A very bizarre third-person shooter platformer made by VIS Interactive and released for PC in 1998. In this universe there is a race of intergalactic head hunters who can wear the heads of those they kill in order to gain their abilities. Over the years the aliens have acquired more than 200 heads, with so many heads at their disposal, what do you think the aliens want to do? Conquer the universe? Nah, fortunately these aliens have don't have big aspirations and would rather use their powers for sport. So the aliens decided to start the H.E.D.Z. Which stands for the Head Extreme Destruction Zone. You play as one of these aliens where you are a participant in H.E.D.Z. and it is your goal to become the greatest warrior among your race.
The big quirk of the game is, as you might expect, the heads. You will fight other aliens in the levels and when you beat them you will be able to take the heads and equip them. Each head has its own attack and stats, for example the Goblin wields a long-ranged yet slow crossbow whilst the Chicago Gangster shoots a rapid tommy gun and the Nanny runs over enemies with a baby carriage. Other heads carry extra traits that can make them even more effective including driving on a motorcycle, extra jump height, and even flying. The levels are quite straightforward, simply fight your opponents to make progress and eventually reach the end. After every couple of levels you will enter a "Master Zone" where you are dropped into a big free-for-all arena and must slay enough enemies before time runs out, after completion you are awarded a rare head and the next set of levels.
H.E.D.Z. provides examples of:
- Abandoned Laboratory: The Laboratory Worlds. They are large facilities filled to the brim with old computers and unusual gadgets strewn about.
- Ambiguously Human: Some of the heads of supposed humans are very strange. The Balloon Seller's head is literally a balloon and the Paparazzi has a camera for a head. Then there are those that just defy all reason like Aircraft-Carrier Head.
- Ambiguous Time Period: The aliens may be capable of time travel as the heads you get can be gotten as early as the days of the dinosaurs to as late as the post-apocalypse.
- A Winner Is You: After completing all the levels, the game closes with a very quick cutscene of the alien you played as being celebrated as the champion of H.E.D.Z. and him giving you a thumbs up.
- Bandit Mook: An unusual example. If you leave a head lying around without collecting it, a small orb shaped robot is sent to pick it up. Once it does, it turns red and decides it wants to have more heads by taking yours! It will ferociously attack you until you destroy it, allowing you to grab any heads that it had taken.
- Big Boo's Haunt: The Haunted Castle Worlds, which all take place inside various haunted structures from fortresses, to catacombs, to a cathedral.
- Crossover Cosmology: Taking the heads into account it appears Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian mythologies are true as are the Hindu and Judeo-Christian religions.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Implied. The aliens are pretty tough given some of the heads you can attain include that of Zeus, Loki, and Beelzebub.
- Earth Is the Center of the Universe: Though a few heads are of other aliens, a vast majority of heads are animals, people, soldiers, notable figures, and even fantastical creatures and deities from the planet earth. Justified as it is mentioned the headhunter aliens find earth to be far more interesting than any other planet they have found. They even base their battle arenas on earthen locations and culture.
- Eternal Engine: The Refinery Worlds. High-tech towering machines dominate and you will eventually have to deal with flying platforms and giant gears.
- Excuse Plot: You are an alien with multiple severed heads. These heads give you powers. Go fight and get more heads.
- Jungle Japes: The WarZone Worlds, as a shout out to ApocalypseNow.
- Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: None of the heads of named people or characters actually use their names and instead use a descriptive title. For example Napoleon Bonaparte is called Short French General, Richard Nixon is called Big Boss, Alfred Hitchcock is called Master of Suspense, and Groucho Marx is simply called Joke Cracker.
- Metropolis Level: The City Worlds. Various abandoned cities where you will go through streets and travel through sewers.
- Permanently Missable Content: Unfortunately you can't reenter stages after completing them, so any heads you missed in that stage are forever gone. An important reminder that each stage has one hidden head somewhere in the level, with the exception of the first which has two.
- Toy Time: The Toyland Worlds. Gigantic toy blocks and other toys abound, alongside some huge cakes and other candies to make everything even more colorful.
