# What are the must-play PC games of the last 10 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 27, 2010, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637 "2010-02-27T10:03:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/1 "2010-02-27T10:03:54Z")
Must-play from the perspective of a pure game lover, who will play any genre so long as the game was lovingly-made and a joy to play. Emphasis on the best of a given category, however you wish to divide them: I haven’t actually played much in the last decade, but I’ll throw out: FPS - Singleplayer: **Half-Life II** (I’m sure there are better, I just wouldn’t know what they are) FPS - Multiplayer: **Team Fortress II** Sandbox: **Grand Theft Auto 3** Strategy (4x): **Civilization IV** (I actually only played III, but IV by most accounts is better in almost every way) RPG: **Dragon Age: Origins** (haven’t played this one either, but it seems like the most beloved… otherwise I’d probably nominate **Knights of the Old Republic** ) Puzzle: **Portal** Can you tell I love me some Orange Box? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/2 "2010-02-27T13:11:50Z")
I would agree with your list. I’d also add another category - MMORPG, with (of course) World of Warcraft as the winner. Yes, there are other good MMORPGs, but hard to dispute that WoW is the king of them all. And I also love me some Orange Box, even though FPS, as a whole, is one of my least-favorite types of games. But the Orange Box is brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/3 "2010-02-27T14:18:15Z")
From the last 10 years? That’s a long time and a long list. I’ll try and stick with one per category and won’t include the ones you mentioned, which would definitely be in my list. I’ll also try to stick to earlier in the decade. FPS - single player: Bioshock - a dark themed FPS with enough atmosphere and story to rival Systemshock. FPS multi-player - Unreal 2k4. Gotta love the gibbing. Strategy - Rome: Total War. Probably the best in the series. RPG - Neverwinter Nights. The campaign that shipped with it wasn’t up to par to something like Kotor or Mass effect, but I remember some late nights playing with friends through a bunch of classic D&D modules. Lots of fun and I think content is STILL being developed for it by the community. Honorable mention: Elderscrolls IV Oblivion. Adventure: Syberia. It brought back all of the earlier decade’s nostalgia for adventure games. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/4 "2010-02-28T14:01:45Z")
I’ll second Bioshock, and then I’m not sure I have anything to add to your excellent list. I might add Prince of Persia to the list for the platform-jumper genre. Combat in the game was lame, but jumping around has never been so much fun. Ooh, wait–Diablo II was released in 2000, and it definitely qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/5 "2010-02-28T15:38:24Z")
I’ll third Bioshock, and mention that Battlefield 1942 was an important game for its groundbreaking online play, as well as just being a damn good game in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/6 "2010-02-28T16:56:07Z")
If you’re either a strategy or a history buff (or both!) then most of the games produced by Paradox are worth a mention - Europa Universals (1 through 3), EU Rome, Victoria, Cursader Kings etc. I think my fave to date is EU Rome, playing it pretty addictively right now… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/7 "2010-02-28T16:57:31Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I’ll third Bioshock, and mention that Battlefield 1942 was an important game for its groundbreaking online play, as well as just being a damn good game in its own right. Agreed. It was the game that introduced me to online play. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/8 "2010-02-28T17:07:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Agreed. It was the game that introduced me to online play. You, me and millions upon millions of others. It wasn’t so much just multiplayer online play, it was the _kind_ of online play: dedicated servers, custom maps, custom mods (Desert Combat!!!)…a whole damn internet community sprang up around that game, and is still alive and well today. I still play that game, its a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/9 "2010-02-28T17:12:37Z")
I don’t play shooters so have no opinion on them. As for RPGs, [RPGwatch](http://www.rpgwatch.com/) currently has a poll for most disappointing game from 2009 … Dragon Age is far in the lead with over 38% and I agree. Best recent RPGs in my opinion are the King’s Bounty games. Not sure if Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate make the 10 year cutoff … and my all time favorites, the Might & Magic series for sure don’t. And Civ when I feel like losing a few days or weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/10 "2010-02-28T19:52:19Z")
