Ninja Gaiden is a media franchise based on action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as Ninja Ryukenden in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American Ninja Gaiden title means "side story" in Japanese. The original arcade version, first two Nintendo Entertainment System games and Game Boy game were released as Shadow Warriors in PAL regions. As of 2008, the series has shipped over 7.7 million copies.
Hitman is a stealth video game franchise created by IO Interactive. In each installment, players assume the role of a cloned contract killer named Agent 47, who travels around the world to assassinate various targets that are assigned to him by the fictional International Contract Agency (ICA). Gameplay focuses on freedom of approach, with most levels placing the player in a large sandbox location where they have free rein to explore and find different ways to reach and eliminate their targets. Stealth is a major component of the gameplay and players are given various tools to accomplish their objectives, such as suppressed weaponry and the ability to take disguises, which allow 47 to blend in with non-player characters (NPCs) and bypass most restricted areas undetected.
The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal is an expansion for the role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind by Bethesda Softworks, released on November 6, 2002. The first of two expansions released for Morrowind, Tribunal is set in Mournhold, the capital of the province of Morrowind, and a self-contained city disconnected from the original game. The central quests task the player to resolve the tensions between the King of Morrowind, Hlaalu Helseth, and the Living God Almalexia. The expansion includes quality of life additions, including alterations to the game's quest journal and map.
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is an action adventure video game developed by Midway Games for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows and released on June 14, 2004. The game was developed as a means for Midway to develop new game physics capabilities. The primary game mechanic in Psi-Ops is the use of six different psychic abilities: telekinesis, remote viewing, mind drain, mind control, pyrokinesis, and aura view. These abilities are unlocked throughout the game and used in conjunction with stealth and third-person shooter gameplay to combat enemies and solve puzzles.
Clive Barker's Jericho is a horror first-person shooter video game developed by MercurySteam and Alchemic Productions and published by Codemasters. It is produced by Clive Barker. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007.
Far Cry is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games, all of which have been published by Ubisoft. The first game, Far Cry, was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequently, Ubisoft obtained the rights to the franchise and the bulk of the development is handled by Ubisoft Montreal with assistance from other Ubisoft satellite studios. The following games in the series have used a Ubisoft-modified version of the CryEngine, the Dunia Engine, allowing for open world gameplay. In the present, the franchise consists of six mainline games, a standalone expansion, and several spin-offs; additionally, the first game, initially developed for Microsoft Windows, saw a number of ports to video game consoles, which changed several elements and are therefore considered standalone releases.
A sandbox game is a video game with a gameplay element that provides players a great degree of creativity to interact with, usually without any predetermined goal, or alternatively with a goal that the players set for themselves. Such games may lack any objective, and are sometimes referred to as non-games or software toys. More often, sandbox games result from these creative elements being incorporated into other genres and allowing for emergent gameplay. Sandbox games are often associated with an open world concept which gives the players freedom of movement and progression in the game's world. The term "sandbox" derives from the nature of a sandbox that lets people create nearly anything they want within it.
In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include The Legend of Zelda (1986), Grand Theft Auto III (2001) and Minecraft (2011).
Thief is a series of stealth video games in which the player takes the role of Garrett, a master thief in a fantasy steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with more advanced technologies interspersed.
The Darkness II is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Extremes and published by 2K. The game is the sequel to The Darkness (2007) and based on the comic book series published by Top Cow Productions. The player controls Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman who possesses a mysterious power called "the Darkness" that grants him supernatural abilities and a pair of Demon Arms. The game features elements found in role-playing video games such as skill trees, experience, and a four-player cooperative mode. The player must rescue the soul of Jackie's dead girlfriend, which was trapped by the Darkness in Hell, and confront the Brotherhood, a group of armed cultists trying to take the Darkness away from Jackie.
Lucius is a horror adventure video game developed by Finnish studio Shiver Games and published by Lace Mamba Global for Microsoft Windows. The game is centered on the six-year-old-boy Lucius, the son of Lucifer, who murders members of his household, using powers of telekinesis and mind control to orchestrate deadly accidents that lead to the deaths of multiple residents of Dante Manor. A sequel, Lucius II: The Prophecy, was released in 2015. A second sequel, Lucius III, was released in 2018.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is an action role-playing video game developed and published by NeocoreGames. It was released on 22 May 2013. Based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, the game focuses on the trials of young Van Helsing, son of the legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing from the book. The game is set in a gothic-noir 19th-century Eastern Europe and contains "intentionally anachronistic humor and gadgetry". A sequel, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II, was released on 22 May 2014. A second sequel, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, was released on 22 May 2015.
Rage 2 is a 2019 first-person shooter video game developed by Avalanche Studios in conjunction with id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is the sequel to the 2011 game Rage. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on May 14, 2019. It received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its combat but criticism for its story, characters, and open world gameplay.
Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It began with the release of Dark Souls (2011) and has seen two sequels, Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016). The series was created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and has received critical acclaim, with its high level of difficulty being among its most discussed aspects, while the first Dark Souls is often cited as one of the greatest games of all time. By 2023, the series had shipped over 35 million copies outside of Japan. Other FromSoftware games, including Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring, share several related concepts and led to the creation of the Soulslike subgenre.
Mafia is a series of action-adventure games originally created and developed by 2K Czech. Since the third installment, however, the games are developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K Games. The franchise consists of three mainline installments, along with a remake of the first game, a remastered version of the second game, and two spin-offs for mobile devices. A fourth game is in active development.
Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including a personification of her self-doubt known as Badeline, who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.
Crackdown is a series of open world action-adventure video games created by David Jones and published by Xbox Game Studios. The series takes place in a futuristic dystopian city controlled and enforced by a law enforcement organization called the Agency. The games center on the Agency's supersoldiers, known as 'Agents', as they fight threats ranging from various criminal syndicates, a terrorist group known as 'Cell', and zombie-like monsters called 'Freaks'.
Scribblenauts Showdown is a party game developed by Shiver Entertainment and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in March 2018. The game is the sixth installment in the Scribblenauts franchise, created by 5th Cell. Showdown sees players playing minigames against other players or CPUs.
Hegemony is a series of computer strategy games developed by Canadian studio Longbow Games. The games combine historical grand strategy with real-time battles on a seamless map. The title references the concept of hegemony, i.e. the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others.
Supraland is a Metroidvania-styled video game developed by Supra Games. The game was originally self-published for PC and left early access on April 5, 2019. Ports for the eighth generation of video game consoles, with Humble Games as publisher, were released on October 22, 2020. Players assume control of a toy figurine and explore a series of themed areas within a child's sandbox.
