10 Video Games That Changed EVERYTHING When They Launched
9. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty (2001)
Konami's Metal Gear Solid franchise was launched in 1998, however it was with the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in 2001 that the series proved itself to be a real game-changer.
The game revolves around a group of terrorists named the 'Sons of Liberty' who seize an offshore clean up facility named the 'Big Shell' and begin ransoming off the President of the United State in exchange for not triggering a worldwide catastrophe. With such a Bond-esque storyline, the game brought with it some of the most stunning visuals, cutscene animations and finite attention to detail for its day. In fact, the way in which cutscenes and character dialogues are used to tell the story was something completely revolutionary for the time and more like a big Hollywood blockbuster than a video game at times.
On top of that, Sons of Liberty was groundbreaking for its tone and themes which swung from tropes around postmodernism, state censorship, social engineering and nation-wide conspiracies. Not only did this change the game for how artistic expression and unchained creativity could make its way into the video game community, but it also lay the groundwork for these otherwise buried topics to begin being talked about in wider society more, something that is still being felt to this day in contemporary society.