Check out Playlinc (http://www.playlinc.com). It is a combination of GameSpy Arcade, Xfire, Himachi, a gaming tips site and tech help forums. If all you do is play single player games then playlinc can organize all the games installed in one place and let you lunch them with one click. It also provides you with a chat room to talk about those games and a single place with a list of tips. However few of us really care about that so playlinc can also act as himachi or create a virtual private LAN. This way you can host any server with any settings or any map you have and let your friends connect directly to you. So for example if you messed around with some settings in HL like by lowering the gravity or creating a new map that no other server online has you can let your friends play with you without having to buy a new. My brother and I also use the same Bf2 DVD so normally we could not play online together because each server does a CD key check but with this option I created a LAN server ( lan servers dont do CD key checks) and invited my brother and my clan mates in to play with us. There was very little lag and I could finally show my little brother who is the better player and make him shut up once and for all. Playlinc also PROVIDES FREE SERVERS FOR 3 HOURS. Through the playlinc software you can also ask them to host a RANKED BF server of which you will have full admin control for 3 hours. After 3 hours if you want to have your own server then just dump this one and request a new one. Sure requesting a new server every 3 hours may be slightly troublesome but THEY ARE FREE SO WHY COMPLAIN! I'm actually a clan leader of a small free Bf2 clan so this feature lets us compete against the bigger clans with $500 budgets on servers. Before I found playlinc my clan had to find an empty Bf2 server and hop on that to practice. Of cause when we did that the server either changed to the maps we didn’t want or someone joined our games in the middle of our practice. Now we just request a free locked unranked Bf2 server for our practices. I have looked at the list of other servers you can host and it’s huge. AOE3, CSS, DOD, HL2Deathmatch, BF2SF, BF2142, etc.... Playlinc also lets you host their free voice server as expected.
Playlinc also has an overlay option like Xfire that lets you chat with your friends while playing a game but it is so much more advanced now. Beside just talking to friends you can now also browse the web from inside the game. This is VERY helpful for checking the other team’s TWL rouser before the match or what every else. This overlay also lets you manage your voice server ( mute, invite, kick ppl, etc..) and read up on strategies for the game you are playing.
The only downside is that you have to have an AIM account to log into playlinc because AIM is one of the main sponsors. I would prefer to log in with my Xfire account but most of us already have an AIM account and getting A FREE RANKED SERVER would definitely be worth spending 30 seconds on making an AIM account. This was actually crated by company that developed game server listings so the reason all of this is free is because this company is very well connected in higher places. I wish EA did the same for us gamers. Check it out at www.playlinc.com :)
Playlinc also has an overlay option like Xfire that lets you chat with your friends while playing a game but it is so much more advanced now. Beside just talking to friends you can now also browse the web from inside the game. This is VERY helpful for checking the other team’s TWL rouser before the match or what every else. This overlay also lets you manage your voice server ( mute, invite, kick ppl, etc..) and read up on strategies for the game you are playing.
The only downside is that you have to have an AIM account to log into playlinc because AIM is one of the main sponsors. I would prefer to log in with my Xfire account but most of us already have an AIM account and getting A FREE RANKED SERVER would definitely be worth spending 30 seconds on making an AIM account. This was actually crated by company that developed game server listings so the reason all of this is free is because this company is very well connected in higher places. I wish EA did the same for us gamers. Check it out at www.playlinc.com :)