Gunhound EX

A game by Dracue Software for PC and PSP, released in the US in 2014.

Gunhound EX, also known as Armored Hunter Gunhound EX, falls into the small subgenre of mech-based action shooters inhabited largely by the Assault Suits series – which includes Target Earth and Cybernator in the U.S. – as well as a few one-off titles like Metal Warriors. Gunhound EX features a large lumbering mech smashing and shooting its way through five sizeable environments and facing off against numerous military targets and several huge bosses.

As is typical of the genre, the mech’s movement is slow and deliberate, and the controls are complex. The mech comes loaded with heavy firepower in the form of four distinct weapon types, each with different effects, and each is assigned to a separate button or button combination. In addition, the mech has a long slow jump, and it is stunned for a moment when hitting the ground from any great height unless the player uses his boosters just before hitting the ground.

The booster function allows the mech to sustain a jump for a bit longer, cross gaps, and even reach higher elevations, but it too is slowed by the incredible weight of the mech. Aside from a couple of instances where the player is given an unlimited booster, its power will drain as you use it, but it recharges quickly while disengaged.

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 2014, Active Gaming Media, Dracue Software, PC, PSP

Velocity / Velocity Ultra

A game by FuturLab for PC, PS3, Vita, and PSP, originally released in 2012, with the Ultra version released in 2013.

While Velocity falls into the overall shmup category, the core mechanics set it well apart from its shmup brethren. Most games of this sort would see you dodging bullets, avoiding walls, grabbing ever more powerful weapon upgrades, and fighting gigantic bullet-spewing monstrosities. While some elements of that gameplay exist here, the teleportation mechanics and the focus on rescuing survivors make this an entirely different experience.

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 2012, 2013, Curve Digital, FuturLab, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita

Wizorb

A game by Tribute Games for PC, Mac, Linux, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360, Ouya, iOS, and Switch, originally released in 2011.

Brick breaking became its own genre with the 1976 arcade release of Breakout, created in the earliest days of what would eventually become known as the video game industry. As with all great successes of the day, the game went on to be cloned and copied and iterated upon many times over. Years later, a game based upon this formula – called Arkanoid – surpassed the original by adding new types of bricks, variable brick formations, and powerup capsules.

Brick breaking gameplay has persisted throughout the generations with numerous variations on the formula. What’s interesting about these games from a design perspective is that they each require direct and nearly constant input from the player, yet the player is not in direct control of the primary gameplay object (the ball) for most of the game. Direct interaction occurs less than 10% of the time and the outcomes of these interactions are impossible to precisely predict.

In this way, the descendants of Breakout are more akin to a form of video pinball, where the player spends most of his time strategizing and attempting to line up a productive shot, while spending the remainder preparing to react to the game’s machinations.

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 2011, iOS, Linux, Mac, OUYA, PC, PS3, PSP, Switch, Tribute Games, Vita, XBLIG, Xbox 360

Retro City Rampage / Retro City Rampage DX

A game by Vblank Entertainment for PC, Mac, Linux, PS3, PS4, Vita, PSP, Xbox 360, 3DS, Wii, Switch, iOS, and Android, originally released in 2012, with the DX version released in 2014.

A long development cycle is almost universally a bad thing when it comes to developing video games. The longer it takes you to make your release date, the less impressive your game will look against its contemporaries, and if you wait too long, the thing will be just plain outdated. That rule certainly applies in a hardware-driven market where developers are trying to create games using the most cutting-edge technology… but the same cannot be said for a game that’s purposely being developed to look like it might have debuted more than 2 decades prior to its actual release date.

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 2012, 2014, 3DS, Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, PC, PS3, PS4, PSP, Switch, VBlank Entertainment, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360

Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess

A game by Mediatonic for Xbox 360 and PSP, originally released in 2009.

Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess was originally released as a PSP Mini title, and has since been released on Xbox Live Indie Games with an HD presentation and updated graphics. In Monsters, you take control of “The Duke”, a purplish vampire in a snappy outfit, who somewhat resembles The Count from Sesame Street. The game seems to open with your standard platforming premise: your princess has been stolen, and it’s up to you to get her back.

However, you as the player don’t actually get to witness her “kidnapping”; you only know that The Duke has awoken to a loud noise and finds that his princess is missing. He storms out to determine what has happened and immediately stumbles across a huge monster. The Duke gives the monster an accusatory point – his arm shaking with the intensity of it – and cocks his head back proclaiming that the monster (probably) stole his princess… because what else would a monster do?

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 2009, Mediatonic, PSP, XBLIG, Xbox 360