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03. Civilization IV
YEAR 2005: Looking deep inside the code of Civ IV would be the gaming equivalent of climbing inside the Total Perspective Vortex from The Hitchhiker's Guide - so vast, complex and limitless in potential that your mind would be mulched instantly. Thankfully then, Sid Meier saw fit to nestle a beauteous interface over his creation - letting it feel like you'd got raw history ticking away beneath it all, but keeping it manageable and non-terrifying.
From the very first selection of a decent place to settle to the point at which you first dropped the nuke (and all the pointy-sword squabbling in between), Civilization was
so captivating that bedtime was always pushed into the wee small hours. You couldn't help but give human qualities to your AI opponents, analysing their movements and trying to see through their meaningless platitudes and offers of bananas in exchange for plutonium.
There was just no other game that provided such feelings of glory or impending doom - all through one simple 'end turn' key-press to boot. And with Civ IV, well that's the iteration that just nailed everything: multiplayer, looks, religion, music, modding, engine, Leonard Nimoy... Everything.
02. Half-Life 2
YEAR 2004: We gamers have become steeped in Half-Life - its engine, its Counter Strike bedfellow, its sci-fi lore, its physics, its characters spreadeagled in humorous Garry's Mod poses, and the unexpected desktop disturbance that was Steam. Because of all this white noise, the fuzzy appendages of a game installed on countless hard drives worldwide, it's easy to forget just what made Half-Life 2 (and its offspring Episode One) so damn special.
For a start, it was one of very few games that developed true emotional attachment to its characters, through dialogue, remarkable facial animation and even the odd hug and kiss. Better yet, it allowed you to play a role in some 3D action set-pieces that wouldn't be out of place in the very best of Spielberg or Cameron; to be a part of a stunningly realised future-scape not a million miles away from the mind of George Orwell. It's fair to say that elements of HL2 were slightly too in love with its own physics system; it's also fair to say the squad bits at the end were clunky - but these are flies in a jar of ointment the length and breadth of the North Sea. Valve's creation is, was and remains a vital stepping stone between the games we all love and the games our children will be playing in years to come...
01. Deus Ex
YEAR 2000: Yes, Deus Ex. The greatest step the PC has ever made towards total immersion in plot, character and interactivity. A game that truly made you feel like star of the show - the fulcrum in a global conspiracy upon whom everything hinged. It was a page-turning interactive thriller, fulfilling every action-hero daydream present in the big book of male insecurities.
Hacking into mainframes without being detected, becoming a oneman killing machine as well as a creature of shadows and stealth, and turning on your cruel masters in support of the little man. Who wouldn't want to be the hero?
Deus Ex's plot was always in flux - it delighted in putting you on the spot. Do you put the bloody icing on the cake of your defection by filling Manderley with bullets, or do you walk out the bigger man? Do you protect your brother in his seedy hotel room as Men In Black start banging on the door, or do you start running? In your Half-Lifes and Dooms, the bottom line was that you were playing a game. In Deus Ex, on the other hand, you were breathing a narrative that felt as if both it, and you, truly mattered.
There was some pure trickery too, points at which the game would pull the cybernetic rug from beneath you. Who can forget being shot like a dog on the street before waking up in the evil Majestic 12 base - and slowly realising you were beneath the familiar halls of UNATCO? All this is nothing compared to the freedom Deus Ex forced on you: to use your own brain, think outside the box. Stranded on top of a building with next to no ammo and an enemy to one and all? Why not attempt to cushion your fall with cardboard boxes, jump down four stories, break your legs and crawl away at a painfully slow pace?
With its role-playing depth, its feeling of character ownership and countless ways to approach offing your foes, the fact we were never given a worthwhile sequel is among the greatest of gaming crimes. For sheer immersion, for so brilliantly disguising linearity, for convincing us that we were the centre of our own little universe and for giving us orange when we wanted lemon-lime, it's number one. We wear our sunglasses at night, and probably always will.
DEUS EX'S CREATOR WARREN SPECTOR ON BEING NO.1
"Our need to create something truly interactive - that got players 'off the rails' - drove us to solve all but impossible problems. There was a thrill, a feeling of being part of something special. Working on DX was gruelling and stressful, but none of us had a choice about it - we had to deliver the Game Of The Year - just making a good game wouldn't have been enough.
"It's incredibly gratifying to be recognised for your work. Winning more than 30 'Best Of' awards in 2001 was terrific. And hearing from players, as I still do, who've played the game numerous times is... Well, a little scary, but still cool! Having other developers tell me that DX changed the way they think about their work, and seeing games come along that were openly inspired by DX, now that's a great feeling.
"But, honestly, all the accolades pale before the experience of being part of the team that made Deus Ex. So, thanks to PC ZONE for recognising DX as a great game. But my deepest thanks go to the team that made it possible."
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