Hack and Slash

A Hack and Slash game resembles a Third Person Shooter, but instead of blasting away enemies with a gun, the main hero of the game wields more primitive, close range melee weaponry. This genre resembles a third-person Adventure Game whereby the hero has a goal to accomplish. But the real goal of the mission level is just to kill as many enemies as possible.

To increase the hero's casualty potential, the setting may include hero serving in an army. Most of the enemies encountered on the field will be one-hit-and-they're-dead grunt soldiers, but occasionally, tougher bosses will show up, usually officers and generals.

Since randomly killing large groups of enemies can become boring, most Hack and Slash games will often incorporate other genres into their gameplay. For example, the game may include a multi and single-player Fighting Game mode wherein players can pick characters from the game and have them square up against each other in a tournament setting. They can also incorporate story modes which provide more of an Adventure Game feel.

Meanwhile, Role Playing Games with a Hack and Slash component have been around since The Elder Scrolls Arena and it is a mainstay of many Wide Open Sandbox games.

Action Adventure games can have levels that are purely Hack and Slash built into them to mix up the game play a little -- and oftentimes, just to help the gameplayer relieve a bit of stress.

A related genre can be found in the Beat Em Up, where the action is more oriented towards punching, kicking, headbutting, and so forth.

Not to be confused with the comic Hack/Slash, Those Two Bad Guys from Re Boot, crappy slash fic writers, or Guns N' Roses.

Games in this genre include:

 * Alpha Man
 * Anarchy Reigns
 * Assassin Blue
 * Assassin's Creed (partly)
 * Asuras Wrath
 * Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance
 * Bayonetta
 * Bujingai Swordmaster
 * Castlevania
 * Chaos Legion, though the hero can't change weapons
 * Crescent Pale Mist
 * Crimson Sea
 * Dantes Inferno
 * Dark Messiah
 * Darksiders
 * Darkspore
 * Dead Meets Lead is a Top Down View version.
 * Death Spank
 * Devil May Cry
 * DmC Devil May Cry
 * Diablo (this plus Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)
 * Die By The Sword
 * Dragons Crown
 * Drakengard (with mixes of Flight Sim)
 * Dungeon Explorer
 * Dungeons and Dragons Shadow Over Mystara
 * Dungeons and Dragons Tower of Doom
 * Dynasty Warriors
 * Samurai Warriors
 * Warriors Orochi
 * Warriors Legends of Troy
 * Dynasty Warriors Gundam
 * Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage
 * Fable
 * Fable I
 * Fable II
 * Fable III
 * Fate
 * Gauntlet
 * Genji
 * Ginormo Sword
 * God of War
 * Golden Axe
 * Heavenly Sword
 * Hunted the Demons Forge
 * I-Ninja
 * Kingdom Under Fire the Crusaders
 * The King of Dragons
 * Knights Contract
 * Knights of the Round
 * Koumajou Densetsu
 * Lollipop Chainsaw
 * The Lord of the Rings licensed games for The Two Towers and The Return of the King are good examples of Hack and Slash.
 * Mad World
 * Magicka, which may also be considered a Third Person Shooter with emphasis on the spell system.
 * Magic Sword Heroic Fantasy
 * Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (yes, you read that right.)
 * Muramasa the Demon Blade
 * Ninety Nine Nights
 * Ninja Blade
 * Ninja Gaiden
 * Nie R
 * No More Heroes
 * No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle
 * Onechanbara
 * Onimusha
 * Otogi Myth of Demons
 * Prince of Persia
 * Prince of Persia (2008)
 * Mark of Kri and Rise of the Kasai are a mix of this and a Stealth Based Game.
 * Rising Zan the Samurai Gunman
 * Rune
 * Rygar
 * Sacred
 * Sengoku Basara
 * Severance Blade of Darkness
 * Shank
 * Solomons Keep (more like Cast and Blast, as you use a wizard)
 * Torchlight
 * Shinobi
 * Tales Series
 * The Witcher
 * The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings
 * Undead Knights
 * Untold Legends
 * Viking Battle for Asgard
 * Vindictus
 * World of Mana
 * X Blades (Russian made and is considered by many to be a Panty Fighter)