5. Oolite
In the original Elite - released way back in 1984 - you took the role of a space trader ferrying goods from one start system to another, earning money, improving your ship and exploring the stars. The game was open-ended, with a randomly generated universe expanding beyond the opening solar system. Oolite takes the exact same, brilliantly compulsive gameplay and makes it slicker, faster and better looking - for free. If the core package isn't thrilling enough, there are expansion packs available, too. Download Oolite.
Rating: 4/5
4. Tag - The Power of Paint
Like Mightier and Narbacular Drop, Tag's developers were students at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond. The game's a little rough around the edges, but the combination of FPS action and novel, puzzled based gameplay allows you to forgive the scrappy graphics. The idea's simple; you have a paint gun that changes the behaviour of the surfaces you soak. Green makes floors bouncy, blue makes walls sticky - and so on. If Valve gave Tag the remake treatment, the resulting game could easily become next year's Portal. Download Tag.
Rating: 4/5
3. Peggle Extreme
You have a limited number of metal balls that you can use to obliterate 25 pegs arranged in a pattern. When you've cleared them all, Breakout-style, you win the level. It sounds rubbish, but Peggle is actually more addictive than any other substance known to man - including several that are illegal. This free version - exclusive to Steam - has 10 levels with backgrounds inspired by Half-Life, Portal and Team Fortress. Download Peggle Extreme.
Rating: 5/5
2. Battlefield Heroes
EA Games' Battlefield franchise has a serious set of followers dedicated to teamwork features and a steep learning curve. The free entry in this series, Battlefield Heroes, is a much simpler proposition. With ad-hoc team-play the rule, this browser based multiplayer action game boasts cartoon graphics (a bit like Team Fortress 2) and two fixed sides shooting the bejaysus out of each other. Download Battlefield Heroes.
Rating: 5/5
1. Quake Live
When ID Games announced Quake Live, few doubted it could pull it off. A free, browser based, multiplayer shooter in a web browser? Madness! This bold experiment really works, though - with a brilliant system for matching player capabilities and plenty of different game styles to choose from. Long-term Quake fans will recognise many of the maps, but that only adds to the fun. Simply superb. Download Quake Live.
Rating: 5/5
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Your comments (2) Click to add a new comment
saucymonk
July 27th
2. No Listen to this guy above! He know not what he says! Taikodom is RUBBISH!
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nevellin
July 24th
1. You really should look Taikodom. Its a free awesome brazilian game. For me, this game deserves 1st place, easily.
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