I'll admit it, I don't have the patience to figure out complicated RPG (Role Playing Games) games. Give me a brain-dead "click and kill" game, and I'm all over it. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that I'm a big fan of the 'First Person Shooter' (FPS) genre. Even though I'm regularly fragged by 6 year olds across the world, it just goes to show you don't have to be good at something to enjoy it.
So here are my top 5 free FPS games that work on multiple operating systems. From the top...
OpenArena
OpenArena is "an open-source content package for Quake III Arena licensed under the GPL, effectively creating a free stand-alone game". What does that mean to you? It's free, and you don't need Quake III Arena to play it. OpenArena supports a slew of different game types, including: Deathmatch, Tournament, Single Player Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Elimination, CTF Elimination, Last Man Standing and Double Domination. The hardware requirements are pretty minimal - with a PII 233MHz processor and at least 96MB of RAM being the suggested minimum system requirements.
Supported Platforms: Linux, OS X and Windows 9x/2000/XP/Vista
Nexuiz
Though Nexuiz has slightly higher hardware requirements than most of the games in this list, once you start playing you'll know why. The graphics really are better. From their information page:
"Nexuiz is a 3d deathmatch game that has been in development since the summer of 2002. The goal of the project is to create a high quality first person shooter that can be played freely across all platforms in one package: PC, Mac, and can be even included in Linux distributions. The game is entirely open source, with the sources of the engine, gamecode, map files, and compiling tools, all included with the download, all under the GPL license.
The gameplay is deathmatch with the most excessive possible speeds and weapons, giving incredibly intense fast paced action. Along with deathmatch, there are multiple gamemodes such as team deathmatch, capture the flag, domination, and many mutators and weapon options like rocket arena and instagib. The user can fight through the single player campaign, going through over 20 levels, or play online with our server browser."
Nexuiz has a very active and helpful community, and has recently started tournaments in Europe and North America.
Supported Platforms: Linux, OS X and Windows
Urban Terror
Urban Terror describes itself as a "Hollywood tactical shooter" with an emphasis on "fun over realism". I'd agree with them on the descriptions. It uses the same engine as OpenArena (ioquake3), but has more of a "counter-strike" feel than OpenArena. Urban Terror comes with a thoroughly detailed manual that explains every aspect of the game. Check out the video below for an idea of gameplay.
Supported Platforms: Linux, OS X and Windows
Cube 2: Sauerbraten
Sauerbraten is a single and multiplayer FPS freeware "game project". Though the aim of Sauerbraten is "to allow map/geometry editing to be done dynamically in-game" - don't let that fool you - it's a heck of a lot of fun. There are monthly championship games on the first Sunday of the month (where I regularly get schooled) and a Cube Server Lister app that makes finding games (and your friends) a snap.
Supported Platforms: Linux, OS X and Windows
Alien Arena
Sci-Fi lovers will enjoy this one. From its initial release in October of 2004, Alien Arena has come a long, long way. Over a million downloads, and dozens (hundreds?) of community created maps, models, and various accessories add to the game experience. It also features a very fun "Team Core Assault" mode, in which players must work together to disable their enemy teams central metal spider. Though OS X isn't officially supported, yet, you can download the Linux version and then apply this patch to get it working (runs perfectly on my MacBook Pro).
Supported Platforms: Linux and Windows (OS X support is unofficial, see above)
You might also want to check out Top 5 Free Online Shooter Games by Simon.
So what about you? What are YOUR favourite free 'first person shooter' games? Do you agree with my choices? Let it rip in the comments!