2005

2005 was a mere eleven days old when the GameCube's Resident Evil 4 reinvented the entire survival horror genre. Two months later, God of War and its brutal, blade-swinging anti-hero Kratos did the same for gory action games on PS2.

Creativity kept coming. Action adventure Psychonauts had us alternating between laughter and wonder, thanks to comical dialogue and brilliant level designs, and the atmospheric, melancholy beauty of Godzilla-slayer Shadow of the Colossus captivated our hearts. Guitar Hero simply rocked us, and LEGO Star Wars made us silly with fan-boy nostalgia.

RPGs, you say? Xbox rocked the mystic kung-fu of Jade Empire, and PS2 countered with the timeless, lushly-animated charm of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King? In the real world, as gas prices soared, gearheads stomped the pedal on Gran Turismo 4 and upstart Forza Motorsport, while Burnout Revenge and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition became the dynamic duo in arcade racing.

What about PC? Sims 2… lotta folks liked that one, and we hear that Sid Meier's Civilization IV, and Battlefield 2 weren't too bad. And if you had an urge to game on the go, Kirby: Canvas Curse gave you reason to buy a DS, and Trauma Center: Under The Knife, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Meteos and Mario Kart DS kept it off eBay. PSP arrived too, revving up Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure, as well as puzzler Lumines and crime actioner Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Even before 360 touched down, with its Geometry Wars: Evolved and Condemned: Criminal Origins and also-on-PC Call of Duty 2, 2005 was just sick with awesomeness. Its second-tier stuff would have been top-shelf any other year: We Love Katamari, Tekken 5, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Incredible Hulk: Maximum Destruction, Indigo Prophecy, Soul Calibur III, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Age of Empires III, Black & White 2, Brothers in Arms (both Earned in Blood and Road to Hill 30), Champions: Return to Arms, Destroy All Humans!, Conker: Live and Reloaded, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Donkey Kong, Jungle Beat, Project: Snowblind, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, X-Men Legends 2, WarioWare: Touched!, and more.

Is 2005 the best videogame year ever? Even if it isn't - and if researching/fighting over this feature has taught us anything, it's that every year was a contender - it's a undeniable proof that there will always be great, new - and sometimes old - stuff out there for us to play. And that's all the business knowledge most of us gamers need.