There won’t be too many shockers in the list, as the mag makes note of the contributions made this past decade by games like Heavy Rain, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2, God of War, Red Dead Redemption, Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted to name a few. Before you rise up in revolt over the characters chosen, remember that the list isn’t the best games, but the characters and franchises that will always be remembered when gaming in the 2000’s is looked back on.

The magazine will be released with the three covers, so collectors will have to pick them all up to see the entire piece. While we may not have dared to dream of seeing Kratos rubbing shoulders with Nathan Drake, John Marston and Master Chief, the good folks over at Game Informer have made the impossible happen.

The leaps these characters brought about are obvious to anyone who picked up a controller in the last decade, so feel free to enjoy the pictures:

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The piece is as full of references as it is characters, with Portal well represented with black forest cake, and the not-too-subtle placement of a Covenant plasma grenade. There are sure to be more bits for eagle-eyed viewers, so share any with us that you happen to pick out.

It could have been predicted by anyone that some entries would spark some controversy, and Jimmy Hopkins (protagonist of Rockstar’s Bully) is one such example. It’s hard to argue representation from BioShock, Psychonauts, and Grand Theft Auto, but it will be interesting to see the reasoning behind them defining a decade.

It’s interesting to think that if one company defined video games for many through the 80s and 90s, it would be Nintendo. It would seem though that Game Informer believes that it was the newcomers Sony and Microsoft who most strongly shaped the last ten years. It certainly demands some thought when the facts are laid out in such vivid detail.

Are there any characters who you think should make the list that aren’t represented? Judgements will have to wait until the magazine pleads its case when the December issue of Game Informer hits newsstands November 11th.

Source: Game Informer