Re-surgency

by: James “Ironfingers” Hsiao

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Despite being released four years ago, Half Life 2 and the Source engine are still going strong, spawning countless mods, spin-offs, and original content.  In the shadow of such Valve hits as Counter-Strike Source, Day of Defeat Source, and Team Fortress 2, as well as the newest episodes of HL2, there lies a dedicated community of modders and people who aren’t forced to play by the rules of the industry.  Out of these few, comes a gem called Insurgency.

The quintessential modern combat game, INS pits the US Marines against Iraqi insurgents in pitched battles over control of towns and strategic areas in middle-eastern hot zones.  You might think you’ve seen it all before, but when you jump into a battle, you’ll find yourself sadly mistaken.  You’ll die.  A lot.  You’ll die so many times that you’ll want to take a chair to that fancy 37″ monitor of yours.  But you know what?  You’ll want to keep on going.  It’s that good.

The best way to describe it is Day of Defeat 1.3 ported to Source and moved forward 60 years.  Gameplay is fast-paced and far less realistic than a dedicated combat simulator like Armed Assault, but still far more realistic than Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2.  One or two shots will kill and weapons are dead accurate, making the silence tense and the action brutal.  Even for the action gamer more used to Call of Duty 4 and Battlefield, INS will still satisfy… provided you can stay alive long enough.  Did I mention it was easy to die?

In the media maelstrom that is E3, with the titans of the gaming industry clamoring for attention, little things like this are easy to miss.  But I’m just rambling again.  It’s out, it’s awesome, and it’s free.  Go download it.  Now.

Pick it up HERE.

~ by ironfingers on July 12, 2008.