Hello, love. You're a funny-looking thing, aren't you? Why, by that curious expression on your face I'm betting you want to play the greatest games of all time, but you don't know what they are. Am I right? Yes I am! Come on - don't cry. Press yourself against the screen and feel your way along part one of our special genre-by-genre guide to the bestest games ever.

KUNG FU (arcade) You strolled along a series of landings wearing pyjamas (no, the landings weren't wearing pyjamas - you were. Oh, forget it), punching similarly pyjama-clad gentlemen out of your way. Simple and banal.

WAY OF THE EXPLODING FIST (Sinclair Spectrum) - Quite possibly the first one-on-one fighting game. Only two characters - white fighter and black fighter - but they had a spectacular array of moves. For the time, at least.

INTERNATIONAL KARATE + (Amiga) - still considered by many to be as good a beat 'em up as its contemporaries, IK+ was unique in allowing simultaneous three-player battles.

BABARIAN (Commodore 64, Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga) - as an axe-wielding psychopath, the real draw of this game was in chopping opponent's heads off. The first real use of visible gore in a beat 'em up.

DOUBLE DRAGON (arcade) - The first, great scolling beat 'em up. Best remembered for the strangely disfigured fighters. Spawned a low-budget, straight-to-video movie a few years back.

STREET FIGHTER (arcade) - Who could have imagined that this quirky beat 'em up would spawn a sequel which would become the most successful beat 'em up of all time. Early versions of Street Fighter sported pressure-sensitive buttons which would alter the strength of your hits.

STREET FIGHTER 2 (arcade, home formats followed) - Capcom's Street Fighter 2 has spun off into numerous different titles including Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter The Movie, Street Fighter vs X-Men, and later this year the polygon Street Fighter Gaiden and next year Street Fighter 3.

That's not to mention all of Capcom's Street Fighter play-a-likes, such as DarkStalkers, X-Men and Marvel Super Heroes. Though the series and format is approaching meltdown, whatever version you choose, on whatever format, you'll be guaranteed some of the most enjoyable beatings around.

MORTAL KOMBAT (arcade, home formats followed) - Another prolific series which has to date spawned two sequels (with a fourth on the way), Kombat is best remembered for its gore and finishing moves.

Probably responsible for more media scare stories than any other game, makers Williams made an extrememly rude gesture at critics of the original game by making Mortal Kombat 2 even more blood-thirsty. Though the third game in the series placed more emphasis on novelty finishing moves, we're promised a return to the trademark ultra-violence for Mortal Kombat 4.

VIRTUA FIGHTER (arcade, Saturn and PC conversions followed) - The original Virtua Fighter heralded a new age for the beat 'em up, taking the genre into the third dimension. The blocky combatants of the original look oddly dated next to the remarkable texture-mapping of Virtua Fighter 2, and the all-new, photo-realistic Virtua Fighter 3. The games surprised everyone by playing as well as they looked.

It's also worth looking out for Virtua Fighter Kids - a version of VF2 aimed at small people - and Sonic the Fighters, which takes the popular hedgehog and his friends, and makes them beat each other up.

TEKKEN (arcade, PlayStation conversion followed) - Personally, we reckon the original Tekken was somewhat overrated. It looked rather insignificant next to Virtua Fighter 2. The sequel - particularly its PlayStation incarnation - is a whole different kettle of birds in the bush. Subtly light-sourced, gloriously texture-mapped and motion-captured. Though VF3 may have overtaken it in the arcades, it's still the most advanced beat 'em up on any home system.

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