The Top 10 MegaGames of 2005

Over 10,000 of you have voted and decided on who deserves to celebrate and who should hang his head in shame. The results are in while some of those that voted will also be richly rewarded by the sponsors of this year's Top MegaGames vote; eMagin, Envizions and eDimensional.

You have kept your end of the bargain and voted and it is now time for MegaGames to begin revealing the games that made it to the coveted Top 10 MegaGames of 2005 list.

As you have come to expect, this year's Top 10 includes only one original title as all other games are parts of some franchise or other. There are some surprises in the Top 10 while this year saw the closest fight for the top as no single title managed to dominate in the way that Half-Life 2 did last year.

Winners of the various prizes that our sponsors have so open-handedly offered will be contacted on the Monday following the announcement of the Top MegaGame of 2005.

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Today sees the launch of the countdown towards the Top MegaGame of 2005 while the ultimate game of 2005 will be revealed on Sunday. Having followed through with your democratic duty put your feet up and relax as we reveal the Top 10 video games of 2005 as chosen by you, the people that keep developers and publishers in business.

eDimensional is offering one lucky voter the chance to improve the gaming experience with the stunning AudioFX headset

The Winners So Far...

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At number 10 of your vote we find a troubled young man who after blasting his way onto the scene in 2003 has managed to become something of an annual holiday feature. Braving his apparent personality disorder and a variety of monsters and assorted enemies, this young man is now in his third outing and it seems that his creators have managed to steer the prince in the right direction as his previous foray as the Warrior Within created a few enemies.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones achieved to recapture the magic of the original, Sands of Time, without sacrificing the positive elements of 2004s Warrior Within. Striking a perfect balance, Ubisoft ditched the odd gothic metal soundtrack which really has no place in ancient Babylon anyway, as they were more Urban historians claim, and brought back the challenging puzzles of the original PoP title.

The game is not perfect however, as the number 10 spot may indicate, and the jaded engine has long-ceased to leave jaws dropped while the gameplay failed to keep players involved throughout the story, meaning that various spikes in interest were experienced by most. The game manages to constrain most of its misfortunes to its first few hours so that once you get past them you get to enjoy some classic Prince magic, something which the franchise needed as its swan song.

Agile little… Prince isn't he

For the final title in the trilogy, gamers are also treated to a larger scale of environments as we move away from the enclosed surroundings of Sands and the island of WW and experience the young Prince's hometown of Babylon in all its ancient glory and opulent decadence.

The PoP trilogy has gained a place in the gaming hall of fame and in the hearts of most gamers. Its legacy will be a lasting one as the series generated a series of memorable gaming moments and we are certain that once the young prince pull himself together, both princes, we might get another appearance as Ubisoft would be crazy to put to bed such a strong name.

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At number 9 we find a game that belongs to a franchise that has chilled the hearts of millions of gamers. This time we saw installment 4 and the developer finally decided to forget its if it ain't broke… approach unleashing an epic game on our consoles. Fans of the series believe that episode 2 was the best but the arrival of 4 has generated some interesting and healthy debate regarding which of the two titles deserves the survival horror crown.

When Capcom decided to allow Resident Evil 4 creators more freedom they must have suspected that a classic may have been in the making. The atmosphere, a quality trademark of the franchise, became even more menacing and creepy while the characters provided depth and manage to such the player into the game storyline.

Resident Evil 4 went that extra mile in the technical department as well and introduced rich detailed environments that helped the player make that jump into the game's world. Another brave decision, but a long overdue one, was the introduction of a 3rd-person-proper perspective which proved a perfect match for the action scenes.

It can get nasty when Evil is… Resident

The game had its disadvantages and hardcore RE fans claim that number 4 sacrificed the traditional puzzle solving gameplay for pure action. There is some basis to this as the balance in RE 4 has definitely shifted to action from puzzle-solving but there is more to the game then just battles.

Fans may argue that Resident Evil 4 deserved a higher ranking in a year that produced no must-have title but the truth is that releasing a game on GameCube first and then bringing it to PS2 with extra content can only serve as an exercise of how not to do things. Even so RE4 could not miss the Top 10 MegaGames list and our voters have made sure that the game receives its just rewards.

The Winners So Far...

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Once you have put some distance between yourself and the bottom of the Top 10 MegaGames of 2005, you will find one of the bigger surprises of the countdown. This game has introduced unsurpassed visual quality to a genre not accustomed to such giddy heights of technical achievement.

