The Sega Dreamcast was a passionate love affair, but a painfully brief one. Of the 64-bit children that were born out of this tumultuous relationship, Shenmue was the console's proudest creation. Sega AM2, with the legendary Yu Suzuki at the helm, carved the path that would shape open-world sandbox action gaming from then on. Its hard to imagine a GTA V without Shenmue as an ancestor. The vast areas to explore were packed with voiced NPCs with their own day-to-day schedules, some integral to the narrative, others just to add light and shade to the gaming landscape. It was a persistent world unlike anything we had seen before, and while it didnt come close to recouping its colossal development costs, Shenmue set the bar for immersive free-roaming gameplay.
10. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec - Sony PlayStation 2 (2001)
Before we had Turn 10 and their brilliant Forza series to challenge Polyphony Digital, Sony's in-house dev team had the hardcore console racing market all to themselves. Over the years the Gran Turismo has become somewhat overbearing in its quest for clinical precision - incredible, yes, but possibly in need of a touch of fun. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, though, was the pinnacle of the franchise, an unbelievable achievement in game design. Late nights spent shaving milliseconds off your best times became a thrilling addiction, while endurance races would easily eat any free time you had available. Slicing through the perfectly banked corners and bulleting down the straights, there was little to match the feeling.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
