1. Total Annihilation (Core Contingency AND BATTLE TACTICS)

2. Quake II

3. Forsaken

4. Incoming

5. Carmageddon (Splat Pack)

6. Flight Simulator 98

7. Descent Freespace

8. Duke Nukem 3D (Download supermarket map)

9. Tomb Raider I & II

10. You Don't Know Jack Netshow -- free (downloads)

Well gamefans the end of the year is approaching and the game companies are preparing the final touches on the games destined to be under your christmas tree this year. Most of them are sporting a release date of late November in order to allow extra time if needed. I cannot include these games in this month's top ten list simply because they are not finished yet. However, netizens rejoyce, for many of these games have excellent downloadable demos that are available right now! Because playing these demos will give you a better idea of the worth of the game than I ever could I highly suggest that you download every single one of the demos in this list. Before downloading see the note at the bottom of the page. Here goes:

Carmageddon 2
Do NOT miss this one! I have been playing this demo constantly ever since I downloaded it. Carmageddon 2 is an absolute MUST buy when in comes out in November. The developers of this game have taken an intensely fun game and improved it tenfold without ever compromising the original's charm. The game controls in precisely the same manner as the original with some added bonuses. For example an instant replay function has been added so that you can replay that pedestrian that you took out in mid-air. Also you no longer have to wait until between races to upgrade your armor, power, and offense it is now done in real time, while you are racing. The most incredible improvement that the second installment includes is the more realistic damage to your car from crashes. Pieces of the car actually fall off and the windshield cracks and shatters. See ya on the road.

Sin
Sin is the latest child of the first person genre. In my opinion this game is the closest that the genre has gotten to its ageing poster child "Duke Nukem 3D" since Duke himself. The game has a cartoony look much like that of Duke Nukem 3D but with very improved graphics and the use of the Quake 2 game engine. This game also sports a somewhat familiar wiseass, macho hero named Blade. This demo is lots of fun to play and showcases some of the interesting things that can be done with the Quake 2 engine. This is the first shooter that I have seen since Duke that takes place in a realistic city atmosphere. This demo also supports support for multiplayer play. Kali just added support for it with thier latest software. Check it out.

WIng Commander -- Secret Ops
Wing Commander is not actually a demo at all. It is a full version game that is completely free and downloadable. Origin released this full version for free as thanks to thier loyal customers. The game will feature 7 weekly installments all of which are available on the net for free. The download is a colossal one though, a full 112 meg. for the first installment. Hopefully the others will be less.

When downloading any of the demos that I feature on this page I highly suggest that you first download a program called Getright. Getright is a download manager that monitors clicks in your browser. With Getright loaded you can set your computer up to download demos overnight while you sleep. If it is disconnected it will reconnect and continue downloading where it left off. When it is finished it can be set up to disconnect and shut off your computer for you. I don't know what I would do without it. It certainly wouldn't have the patience to download any of the above demos without it!