Most Influential Video Games by Year
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- A tennis simulation game displayed on an oscilloscope and played with two custom aluminum controllers. The game depicts the tennis court as a long horizontal line and a small line in the middle representing the tennis net. While the tennis ball is represented by a bright dash followed by a streak of a line.
- DirectorSteve RusselTwo players control two space ships engaged in a duel in the middle of outer space.
- Take control of a rocket ship as it travels across reaches of outer space. The mission assigned to the rocket is to shoot a pair of flying saucers while avoiding their line of fire. along with firing rockets, the rocket is able to travel in a clockwise rotation, counterclockwise rotation, as well as performing a forward thrust.
- Two players play a video version of table tennis. The first to score 11 points wins.
- In Gotcha two players travel through a maze. Player 1 is the Pursued, represented by a plus sign, and player 2 is the Pursuer, represented by a square. The Pursuer's goal is to catch the Pursued, while the Pursued's goal is to stay away until time runs out. The closer the Pursuer is to the Pursued, the faster the frequency of the electronic beeping in the background. The maze walls shift, potentially blocking paths and creating new ones.
- A multi-directional shooter arcade game in which two players take the role of two cowboys engaged in a gun duel. Both cowboys carry no more than six bullets during each round of the duel, a round ends when both cowboys have used up all of their bullets.
- Play as Fonzie in his own arcade game in which he engages in a motorcycle race depicted in a black and white 3-D third-person perspective racing game. In order to win a race, the player must use a motorcycle handle controller to guide Fonzie to the finish line without ramming into any of the other racers or skidding off the race course.
- Commonly considered as one of the most influential video games of all time, the goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser cannon to earn as many points as possible.
- Face waves of aliens descending on your spaceship and clear the screen to achieve victory.
- Navigate Pac-Man through a maze escaping ghosts and eating Pac-Dots.
- DirectorShigeru MiyamotoArcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong.
- StarsDennis FaltRace your Indy car around the Fuji course before the timer runs out. The first run is the qualifying lap and your starting position is determined by your completion time. Avoid road hazards and other cars as you drive, earning extra time for each completed lap.
- The player controls a lone spacecraft on a mission to take down the entire enemy armada. Enemy fighters and ships shoot at the player, and there are mines and other objects that must be shot or avoided.
- StarsJason WhiteThe player takes control of a knight who must fight his way through large overhead maze-like dungeons. Unlike roguelikes, the combat in the game is fully action-oriented: the player must approach the monster and "bump" into it in order to inflict damage, at the same time trying to avoid its blows. Combat takes place on the same screen as the exploration; monsters will also sometimes pursue the knight if he attempts to escape. Also contrary to roguelikes, none of the locations or items in the game is randomized.
- DirectorShigeru MiyamotoA plumber named Mario and his brother Luigi travel through the Mushroom Kingdom to save the princess from the evil Bowser.
- DirectorShigeru MiyamotoTakashi TezukaFollows the story of a young boy named Link that must save a kidnapped princess from the evil, demonic Ganon, who put a spell on his lair which can only be removed with the 3 pieces of the Triforce, a golden triangle with mystical powers.
- DirectorHideo KojimaStarsDennis FaltAfter Gray Fox, FOX-HOUND's best agent, goes missing, rookie Solid Snake is sent to the South African fortress "Outer Heaven" to rescue him from terrorists armed with a nuclear-equipped bipedal tank.
- DirectorYoshihisa KishimotoShinichi SaitouMartial arts siblings Billy and Jimmy Lee must battle a tough gang known as the Black Warriors in order to rescue Billy's girlfriend, Marian.
- DirectorChienshiSomewhere in the deep vastness of space, within the Andromeda Galaxy lies the Algol Star System floating like a dust fleck in a sunbeam. Around the parent star, Algol, whirl its three children: Palm, Mota, and Dezo. Closest to Algo is Palm, the economic and intellectual stronghold of the system. Of the three planets the middle gleamed the brightest like an emerald. This is Mota, a beautiful, beckoning jewel gripped by madness!
- DirectorKoichi NakamuraA warrior is ordered by his king to locate children that are mysteriously disappearing.
- StarsJohnpaul WilliamsRyu, Ken and a roster of six international newcomers compete to get the chance to take on the evil dictator M. Bison, the leader of the Shadaloo organization, who plans to brainwash the best fighters to work in his organization.
