14 DAY TRIAL // Unvanquished, a free, open source first-person shooter combining real-time strategy elements with a futuristic and sci-fi setting, has just reached version 0.26 and is ready for testing.
Unvanquished is still in the alpha stages of development and it has been that way for quite some time. The developers are moving very fast though and they manage to release about one major update every month, making the game better with each new version.
The developers of Unvanquished didn't exactly start from scratch. This is actually a fork of Tremulous, which is powered by the Daemon engine. Unfortunately, Tremulous is pretty much a dead project and no updates have been made in almost three years.
This is not a new concept of gameplay, but Unvanquished is probably the only free game that does it well and it's also one of the best free multiplayer games around.
“Players can choose from either team, providing for an entirely different experience on both sides, as humans focus on long-range firepower while aliens rely instead on quick movement and stealth. The goal of each match is to destroy the enemy base, preventing members of the opposing team from spawning.”
“Upgrades for both teams are earned by a combination of individual performance and team map control, unlocking access to more powerful weapons and equipment for the humans, and larger, more ferocious forms for the aliens,” reads the Unvanquished website.
As usual, the updates for Unvanquished are quite consistent and the developers are not shirking the work that needs to be done. For example, the gameplay has been adjusted and, when a battery pack is discharged and sent for recycling, the weapon magazine will be adjusted to compensate. This single feature is powerful enough that it will somewhat change the dynamics of the entire fighting system.
The radar item now uses the backpack slot, which means that users will have to choose between that and the battlesuit. The jetpack received some improvements and it's now possible to use it when falling after a jump.
Also, Kill assists by players are now displayed properly, the textures for the dretch, trapper, and acid tube have been improved, and trilinear filtering is now enabled by default.
More details about this amazingly-looking game can be found on the official website. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress and bugs are bound to be encountered. You can download Unvanquished Alpha 26 right now from Softpedia.