Scorched Earth

The Good
Scorched Earth is fun. Plain and simple. Personally, I've always liked games involving ballistics (doesn't hurt that I can adjust my aim quickly). But the first time that I played Scorched Earth, I was blown away. There was just so much to change, and buy, and avoid. The initial options are fairly complex, as you can change the entire physics of the game, but once you start playing, it's pretty straightforward.

One of the things that really got me when I first started playing, was that if you chose a tank, you could move. Is the enemy closing in on your position? Get the heck out of there! Though some of the AIs are smarter than that, moving can be a good move. Also, the list of weapons and items is very long. There are several different types of weapons, with at least two versions of those. For example, missles range from your basic pea shooter, to a nuke that can take out a sizable chunk of land. As for miscelaneous equipment, there are shields (boy do these come in handy!), guidance systems (iffy at best), parachutes for those long falls, and even gasoline (you did want to drive around, right?).

Along with all of that, you can play with up to 9 opponents, all of which can be human beings. Trust me, add alcohol to this mix and things can get very fun.

The Bad
I only have a few gripes, first of which is the AI (for when I don't have nine friends lying around). The AI seems to be either stupid, or a genius. There is very little in between despite the fact that you can choose about 10 different intelligences. The other problem is that there are a few glitchy weapons, though once you figure out which ones those are, you can avoid them.

The Bottom Line
All in all, this is a must play, particularly with a group of people (alcohol optional). Plus if you have a degree in physics, you'll make a killing!