I had a feeling Combat arms was going to be on this list :) I found it on accident and ever since i couldn't stop playing.
Part 4: There Is No Spoon
We've all shot our way through the neon-lit corridors of alien spaceship and the mine-strewn battlefields of World War II. That's why you sometimes want shooting with a twist, action with a visual style all its own. The following three games don't do much that other games haven't done, but they let you do it with countless pieces of flair. Oh--and they don't require you to hand over a dime.
Gunz: The Duel
Who Should Play: Leather-clad hackers who choose the red pill over the blue pill.
In the realm of third-person shooters, Gunz: The Duel is the closest you're going to get to re-creating your favorite moments from the Matrix films. Gunz throws Matrix-style wall-running, Max Payne-brand leaping, and RPG leveling into a multiplayer fragfest that's as interesting to watch as it is to play. Remarkably, you can pull off a good variety of moves without breaking a sweat, jumping from walls and running along them, dashing forward, and tumbling from side to side, all while pumping your enemies full of lead--or slashing them up with a katana. In fact, if you really get into Gunz, you can explore some mind-boggling advanced techniques, such as swapshots (alternating between two slow-fire weapons to maximize damage) and multi-wall runs. Not only does this all look pretty neat, but an announcer offers a constant supply of vocal rewards, from "fantastic" to "headshot," which enhances the fun factor.
Not that you should expect to wield the best weapons or execute the best moves from the very beginning. As you play you level up and earn bounty, which you then spend on new weapons; in turn, you get access to better techniques and higher-level servers. Melee weapons include daggers, swords, and kodachis, while ranged weapons encompass a slightly broader range of firearms, from submachine guns to revolvers. Your weapon choice depends on your play style and the mode in which you plan to do the most killing. There are a number of modes, including variations on Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch as well as an Assassination mode, in which you target a randomly specified VIP. The most intriguing mode, however, may be Quest mode, a cooperative venture in which you kill off a series of increasingly difficult monsters.
As for the future of Gunz, it seems unlikely that you'll have difficulty finding anyone to play with anytime soon: Thousands of players are logged in at any given time, across a variety of different servers and chat channels. If you mutter "Mr. Anderrrson" under your breath every time you see a photo of Keanu Reeves, Gunz is the most immediate outlet for wall-running your way to online fame.
Exteel
Who Should Play: Overgrown adolescents who wish their Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots could dual-wield Gatling guns.
When you sign on to this robotic action game, you take control of a large mechanaught and take on up to 15 other players. Objectives are simple: Kill other bots before they kill you, sometimes in teams, sometimes individually. Five gameplay modes, from Deathmatch to Capture the Flag, can be engaged through clans, private rooms, or open servers. The biggest decision you'll make in Exteel, however, is how to customize your loadout going into a fight; there are a mind-boggling number of options, so expect a bit of trial and error. Once you're in a match, fighting comes down to knowing when to boost, when to flank, when to hit a health station, and whether to use short- or long-ranged weapons.
There are a myriad of weapons in Exteel, from shields and swords to guided missiles and health guns. Your robot can dual wield and even carry multiple weapon sets, so you can equip long-range and short-range firepower in the same match. Rewards come slowly; you'll be able to purchase a wide variety of weapons early on, but the powerful ones take a while to earn, and while the game is free, you can spend actual money on top-quality models.
Weapons, parts, and skills lose durability, some through use, some over time (regardless of whether you're playing or not). Fortunately, Exteel has an excellent tutorial mode that takes you through the gameplay intricacies. What's most important to know is that the game is most fun in short bursts. You'll feel rewarded as your robot climbs in rank and design, but disappointed when you haven't played in a couple of days and return to find that many of your cool items have decayed. To get the most out of it, play often, but play lightly.
World of Padman
Who Should Play: Adults who still get up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons.
If you're unfamiliar with German artist Andreas "ENTE" Endres or PlayStation Games magazine, you may not know of Padman, the star of ENTE's comic strip in that same mag. But no matter. Whether you're a fan of the strip or just looking for deathmatch with a twist, there's a lot to like about this free first-person shooter, which began as a Quake III mod but developed a life all its own.
The basic gameplay isn't much of a surprise: You'll get Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch and variants in which you've got to spray your graffiti tag on walls while shooting each other in the face. You'll also get a variant on Unreal-style Domination. The real draws here are the visual style and the hysterically fun settings where the shooting takes place. First, you choose one of several cartoon character models, from wacky-looking pirates to rotund, uh, thingies, and then you'll jump into one of the many interesting maps. Locales run the household gamut, from the basement to the attic, and because you see each room from your tiny avatar's perspective, you'll appreciate the cleverness of each setup. Take, for example, the kitchen map. Here, you use orange slices (and a toaster!) to jump onto the dining table or the oven (among other appliances) while navigating around boxes of detergent and taking aim at your opponents.
The weapons supply their own animated hilarity. They're all toys in appearance, but they pack a lot of punch, such as the Pumper, which shoots bolts of electricity, or the paint gun, called Bubble-F. Or perhaps heavy guns are your style, in which case the rocket-spewing Betty will be your weapon of choice. Our favorite, however, is the melee attack. Your weapon is not a knife, a sword, or a chainsaw, mind you: It's a hungry rubber duck with an evil grin, a cute tuft of hair, and a nasty bite. If you like the speedy tempo of Quake-style shooters but have tired of the usual alien hullabaloo, World of Padman may be just the visual change of pace you've been looking for. And if you're not sure if this free FPS will bring out the cackling preteen in you, remember: You can shoot water balloons at people. C'mon.
