Software Gadgets

I remember DOS. One of the good things about DOS was an addictive little shareware game called Scorched Earth. It was deceptively simple. It was a battle between two tanks, you selected the angle and power of each shot and tried to demolish the other tank. Of course, each screen was a different world and things like gravity and wind could vary greatly. And you could get better (and weirder) weapons as time went on. The graphics were primative even by the standards of the day, but the game was great fun to play. You can read a review of Scorched Earth over on Classicgaming.com. While the game is apparently still available for the shareware fee from its author, it has "quirks" in modern Windows systems.

Scorched 3D is a freeware "remake" of Scorched Earth updated for the 21st century. As you might guess from the "3D" in the title, the remake uses modern 3D graphics to excellent effect. Personally, I was afraid that they would make the game too different from the original. Much to my surprise, while they do increase the dufficultly level somewhat and take some getting useds to, I like them and think that add a lot to gameplay.

From the web site:

You can pick up the game and begin playing very quickly. Then, when/if you are interested, you can poke in the dimmer recesses of the game and get into the strategy (or just ignore it altogether!).

At its lowest level, Scorched 3D is just an artillery game with two+ tanks taking turns to destroy opponents in an arena. Choose the angle, direction and power of each shot, launch your weapon, and try to blow up other tanks. That's basically it.

But Scorched 3D can be a lot more complex than that, if you want it to be. You can earn money from successful battles and use it to invest in additional weapons and accessories. You can play with up to twenty four other players at a time, mixing computer players with humans. There's a variety of changing environmental conditions and terrains to be dealt with. After the end of each round (which ends when everybody dies or there's only one person left), you get to buy stuff using the prize money you won from previous matches.

I'm not a gamer, but this is a great game -- and you can't beat the price. There are versions for most major operating systems, so you can play with your friends even if some are on Windows, some on Macs, and some on various Unix boxes.

Rating: 5
Operating System: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, BSD, Solaris, and more
License: Freeware
Price: Free
Web Site: http://www.scorched3d.co.uk/
See Screenshots