The 10th Hour 12.18.09: Top 10 Games of the Decade

Posted by Derek Robbins on 12.18.2009

From Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to Resident Evil 4 and Shadow of the Colossus, 411’s Drew Robbins thinks that these are some of the very best games of the decade! Check out the full article to see which games made the list and why!

Hello and welcome to the 10th hour. As always, this is your host with the most Derek Robbins. Let us start off with some tangents shall we?

-The new LFG tool in WoW is a god send. If nobody in your guild is online or they all are busy, it is easy to just get what you want done. The longest queue I have dealt with is about 5 minutes. Five. Given that it used to take hours to get runs together, needless to say this is legen-wait-for-it-dary.

-I am trying to keep my game of the year list down to 20 at most this year since I went overboard with 25 last year. It's been kind of difficult to me, but I think I can narrow it down. I am not sure if the competition is as tight as it was last year, but whatever. I think I can make a pretty decent list all things considered.

-I am currently fighting off urges to go back through Final Fantasy VIII. I get them every once in a while. I think it is because I am absolutely in love with the card game. You see, that fucking card game is like a drug. For whatever reason, I fall in love with all these Final Fantasy side-games…sometimes even more so than I do the main games.

Reader feedback

Well, I missed last week due to finals and my job at the paper. Let's see what you had to say about my World of Warcraft column. The responses were…pretty predictable.

August gives me 5 things he wants to see in Cataclysm

Wow, we have way different views on what we want from Cata, lol. Anyways, only five because in order to pick 10 I'd have to pick things that don't really matter to me.

5. New story. Looking to be much better then TBC's story.
4. Revamped Talents. Taking out all the boring filler talents and making a Mastery system similar to Warhammer's makes sense to me.
3. New race/class combo's. Dwarf mage/shaman? Human Hunter? Tauren Priest? Hell yeah.
2. New races. Goblins and Worgen are okay, but the real excitement comes from the story those new zones will have.
1. New Azeroth. Completely revamped old world. Able to fly everywhere. New instances and raids. Old world heroics. It'll be like WoW 2.


Yeah, it is kind of hard doing 10 things sometimes. I find myself putting some things on a list that normally I wouldn't consider because of it. Oh well.

5-) I don't really care about the lore but I can't blame anybody who does. From what little bits I have paid attention to, WotLK seems rich in lore.
4-) Yeah, I like this as well.
3-) Doesn't matter much to me honestly…
2-) Yeah, definitely. This is real exciting. The new zones are always fun.
1-) Agreed. This will be fucking awesome.

RavenTazECW also shows up with 5 of his own:

Derek Robbins HAS COME BACK to the 10th Hour! I still play WoW off and on. There are a lot of things I like about the game, and one big issue I don't, which is having to team up to experience the full game. I don't have the time or patience to get involved with raiding guilds, but I can't go on any decent raids without them. My top 5:

HM) Gnome priests!!! At least I think that's a possible new combo. I sure hope it is! I've always liked to make fun of gnomes as I'd kick them for field goals, but the fact of the matter is I normally go to them for casting classes. Always wished that gnomes could be priests, so I think I'm getting my shot with them now.

5) New races and starting areas. Like you, I loved the new BE and Draenei starting areas, especially the first two zones for the BE's and their capital. I've always hoped that Bliz would add content for beyond that Greymane Wall, and I think that's where the Worgen are starting out.

4) BG ranking. I miss the old system of new titles when you ranked up. It seemed like I would play a ton of BG's and would never be able to show off my experience in them with just one new item after a ton of honor points and marks of honor. Glad to have it back.

3) Being able to fly on Azeroth. I sure hope this ability comes about at level 40 or earlier. Traveling across continents is a big chore when leveling up and going to different zones, especially for chain quests. Taking a flight path is lengthy and I have a habit of getting up and doing other things while in flight. I'd rather just fly straight to where I want to go. Plus, it would help avoid higher level enemies that I'd normally have to run through on a land mount.

2) A new leveling experience. For me, the most fun part of the game is thejourney to the level cap. I get tired of running the same quests over again when I switch servers and make new characters, so having completely new quests will make it feel like a new experience.

