Half-Life (PC)

Half-Life - "one of the greatest PC games the world has ever seen," (FG2). And it is undoubtedly a fantastic game, but what about the multiplayer side? So far, Half-Life has been praised for its amazing plot, storyline and ingenuity, but because of this, the multiplayer angle has been largely ignored.

To some, Quake and its sequel are the only online games worth playing. Those who have ever played a game of Quake will realise that winning basically involves grabbing the rocket launcher and seeing how long you hold it for.

Half-Life multiplayer, on the one hand, has a fantastic weapon balance. Every weapon has its own weaknesses (even the gluon) and to succeed you must learn how to use each one individually. Coupled with the brilliantly designed - and absolutely massive - levels, this makes Half-Life one of the most enjoyable experiences on the Internet.

If you've never played online games before (I hadn't before Half-Life) all you need to do is download the upgrade patch and a copy of Gamespy 2.06. Once you've got these, connecting to your first game is simple. If you have any problems, try the Half-Life newsgroup (alt.games.half-life), where experienced Half-Lifers hang out or the Planet Half-Life website.

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Andrew White