Video games. It's astonishing how they've changed. Like a child, the world has watched video games develop into the amazing reflection of society that they are today. It's time to take a step back and define the milestones; what has brought video games to where they are, and where do they stand today? What are, and have been, the true Best of the Best?
           
Yes, it is time for the Video Game Awards: Then and Now.

Best Action/Adventure Video Game

THEN: The Legend of Zelda, hands-down, takes home the Best Action/Adventure THEN Video Game award. Initially released in February 1986 (17 months before the U.S. release on the Nintendo Entertainment System), The Legend of Zelda was a marked boost towards the complex video games we know today.
         
NOW: Yet another game from the Zelda series! In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link, armed with an ocarina and his trademark sword, zaps back in time to prevent Ganondorf from taking control of the Triforce, a mystical object with the power to grant its owner's wishes.
         
Although Ocarina of Time treads not far from the polygon-crazed graphics of Super Mario 64, the color and intensity created a large shock factor back in the times of Nintendo 64. The fresh storyline and vivid audio effects also wowed many, and rapidly grew into the best-selling game of 1998, later landing a spot in IGN's Top 100 (Video) Games of All Time list.

Best Super Mario Game

THEN: The THEN award for the best Super Mario game goes to Super Mario Bros. 2!  Brilliantly colored levels, underground worlds and more complex enemies (the Shyguy makes his debut) feature the same old-fashioned Super Mario with a bright makeover! In this addition to the Mario collection, the old hero has traveled to Subcon, a dream land in doom. With Peach, Luigi and Toad by his side (as playable characters, no less) he sets off to rescue Subcon from the sinister Wart! Very impressive for a 1988 video game!

NOW: Super Mario Galaxy, released for the Wii in November of 2007, is a triple threat! A unique storyline, new array of worlds (quite literally, as this game is set in outer space), and killer graphics pull together to create one blast of a Mario game.
       
Best Puzzle Game

THEN: What else? Tetris takes the cake. Released for over three game consoles and converted into countless different versions, this tricky puzzle game hooked the minds of millions of gamers after its release in 1985. It is a surprisingly simple game: Rotate the chunks of falling blocks in order to combine with the ones on the ground. Form a straight, solid line to the top and the tower vanishes, racking the points to your score. The game quickly speeds up, however, and the game area will overflow with blocks if you're not quick enough!

NOW: Another classic, Bejeweled captures the Best Puzzle Video Game NOW award! Released in 2001 as a flash-based Internet game, Bejeweled is much like Tetris in its simplicity. However, instead of stacking blocks, you’re switching and turning jewels set in a line to attempt to make rows of three or more. If you succeed, the row disappears and another falls into its place. However, if you get stuck with no more moves, it's Game Over!
         
Also like Tetris, Bejeweled rose to extreme popularity very quickly, and many new versions of the game have been created on gaming websites and console video games. An absolute classic, Bejeweled reigns this generation of puzzle video gaming.

Best First-Person Shooter Game
 
THEN: Doom, released in December 1993, was an astounding turnaround for first-person shooter video gaming. When an anonymous space marine is exiled to Mars as punishment for defiance, he is destined to work a tedious job for the Union Aerospace Corporation. But suddenly, a UAC experiment goes awry! The planet rapidly grows infested with demons intent on transforming his fellow space marines into zombies or destroying them, leaving one marine alone on Mars to defeat them!
         
Combine a familiar, "old-shoe" storyline with graphics that, amazingly, exceeded the then-unreleased Nintendo 64, and you have the makings of a milestone game!

NOW: Halo 2, the 2004 sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, plants its army boots steadily on the Best First Person Shooter Game NOW. Furious with their past defeat, the Covenant is back, and carries a refreshed strength with it. Intent upon the corruption of Halo, the only thing standing between them and the destruction of Earth, it is up to Master Chief to take the Covenant down and rescue the human race!
        
Halo 2, in many ways, falls nothing short of amazing. Besides the intriguing storyline, the sound effects "colors everything with realism," gushes the official IGN review. The high-resolution graphics also shot far above standard, the rich range of colors and smooth animation cutting the mark. With the total of worldwide Halo 2 sales now exceeding 8 million, this game is easily the Best First-Person Shooter NOW Game!

Best Sports Game

THEN: Ice Hockey takes this award! Released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, this game was a league above typical sports games of the 1970s - '80s. Gameplay was more realistic, allowing differently sized players to have varied abilities (for instance, bigger players moved sluggishly, but were tougher). Also, although the overall game strayed slightly from the typical rules of hockey, penalties were issued. This was an unusual element for early sports video games, in which the rules tended to be simpler and unfocused. Another fresh element was the ability to set the game length to either 7, 10, or 15 minutes.

NOW: Madden NFL 2005, released in 2004 for several game consoles including the Xbox and PlayStation, wins the final award. Like blocks building on one another, the Madden NFL games grow on top of each other's success, steadily growing better. However, Madden 2005 has thrown in many new features that make this game shine. Aside from the PDA in which to track your team's progresses and other useful information, there are also new player abilities, such as the "Hit Stick" (a rough body check performed to release the ball from the opponent's grip). Certain things have also been added and "prettied up," such as the confetti that now showers onto the stadium following a Superbowl win. Question is, can you get there?