FPS LAN game suggestions

[Pxtl]

Ooh, just noticed this thread properly. Most of these recommendations are suited more for an old P3, but here goes.

Here's my personal favorite mix for a fun DM game:
1) Quake 3. Open Arena will do if you don't all have Q3.

2) Quint's maps. - not sure if Open Arena has all the textures for Quint's maps.

3) BFG Tag
set the tag weapon to BFG, ammo regen to 3-per-second, armor regen to 2-per-second, and no pickups allowed but health.

Quint's maps are the coolest sky-maps ever made. Stuff that makes things like UT's morpheus or Q3DM17 look positively dull - maps with both gimmicks and flow. Excellent fun. Get the Birth Machine and the Wisdom Machine at the least.

BFG tag is a basic Hunt mode for Quake 3 - Q3 is an excellent game for it because a good hunt mode is about fear. Hunt failed in UT (as Mutant) because the game isn't frantic and panicky enough - hunt is about feeling like you're in a slasher movie (which is why it worked so well in AvsP). In Q3's frantic pace it is very, very nice.

Other good Q3 mods:
http://www.batmite.com/ - Superheros Q3 - you each design a superhero and then play conventional deathmatch (like, same pickups and rules as normal Quake 3) but you each have a custom-designed superhero that gives you special powers, like super-speed or grappling hooks or you're radioactive or can fly and so on and on and it's AWESOME.

bouncy. You are all invincible... but various weapons knock the other players around in different ways. Try to knock other players off the map. Like a half-assed version of Super Smash. If you're into trying new things, it's a fun game to add to the stack.

Alternately, there are a lot of good UT and UT2004 mods. Ut2004 is a little more intense and complex for newbs who aren't experienced with it, but the vehicles make up for it in coolness factor.

For UT, I recommend picking up U4E - a weapon-mod that gives you so many hilarious weapons (with their own models, not just reskins) that you'll be laughing about the shenanigans for weeks. Themonuclear babydolls. Fleshbomb rifle (your target has 5 seconds before they become a rapidly expanding ball of plasma). Phasers. I just go into the settings, set every player to start with the knife and a bow-and-arrow, and add all the weapons to random weapon spawns (but no ammo except the various arrow flavours - just set the game to weapons-disappear-on-pickup) so you get the full absurd variety of weapons in game.

Plus, the game includes a mode called "gauntlet" which is based on the old Gauntlet game - it's like Chickens for UT. The level has several monster spawners and you have to work as a team to take them all out.

For UT2k4, the temptation is to play ONS to get the vehicles in there... but you need a big game to make Onslaught work well. 16 players minimum. For a smaller game involving vehicles, you should download the Vehicle CTF mod, or play on Assault maps. The problem is that the packed assault maps are pretty tame and kinda complex, so if you want better maps you need to go online onto the assault servers and try some.

Alternately for straight, solid, free FPS gameplay there's Cube2/Sauerbraten. Perfect distillation of Doom/Quake gameplay (shotgun/rocket/sniper/chaingun), with lots of really nicely designed maps.

If you're more hardcore and want more art-of-move in your FPS gaming, there's Warsow.

[Pxtl]

Serious Sam. Mostly for coop.

Ooh, yeah, this one. Note: the beginning is dull. If you want a good romp, start about halfway through.

You will never, ever, ever forget a certain road in the map called "Metropolis". I have never fought more monsters in a single scene in any other game I've ever played.

If they think RTSes are too slow and boring grab Arena Wars, that's an RTS that's very close to an FPS.

What about Kernel Panic? There' s a fast-paced easy-to-learn RTS right there.

Also, for Team Fortress clones, a small part of me has always fondly remembered Weapons Factory UT. Same as the other Team Fortress mods, but with more UT-style gameplay.