Cannon Fodder Format Amiga Released 1993 Developer Sensible Software

The only game I can think of that is also a political statement, Cannon Fodder makes a mockery of a subject which other, adolescent, games cannot help but glorify - war. Sensible's humour pervades every detail of their game - the opening caption disclaiming endorsement from the Royal British Legion; the unforgettable theme song; their trademark miniscule characters. As you watch your men grow in rank and experience, you become attached to them; they have more personality than most videogame sprites ten times their size. A line of hopeful new recruits snakes around the hill, which in turn starts to fill with graves commemorating those "lost in service", the superior ranks earning increasingly elaborate headstones. It becomes a challenge to see how long you can keep one soldier alive; how high a rank they can attain. This inevitably involves keeping them shielded from the action, letting inexperienced, expendable troops do the dirty work - imitating real life disturbingly accurately. Sometimes when you shoot an enemy soldier he doesn't die cleanly, screaming in agony until you shoot him again out of pity. The game itself is devilishly simple point-and-click fare, but the addition of extra weapons, vehicles, and the ability to split your men into separate groups, conspire to make Cannon Fodder an enormous challenge. See also Lemmings (1991), Syndicate (1993), Advance Wars (2001)

The Secret of Monkey Island Format Amiga/PC Released 1990 Developer Lucasfilm Games

Monkey Island is the quintessential LucasArts graphic adventure, and that rare thing, a game that actually manages to be funny. Great visual storytelling is here in abundance, and the Caribbean setting provides bountiful (literally) opportunities for rich characterisation and plotting. The protagonist, Guybrush Threepwood is a hapless pirate wannabe and seeker of the legendary treasure known as Big Whoop. His story begins on Melee Island as he learns piracy, the art of sword fighting, gets fired from a cannon, attempts to win the love of Governor Elaine Marley, and assembles a crew to sail to Monkey Island. Deep beneath the island is where Guybrush meets the villain of the piece, ghost pirate LeChuck. Who can forget the multitude of characters - Elaine, Herman Toothrot, Stan the used ship salesman, the men of low moral fibre, or the sleazy, grog-consuming patrons of the Scumm Bar? Or the genius combat system, where Guybrush must fight the other pirates roaming Melee Island, by learning and trading insults? The game spawned three sequels, of which only the first one, LeChucks Revenge, managed to retain the charm and humour of the original. With these qualities, it really surprises me that nobody's yet made a Monkey Island film, especially when dross like Final Fantasy manages to get greenlighted. See also Sam & Max Hit The Road (1993), Broken Sword (1996)

Actraiser Format Super Nintendo Released 1991 Developer Enix/Quintet

To this day I still know of no other game like this, a masterful blend of Populous-style god game and all-out arcade slash-em-up. I first played this in Japanese when the Super Famicom was launched, and I figured out what was going on and played it through to completion, despite not being able to understand any of the text. Which speaks volumes about the wonderful game design, simple interface and the desire to see the many beautiful environments. Visually, Actraiser pushes all the right buttons - simple, clean and very effective. The side scrolling arcade sections are especially big and bold, the large sprites and atmospheric backdrops among the finest of the SNES era. Actraiser also boasts a stunning soundtrack by 16-bit legend Yuzo Koshiro, also responsible for the seminal soundtracks to Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage on the Megadrive. It really sounds like he managed to squeeze an entire orchestra into the Super NES sound chip, staggering in 1991 and still some of the best game music I've ever heard. Actraiser has replayability too - after completing the game you could unlock a hidden 'Professional' mode where you could play through all of the game's action levels without the role playing and god game elements. The 1994 sequel took this approach as well, which proved to be a bad move; the game was lazy - graphically and sonically much less accomplished and completely lacking the charm of the first game. See also Sim City (1989), Populous (1989)

Tetris Format Various/Gameboy Released 1985/1989 Developer Alexey Pazhitnov
	Tetris is something more than most videogames, in that it transcends traditional notions like target audience, or its host platform. Some version or interpretation of Tetris has been released for just about every conceivable electronic device, from big powerful PCs to mobile phones, but most famously it is the game responsible for the enormous success of Nintendo's original Gameboy back in 1989. Its appeal is universal, going beyond the male-dominated clique that is unfortunately the nature of gaming. As a never ending supply of differently shaped blocks fall, the quest to fit them together and to create order from chaos takes on a hypnotic quality (Pazhitnov used permutations of four connected blocks as it created seven individual block types, a good number for the human brain to memorise and recognise). People who got into this game (myself included) have found that Tetris burrows deep into your head, occupying your thoughts even when not playing. As the blocks start falling faster and faster, and the concentration increases, the player enters something approaching a trance-like state, all other thoughts and functions are put aside. Of course, eventually the pace just gets too fast and the game is over, leaving you dazed, back to reality, and desperate for another high-scoring hit of this videogame narcotic. See also Super Puzzle Fighter II (1996)
(Apologies to Edge Magazine for ripping off the design of issue 100's Making of... feature)

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