The 15 greatest video games of the 1990s – ranked!

Of all LucasArts' memorable, quip-fuelled point and click adventures – from dark afterlife comedy Grim Fandango to the surrealist Day of the Tentacle – it's Monkey Island 2 that gets the most love nowadays, and justifiably so. The puzzles were just on the right side of deliberately obscure, the characters were strange and colourful, and the music unforgettable. And that ending still sparks discussion, 30 years on. Although Ridge Racer and Daytona USA were vital in introducing the world to 32-bit, textured, 3D visuals, it is Polyphony Digital's painstakingly authentic racing game that deserves a place here. With its exhaustive range of accurately modelled cars, its complex handling model and its emphasis on improving the player's driving skills through a range of licence tests, Gran Turismo radically altered the course of console racing game design for ever.