2. Resident Evil 4 (2005)
Within modern gaming itself, Resident Evil 4 marks a significant shift. Whereas RPG, platform, sports and pretty much every other genre had made a smooth transition into 3D back in '94, the shooter genre the non-first person variety hadn't really found its way. We put up with terrible third person shooter mechanics when they were a part of otherwise brilliant games (GTA), but anyone wanting a good idea of what
dedicated third person shooter games were like should check out PS2 launch title X-Squad (available for £0.01 on Amazon). Then came Resident Evil 4. To preclude any outrage, I'm well aware that Resi 4 wasn't the first game to use the over-the-shoulder shooting mechanic, as
this list makes clear. Look, though, at the upswing in the number of games using it after Resi 4. Resi 4 was the game that made it and third-person shooters as a whole viable, demonstrating that they could be just as precise and intuitive as their first-person siblings. True, several refinements were later made to the system (Resi 4's lack of a cover mechanic makes it feel somewhat outdated, for example), and this slot on the list could just as easily accommodate, for example, Gears of War. For being there first, though, the point goes to Resi.