My Top 10 Games Featured on the GameFAQs.com Game of the Decade List

I hope you've been enjoying the Game of the Decade list as much as I have. It got me thinking of all the good games that have come out in the ten years that have passed. I think the 128 games that have been chosen are really good, kudos to GameFAQs for that. I thought I'd do a list of my favourite ten games from that list. Just to note, this is only from the competition that is currently under way, there are other games I love that aren't on the list at all (World of Goo should have been chosen dammit!). Anyway, onto the list...

#10: Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) 

It's just been knocked out of the competition just less than 5 hours ago. I've just wept my last tear. This game is probably the most unique on the entire list. You just have to experience it to understand. A game with no standard enemies, just bosses? And it not only works but also became one of the greatest games ever made? Impossible. Just the scale of these enemies makes the game worth playing; it's just such a mind-blowing experience.

#9: Silent Hill 2 (PS2/XBox/PC) 

This game has possibly my favourite ending of all time in any game. It's a beautiful ending, well one of the endings you can get anyway, as you can multiple endings! It's probably my favourite Silent Hill game too, with the third not being far behind, this game was just a masterpiece from start to finish, storyline wise. The controls were a bit clunky once in a while, but you can ignore that with all that was good about this game. It's truly a phenomenal experience.

There's very few things in video games more fucking scary than Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2.



#8: Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal (GBC) (Read my review here)

It's my favourite game in the Pokemon series; it's the game they got the most positives out of. The addition of colour, the night/day time, the breeding, going back to the original game's world... but the main thing they got right was how many Pokemon they had. The original 150 was great, the next 100 added onto it were also good, but then it just went overboard with every other game that has since been added. I've also done a review for the game, it's a bit old now but you can see it on this site if you're interested.

#7: The Legend of Dragoon (PS) 

I was surprised to see this game on the list as it got mixed reviews by critics. But the fans that liked this game loved it so that's power to the people for you yo! Yes, this game had flaws, and many consider it to be Sony's flopped Final Fantasy game, but it does enough right for it to be more than enjoyable. It's got a decent storyline, some of the graphics look great (whilst other parts look awful) and Lloyd was a good villain. But the best thing I liked about this game was the combo attacks, it was hard to get at first, but once you got it, it was a lot of fun.

#6: Final Fantasy X (PS2) (Read my review here)

I've probably spent more hours on this game than any other on this list. FF10 had its great moments, I can't criticise it for its commercial value, and it’s the last game in the series that was universally popular. I had great times playing it, but it just lacked something. I don't know what that something was, but it just felt inferior to some of the previous games. Anyway positivity is needed for this list! Final Fantasy 10 was very good in nearly every department, a great storyline, beautiful graphics that still hold up well today, a good battle system, and one of the most kick ass characters in FF history in Auron.

#5: Left 4 Dead (X360/PC/Mac) 

I'd just like to say, I hate FPS games. I can't stand them. They're always the same, there's just no telling the difference between each game that's out there. Apart from Left 4 Dead. L4D caught me by surprise. The main reason is its multiplayer game, it's just so much fun to play online. I love being the infected; it's just so entertaining. I'm actually quite obsessed with playing this game, I just can't put it down despite it being a bit dated now, and a sequel has also been made. That's the sign of a great game, that you'd play it over more recent games that have come out.

Man, there's very little more satisfying than being a Boomer on L4D.

 

#4: Plants vs. Zombies (PC/X360) 

Speaking of addictive games, the most addictive of all is PvZ. Not a great deal of people have played this but those who have, get addicted. This game is so easy to play but so hard to master, and to top it all off it's funny as hell. Seriously, if you've not played this game, download a free trial, and then spend your hard earned money on getting it when you find out how awesome it is.

#3: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2/PC/Xbox/Mac) 

I don't know why this game has been overlooked so much in the competition. GTA3 came out, it was ground breaking, but had flaws. Vice City came out, improved those flaws but felt a bit too gimmicky, with it being in the eighties. GTA4 just went overboard in many ways, no matter how slick it looked. But San Andreas, San Andreas expanded everything that made the previous games great, and didn't go too far like GTA4 did. It also has the biggest and most interesting map to boost. GTA San Andreas got the best of all worlds and what I think is the closest to perfect the GTA games will get.

#2: Resident Evil 4 (GC/PS2/PC/Wii) 

And the award for most improved series award goes to - Resident Evil! I'm a huge Resi fan actually, but after Resi 2, the two follow-ups in 3: Nemesis and Code: Veronica decreased in quality for some reason. Capcom knew they had to do something to revamp the series. And this is what they did, and man, what a game Resi 4 is. It's just a brilliant game; I've not played an action game and had as much fun as I have playing this. I bought it, without thinking it was going to blow me away like it did. It's sometimes nice to not anticipate than it is to over anticipate (which is actually what I did with Resi 5, but that's a different story).

One of the best moments of Final Fantasy IX, Vivi and Quina... get married?!

#1: Final Fantasy IX (PS) (Read my review here)

And now we come to my #1. The people who know me well aren't surprised but I suppose as a GameFAQs list maybe you are. Other FF games were immensely more popular than this, 7, 8, 10, 12 are all more popular. But this game to me is the closest you will get to a perfect RPG, I mean, it has some minor flaws but I've never enjoyed a game as much as this. Remember, this is my list, and we're all different. But this game just oozes character, it's got everything what I want in a game, from it being fun to play, for the story to be both happy and sad, have characters I can relate to, it's long enough for me to get sucked into without ever getting bored, it's got an amazing soundtrack. It has everything. It frustrates me how much people overlook this game, but in a certain way it makes it more special, as I feel like it's my game.

And there you go, my favourite 10 games featured from the 128 chosen by GameFAQs. This is my list obviously, and I'm not claiming these are the best 10 games of the decade, nor are they my favourite 10 (although not many others would penetrate it mind!), but I just thought it'd be interesting to narrow down the 128 to my particular taste, and see the results. I didn't have a masterplan, I just chose the games I liked and chipped it down to 10. I hope it was interesting nevertheless!

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