just barely making it through the game, even on Normal. And then it hit me, that was exactly how the game was designed and it all came together perfectly. It’s a game about survival and taking it one fight and a time, and that they managed to evoke that feeling just through gameplay alone is one of its strongest points.
2. Demon’s Souls ; My favorite of Souls games, in part because of it’s level design and feel of the world, in part because the first time you experience this type of gameplay it’s extra special.
3. Portal ; Wonderfully inventive and just the right length. It kept surprising you and therefore kept you engaged throughout. It’s sequel dragged a bit at times.
4. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves ; A roller coaster that perfectly knows when to speed up and when to slow down. The characters are fantastic and work with each other very well to complement the fantastic set pieces and super fun gameplay.
5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky ; I love Estelle and Joshua and I loved their story of trying to become the best bracers they could hope to be. I’m one of the few who preferred this game to the latter ones and preferred the narrative in this one. It’s slice of life, rather than having a typical fantasy RPG story, but all the characters and the detail in the worlds and the side stories elevate it to the highest levels. Only the ending was disappointing, as it squandered the great world for a standard anime storyline full of tropes (something which become more and more apparent which each successive game).
6. 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors ; Kept me saying WTF over and over again. Such a strong, surprising narrative coupled with great, moody, music.
7. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen ; The best RPG of last generation. It’s world building and atmosphere are second to none, and were only topped this generation with The Witcher 3. It truly felt terrifying when it gets dark and you were stranded outside, and that’s something anyone should experience at least once.
8. Journey ; That final sequence, when you and your anonymous partner have journeyed together for a couple hours and now reach the top together, is amazing and one of the most unique moments you can have in gaming.
9. Civilization 5 ; I’m cheating a little bit, because this one is this high up in part because of it’s expansion packs, which released outside of the allowed timeframe. But even without those,, you can lose hundreds of hours in this game before you know it.
10. Half-Life 2: Episode 2 ; Opened up the Half-Life 2 gameplay wonderfully and kept me engaged throughout. Shame only about the cliffhanger ending that will never be resolved.

I also got a ton of honorable mentions. I didn't spend a whole lot of time ordering my honorable mentions, but all of these games deserve a shout out.

x. Assassin’s Creed II
x. Lumines
x. Left 4 Dead 2
x. Team Fortress 2
x. Telltale’s The Walking Dead
x. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
x. Sleeping Dogs
x. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
x. Vanquish
x. Yakuza 4
x. Driver: San Francisco
x. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
x. Wipeout HD Fury
x. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
x. Persona 3 Portable
x. Mass Effect 2
x. Fallout New Vegas
x. Super Meat Boy
x. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
x. Pac-man Championship Edition DX
x. Puppeteer
x. inFamous
x. Batman: Arkham Asylum
x. Dead Rising 2
x. Mirror’s Edge
x. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
x. Mount and Blade: Warband

 

[Gruco]

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ;Galaxy 2 really only edges out Galaxy 1. The second was simply more straight-forward and had slightly better level design. The hidden stars, comet medals, and Yoshi also gave it a boost. In a time when games were increasingly elaborate, or reliant on gimmicks, Galaxy was confident in the simple things. Run and jump and build a good playground in which to do so. The Wiimote felt intuitive; motion and pointing were light, but added to the experience.

2. Portal 2 ; Again, tough to call between the two. Portal and Galaxy simply dominated this generation, IMO, but it's hard to pick between the four games. Like Galaxy, Portal is a good core concept executed well. Giving the nod to the sequel for being longer and for doing more with the story.

3. Valkyria Chronicles ; Valkyria surprised me. I couldn't put it down for days. The Map-Story-battle prep loop is identical to what made the Radiant Fire Emblem installments so addictive. But what's great here is that Valkyria takes a new look at strategy, offering something just as fun as the Fire Emblems and Advance Wars of the world, while still being a new experience. The soundtrack is incredible and the overall production is well beyond anything IS has managed to put together.

4. Pokemon Black 2 ; The definitive Pokemon game. Challenge mode alone would be enough to make it so. But what really makes it stand out is the incredible post game. The game is loaded with new challenges, new areas to explore, and new mini-games to get lost in. It's what every "third edition" Pokemon game should look towards.

5. VVVVVV ; As I've said about Galaxy and Portal, just take a good core concept and do it well. VVVVVV was the first indie game to blow me away since the first time I played Cave Story. It's style is awesome and it's soundtrack is flawless. More importantly, it keeps finding clever ways to iterate on its main mechanic, and loaded with rewarding challenges.

6. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; I really didn't know what to expect when I heard about this game. What I got was a ten hour episode of South Park, combined with the best follow-up to Paper Mario: TTYD we've yet seen.

7. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn ; I think this game was criminally overlooked at the time of its release. Graphically underwhelming, and with no motion controls, it was hit hard by a lot of critics, despite being one of the best Fire Emblems as far as challenge and variety. At its harder settings, this game can be downright brutal. Even in normal mode, this game is full of rewarding maps that have had me come back a few times over the years. It's a shame that a lot of people entered the series at Awakening and missed out on better games like this.

8. Super Mario Galaxy ; It's like Mario Galaxy 2, but came first!

9. Portal ; It's like Portal 2, but came first! Seriously, it feels ridiculous to have two series take up so much space but to me, that's the generation. It'd feel wrong not to have all four games up here.

10. Xenoblade Chronicles ; It took years of positive word of mouth for the skepticism to melt away. There's not a lot I can add to this, but: The soundtrack is other-worldly. The world design is beautiful. The localization is lovely. The story is ridiculous but good enough to be satisfied by the cut scenes between the aggressive exploration. The volume of content is off the charts. The combat is seemingly simple and automatic, but can have a surprising amount of depth.

 

[StoveOven]

Alright, time to stop thinking and start writing this. While I had been playing games most of my life, I didn't start following games and really start enjoying and playing them frequently until late in this generation. That means that a lot of the games on this list will be ones that I came to years later, but that as opposed to the generation before it not all of them will be. Anyways, I really like the games of this generation and there are still plenty of games from it that I have yet to play that I would probably love. But here are my 10 favorite games of this generation at the moment.

1. Braid ; Braid has an incredible personal importance to me that places it at the top of this list and that I'm not super comfortable going into, but it also is a really great game and so I'll talk about that instead. This definitely comes from my perspective as an English major, but I love how interpretable Briad is. And it's not because the game is super vague and devoid of explicit messaging (we'll get to that later) but because it has so much both in the text and the subtext to go through and try to find meaning in. And while some might absolutely hate this aspect, I love it. Another thing to note is that when I recently watched the noclip documentary on The Witness, Jonathan Blow mentioned that he studied creative writing in college. This immediately made sense because the storybook sections of Braid were surprisingly well-written when I first played the game. And while a lot of games are now inverting the "save the Princess" trope, I love how Braid went out of its way to completely subvert it. It's also a really good puzzle game with unique mechanics and a large focus on experimentation.

2. Sid Meier's Civilization V ; There is no game that I have spent more time playing than Civilization V. While not a perfect game, it does so much right and also appeals directly to my personal tastes. The idea of building a Civilization from the dawn of time to the future and competing against and working with other famous world leaders from history will always appeal to me, and this entry was the one that hit at the right time for me.

3. The Last of Us ; A masterpiece. There isn't much I can say about The Last of Us that hasn't been said a million times before. I'll just say that the game is beautiful, the performances are great, the gameplay is tense and weighty, and the character development is better than any other videogame.

4. Super Meat Boy ; Platformers might be my favorite genre, and Super Meat Boy is the best platformer of the last generation (Braid is a puzzle game). It often gets lobbed in with the masocore genre, but I think that's selling Meat Boy short. Masocore games are fundamentally bullshit. They are oftentimes less about platforming skill and more about memorization and pattern recognition. Meat Boy is obviously a hard game, but it's not an impossible game. It also benefits from the instant restarts and relatively short levels. While I would often get angry playing Meat Boy, I never felt hopeless.

5. Super Mario Galaxy ; The second best platformer of the last generation. Mario Galaxy is a magical game. The levels and mechanics never cease being creative, and the whole thing feels like a grand adventure that I just got lost in. I imagine that I must have played Mario Galaxy with a big, dumb smiled on my face the entire time. I enjoyed the sequel and get why some people like it more, but for me it just lost that special element that the first game had. Mario Galaxy 2 might be a great platformer, but the original game is the complete package.

