Half-Life (1999) (2/12)

In the late 90s, Half-Life was breaking boundaries in the FPS genre. Controlling the scientist Gordon Freeman, players find themselves fending off creatures from another dimension. Half-Life was one of the first FPS games to use scripted sequences for its storytelling, instead of relying on cut-scenes. Instead of being broken up into levels, the game played as one extended story, separated into chapters.

Half-Life was a monumental success and an incredibly influential game, as it continued to prove that the FPS genre was fit for quality storytelling. The gameplay mixed challenging combat with puzzle-solving, and immersed us in the shoes of protagonist Gordon Freeman. Apart from Half-Life 2, we can’t think of a game with a more satisfying crowbar weapon.