A brief history of VideoGamer’s 10/10s

There have been a lot of great games released this year. And as Dishonored 2 becomes the latest game to score a perfect 10/10 (Editor’s Note: Does 10/10 mean ‘perfect’, Dave?), I thought it was about time to look back at VideoGamer’s earlier 10/10s, reflecting on the ones deserving of the score and chuckling at the ones we got totally wrong (Editor’s Note: I’m never wrong, Dave).

Here’s the full list of 10s I could find nestled amongst the depths of the VideoGamer archives. But are there any here that you think we got wrong? Or are there any missing from the list that you think deserved a perfect 10? Let me know your thoughts over on Twitter.

Half-Life 2 (2004)

Back in 2004, reviewer Robert Dick considered Half-Life 2’s “very linear” gameplay and underdeveloped sandbox a negative, but still considered it good enough to award it a perfect 10/10. There’s no denying that Half-Life 2 was a bonafide classic, but was it as good as the original? That’s a debate that will rage on for eternity until Half-Life 3 turns up, but whichever way you look at it, shooters have rarely come close to matching Half-Life 2 since.

Resident Evil 4 (2005)

“How can we play normal games ever again?” Ian Clements asked in 2005, praising Resident Evil 4 for its “beautiful graphics” and “exciting, fever-pitch gameplay”. I hope he found a way, because otherwise he’ll have missed out on all the other classics still to come on this list.

Jade Empire (2005)

“Jade Empire is never anything short of entrancing,” reviewer Iain McCafferty said over a decade go, commending BioWare’s level design for being “impeccable” and for delivering  a “genuine masterpiece of the genre”. It may not be quite as well remembered as Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic, but BioWare’s mythical RPG certainly seemed to get us going at the time.

Gears of War (2006)

“An astounding game.” “A true classic.” “A lose-lose situation for video game critics,” Tom said, making the point that awarding it a 10/10 would be to label yourself as a “fanboy who has fallen for the hype”. Thankfully, most people agreed that Gears of War was a stunning achievement for Epic, welcoming the new generation in with a beautiful and clever third-person shooter.

BioShock (2007)

BioShock was so good that it converted our reviewer into giving it their first 10/10, who kicked off their review by saying that he had “always been passionately against giving out perfect scores.” The remasters didn’t fare quite so well with Alice, who admitted that the game’s story perhaps wasn’t quite as clever as she had remembered, despite their overall design still holding up well today.

Halo 3 (2007)

“There is absolutely no way any Halo fan will be disappointed by this game,” said Wes, and quoted by me, a Halo fan that was, actually, a little disappointed by Halo 3. For most, then, Halo 3 lived up to the hype as the first game in the series to arrive on Xbox 360. But you know, the original was better.

Mass Effect (2007)

It’s a little dated now, but in 2007 the original Mass Effect left reviewer Wesley Yin-Poole (yes, that Wesley Yin-Poole) lost for words. “Mass Effect is a triumph,” he said. “A triumph for the science fiction videogame, a triumph for the action RPG and a triumph for next generation gaming.” And it turned out to be so triumphant, in fact, that he went on to score it 10/10 a second time when it later landed on PC.

Gears of War 2 (2008)

Back in 2008 there was nothing stopping Tom from delivering the hyperbole. “Gears of War 2 is arguably the greatest action game ever created,” he said. “In a
year full of incredible games, Gears of War 2 sits triumphantly at the very top.” Crikey.

GTA IV (2008)

Okay, so it may not look much cop against GTA V, but eight years ago GTA IV was one of the strongest open world games to date. Since then it’s become cool to dislike it (and nope, I still don’t understand why), but in the words of Tom “GTA IV most definitely lives up to the hype surrounding it and will certainly go down as a defining game of this console generation”.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Modern Warfare 2 may have been “more of the same” to some degree, but its “brilliant campaign”, “superb” co-op mode and substantial multiplayer were enough of an improvement over Call of Duty 4 to warrant an additional point, according to Tom, resulting in a perfect 10/10.

