2000 - Official Nominations
The Sims - 2
Deus Ex
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - 1
Spyro: Year of the Dragon
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Counterstrike - 2
Baldur's Gate II - 1
Driver 2 - 1
Paper Mario
Final Fantasy IX
2000 was a different era. It was closer to the 90s than the 2000s... if that makes sense. And back then all the rage was extreme sports. That's the time when we got snowboarding, sky diving, and skateboarding... which leads me to nominate
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. Possibly the most FUN game of 2000. It let you ride with the very best in a open world levels with a polish and brash sense of humor unseen at the time. This game had a kick-can soundtrack too making your inner 90s punk want to scream and your conservative parents to freak out.
Then we have
The Sims. A game that opened up a new era of controller based games and freedom. Not only did it spawn a franchise, but it spawned a whole new era of games. The Sims may be looked back upon as one of the more iconic games in terms of history. But with all that, it was also a fun game allowing the player to control their dream life. Now playing it it seems pretty bare bones to what we can do in Sims games today, but there is a simplicity and familiarity to it that cannot be matched. I nominate The Sims as a best of 2000 game. The music of this game is iconic and anyone, even people who didn't play the game (who hasn't played the Sims?) would know this game's music. It was strange almost classic 50's Americana or elevator tunes that led to many reattempts at this original games charm in future renditions.
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a role playing game in a class of its own. Nothing even came close to a RPG compared to this very long, but well written game. In 2000, you were physically thrown into this believable world and got to play how you wanted to play it. It was a real chance at freedom and a sense of being there that really hadn't been captured yet. This game also had so much content and things to do. Even to this day, this game is massive and completely relevant. There was so much lore and depth to the game world, and a sense of polish and care put into it, that by far, this is one of the best RPG games ever made. Don't even get me started on the stellar soundtrack.