Top Ten of the Decade: Part 2

5. Wii Sports (2007)
I didn’t think the Wii was going to be any good. I fully expected the motion controls to be unresponsive and for the whole concept to fade away into obscurity very quickly. Yeah. Shows what I know.

Wii Sports introduced me to the motion control premise and didn’t fail to impress, but the one game in particular on the Wii Sports bundle that caught my eye was the golf. After a few weeks of digital driving and putting, I wondered if these same mad videogame skills could be used in the real sport, and would I enjoy it? Turns out I did enjoy the real game, and for two years now I’ve been regularly playing it, outside in the sun and everything. Who would have thought a videogame would encourage healthy outdoor activities?

4. Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001)
It strikes me that GTA3 is the finest example of a 2D game’s transition into 3D. The experience from the originals wasn’t compromised in any way, and the narrative and scale were improved significantly. Rockstar’s giant absolutely paved the way for other open-world titles.

But he main reason for my fondness of GTA3 was the rut I was in at the time of its release. I feared that the day that I’d been warned of had finally arrived – that my love for videogames was diminishing – and nothing on the horizon was grabbing my attention. Was I out growing videogames? Of course not. And it’s all thanks to GTA3, which revitalised my obsession and enabled my continuing addiction.

3. Guitar Hero 2 (2006)
The birth of a new genre is an exciting occasion, and the first Guitar Hero went into labour in style, winning over the hearts of many. But it’s the sequel that really grabbed my attention, sporting a fantastic line-up of songs that truly recognised the magical music that can be made with an electric guitar. While the first one may have introduced the concept, the second one perfected it, with its downloadable content, online multiplayer, and songs I recognised and actually liked. The finest game of the series.

2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
I booked a week off work, so as to fully enjoy and appreciate this title. ‘MGS week’, as it became known, was a superb week for me. Every hour I sat in front of my ridiculously large TV soaking up the visual perfection was an hour well spent. At no point did I think the cut-scenes were too long or the dialogue too perplexing and drawn out; to me, MGS4 is the definitive MGS experience, an epic denouement to a beatifically crafted narrative, driven along by some exceptional voice work and cinematic presentation. MGS 4 pushed the definition of games to a much wider spectrum, incorporating the medium of film in an uncompromising way, maintaining the qualities of both mediums.

1. The Sims (2000)
Playing God is an appealing concept to me, quite possibly tied into my misanthropic tendencies, so when The Sims came along I became a fan almost instantly. So as with Populous and Dungeon Keeper before it, I began my malevolent campaign to control and dominate.

Controlling the lives of your Sims is surprisingly addictive and enjoyable, and the original game captured the quality of both management and God games to create a new kind of experience that appeals to a huge audience. Thanks to that audience, The Sims series has become the most popular PC franchise in existence.  It deserves absolutely nothing less.

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