Great games released in 2005

summary

• 2005 saw the birth of iconic franchises like Yakuza and God of War that set the course for successful game series.

• Unique games like Psychonauts challenge traditional platforms and gain popularity over time, despite initial failures.

• Resident Evil 4's departure from the series' norms into action gameplay laid the foundation for a beloved game.

Anything born or published in 2005 will celebrate its 20th birthday in 2025. From a gaming standpoint, this is interesting because 2005 was a big year for the gaming industry. We saw the release of Xbox 360, one of the most successful consoles of all time. However, this was only released later in the year. The rest of the year wasn't bad for gaming either, though, as many good titles hit the market in 2005, showing that the industry wasn't just waiting for new systems.

The PS2, the original Xbox and as always the PC were still delivering their goods before the 360 ​​came out. Some of them even created successful franchises. Here are some of the highlights of 2005.

8

yakuza

These days, entries in the Yakuza (aka Dragon) series are fairly common, and it all started back in 2005 with the original game. The first title contains many of the elements that the series is still known for. For example, it's a third-person action-adventure title where you beat up people in the streets and complete wacky side-stories.

However, the series has still improved since then, and most people don't consider the original Yakuza to be among the best titles in Like a Dragon's catalog. Still, it was a good start to the series.

7

Psychopaths

In 2005, the world was greeted with one of the most original and creative platformers in history: Psychonauts. What makes it unique is that the game world is based on the minds of different characters. As a result, they are all very different from each other and from the worlds you see in any other 3D platformer.

At the time of its release, it was not a huge commercial success or considered a critical game. However, over the years since, it has grown in popularity and gained a following.

6

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

Lego video games have been around for a while before 2005. However, that was the year that the developers of Traveller's Tales got involved and Lego games were released almost every year. It all started with Lego Star Wars: The Video Game.

Even though the Star Wars prequels were scorned in the early 2000s, this Lego remake of the movies was well received. The game offers a light, humorous and charming retelling of this trilogy. It also allows you to destroy a lot of Lego blocks with lightsabers and blasters, which is very satisfying.

5

Giant shadow

If you were tasked with proving that video games can be true art, Shadow of the Colossus should be the game you point to. That's because it's full of beauty, from the art style to the soundtrack. Plus, the whole experience is so moving.

Yes, you spend the entire game killing giant creatures, but their death doesn't count as a huge victory. There is an emotional weight to each kill that is not seen in most other games. This is what has helped Shadow of the Colossus stick in players' minds for years despite not being part of or launching a major series.

4

Call Of Duty 2

These days, Call of Duty is a series and basically a familiar name. However, in 2005, it had not yet approached that level. However, the series was growing, and Call of Duty 2 was an important part of that.

It helped fine-tune the shooting mechanics from the original game and put the original brand of gameplay that the series was known for. Also, this was the first COD game released on the Xbox 360, so multi-layered PvP started to become a more important part of the series. So, overall, Call of Duty 2 was an important part of the iconic FPS series' long history.

3

god of war

When it comes to PlayStation exclusives, God of War titles are probably the most envied of Xbox and Nintendo players. This jealousy started in 2005 with the release of the original game. This first part is slightly different from God of War 2018 and its sequel. For starters, it's inspired by Greek mythology rather than Norse mythology, and it's far less grounded.

It is a hack-and-slash game that features epic battles where the protagonist Kratos tries to take on the gods. This game was very important in the hack and slash genre, and the series it produced was perhaps even more notable for the PlayStation.

2

Star Wars: Battlefront 2

The Battlefront titles proved that despite Star Wars being known for lightsaber battles, you can create a successful shooter series set in a famous sci-fi universe. The second of these games was released in 2005 and remains one of the most popular Star Wars games.

While it has a solid story mode, PvP multiplayer is what made the game's legacy. There was just a magic to it that even recent Battlefront titles couldn't replicate. It's simply a game that found its way into the hearts of Star Wars fans and never left.

1

Resident Evil 4

In 2005, Resident Evil was recognized as one of the most iconic horror series of all time. However, Capcom did something brave with Resident Evil 4 and made a game that was very different from anything that had come before. Instead of being a classic horror game with fixed camera angles like previous titles, RE4 is a third-person action title with some horror elements.

The change to action angered many fans of the series. However, RE4 was such an exceptional game that most of the criticism was directed at its sequel, Resident Evil 5. The 2005 title, in which Leon battles a strange cult to save the president's daughter, remains one of the most popular games in the series.