One Smokin Game . . .

One of the things I've been trying out while my main WoW account is unavailable is a freeware First Person Shooter game called Smokin Guns.

SG apparently started out as a mod for Quake 3 -- kind of like how Counter-Strike started out as a mod for Half-Life. Fortunately, you do not need Q3 to play it.

SG is, as you might gather from the name, set in the Old West. Desperadoes, six-shooters, dynamite, shotguns, rifles. Oh, and Gatling guns. too. No aliens, BFGs, weird power-ups, "gibs" or health potions. Like Counter-strike and Strike Force (the Unreal Tournament engine's answer to CS) , SG uses a realistic damage model that takes hit location into account. Hits to the vitals are usually fatal.

SG comes with a nice variety of maps, player models (and in a nice change from most futuristic shooters, the female models are fully clothed), weapons and scenarios. You can rob banks (or defend the bank from robbery), fight classic showdown duels or just deathmatch against humans or bots. The bots are great because they allows you to practice against AI opponents. As one might expect from an older game engine, SG runs very well on older hardware.

Like CS, this game has a "weapon buy" system -- players get cash for each kill, and a small amount of cash can be found on the maps in places like banks and saloons. In deathmatch games, weapons can be bought anytime. In my bot battles, I've gone for the Colt Peacemaker -- a slow-loading weapon that reminds me of the venerable "deagle" (Desert Eagle automatic) from CS. Any center-of-mass hit is a kill. Shotguns are lethal at close range, especially the sawed-off. The Sharps rifle with scope can ruin your whole day from a county away.

It's also Mac and Unix compatible, so this one's going on my Mac for WoW server maintenance Tuesdays.

Verdict: if you like good freeware FPS games or are are a fan of the Old West, give SG a try.