Games We Grew Up Playing That Are Popular Today

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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment magazine in the UK“, we check out research from CSGOLuck into what games we grew up playing are still popular today.

Games We Grew Up Playing That Are Popular Today

Research has uncovered the games at first released in the times of Xbox 360 and PS3, consoles released in the Novembers of 2005 and 2006 respectively, that gamers are as yet the most keen to play in the period of Xbox Series X and PS5.

The data index by CSGOLuck analysed a variety of factors relating to the continued popularity of these games today, many years after their releases.

1) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It was released on October 25, 2022, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It is a sequel to the 2019 reboot of the Modern Warfare series, and serves as the nineteenth installment in the overall Call of Duty series.

MW2 features a single-player campaign that follows the return of Task Force 141, a special operations team led by Captain John Price. The campaign takes place three years after the events of the previous game, and depicts the team’s efforts to thwart a global terrorist threat.

The multiplayer mode of MW2 features a variety of game modes, including traditional modes such as Team Deathmatch and Domination, as well as new modes such as Ground War and Invasion. The game also features a new cooperative mode called Special Ops, which features a variety of missions that can be played with friends.

Trueachievements.com identifies that the game has the eighth most players using the backward compatibility feature of newer consoles to play.

These gamers still playing the classic on newer generation consoles still rate the game, on average, at 4.2 stars.

An average campaign completion rate of just 13.4%, 11th of all the games, suggests that those famous online lobbies are still being populated, over 14 years after the games release.

MW2 tops the list with an index score of 90.63.

2) Assassin’s Creed

The first iteration of Assassin’s Creed takes second spot on the list. Assassin’s Creed is a 2007 action-adventure open world stealth video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It is the first installment in the Assassin’s Creed series and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Set in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade, the game follows the story of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood, who is tasked with assassinating nine key figures in the Templar Order.

The game features a large open world that players can explore freely, and features a variety of gameplay mechanics, including stealth, combat, and climbing. Players can also complete side quests and collect collectibles in order to earn money and experience.

Assassin’s Creed was a critical and commercial success, and has been praised for its graphics, gameplay, and historical setting. However, the game has also been criticized for its repetitive gameplay and technical issues.

It is still rated by players at four stars out of five, and it has the 15th highest average completion rate of all 100 games.

This earns Assassin’s Creed second place with an index score of 82.25.

3) Red Dead Redemption

The 2010 released western, open world, story game produced by Rockstar makes third on the list. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 18, 2010, and for Microsoft Windows on June 9, 2021.

The game is set in 1911, in the Wild West, and follows John Marston, an outlaw who is forced to work for the government in order to save his family. Players can explore the game’s open world, which includes a variety of environments such as deserts, forests, and towns. The game features a variety of gameplay elements, including horseback riding, shooting, and hand-to-hand combat. Players can also complete side quests, collect collectibles, and gamble.

Red Dead Redemption was a critical and commercial success, and has been praised for its graphics, gameplay, and story. It has won numerous awards, including Game of the Year from several publications.

RDR has the fifth most players among those playing on newer consoles and is the second highest rated of the 100 games, boasting a 4.6 star rating.

As the ninth most searched game, Red Dead comes in with an index score of 80.70.

4) Assassin’s Creed II

Another classic, Assassin’s Creed II makes fourth place. The game is set during the Renaissance in Italy, and follows the story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble who is forced to flee Florence after his family is betrayed and executed. Ezio joins the Assassin Brotherhood and seeks revenge against those who wronged his family.

Players still rate the game at 4.5 stars out of five, the game has the fifteenth most backward compatible players and is crucially also the fourth most completed game when being played on newer consoles.

Despite being only the 31st most searched game globally, its other accolades earn Assassin’s Creed second place on the list with an index score of 78.21.

5) Grand Theft Auto IV

GTA IV comes in fifth as the second Rockstar release on the list. Like previous Grand Theft Auto games, Grand Theft Auto IV is played from a third-person perspective. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. The game features a wide variety of side missions, such as taxi driving, police work, and firefighting. Players can also engage in various criminal activities, such as carjacking, robbery, and extortion.

