Following on from part one of our guide to the ten most influential games ever comes, predictably enough, part two; but first, before we plough ever onwards into the most illustrious five, an award. You see Pong hasn’t made the cut (nor Spacewar! or any of the real early games), the reason that the emergence of videogames was on the whole inevitable in this writer’s opinion, Pong simply was the first to ride the wave. However, despite that assertion, Pong must still get special mention for being the first commercially successful game – Pong, the godfather of the gaming industry, we salute you!

And now – without further delay – the final five:

• (5) Wii Sport (Nintendo, 2008)

The game which did what Sony’s PlayStation One console had always threatened to do without ever quite managing it: bring gaming to the masses.

For all the simplicity and lack of depth of Wii Sports (and indeed its sequel) there can be no questioning the importance of the release and the foresight and belief exhibited by Nintendo in packaging Wii Sports with every new Wii console.

Though it seems unthinkable now many industry insiders were expecting the Wii to bomb massively, indeed even major retailers were at first unwilling to create shelf space for the new console. Only a combination of perfectly pitched marketing, word of mouth and, most importantly, the pick-up and play combination of Wiimote and Wii Sports won over the hearts and minds of gamers and non-gamers alike.

• (4) Half-Life (1998)

The game which took FPS shooters into the scripted dimension and a true tour de force of the industry; cementing Valve as an elite developer in the process.

From the spectacular introduction – which saw Half-Life’s hero, Gordon Freeman, transported into the shadowy depths of the Black Mesa research facility – to the first time you the hear radio chatter of the magnificently intelligent special ops soldiers as the hunt you down, Half-Life was quite simply like nothing that had proceeded it.

That only a handful of FPS titles since have improved on its winning formula – while far more have tried but failed – stands testament to its legacy and check out the intro below; amazing:

• (3) Grand Theft Auto 3 (Rockstar Games, 2001)

While GTA and GTA 2 were amazing games, as original as they were overflowing with novel gameplay and humour, it fell to GTA 3 to truly demonstrate what Rockstar – and a new generation of consoles – were capable of. By taking the decision to ditch the overhead camera which had served them so well in earlier games Rockstar demonstrated the foresight and ambition necessary of a triple-A games developer. Perhaps what even they might not have anticipated was the unprecedented hype and sales generated by their title’s controversial release.

Videogames which hit the headlines of the mainstream press are few and far between but GTA has courted more news coverage than most. From complaints over the levels of violence depicted, to sensationalist stories about players being able to rape and kill prostitutes and even to claims that the game causes children to go on real life bouts of carjacking, it’s fair to say that the course of GTA hasn’t always run smooth. What is usually overlooked is the fact that the game is an 18 certificate and therefore shouldn’t be in the possession of children anyway – it’s the equivalent of parents allowing their 10-year-old to watch Scarface or Goodfellas.

Regardless of the odd bit of negative press the sheer ambition displayed by its developers makes GTA 3 one of the most important games ever realised and the fact that it was lovingly crafted by a UK based gaming company makes it all the better – UK based videogame development, something that’s going to become all the rarer under the Lib-Con coaling methinks (but that’s another story).

• (2) Doom (id Software, 1993)

The daddy of the FPS (OK Wolfenstein 3D came first but was utterly eclipsed by Doom) and the reason for many a schoolboy to cajole his parents into buying him a PC. Doom was a hellish, chainsaw-wielding monster of game, presented in colours of gun-metal grey and about ten shades of brown.

As important as the blood-soaked single player mode was, the deathmatch mode – in which fans could get together and take to the multiplayer battlefields over the Ethernet for the first time – was perhaps even more so. Multiplayer deathmatch eh? It’ll never catch on!

• (1) Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, 1996)

What would the games industry be without Nintendo’s moustachioed Italian plumber, the one and only Super Mario? To choose but one Mario platformer from the countless Shigeru Miyamoto masterpieces is tricky but final nod goes to Super Mario 64.

Not just the deepest Mario game available then (as it possibly still is now), but also the release which showed what 3D worlds could do for gaming. Looking back it seems slightly surreal that a 3D Mushroom Kingdom caused jaws to drop around the world upon its unveiling, but that it did. A quick play of Super Mario 64 even now reveals a free-flowing 3D engine rarely surpassed.

Where Mario may yet tread looking ahead to the future is even more tantalising; motion control Goomba stomping anyone?

So there you have it, a fine list of games I’m sure you’ll agree but let us know what you think. What would you swap? What wouldn’t you touch with a bargepole? If we get enough (decent) comments we’ll put a reader’s alternative list up or, even better, write to us and we’ll post the best suggestions.

Oh and for Part One of our guide – go here

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