Mass update, 25-11:
25. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)
This game just shows why the Elder Scrolls series is considered one of the best WRPG franchises in existence. A wonderful open world that's highly unique in it's art-style and architecture; cities made from the carcasses of giant crabs, nomadic tribes, mechanical ruins and a range of natural scenery. As soon as you get off the boat there is just so much to do, so many skills to learn, places to explore and guilds to join. One of the best open-world RPGs ever created.
24. Dishonored (PC)
This game was pretty low on my radar, even after all the fancy trailers were released. Then I got the opportunity to play the game at Eurogamer Expo, and it became an instant must-buy. Taking influence from the likes of Half-Life 2, Deus Ex, Thief and Bioshock, the game managed to incorporate aspects of each but still retains its own unique charms. You can appreciate the incredible imagination and creativity of the game the minute you enter the City of Dunwall. This appreciation simply grows as the game progresses from the obtaining your first abilities, through to the final assassination. The way you play also influences the difficulty of future levels; kill too many and future levels will be filled with enemies. The level design is brilliantly detailed and the missions themselves are well-thought out, unique and incredibly memorable.
Some criticisms have been raised about the length and some of the story elements towards the end of the game. The length I think is a little unfair considering a lot of time can be sunk into each mission and the way the game is designed means it has a lot of replay value. However, the narrative near the end of the game doesn't work as well as the rest of the game.
23. Assassins Creed II (PS3)
The first game was a bit boring and repetitive although it had potential with some solid platforming mechanics inherited from the Prince of Persia series.. The sequel completely changed that with not only a massive playable world but with interesting quests and just generally filling the game with some superb content. Not only that though, they added an intriguing character in Ezio that helped bring the player into an involving plot of politics, backstabbing and conspiracy.
22. Call of Duty 4: Modern warfare (PC)
As a fan of Call of Duty from the very beginning, this game was the pinnacle of the series for me and showed off everything the franchise can be. Moving the time period from the over-done world war II setting to the modern day (meaning some very cool weaponry and varied gameplay) yet still retaining everything that made Call of Duty 1 & 2 great; a glorious single player campaign combined with a superb multiplayer.
The single-player campaign, whilst relatively short, is perhaps one of the most memorable and shocking. A solid narrative pushed you along, but added some truly shocking moments not seen in video games that made full use of the first-person perspective (nuke anyone?). The multiplaer in Call of Duty has always been good, and CoD4 was no different. New weaponry and a levelling system added to solid CoD gameplay. In many ways, this was the last (and arguably only) Call of Duty game to truly innovate.
21. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
I was a little disappointed with Metal Gear Solid 2 and so I didn't bother playing this one immediately. After it went platinum I purchased it and realised I had missed out on an amazing game. It retained the gameplay that made Metal Gear Solid great, but evolved it for the new jungle environment. It also got rid of the radar and added a camouflage system due to the older technology in its cold war time period. The graphics as well were some of the best on PS2 and when played on an upscaled BC PS3, are still superior to a good number of early HD titles (let alone in the new MGS HD collection).
However, what really pushes this game to no. 14 is the storyline and the bosses. A common theme in Metal Gear is the relationship between mentor and student and here we learn of the relationship between Naked Snake (soon to be Big Boss) and his mentor The Boss. The ending is one of the most emotional I've seen/played in video games but also opens a range of questions for MGS4 whilst explaining some of the questions posed in MGS 1 & 2.
MGS boss fights are always spectacular, and MGS3 doesn't dissappoint. For this though, all I'll say is "The End" is awesome, as is the ending 
.
20. The Witcher 2 (PC)
Sequel to the unexpected hit RPG from CDProjekt, this was a real showcase for both Western RPGs and PC gamers everywhere. Whilst the mature storyline and characters follow on from the original games (which are in turn based on the fantasy books by Andrzej Sapkowski), the technology and gameplay has undergone a major overhaul. Firstly, CDProjekt created their own engine for this game, allowing them to utilise modern effects and push even the greatest of PCs to their limits. The gameplay was modernised so that it required more skill than in the original as well as adding some interesting new features such as traps and ranged weaponry to keep things interesting.
Like before, the story is heavily influenced by the player (probably more so than most WRPGS though) with some tough, morally ambiguous decisions to make. The characters also have amazing depth to them, although this probably isn't that suprising considering they've featured in 7 books already. Overall, an amazing RPG with a somewhat annoying cliff hanger ending that has me desperate for more!
