WRACK - The Classic FPS Renaissance Continues. . .

Grimthwacker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UUOQg_jkHc
Developer: Final Boss Entertainment
Platform: Steam Early Access Beta
Price: $14.99

Wrack? What the frak???
Wrack is a classic FPS-inspired shooter that mixes a whole lotta Doom with splashes of Quake - no surprise there given that the lead designer is Brad "Carnevil" Carny, creator of the online multiplayer-centric Doom source port Skulltag. It's a fast-paced game where you zoom through mazelike areas with simple but effective guns mowing down enemies, hitting switches and finding secrets littered all around. No health regen, no need to reload, just twitch your way to victory against all odds.

Okay, but do we get a story to go along with it?
Yes, actually. In the future the world is experiencing a period of peace and plenty thanks to the advent of a machine that can create unlimited resources and energy. In the midst of it all, Kain Sager is the one skeptic, wondering when the peace will start falling apart and preparing himself for such an occasion. Not suprisingly this comes in the form of visitors from the planet Arcturus who want to wrest control of the miracle device out of Earth's hands, prompting Kain and his friends Starlyn and Fabian to launch a counter-offensive against the invaders. Add an unbalanced character called Ebo who obsesses over the purity of machines over flesh and bone with his own sinister agenda, and you have one big crisis brewing.

Right, one-man army fights aliens. Got it.
Hey, I'd like to see you do any better.

So it's nothing but loads of shootbanging?
Pretty much, but Wrack also adds an arcade-style scoring system not unlike the recent Rise of the Triad remake. Chain together numbers of kills (the initiation and duration of which depend on what weapons you're using) without getting hit to add bonus points to your score - speed and efficiency are key here. Not to mention the many score pickups and secret areas that contribute to your total at the end of each level, at which you're given a ranking. Be quick, be accurate, and be ready to poke all around for rewards.

All right, cool. Any other game modes?
Right now, there's Time Attack and Score Attack, plus an online leaderboard for bragging rights - plenty of opportunities to help hone your skills.

HEY! Why doesn't this look like it's finished?!?
What part of "Early Access Beta" did you not understand? Yes, the game's not finished. There's only one episode right now, with no multiplayer to speak of, because the rest is still a work in progress. They even tell you right up front that it's still far from complete. This isn't the new SimCity, after all. Expect more features as the development continues including more episodes and a full level editor.

Fine, fine. I guess I can give it a shot.
By all means, do. It's a really fun game with lots of style, and Carnevil deserves the support to help make it bigger and better. Plus, it's still more stable than Battlefield 4 right now!

Grimthwacker

Just a heads-up that the new update is up right now, much earlier than anticipated. Nothing major, just a few things here and there including new score/time attack maps and tweaks:

Fixes galore! – Numerous crashes and glitches have been fixed, including ones that allowed you to travel outside of the map.
Featured maps! – At least, we have featured maps! Two are fun speedrun maps, and another is a challenging map, for the few of you who think Wrack is too easy!
Gameplay improvements! – Wrack is now more fast-paced at all difficulty levels (except the last one). This affects Time Attack and Score Attack mode as well.
Font improvements! – Remade the main game font, and enlarged it slightly to make it easier to read. Speaker colors have also been updated.
… and plenty more!