6. Assassin's Creed II ; The history nerd in me was always susceptible to either loving or hating the Assassin's Creed franchise. For the most part though, I was pleasantly surprised by how the series handled it's historical settings. And while Unity is the only game in the series that I didn't like, Assassin's Creed II still reigns supreme for me. While I think there are a lot of reasons for this and a lot of ways the franchise faltered as it went on (e.g. the overarching story that was at one point interesting, the combat being made even easier, the de-emphasis both on stealth and platforming, and protagonists that didn't feel as well realized as Ezio), the primary reason Assassin's Creed II stands out is how well it realizes the Renaissance setting. From Jesper Kyd's score to the distinct city atmospheres, Assassin's Creed II has a dreamlike aspect that helps romanticize its subject matter in a way I really like.

7. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves ; Uncharted 2 came packed in with my PS3, and I had never heard of it before then. I put it aside to play the games I had bought with the system and never really thought about it. Then, I was bored one night and decided to pop it in. The credits rolled at 5 O'clock the next morning. While on repeat playings I have developed some criticism for this game, I can't deny just how damn engaging it was the first time I played it. Uncharted 2 has a grandness to it that makes you want to keep going. It's a game that changed a lot of things, and that impact and praise was definitely not unearned.

8. Mirror's Edge ; Have I mentioned that I liked platformers? Well, I didn't actually like Mirror's Edge the first time I played it. While I wanted to love it, the game never really clicked with me. But I gave it a second chance and now here it is on my Games of the Generation list. Mirror's Edge has a great premise, distinct look, and intuitive control scheme. It is far from being a perfect game, and I fear the the franchise will never realized it's potential, but I love it nonetheless. I could just play new Mirror's Edge time trials for the rest of my life and be satisfied as far as videogames are concerned.

9. Journey ; So, finally getting to vague and not explicit. Journey is a game that you could probably read into a lot, and I'm the kind of guy who likes to do that sort of thing. But for whatever reason I have never had that urge with Journey. I guess part of me just wants a game that I can enjoy for purely aesthetic purposes and never think about on any deeper level. A lot of people had an emotional reaction to this game, and I guess the same is true for me. The only difference is that my emotional reaction is sinking in my chair and letting out a relieved sigh. This may be due solely to Austin Wintory's incredible soundtrack, but Journey is an incredibly relaxing game to me, and sometimes I need that.

10. MLB 10 The Show ; I don't know or remember in MLB 10 The Show is the best PS3 entry in this franchise. But it's the first one I owned after finally ditching my PS2. This franchise is the entire reason I bought a PS3, and last generation it was especially incredible seeing just how much better it was than the 2K series of baseball games. Keep doing what you do Sony San Diego. We need good baseball games in this world, and nobody does them better.

 

[BinaryPork2737]

I was originally going to write more for my list, but kind of forgot about the thread, so here are some blurbs instead.

1. Dark Souls ; A great balance between challenge and fun. Exploration is rewarding, and combat feels superb. DS has some of my favorite bosses in gaming as a whole, as well.
2. Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver ; An example of remakes done correctly, HG/SS are still my favorite games in the franchise, despite the level curve for wild pokemon.
3. Terraria ; My favorite "crafting/exploration" game by far. A great game to play when you just want zone out and build something. It's had fantastic post-launch support, too.
4. Fallout: New Vegas ; A huge improvement over 3, especially in terms of writing.
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey ; Strange Journey has some of the best dungeons in the series.
6. Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City ; A refinement of I and II mixed in with a new ship navigation aspect that would go on to influence IV.
7. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword ; My second favorite Civ game, IV: BTS was my go to "one more turn" game for a long time. Non-modded V only surpassed it with its second expansion, which isn't eligible for this thread. Despite that, the Rhye's and Fall of Civilization mod, included with this expansion, is my favorite Civ experience overall.
8. Xenoblade Chronicles ; The game that got me back into gaming after a long slump. The world and music are fantastic.
9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution ; I had extremely low expectations for a DX game after the disappointment that was Invisible War, but HR ended up being a really nice surprise.
10. Bayonetta ; An extremely fun game held back by some design decisions (the Kinship enemies, the disorienting missile level, etc.).
x. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
x. Kirby Superstar Ultra
x. Batman: Arkham Asylum
x. Radiant Historia
x. No More Heroes
x. Bioshock 2
x. Super Mario Galaxy 2
x. Red Dead Redemption
x. Amnesia: The Dark Descent

 

[myco666]

1. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; It has to be this way. Everything feels good to perform and especially the parry. The visual and audio feedback on that is just perfect. Then you also have the soundtrack of the generation. Only game where I drop all volumes to 1 except for music which I put to 10.

2. Resident Evil 5 ; Best RE game. Sorry RE4 but you don't have coop or good melee mechanics. Also it has best Wesker.

3. Catherine ; Never expected to like a puzzle game this much. Very addictive game that I just can't get enough. Well I got enough once I got all those gold prizes on hard difficulty. The storyline is also something that you don't see in a lot of games.

4. 999 ; Can't hold all these twists. A fantastic VN that also has genuine moments of terror which I didn't expect. Has also probably the best use of the console it is on.

5. Killer is Dead ; Basically MGR light. Doesn't have a good combo system (just mash same button basically) but the audiovisual feedback on perfect dodges is just too good. This game has one of the hypest final bosses I can remember.

6. Demon's Souls ; The beginning. Has bad performance and the UI has aged very badly. Still a very strong experience with great artstyle, inventive bosses and a fantastic soundtrack.

7. The Evil Within ; This would be way higher but the visuals are pretty rough on this version. Mikami basically taking RE4 and improving that quite a bit. Now you actually have to manage your resources and the game is more of a horror game than action game.

8. Dead Space 2 ; Scifi horror that also has MC just going nuts and seeing stuff? Count me in. Had a bit of trouble deciding if this is better or the first one. Settled on this as it has better moments in my opinion and is also bit more tense than the original.

9. Deus Ex: Human Revolution ; Oh boy. Cyberpunk is something I love so much. This game gives me what I love but the boss fights just hold it down. Would otherwise be a total masterpiece.

10. Anarchy Reigns ; I said earlier that MGR had the OST of the generation. I lied. This game has the OST of the generation. By that feat this game already gets a spot on the list. It also has a fantastic and simple combat system. Online mode while kinda broken in terms of balance was a ton of fun.


Won't even bother with honorable mentions as it would just end up so long. Great generation.

 

[Temujin]

Totally forgot about this, so it's going to be a quick list and I'll probably forget a few.

1. Bioshock ; Rapture is such a memorable place. I loved the atmosphere and I love going back. Finished it 3 times.

2. Mass Effect ; despite its issues (inventory!) this is still my favourite Mass Effect. And just like Bioshock, I played through it 3 times.

3. Fallout 3 ; I know most people prefer New Vegas but this one was more memorable to me. I always play Fallout as an explorer, and the Wasteland offered me a whole lot more than NV. Double-dipped on this (360 then PC) and my combined play time must be around 250 hours.

4. Bayonetta ; it's my favourite character action game ever.

5. Dead Space ; atmospheric horror with memorable setpieces that the sequels (and any horror game since) failed to surpass.

6. Dishonored ; really loved the world building and atmosphere in this. Also has some of the best DLC around.

7. Dark Souls ; I never finished it and probably never will, but boy what an experience this is.

8. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow ; I miss Igavanias This one's my favourite after SotN.

