Warsow for Mac

Futuristic role playing shoot-em-up

There is a distinct lack of First Person Shooter games on the Mac so Warsow tries to plug the gap with a futuristic take on the genre.

You play the role of the hero in a cartoon graphic world where you take-on rocket launcher-wielding pigs and laser gun-carrying cyberpunks in a variety of different worlds. The controls are fairly simple - you jump, dash, dodge and wall-jump your way through the game using the arrow keys, the mouse to aim and shoot, and a "special key" to speed-dash.

As you progress, you have to grab power-ups, plant bombs and ultimately, steal the enemy flag. However, there are variations on the aim such as Team Deathmatch, Clan Arena and Duels. If you've got any scripting knowledge, you can even create your own gametype using the gametype scripting system.

When you start the game, you have to join one that's already in progress. The problem is that many of these have passwords you have to be sure to select one that's open to all. It's advisable to follow the game tutorial first which you can find in the "Demos" menu. The overall graphics aren't bad for a free game and jumping off walls and speed dashes adds some spice to it. You can also cycle through an impressive array of weapons using the mouse wheel.

Joining and leaving a game can be a pain though. You have to wait a while to join a new game and if you are killed, it takes a long time before you can rejoin.

Overall though, Warsow is a well designed and lovingly put together First Person Shooter game with a thriving community of users to have fun blowing away.