Forza Motorsport 3 (2009)

One of the biggest surprises on this list, it turns out that Tom is a secret mega fan of Turn 10. “Turn 10 can do no wrong,” he says as he excitedly opens his review. “Turn 10 has created a sim racer that goes far beyond the genre’s usual hardcore boundaries. It’s made a racing game to be enjoyed by just about anyone.” Forza 4 managed to go one better in my book, although it somehow dropped a point when it came to the review.

GTA: Chinatown Wars (2009)

Chinatown Wars may not be the first Grand Theft Auto that springs to mind, but it impressed reviewer Neon Kelly enough to award it as high a score as Rockstar’s other classics Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV and GTA V. Funnily enough, the DS version (reviewed by Wes one year earlier) only scored a 9/10, but it struck a stronger chord with Neon, who called it his “favourite handheld game of all time”. All time!

The Path (2009)

I remember a fair bit of buzz around The Path around its release, but very little about the actual game. One of the first small indie games to gain a tonne of hype, The Path was a Red Riding Hood-inspired horror game that, according to our reviewer, “challenges the very core of what you think a video game can be and what themes they can tackle”.

God of War 3 (2010)

‘God of PHWOAR!!’ shouts an over-excited Tom (pardon?). “The opening 45 minutes of God of War 3 are indescribably brilliant. Make no mistake; you won’t have seen a video game with production values anywhere near this. It is utterly incredible, and a sequence that blows me away every time I play it (four times and counting).”

Alright Tom, no need to show off. We’ve all played it, too. But yes, it was indescribably brilliant. And yes, I do think it gives God of War 2 a run for its money. As for that pun, I know it was over 6 years ago, but maybe we need to talk.

Red Dead Redemption (2010)

It may seem crazy now, but back in 2010 there was an element of uncertainty over the appeal of Rockstar’s Wild West game. “Perhaps I’m wrong, and the gaming masses don’t want to rush out and embrace Red Dead Redemption in the way they did with GTA IV,” Neon said in his original review of Red Dead Redemption. “If they don’t, it’ll be a crying shame and perhaps the final proof that cowboy games just don’t work. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think this game is going to do the business, big time.” He was right, of course, and with a
sequel due for release late next year, Rockstar will no doubt be hoping to have another 10/10 in its sights.

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty (2010)

The only Blizzard game to make the list, reviewer Martin Gaston called StarCraft 2 “one of the richest and most expertly produced video games of recent years”, before coming up with an excellent pun for the strap.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

Can you believe Tom only gave the original Super Mario Galaxy a 9? Thankfully he learned his lesson for the sequel, scoring it a perfect 10/10 and praising it for its unrivalled creativity, toe-tapping tunes and charming presentation. Sadly, we never saw an HD remaster on Wii U, but I’ve still got my fingers crossed for a third Galaxy game on Switch.

Batman: Arkham City (2011)

Some players may have preferred the linear structure to Arkham Asylum, but Rocksteady’s first foray into open world left reviewer Martin breathless when he first experienced it back in 2011, calling it an “intricate, spirited and unequalled playground worthy of one of the most iconic characters in modern fiction”. High praise – but was it your favourite?

ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (2011)

Remastering ICO and Shadow of the Colossus together was always going to be a safe bet in reviewer land, with Jamin forgiving an “unwieldy” camera for the opportunity to experience two classics all over again. Question is: Will The Last Guardian manage to secure a place on this list? There’s only a few weeks until we find out.

LA Noire (2011)

One of the more controversial 10/10s on this list, I agree with our reviewer Neon that Team Bondi delivered a stunning detective thriller, with its groundbreaking facial capture technology making LA Noire unlike anything we’d ever seen before. The studio’s fate – and the implication that we’re unlikely to ever see a sequel – is a
great shame.

Mass Effect 2 (2011) 

“Western RPGs will never be the same again,” said Neon, “such is the impact of BioWare’s work here.” He later told us to “grab a fork and tuck in”, though, which I certainly hope you didn’t do. I went to school with someone who ate CDs, and it was a little weird.

