Publisher: THQ
Developer: Illfonic
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, 2.0 GHz Core2Duo or better CPU, 2 GB RAM (3 GB for Vista), 512 MB GeForce 8800 GT/Radeon 3850 HD or better graphics card, DirectX-compatible sound device, DirectX 9.0c, 3 GB hard-drive space.
Genre: FPS
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: May 10, 2012

The other day I was standing in the shower when suddenly I was stung with an awareness of my mortality. I wondered that, if I died today, would I have left anything of worth behind? My life’s achievements, the friends, the debt, that nice thing I did once, what did they mean? But one stood out: that one time I dominated so much at a UT2K4 LAN party that I wasn’t invited back. I smiled, basking in the glow of my former glory, until I realized that I was about to be late for my retail job. I might withhold these deep personal truths from my counselor, but that’s only because he doesn’t understand. Developer Illfonic, however, has an uncanny understanding of my pains and desires. Their latest game, the oddly-titled Nexuiz, seems tailor-made to let you relive your better times, assuming those times involve classic FPS action.

To describe Nexuiz, it helps to explain its lineage. In 1999, id Software released the source code of its seminal Tech 1 engine, which powered Quake. An entire community of people grew around it, fiddling with the tech bits and making their own mods and stand-alone games. One of those games was Alien Arena, which over the years grew into Nexuiz. Now, after being digested by the community for almost a decade, this little mod is getting a full commercial release.

It’s interesting to note that Nexuiz has to call itself an “arena FPS.” Once upon a time there was no need for subdivision. But today, with copy-paste marines plodding about, aiming down their gun barrels, it’s important to make the distinction. Gone are today’s hitscan assault rifles. Instead of that nonsense, there’s a full armory of alien shotguns, rocket launchers, and other things with no earthly equivalent. If you miss the days of Quake and Unreal, then you’ll feel right at home.

Far from its humbling beginnings as a Quake mod, Nexuiz is getting a full facelift to meet the demands of 2012, including matchmaking lobbies (with server browsers), leaderboards and fancy graphics, thanks to CryEngine 3. One of Nexuiz’s most interesting additions is the mutator. No, not the Unreal Tournament mini-mods, but dynamic powerups that do everything from add jetpacks to temporarily change gravity. Not content with just a handful, or even a dozen, Illfonic has created a hundred different random mutators, which can change the game anytime. Even with all its updates, Nexuiz’s heart still beats with classic FPS blood. While the game’s currently available on the Xbox 360 through XBLA, the PC release is still going through closed beta testing to ensure it gets a proper homecoming when it’s released in May.