Ranking by year

The best games of 2005.

149 games compete in this selection. Sid Meier's Civilization IV tops it with 1,900 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Sid Meier's Civilization IV 2005 · Strategy 1,900
  2. 2 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2005 · Visual novel 1,889
  3. 3 Resident Evil 4 2005 · Horror 1,850
  4. 4 Shadow of the Colossus 2005 · Action-adventure 1,823
  5. 5 Star Wars: Battlefront II 2005 · FPS 1,817
  6. 6 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2005 · Racing 1,806
  7. 7 Kingdom Hearts II 2005 · Action RPG 1,791
  8. 8 F.E.A.R. 2005 · FPS 1,789
  9. 9 Ninja Gaiden Black 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,777
  10. 10 Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 2005 · Action-adventure 1,769
  11. 11 God of War 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,768
  12. 12 Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,739
  13. 13 Age of Empires III 2005 · Strategy 1,720
  14. 14 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory 2005 · TPS 1,712
  15. 15 Call of Duty 2 2005 · FPS 1,709
  16. 16 Half-Life 2: Lost Coast 2005 · FPS 1,697
  17. 17 Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 2005 · Platformer 1,679
  18. 18 True Crime: New York City 2005 · Action-adventure 1,669
  19. 19 Resident Evil 4 2005 · Horror 1,666
  20. 20 Star Wars: Republic Commando 2005 · FPS 1,665
  21. 21 Battlefield 2 2005 · FPS 1,664
  22. 22 Psychonauts 2005 · Platformer 1,663
  23. 23 Guitar Hero 2005 · Rhythm 1,662
  24. 24 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team 2005 · Roguelite 1,645
  25. 25 Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time 2005 · RPG 1,643
  26. 26 Mario Kart DS 2005 · Racing 1,635
  27. 27 Quake 4 2005 · FPS 1,629
  28. 28 Black & White 2 2005 · Action RPG 1,623
  29. 29 TimeSplitters: Future Perfect 2005 · FPS 1,617
  30. 30 Tekken 5 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,601
  31. 31 Fable: The Lost Chapters 2005 · Action RPG 1,600
  32. 32 SoulCalibur III 2005 · Fighting 1,600
  33. 33 Ratchet: Deadlocked 2005 · Platformer 1,594
  34. 34 Animal Crossing: Wild World 2005 · Simulation 1,587
  35. 35 Perfect Dark Zero 2005 · FPS 1,580
  36. 36 Indigo Prophecy 2005 · Adventure 1,577
  37. 37 Gun 2005 · Action-adventure 1,573
  38. 38 Crash Tag Team Racing 2005 · Racing 1,569
  39. 39 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 2005 · Action-adventure 1,564
  40. 40 Dynasty Warriors 5 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,561
  41. 41 Samorost 2 2005 · Point-and-click 1,555
  42. 42 Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance 2005 · Strategy 1,554
  43. 43 Guild Wars 2005 · Action RPG 1,551
  44. 44 Still Life 2005 · Point-and-click 1,550
  45. 45 SWAT 4 2005 · FPS 1,548
  46. 46 Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness 2005 · JRPG 1,545
  47. 47 Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects 2005 · Fighting 1,544
  48. 48 Day of Defeat: Source 2005 · FPS 1,543
  49. 49 Super Mario Strikers 2005 · Sports 1,541
  50. 50 The Matrix: Path of Neo 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,540
  51. 51 Burnout Revenge 2005 · Racing 1,535
  52. 52 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team 2005 · Roguelite 1,534
  53. 53 Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X 2005 · Platformer 1,530
  54. 54 Serious Sam II 2005 · FPS 1,529
  55. 55 Worms 4: Mayhem 2005 · Strategy 1,529
  56. 56 Yakuza 2005 · JRPG 1,512
  57. 57 Jade Empire 2005 · Action RPG 1,511
  58. 58 The Settlers: Heritage of Kings 2005 · Strategy 1,509
  59. 59 Chibi-Robo! 2005 · Platformer 1,508
  60. 60 Juiced 2005 · Racing 1,502
  61. 61 Forza Motorsport 2005 · Racing 1,501
  62. 62 Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow 2005 · Metroidvania 1,500
  63. 63 Medal of Honor: European Assault 2005 · FPS 1,500
  64. 64 Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves 2005 · Platformer 1,495
  65. 65 Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection 2005 · Fighting 1,494
  66. 66 Castlevania: Curse of Darkness 2005 · Action RPG 1,488
  67. 67 Jak X: Combat Racing 2005 · Racing 1,484
  68. 68 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 · Action-adventure 1,480
  69. 69 Madagascar 2005 · Platformer 1,479
  70. 70 Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth 2005 · FPS 1,477
  71. 71 Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,477
  72. 72 Sonic Rush 2005 · Platformer 1,477
  73. 73 Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition 2005 · Racing 1,477
  74. 74 Burnout Legends 2005 · Racing 1,477
  75. 75 Total Overdose 2005 · TPS 1,475
  76. 76 The Movies 2005 · Strategy 1,473
  77. 77 Mario Party 7 2005 · Card & Board 1,471
  78. 78 Empire Earth II 2005 · Strategy 1,471
  79. 79 Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath 2005 · Platformer 1,463
  80. 80 Pathologic 2005 · Action RPG 1,462
  81. 81 Darkwatch 2005 · FPS 1,461
  82. 82 James Bond 007: From Russia with Love 2005 · TPS 1,460
  83. 83 Condemned: Criminal Origins 2005 · FPS 1,459
  84. 84 Dungeon Siege II 2005 · Action RPG 1,457
  85. 85 Killer7 2005 · FPS 1,456
  86. 86 Kirby: Canvas Curse 2005 · Platformer 1,456
  87. 87 Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 2005 · JRPG 1,456
  88. 88 Call of Duty 2: Big Red One 2005 · FPS 1,454
  89. 89 Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,453
  90. 90 Battle for Wesnoth 2005 · Strategy 1,453
  91. 91 Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie 2005 · FPS 1,451
  92. 92 Batman Begins 2005 · Action-adventure 1,450
  93. 93 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland 2005 · Sports 1,449
  94. 94 Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 2005 · FPS 1,449
  95. 95 Spartan: Total Warrior 2005 · Beat 'em up 1,449
  96. 96 Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! 2005 · Puzzle 1,441
  97. 97 Mega Man Zero 4 2005 · Platformer 1,440
  98. 98 Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line 2005 · JRPG 1,440
  99. 99 Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction 2005 · TPS 1,439
  100. 100 Cold Fear 2005 · TPS 1,437

