2005 Action Game of the Year

Indie action games tend to bring back memories of the old-school (since when did old-school mean 15 years ago?) days of the arcade when everything was about short bursts of extreme excitement and tremendous challenge.  

Other than one rather significant exception, this year's top Action games follow that pattern with stunning results!  This is a great set of games that would have sucked away hundreds of quarters in the arcade of yesteryear.  Instead they get to suck away many hours (for a lot less money) in front of our comfy computer screens this year.  Bring 'em on!

5th Place - Dark Horizons: Lore Invasion

Developer: Max Gaming Technologies		Players: 1-32
Website
System Requirements: P3 733 MHZ, Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Open GL Video Card (also on Mac and Linux)

The DH:LI universe involves a world war fought by two factions: the Federated States and the Eastern Confederation. In this war, your battles are fought in Mechanized Assault Vehicles, or MAVs. Each faction has similar MAV types, such as Scouts or Tanks, with similar weaponry, but there are special weapons for each side as well. The Federated States specialize in laser weapons while the Eastern Confederation has advanced rocketry.

A cool feature in the game is the use of Comcent, which allows individual battles to have an actual effect on the war. You can see as parts of North America switch hands between the two factions from one battle to the next. One day you may see the Federated States control everything but the East Coast, only to login the next day to find that they not only lost ground but had a second front open up on the West Coast. Teams are very important in this game and you can join any faction or clan.  You can also play on your own, choosing sides as you deem appropriate.

Each MAV is distinctly different with special abilities which leads to lots of intrigue in the battles. Scout MAVs have the ability to cloak and drop mines, where Tanks have higher armor and can leave automated turrets in strategic spots on the map. There are two other MAV types that can call air strikes or use flame throwers. Each MAV has a standard weapon and a missile launcher, each of which can be configured before entering battle. They also come equipped with a zoom function, so you can make precision strikes or otherwise check in on the far off action.

Dark Horizons: Lore Invasion provides hours of mech-based, online fun. It isn't a simulation so much as an arcade game, so die-hard fans might be turned off at first, but there are plenty of options to tweak to make it more or less realistic. It is a competitive and fun game where every battle you fight in is part of a greater conflict, which makes players feel truly engaged in the game.

4th Place - Clash'N'Slash

Developer: Enkord		Players: 1
Website	Download		Purchase
System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium II 400 MHz, 64 RAM, 16 Video Card, Direct X 8.1+

Clash N Slash is, at its core, a space shooter. The big difference is that your ship isn't going anywhere! Instead the ship stays in a tight orbit around a single planet as endless hordes of aliens and meteors come crashing in towards the planet. As the pilot of the ship, your goal is to blast everything coming at you to smithereens!

While the premise is really a variation on something that has been done a million times, the real quality of the game comes in the intense action that has been succinctly connected to the players' strategy. Each level will allow you to power-up your ship with various weapons and your planet with various power-ups, using the game's technology tree to get more powerful items. The actual number of power-ups and combinations you could make moving up the technology tree are nearly endless and give players a lot of options. The catch is that both your ship and the planet are only powered-up 4-5 times each level and each new level starts you out with no power-ups. Your survival in the game isn't just connected to your trigger finger, but to the power-up strategy that you choose, and both must be used well together in order to pass each level. In fact, you'll find that on the later levels you'll need to adjust your strategy constantly to get through the levels as no one strategy reigns supreme. The variety that this gameplay tactic infuses into the game make it continually enjoyable to play as it takes players beyond just mindless shooting.

Clash N Slash is a game that is just shy of perfect. It is very easy to pick up and play the game, and the intensity of the battles leads the player to feel as though they have really just saved a planet against incredible odds.

3rd Place - Ultratron

Developer: Puppy Games		Players: 1
Website	Download
System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Mac, Linux

In Ultratron you star as a character who appears to have teleported into a computer, not unlike the premise of the movie TRON. There are many enemies who are trying to stop you and your only hope of survival is to blast them back to where they were they came from. In addition to the typical enemies that appear all over the screen and who will be trying to destroy you by frontal attack, laser, or bomb, there are large mega-end boss characters that you must get past as well.

Where Ultratron really succeeds and distances itself from many of the robotron clones is in the fun factor. Robotron itself was a very difficult game to play in the arcade. It was created with the intention of sucking a quarter about every 2-3 minutes. The way they kept you putting in quarters was by making the game insanely difficult, which really made it not very much fun for the majority of gamers to play. (Those who had the time and the patience to master it certainly enjoyed it, but there weren't many who made it that far.) Ultratron delivers where Robotron failed, making a game that is quite enjoyable to play, while also creating an experience that creates nostalgia and brings in good old-fashioned fun game play.

