1. Doom
Why Its Controversial: Doom is another one of those titles that sickened its critics with its extreme levels of violence. And although it might seem tame as a pup by todays hyper-desensitized standards, back when it was released in 1993, it was terrifyingly real. I remember. I was there. Never had I seen such realistic brutality, such disgusting gore and such relentless horror. As such, concerned adults everywhere dubbed it a mass murder simulator, a training program for serial killers, and cowered at the prospect of it being played by a nation of children. And the backlash was insane; Doom has been named as one of the root causes in several school shootings and mass murders across the western world and it was even banned in Germany for a staggering 17 years (this ban has literally only just been lifted). Other games have been as controversial, sure, but Doom is their granddaddy, the first of its breed, and without it, the modern games market might even be a much tamer place today (although, I doubt it).
Why It Influenced Gaming for the Better: Despite all this controversy, Doom is still cited by many sources as one of the most influential games of all time. Why? Well it was one of the first games ever to put you in the action in the form of a disembodied gun toting hand (the first was Wolfenstein 3D, although despite it's innovation, it was much less well executed than Doom was). It was nothing short of genius. Today, the FPS is gamings bread and butter, but with Doom, ID Software effectively cemented themselves as the masters of the burgeoning genre. As a result, Doom had an insanely profound effect on the industry around it. In effect, no Doom means no Half Life; no Quake; no Goldeneye; no Call of Duty. Thats how important it was. Make no mistake; outside of the likes of Pong and Space Invaders, few games have had as palpable and profound an effect for the better on the industry than Doom has and we should all bow our heads in quiet respect. So there you have it! Ten controversial games that had a palpable effect on the gaming industry around them. Anything we missed? Do let us hear about it wont you?