The iconic Liberty City based, open world, third-person shooter has the third most gamers playing through back compatibility, an average star rating of 4.1, and comes in as the game with the sixth most relevant Google searches.

Ultimately this game chronicling the rise of Niko Bellic scores 76.76 on the index.

6) Fallout 3

The 2008, third installment of the role playing game by Bethesda, takes sixth on the list. Fallout 3 is set in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas in the year 2277. The player character is the Lone Wanderer, a survivor of Vault 101, an underground shelter that has been sealed off from the outside world for 200 years. The Lone Wanderer is forced to leave the Vault in search of their father, who has disappeared. Along the way, the Lone Wanderer must interact with various factions and individuals, and make choices that will affect the outcome of the game.

Fallout 3 comes in with the fifth highest average star rating at 4.5. The game is only the 19th most completed game among this 100, and ranks in the 28th for relevant Google searches.

However its high star rating and coming in as the 14th most played back compatible game give it an index score of 76.52.

7) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

In seventh place comes the original iteration of the classic ‘Modern Warfare’ franchise. The game follows a multinational cast of characters from the United States Marine Corps, British Special Air Service (SAS), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as they fight against a terrorist organization led by Imran Zakhaev. The game’s single-player campaign takes place in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine.

The multiplayer mode of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare features a variety of game modes, including traditional modes such as Team Deathmatch and Domination, as well as new modes such as Search and Destroy and Sabotage. The game also features a leveling system that allows players to unlock new weapons, attachments, and perks.

The 2007 first person shooter developed by Infinity Ward is the tenth most completed game of this 100 and 11th highest rated, with an average star rating of 4.4.

While it is the 17th most played back compatible game, and only the 34th most searched, CoD 4 achieves an index score of 74.47.

8) Call of Duty: Black Ops

The third Call of Duty game on the list, 2010’s Black Ops makes eighth place. The multiplayer mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops features a variety of game modes, including traditional modes such as Team Deathmatch and Domination, as well as new modes such as Wager Matches and Gun Game. The game also features a leveling system that allows players to unlock new weapons, attachments, and perks.

Black Ops lands the accolade of being the game most played using the backward compatible feature on newer consoles. Despite this, relatively lowly ranks of 73rd for completion ranking, and an average star rating of 4 ranking it 50th in this category, limit the games index score.

Ranking as the 23rd most Googled game allows this Call of Duty an index score of 74.20.

9) Borderlands

The 2009 role playing, first-person shooter, Borderlands, makes the penultimate spot on this top ten. Borderlands features a variety of gameplay elements, including first-person shooting, role-playing game elements such as character classes and skill trees, and vehicular combat. The game also features a large open world that players can explore freely.

The game was a critical and commercial success, selling over 2.7 million copies worldwide in its first month of release. It was praised for its unique art style, its open world, and its addictive gameplay.

The game is the 12th highest rated with gamers allocating it an average of 4.4 stars. Coming in 18th for the number of back compatible players, 20th for the amount of relevant Google searches, and 24th for average completion percentage, Borderlands scores 74.10 in the index.

10) Halo Reach

This 2010 Halo edition, published by Microsoft Game Studios makes the final top ten spot. Halo Reach is considered to be one of the best first-person shooter games of all time. It is known for its intense combat, its memorable characters, and its emotional story. The game has also been credited with popularizing the concept of cooperative multiplayer campaigns in first-person shooters.

Halo Reach ranks as just the 47th most Googled and the 52nd most completed. However, the 22nd highest average rating of 4.3, and the achievement of being the second most played back compatible game, makes for an index score of 73.84.

It’s great to see that some of these classic PS3 and Xbox 360 releases are still getting play time even as we move into the era of modern consoles. It’s also fascinating to find which are firing up nostalgic gamers and being sought out, bought, downloaded, and played the most, so many years after their development and releases. We believe this shows just how important some of these games were to many of us growing up, and it will be very interesting to see which modern games will make a list like this in ten years time.

-A spokesperson at CSGOLuck 

CSGOLuck is a gambling site, focussed around the popular game Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

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