Age of Empires III is your number 8 and it is clear that its audio-visual delights could not be resisted by most of you. Bringing the RTS genre into our countdown, AoE 3 is a brave attempt by Ensemble to bring some innovation into a gaming genre that has forgotten what change means. By introducing the Home City menu concept AoE 3 creators brought some much needed functionality to the RTS genre in an attractive way, consistent with the game's overall visual style.

What Age of Empires has done for the Real Time Strategy genre is blatantly obvious; it brought it to the 21st Century. This update was long overdue and many mistook the lack of a visually stunning RTS title as a sign that not enough gamers were interested. AoE 3 brought some much needed attention to the RTS genre and may serve as a sign that a revival is under way.

War never looked prettier…

A Microsoft game in the Top 10 is bound to raise some critical eyebrows but the truth is that AoE 3 is a pretty package and as most of us know there is always the danger that the contents will not match the wrapper. AoE 3 critics claim that although the game has brought attention to its genre it has also betrayed it by not sticking to its principles. It is suggested that in Age of Empires III, battles are won by the bigger and better guns and not by strategy and formation, now ask any RTS fan and they will tell you: that just ain't right….

The Winners So Far...

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Day 2 of the presentation of the Top 10 MegaGames of 2005, will help you realize just how strong the competition was this year as you will find titles that on other occasions may have been right at the top of your preferences. This year, it is also obvious, developers of all kinds of gaming genres have managed to capture player imaginations and the supremacy of the mighty First Person Shooter has been challenged.

At number 7 on the list lies a game that belongs to one of the most popular franchises ever created. Players have, for years now, been able to play out the rise and fall of any human endeavor in a simple, turn based way. The success of this series of games demonstrates just how addicting the supreme power of controlling the fate of humanity can be. The creator of the franchise and co-founder of MicroProse in 1982 is a legend in the gaming world and his likeness appeared in the third installment of the franchise as the scientific advisor.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV marks the return to form of a classic gaming franchise and puts to rest any doubts that the previous game had raised over the future of the Civ series. Although the game carries Sid Meier's name, oddly enough, it was mainly created by Soren Johnson of Firaxis with Mr. Meier holding a creative director role, something like the executive producer roles handed out in Hollywood flicks, we presume.

This looks like a good spot…

There's not much we can say about the Civilizations series of turn-based strategy games that readers won't know already but we can definitely say that with this new installment even the most hardcore fans of the second game will be happy to put the past, Civ 3 anyone, behind them. In this version of the game you can take your political leader, the character you control, and raise your game to even include religion. The result is a game that can literally suck you in so bad that you will cease to exist for the physical world, except for bathroom breaks that is.

We have to admit that we were surprised that Civilization IV made it to the Top 10 MegaGames of 2005, the process by which its fans decided to sacrifice some game time in order to vote for Civ IV is evidence that you just can't keep a good game down.

The Winners So Far...

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The title standing by the door but not quite making it to Top 5 goodness is a game created by one of the greatest gamesmiths around and should serve as a sign of what quality awaits you inside the Top 5. Although the franchise does belong to the great developers we mentioned earlier, in this installment they retained the supervision of the project and allowed trusty cohorts Raven software to do the dirty work.

Quake 4 was iD Software's chance to showcase its Doom 3 engine, allowing it to flex its muscles outside the confines of Martian space stations. The result was one which the Strogg are unlikely to forget as the game took the battle to their home planet; Stroggos of course.

Quake 4 is an immediate sequel to Quake 2 bypassing the multiplayer mayhem of Quake 3. The Strogg seem to have recovered well from the loss of their leader, the Makron and have decided to build a better, bigger, badder Makron. The stage is set and as your space ship crashes on Stroggos, you find the stage set for some epic First Person Shooting.

Most complaints about Quake 4 had to do with its insistence at remaining an old-school shooter when others are doing so much more with the genre but Raven insists that the point of Quake 4 was going back to the series' roots. The multiplayer was also seen as a disappointment but then again most of the important bits are there.

One of these two women actually is a Strogg…

What Quake managed to do rather well was capture the excitement of the marine camp and the entire invasion attempt. Early on in the game you get to visit one of the larger ships of the human fleet and you can hear stories from the front and catch some static from the frontline helping the build up of anticipation. The game also handles the combat well allowing you to use your entire arsenal of weapons although you always have a lingering feeling that you have not been challenged adequately by your opponents.

