8. Doom
Doom seemingly set the stage for networked multiplayer gameplay and since then - thanks in part to the ease of use of such services of Xbox Live and the PSN - we take being able to game remotely with other players for granted. When Call of Duty, Battlefield and their many offspring came along we were wowed even more and ultimately if we were playing against bots, as we would have it the old days, then it wouldn't be nearly as much fun as going against actual meat bags. But years before any of these existed a little game called Midi Maze was born in the heady year 1987 on the Atari ST. Although not the first network shooter (probably Maze War takes that title), it was the first to offer mere home computer users an easy way to hook up anything from two to sixteen players in one single game world via the use of the computer's inbuilt MIDI ports. Connected in a ring, the players needed a dedicated Atari ST and TV each, and once online could move in 3D to shoot their opponents just like today's FPS'. Sure the game was crude with flat shaded wireframe walls and smilie faces for avatars but it was utterly fun - lugging your Atari ST and then giant 19" TV to a mate's house was more than worth the effort. It even had a level editor, something glaringly left out of many of today's first person shooters, Halo notwithstanding. Yes, Midi Maze was a true innovation in LAN gaming and should be lauded as such.