Have You Played... Science And Industry?

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.

Science & Industry was a mod for Half-Life in which two team did battle for control of a limited pool of scientists. Capture one and bring them back to your base and you could put them to work on researching new technologies, which would both aid your team in the fight and earn you money which would ultimately decide the match's victor.

It was superb. It took similar ideas to Capture the Flag and it draped a narrative upon it that made for a most interesting progression to matches, as research led to the gradual escalation of the fight as teams moved from pistols to unlocking shotguns and crossbows and flesh eating viruses. It meant that the progression of weaponry was intrinsically linked to your activities as a team, which as far as multiplayer economies go was more interesting and complex than most in its heyday.

Where it fell down, I think, was that most of the weapons and actual combat you were using was overly similar to the base Half-Life weapons. It was a mode, maybe, more than it was a game. But it was a mode I wish had been adopted by every other game out there. It would be perfect in Team Fortress 2, for example.

You can still play the game today, as it continues to be polished and tested and regularly updated.