Matt Morton

 

2013 marks the 15-year anniversary of what is universally considered the greatest year in the history of video gaming. Here’s a look into some of the games that made 1998 the most significant year for video games since their invention 40 years ago—and if you’re unfamiliar with these masterpieces, now’s the time to change that.

 

Half-Life

With over 50 (fifty!) Game Of The Year awards and more than 20 million copies sold, Half-Life was a truly revolutionary game. Often heraleded as “The Greatest Game Ever Made,” it was the first in Valve Corporation’s great legacy, soon followed by titles like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress.
The player controls Dr. Gordon Freeman, who inadvertently tears open a dimensional seam and must embark on an alien-bashing odyssey to close the rift. The adventure is filled with what continues to be some of the best puzzles, scares and boss fights to date. Few games can hope to compare, (barring Half-Life 2, of course) and over 20 million players will agree.

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Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

The first 3D game in the Legend of Zelda series, Ocarina of Time is really what brought Link into the public eye and is often listed among the greatest games of all time. The player takes on the role of Link, a young hero who embarks on a quest to save Hyrule from the evil of Ganondorf, exploring an immersive world of mindboggling puzzles and challenges.
The truth is that gamers who haven’t played Ocarina of Time (or at least one of the other great Zelda games, like Wind Waker) are on par with classical musicians who haven’t heard of Beethoven, as Zelda is truly an essential part of gaming. It is available for virtual download on Wii or free emulators on the internet, and very little else is more worth one’s time.

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Unreal

Although not widely known or played, Unreal holds great significance in the world of gaming. The game follows Prisoner 849, whose prison ship crashes into an alien planet. As the only human left alive on the planet, the player must fight their way through hordes of aliens and escape to Earth.
Unreal’s storyline is undeniably good, but that’s not why the game shines. The graphics were years before their time, and titles like Bioshock, Borderlands, Mass Effect and Far Cry depend on the highly advanced Unreal physics engine.

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​Starcraft

Video games often don’t last long. Most are played for a couple of years before the next big game comes out and the playerbase trickles away. Starcraft is the most notable exception; for twelve years, its population never diminished. With over 30 million players, it is one of the longest and most widely played games ever.
As a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game, the players construct buildings and an army, then compete to wipe each other off the face of the map. Although StarCraft truly revolutionized the RTS genre (and coined the common term “Zerg-ing), StarCraft II is now actually a better use of time, as Blizzard kept the balance and subtle intricacies found in the original, and the massive playerbase has moved on as well.

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Pokemon Red & Blue

Does the name Pikachu ring a bell? If you haven’t (or even if you have) played Pokemon before, it’s high time to pick up a Gameboy and join Ash in his 15th year of questing to be the very best.
In the original Pokemon Red and Blue versions, the player takes on the role of Ash and aims to catch and train pokemon. They must overcome the eight gym leaders and go on to challenge the Elite Four; the four best trainers in the world. They’re readily available on emulators—so go catch ‘em all!

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Fifteen years may be a long time, but gold doesn’t tarnish. Every game on this page is more worth your playtime than any new release with pretty graphics to mask the repetitive gameplay. Further, all these games are priceless. Literally. They’re fifteen years old, you can download every one of them for free on the internet. Go get ‘em—you won’t regret it.