Warm up to D.I.P.R.I.P.
- By: Shaun Conlin and Chad Sapieha
- Published: 5/11/2008 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Database
And the best thing is - it's free,
One of the neat things about the new generation of consoles is the ability to purchase short and/or technically light games on the cheap. That's a good thing, too, considering the harsh economic climate across the nation that makes $60 purchases of "A-list" retail games out of the question for many.
So it follows that even neater than cheap little games on consoles are free little games on PC.
Steam Games recently released five such downloadable freebies, one of the more enduring of which is D.I.P.R.I.P. (Die in Pain, Rest in Peace), a post-apocalyptic car-combat game currently available as a demo, but in full working order.
Created by a small team of coders in Poland, this "MOD" - a custom variation on a Source-base game made possible by Valve Software's open distribution of its code - takes the fun, but short-lived driving segments from the Half-Life 2 series, modifies and revises them to make a self-contained, online multiplayer shooter out of it.
Tearing around in three distinct vehicles (more to come), each offering a balance of beefcake over nimbleness (among other things), all armed to the teeth with guns and other wondrous explosive-type weapons picked up on the fly, is truly a lot fun.
Getting gunned down or rammed to death repeatedly, not so much.
The thing is, though gameplay is pretty straightforward, D.I.P.R.I.P. is quite difficult to master. Save for the forward mounted guns and missile launchers, you're often trying to drive using W, S, A, D for forward, back, left and right, as with a first-person shooter (FPS), while free-looking around and aiming a top-mounted turret/launcher using the mouse.
In traditional FPS play, you invariably walk or run in the direction in which you're looking; a natural. When driving, however, look and aim is independent of steering, so you'll fixate on something to shoot at even as it passes you by, rounds a bend and heads off down the road while your vehicle ploughs straight into a wall or something, like a rubbernecker passing a car crash on the motorway, eyes clearly not on the road, where they should be, but on the action.
But really, it's just a rub-tummy/pat-head skill that's easy enough to get a handle on with some patience and practise ... if you can endure the constant barrage from those players who've mastered the skill already.
Anyway, you'll need Steam software and a previously purchased Half-Life 2 game already installed in order to get D.I.P.R.I.P. Warm Up. On the off chance you don't already have one, Valve is offering easy entry into the world of the Source MODs with Half-Life 2: Episode One now available for just $4.99. That's a heck of a deal right there, with five freebies, D.I.P.R.I.P. included, like a bonus bonanza. All available at http://www.steamgames.com.
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