Half-Life 2 takes the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original Half-Life and adds startling new realism and responsiveness. Welcome to a world where your presence affects everything else. From the physical environment to the behaviors and emotions of both friends and enemies, every move has a consequence. Enjoy the unique combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. Characters can assess threats, navigate tricky terrain and fashion weapons from whatever is at hand. Lush and realistic environments - objects obey the laws of mass, friction, gravity and buoyancy.

Unreal Tournament 2004 is a multiplayer first person shooter that combines the kill-or-be-killed experience of gladiatorial combat with cutting-edge technology. Ten game modes, both team-based and "every man for himself," provide even the most hardcore gamer with palm-sweating challenges through unbelievably detailed indoor arenas and vast outdoor environments. As the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future, players will take their fates into their hands, battling against up to 32 other players online in action-packed, frag-filled arenas.

Command the greatest forces of the ancient world, including the Roman Legions, Carthage and Gaul; lay siege to civilizations using powerful war engines; and decimate your enemies using special units like ferocious war dogs, armored elephants or Scythed chariots. In Rome: Total War, the most epic, cinematic real-time 3D battles ever seen in a game come to life with awe-inspiring graphics.

Vampire®: The Masquerade-Bloodlines™ delivers a new type of RPG experience-one that blends all the core elements of a traditional RPG with the graphical richness, immediacy and brutal combat of a first-person action game. The game plunges players into the dark and gritty vampire underworld of modern-day L.A. as a creature of the night. Players will develop their character's powers, interact with other characters and embark on story-driven quests as they battle mortals and other vampires with an incredible array of vampire powers and weapons. Powered by Valve's Source Technology, the game is based on White Wolf's popular Vampire: The Masquerade pen-and-paper RPG series and its official clans.

In The Sims 2, your Sims will be more lifelike, more responsive, and more complex than ever before. You'll be able to control your Sims over their entire lifetimes, taking them from their first steps to their golden years. Guide them through "Life's Big Moments" and build their "Life Score" with every decision you make. And since every Sim will have its own DNA, their appearance and personality will be passed down through the generations. Life in The Sims 2 will take on a whole different dimension with our entirely new 3-D engine.

Take the role of charter boat captain, Jack Carter, in this nature-gone-wrong FPS adventure. Fight for your life, with a slew of deadly weapons, against tactically intelligent enemies. Features massive outdoor environments with stunningly realistic foliage, real-time day and night cycles, drivable vehicles and more!

Join thousands of mighty heroes in an online world of magic and limitless adventure. World of Warcraft is a role-playing game from Blizzard Entertainment for the PC and Mac. World of Warcraft is a truly massive game. Between the original game, regular patches that add new content, and four full-fledged expansions – The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria – hundreds of hours of gameplay content await you. We’ve outlined the basics, but only scratched the surface of all that World of Warcraft has to offer.

Your character is a low ranking Marine on a routine rotation to the United Aerospace Corporation's Mars Research Facility. That's pretty much all the back-story you need. Doom 3 is a bit skimpy in the story-line department, but rich plotting and character development have never been the focus of the Doom franchise. Action is the name of the game here, and we found plenty. After a few minutes of wandering through the facility, listening to rumors about impending catastrophe from the staff it was time to start shooting. We fought our way through dark, lavishly detailed environments until finally doing battle with pure evil in the depths of hell. Although the game offers no opportunities to explore the Martian setting apart from the linear corridors of the research facility, good level design and well crafted sound effects were successful at scaring the living heck out of us all the way through.

Go to war in new dramatic battle scenarios including leading a squadron of helicopters in an all-out attack on an enemy compound, executing an ambush of enemy soldiers from dense foliage, captaining a PT boat through a dangerous jungle river passage, and more. Grab your M-16, ready the Napalm, and prepare to enter some of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War.

Experience the chaos of battle as you fight the greatest wars in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars Battlefront is an action/shooter game that give fans and gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of the classic Star Wars battles like never before. Players can select one of a number of different soldier types jump into any vehicle man any turret on the battlefront and conquer the galaxy play-by-play online with their friends or offline in a variety of single player modes.

Within EverQuest II, each player creates a character to interact in the 3D, fictional world of Norrath. The character can adventure (complete quests, explore the world, kill monsters and gain treasures and experience) and socialize with other players. The game also has a 'tradeskill' system that allows players to create items for in-game use. The player chooses their character's race and type, which affects their abilities.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

At the dawn of the 22nd century, the conquest of space and the colonization of the solar system is being monopolized by several huge and ambitious mega-corporations. Although extremely delicate and vulnerable, a balance is maintained by these companies.

The Mafia rules the city. A special police task force is formed to take down his gang. This squad is managed by two cops. An open war breaks out throughout the city of Chicago. Now it’s your turn to choose your side!

Counter-Strike: Source blends Counter-Strike's award-winning teamplay action with the advanced technology of Source™ technology. Featuring state of the art graphics, all new sounds, and introducing physics, Counter-Strike: Source is a must-have for every action gamer.

You spawn objects and weld them together to create your own contraptions - whether that's a car, a rocket, a catapult or something that doesn't have a name yet - that's up to you. You can do it offline, or join the thousands of players who play online each day. If you're not too great at construction - don't worry! You can place a variety of characters in silly positions. But if you want to do more, we have the means.

Best PC Games of 2004

Half-Life 2

Unreal Tournament 2004

Rome: Total War

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

The Sims 2

Far Cry

World of Warcraft

Doom 3

Battlefield Vietnam

Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)

EverQuest II

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

Nexus - The Jupiter Incident

Chicago 1930 : The Prohibition

Counter-Strike: Source

Garry's Mod