Action Video Games

What distinguishes these games from others is simple: action is the most important part of the game, and not story, character development, or anything of that sort. Reflexes are your best friend here.

These are easily the most numerous and diverse type of video game available today. Read on to learn more.

Types of Action Games

These are just a few of the many kinds:

• First Person Shooter
• Third Person Shooter
• Adventure
• Arcade
• Platformer

First Person Shooter

A first person shooter (FPS) is an enormously popular sub-genre. Your on-screen view is the same as what your character sees. Sometimes you can see guns looming at the bottom of the screen, sometimes a hand or two appears. You roam the environment collecting weapons and, you guessed it, shooting everything in sight. Some of the most popular video games are FPS games, such as Quake, Halo and Unreal.

Third Person Shooter

Very similar to a first person shooter, these games incorporate all of the above elements with one key difference: camera angle. Instead of seeing through your character's eyes, you are perched behind and just above your avatar. Often you can change the camera's position to get a better view of what you're shooting. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a prime example of this type of game.

Adventure Games

This semi-hybrid sub-genre incorporates exploration and puzzle elements into the game. Tomb Raider and The Legend of Zelda games are often placed in this wide category.

Platformers

Platformer games, also known as side-scrolling games, were most popular in the retro days of gaming. Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man are two examples. Platformers are generally two-dimensional and show a side-view of the character and environment. Controls are generally simple and almost always include a "jump" command and "fire" or "attack". Players work their way through enemy-filled stages that usually have a boss encounter at the end. Platformer games are some of the oldest action games still being made today.

Ready for Some Action?

Now that you're an expert on action video games, check out our enormous list of video game reviews. Check out a few you're interested in, and if we're missing a game you've played, adding it to our database is a simple matter. Read on and enjoy!