Top 10 best pc games of 2005

In keeping with the Elder Scrolls tradition, players have the option to experience the main quest at their own pace, and there are plenty of opportunities to explore the vast world and make your own way. Numerous factions can be joined, such as the thieves or mages guilds, and each contains its own complete storyline and the chance to rise to the head of the faction and reap further rewards.

Oblivion features a groundbreaking new AI system, called Radiant AI, which gives non-player characters NPCs the ability to make their own choices based on the world around them.

They decide where to eat or who to talk to and what they say. They sleep, go to church, and even steal items, all based on their individual characteristics. Full facial animations and lip-synching, combined with full speech for all dialog, allows NPCs to come to life like never before.

Something's rotten in the Land of Dead and you're being played for a sucker. Meet Manny Calavera, travel agent at the Department of Death. He sells luxury packages to souls on their four-year journey to eternal rest. But there's trouble in paradise. Help Manny untangle himself from a conspiracy that threatens his very salvation. The kingdom of Khandaras has fallen into chaos. An unknown force of evil has swept across the land.

Plunging it nto civil war and terrorizing the populace. A mad king, his missing son, and a mysterious archbishop are all pieces to the puzzle that faces you. You have journeyed to the source of the evil. The town of Tristram. Now inhabited by only a handful of survivors. The catherdal there is buildt over the ruins of an ancient monastary, and now eerie lights and sounds are heard echoing through its abandoned halls.

Perhaps the answer lies withing the remains of a forgotten past Diablo invites you to enter a world of dark gothic fantasy. Play as a brave warrior, cunning rogue or mysterious sorceror. As you venture deeper into the labyrinth, you'll discover weapons, armor, and magical treasures, and develop your character's skills and abilities. Faster-Paced Fun - Gameplay has been streamlined for a tighter, faster, and more compelling experience.

Greater Accessibility and Ease of Play - An easy-to-use interface will be immediately familiar to RTS and action game players, and newcomers to the series will be able to jump in and play. Tech Tree - Flexible Tech tree allows players more strategic choices for developing their civilizations along unique paths.

More Civs, Units, and Improvements to enhance and grow your empire. Team Play - Whether playing multiplayer or single player, team play offers a new way of setting locked alliances that result in shared wonder effects, visibility, unit trading, and shared territory that delivers a plethora of new strategic and tactical options. Civ IV comes to life! Cities and wonders will appear on the map. Wonder movies are back! With the Empire attacking the Kingdoms of the North and the Wild Hunt, a cavalcade of ghastly riders, breathing down your neck, the only way to survive is to fight back.

As Geralt of Rivia, a master swordsman and monster hunter, leave none of your enemies standing. Explore a gigantic open world, slay beasts and decide the fates of whole communities with your actions, all in a genuine next generation format. A real-time strategy game set in World War II, Company of Heroes brings to life, in full cinematic detail, the greatest war mankind has ever known.

Company of Heroes is built on Relic's next-generation Essence Engine and also utilizes the Havok Physics engine, delivering cinematic visual detail in a world completely driven by realistic physics. Gamers will experience the journey of the brave men of Able Company in a deep single-player campaign that begins with the invasion of Normandy through their fight across Europe, all set against the most dynamic battlefield ever seen in a game.

Company of Heroes' completely destructable environment means no two battles ever play out in the same way. Advanced squad AI delivers startling new realism and responsiveness, bringing soldiers to life as they interact with the environment and execute advanced squad tactics to eliminate the opposition forces. It's the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity's only chance for survival.

The Combine's control of the planet since the Black Mesa incident has only strengthened as they corral the remaining population in cities. Among them are some of Earth's greatest scientists: you and your father, Dr. Eli Vance. As founders of a fledgling resistance, you've continued your clandestine scientific activityperforming critical research, and building invaluable tools for the few humans brave enough to defy the Combine. Every day, you learn more about your enemy, and every day you work toward finding a weakness.

VR was built to enable the gameplay that sits at the heart of Half-Life. Immerse yourself in deep environmental interactions, puzzle solving, world exploration, and visceral combat. Lean to aim around a broken wall and under a Barnacle to make an impossible shot. Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Toss a bottle through a window to distract an enemy.

Rip a Headcrab off your face and throw it at a Combine soldier. Hammer, Valve's level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game's virtual reality gameplay tools and components. Master deep, tactical combat. Join up to 3 other players - but know that only one of you will have the chance to become a God. Reload, rev up and ride out. The new Tournament is faster, higher and meaner.

