# Free Steam Game: Alien Swarm **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399 "2010-07-20T22:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/1 "2010-07-20T22:13:03Z")
My apologies if this has been posted somewhere before - I didn’t see a thread on it. Alien Swarm is a very polished third-person shooter featuring 4-player co-op versus…well, alien swarms. There are multiple guns, four unique classes and gameplay that requires good teamwork over pure twitch. Did I mention it’s free? If you haven’t picked this up yet, it’s well worth the zero dollars and zero cents. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/2 "2010-07-20T23:33:22Z")
Thanks for posting, I’ll give this a try. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/3 "2010-07-21T03:36:49Z")
Played a few hours of this today… Very fun. I’d have paid $20 for this easy. Reeeeeeeeeeeeally wish they’d added in some diablo2 rpg loving with loot drops and stat points and skill trees… mmmmm… I digress. Good game, well worth the download. Insane is actually very insane. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/4 "2010-07-21T07:15:34Z")
Downloading now. ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/5 "2010-07-21T09:45:09Z")
It’s pretty great. The included campaign is really short but I’m hoping some fan campaigns start popping up quickly. I’m confused by the free-ness, though. I mean, Valve, you’re a great company, but what’s your angle? Are you just showing off now? Did an enemy of Gabe Newell make a third person shooting game and this is just spite? ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/6 "2010-07-21T11:15:18Z")
It’s free, but it requires Steam to run. I’m sure they’ve got figures showing that if they can just get people to use Steam, those people then go on to buy things through it. The drug dealer business model is a powerful thing. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/7 "2010-07-21T14:27:19Z")
It’s top-down rather than third person. As for why it’s free, why not? There are tons of source engine mods out there that are good games in themselves that are free. This just got more publicity because it was the side project of some people who got hired by valve from the modding community. I mean it’s definitely cool that it’s free and it could probably justify charging for - I think in this case maybe since the people got hired mid-project (I think) by valve, but valve didn’t want to put out such a small project under their name, they just went ahead and released it for free. It is unusual if it doesn’t require any source engine games at all to play (as other mods do) but it’s not unusual at all to find high quality free games/mods like this. Plus they released the code for it, so that other people can learn and make their own source mod games. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/8 "2010-07-21T19:21:31Z")
Seems fun. I haven’t played online yet. ---
**Author:** ![ElectricZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58f4c7/32.png) [@ElectricZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElectricZ)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/9 "2010-07-22T01:02:41Z")
If I recall correctly, Alien Swarm began as an Unreal Tournament 2004 mod. I tried dl’ing it and playing it way back when but it was too much of a pain to set up. Now, Valve has released it as a stand-alone game for free. A buddy and I have been putting it through its paces. For $0, it’s a no brainer. The learning curve seems to be a bit steep. We keep getting our butts kicked on normal… :smack: anyway, if you see me online send me a msg and let’s go on a bug hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/10 "2010-07-22T01:10:35Z")
> [@ElectricZ](#): > > If I recall correctly, Alien Swarm began as an Unreal Tournament 2004 mod. I tried dl’ing it and playing it way back when but it was too much of a pain to set up. > > Now, Valve has released it as a stand-alone game for free. A buddy and I have been putting it through its paces. For $0, it’s a no brainer. The learning curve seems to be a bit steep. We keep getting our butts kicked on normal… :smack: > > anyway, if you see me online send me a msg and let’s go on a bug hunt. I don’t know if I would call it a learning curve. It simply rewards having a full team of four. After that, just point and shoot (the bugs, not teammates silly) for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![ElectricZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58f4c7/32.png) [@ElectricZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElectricZ)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/11 "2010-07-22T01:19:11Z")
> [@ElectricZ](#): > > The learning curve seems to be a bit steep. We keep getting our butts kicked on normal… :smack: > > anyway, if you see me online send me a msg and let’s go on a bug hunt. Just played through a couple maps and it’s a much, MUCH easier time if one of the party is a medic. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/12 "2010-07-22T02:51:37Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s free, but it requires Steam to run. I’m sure they’ve got figures showing that if they can just get people to use Steam, those people then go on to buy things through it. Yeah, this is probably it. Consider that, a few months ago, they were giving away Portal, one of their flagship games, for free. And indeed, I got Steam to get Portal, and then (even being a total cheapskate) did go on to buy something. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/13 "2010-07-22T03:23:02Z")
> [@Garula](#): > > It’s pretty great. The included campaign is really short but I’m hoping some fan campaigns start popping up quickly. Err, there’s a campaign? When I run it all I get is “Play Online” or “Offline Practice”. Are the practice missions what you’re calling a campaign? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/14 "2010-07-22T03:27:14Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Err, there’s a campaign? When I run it all I get is “Play Online” or “Offline Practice”. Are the practice missions what you’re calling a campaign? What exactly do you think “play online” means? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/15 "2010-07-22T03:29:06Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > What exactly do you think “play online” means? I think it means play online… you have to join a game which is running a particular mission which you play with other players. Almost universally when games have a “campaign” they mean a single-player, sequential series of missions. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/16 "2010-07-22T10:25:28Z")
Sequential series of missions, yes, single-player, no. There are 7 missions that make up the campaign, and the “practice offline” is the first two missions glommed together with some rudimentary bots filling in (poorly) for the other 3 players. It’s intended as a multiplayer-only game. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/17 "2010-07-22T16:23:37Z")
I’ve played last night and would love some more people to join games - if anyone’s interested, friend me. Feel free to kick an invite my way to join your game too. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/18 "2010-07-22T16:56:38Z")
Yeah, I’ve played it a little. Totally worth the price of admission. I don’t think it’s one that I’ll play all that often, but it’s kinda neat. I’m kinda having trouble getting used to the movement. I’m used to having movement be relative to the toon and not relative to the environment. [hijack] I’ve really been enjoying Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, but I can’t get it to let me play multiplayer, and I would think that would be pretty neat. [/hijack] (I’m MyDarnSnakeLegs on Steam, as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/19 "2010-07-22T17:40:35Z")
Had a quick go offline, but haven’t played online yet. I’m on steam as LongNameForAShortLife if anyone wants to add me. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399/20 "2010-07-22T17:44:01Z")
> [@Mekhazzio](#): > > Sequential series of missions, yes, single-player, no. There are 7 missions that make up the campaign, and the “practice offline” is the first two missions glommed together with some rudimentary bots filling in (poorly) for the other 3 players. It’s intended as a multiplayer-only game. OK. Making sure I wasn’t missing something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-steam-game-alien-swarm/547399.md?page=2)