Features

Published on October 25th, 2012 | by Ben Pearse

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5 Great multiplayer games you may have missed

If you’re a person, chances are you’ll desire some kind of social interaction at some point in your life. And while you could leave the house or make a phone call it’s probably safer, and more enjoyable, to engage in multiplayer-based fun. But what should you play? Below are five games that were, and pretty much still are, sorely overlooked. So go on, go play them.

Actually, read this first then go play them.

5. The Ship (2006)

Why so great?
Stuck on a murderous ship you have 90 seconds to hunt down and kill your quarry. The catch? Someone is out hunting you as well. You’ll have to blend in so as to not cause suspicion, make sure to steer clear of security guards and always watch your back. The Ship breeds paranoia; even walking past someone in a corridor can be a tense moment as you both stare one another down, trying to figure each other out.

The most rewarding moments in The Ship are creative kills like poisoning your quarry, sliding a bomb under the door while they’re taking a crap or locking them in a sauna to watch them through the glass as they slowly simmer. Still not convinced? Here’s a review I wrote for the game on Amazon when I was sixteen. 4 out of 4 people found it helpful don’t you know?

Why was it unpopular?
The game was far from polished; it could look quite ugly and play like a glorified mod. It was likewise a very slow-paced and unusual scenario; although everybody is your enemy you can’t just maul them all at once. On free weekends many new players would join a server, go on a killing spree, get kicked and then probably never play the game again.

Can I play it now?
Sure, since it got included in a recent indie bundle servers are fairly active. Alternatively, look out for Spy Party, an indie game in development with a comparable theme. Furthermore, the multiplayer to the Assassin’s Creed franchise is surprisingly good, running on a similar ‘hunt or be hunted’ scenario but much more fast-paced and with sparkly gadgets.

4. Shadowrun (2007)

Why so great?
Shadowrun mixes futuristic technology and magic into a bizarre but unique shooter. Will you be a slow but durable troll with the capacity to see through walls, go temporarily invincible and mow down enemies, or a weak but nimble elf who can teleport through walls, dodge bullets and slice down opponents? It’s not as Warcraft as it sounds, I assure you.

These abilities aren’t just assigned to you either, but instead you’re given the chance to practically create your own class each match, dependent on what powers, weapons or tech you buy for your character, similar to how you buy weapons each round in Counter-Strike.

Why was it unpopular?
With only a handful of basic weapons (‘smg’, ‘rifle’, ‘sniper rifle’, etc), three game modes, no progression and no single-player campaign – there simply wasn’t enough content to entice gamers with its £40 price tag. It’s unfortunate that XBL Arcade wasn’t so popular back then, because that’s where this game would’ve thrived for 1200MS points.

Can I play it now?
You should be able to grab it for no more than a fiver in a bargain bin and find a few matches on the go in the evenings. Counter-Strike servers with Warcraft 3 mods also have a similar blend of modern-warfare and sorcery.

3. SourceForts (2005)

Why so great?
This is classic Capture the Flag with Half-Life 2: Deathmatch weapons and one big difference: you build your base. Using what is essentially a pimped out Gravity Gun you and your teammates weld tiles and blocks together during the initial ‘build phase’ to create a fortified stronghold with perhaps a tiny crawl space for an entrance or a sniper tower way up in the clouds. Just be careful you don’t get an idiot on your team who decides to un-weld your perfectly structured wall to make some ‘modern art’. It happens.

When the combat phase comes around you’re trying to weaken chinks in the enemy fort’s armour whilst defending your own precious baby and trying to get that all important flag capture. Win, lose, rinse and repeat.

Why was it unpopular?
It was actually popular for a mod. Promises were always made of a 2.0 version with entirely new weapons and models, but this never came to light, partially due to the site being constantly hacked and delaying the modders’ work. So much for community. Eventually everyone just got tired of waiting and playing an unfinished game that had barely been updated in years.

Can I play it now?
The game is recently dead but still available to download and play with friends HERE. Alternatively you’re going to have to experiment in Gmod.

2. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory/Pandora Tomorrow: Spies vs. Mercs (2004)

Why so great?
We all know that creeping up on NPCs in Splinter Cell is fun, but grabbing a human player from behind and whispering sweet nothings in his ear before snapping their neck is definitely one of my most satisfying (gaming) experiences. Playing as a Spy, this is basically your only killing move because, although similar to the franchise’s protagonist Sam Fisher, a spy’s gadgets – flashbangs and sticky cameras – are all non-lethal. Instead your biggest ally in outsmarting the Mercenaries is the shadows.

By contrast, mercs may have an assortment of guns, motion sensors and grenades, but playing with this arsenal only provides you with mild reassurance. Stuck in a first-person perspective you’re never quite confident in your surroundings, and teamwork is key.

Why was it unpopular?
It wasn’t especially unpopular, but it did have such a steep learning curve primarily because playing as a Spy was so damn hard. Ubisoft provided a tutorial mode for playing Spies but this only taught you how to shoot down cameras. Cameras don’t shoot back.

Can I play it now?
The original XBL is down and the game is almost dead on PC, but a match only has a max of 4 players so if you have a few mates then it’s easily doable. Hell, even a 1 v 1 is fun.

1. Tribes 2 (2001)

Why so great?
It was a sci-fi shooter way ahead of its time: allowing you to ski, jetpack and pilot vehicles around vast expanses. In addition, the variety of available weapons, armour types, equipment and deployable items meant a huge assortment of original play styles. Tribes was truly a three-dimensional game, with the use of jetpacks creating intense aerial dog-fights which resembled some sort of strange but beautiful sci-fi ballet.

Why was it unpopular?
It wasn’t marketed very well. It was like one of those TV shows that comes out but nobody watches it so it’s instantly cancelled but then a few years later everyone has seen it online and thinks it’s amazing, thinks Joss Whedon is a God, that Fox TV are the worst and that Nathan Fillion is super sexy. You know the sort, right?

Can I play it now?
Yes! The point of this article wasn’t to gloat about what you missed out on. Tribes: Ascend, its successor, is out now and totally free-to-play. You’ll probably be very unsuccessful in your first few hours, but that’s because it’s a completely fresh game and therefore requires mastery of a whole new set of skills.

Many of the games listed above failed because they had a steep learning curve, but this is a good thing – it meant they were complex and different. Sure you could play Gears of Honour: Purple Ops 5 and you would own, because you’ve been good at the others in the series and they’re at their core the same game, but we need to challenge ourselves more as online gamers. It’s time to become noobs once more.