3. Half-Life 2 (Valve)
Yes, another Valve entry, but they know how to make quality games, which is no more evident in their masterpiece,
Half-Life 2. Despite being a direct sequel to the original
Half-Life, it tells an original story with only the necessary connections to its predecessor, allowing it to create its own identity. Gordon Freeman, having been left hanging at the end of the the original, suddenly finds himself on a train to City 17, currently occupied by the multidimensional Combine empire. It's not to long before he finds himself once again involved in a battle for survival, along with allies Barney Calhoun, Dr. Eli Vance, and his daughter Alyx. Like
Portal,
Half-Life 2 deftly combines gameplay and design with narrative and characters so well that the two are inseparable. Every entry on this list utilizes the elements natural to video games to tell a story, but perhaps none do it better than
this. A video game in every way, it never breaks player immersion by using cutscenes, which, by their very nature, have more in common with film than video games. Instead, players are given control throughout the entirety of the game, and events play out in real time. It also is the best example of the implementation of the "silent protagonist," a practice that seems to be used less and less nowadays. Through silence, the player is able to literally take on the role of Gordon Freeman. Your voice is his voice; your actions are his actions. When characters speak to him, they are speaking to you. This allows the player to feel truly connected to the characters, especially the character of Alyx Vance. Before you know it, you find yourself talking back to the screen, responding to the inquiries of the characters yourself. Through the simple mechanic of removing the protagonist's voice, the player feels more in control and immersed in the role, and the journey becomes that much more personal and rewarding. It is for this demonstrable effect that
Half-Life 2 is considered by so many to be one of the best games ever made. It is so effortlessly able to generate emotional investment from the player, all while telling an epic science fiction story that never forgets to keep the characters at the forefront. It is unmitigated gaming goodness, and without a doubt a work of art.