playing straight conspiracy theories like night op helos, area 51, and the american dream, Deus Ex withholds very little in its contempt for the way politics have shaped the world. in the midst of this, the player is armed with the ability to decide--something few games truly offer. consider this the best game on this list and likely the best video games will ever have to offer--all in a one of a kind package with some.. iconic voice acting

a japanese led effort on small town american life, Mizzurna Falls puts players in high school sneakers and asks them to solve a mystery--timely. like Majora's Mask, a Groundhog's Day feeling is inevitable--and made rather poignant

very few games tread the ground of evil in the hands of a player, Manhunt crucified and Bethesda karma mocked deservedly. yet Saints Row 2 thinks differently, offering an experience steeped in rewarding psychotic episodes while portraying a story that offers perspectives otherwise. it's not something comically damning like Spec Ops: the Line, it's something subtler, something that comes across in scenes more authentic, grounded, even when it makes fun of itself (and does so well)

Human Revolution does not intend to make as dramatic as sweeps that Deus Ex does in its endless prophesizing, instead

the only steampunk recommendation that can ever be made in good faith (aside from its predecessor), Thief II follows the change a city undergoes with technological revolution--and garret, the main character, is exactly the sort of brooding figure with a sense of humor you want to be in under the hood of. the marriage of story and gameplay is indeed a real celebration had only by the end

the kneejerk reaction to Mankind Divided, among many, is to point to its simple use of racism. but such observations are half baked and do not come from close gameplay, from the real and future issues this world is steeped in. much of the story will unravel if only the player is willing to work and see

while gameplay wise Half Life 1 offers a more fluid, gelled gameplay experience, its sequel raises its stakes higher in terms of setting, character, concepts. it's one of the finest dystopias ever depicted, and the cruelest, and subtlest.

steeped in islamic traditions painting up its own look at tolkein fantssy, Morrowind provides a harsh world with hostile natives and colonies and slaves and abound. it's not a miserable world not is it hopeless, but it's certainly a touch darker and more focused Elder Scroll than successors. its conclusion stands tall among its genre contemporaries

shut up and jam playa

i'm sure you've already played this one.

a fantasy world isolated initially to just one island alone in a great sea sees a unique journey that bounces between the past and the present, allowing for story and dialogue to comment on such concepts. monsters are the bad guys ultimately and it's good vs evil, but Dragon Quest 7 is no slacker when it comes to the humanity squeezed in the middle. pay little mind to the all ages experience, for the depth it lacks in prose is made up in the meat of the words, a challenge even to The Hobbit.

built off hyper violence in a simple game engine with simple art, Hotline Miami melds these elements and more to provoke something--and much of that something is surely not limited in scope to just this.

like Metal Gear Solid 2, Hotline Miami 2 is not an extension of passion but a reaction. the cruelty of 2's gameplay should not be holstered so quickly, either, reinforcement that it is

the traditions of the old world have never been spelled out any clearer, but it's all a funny wacky world to some companies. not here, not with Fallout New Vegas--not always, anyway...

the exclusion of dialogue does not dismerit the vibrancy of Wario Land 4, its relationship with Wario, with players and "rewards". there's little finer