20 Best Video Games Of The Last 20 Years

8. Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect is gaming's Star Trek. I'd say Star Wars, but Bioware's lore-masters have always written their games with a far more academic and societally-reflective backdrop than anything Star Wars likes to dabble in.

Simply put: Mass Effect's whirlpool of racial differences, political clashes and moral choices ensures its more than just set-dressing, mainly by placing you - as a 'lowly human' - at the centre of a galaxy in turmoil.

In a brilliant move of fictional storytelling, Mass Effect 2 continues the idea of uniting us as gamers regardless of colour or creed, simply to represent humanity to a universe predisposed to assume the worst.

This sequel's revamped combat finally nailed third-person shooting, reintroducing you to many key characters thanks to a "thought you were dead, now you're back!" setup, factoring into one of the most emotional and effective explorations of moral values and individualism ever put to code.