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Epic Showdown: 9GAG 2004 Best Video Game Bracket Final Between Half-Life 2 and World of Warcraft

This image is a single-elimination March Madness-style tournament bracket created by 9GAG to crowd-source the best video game of 2004, a year widely recognized as a landmark year for video game releases. 16 iconic 2004 games are paired against each other, with vote totals displayed next to each matchup to show which game advanced. Competing titles include Half-Life 2, Far Cry, Burnout 3: Takedown, Need for Speed Underground 2, Rome: Total War, The Sims 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, Halo: Combat Evolved, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Gran Turismo 4, Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Star Wars: Battlefront, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and World of Warcraft. Half-Life 2 wins all its left-side bracket matchups, while World of Warcraft wins all right-side bracket matchups to reach the final, which is highlighted below the main bracket with full launch cover art for both games separated by a pixelated 'VS' symbol.
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9GAG's BEST VIDEO GAME OF THE YEAR 2004, VS

Overview

This image is a single-elimination March Madness-style tournament bracket created by 9GAG to crowd-source the best video game of 2004, a year widely recognized as a landmark year for video game releases. 16 iconic 2004 games are paired against each other, with vote totals displayed next to each matchup to show which game advanced. Competing titles include Half-Life 2, Far Cry, Burnout 3: Takedown, Need for Speed Underground 2, Rome: Total War, The Sims 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, Halo: Combat Evolved, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Gran Turismo 4, Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Star Wars: Battlefront, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and World of Warcraft. Half-Life 2 wins all its left-side bracket matchups, while World of Warcraft wins all right-side bracket matchups to reach the final, which is highlighted below the main bracket with full launch cover art for both games separated by a pixelated 'VS' symbol.

Origin notes

The image is explicitly marked as 9GAG original content, posted on the 9GAG platform as a community engagement piece to spark debate about the best game of 2004. It spread across retro gaming communities as a nostalgic reference point for the extremely competitive 2004 video game release slate, where two genre-defining works, Valve's first-person shooter Half-Life 2 and Blizzard's massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, are positioned as the clear top two fan favorites. The original title given for the post is 'A showdown of epic proportions', referencing the high stakes of this fan vote between two culturally impactful games.

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This image is a March Madness-style single elimination tournament bracket created to vote for the best video game released in 2004. The bracket shows the competition has advanced to the final four stage: the left regional finalists are Half-Life 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004, while the right regional finalists are Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and World of Warcraft. Vote counts are listed next to each game for every round they have won to advance. Below the main bracket, the official box art covers for Half-Life 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004 are displayed side-by-side with a pixelated 'VS' symbol between them, highlighting their upcoming semi-final matchup. The full bracket includes other iconic 2004 game releases such as Halo: Combat Evolved, The Sims 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Ninja Gaiden, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Rome: Total War as eliminated competitors.

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The image is a tournament-style bracket titled '9GAG's BEST VIDEO GAME OF THE YEAR 2002'. It features various 2002 video game titles with numerical values (likely scores) next to them, arranged in a single-elimination bracket structure. The bracket progresses through rounds, leading to a final matchup labeled 'VS' between 'Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos' (left) and 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' (right). Other included games are 'RollerCoaster Tycoon 2', 'The Legend of Zelda', 'Age of Mythology', 'Battlefield', 'StarCraft', 'Morrowind', and 'Max Payne', each with distinct cover art and adjacent numbers. The design mimics a sports tournament bracket to humorously or nostalgically debate the best video game of 2002.

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A tournament bracket styled image titled '9GAG's BEST VIDEO GAME OF THE YEAR 2002' featuring various 2002 video game titles arranged in a single-elimination format. The bracket includes logos for games like 'Warcraft III', 'The Legend of Zelda', 'Morrowind', and 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City', with numerical scores (e.g., 77, 79) next to some entries. The final round displays a central 'VS' between 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind' (left, with a brown, ancient-style logo) and 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' (right, with a colorful, 80s-themed cover art), highlighting a nostalgic comparison of classic 2002 open-world games. Some bracket slots are empty, emphasizing the focus on the final two contenders.

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