Tomb Raider

The same year that Nintendo's influential Super Mario 64 hit shelves, Tomb Raider gave the third-person perspective its sexiest reason to exist. Core's phenomenally successful title (25 million units from all five games sold by 2003) offered a masterful balance of exploration, adventure and action, all set in an immensely colorful, exotic 3D world. At the time, Lara's 3D mechanics and abilities were stunning, and influential in the realm of 3D adventure games. Tomb Raider launched the successful career of Lara Croft, who became the icon for a generation of gamers, female and male alike.