GamesFPSHalf-Life 220 years later, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch still my favorite online multiplayer FPS of all timeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesFPSHalf-Life 220 years later, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch still my favorite online multiplayer FPS of all timeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Valve)
Sure, it’s a little rough around the edges against today’s standards. Aiming is a little too precise, weapons are a little too clunky, and opponents can absorb more bullets than Tony Montana in the final scene of Scarface before hitting the deck, but Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is still a great time, with a handful of active servers which, in my experience, are populated during US hours to varying degrees seven days a week.
To this end, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is one of the best $5 (£4.29) games that money can buy in 2024.
Full life
Image1of4(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)
Image1of4(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)
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(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
(Image credit: Valve)
I’ve admittedly drifted from online shooters in more recent years. I once dabbled in Counter-Strike back in the day, was keen on Rainbow Six: Siege at one point, bounced in and out of Overwatch when it first arrived, and have always enjoyed the odd bout of Titanfall andApex Legends. But where modern games in this space appear to have become obsessed with rankings, grinding, and competitive play, I reckon some of the fun has been drained from the experience.
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It’s fun, it’s frantic, and it’s fascinating that folk are still playing in decent enough numbers some 20 years later, doubly so when it feels like most of the folk sprinting around you, each carrying bathroom china lasered to their weapons, don’t actually know what they’re doing. No voice chat means no immediately obvious toxicity, and, given the fact that the game landed in 2004 – for context, it launched just a few weeks after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and the day before Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in the US – it can be run on an absolute potato PC if you’re so inclined.
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For just $5 (£4.29), I think Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is worth a punt, even here in 2024. But I’m likely to think so. It’s my favorite online multiplayer FPS of all time – one that I haven’t stopped playing for two decades.
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch released on Steam back in 2004. If you’re looking for something more modern to play, why not check out our ranking of thebest FPS gamesthat you can play today.
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Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”