Editor's Note: 2011 is going to be a huge year for gaming, so big that a few of the titles on this list that was last updated in late 2010 might wind up getting swapped out. We're holding off updating it just yet, so if you're curious why something like Total War: Shogun 2 isn't on the list, now you know.

Coming up with top 25 games lists is never an easy task. There are so many incredible products out there built by such talented people that deciding which make the list and which just miss it can be a painful process. The reality is there's only so much room, so invariably amazing titles have to be left off. As you may have inferred from the title of this article, this is not a list that spans the entirety of PC gaming's existence. In an effort to make the list more current, we've limited it to the modern era of PC gaming – roughly from the release date of Valve's Half-Life to today.

What does that mean? Well, plenty of stellar PC games like X-Com and TIE Fighter aren't eligible. Sim City 2000 doesn't make the list, and the old, great flight games, Pirates!, and MechWarrior 2 are beyond the cutoff. Yes, it sucks that such classics have to be omitted, but the landscape of PC gaming has changed a lot over the years, something reflected by the list to follow.

So how are the games that make the list selected? It starts with the most basic question of whether the game is any good or not. If so, then we have to ask the following questions. What kind of effect did the game have on the industry? For instance, did it spawn a genre? Did it serve as an influence on games moving forward? If it's part of a franchise, then other factors had to be examined. Which game in the franchise was the best, most fully-featured experience that had the biggest impact upon launch? And which, if you were to install it today and try it out, would still be fun to play?

When coming up with this list, there were tough decisions to be made. It's pretty much a guarantee that comments such as "I can't believe you didn't include game X! This list is full of fail!" and "Game Y is total garbage. Go jump off a cliff IGN!" or "This list kidnapped my children and drained my 401k! I'm calling the cops!" and many more will appear in the comments field. But that happens pretty much any time any list is ever published, anywhere. Here, then, are the top 25 modern PC games.

The Selection Comittee

I'm the current overlord of the PC channel here at IGN and have been playing videogames my whole life. That being said, I've never been one to limit myself to a single platform. Aside from weird hardware like the 32X and Virtual Boy I've owned pretty much every console and handheld device and tried to play as many of the biggest games around that were released over the past 20 years. I think a rounded view is best for maintaining an educated perspective of what's happening in the industry. At IGN I've worked as an editor for a little over five years now, and bounced between PC and Xbox coverage as my primary beats prior to heading up PC coverage.

Although I hail from sunny Sydney, Australia, my pale complexion and surly disposition reveal that I'm a PC gamer. My love for the nerdbox began with Day of the Tentacle in 1991 and has hardly wavered since. Which other system has games that span over three decades? Where else can I play a game where I can talk to any of thousands of players? Which console lets me cut my fingers dozens of times on sharp metal edges as I set it up? Never change, PC. Never change.

My job as Executive Editor for IGN's Xbox coverage keeps me pretty focused on console gaming while at work, but outside of these walls I dabble in games wherever I can get them. The PC has been my companion since early childhood, and I've always looked at it first and foremost as a means of getting my gaming fix. From the days of text adventures up to my current and ongoing Civilization addiction, I've never made it long between extended bouts of mouse and keyboard gaming.

Along the other gentlemen whose names you see, I'm one of the few Editors at IGN who plays PC games regularly. I enjoy the hardest of hardcore strategy games, simulations, and just about everything in between. The PC may no longer be the only gaming platform that I play, but I appreciate it today because it's still the only one where you'll get experiences no console or handheld could offer.