The Best Video Games of All Time (cont'd)

#6... BioShock (Xbox 360)

- On the surface, BioShock appears to be no more than another first person shooter, with admitedly better-than-average graphics. But after the first few minutes, the player finds themselves drawn into an experience that is more a playable film than it is a game. Add to that the fact that its controls, and by extension its Gun vs. Plasmid combat system, are so unique and well-thought-out, that clearing the same room is never quite the same experience twice, and you already have found yourself a masterpiece.

But thats not where BioShock ends. Its story, of a libertarian society gone mad on a genetically-altering narcotic deep beneath the ocean, is well-paced, intriguing, and ultimately highly-satisfying. And then add the best voice acting in video game history. As you can tell, this is no title to be taken lightly.

And all of this, BioShock does without actually creating a new genre of gaming. In the end, it is the a purely single-player shooter. And while its innovative Plasmid feature is creative, one certainely cannot say that its an idea that hasn't been played with before (for what science-fiction shooter these days doesn't offset an arsenal of personal weapons with an available plethora of supernatural powers). But none of this takes away from the game, because simply put, BioShock is everything we loved about those games, now executed to perfection. "Don't be a slow-poke, Mr. B... Angels won't wait for slow-pokes."

#7... Half-Life 2 (PC, Xbox, Xbox 360)

- The fact the most nerds would be screaming over how low I've placed Half-Life 2 on this list is enough of an argument to its impact. But, beyond that, one could still argue that developer, Valve, reinvented the wheel with the much hallowed physics engine this game produced, one that has seen countless mods and eventually an entire 4-game expansion pack based purely on its genuis.

The fact that its story is... well.. kinda shitty as far the science fiction genre goes, does nothing to detract from its overall brilliance. Hell, the very fact that it introduced me to the term "Resonance Cascade" is enough to take my hat off to. But the real artistic strongpoint of this game is the fact that, despite the lackluster and ill-explained storyline, the way the game paces its use of said story actually makes you care... ALOT.

A pioneer in the realm of transforming video games into film experiences, later perfected by the entry above, Half-Life 2 managed to literally transform the entire game into an interactive cutscene. Add to that the enclusion of quite-possibly the best shooter weapon of all time, the Gravity Gun, and you have yourself quite a heafty package to deal with here. Well done, Mr. Freeman. Well done, indeed.