It was a great year for gaming, although it had its highs and lows. Highs: Two new videogame system releases, each with a powerful set of launch titles, while a third console system was just beginning to hit its stride. Lows: A slow year for PC gaming, where only the strategy category really cranked out a lot of hits.
PC gamers had a lot of great choices this year when it came to action games. Wanted over-the-top action and wall-to-wall enemies? Serious Sam. Futuristic conspiracies and deformable environments? Red Faction. Gritty urban drama? Max Payne WWII mixed with the X-Files? Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Teamplay? Tribes 2. Creepy and atmospheric? Undying... or Aliens vs. Predator 2 -- take your pick. Of all these games, however, none provided a finer overall experience than Operation FlashPoint: Cold War Crisis.