10. Fable (Why? Because despite the MANY issues with this game (missing content in particular) it made a bold and, I would say, successful addition to the Genre at a time when RPGs where pecariously under-represented in the market. It rejuvinated the Good vs. Evil and character development aspects of the game.)

9. M&M 6

8. Diablo (Now I don’t particular care for Diablo, but as has been mentioned it had a major impact of RPG development. It is a hack and slash (like Dungeon Siege); it does have some story telling and character development this is secondary and not particularly engaging. Nevertheless, I would class it as a RPG. That does not condone the games which followed its success with ever more action orientated ‘RPGs’)

7. Ultima VII (The Ultima series is owed a great debt, not just by RPGs but for bringing us the first truly successful MMORPG. But tracking back a few titles to 7 we find the crowning gem of Lord British and the Avatar’s adventures. The mere size of the game, and the first develope use of a party in RPGs mae this a standout game.)

6. TES: Morrowind (The Elder Scrolls are a tough one to pick. The vast, rich game worlds are beautiful and awe-inspiring. In fact sometimes they are a bit overwhelming, especially after a 30 minute hike by foot across the island. The stats system, where experience was gain by using certain skills, is interesting and allows for good character development, and the very free form design allows for good replay value. But ultimately there is a distinct lacking – NPCs and story seem flat and more part of the scenery than truly engaging characters.)

5. Final Fantasy VII (The game to brought the JRPG to the world, and still probably the best written one. Powerful, engaging story, convincing characters, vareity in gameplay (strat elements, turn based combat, etc) – FFVII is a great game. The only reason it only comes in at 5 for me is that, like many JRPGs, it is very linear and thereby not so replayable.)

4. Betrayl at Krondor (Here’s an oldie but a goodie! Essentially just a highly engaging, story driven game, with innovative combat, puzzles, and interactions. I played this game as freeware and couldn’t stop – proving again that gameplay trumps graphics)

3. Fallout 1 (If you haven’t played Fallout 1, you should. The major draw factor of Fallout for me was the unique post-apocalyptic world and gritty game play. The character development and interactions are fantastic and who didn’t love the gore factor? I rate this game better than Fallout 2, as I found the story in 2 a little weak and overall the world less engaging, and 3 suffers from the cardinal sin that I feel plagued its engine predecessor, Oblivion; that is the style (freeform world) over substance (character development and storytelling) arguement.)

2. Mass Effect (This is probably a debatable pick, but I loved the cinematic interactions and powerful story/NPC relationships which were developed while still maintaining a fairly non-linear and replayable game. Mass effect, as mentioned above, is the spiritual successor of KOTOR and it pushed the Sci-Fi RPG to new heights. Mass Effect 2 carries on the tradition, though I feel the mission structure (particularly the reports) somehow dulled the magic. However with Sheppard back in Mass Effect 3 there are bonus points for the feeling that your not done yet.)

1. Baldur’s Gate II (IMO this game took all the best of BG1 and made it better. Extremely rich story-telling and game world, without constricting the player to a linear game. High replay value, still excellent art/graphics and voice acting. Wide variety of character statistics to tweak for customisation – basically this game was the best evolution of all the work of RPGs before it and can been shown to lay down so many innovations that shape RPGs today)

Anyway, just my thoughts.