Anyone who has ever owned a games console knows that there are games that are good and games that are god awful. However, there are some games that don't fit into either of these categories, games that can have you crying with laughter in once scene and then reduce the player to a blubbering baby in the next. Games that require a higher level of understanding. Games that relate so much to your life that sometimes they are your life. These are the games that make a generation who they are, the games that allow people to extend their imagination and ultimately, the games that will change your life...

2K Boston's Bioshock was a cult success when it hit Xbox 360's in August 2007 winning numerous awards form gaming magazines instantly. One of the main factors in it's fame is the gorgeous graphics, notably the memorable first scene where the player is left staring at a burning ocean only to find that the opening cinematic has finished and that their television will continue to churn out these mind numbing visuals for the entire time you spend in Rapture.

Another reason this game deserves a place on our list is the extreme detail that the developers included within the project, from hearing about a 'Splicers' relationship problem to optional side quests finding audiotapes documenting the demise of Ramture.

If you like your games deep and meaningful, bursting with philosophy and objectivism then Bioshock is definately for you. And even if you couldn't care less for the plight of Raptures citizens, you will be in awe of the sterling graphics and engrosing sound that accompanies your adventure into madness...

Ah the sweet smell of simulated life! Waking up in the morning, using the bathroom, watching TV, going to work, coming back from work, eating dinner, watching TV, going to bed. Rinse and repeat.

To individuals that haven't played The Sims, those may seem mundane and ordinary tasks, but for those that have, the above events represented days, weeks, months of joyous gameplay, controlling the lives of your 'sims' like some benevolent god in a virtual middle class suburbia.

Start by constructing the house of your dreams, move in your player designed characters and take your subjects from impoverished beginnings to unimaginable riches and beyond. Engage in conversation with other families in the neighbour hood to build up good social skills and it's almost real life, save the life shattering consequences when you lose your job and there's no 'load game' button to save you...

Do the words "Snake? Snaaaakkeeeeeee!!?" haunt your every dream? Do you find yourself crawling through air vents at work to avoid that 4pm deadline? Like watching women in cells do sit-ups in their underwear? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you my friend, have been playing too much Metal Gear Solid, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, considering it is one of the most highly enjoyed games of all time.

The innovative stealth gameplay revolutionised the gaming industry and inspired many later titles such as Splinter Cell and Assassins Creed. Solid Snake wowed the gamer with his cool gruff voice and his I-couldn't-give-a-damn-if-I-fail-the-mission mentality, you've just got to love the guy. Couple this with an extremely engrossing plotline, full of interesting characters and you have a recipe for a deliciously playable game, just waiting to be devoured by hungry gamers (insert your own extended cookery metaphor here).

This list just wouldn't be the same without Metal Gear Solid and if you haven't played this title yet, then beg, steal, or perform some questionable sexual favour to acquire it, trust me, it'll most probably be worth it...

If there was ever a game that could scare the living hell out of you at 3am, Resident Evil would be it. At the time, the blocky polygon graphics made it look like you were staring into a vivid living nightmare, bursting with maggot ridden zombies, crazy blood drunk hounds and giant man eating spiders. This game had it all. It may not have been the prettiest, but boy was it scary!

Nowadays gamers would laugh at the terrible voice acting, patchy graphics and impracticle control system, but all of this is inconsequentional when you contemplate the impact that this game had on both the developing and gaming community. Never before had anyone attempted to break into the horror genre so convincingly, but Capcom managed to terrify a whole generation, with experiences that stay with you for years...

Oh Bungie, Bungie, Bungie... Where would we be without you? Would man have walked on the moon without you? Would Einstein have formulated the laws of relativity without you? Would Shakespeare have written his masterpieces without you? The answer to these questions is undoubtedly yes, however, Bungie has made just as much contribution to society as Armstrong, Einstein and Shakespeare in developing one of the biggest selling games of all time.

The love for Halo can be seen everywhere - from restaurants with Master Chief statues watching you eat, threatening to blow you to kingdom come if your table manners aren't up to scratch, to hundreds of fansites dedicated to the big, green, earth-saving neo-messiah. 

The Halo franchise revolutionised first person shooters and an online experience that pathed the way for many enjoyably shooters to appear and disappear, but Halo has still remained, battling an endless conflict against boredom and mediocrity, fighting for the preservation of gamers everywhere...   

Gran Turismo; the game that was the saviour for those too young to drive a real car or those who had been banned from driving for performing cornering maneuvers that are more at home on a racetrack as opposed to a quiet residential area. The game that created an army of grease monkeys, forever tinkering with virtual gear ratios or adjusting digitally calculated suspension. This was a game for everyone, young, old, male, female, formula 1 driver... taxi driver.

