Gigantic Army (2010)

Hearkening back to the SNES mecha platformer Metal Warriors, Gigantic Army is a side-scrolling action fest in which you must pilot your heavily-armored stomper mech into the heart of an alien world, blasting endless biomechanical baddies, blowing up enormous warmachines, and blocking, running, and leaping your way out of danger. This is not exactly the most inspired of concepts, but the execution here is intelligent and crisp, with intuitive aiming and strafing mechanics that make for a much more skill-focused game than you might expect.

Carrying the old-school action theme even further, each level is timed. You can (and really should) pick up Timer extension power ups along the way, along with health and damage boosters, but even so, between the enemy forces and ticking timer, you're gonna die more than a few times. Completing a stage merely gives you a tiny health boost, not a full heal, so it's strongly recommended you not let any items pass. You only get three continues per game, an absolutely archaic system to include in a game released in 2014, but it fits well enough and feels natural. Stranger still, while the story blurbs you receive between levels are painfully low-budget, the actual story and writing they throw at you is honestly pretty enjoyable. Regardless, Gigantic Army is a game that'll hit you with a few Game Overs before you manage to take out the final challenge (particularly on the brutal higher difficulties), but you'll enjoy every boss pattern learned and inch of progress acquired. If you're a fan of the old-school, this one's been whipped up just for you.