Net Ten: Ten Combat Games That Slipped Under the Radar (page 1) Subscribe to this RSS feed

There have been a ton of combat games over the past years, but here are ten of them that you may have missed.

#10 Metal Warriors - [ SNES ]

Konami brought an unknown game to the Super NES called Cybernator, and it was one of the unsung heroes of that 16-bit era. Metal Warriors was equally under-appreciated. Not only could you pilot gigantic mech fighting machines, but if your unit became too badly damaged, you could always bail out and find a new one. The mechs has plenty of variety in their weapon systems the coolest of which was a ball that could transform into a mechanical spider. Very cool! Metal Warriors also featured an engaging two-player split-screen deathmatch mode. Like Cybernator, Metal Warriors came out way under the radar, disappeared soon after its release.

#10 Metal Warriors
N/A average
critic
score

#9 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero - [ NES ]

Here's another gem by a defunct publisher (Taxan) that was overlooked in the era of the NES. Based on the action figure toy line (that's right toy line), this interactive game emphasized something that action titles of the day did not: teamwork. You could play as one of several members of the Joe team (Snake Eyes, etc.) and embark on a variety of dangerous missions both in- and outdoors. The characters hardly lacked diversity: Snake Eyes was an expert at stealth, while Rock and Roll was apt to cut through enemies with his twin machine guns. Too bad the sequel, The Atlantis Factor, was such a dud...

#9 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
N/A average
critic
score

#8 Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy - [ NES ]

Big deal: a top-down 2D sprite-based game where you maneuvered a lonely tank behind enemy lines and caused as much trouble as possible. But this simple premise became more engaging as you penetrated deeper into foreign territory, destroyed ammunition dumps, and rescued hostages. Set during World War II, several of the bosses were outlandish and silly; nevertheless, Iron Tank was one of the few NES combat titles that could keep you on edge for hours, and let you win the war single-handedly! Iron Tank is a forgotten gem made by (of all companies) SNK for the lowly 8-bit NES.

#8 Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy
N/A average
critic
score

#7 Call of Duty - [ PC ]

Medal of Honor was a breakthrough when it appeared, as it was created by Hollywood talent (DreamWorks) and was one of the first authentic first-person shooters on the market. But after a few rote sequels (ahem, Underground) that re-treaded all-too-familiar territory (cough, Rising Sun), the WWII series was in need of a serious overhaul. Enter Call of Duty, developed by the key people who made MOH a success), a superb WWII first-person shooter with firefights and atmosphere that easily rivaled Medal. In the game, you played as soldiers in three different armies: American, British, and Russian in several diverse and historic campaigns.

#7 Call of Duty
94% average
critic
score

#6 Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe - [ PC ]

In the waning days of World War II, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) unleashed the first fighter jets into combat; had they come a few years earlier, things could have weighed in favor of the Axis. Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe let you play as Allied or Axis pilots and fly some of the greatest combat craft of the day: P-47 Thunderbolts, P-51D Mustangs, B-17 Bombers, BF-109G's, and even ME-262 jets. You could even create a pilot and earn medals by completing various campaigns. What made Secret Weapons truly fun was the ease with which you could pick it up and play as no other flight sim has done since then.

#6 Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
N/A average
critic
score