The scope and complexity of this 'ultimate driving simulator' is impressive considering the single disk format and the limited processing power of the Playstation. You start from humble beginnings, working your way through the amature race classes with a second hand family saloon. Then comes the required driving tests to progress onto higher class races, a refreshing twist in the racing genre. Culminating in a supercar raceoff of the ages, just remember to have some clean underwear, bowels don't respond well to deceleration speeds of 160mph - 0mph in 0.01 second as your car inevitably annihilates itself and the unfortunate wall you just careered into.

This was the first, true driving simulator, and some would argue it is the only true driving simulator in history...

Sometimes, a game comes along that makes you think; "Wow this is fun!". Sometimes it makes you think; "How did this title ever get published?". And very occasionally a game is released that makes you think; "Jesus Christ, I just ran over 50 people, jumped out of my flaming car, with 5 police cruisers chasing me, firing rockets into oncoming traffic, before being incapacitated by a national guard tank at the end of the road... ". These are the types of thoughts that stay with you, urging you to pick up the controller one more time and wreck some more havoc.

Grand Theft Auto received widespread condemnation in the media for being a violent, serial killer-producing spawn of Satan, bursting with filth, extortion, murder, theft, drug taking, more murder, dangerous driving, money laundering and some more murder. Be that as it may, this game still gained hundreds of positive critical reviews from gaming industry's publications, and was loved by all who played it; young, old, male, female, formula 1 driver...

The open ended gameplay engrossed the gamer in the world of Liberty City and provided a safe and practical way to vent of your anger, without the consequences of a long term prison sentence for murdering innocent civilians that would be attained in real life. God bless gaming...

Lets face it, who wouldn't want to be James Bond? Fast cars, big guns, beautiful women, business class flight tickets. It's all a man could ever want and more. And what better way to replicate all of that but through a video game...

Goldeneye captivated audiences across the world with it's eyepopingly good visuals and it's fluid and inventive gameplay. The real jewel in the crown however, was the multiplayer experience; namely the 4 player co-operative and verses mode. These features provided countless hours of electronic entertainment, come rain or shine (usually shine) and while other, less sane individuals were outside playing football and cricket in the sun, we gamers were indoors, playing one of the most engrossing first-person shooters ever made. And we loved every minute of it....

Many gamers would rate Half Life 2 as the greatest game ever to be created and it's not hard to see why. The captivating gameplay and richly detailed visuals is enough to make anyone love this masterpiece which sees Gordon Freeman once again battling the evil Combine to free an enslaved humanity.

One thing that really impacts upon the gamer when playing this is the seamless and encompassing cinematic experience that the game produces. Every event occurs in real time, there and no changes of perspective and no cinematic cut scenes; meaning that from start to finish the player is Gordon Freeman, with no exception. This strategy makes for a compelling FPS experience and this is carried on to the mutiplayer mode which is quite frankly frighteningly good.

Counter Strike: Source could be a whole new game it's that enjoyable. Two teams; Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist battle it out over the course of many richly detailed maps, showcased exquisitly by the Source engine employed by the game.

This complete package means that Half Life 2 is one of the most enjoyed games ever released and is still played by millions, five years after release...

We have now come to the point in time where we must choose the most life changing game ever created. A game that can have you crying with laughter one minute and reduced to a blubbering baby the next. A game that requires a higher level of understanding. A game that relates so much to your life that sometimes it is your life. That game, is Final Fantasy VII...

This game redefined what it meant to be a gamer, what it meant to be a developer and what it meant to be a human being. It showed both man's pitiful weakness in the pursuit for ultimate power but also showed humanities strength in perseverance in the face of danger. The desire to rid the world of evil and corruption, and ultimately, to save the planet.

Nothing, in any form of media has ever touched so many people in a way that Final Fantasy VII has, a way that has you remembering the characters in the middle of the night decades later and chuckling to yourself, replaying the events of the game over and over, longing to play it one more time, going to the ends of the earth just to get a glimpse of gameplay. This is true gaming bliss. This is Final Fantasy VII...

I do not wish to ruin the game by giving away any of the plot details at all, as I would be doing a disservice to anyone who has not yet played this piéce de resistance. The only way to truly experience this game is to play it. It doesn't matter how you get hold of it, be it buying a playstation and a copy of the game to play at home, or using an emulator to play it on your PC, the important thing is that you do play it. Because if you don't, you will have missed out on one of humanities greatest pieces of art. And that is exactly what it is, a true masterpiece...