PC
PC was a little tricky to do, since, unlike consoles, there's no clear beginning and ending of a system. So we elected to divide by decade. The decade denotes when we were playing it, which doesn't necessarily coincide with the decade the game was released.
PC (1990-2000)
Nick Puleo: Diablo, DOOM, DOOM 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Rainbow Six
Mike Katsufrakis: DOOM, Duke Nukem 3D, Diablo, Diablo 2
Chris Metz: Centipede
A PC decade of giants. These days, FPSs and ARPGs come and go, but everyone PC gamer knows the DOOM and Diablo IPs.
Staff Quote on Diablo and Diablo 2:
"Diablo taught me the expenses related to direct modem connections over long distance, and Diablo 2 stole thousands of hours of my life." - Mike
PC (2000-2010)
Nick Puleo: Left 4 Dead, Rainbow Six 3, MechWarrior 4
Mike Katsufrakis: World of Warcraft, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands
Marc Allie: EverQuest
Tally Callahan: Dungeon Siege 2, Diablo 2, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Lord of the Rings Online
John Bardinelli: Borderlands
Justin Reynolds: World of Warcraft
Most of the picks here are either a FPS or an MMO game. That might about just sum up this decade of PC gaming. Those two genres exploded in these two years, but eventually died down a bit in the following decade. These years were both of their heydays.
Staff Quote on Borderlands:
"This is the game that got all of my friends to take off work and play video games again. When this came out, there were entire days filled with shooting and looting in a full co-op game. And by 'entire days,' I really do mean that. 'Brb guys, going to eat whatever's in the kitchen, then more BL.' It's the perfect blend of action, obsessive loot gathering, and trying to jump onto buildings we're not supposed to jump onto." - John
PC (2010-Present Day)
Nick Puleo: Borderlands series, Trine Series, Diablo III
Mike Katsufrakis: Borderlands 2, Diablo III, Torchlight 2, Payday 2
Marc Allie: Diablo III
Jason Love: Dark Souls 2
Tally Callahan: Borderlands 2, Torchlight 2, Divinity: Original Sin
Chris Metz: Awesomenauts, Team Fortress 2, Alien Swarm
John Bardinelli: Terraria
Justin Reynolds: Mass Effect 3
A ton of co-op games here with long shelf lives. Games like the Borderlands series, Diablo III, and Dark Souls 2 can provide hours upon hours of play while players seek out the best loot.
Staff Quote on Dark Souls 2:
"When I first tried Dark Souls on the 360, I hated the game. It just didn't click with me. Time went on and it was a game I felt like I wanted to like; that I should like. Watching videos of Locke and Andrew co-op a final run of the game somehow won me over and I picked it up again. It was love at first death and I pre-ordered the sequel for PC. I felt, in some way, that I had betrayed Nick, as we both had a dislike for the series. Now, I joined the rest of the chorus in saying, "it's great!" I've had some great times with Andrew, Locke, Mike, and even Nick (when he begrudgingly decided to join in) learning the game and now see why it's so beloved." - Jason