Many games on this list are praised for their ability to combine and tweak existing genres with the intent of innovating them. On the other hand, Doom single-handedly ushered in the reign of a genre which still dominates the gaming world today the first-person shooter. The first Doom was released in 1993 by Id Software, who also bought us Wolfenstein. You play as a space marine who fights his way through demons apparently coming from hell. While the games narrative isnt exactly immersive, its the gameplay which really grabbed the audience. Doom gave us a first person shooter with a wide array of weapons and powerups, something which was revolutionary at the time. It even offered up a chainsaw and a rocket launcher for us to blast away the demon spawn of hell. Doom balances action and exploration and the multitude of weapons at our disposal made the experience all the more memorable. Of course, it also received its fair share of controversy for the sheer amount of pixelated blood and gore; for this we must also be thankful as despite the controversy it was only thanks to games like Doom that video gaming has matured so much as a medium. Doom would go on to give us a handful of sequels and influence hundreds of games released subsequently. Without Doom, we could arguably be without console staples like the Call of Duty series, Halo and Half-Life.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
