5. Deus Ex (2000)
Since we've already had a title from the Japanese RPG tradition, it seems only fair to have a western RPG to balance that out. Deus Ex, though, is more than an RPG and therein lies its brilliance. Todd Howard (Bethesda) has said that the future of RPGs may well lie in the
increased integration of RPG elements into other genres. It would be something of an overstatement to call Deus Ex the first title to demonstrate such integration but it was, and remains, one of the best examples, successfully merging traditional RPG tropes (do tasks, get money, buy weapons, upgrade weapons, do tasks, break weapons etc.) with the FPS and stealth genres, changing all of them for the better in the process. This opening of relations between seemingly disparate genres just part of what makes Deus Ex such a definitive title. It also, like The Sims and Grand Theft Auto were doing around the same time, promoted increased freedom of choice, leading with the idea that there could be multiple ways to complete missions. Speaking of Grand Theft Auto...