As a testament to how split gamer opinion was on Quake 4 we have to mention that quite a few of you voted for Raven's game as your worst of 2005, although it didn't quite make it to the Top 3 most hated games of 2005 list.

So there you have it, our number 6 MegaGame of 2005 is a title that inspires passions and may have help put an end to intergalactic conflict although its greatest achievement must be the resolution of the flashlight or weapon dilemma.

The Winners So Far...

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We are approaching the Top of mount MegaGame and the air is getting rather thin up here causing a general feeling of giddiness and all-round good spirits. The game that introduces us to the Top 5 titles of the year gone by is one which has kept gamers busy for over a year now and has managed to remain in the Top 10 lists of various gaming publications, politicians and authorities alike. One of the famous people that have been involved with the game is prominent junior Senator for New York, Hillary Clinton. More remarkably the game's creator has also appeared in another Top 10; the Worst PR Blunders of 2005.

Back in 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was Number 4 in its PS2 incarnation but this year's PC and XBox versions, released on 7 June 2005, mean that the game has reached a wider audience than ever before. The PC version was the root of the controversy as, a month later, a mod released by an independent programmer unlocked scenes in the game which involved the protagonist, CJ, in sexual contact with his girlfriend. The subsequent debate and Rockstar's statement suggesting that the scenes were created by hackers rather than part of the original game code, generated the Hot Coffee scandal and the subsequent patching, recalling, re-recalling and re-releasing of the PC version of the game.

Putting all that aside we have to remember that GTA: SA is a game of a scale not often seen in gaming. As CJ players get to roam an entire state which reminds us of a cross between Nevada and California. What lies at the heart of the success of the GTA franchise is the loving detail that their creators include in every title and the continuous cross-reference between games that helps sustain an entire virtual world which you feel that you enter when you launch each game. Examples of this detail are countless and one characteristic such in-game storyline has to do with the Degenatron game console which was first mentioned in radio ads in Vice City. In San Andreas we are horrified to find out that there exists a conspiracy theory suggesting that the console was used in the 80s to brainwash people, an almost definite reference itself to the Polybius urban legend of the 1980s (look it up). Other such mini-stories going on in the GTA background include the career of Candy Suxxx and Love Fist while the Domestibot saga also has taken a turn for the worse in San Andreas.

Gang Warfare? Fine. Sex with girlfriend? Oh God please no, the humanity...

With the recent release of MultiTheftAuto for GTA: SA, it is certain that interest in the game will remain high and new generations of gamers are now being introduced to the GTA franchise through Liberty City Stories on PSP so expect more such games soon. Let us hope that now that consoles will offer more power for developers Rockstar will rethink its policy of straight-porting GTA games to PC and that computer gamers will get to see visuals of the high-level that the franchise deserves.

The Winners So Far...

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Things are definitely heating up now as the number 4 MegaGame of 2005 is a title originating from a publisher that many gamers see as the dark side of gaming. Despite all the negative highbrow reviews, this particular installment of one of the most popular franchises seems to have done more things right than wrong. When its predecessor, considered by many a gaming abomination, went on to sell extremely well, many feared that the future of the franchise had been sealed. Thankfully, the Canadian team behind this game looked back before looking forward and had delivered a worthy game that fans of the genre will enjoy for a long while.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted managed to create a very next-generation visual look for the game which owes a lot to styling as well as its graphics engine. The details in the city and suburbs of Rockport as well as on the road-surface are well-crafted and add a lot to the free-roaming option of the game. There is a story behind the game which, although basic, will help keep you going but the main attraction of the game has to be the re-introduction of the good ole cop chase.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted owes a lot of its appeal to EA Canada and their back-to-our-roots decision which brought gameplay elements not seen in NFS since Hot Pursuit 2. Most Wanted retains the customization options from its Underground brothers, although not to the same depth, and fuses them with the pursuit mode creating a fascinating and enjoyable gaming experience.

The player also gets an in-game love interest

The NFS series has been extensively criticized throughout its various incarnations and in many respects NFS: Most Wanted still carries some of the series' flaws. Car damage is very basic and seems to confuse with its randomness rather than add much to gameplay. But this is an arcade game and as such it ticks all the right boxes and almost flawlessly combines driving action with mass appeal. NFS: Most Wanted rightly cools down at the number 4 spot of our countdown.
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Entering the Top 3 readers should bear in mind that the 3 top games were all at the number 1 spot for a while and the final difference between them was very small.

