As the PS4 and XBOX1 are almost amongst us and just a week before the release of probably the last major game of this generation in GTA V, I thought this was the perfect time to look back at what I think are the very best games of this generation. My list will only be taking into account PS3, XBOX360 and the Wii. No handhelds and no "indie" games, just to simplify my job a bit hehe. So here we go: 1. MGS 4: Gun of the Patriots This is the culmination of 15 years of Metal Gear evolution, both in terms of story telling and gameplay. The world was bigger, the guns louder, the graphics shinier and the characters ever more absurd but it all somehow works. Hideo Kojima didn't just give us a hell of a story which tried to tie in many of the loose ends from the MGS universe but he gave us one of the best stealth or action/adventure games ever made. That in itself is special, depending on how you played it, you could be playing a 3rd person shooter one moment and a Splinter Cell-esque stealth game the next. Genius. 2. Fallout 3 The 90s were the peak of JRPGs, pushing the boundaries of what was possible with the genre but the new millennium has belonged to the west, with the Elder Scrolls and KOTR being particular standouts but it was Fallout 3, the rebirth of a lost gaming title, which pushed the boundaries of the RPG genre. The game was beautiful, huge, fun, crazy, action packed, stealthy and with all the correct RPG gameplay mechanics intact. There has been a surge of games which give players the ability to make moral or immoral choices, there were games before Fallout 3 and there have been games since but none have done it quite as well as this classic. 3. Mass Effect 2 Another example of a great, 21st century, western RPG, Mass Effect 2 is the greatest in a trilogy which has surpassed almost all others. Everything from the original was given a face lift, from the graphics to the gun play and it was all worth it. Playing this is a far superior experience compared to the original, which is no mean feat in itself. But what elevates this to true greatness is the relationships you develop with characters in the game, where life and death situations are just that. No game has dragged out my emotions for all to see as Mass Effect 2 did upon completion of it's daring final mission, maybe not even FFVII. 4. Red Dead Redemption Oh Rockstar, every generation you deliver us gems, first there was the innovation of GTA III, then came the unbound genius of Vice City but then you faltered, GTA IV not quite living up to expectations (in my opinion anyway) but then you redeemed yourselves and boy was it glorious. I have yet to experience GTA V but I still maintain that the Wild West of RDR is the single greatest open world ever created and in a generation which has contained Skyrim and Fallout 3, that is high praise indeed. This isn't just the greatest cowboy games ever made but it is one of the best representations of America at the turn of the century in all forms of art. 5. Mario Galaxy Shigeru Myamoto is a gaming genius, there is no doubt about that. His greatest creation, Mario is the peak of all platforming games. Mario 64 was the ultimate in 3D platforming and no matter how much Sony tried, nothing on the PS2 could touch it; not even Ratchet and clank or Jak 2. Mario 64 is one of the true all time greats, which made it even more difficult to enjoy Mario Sunshine, which felt like a step back in so many way. Luckily, Mario Galaxy delivered, providing an experience that could only be fully handled on the Wii, this is what Nintendo's console was designed for and damn was it a sight to behold. 6. The Last of Us The newest entry on this list, this is, much like MGS 4, a culmination of years of work. Naughty Dog spent years working on Jak and Daxter and then tried their hand on 3rd person action adventures with the Uncharted series. I'm not a huge fan of the latter but with TLOS, ND have made something special. A game which plays as well as it looks and a story told with beautiful precision and believable dialogue. Are games art? Can they ever be art? I think ND proved that with their latest entry. It's not without it's faults though but the positives are so immense and the mechanics so well executed, you can't help but cut it some slack. 7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Say what you want about the COD franchise and it's current day state in the gaming world, when Modern Warfare was first revealed it blew everyone away. Smooth graphics, amazing single player and the most well balanced online multiplayer found anywhere, console or PC. Modern Warfare 2 delivered even more, the single player campaign was short but packed full of great set pieces but it was the multiplayer that would define it. This is a game that perfected all it's predecessor had ever tried to do, creating, in my opinion, the best multiplayer experience ever. The formula has been imitated a million times over and the series itself has become a parody but COD:MW2 will always stand out as the greatest shooter of this generation. 8. God of War 3 The first two games provided the PS2 with a bloody, gory farewell but it was this third entry which made the series truly great. The scale was unbelievable, the action fluid and what I always wanted a next-gen DMC to feel like. This is a balls-to-the-wall, white knuckle ride of pain, retribution, redemption and war, amalgamated with some of the best fighting mechanics outside of SF IV. 9. Gears of War 2 10. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
1. super mario galaxy 2 2 saints row 4 3 la noire 4 dkc returns 5 gt5 6 forza horizons 7 gta iv 8 driver san francisco 9 mariokart wii 10 saints row the third
1. Bioshock 2. The Last of Us 3. Batman: AC 4. Mass Effect 2 5. Super Mario Galaxy 6. Red Dead Redemption 7. Rainbow Six Vegas 8. Left 4 Dead 9. Demon's Souls 10. Mafia 2/ LA Noire (I know these weren't the best games but I still loved them for what they were)
overall top 10 games this gen 10 rayman legends 9 bioshock infinite 8 skyrim 7 halo 4 6 RDR 5 tomb raider4 xenoblade 3 dark souls 2 uncharted 2 no kuni 1 last of us &MGS4
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