The 15 Best Video Games That Changed the Gaming Industry Forever

Today, video games are a full-fledged industry that rivals movies in scale and earnings. But it hasn’t always been that way. Several games have had the most significant influence on the way we play today. And this applies not only to the most popular video games but also to games in live online casino.

These games are not necessarily the best in the genre, you don’t need to play them right now, and you may not even get close to some projects. But, one way or another, these franchises have had a huge impact on the industry.

Doom

Doom is one of the most influential games in the industry’s history, which revolutionized the shooter genre, which until then had been overshadowed by arcades, quests, and races. The strengths of Doom are in the innovative design of levels, which moved away from the classic “guts” and gave the player at least a little, but still the freedom of action.

Also, Doom, through its level design, “sped up” the game at certain moments, making the player sweat, and “slowed down” it at others, encouraging the player to explore the levels and find numerous secret areas. By the way, those same secret zones also brought into vogue exactly by Doom, and only later it was used in other games.

The Sims

Observing other people is, oddly enough, one of the most common human desires, as is well proven by the enormous success of The Sims series.

The Sims was nothing more than a simulation game for creating human destinies, full of room for experimentation and also easy enough to master, which immediately made it one of the most popular game franchises for decades to come. And even if later we didn’t see a lot of products similar in genre, but as an introduction to the gaming industry for people often far from video games and proof that experimental products can become part of the mainstream – The Sims series definitely went down in history.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft was released in 2004, and it quickly became the most popular MMORPG in the world. The game provided players with a huge, vibrant, and constantly evolving world that they could explore and play alongside thousands of other players from around the world. It became a cult game because of its sheer scale, a wealth of content, and deep character progression system.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released in 2006 and became one of the most influential RPG games in video game history. Players were given an open world in which they could travel freely and complete quests. The game was famous for its in-depth character creation system and vast character development options. Additionally, Oblivion was also famous for its story, which was a thrilling journey through the world of Tamriel.

Crysis

There have always been games that pushed computers to the next level and made fans rush to the stores for new graphics cards and processors to keep up with progress. But nothing has ever done it with such power as Crysis.

Released in 2007, Crysis instantly became a graphics mark of unprecedented heights. The vast open world loaded in seconds, which seemed impossible considering the number of particles showering the screen second by second. Never before had a game that made such a breakthrough in graphics given the player so much freedom. What’s even more impressive is how the game holds the mark to this day. It is still used to test modern graphics cards for performance, and with a few cosmetic modifications, it becomes the most beautiful game available.

Legends of Zelda

Well, many have already heard about this game more than once. From the first day of sales, Legends of Zelda brought together genres such as RPG, action, and adventure, making the game a hit. Nintendo’s founder got a lot of money for Legends of Zelda, thanks to which, he still holds his own. And that’s without mentioning the many, many references found in the game. It is still, up to this day, one of the best Nintendo games ever made.

Super Mario Bros.

Mario is the mascot character of Nintendo, who debuted in the arcade machine Donkey Kong. In 1983, the mustachioed plumber migrated to his platformer series, introducing an entire generation to the genre. Games with jumping characters were before that, but Mario conquered everyone with his verified style of play and mechanics.

In fact, Super Mario Bros. was the first game to popularize such gameplay and elevate Nintendo to gaming industry prominence. Also, Mario is a character that everyone knows. Even people who have never played a game and have only played their favorite https://kiwidads.co.nz.

Half-Life

In 1998 another revolution in the gaming industry took place. Half-Life was born. The distinctive feature of the game was the absence of cutscenes and perfect story which was uncommon for shooters of that time. The game laid the foundation for the success of such projects as BioShock and Call of Duty.

Super Mario 64

Mario continues to spawn pop culture. This time, everyone’s favorite plumber breaks the two-dimensional world, taking it to the next level. As it is not hard to guess: the game became a fuse on the bomb of three-dimensional platformers. The game showed exactly how cameras and maps should work, opening the way for new games in three-dimensional space.

Minecraft

You can treat this game differently but can’t deny its enormous contribution to the industry. The game did not have a huge advertising company, and the finance was invested in it to a minimum because it was engaged in a small group of enthusiasts, united by one bright idea.

The game became the most popular sandbox game and created a huge space for marketing: lego theme, more than 100 million sold copies, and hundreds of clones, trying to break the same success as the original.

Grand Theft Auto 3

GTA was the starting point of the open-world trend in games. The third part of the game was a fresh breath of air for the industry, even though the main character did not have the greatest functionality of action, there was a lot to do on the map: story missions and extra, secrets, tricks, and challenges. Most open-world and acclaimed games were inspired by the success of GTA 3.

Fallout 2

A legend of its time it quickly gained the status of a cult RPG. Now everyone knows and talks about it, including due to the sequels, one of which was very close to the original. Fallout 2 became famous for the open living world, where the player could try on any role. You can defend or rob caravans, you can participate in battles without rules, or, conversely, be a peaceful guy and do your best to improve life in the wastelands. The game had a high level of difficulty.

BioShock

BioShock was released in 2007 and quickly became one of the most significant games in video game history. Players were given the world of the underwater city of Raptura, which was built on the ideals of freedom and capitalism, and in which they had to fight for survival.

The game was famous for its story and for its atmosphere, which was unique and exciting. BioShock was also famous for its gameplay, which was a combination of first-person shooter and RPG elements.

Halo

Microsoft can say thank you to this game series because of the direct impact it has had on Xbox Live sales. Sure, the “Call of Duty” series is one of the best-selling FPS (First Person Shooter) games right now, but no one can deny that “Halo” gave a boost to the genre on consoles. Thanks to “Halo” online games began to be produced for consoles, and because of that, Xbox Live was born.

Resident Evil

This game became one of the brightest representatives of the survival horror genre. It became a standard for games of this genre for many years to come. The project created a huge media space: comics, movies, novels, and a whole series of games that are still iconic and authoritative for the whole industry.

Dune 2

Although this game was far from the first in its genre, it laid the RTS genre features such as base building, army management, the fog of war, “rush”, interface, and collection of resources – all this became a stronghold of inspiration for third-party developers. A distinctive feature of the game was the active use of the mouse, which was for those times far from mandatory.