The base of triangle MegaGames is inhabited by a game that may be the first franchise to successfully implement cinematic F.P.S. gameplay. The unique blend of cinematic action and the First Person genre produced captivated gamers and sold extremely well. When the time for the second game came, its creators, previously involved in a similar franchise, decided to push the limits once again. True to their cinematic goals they reduced the H.U.D. and introduced some controversial innovations including the use of auditory queues to inform players of their character's condition.

Call of Duty 2 is considered by many to be the game that officially ushered in the next-generation F.P.S. era and its PC and XBox 360 versions did introduce significant visual improvements to the franchise. As with the previous game the player takes missions as a Russian, British and American soldier while the missions, keep players busy throughout. Many have suggested that Infinity Ward, the people behind 2015 and MoH: Allied Assault took the WWII genre in the right direction with CoD and avoided the mistakes made by subsequent MoH titles.

Call of Duty 2 stole the XBox 360 launch show by becoming the console's best selling launch title reaching a total of 250K owners of the next-gen machine in the first week of its release. The success of the genre has also produced very strong controversy. Many have argued that the introduction of a new health system by which a player has to lie low in order to recover from injuries, rather than rely on health packs, has made the game less realistic. Infinity Ward argues that the new system is true to the cinematic values of the game.

WWII Tanks were designed by the Queer Eye team

By far the largest thorn in Infinity Ward's side has been the online implementation in the XBox 360 version of the game. The decision to only support 8 players through XBox Live even though PDZ seems to adequately support 16 and the lack of friends-only online play, has caused a strong reaction from fans. Some have even issued IW with protest threats and the company has begun addressing some of their complaints.

The controversy however, cannot mar the CoD franchise which has reliably offered some of the most exciting gameplay available. Throughout its many-but-short missions gamers are forced to take part in large scale, frantic battles which have been carefully designed to optimize the player's experience. The news that IW is already hiring for Call of Duty 3 comes as no surprise and we are certain that we will be encountering Call of Duty titles in the Top MegaGames of many years to come.

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The title at the number two spot of the Top 10 MegaGames of 2005 belongs to a franchise that has created an entire school of online gameplay. It's very quick, no nonsense approach to F.P.S. mayhem has created hordes of dedicated fans and millions of players worldwide; a very different story from the series' humble beginnings and a little game called Codename Eagle.

Battlefield 2 was immediately hailed by the industry as an instant classic and worthy successor of the original title. Just one quick look at the highly polished, professional game will not immediately alert players that at the end of the previous millennium, a small Swedish developer was working on the Refractor graphics engine in order to power their alternative world F.P.S., Codename Eagle. The modest success of that title led to Refractor 2 which powered another little game called Battlefield 1942. That little company, Refractor Games, was bought by Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE) a company that now is worth 55 million USD and has 62 per cent of its stock owned by another small company; Electronic Arts.

Battlefield 2 has improved over its predecessors in almost every way and its fans have witnessed the game evolve from an all out scream-at-your-monitor shooter to a flexible game that can turn into a demanding tactical exercise. Where BF2 really shines is in its focus on small squads and its contagious ability to convince a bunch of random gamers to work as a team. Anyone who tried the demo will not be convinced but squad-based action also had a learning curve and the online experience has definitely changed since then.

Are you sure he's not one of ours?

The story in the Battlefield series is not that interesting, it's not meant to be after all, it just needs to do enough in order for players to be divided into two factions. Battlefield 2 achieves that adequately, setting the stage for a modern warfare scenario with all the latest weapons.

The success of Battlefield 2 lies in how involved the player can become and it is one of the games best enjoyed overnight as you will need all those hours to get a truly enjoyable session. The above is exemplified by this statement by one of our voters: The ultimate multiplayer game of all time, at least until BF3 comes out. Not only is it the best for all round military action with all the vehicles, squad and commander features but every thing about it just rocks. This game gave me so many awesome moments to remember. From the time me and my squad of 3 held one capture point deep in enemy territory for half and hour, to the time when I was leading an armoured convoy across the map taking every point and sending the enemy reeling.

Battlefield 2 almost made it to being the Top MegaGame of 2005 but its crown was stolen at the finish line by another title, join us tomorrow for the announcement of the Top MegaGame of 2005 as voted by you, The Gamer.

