My two cents on the games -
Jet Grind Radio - A fantastic, original, and addictive game. This is worth buying a DC for. I'm glad it made the top 10.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike - I haven't been hardcore into fighting games since the early '90s but I still bought this and loved it. I agree with Yoshi about the cast but you can't deny the smoothness of the gameplay and animation.
Halo - It overshadows a few better first-person shooters but it's still a fine game with an epic feel. It's also somewhat responsible for legitimizing the genre on console which is a good thing.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence - In the past, I would groan at the MGS series making top lists but this time it deserves the extreme praise. Subsistence fixed most of the camera issues which held back my enjoyment. The story is still retarded but with such slick atmosphere, gameplay, and cinematography, I can overlook that. And, the MSX2 games alone make the package worth buying, too.
Shadow of the Colossus - A breath-taking game despite some technical issues. I enjoyed Ico but I was blown away by SotC's living puzzles.
Ninja Gaiden - I haven't played Black but I must say it pains me I didn't enjoy the Xbox Ninja Gaiden more. I live for ninja action games but I found this a fairly good but overly frustrating Onimusha wannabe. I liked God of War a lot more, and it certainly wasn't because of the theme.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Despite some glitches, this was a really great RPG. They kept the length small enough but gave it enough player freedom to keep it interesting. I am surprised however that this is so much more loved than Jade Empire which was of similar quality.
Half-Life 2 - Simply the best pure-action FPS there is, especially for single player, from the feel of the weapons to the dream-like environments. It's everything I wanted in an HL sequel.
Metroid Prime - I hate to say it, but this is an overrated game. Don't get me wrong, I think it's quite good, and it's impressive that an unproven developer made a Metroid game of this quality, but its level design, platform gameplay and charm aren't at Super Metroid's level. Also, this isn't in the same league as other "FPA" games like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex in terms of depth or design.
Resident Evil 4 - Capcom managed to breathe new life into a franchise that seemed destined for stagnation. This is one of the best action games around.
Super Smash Bros. Melee - I will never understand the hate this gets from some people. It's the ultimate party game/Nintendo museum. It's the spiritual sequel to the 1983 Mario Bros. in many ways which is one of my childhood favourites.
Gradius V - Back in the day I was a bigger fan of R-Type and Thunder Force than Gradius but given the last games in each series, Gradius wins out with one of the best shooters in recent years.
Dragon Quest VIII - This was finally a bit of step up for the most archaic RPG series but even with a fresh coat of paint, it's too long and repetitive to hold my interest.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - I wouldn't put this near last gen's top 25 but it's pretty stylish and good for a quick fighting fix.
Rez - I love rail shooters and TRON-ish visuals. This nicely mixes both. It's no Sin and Punishment for gameplay but it serves its purpose.
Shenmue II - I can understand why some don't like this series. Sure, it could use more puzzles but I think it's an amazing experience that manages to be more than the sum of its parts. You can tell the attention to detail, epic story, classic Sega nods and emotional soundtrack were a labour of love from Yu and his team.
Ico - Simply a well made Out of this World-inspired adventure with awesome atmosphere. Yorda is too young and skinny to be considered hot, though, you pedophilic bastards.
Warcraft III - I'm not much of an RTS fan but it seems quite polished.
Silent Hill 2 - I tried to get into this but couldn't. As scary and twisted as it is, I don't find the design that compelling compared to the Resident Evil or Fatal Frame games. It's not bad but I guess I can't like them all.
Deus Ex - I think I have given my opinions on this game enough times. Best game ever (at least until Bioshock, hopefully).
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution - I haven't played it enough to master all its complicated nuances but even casually popping it into my PS2 now and again is enjoyable. I have always loved the feel and characters in this series.
Final Fantasy XII - Easily the best JRPG and Square game since Xenogears. Real-time combat and non-random battles are very welcome as well as a story and characters that don't head into self-loathing douchebag teenager Squall territory.
Halo 2 - See Halo 1 comments.
God of War - The old-fashioned arcade Double Dragon/Golden Axe type of beat 'em up may have nearly become extinct but at least we have some awesome modern successors like this.
Guitar Hero - I'm not a big fan of rhythm games but from what I played, this seemed like just the testosterone fix the genre needed. Cool stuff.
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Originally Posted by A Robot Bit Me
This Mishima kills fascists
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