10 Best Games of the Decade!

Christmas season is finally here, for some of us, it means time with the family, and lots of traveling. For others, it means a lot of free time, and a LOT of gaming. So this year, why not look back on all the great games we used to play, and dust off our old systems, or boot up that PC game you haven’t played in years.

Whether you are a hardcore gamer, or a casual one, I am sure you have heard of some, if not all of these games. I have personally played them all and think they are top notch!

So Lets take a walk down Memory lane. With the 10 best games of the Decade! (According to Bit Rebels). Enjoy!

10. Diablo II

This game. Was Epic. I remember I had to buy a new computer (i.e. err. bug my parents for months to buy me a new computer) just so I could play this game with all the cool nerds in high school.

Diablo II was one of the most popular games of 2000. Major factors that contributed to Diablo II’s success include its addictive gameplay and access to the free online play service, Battle.net. Loved playing this game online with friends, or even offline was fun once in a while!

9. Age of Empires II

This was actually released at the end of 1999 – but i’d say that it totally counts. I spent countless hours playing with friends over LAN as well as over the internet – where people created awesome custom maps and even created custom scenarios that were extra fun to play (and took HOURS. like world maps, where you take over the entire world).

Reception of The Age of Kings was overwhelmingly positive, and the game scored highly on review aggregators. The significant number of new features was praised, as were the gameplay improvements. Some reviewers were critical of the presentation of units—they were seen as bland and uninteresting—while others considered The Age of Kings to be overly similar to its predecessor, Age of Empires. Three months after its release, two million copies of The Age of Kings had been shipped, and it topped sales charts in seven countries. The game won multiple awards and has had a significant impact on future games in its genre.

8. Super Smash Bros.

Another late arrival in 1999 – but it was played long after it was released by me and my friends from high school, it was an amazingly fun party game, and probably one of the best reasons to have a party back in the day! Never a dull moment in this game. It was so fast paced and hilarious at times.

Super Smash Bros. received mostly positive reviews from the media. It was commercially successful, selling over 4.9 million copies, with 2.93 million copies sold in the United States, and 1.97 million copies sold in Japan.

7. Final Fantasy XII

Obviously some of the best games ever have come from the Final Fantasy series. With Final Fantasy XII being no exception. Whether you were an old fan of the series, or a newcomer with this one, it was no doubt an enjoyable experience that will stick with you .

Final Fantasy XII received universally high scores, and earned numerous awards in various categories from noted video game publications. Selling more than two million copies in Japan, it became the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006 worldwide. As of March 2007, the game has shipped over 5.2 million copies worldwide.

6. Halo

One of the most revolutionary games to hit the xbox console was without a doubt Halo. This game came out of no where and captured the hearts of every FPS fan out there. The ability to ride around in Warthogs and snipe your opponent from miles away made this game a party and Online played hit. Another countless amount of hours, spent fragging friends at parties.

Many game magazines have praised Halo as one of the best and most important games of all time. The game’s popularity has led to labels such as “Halo clone” and “Halo killer”, applied respectively to games either similar to or anticipated to be better than it. In addition, the game inspired and was used in the fan-created Red vs. Blue video series, which is credited as the “first big success” of machinima —the technique of using real-time 3D engines, often from video games, to create animated films.

5. Counter-Strike: Source

One of my all-time favorite games – has to be – counter-strike!!! I miss playing this game so much. I spent a freaking huge portion of my high school life pwning n00bs and mastering 1337 speak while playing Counter Strike. Source is the re-make of Counter Strike using the Source engine. Just as good as the classic, but twice as pretty.

As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds. Each round is won either by completing an objective (such as detonating a bomb or rescuing hostages) or by eliminating all members of the opposing team.

4. World of Warcraft

Probably one of the most widespread addictions known to man. World of Warcraft is both beautiful and hella fun to play. It takes everything that RPGs and MMORPGs have given us in the past and expounded upon their awesomeness.

With more than 11.5 million (December 2008) monthly subscriptions, World of Warcraft is currently the world’s most-subscribed MMORPG and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62 percent of the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) subscription market.

3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Taking a game like Call of Duty 4 and making it better is no easy feat. This is the modern day Counter Strike – It is a fresh new mix of awesome FPS action that makes multiplayer extremely addictive. If you liked the Day of Defeat mod for Counter Strike back in the day, or medal of honor, then you will LOVE Call of Duty. This game Definitely mixes the best of the old Counter-Strike-esque games and puts it all into one awesome package!

Modern Warfare 2 has received highly positive reviews from various gaming websites, attaining a 94% aggregate score on Metacritic, with praise stemming primarily from its in-depth multiplayer component. Upon its release, the game sold approximately 4.7 million copies worldwide in 24 hours.

2. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

OMG This game is the very reason I purchased a Wii. If you played Ocarina of Time for the n64. Then this is the game you waited years for. I love all zelda games, and fell in love with Ocarina of Time. This game definitely did not let me down. So many afternoons.

Twilight Princess was released to universal critical acclaim and commercial success. It received perfect scores from major publications such as 1UP.com, CVG, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, GamesRadar, and GameSpy. On the review aggregator MobyGames, it is one of the highest rated games of all time. On TopTenReviews, it has received an average score of 3.86 out of 4, the highest among all games in the Zelda franchise. In the PAL region, Twilight Princess is the best-selling Zelda game ever. During its first week, the game was sold with three of every four Wii purchases. The game had sold 4.52 million copies on the Wii as of March 1, 2008, and 1.32 million on the GameCube as of March 31, 2007.

1. Grand Theft Auto III

This game changed everything. It almost came out of no where with its awesome 3D Graphics that overcame its predecessor and allowed for almost unlimited possibilities in the game itself. Probably one of the Funnest games you could ever play without actually playing through the story. Just turning it on, and wreaking havoc was the most exhilarating experience you could have on your couch in a long time. All of the GTA games from there on out where fun, but this is the one that started them all. The Series even brought back some catchy songs from long ago, like flock of seagulls.

The game’s concept and gameplay, coupled with the use of a three dimensional game engine for the first time in the series, contributed to Grand Theft Auto III’s positive reception upon its release; it became 2001’s top selling video game and is cited as a landmark in video games for its far-reaching influence within the industry. GTA III’s success was a significant factor in the series’ subsequent popularity; as of 2008, five GTA prequels set before events in GTA III have been released. GTA III’s violent and sexual content has also been the source of moral panic and controversy

There you have it..

Well guys, Those are the best games from the past Decade, that will guarantee entertainment, and fun, throughout your entire holiday break. So why don’t you go crack open those old games, and give em a spin for memory sake. You will be revitalized and glad that you did.

Hope this post inspired you in some way, or helped you remember some of your inner childhood memories

Thanks for reading!