15 Best Months To Be A Gamer (Since 2000)

11. November 2004 €“ Snakes, Warcraft And Glorious Sequels...

Overall, 2004 was a massive year for gaming but much of it came to a head in November. Whilst the third instalment in the Metal Gear Solid series wouldn't be seen outside of America until 2005, Snake Eater launched in November in the U.S to rave reviews. Set during the Cold War, it's a major tribute to classic spy series like James Bond whilst still retaining that special Kojima-branded gameplay magic.

Still, that arrival was dwarfed by the launch of World Of Warcraft. Still the biggest MMO in existence to date, WoW immediately drew a huge userbase and became the highest selling PC game for the next two years. You may have been warned of the dangers of the game's addictive nature (a certain South Park episode always springs to mind...) but getting lost in the world of Azeroth is an experience we'll never forget.

Another huge PC release in this month was Half-Life 2, often acclaimed as the greatest FPS of all time. Pushing Valve's new Source engine to its fullest, Half-Life 2 looked better and played better then pretty much anything on offer at the time. The Xbox received its own classic sequel with the arrival of Halo 2; not just a great game, but one that allowed Microsoft to fully utilise their Xbox Live system. For over two years, it was the most popular game on the system by far.

Other big titles launched this month include Everquest II, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Killzone. The Nintendo DS was also launched in America this month; the handheld console would prove to be one of Nintendo's biggest success stories as it proceeded to almost literally print money for the company.

Metacritic Roundup: Halo 2, 95. World of Warcraft, 93. Half-Life 2, 96. Average: 94.67.