1. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (360, PS3)

Sure, we know there are other Elder Scrolls titles out there. I enjoyed Morrowind on PC back in the day. Buy when it comes right down to it, only TES IV: Oblivion really shook the world awake that the next generation of videogame hardware had not only arrived, but defined a new level of gaming excellence.

Bet your Xenadrine RFA X on the fact that this was the defining game of the current generation of hardware, just like Final Fantasy X was the defining RPG for the previous generation of hardware.

Much as I enjoyed the more-recent Fallout 3, that game was merely riding in the shadows of Oblivion. Not only that, but for as much as I love Dragon Age and Mass Effect, it must be admitted that they are RPGs that owe at least part of their inspiration to Oblivion.

Yet here’s the bottom line for me: despite being just about the first – and for a long time, only – RPG of the 360/PS3 era, Oblivion still holds up well today, and ultimately it’s the videogame that converted my non-videogame-fan wife into a gamer.

Not only that, but between my wife and I, we pretty much KILLED out first Xbox 360 playing and replaying Oblivion… a game we own on two platforms, both 360 and PS3. Despite offering over 100 hours of gameplay, we’ve both played through the game more than once – there’s simply no other game this decade I can say that about. Between my wife and I, we’ve probably played 500 hours of Oblivion.

Nothing else matches that, or even comes close.