The sound in the game is first-rate and augmented by solid sound effects and a fantastic computer voice that comes in with some great lines such as "Die Human!" and "Kill all human scum!" The lines have the same creepy, fear-inducing effect that the classic "Run Coward!" line from Sinistar creates and should NOT be missed. All in all, this is a game where less is more, where the lack of a pounding soundtrack, replaced instead by simple sounds, creates a feeling that is a big part of the game.

It's hard to go wrong with Ultratron. For just slightly more than the price of a movie (or significantly less if you buy popcorn) you get a game that provides a great experience that, due to some fantastic sound work, is quite memorable, and thanks to solid development is an all around fun game to play.

2nd Place - Heavy Weapon

Developer: PopCap		Players: 1
Website	Download
System Requirements: 64MB Ram, DirectX: 8+, CPU: 300 Mhz

PopCap is very well known for its games. The list of their crowd-pleasing games including Zuma, Insaniquarium, and Bookworm, has set a standard that leads players to know that a new game released by PopCap is a near sure-fire success.

With so much success in the past in working with the casual gamers, it is no real surprise that PopCap tested new waters this year to see what else they can do, and Heavy Weapon is definitely a change from what they have been doing.

In Heavy Weapon you are in control of a very sophisticated tank. This killing machine has a large array of weapons at its disposal that become available to you as you progress through the game. The basic weapon is a turret gun, which is improved upon in both its power and its spread as you move forward through the game. At the end of each level, if you are able to get through the towering end boss, you are treated to a trip to the armory where you are able to choose additional power-ups for the vehicle. These include defensive orbs, a laser, two kinds of missiles, flak guns and lightening.

The graphics of the game rely on parallax scrolling for the backgrounds, which comes off quite nicely in showing some depth while using a limited number of layers. The many different enemies are well-varied, with different types of bombs, missiles and other weapons, and each looks superb at this stage of the game's development. The missile effects and explosions are also very well drawn and quite rewarding for each of the many kills.

Our hats go off to PopCap for stepping into the less casual side of gaming with a great game that is high on quality and just as high on fun.

2005 Action Game of the Year - Zombie Smashers X2

Developer: Totally Screwed		Players: 1-2 (Co-Operative)
Website			Purchase
System Requirements: 450 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 16MB video card, DirectX 8+

Zombies, ninjas, vampires, skinheads, metalheads, Nazis, pirates, robots, demons, government agents and punks? All in one game? Zombie Smashers X2 delivers them combined with action-packed fun!

Anyone who has played River City Ransom should be able to identify the inspiration for this brawler. You fight enemies, collect money, and pay for items such as food and music CDs to upgrade your abilities and statistics. At first, you can only kick and punch, and the fighting can be almost boring, although you do start with a unique special ability depending on the character you pick. You can pick up different items and use them as weapons! Pick up a garbage can, crate, frying pan, or any of the many items strewn throughout a level and you can smash them into your undead (or not) opponents. You can even chuck them at adversaries from a safer distance, and some items can be kicked.

When you knock down an opponent, you can use the body as a weapon. Yes, even body parts can be used as weapons, such as decapitated heads, dismembered arms, or even a non-surgically removed spinal cord, which is one of the best weapons in the game. While you can use swords or hooks to spear your enemies from behind once you learn how, the spine also lets you slowly regain health!

You can get tattoos to upgrade your abilities. While each character gets one special ability in the beginning, you can spend the cash to get more. For instance, Punker has the ability to smash an opponent's head to the ground while Rudy knows how to do a Monster Chop. Hiro knows Tae Fu, and it definitely changes the way the game is played once you get this ability.

With the Kung Fu tattoo, for example, you'll find that it is like fighting in The Matrix. You can fight off multiple enemies on all sides. It is always satisfying to knock some opponents into the air and smash into them before they land to make them fly for some distance. Combine multiple abilities together, such as the spinning uppercut, the head-butt, and some flying attacks, and you have amazing Zombie Smashing powers at your disposal.

While they aren't necessary to complete the game, there are some magic spells to learn as well. One of them even gives you the power to summon a fully loaded Uzi! You can learn these spells by doing side jobs for the different people you meet throughout the game. Some of the jobs are simple, but others involve taking out certain boss enemies.

Zombie Smashers X2 proves just how much fun it is to knock zombie heads up into the air, trip running ninjas, and even just pay attention to the story. The weapons, tattoos and straight-up action definitely make this game one of the best to come out this year and helped it stand out above the pack in winning the 2005 Game Tunnel Action Game of the Year award.