The 80’s: The Golden Age Of Gaming

Pac-Man - 1980

You can't think of the 1980s without remembering Pac Man. Iconic to the decade, it has inspired television series, songs, and various forms of merchandising. The entire play through of this phenomenon is having Pac Man munch on all the pellets on the board before the enemies hit him. Once all the pellets are eaten, the player advances to the next stage. You can also eat the power pellets that flash on the four corners. They allow you to temporarily take a bite out of your enemies and send them flying back to their home.

Castle Wolfenstein - 1981

Set in WWII, in Castle Wolfenstein your main objective is to make your way through the castle levels, uncover the war plans, and escape with all your limbs. Starting off with just a gun and some ammunition, you are expected to get around the guards that will stand in your way. Castle Wolfenstein was such so influential in the 1980s that games made afterward helped make first-person shooters gain popularity.

Donkey Kong - 1981

Donkey Kong is credited with being a major turn around for the video game industry as well as being a breakthrough for Nintendo. Originally Radar Scope, Nintendo assigned Shigeru Miyamoto with the job of taking the failed video game and making it something that would bring success in America. It worked. People loved the game in which the character is out to rescue Pauline from DK, having to climb a construction site with obstacles in order to do so. The documentary King of Kong put DK back in the spotlight, where he continues to shine.

Frogger - 1981

It seems like such a simple idea, all you have to do is make it home! As always it's not that simple, there are cars, disappearing turtles and floating logs all standing between you and your swampy home. So the question is do you make a manic dash for glory, or take your time and play it out like a game of chess? This game was truly universal hitting not only the arcades but most consoles of the time.

Centipede - 1981

One of the original arcade hits, Centipede again made its way onto numerous consoles. With true 80's blip-blop sounds and great 8-bit graphics centipede still remains popular with die-hard centipedians. Shooting parts of a centipede and turning them into mushrooms may sound simple but it spawned a host of clones, as well as a home board game!

Pole Position - 1982

Pole Position brought a few 'firsts' to the racing game genre -- a real racing track circuit and a qualifying lap where the player had to compete in a time trial before the real race. After completing the pre-race lap, the F1 race would commence. This is where other cars would compete for the championship as well. As simple as it sounds, it was an all-around fun game back in the day. It continues to be as it is used on multiple ports like home consoles, computers, and even iPods.

Q*Bert - 1982

the platform game where the goal is to change all the colors of the cubes to advance to the next level. In order to do so, the character has to jump to each block, activating the change. Along with increasing difficulty by adding more times you need to hit the blocks, he also gets greeted by several enemies. Coily chases you, Ugg and Wrong Way like to hang on the sides of the platform, and Slick and Sam like to reverse your progress by switching the colors back. This game became such a hit that it is one of the most merchandised arcade games of the '80s.

Tetris - 1984

Tetris - the game in which its title derives from the world tetra (think of the four segments of the pieces), and tennis (the creator's favorite sport). This game can get highly addicting for such a simple goal. The objective is to line up the blocks by rotating them so that there are no gaps left. As the lines becomes completely filled with the blocks, it will disappear. The more lines you clear, the higher the score! Gamers around the world still play Tetris to this very day and developers are still trying to beat its popularity.

Super Mario Bros. - 1985

Mario is considered the mascot of the video game industry. Super Mario Bros. features Mario where he goes around multiple levels, stomping on enemies, and collecting coins to reach Princess Peach and rescue her from Bowser. It has been such a tremendous success that nearly every Nintendo console has this available to play on, and is in second place for being the most sold game.

Duck Hunt - 1984

Let's not get started with the dog. We all know we hate to see him peek his head up and laugh at our failed attempts. In order to keep him at bay, the player needs to shoot the ducks on the screen which fly around every which way. After a designated number of successful hits, the player can advanced to the next level. The game didn't receive too many reviews at first, but when it started getting bundled with the system, more talk followed. The results were having an established notable video game from the 1980s -- and an established "most annoying character". It also brought light gun games to home consoles and we all love those!

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