Here we are, the final part of of my Games of the Decade blog.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Release date: 23 November 2007
Platform: Xbox 360 (also available on PS2, PS3, Wii and PC)
Developer: Neversoft
Genre: Music/Rhythm

An usual choice perhaps, but still a deserved one. These days, the rhythm game is a genre milked beyond a joke, but only a few years back Guitar Hero was wowing music game fans as the best in what was still a pretty fresh genre. Before going all-out with multiple instruments, before scraping the barrel with artist-specific releases, Harmonix rolled out a tight, polished guitar-only rhythm game with a killer rock track list and fun, addictive gameplay. Easy to pick up, difficult to master, accessible to casual and hardcore gamers alike, Guitar Hero was a nice breath of fresh air that removed a lot of the taboos surrounding casual games. Alright, so Konami did it first in the arcades, but Harmonix and later Neversoft brought the fun home. It all seems so simple, in retrospect. Guitar Hero III is probably the pinnacle of the series, tweaking and polishing the gameplay introduced in GH1 and 2 and providing the best track list yet.

Me, Myself & Guitar Hero III: I remember playing the first Guitar Hero in the Student's Union bar at university. They had a PS2 hooked up to a big TV in there, usually loaded with a racing game or some such. But one night we trundled down for a few bevvies and discovered a pair of hammered freshers rocking out on plastic guitars with a small crowd of bemused onlookers. I had a go and loved it from the outside. Granted, all I played all night was Smoke on the Water on easy, but it got me hooked. My brother bought me Guitar Hero III for my birthday and since then I've had many happy hours rocking out – alone or with a friend, it's all great fun. Hit me with your best shot.

Mass Effect

Release date: 23 November 2007
Platform: Xbox 360 (later ported to PC)
Developer: Bioware
Genre: Sci-Fi Action Role-Playing

On first glance, a generic third-person sci-fi shooter with War and Peace pasted in between levels. Upon actually playing the game, Mass Effect is revealed to be a beautiful and unique action-RPG, space opera in its purest form. Coming from Bioware, the studio that gave us such plot-driven heavyweights as Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, to say Mass Effect is a thinking man's game should come as no surprise. A refreshing step away from sci-fi clichés, Mass Effect does not paint humanity as some kind of master race, but rather a community struggling to make their voices heard in a universe that is much bigger, older and wiser than we could ever have imagined. It isn't a perfect game; the combat isn't as polished as something like Halo and the interface leaves something to be desired, but those are small flaws in an otherwise breathtaking piece of art. Cinematic and sweeping, Mass Effect is one of those games that sucks you into its fight against evil and doesn't let go until the sequel comes along. Oh, would you look at that.

Me, Myself & Mass Effect: Mass Effect was the first Xbox 360 game I ever played and for me a major selling point for the console. As it was still a 360 exclusive on initial release, the only way I could play the latest opus from my favourite developer was to take the plunge and splurge on a shiny new console. Thankfully my brother bought one for me for Christmas! I played the game pretty solidly for weeks, truly captivated by the story and the slick action and have since returned to the Normandy on many occasions. Favourite 360 game? You bet.

Fallout 3

Release date: 31 October 2008
Platform: PC (also available on X360 and PS3)
Developer: Bethesda
Genre: Sci-Fi Action Role-Playing

I will admit I was a sceptic too. I was unsure whether Bethesda had the chops to pull off the latest entry in one of my favourite RPG series. Sure, they gave us those massive (and massively detailed) Elder Scrolls games, but there was nothing there to suggest they could do the same with Fallout's depressingly post-apocalyptic yet darkly humourous world. Bethesda proved the naysayers wrong by making not only their best game yet, but the best Fallout game to date too. It's a huge game, totally free-roaming, stuffed to the brim with colourful characters and frenetic action. If you could teleport right into one of those old isometric Fallout games, this is what you would see. Retro-chic, echoes of The Bomb, a bleak vision of a once all-too possible future. Bethesda managed to keep enough old-school elements to please the fans (the story of a lone Vault-Dweller, the VATS combat system, Vault Boy, Dogmeat) while injecting plenty of fresh ideas, taking Fallout into the mainstream and introducing a whole new generation of fans to one of the best alternative universes ever seen in a game. You don't have to have played those old geeky PC RPGs to enjoy Fallout 3 (though I highly recommend them); Fallout 3 has something for everyone.

Me, Myself & Fallout 3: Being a pretty big fan of the original games I had Fallout 3 pre-ordered months in advance. The Collector's Edition to boot. Yes, I was worried I might be buying a turkey, but at least I'd have a Vault Boy bobblehead with which to console myself. Thankfully it all turned out rather good and since then I've been playing the game almost constantly. I've made two complete run-throughs of the main plot, spent hundreds of hours simply exploring the wasteland, bought four out of the five DLC packs and cannot wait for New Vegas.

It occurs to me that there is nothing from 2009 in there. That was done purposefully for two reasons. One, there wasn't anything released in 2009 that floated my boat quite as much as the games detailed in these blogs (although Dragon Age came close). And two, with such a recently released game, I wouldn't have spent the same huge amount of time with it, I wouldn't have been able to play it for months on end or keep returning year after year. It's hard to compare a new release with a game that one has been playing on and off for two, five, ten years. The test of time is an important one. But who knows? Maybe something from last year will turn out to be The Best Thing Ever after all. Ask me again in ten years.