Alien Swarm

[Harrison]

Alien Swarm

http://www.blackcatgames.com/asv1/
If you are a fan of the Alien Breed Amiga games, then you are going to love this game. It require a full version of Unreal Tournament 2004 to run as it is a full game mod, but it is well worth it.

Alien Swarm is an overhead, top down view, tactical squad-based shooter for UT2K4. Set in the the distant future, the players take the role of a Commander in the Interstellar Armed Forces. They must guide their squad of marines through Swarm infested colonies, overrun bases and outposts, to achieve a variety of objectives. Featuring Assault Rifles, Heat Tracking Guns, Sentry Guns, Flamethrowers and more. Supports co-operative multiplayer.

Here are some screenshots:

http://www.night-blade.com/alienswarmscreens/Autopsy.jpg

http://www.night-blade.com/alienswarmscreens/BigFlame.jpg

This mod was first released in 2005, with the current version 1.32 released in 2007. It is great fun if you have a copy of UT2004 handy.

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Alien Swarm - Infested

http://www.blackcatgames.com/swarm/
The same team behind Alien Swarm are currently working on a sequel, but this time they are building it using the HL2 Source engine from Valve, and it will be released as a standalone commercial game on Steam.

Infested is looking very nice and if any of you saw the concept artwork for the last official Alien Breed game that was in development on the PC, but was later scrapped, this new game shares a similar visual style and is looking really nice.

It's still in development, but is due out very soon. I will definitely be playing this one.

Here are a few game screens to wet your appetite:

http://www.night-blade.com/blackcatweb/asi-sshot/ConceptShot01.jpg

http://www.night-blade.com/blackcatweb/asi-sshot/ASInfestedScreenshot2.jpg

http://www.night-blade.com/blackcatweb/asi-sshot/ASInfestedScreenshot3.jpg

[Harrison]

If you want to find out more about the developers, Black Cat Games, then their website is http://www.blackcatgames.com/

[Harrison]

Thievery

http://www.thieveryut.com/

Fans of the PC series Thief might also be interested in this mod from the same development team. It takes the Thief universe and uses UT2004 to create a multiplayer version.

This mod for Unreal Tournament was born out of a desire to see the Looking Glass Studios' classic game, Thief, made multiplayer. Thievery UT pits a team of sneaky thieves against a team of tough guards, featuring interactive environments and an unprecedented use of dynamic lighting in a multiplayer game.
Both teams have unique equipment at their disposal, which they must use to their advantage. Thieves will use water arrows to put out torches and flood the maps into darkness, so they may pass unseen, or take out any guard foolish enough to walk in the shadows. Guards, heavily equipped and armoured, must protect the loot and kill any trespassers. Thievery features numerous detailed, atmospheric levels, with considerable background to each, making it interesting to play both solo and multiplayer.


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NightBlade

http://www.night-blade.com/This is another stealth game and will initially be an updated version of Thievery, this time running on Unreal Tournament 3.

A guild of cunning thieves sneaks their way into an opulent mansion, filled with the riches that only generations of power can acquire. The mansion's private guard patrol within, seeking out intruders and relentlessly hunting down those that their efforts reveal. Every shadow is a potential hiding spot, every noise might be a clue to the presence of thieves. Every second lost can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

http://www.night-blade.com/images/screenshots/ThiefRenderThumb.jpg (http://www.night-blade.com/images/screenshots/ThiefRender.jpg)

Nightblade is a total conversion for Unreal Tournament 3 featuring stealth-based gameplay. A team of thieves must use stealth and skill to obtain loot and escape, while a team of well-armed guards must protect the loot and hunt down the thieves. Both teams will have a variety of equipment at their disposal to aid in their task. Thieves will use water arrows to put out sources of light, extending the darkness within which they can hide. Guards in turn will use flares to relight torches and search the shadows for thieves.

The initial plan for Nightblade is an updated version of ThieveryUT's Thieves vs Guards gametype, making use of resources from Thievery, Nightblade when it was targeted at UT2004, and over time new resources generated specifically for UT3. We will be experimenting with a number of gameplay changes and improvements as well.

This game is still in early alpha testing, but the alpha builds are already fully playable, so if you are interested take a look at the official site and download and play around with the current alpha build.

[Demon Cleaner]

Is Alien Swarm a turn based strategy game?

[Harrison]

No, it plays just like the original Alien Breed on the Amiga, but in 3D. And with the ability to play in a co-op multiplayer team too.

[Demon Cleaner]

So a bit like Shadowgrounds.

[Harrison]

Yep, exactly like Shadowgrounds, but with multiplayer, thanks to UT2004 being used.

BTW, have you played the sequel to Shadowgrounds? Shadowgrounds Survivor.

[Demon Cleaner]

BTW, have you played the sequel to Shadowgrounds? Shadowgrounds Survivor.Nope. Didn't even know it existed?

[Harrison]

http://shadowgroundsgame.com/survivor/

[Demon Cleaner]

Looks pretty well done, I only wish they'd made a turn based version to add a small RPG note to it. But these games are fun as hell anyway, blast everything out of your way. But I tend to get bored with it after 30-60 minutes.