Nexuiz

aka: Nexuiz Classic
Moby ID: 17954
Windows Specs
See Also

Description official description

Nexuiz is an open source 3D multiplayer shooter, licensed under the GPL, and has been in development for over 3 years. The developers' aim was to create the ultimate deathmatch game, by bringing the gameplay back to the basics with perfect weapon-balancing and fast-paced movement. The DarkPlaces engine is used, an advanced Quake1 engine with realtime lighting and shadowing, new particle effects and Md3/Md2 model support.

The freedom of movement provides strafe jumps, double jumps, circle jumps, mid-air control and rocket jumps. Eight weapons have been included with secondary firemodes that allow for advanced tactics. There is no story, just 17 maps with different themes and 15 player models to choose from. The servers support up to 64 players and all possible settings can be tweaked in-game. The game also has an internal server browser to find online games without a hassle.

Groups +

Screenshots

Credits (Linux version)

43 People (16 developers, 27 thanks) · View all

Project Leader
Co-Designer
Lead Programmer
Co-Designer
Lead Artist
Programmer
Lead Level Designer
Lead Animator, Skinner
Artist
Sound FX
Levels, Code, Sound
  • SavageX
Menu Artist
  • Innovati
Modeler
Level Designer
Hagar Model
2D Artist
QC Programmer
Thanks
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 14 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 6 ratings with 1 reviews)

The best freeware deathmatch game I've played.

The Good
Nexuiz impressed me when I first played it because it was free. Which is a great price in my book. And then, after playing many other freeware deathmatch games, I found that few, if any, could hold my attention as long as Nexuiz did.

First off, most of the levels in Nexuiz are well-designed and accommodate a varying number of players excellently. There's also a good number of them, assuring plenty of fragging with your friends and enemies.

And then we have the graphics. For being free and using the Quake I engine, they look pretty spectacular. The lighting is magnificent, the particle effects really work, and better still, the visuals can be scaled down to work on nearly any PC you could find.

Also, there are even bots included so you don't have to play online if you don't wish to. Although they'll never replace live players, they can hold their own on some of the higher difficulty levels.

Finally, I have to say that the weapons feel really balanced and fit the game like a glove. I have found each to be useful in its own capacity, and each has enough "omph" to make you smile.

The Bad
That all being said, Nexuiz isn't without its problems.

Firstly, the character models are the worse I've seen in a game since...well, the original Quake. They're lifeless and bland. A little injection of personality would have made them so much better.

The sound and music leave a lot to be desired as well. The sound effects are unimpressive, and the music fails to capture anything about the gameplay. It's just tiresome rock and heavy metal.

Some of the levels are also poorly designed and seem to be meant for looks rather than gameplay. Fortunately, this is more of an exception than a rule as most of the levels are solid.

The Bottom Line
Overall, I would call this game a definite must-play for anyone who loves the simplistic joy of deathmatch. There are also team modes like the standard capture the flag and team deathmatch, but this game isn't going to be a Battlefield replacement. It has, however, supplemented my meager supply of proper deathmatch games, and should hopefully tide me over for quite some time.

And since it's free, there's really nothing stopping you from trying it.

Windows · by Steely Gaze (208) · 2008

Trivia

Development team Alientrap Software meant to publish the game online through SetSystems, but they did it on their own, eventually.

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Related Sites +

  • Nexuiz
    Official game website

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 17954
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Sciere.

Amiga added by 666gonzo666.

Additional contributors: CalaisianMindthief.

Game added June 2, 2005. Last modified August 17, 2023.