3. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998)
Although bettered by its sequels,
Rogue Squadron holds pride of place on this list for the sheer inspirational significance that it held with the many flight-featuring
Star Wars titles that followed. From its direct ancestors - such as
Rogue Leader and
Battle For Naboo - to the likes of
Battlefront II, you don't have to look to far to find where
Rogue Squadron's impact and design have been used. Technically, at least, this is where
Rogue Squadron truly triumphed. For its time, it was nothing short of a work of art. Coupled with this the fact that it was one of the first games to take full advantage of the N64's Expansion Pak - y'know, the one that allowed game play to occur at 640 x 480 resolution - put it into a different class to its closest rivals. But, regardless of all this, the everlasting memory that accompanies
Rogue Squadron is the sheer, unbridled joy that gamers everywhere felt as they braced for combat - an existing embodiment of what the word 'classic' truly means.