For the most part, action games typically rely more on hand / eye coordination than on story and strategy. Forget about tweaking a character and fine-tuning his stats during a two month quest for the one ring or to kill Bhaal. Nope. Action games are hardwired for pure pulse thumping thrills. Yep. Just point, aim and shoot - Hence the reason these titles are the center for social criticism and political rhetoric. But there are other action games that are more complex, and contain the depth and intricate mechanics to appease both action buffs and sim lovers. From squad-based tactical action to simple shooters, the action genre represents a broad range of mental challenges and simple thrills. Here are some of PC gaming's most adrenaline pumping offerings.
Old skool gaming veterans and bright-eyed FPS newbies mix in the highly anticipated sequel to the game that started it all - Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Players once again return to save the known world as special agent B.J. Blazkowicz, a U.S. army ranger recruited into the Office of Secrets. Utilizing the Quake III engine, Return to Castle Wolfenstein (RTCW) was developed by Gray Matter under the watchful eyes of id Software. Sure enough, RTCW lives up to its lofty history, pleasing hard-core FPS fans and bringing the genre to the next level. The single-player campaign pits you again the Nazis and the undead of Hitler's mysterious Paranormal Division. Uncovering a ceremony to raise a once all-powerful Dark Knight, Blazkowicz must deal with Hitler's loyal officers and his armies of abominations. "Visit" dozens of realistic locations, including airbases, archeological dig sites and small peaceful towns. Driven by a tight storyline, the game also manages to throw extra challenges at you by creating secret areas and hidden treasure to be uncovered.
More than the single-player campaign however, is the much praised multiplayer function. Developed by Nerve Software, the multiplayer function keeps things going long after the end of the single-player game. Multiplayer pits players in the classic battle between the Axis against the Allies, requiring them to choose between several different classes such as soldiers, lieutenants and engineers in order to complete each level's objectives. Each class has its own special function, and a balanced team is critical to success. For example, engineers carry limited weapons, but have explosive charges to blow through obstacles. Maps are equally interesting, with several objectives on each map. Some may require you to steal documents, some require the demolition of certain machines or obstacles, and some require the capture of certain command points on the map. It requires more teamwork and strategy than a lot of other FPS games, and just about anyone who has tried the popular multiplayer test version can attest to it's quality. A must-have on any action gamer's list this year.
A good, solid shooter, players assume the role of young, rebellious and idealistic Parker. Signing up for a tour of duty on the Red Planet's mining colonies, he was only trying to shake himself out and take back control of his life. Instead, he lost his freedom entirely and ended up little better than slave labor in Ultor Corporation's secret Mars labor camps. With guards posted everywhere and a plague ravaging the miners, only a mysterious figure known as EOS and the Red Faction speak out against the Ultor Corporation. One day however, a small rebellion begins in the mines, and Parker and his other miner buddies are forced into the fighting. As Parker, you must now uncover the reasons behind the plague and help free the miners. But hey, it's a revolution. Join now!
Red Faction features the new and fancy "Geo Mod" technology. This feature allows you to use explosives, rocket launchers and other weapons to blast holes and tunnels through the walls, rock and almost just about anything else. Need to enter a room but don't have the key card? Blow a hole through the wall. Snipers in the towers causing you grief? Annihilate those support beams and watch that pesky guard fly out the tower, with the tower crumbling into rubble behind him. Geo Mod makes a game world even more believable than ever, and also proves to be great fun. More than that however, Geo Mod is a new introduction to the genre, making this title revolutionary in its own way.
Also featured are some really entertaining and destructive vehicles like submarines, fliers, and tanks. When you get behind the wheel of one of these vehicles, you are quickly reminded of Volition's roots in the popular Descent series, allowing you to fly around in six degrees of freedom and do battle with other enemy vehicles in tight areas. The vehicles are really almost as entertaining as the rest of the game.
While not quite as popular as Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Red Faction also features a multiplayer function, including the traditional deathmatch and capture the flag modes. Weapons like the Precision Rifle and the Rail Driver, which by the way, can shoot through walls and has a scope that lets you see hidden heat signatures, keep things frantic, making for a tense game of run n' gun. The game even comes with its level editor, which means that there's a horde of 3rd party maps to be downloaded and enjoyed. So sign up, and experience the revolution!
Surely anyone who has been an action gamer within the past year will have heard of the vastly popular and hyped-up Max Payne. An outstanding and vastly superior 3rd person shooter, Max Payne's "Bullet Time" helps ensures that this original action game ain't just different from just about any other shooter to date, but also in many other ways, way above the rest. And while the single-player campaign is comparatively short, the graphics showcased there are some of the best the gaming industry has ever been witness to.
In this self-titled game, you are Max Payne, a cop who's deep undercover and framed for the murder of his own wife and kids. With the mob and the cops hot on your tail, and a furious blizzard burying New York faster than a gravedigger's shovel, the odds are longer than any sane man would take.
Fortunately, you aren't the exact definition of a sane man right now.
Max must wade his way through the dark plot and mow down thugs or corrupt officers in dark alleys or wealthy office buildings. Bullets will rip the environment to shreds. You must leap behind counters and roll into a room, guns blazing. Above all however, you must keep your wits about you and even escape fire-bombed labs and car packs filled with deadly assailants. Every minute of it keeps you on the edge of your seat.
As mentioned earlier, the biggest hook that Max Payne has to offer is the much touted "Bullet Time". Through an intense focusing of will and concentration, Max is able to achieve a state where time slows down around him. Dodge bullets and watch the bullets fly in a wave of ripples around you during a raging fire fight in real-time, and carefully take aim and extract your sweet payback. It's like a scene right out of The Matrix! Nothing else in the gaming world so far really gives you quite the same rush. Without a doubt this is simply the most cinematic game of the year, blowing the competition away in a rain of bullet fire.