The Winners So Far...

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For a game to claim the ultimate title of being the Top MegaGame, technical integrity and visual beauty are not the only criteria it has to fulfill; it also has to be loved by gamers. The game you voted as the best of 2005 rose to the top as it was the most consistent top choice of gamers. It is the only game in the Top 10 that is an original IP. The storyline of the game was so thorough that many of its fans missed the final twist in the plot as it was presented right after the end credits, in true MGS fashion (a telephone call). The Top MegaGame of 2005 initially featured a car chase, later dropped for not being quite right and has spawned a comic and a machinima mini-series named People Acting Normal in Crazy-Ass Situations.

First Encounter Assault Recon was voted as the most popular game of 2005 by MegaGames readers even though it faced strong competition from both Battlefield 2 and Call of Duty 2. Although its creators, Monolith Productions, had not created a major hit until F.E.A.R., their progress as developers is evident in the influences behind the game. A variety of nods to various games from Deus-Ex: Invisible War (Leo Jankowski), Shogo: Mobile Armor Division (MOD3 multi-rocket launcher, MP-50 repeating cannon) and Metal Gear Solid (The phone call after the end credits), suggest that this is the creation of gamers and not simply a business plan by some company.

Discussing the game here serves no purpose and if you are looking for a thorough look at the game read the MegaGames F.E.A.R. Preview.

Mayhem has never looked this glossy.

Instead of detailed discussions on the game's storyline and as this is a democracy and F.E.A.R. was the people's favorite, we will let the voters express their feelings about the Top MegaGame of 2005.

One reader got rather carried away but this is the kind of reaction with which many gamers greeted F.E.A.R.
Fear reunites most of the elements that make a game a piece of art, and it does so with style! If you needed one reason to upgrade your PC there it is! Astonishing graphics
(think of an improved Half-Life 2. Hey I know it's hard!) with shaders, realistic physics, dynamic lights, and destructible, interactive and complex environments. The audio is spectacular, prepare yourself to moments of tension and fear turning DOOM 3 into a sweet lullaby. You can expect hallucinations, whispers, doors closing themselves, strange noises and even that familiar horror movie music during moments of tension. The gameplay is incredibly fluid with some aspects like the good ole' bullet time (even on multiplayer matches!) and AI that makes single player seem more like multiplayer, with enemies jumping obstacles, calling reinforcements and making strategies according to your actions! I don't want to say much about the story because I might ruin it but believe me; it will give you the creeps! Easily the best PC game of the year.

Another reader claims it's the complete experience offered by the game that made him vote for it:
F.E.A.R. is my all time favorite for this year because on top of its very nice graphics and stunning sound, the gameplay is not too fast but at the same time, it gives the player a rush. The developers seriously put some time into this game. It has pretty much everything that I had thought of if I wanted to ever create a fps.

Yet another reader claims the game may have affected his psyche although he keeps playing it:
F.E.A.R. has got to be one of the best FPS' I've ever played. It's like a Doom 3 that actually has lighting. I wanted to replay it right after I beat it, and I can't say that about a lot of games. Bullet time has never been done better and I still have nightmares about Alma.

Another of our voters was happy the game got the most out of his hardware:
…tense, atmospheric gameplay coupled with the most amazingly cinematic and pyrotechnic gun battles ever committed to chips. Graphical and aural splendor which finally delivers what we've been anticipating from our overpriced GFX and sound cards since DX9 was released. Truly comical multiplayer thanks to the nail gun and "heightened reflexes".

I think the final comments from one of our voters are pretty much how most of the fans of the game feel:
…the girl in red; popping out of every corner, making you shoot at nothing and fearing dark corners. Your enemies; the security force, Fettel's clone soldiers, all with their own agendas. Your character's past; shrouded in mystery and somehow linked to both Fettel and the girl. Overall, a very cinematic and unforgettable game.

So there you have it, the people have spoken and their voice has been recorded by MegaGames. Enjoy this year and take notes cause we'll need your opinions for the MegaGames of 2006, with X360 in full swing and PS3 round the corner, we might have an entire new range of titles until then.

Winners of the, quite excellent, prizes offered by our sponsors (eMagin, Envizions and eDimensional) will be informed tomorrow following the draw. Stay with MegaGames for the comments of the prize-winners and for the announcement of worse game of 2005.

The Winners So Far...

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