MonsterVine is happily celebrating its 8th birthday! Thanks so much for your support over the years. To kick off the festivities, we’re taking a trip down memory lane, listing off our favorite eight games over the last eight years. Here’s my personal top eight titles from the past eight years.
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 was my first real foray into a Bethesda title and my first experience with the Fallout universe. I had dabbled in Morrowind as a child, but I was too young and impatient to appreciate the style. Fallout 3 had an all-new universe, a captivating futuristic apocalypse with a 1950’s culture with a dash of dark humor, a storyline that I actually cared about and RPG elements that weren’t so complex as to lose my interest.
Mirror’s Edge
Mirror’s Edge is one of the best overlooked titles that I can think of. It’s one of those games that I pick up and play through every couple of months, just for the heck of it. One of the first FPS titles to embrace a new level of movement capabilities, Mirror’s Edge made parkour cool in video games. It was also one of the first titles where I enjoyed optimizing my runs of each mission.
Mass Effect 2
I had never heard of the Mass Effect series, and in fact I bought Mass Effect 2 because I had turned in some games at Gamestop and had enough credit for one used game, and Mass Effect 2 was something new with interesting cover art. It turned out to be one of the most impactful and serious sci-fi titles, eventually causing me to purchase the original and playthrough the whole thing multiple times. The decision making and a sense of a real team, full of wonderfully fleshed out characters, is still unmatched in my mind.
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 2 is a near-perfect sequel. Everything that was great about the horror and gameplay from the original Dead Space was adapted, tweaked and improved for Isaac Clarke’s second run-in with the necromorph horde. While the game was as horrific as the original, it introduced moments of power and action that broke up the stress-inducing fear as well as additional insight into the lore of the universe.
Bioshock Infinite
This is the one, this is my game. Bioshock Infinite immersed me in its world(s) and got me attached to its characters more than any other game before or after its release, with the possible exception of Last of Us. I love Elizabeth, I love Colombia, I love the twists and turns, the multi-dimensional aspects and the sad realization that there will always be a lighthouse and it always has to end.
Destiny
Destiny is the first and only game I’ve enjoyed that even resembles an MMO, and it’s probably due to the solid shooting mechanics on the surface of it all. Below the surface, raids, PvP events and a ton of loot to collect with friends keep me coming back. Destiny is by far the most I’ve ever played a game, clocking in nearly 1000 hours.
Fallout 4
An imperfect sequel but still an enjoyable title in a universe I love. Fallout 4 finally allowed me to stop making excuses for downright cruddy graphics because of its RPG roots. Sadly, much of what made Fallout great was lost due to the dumbing-down of the RPG elements and an oversaturation of tank-like power armor and its batteries. That said, Fallout 4 is still an intriguing story in the Fallout universe with solid shooting and a ton of side content to kill lots of time with.
Titanfall 2
Titanfall 2 was the best surprise this year, and after the disappoint of No Man’s Sky I really needed one. I was expecting it to be better than the first Titanfall, but launching between Battlefield and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare I was originally going to hold off, and boy am I glad I didn’t. Titanfall 2 had one of the best campaigns of this generation with genuinely surprising and enticing moments everywhere. The multiplayer is satisfying and fast paced, and the multitude of modes fixes the short lifespan of the original.
That’s my top eight in the last eight. What are yours? Comment down below and let us know what you think!
