Five Great Free PC Games

Many of us have invested hundreds of hard-earned dollars over the years into our gaming habits. But don't let a tight budget get between you and your fragging; here are a few of my favorite PC games, available for free download. Every one is worth playing and none are browser or flash games.

1. America's Army 3

Do you have moral qualms about using the glorification of violence to convince impressionable teenagers to volunteer for combat? Put those aside, because this recruiting tool is a quality shooter and the government's letting you have it for free! The combat is designed to be 'realistic,' meaning that the heart of the game's multiplayer is missions, not death matches, and that death can come remarkably quick to those who like to "run and gun." If you're an FPS fan, be sure to give it a try.

Links for the download can be found at http://www.americasarmy.com

2. Penumbra

Survival horror seems to be dying these days, as its core franchises transform into mainstream shooters (I'm looking at you, Resident Evil). True to the genre's origins, Penumbra is an atmosphere-focused, story driven game. The enveloping darkness force you to ration your flares and flashlight batteries, lest you be left entirely dependent on the pale light of your trusty glow stick. You'll find yourself armed well enough to kill when you need to, but not so well that you'll get the sense of invulnerability that comes with a flak jacket and an assault rifle.

Originally produced without the intent of commercial release, the game's reception resulted it into being folded into a successful series. The original project is still available as a "demo" of its expanded form. It is available at http://www.penumbragame.com/demo.php.

3. Allegiance

A former project of Microsoft's. Designed as an experiment in multiplayer gaming in the era of 56k connections, a dedicated community has kept this space sim updated and supported long since it was released under a shared source license. It is a complex game, with teamwork-oriented combat built around a variety of ship-types. You'll certainly need to go through the tutorial, and even then you'll likely have trouble remembering all the controls when you first play for real. It is nonetheless an outstanding combination of action and strategy, and home to a great community.

Download it as http://www.freeallegiance.org/

4. F.E.A.R. Combat

The single player mode of the original F.E.A.R. was best none for its spooky ambience, scripted events, and the obligatory creepy little girl. F.E.A.R. Combat is that game's multiplayer released independently, and utterly devoid of the scare-factor meant to be its selling point. Left, is a traditional fragfest with strong graphics, good controls, and the gameplay modes you'd expect in a shooter. Good, clean multiplayer violence in the form of death matches and capture the flag may not be hard to track down these days, but free, recently released, commercial products are.

It's available at http://projectorigin.warnerbros.com/fearcombat/main

5. Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

This one is a real gem, far better designed than most shooters. Originally a Wolfenstein expansion meant for commercial release, the project's cancellation meant the death of its campaign mode but Activision kindly allowed its multiplayer to be distributed freely. The several classes, with varying access to weapons and their own unique special abilities give the game a strategic element absent from most online shooters. Soldiers have high HP, and can wield heavy weapons, engineers must be deployed to set up bridges or ramps to advance along most maps, while spies can steal the uniforms of fallen enemies to blend in with their enemies. A fast acting medic can revive fallen allies to be revived where they lay, rather than force them to fall back to the respawn point, and field ops can call in artillery and air strikes to rain death on outdoor maps. The class interplay makes the game, and allows it to hold up despite its now slightly dated graphics.

It can be found at: http://download.cnet.com/Return-to-Castle-Wolfenstein-Enemy-Territory-full-install/3000-7441_4-10243510.html

Sources: The games themselves, and their respective websites provided above.