Wheras music is much more a question of taste, games are much more like books, or cakes; everyone has their favourite, but there's no doubting that certain examples are classics. Bearing this in mind, we've quite literally burnt our brains out attempting to name five classic examples of computer and videogaming which everyone should play at least once. Here they come:

The space trading and combat game designed by David Braben and some other bloke. Simply put: this has never been bettered. It's taken someone ten years to produce a game which even approaches its scope, addictiveness, and challenge, and even then The Darkening goes and spoils it all by interrupting the game with some pointless $4 million cut sequences.

Elite wasn't just a game for some people, it was their entire life. The aim of the game was to achieve the near-mythical "Elite" status, effectively becoming the greatest pilot in the galaxy. To accomplish this you'd be required to ferry contraband and goods from destination to destination, fighting off cops, pirates and peculiar space aliens. Come on, gents, let's see a proper sequel.

It goes without saying that everyone should have a go at Doom, because almost everyone has. There's also barely a need to explain the principle behind the game; it's just an ultra-violent, first- person shoot 'em up which revolutionised the entire games industry. The impact and effect of Doom can never be downplayed.

Think Elvis, think The Beatles (or Dr Hook), and you have some idea of how important Doom is. Duke Nukem 3D is just The Hollies by comparison. Or maybe Slade.

If you haven't played the original, black and white, stand-up cabinet version of Space Invaders then you're a revolting wastrel. Space Invaders introduced violence and conflict into videogames, and almost everything that followed can be traced back to it. Indeed, Pong preceeded it, but as the name suggested, Pong stunk.

Still as damned playable now, whereas Elite's complexity was the key to its success, simplicity was the key to Space Invaders'. A little ship, hordes of aliens, concrete bunkers - ah! You can still feel the ripples in our cultural psyche today!

Though Space Invaders provided the template for everything that succeeded it, Pac-Man can be blamed for absolutely nothing. To insane, too different, too tripped out, whacky and unique to have produced rival clones of any kind, the only people to tamper with the formula were Pac- Man's creators, churning out a line of half-baked sequels which is still continuing to this day (Pac-Man VR is the latest addition to the line).

Our hero is a disembodied yellow head, which floats around a maze, eating pills and the occasional bit of fruit. He is chased by a gang of killer, rainbow-coloured ghosts, who can only be destroyed if the head eats a "power pill". It sounds like a dream that Timothy Leary might have once had, but it is instead the concept behind a mass-market videogame phenomenon.

Forget Donkey Kong, the real father of platform gaming is Miner Willy. In this sequel to his first adventure, our hero has come into money, with which he has bought a vast mansion. The night after a rather heavy party Willy is desperate to get to bed. Unfortunately his housemaid won't let him sleep until all the glasses have been collected up. Why don't games have plots like this any more?

The Mario 64 of its day, Jet Set Willy was HUGE. Not just in terms of the size of the game, but in its following. Playground rumours of secret levels, hidden glasses and cheats were common place in the mid-eighties. Unfortunately, an unpleasant bug rendered the game impossible to complete. But it still didn't stop us trying...

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