Sup, fools.

A while ago, I was thinking about action flash games and what makes some funner than others. Obviously, the graphics have an impact on how you perceive an action game. A load of awesome, detailed graphics and amazing effects compensate for mediocre game play, while innovative, addicting game play can compensate for poor visuals. Personally, I believe that game play has more weight than visuals, although I will say that a game's graphics really set the mood for everything.

Anyway, I was just wondering why you think some action flash games stand out from others. I've managed to create some criteria for what I think is a fun action flash game:

Over the top action: This basically means excess violence, explosions, and overall manliness. Ridiculously huge weapons, mega explosions, and giant enemies are an example of this. Plus, it adds an element of humor...kind of.

Fast Pace Action: Face it, most of us have short attention spans, and don't like to be bothered with slow, developing game play. Just freaking give us a weapon, and let us blow crap up.

Story Driven Game Play: If an action game is driven by a thought out story, it can have the potential to unfold like a movie, and provide unexpected twists and turns.

Easy Interface: Come on - an action game should only have (at the max) seven main buttons that you are required to pound. Anything else makes for confusion and frustration.

No Repetition: If you follow the "story driven game play" formula, then you shouldn't have too much repetition. I've witnessed too many action flash games that have you fight the same enemy over and over, without introducing anything new.

Innovative Concepts: If you're just gonna follow the same old warn out game formula that everyone else has been using, it'll decrease the chances of anyone paying attention to your game. Throw in some elements that you rarely see done, and possible think up some new ones, such as diverse game play elements and a variety of game modes. If you see a cool idea that many action games use, try to improve on them.

If you have any input on the matter, just crap out a comment. What do you think makes an 2D action game fun??