Red Dead Redemption
My favorite game of all time has to be Red Dead Redemption. I am a total sucker for Western genre games and riding around shooting the law on horse back can not be beat. The mechanics are almost perfect and the story is top tier almost has good as a Western film. The multiplayer is one of the best I've ever seen by gathering a posse of random other players and roaming the map hunting down other players is probably the most fun I have ever had.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Many people in the Rainbow Six community hate this game with a passion but Vegas 2 has a special place in my heart. I guess it starts with nostalgia when my father bought my brother this game for spring break. But I was the one that truly loved to play it. I have actually have never beat the campaign on my own but I played countless hours of Team Leader in multiplayer. Great mechanics with the cover system and balanced weapons all around. Terrorist Hunt was my favorite and I had even more hours in that than Team Leader.
Halo 3
Now this is a game everyone knows and loves. With its perfect campaign and perfect multiplayer it was hard to rate Halo 3 at number 3. The campaign was exciting and was one of the most memorable campaigns I've ever played. The multiplayer was competitive and full of endless fun. Also forge and custom games made Halo 3 never get old. I do have a ton of nostalgia towards Halo 3 so I will say I'm very biased.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
I remember back in the day coming home from school and having to choose between Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. In the end I usually picked Call of Duty 4 and I rate it below Halo 3 because the campaign is slightly not as good as Halo's. I have probably sunk more hours into Call of Duty 4 than any other game on this list due to its multiplayer being endless fun. The multiplayer was perfect and I feel bad for the newer Call of Duty players that never got to enjoy this game. It was truly a masterpiece for the time.
Victoria 2
I started playing Victoria 2 sophomore year of high school and I stepped away from consoles and started playing solely PC games. I first found this game by seeing a screenshot of someone playing as the Confederate States of America and I wanted to play Victoria 2 so bad after that. It would finally cure my craving for a civil war game. The mechanics are pretty good and the community is still active in making mods. Most mods are decent but there are a few that will knock your socks off. All in all the mechanics make this game beautiful.
Mount & Blade: Warband
Mount & Blade is probably the most odd game you will find on Steam. The game is all about besieging castles and slaying your enemy to grow your kingdom or your king's kingdom. It is probably one of the best medieval games with perfect combat system and the developers are probably the most in tune with their audience. The developers turned two huge mods into dlc and paid the modders handsomely. One of the dlc's is Napoleonic Wars which gives 100 people in multiplayer muskets and they have to hold a fort against waves of endless other people. Probably the most fun I have had in a team based multiplayer and many people do old tactics where people line up and march towards their enemies. All in all great base game and dlcs are just as great.
Crusader Kings 2
Crusader Kings 2 is like no other game on the planet. Essentially its a dynasty simulator at its core but it has so many twists and turns for your character. The game also doubles as a grand strategy game where you are trying to take over the known world or you can set your own goals and just control a small region. It truly is sandboxy at its heart and since the game was coded in lua it is easy to mod. All in all a great game with endless possibilities.
Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour is a World War 2 simulator where the player can play as any country during that time period. Want to play as Poland and get steamrolled by the Nazis? Go for it! Darkest Hour is actually not the original game it is an open source project based on Hearts of Iron 2 and Darkest Hour goes in and fixes and adds tons of things. Since the game is open source being able to mod is super easy and there have been thousands of mods made. Even though the game looks outdated there is still a large modding community on the paradox forums. The game stands up for its time with great mechanics that will have you fighting the same World War 2 with different tactics every time. Also the most popular mod is Kaiserreich which is about if Germany won World War 1 and how the world would differ. This game is truly a masterpiece and I don't understand why I rated it so low. I highly recommend this game to any strategy World War 2 gamers and games like this aren't made any more or to the same quality.
Tropico 5
I had a hard time deciding if Tropico 5 or Tropico 4 should make the top 10 list but since Tropico 5 has multiplayer I threw it in here. The game is a city builder but with comedy and it knows not to take its self seriously. With rebels hiding in the jungle and the Soviets and the US looming in the background there are tons of fun to have. Either go full industrial and side with the Soviets or go full tourism and side with America. The game is actually pretty difficult the more time spend building a city. The citizens will become rowdy and you might need to rig an election. Truly the most funny building simulator ever made and endless potential and fun.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
GTA San Andreas is probably the most memorable single player of any GTA. A great game where you get to roam around in the early 90's as a gangster in Los Santos aka LA. There are so many memorable lines from the campaign like chasing a train on a bike or making a quick stop to a cluckinbell. There is even a multiplayer created by the community and there are countless gametypes and servers. All in All best GTA game out there.