1) The entire world revamped. WoW is a beautiful game with awesome and varied zones, so having them further changed will make it feel like a new gaming experience. I love to explore, but other than some high-end instances, I've pretty much been everywhere and seen everything. Now it'll be all new to me again, seeing how the zones I'm familiar with have changed.

IF YA SMEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL…well, actually…I'm more of a CM Punk man. Except I am not exactly straight edge and I am probably not better than you. Whatever though, I have been in love with the guy since his ROH days and watching him as a main eventer in the WWE makes me a happy man. A friend of mine said he knew him even before that (in something called stream link up in Northern Illinois…I think), so I am sure he is also quite proud of Cookie Monster Punk.

5-) Glad you are with me on this. It should be interesting to see all the new areas. I wonder if Worgen villages will be made entirely of twigs?

4-) Yeah, I always have stupid names though. People will just ignore my ranking and mock my name. One of my WoW names is a combination of Yuna, Rikku and Lulu. Seriously, that's terrible.

3-) You're damn right. Not sure if I agree about 40 and earlier, but this baby has been a long time coming. I wonder if that means you can fly from one continent to the other now?

2-) I am leveling two characters right now…not sure if I am super excited about 1-85. 80-85 I can do though.

1-) Again, this is awesome.

Speaking of straight edge, Crud has kicked his WoW habit.

To this day I have been 7 months WOW free. A part of me is saying.. "Holy crap! I want to go back and see this stuff." While another part of me wants to continue with real life living and sex with REAL GIRLS. I think I will stick to real life and let WOW go on helping the masses become great at nothing. Careful, this game is truly a drug that can get you hooked big time.

You have to find a time to play WoW where it doesn't interfere with anything. Like try doing it late at night or on the weekend. I find that I can play on a fairly regular basis and still maintain having a social life and a work/school life. It's all about time management.

More things to look forward to gives me a 5-list of his own:

1. Divorce
2. Pressure sores
3. Deep vein thrombosis
4. No career
5. Solipsism

1-) Not married. I also don't play WoW enough where I would lose a relationship over it.
2-) Can be acquired through playing any other game.
3-) No.
4-) I am a journalist, I get a paycheck.
5-) I am all that exists.

Oh Father really hates WoW.

World of Warcraft is the worst piece of shit to ever be released on the market. This is the one that ruined it all. Curse and damn this game to hell.

So, like, did a loved one leave you for WoW?

Anyhow, you can leave a comment here or send an e-mail to [e-mail]. Either/or. I will respond to some of them in next week's feedback.



Top-10 games of the decade

2010 marks the beginning of a whole new decade. It's times like these that we look back and remember the years that were. I have assembled a list of my top-10 favorite games of the decade. I want you to look closely at that: my. These are by no means the critically best games of the decade, but the ones that are my favorite. Everyone has their own. What are yours? Feel free to leave yours below. Maybe we can even average them and make an all-encompassing 10th hour games of the decade.

Fair warning: I don't like shooters very much. Neither Call of Duty Modern Warfare is on this list. Halo isn't on this list. Killzone isn't on this list. Gears of War isn't on this list. (I don't think ANY of those should be on consensus game of the decade lists either, but I am just a bitter man) I don't like those games. You are allowed to like them, but they are just not for me. You have been warned. If you want to still bitch about it, go ahead.

So here we go.

10-) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas North American Release Date: October 26, 2004 (PS2) June 7, 2005 (PC and X-Box) - Without a doubt, Grand Theft Auto has to be one of the most important franchises of this decade. After GTA III came out of nowhere to reinvent what had been – in my opinion – a very mediocre franchise, Grand Theft Auto was on everybody's radar. The best in the franchise logo is often up in the air, and most people I know seem to prefer Vice City, but to me it is definitely San Andreas. I would actually order (not counting portable and DLC) the titles post III as so: SA>IV>VC>III.

What made San Andreas so great? Well for starters, the world was absolutely huge. Vice City and Liberty City before it were certainly big for their time, but the world of San Andreas absolutely eclipsed the other two. The three major cities in the game – Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas were all very big and each offered a distinct feel. You could tell when you were in the slums of Los Santos as compared to the hilly architecture of San Fierro. The world was very pronounced.

