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Here are some of my favorite PC games.  I am running my games on the following system, which I built myself from scratch in early 2004:

Ok, now stop drooling and look at my reviews...

Battlefield 2 (2005)

  Simply the best online multiplay around, assuming you have a good broadband connection.  There is no subscription charge for online play.  Join up with up to 63 other players on modern battlefields using modern military equipment.  Two teams compete to hold control points across the map.  Play as a commando, a sniper (my favorite), a medic, a soldier, support soldier (machine gunner), an engineer, or anti-tank.  Use jeeps, helicopters, planes, APC's, and tanks, with cooperative driver/gunners (one player drives with other teammates as passangers/gunners).  Command opportunities are also available to direct troop movements, call in supply drops, and artillery strikes. My only complaint is the long logon and load times, plus the new 1.3 patch has triggered significant server stability issues.   The new Armored Fury map pack is great fun and well worth the $10 download.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)

  Another great Action/RPG from Bethesda Softworks.  An epic story with hundreds of sidequests, stunning visuals, and endless possibilities for character development.  Focus on combat, spellcasting, stealth, or any combination.  Includes huge inventories, specialty spellmaking and enchanting, potion making, and guilds.  This game offers a LOT of value for the money.  Make sure your machine is up to spec.  I did experience some bugs (the Cure for Vampirism quest lets you continuously accept reward money!).  Also experienced some graphics lockups which caused occasional crashes to the desktop, but I still highly recommend.

The Movies (2005)

A sim game with a lot going for it.  Simulates movie production from the early days of Hollywood to the present.  Hire actors and directors, build their experience and relationships, grow your studio lot with sets and amenities, and make movies.  Best of all, you can eventually script your own movies using the actors you've developed, and the sets/props/costumes you have researched and financed. Possibilities are creative and endless, and a significant online community has come up around sharing films.  The movie creator is simple and powerful.  The only problem is that there is a bit of a disconnect between the creative process of movie-making and the sim aspect of the game.  

Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001)

       I've loved Turn-Based Squad Combat games since X-COM: UFO Defense came out in the early 90's.  These games are far and between these days, with the recent exception of the recent WWII era Silent Storm.  Fallout Tactics is a classic.

The Fallout universe began with an early 90's RPG called Fallout.  It was slated to use the GRUPS RPG system, but wound up designing a new system prior to release.  The new system is heavily stylized by a cartoon character known as "Action Boy", a throwback to 1950's era public service announcements.  This game featured the nameless "Vault Dweller" who emerged from a California bomb shelter to find a replacement water purification chip.  The late 90's sequal Fallout 2 continued the story with a descendant of the "Vault Dweller", trying to save his village.  Fallout Tactics focuses on the enigmatic Brotherhood of Steel, a group dedicated to restoring technology and the "American" lifestyle through heavy-handed military superiority.  You lead a team of 5 other characters through many missions.  The missions are open-ended enough to approach with a variety of strategies.  The combat system is well-ballanced, allowing real time or turn-based action.  There is a wonderfully diverse amount of equipment to play with, from the high tech plasma cannon to the mundane brass knuckles.  There is even some vehicle action thrown in.

My only complaint is that your inventory of valuable saved equipment gets unwieldy towards the end of the game.