Overall Rating

No Ratings

With most of its subscribers on a $19.95-a-month flat-rate payment plan, America Online is trying hard to find new and different ways to get people to pay for their time online. One of its solutions is AOL’s new Premium Channel (Keyword: Worldplay), an incredible variety of multi-player online games ranging from shoot-em-up sci-fi slugfests to sedate games of wit and trivia. The downside: You have to pay $1.99 an hour to play most of them. The upside: Several of them actually are worth it.

Note: Most of these games require that

you install Direct Input before playing. Basically, Direct Input is a series of programs that allow two computers to communicate with each other. It’s available free of charge, it takes about an hour and a half to download with a 28.8-Kbps modem, and you can find it at Keyword: GCDirectX.

Blowing Up Giant Robots is Fun, Fun, Fun!

Probably the best game on AOL right now is Multi-Player Battletech (Keyword: Battletech). It’s an online adaptation of the popular game Mechwarrior II, in which you and your enemies drive giant robots around and blow each other up with lasers. After you spend an hour or so downloading the software, you’re good to go. You can pick from dozens of different robots to drive and can join teams or just go after other "mechs" on your own. It’s a blast, and it’s surprisingly easy to learn to play. But watch out: it’s also incredibly addictive.

Dogfightin’ Online

Another action game worth checking out is the WWII air combat game Air Warrior (Keyword: Air Warrior). You can pilot dozens of different fighter planes, join a bomber crew, or even drive a tank or jeep around. The game can support several hundred players at once and offers a variety of "missions" that involve more than just blowing the enemy away. And best of all, it’s completely free. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to play if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. It took me more than an hour to figure out how to leave the runway (and no, I’m not that stupid), and after several days of play I still find myself wandering around trying to find the enemy, running into hills by mistake, etc. It’s a great game, but it’s got a heck of a learning curve.

The Art of War

Strategy more your speed? Take a look at Warcraft 2 (Keyword: Warcraft), AOL’s adaptation of the legendary real-time fantasy combat game. Take control of the noble human armies or the savage Orcish hordes, and do battle on fields ranging from snowy wastelands to burning deserts -- and even in the air and on the water. With combat units ranging from elven archers to goblin submarines to fire-breathing dragons, it’s one of the most varied and engaging combat games ever made. And it’s even better when your opponent’s played by a real live human.

Use Your Mind, Not a Blaster!

If you don’t particularly like grinding your enemies into bloody pulp (what’s wrong with you, anyway?), then The Premium Channel’s collection of puzzle and board games may be more your style. Practically every classic board game you can imagine is offered here, from Backgammon (Keyword: Backgammon) to Cribbage (Keyword: Cribbage) to Billiards (Keyword: Billiards) -- as well as the original word game Catchword (Keyword: Catchword), in which you try to beat the clock by creating words from random letters. AOL also offers online versions of several classic card games, including Bridge (Keyword: Bridge), Gin (Keyword: Gin) and Spades (Keyword: Spades -- you get the idea).