mozidesign.com Unorganized Thoughts of a Game Designer

Top 10 Games of the Decade

Somewhere between 1998 and 1999 I turned into a “hardcore gamer”. If I recall correctly, in that time frame I got a new computer. A 333MHz machine, armed with a Voodoo 1 (or was it a Voodoo 2?) graphics card and I forget how much RAM but not a lot. With that machine I attended a lot of LAN parties with my high school buddies.

Those were the days…now that I look back since then till now I have played a lot of games over the last decade. At some point I moved from PC only to owning my first console since my Sega Genesis, by getting an Xbox. Later on I moved into the new generation of consoles by picking up a 360 and most recently a PS 3. Additionally over years I kept upgrading my computer to handle the new PC games that kept being released. Looking back over the last 10 years of my gaming career I realized I have played a lot of games. I’d like to take a trip back in time and highlight my top ten favorites. Some of favorites include entire series of games so I just counted it as one.

Unreal Tournament

A high school LAN party favorite! My friends and I have clocked 100’s hours on some classic maps such as DM-Deck 16, DM-Morpheus, DM-Morbias, CTF-Facing Worlds, DM-Turbine, CTF-November, AS-Frigate, and our all time favorite, AS-Overlord. It was this game that got me into level design as I found the Unreal Editor, I made some pretty shitty maps back in the day but little did I know I’d make a living out of it in ten years time! This game had it all, great levels, cool weapons, and amazing AI for days when you needed to brush up on your shooting skills before the next LAN party.

Deus Ex

What can I say about this game that as not already been said over the past decade. This game is flawless, and was one of (perhaps still is) the best single player games ever made. With its engaging story and varied paths of gameplay Deus Ex offered a level of replayability unseen in many single player games during its time. I think the last time I played this game was last year and each time I play it I always find new areas I never knew existed. If you have not played Deus Ex you are seriously missing out on one of the best games ever created in the industry. Stop reading and go get yourself a copy!

Command and Conquer Series (Tiberium Sun, Red Alert 2, and Generals)

In any sort of packaging and theme, Command and Conquer has always been fun. The entire series as a real time strategy game offered a level a plausibility in the unit types offered. However, what made the game fun aside from the fact of commanding your own army was when the crazy units were unlocked. I can’t recall them all but the ones that stood out where the Titans (Tiberium Sun), Attack Squids and Tesla Tanks (Red Alert 2), and finally the Toxin Tractor (Generals)

Grand Theft Auto (GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas)

GTA 3 exploded on to the gaming scene with its open ended sand box gameplay allowing players to wreak havoc upon the citizens of Liberty City. There was never a wrong way to do any mission in GTA 3 or in the entire franchise. If someone tells you to kill a rival gang leader, you could go up to them and shoot them in the face, hit them with a car, or fire a bazooka from a few miles away. The possibilities were endless! Vice City is probably my favorite of the three, just the whole 80’s vibe made the game even more fun that it was in GTA 3. San Andreas has mixed feelings from gamers, some who love it and some who found it to be too much with a much larger world to explore than Liberty City and Vice City combined. Whatever your opinions are about San Andreas, there is something to be said about a game which allows you to use a jet pack to fly around the city and cause chaos to your heart’s content!

Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR)

I was never really into RPGs (Role Playing Games) until KotOR. The game had a slow start I can agree to that but once you got your light saber, the fun began. KotOR had some really great characters and an amazing story. During gameplay your actions, dialog choices, and force power selections, lead you to either the lightside or darkside of the force. I played the game twice to experience both sides, and I found darkside to be more fun. Again like Deus Ex, if you have not played KotOR go play it, you won’t be disappointed!

Half-Life 2

Back in 1998 the FPS genres of games became more than just shooting anything that moves. Half-Life gave gamers a compelling story as they played the silent protagonist, Gordon Freeman, trying to escape the Black Mesa science facility. Half-Life 2 brought back the silent hero once again, and along with him new characters were introduced to help the player on their journey through City 17. For an FPS game Half-Life 2’s story was very compelling just like its predecessor and added a lot of depth and emotion as the player interacted with the other characters within the world.

Supreme Commander

This game is the offspring of a fantastic game entitled Total Annihilation. What makes this game standout for me was the sheer fact that the game offered an almost unlimited unit cap, unlike other RTS games where after a certain point no more units could be created. The sight of seeing hundreds of tanks, jets, and ships move across the battle field was sight to see. Also this game required the use of tactics.  Sometimes a direct assault on an enemy position would result in the slaughter of your forces. Thus it required some thinking to wage war with the right units, almost like a game of rock-paper-scissors. Not only did one need to fight with the right units but directions of attacks mattered a lot. A direct attack usually would end with epic failure.  This game also required some physical stamina as a single mission could easily last up to three hours!

Gears of War (1 and 2)

This is probably the definition of solid third person combat as Gears of War offered a very fluid and easy to learn cover system. The presentation was also well done with the idea of ‘destroyed beauty’, something very cool yet morbid about fighting through a war torn world.  Some may argue me on this but Gears of War had some very creative weapons such as the machine gun with a chainsaw bayonet. All of them seemed plausible but had a touch of science fiction added to them, making them work inside the universe of Gears of War. Along with the cover system and weapons, Gears of War offered some very intelligent and brutal AI.

Civilization Revolution

Civilization holds special place in my gaming career as during middle school I rarely at lunch. I would spend that time in the computer lab with my mates playing the original Civilization every single day of the week. The game was quite complex but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. There were several iterations on the PC side over the years with part two, three, and four which are all great games. But Civilization Revolution on the Xbox 360 was just something else. At first I thought there is no way such a complex PC game could work on a console.  I was proven wrong! Civilization Revolution was built from the ground up for the 360 and made all the elements of micromanagement irrelevant and kept the core gameplay loop of making the best damn civilization on the face of the earth fun with a game controller!

Left 4 Dead (1+2)

Shooting mindless zombies is fun. Doing it with four of your best mates even better! Getting yourself and seven of your other buddies for a game of humans vs. zombies, an absolute blast! This is Left 4 Dead, Valve’s co-op shooter. Nothing says teamwork more than helping your buddy up as they are injured and having your other friends back you up as they shoot up hordes of incoming zombies! Versus mode allows you to turn the table on your friends and take control of one of the many special infected zombies! This game is just the definition of fun, Valve made a game that is never the same no matter how many times you play it. This because their AI director makes a new scenario for each session of Left 4 Dead. Sometimes the AI director can create a fun scenario and at other times it can make the most diabolical scenario sending hordes of zombies and special infected at the player. But with the team work of four player co-op, nothing is too hard!

There you have it, my top 10 games over the last decade.  However, making these choices was not easy as I had a long list of games I enjoyed over the years. Here are the runner ups for my top 10 games:

• Quake 3
• Unreal Tournament 2k3/2k4
• Warcraft 3
• Unreal 2: XMP
• Jedi Knight 2:  Jedi Outcast
• Jedi Academy
• Brothers in Arms
• God of War 1+2
• FEAR 1+2
• Saints Row 1+2
• GTA 4
• Fallout 3
• Crackdown
• Burnout 3
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Ninja Gaiden 2
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Street Fighter 4
• Team Fortress 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Borderlands
• Dragon Age
• Assassin’s Creed 1+2
• Shadow Complex

I am really looking forward to what the next ten years has in store for gaming and the gaming industry!