In 2024, some real game classics are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Reason enough to take a look back and wonder: Has it really been that long?
We all get older year by year, and so do the games we love. In 2024, some of the biggest classics in gaming history will turn 20 years old. We want to take a look back, feel old, and note what has become of the releases from back then.
Ready for a nostalgic journey? Then let’s go.
Half Life 2
Release: November 16, 2004 | Developer: Valve | Platforms: PC (Steam), Linux, macOS, Xbox, Xbox 360/One/SeriesX/S, PlayStation 3, Android
Our first stop on our journey into the past is one of the best and most important shooters ever produced. The sequel to the already revolutionary first part from Valve continues its events. Again, we take on the role of the mute Gordon Freeman and fight against Combine soldiers, Headcrabs, zombies, and more from the city of City 17. The different weapons along with the innovative physics engine make it a lot of fun (keyword: Gravity Gun).
The story is told entirely from the protagonist’s perspective without cutscenes. After the game was released, Episode One and Episode Two followed, which continued the story. Players are still waiting for Episode Three or an official third part of the series. Fans must settle for the VR spin-off “Alyx.” Nevertheless, Half Life 2 influenced many other shooters and is still enjoyable to play today.
GTA San Andreas
Release: October 29, 2004 | Developer: Rockstar North | Platforms: Windows, Xbox, Xbox360/One/SeriesX/S, PS2/3/4/5, macOS, iOS, Android, Fire OS, Windows Phone
“Oh shit, here we go again.” – The famous words of protagonist CJ as he hops on his bike and rides off have long become an internet meme. With him as our character, Rockstar releases us into the largest GTA adventure up to that point. The story is inspired by movies like “Boyz N the Hood” and “Training Day,” told from an African American perspective, which remains a rarity in gaming to this day.
New features in the series include not only the vast countryside of the city but also RPG elements, allowing us to send CJ to the gym, making him lose weight, which we can visibly see in the game.
GTA San Andreas was released just two years after its predecessor Vice City. By comparison, it will be at least 12 years by today’s standards between GTA 5 and its successor. San Andreas laid the foundation for the modern GTA worlds with its massive game world and has long become a part of pop culture.
Halo 2
Release: November 11, 2004 | Developer: Bungie Studios | Platforms: Xbox, Xbox 360/One/SeriesX/S
The second installment of the long-running Halo series was initially only released for the proprietary Xbox console. A PC port for Windows Vista followed in 2007 – even though the game actually also ran on the XP version.
Compared to the influential first part, Halo 2 shines with far fewer innovations. This is hardly surprising. After all, Halo: Combat Evolved introduced the modern shooter controls for gamepads. Nevertheless, Halo 2 offers some improvements in terms of storytelling, world-building, and variety. The game’s campaign takes players through many different locations and also plays for the first time on Earth.
Halo 2 notoriously led to four more entries in the main series. In addition, there were several spin-offs like the Halo Wars series, a TV show, and a variety of books.
World of Warcraft
Release: November 23, 2004 | Developer: Blizzard Entertainment | Platforms: Windows, macOS
One thing WoW has certainly achieved in its 20 years of existence: Almost every gamer has heard of it, even if they haven’t played it themselves.
The MMORPG, which was born out of the Warcraft brand, was not the first game of its kind but probably the most well-known, discussed, and beloved.
WoW has firmly brought the MMORPG into the mainstream – and into the media, where it has often been a punching bag in the debate about video game addiction. In the process, the gaming qualities were usually overlooked.
To this day, nine expansions have been released. In time for the game’s anniversary, the tenth, titled The War Within, is set to go online in 2024. And WoW Classic, the vanilla version of the game, continues to be very popular. Meanwhile, there are countless books, board games, comics, and a Warcraft film. And although there have been many attempts over the years to dethrone WoW, no game has truly succeeded.