Not to mention the vast rural areas. There was a long going-on rumor that Big Foot was somewhere in San Andreas. This was actually believable given the scale of the world. I know of people who searched for the creature endlessly. While the world isn't so insanely huge when compared to, say, Fallout 3 or Oblivion, it still is vast and colorful enough to stand out.

I also felt that the game's ability to customize your character puts it above the rest in the franchise. On top of changing clothes, which you can do on a whim in GTA: VC and GTA IV, you are also able to customize how your character looks. This ranges from hair style to how in shape your character is. Some people thought it was annoying that you had to find time to eat and go work out in a gym, but I thought it was interesting. Who wouldn't want to have a fat CJ kicking ass and taking names in the city? The customizable appearances and such also allowed for the women you pick up in game to have different tastes in men. This is also seen in IV, but I felt it is done better in SA.

The main advantage I feel San Andreas has over GTA IV is that it is delightfully zany. The mission that pops most into my mind is the one where you infiltrate the military compound and steal the jetpack. There is also the one when you chase ex-buddy Ryder around one of the cities in go-carts. It's just goofy and fun-loving. Now I love GTA IV, but at times I felt it could be a tad too serious. GTA IV had a better plot and was certainly more focused on realism, but I just had more fun with San Andreas. Perhaps I am unusual.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is my favorite game from a franchise that has certainly been the center of attention in the 2000's. Some people may not think it is "Top-10" worthy, but to me it is one of the most gratifying experiences I have had with a game.



9-) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) North American Release Date: November 17, 2004. Subsistence release date: March 14, 2006 - The Metal Gear Solid franchise is, without a doubt, one of my favorites of all time. The fourth game alone was reason enough for me to purchase a Playstation 3. I just really care about Snake and Co. Often times, the plot of those games can really bog you down and perverse an opinion of said title over time. One game in the MGS franchise does not have this problem and maintains a high quality no matter how many times you play through it. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is that game.

Snake Eater focuses on the origins of Big Boss and serves as a prequel to the original Metal Gear game. It tells us why Big Boss turns against a country he loves so much and becomes the most hated man in the Metal Gear universe. The way it goes about telling this story is very well done and it can leave a very satisfying taste in one's mouth. The twist ending featuring, who we thought at least, the main villain of the game remains one of my favorite moments in gaming history. It is one of the few games out there that has made me shed a tear. That has got to be worth something.

Essentially, it would be going in on story alone considering the Metal Gear Solid franchise is one in that most people could care less about the gameplay and more about the story, but it's not like the gameplay is a slouch. The decision to remove the radar system entirely and force the player to use unique means of camouflage gave a rather unique experience. It was rather thrilling mixing and matching camouflages for a given situation. It also added a touch of realism – while the sneaking suit is great and all, I never thought the Metal Gear franchise offered a true sense of stealth. This changed that.

I also enjoyed the damage system. Having to bandage up and feed yourself helped make this game feel different than the others. A major problem with sequels these days is that they end up feeling too much like their predecessors. I felt MGS 3 did a good job of separating itself from the first two games and in doing so became one of the finest games of the last generation.

Including the extras brought in with the Subsistence package (Humorous extra cutscenes, expanded play on the Snake v. Monkey mini game, as well as a couple of other things), MGS 3 is a shoo-in for this list. I loved Metal Gear Solid 4 as much as the next guy, but as a complete package, MGS 3 was a superior game. That is why this is listed and MGS 4 was not.



8-) Super Smash Brothers Melee (GCN) North American release date: December 2, 2001 - Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a game I still play to this day, but it has not wracked up even half of the hours I spent with Melee in its heyday. Choosing between the two was rough seeing as I think both games are worthy of being here, but I ended up going with Melee because…well, simply put: this game fucking owned me. Probably from the day it was released until 2005, there was not a week where this was not in my Gamecube. That is huge fucking staying power. I love Brawl, but it has not been able to replicate that.

