The modern action movie is filled with gorgeous special effects, heart-pounding storylines, and intricate character designs. It wasn’t always like this. Ask anyone who lived through the 1980s or 1990s to show you their favorite action movie from that era. What you’ll see is an over-the-top series of hilariously bad (by today’s standards) special effects, cookie-cutter villains, seemingly unstoppable heroes, and some of the wildest conspiracy theories that Hollywood had to offer. These masterpieces played out much like a video game, so it was rather easy for game makers of that era to crank out action titles that looked and felt like their movie counterparts. Nowadays, action games are polished and graphically superior. That hasn’t stopped one developer from paying homage to the wild and wacky action titles of the past. Developer Alec Stamos is rocketing on scene with Cold Vengeance , a powerful tale of betrayal and war set deep in the future.

If the developer and title sound a bit familiar, it’s because this isn’t Alec Stamos’ first rodeo. The predecessor to this upcoming release, Venusian Vengeance , can be found right now on Steam. Cold Vengeance is a sequel, but has received quite the impressive graphical overhaul. No longer are you immersed in a two-dimensional side-scrolling affair. Gone are the top-down views and hand-drawn backdrops; replaced them are a third-person view and an array of 3D models. The finished product is a visually unique action game that still features a rather imaginative storyline and fast-paced action.

This time you’ll take control of Sergeant Jon Dagger, on a mission of the utmost importance. The President of the United States of America has been captured, by a notoriously “friendly” country. Canada has tossed aside the shackles of brotherhood and taken direct aim at its neighbor. The Canadian fleet has soared across borders to bomb some of the major cities within the USA, and has sent in a massive robotic force to lay waste to any resistance. To make matters even worse, Canada’s joined forces with a mysterious and elite Ninja Empire. It sounds like something out of a conspiracy theorist’s fever dream. It’s up to the lone-wolf hero to make his way across ruined cityscapes and into the frozen tundra of Canada. There, he’ll have to battle a mighty foe to return the beloved President to his homeland.

The gameplay for Cold Vengeance is pretty simplistic. You’ll simply need to dodge an array of projectiles and melee attacks, while shooting your way through hordes of enemies. Your weapon can be upgraded with specific power-ups, which will accelerate your fire rate and stopping power. This isn’t a revolutionary release, or something that hasn’t been done in the past. In fact, we have seen this style of game numerous times in the Indie genre. But Cold Vengeance manages to separate itself from the pack based purely on its over-the-top story arc. It’s enjoyable purely on that merit, but there are still some solid gameplay mechanics here for those seeking a fast-paced shoot ‘em up style of game.

We don’t yet know how much Cold Vengeance will retail for, but Venusian Vengeance can be found on Steam for only $3.99. This upcoming title is expected to release sometime in the near future, and it’s already been voted through by Steam’s popular Greenlight program . Hopefully we will see this entertaining homage to older action movies sooner rather than later. For those of you itching to get your hands on Cold Vengeance right now, you can grab an early playable demo from itch.io . For more information regarding Cold Vengeance , be sure to check out the dedicated website here . You can also follow Alec Stamos and Tales of the Renegade Sector Games on Twitter and Facebook .