Diablo Meets Space Marines

Why aren't there more games like Diablo? A soupcon of story, fast frenetic combat alleviated by a breathing space when you get back to your base, a wide variety of opponents with terrifying bosses, and ever-improving skills and equipment--it's a recipe for unalloyed pleasure, at least for many gamers.

With Space Hack, Rebelmind has taken that recipe and taken it to science fiction, with your character a Space Marine who uses primarily fire rather than melee weapons, for an interesting change of pace. Of course, you may ask yourself whether a small indie developer can provide the level of polish for which Blizzard is renowned. We think they get close, but you don't have to take our word for it. That's what demos are for.

In Space No One Can Hear You Giggle

Derelict's backstory is straight out of Aliens: you encounter and board a derelict spaceship which proves to be teeming with nasty alien critters who try to eat you and whom you must mow relentlessly down with high-powered, futuristic weapons. But the Alien series is brooding, dark, and bloody, while Derelict is light hearted, well-lit, and rather charming; the aliens may want to eat you, but they're aliens out of Nick Jr. rather than Lovecraft.

Sigma Team's Alien Shooter was a highly polished, elegant little third-person shooter that gained glowing reviews everywhere--everywhere that bothers to review indie games, of course. With Theseus: Return of the Hero, the developers return with an equally polished, even better looking Rambo-esque shooter with a slightly different backstory (but in games of this type, does story matter a whit, anyway?)

If this game style appeals to you, Theseus is best-in-breed at present; give it a shot. Or, you know, many, many shots in rapid succession, as it were.