Alien Arena

Pros :
- A great community of regular players.

-Works on almost all operating system, and doesn't require a high end PC.

-It's 100% free and contains no crap like spyware - can't be bad.

-Easy to pick up and play for as long - or as short - a time as you like.

-Constantly being developed so it's improving all the time.

Cons :
-Sometimes it is difficult to get a game against real opponents - but that is changing for the better as more people start playing.

-Playing can be a little intimidating for the newcomer to FPS, but they've begun to address this with a Beginners forum + Beginners only servers.

-Offline play can get repetitive even though it is good practice.

**For more info, or to download Alien Arena visit - http://red.planetarena.org/**

Review : What's a game got to do with a horror magazine? Well, not a lot to be honest unless you count your hapless victim exploding in a pile of bloody viscera. But.....Writing a horror magazine is hard work, we need some chill out time. And this game is a great way to do it - plus, since some of the d3 team are usually playing, you could hop on and blow our brains out for daring to give your favourite movie a bad review.

Alien Arena is a FPS (First Person Shooter) based on a heavily modified version of the Quake 2 engine. Graphics look good, the sound sets the scene nicely, but it's the gameplay which really sets it apart from other offerings. There really is nothing quite like jumping onto a server and shooting the hell out of some hapless opponent. Or, if you are like us guys at d3rang3d, getting the hell shot out of you by one of the skilled players.

As a game, it is deceptively simple to begin with. The objective is pretty easy in most game modes - kill your opponents more often than they kill you. Nice and simple. Despite this simplicity though, you'll soon find yourself having to master a whole array of different skills if you are to be anything more than cannon fodder. There are a number of different weapons each with their own uses - and many have drawbacks. Don't stand too near to where that rocket you just fired is going to explode!

Don't play it while you are 1/2 asleep either because I warn you, this game is FAST. If you are going to survive then you need to be constantly on the move, running, jumping, making use of the scenery on the various maps to get the drop on your enemies. This is one of those great games that keeps up the pressure from beginning to end, you really do have to be quick or be dead.

Another great plus to the game is the great community which has sprung up around it. There really are a lot of good people there, and help is always on hand in the IRC channel for anyone having problems. Not only that, but the community often organizes various events and tournaments to keep proceedings interesting and lively. The game itself is good, but the community sets it head and shoulders above the competition.

If you fancy a solid online FPS game that is good fun to play, backed up by the essential presence of an established and friendly community, and which is totally free - yep, you don't need to buy it, there's no monthly fee, and no junk like spyware - then you could do a whole lot worse than this. Well worth a try, and who knows, you could find yourself coming back for more - what've you got to lose?


**Fancy kicking the d3 teams ass? Well, we're there. If you come across players with the [t3rmoil] tag in front of their name then there's a good chance that you are shooting at the guys behind d3rang3d. So, come on and bring it - we'd love a chance to blast our readers into a pile of crimson gore **

**For more info, or to download Alien Arena visit - http://red.planetarena.org/**