Super Smash Brothers Melee is the sequel to the original Super Smash Brothers. It takes everything the original game does and applies steroids to it. There are now way more characters (the original game had 12, the new one had 26), way more levels, very pretty graphics that still look pretty top drawer today, and upped the speed. Melee was a totally different playing game than its predecessor and helped make me stick with the Gamecube through some pretty rough times.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Melee was the event battles. The game tossed 51 unique scenarios at you that were all fun to play. Best of all, it added context. I absolutely did not hate playing through that single player mode. Sure Arcade, Classic and All-Star weren't exactly the greatest of single player modes, but I find myself traversing through the 51 events in Melee probably at least twice a year.

Obviously, I have to mention the multiplayer. The tournament scene in this game was fairly broken (as far as character selection went) and most of the roster was pretty much useless when playing at high levels of competition. Some tournament goers still stuck it out with lower tiered characters (Gimpyfish, for example, used Bowser) but generally speaking characters like Fox, Falco and Sheik ruled the top. Everyone has their own opinion on that matter, but nothing could really beat just having a fun battle with three of your best friends. It was not only faster, but more fun than matches of the same type in the original. Hours and hours could be wasted with the multiplayer mode. I can't tell you how many times we maxed out our star count (I think tops was 256, though I don't recall off the top of my head).

Super Smash Brothers Melee is, in my opinion, the definitive multiplayer game of this decade. Sure, some online games allow for more people to join along, but as far as pure fun goes, nothing beats a four-player Melee. Nothing.



7-) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time North American Release: November 6, 2003 across all major platforms. - I think a lot of people may have forgotten just how impressive this game was when it came out. This might have a lot to do with the less competent sequels and the recent current gen game, but that does not change the quality of this title. Sands of Time was a game of the year contender when it was first released and it is certainly a game of the decade contender even now.

Sands of Time is a continuation of a franchise that had its last iteration in 1999 with the forgettable Prince of Persia 3D. The last game in the Prince of Persia franchise people probably had heard of was the second Prince of Persia game which was released in 1994. The original Prince of Persia was released in 1989. The franchise was known for its emphasis on platforming. You had to know when to make jumps and had to find creative ways to traverse levels.

Sands of Time took this platforming aspect and added a very nice little touch to it: the ability to go back in time. Without a doubt, the biggest complaint one can have about a platform game is the stupid pitfalls you can walk into. Everybody misjudges a jump at some point or another. Well, in Sands of Time, you can rewind and try that jump again! It saves a lot of frustration and helps add to the quality of the game. Your reliance on it is also amplified when they take the ability to use the sands away late in the game, creating one of the more thrilling moments in video game history.

The sands can also help with deaths in combat, but Sands of Time really wasn't about the fighting. It was about the death-defying platforming. It is a game I think some people have kind of forgotten about, which is a shame. It is definitely one of the best games of the last generation.



6-) The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker (GCN) North American release date: March 24, 2003 - Remember when this game was debuted and the controversy that immediately came from it? The art style caused so much hand wrenching it was almost ridiculous. "How dare they make Zelda look so kiddy!" people shouted. Even then I never really saw what the big deal was. If Zelda played amazingly, what did it matter what it looked like? It was Zelda after all, it was going to be a great game no matter what its graphical appearance was. I never would have guessed the artwork for Windwaker would be my favorite thing about it years down the road.

Yes, the "Celda" art style is amazing. The Cel-shading really makes the characters come to life. The expressions on the faces of the characters are truly amazing and help give the game a sense of realism. Even when compared to the newer and more mature Twilight Princess, Windwaker still manages to feel like a more real game. No matter how far the video game industry will progress in the coming years, this game will always look amazing. It is just a visual wonderland and it is a shame that not everybody was on board for this one. To this day, I would still say it is the most beautiful game available for purchase.

I also enjoyed the emphasis the game had on sailing. While others considered it to be a tad tedious, I thought it made the whole world seem like it was up for exploration. As long as you had your boat and your wind baton, you could travel anywhere. It felt like a whole world. Now I love Ocarina of Time, but I never got that feeling with the game. I always felt like I was playing in a subsection of the world. The Windwaker, through use of its vast seas, feels like a world all its own. Combined with some of the most amazing music the Zelda franchise has ever seen, Windwaker really feels alive.

