Best of the Decade: Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Windows, Mac OS X

Release Date: November 16, 2004 (Windows version)

Publisher: Valve Corporation

Developer: Valve Corporation

When I sit down to write something about a game, I’m usually struggling to contain the veritable torrent of words that spill forth from my fingertips and onto the screen. I love to talk and write about games and am rarely at a loss for words when it comes to discussing them in any form.

So it has been with my Best of the Decade list so far. Entries I thought would be quick and easy have turned out far longer than expected. I started with the intent of creating short blurbs for each game and have quickly slipped to writing a gushing review-length article of every pick. 

But I honestly can’t think of anything to add to what’s already been said about Half-Life 2. I have no unique angle or compelling personal drama framing my experiences with it. This is one of the most loved games ever created and I simply don’t feel I can meaningfully add to the discussion. 

It is, quite simply, the best first-person shooter ever made.

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Best of the Decade: Infinity Blade

Infinity Blade

Platform: iOS (iPhone and iPad)

Release Date: December 9, 2010

Publisher: N/A

Developer: Chair Entertainment, Epic Games

Let me admit right off the bat that this entry is more ceremonial than any other I’ve allowed myself to make so far. I picked Geometry Wars with a similar goal, to celebrate what the game represented as much as the game itself, but Infinity Blade is an even stronger case of this.

I’ve been avoiding picks like this on purpose. Adding items like these to a list is kind of cheap and, for whatever little it’s worth, I didn’t want to devalue my list with cheating entries like concepts, entire series of games, and that sort of thing.

That said, even though this is a last-minute entry and clearly hasn’t had the time to mature like others on this list, I truly feel it is deserving of its spot. Let me explain. 

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Best of the Decade: Braid

Braid

Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Mac OS X, Linux, Windows

Release Date: August 6, 2008 (360 version)

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios (360); Number None, Inc. (Other versions)

Developer: Number None, Inc.

It’s not often that a puzzle game can snare me. I like a good mental challenge, but I don’t have the patience for the genre most of the time. I’m already susceptible to switching away from a game I’m stuck on and an entire genre built around stopping you in your tracks periodically and forcing you to solve tough puzzles usually doesn’t work for me. I’ll try a new game, get hooked until I’m stumped, put it down, and never play it again.

Thus, sadly, I’ve come to largely avoid puzzle games. Portal and Limbo are two exceptions, but both are far more than traditional genre entries.

Braid is more traditional a puzzle game than either of those two, but it’s still something special. 

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Best of the Decade: Limbo

Limbo

Platform: Xbox 360

Release Date: July 21, 2010

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Playdead Studios

I think most who hold the hobby of gaming close to their heart would agree that the medium is perfectly capable of being considered art. When it comes time to decide which games constitute art, consensus is decidedly less clear. Outside of a few select titles that seem to pop up repeatedly in such discussions, such as Shadow of the Colossus, I’m not sure most gamers know what an “artistic” game is supposed to look like.

Should we look to games like Heavy Rain, which aspires as much as is possible to be a film, for our example? Should we turn to games like Flower, which dispense with most recognizable aspects of being a game at all in favor of being visually interesting and delivering a strong message? Or is the answer somewhere in between?

I think with Limbo we’re a step closer to knowing. Of course, as with any type of art, there isn’t simply one easy definition. Looking at games like Shadow of the Colossus and Limbo, however, it does become clearer what is required on a fundamental level to be both a game and art.

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Best of the Decade: New Super Mario Bros Wii

New Super Mario Bros Wii

Platform: Wii

Release Date: November 15, 2009

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo EAD

It has warmed my heart of late to see 2D platformers becoming acceptable again. From the sadistic challenge of Super Meat Boy to the retro thrills of Donkey Kong Country Returns to the adorable charm of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, to name just a few, the side scroller seems to be making a comeback.

Some games, such as Super Meat Boy, exist because downloadable games have made riskier titles possible. Others, such as Kirby and Donkey Kong, are actually, in a sense, children of Wii Sports and Nintendo’s movement toward making things simpler again. There’s something about the design of a classic side scrolling platformer that’s easy to grasp for just about anyone.

Both of these categories of old school game are representative of a happy truth. As a gaming culture, we have finally reached the point where 3D, and the complexity that normally comes with it, is no longer necessary for success. I love me some complexity in the right situations and simple isn’t always better, but it wasn’t too many years ago when the classic side scroller was basically dead because there was no market. To sell, you had to be 3D.

This is no longer true. Graphics may be in 3D, and you won’t find me complaining about that because there are some gorgeous examples of left-to-right hop-and-bops that feature pleasing use of the third dimension for eye candy, but what is once again most important is great gameplay, even if it’s in two dimensions.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see why a game like New Super Mario Bros Wii is thrilling for me. I love Super Mario Galaxy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sincerely appreciate a return to glorious 2D form for Mario. 

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