Gamebryo probably sounds like some kind of educational fetus life simulator from the perspective of today's Fortnite generation, but it's actually an important tool that allowed some genre-defining games to flourish. Because Gamebryo is a video game engine, it has been chosen as the best tool to create some of the best games of the 2000s decade.
Truth be told, Gamebryo belongs in a museum now due to its age and lack of optimization, but one can't deny its legacy. Under its belt is an impressive collection of video games from different genres. Not all of them are stellar or worthy of a trip down memory lane, but a few went down in history as the granddaddies of the top video games we all enjoy today.
8 Sid Meier's Pirates!
- Release year: 2004
- Genre: Adventure, Strategy, Action
Any game with "Sid" Meier's in its name is bound to be a classic. As one of the most celebrated game developers and programmers in video game history, he's responsible for launching and trendsetting whole genres. Pirates! is a blend of multiple game genres all of which serve to make this sea-faring swashbuckler journey ahead of its time.
The game can be divided into several aspects. The most players will be spending their time in is the top-down ship travel view as they steer their crew from booty to booty in the Caribbean tropics. Once an encounter happens, players can get more intimate with the action as the game zooms in and allows them to cross swords with their enemies and trade cannon fire. Back in 2004, this was quite groundbreaking as far as game concepts went.
7 Civilization 4
- Release year: 2005
- Genre: Strategy
Still considered by many diehard Civ fans as the best in the series, Civilization 4 was a significant development for the franchise. It was Civilization's first outing in a fully-3D game and helping it achieve that transition smoothly was the Gamebryo engine, of course.
Needless to say, Civilization 4 more than delivered and breathed a new life into the series thanks to its updated systems and cute graphics. The leaders were also given more personality through their expressive 3D faces. Overall, the fourth game was quite a revolution for the franchise as a whole and part of that success lies with Gamebryo.
6 Bully: Scholarship Edition
- Release year: 2008
- Genre: Action, Adventure
Many remember Bully as one of Rockstar Studios' most underrated games. It's practically GTA middle school edition and takes place in an open world where players assume the role of Jimmy, a delinquent and all-boys school hopper. Bully lets players steal bicycles, pick fights with other school boys, and roam around causing all kinds of delinquent activity.
The original game wasn't actually rendered in Gamebryo. But the remake, the Scholarship Edition was beautifully retouched with all the bells and whistles of Gamebryo. In the Scholarship Edition, the differences were quite huge and even made Bully the better-looking game compared to its bigger cousin, GTA: San Andreas.
5 Divinity 2
- Release year: 2010
- Genre: Action, RPG
Not to be confused with Divinity: Original Sin 2 from the very same developer, Larian Studios, Divinity 2 is their earlier iteration of the RPG franchise. Those expecting a top-down Dungeons and Dragons experience will have to stick with the Original Sin series as Divinity 2 is more action-oriented.
It's more akin to games like Fable than Dungeons and Dragons video games. Regardless, Divinity 2 was known for handling Gamebryo well enough that it introduced dragon combat (as in turning into a dragon and fighting) before Skyrim toyed with that idea in its expansions.
4 Catherine
- Release year: 2011
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Puzzle
As proof of Gamebryo's flexibility as a game engine as well as its popularity, it also allows for some imaginative rendering of a nightmarish puzzle of a game world in Catherine. It's a Japanese puzzle game where a man named Vincent must choose between his long-term girlfriend Katherine and a recently introduced bombshell named Catherine.
Players get to control Vincent as he explores the complexities of relationships symbolically painted with an interactive nightmare puzzle. This one-of-a-kind puzzle game also combines Gamebryo's graphical capabilities with some stylistic anime visuals which fans of the genre will surely appreciate.
3 Fallout 3
- Release year: 2008
- Genre: RPG
Almost everyone was skeptical regarding Fallout 3's transition into an open-world third-person RPG. But thanks to Bethesda's prowess and Gamebryo's potential, Fallout 3 turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to the hardcore RPG franchise.
It wasn't as complex as the original games but Fallout 3 had a charm of its own as players are chucked out of a nuclear war bunker into a desolate, yet charming post-apocalyptic world in hopes of finding their father. This was Gamebryo at its most imaginative peak as it was never used for something as ambitious as a post-apocalyptic world.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
- Release year: 2010
- Genre: RPG
Obsidian Studios would eventually continue what Bethesda started. They took everything that made Fallout 3 great and spun it into their own rendition of a masterpiece. The result is an RPG that puts a lot of modern ones to shame despite its graphics aging poorly.
Gamebryo was already struggling and chugging along at this point due to its age, but it still provided Fallout: New Vegas with a game world that rivals or at times, even surpasses Fallout 3's Washington D.C. As a testament to the game's cult status, it still has a highly active modding scene and a community looking to unofficially remaster the game.
1 The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
- Release year: 2006
- Genre: RPG
While many consider Skyrim as the current quintessential Elder Scrolls game, some aspects of Oblivion actually blow it out of the water. For instance, the guild quests and the Dark Brotherhood quests as well as less hand-holding made it more satisfying.
After all, Oblivion was the Skyrim of its time. The graphics, while incredibly dated, were somewhat top-notch back in their heyday, and back then, it became the epitome of what developers can do with Gamebryo (until the Fallout games came along). Needless to say, without Oblivion, many RPGs wouldn't have raised their standards higher and fans of the genre wouldn't be enjoying the RPG lavishness that they do these days.