9. The Last Story ; The best Wii RPG (sorry, Xenoblade) and actually my favourite JRPG from that era.

10. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit ; My favourite gen 7 racing game.

x. Virtua Fighter 5
x. Mortal Kombat
x. Blur ; RIP Bizarre Creations
x. Top Spin 4 ; best sports game this gen, best tennis game ever
x Rockstar's Table Tennis ; this one isn't too bad either
x. Portal 2 ; Cave Johnson. So good.
x. Singularity
x. Crackdown
x. Mirror's Edge
x. Journey
x. Lost Odyssey
x. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
x. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ; still the best AssCreed
x. No More Heroes ; about the only Wii game with good waggle controls
x. Cursed Mountain ; one of my favourite horror games
x. Yakuza 4
x. Deus Ex Human Revolution

 

[Staal]

This generation I fell in love with console gaming and started to slowly understand the allure of handheld gaming. I played mostly on the 360 and had a blast. Also the generation where the smaller games were becoming some of the best. My top 10:

1. Spelunky ; this might simply be one of the best games ever. The basic game is a simple platformer, but the roguelike elements make this different in each run. I still play it on my Vita and over 1500 runs beaten Olmec only 13 times. I can see myself playing this game my entire life.
2. Burnout Paradise ; the best car playground conceived so far, in both singleplayer and multiplayer. I loved to do stunt runs trying to cross the entire city. Also the first game where I started achievement hunting (which I didn't do a lot).
3. Mark of the Ninja ; a fantastic 2D stealth game. The visual design was so tight you could play it with the sound muted.
4. Mass Effect 2 ; the best Bioware game imho. Great world building, fantastic characters, great gameplay. Replayed this about seven times and one of the few games I completed on the hardest difficulty.
5. Dishonored ; great stealth game, fantastic level and world design, this is a the better version of the Deus Ex type games in this generation.
6. Trials Evolution ; the original Trials HD was a fine game as a motorbike platformer, but Evolution improved on everything. Better world, multiplayer, inventive levels, better sharing of levels. Loved it!
7. Tombraider ; the better version of the Uncharted type games. The island setting with a long mystical history was fantastic and I loved this version of Lara.
8. Transformers: War for Cybertron ; this was the complete package for Transformers fans. Great world design, with a ton of small details that showed the designers loved the franchise. Singleplayer with coop play possible, great version of the horde mode and a fantastic multiplayer, where you could make great use of the transformations. Too bad it didn't catch on. The follow up was a bit of a disappointment.
9. Defense Grid: The Awakening ; the absolute best Tower Defense game in my view.
10. Alpha Protocol ; a prime example of Obsidian, technically not the best game, but a spy rpg where you actually have an impact on story and ending. I hope sooooo much ther will some day be a sequel.

x. Portal
x. Battlefield 1943 ; the battlefield experience condensed to its purest form.
x. Far Cry 2 ; an actual inhospitable world which actively fights against you. Hard too get into, but very rewarding.
x. Bioshock
x. Vanquish
x. Saints Row The Third ; best in the series
x. Alan Wake
x. Crackdown ; hunting orbs was fantastic
x. Persona 3 Portable
x. Shadow Complex ; a lot can be said about OSC, but the game is a great metroidvania.
x. XCOM Enemy Unknown
x. Fez

 

[Wichu]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles ; And to think this almost never got localised. Xenoblade hit all the JRPG notes just right for me. A vast world with a super cool concept, a lovely artstyle and environment design (despite the Wii limitations), a stellar soundtrack, solid British voice acting for a likeable cast, plenty of playable characters that each play differently in battle, and a ton of quality of life mechanics such as fast travel anytime, auto-completable quests, near-instant health recovery out of combat (and therefore no boring inventory management system).

2. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors ; People kept on raving about this Japan/America only game, so eventually I ended up importing a copy (filthy UK peasant here.) This was my first experience with the visual novel genre, and I was hooked. Escape room gameplay coupled with a mystery story that delivers twist after twist? Yes please! The 'big twist' has probably the coolest (craziest) presentation I've seen in a work of fiction; it was designed specifically for the DS, so the recent port doesn't have it

3. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ; BEST DOG IN GAMING. Ghost Trick has a charming visual style, gorgeous animations, a solid soundtrack, and a story with more twists and turns than the crazy Rube-Goldberg situations you'll find yourself in. Although some of the puzzles can get frustrating when you can't figure out the solution, the overall experience is amazing and something I would recommend to everyone.

4. The World Ends With You ; This is what happens when you design a game around unique hardware without just making it a gimmicky minigame collection. I think this is my favourite Square Enix game - it has distinctive visuals, a great unique soundtrack, and a crazy combat system that felt ever so satisfying to master. A lot of interesting original ideas went into this, and it somehow all worked out.

5. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 ; The pinnacle of the DS Pokémon games. Although the story was a step down from Black/White, everything else was a big improvement. A vast array of Pokémon to catch (both old and new), almost all the content from Black/White plus a boatload more, and one of the best postgames in any Pokémon title with a ton more areas to explore, legendary Pokémon to track down, and of course the Pokémon World Tournament featuring gym leaders and champions from all the past games.

6. Minecraft ; I had a few friends convince me into trying it when it was still in alpha. The addictive nature of the explore/mine/build gameplay loop got me in, but it was the later mechanics like redstone and enchanting that kept me hooked.

7. Super Mario Galaxy ; Pure platforming fun. I'm not really a big platformer person, but Galaxy is just a joy to play - the controls feel perfect, the level design is top-notch, and the mechanics feel fresh and creative throughout.

8. Nier ; I got it for the incredible soundtrack, but it was the intriguing story and crushingly depressing boss fights that sealed the deal. The gameplay and visuals are super janky, but the soundtrack and story hold it up.

9. To the Moon ; Because crushing sadness is all I need in my life. Although many of the jokes fell flat and the story was seriously sappy, the core plot knows what it's doing and how to deliver the right emotional beats.

10. VVVVVV ; The gameplay and graphics are fairly simple and some of the levels are super frustrating (fuck the Gravitron), I think the music kept me playing. Mastering the harder sections feels very satisfying.

 

[CrimsonCrescendo]

1. Super Mario Galaxy

In 2007, Nintendo had found a way to distill pure fun into a liquid and injected it into this game's code. Endlessly entertaining, wonderfully innovative, and has an amazing soundtrack.


2. Bayonetta

Eight years after Hideki Kamiya created the genre of character action, he came back and rewrote the rules once again. Elegant design matched with chasm-like depth with a deep and rewarding combo and ranking system. A charismatic protagonist, tons of combos, amazing depth, innovative mechanics like Witch Time and Dodge Offset, and a story oozing batshit sets this game apart from the rest of the hack n' slashers. If you haven't bought this on steam yet, do so ASAP.


3. Portal

Fun, amazing innovative gameplay, and introduced Glados. All tucked into a 3 hour experience.



4. The Last of Us

I'm not with the crowd who exclaims that this is the greatest game ever made. Personally, I found the gameplay a bit bland for my taste. It all came together amazingly, of course, but I was never as impressed with it as many others were. It's the narrative which elevated it to my #4. Simply put, it's one of the finest "Cinematic" video game stories out that, highly elevated by the simply amazing performances by Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker. Granted, narrative in gaming has a long way to go to catch up to it's older siblings in literature and cinema, however, I was gripped by the narrative from beginning to end in a way that no other game story has.



5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I totally asked for this. One of the finest examples of stealth blended with action blended with RPG/customization elements of the last generation. I probably did three full playthroughs of this game just to explore all of its content (First run: mix of action and stealth, second: more stealth, third: Full Ghost).


6. Left 4 Dead

I played so much of this game back when it came out. The online experience was amazing.





7. Mirror's Edge

If you would have told me that a first-person platforming parkour game would have worked out brilliantly before this game out, I'd have told you to get outta here. Lo and behold, it worked. While the combat is extremely weak, luckily you can mostly avoid it. The Time Trails also focus in on what worked so well in the game and made an amazing experience even more amazing.


8. Devil May Cry 4

If you are at all familiar with my post history, you'd know that I love Devil May Cry. And had I only considered my time with DMC 4 in bloody palace, it would be ranked #1. However, while I adore the gameplay and Dante's part of the story, I can't in good conscious put it any higher on my list with the myriad of questionable design decisions. Dice minigames and ruining the boss gauntlet with a dice minigame, Gyro blades, shoddy platforming sections, having Dante run back through Nero's missions, reusing bosses as many as three times, some of the worst boss fights outside of DMC 2 (Savior, Sanctus, Agnus lab), and anemic content. I love this franchise, and hope Itsuno has the time and budget he needs to knock it out of the park for the parts that DMC 4 suffered in should he ever make a DMC 5.



9. Mass Effect 2

Just a great space romp.



10. Assassin's Creed 2

Still my favorite of all the Assassin's Creed games.



