Net Ten: Ten Combat Games That Slipped Under the Radar (page2) Subscribe to this RSS feed

#5 Return to Castle Wolfenstein - [ PC ]

Muse software released the first version of Castle Wolfenstein for the Apple II back in the day. It was a top-down action title, where you had to flee a nazi stronghold during World War II. The game went first-person view with Wolfenstein 3D, but the game truly came alive with Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Powered by a revamped Quake III play engine, Return started as a typical WWII first-person shooter...but then slowly turned ugly as you ventured into Nazi labs and excavations of hallowed ground, and squared-off against some of the creepiest bosses ever created. Unfortunately, Wolfenstein remains sequel-less to this day.

#5 Return to Castle Wolfenstein
88% average
critic
score

#4 Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour - [ PC ]

Command & Conquer Generals was in "development hell" for a long time (so the developers could get it right), but it was worth the wait--the only problem is there weren't nearly enough missions in the one-player game. The play engine, graphics, and combat units (you could play as America, Red China, or terrorist GLA) were all top-notch, and it was a matter of time before an expansion pack appeared. Zero Hour was that expansion and it delivered the extra campaigns and play tweaks needed for an engrossing RTS. Hopefully another C&C game is in the works (hint-hint).

#4 Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
83% average
critic
score

#3 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 - [ PC ]

There's nothing more satisfying than raising a huge army and manufacturing a bunch of tanks, and then setting them loose on a hapless enemy. This is what Command & Conquer was all about. The original games were primitive 2D top-down point-and-click real-time strategy games, but with Tiberian Sun, the game took on a 3D look and bumped up the physics engine. Red Alert 2 used Tiberian's play engine and featured two armies: The U.S. and Soviets. Interspersed within the gameplay were live-action cinema cut-scenes (starring Kari Wuhrer and Barry Corbin, no less) that actually added atmosphere and humor to the ongoing battles.

#3 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
88% average
critic
score

#2 Contra III: The Alien Wars - [ SNES ]

Contra III: The Alien Wars was released by Konami for the Super NES back when 2D side-scrollers were in vogue, but Contra III was special in that it was a nonstop barrage of enemies, bosses, and power-ups. Once you pressed the Start button, the action never let up. A two-player co-op mode only added to the fun. Players who wanted a true challenge could try Hard mode, and you could only see the "real" ending by finishing the game on this setting. Alien Wars was the peak for the contra series, as successor titles Hard Corps (Genesis) and the ill-fated, (and forced 3D) Legacy of War couldn't come close to this one.

#2 Contra III: The Alien Wars
N/A average
critic
score

#1 Counter-Strike - [ PC ]

Counter-Strike deserves huge props as it is one of the easiest multi-player first-person shooters to jump in the middle of. Playing on one of two different teams (terrorists and counter-terrorists), your mission (as a CT) is to wipe out the enemy squad before a bomb they planted explodes, or rescue all hostages they have captive. At the end of each match, you are rewarded money that can then be used to purchase better weapons--from machine-guns to sniper rifles. Counter-Strike became a PC-gaming phenomenon--not bad for a title that was modded from Half-Life.

#1 Counter-Strike
60% average
critic
score