5. Mass Effect
The Milky Way Galaxy is somewhat familiar to us. After all, it is our home galaxy. Mass Effect manages to really open up the possibilities of what else could be in our galaxy and reminds us that we still have so much to explore. What’s more is how Bioware managed to create a fleshed out history for every other race that cohabits the Milky Way with humans. It makes you feel like humanity arrived late to a party where everybody already knows each other and just kind of accepts that humans showed up suddenly and brought a side dish to share with everyone. The planets that you explore are also rich in history and the ones that you don’t still have information about them that you can delve into as much or as little as you want. The unknown threat of the Reapers are also a unique twist for this game world and you get to see how the entire galaxy deals with such a massive threat nobody has any knowledge of or even knows for sure exists, that is until the third entry, when they all have a war against the Reapers.
4. The Old Republic
Star Wars has a fantastic universe already, even without the games, but Bioware created a whole new Star Wars universe with the critically acclaimed Knights of the Old Republic series. Technically, they were not entirely responsible for the second entry, but it would not have existed without them creating the first one. Almost all of the alien races found in the movies can be seen and expanded upon in the series along with plenty of new ones! Bioware also delivers in their fantastic storytelling and brings some of the best (my opinion, of course) stories in the Star Wars Universe.
3. Halo
Between the numbered releases and the extra outings (Halo Wars, Spartan Ops, Halo Reach, etc.) there is quite a full picture of the history and overall universe in the Halo franchise. Warring factions of species with expanded governments and religions revolving around a race of highly advanced beings that came before them. All of this with an engaging character-driven story about a super-soldier and his adventures with a charming artificial intelligence that takes many different turns as the series progresses. The concept of the Halo rings themselves are interesting to me personally, artificial “planets” that were created by ancient entities for unknown reasons (if they are known, I apologize for my ignorance). How is that not enticing story?
2. Assassin's Creed
Maybe it’s just me, but a machine that allows you to live select parts of your most distant ancestors’ lives sounds pretty exciting. Not only does the Animus allow people to see these experiences, but they actually experience the memories themselves! And you aren’t even really putting yourself at physical risk because you are in a machine in present day. You also get to experience life in these exotic locales and eras that are obviously not accessible today. If this one invention did not make the world of Assassin’s Creed awesome enough, there is also a secret war being waged that has begun since at least the time of the Ancient Egyptians that still rages on today. The world of Assassin’s Creed is basically a conspiracy theorists wildest dreams brought to reality. And it is fantastic. To top it all off, there is the lingering mystery of “the ones who came before” also known as the Isu. There is just so much that the world of Assassin’s Creed has to offer and so much it still has to explore.
1. Fallout
It’s the nineteen-fifties, you have your robot house-servant, you fought in a huge war with your crazy mechsuit, and suddenly you are being forced into underground vaults that serve literally any number of purposes because nukes are falling and you don’t want to die. Many years later you re-emerge to find America still somewhat beautiful, but now there are a lot less people and a lot more robots, along with mutated animals and hideous mutated people and giant beasts running around trying to kill each other and you. And that’s just the bad one. The best Fallout games show mankind’s new attempt at civilization in a world that simply cannot allow it. Secrets abound and the best of humanity is still not very good. Fallout built a compelling and rather realistic version of a post-apocalyptic America by showing us these things. The beauty of America is still found all over the place, but the darkest parts of humanity are now radioactive.