- DirectorYu SuzukiIt is a 3d polygonal arcade racer released in 1992 by SEGA. In the arcade version you get a choice of one F1 car with two selectable gear boxes and 3 race tracks. Though in some ports there are some additional tracks and cars.
- DirectorJohn CarmackTomohiko SatoStarsKevin CloudDavid KoserubaChristopher MurveyIn the future, an unnamed marine fights for survival on a space station on Mars where the Union Aerospace Corporation accidentally opened up a physical portal to Hell.
- DirectorYu SuzukiStarsMatt LaganYou're a cop, Putting your life on the line is your job, Staying alive is your challenge, Split second decision making, timing and lightning fast reflexes are what it takes in this adrenaline pumping game of cat and mouse.
- DirectorYoshinori KitaseAkihiko MatsuiTakashi TokitaCrono, a young boy, is thrust to adventure by destiny to destroy an oncoming threat that will destroy the world in 1999.
- DirectorShigeru MiyamotoStarsCharles MartinetLeslie SwanWhen the evil Bowser steals 120 power stars and traps Princess Peach within the walls of her own castle, it's up to Mario to save her once again.
- DirectorYoshinori KitaseYasushi MatsumuraMasato YagiA former soldier from an evil company joins a mercenary clan to fight the company he once served.
- DirectorHideo KojimaStarsDavid HayterPatric ZimmermanPeter LurieA crack government anti-terrorist squad takes over an obscure Alaskan nuclear disposal facility. Solid Snake is up for the task to infiltrate the facility, rescue the two hostages and thwart the terrorists' plans.
- DirectorKeiji OkayasuYu SuzukiStarsHiroshi FujiokaMasaya MatsukazeCorey MarshallRyo, a respected Japanese student sees his father killed in front of his own eyes. He sets out to find the man in charge of his fathers death and the mystery of who and why?
- StarsAndria BatiseKevin BlacktonBilly BrownA gang of teenagers with an affinity for underground music and graffiti artwork fight against a sinister corporation that has taken control of the city they call home.
- StarsFrank VincentJoe PantolianoMichael MadsenA young bank robber escapes from police custody and works his way up through the mafia ladder of crime-ridden Liberty City, USA.
- DirectorMark PaciniStarsJennifer HaleVanessa MarshallA Space Pirate distress signal draws bounty hunter Samus Aran to Tallon IV, a world she discovers is being consumed by a terrible poison.
- DirectorAntoine CharreyronStarsAdam BaldwinMarcus McCollumAdrienne WilkinsonIn a world on the brink of conflict, you find yourself back on the front lines of battle. Only this time, you're not here to prevent a war... You're here to start one.
- DirectorDavid SpeyrerStarsRobert GuillaumeRobert CulpLouis Gossett Jr.Dr. Freeman is taken out of stasis by his "employer" to help rid the planet of invading aliens forces known as the Combine that entered through the portals he helped create.
- DirectorShinji MikamiKuniomi MatsushitaStarsPaul MercierCarolyn LawrenceRino RomanoSix years after the events in Raccoon City, Leon Kennedy, now a federal agent, is sent to a rural part of Spain to rescue the U.S. President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley Graham from a sinister cult.
- DirectorKeizo OhtaTakayuki ShimamuraYoshikazu YamashitaStarsJosh MillmanA collection of short and funny sport mini games, played with motion-control controllers.
- DirectorJason WestStarsBilly MurrayCraig FairbrassDavid SobolovThe Call of Duty series returns this time into a modern day setting. The player takes control of a character nicknamed "Soap," for the majority of the campaign and will need to progress through many modern warfare scenarios.
- DirectorTodd HowardStarsLiam NeesonMalcolm McDowellRon PerlmanCenturies following nuclear war, a teen leaves the safety of an underground vault in order to find their father, who left in hopes of creating a water purifier.
- StarsA.M. DriverA group of birds attempt to attack sheltered enemy pigs while creating as much damage as possible.
- DirectorShinji MikamiOlivier DeslandesOrine FukushimaStarsKen'ichirô MatsudaChieko HondaTeruyuki TanzawaIn the near future, Sam Gideon and a team of soldiers are hired by the president of the United States to recover a space station that's been taken over by a Russian ultra nationalist.
- DirectorHidemaro FujibayashiStarsTakashi ÔharaAyumi FujimuraYû ShimamuraBorn on an island suspended in the sky, a young man, Link, accepts his destiny to venture to the world below to save his childhood friend, Zelda, and the land from evil forces through the use of a mysterious sword.