PEGGLE. In so many ways, a must-play. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/11 "2010-02-28T20:01:13Z")
Fallout 3 Should definitely be on this list. And on a personal level - The Splinter Cell series. ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sealemon2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/12 "2010-03-01T05:21:47Z")
WoW is so (deservedly) popular that it’s easy to overlook its predecessor War Craft III, which is a REALLY good RTS game. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/13 "2010-03-01T05:39:26Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > As for RPGs, [RPGwatch](http://www.rpgwatch.com/) currently has a poll for most disappointing game from 2009 … Dragon Age is far in the lead with over 38% and I agree. It also won [RPG of the year](http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=146&ref=2&id=1) at that same site by both the editors and fans ( by a huge margin ) :D. ETA: But I personally think Planescape Torment, released right at the the wire in late 1999 should win Best of Decade. Baldur’s Gate II ( 2000 ) might be runner up. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/14 "2010-03-01T05:55:46Z")
Most people will probably disagree with me on most of these, but hey, this is a matter of taste. FPS - single player: Half Life, or Half Life 2. Both were good, but the first one was really groundbreaking. EDIT: Huh. Half Life was released in '98. Well, guess Half Life 2 then. FPS multi-player - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The best in the series, and CoD is the best series of FPSes, no doubt. In second place is Call of Duty World at War, with Left 4 Dead (the first one) coming in third. L4D would be second, but the whole mess with L4D2 brings it down a bit. Strategy - Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings misses the last 10 years by 1, but its expansion The Conquerors allows it to rise to this decade. I chose AoE both because it’s a great game by itself and because of the huge influence it has had on other RTSes. If that is cheating, I’d have to go with Impossible Creatures, due to its creativity and replay value. Sadly, the community is all but dead due to bad handling by Microsoft and Relic and I have not played the game in months. RPG - I have to say Oblivion. A very fun game, though if I had ever gotten a chance to play Neverwinter Nights 2, I might have changed my mind. And a special category, the biggest letdown in the last 10 years: Spore! From the original video, it promised to be a great game that would appeal to casual and serious gamers. On release, it turned out to be a horribly cartoony and boring game that couldn’t capture the attention and imagination of a three year old child. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/15 "2010-03-01T06:31:55Z")
People keep mentioning Oblivion in regards to RPGs, but Morrowind, its prequel, is the superior game, IMO, and still within the ten years. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/16 "2010-03-01T06:34:47Z")
I have indeed heard many good things about Morrowind, and apparently, with the proper graphic overhauls, it looks better than Oblivion. May give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/17 "2010-03-01T07:20:26Z")
_Deus Ex_ really needs to be in that list somewhere, I think. The problem is that PC gaming has advanced a lot in the past 10 years, and you’ve got several excellent (to pick one genre) RPGs like _Deus Ex_, _Arcanum_, and _Fallout 3_ all coming out in that time at different levels of tech development… ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Keen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Commander\_Keen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Keen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/18 "2010-03-01T07:43:15Z")
Of the past 10 years I’d say the 2 best are Diablo 2 and Cave Story. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/19 "2010-03-01T08:10:21Z")
Freelancer - Even if you are not a flight-sim fan, or big into the Wing Commander series, Freelancer is a blast because it is easy, fun and has a really neat campaign. Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2: Cinematic role-playing almost done right. Devil May Cry: This is way before God of War, and spawns a new generation of combo-chaining, button-mashing fighting games with camera angles of doom. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637/20 "2010-03-01T16:54:17Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > It also won [RPG of the year](http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=146&ref=2&id=1) at that same site by both the editors and fans ( by a huge margin ) :D. Well, sure, but unless Dragon Age was made of puppies and rainbows and offered blow jobs while you play it, it would have never met expectations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-must-play-pc-games-of-the-last-10-years/530637.md?page=2)