As we moved past the 1990s, the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were just barely hanging on as upcoming consoles were on the horizon. The Y2K bug ended up being a myth, I was becoming an acne-ridden teenager, and with myself being the last kid left living with my folks at the time as my older siblings moved on with their lives, I was in my last years of middle school and had a bit of a quiet celebration welcoming the new year. So, what better way to celebrate in solitude than playing video games that released in 2000? Here's a selection of favorites I had throughout the year.

1. Mega Man X5

We hadn't seen a Mega Man X title since 1997 with X4 on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, and I suppose the time was right after the handful of titles that Capcom was working on in between that gap. A new team of Maverick Hunters ally with X and Zero and must stop a space colony called Eurasia from crashing into the Earth after Sigma has released it with a virus that could potentially bring Zero back to his Maverick status. The run and gun, hack and slash gameplay remains the same, though I did feel like there were balancing issues with the level design. It at least made for a great rental.

2. Spyro: Year of the Dragon

While Naughty Dog was already finished making games for their orange bandicoot a year prior, their buddies at Insomniac Games had one last Spyro game. This time the purple dragon has the help of a kangaroo, a yeti, a penguin and a sharpshooter monkey from space with their own gameplay mechanics as they work together and stop a new villain, a sorceress named, well, Sorceress! It was at this point as well that the developers at Insomniac felt that they couldn't do more with a four legged character, hence the inclusion of additional playable characters. It made for a fun finale, and possibly was the best in the trilogy.

Spider-Man

At the time, this was probably the best superhero game I'd ever played, and at the time of its release, the best Spider-Man game ever. Developed by the same guys behind the iconic Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, this game finds New York's favorite webhead trying to stop the plans of some of his deadliest foes such as Doc Ock, Venom and the crazy Carnage as a lethal gas has taken over the streets of New York. You weren't just web slinging and punching baddies from point A to point B though, some levels had puzzles to work around, and Spidey had to evade the police after being framed.

Final Fantasy IX

Debated as the best in the series, this was also the last Final Fantasy with a traditional battle system. With a huge production budget to have impressive full motion video cutscenes to flesh out the story along with a breathtaking presentation and unforgettable characters, it was a quick best seller for the year. After a war starts in the land of Lindblum by Queen Brahne, it's up to the young Zidane, princess Garnet and friends to take her down. The game ended up selling a whopping 5 million copies and has gotten rereleases following its popularity among fans and gamers alike.

Driver 2

The sequel to the mission-based driving game expanded upon even more than the first game, not only having a story that continued on two discs, but you could now exit out of a car and steal another car, paving the way for sandbox games as exploration was encouraged to find vehicles and storing them in a garage for later use. Because of this, many hours could be spent searching around the city for a car that hasn't been found yet, and trying it out.

Crash Bash

Following the popularity of Mario Party on the Nintendo 64, Crash Bash featured familiar Crash Bandicoot characters (and one new character) in a plethora of minigames that you could unlock by playing through a story mode, which the two witch doctor masks, Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka make a bet on the best players to win. Anyone who's played Mario Party will feel right at home understanding the minigame rules and simplicity of them. Just remember to have a multi-tap handy for four players.

Medal of Honor: Underground

Medal of Honor: Underground takes place before and during the events of the first game as you play as French Resistance agent Manon Batiste when the Nazi occupation of Paris begins. Tackling missions such as rescuing prisoners and sabotaging a bomb factory are just hints of the returning elements of gameplay from its predecessor. Three bonus missions were included, and film composer Michael Giacchino was tasked with making the soundtrack, giving the game a cinematic feel.

Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes

The boot stomping, alien crushing, chick magnet Duke Nukem came back for another PlayStation outing after Time To Kill in 1998, Duke finds out that there's a future without men after aliens have exterminated them all, and it's up to shoot his way to the alien overlord himself, Silverback to change the fate of the future. The same explosive action is there, as well as Duke's familiar remarks.

What games did you play to celebrate the millennium? Leave a comment and see you next article!