On its SNES release in 1992, Street Fighter II made the multi-character fighting game an absolutely key genre, introducing a mainstream audience to Ken, Ryu and Chun-Li, and bringing us absolutely unforgettable attacks in the form of the Hadouken, Dragon Punch and Spinning Bird Kick. Mario Kart remains one of the world’s bestselling games for a reason. Despite cheating AI racers and some truly evil courses based around Bowser’s castle, ghost houses and other locations from Mario’s main adventures, it always felt as if anyone had a chance of winning, especially if you were blessed by the item box roulette. Mario’s first foray out of brightly coloured platforming worlds and behind the wheel of a go-kart introduced millions to the joy of couch multiplayer, and the sheer pain of slipping on a banana peel seconds before the finish line.

And just look at the chilling legacy it begat. A key part of the game’s appeal was its many restrictions – the tank-like turning of the characters, the inaccuracy of the weapons and the stilted dialogue all made it feel like starring in your own tense, shocking and ridiculous cult horror video. There had been horror adventure games before Resident Evil, but for Capcom’s title, designer Shinji Mikami merged exploitation cinema, expressionism, psychology and brilliant puzzle mechanics into one groundbreaking package. Few modern RPGs offer as much true flexibility and choice as Fallout 2, though you can always expect the consequences of your actions to catch up with you quickly. Manage to find other humans, though, and you’ll be treated to some of the darkest and funniest dialogue in games, as you try to talk or shoot or sneak your way out of trouble. Emerging from a vault after nuclear devastation, you head out into the desert wastes and, most likely, get killed immediately by a giant scorpion. Released before post-apocalyptic settings became tired and boring, the original two Fallout games were brutal, intriguing, brilliantly written visions of a grim future for humanity. With its exhaustive range of accurately modelled cars, its complex handling model and its emphasis on improving the player’s driving skills through a range of licence tests, Gran Turismo radically altered the course of console racing game design for ever. Photograph: Sony Computer EntertainmentĪlthough Ridge Racer and Daytona USA were vital in introducing the world to 32-bit, textured, 3D visuals, it is Polyphony Digital’s painstakingly authentic racing game that deserves a place here.

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