netWAR was an online-only multiplayer shooter allowing up to 16 players to
battle in arena combat. Players could select from one of four characters
featuring different weapon loadouts; such a machine gunner with a fast firing
rate but low damage per shot, or a bomber with a large blast radius but very
slow rate of fire. Supply drops occurred at random, delivering health packs
and powerups. Vehicles, including tanks and gunboats, could also be
commandeered and used against your opponents.

netWAR featured four game types:
Mayhem was a free-for-all game where up to 16 players accumulated kills for
their accounts’ permanently-tracked stats. Players could retreat to a “home
tent” where they could spend money to restore health and/or cower behind its
defenses.

Basic Training was identical to Mayhem, but kills and deaths were not
recorded to stats.

Deathmatch placed 16 players in a tournament. Kills counted for 2 points,
deaths subtracted 1. The top half of players progress to the next round,
diminishing until two players face each other in the final round – the first
with three kills wins.

Teamplay pitted four teams of 4-6 players (minimum of 16 total) against
each other. For the first ten minutes, players could gather powerups and
fortify territory. After ten minutes, no players respawn. The team left
standing wins. Players could “sign up” for Deathmatch or Teamplay and play a
different match while they waited for the minimum number of players to be
gathered.

netWAR required a subscription fee to play. The retail box and download
both included the first year of play in the purchase price. netWAR was
finally shut down on July 21, 1999.