The 2000s saw the gaming industry solidify itself as a major player in the world of entertainment. This was largely thanks to the PlayStation 2, which ingeniously advertised itself as not only the next generation of games console, but also as a cost-effective way of purchasing a DVD player, making it a common household item. Gaming's rise in prominence throughout the 2000s was, of course, helped by an incredible range of games on PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Wii, and other beloved systems.
Improvements in gaming hardware and technology meant that many studios were able to offer realistic action games, which took over from platformers as gaming's leading genre at the start of the decade. Further improvements led to the rise of open-world games, a subgenre that now dominates AAA gaming. The 2000s created valuable memories for players, and there are a few images that will take many gamers right back to the start of the millennium.
7 Entering Rapture — Bioshock
2K Games' BioShock was released in August 2007, initially as a PC and Xbox 360 exclusive, before coming to PlayStation 3 the following year. The game doesn't take long to get started, kicking off with a plane crash that drops into players in an ocean, forcing them to swim to a nearby lighthouse.
However, players surface on far more than just a lighthouse, which they will soon discover as they are descended into the underwater city of Rapture. The first look at Rapture was a memorable moment in 2007, as most gamers had seen nothing as visually striking as the underwater city at the time.
6 First Look Outside of Vault 101 — Fallout 3
Just over a year after the release of BioShock, gamers would get their next "wow" moment regarding how quickly games were improving. Bethesda's Fallout 3 kicked off with players living in a small, regimented underground vault, which acted as the game's tutorial before giving players an open world to explore.
Although Fallout 3 wasn't the first open-world game by any means, it was the first that many people played. It may sound odd today, but at the time, people were blown away by the fact that they suddenly had the freedom to choose where they went and what they did.
5 The First Encounter With Dr. Salvador — Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 was first released in January 2005 as a GameCube exclusive, which is funny to think about now as the survival horror game has been ported to almost every modern system under the sun. The fourth entry marked a significant shift in the series, as the fixed-camera perspective was dropped in favor of an over-the-shoulder one, giving the franchise a much-needed new lease of life.
Shortly into the game's opening chapter, players find themselves fighting for their life in a small village populated entirely by infected inhabitants. One such inhabitant is Dr. Salvador, the chainsaw-wielding enemy who will cut Leon's head clean off if he gets too close. Resident Evil 4 is generally considered to be one of the franchise's least-scary entries; however, few will forget their first encounter with the horrifying Dr. Salvador.
4 The Moon — Majora's Mask
Nintendo had a near-impossible job on their hands in the late '90s, as they had to create a follow-up to the single most critically-acclaimed video game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It would have been easy for Nintendo to simply create a cash-in "Ocarina of Time 2" without any new features, as the game still would have been a commercial success.
Instead, though, Nintendo decided to develop the unorthodox The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The new title made a number of changes from Ocarina of Time, most notably its three-day cycle and a significant decrease in dungeons. One other notable change was that it was far more morbid than previous entries in the series, and even scary at times. This was particularly the case with the moon, which constantly lurked above the player as an ever-present reminder of the land's impending doom.
3 The Wii Sports Menu — Wii Sports
When the Nintendo Wii was first announced, many people were surprised that Nintendo was going all-in on motion control. The PlayStation EyeToy had been released just a few years prior and was largely dismissed as a gimmick, leading some to think that the Nintendo Wii would have similar issues. Instead, the Wii went on to become one of the highest-selling consoles of all time and was influential in proving to mainstream audiences that video games could be enjoyed by people of all ages.
Although Wii Sports doesn't compare to other launch titles like Super Mario World or Soulcalibur in terms of sheer quality, one can still make the argument that it's the best launch title of all time. It immediately proved just how much fun the Nintendo Wii could be.
2 The Rock & Bill Gates Reveal The Xbox
Following the enormous success of the PlayStation 2, it was only a matter of time before a new competitor emerged. Microsoft was the company that took the ambitious leap into the home console industry by releasing the Xbox in November 2001. The Xbox's reveal featured Bill Gates and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a bizarre combination at the time, as The Rock was still a WWE performer during a period where it was far more adult than today. If Dwayne Johnson and Bill Gates presenting the Xbox isn't enough to trigger nostalgia, then surely The Rock's quintessential early-2000s sunglasses will do the trick.
Xbox has gone from strength to strength ever since its first console was revealed. With Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda and very recent purchase of Activision Blizzard, the company doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
1 The First Colossus — Shadow of the Colossus
The original Shadow of the Colossus was released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in October 2005. The action-adventure game made the ambitious decision to completely remove standard enemies, instead tasking players with traversing the largely vacant land to find and kill 16 colossi. The game is recognized today as a pioneer of video games being considered an art form.
The image of Wander approaching the first colossus is a great visual for how imposing the colossus is but, but it does more than that. Wander's act of attacking the colossus from behind foreshadows the game's ending.