Top 15 Video Cards for Computer Gaming
By Dave Spohn, About.com
Dec 15 2008
Ever since Quake started offering options for play over the Internet, multiplayer first-person shooters have been a dominant force in online gaming. Naturally, the hardware and software has improved over the years, and today's action gamer has a remarkable variety of genres and mods to choose from. These are some of top titles currently available for the PC. Hands-on experience and user feedback are among things I consider when rating these games, so if you have an opinion, post a comment or contact me by email.
This is a stand-alone remake of the famous Team Fortress mod for Quake that helped popularize online gaming back in the late 90s. Team Fortress 2 isn't the most sophisticated multiplayer shooter on the market, but it recaptures the player classes and teamplay of earlier games in the series beautifully. It features a distinctly cartoonish appearance that fits it extremely well and gives it an extra dose of character. It has received steady updates since release, and you can buy it separately or as part of The Orange Box compilation of games.
Following in the footsteps of the highly successful Call of Duty 4, this addition takes the series back to its roots in World War II. Call of Duty: World at War has plenty of explosive, flamethowing action, and the deep multiplayer experience system from Modern Warfare makes a return. World at War is the first Call of Duty game to offer solid co-op play, allowing up to 4 players to tackle the campaign online. You can also unlock zombie mode for some old-fashioned hilarity.
Renowned for intense infantry combat, Call of Duty 4 brought the series into a modern warfare setting and quickly became the most popular online shooter of 2007. Multiplayer features received special attention in this release, which has a deep and very addictive persistent stats system that rewards players with upgraded skills and items as they gain experience. Call of Duty 4 also offers a robust variety of multiplayer modes and some of the best graphics in its class.
Blasting through swarms of infected zombies is what Left 4 Dead is all about, as you're part of a small group abandoned in an area overrun by the ugly savages. Co-op is a central feature of this game and the campaign can be played with up to 3 of your friends by your side. In Versus mode, Left 4 Dead pits two teams of 4 against each other, with one side playing survivors and the other side trying to ambush them as zombies. It's a nice change from the abundance of war-themed shooters out there.
Warhead is a follow-up to 2007's Crysis, which pushed PC graphics to the next level, not only with first-rate visuals, but also some of the best physics in a game to date. Warhead's single-player campaign is shorter than the one in the first release, but multiplayer has seen improvements in the form of Crysis Wars. They've added a deathmatch mode and some nicely designed new maps.
This is the first shooter from Splash Damage and id Software that has included a full compliment of player-controlled vehicles. The battle is between humans and an alien invasion of Strogg, with first-rate graphics and detailed objective-based maps. Objectives are made crystal clear and the game has some cool deployables. Integrated voice chat was added to Quake Wars with patch 1.2.
As the name implies, the latest addition to the Battlefield series is set about a century into the future. War is fought with a variety of high-tech weapons and vehicles, including large 2-man Battle Walkers. Battlefield 2142 has a lot in common with its predecessor, Battlefield 2, with some appealing new features such as an objective-based gameplay mode and a deeper item unlock tree.
Counter-Strike: Source is the multiplayer portion of Half-Life 2, bringing the beloved mod up to date with the latest graphics technology. It can now be purchased separately either on disk or through Steam. Gameplay is quite similar to the original, and the most popular of the old maps have been redone, but of course, it looks a lot better. CS is still the darling of online shooters, with an enormous following and a huge number of servers to play on.
Modern combat is the focus of this popular Battlefield sequel, complete with guided missiles and artillery strikes. New features include built-in voice chat, a persistent player ranking system, and a commander position which introduces some unique tools to facilitate team organization. The graphics are very impressive, especially if your computer can handle the game at high settings.
Although it has been around for a long time, and it's actually just a free mod for a game that is even older, Counter-Strike 1.6 is still among the most popular multiplayer FPS games for the PC. This game lives on despite the release of Counter-Strike: Source and many much newer shooters, and continues to be a mainstay at pro game competitions. As has been the case for over half a decade, there's always a good game underway on a low-ping server nearby, not to mention plenty of fiercely challenging opponents.
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