12 Most Influential Video Games Of The 2000s

6. Half-Life 2

The next evolutionary jump after Halo for first-person shooters was one that only PC gamers got to experience (unless you count the heavily downscaled Xbox version), as Half-life 2 was almost as pioneering a game as its predecessor was back in 1998.

Half-life 2 was proof that a game could tell a powerful, engaging story without cutscenes or a mouthy protagonist, and from a first-person perspective, no less. To say it was 'influential' in terms of story is perhaps misleading, because really so few games have tried and succeeded in telling a story the way this has.

But beyond the story, Half-life 2 was the perfect linear adventure - taking players across a stunning and diverse range of locations, from the Soviet-style dystopia of City 17 to the wonderfully grindhouse horror-town of Ravenholm. It was also one of the first games to truly be a playground of game physics, thanks to the revolutionary Source engine. The physics gun was essentially a showcase of 'look at the crazy, silly stuff you can do with game physics now'.

It introduced a new kind of physics-based playfulness to games that we continue to embrace to this day - just look at titles as diverse as Trine, Just Cause 3, and Rocket League, for example.