First, the good news is that Mac users have access to all of the titles on the website. From Marble Blast Online to Rokkitball, you can play it all and depending on your connection speed, starting up a game only takes a few seconds. Though these are all pretty standard multiplayer games that you've likely seen in other forms, their status as cross-platform (and free) makes them worth a minute of your time to check out. In its varied lineup, Instant Action offers 3-D puzzlers, futuristic first person shooters, tank combat simulators, and 2-D action games.

While system requirements vary from title to title, Instant Action's core requirements cal for an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5.4 or later, Safari 3.1.2 or Firefox 3.0.1, 512MB RAM and Internet access.

Unfortunately, in order to have a strong multiplayer game, you need a strong community behind it. Currently, the game lobbies are like wandering through a digital ghost town. A populated set of servers could go a long way to entice more players to come. So why aren't they populated?

Taking Fallen Empire Legions as an example, I guess I'd have to say it's trying to sell a product that everyone else has already bought someplace else. It's hard to get people excited about a free cross platform first person shooter when the graphics aren't of the same level as Team Fortress 2, Counterstrike: Source, Call of Duty 4, et al. Hell, I'd even play Unreal Tournament or Quake 3 Arena instead of Fallen Empire Legion.

As a general rule, the major titles for the site are cheaper knock offs of games you want to play. While high end games are well-crafted units, the games at Instant Action come off as the cheap prizes you win at carnivals. They look like real games on the surface until you're up close and realize there isn't much to them.