14 DAY TRIAL // When a dedicated community awaits too much time for a sequel to their favorite game, the next thing they can do while waiting is come up with new mods for the already existing titles.
Many cult games have huge communities that support them with these customized expansions or mods that are meant to improve them and make players’ gaming experience more enjoyable.
That’s certainly the case with Valve’s Half-Life community, which has already released quite a few mods that are playable if you own one of the games in the series.
But what if you don’t really like the shooter genre and Half-Life did not spark any interest in you because of its mechanics. Perhaps you did not dig the story or the characters seemed bland to you.
Well, there’s always an alternative, so if you at least liked the Half-Life universe, then there’s a chance you will love the new mod released by the folks over at Vortal Storm, which is called Lambda Wars.
Technically, Lambda Wars is a mod for Alien Swarm, but the game is set in the Half-Life 2 universe, so no matter which community created the game it’s clear that it feels attached by both games.
As expected, the mod is available for free and can be downloaded via Steam. What’s really interesting about it is that instead of a shooter, developers have decided to take the strategy genre route.
The standalone mod set in Half-Life 2 universe is available for free
Lambda Wars is a strategy game that can be played even if you don’t own any of the Half-Life games or Alien Swarm. According to developers, Lambda Wars “is a free multiplayer Source Engine modification for Alien Swarm set in the Half-Life 2 universe.”
The classic real-time strategy game supports multiplayer and game lobby, including spectator mode. You can play several maps for up to 8 human or AI players.
The game also offers a decent unit tech tree and full-fledged RTS interface and HUD. Just like in any other strategy game, you will be able to build defensive and offensive structures, such as turrets, mines and many other.
In order to requisition better units and unlock abilities and upgrades, you will have to build various production and research facilities. Lambda Wars also includes some single-player missions, a tutorial map, as well as offline AI and skirmish mode.
Judging by the high number of positive reviews coming from players, Lambda Wars might be worth your time, especially that it won’t require you to pay for it.