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

Other rankings

Best games of 2000 The best games of 2001 Top games of 2002 Best games of 2003 Best games of 2004 Top games of 2006 Top games of 2007 Best games of 2008 Top games of 2009

In detail

The best games of 2005, what this ranking says

Sid Meier's Civilization IV leads this selection with 1,900 ELO points, ahead of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Resident Evil 4. The 149 games competing in it have played 17,277 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 149
Duels played by those games 17,277
Game in the lead Sid Meier's Civilization IV (2005)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,900
Point gap between 1st and 10th 131
Best represented genre FPS
Last reading September 18, 2026

The best game of every genre in 2005

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best game of every genre in 2005
Genre Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
Strategy 10 Sid Meier's Civilization IV 1,900 169
Action-adventure 11 Shadow of the Colossus 1,823 610
FPS 27 Star Wars: Battlefront II 1,817 327
Racing 9 Need for Speed: Most Wanted 1,806 469
Action RPG 12 Kingdom Hearts II 1,791 433
Beat 'em up 15 Ninja Gaiden Black 1,777 55
TPS 8 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory 1,712 263
Platformer 15 Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 1,679 359
Fighting 8 SoulCalibur III 1,600 140
JRPG 5 Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness 1,545 116
Sports 8 Super Mario Strikers 1,541 74

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 98 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
Star Wars: Republic Commando +94 1,665
True Crime: New York City +69 1,669
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones +64 1,679

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
God of War Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 3 67%
Call of Duty 2 Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 3 67%
God of War Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening 3 67%
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Need for Speed: Most Wanted 3 100%
Resident Evil 4 Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction 3 100%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best game of 2005?

According to community votes, the best game of 2005 is Sid Meier's Civilization IV, with 1,900 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Resident Evil 4, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many games of 2005 are ranked?

149 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 17,277 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which game of 2005 is climbing right now?

Star Wars: Republic Commando is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 94 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 98 games in the selection moved.

Vote on a duel