Land and air based vehicles take combat to a new level; while an arsenal of new weaponry, daunting arenas and battlefields and the challenge of the Assault and Onslaught modes make the gladiator blood sport of the future a brand new experience. Buckle up; it? The God of War has changed A difficult and unfamiliar road awaits as you explore a stunning retelling of a classic story. Join Kratos as he adventures through a deep and reflective journey of growth, violence and the desire to become a better man for the sake of his son.

In a world of monsters, dragons and gods, the weight of responsibility rests heavy on your shoulders -- and when your life is filled with blood and chaos, how can you prevent the mistakes of the past in order to protect your future?

User Score: tbd. These three distinct and powerful races clash once again in the fast-paced real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft. Legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types do battle across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival. Featuring a unique single-player campaign that picks up where StarCraft: Brood War left off, StarCraft II presents a cast of new heroes and familiar faces in an edgy sci-fi story filled with adventure and intrigue.

In addition, Blizzard again offers unparalleled online play through Battle. Features fast-paced, hard-hitting, tightly balanced competitive real-time strategy gameplay that recaptures and improves on the magic of the original game. New units and gameplay mechanics further distinguish each race. Vibrant new 3D-graphics engine with support for dazzling visual effects and massive unit and army sizes. Full map-making and scripting tools to give players incredible freedom in customizing and personalizing their gameplay experience.

The game involves players creating and destroying various types of blocks in a three dimensional environment. The player takes an avatar that can destroy or create blocks, forming fantastic structures, creations and artwork across the various multiplayer servers in multiple game modes. America, The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs.

Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.

User Score: 6. The PC version features enhanced 3D audio. Environmentally scaled and referenced from the player's perspective. Create your own customizable Liberty City radio station, using the built-in mp3 player. State-of-the art visuals utilizing the latest PC hardware render the city more beautifully than ever in 32 bit color. The skinnable player character enables fans to create and upload their own skin textures and to use a scanned-in photo to play as themselves.

Deported to a harsh desert world, exiles have struggled for three thousand years to regain the stars. Now it's up to you to guide them home through a brutal empire bent on annihilation. Homeworld boasts amazing ship graphics and gorgeous deep-space vistas, a unique command and navigation interface and white-knuckle real-time strategy. Beat Saber is a VR rhythm game where your goal is to slash the beats which perfectly fit into precisely handcrafted music.

Defy the god of death as you hack and slash your way out of the Underworld in this rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of Bastion and Transistor. Engage in this saga set in the Golden Age of the Republic - over 4, years before the first Star Wars film, when both Jedi and Sith number in the thousands. With the Galaxy reeling from a recent conflict with the Dark Lords, the ongoing battle between the Jedi and the Sith rages on. Your actions determine the outcome of this colossal galactic war - and your destiny as a Jedi.

Four years have passed since the aftermath of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and a great tension now smolders throughout the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the battle-worn races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and ominous, arise to plague the world once again. World of Warcraft is an online role-playing experience set in the award-winning Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast world.

Being "Massively Multiplayer," World of Warcraft allows thousands of players to interact within the same world. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other in epic battles, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory.

A dedicated live team will create a constant stream of new adventures to undertake, lands to explore, and monsters to vanquish. This content ensures that the game will never be the same from month to month, and will continue to offer new challenges and adventures for years to come. Where filmstars and millionaires do their best to avoid the dealers and gangbangers. Now, it's the early 90s. Carl's got to go home. His mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster.

On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets. As Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's single player campaign unfolds, the player is introduced to new gameplay at every turn — one moment you are fast-roping from your Black Hawk helicopter after storming into the war zone with an armada of choppers, the next you are a sniper, under concealment, in a Ghillie suit miles behind enemy lines, the next you are engaging hostiles from an AC gunship thousands of feet above the battlefield.

Mixed with explosive action, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also delivers special effects, including use of depth of field, rim-lighting, character self-shadowing, real time post-processing, texture streaming as well as physics-enabled effects.

Infinity Ward deployed a dedicated team from the start to deliver a new level of depth to multiplayer. Building on the hit "Call of Duty 2" online experience, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's new multiplayer provides the community an addictive and accessible experience to gamers of all levels. An uneasy peace settled over the land while, for years, the drums of war were silent. Yet the kingdoms of men grew complacent in their victory - and slowly, the defeated orcish clans regrouped under the banner of a new visionary leader.

Now a darker shadow has fallen over the world, threatening to extinguish all life - all hope. The drums of war play upon the winds once again - rising urgently towards the inevitable hour when the skies will rain fire - and the world will tremble before the coming of the Burning Legion.

