NetWars

NetWar's carnage-filled credo is the more, the messier. Each player picks one of four characters, then joins one of four teams on a large multiplayer battlefield. Initially, you're armed only with one main weapon--a machine gun, dynamite, exploding stars, or grenades--but supply ships will drop power-ups and even vehicles from the sky during play to increase your firepower. And capturing flags will give your team control of the auto-firing turrets strategically placed around the field.

There's an explosive thrill to the man-on-a-mission commando raids, particularly when multiple teams attempt to capture the same flag. The armored vehicles keep shifting the balance of power, and the server will reset the free-for-all games every so often, juggling the teams to keep things fair.

There are, however, a few drawbacks. Proper team games are hard to organize, and since friendly fire hurts, there's no way to stop some dummy from shooting his own teammates. Thankfully, more players seem interested in enlisting the help of others than in splitting ranks, and most of the other problems could be fixed with patches. If you're looking for fast online action, NetWar's big explosions, sharp graphics, and lack of lag add up to big, brain-dead fun.