Imagine what it would be like if Tony Jaa, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Woo and Keanu Reeves made a first person shooter.

Schwarzenegger would bring the weapons – guns, knives and grenades. Jaa would deliver some face breaking sick martial arts skills and the very real possibility of an elephant. The Woo would make levels like film sets and throw down some slow-motion dual wielding gun fights, and Keanu would roll around on the floor shooting into the air and shouting!

Sadly this epic, hollywood-esque, slow-motion bullet fest is nothing more than a dream. However back in late 2002 a Half Life mod was released. A mod that stood so close to this gamers wet dream of a shooter it could almost have been done for sexual harassment!

This is The Specialists

The Specialists is a first person shooter, multi-player death match that features everything we could ever want! It is intended to play like a generic action film with slow-motion, stunts, bullet dodging and Kung Fu kills galore!

Stunts and slow-mo sit right at the core of The Specialists. You are rewarded more frags for diving, sliding and stuntman kills. There are even throwing knives to add to the carnage and the option to play with Kung Fu only!

The game has a fine selections of levels such as the Lobby from the Matrix, a multi-story car park for epic shoot outs and Dietrich’s pad from Face/Off. The action is fast paced and fluid thanks to the fact that accuracy is not effected hugely by movement and the vast amount windows available for you to throw yourself through.

Power ups in The Specialists come thick and fast respawning very much like Mario Kart. They come in two types and are found all over the maps to be picked by diving into or running over them. There are ones with a single use and ones that last untill you get your face blown off in slow-motion by a diving Gordon Freeman in a long leather coat!

The single use power ups include 3 seconds of slow-motion, slow pause for that added matrix bullet trail madness and rapid fire mode. The more permanent power ups cover super jump and a more powerful Kung Fu for when you just need to kick someones face off!

Although it is based on the old Half Life engine The Specialists is still a truly outstanding mod. Fast paced, easy to play and as over the top hollywood movie as you can make it!

Just remember… There is no spoon