The Day of Judgment has come In "SimCity," you had the power to build and control cities Experience victory in Sid Meier's Gettysburg! Along with Populous, this game the original SimCity shipped in , as did Populous invented, and over the years refined the god game genre, and to this day Tal claims that SimCity was the sole catalyst responsible for him choosing Urban Planning as his major in college.

Unlike most of the titles on this list though, SimCity never really claimed to be a game in the traditional sense, preferring instead the label "interactive toy. In addition to being hideously addictive, the title helped educate an entire generation of game players on the real-world dangers of pollution, crime and urban decay.

For those of a less philosophical nature, instant joy was no further away than the disasters button that gave you several different ways to deliver the electronic version of kicking over your own sand castles at the end of the day. One of the most ingenious and creative titles ever shipped for the PC.

There are also numerous games like Theme Park and A-Train that owe a big debt to the granddaddy of all Sim games. Synopsis: Star Wars! Friend, mother, secret lover. While there are copious numbers of great space combat sims in the annals of gaming history, only one series the one from LucasArts Sure, flying for the rebels was great and all in LucasArt's Star Wars: X-Wing, but the call of the Dark Side was strong, and once TIE Fighter hit the shelves in , we forgot all about being on the side of righteousness and good in favor of signing up for the Imperial Navy.

One of the big improvements that TIE Fighter added to the Star Wars series of flight sims was adjustable difficulty, a much-desired feature given the difficulty of X-Wing.

And, of course, who could forget the incredible soundtrack? Synopsis: Alone in the Dark started a horror craze in video gaming that continues to this day. In the guise of Carnby, a tough Victorian-age private investigator who's trying to sort out a suicide that just doesn't make sense you must explore an ancient manor and put a stop to the evil that permeates it to the core.

In addition to the fact that the game looked great for the time it was released this was the original third person 3D action title , Alone in the Dark boasted an incredibly creepy storyline that kept us looking over our shoulders as we played into the wee hours of the morning. Lovecraft fans will remember with glee the horrors of opening the front door too early and the ghost of the old woman that still freaks me out whenever I see an empty rocking chair.

Perhaps the funniest thing about Alone in the Dark though is how long it took to become popular. When the title was first released, it had a pretty uninteresting cover and little US marketing. Consequently, the game sat on shelves for a couple of months before word of mouth got out about how great it was. These days, if a title doesn't sell within the first thirty days, it disappears Fortunately, the Internet keeps you from having to wait three months to hear whether or not a game is worth buying.

Synopsis: Firebird's Elite was one of the greatest games ever made, and Trent was pushing pretty hard for this one to get the top spot. Years ahead of its time, Elite used the simple graphics that were available at the time to put forth what still stands as the greatest space combat simulator ever.

As a young pilot, you had to buy and sell goods to improve your ship and kill enemies to build up your combat rating. Elite featured a fantastic economic model that required you to do research about a potential trading partner to figure out whether it would be a good match for the cargo you were carrying at the time.

As the game continued, plot points were introduced and you got the chance to take on secret Navy ships, unscrupulous traders, and even an entire alien fleet. Favorite moments? Trading in illegal substances and then trying to land at a space station after fighting it out with a handful of Vipers the local police ship. Sadly, Firebird and Gametec after them never figured out that the ultra-simple flight model was what made the game so fun to play.

Every sequel that came out to this title used real space physics and were, of course, a complete waste of time. Other games influenced by Elite: This was one of the first space combat sims, so its influences are numerous. Synopsis: Okay, so we didn't go goo-goo gah-gah over Diablo II , but we do have to give props to the original beast. Diablo put you in the shoes of either a warrior, sorcerer or rogue and pushed your mouse-finger to the limit in hour after hour after hour of addictive gameplay.

Sure, it was mindless fun, but boy was it fun! And although the Battle. Darkstone, Revenant, and Nox are just a few of the game directly influenced by the success of Diablo.

Synopsis: Half-Life is, hands down, the most impressive game that has shipped in the years that IGNPC has been around, and it nearly shut down the office for about a month when we first got our hands on it. Not only is Half-Life a near perfect action game, but it pushes story-telling to a whole new level and may have been in part responsible for consumers' refusal to buy more traditional adventure games in the months following its release.

While we're at it, we should probably mention the game's ability to make us jump every time a face-hugger leapt at us, the enemy AI that was far smarter than any intern we've ever had here those marines were real bastards , an excellent selection of realistic weapons, and a multiplayer mode that completely and totally rocked. Even after two years, no action game has ever come close to eclipsing Half-Life's single player experience.

