I've loved playing top down shooters for a long time. The first time I remember playing anything remotely like it was a game called The Gauntlet (available for free via the games synopsis),(though the Gauntlet was a Sword and Sorcery game not a shooter); which you could play from an isometric viewpoint, which made the game look like it was in real 3D, though as we all know isomorphic projections give a sence of 3D, but are not true 3D. Todays game isn't that far removed from a game someone gifted to me last week that was only released a few weeks ago called Zombie Shooter 2, the graphics are nearly as good and the action as good, the only difference being, the following two games (which are related) are free, wheras Zombie Shooter 2 costs around $10 to $12. I've added some You Tube videos for you to watch. they will give you an excellent idea as to what to expect. The Good news for dail up users, the games are not that big, so shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes each if you've got full speed on your line.
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Crusader: No Remorse (28.3Mb)
Definitely one of the best action games ever made, Origin's Crusader: No Remorse is a perfect use of the 3D isometric engine used in the abysmal Ultima VIII: Pagan.The premise is not original, but effective in the game's action-packed context: you are a former Silencer, an elite soldier working for the World Economic Consortium, who one day decided to join the Resistance, a movement which aims to free the world from the Consortium's oppression. Despite this cliché premise, No Remorse gets better with time as the plot thickens and the game world is fleshed out in great detail, complete with competent acting in full-motion video (which, obviously, are too large to be included in this CD-rip. Track down the full version!)
Game play comprises of 16 missions which must be completed in order. Mission objectives range from destroying a Consortium refinery, rescuing prisoners, to kidnapping a Consortium official. Although you will spend most of your time blasting anything that moves, wanton destruction is not encouraged, since there are useful objects such footlockers which contain power-ups and ammo, as well as computer terminals that yield passwords and clues you will need. Moreover, stealth and planning are encouraged by the presence of alarms, which will call enemy troops to your location and deactivate some crucial terminals if you set them off. This, together with the inclusion of many interactive items on each level, adds a fun element of realism to the standard find-blue-key-to-unlock-blue-door game play.
The arsenal of weapons you will have at your disposal is impressive, ranging from the mundane (semiautomatic pistols), to the devastating (UV-9 ultraviolet rifle). Part of the fun in No Remorse is seeing your enemies die in various ways. The "Unifier" plasma rifle, for example, completely disintegrates a human target, leaving only some residue. Other inventory items include mines, explosives, spider bombs, shield generators, medi-kits, power cells, etc. The variety of the weaponry and their different uses definitely sets No Remorse apart from Doom clones, and part of the fun lies in figuring out the optimal use for each item.
Overall, No Remorse provides exactly what the title implies: addictive hours of fun without remorse. My only gripe is that the controls take some getting used to, with different keystrokes for walking, running, rolling, crouching, shooting, etc. The combination of mouse and keypad seems to work best, but this requires considerable practice. But no matter-- practice you will, and as soon as you get used to the controls, you'll find yourself hooked in the Silencer's world for hours on end
reference accessed 16th Dec 09 HERE
Video:
You can see video's HERE, HERE and HERE
Download:
You can download Crusader: No Remorse HERE
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More of the same stuff:
Crusader: No Regret (29.7Mb):
Crusader: No Regret is the sequel to its equally impressive predecessor, Crusader: No Remorse. No Regret is a game that is at once gorgeous and gruesome in its execution and attention to detail. The game's sci-fi storyline picks up where the original left off: Having destroyed The World Economic Consortium (W.E.C.)'s Vigilance Platform, you, the Silencer, wind up aboard a salvage ship en route to the W.E.C.'s moon-based Lunar Mining Cartel. Once again, it's time for some serious breaking, entering, and assassinating. While some of the original's 15 levels meandered on perhaps a bit too long, No Regret cuts the game down to 10 levels that are more complex and challenging to work your way though (yet which Origin says should take as long to complete).
Everything that was good about the first game is great in the second. Crusader: No Regret's top-down, three-quarter perspective graphics run smoother than before, particularly when things blow up. Like real flames, No Regret's explosions flare bright and change color, then eventually fade - without distorting or slowing down whatever other animations are happening on the screen at the same time. As the returned Silencer, you move more convincingly - especially while running, which in the original sometimes felt jerky. Your weapons arsenal has been improved, with several new, highly evolved firearms and explosives to put to no-good use. Two notable additions are the "Crystallizer," which freezes your unlucky target into an ice statue that, when hit with a bullet, bursts into a hundred twinkling, resonating bits; and the "Broiler," whose microwave pulse liquefies the flesh of any hapless souls it encounters. Talk about agonizing deaths. Victims caught aflame take their last failing breaths and flailing steps with arms a-wheeling, windpipes uttering hoarsely their unrestrained agony. Without a doubt, Crusader: No Regret's savage last hurrahs are the most horrific and drawn-out demises ever to unfold on a computer screen.
All of this breathtakingly morbid attention to detail would be merely gratuitous if the game lacked its own redeeming value - and values, for as the Silencer, it is your job to overthrow a government bent on controlling and exploiting its underclass. Clever plot twists advance the game forward like a suspense film. For instance, one level finds you hacking into a not-so-secure computer to upload a virulent code that brings down the level's security system. Video cut scenes play between levels to update you on what the other side thinks of, and is doing to contend with, your revolutionary ways (however, the caliber of acting here barely rises above the daytime soap level). Settings range from the heavily guarded and staffed laboratories and staging areas that made up so much of the first game, to new, sumptuously appointed executive suites occupied by unarmed business-suited men and women who, the moment you storm in on them, throw up their hands and cry "Don't shoot." As the Silencer, your hardest rule is take no prisoners, and these personnel, like their protectors, must be eliminated - quickly, decisively, and, most important of all, before they can alert others to your arrival.
In the end, what makes Crusader: No Regret a winning a game is its ability to utterly move you out of your own headspace and into the Silencer's. For the few hours a day that you let yourself escape into it, your vocation as the Silencer becomes a high-minded obsession, a fervent crusade, a battle of wits and reflexes that takes an ample measure of control to not only command, but also to walk away from, back into your own life, with no regret."
Reference accessed 16th Dec 09 HERE
Video:
intro movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q5_vWByoNs&feature=related
First level
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM4t7fc4U-8&feature=related
Secret Level
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6uPw4b1I58&feature=related
You can read a decent review of both games with loads of images HERE
Download:
You can download Crusader: No Regret HERE
You’ll also find a pdf version of the games manual on the same page as the game download.
W.R.
