Games can cost you quite a buck. Some games cost a lot, most of them even more. This isn’t always the case, though; sometimes they don’t even cost anything at all!
Actually, there are a lot of free games available. When we’re talking about shooters (read: games in which you shoot stuff and/or living things) these are nearly always multiplayer games.
Read on for the top five free online shooters.
War Rock has been released as a free game from the very start, and extras can be purchased additionally. You can choose between 5 basic classes: engineer, medic, sniper, assault and heavy trooper. You have three main game types and three more additional ones. The three main game types are ‘Close Quarters Combat’, ‘Urban Ops’ and ‘Free for All’. In ‘Close Quarters Combat’ you’ll play in relatively small maps, thus entering more direct combat. ‘Urban Ops’ involves two teams, deploying bigger maps and more additional machinery like cars and mounted guns. ‘Free for All’ is like a standard ‘Deathmatch’ in most games; kill everyone you see, or be killed.
I’m sure everyone who plays this will notice major similarities with Unreal Tournament. The gameplay shares a lot of things as well. It’s very fast paced, uses a wide range of unique weapons and the same rush of adrenaline. I don’t think anyone would mind me calling this the free Unreal Tournament alternative.
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Very fast paced and also very acrobatic. When I say acrobatic, I really mean acrobatic. I’m talking about bunny hopping (a strange way of jumping, allowing you to move really fast), known in other games, but implemented and thoroughly elaborated , about rolling, leaping and running up against the walls. Warsow is as much about shooting as about the acrobatics. To get the hang of the whole ‘acrobatic system’, it has cooked you a few tutorials - which you better try out before facing the real deal.
Gunz isn’t just any shooter. Not just any Shooter or Hack ’n Slasher to be honest, as you have both guns and a sword. The games are often set in relatively small levels. It features very extended acrobatics as well, thus creating a very entertaining and addictive gameplay. The more you play, the better you’ll get. The better you get, the higher your level will be. You can also buy yourself new armor and weapons, either by playing a lot of games and receiving points, or by using real money. One of the downsides of Gunz is the necessity to start the game using your web browser, but you’ll get used to it.
F.E.A.R. (‘fear’ for the friends) is an acronym meaning First Encounter Assault Recon; ‘Fear’ fits the game, though. Most people know or have played the game (perhaps even one of the expansions), but not a lot of people know that the included multiplayer mode has been released on the internet by its makers, giving you the opportunity to download it for free! In the game you can play as a member of the Special Forces or as one of the cloned soldiers.
Of course these aren’t the only good online shooters. The next few games didn’t make it into the top 5, but are also worth a play:
Do you think you know any games that should’ve been included in this list? Have your say in the comments, and tell us why it’s better than one (or some) of these featured games.
(By) Simon is a student from Belgium who wastes his time relaxing, watching anime and surfing the net. He would tell you to check out his blog, only he doesn’t have one yet!
Filed Under: Games ¦ Lists of tools
Tags: fun, Games, games
Also Alien Arena
http://red.planetarena.org/
Have you had anything about free online mmorpg’s? Would be nice to see a similar list otherwise.
There’s a possibility I’ll be covering this in the near future ^^
I’m checking warsow, and i saw Mono, and here is one little cute game (arcade online shooter) in case you dont know it - Tee Worlds at http://teewars.com/ veri worms like but with fast action.
Cheers ;]
America’s Army shouldn’t be there at all. It took me 4 hours to download, only to figure out it didn’t work, so I was told to install the patch which forced we to wait another 3 hours. The patch didn’t work either, so I then was told to install the before version of the game, forcing me to wait yet again another 2 hours. When it was halfway done I just gave up. I figured out a lot of players had the problem and had to wait as long as me. I asked my friends if it was any good and they said it wasn’t that good of a game. They said it was trying to be too realistic.
It’s a shame you had this much trouble, it’s a pretty good game. You mustn’t forget it’s army propaganda, though. This is why they try to be this realistic. Before you’re able to ‘play’, you have to attend a couple of classes and even make tests.
Why don’t they just let you play? Because the main cause of the game is to approach possible soldiers.
Well with this download time Simon, it really doesn’t make me want to join the Army.
It is realistic in the way you describe as well. There’s plenty of hurry-up-and-wait in the Army, and lots of stuff that doesn’t work as expected.
Thanks for this post, personally I also liked “Urban Terror”:
http://www.urbanterror.net
Americas Army is also one. cheers: http://www.americasarmy.com/
It was mentioned in the last section.
http://combatarms.nexon.net/ is also free with micro-payment add-ons, but currently in open-beta.
Doesn’t require bleeding edge hardware.
Thanks for the link, it looks pretty awesome. Looking into it right now.
Too bad it isn’t available in Europe/Asia/etc.
Even worse they didn’t mention it on the homepage. Talking about bad communication… No wonder my bandwidth never lasts long.
[...] makeuseof.com har listat fem gratis shoot’em up-spel. Har inte kollat närmare på dem men att bedöma av trailersen ser alla väldigt bra ut. Notera [...]
[...] In you’re interested in FREE online gaming then checkout an excellent article by Simon, one of my co-writers on Makeuseof.com Top Five Free Online Shooter Games - Must Read For Gamers. [...]
Another great one: Soldier Front (http://sfront.ijji.com)
http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/
The problem with a software and internet blog covering video games is that it attracts the attention of gamers. Who will no doubt come to be disappointed in finding the games they already play on the list. If you really have some interest in posting some more lists such as these I highly recommend you focus on the unsung heroes of the world. You will no doubt get a lot more attention, and people would greatly appreciate your work.
Bah, quit whining. I don’t think there are a lot of people who are disappointed by this list judging by the comments. I do know a few of the games on here, but not all of them, so to me they are “unsung heroes.” -_-
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Great sites. I would love to see more game coverage.
Gotta put my vote in for OpenArena, a free and open-source FPS based on Quake III
http://openarena.ws/
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No one has even mentioned Sauerbraten… I love Sauerbraten.
yay, thanks for the free online shooters.
Hey what about Combat Arms!
http://combatarms.nexon.net/
tremulous
like Americas army more.
it is more realistic with the training and al that stuff
true combat elite http://www.truecombat.us/
screenshot http://www.truecombat.us/images/history/tce_049a.jpg
wolfenstein enemy territory http://www.splashdamage.com/node/57
screenshot http://kahvipapu.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/enemy-territory.jpg
sauerbraten http://sauerbraten.org/
screenshot http://sauerbraten.sourceforge.net/screenshots.html
worldofpadman http://www.worldofpadman.com/
screenshot http://padworld.myexp.de/index.php?media
[...] In you’re interested in FREE online gaming then checkout an excellent article by Simon, one of my fellow writers on Makeuseof.com - Top Five Free Online Shooter Games. [...]
Exteel is a very nice third person shooter, but it’s not a populair one, try it
Tremulous (http://tremulous.net/) is a quite fast-paced and pretty unique online FPS in which you choose the side of either aliens (more agile and stronger, but use next to no technology and are almost useless at long-range combat) or humans (who can build strong defences and, given enough room, survive unscathed) and focus on strengthening your own base whilst attempting to overthrow that of the opposition. Although the graphics are a bit 90’s, it’s a game worth playing.
[...] not talking Yahoo pool and the like either. Simon from Makeuseof.com has compiled this least of the top 5 free online shooter games. The graphics in some of the games will lift you off your [...]
I think the list is fine! I would add American Army too by the way.