They say that games are like cheese; they get better (and smellier) with age. I've got some excellent vintage games in my little corner of The Vault, and you're free to enjoy them... once you get past my nefarious gauntlet of traps! I've got pits, hungry tigers, mimes... my depravity knows no bounds. Once you reach your destination, though, you'll find a few fantastic games from yesteryear. I've got action, adventure, and shooter games on display, and they're all time-tested quality entertainment. If you're lucky, maybe you'll even have some limbs left to play them!
- Combat Heaven - This offering from 2006 stars you as a super-powered soldier armed with the latest in military gear. You'll stand against an entire army, including tanks, helicopters and missile trucks. Thankfully you've got powerful armor and boost jets to keep you safe along with some intense hardware to take out your enemies. Combat Heaven is reminiscent of the Genesis classic Gunstar Heroes and boasts a ton of customization. You can upgrade almost every aspect of your character and their gear which gives this game a ton of replay value. It's a true classic, and shooter fans are bound to love it.
- Pod Panic - Another shooter from 2006, Pod Panic is an arena shooter that features unusual enemies and a unique physics mechanic. Dodge your foes with the [WASD] keys while blasting away with the mouse. There are basic pod enemies that only take one shot to kill, but your most dangerous foes are polygonal strings that need to be hit perpendicular to their sides. You'll need to stay mobile to take these out. If things get too hectic, you can press the [spacebar] to repulse enemies and send them flying to the edges of the arena, but this takes time to recharge. Pod Panic really nails the fundamentals of the arena shooter and throws in some physics fun to boot.
- PixelHugger in the Field of Typography - This game uses an ancient technology known as Shockwave to bring you an adventure about... well, fonts. Auntie Alias has taken over the Typographic World with her accursed anti-aliased fonts and your job, as PixelHugger, is to save the pixels that went missing. Run around Zelda-style and grab the pixels; while you're at it, also grab any typographic characters you see so you can use them to defeat Auntie Alias. Watch out for her vicious minions, though, including sheep, gnats and... well, mostly sheep. Evil sheep. Anyone who loves exploration will dig this game, since you'll need to search every corner to find the goodies you need. Beware, though: it's tough!
And that's it for this week's edition of The Vault! Watch out for the tigers on your way out - they still haven't been fed. While we welcome any comments about this weekly feature here, we do ask that if you need any help with the individual games, please post your questions on that game's review page. Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and rediscover some awesome!
Finally! I thought nobody would know about Combat Heaven. It did something pretty rare at its time, and I'm glad you brought it up again. Next week, can you feature Wink: The Game?
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