Hi, I'm looking for a game (preferably FPS) that I can use to keep up with all of my friends. Which means it needs the following features:

-Cheap or free

-Crappy looking enough to work on any computer (especially laptops w/ integrated graphics. Doesn't need to work on netbooks)

-Easy internet multiplayer which can be hosted independently of proprietary servers

Thanks!

The game's on sale this weekend but reading the reviews, I see that it was very buggy on release. Does anyone know if the patches ever ended up doing their job? And will it even matter on a more modern PC?

I still don't really understand how the loading times were so poor when they were released - particularly if something as simple as a patch can fix them.

I spent the whole morning playing it. The driving mechanics I did get use to but it should be a crime to make people get use to the cars being so slippery. Drifting is actually fun. I got more enjoyment out of pure race than action race. In pure race things are not unfair (except the AI is too perfect) in action race its just too choatic. And my complaint still goes to the sheild and hazard indicator. I've have actually been able to get the timing of some weapons down but you're completely at the mercy of others. I wouldn't care about being completely decimated by missles if I at least kept whatever I had at the time, but you lose everything even if it was level 3. The other problem is if you are behind there is practically no way to win. You need to boost to pass people but then you can't use the sheild.

I was playing on expert the whole time with 12 racers so I guess maybe its all a good thing that its difficult and unforgiving. My first impression of the demo was "meh" but after this morning its more like the games alright, 8.5 from me.

Zidaneski

Talking about PS3.

Actually, that's another point - they are actually quite different games. Makes you wonder why Sony released them at the exact same time.

So a lot of the reviews of this game have compared it to Mario Kart, generally unfavorably, and in particular pointing to the actual driving mechanics as what's holding it back. My sense is - and maybe I'm wrong because I'm not generally into racing games - that reviewers may simply be too accustomed to Mario Kart's driving mechanics, which have remained somewhat consistent since the Super Nintendo, and in time they'll look back and realize that, as long as everyone is driving with the same mechanics, selecting tightness of controls/drift/etc are really just arbitrary decisions, and any game that does them differently will take some getting used to.

The "negative" (70 range) reviews seem to hone in on some missing competitive component and, I think, miss the understated joy of this genre - its unpredictability and its enjoyability regardless of skill level. The more often we get hit with explosives and environmental obstacles, the more we laugh. And creating your own tracks to compete with friends just adds a new level of surprise, competition, and strategy. So I'm a little bit disappointed with the reviews, which are more focused on how fast you should be tapping your shoulder button around a bend than on the more imaginative and entertaining aspects of this game.