A must for every serious gamer's library. While there haven't been all that many games directly affected by Half-Life yet, it's safe to say that every first-person shooter in development right now will probably be an eventual candidate.

Synopsis: From the late eighties to the early nineties, Microprose owned gaming in a big way. Master of Magic, developed by SimTex who Microprose eventually purchased is a good example of why they held on to the crown for so long. Obviously influenced by Sid Meier's Civilization which shipped about a production cycle before MOM hit shelves , Master of Magic put players in the shoes of a powerful wizard looking to expand his kingdom, protect his people and conquer his foes.

The game was an absolute refinement of the world building genre and nearly every exercise in the game, from researching new spells and gathering magical troops to exploring mysterious landmarks and building up townships, was really, really entertaining.

Perhaps the biggest step forward made by Master of Magic was the fact that it allowed players to wage war on several different dimensions simultaneously, an innovation that was also used in the Heroes of Might and Magic series and more recently in Civilization: Call to Power.

The ambitious recreation of historical locations and engagements added another layer of authenticity to the game making it a real tribute to the men for whom war was not just a game. The thrilling combat animations and flexible character advancement systems made this an easy game to love.

Still the big star of Jade Empire is the amazing personality and atmosphere present in every single frame of the game.

But even if you're not a fan of the source material, God of War will surely win you over on the strength of its awesome combat system, amazing visuals, and engaging story.

Also, it has boobies. Civilization has always been my all-time favorite franchise and this fourth version is the best yet. It manages to reinvent the basic mechanics and interface while also retaining the basic concepts that made the series so enjoyable to begin with. Add in a terrific multiplayer interface and Civ 4 is easily the best game I've played this year. Other Notables: In addition to those ten great games, there was plenty of other stuff that occupied a good part of my time. While both titles were a little too heavy for a casual session at odd moments, they were damned enjoyable during those moments when I could really dig in.

Shooters like Call of Duty 2 provided some old school fun while F. Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion helped to prolong my love of Creative Assembly's massive real-time strategy game. Though none of the 's games have managed to make their way into my top ten, I've been enjoying the overall presentation of King Kong and the non-stop action of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Tom's Favorites in CoV is a friendly game, and base building adds more flavor to the soup.

You can build great and small, with little helpful gadgets -- but bases can also be invaded by other players, so you can do cool James Bond-like things such as laser beam turrets and minefields. But it's still one of the best RPGs I've ever played on any platform. Forget about the Japanese, phased real-time, linear action adventures with adorable sidekicks and generic nemeses. This is about real moral choices, a richly detailed world, choosing your own path, and frickin' lightsabers.

Hopefully the third installment will provide a story with complete subplots. It's like the Tool of racing franchises -- unique, and positively rocking. If you've been annoyed by aggressive AI in the past, grieve no longer, because you can slam your opponents right off the side of a mountain. The physics, the detail of the flying bits and pieces, the powerslide turns, and the frantic rush create a magnetic experience. Get one, buy this game, and clear your calendar for the next week.

It's a date with a girl named Tiffany. It's the smell of mowed lawn on a lazy summer Sunday. It is the shame of its shallow, opportunist brethren, and its genius trickles down to us in rivulets of pure happiness that will soon be categorized as a Schedule II controlled substance by the FDA.

Play it in the dark, play it alone, and slap those headphones on. Sure, there aren't a lot of different locations. I suppose they should have had a disco or floating castle populated by fur-covered dwarves singing Ave Maria.

And she has that musty "old people" smell anyway. And it also has the familiar swelling orchestras, people shouting, and lots and lots of gunfire and explosions. Multiplayer is also quite fun, with lots of distinctly different modes. And with regenerating health, you'll have some real John Woo moments, only without the flying doves or Massive Attack rumbling along in the background.

The combat mechanics are smooth and intuitive with satisfying feedback, and Rockstar's penchant for open-endedness is in full effect. Votes: 3, T Action, Crime, Sport. A lone street racer must use his talents to rise to the top of the Blacklist, comprised of the 15 most elite drivers in the city of Rockport. Votes: 6, M Action, Crime. The Warriors, a gang from Coney Island, go to a gang leader's meeting, when suddenly the gang leader is shot and killed.

Framed for this murder, they must travel all the way back to Coney with 60, gang members standing in their way. Votes: 1, M Action, Crime, Drama. Toni Cipriani works for Salvatore Leone and must clear Salvatore's path against the rest gang organizations contending to be the boss of the crime world. Votes: 4,