Title: Deathmatch Classic
Developer: Valve Software
Publisher: None (free internet download)
Date Published: 2001
Platforms: PC
Deathmatch Classic is an attempt by Valve Software's in-house modmaking team (they made Team Fortress Classic and Ricochet as well) to reproduce the fast-paced, frenetic online "deathmatches" of id Software's Quake inside of Valve's own Half-Life, a game widely considered to be "the best computer game of all time" - and itself based off of the Quake engine. However, this mod is not a straight port of Quake's Deathmatches, as it replaces the original's textures and models. Basically, an all-time classic has been given a big-time makeover.
DMC is included with Half-Life's newest client or server-side patch (not coincidentally, you'll find Ricochet and Team Fortress Classic on the newest patch as well), and includes:
- 6 maps: DM2 - Claustrophobopolis, DM3 - The Abandoned Base, DM4 - The Bad Place, DM6 - The Dark Zone, and E1M2 - Castle Of The Damned.
- The original's timeless weapons. (And yes, the *thunk* of the grenade launcher is still in.) The only change is that the original's axe has been replaced with a Half-Life-style rusty crowbar. In total, the assortment of bloodletting objects for your use are the Crowbar, the Shotgun, the double-barrelled Shotgun, the Nailgun, the Perforator (big nailgun), the Grenade Launcher, the Rocket Launcher, and the Thunderbolt (big lightning gun)
- The original's powerups. Ring of Shadows grants invisibility, Pentagram of Protection makes you invulnerable, and Quad Damage makes you kill stuff a lot faster.
You can find resources for Deathmatch Classic at the following websites. It is not the most popular modification out there for Half-Life (at least, not according to GameSpy), but its tried-and-true gameplay (the original Quake rocket launcher was, and is, a thing of beauty) makes DMC a good one. Besides, its a free mod thrown together by Valve, which could have been working on bigger and better things. How's that for community support?
- Snarkpit - http://www.snarkpit.com/maps.php?mod=DMC - More conversions of original Quake maps to Deathmatch Classic.
- Zapper - http://www.zapper.org.uk/ - A thriving DMC community site, with plenty of news, forum discussions, and active servers.
- FilePlanet - http://www.fileplanet.com/section.aspx?s=79353 - FilePlanet's directory of maps and other files for DMC.
Sources: Steve Gibson of Shacknews - http://www.shacknews.com/extras/e_dmc/, Planet Half-Life - http://www.planethalflife.com, Toby Goldstone's Quake FAQ at GameFAQs | 
