Liquid War is one of the most well known freeware games ever, since the most stable version (5), has been ported to multiple platforms. Recently, version 6 was released. The new version contains better graphics, but the beta is still buggy. This review will cover stable version 5.

What can I say about Liquid War? There is no blood, no gore, no helicopters with machine guns. But what you do have, is giant blobs of liquid. Your task: Surround the opposing liquid and make your blob bigger. War has never been this much fun.

There are many charms to Liquid War. One of them is the fact that there isn't a story mode.  Another is the very simple, easy to learn gameplay. Choose your colour, choose how many opposing teams, choose a map, and then battle. A battle can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 hours. Your job is to grow your amount of liquid by moving your circular cursor around the map. As you move, your liquid will follow. Surrounding your enemy will turn their liquid to your colour. Things can get really messy (and fun) when you have 6 teams fighting for supremacy.

Now, where Liquid War really shines is in the multiplayer. But don't fret, for if you don't have a friend to play with, then you can play against the very smart AI. And of course, playing with your friends against the AI team is also alot fun. So much fun in fact, that you wind up roleplaying. My cousin and I called the red liquid the "Empire" and the blue liquid the "Rebels". It's that type of good old fun that everyone can enjoy... but you better have good reflexes. It can be a challenge when your liquid is being attacked at multiple angles.

Another terrific feature of Liquid War, is the ease of multiplayer hosting. In order to host a global, online game, all you need to do is open the server prompt. This will open your OS's terminal, and the terminal will run a game server. Give your friends the connection details, and you've got a match. You can even make your server public.

Overall, I have played many freeware games in the past. But I always come back to Liquid War. It's simple, but yet amazing. It's hard to explain. Your mind starts role playing a battleground, with your liquid soldiers fighting for freedom against the evil dictorship red liquid. Did I mention the numerous fanfics created around Liquid War? And of course, let's not forget the terrific gameover chart, which details all sorts of stats from the battle.

The only faults that I have found in Liquid War, are the lack of different maps. You can create your own, but everything stays pretty simple. The graphics are also plain, but version 6 has better style.

So go on commander! Lead your yellow minions into battle, and come out as the winner. Just don't get too caught up in the beautiful waves of colour.