So it just hit me yesterday that we are coming to the end of a decade. On one hand its not a big deal but on the other its a huge deal. I always like to refer to the 90's as the golden age of gaming and now that the....errr.....00's are over we can compare them side by side. Firstly Ill just go through the games that stuck out for me this decade.

Deus Ex (2000)
Final Fantasy IX (2000)
Jak and Daxter (2001)
Metal Gear Solid 2 (2001)
Ico (2001)
Dark Chronicle (2003)
Half Life 2 (2004)
God Hand (2006)
Final Fantasy XII (2006)
Virtua Fighter 5 (2007)
Persona 4 (2008)

I'm pretty happy with the games released this decade. Deus Ex being a particular watershed moment for me. If I was forced to pick my GOTD it would be Deus Ex no question. And while RPG's have waned on me in the last few years most of the games that stuck out for me this decade are RPG's. No surprises that two of them are Final Fantasy games (and yes, I rate FFXII higher than FFX, suck it). I feel guilty that I'm listing Half Life 2 as I hate Valve with a passion and I generally don't like following a crowd but when I played Half Life 2 it really is hard to argue with what has been said about the game.

In retrospect the 00's were probably the best decade for the sheer amount of quality games. Despite all the good games released in the 90's, there was a lot of crap to shuffle through to get to them. But on the other hand the 90's saw the switch between 2D and 3D which is arguably one of the most significant changes to happen in gaming since it began in the 70's. And the groundwork for all the games released in the 00's were a result of the innovations that happened in the 90's. So I'm still crowning the 90's as the decade for gaming but the 00's were no slouch either. Also the 90's had Final Fantasy VII. Can't argue with that really.

So what games stuck out for you this decade and how do you think it matches previous decades?