Top 100 Games of the Noughties: 50-41

What a decade it’s been for gaming. The Noughties saw the release of no less than six new consoles, the rise of Microsoft as a serious industry player and the re-emergence of Nintendo as the dominant force. Yeah, it’s been an incredible ten years of gaming goodness. But what lights have shined the brightest? What video games are destined to join the pantheon of the immortals? Here, in the sixth part of VideoGamer.com’s mammoth Top 100 Games of the Noughties list, we tell you, counting down from 50 to 41. Like the best rollercoasters, there are peaks and troughs, nerve-shredding twists and turns, and a bit where you’re really high up and wish you’d never got on the bloody thing in the first place. But hold on tight, weary video gamer, because by the time this ride ends, you’ll know just how good the Noughties have been.

Games 60-51

Games 70-61

Games 80-71

Games 90-81

Games 100-91

50. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 – Xbox 360, 2008

If the Noughties was the decade of digital distribution, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 was the digitally distributed game of the decade. Bizarre’s shooter was great for many reasons – its HD retro graphics and heart-thumping electro soundtrack but two – but its true genius lied in its clever online leaderboards. Before you could do anything else, you were shown your high scores compared with those of your friends. That gave you all the motivation you needed to suffer failed attempt after failed attempt in the pursuit of greatness, adoration and online celebrity. That, and an unapologetic addiction to “the zone”.

49. Diablo II – PC, 2000

Diablo II has its critics. Some believe it to be nothing more than a repetitive point and click dungeon crawler. These people are clearly mad. Diablo II, like all Blizzard games, is polished to perfection and expertly tugs on the heartstrings of your mind, tempting you to “have one more go” with the promise of loot, loot and more loot. There’s a reason the upcoming Diablo III is sending PC owners scampering to the upgrade shop: Diablo II was a permanent resident in their disc drive throughout the Noughties. Actually, scratch that. For millions, it’s still a permanent resident in their disc drive. The classes are varied, the locales are eye-catching, and the online multiplayer is the stuff of geek dreams.

48. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn – PC, 2000

Before Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and even Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, there was Baldur’s Gate II. BioWare’s role-playing epic is not only one of the games of the Noughties, but one of the best games of all time, and paved the way for scores of PC RPGs that followed. While the graphics haven’t stood the test of time, the strategic depth is still, some argue, unrivalled, and the party system allowed players to plan their battles on an unprecedented level. Baldur’s Gate II did fantasy better than anything else, it was a PC gamers’ wet dream, and set BioWare up for one hell of a decade.

47. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos – PC, 2002

If one developer can lay claim to “pwning” the Noughties, it’s Blizzard. Every game it released during the decade has made this list list. That included, of course, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Displaying the expected Blizzard qualities – polish, accessibility, easy to learn and hard to master – WCIII quickly became the most-played RTS of all time. In South Korea it still enjoys huge popularity, and in the West, pro-gamers battle it out for thousand dollar checks in tournaments across the world. Now, in the post-Company of Heroes world, its cartoon graphics look basic, but wonderfully balanced gameplay is ageless.

46. Skies of Arcadia – Dreamcast, 2001

Overworks’ RPG was a breath of fresh air when it arrived on the Dreamcast at the start of the decade, and its bright anime graphics instantly marked the game as one of the best-looking titles on SEGA’s little grey box. But Skies of Arcadia is so much more than just a pretty face: it’s a grand tale of pirates and derring-do and islands in the sky. It’s hard to not get drawn into the swashbuckling story of Vyse and the Blue Rogues, while few other role-playing games have managed to deliver the same sense of wonder that arises as you explore the skies in your very own airship.

45. Burnout Revenge – PS2, Xbox, 2005 – Xbox 360, 2006

We love Burnout Paradise but its omission of Crash mode means Burnout Revenge is still our favourite game in the series. Arcade racers have always been over the top, but Burnout’s carnage-filled races took the term “arcade racer” to another level. Revenge is the pinnacle of the series pre-Paradise, combining features like traffic checking and takedowns into one gloriously destructive whole. Crash mode is what entertained us most though, such is the addictiveness of this “just one more go” game type. If you haven’t chained together blasts in Burnout you really haven’t lived.

44. Pro Evolution Soccer 4 – PS2, Xbox, 2004

The one with handball cheat Thierry Henry, flawed genius Francesco Totti and Skeletor lookalike ref Pierluigi Collina was, for us, the best in a series that defined so many boozy house parties. If it isn’t the multiplayer game of the decade, then it’s close. PES, back then, had an air of grandeur about it, a confidence that reeked of superiority. Legendary designer Shingo “Seabass” Takatsuka knew football, and his video games felt as if they knew football, too. The key was the knowledge, however artificial, that two goals couldn’t possibly be the same, no matter where you shot from and how long you held the button down. This made PES feel real, more real, even, than actually playing football for real. For that, it deserves its place here.

43. FIFA 10 – Xbox 360, PS3, 2009

FIFA 10 is, quite simply, the greatest football game ever made. Some might say it’s little more than a squad update, but that ignores the important and noticeable improvements in gameplay EA Canada made. It’s the jaw-dropping graphics (in the default wide view), superb animations and convincing ball physics that make FIFA 10 feel like you’re playing a “Sky Sports Super Sunday” match. There’s a sick satisfaction that comes from scoring a goal – one PES used to have the exclusive rights to – born from the feeling that everything you do in the game is probably possible in real life. Gone is the outrageousness FIFA was known for during the first half of the Noughties. In is sublime realism that has seen the series win the battle with PES year after year during the latter part of the decade.

42. Vagrant Story – PlayStation, 2000

Listen hard enough and you’ll hear murmurings of discontent: forget Final Fantasy VII and Skies of Arcadia; Square’s Vagrant Story is the greatest Japanese role-playing game of all time. This gem of a game didn’t enjoy anything approaching Final Fantasy’s commercial success, but for many it was the superior game. The ruined city of Leá Monde and its crumbling dungeons were characters in their own right, and “Riskbreaker” Ashley Riot proved a wonderful antidote to the teenage angst-ridden leads of most other RPGs. So many of its features were expertly done – weapon crafting was a game in of itself – but the combat was truly revolutionary. Attacks could be “chained” into large combos with timed button presses: more engaging than Final Fantasy’s “sit back and enjoy the show” system. We can only pray that one of the next ten years brings with it a sequel.

41. Ico – PS2, 2002

Fumito Ueda’s Ico is, quite simply, a masterclass in minimalist storytelling. A young boy, shunned by his village for the horns on his head, is left to die in the tomb of a gloomy castle. An earthquake frees him from captivity, and as explores the citadel he meets a young girl who speaks in a language he cannot understand. Together they try to escape, pursued by shadowy forces that want to claim the girl for themselves. Ico re-ignited the old “are game art?” debate, and its little wonder why: it’s a beautiful little gem that works on every level: as a platform game, as a puzzler, and as an interactive fairy tale.

Check back to tomorrow as the Top 100 Games of the Noughties countdown continues with 40 to 31.