5. Grandia 2 (December 6, 2000) - DC

Despite the greatness of Skies of Arcadia, I have to go with Grandia 2 as the winner of that battle but not by much. Grandia 2 added something that I'd never seen in an RPG before, a brand new battle system that was truly fun and exciting to play. It wasn't real-time unfortunately, but it did have you constantly on the edge of your seat. Think of Final Fantasy's Active Time Battle's but instead of each character having their own bar to fill up and all attacks taking the same time, everyone is placed on the same time bar. Once the bar got up about 3/4ths of the way, you would pick an attack and depending on the attack, the amount of time it took to actually execute the attack would change. Also, different moves could knock enemies farther back on the time bar, it was a constant battle of who could attack. If you were skilled, you could win battles without ever getting hurt. This made every battle interesting which only supplemented the incredible storyline and characters. Again, if you missed the Dreamcast, Grandia 2 is also on the PC and the PS2. If I had to pick one, I would go with the PS2 version but that's just me.

4. The Sims (January 31, 2000) - PC

I don't think The Sims really needs much explanation here since there shouldn't be anyone reading who hasn't played it or at least one of the sequels/expansions/ports/etc. If you search The Sims in Gamespot, you get 62 pages of games. Do you really need more explanation than that?

3. Diablo 2 (June 29, 2000) - PC

Diablo 2, IMO, gets the same treatment as Halo did. When it was first released, it received pretty high praise, no doubt about that, but all the reviews were far lower than they should be. Like Halo, Diablo 2 had its strength in its longevity. People today still play Diablo 2 almost nine years after its release with the same fervor that they had in 2000. With a still thriving internet community now and people literally demanding a sequel into existence, how could Diablo 2 not be on this list?

2. Perfect Dark (May 22, 2000) - N64

Gamers have been debating for years which is better between Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark. The battle will rage on forever because there really isn't any way to debate. Both games are as close to perfect as an FPS will ever get. Perfect Dark is the only game I have ever stayed up all night to play. My friend and I battled for hours on end against bots, with bots and against aliens without ever getting bored. People have heard me say forever that co-op is the best thing that video games has ever done and since Perfect Dark was one of the first FPS's (if not the first) to implement it, that right there gives it a spot on my top 10 games for 2000. The quality of the game itself is what brings it up to my number 2 spot.

Katosepe's Game of the Year Award: 2000

•1. Chrono Cross (August 15, 2000) - PS

In my opinion, Chrono Cross is the best game ever made so when it came to my top 10 games of 2000, Chrono Cross was an easy winner. When I thought Chrono Trigger could not be topped, I played Chrono Cross and was just blown away. An intricate, beautiful story spanning two worlds with great characters, stunning graphics, and a new battle system that had never been used before and has never been picked up since that will revolutionize the way you look at RPG's make Chrono Cross more than deserving for its number one spot on this list as well as the perfect score from Gamespot and the numerous awards it has received. The only problem I could ever find with Chrono Cross is that there isn't a sequel out right now. Fortunately for all of you, Chrono Cross was recently put back into print by Square Enix so, if you hurry, you can experience this incredible game for no more than 20 bucks. If you pass up this deal and have a Playstation, I will hunt you down :P.

Katosepe's Console of the Year Award - Dreamcast

I want to start off by saying this was an incredibly tough decision. All of the systems were great this year and had some incredible additions to the gaming world. The reason I have to pick the Sega Dreamcast for this award is because it advanced technology this year more than any other system. The Playstation 2 had just been released, not even coming close to its full potential yet and the Playstation and Nintendo 64 were heading out the door. While we all know what happened to the Sega Dreamcast next year, in 2000, it was going strong, pumping out incredible games left and right. So in the end, I have to award the Dreamcast for its efforts. Great job.

Honorable Mentions:

• Wormhole (???? 2000)
• Power Stone 2 (August 23, 2000)
• Valkyrie Profile (August 29, 2000)

Currently Listening To: Attention - The Academy Is... - 2005