A raging wind blows clouds across a cold purple sky, sending a bitter chill down your spine. You lean against a damp wall. Around the corner, you spot twelve guards standing in formation near the bridge. Several marksmen dot the horizon. Your three clips, two grenades, and small medpack must be enough to get you to the other side of the ravine… and to safety. Surprise will be your most powerful weapon. With your heart racing, you step out into the clear and pull the trigger.

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Action games place you in the thick of combat. You must move fast in order to survive; outflank your enemies as you carefully cross dangerous ground, and you’ll advance to the next level. The games can offer spectacular visuals and non-stop action that promise to get your adrenaline pumping, all from the keyboard of your Mac.

Heart-pounding mayhem

Action games generally fall into two broad categories: first-person, which offers you a view of the game through the main character’s eyes; and third-person, where you observe the main character from a remote viewpoint. First-person and third-person titles have some elements in common, but each offers a unique gaming experience.

First-person titles place you in the shoes of the character you control. You experience the game through their eyes, wandering down dark corridors, not knowing what might be lurking around the next corner. Your objective is simply to make it through each level alive, vanquishing horde after horde of vicious enemies using an assortment of powerful weaponry. Grenade launchers make quick work of a crowd, while the careful use of a sniper rifle may allow you to slip into an enemy complex unnoticed. New titles often vary gameplay by providing mission objectives for each level. You may have to locate and activate a power generator in order to use a transporter, or perhaps destroy a central computer to knock out enemy shields.

Third-person titles allow you to control the hero from a remote viewpoint. Since you can see the entire character and his immediate surroundings, exploration and navigation of the environment often play a much more significant role in these games. Aside from tackling nasty enemies, you’ll have to walk, jump, and swing your way across unforgiving terrain; falling into an abyss becomes an ever-present risk. Many third-person titles also wander into the territory of adventure games, requiring you to carry an inventory of handy items and solve complex puzzles. In order to open a secret door, for example, you might need to fill a flask with water and place it on a sacred altar.

We should point out that third-person titles also include arcade style games, such as SketchFighter 4000 Alpha, Armado, WingNuts 2: Raina’s Revenge, Pangea Arcade, and Diner Dash: Flo on the Go. However, these games typically put you in control of a vehicle, as opposed to a character, or they sport simple controls and gameplay, shifting the emphasis from complex missions to basic survival.

First-person and third-person titles share some key elements. A health gauge allows you to monitor your remaining strength; take too many hits, and you’re down for the count. Armor, ammunition, and additional weapons can often be found by exploring the environment. Many games are also structured around key battles with large and powerful enemies, typically referred to as “bosses.” Defeat the boss, and you earn the right to progress to the next segment of the game.

Exploding onto shelves

The first-person shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Aspyr Media) provides a prequel to Quake IV, showing us the initial Strogg attack against Earth and the humans’ valiant attempts to turn back the marauding aliens. The game is a tactical shooter, which means you need to coordinate strategies with your Strogg or human teammates, whether they’re controlled by real people or the computer. One side is the attacker and the other is on defense, depending on the scenario.

A bleak future also features prominently in another tactical shooter, Battlefield 2142 (Electronic Arts), where the Pan Asian Coalition and the European Union battle for dominance on an Earth in the frigid grip of a new Ice Age. This third world war features a variety of high-tech weapons and vehicles, from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) grenades to powerful two-legged walkers. An exciting new game mode, Titan, lets up to 64 players vie for control of a massive flying vehicle.

The Quake games were developed by id Software, which is also well-known for the hit Doom 3, another moody masterpiece in the first-person shooter sub-genre. The Doom 3 engine forms the underpinnings of yet another horror-filled game, Prey, in which a Cherokee Indian named Tommy finds himself pulled into an alien spaceship, along with his grandfather, Enisi, and his girlfriend, Jen.

Enisi’s death gives Tommy the opportunity to rediscover the Indian heritage he previously rejected, and he uses his new powers during his quest to rescue Jen. Prey brings several fresh twists to the genre, including Tommy’s spirit-walking ability, which is sometimes the only way to move past an obstacle, and the Death Realm, an area that replaces the typical “Game Over” screen found in most first-person shooters. As Tommy makes his way through the alien ship, you also get the chance to experience wall-walking and gravity flipping, two more unique elements in this game.

For the Kids

While those titles are definitely aimed at mature gamers, the action genre also provides plenty of fare for the whole family. For LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Feral Interactive), developer Giant Entertainment followed up its wildly successful LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game (Aspyr Media) by following the stories in “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return of the Jedi.”

Not only do you get to control LEGO-fied versions of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and the rest of the cast, but you can also now ride on Banthas, Tauntauns, and other creatures, as well as drive small vehicles. In addition, the spaceship levels are no longer on rails, which means you get to fly an X-Wing fighter across the surface of the Death Star or maneuver the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field without having to follow a predetermined path.

The kid-friendly action continues in the latest edition of another hit franchise: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Electronic Arts). Guide Harry through a sandbox-style version of his world, including a Hogwarts based on the blueprints used by the filmmakers, as he learns new spells and tries to figure out the Ministry of Magic’s hidden agenda. After the climactic final confrontation with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, keep playing to discover all of Hogwarts’ secrets.

You’ll need to be fearless to defeat Voldemort, a quality also found in Remy, the star of Ratatouille (THQ), based on Pixar’s hit animated film. Guide the cuisine-obsessed rat through Paris as he achieves culinary success through a partnership with the hapless garbage boy named Linguini. During your adventures, you’ll unlock mini-games, videos (including the teaser trailer for Pixar’s next release, “Wall.E”), and more.

Necessary gear

Action titles are the most graphically ambitious games on the market. Since these games recreate three-dimensional environments, they demand faster processors, more memory, and capable graphics accelerators to deliver smooth frame rates. A new Mac mini or MacBook, are ideal systems for novice gamers. Pro gamers looking for optimal performance should consider the iMac or Mac Pro with quad-core processors and advanced graphic card options. The latter systems offer either ATI or NVIDIA graphics accelerators. Please inspect the box of any title that appeals to you to ensure that it will run on your Macintosh.

A call to arms

Action games allow us to experience heated combat and heavy weaponry from the safe havens of our home offices. The titles require a quick mind (and even quicker fingers) in order to overcome wave after wave of unfeeling enemies. Pick one up today for a real adrenaline rush!