31. Spec Ops: The Line
What appears as just another military shooter on the surface winds up easily being the best in an overpopulated bunch. Martin Walker and his squad are ordered to investigate Dubai after a freakish natural disaster and its rogue soldiers. Slowly the game evolves into video game social commentary even going as far as calling the player a bad person during loading screens, as they just haven't been hit with the punchline yet. Intrigue builds and builds until erupting with an intense realization and finale. Spec Ops: The Line is the offspring of Apocalypse Now and Fight Club.
30. Final Fantasy IX
You knew the series would crop up in this list sooner or later! Final Fantasy 9 is an engaging mythical masterpiece that took the series back to its aesthetic roots of medieval fantasy over an Anime inspired fantasy. Capitalizing on the PS1s power, Final Fantasy 9 contains rich detailed environments, an amazing party of characters, and as usual a fantastic villain to shoot this entry into the upper echelon of not just Final Fantasy games, but a spot in this list. As a Final Fantasy game it often feels looked over in favor of the other juggernaut entries which is a shame because there's very few moments in gaming as emotional as the sequence where Zidane pushes his friends away until realizing he truly does need them, all while the heart-pounding track "You're Not Alone" heightens the moment.
29. The Getaway
If I had to associate this game with a movie director, I would equate it to a Danny Boyle film. The Getaway may not mess with your head like say Trance, but it carries that same energetic and frantic pacing that keeps you on the edge. It may not have an astounding amount of content similar to Grand Theft Auto, but it counters with a relentlessly fast paced story of a father digging deep through a London criminal empire to rescue his son. Furthermore, to my knowledge it's one of the very first games (If not the pioneer) to religiously have "F***" uttered within its script.