Current competitive games for free?

[TRSS]

It is indeed a calm time for pc players right now: I see many threads popping up on any game forum I visit that people crave for something fresh. Many releases this year featured co-operative grinding games that feel very generic and are not a lot of fun in the long run.

This includes me: Somebody who is looking for a competitive shooter where one hops into the action against a bunch of players to show true skill. This appears to be nothing special but my experience taught me better: Random based rewards, linear progression with bad damage tiers, small sessions with a few players, actual pay-to-win monetization, etc.

Also, I hopped onto the free-to-play train because I hate it to regret having spent money on a game that turns out to be horribly broken without proper customer support! With games for free I can tell me that it didn't cost me much if I get disappointed.

So, why am I here? Because I am sick of having a look at some distribution platform that slaps its most popular games into my face constantly. I am rather looking for my personal gem, if you know what I mean. This is relevant because not-so-popluar games tend to have less hackers than the big ones with millions of players. In addition, I hate it when my opinion gets drowned in crap topics on the specific game forums.

Therefore I would like to ask you guys kindly if you have a good experience with a game that meets the following requirements which are in fact nothing special but need to be put here to prevent odd suggestions:
Native support for Windows 7 (may be desktop client or browser game),
action gameplay in a 3D environment (may have focus on shooting, racing, etc),
must offer in-game career (save stats and stuff),
must not require distribution platform,
and yeah should be fairly modern (released in 2014, 2013, 2012,...).

I don't care about genres since these are stupid and meaningless anyway, actual gameplay matters most. Also, I can take crappy graphics - photorealistic attempts are not necessary to me. Player versus player combats with dozens of people is what I am after!

thanks a lot and looking forward to your replies!

 

[Foolery]

GunZ 2:The Second Duel, perhaps? Although that's actually a third-person shooter. I heard Ghost Recon Phantoms is ok. I tend to keep away from the F2P titles.

 

[TRSS]

GunZ 2:The Second Duel, perhaps? Although that's actually a third-person shooter. I heard Ghost Recon Phantoms is ok. I tend to keep away from the F2P titles.

I miss the times like in Bad Company 2 when gameplay was slow but smooth.
Ghost Recon Phantoms is actually like that; I already played it but what truely sucks is the tier system. In addition the match making is not very reliable and you cannot directly choose which session to join in public matches (WTF is this?!). I like the pace and speed of GRP, it is very tactical and balanced but there are too many other factors that ruin it (including hackers :/ )
I just had a look at a GunZ 2 video which looks super twitchy. But thanks for the tip, I might try it tomorrow or some time. Perhaps I will get along with the awkward movement style.

 

[Morgoth780]

There's Quake Live, also Planetside 2. Although I'm not certain if Planetside 2 really counts as competitive.

 

[TRSS]

There's Quake Live, also Planetside 2. Although I'm not certain if Planetside 2 really counts as competitive.

Aw well, I know these two but neither meets my requirements sadly. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The fact that you refuse to use any distribution platform really cuts down your choices. Steam has a few good competitive free to play games.

TF2, Hawken, DOTA2, Gotham City Imposters, are all really good, and there's tons more that I haven't tried and don't even know about.

 

[TRSS]

The fact that you refuse to use any distribution platform really cuts down your choices

I doubt that is the problem.

It is rather that when I want to hop into a game, I would like to make an experience. Of course, shooters are about shooting targets but those shooters that totally focus on shooting suck just like racing games where you can only race in vehicles.

The Grand Theft Auto series is actally very awesome because it involves so many activities but I have currently no way of acquiring this game legally. I mean, I would accept if somebody gave me an access key but I don't buy it on my own And pirating is for pu55ies.

This is why I never ever touched a Call Of Duty game because it is the least innovative and most narrow minded crap ever made.

Games that give you many way of achieving your goal are very attractive to me. In Tribes Ascend, you could of course go shoot enemies but you could also take care of your base. That is why I loved it so much.

Battlefield 3 lets you gain points by reviving team mates and repairing gear. You do not need to shoot anybody to be a good player.

This is what I desire

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The fact that you refuse to use any distribution platform really cuts down your choices

I doubt that is the problem.

It is rather that when I want to hop into a game, I would like to make an experience. Of course, shooters are about shooting targets but those shooters that totally focus on shooting suck just like racing games where you can only race in vehicles.

The Grand Theft Auto series is actally very awesome because it involves so many activities but I have currently no way of acquiring this game legally. I mean, I would accept if somebody gave me an access key but I don't buy it on my own And pirating is for pu55ies.

This is why I never ever touched a Call Of Duty game because it is the least innovative and most narrow minded crap ever made.

Games that give you many way of achieving your goal are very attractive to me. In Tribes Ascend, you could of course go shoot enemies but you could also take care of your base. That is why I loved it so much.

Battlefield 3 lets you gain points by reviving team mates and repairing gear. You do not need to shoot anybody to be a good player.

This is what I desire

Yeah, I don't think you understood, if you refuse to use any distribution platform it cuts down your choices because most free to play games these days are tied to various distribution platforms, like Steam, or Origin. If you're refusing to use these distribution platforms then you can't play the games. It has nothing to do with what kind of games they are.

If you want something like Grand Theft Auto you could play APB, but wait you can't because that requires steam and one of your requirements was that the games suggested not be locked to a distribution platform. See what I mean by the limiting of choices?

