Top Ten PC Games of All Time

Of all the various forms of escapism and entertainment videogames offer the most immersive experience. They allow us to undertake all sorts of wondrous adventures in worlds that stretch as far as your imagination. The interactive nature sucks us in and delivers an experience which is impossible to get from a passive medium like film.

Games in all their forms offer unlimited fun, from handheld to console, but it is PC games which offer the greatest level of depth. They boast unparalleled complexity, diverse control systems and titles so absorbing they can eat weeks of our lives.

Now, choosing a top ten best PC games of all time is a daunting task but these are the titles that have greedily consumed my waking hours over the years. These are the games that have kept me up into the wee small hours, forsaking food, forgetting bodily functions and sometimes even ditching work.

 Considered by many people to be the greatest PC game of all time Half-Life 2 advanced the boundaries for first-person shooters. The original Half-Life was a terrific adventure but Half-Life 2 elevated the series even further. Incredible visuals with the Source engine, involved storytelling and characterization, and an intelligent approach to design which allows players the freedom to solve problems their own way. All wrapped up with aliens, zombies and plenty of combat. What’s not to love?

Having met the team (we used the Source Engine to make The Ship) it was abundantly clear why the game was so successful. Valve has the financial freedom to aim for perfection, none of the crunch nightmare or deadline stringency, not to mention publisher pressure that you’ll find at most developers. They have also hand picked a talented team who seem intent on one-upping each other with ever more impressive features and ideas.

 First-person is by its very nature is an absorbing genre and the silent Gordon Freeman doesn’t project a character onto events that disconnects you from the action so you always feel center stage when playing the game. The design is simply superb and the level of detail is astounding, encouraging you to experiment as you play just to see what will happen if you do this or that. Subtle cues which enable you to choose the right path during a speedy chase dissolve the notion of linearity and leave you feeling as though you had a choice when in fact you’ve taken the only viable route through the map.

This is a game that deserves its reputation for breaking new ground and challenging all developers to do better. It’s also an exciting roller coaster ride full of thrills and surprises and the fact each new section changes gear on you keeps it from ever getting repetitive or dull. Definitely the best single player first-person shooter so far and easily one of the best PC games of all time.

If you need help finishing it check out our complete Half-Life 2 Walkthrough.