Multiplayer FPS Mods

Game releases in January arrive at a glacial pace, and by now you've probably clocked all of your Christmas games three times over on the hardest difficulty. God-forbid you detach your retinas from your game display to do something boring in the real world, like base jumping or diving with sharks. Thank the lord there's an alternative way to get your fresh gaming fix. It's one of the few remaining reasons to be a PC gamer, but it's a biggie - user-created modifications and total conversions.

Half Life is the engine-of-choice for modding , followed by Battlefield 2. The immense success of Counter-Strike prompted Valve to supply modders with the tools they need to pry apart the Source engine and craft it into something they can call their own. Battlefield 2 is a slightly trickier beast to manipulate, but the fact that every man, woman and child on the planet owns a copy means there's a large install base for modders to tap into. We've taken a look at our two favourite mods for each of these games to give you something to do during the dry season of the year.

The Hidden Engine: Half Life 2 URL: www.hidden-source.com Quite possibly our favourite freebie of all time, it's a shame to see there isn't more support from the community for this Half Life 2 mod. Not only does The Hidden have eye-wateringly high production values, as evidenced by the all new maps, weapons, characters and boom sticks, it's also one of the scariest shooter experiences we've ever pooped ourselves playing.

This team-based game sees eight players on one squad, playing the side of IRIS troopers. They're the stereotypical police/military hoo-ah warriors, armed to the teeth with shotguns, submachine guns and all manner of flesh-ripping weaponry. The other team is limited to one person, called The Hidden, who must kill every IRIS member to win the round. With a knife. If an IRIS member manages to ruin The Hidden's day, they'll play the next round in the Hidden's shoes. Doesn't sound very fair, does it?

It wouldn't be, if it wasn't for the fact that The Hidden is basically invisible. Like that pinnacle of Sci-Fi, the Predator, The Hidden can only be seen when moving or up close. Borrowing a page out of Spidey's book, he can also stick to walls and ceilings for a few seconds, and leap twenty feet through the air. Suddenly The Hidden isn't so vulnerable after all. Playing as The Hidden has a learning curve akin to climbing Mount Everest, but once you've nailed his tricks it's one of the most satisfying shooter experiences around. Watching the crippled IRIS team blasting away at shadows while you drop down to feast on some poor sod's neck is quite unlike anything we've played before.

The custom levels included with this total conversion really play on The Hidden's abilities. There are plenty of dark nooks and crannies for The Hidden to hide in, and the levels are as high as they are wide, giving him plenty of jumping room. A smart Hidden will make the most of these areas - leaping headlong into a gang of IRIS members packing serious heat is a great way to die young.

If you only download one of the mods that we're talking about in this article, make sure The Hidden is the one. Just be ready for one of the spookiest, most suspenseful multiplayer experiences around.

Dystopia Engine: Half Life 2 URL: www.dystopia-game.com It might not be the prettiest game we've seen running on the Source engine, but this Half Life 2 mod offers the perfect gameplay getaway for sci-fi cyberpunks. It's easy to overlook the slightly Lego-like environments when you're immersed in its futuristic world of Punks and Mercenaries. Besides, what the levels lack in eye-candy is more than made up for with the slick character modelling.

If you're expecting a pure-blooded twitch shooter, the complexities of Dystopia's interesting spin on hacking will be lost on you. To hack, players use cyberdecks to slot into a virtual world, which bares a striking resemblance to Tron. While these guys fly through this neon-world, it's up to the rest of the team to defend their jacked-in, real-life body. Leave your team hackers alone, and they'll be a honey pot for lots of deadly lead flies.

This synergy between the real and the virtual is exploited even further on certain levels, where objectives in both realms must be triggered at the same time. Obviously this demands high levels of teamwork, a key focus of the game.

Another focus point for the game is character customisation. As well as the various classes, there are enough implants and weapons to make 007's Q jealous. It's up to the player to choose the best combination - should they specialise in one role, or go for a well-rounded load-out? It's easy to tailor your character to fit your play style, with some players preferring stealthy hacker types, while others will opt for the bone-crushing brutes.

We've barely touched on the many gameplay features of Dystopia that make it so unique, but you can find out for yourself when the game hits its first full release in the very, very near future. Stay tuned for a deeper look once version 1 hits the Net.