19. Age of Empires II & The Conquerors expansion (PC)
Sequel to the award winning Age of Empires and one of the greatest multiplayer RTS' ever created. The civs were well balanced, there was a whole range to choose from and each had their unique specialties (I both loved and cursed British longbowman!). Take your Civ from the Dark Ages, through to an era of castles and trebuchets, cavalry charges, infantry rushes, Korean war wagons and those blasted longbowman! A great RTS and re-released on Steam this year (with a new expansion no less!)
18. Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (GB)
I have a confession to make. This is the only Zelda game on my list! I'm still playing through OoT on VC, never completed A Link to the Past (which I really enjoyed) and Twilight Princess has been superseded by some of the great games of this gen. However, there's something to be said about the first time you play a Zelda game and this was my first. Maybe it was because I played it as a kid or maybe it was because it was the first Zelda game I'd played, but this fuelled my imagination in ways most modern games don't even come close to realising. The charming 2D sprites coupled with the superb design of items, levels and game progression made this one of the greatest game's ever made. I pretty much played this and nothing else for a 1.5 years; it's just a joy to play.
17. Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
Back in the late 90s, everyone was talking about this game. The story, the stealth mechanics, the guards throwing grenades down vent shafts, the boss fights! I however, didn't know what the fuss was about and ignored it... until I played the demo. I then went out and bought it the next day.
So much about this game felt fresh and innovative. The stealth mechanics were amazing; constantly hiding behind cover; ensuring you didn't leave footprints in the snow; using camera blind-spots. It was all new. The level design was also superb using the keycards to gain specific access to new areas but still immersing you into the idea that this was a top secret facility that you were infiltrating. Even backtracking was fun!
It also had the unique Kojima style that rewarded clever and original thinking. The fight with Psycho Mantis is a clear example of this (switching controller input around and him reading you memory card!). Most games and designers wouldn't dare breach the fourth-wall for fear it would destroy immersion, yet in MGS they breach the fourth wall on numerous occasions yet it actually improves immersion into the game world. Other examples of rewarding original thinking by the player include having the wolves piss on a cardboard box thereby enabling you to traverse their territory without getting attacked or using cigarette smoke to ID potential laser traps.
I haven't even mentioned the story which is probably the best in the series. It made you feel like you were truly in a movie and was a superb cinematic experience with a rollercoaster of emotions. It also had two seperate endings which always helps with the replay value and didn't go too outlandish as happened in MGS2.
In many ways, the gameplay and visuals haven't aged brilliantly (as most games of that generation), yet everything was crafted so perfectly to fit as a complete package very little compares. One observation of Twin Snakes on GameCube is that whilst they added moves from MGS2, they didn't fit with the core gameplay or design of the original. Taken as a whole package, it was probably the most well-thought out and polished game of the PS/N64 generation.
16. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, PC & Android)
The only GTA game on my list as it's quite simply brilliant. For me, the content in this game alone was enough to push this game up to 16th. All the aspects that made GTAIII and Vice City great were thrown into this game and then the content was doubled to create a gloriously fun package. Great missions, lots of cars, diverse environments (3 different cities, countryside, dessert) and flying jets! I preffered the mafia story of Vice City, but the sheer volume of the game world and the variety of things to do make this one of the the best GTA game ever created!
15. Uncharted 2 (PS3)
The original was good, but didn't even make it onto my list (or Uncharted 3 for that matter). The sequel on the other hand took everything that made the original good, subtracted the crap and added an extra layer of awesome! Everything in this game just clicked and it acheived everything I want from a story-driven third-person action adventure game. It combined the platforming and puzzles elements of Tomb Raider with the shooting and cover system of Gears but also added a more strategic stealth element to the game rather than relying on the constant spawning of enemies in the original. Not particularly original you might say, but extremely ambitious and very difficult to pull off with the amount of polish they acheived.
I haven't even mentioned the amazing set-pieces that are quite simply mind-blowing. Gun-fights in a collapsing building, platforming on bombarded debris and an amazing combination of platforming and shooting for the train section. These were all aided with some clever physics, amazing visuals and some of the most beautiful vistas I've ever seen in video games. The views on the mountains and at the top of the hotel are truly amazing. The co-op and multiplayer are also very good fun and works very well, although the single-player is really what makes it for me.
Uncharted 2 is where I felt ND got the gameplay balance, level design and story just right. Lastly, it's set in Nepal for a large portion of the game, and as I'm Nepali by descent, it holds a special place in my heart :P
14. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
Bioware make great RPGs. Mix Bioware and Star Wars and you get the greatest Star Wars game ever created. The game was pretty much an entire Star Wars trilogy wrapped into a single game and even with its own lil' "I am your Father" shock moment. The story was superb, the characters were deep and interesting but still quintessentially Star Wars. The relationship between you and the other characters was still player influenced as with older WRPGs, but were given a new level of polish due to the focus on story and the new graphical hardware available.
