The first fully online FPS. It was also unique in that it encouraged teamplay - and it somehow worked. The sense of community and team spirit amongst its players was incredible. It also happens to be one of few FPSes I actually enjoy playing.

The idea of the game is so simple, but it was pulled off in an incredible fashion. It's essentially a series of immense, epic boss battles, punctuated with contemplative, avant garde story segments. Much like Ico, this game is a real work of art and pushed the Playstation 2 to its limits.

PD Saga's storyline and graphics were so ahead of their time, and yet the game was extremely underappreciated. The graphics were on par, if not better at some points, than Final Fantasy VII, which was released about half a year earlier. The musical style and unexpectedly epic and twisting plot were original and exciting.

NiGHTS is an example of a developer and publisher taking a risk and it really paying off. The gameplay is totally unique, almost defining a genre in itself - not to mention it is unimitable without being completely obvious. The aesthetics of the game were original in their Harlequin-esque surreality.

I don't know if anyone could leave this game out of a list of inspirational games. Metal Gear Solid was the first game to try to take a cinematic approach to game presentation. Simply watching the introduction to the game, with its dramatic camera angles and epic music gave me the chills. The real-time display of developer credits in the first scene was a nice visual addition, too. And don't even get me started on the gameplay or story of MGS!

Here's a game which is really "SPECIAL". The most striking aspect of the game is its setting and plot. Yes, it's another science fiction game and, yes, it's post-apocalyptic. But looking a little further we can see that the setting mirrors the game's past (which is our past and present). I won't go into the details, but I'll say that like a game with social commentary. Most importantly, this game's message was brought to audiences with high quality artwork and gameplay design, making it a complete, whole package.