20 Games that Changed the World -- Page 4
- April 04, 2006 09:52 AM PST
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Platform: Arcade
Year released: 1980
Key features: First video-game icon; maze-like gameplay; watershed moment for arcade industry
Pac-Man is debatably the most popular and recognizable gaming icon of all time. Namco's Pac-Man was first released to arcades in 1980, though the franchise would extend to several consoles and mediums throughout the decade. Pac-Man remains the best-selling coin-operated game in history, was one of the first video games to be featured in a network cartoon, and today remains a pop culture icon. The sequel, Ms. Pac-Man, released a year later, though it was originally created as an unauthorized modification of the original Pac-Man code.
4. Doom
Platform: PC
Year released: 1993
Key features: Groundbreaking 3D engine; first modern FPS game; horror-driven story
We argued over choosing Wolfenstein 3D, Duke Nukem 3D, or even Quake for this honor, but the final decision went in favor of the seminal horror shooter that changed everything. id Software's Doom single handedly created the modern first-person shooter, fusing elements from role-playing games and hardcore action titles with one of the first believable 3D rendering engines . The result? In 1992, record-breaking sales; in 2006, a well-defined genre with dozens of games released every year. Doom's graphics and sound were considered revolutionary at the time, but its fast-paced gunplay and crafty level designs were what made it a legend. Its carefully balanced weapon archetypes -- pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher -- are still closely mimicked almost fifteen years later. For better or for worse, few games have impacted video gaming more than Doom. Without it, games like Halo, Half-Life, and GoldenEye could never exist.
Platform: NES
Year released: 1988 (Japan); 1990 (US)
Key features: Interactive world map; traversable side-scrolling stages; inventive items
Considered Miyamoto's masterpiece, Super Mario Bros. 3 is often referred to as one of the greatest games of all time. Since its release on the NES (called the Nintendo Family Computer in Japan) in 1988, Mario 3 has sold approximately 18 million copies, making it one of the top-three selling video games of all time, behind only the original Super Mario Bros. and Tetris. With Mario 3, Miyamoto returned to series roots, expanding upon the side-scrolling 2D groundwork and art style from Super Mario Bros. that was departed from in the sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2. But with Mario 3, several new types of gameplay were born, including a map that allowed Mario and/or Luigi to travel in an open-ended fashion, thus allowing gamers to choose their own paths. Mario 3 also brought the peppy plumber and friends to the silver screen, including being featured as a US sneak preview in the movie The Wizard. Though Super Mario World is often considered the most complete Super Mario game, Miyamoto regards Mario 3 as his best and most influential work.
2. GTA III
Platform: PS2
Year released: 2001
Key features: Open-ended "sandbox" gameplay; mission-based structure; embraced mature themes
Within little more than a year's time, Rockstar North turned what was a top-down, throw-away car-jacking game into what is arguably the most influential title in modern gaming history. Grand Theft Auto III hit the PlayStation 2 in late 2001, though its impact is still widely prominent in game development. GTA III was a trend-setter, popularizing 3D go-anywhere, open-city gaming in a style that would come to be coined "sandbox" gameplay. It used violence, prostitution, and other mature content in ways that previous games would shy away from, all encircled by a cruel and captivating Mafia characters. It was one of the first games to feature a working in-car radio, as well as on-air chatter that would coincide with events in the game's story. GTA III was the third game in the Grand Theft Auto series, but is usually considered the birth point of the franchise. GTA games constantly garner mass media attention and their influence has permeated into pop culture on TV shows, such as Chappelle's Show, and continually get linked to teenage shootings, car-jackings and other violent crimes. But, more than anything, gamers fell in love with GTA III's whatever-you-please style, an approach that has kept the series fresh to this day.
Platform: PC
Year released: 2004
Key features: Vast, devoted multiplayer community; intricately detailed online world; king of the MMOs
Arguably the most popular online video game in the world, World of Warcraft has reached over six million active subscribers worldwide...and counting. And this fan base is more than massive, it's devoted: fans regularly create machinima movies, music videos, action figures, and dedicated wiki pages. And though real-world currency trades are officially frowned upon, high-level World of Warcraft characters routinely fetch $1,500 and higher on eBay.
World of Warcraft is more than a game -- it's a lifestyle. What other game is so popular that foreign governments have enforced strict game-enforced playing limits? If there's a future of video gaming, it's World of Warcraft.