Honorable Mentions

X. Donkey Kong Country Returns
X. Batman Arkham Asylum
X. Batman Arkham City
X. The Walking Dead
X. Bastion
X. Saints Row 4
X. Dark Souls (Note: I've only just started playing, so I don't feel right placing it in the top ten even though I'm really liking what I'm playing)
X. Resonance of Fate

 

[PlatypusDude]

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; My favorite game of the generation takes the already excellent foundation from the first game and polishes it to a shine. Whether it be the fun use of the power-ups, non-infurating mini-game stages, enjoyable use of everyone’s favorite green dinosaur, or just the excellent platforming this game is an exemplary example of how to make a video game.
2. The World Ends With You ; My most enjoyable portable game of the generation in one which for a few years I enjoyed my DS more over my home consoles. Whether it was the sleek modern aesthetic, the chaotic yet enjoyable battle system, or what is one of the best video game soundtracks around, everyone who has a DS owes it to themselves to check out this excellent one-shot (*sigh*) JRPG.
3. Mass Effect 2 ; The best game in this series by a decent margin. Gone is the bad janky combat of the original and in it’s place is an enjoyable cover shooter which happens to contain some of the best world-building and characters in a video game.
4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations ; My favorite visual novel game series best installment. Gadot is easily the best non-Edgeworth prosecutor in the series and the game manages to avoid any bad trials of which there is usually one or two in every game that are significantly weaker than the rest.
5. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors ; My other favorite visual novel series. Probably my favorite overall story in a video game for this generation.
6. Team Fortress 2 ; The game for which I probably invested the most hours with this generation, at it’s peak (which has sadly since waned) the sense of community and fun on the various servers I played on was excellent and the game itself is one of the best team-oriented FPS’s ever made.
7. Portal 2 ; Valve sure knew what they were doing at the middle of last generation. Arguably one of the funniest games ever made.
8. Batman: Arkham Asylum ; The first game in this series is still the best with it’s Metroidvania-esque design and attention to detail.
9. Tales of Vesperia ; My favorite console JRPG of last generation, a cast of non-annoying characters and an enjoyable battle system accompany the wonderful cel-shaded visuals.
10. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future ; An excellent selection of brain teasers that’s surround by the series charm and surprisingly touching story.
x. Catherine ;
x. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey ;
x. Super Mario Galaxy ;
x. Trauma Team ;
x. Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 ;
x. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure ;
x. Halo 3 ;
x. Saints Row: The Third ;
x. Super Meat Boy ;
x. Rayman Origins ;
x. Castle Crashers ;
x. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ;

 

[eot]

1. Dark Souls - I don't care that much about the ordering of my list, except for the number one position. Dark Souls is far and away the best game of the generation in my opinion. A genre defining game with amazing world design that no one has come close to topping 6 years on. Also has the best laughs of any game.
2. Mass Effect 2 - The complaints directed towards ME2's main plot never resonated with me. Saving the world stories have never been all that interesting on their own, and focusing on the characters was 100% the right direction. In terms of characters and narrative no game has ever hooked me as much as ME2, and I also think it has the best combat in the series.
3. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - A truly oppressive game, with great atmosphere. It's flawed for sure, but the experience of going into those underground labs has stuck with me all these years.
4. The Witcher 2 - The way that TW2 handles narrative branching is more ambitious that any other RPG I've played, and it pulls it off so well. Depending on your choices in the first act, you end up not only getting a lot of unique quests and character interactions, but a completely different perspective on the whole story. I also just have to say that I love the writing in this game.
5. Super Meat Boy - My favourite platformer ever, I have played it for over 200 hours. Still working on the final achievement, completing Cotton Alley dark world with no deaths, but therein lies my biggest issue with SMB: the technical shit. To me it's unacceptable why a game with such precise platforming has frame dependent game logic, or why they haven't patched out the shitty wall jump bug that will ruin runs for many people.
6. Mass Effect - I understand why people put this game above ME2, and while I agree that a lot of the things that ended up being cut in the sequel were for the worse, I still think ME1 is a more flawed game. That said, it's still a fantastic RPG and easily the second best game in the series.
7. VVVVVV - Great example of how you can make a short, enjoyable game. Terry Cavanagh has a magic touch, and the soundtrack is endlessly re-listenable.
8. Binary Domain - A criminally underrated game. Shooting scrap heads that break apart with every shot never gets old, and somehow the game manages to have a much better story than you'd expect too. I'll take this over Gears any day.
9. Tomb Raider Anniversary - I consider myself to be a bit of a purist when it comes to the TR games, but maybe I shouldn't because I loved TR:A. I don't care that they added QTEs or changed / cut some things from the original, I think this is a better game. It is without question the best TR game that Crystal Dynamics have made, and in my opinion the best one since TRIII. If they ever make a TR game with platforming and atmosphere like this again I'd be beyond thrilled.
10. World of Goo - It's been a while since I played it now, but this game just had so damn much charm for a puzzle game and it helped kick start the wave of indie games we saw.

 

[Grexeno]

1. Super Mario Galaxy ; Having already developed the greatest 3D platformer of all time in Super Mario 64, Nintendo looked at the state of the genre and said, "let's do it again."

2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ; The game that exposed me to visual novels. The ludicrous characters, excellent story, and classic music combine to make this game the best in that genre and one of the greatest games of all time.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ; I'm perfectly aware of all the flaws with this game. It's buggy as hell, has poor combat, stilted and awkward voice acting, and simplistic quests. Yet, I've played this game for hundreds of hours and will probably play it for dozens more.

4. Dark Souls ; While technically only a refinement of Demons' Souls, Dark Souls puts it all together to essentially start a new genre of games. It's bosses, lore, and level design are the stuff of legends.

5. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; While Super Mario Galaxy is the greatest 3D platformer of all time, it's sequel is the best 3D platformer of all time.

6. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors ; Combines an excellent, tense story with brain-bending puzzle rooms. The ending twist uses the DS to superb effect.

7. Pokemon Platinum ; Despite other games since being far more frictionless experiences, this single game remains the definitive Pokemon experience.

8. Portal ; It's puzzle design and writing are the stuff of legends.

9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ; The best suite of dungeons in the series.

10. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials & Tribulations ; The best 3rd game of the gen. And this gen had a lot of big, impressive 3's.

 

[Lostconfused]

I guess I'll throw up the list now. I don't feel like I need to say anything about these games to be honest. I imagine every poster here knows most them and already has their own opinion.

1. Mass Effect ; A great Sci Fi RPG. Very underused setting when it comes to western RPGs and Bioware nailed it. The sequels are unfortunately trash.
2. Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost ; My favorite competitive action game. I got into it because of the license but it’s also very approachable. Simple controls and game mechanics make it very easy to pick up and play.
3. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King ; Probably the high point of the World of Warcraft MMO formula. Certainly the high point of my time with that game.
4. Mirror's Edge ; Incredible visuals, great new game mechanics. They nailed the satisfaction of performing a perfect run in a time trial to try and improve on your best time.
5. Portal 2 ; An improvement over the original portal with an actual story, cast of characters, more environments, voice acting, real assets instead of just reusing old source engine junk. Portal’s influence can still be felt today in games like Titanfall 2 which still uses the same game engine.
6. Ghost Trick ; Charming puzzle adventure game, with excellent use of 3D models and animations. The charm and style comes across not just from the eccentric cast of characters but also great animation work.
7. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Trials & Tribulations ; Pretty much same as ghost trick I guess, however here the charm comes from seeing returning characters in this long running series.
8. Crysis ; The defining PC game of it’s generation. Large open levels, lots of freedom in gameplay, amazing visuals. It’s a real shame what happened to Crytek after.
9. Bayonetta ; Best 3rd person action game of it’s generation. An argument could be made for Devil May Cry 4, if the 2nd half of the game wasn’t just backtracking through the same levels.
10. SRW 2nd OGs ; The best SRW game out on PS3. It lacks anime licenses that everyone knows and loves this series for but in return the game provides lavish animations and incredible freedom in creating a team/party.

x. Halo 3: ODST ; Best story telling in Halo series.
x. Vanquish ; Best 3rd person shooter, one of the few games to attempt an improvement on slow motion shooting gameplay that you can find in classics such as Max Payne.
x. Alan Wake ; Best Remedy Entertainment game of the generation. Their love of western television shows can be clearly felt throughout this game.
x. Valkyria Chronicles ;
x. Crackdown ; Came out at the time when xbox 360 had almost no notable games and was a ton of fun.
x. Batman: Arkham Asylum ; Excellent metroidvania style game that proves the old saying “less is more” as the sequels become bogged down in open world shit heap.
x. Left 4 Dead 2 ; an improvement over Leftt 4 Dead. Pretty great online co-op/competitive survival shooter
x. Hitman: Blood Money ;
x. Fallout: New Vegas ; Hey someone actually made a new Fallout RPG.
x. Deus Ex: Human Revolution ;
x. Wipeout HD ;
x. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ;
x. Ninja Gaiden 2 ;
x. Metal Gear Rising ;
x. Metal Gear Solid 4 ;
x. Muramasa: The Demon Blade ;
x. Elite Beat Agents ;
x. BlazBlue Calamity Trigger ;
x. Remember Me ;
x. Tales of Vesperia ;
x. Umineko no Naku Koro Ni ;
x. Jeanne d'Arc ;
x. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King ;
x. Alpha Protocol ;
x. Infinite Space ;
x. Battlefield: Bad Company ;
x. Spec Ops: The Line ;
x. Catherine ;

I'll probably add some more comments to honorable mentions, maybe, hopefully.

