Games

In my opinion, Kali is the best overall way to play games over the internet (but for Quake, see Quakeworld and Gamespy below).  The software is shareware, but with a 15 minute time limit until you register.  This software is updated about once a month to support new games, and upgrading is absolutely free: you just copy your serial numbers from the old version to the new one after you download.

Kali costs only $20 to register, and that's it.  You can register with a credit card over the internet or phone (I used the phone- it's a little safer), and then they'll either mail or e-mail you your serial numbers.  There's no catch - the $20 is a one time fee - and don't worry, Kali's not going away anytime soon (over 150,000 users last time I checked!).  Compare all this to the other leading internet gaming systems, which cost $20 per month, and you can see why I think Kali is such a good deal.  Of course, TEN is faster and more reliable if you don't mind paying a $19.95 monthly fee.  And yes, you can play shareware games over Kali- anything that supports network play.  For more information, including a screenshot, check out the Guide's Quick Guide to Kali.  To get the free Kali software and find out more go to http://www.kali.net (download the newest Beta version; it's what everyone uses).

Just in case you don't already know, Duke Nukem 3d is a first-person 3d action shoot-em'-up game with enough strategy and variety to keep you playing for  many sleepless nights, 'nuff said.  The shareware version gives you the first episode; when you buy the full version (1.3d) you'll get the other two episodes.  Then there's the Atomic version (1.5) which gives you a fourth episode, or the Plutonium Pack which upgrades 1.3d to 1.5, and there are more versions in the works at 3dRealms, plus thousands of user maps made with the Duke editor Build.exe, which comes free with the full version of Duke 3d.  You can download my meager user maps and excellent 3-button mouse config by scrolling the frame down on the left (Click here if frames are off).  If you have trouble downloading, try right clicking the title of the file you wish to download and select "save as" or "copy file to disk."

Click here to download Duke 3d Shareware

If you play computer games at all, most likely you've seen Quake before, but for the unlucky few out there, Quake is a 1st-person 3d shooter game, like Duke Nukem above, but since the Quake engine is quite a bit more powerful than the Duke engine the game is more realistic and complex.  The reason for Quake's success is it's amazing customizability: I've played Capture The Flag, Quake Rally (race cars), Quake Soccer, Cujo (a helpful canine companion appears when you pick up armor), and best of all, Team Fortress (different characters to choose from with different abilities and weapons fighting as teams in opposing castles), and several other free add-ons with new weapons, characters and immense levels.

Scroll the frame at left down to download my customized Quake config for 3-button mouse (Click here if frames are off).  I made the config for play in TeamFortress, but it also works very well in normal Quake.  Copy it over the "config.cfg" file in your Quake directory to use it in normal Quake, and over the "config.cfg" file in the "/fortress" directory to use it in TeamFortress.  Important:  Make the new "config.cfg" a read-only file (right click it, properties) or else Quake may replace it with the original config.  If you have trouble downloading, try right clicking the title of the file you wish to download and select "save as" or "copy file to disk."

The only problem is, the shareware version only gives you one episode, single player, and without the ability to add all the things I've talked about (sorry).  The shareware version will give you a taste of the game, but nearly all the fun I've had with Quake has all been online, using the full $35 version.  Download Quake shareware from ftp://206.86.8.31/idstuff/quake/quake106.zip (Click here if it's too busy).

If you want to play Quake online at all- and you'll need the full version- I strongly suggest connecting through Quakeworld (download below), which is really a requirement for smooth running games.  Quakeworld allows you to have multiplayer games of up to 32 players, and does support all the neat modifications listed under Quake above.  One of the best abilities of Quakeworld is its use of "skins," which is the appearance of your character.  Most of the time I'm either a scary guy in a business suit or a purple monster with a shark's head, or, I admit, I've been a pitch black weenie a few times.  To download a lot of commonly used skins in one large zip file click here.

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GameSpy (requires full game versions) is an excellent shareware program that lets you view the list of games running on Quake (and Quake clones, ie Half Life, Hexen II...) servers, along with information like the rules, map, type of Quake game (ie Team Fortress, Painkeep, Capture the Flag), ping, and number and colors of the players.  You can set it up to filter out games you don't want to join: for example, mine only lists games that aren't empty or full, don't require a password, and have a ping time under 400 milliseconds.  Quakeworld and GameSpy are available in a single zip file from http://www.quakeworld.net.  For help on getting them set up correctly click here.

Remember the text adventure games from the days of Pong?  The first Zork, Planetfall, Enchanter, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy were basically early attempts to computerize the role-playing elements of hex and square-based games like Dungeons and Dragons.  Well, if you haven't heard, the internet has made it truly possible to create interactive worlds, known as Muds (multi user dungeons), Moos, and Mushes.  There are other types of online worlds such as visual chats and single player interactive java worlds, but I haven't found anything as creative, fast, interactive and cheap as the Muds.

You can download the freeware, shareware, or full $20 version of Zmud from http://www.zuggsoft.com/zmud/down.htm (The shareware has the same software as the registered version).  To browse or join worlds, or to just find out more information, go to the mud connector at http://www.mudconnect.com.

http://www.zuggsoft.com

Betrayal at Krondor is quite simply the best PC role-playing game I've played.  Surprisingly, Sierra, the makers of the game, are now offering it for free to widen the market for the sequel, Betrayal in Antara (I haven't played it, but it features better graphics).  This is the full version- no time limit or tricks.  An pretty impressive unofficial guide and complete walkthrough is available at http://www.rhi.hi.is/~eybjorn/krondor/chap1.html.  Download Betrayal at Krondor (10 meg zip, but well worth the size!) from http://www.sierra.com/titles/antara/download.html.

The best place to get Shareware games is from Happy Puppy.  They have top 10, 50, and 100 lists, a game-type index, all the older hard to find titles, and descriptions, screenshots, estimated time and direct download, and mirror sites.  They also have an updated list of the best free online online games (under "treats").  Chances are you've already heard of Happy Puppy, but if you haven't and you're looking for some good shareware, go here now!  http://www.happypuppy.com

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