Amiga

While gaming history tends to be dominated by home consoles, it's important to remember that, at one point, many players got their fix from a home computer.

During the '80s and early '90s, powerful 16-bit machines like the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga went toe-to-toe with the NES, Master System, SNES and Mega Drive / Genesis – and, in many cases, hosted games that would later be ported to consoles to critical and commercial acclaim.

The Amiga is perhaps the most beloved example of a home computer turned gaming machine and is responsible for bringing many classic series to the world. Sensible Soccer, Lemmings, Worms and Speedball 2 all began life on Commodore's system and helped to cement its place as one of the most exciting gaming platforms of its era.

Originally released as the Amiga 1000 in 1985, it would struggle against the dominance of Atari's ST line before Commodore re-released it as the Amiga 500 – the best-selling variant of the computer. However, subsequent upgrades – including the Amiga 3000, Amiga 4000, CDTV and CD32 – failed to build on this success, and Commodore went bankrupt in April 1994.

The system's legacy lives on via modern-day updates such as the A500 Mini, and, casting your eyes over the titles highlighted below, it's clear to see that this remarkable computer deserves to be celebrated.

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Amiga)

Alongside Sensible Soccer and Kick-Off 2, this is arguably the quintessential Amiga sports title, despite the sport being set over 100 years in the future. The sequel to the 1988 title Speedball, Brutal Deluxe improves on its forerunner in every possible way; the visuals and sound are better, and the gloriously simplistic action is instantly accessible but incredibly deep and challenging.

We dread to think how many friendships this game has ended over the decades (it has sold an impressive two million copies), but, despite that, we can't help but keep returning to this stone-cold classic. What makes it all the more remarkable is that, despite the advance of technology, none of the subsequent sequels have come anywhere close to matching this effort.

Defender Of The Crown (Amiga)

Cinemaware's aim was to create video games that looked like movies, and Defender Of The Crown certainly lived up to that loft goal. A neat mix of strategy, tactics and action, it has the lot – huge castles to attack, jousts to attend and suitably buxom ladies waiting to be saved.

All of this is wrapped up in some of the best visuals you'll see on a game of this age; no wonder Defender of the Crown helped sell the Amiga – few could resist its charms back in 1986. Defender of the Crown II would follow in 1993 for the CDTV and Amiga CD32, and the game has also been ported to other systems, such as the NES, Game Boy Advance and iOS.

Worms (Amiga)

Created by computer shop staffer Andy Davidson, Worms began its life in 1990 under the title Artillery before shifting to the Amiga in 1993, where it was renamed Total Wormage. After trying and failing to sell the concept to various publishers, Davidson approached Team17 in 1994, and co-founder Martyn Brown snapped it up immediately.

The rest, as they say, is history; Worms went on to become one of the most commercially successful Amiga games of all time, and Team17 has released multiple sequels over the years. 1997's Worms: The Director's Cut features gameplay enhancements and graphical upgrades, but is only compatible with the later AGA-based Amigas (only 5,000 copies were ever sold).

Xenon 2: Megablast (Amiga)

The Bitmap Brothers could do no wrong during the late '80s and early '90s, and games like Xenon 2: Megablast helped to cement their reputation. A massive visual and sonic upgrade on the excellent 1988 original, the game boasted slick visuals, tight controls and plenty of challenge – and was quickly ported to several console formats, a testament to its overall quality.

The subtitle comes from the Bomb the Bass song "Megablast (Hip Hop on Precinct 13)", which is the game's signature theme tune and plays during the action. This was one of the earliest examples of cutting-edge professional musicians having their work used in video games.

Sensible World of Soccer '96/'97 (Amiga)

Sensible Soccer is the stuff of legends on the Amiga. Before FIFA and Pro Evo took over in the '90s, this was the game everyone flocked to when it came to footballing action – which is remarkable when you consider how primitive the visuals were, even at the point of release. What Sensible Soccer lacks in visual spectacle, however, it more than makes up for in gameplay – and this final release is the best of the bunch.

1994's Sensible World of Soccer fused the core game with an amazingly deep manager mode, offering 1,500 teams and 27,000 players. This '96/'97 update contains updated data of the (then) current season. SWOS World Cup Tournaments still take place every year; Poland's Blazej_Bdg is the current champion at the time of writing.

Super Cars II (Amiga)

This top-down combat racer launched in the same year as Codemasters' Micro Machines and is just as addictive and compelling. Super Cars II controls wonderfully, is absolute dynamite in two-player and even boasts a career mode in which you can upgrade your vehicle and purchase new weapons.

It was remade for DOS-based computers in 1996 as Super Cars International, but sadly, the series has been dormant since then – a crying shame when you consider how much fun this title is.

Cannon Fodder (Amiga)

Cannon Fodder caused quite a storm when it was released due to its use of the poppy, the flower adopted by the Royal British Legion, a charity providing support to those impacted by war. However, those who criticised the game at release clearly didn't play it, because – despite being challenging and fun – it's one of the most effective anti-war statements video games have ever made.

Sequels duly followed, but none of them had the same impact as this 1993 classic.

Eye Of The Beholder (Amiga)

Created by Westwood Studios – the same group that would also produce Dune II, Lands of Lore and Command & Conquer – Eye of the Beholder was arguably one of the first D&D video games to actually do the license justice. A first-person dungeon crawler that takes plenty of inspiration from the legendary Dungeon Master, it boasts the gorgeous hand-drawn artwork of the late Rick Parks, who sadly passed away in the '90s.

Capcom and Sega would pick up the game for porting to the SNES and Sega CD respectively, and two sequels – Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon (1991) and Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor (1993) – would follow; Westwood Studios would develop The Legend of Darkmoon but Assault on Myth Drannor was handled internally by the publisher Strategic Simulations.

It Came From The Desert (Amiga)

Another Cinemaware classic, It Came From The Desert apes the sci-fi horror movies of the 1950s to place you in a town overrun by giant, man-eating ants. Like so many of the company's games, it's arguably low on interactivity, but the sheer freedom the player has despite this is impressive, even by modern standards, and this adds to its longevity. It would be ported to the TurboGrafx-16 in 1992, albeit with different visuals and gameplay.

Lemmings (Amiga)

Inspired by a simple animation that DMA Design's Mike Dailly created while experimenting with Deluxe Paint, Lemmings is the very definition of a sleeper hit. A seemingly simplistic puzzle title where the aim is to guide a group of the titular animals from the start of the level to the end, Lemmings has sold over 20 million copies across its various ports – which are many, as the game was such a success it was released on practically every gaming system of its time.