Top Ten of the Decade: Part 3

By Daniel Lipscombe

At the moment, a collective of Resolution regulars are busy penning their own personal top-ten lists.  The theme?  Favourite games of the decade.  Not the best, not the most polished, not the most influential.  Just favourite.  Next up: Daniel’s top-ten of the last ten years.

10.Crazy Taxi (2000)
I grew up in a seaside town, so trips to the local arcades were a regular affair. One day, on one of these trips, I found Crazy Taxi lurking in the corner of Magic City. After standing for a while watching the demo and wondering if it was worth my money I took the plunge, put in a pound coin and have never looked back. Zooming around the city at top speed looking for high value fares and listening to The Offspring booming from the cabinet speakers was how I spent my Saturdays. With a group of friends all standing around for their turn, all waiting to see if we could top each other’s scores or beat their times. Then, when the home console version came out in 2000, life ended for a while.

9.Peggle (2007)
Peggle is like a hard drug. There’s no getting away from the game. It’s perfect for five minutes on the bus, and it’s perfect for losing four hours in the evening trying to beat those bloody challenges. The beauty of Peggle is its simplicity: what could be easier then pressing a button to fire a ball at some pegs? The addiction creeps in when chasing the ever elusive high score. Can you find a better bounce? Is there a way of guaranteeing landing in the 100k bucket at the end? Can I ever beat my friend’s scores?

8.Shadow of the Colossus (2006)
Shadow of the Colossus made me sad in many ways. The overall atmosphere of the game always hints at a loneliness that strums the heart strings. There is no one to talk to, to interact with, other than your trusty steed Agro. However, the sadness is truly felt in the slaying of the Colossi. These majestic and sometimes beautiful beasts, some of whom will attempt to attack you, while others are merely going about their business. After finding their weak spot and killing them, I would feel two kinds of sadness: one for killing a truly magnificent monster, but another slightly practical sadness too. This latter feeling was more for Ueda and the team who created the game. After spending so much time, effort and imagination on making these Colossi, I wander along and destroy their creation. /That/ is what always felt the most tragic to me.

7.Dragon Quest 8 (2006)
Why isn’t this a Final Fantasy game? Several reasons, and each of them integral as to why I love Journey of the Cursed King. Although I adore JRPGs and the Final Fantasy series, Dragon Quest 8 seemingly appeared from nowhere to me. I hadn’t really followed the hype or production news and one day a friend of mine pointed it out to me. I instantly fell in love with Toriyama’s art design, the characters and world felt as if they were overflowing with charm. Perhaps my favourite feature had to be the Alchemy Pot, which allowed you to combine and mix items and equipment to make them more powerful. In fact, I even bought the official guide to help me create better items on my second playthrough. But reaching this second playthrough was an achievement in itself, as defeating Dhoulmagus was incredibly tough.

6.Fallout 3 (2008)
Megaton: blow it up or save it? I eventually did both. My first playthrough of Fallout 3 was my main game save – I played as a good boy, saved everyone, never stole and of course defused the bomb in Megaton and set up home. In the end that save file clocked in at over 100 hours with all the DLC packs finished and a feeling of satisfaction that I’d explored the Capitol Wasteland, found the alien weaponry, chased the Bobbleheads, blown up behemoth Super Mutants with a Fat Man and legged it out of several vaults in a panic. Then I started an evil character, made a devious deal, ventured up to the top of Tenpenny Towers and pushed a button that resulted in an epic explosion that left my mouth agape. That is why Fallout 3 is so good.

[Continues...]

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