The influence of action games made in the early 2000s is still felt to this day, and with good reason. The 2000s was an era of experimentation, and many franchises found their main voice during this landmark decade. Action is always about pushing the envelope of spectacle, and that’s exactly what these video games did.
These games and many more would set the standards for the industry. Several of them, such as Call of Duty, became best-selling video games in their own right. While there’s no way to cover every single influential game made during the period, these titles stand out and have more than earned their place in gaming history for the influence they've had over subsequent video games.
12 Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
Superhero games were notoriously rocky until Rocksteady was able to finally do the genre some justice with Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game follows Batman as he escorts the Joker, his arch-nemesis, to the asylum after the Joker orchestrates a mass breakout from Gotham's Blackgate Prison. Once inside, the Joker takes control of the asylum and Batman must navigate the treacherous facility, facing off against the Joker and his gang of intelligent Arkham Asylum villains.
The biggest influence that Batman: Arkham Asylum had on the games industry is its “Freeflow Combat” system. This standardized many melee-based action games in the coming decade, such as the likes of Shadow of Mordor and Marvel's Spider-Man. On a more minor scale, it also influenced the spread of “Detective Mode” in several stealth-based video games.
11 Gears Of War (2006)
Gears of War is a third-person shooter series that takes place on the planet Sera. The story follows Marcus Fenix and his team, Delta Squad, as they fight against the Locust Horde, a race of underground-dwelling creatures who emerge and threaten humanity.
While it doesn’t make any huge strides in of narrative, its influence on the cover system is undeniable. Gears of War’s refined cover system is still seen in many third-person shooters to this day. Although influenced by older games such as Kill Switch and WinBack, Gears of War's best and worst games innovated the cover system that is so prevalent in video games today.
10 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a critically acclaimed action-adventure game that follows treasure hunter Nathan Drake as he embarks on a journey to find the lost city of Shambhala. The game takes players on a thrilling journey through exotic locations, where they must solve puzzles, engage in intense gun fights, and navigate treacherous terrain.
The reason why Uncharted 2 is more influential than its predecessor is it becomes a completely different cinematic beast from its contemporaries. The train sequence alone at the beginning would patent the rise of seamless cutscenes playing into high-octane action, and it's only the beginning of one of the PS3's best games.
9 Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time (2003)
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is a reboot of the Prince of Persia series, set in a fantastical ancient Persia. The game follows the journey of the prince, who is on a quest to prevent the release of the Sands of Time, a powerful artifact that has the ability to control time. Along the way, the prince partners with princess Farah and uses his time-warping dagger to navigate his way to saving Persia from the clutches of a sinister traitor.
Although it’s primitive by today’s standards, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time would be the prototype for 3D action platformers moving forward. Games such as God of War would take cues from its historical fantasy action, while its parkour would be the predecessor to Ubisoft’s eventual monolithic franchise, Assassin’s Creed.
8 Assassin’s Creed Franchise (2007-)
Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure franchise set throughout different eras of history. Throughout the game, players navigate the ancestors of central character Desmond through various cities, engage in combat and stealth missions, and uncover the truth behind the Creed and the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars.
While Assassin’s Creed laid the groundwork, it was Assassin’s Creed 2 that would codify what many now know as the “Ubisoft template." Namely huge towers for revealing points on the map, hundreds of collectibles, and a massive open-world to parkour through. Love it or hate it, this template was born on the historical streets of Renaissance Italy.
7 Metal Gear Solid Franchise (1998-)
Hideo Kojima is one of the most influential minds in the gaming industry today, in part thanks to his landmark franchise, Metal Gear Solid. The series is set in various timelines and follows the adventures of Solid Snake, a legendary soldier and spy, as he carries out covert missions to save the world from the threat of nuclear weapons and the forces that seek to control them. It’s also the archetypal stealth game of a generation.
While rivals like Splinter Cell existed, Metal Gear Solid and its main entries would be the basis for stealth systems in so many modern games. Patrolling enemies, dynamic reactions to sound and light, and stealth-killing enemies all started with the best of Metal Gear Solid. Many games in the future would mimic these tried-and-true stealth mechanics.
6 Team Fortress 2 (2007)
Team Fortress 2 is a first-person shooter multiplayer game with a distinctive art style that established the hero shooter genre. The game takes place in a quirky, cartoonish universe where two teams, the RED and BLU, compete against each other in various game modes. Each player can choose to play as one of nine classes, each with their own unique abilities, strengths, and personalities.
Team Fortress 2 is incredibly influential in ways that many people don’t even realize. Outside of establishing the now incredibly popular hero shooter genre (such as Overwatch and Valorant), Team Fortress 2 was also the first game to get a massive market for cosmetic items. This is what made TF2’s unique model surprisingly profitable, and many games, particularly the free-to-play versions of CS: GO and League of Legends, have followed this format.
5 Half-Life 2 (2004)
Half-Life 2 takes place in a dystopian future where the alien Combine has taken over Earth and oppressed its population. The player takes on the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist who must team up with allies and use his weapons and puzzle-solving skills to overthrow the Combine and save humanity.
Half-Life 2 is one of the most innovative games of all time, and much of that is tied to the incredible Source engine. The physics-based puzzles and ludonarrative gameplay would be very prevalent in countless first-person shooter games moving forward. The Source Engine was also the basis for iconic video games in their own right, such as the video game mod Counter-Strike: Source, Portal, and Garry’s Mod.
4 Resident Evil 4 (2005)
While there have been plenty of action-packed third-person shooters before, perhaps none are as influential or as beloved as Resident Evil 4. The game tells the story of special agent Leon S. Kennedy as he travels to a remote rural village in Europe on a mission to rescue the President's daughter. However, he soon discovers that the village is inhabited by cultists and their families, who have been infected with a mind-controlling parasite known as Las Plagas.
Almost every major horror game released by AAA studios after Resident Evil 4 was primarily action-based. Every other action shooter had to step up their game with exciting setpieces, quick-time events, and the biggest influence, the standardization of the over-the-shoulder camera. Resident Evil 4 inspired so many games in both the horror and action genres.
3 Grand Theft Auto Franchise (1997-)
The jump to 3D cemented Grand Theft Auto as one of the most influential franchises of all time, and that’s primarily thanks to its open-world. The franchise follows different criminals as they make their way through their respective city’s seedy underbelly. From the neon-lit streets of Vice City to the gritty grunge of Liberty City, the Grand Theft Auto franchise is esteemed and constantly takes inspiration from.
While Grand Theft Auto III laid the groundwork, it was San Andreas that caused the explosion of GTA clones for years to come. GTA’s massive open-world maps are filled with tons of activities, and the games are also a chaotic sandbox for players to wreak havoc in. With other games taking notes, these imitations served to show just how much Grand Theft Auto has been integral to gaming’s history.