Metal Gear Solid (1998)

At a time when all shooters were of the "grab a big gun and shoot the hell out of everything and everyone in the room" variety, Metal Gear Solid was a breath of fresh air. As the venerable Solid Snake, in Metal Gear Solid, players were required to use stealth to save the world from a group of terrorists that had gotten their hands on...uh...some weapons of mass destruction. Like many of the games in this list, leaks about the game were rampant and hype was through the roof. Fortunately, the game was so enjoyable that once the game was released, no one minded all the hype.