The gameplay is much like Ocarina of time, albeit with a fancy new reverse button, so there isn't much to say there. Windwaker does improve on the Ganondorf fight in OoT though. In that game, Ganondorf was fought primarily through energy beam reflection. You then battled Ganon in a fight where you essentially had to go find a way to whack his tail. In Windwaker, you have a one-on-one duel with the king of evil himself. It's really damn cool and the animation that goes along with it is jaw-dropping.

I really pity anyone who missed out on this game because they did not want Link to look "kiddy".



5-) Persona 3 (PS2) North American release date: August 14, 2007. FES release date: April 22, 2008 - Persona 3 is one of the most unique role playing experiences I have ever played. It combines a lot of different aspects from a lot of different role playing games and somehow makes it work. In a sense, it is a jack of all trades. As far as Japanese RPGs that have been released in North America are concerned, they all tend to play a "follow the leader" with Final Fantasy. Generally, they liked to copy as many aspects from the FF franchise as possible. Persona 3 was nothing like Final Fantasy XII or X and delivered a completely fresh experience. I enjoyed that.

The combination of gameplay types in Persona 3 is its main themes. When you are attending school, the game takes a dating sim focus. You have to boost individual charismatic stats and try to impress males and females. The benefits of this dating sim play into combat. The more certain people like you, the more powerful certain persona can become. It provides as a nice break between the second part of the game: dungeon crawling.

The dungeon crawling aspect of gameplay is probably the most visited. Essentially you just roam around randomly generated dungeons and try to get to the highest level you can reach while fighting in fairly standard RPG battles. It manages to feel unique because you control one member of your party, but you can issue commands to your other members. It's a good thing the AI is smart because otherwise this could be a train wreck. The RPG elements really pick up when they incorporate the the third gameplay type: Pokemon.

Yes, this game encourages you to capture monsters (through cards) and use them to help you out. These monsters are, of course, known as persona. You can also fuse persona you already have to create new monsters. This is called fusion. The fusion system is very fun and you can waste a lot of time with it trying to figure out the perfect monsters for your lineup. Essentially, these creatures grant you the ability to use different sorts of magic. Your goal is to find what persona fits what situation. It takes a fairly standard RPG battle system and makes it all sorts of deep.

Persona 3 is a wonderful meld of games that combines its gameplay with one of the better stories in video game history. No, it is not on par with any sort of novel, but the story is very well told and will keep you interested until the end. Part of this is because of the cast of characters. Both Persona 3 and 4 have a cast of very likable characters. Not only are they likable, but they are relatable too! Junpei is one of the best characters in any game ever.

Persona 3 is an amazing game. Persona 4 is only slightly worse, and only because it pretty much recycles 3's gameplay mechanics. You can't lose with either one. Persona 3 is, in my opinion, the best RPG on the PS2. (I would also listen to arguments for SMT: Nocturne though)



4-) Portal North American Release Date: October 9, 2007 on the X-Box 360, PS3 and PC Portal was originally released as part of, what I call, the best video game compilation of all time: The Orange Box. The Orange Box included Half Life 2 as well as Half Life 2: Episodes 1 and 2 and Team Fortress 2 on top of Portal. That is an all-star lineup right there. I would not argue with any list that includes TF 2 or HL 2 in its top 10 games of the decade. I find it interesting that the game that made this list, Portal, was the one I was least excited about. A matter of fact, I just thought it was kind of a throw in.

I was wrong. Portal was an amazing experience all around. From the gameplay to the world it creates, Portal is simply an amazing little product. It may only clock in at about two or so hours, but the time you spend in the world of Portal is not time you will soon forget. If you are anything like me, the second after "Still Alive" finished playing, you hopped right back in to experience the game again. Not every game can boast that.

First, let's talk about the gameplay. The gameplay makes a unique use of physics. It is done in the first person perspective with a gun that creates portals. You enter one end and come out the other. It's very simple but at the same time very inventive. You need to use your portal gun as not only a weapon but also a means to get around. Figuring out all the things that you can do physically is a treat. That is certainly more than you can expect from a throw-in game.

The world Portal immerses you in is also very creative. It is very well thought out and very humorous. As GLADoS guides your character through the world you notice things. Such as the computer will always promise you cake (which, as you infamously know, is a lie) and little hints that you are about to be betrayed. The world of Portal is a very humorous one and doesn't take itself too seriously. In a world of super serious war-time games, I think this sort of thing is needed.

