Dune 2 - real-time strategy (Westwood)
You know how Command & Conquer was lauded as an innovative, genre-creating classic? Well, such plaudits aren't entirely correct. Innovative? Not so. Before C&C, Westwood's Dune 2 marked a bold first step for a genre that was to take the PC world by storm. Compared to its more celebrated successor, it lacked a certain refinement, but without question, Dune 2 was the first proper RTS title.

Quake - first-person shoot 'em up (id)
Quake is an enormously influential videogame for two remarkable reasons. Firstly, its impact as a multiplayer title was astounding. The second respect in which it must be feted concerns its modular design. id allowed tools to be developed that enabled enthusiasts to create their own levels, 'skins' for their characters, the lot. It became, in short, an online phenomenon, almost certainly responsible for many gamers embracing net-based gaming long before, in many ways, it had truly arrived.

Championship Manager series - football management simulation (Sports Interactive)
Glorified databases? Of course they are. But frankly, dears, we - that is to say, hundreds of thousands of us - don't give a damn. The inaugural instalment is perhaps the most significant of the three. Written in BASIC by Paul and Oliver Collyer, its lack of speed and aesthetic shortcomings were overshadowed by its superlative design structure. It transpired that many, many Amiga and PC owners were like-minded individuals and the CM series firmly established itself as a de facto standard.

Wing Commander - shoot 'em up (Chris Roberts/Origin)
Mr Roberts created a space-based shoot 'em up with unusually high production values and a strong emphasis on plot development. Wing Commander comprised cinematic presentation and solid, enjoyable action sequences. It made an important assumption: in short, that the vast majority of players would prefer action sequences to be linked by backplot and aesthetic excess, rather than an incremental stage number.

Prince of Persia - platform game (Jordan Mechner)
Jordan Mechner's opus was that rare beast, a classic in its own day. While other platform characters sped at set paces, PoP's protagonist could both walk and run, as well as climbing ledges and grabbing handholds after a death defying leap. The significance of this development is frightening - try to imagine Mario 64 without it...