1. Half-life 2

Developer: Valve
Release: Nov 16th 2004
Metacritic Score: 96
Format: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox
Sales: 4.7 million

Adam Thomas: After all the games on the list, the number one game should be the pinnacle of not only a field, but of gaming.  After all, with titles like World of Warcraft or Metroid Prime, you have games that have opened up the way in terms of multiplayer connectivity and storytelling. You have games like Resident Evil 4 which revitalized a genre or Grand Theft Auto III that created one.  The top game has to be able to take these things, and personify them because it has to be a game that is not only memorable, but an experience that will take the player into different directions.

It is why Half Life 2 happens to be on the list as the best game in the decade. At its base, it continues the story of Gordon Freeman, scientist turned hero in the original Half Life. It would seem that your efforts were, in the end, were somewhat futile, as the human race as we know it is gone. It seems after you were enlisted by the Mysterious G-Man, you ended up in stasis, away from Humanity for 10 years. The world has changed, and humans are slaves to the alien invaders.

You arrive in City 17 and are prepared to save it. Fresh out of stasis, you have to fight with new friends and foes to save the earth with a small band of resistance fighters. The story outline isn’t too original, as we have all seen the hero story done from plenty of angles. We have all played that video game that has turned a single man into the thesis for world peace.  It is serviceable, but this game puts a spin on it. It gives the presentation a bit of a lift. It lies as the main difference, because Half Life 2 relies on a style that is based on substance, with strong writing to back it up.

 As Gordon Freeman, you yourself do not say a word. This hasn’t changed from the first game. Like Link in many Zelda games, your story is unraveled by the world around you. This allows the player to have a feeling of connection to Gordon.  Everyone else speaks, and fills you into the story. This works because of the fantastic writing. Each character is given a personality, and each feels like they are a piece of the puzzle.   It is because of it, each person feels critical to the story.

However, this alone isn’t the reason why this game is on the list. Yes, the original game, plus its expansions Half Life 2: Episode One and Half Life 2: Episode Two, provided for hours of entertainment.  They were great games in their own right, but it isn’t just that. The creation of Half Life 2 gave the world a lot more entertainment, through the creation of the Steam service and the multiple games built upon its system.

As mentioned, the creation of Steam was a huge contribution to the world of the PC gaming. The service, once only used for the Half Life 2 games and expansions, now have gone to other companies to allow anyone to jump in and download and protect their games. It is much like the XBOX Live service and Playstation Network for the PC.

There were also games that, based on the Half Life 2 architecture, wowed and amazed us. For anyone who loves FPS on computers, or plays anything on a competitive circuit, they have to know about CounterStrike Source,  Day of Defeat Source as well as Team Fortress. All games have gotten players stuck to their keyboards and mouse setups for hours, amassing headshots and learning maps better than their game rooms.  Games like Portal have tested gamers mentally. Figuring out how to portal your way out of a closed room may sound simple now, but try it with having to bounce, spring, and slide your way to victory.

As crazy as this sounds, this piece could very well go on for a long time, speaking on the work the development of Half Life 2 did for game physics (It made hitting someone with a shotgun at close range a very satisfying experience.), independent gaming with Steam, and retro gaming construction (I couldn’t play X-Com otherwise), among other things could keep us talking for days to come (and it has through blogs and forums). All that chatter really speaks to how powerful this game was to the world at large. And as one of the only titles to have both a successful PC and Console run, it may have been the title that allowed hell to freeze over for just a moment, allowing for both console and PC gamers to enjoy just one thing together.

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