Probably the biggest beef someone will have with me placing the game here is the length. As said, it is about two hours…but I would argue that it is the best two hour game of all time. With that said, if you combine the superb gameplay with the excellent writing, that really won't matter. Portal is just a treasure.

For the record, if I allowed compilations to be listed, The Orange Box would be game of the decade.



3-) Resident Evil 4 North American Release Date: January 11, 2005 (GCN) October 25, 2005 (PS2) May 15 2007 (PC) June 19, 2007 (Wii) Resident Evil 4 was quite a shift from the original franchise. The series seemed to specialize in slow, tank-like movements and genuinely wanted to scare the player. That all changed with Resident Evil 4. Gone were the tank controls. No longer was your player, who was supposed to be part of some super elite task force known as S.T.A.R.S, slow and un-wieldy…Leon controls like a combat veteran. Resident Evil 4 went from being a survival horror game to a survival action game.

Perhaps that is what I enjoyed most about the game. Don't get me wrong, the franchise before RE 4 was good as well, but the overwhelming changes that 4 brought along with it were just too much. It was actually a joy to control. I know the point of the originals was that you were supposed to fear getting into fights and part of that was the struggle you had to go through with the controls. I just prefer it the way 4 did it better. On top of that, a lot of the really dumb puzzles were gone. Most of the RE puzzles were just stupid fetch quests, and I assure you, they were not missed. RE 4 was just a joy to play through. Some people may not approve of that, but hey, I do.

Another thing RE 4 did well was sort of embrace its campy nature. I always felt that the games that came before it in the franchise took themselves sort of seriously, but Resident Evil 4 I never got that feeling with. It just sort of embraced that it was a silly game with a silly premise. Otherwise, I doubt we would have had to run away from a giant statue depicting one of the characters who was particularly Napoleon-esque.

The combination of gameplay and camp really made Resident Evil 4 a memorable game for me. I'll go back every so often and play through it again because it is just, simply put, fun. The game also includes a bevy of "Oh my God!" moments the first time you play through. I am speaking of the gigantic plagas bum rush when you enter town for the first time, your first encounter with the chainsaw guy, the very first boss fight of the game, and many others. The first time you play through the title, it will simply amaze you.

Speaking of the boss fights, I felt that a lot of them were fairly epic in scope. The first boss fight against the giant aquatic creature is definitely one of those. You fight it by harpooning it over and over again while also dodging its attempts to lunge at you and eat you. It's not only a unique fight, but you don't really see it coming. You just row out into the water and BAM! Giant boss! It's pretty interesting, to say the least.

I had high hopes for Resident Evil 5. A mixture of a clunky inventory system, a lot of plagas with guns and un-balance (The end of RE 5 was significantly worse than the beginning of it). I'll take this game any day of the week. RE 5 may be prettier, but it is also shorter, and isn't quite campy in the same way. It's also kind of stupid.

Resident Evil 4 is, in my opinion, the high water mark of the franchise. I have always been a fan of Resident Evil, but the way it reinvents itself with this game is pretty damn admirable.



2-) Mother 3 (GBA) North American Release Date: Officially, N/A but a fan translation was released on October 29, 2008. The original Japanese release date is April 20, 2006 - You had to know I would find a way to include this. Earthbound was my favorite game of all time, period, and when I heard that there was going to be a sequel I was super excited. Unfortunately, that sequel never came to North America. Due to the flop that the original was, Mother 3 would never see the light of day. A group of translators at Starmen.net worked tirelessly on the game and eventually released it for English speakers in 2008. That translation can be downloaded here: Translation.

After two years, I could finally play the sequel to Earthbound. What did I think? It's a better game than Earthbound. From the gameplay to the story to even the music, Mother 3 is a superior game to the original. It also marked the end of an era. There will probably never be another RPG released like it again. Mother 3 was fairly retro and harkened back to the days of the SNES. It probably could easily be mistaken for a SNES game. The thing is though, with the graphical expectations that most RPGs have today a game like Mother 3 will probably never come around again. It is kind of sad.

