25 Best Video Games Of The 2000s

19. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Back before Ubisoft were the kings of pilfering fan-love for their products until they're bone dry, they had to amass such a presence in the first place. Step forward Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, one of the best looking games on the original Xbox by quite some margin, and possibly the finest stealth title of all time. The SC series was forever the realistic and seriously-minded counterpart to Metal Gear Solid's enjoyable anime-insanity, developing a very devoted following alongside.

For Chaos Theory it was the most robust and feature-packed iteration yet. Ubi brought about alternating kill/knockout animations based on context, so no matter whether you were sneaking up on a guy, hanging off a cliff or dangling from the ceiling, you could choose whether or not to dispatch with a swift throat-slice or a stunning blow to the head. It helped streamline the gameplay, whilst also kicking out some of the best level designs the series had ever seen.

Multi-layered HQs, Japanese tea houses, street-level gang hideouts and more, although 2013's Blacklist would be a return to form after many years of veering into too much story-related territory, Chaos Theory was the pinnacle for the franchise in the first place.