Following news last week that Australian censors have withheld yet another game (Dark Sector) from adult players, most gamers would feel frustration at the inequity of the current classification regime.
But Dr. Brett Hutchins, a passionate gamer and a senior lecturer in Communications and Media Studies at Melbourne's Monash University, believes the lack of an R18+ rating for games in Australia might actually be good for the long-term health and acceptance of interactive entertainment.
The gaming community should be very careful about what games they use to rally around and prosecute the classification system. In much of the public eye, unnecessary and mindless games like Manhunt 2, which rely on extreme violence to shock, titillate and garner attention, are only going to reinforce the stereotypes that gamers are fighting to overcome. Dr. Hutchins points out that "if the wrong games (i.e. extremely violent games) are held up as evidence of unfairness, this may actually be counter-productive."
The 2000s was a great decade for a lot of brilliant video games. Here are the ten best games of the 2000s that you may not have played.
You know usually when someone says "you may have missed" it's games that were lesser known, hidden gems, underrated games. These are all super high profile games that sold extremely well.
You know the 2000s is 20 years ago too? Maybe, just maybe this wasn’t an article targeted to 30+ gamers? Still says at the very beginning of the title “THE BEST GAMES you may have missed”. Regardless of how well they sold there’s tons of gamers who haven’t touched these older well known games lol.
It's games you "may have missed", insinuating you were around and gaming in the 2000's and were there to miss them. If it was aimed at everyone else then they missed literally everything, not just the top games.
The original commenter is right, this is a badly written article at best pointless at worst.
Besides only being able to miss it if you were around during that time..if your point stands then this is a horrible list. Tons of better games people may have missed
Oh yeah thanks for reminding me I totally forgot they were doing it. Also what the hell happened to Kingpin: Reloaded? On Steam coming soon and nohting from the dev.
Yeah, I was just going to say. It's interesting seeing them back behind the series. Max Payne 3 was amazing, but then Rockstar just sat on the IP.
Well, they sit on virtually anything that isn't GTA and Red Dead now.
What is this list? These are all hugely popular games. I was expecting games like Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, Advent Rising, Arx Fatalis, etc.
the title didn’t say lesser known titles from the 2000s. This is 20 years ago now lol. Big assumption this list was made for older gamers.
I've only played 3 on that list. Part of me feels bad about how little I used all the consoles I've owned as a kid. One bright side is, there's over 30 years of games to experience for the first time.
GTA Underground combines the San Andreas, Liberty City, Vice City, Manhunt I/II, Bullworth, and custom maps into one big map.
Who was that guy recently who said Rockstar dont want to do just meaningless ports?
Cos something like this would be cool if you combine 3, SA and VC maps. Change characters a la GTAV style. Insert some quests in each game to tie in the connection between the three players and have post endgame content of all three games with more missions/heists.
Just a thought.
I would be all for it. Sick of playing a gangster, switch to GTA3 playing as a Mob member or Vercetti.
I've played a few mods like this way back when the only two cities were liberty and vice the fact the old 3d games still have active modding communitys shows that there's still a huge pull to these classics I hope rockstar comes through with proper remakes not just that really bad HD San Andreas and mobile anniversary edition of vc and 3
GI: "Over the past two decades, Rockstar Games has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the games industry. Rising up from quirky Scotland-based developers with a taste for pulp and crime fiction, Rockstar evolved radically, shifting into innovators and provocateurs, creating some of the industry's most influential and blockbuster titles. In the lead up to the eagerly anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2, we came together as a staff to rank every single game that Rockstar developed (this means we excluded published titles like L.A. Noire and Smuggler's Run). From the humble top-down beginnings of Grand Theft Auto to the blood-soaked streets of Manhunt and the beautiful jaw-dropping vistas of Red Dead Redemption, you’ll find every single title put in its proper place in terms of influence, importance of innovation, and just plain fun."
Ranking games on best graphics and best game play and best soundtrack is one thing, but I rank them in terms of when they came out and how they made me feel at the time. For me GTAIII is the best GTA game of all time. Because of how I felt while playing it in 2001/2002. It gave me the most fun, wow factor and joy I can remember of all the games. There's nothing like your first.
hard to argue that, orion - #3 was awesome. but for me, nothing beats vice city - that map was set up so well and the soundtrack/radio banter was amazing.
for me, VC is tied with RDR1 for best rockstar game - both gave me all the things you describe. of course, RDR2 hits this week and i'm prepared to be gobsmacked once again.
The radio banter was amazing. I've never put down my controller to listen to a game for 30 minutes, except for in Vice City.
23. Wild Metal
22. Midnight Club: Street Racing
21. Manhunt 2
20. Rockstar Presents Table Tennis
19. Midnight Club II
18. Grand Theft Auto
17. Red Dead Revolver
16. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
15. Grand Theft Auto 2
14. Midnight Club: Los Angeles
13. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
12. Midnight Club III
11. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
10. The Warriors
9. Max Payne 3
8. Manhunt
7. Grand Theft Auto IV
6. Bully
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
4. Grand Theft Auto III
3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
2. Red Dead Redemption
1. Grand Theft Auto V
He does have a point.
This is very unfortunate news. But there is a solution to this problem and it lies within PLAYSTATION® 3. Australian PS3 owners are able to play this highly anticipated game on their PLAYSTATION® 3 platform through several means of importing. Due to PS3 being reigon free, any Australian gamer can simply place the disc in the console and enjoy playing. Sorry Australian XBOX owners, you're simply out of luck. Should have made the correct purchase in PLAYSTATION® 3.
Was Microsoft not capable of catering to the gamers needs when designing their platform? Or were their intellect levels just that low?
$niper
I'm a 31 year old, sane, decent adult, and IF I want to play a game like Manhunt 2 (I dont), I should be able to.
Ofcourse some games have sick stuff in them. Just like some TV series have, just like some movies have, and just like some books have (Bible anyone!?)
However, even though it might not be to our liking, that doesnt mean we should decide for others if they are allowed to play it or not.
We (should) raise our kids, our society, with morals, respect, sanity, etc... and if a game is wayyy out of line and just based on 'shock-value', it wont sell well.
I know I am not interested in playing a game that's solely about torturing or whatever, if it doesnt have good gameplay or a good story or whatever, and many seem to agree with me (judging from many forums where the gamers are AGAINST censorship, but not all that interested in Manhunt 2)
But like books, movies, and music, videogames are still a creative expression, some might say 'art', and TBH I dont think 'we' (society) should change, censor or BAN stuff just because we dislike it.
I can understand why the goverment doesnt want kids to play or even see games like Manhunt 2, but tbh that's not THEIR responsibilty. That's the parents' job!
I know that I, as a parent, wouldnt LIKE my kid to play a game like Manhunt 2, but as far as GTA4 or something goes, I'd be fine with it, as it's a game that's about great gameplay and a cool story and just having fun in a sandbox game. Although it does depend on how my kid's personality is, and it's MY job as a parent to recognize if it causes any problems or not. But as I take parenting very seriously, I will have taught him/her all about values, respect, the difference between real-life and videogames, etc etc... before he/she can play the game. But that's just a basic part of parenting.
Games, books, movies, etc... should NEVER be banned or censored. WE, the gamers, should be (and usually are) our OWN censors, and WE, the parents, can decide which games our kids are allowed to play or not.
Banning games, or censoring them, isnt right to the makers of the game, nor is it right to the consumers of the game.