Games Of The Decade: Part Two

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We're at part two of our top 50 games of the decade. The Official Nintendo Magazine has joined forces with the web team to present you with this special noughties feature which you can only read here! Don't agree with our choices. Feel free to comment below and then vote for your favourite games of the decade here.

World Of Goo

40. World Of Goo
WiiWare, 2008
Only LostWinds has come close to matching the brilliance of World Of Goo, an incredible brainteasing puzzle game. With 90% plus ratings across the board the only surprise is that people don't often mention it more often when talking about the best Wii games. A refreshing change from all those block puzzlers that have dominated the market since Tetris.

Guitar Hero 5

39. Guitar Hero 5
Wii, 2009
The party game for gamers. While many people can get a bit sniffy about stuff like Wii Sports, those who enjoy chasing high scores love playing Guitar Hero on the insanely tough expert mode. Guitar Hero 3 was ace, 4 added drums and vocals but 5 had a more varied soundtrack and some great (if slightly controversial in the shape of Kurt Cobain) guest musicians.

Professor Layton And Pandora's Box

38. Professor Layton And Pandora's Box
DS, 2009
Logic puzzles aren't exactly sexy but combine them with a wonderful story packed with twists and turns and you've got an unputdownable game that became one of the surprise hits of 2008 in the shape of Curious Village. While it didn't have the surprise factor of the original, we actually prefer the follow up - Pandora's Box - because it features everything that made the original great and boasts superior presentation. It's only slightly better though so if you haven't got either game, you might want to start with Curious Village.

Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time

37. Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time
GameCube, 2003
Like Samus, The Prince was a relic of the 2D age before making a spectacular comeback in The Sands Of Time. He reinvented himself as an acrobatic action hero in this excellent adventure that took platforming to a new level. We're looking forward to his return in The Forgotten Sands next year.

Eternal Darkness

36. Eternal Darkness
GameCube, 2002
No game before it or since has managed to mess with your head quite like this psychological horror game. It may boast some of the worst box-art ever but anyone who has played it will tell you that it's one of the finest GameCube titles ever. Best bit: When the game tricks you into thinking that your save file has been deleted. Genius.

Golden Sun

35. Golden Sun
GBA, 2001
We heard some people say 'Golden What?' when Nintendo revealed that Camelot's old GBA RPG would be coming to DS in 2010. Those in the know could tell you that the original was an epic quest with memorable characters and a highly original battle system which had you assigning powerful spirits called djinn to members of your team.

Beyond Good & Evil

34. Beyond Good & Evil
GameCube, 2003
An adventure starring a female photographer and a talking humanoid pig. Put like that, it's perhaps not surprising that it didn't sell that well but who cares? A wonderful storyline combined with glorious GameCube visuals has turned this into something of a cult hit. Ubisoft released Splinter Cell, XIII and Prince Of Persia and Beyond, Good & Evil in just 12 months but this was arguably the best of the lot.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

33. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
GBA, 2003
For non RPG fans, what the Mario & Luigi series has going for it is its sense of humour and Superstar Saga is possibly the funniest of the lot with some hilarious dialogue. While many RPGs reduce you to a spectactor once you've selected your battle moves this one keeps you involved in the action as you have to time button presses to hit enemies.

Soul Calibur II

32. Soul Calibur II
GameCube, 2003
Thought the sight of Bowser working with Mario was odd. Imagine the surprise of Zelda fans when they learned that Link would be making an appearance in Namco's superb sword fighting beat 'em up. For fast-paced fighting action you don't get much better than Soul Calibur II, the last great beat 'em up on a Nintendo console. Until Tatsunoko Vs Capcom that is...

Pokémon Platinum

31. Pokémon Platinum
DS, 2009
This director's cut of Diamond/Pearl has everything that's in the original games and a few new features. Some would argue that the gameplay and storyline haven't changed much since the early days but with 493 Pokemon to catch, the task facing you is massive and with online battles to get stuck into against friends, this is a huge game that keeps on giving.


Don;'t forget that you can vote for your favourite games of the decade here.

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