Top Action Games

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

This ain't your daddy's Prince of Persia. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the series' debut on the PlayStation 2 and other current-gen consoles, was met with dropped jaws as it took the action genre to new heights. Not only did it feature some of the absolute best platforming around, it had one of the coolest protagonists to ever grace the gaming world. The Prince was such a badass, time itself did his bidding. That's right. Utilizing the sacred Dagger of Time, the Prince could rewind time to get himself out of sticky situations. Throw in a beautiful damsel in distress in the form of Princess Farah, and you're in for one hell of a ride. Also available are its two sequels, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones.

Devil May Cry

With a name like Devil May Cry, you know it's going to be something good. You assume the role of Dante, a sword-swinging pistol-wielding half-demon demon hunter. Did you get all that? Yep, Dante's a demon hunter, and he's half-demon himself (sounds a little like Blade, eh?). What's not to love? To top it all off, Dante wields two custom pistols named Ebony and Ivory. Using these, Dante can leap into the air and rain a barrage of bullets down on his opponents, all the while keeping himself airborne with the blasts of his pistols. While the game does have a puzzle/exploration aspect, the main emphasis remains on action. Like Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry has also had two sequels released.

Ninja Gaiden

The original Ninja Gaiden arcade game, as well as the unrelated trilogy that followed on the Nintendo Entertainment System, has always held a special place in gamers' hearts the world over. Tecmo, with the help of Team Ninja, successfully "rebooted" the franchise in 2004 on the Microsoft Xbox; and by "successfully", I mean that Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox was received (and is still regarded) as one of the best action games of all time. And of course, it only helps that ninjas are the epitome of badass. To add to the game's already amazing fun factor, Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox is one of the hardest games of its kind. Due to it's insane difficulty, Ninja Gaiden Black, a bonus-packed re-release, came with an unlockable "ninja dog mode" that made the game easier, at the expense of your manliness. Only hardcore gamers need apply.

Resident Evil 4

While technically an "action-shooter", Resident Evil 4 is enough of a non-stop thrill ride to be included in this list. I mean, doesn't fighting a crocodile the size of a building while trying to stay afloat in a little wooden dingy sound action-packed to you? While the previous Resident Evil installments were all about exploration, puzzles, and fixed camera angles, Resident Evil 4 traded all that in for a gun, an over-the-shoulder camera, and more guns. No more super slow corpses crawling around either. Now you get to deal with crazed Spanish-speaking villagers, throwing dynamite and swinging chainsaws. In Resident Evil 4, you resume the role of Leon Kennedy, whom you might remember as the rookie cop protagonist from Resident Evil 2. Now Leon works for the government, and he's been sent to rescue the president's daughter, who has fallen into the hands of a mysterious Illuminati-like cult.

In Conclusion

Action games rock. I've thrown out four names for you to pursue, but the action genre is vast. There are countless other titles out there on the market well worth your time and money. Check out the reviews section of this site to get some ideas of where else to look!