PGA series- golf game (EA)
We say 'series', but what we really mean is the MegaDrive version of PGA. There was something indefinably right about PGA on Sega's machine. Perhaps it was that the over-used 'power bar' system wasn't quite so jarring back then. Then again, perhaps it was that PGA offered an excellent tournament system. It was even a tidy little multiplayer game, too. Briefly, under EA, golf games enjoyed a modicum of mainstream success - and that's an achievement that deserves acknowledgement...

FIFA series- football games (EA)
Post-Sensible Soccer, FIFA was the first 16 bit football game to make a real impact. Funnily enough, FIFA for the 32bit 3D0 introduced polygons to the genre. And still, to this day, FIFA survives and thrives. You've probably heard Future Gamer's opinion of this year's update, so we'll skip the vitriol. But can you think of another game, Street Fighter 2 excepted, that has done more to popularise the yearly update ideal?

Way of the Exploding Fist - beat-'em-up (Melbourne House)
Prior to the release of Street Fighter 2, the beat-'em-up wasn't really a genre that many UK citizens took much notice of. In the arcades, Kung Fu Master had enjoyed success, but it was Way of the Exploding Fist that brought the fighting game to the attention of Spectrum and C64 owners. Special mention must go to Archer McLean, though, for his similar International Karate and its sequel, the fabulous IK+.

Ultima series - RPG (Origin)
As with the Final Fantasy series, it's difficult to single out an individual Ultima game for praise. Seven was a Future Gamer favourite; Ultima Underworld had may fans, too. For services to its genre, the Ultima series fully deserves its mention here. It's a pity that Ascension does not, on evidence of early sittings, appear to be another high point. But then, we all have our off days...

Dungeon Master - RPG (Mirrorsoft)
First-person visuals complemented by a solid core of RPG gameplay made Dungeon Master an instant hit. It's hard to say that it was revolutionary in any sense other than the aesthetic, but remember its Western peers at the time? Early RPGs were ugly. Dungeon Master helped change that.