 

[AniHawk]

Is A Realm Reborn \ Heavensward in? It came out on PS3.

if that's what you played it on then yeah

 

[AniHawk]

Already voted so just some honourable mentions:

WipEout HD Fury : gorgeous aesthetics and blazingly fast & tight gameplay

Ikaruga XBLA : not technically from that gen but it's the first time I played this Treasure (sorry)

Limbo : such a concise, well crafted little game

Burnout Paradise : my go to "have a mess around for a bit" game of the gen

Zak and Wiki : little Wii gem that not enough people played

Dead to Rights : I'm not even joking, there was something I loved about this game

do you mean dead to rights retribution?

 

[cooldawn]

1. The Last of Us, Naughty Dog, Sony
Naughty Dog stepped up narrative beyond everything else. Moving character development, extremely well realised environments and a gunplay style that shifted it away from 'pixel-dot accurate' shooters. It was tense. Always. Multiplayer is in a class of it's own too. The complete third person shooter package.

2. The Orange Box, Valve
Three games. Two expansions. One box. Not just any three games and two expansion. A collection of all-timers in one box. Granted I couldn't get in to Team Fortress as much but Portal is genius. There's no other sane reaction to it. Half-Life 2 and it's expansions are a masterclass of level design, gameplay, physics, story and an interactive robotic dog. It's so good and critically acclaimed we're still waiting for another one! 10 years later!

3. Gran Turismo 5, Polyphony Digital Inc, Sony
I may be frowned upon for this but the build-up hype was unreal and then playing through fully dynamic conditions with that lighting engine is still the greatest driving game experience I've ever had. To this day I can force the game to be challenging and stunningly beautiful at the same time. The best, most diverse and complete Gran Turismo by far and a sight to behold when it all comes together.

4. Bioshock, 2K, Take Two
Although Rapture is an incredible setting, Big Daddies are the star of the show for me. An almost telepathic adversary shielding the Little Sisters. Not only that the Plasmid gameplay is phenomenally intertwined creating any number of memorable encounters along the way. A class act not bested by any of it's sequels.

5. Crackdown, Realtime Worlds, Microsoft
A game that was...because it could. It's as simple as that. No pretensions at all...just get out there and have fun. A game that highlighted what a free-flowing open-world sandbox could be. The slightest narrative for full enjoyment, wonderfully presented. Easily the best open-world game of the last generation. Bravo. It's so much better than Grand Theft Auto too!

6. Dead Space, EA Redwood Shores, EA
The one thing that binds action and suspense is silence. A muted Isaac Clarke is the best Isaac Clarke. At times the claustrophobic isolation throttled. Great character design, superb visual and sound design, a wonderfully pleasing HUD and enough heavy breathing to heighten the senses. An stunning experience from start to finish.

7. Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Evolution Studios, Sony
Although the single player experience let it down a tad it didn't bother me. I was part of the Motorstorm Monday crew so yeah, I played this a lot. It's a fully blown, raw and visceral experience. It's got attitude. I became all too attached to my Union Jack liveried Land Rover so, so much I miss it now. Excellent track design, amazing visual appeal and stunning shoulder-to-shoulder gameplay. There's nothing quite like it. There never will be.

8. SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation, Slant Six Games, Sony
This is where I popped my SOCOM cherry. I loved it. Some say SOCOM 2 on PlayStation 2 is better but I find it hard to believe. Great maps and solid gunplay made the gameplay experience contagious. Seemed to be more popular in the US but that was fine because I was open-all-hours with this game.

9. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Naughty Dog, Sony
'It was the visuals, wasn't it?!' they said. 'Yeah, pretty much', I replied. No joke...the visuals in this game are staggering. A tour de force in design and engineering. The first game made good on character development but Uncharted 2 took absolutely everything and pushed it all on. No wonder years later Naughty Dog ended up making one of the best games ever made. It just so happened that this showed a glimpse of how far they could go.

10. Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros
People may say Arkham City or Arkham Knight is better but this old Asylum created the best playing space in the series. It's tight corridors and hidden portals helped shaped stealth gameplay but out of the shadows the innovative super-hero combat system made fist-fights legendary. Combine the two elements and you've got yourself one amazingly satisfying experience from top-to-toe. The best comic book tie-in ever made.

 

[AniHawk]

Does The Orange Box count? I would replace some stuff with it if it does.

yes it does

 

[NinjaBoiX]

do you mean dead to rights retribution?

Yeah.

 

[myco666]

Also gonna make sure AniHawk. Evil Within counts since since it is released on PS3/X360 and that is the generation I experienced it on and base my vote?

 

[RobertM]

1. Demon Souls; This is a game I heard a lot of rumbling before it came to the states. People were getting the Japanese version of the game and trying to describe all of these mechanics that sounded interesting but I wasn’t sure what to think of. One of those things was the messaging system were people could compose a message but out of simple words which I though was neat but nothing earth shattering. Then there was a lot of talk about red phantoms and white phantoms that could come into your world. Now that’s where the game peaked my interest. You didn’t realize how this asynchronous multiplayer gameplay was ground breaking until you experienced. On top of that, there were 5 unique worlds that you could visit at any time, and I don’t think any will forget 1-1 through 1-3 with the Dragon constantly blasting the bridge with the fire only to be met with Tower Knight boss at the end of it. Absolutely amazing.

2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots; It’s been almost 10 years since I stood in line in NYC to get the game and get it signed by Kojima himself. MGS2 is my favorite game of all time and after MGS3 I was really hoping that Kojima would get back to story of the Patriots and Solid Snake. I remember playing this and just wanting to play more and more of it each time I came home. We finally got a glimpse of what happened to Raiden and the badass that he turned into. Ocelot was causing havoc and creating the outer heaven. Meryl was finally back and we get to see her story. Snake was dying and everyone knew it, and going through this man’s journey and struggle was a sad sight to see. You felt for the character as he battled through countless enemies, his body was deteriorating, the microwave seen, and the last struggle with Ocelot. It was a movie, and it sure had a lot of long cut scenes, but I loved every second it and will cherish the memories of playing this game when it came out.

3. Valkyria Chronicles; Not having an interest in JRPGs as much as I used and loving stategy games, this game was a breath of fresh air. It combines real time turn based combat which I don't remember experiencing before. Not only the combat was awesome, but the characters were fairly unique, good English voice acting, and the story was really good too.

4. STALKER; I genuinely felt scared to play in the world at night, it was downright stressful. The game captures the feeling of something is not right in this world and the more you explore it, the more this feeling intensifies. I played it with mods so my experience might not be as genuine as those who played the vanilla game, but man, I could not stop playing it and exploring the scary and desolate world of Chernobyl.

5. Batman: Arkham Asylum; Came out during Summer when most games were not being released, and what a game. Cool combat, riddler puzzles, exploration, bosses, atmosphere, the game had it all.

6. Dead Space; There weren't a lot of survival horror games coming out around this time and this game had everything to be up with there with one of the best. Great atmosphere, shooting mechanics, interesting world, and upgrade mechanics.

7. Fallout 3; Unbelievable atmosphere, engaging story, the exploration aspects, the VATS system, good quest line, I really loved this world and enjoyed exploring all of it.

8.Skate; I bought this game day 1 thanks to the demo. I think it just captured the feeling of doing tricks using the analog sticks really well. It was not THPS where you press a button to do a trick, it was actually felt like a simulator of skating games and it’s something I have not experienced before. It had awesome replay editing feature, and less we forget the physics in this game, so good.

9. Nier; I don’t remember how I heard of this game or why I got it, probably GAF, but boy was this a layered game. I really hated the combat at first because how basic it was, but as you got more abilities, and the bullet hell enemies started to appear more and more, something clicked, and I was being taken on a lucid ride. Ah the music in this game, one of the best bar none.

