Games of the Year for the Past Decade

It's been a pretty good decade for gaming. It seems like it's becoming more and more mainstream, but at the same time, quality franchises are dying out left and right because those new gamers aren't migrating to them. But I digress, since I thought it'd be appropriate to look back on the previous decade in gaming and declare my games of the year for the past decade (2001 to 2010).

2001 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- By far the darkest and hardest 3D Zelda, this game turned the Zelda franchise on its' head, if only for a while. While it turned off many fans for it's 3-day cycle, it gave more in-depth analysis to the universe as a whole, adopting stories for NPC's that we have come to know since then.

2002 - Metroid Prime
- What do we get as a follow-up to the greatest game of all time? How about the second greatest? Not bad if I do say so myself. Metroid Prime took Super Metroid and translated it to 3D perfectly, and changed how stories in games were told forever with its' scanning system. Oh, and the game is very popular with the speedrunning community.

2003 - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
- Turning the franchise on its' head once again, we went from the dark world of Termina to the bright and colorful world of the ocean that now covers the remains of old Hyrule. Not only that, it added some good animation to the universe, as well as some awesome characters, and let's not forget the best final boss fight in the series.

2004 - Metroid Zero Mission
- A re-telling of the original Metroid game with some minor cinematics, re-done graphics and an added ending which changed the series forever, giving us what is now known as Zero Suit Samus. Zero Mission stayed true to the Metroid formula, but at the same time added a couple of new quirks that made it very memorable, and stands out as one of the best remakes of all time.

2005 - Resident Evil 4
- By taking Resident Evil from fixed-camera to over-the-shoulder view was the best move for the series, as it made the series extremely mainstream and accessible. It was the first Resident Evil game I bought, and it's still the best in my opinion as it has some great atmosphere, set pieces and game mechanics in a game to this day.

2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Taking Zelda back to formula was something a lot of fans wanted, and they got big time. Midna is definitely the most interesting and complex character developed by Nintendo, and is still one of the most recognizable characters in the series to this day because of it. While nothing special, it still remains as a great entry to the series.

2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
- Gaming bliss at its' finest. The gameplay, the level design, the music, everything. Perfect.

2008 - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- A fitting end to the main MGS series, that wraps up with some of the most emotional scenes I've seen in a game recently. While the story gets a lot of hate, it's still very compelling and interesting to see play out.

2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- A well-paced, action-packed tour de force from start to finish. Combined with a superb online mode, Uncharted 2 rides high all the way through, and will make you gasp at some of its' wonder.

2010 - Donkey Kong Country Returns
- I can't think of a more well put together game than this one this year. While challenging, it's still extremely fun. The design of each level flows really well and just makes the game give off this aura of childhood fun.


So those are my games of the year for the past decade. I plan on releasing an article for my Game of the Decade next week, but I'll say that my Game of the Decade is on this list.