With computers rapidly entering the home space, and graphical user interfaces shrinking the gap between the computer-literate and savvy, the home computer was gradually becoming the omni-tool of a family’s life that we know it today. Entertainment packages that the whole family could genuinely enjoy were readily available, not just fast-paced shooters, but more thoughtful games that didn’t test your dexterity but your mental acumen.

There have been many contingencies in case civilisations crumble, plans to keep the government going, and restore society as best as possible. Still, daydreams are preoccupied with ideas of living out in the lawless wastelands, films about loners seeking existence in the wastes, and games about rebuilding from the ruins, but with a whole new paradigm governing them. In 1998, during the height of the Real Time Strategy boom, one game took to the ravages of the post-apocalyptic world and put you in the command of those trying to rebuild, a game known as Tribal Rage.

Eight years might not seem like a lot of time, but a lot can change in that time. What was once hot can quickly become cold, what fresh becomes stale, hip becomes passé, et cetera. In 2003, showing how far the world had come in the last eight years since the first Spawn game was released, a new game lived up to what the character was trying to lay down, in Spawn: Armageddon.

The Spawn franchise is known for a variety of characters, being a staple of the 90s comics culture. These characters will generally get into scrapes in the ever-encroaching battle between good and evil. You might have your favourites, or you may just want to see who would dominate in a bout between each other. In 2000, Players could finally duel it out with their favourites in Spawn: In the Demon's Hand.

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When it comes to cartoon franchises, the most peculiar choices ended up being the biggest sellers. Who would have thought that the damning critique of treatment of Veterans would earn 60 episodes and a slew of merchandise, or the ultra-capitalistic hellscape of Delta City would have both a T.V. series and a successful cartoon? In 1999, feeling like a tie-in for a similar cartoon listed above, a Game Boy Colour game took Al Simmons on the road, in Spawn.

Typically, films and T.V. offer gateways into franchises, those who got into the Game of Thrones books from the hit series, those who came back to Marvel, after their cinematic onslaught on popular culture. Even Twisted Metal, the nostalgic curiosity of yesteryear, got a second chance from the T.V. adaptation. In 1997, due to be released with the film, the video game developers behind Twisted Metal got pushed in a whole new direction of gameplay, as they tried to capture the essence and spirit of Spawn: The Eternal.

For better or worse, the 90s embraced the counterculture in its media. The alternative subgenres that were brewing earlier became more ever-present in the booming attitude era. The shades of grey between the battles of good and evil were ever present in the media of the time, and few could serve as a better mascot than the tricked undead mercenary, Al Simmons, a.k.a.

Rattling Tommy Guns and watching the numbers go up are both very enticing gameplay loops when it comes to video games. Many titles have attempted to put the player in the shoes of a Michael Corleone-type, with mixed success. In 2001, following on from their previous crime-based simulator, Hothouse Creations revamped the presentation layer and led the player on a campaign of vengeance in Gangsters 2: Vendetta.

When it comes to your legacy, you hope that your actions are at least good enough to block out the other actions that you aren’t too proud of. You wish to end it on your terms, with the sunset facing ever forward. Life doesn’t tend to work out like that, but the fantasy is there. In 1990, when Michael Corleone thought he was out, he was pulled back in The Godfather Part III.

The rise of organised crime came into its own with the organised part of the statement. Putting together such a system to coordinate the vast network of competing interests and power plays is no easy task, yet somehow, it came to be. In 1991, the tale of those who put the organised back in organised crime, in Mobsters.

Coming up to a century since the figures depicted walked the earth, the media has been awash with tales of gangsters. Organised syndicates of mobsters have been turned into living legends, with films like The Godfather and Goodfellas, dosing the cold, hard reality of their lives, lost in their depictions. Their crimes fuel their “cool factor” amongst the impressionable. In 1991, years after the events depicted in a film showed the rise and fall of one criminal empire through the young eyes of Billy Bathgate.

When creating a film intended for the whole family to enjoy, it becomes a delicate balancing act to keep every segment entertained without straying too far in one or more directions. Sometimes the old ideas still work best, even if you have to jazz them up to sell them. In 2002, a film looked to the year 2087 to tell a story of blasters, droids, nightclubs, and the continuing Adventures of Pluto Nash.

For those who used to or still often travel, the concept of a travelling board game might be familiar to you. Specially adapted to make the pieces less exposed to turbulence, smaller, but the fun is still there, even if it is a little finicky. In 2001, with the Game Boy Advance offering family-friendly portability, what better way to beat the tedium of motion than through a board game you don’t have to clean up, in Tweety and the Magic Gems.

Utopias don’t come fully formed, often require more efforts than just the dreamer, the real hard work of the citizens to strive for that ideal and even then, sometimes that isn’t enough. In 2025, after a substantial time in a development limbo, Star Trek finally got to tell the story of the people behind the scenes to keep the Federation boldly going in Star Trek: Section 31.