After a very long waiting period, the team behind the creation of the Half-Life mod “The Specialists” have unveiled the latest version of their game, TS 3.0.

For those unfamiliar with The Specialists, it’s an action mod created by Filippo "Morfeo" De Luca and Lorenzo "John_Matrix" Pasini, and built on by a strong willed community. The standards of the First Person Shooter still apply, but are augmented by an intuitive stunt system, slow motion action, hand to hand combat with fists and an array of melee weapons, customizable firearms, and the ability to play from a third-person camera.

The Specialists 3.0 has a number of interesting gamplay modes. It features the traditional Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, but also contains several unique play types. The One Mode, for example, pits one super-powered player against an onslaught of other players, who try and kill “The One” and take his place. Last Man Standing works like regular DM, but players sit out when they die until only one player remains. And, new to 3.0 is Capture the Briefcase, which puts a new TS-style spin on the old favorite, Capture the Flag.

The new version modifies the way TS’s unique Kung Fu system works, creating the most efficient and exciting hand to hand battles yet. This release also brings weapon balance more into line, and fixes bugs that existed in the past, which people familiar with the older versions will be glad to hear.

The Specialists 3.0 is not just about fixing the old, however. TS 3.0 has a whole host of new features. Two entirely new guns, the Contender G2 and the Skorpion, have been added to the lineup, giving the game more than 30 customizable weapons to choose from. In addition, many of the old maps have been updated with improved textures and layouts, and five brand new maps have been added. This updated map list makes use of new map entities, such as snow and rain, as well as a unique set of particle effects created specifically for use with The Specialists to create visuals effects unheard of in the Half-Life engine.

- Download the Specialists 3.0 client

- Download the Specialists 3.0 linux server