Portal 2 (2011)

There must have been a period of time around 2011 when reviews had to be labelled spoiler-free, because looking back through the archives, that’s exactly what happened with both this and LA Noire. But that’s beside the point: Portal 2 was an excellent first-person puzzler – still the finest, in my opinion – and our reviewer Jamin Smith seemed to agree, calling it “genuinely hilarious” and “one of the best multiplayer experiences I’ve ever played”. If you still haven’t played it, please do – just make sure nobody spoils it for you first.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (2011)

Unless it suffered from crippling performance problems, a handheld port of one of the greatest games ever made was always going to score this highly, wasn’t it? Also, did you know that Tom was a “complete N64 fanboy” back in the day? I certainly didn’t. I knew this would be educational.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011)

We were handing 10/10s out like candy back in 2011, it seems… Nevertheless, Skyward Sword (one of my favourite Zeldas, too) was considered by our reviewer as “one of the best games of the Wii’s lifespan”, even if our CMS struggled to render an apostrophe in the verdict box.

GTA V (2013)

GTA V’s “gargantuan” scale and bar-setting level of polish resulted in another 10/10 for Rockstar when it arrived on the scene three years ago. And who could disagree? Still one of the finest examples of open world, GTA V continues to sell well to this day, landing just outside the top 10 in this week’s charts.

The Last of Us (2013)

As attention began to turn to PS4, Naughty Dog decided to release one of the finest games on PS3 yet, providing the perfect send-off to Sony’s last-gen console. “The Last of Us is one of the finest game experiences of this generation,” Miller said. “Leaving a lasting impression long after it’s finished, it takes risks other games wouldn’t even think about it, challenging many preconceptions the industry has just decided to take as a given. In the same way Half-Life, Halo and Grand Theft Auto continue to be remembered as important titles gone by, it would be no surprise if The Last of Us was referred to in such high regard long after we’ve moved onto technological pastures new.”

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013)

Miller loves him some Zelda, and it was no different when it came to Link’s 2013 3DS adventure. Calling it “one of the best Zeldas in recent memory” (it was only two years later than Skyward Sword, Miller!) he described it as an intelligent adventure that modelled itself on SNES classic A Link To The Past “near perfectly”.

Dark Souls 2 (2014)

Ooft. Another controversial one here. Considered by many as the weakest in the trilogy, reviewer Andi Hamilton called Dark Souls 2 a “refined, slicker version of one of the greatest video games ever made”. 

The Last of Us Remastered (2014)

This is worthy of its own entry, right? The PS3’s best game quickly became the PS4’s best game too when Naughty Dog jazzed up The Last of Us in 1080p/60fps. Still one of the best games ever made, if you still haven’t gotten around to playing it, you should definitely give it a go on PS4 Pro.

Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)

Rocksteady grabbed their second 10/10 with Arkham City follow-up Arkham Knight last year, where Miller got straight to the point by calling it “the best Batman game ever made”. And if anyone knows Batman, it’s him.

Bloodborne (2015)

The first ‘Souls’ game that really jelled with me, my good friend and fellow idiot Brett Phipps called Bloodborne “your favourite worst nightmare”, which I think means something you really want to play, even though it’s a bit hard. “It is Dark Souls 3 in all but name,” he said, just months before Dark Souls 3
was a thing, “a natural evolution for the series. There’ll be times when you feel genuinely lost, frustrated and unsure of your next step. But you will carry on, you will beat it, and when you do, there’s no other game that can make you feel more elated about doing so.”

Dishonored 2 (2016)

No prizes for guessing where this might come on Alice’s Game of the Year list, Dishonored 2
“takes everything you loved about Dishonored and improves upon it,” she says in her 10/10 review. With its “incredible level and world design” and “endless replayability”, only time will tell whether we look back on Dishonored 2 as fondly as the other games on this list. 

Inside (2016)

One of the more divisive 10/10s, Tom instructed us not to “miss out on what will surely be one of the best games of this generation” after playing through Inside earlier in the year. I think it’s terrific, too, and, at the risk of losing some of you, agree that the ending is actually rather good.

The Witness (2016)

It won’t be appearing on my Game of the Year list any time soon, but Tom was so taken aback by The Witness that he found it “hard to think about anything else” after reviewing it back in January. A game all about drawing lines from one point to another, The Witness could go down in history as one of the finest puzzle games ever made.