6. Sonic the Hedgehog - June 23, 1991

When Sonic the Hedgehog first sped on to the scene back in 91, platformers were known for a lot of things, but speed wasn't one of them. Enter Sonic, who single handedly changed the notion of what a platformer could be, and launched Sega's console into popularity at the same time. Sonic was all about speed, speed and more speed and the layout of the levels combined with the fluidity of the animation gave you the impression that this was one hedgehog who could haul ass. Sonic also helped convey Sega's marketing message of Sega being the cool and edgy alternative to Nintendo's staid, cutesy line-up. Sonic hasn't been treated very well since his initial debut, but back in the day, no one tore it up quite like him.

5. Super Mario World - August 13, 1991

Console launch games are rarely any good, and if they are good, they're not great. Super Mario World, which launched with Nintendo's Super NES, wasn't good—it was quite possibly the greatest Mario game ever released. What Super Mario Bros did for the NES, Super Mario World did for the SNES, namely perfect the side scrolling platformer for an entirely new generation of hardware. Along with a host of graphical improvements and innovations, Super Mario World was one of the first games to reward gamers for completing 100% of a level, a compulsion that has stood the test of time if all of the achievement whores out there are any indication. Super Mario World also saw the introduction of everyone's favorite egg laying dinosaur, Yoshi, a character who has grown in importance to fans of the House of N as much as Mario himself. Nintendo may have been late to the 16-bit party, but they picked a hell of a date to arrive with.

4. Diablo II - June 29, 2000

It was like a million wrists cried out in pain, and then went silent. No game caused as much excitement, or as much carpal tunnel syndrome in the summer of 2000 than Diablo II. To think that a game with such a high level of excitement attached to it would be released at a time when there was no gift giving holiday within months was utter madness—unless you’re Blizzard. Diablo II featured the same addictive blend of exploring, monster hunting and loot collecting as its predecessor, joined by the ability to augment your weapons into further tuned instruments of destruction and anal collectability. What a fine summer it was, for gamers and occupational therapists alike.