10. Moon Diver; I dedicate this pick to my first love. Too many drunken nights were spent playing this game and falling in love.

x. PixelJunk Monsters
x.Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
x.Mirror's Edge
x.Flower
x.Folklore
x.Braid
x.Far Cry 2
x.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
x.Killzone 2
x Medal of Honor: Airborne

 

[Deleted member 59090]

1. Burnout Paradise ; Way ahead of it's time. It taught me that grouping up with random people online can actually be fun and lead to new friendships. Awesome sense of speed, 60fps across the board, good looking game with amazing post-launch support. I spent over 250 hours with it and consider it an absolute must-play of the generation.

2. Far Cry 2 ; Emergent gameplay the game.

3. WipEout HD ; First time since SoF2 I got legitimately good at a game. Consistently breaking into top100 leadeboards and later racing with some of the best people was just amazing. Zone mode rocks.

4. Fallout: New Vegas ; The real Fallout sequel.

5. Ghost Trick

6. The World Ends with You

7. Mass Effect

8. Mirror's Edge

9. Valkyria Chronicles

10. Journey

 

[AuthenticM]

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ; A masterpiece in marrying gameplay to storytelling, and one of the greatest games of all time.
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ; Bethesda finally fixed what was wrong with Oblivion and made an engrossing world begging to be explored.
3. Resident Evil 5 ; On certain days, this game is at the top of this list. Just non-stop action and a great story. The best coop experience by far.
4. Demon's Souls ; This game single-handedly reprogrammed my perception of what video games can be and what I want out of them.
5. Bioshock ; A fantastic story in a game offering sandbox levels in which you can tackle enemies in a variety of ways.
6. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ; The greatest competitive shooter multiplayer to have ever been conceived. It has not been topped to this day.
7. Mass Effect 2 ; Bioware offered a game that had great gameplay with fantastic writing.
8. Dark Souls II ; Better than its predecessor, it offers a wealth of content that makes it a humongous game.
9. Super Mario Galaxy ; Nintendo proving once again that when they apply themselves, they can be on top of the world.
10. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 ; Quite possibly the best game in the franchise. The fact that it's played in coop just makes it perfect.

 

[AniHawk]

Also gonna make sure AniHawk. Evil Within counts since since it is released on PS3/X360 and that is the generation I experienced it on and base my vote?

yeah no problem there

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

yes it does

Oh shit, I might need to change my list then. From what you said last time I thought you meant only Portal and Team Fortress 2 counted.

 

[AniHawk]

Oh shit, I might need to change my list then. From what you said last time I thought you meant only Portal and Team Fortress 2 counted.

just show me the original list and the changed one if you make any adjustments.

 

[Eolz]

yes it does

Thank you! Replacing that now
edit: it's now #2 on my list, pushing everything down one spot. Removed HL2ep2 from the top 10 and TF2 from the mentions.

 

[AniHawk]

Thank you! Replacing that now
edit: it's now #2 on my list, pushing everything down one spot. Removed HL2ep2 from the top 10 and TF2 from the mentions.

all right made the changes!

 

[Tokklyym]

1. Portal - Tight storytelling with the best mechanics and level design. Each chamber gave the player a true "ah-HA!" feeling
2. Rock Band - Refined the Music/Rhythm Game and made it the go-to party game experience. The RB music store was what pushed it over the top.
3. Fallout 3 - I got sucked into the capital wasteland. Beat the game and immediately started over with a new character.
4. Portal 2 - Not as great as the first one, but that might have been impossible. Great effort in expanding the world & the mechanics. Doubled down on the charm. Co-Op play was surprisingly fun.
5. Left 4 Dead - The best zombie game and the 2nd most fun I had on the 360 with friends
6. 1 vs 100 - True appointment gaming. I rushed home to be online to play this with friends and family. I was gutted when they cancelled it
7. Mass Effect 2 - Really delivered on the promise of the first game's world and story.
8. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Revived the genre. Played so well on console and shouldn't have!
9. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX - How many remakes of early 80s classics feel so true to the original and so thoroughly modern? Still play it regularly for score chase.
10. Pokmon HeartGold/SoulSilver - Huge improvement on Diamond & Pearl, which didn't use the touch screen very well.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

all right made the changes!

Yo, I'm gonna do the same thing. Here's my post.

 

[AniHawk]

Yo, I'm gonna do the same thing. Here's my post.

what did you change?

 

[TheRedSnifit]

what did you change?

Whoops. Orange Box instead of TF2 at the top spot.

 

[Hobbestetrician]

Need to post my list so I stop rearranging it. The Top 5 is set in stone where everything after, including my honorable mentions, could be swapped around at any given time. I know my ranking clashes with previous lists I have made (respective GOTY voting, Best Nintendo game etc.) but my thinking changes from list to list. I both love and hate to make these lists.

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; The Galaxy games are pure joy on a disc.
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
4. Fallout: New Vegas
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
6. The Orange Box
7. Portal 2
8. Red Dead Redemption
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
10. Resident Evil 5

x. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
x. Wii Sports Resort
x. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

1. Final Fantasy XIII ; I acknowledge the flaws of the game and still think its my favorite of the generation. Final Fantasy is my favorite franchise, i love the battle system, the music, the visuals, the story, and how polished it is.
2. Arkham Asylum ; My dream of a great licensed game came true, i would intentionally stop playing this game because i didnt want the ride to end.
3. Assassins Creed 2 ; Although im no longer a fan of this franchise, AC2 was without a doubt a game that helped me get back into gaming.
4. Mass Effect 2 ; Didnt even play the first one and still loved it.This very easily could have made the three.
5. The Last of Us ; My favorite story ever in a game and surprisingly good gameplay.
6. Nier ; What a great surprise, the epitome of a cult classic. Maybe my favorite OST ever.
7. Xenoblade Chronicles ; I remember thinking this game was great in the very first zone, i wish they would focus less on quantity of quests but still very fun.
8. Infamous 2 ; My first platinum trophy
9. Red Dead Redemption ; I dont even like GTA but i thought this game was great
10. Darksiders ; Great combat and level design, best ending ever.

 

[Keinning]

1. Fallout new vegas:
Favourite RPG from the gen. Washed the bad taste of Fallout 3 and made the disaster that Fallout 4 turned to be not as tragic (because a good modern fallout game still existed)
2. Dragon Age Origins
Love the lore and how things are not overly complicated and yet they just fit. The "strategic" battle system was surprisingly refreshing to me and hated the shift towards action in DA2 and DAI
3:Spelunky
Hours and hours of fun with my wife.
4: Xcom - EU/EW
Always a sucker for some x-com.
5. Orange Box
Great value
6. Ghost Trick
Favourite handheld title
7. Pokemon HeartGold
Best 4th gen Pokemon game
8. Warioware Touched
Improved almost everything from the GBA which i already loved
9. Final Fantasy Tactics A2
Hey, i enjoyed it despite all the flaws
10. Borderlands
Yeah, the original, over 2 and Pre-Sequel. Dunno, just a fun game to play with friends.

 

[jett]

1. The Last Of Us ; A truly emotional, affecting story combined with excellent stealth and third-person shooting design. A true classic.

2. Super Mario Galaxy ; Some of the most fun you can have with a video game controller.

3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; Some of the most fun you can have with a video game controller, again.

4. Bayonetta ; The real successor to Devil May Cry, top tier action gaming.

5. Uncharted 2 ; I just enjoyed the shit out of the multiplayer.

6. Fallout 3 ; The most engrossing open world game I played.

7. Wipeout HD ; Two words: zone mode.

8. Ni No Kuni

9. Journey

10. Demon's Souls

 

[haikira]

Hey AniHawk,

That's my list finalised now. Had actually hoped to tweak it more, but it's been a crazy week and didn't really get a chance.

Sorry again for posting it too early, and thanks for all the effort you've put into running this.

Also thanks to everyone who's posted. I look forward to going over all the lists, reading your descriptions, and finding some games I really ought to play.

 

[Ryu]

1. The Last of Us ; No game this past generation touched me as much as The Last of Us. In a generation that focused a lot on player agency and choice, this was an absolute standout as a game that gave you little to none of that and instead told a story focused on the characters and their choices. Agree with them or not, they made the decisions in this harrowing world and lived with them and I absolutely loved the game for that.

2. Journey ; Few games released require you to start and finish them in one sitting and this is one of them. Treat it like you would a film and kick back for this two hour tale and immerse yourself in this amazing world with one of the best soundtracks of the generation.

