Before going on to make lackluster movie tie-ins, Shiny made some of the most creative games on the planet. MDK was a technical tour-de-force when it was released, with ridiculously large levels and insane draw distances. The game also had a crazy, dark sense of humor that permeated the whole design, from taunting enemies that held targets up to their faces, to weapons like "The World's Smallest Nuclear bomb". There is a frantic pace to the whole experience, only pausing for breath between levels (but even there, there's no progress bar, just a long tunnel to keep running through). It's an extremely linear experience, but in a good way, focusing on quality over quantity. By today's standards, the visuals have aged a bit, but I think MDK is still one of the best 3rd-person shooters ever made, and the core gameplay still shines through.
