Starcraft
Starcraft ranks in at #10 on this list. An amazingly popular game, it was released in 1998 and is still being played. Starcraft is a RTS game that pits the Zerg, Protoss, and Terran against each other. Each have a unique play style utilizing their strengths and weaknesses.
Starcraft ranks in at #10 on this list. An amazingly popular game, it was released in 1998 and is still being played. Starcraft is a RTS game that pits the Zerg, Protoss, and Terran against each other. Each have a unique play style utilizing their strengths and weaknesses.
SiN Episodes: Emergence
At #9 SiN Episodes is a game you might have never head of. It's a continuation of the game SiN, released in 1998. It was released on Steam, and is unique in the fact that it was the first game created by a major developer that was released without a publisher. SiN episodes is a FPS game that takes place some time in the future in a mega city. You play the roll of a cop who has been injected with an experimental "Super Soldier" drug that is looking for the cure. It plays like many other source games, so if you enjoy them, you will probably enjoy SiN, along with it's many easter eggs. The best part though? The primary villian is a lady by the name of Elexis Sinclaire.
At #9 SiN Episodes is a game you might have never head of. It's a continuation of the game SiN, released in 1998. It was released on Steam, and is unique in the fact that it was the first game created by a major developer that was released without a publisher. SiN episodes is a FPS game that takes place some time in the future in a mega city. You play the roll of a cop who has been injected with an experimental "Super Soldier" drug that is looking for the cure. It plays like many other source games, so if you enjoy them, you will probably enjoy SiN, along with it's many easter eggs. The best part though? The primary villian is a lady by the name of Elexis Sinclaire.
Sins of a Solar Empire
#8 is another game you may or may not have heard of. Sins of a Solar Empire is a pretty epic RTS game set in space. Released in 2008 with an expansion in 2009 and another in 2010, Sins has become a popular game among the RTS crowd. The basis of the game is to colonize planets through one of 3 methods: Through force, as par in a RTS game, buying them(with a ton of money), or through a religious coupe. This makes things a little interesting, as you have to make sure your people actually like you. You have the ability to build massive space fleets, and the unique feature to zoom in as close as a spaceship window, and far enough out to see multiple galaxies. Though not much real use, it's a very interesting feature.
#8 is another game you may or may not have heard of. Sins of a Solar Empire is a pretty epic RTS game set in space. Released in 2008 with an expansion in 2009 and another in 2010, Sins has become a popular game among the RTS crowd. The basis of the game is to colonize planets through one of 3 methods: Through force, as par in a RTS game, buying them(with a ton of money), or through a religious coupe. This makes things a little interesting, as you have to make sure your people actually like you. You have the ability to build massive space fleets, and the unique feature to zoom in as close as a spaceship window, and far enough out to see multiple galaxies. Though not much real use, it's a very interesting feature.
Age of Empires 2
#7 is my favorite RTS game(you may notice there are a few on this list). It pits ancient civilizations against each other in a battle to the death (or whatever else, with all the custom maps). Age of Empires had awesome fan made maps that changed the play style. One good example was Archer Blood. In this custom map, each user got a fortress and and tower. You spawned archers at a constant interval with upgrades coming depending on how many kills you got. The final goal being to destroy the enemies tower. There were also games like the reenactment of Helms Deep. Overall it was a solid base RTS, even without custom maps, giving many choices of different civilizations, each with unique bonuses.
#7 is my favorite RTS game(you may notice there are a few on this list). It pits ancient civilizations against each other in a battle to the death (or whatever else, with all the custom maps). Age of Empires had awesome fan made maps that changed the play style. One good example was Archer Blood. In this custom map, each user got a fortress and and tower. You spawned archers at a constant interval with upgrades coming depending on how many kills you got. The final goal being to destroy the enemies tower. There were also games like the reenactment of Helms Deep. Overall it was a solid base RTS, even without custom maps, giving many choices of different civilizations, each with unique bonuses.