 

[TRSS]

you could play APB, but wait you can't because that requires steam and one of your requirements was that the games suggested not be locked to a distribution platform. See what I mean by the limiting of choices?

I understand very well: I was pointing out that the critical factor is not that I avoid distribution platforms but rather prefer games that offer a new world and game system to explore what reduces the possible choices ANYWAY. If APB is the only thing there is to get on Steam, I can pass on this one because one of my friend played it already but found it to be very bad what I could confirm when I watched some gameplay videos that gave me a clear image of this game.

It is not like you could hide that you want to express it was my fault that I cannot find anything. It is good that you consider my requirements when making suggestions but on the other hand there is no need to call me out

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

You can try Renegade X. It's still in beta, but I think it fits your requirements.

http://renegade-x.com/about.php

Here's a gameplay video

 

[TRSS]

You can try Renegade X. It's still in beta, but I think it fits your requirements.

Mh, that is a good suggestion... entirely free game, huh? Might be worth a try

But it is 01AM for me now and I will go sleep first and try it later today xP

thanks anyways

 

[the_dramatica]

GunZ 2:The Second Duel, perhaps? Although that's actually a third-person shooter. I heard Ghost Recon Phantoms is ok. I tend to keep away from the F2P titles.

They made a sequel? Did they fix the primary issues with the first?

 

[Erttheking]

You can try Renegade X. It's still in beta, but I think it fits your requirements.

http://renegade-x.com/about.php

Here's a gameplay video

Huh, kind of cool looking game. What's it about...THIS IS A COMMAND AND CONQUER GAME!? When the Hell did C&C get a shooter game? It's the first time I've heard of it!

 

[WaysideMaze]

You can try Renegade X. It's still in beta, but I think it fits your requirements.

http://renegade-x.com/about.php

Here's a gameplay video

Huh, kind of cool looking game. What's it about...THIS IS A COMMAND AND CONQUER GAME!? When the Hell did C&C get a shooter game? It's the first time I've heard of it!

About 12 years ago [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer:_Renegade]
The video linked in your quote is from a fan made remake.

 

[The Madman]

If you really want to show off your shooter skills then Quake Live is the place to do it, but seeing as you've dismissed that one already maybe something a bit more modern will satisfy you in the form of Blacklight: Retribution.

I don't play super many modern style shooters as I'm personally more fond of the area style shooter ala Quake or Unreal Tournament, but even so I still find Blacklight damned fun. According to STEAM (Pretty sure Steam isn't required) I've put around 39 hours into the game as well so it must be doing something right.


Doesn't feel pay 2 win either, which is nice. I've managed just fine without spending a penny and usually do quite well in the rankings.

Once upon a time I might have also recommended Tribes Ascend since I played that fairly regularly for a while, but yeah... that didn't work out so well.

 

[OrijinalDreamin]

As you say, if you don't mind genre conventions, I would suggest Smite, a third-person MOBA.

1) The client itself is downloaded from the website, so it bypasses the distribution criteria.
2) Auto-attacks work much like any TPS mechanics, so it's a natural transition if you're used to it.
3) As far as in-game progression goes, nothing is locked behind an arbitrary level cap; because everyone starts at square one at the beginning of a match, the only experience is what you yourself have internalized.
3a) Does save stats, admittedly not to the extent that some would like (e.g. how many hours total have I played?)
4) Utilizes a F2P model, with a free rotation of gods, with additional gods available for individual purchase/bundle.
4a) This is very much like the LoL method, w/ the exception being the one-time purchase of the God Bundle grants access to EVERY god, past, present and all future additions.
4b) In-game currency can be used for said gods, and Hi-Rez has been great about sales/promotions/free giveaways, that rewards the community so much, it justifies not having to spend real money.
5) Closed beta began in 2012, and officially launched March of this year, so it technically is a new game.

 

[Tayh]

you could play APB, but wait you can't because that requires steam

No, it does not.
Thankfully there's still a few awesome games out there that doesn't require intrusive, third-party drm programs.

Edit:
War Thunder doesn't require steam either.
There's a world outside steam, people. Just because you see a game on steam, doesn't mean it's an exclusive.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

If you can put up with Steam and enjoy WWII flight sims, War Thunder is quite fun and free to play. Takes some getting used to depending if you choose to play Arcade or the more Realistic. You can bomb ground targets, fight dogfight, go for naval vessels, it also has added tanks.
There are balance issues but I still find it to be fun. Again though its on steam.

 

[TRSS]

Thankfully there's still a few awesome games out there that doesn't require intrusive, third-party drm programs.

The problem is that I have already tried a lot games since 2009. I am running out of choices. Hoping for 2015 currently.


The reason why I hate distribution platforms is that they build up another layer of spam around your system by monitoring your memory and storage while sending huge piles of data via the Internet. Steam eats a lot of resources.

But what also really sucks is that you may not even contact a friend on Steam if you haven't purchased a game yet. This is the most retarded requirement for friendships ever. As far as I know, you cannot even give ratings on games for the same reason.

In addition, I only play games that run on themselves without other background tasks like Punkbuster or Easy Anti Cheat since I store sensitive private data on my machine.

Anyway, DRM platforms only cause trouble. There are many cases of faulty account suspensions due to these background tasks that should leave this business to the actual games!

There are plenty of reasons to avoid Steam, Origin, Arc, and so on.

I think it very pathetic to see a game only being available on Steam.