1 - World of Warcraft - (commonly known as WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). It is Blizzard Entertainment’s fourth game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft takes place within the world of Azeroth, four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard’s previous release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Blizzard Entertainment announced World of Warcraft on September 2, 2001. The game was released on November 23, 2004, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise. It is currently the world’s largest MMORPG in terms of monthly subscribers. World of Warcraft currently holds 62% of the MMOG market at 10 million subscribers. The current subscriber base for all MMOGs is 16 million. The first official expansion pack of the game, The Burning Crusade, was released on January 16, 2007. During the 2007 BlizzCon event, Blizzard announced a second expansion pack called Wrath of the Lich King on August 3, 2007. The release date of Wrath of the Lich King has not been announced.
2 - Maple Story - is a free-of-charge, 2D, side-scrolling Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game developed by the South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, and each is published by various companies such as Wizet and Nexon. Although playing the game is free, many player appearances and gameplay enhancements can be purchased from the "Cash Shop" using real money. MapleStory has a combined total of over 50 million subscriber accounts in all of its versions. MapleStory North America (Global), for players mainly in North America and outside of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe, has over three million players. In the game, players walk around in the "Maple World" and defeat monsters and develop their character’s skills and abilities, as is typical in role-playing games. Players can interact with others in many ways, such as through chatting, trading, and playing minigames. Groups of players can band together in parties to hunt monsters and share the rewards. Players can also join a guild to interact more easily with each other.
3 - Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - or sometimes just Oblivion, is a single player fantasy-themed action-oriented computer role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Media and the Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Games. It is the fourth installment in The Elder Scrolls video game series. It was released on March 21, 2006 for Windows PCs and the Xbox 360. A PlayStation 3 release was shipped on March 20, 2007 in North America, and April 27, 2007 in Europe. One expansion pack, Shivering Isles, and a number of downloadable minor content releases have followed; Shivering Isles will be the last major expansion though. The game was well-received by critics, winning numerous awards and scoring an average of 94% in Metacritic’s aggregate. Oblivion sold 1.7 million copies by April 10, 2006, and over 3 million copies by January 18, 2007. A package including both Shivering Isles and the official plug-in Knights of the Nine, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition, was announced on July 9, 2007, and released in North America on September 10, 2007 for Windows PCs and the Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 version of the Game of the Year edition followed on October 16, 2007. Oblivion’s story focuses on a former prisoner drawn into a Daedric Lord’s plan to invade the mortal realm of Tamriel. Gates to the hellish realm of Oblivion are opened, through which many daedra flow. The game continues the open-ended tradition of previous Elder Scrolls games, allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time, including the option to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely. Developers opted for a tighter pacing and greater focus than past titles; a design choice that was well-received in the gaming press.
4 - Diablo II: Lord of Destruction - Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (commonly abbreviated LoD) is an expansion pack for the popular hack and slash Action role-playing game Diablo II. Unlike the original Diablo’s expansion pack, Diablo: Hellfire, it is an official expansion designed by Blizzard North.
More than a standard expansion, Lord of Destruction not only added content in the form of new character classes and an additional scenario, but also dramatically revamped the gameplay of the existing Diablo II for solo and especially multiplayer.
5 - Neverwinter Nights 2 - is a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari. It is the sequel to BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights (NWN), a successful game based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Where NWN was based on the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition rules, NWN2 is based on Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition rules (also known as the Revised 3rd Edition), changed to adapt to real-time gameplay. Reviews of Neverwinter Nights 2 have been generally positive. Gamespot and IGN both rated the game favorably.
6 - Assassin’s Creed - is a video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide in November 2007 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The North American release of the PC version was released on April 8, 2008. A prequel for this game, titled Assassin’s Creed: Altaïr’s Chronicles, was released on February 5, 2008 for the Nintendo DS.
7 - Team Fortress 2 - is a multiplayer, team-based, first-person shooter, developed by Valve Corporation as part of the game compilation The Orange Box. It was released for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2007. The game was announced in 1998 as a sequel to the original Team Fortress mod for Quake, but has since been through various concepts and designs. In 1999, the game appeared to be deviating from the original Team Fortress and Valve’s own Team Fortress Classic mod for Half-Life by heading toward a more realistic and militaristic style of gameplay, but the design metamorphosed further over the game’s nine-year development and game engine switch. The final rendition of Team Fortress 2 bears more resemblance to the original Team Fortress and Team Fortress Classic games, and sports a cartoon-like visual style, based on the art of J. C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell and Norman Rockwell following a popular trend in recent CGI films (in particular, films recently made by Pixar/Disney, such as The Incredibles). The lack of information or apparent progress for six years of the game’s development caused it to be labeled as vaporware, and it was regularly featured in Wired News’ annual vaporware list among other ignominies. The game has received critical acclaim and several awards since its release.
8 - Ragnarok Online - often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin. It was first released in South Korea on 31 August 1998 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other locales around the world. Much of the game’s mythos is based on Norse mythology, but its style has been influenced by Christianity and various Asian cultures as well. The game has spawned an animated series, Ragnarok the Animation, and a sequel game, Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World, is currently in development.
9 - GTA: San Andreas - is a sandbox-style action-adventure computer and video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and fifth original game overall. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in October 2004, the game has since been ported to the Xbox and Microsoft Windows, and has received wide acclaim and high sales figures on all three platforms. San Andreas was preceded by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and will be succeeded by Grand Theft Auto IV. Set in late 1992, the game revolves around the main character, Carl "CJ" Johnson returning home from Liberty City to Los Santos after learning of his mother’s murder. CJ finds his family and his old gang, the Grove Street Families, in disarray. Over the course of the game, CJ gradually unravels the plot behind his mother’s murder while reestablishing his gang and exploring his own business ventures. Much like the previous entries in the Grand Theft Auto series, San Andreas’s critical and commercial success has not been without controversy. The most notable controversy was over the explicit "Hot Coffee" sex minigame, which was disabled but left within the game’s code. Its discovery led San Andreas to be re-rated briefly as an adult game and pulled from retailers’ shelves.
10 - Sims 2 - is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims, which debuted on December 14, 2000. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the music for the game. The Sims 2 essentially revolves around the same concept as its predecessor. Players are free to control their Sims (as they interact with their virtual surroundings) engaging in various mundane activities and forming relationships in a manner similar to real life. Like its predecessor, The Sims does not have a defined final goal; gameplay is open-ended. Sims 2, however, has life goals, wants and fears, the fulfillment of which can produce both positive or negative outcomes. All Sims age, and can live up to eighty-five Sim days depending on the degree of which their aspirations are fulfilled (although one item can extend a Sim’s lifespan further). The Sims 2 builds on its predecessor by allowing Sims, the simulated human characters, to age through six stages of life and incorporating a more powerful 3D graphics engine. It was first released on September 14, 2004 and became an instant success, having sold a then-record one million copies in its first ten days. In addition to its commercial success, The Sims 2 was well received by critics. As of July 26, 2007, The Sims 2 has sold more than 13 million units worldwide and is the best-selling PC game of 2004. A sequel, The Sims 3, was announced by EA in November 2006 and is scheduled for release in 2009.