Battlefield 3
At #6, battlefield 3 is a pretty standard FPS game. The story line is forgettable, if you even do it, but multiplayer is addicting. Like Battlefield 2 before it, there are lots of maps, and plenty of guns. As well as fighting as a grunt, you can get in a tank, LAV, hummer, jet, or helicopter. It's got a nice ranking system where the more you play with a particular gun, the more upgrades you get for it. You can play as anything from a scout sniper to a combat medic, with each roll getting unique weapons and unlocks. There's not a lot more to say, other than it's pretty.
At #6, battlefield 3 is a pretty standard FPS game. The story line is forgettable, if you even do it, but multiplayer is addicting. Like Battlefield 2 before it, there are lots of maps, and plenty of guns. As well as fighting as a grunt, you can get in a tank, LAV, hummer, jet, or helicopter. It's got a nice ranking system where the more you play with a particular gun, the more upgrades you get for it. You can play as anything from a scout sniper to a combat medic, with each roll getting unique weapons and unlocks. There's not a lot more to say, other than it's pretty.
DOOM 3
#5 is the third shooter on this list, and the third version of the classic game, DOOM. Set on mars in the future, you, as the original space marine, have to fight your way through demons to save the day. Doom is meant to be a scary game, and they went about achieving this in different ways. First of all, pretty much everywhere you go is covered in gore, so this might be a reason it's rated M. The second way is through sound. Id, the makers of Doom, use many creepy, almost not there sounds, partnered with the fact that you hear people getting killed, either over the radio you carry, or by being close to their location. Finally, they use lighting. The complex you're in has been ravaged by demons, and thus not all the lights work. There's flickering, shadows, and just plain dark spots. To combat this you have a flashlight, but in the original game, you can't use the flashlight and a gun at the same time, forcing you to either see what's coming after you, or defend against what's coming after you.
#5 is the third shooter on this list, and the third version of the classic game, DOOM. Set on mars in the future, you, as the original space marine, have to fight your way through demons to save the day. Doom is meant to be a scary game, and they went about achieving this in different ways. First of all, pretty much everywhere you go is covered in gore, so this might be a reason it's rated M. The second way is through sound. Id, the makers of Doom, use many creepy, almost not there sounds, partnered with the fact that you hear people getting killed, either over the radio you carry, or by being close to their location. Finally, they use lighting. The complex you're in has been ravaged by demons, and thus not all the lights work. There's flickering, shadows, and just plain dark spots. To combat this you have a flashlight, but in the original game, you can't use the flashlight and a gun at the same time, forcing you to either see what's coming after you, or defend against what's coming after you.
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
#4 is a new game, released 11/11/11. It's set 200 years after Oblivion, putting the player in the province of Skyrim on the continent Tamriel. Skyrim is a large RPG game that gives you plenty of freedom with your character. Want to be a giant nord with a battle ax? A sneaky elf with daggers? A furry with a klepto problem? What about a giant furry with daggers? It's all possible in Skyrim. Skyrim has a nice, though rather short main quest, with a massive amount of side quests and land to explore. Also, like Oblivion and Morrowind before it, there are plenty of mods, with more being constantly added. The best part however is that almost nothing is bolted down, and you can steal massive amounts of stuff until your home looks like this.
#4 is a new game, released 11/11/11. It's set 200 years after Oblivion, putting the player in the province of Skyrim on the continent Tamriel. Skyrim is a large RPG game that gives you plenty of freedom with your character. Want to be a giant nord with a battle ax? A sneaky elf with daggers? A furry with a klepto problem? What about a giant furry with daggers? It's all possible in Skyrim. Skyrim has a nice, though rather short main quest, with a massive amount of side quests and land to explore. Also, like Oblivion and Morrowind before it, there are plenty of mods, with more being constantly added. The best part however is that almost nothing is bolted down, and you can steal massive amounts of stuff until your home looks like this.