It's impossible to say whether the recession will lift anytime soon, but whether you're broke or rolling in dough, "free" is usually (but not always) an excellent value. So if any of these games sound appealing, check them out! After all, uninstalling the game won't mean you're out a wad of cash.
135 comments
1 Like Currently Combat Arms is disfunctional - if you're in Europe you can download the US version and are informed upon first login that you can't play in the US. Unfortunately you're not told (but have to search for that info) that there is a separate EU site. You get the download client there and then find out after the second or so download of the roughly 1GB client that the downloader is broken, so you hunt for a version from a mirror site - if you finally manage to install that it patches for half an hour because the mirrors are half a year behind. Then you log in to finally encounter a runtime error which is, of course, a showstopper.
Combat Arms is the best of the bunch, but I have to say, plopping down your hard earned credits to get a weapon upgrade that last only a day is pretty annoying, as are the all-to-prevalent hackers. Even so, it is a worthwhile game.
I have over half of these. They're great fun, and I kick serious tush on Combat Arms nowadays when I get around to it.
I've only played combat arms, and I played it religiously for a while. However recently hackers have taken over the game, and it's nearly impossible to get a clean game. If you can however, it's a great Multiplayer FPS.
good list. i dont know if these have been on previous lists. But Gunz: The Duel (Ijji) and Rohan :Blood Fuel are both pretty good free games
sk8park, you obviously aren't very smart. They link the MMORPG cheaper by the dozen, where runescape is. It is not in the action section. You've got mad genre skills.
Nice to see the GameSpot does not only push the "money-maker" games... there are a large number of gamers who can't afford new game titles but who also don't want to use cracks! Great article!
Celestial Impact sounds awesome :D I'mgoing to be downloading a few of these. The last article got me to get Anarchy Onlin and I think GS are doing a good thing here :)
To all the haters; these free games are actually pretty solid. What makes them suck is the hackers that effectively kill the fun factor for all but themselves
I'm glad they have GunZ. Pretty much the only online game i've ever really gotten into.
Awesome, I found this article very helpful, especially when money is short for many people. I've played Combat Arms quite a few times, and I really liked it. Haven't played the others, but I'm looking forward to!
Great article. I think War Rock is the best free game. I am looking foward to Quake Live and Battlefield Heroes. Quake live looks amazing and you can play it on your web browser. http://www.quakelive.com/ http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/
combat arms is good i just wish u could buy stuff for ever i like solider front better
Great to see Alien Arena on this list. It should be mentioned that in version 7.20, the renderer received very extensive updates, and the game now makes good use of GLSL to achieve it's per-pixel lighting effects. Optimizations increased framerates dramatically as well. A new version is on the way shortly, and there is another long list of updates/improvements, as well as some new content that takes advantage of the engine advancements made over the summer.
Urban Terror aint on this list? It's everything that over-rated Counter Strike should have been and it's a COMPLETE (has more than one game type) game.
Nexuiz is a very unique mix of UT and Quake style gameplay on roids with an excellent art style and the most ridiculous CTF ever created. It's definitely the best arena combat since the original Unreal Tournament. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Combat Arms is full of hacking kids. Sad is that they pay for the hacks to make the game unplayable the way its meant to be played.
I just downloaded Combat Arms this week, and it is worth the download for sure. It reminds me of playing Counterstrike back in the day. Sort of.
1 Like This is a really refreshing article to read, as mentioned, freeware games offer an option to people that may not be able to afford cutting edge video games, No doubt, everyone has their favorite, I know that the developers, and the many people that contribute to these games give their heart and soul towards thier work. It is truly nice to see a organization such as gamespot to take the time to recognise everyones efforts in the freeware community. hats off to gamespot for this.
Warrock has a lot of hackers in the game and they ruined the game. However before the hackers came the game was really fun!
Like charliejames4, I'm surprised War Rock wasn't mentioned here. This is a great freeware game that touts decent graphics, numerous weapons and good maps. It's built on the "freemium" concept though; better weapons can be rented. Here's my articles about War Rock Maps and Weapons: http://imbacore.blogspot.com/search/label/War%20Rock Also, UFO: AI should have made it in; that Quake 2-powered X-com clone is very solid.
I feel I should point out, the download link given for Savage points to the sequel, which only has a 5-hour trial before you have to buy the game, rather than the original, free game.
I heard some one say that Alien Arena's graphics weren't THAT bad, totally excellent might be a better evaluation. You should really try v7.20 http://www.mygametrailers.com/video/Alien_Arena_2008_v720_Tech_Demo_Video Cya in the arena :)
For shooters, go with Gunz for longer games, and Soldier Front for more military play and teamworkin, and Perfect World is awesome and very addictive. It is basically an asian style WoW that is free. It does seem, however, that people either love it or hate it. If you hate it you will be pissed because it is an overnight download lol. Just my 2 cents
@broblood [quote] You should put 2Moons and 9Dragons on here they are free RPG's and they are pretty good. [/quote] 9Dragons is fun for about a day. I played the thing for about 3-4 months got pretty high up in levels and then realized what rubbish it was. Nothing differed, a little bit harder, but mostly always the same thing, if that's your idea of fun... wow.
I just downloaded Tremulous and it's just totally wicked sick!!! That's the kind of FPS I was waiting for: crazy alien, weapon-loaded dudes and, above all, lots of action! Really, FPS fans should try Tremulous!
Boris, just play one. All these games look stupid at first(which was my original impression)but they are actually very fun. Especially Combat Arms, that one is very good.
boris, these are all online action games. Shaiya was included on our list of MMOs. Nor are these meant to represent the best of the available games, necessarily; rather, they represent a broad cross-section of different gameplay types. Please read the introduction, which clearly states this entry of Cheaper by the Dozen was for online action games.
Conversation powered by Livefyre
