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Last Tuesday, in a quiet part of Dorset, 'action hero' became a verb. Come to think of it, can a phrase really be a verb? Whatever. To action hero, as in: "I action heroed in through the skylight and then the cops arrived and I sat on a landmine. Kaboom." Quite a lot of anecdotes from last Tuesday begin with "I action heroed in...." Quite a lot of them end with "Kaboom."To action hero (verb) is possible because of Action Hero (noun), an upgrade in Dan Marshall's latest game, The Swindle. Action Hero "does absolutely nothing" and is also "totally essential," according to Marshall, who is probably best known - outside of his family, I suppose - for the Ben and Dan adventure games. The Swindle is a bit of a departure: a procedural platformer about cat burglary, a steampunk stealth game made by a man who admits that he doesn't really like stealth games.
Definitions will only get you so far with this one, however, just as references will only get you so far (Spelunky meets XCOM is my personal favourite). No matter: I've played The Swindle and it's got the makings of a real dazzler. Action Hero's a dazzler too: a perk that allows you to smash through windows and doors in glorious sugar-glass slow motion. It does absolutely nothing. It's totally essential.
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