The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
#3 is another Elder Scrolls game. Again, set in Tamriel, but this time in the province of Morrowind, more specifically the island of Vvardenfell. The main story line is rather nice, with plenty to do and lots of side story lines as well. Getting into guilds is much harder than with Skyrim, and require a lot more questing, going into dungeons, etc. The game was absolutely beautiful at release in 2002, pushing computers to the limit, and can still look nice now with mods. The game world is amazingly detailed with plenty to do, and there are massive amounts of mods that add to it, from tiny houses to entire new lands. Coupled with the mods, the immersion and ability to consume time rivals that of an MMO. Which brings us to:
#3 is another Elder Scrolls game. Again, set in Tamriel, but this time in the province of Morrowind, more specifically the island of Vvardenfell. The main story line is rather nice, with plenty to do and lots of side story lines as well. Getting into guilds is much harder than with Skyrim, and require a lot more questing, going into dungeons, etc. The game was absolutely beautiful at release in 2002, pushing computers to the limit, and can still look nice now with mods. The game world is amazingly detailed with plenty to do, and there are massive amounts of mods that add to it, from tiny houses to entire new lands. Coupled with the mods, the immersion and ability to consume time rivals that of an MMO. Which brings us to:
World of Warcraft
#2, World of Warcraft has been the MMO since 2004. Built upon the game world of Warcraft 3 and it's predecessors, WoW is a huge MMO giving users thousands, if not millions of things to do, from collecting pets to killing the opposing faction. WoW is split up into two factions at war, the Alliance and the Horde, each with it's unique races. Between the land masses of Kalimdor, the Easter Kingdoms, Northrend, and Outlands, there is plenty to explore. WoW has 3 expansions out, with a fourth on the horizon. Although it's no longer at it's peak after nearly 8 years, WoW still has 10 million active players, more than any other paid MMO. If you haven't tried it yet, you can now level up to 20 for free. It's worth downloading just to give it a shot.
#2, World of Warcraft has been the MMO since 2004. Built upon the game world of Warcraft 3 and it's predecessors, WoW is a huge MMO giving users thousands, if not millions of things to do, from collecting pets to killing the opposing faction. WoW is split up into two factions at war, the Alliance and the Horde, each with it's unique races. Between the land masses of Kalimdor, the Easter Kingdoms, Northrend, and Outlands, there is plenty to explore. WoW has 3 expansions out, with a fourth on the horizon. Although it's no longer at it's peak after nearly 8 years, WoW still has 10 million active players, more than any other paid MMO. If you haven't tried it yet, you can now level up to 20 for free. It's worth downloading just to give it a shot.
Diablo 2
Number 1 on the list is another Blizzard game. Diablo II was released in 2000, with it's Lord of Destruction expansion released in 2001. Diablo is a multiplayer RPG. Not really an MMO, as you can only play with 7 other people at a time. You fight your way through 4(5 with the expansion) different unique areas over three difficulties to progress, gain gear, and reach level 99. It's easily re-playable and fun to use all the different classes. Every map is generated when you load the world, so it's very hard to get the same layout twice, keeping the gameplay fresh even though it's the same areas. I, along with countless others, have spent way too much time on Diablo II, and will probably spend countless more hours on it considering blizzard is still releasing patches for it. The dark, grungy feel of the game is amazing. With a simple interface and ease of play, it makes it an easy game to get hooked on.
Number 1 on the list is another Blizzard game. Diablo II was released in 2000, with it's Lord of Destruction expansion released in 2001. Diablo is a multiplayer RPG. Not really an MMO, as you can only play with 7 other people at a time. You fight your way through 4(5 with the expansion) different unique areas over three difficulties to progress, gain gear, and reach level 99. It's easily re-playable and fun to use all the different classes. Every map is generated when you load the world, so it's very hard to get the same layout twice, keeping the gameplay fresh even though it's the same areas. I, along with countless others, have spent way too much time on Diablo II, and will probably spend countless more hours on it considering blizzard is still releasing patches for it. The dark, grungy feel of the game is amazing. With a simple interface and ease of play, it makes it an easy game to get hooked on.