Inago Rage

In the world of high-end first-person shooters, gameplay hasn't changed a whole heck of a lot in the past eight years. Sure, there have been some cool developments (Halo's defense system springs to mind), but it's mostly still aim and shoot. Inago Rage takes a basic FPS engine and builds a wireframe world and comic-book story around it, while throwing in an excellent level editor that allows you to build your own arenas. There are no multiplayer features to speak of, but the clever style and excellent level editor make it worth a look for alternative shooter fans.

Gameplay controls are standard, stripped-down FPS basics: You use the keyboard to move and the mouse to look and fire. The level-design interface is set up nicely. Clear buttons move and rotate the board, and most actions have keyboard or mouse shortcuts. An easy-to-follow tutorial explains the basics of creating levels, and you can design and test battle arenas to your heart's content. Though the single-player story mode is brief and easily beatable for anyone who's ever played an FPS, the associated comic-book story is well written and integrated seamlessly.