3. Mass Effect Trilogy ; Player choice and agency - this game set the standard for the generation. Most people will pick one of the three games in the trilogy, but I think it deserves your attention from beginning to end. Being the commander is one of the most fulfilling things you could have done this past generation and commanding your crew and being with them through thick and thin created a truly amazing world.

4. Dark Souls ; A lot of people say your first Souls style game will always be your favorite and this rings absolutely true for me with Dark Souls. This game is far from perfect, but in a generation that became increasingly hand-holdy with mechanics and stories, it was an absolute breath of fresh air to play one that did neither. I still couldn't tell you what the fuck the story was about, but I could tell you the memories I had playing it I'll hold onto forever.

5. Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare ; From the moment I played the beta on the Xbox 360 I was hooked. I finished the single player in a single sitting and then ran to play Team Deadmatch for hours after. This game fundamentally changed shooters forever and began the yearly Call of Duty schedule we have been on ever since.

6. Super Mario Galaxy ; I honestly couldn't stand most of the Wii library, but in a sea of rough, Super Mario Galaxy is the most obvious diamond. The first level is enough to get anyone hooked on this new mini planet hopping Mario and the pure whimsical nature of it all kept me smiling for the entire game. The music is also by far the best soundtrack in a Mario game ever.

7. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves ; I thought the first Uncharted was beautiful to look at, but the game for whatever reason didn't hook me like it did many others. When a friend screamed at me to try Uncharted 2 I was obviously hesitant. After the first hour though, I couldn't put the controller down. Uncharted 2 is to gaming what summer blockbusters are to movies.

8. World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King ; No game on this list consumed more hours then this expansion. For me, this was the pique of World of Warcraft and no expansion has come close to being this good.

9. Red Dead Redemption ; The ending. Nothing more to say.

10. Portal 2 ; Few games cause me to literally laugh out loud, but this one did multiple times. Although the cake is a lie for many, "I'm in space," is still my go-to reference for this series.

x. Assassins Creed Brotherhood
x. Batman Arkham Asylum
x. Battlefield 3
x. Bayonetta
x. Binary domain
x. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
x. Darksiders
x. Dead Space 2
x. Far Cry 3
x. Final Fantasy Tactics A2
x. Gears of War
x. God of War 3
x. Grand Theft Auto V
x. Syndicate
x. Skyrim
x. Tomb Raider
x. vanquish
x. XCom Enemy Unknown

 

[Javier23]

Was excited about this til I saw the PC cut-off date. Makes absolutely no sense. Not gonna bother.

 

[Skikkiks]

1. Guacamelee ; I bought this on a whim after reading a couple of high scoring reviews and watching a trailer that showed you could transform into a chicken. What I didn't expect was that it would end up as one of my favourite games of all time. Just a fantastic blend of well designed platforming, visceral combat and a tough but fair level of challenge. How the game gives you uppercuts, frog splashes and headbutts not only to traverse the world and unlock new areas, but also for you to use those moves to unlock hidden potential in the combo system is nothing but a masterstroke of genius. Usually, I don't return to replay games, and if I do it's after a fair bit of time. I finished Guacamelee about seven times or so before I decided to move on, and returning to it is always a treat.
2. Valkyria Chronicles
3. Sonic and All Star Racing Transformed
4. Rayman Origins
5. Ace Attorney Investigations 2
6. Rock Band 2
7. Sleeping Dogs
8. Team Fortress 2
9. Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes
10. Playstation All Stars Battle Royale

x. Asura's Wrath
x. Super Smash Brothers Brawl
x. No More Heroes
x. Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
x. Punch Out!!
x. Super Street Fighter 4
x. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

 

[SatoAilDarko]

1. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon;

The greatest game experience I've played. A game about loneliness and our need for relationships. The best collectibles in any game with the Memory Items. These act as short short stories that truly speak to the human condition. This short paragraph can hope to do it justice.

2. Metroid: Other M;

I really enjoyed the feel of this game and a lot of what it was trying to do. An excellent version of third-person Metroid. I'm super estatic Sakamoto is returning to the series with Samus Returns and hope he'll make a game that combines both 2D and full 3D segments like this game.

3. The Legend of Zelda; Skyward Sword;

My favorite story in a Zelda game. You can see a lot of the foundations of BOTW in this game with resources, upgrades, stamina, durability, etc. It's great to have a full adventure with motion-controls. I really loved swinging my sword and hope a future Zelda game on Switch gives this option with the Joy-cons.

4. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle;

While it's not a well-paced as the first and some boss fights aren't great it does quite a bit better. The story and development of Travis is handled well. It goes crazier than the first in certain areas. Playable Shinobu and Henry are appreciated. The music is some of the best I've heard in any game. Also the final boss's reasons is the greatest reasoning in videogames in a meta sense.

5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl;

My favorite Smash game. Added both Zero Suit Samus my main and Smash balls which I can see the series without.

While Smash 4 retains a lot of this game there are tow things Brawl did superbly over its successor.

The first is Subspace Emissary mode. While obviously not great for platforming the controls and movement are close enough that it's still fun to go through levels and defeat enemies. See Smash Run in Smash for 3DS. Teaming up as various Nintendo characters beating up Goombas is awesome and would be even better with Smash Run's additional enemies. Not to mention all those special bosses like Ridley and Porky. Then you get the awesome CGI cutscenes that are like fan-fiction come to life.

Aldo coin shooter is an excellent way to get more trophies and a fun shump. In the new games you can use it to also get customization parts.

Hope both return in Smash Switch.

6. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers;

Perhaps the best motion-combat in a game. The story is great and tight. There's a ridiculous amount of optional stuff to do.

7. Super Mario Galaxy;

I like how the first one had an actual hub. I feel like Galaxy is the closet to my ideal Mario game which is a combination of the sandbox games and the linear games. Though it needs more sandbox to it. Rosalina's Story put it over the top for me.

8. No More Heroes;

The original. Loved the phone calls through the Wii Remote speaker.

9. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption;

The motion controls are sublime. I like the greater focus on story and the Hunters from the DS game. I also think that multiple planets thing was very smart.

I really hope Prime takes a lot from this game.

10. Wii Sports Resort;

The bets motion-sports game. Really wish they brought over Table Tennis, Sword fighting, Archery and Frisbee to Wii Sports Club on Wii U.

Honorable Mentions:

Rabbids Series (Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party, Rabbids go Home, Rabbids Travel through Time):
Wii Series (Wii Sports, Wii Music, Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, Wii Party)
Marble Saga: Kororinpa
Xenoblade
The Last Story
Pandora's Tower
Excitebots
Rub Series (Feel the Magic XX/XY, The Rub Rabbits)
Professor Layton series (The 4 DS games like Professor Layton and the Curious Village).
999
The Conduit, Conduit 2:
Arc Rise Fantasia
Opoona
Zack & Wiki
Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3
Little King's Story
Boom Blox!, Boom Blox!: Bash Party
New Play Control! Series (Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echos, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat).

 

[Chuck Norris]

Note: I never played a lot of Wii's biggest games, hence why they are missing

1. The Last of Us

It was like they made my dream game on paper. A zombie esque games with serious themes inspired by the Road, with stealth & resource management gameplay and a genuinely awesome AI system. It sounds passé now but it wasn't at the time. The fact it then had one of the best stories and soundtracks ever put in a game just made it something special

2. Uncharted 2

A bit of a theme here. Again, some of the things it does it is hard to understand why they were so special at the time now that everybody does it. But you kind of had to be there.
But the way the story was structured, the way set pieces played out in real time - even as far as collapsing buildings and a train travelling through real environments and blowing up along the way. Naughty Dog started doing things in game that everyone was doing in cinematics. And the fact that we had a colourful game in the 2005 - 2009 era when everything became monochrome was a breath of fresh air, and broke some conventions in gaming.
Overall it was just one of the most incredibly complete gaming packages put together. There is a reason many still hold it as the bar for Uncharted games

3. Demon's Souls

I took a bit of a gamble buying an import version of this after seeing the big thread on GAF hyping it up. This was well before it got localised, but still had English available. Was a great decision, I must have played 100 hours. Having action in an RPG that could stand alone as an action game with the likes of DMC and Ninja Gaiden at the time was unheard of when you were used to the likes of Oblivion being the bar.

4. Journey

(Flower was also excellent)

Never has a game title being so fitting. In Journey you do exactly that, you go on a Journey. It's a hard game to explain because the mechanics are simple, there isn't much in the way of challenging puzzles or gameplay. But the actual journey is what makes this special. They infused the game with a sense of awe and wonder that you don't find anywhere else. I
t's done because there is zero fluff in the game, it has a singular purpose and whether you experience the journey with someone else along the way or by yourself, it is an uplifting experience. Surprisingly so for a game with no real story, characters or dialogue where the goal is just to get to a point of light.

