4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – PS2/XBOX

This list in general has shown fondness for originality, favoring new franchises rather than sequels, games that, in some way, breathed new life into a medium filled with copycats and follow-up games that often are little more than prettier versions of their predecessors. The first GTA game for the PS2, Grand Theft Auto III, may be the third in a series, but it’s really the first of its kind. Not only for the complete overhaul in production values, but also in terms of mainstream awareness, GTAIII is really the first in the series, with GTAs one and two almost, in retrospect, looking like prototypes. This article, however, is not about GTAIII, nor even its sequel, GTA: Vice City. I have instead selected San Andreas for this list, because it is in so many ways head and shoulders better than the games that came before it. It represents, among many other things, the way a sequel should be done – not just better graphics and more levels, but an expansion and elaboration of the core concept of the franchise that people have already fallen in love with.

The reason the Grand Theft Auto series merited consideration for this list, and indeed why it ended up so high on the list, is because it is far better than the sum of its parts. It is not only the fact that players are able to do such a variety of things, it is that the gameplay for each aspect is handled surprisingly well. For example, driving may not be as crisp and precise as in a pure driving game, your Burnouts and PGRs and Gran Turismos and what have you, but in a game that also has boats, on-foot controls, various types of combat, tons of mini-games and puzzles, a stellar story and voice acting, aircraft, and the ability to really do and go wherever you want, it’s shocking that the automobiles control as well as they do. This is why games that try to invoke the “sandbox” principle that really drives this game, the freedom given to players in an open-world setting, fail where GTA succeeds – no other game in the same vein fires on all cylinders in the same way games in this series does. In this way, the game is a technical masterpiece and a true textbook example for any game designer in how to keep players engaged.

So if the whole series is so great, we’ve come back to the original point in this article: why San Andreas rather than the first or second game in the series? When a sequel improves on quite literally every aspect of its predecessors, nearly rendering games that came before it obsolete; it only makes sense to give the nod to such a game. San Andreas is roughly five times as large, in terms of the geographic size of the map, than either GTAIII or Vice City. Instead of paying homage to a city (New York, Miami), the game mimics the entire state of California, with THREE full cities, and plenty of rural land and small towns littered throughout the map. Combat, always one of the weaker parts of the series, is simplified and strengthened, allowing for better control and the ability to execute more complex shootouts. The ability to fly aircraft and ride a jetpack were added, and the number of automobiles and motorcycles vastly increased. The graphics and draw distance saw significant improvements. Story and voice acting, always a high point of the series, again reach a new apex. Jaw-dropping would be the adjective best used to describe the sheer amount of content in this game, reflecting the clear love the people working on this game had for the work they were doing.

It’s easy to make a sequel to a game, and its even easier when working with a franchise that’s already popular. It takes true talent, patience, and respect for your audience to build a sequel that pushes the hardware the game runs on to its limits, and completely blow expectations out of the water. There are people who adore these games, and those who revile them for a number of reasons, but there is simply no denying the high level of thought and craft that went into making GTA: San Andreas. It continues to stand as an example of what games can and should be, rather than what most are.

5. God of War - PS2

If you told me a few years back that one of the best action games of all time would come from the dude who created Twisted Metal, I would have thought that was about as likely as Sony flubbing the launch of their next console. Luckily no one asked me, so not only did I avoid potential egg on my face, I got to play one of the most thoroughly engaging games of all time. God of War came seemingly out of nowhere in the Spring of 2005, making a huge splash and changing what people thought about the current state of video games. Taking graphics on the PS2 beyond what was thought capable, delivering a control scheme so intuitive players wondered how they were ever able to play third person action before, God of War is easily one of the high points of the entire life of the Playstation 2.

The game puts players in the shoes of Kratos, a fictional Spartan hero with a vendetta against Ares, the Greek God of War. Armed with a sword and blade/whip/chain things attached to your hands (ps – these are awesome), Kratos sets off to kill a bunch of dudes and solve a bunch of puzzles, all to get a chance to battle Ares mano a God. The simple but well presented story of a warrior in Ancient Sparta provides a wonderful backdrop for action, as an assortment of human and mythological creatures alike are ready to be felled by your blades. Gameplay is fast and well balanced, generally alternating between intense battle sequences and challenging, but fulfilling puzzle sequences. The game is a solid length, running about 12-15 hours, and never moves too fast or too slow. Combine this with a stellar soundtrack and easily the best graphics to grace the PS2, and you’ve got one of the most complete gameplay worlds and experiences ever created.

A running theme through many of the games on this list has been the importance of controls, as I have given major points to games on this list with controls that are effective and intuitive. Maybe more than any other game on this list, God of War just feels right. Action games can often get complicated in the execution of combos and difficult jumps/maneuvers, but in this instance the controls never get in the way of the game. If a puzzle or battle is challenging, it is by design, not because you’re trying to work around a half-assed control setup. This is particularly evident during the games’ stellar boss battles, though while infrequent, rank among the most memorable of all time.

God of War earns a spot so high on this list because it truly is more than the sum of its parts. Third person 3d action games are a dime a dozen, so when one rises so far above the tide it deserves special attention. This game is about as close to perfect as games ever get.