- Video Games
- > Specials
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Double Dragon
- Platform:
- Taito, 1987
- Debut system:
- Arcade
The benchmark scrolling beat ’em up, arguably paved the way for Street Fighter and its many offspring. That said, a close call between this and Sega Megadrive’s Streets of Rage.
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Pole Position
- Platform:
- Namco, 1982
- Debut system:
- Arcade
The first convincingly realistic F1 race, complete with rasping exhaust notes while you weaved your way through the pack, gunning the accelerator and spinning the wheel. Everyone loved Pole Position.
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Galaxian
- Platform:
- Namco, 1979
- Debut system:
- Arcade
Dive-bombing aliens defined Galaxian, accompanied by high-pitched wailing and constant whirring. Only one step up from Space Invaders, but its colour and complexity seemed light years ahead at the time.
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Asteroids
- Platform:
- Atari, 1979
- Debut system:
- Arcade
Thrusting, weightlessly around felt terrific – both strange and precarious. Exploding big asteroids was orgasmic. That the fragments made your life hell was genius. Asteroids was the thinking man’s Space Invaders.
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Frogger
- Platform:
- Sega, 1981
- Debut system:
- Arcade
Guide a frog home to its lily pad. Cross a busy road, then a river where logs and the backs of turtles offer you a ride. Clever because so simple.
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Bombjack
- Platform:
- Tehkan, 1984
- Debut system:
- Arcade
Maddeningly addicting race against time, scrabbling for bombs while avoiding cheeky monsters. The real skill was going for the bombs that had fuses lit – increasing your likelihood of being killed!
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Missile Command
- Platform:
- Atari, 1980
- Debut system:
- Arcade
A tracker ball guides your crosshair, while three buttons control missile bases used to protect cities from enemy missiles and the occasional aircraft. John Connor plays this in Terminator 2.
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Space Invaders
- Platform:
- Taito, 1978
- Debut system:
- Arcade
It came from outer space. We’d never seen nor heard anything like this, and certainly had no clue how it all worked. But we knew how to defend planet earth!
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Pong
- Platform:
- Atari, 1972
- Debut system:
- Arcade
Infinitely enjoyable because the premise is so simple, and so too is the interface. Because the theme is sporting and involves two players, it’s also fun to watch others play.
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Hard Drivin
- Platform:
- Atari, 1989
- Debut system:
- Arcade
This was the first time most people had clapped eyes on polygonal ‘3D’ graphics – ideal for stunt driving, twisting upside down and so on. Enough to make you lose your lunch!