14. Dropping An Entire Room Of Enemies In Bullet Time - Max Payne
Think early 2000s. Everybody and their granny wanted a piece of The Matrix's ultra-cool leather-clad slow-motion style, and even though Enter The Matrix was far better than people gave it credit for (you could cartwheel and fire guns!), it was Remedy's Max Payne that injected some uber-stylistic film noir into the proceedings and created one of the best characters in gaming history in the process. Who doesn't love a rogue hero done wrong by the ills of society, setting off to right the balance as they spout vaguely philosophical one-liners? There's one great scene, where after Max has tasted the business end of a baseball bat he embarks on a revenge kick against the man responsible. You'll battle up and out the warehouse you were imprisoned in, all the way to a great setup where - after bursting in through the doors and triggering Bullet Time - the swirling cocktail of blood and bullets plays out like some incredibly visceral diorama. Remedy got the balance just right of being eminently playable whilst maintaining the visual punch that made you notice every bullet whizzing past your head was individually rendered, and as much as the second and third games would refine things even more, it's this original that stands alone as a true classic.
