Well I was actually holding back on this one but it's no secret that both Half-Life games are absolute havens for mods both big and small. So I couldn't ignore this 10 ton elephant any more so here again is some more of these games within a game we call mods.



Current List Price: $39.99*
Amazon.com: $39.99*
Steam Price: $19.99

*Note the boxed copies of Half-Life 2 by itself includes Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 Deathmatch for free. The Orange box does not include CS:S and HL2:DM.

Orange Box Version:
Current List Price: $29.99
Amazon.com: $27.99
Steam Price: $29.99

You may find a few here you've already know about but I bet there's at least one here you don't know about! Again these are multiplayer only mods and since there are so many I narrowed my field to ones that are actually to a level of playability, at least post prototype and are top notch. In fact there'll be a part 2 to this since there are still many I haven't tried. So I'll just be giving a quick rundown of the ones I have so far!


1) The Hidden Source
Shorthand: Modern Day, Stealth, Horror.

Site: http://www.hidden-source.com/


You ever want to be that movie monster in a game but rather than stalking AI enemies you were stalking human targets? Well then you need to play the Hidden anyway because it's absolutely awesome with such a very simple concept. And yes it's just 1 versus 7 others and the 'monster' doesn't have anything except a knife, he's not that durable either but what he does have is being completely and utterly invisible at all times. You can imagine the tense atmosphere this creates!
My Grade: A-


2) Dystopia
Shorthand: Futuristic, Cyberpunk, Class based.

Site: http://www.dystopia-game.com/


Playing a bit like Enemy Territory and Assault mode from Unreal Tournament one team attempts to complete a series of objectives while the other team seeks to prevent this. Seems simple but there's a whole other level of complexity in addition to this, there is a sort of Tron-esque battle system that those with hacking tools participate in and this works to further their team's efforts, unlocking doors and so on. More people need to play this mod.
My Grade: A


3) Eternal Silence
Shorthand: Futuristic, Space Battles, Pilot sim, Class based.

Site: http://www.eternal-silence.net/


Originally starting out as a mod for Battlefield 1942 it was eventually discontinued and put onto the source engine because the BF1942 engine is a dog of an engine to work with. Players use spacecraft and dogfight with each other while trying to destroy their opponents fleet, including making boarding incursions to destroy them on foot from in the inside. Another top quality mod
My Grade: A-


4) Empires
Shorthand: Futuristic, RTS, Battlefield, Class based.

Site: http://www.empiresmod.com/


Another former BF1942 mod, taking a bit from Savage and Allegiance one player on each team plays the game as a RTS game while all other players play through it as an FPS with vehicles. A tried and proven concept Empires adds some personal customization to the player's loadout and vehicle as well. A rather large downside to the mod is the model and map quality is sort of all over the place, some are excellent, others not so much but still great fun.
My Grade: B-


5) NeoTokyo
Shorthand: Futuristic, Cyberpunk, Class based, Round based.

Site: http://www.neotokyohq.com/


A former UT2004 mod (I sense a trend), the polish on this mod is through the roof, seriously, you'd swear this is a retail game at it's level of quality both visually and from an audio-aspect (some great music). The mod is without a serious flaw though and that the gameplay itself doesn't have the same level of polish. All the complexities of tools and what not more or less devolve into a basic CS:S clone. However that's not a huge detractor, after all it's a proven gameplay style it's just not as astounding as the rest of the game.
My Grade: B


6) Insurgency
Shorthand: Modern day, Gulf War, Realistic, Class based.

Site: http://www.insmod.org/


Well it was bound to happen that a modern combat type mod would make it's debut to Half-Life 2 but at this level of quality was sort of unexpected. Focusing primarily on realism the mod does have a bit of a learning curve but it's focus on objective point taking makes the combat feel like it's moving much more quickly, especially since most of the maps are within congested urban areas.
My Grade: B


7) Fortress Forever
Shorthand: Team Fortress Classic, Class based, CTF, Base defense

Site: http://www.fortress-forever.com/


Some people disagreed with the direction TF2 took Team Fortress, preferring the more slow and base defense focused of the original Team Fortress iterations. Taking more cues from the original TFC aesthetically it actually went back and did some redesigns and rebalances from TFC. Though it will always be in the shadow of TF2.
My Grade: B-


8) Zombie Panic
Shorthand: Zombie smash, team versus team, Objective base, survival.

Site: http://www.zombiepanic.org


Leading up to Left 4 Dead there was a big itch to play zombie modes though Zombie Panic has existed far longer than L4D and plays radically different than L4D. A couple players start as the zombies while the rest are survivors, the object is eliminating the other team but each time a Zombie successfully kills a player they become a zombie sort of like a game of tag another has the humans racing to escape the level by completing a set of objectives while the zombie players get infinite respawns compared to the one life Humans. It's fun but rather limited since the zombies aren't hordes but slow especially lethal damage sponges.
My Grade: C+


9) DIP RIP
Shorthand: Post Apocalyptic, Car combat, Deathmatch and Team DM

Site: http://www.diprip.com/


A bit of Twisted Metal inspired mod and while it does have a high level of polish it still feels very unfinished but I had it on this list because what's there is fun and they're still diligently working on it and from what they have so far could lead to something astounding.
My Grade: C


Phew and there's more too but I haven't played these ones yet but they're out and need a shout out! I'll get to them next time but why wait for me go try them now!

JailBreak Source
Site: http://www.jailbreaksource.com/
A classic game mode revisited with Dinosaurs and Robots!

Fistful of Frags
Site: http://www.fistful-of-frags.com/
Western themed co-op and train robbing!

Pirates, Vikings & Knights 2
Site: http://www.pvkii.com/
A classic returns with all the absurdity awesomeness of three way team combat!

Age of Chivalry
Site: http://www.age-of-chivalry.com/
Large scale melee combat of the middle ages... yes I miss Dark Messiah's multiplayer too

Zombie Master
Site: http://www.zombiemaster.org/
Human players versus a zombie overmind that plays against them as an RTS!

SourceForts
Site: http://www.sourcefortsmod.com/
Player built bases for CTF, physics based construction and destruction, your LEGO RTS realized!

BattleGrounds 2
Site: http://www.bgmod.com/
Revolutionary War mod, yes it is possible and it is something to see!

Smashball
Site: http://www.smashball.tv/
It's a ball sport.. with guns and grappling hooks!


See you next time as I look over these few in greater detail!