action actionadventure redirects here for other uses see actionadventure disambiguation the actionadventure video game genre includes video games that combine core elements from the action and adventure genres with the decline of the adventure game genre from mainstream popularity the use of the term and the hybrid term actionadventure has been more liberal it is not uncommon for gamers to apply the term adventure or action to describe the genre of fiction to which a game belongs and not the gameplay itself actionadventure is a hybrid genre and thus the definition is very inclusive leading it to be perhaps the broadest genre of video games and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres typically pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve with very little or no action if there is action it is generally confined to isolated minigames pure action games have gameplay based on realtime interactions that challenge the reflexes therefore actionadventure games engage both reflexes and problemsolving in both violent and nonviolent situations definition an actionadventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game exactly when a game stops being an adventure game and becomes an action game is a matter of interpretation regardless the actionadventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media the term actionadventure is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope subgenres although actionadventure games are diverse and difficult to classify there are some distinct subgenres popular subgenres include firstperson actionadventure which make use of firstperson shooter gameplay forgoing constant action in favor of important adventure game elements such as environmental problemsolving and a complex plot notable examples of this include metroid prime halflife 2 dishonored and far cry 3 thirdperson actionadventure in which gameplay is in the thirdperson notable examples include games like the tomb raider series the legend of zelda series the grand theft auto series the hitman series and the uncharted series immersive sim typically games played from the firstperson perspective that include elements of roleplaying stealth and platform games that create numerous gameplay systems that the player can use to complete objectives in many different manners creating a sense of player agency and emergent gameplay platformadventure games which emphasize both exploration and puzzle solving but also feature traditional platform game conventions examples of games of this type include the tomb raider series and the metroid and castlevania games the term metroidvania is derived from these latter two and used to describe games in this genre that generally are based on twodimensional platformers isometric platformadventure which feature freely explorable environments with threedimensional gameplay and twodimensional graphics using an isometric projection stealth games which emphasize avoiding detection by enemies rather than engaging them in direct combat leading to a greater emphasis on exploration and puzzlesolving than other types of action games notable examples include the metal gear series the assassins creed series the splinter cell series and the hitman series survival horror which emphasize inventory management and making sure the player has enough ammunition and recovery items to survive the horror setting survivalhorror is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay however so not all survival horror games share these features the resident evil the last of us and silent hill franchises popularized this subgenre and stand to date as the most popular franchises of its kind survival games which have openended survival without the supernatural elements that can be found in survival horror games gameplay see also adventure game common objectives and gameplay and action game defining elements actionadventure games are faster paced than pure adventure games and include physical as well as conceptual challenges they are distinct from graphic adventures which sometimes have freemoving central characters but also wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via a complex text parser and no freemoving character while they share general gameplay dynamics actionadventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints including birds eye side scrolling firstperson thirdperson overtheshoulder or even a 34 isometric view many actionadventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree when the player encounters a nonplayer character they are allowed to select a choice of what to say the npc gives a scripted response to the player and the game offers the player several new ways to respond due to the actionadventure subgenres broad inclusive nature it causes some players to having difficulty finishing a particular game to compensate for this lack of the players ability companies have devised ways to give the player help such as helpful clues or allowing them to skip puzzles outright history brett weiss cites superman 1979 as an actionadventure game according to wizardry developer roe r adams early actionadventure games were basically arcade games done in a fantasy setting citing castlevania 1986 trojan 1986 and wizards warriors 1987 as examples although noting some similarity to adventure ign uk argues that the legend of zelda 1986 helped to establish a new subgenre of actionadventure becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid including exploration adventurestyle inventory puzzles an action component a monetary system and simplified rpgstyle level building without the experience points games like brain breaker 1985 xanadu 1985 metroid 1986 and vampire killer 1986 combined a sidescrolling platformer format with adventure exploration creating the metroidvania platformadventure subgenre similarly games like 005 castle wolfenstein and metal gear 1987 combined actionadventure exploration with stealth mechanics laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre which would later be popularized in 1998 by metal gear solid tenchu stealth assassins and thief the dark project the cinematic platformer prince of persia 1989 featured actionadventure elements inspiring games such as another world 1991 and flashback 1992 alone in the dark 1992 featured the use of 3d graphics which would later be popularized by resident evil 1996 and tomb raider 1996 resident evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre inspiring titles such as silent hill 1999 and fatal frame 2001 video games portal wikimedia commons has media related to actionadventure games vtevideo game genres listaction beat em up hack and slash fighting maze pacman clone platform shooter firstperson thirdperson light gun shoot em up tactical survival battle royale actionadventure grand theft auto clone immersive sim metroidvania stealth survival horror psychological horror adventure escape the room interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel mmo mmofps mmorpg mmorts mud roleplaying action roleplaying dungeon crawl roguelike tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management business city government life simulation dating sim digital pet god social simulation sports strategy 4x multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy tower defense time management realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics wargame vehicle simulation flight simulator amateur combat space racing kart racing sim racing submarine simulator train simulator vehicular combat other genres artillery breakout clone digital collectible card game eroge exergame incremental music rhythm nongame party programming puzzle sokoban tilematching related concepts aaa game advertising 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