Forgot Tekken 5 released this year. It had some serious balance issues, but 2005's Dark Resurrection is pretty much the best fighting game of all time gameplay wise.

My top 5:

1. Touhou 8
2. Tekken 5 (vanilla)
3. GTA San Andreas
4. MGS3
5. GT4

Edit:

4. Onimusha 3

5. MGS3

Voted other, because Katamari Damacy. Damn great game.

Paper Mario TTYD and the Minish Cap are the only games on this list that I have beaten. I played a bit of Metroid Prime 2, but didn't stick around too long with it for some reason. I'll probably play Up Your Arsenal before my + premium expires, and I keep hoping they will put Dragon Quest 8 on PS + premium so I can try it out. Of the games I've played it's actually pretty tough between Minish Cap and Paper Mario. I'm going with Paper Mario, but really loved Minish Cap as well.

The vote is looking very interesting this time around.  "Other" currently is in the top spot.  However, from games in the poll, PC games have the top 2 spots.  This is the first year that PC games did so well that they could actually claim the top 2 spots at any time during the voting process.  Usually PC gaming has struggled to even get 1 game in either of the top 2 spots.

Other: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. I didn’t play enough of some of the other big contenders for them to have a chance at getting my vote, but Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was the clear standout of what I did play and enjoy.
Katamari Damacy, Pikmin 2, Zelda: Minish Cap, and WarioWare: Touched are amongst others I fondly remember that I played a lot of.

I loved the varied settings, chapters, companions and set pieces. Loved the combat at the time too.
Even played through the end game 100 floor dungeon in an area with unstable power whenever dairy milking time started.

Unfortunately not long after finishing more regular consequences of my hyperactive nervous system and experience of mental illness emerged that make me doubt I could ever play a game like that again as I continue my rehabilitation. Still it was a special experience that stays with me that I heartily recommend to everyone interested in it now that it is getting an undoubtedly quality remaster/remake. Lots of love for it and watching the reactions and differing approaches and critiques of friends who played it.

It only took the biggest 2 games ever to achieve that haha.

Actually the Orange Box brought HL2 + Ep1 + Ep2 + Team Fortress 2 + Portal to consoles as well in 2007. Best value ever, 5 amazing games for the price of 1.

Blizzard still wants to bring WoW to consoles https://www.eurogamer.net/blizzard-talks-about-bringing-world-of-warcraft-to-consoles-all-the-time
Yet MMORPGs really play much better with mouse and KB plus enough screen real estate at close range to have lots of hot bars and separate chat windows. It's a lot of information to cram onto a TV screen

Hence I quit BG3 on PS5, just annoying to play with a controller and have to sit 5ft from the TV to be able to make out the character sheets.

I wish we would get more Dark Alliance style games. BG Dark Alliance 2 actually came out this year as well. It was great, one of the best co-op experiences you can have with controls mapped perfectly to the controller.


And Champions of Norrath also came out in 2004. Same great co-op play as BG Dark Alliance


Games that aged well (but could use some remaster love). My kids played them a couple years ago on the old ps2, they loved it as well.

I'm stunned HL2 isn't dominating the vote. It probably should.

I voted for Half Life 2 as when I think of mixed of impact and quality it deserves game of the year. Looking at just impact and culture alone World of Warcraft clearly had the largest. There people who never played a MMORPG in there life that I have heard use the Leeroy Jenkins meme.

My Personal Favorite game of the year is Vampire: The Masquerade amazing game that I go back to and play again ever couple years. I decided Half life 2 deserves game of year a bit more but Vampire: The Masquerade is the game I personally enjoyed most. Half Life 2 would be my personal second favorite game from year. World of Warcraft I played for about a month but just was not something I could get into and never played it again after that.

Dragon Quest 8 would be my favorite console game from year but in 2004 I was basically only playing PC games.  I did not even own a console from this generation.  I ended up burrowing my brother PS2 to play Dragon quest 8 in 2006 I think and really enjoyed the game.

You have to have played it to vote for it, I have not.  I considered picking up the Orange Box back in the day on the PS3 but the reviews never sounded great and I never ended up playing it.

Another years where a Tekken came out in arcade and therefore confuses things for me. Tekken 5 came out in 2005, not 4 really. But alas, didn't even make this list. Tekken 5 to be is the best Tekken after 3.

Anyway, based on the list, this was a dead year for me. I was in my last year of Uni, so wasn't really paying attention to gaming as much as I wanted. Gaming was limited. I've played a few of the list but WoW is what I'm voting due to it's influence.