We continue with the third part of our definitive(ly rather fine) guide to games that made the world we live in today. You'll be stunned, bemused and amazed in equal measures...

Donkey Kong Country - platform game (Rare/Nintendo)
Although its gameplay mechanics were no more complicated than the Mario games of its era, Donkey Kong Country made a huge impact. Visually, it was far more accomplished than any similar title of the time. Its production values were incredible, even for the SNES - widely regarded as the most technically proficient 16bit machine. It is a classic example of a codeshop pushing a machine beyond perceived limits.

Mortal Kombat - beat-'em-up (Midway)
At a time when many designers of 16bit software were struggling to progress from the abstract to the worldly, Mortal Kombat's fantasy environments were regarded as belonging to the latter category. They abide as lasting images of the industry's 16bit adolescence - a hybrid of gore, motion-capture and extreme hype. Of course, Street Fighter was much better, but...

Pac Man - maze game (Namco)
The creator of Pac Man was inspired by a pizza with one slice removed, or so the story goes. The common individual would think of nothing more than getting a drink to help wash down the next slice. It wouldn't generally occur to you to create a defining moment in the history of videogames, does it? Rumours that the designer of Colossal Caves ate Alphabeti Spaghetti are, alas, greatly exaggerated...

Gauntlet - maze game (Atari)
A well-designed two, three or four-player mode can give a game the kind of longevity even its most illustrious single-player peers can only dream of. Gauntlet, however, eschewed the traditional competitive brief in favour of co-operative play. This wasn't a new development, but Gauntlet did it better than any other title. Its massive dungeons and RPG overtones were pretty influential, too.

Hard Drivin' - racing game (Atari)
Hard Drivin' was, for its time, a brazen demonstration of programming ability and high processing power. Its bold, solid track design - comprising a stunt course and a race course - was staggering. And it used proper force-feedback wobbling, too. "This is almost real!" we cried. Of course, fickle creatures that we are, we were soon off genuflecting before another driving game - but we've never forgotten Hard Drivin'.