[jr2]

..Since when?  I just found out.  I own it anyways, but still, FWIW, I go it from this handy little list of free Steam games, here:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=851573

[The E]

Since June 25th, 2011.

[achtung]

slowpoke.jpg

[Mongoose]

Just a tad.

From that list, I know some people around here used to play Alien Swarm, though I only dabbled with it a bit myself.  I'd personally highly recommend Spiral Knights, which is a lot of fun.

[jr2]

I had no reason to go and find out; I purchased the Orange Box on Steam.  I only found out because I was searching for free Steam games.

[Patriot]

Yeah, i found out when someone made a thread about it in this very forum.

Most free games on Steam aren't really my cup of tea, so i don't bother trying or continuing playing through the game.

[Dragon]

I've heard that America's Army is a really good simulator, but that's about it when it comes to free games.

[Scourge of Ages]

Age of Chivalry is pretty cool too, if you like first-person melee-based tactical squad combat. Like Oblivion meets Mount & Blade meets Battlefield. I played it a bit in its beta form, and enjoyed it.

[Klaustrophobia]

I've heard that America's Army is a really good simulator, but that's about it when it comes to free games.

that started to suck a LONG time ago.  version 3 was the final nail in the coffin, but it was on the decline long before that.  when i stopped playing years and years ago, there was barely anyone left playing.  a year or so after that i installed it again on a more powerful computer to see if it worked any better or they fixed it at all.   nope.  there were about 5 servers up at that time.  i'd guess it's completely dead now.

but if you can find a 2.x version and a group of die-hard fans who still play to play with, it might be worth trying out.

[Dragon]

Does it have an SP component? I don't really play multiplayer, but I'm interested in simulation/training aspect.

[Klaustrophobia]

a little.  the training is single player.  marksmanship, weapons familiarization, obstacle course, stuff like that.  not stuff you're going to want to play over and over though. 

[jr2]

Has anyone released SP mods for it?

[Klaustrophobia]

i don't know, but doubtful.  the AI in 2.x was the most horrific thing i've ever seen, and from what i remember of 3 it didn't have any at all. 

[jr2]

It uses the Unreal 3 engine.  Unreal 3 doesn't support bots well, or no one has managed to make good bots for it for AA2/3?