Being set 5000 years before the original Star Wars trilogy helped by giving the game greater freedom in comparison to other Star Wars games; not trapped by the original storyline but still within the greatness of the Star Wars universe with lightsabers, force powers and space fights. The sequel didn't make my list this year but is also a great game if unfortunately a little rushed.
13. Half-Life, Half-Life Source & the Black Mesa mod (PC)
I think this game really needs to be put into perspective to truly appreciate the revolution it brough to the FPS genre and general single-player storytelling in video games. It came out in a time where FPS' were all arcade shooters like Quake, Doom or Unreal, had little to no narrative, poor AI, unrealistic damage models (didn't matter where you hit someone, the damage was the same) and where everyone was a beefed up generic soldier (actually, not much has changed in that respect). Half-Life broke the mold. You played a geeky scientist, headshots would actually kill, the AI actually flanked you and flushed you out with grenades rather than running into walls and the narrative was excellent and told throughout the game world.
Quite simply, it was the first game to truly combine all these aspects into one revolutionary package. The narrative especially; for the first level you didn't even get a gun as it just built-up tension and set the scene for the rest of the game. The lack of cut-scenes and the fact that everything was seen in first-person also meant that a greater level of immersion could be maintained making you actually feel like you were Gordon Freeman. It also balanced the action with superb level design and puzzle elements requiring you to actually use a modicum of thought as opposed to the pure gibb-fest of previous FPS titles.
It's also worth remembering that the mods that sprung from this game (namely Counterstrike, but others like Day of Defeat as well) have gone on to become some of the greatest and most popular multiplayer FPS' in the world with many still being played today. Basically, nearly every FPS on the market today has been influenced in one way or another by Half-Life.
12. Age of Empires & The Rise of Rome expansion (PC)
The original Age of Empires is my highest rated RTS game. It might not have been as amazing in multiplayer as Age 2 and it might not have the outrageous units of Age of Mythology but there's an old school charm to this game... or maybe it's just because it was my first RTS! This and the original Starcraft came out at similar time, and they were both fantastic introductions into the RTS world.
Part of what made me enjoy this so much though was the setting. Guiding a civilisation from its early roots to the height of an empire really struck a cord with me, more so than the sequels. It is part of a small collection of games that must always be installed on my PC for instant access when I have that nostalgic feeling and it actually still holds up pretty well for a game that is over 13 years old. The graphics are obviously dated (although not as much as you might think) and the AI frustrating by todays standards but the solid balanced gameplay of the Age of Empires series doesn't age.
The Rise of Rome expansion also added 4 new civilisations including Rome and Carthage, some extra defensive units to balance the game further and upped the population limit for multiplayer to 200 from 50.
11. Grand Theft Auto V (PC)
Ah, to re-visit the sunny shores of San Andreas... driving a 'jacked' Buffalo before promptly parking in a T-junction, getting out a grenade launcher and destroying all the cars waiting at the red light. Then grabbing a random moterbike, driving to the airport whilst shooting the chasing cops and stealing a jet into the air and to the desert leaving the fuming virtual police to skid around the runway. I decide to forgo the desert airport and decide to ditch the jet and parachute onto the top of Mount Chiliad instead where I take a mountain bike and race to the bottom. Then I switch to Michael, invest in some shares, play a spot of Tennis and go out drinking with Franklin.
This is the sort of diversity I love in a GTA game that was sadly lacking in GTA IV's rather limited urban environment. GTA V on the other hand had everything I wanted in a GTA game since San Andreas. What I wasn't counting on however, was the intricately weaved narrative told through three different perspectives, the superbly organised heists and some of the most entertaining main characters in the series. Each character was seemingly a bizarre alter ego of the previous characters in GTA; the complete psychopath; the get-rich-quick apprentice that actually makes it; and the man with a dysfunctional background. Each character had an incredible dysfunctional depth to them that gave the three of them a weird chemistry that made the missions all the more entertaining. The missions themselves were carefully designed and showcased some of the best in the series.
Originally, I was disappointed that there was only one city compared to the three in San Andreas, but when you take into account the size of the world, the diversity of it, the missions and the characters, this really is the best GTA game ever made. The only thing left is to polish some of their gunplay mechanics which feel a little dated... oh wait, they just did that with the PS4/X1 version!
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