System Shock Meets Alien

Just a few years ago, you would not have been surprised to see a game like this getting cover treatment from the major PC game magazines. It's a nicely polished oblique-overhead third-person shooter set in a mining colony on Ganymede (one of Jupiter's moons) that is under attack by alien critters. The story line is nicely done too, with good voice acting and a real sense of tension and a colony under siege; naturally, weapons get more powerful over time, and NPCs work with you in later levels.

Classroom Doodles Come Alive in a Top-Down Shooter

Like everyone else, no doubt you've doodled little things on lined papers during boring classes. Maybe you doodled hearts and ponies, but more likely spaceships or airplanes. Matt Lucas apparently doodled soldiers and guns, at least by the evidence of this game: the graphics are pencil sketches, the background lined notebook paper.

Gameplay is simple, old-school shooting action; move your soldier with the WASD keys, shoot with the left mouse button or throw a grenade with the right, grab power-ups by walking into them. As you move across the map, you encounter enemies; if it moves, shoot it. Later on, you get to control a tank, and a helicopter. Simple fun, and the nature of the graphics is always charming, and sometimes rather humorous.

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 each level of Stealth Combat, you control a vehicle, ranging from an armed jeep to a Star Wars-like walker. Often (but not always) you have a variety of subordinate vehicles you can issue orders to. Each mission has a series of objectives--and generally, the other side has enough firepower to wipe out your entire force if you just charge in firing blindly. Which is where the "stealth" aspect comes in; this isn't quite Thief for vehicles--combat is often necessary--but succeeding typically requires a degree of finesse as well as mastery of the combat UI.