Best of the Decade: Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus

Platform: Playstation 2

Release Date: October 18, 2005

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Team Ico

Whenever the overplayed argument over whether or not games are art gets dragged out for another flogging, there’s one title in particular that never fails to come up in the discussion. It’s certainly not the only title that gets put forth as an example of a game that does something more than mindlessly entertain, but it does seem to be the most consistently mentioned.

Though I will celebrate another title or two before this list is complete that I feel stand alongside it as the industry’s most museum-worthy productions to date, Shadow of the Colossus undoubtedly deserves to be recognized as a standout effort that truly represents the best of what this medium has to offer in terms of interactive emotion.

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Best of the Decade: Soulcalibur II

Soulcalibur II

Platforms: GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox

Release Date: August 27, 2003

Publisher: Namco

Developer: Namco

Every Soulcalibur game has meant a lot to me. Until recently, it was the only fighting game series I had ever gotten into. It was one of the titles I bought alongside my beloved Dreamcast on 9/9/99. I bought it on a whim because of a fantastic review score in Electronic Gaming Monthly. I had no idea whether I’d like it because I had never liked a fighting game before, but my gamble payed off and I’ve been playing it ever since. 

Just as I’ve never been a huge fighting game fan, I’ve never been much of a multiplayer gamer either, but the Soulcalibur series has long been the exception to both of these rules. Wrapped up in the many tales of souls and swords I’ve encountered over the years across four games now are countless battles, painful wins and losses both, and many hours of honing my skills, trying new characters, and improving my game. 

The most important aspect that these games have brought into my gaming life is the social element. Few of my friends are into fighting games and the genre usually isn’t worth the effort if you have no local competition to spar with. Here again Soulcalibur proved the exception. I’ve known many people that have enjoyed a quality bout of weapons-based combat and just about all of them have been well matched to my own skill. Winning a close match by that fraction of an inch against a good friend never fails to bring a smile to my face. 

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Best of the Decade: Guitar Hero

As 2010 draws to a close, I figure it’s a convenient excuse to look over the rather stunning number of awsome games I have been fortunate enough to play over the last decade and choose my favorites. This isn’t definitive and it isn’t comprehensive. It’s simply the games that mean the most to me when looking back over the last decade of my personal gaming experience, presented one a day for all of December with commentary and personal anecdotes and in no particular order. It’s been a great decade for gaming. Please chime in with your own thoughts in the comments. 

Guitar Hero 

Platform: Playstation 2

Release Date: November 8, 2005

Publisher: RedOctane; MTV Games

Developer: Harmonix Music Systems

It’s easy to forget while you read recent news stories such as “Viacom Planning to Sell Harmonix” and “Warriors of Rock Sales Disappoint” that the plastic instrument genre was once a new and magical thing. 

In fact, the whole idea spawned just five years ago, which is pretty incredible when you think about it. It sure feels like they’ve been around longer than that.

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