From a gameplay standpoint, it is much like Earthbound. It is very old school in format but offers a major difference. The rhythm system. If you bash an opponent and press the A-button in time with the background music, you can create a combo. The combos can actually get up pretty high (I forget the cap, honestly) and gives each battle kind of a unique feel. It makes Mother 3 one game that you cannot just enjoy outside music too – you have to focus on the music the game offers you. It helps keep the game old-school in form but update it a little bit so it doesn't feel like a dinosaur.

The story in Mother 3 is what really shines out to me. The story that centers around Lucas is very touching and can bring you to tears. My brother, who absolutely hates games like these, will be the first to admit that Mother 3 has an amazing story. Earthbound had a good story, but Mother 3 just manages to top it in almost every way. From the call-backs to the previous game to the much darker tone, Mother 3 is definitely not a game that one would say is archaic in prose.

I am a biased man and I will be the first to admit it. It doesn't matter to me that there are games out there with infinitely superior graphics…this RPG is my favorite RPG released in this decade. The way it tells its story, the way it presents itself is all so decidedly old-school. While games like Megaman 9 conveyed an old school game, I feel like Mother 3 absolutely perfected it.

Even if you aren't a fan of playing Japanese RPGs, I encourage you to at least read the story of Mother 3. It is amazing. It is a shame that this game will never see an official North American release, but there is nothing we can do at this point. Just find a way to play this title. I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that I found this awesome game…the bad news is where I found it…

P.S. if you don't like that I used a non-officially localized game, move everything down one and place Mario Galaxy at the top.



1-) Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) North American Release Date: October 18, 2005 - For those of you out there who think of gaming as an art, Shadow of the Colossus should be your primary example. Its predecessor, Ico, was hailed by as many to be one of the most under-appreciated games of its time. It told an emotional story about a boy and a princess that could really move certain players. Ico was amazing, but the same people heaping praise on it could not have seen this one coming. Rarely is a sequel so superior to an original, but here we are.

The basic premise of Shadow of the Colossus is of a boy named Wander trying to revive his dead girlfriend by the name of Mono. Wander is told by a disembodied entity known as Dormin that if he revives Mono, he will have to pay a great price. Due to his love for the girlfriend, Wander presses forward. His mission is to slay 16 perfectly innocent colossi to bring back his lover.

The story sounds awfully simple, but the way it unfolds is simply majestic. There isn't much dialogue in the game. Instead, the game tells its story through actions. You have to dispatch of the colossi yourself and when you do that, you start to notice the changes. I won't spoil anything for those of you who haven't played it, but what happens to your character throughout is very profound. It is very easy to create an emotional connection with Wander as the game progresses…and the guy essentially has as many lines as Ness, Gordon Freeman and Crono. It is damn powerful.

Combined with the simply beautiful story are some lovely graphics. The game can look like a painting at times. While the PS2 certainly cannot hold up the 360 or PS3 graphically, the game still looks very nice even today. That's an accomplishment of its own. Especially considering the generation the preceded the PS2 – the PS1 – looked like ass immediately following the PS2's inception. The graphics really hammer things home.

The gameplay is also great. You are given 16 completely different boss battles that require you to use your wits. How is David supposed to defeat goliath 16 times when Goliath is always switching shapes? It is an adventure trying to figure out how to beat each creature. While some of you may question why anyone would want to play a game where there are only 16 boss battles with no underlings, getting to the colossi and finding out how to defeat them more than covers this.

This is a glorious game and is definitely one of the best the PS2 has to offer. If you have not given it a try, I implore you to do so. Then you will see why Team Ico's PS3 game is so hotly anticipated. Shadow of the Colossus is the best game of the decade.



Honorable mentions: Mario Galaxy, Ikaruga, Shenmue 2, Fallout 3, Ico, Uncharted 2, Valkyria Chronicles KOTOR, God of War II

It was really hard narrowing this down to 10. Thinking back on it, there were a LOT of games that probably should have made it. So what do you think are the top 10 of this decade? Let me know! I know most of you would rather have God of War or Mario Galaxy over something like Mother 3...but I can't help it! This is just how I feel...as horrible as that may be.

Well, that's it for this week. See you next time!

-‘til the crossroads

Screenshots
All 9 The 10th Hour Screenshots