Well, considering it’s my first post here at the good olde TIGSource; I figured I’d share one of my favorite freeware games with you guys. The game in question is called X Operations. It’s an FPS made by two Japanese fellows; and while the the graphics will not blow you away, the gameplay is solid, and it’s a hell of alot of fun. It’s available in two flavors; single player and multiplayer.
Single player Xops takes its cues from Timesplitters. You’re given the choice of 17 levels, and each of these levels has multiple layouts with their own separate goals. You’ll be protecting VIP’s from zombies, breaking up gang wars, and even assassinating/protecting Bill Gates and Saddam Hussein. The great thing about these missions is this; you’ll spend at most 5 minutes per mission. Making the single player version great for a quick shooting fix. The only downside is that the mission descriptions are in Japanese, so it may take a bit of trial and error before you “get” the objective.
Multiplayer Xops is a whole other ball game. While it’s your standard “Kill the other team” affair, the game randomizes teams each round, making it harder for one “Clan” to rule the field. The same levels from the single player version make re-appearances here and, with the exception of one or two levels (Duel comes to mind), they play just as well, if not better than the single player versions. The only problems you may run into is the relative lack of native english speakers, as the game is Japanese in origin, and that there is a slight lag before you actually shoot, meaning you need to lead your target.
All in all, if you’re a fan of the FPS genre; you owe it to yourself to at least try Xops. It may not win any awards for innovation or graphics; but its damn fun.
QUICK TIP: You have to run the Config4Xops before you can play the game. This goes for both versions (single and multi) and is included in the zip.