Not just valued for its historical importance, Battlefield 1942 is a fantastic first person shooter in its own right. Battlefield 1942 is a formative piece of gaming history, in which DICE first took the concept of the hardcore military sim and marketed it to a wider audience.

The first, the original and, for many, one of the best. Battlefield 4 has come a long way since then, but we can't ignore the shadow of its false promises, hence its somewhat diminished position on this list. Sadly, launch day troubles soured public opinion on the game for quite some time, its best qualities blighted by crippled servers and bugs aplenty. PlayStation and Xbox owners could finally appreciate the joyous chaos of 64-player matches, while the Levolution system – in which huge parts of each map could be drastically changed by weather and player activity – is still an impressive addition. While DICE clearly struggled as it worked to release Battlefield 4 on PC and across two console generations, there was a lot to love here. While the campaign is an improvement, it still had plenty of room for improvement – not that you cared all much once you were knees deep into Battlefield 4's upgraded multiplayer options. With the foundation for a new era of Battlefield outlined by Battlefield 3, DICE's follow-up is essentially more of the same. Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4 Xbox 360, Xbox One

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