Hot Mods 27/03: Hot Multiplayers

27 Mar 2009 at 14:06:51 by Spanner Spencer

One of the most prevalent missing features that inspires a home brew hacker to mod a source game is multiplayer. Even those games that do sport multiplayer action often don’t live up to their potential, so it’s up to a hot mod to sort things out.

Far too many games these days rely on the feature that a bunch of players can all get online together to carry the game, but crowds don’t substitute good gameplay. A multiplayer game is no different to a single player when it comes to capturing that vital playability, and too often they come up short.

Of course, some mods also simplify multiplayer matters. Where an epic, sprawling campaign turns gamers into insignificant drones, a mod can reign in the grandeur and give purpose back to the individual player – refining a source game’s mechanics to the vital, core elements.

So we thought this week it was time to get online and battle it out with a bunch of Chinese kids and American net junkies by looking at the wealth of hot multiplayer mods out there.

Jailbreak

http://www.jailbreaksource.com/



This is what it’s really about! Jailbreak is the kind of Half-Life 2 multiplayer mod that you’d love to play in real life. If paint-balling could be blended with teleportation, Jailbreak would become a national sport.

There are two jails, and two teams, with your group’s objective being to get the opposition safely locked up behind bars. Simple, right?

Actually, yeah. Once an enemy is killed, they respawn inside the jail – locked away safely while you hunt down their buddies. But should one of the enemies reach their comrade’s cell, they can let them out, and all your hard, bullet-raining work is for nothing.

Battling your way to the opponent’s jail block is equally important, of course, to ensure that your own team isn’t depleted. This constant cross and change of action is quite magnificent, and it’s amazing how quickly the tide can turn in a heated game of Jailbreak.

The maps are wildly varied and offer some outstanding environments for you to wage war in. And no matter how violent the whole thing gets, the overwhelming sense of fun permeates every pixel, making this the perfect mod for a drunken LAN party.

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