5. Batman Arkham Asylum

For some reason, Prison games hold a special place in my heart (Riddick being one of my favourite of Gen 6), so I knew when I heard this game was good I had to try it. Amazing what a good developer can do with a seasoned IP when they treat the source material with respect.

6. Bioshock

The opening to this game is still one of the most special gaming memories I have. The entire aesthetic of the game was just out of this world. The only thing stopping it from being higher is the final act.

7. Metal Gear Solid 4 GOTP

Simply a phenomenal game but man, the last ten minutes still leaves me bitter. Kojima really fumbled in the end zone. I was almost hesitant to leave it off but then I thought back to my experience with it. The game simply delivered some phenomenal things, even with the insane hype it had. Yes it tapered off, but the ride was incredible.

8. Guacamalee

Just a bloody riot of a time. This game was a load of fun, great gameplay with the right amount of challenge, good mechanics and a surprisingly fun story. Also surprisingly long. Definitely stacks up as one of my favourites.

9. Machinarium

Machinarium just oozed style and atmosphere. A very relaxing game I just thoroughly enjoyed playing. Generally not a genre I spend a lot of time with either, but I couldn't resist checking it out just based on art style. I still go back to the amazing soundtrack occasionally.

10. Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

I kind of feel dirty having a COD game as one of my top 10. But I think we can all agree the game that set up the whole franchise to dominate the industry was something special. Both a compelling single player and incredible multiplayer package delivered an unforgettable game. I think even if, like me, you aren't necessarily a COD fan anymore - you can recognise this game was a leap forward and very good on its own merits.

Just missed out:
GTA5.
I was tossing up between this and COD4. Definitely the return to glory after GTA4 was somewhat disappointing.

Honourable mentions:
Red Dead Redemption, God of War 3, Portal, Skyrim, Skate

 

[Thores]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles ; one of the best RPGs I've ever played. The combat, characters, and soundtrack are all phenomenal. I checked it out because GAF was going nuts about it, and I'm really glad I did.

2. Jump Ultimate Stars ; It's so underrated. A fighting game on the DS that's actually really fun to play, and uses the dual screens perfectly.

3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow ; The best Castlevania game. The souls mechanic is fantastic, and I had such a good time unlocking every ending that I 100%ed it.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ; my favorite Zelda games have charm and a developed supporting cast. Skyward Sword provides both in spades. Groose bumped the game up a few slots by himself.

5. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors ; The first Zero Escape game is still the best. The atmosphere and story remain the coolest of the three.

6. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax ; One of my favorite fighting games out there. Meshes a 2D anime fighter with Persona's mechanics like a dream, and the series' phenomenal cast is translated into a fighting game roster incredibly well. Junpei is some of the most fun I've had in the genre.

7. Elite Beat Agents ; What a crazy, amazing rhythm game. I cried a couple times.

8. Lost Odyssey ; The greatest Final Fantasy of the generation wasn't even called Final Fantasy. I wish Mistwalker was still in the console games biz.

9. Pokemon HeartGold ; Probably still the best Pokemon game, and it's making me resent the newer ones a bit. Why is Battle Frontier not a thing anymore?

10. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations ; Delivers on the potential that the first Ace Attorney had with flying colors.

x. Meteos ; Man, Sakurai is good at everything he touches. Fighting games, platformers. Puzzle games. I never thought I'd be as into a puzzle game as I was into Meteos.

Usually I like to go more in depth and include images, but I ran out of time. Gen 7 was still fantastic, though. Definitely got a lot of mileage out of my DS.

 

[AniHawk]

Hey AniHawk,

That's my list finalised now. Had actually hoped to tweak it more, but it's been a crazy week and didn't really get a chance.

Sorry again for posting it too early, and thanks for all the effort you've put into running this.

Also thanks to everyone who's posted. I look forward to going over all the lists, reading your descriptions, and finding some games I really ought to play.

no problem. adding it now!

 

[AniHawk]

Was excited about this til I saw the PC cut-off date. Makes absolutely no sense. Not gonna bother.

thanks for stopping by!

 

[btkadams]

1. The Last of Us ; This was the first game that truly moved me with its story telling. They really nailed it with the gameplay side of things as well, which is still unique in the modern age of story-focused games.
2. Journey
3. Pokemon Black/White
4. Pixeljunk Monsters
5. Rock Band 2
6. Catherine
7. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
8. Warhawk
9. Wipeout HD
10. Lumines

x. Motorstorm Apocalypse
x. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
x. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
x. Grand Theft Auto V
x. Killzone 2
x. Infamous 2
x. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
x. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
x. Persona 3 Portable
x. LittleBigPlanet 2
x. ModNation Racers
x. Persona 5
x. God of War III
x. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
x. Guacamelee!
x. Rayman Origins
x. Burnout Paradise
x. Ridge Racer 7
x. Minecraft
x. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
x. Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds

 

[AniHawk]

Will clean up in an hour with more comments. Top 10 will be same.

no problem. if you could, i'd appreciate it if you could specify what you mean by 'series' since that's a lot of games for some of those franchises.

 

[Mass Effect]

1. Super Mario Galaxy ; A true masterpiece. The type of game that only comes around once or twice in a generation. Honestly, I don't have much to say about Galaxy. It speaks for itself; virtually every level is crafted with extreme care, it's one of the best-looking Wii games despite releasing so early in its lifespan, and the music is simply superb. I loved every second I spent playing this game... almost... fuck those purple coins though seriously.

2. Mass Effect ; While it may be dated to many, to me the original Mass Effect still encapsulates what the series represents. This big, unknown galaxy that humanity is thrust into, where there has been galactic civilization for thousands of years, and humans are not the center of. Despite the flawed execution, the uncharted worlds and N7 missions gave a sense of a galaxy still largely unexplored, one that despite the races' and the Citadel's best efforts is still full of danger. Coming across a derelict ship full of husks or a long-lost artifact of a conflict long past is what made Mass Effect so interesting to me, not bombastic civilization-ending threats or epic gunfights.

3. Gears of War ; One of the best online experiences I ever had. It was a time before party chat existed so everyone used game chat. I spent so much time playing this game online and met so many awesome people. Not to mention the great campaign that I ran through so many times with friends. And seeing it for the first time in HD... amazing.

4. Assassin's Creed 2 ; Yeah, it's common to shit on the Assassin's Creed series now, especially since it paved the way for the copy/paste Ubisoft open-wrold formula that we know of today, but AC2 is one of the best games of last generation. It improved upon the original in every way. Took place in a very under-utilized time period that was a ton of fun to explore, had a fun likeable protagonist (talking Ezio, not Desmond lol), and one of the better video game soundtracks of last gen too.

5. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ; This has to be my most-played game of last generation. I had over 700 hours put into the multplayer alone. It's asto

6. The World Ends With You ; One of the most unique games I have ever played. There has never been a game quite like it.

7. Braid ; One of the first "indie" games I played. The way the time mechanic is used made for a brilliant platformer. The story was intriguing as well, with an interesting plot twist at the end.

8. Batman: Arkham City ; Was great fun flying around a tight, focused open-world as Batman.

9. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; Remember how I said the original Galaxy was a game that only comes around once or twice in a generation? Well, Galaxy 2 is that second one. It is a game that continues the greatness of the original in virtually every way.

10. Burnout Paradise ; Still one of the best open-world racers out there and my second favorite Burnout game behind 3.

x. Monday Night Combat ; A moba-lite/Team Fortess 2 clone (sort of), but it had one of the most interesting settings I've seen in a game. A corporate-controlled dystopia but with a humorous twist. Shame Uber wasted this franchise's potential.
x. Metroid Prime 3
x. Mass Effect 2
x. Chrono Trigger DS
x. Metroid Prime Hunters
x. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
x. Halo 3
x. Halo: ODST
x, Halo Reach
x. Wii Sports
x. Warhawk
x. Devil May Cry 4
x. Mario Kart DS
x. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
x. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
x. Bastion
x. Dark Souls
x. Forza Horizon
x. Fable 2
x. Tales of Vesperia
x. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
x. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
x. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
x, Portal
x. Excite Truck
x. Rock Band 2

This has to be one of the most difficult lists I've had to create. So many great games across the 7th gen.