Spring - (Linux, Windows) If you’re looking forward to 2008 rather than backward to 2007, then look to Spring (also known as TA Spring or Total Annihilation: Spring) as the open source game of the year. TA Spring currently can execute most of Total Annihilation’s original gameplay flawlessly with its original units in their original format. Large battles are limited only by your computer’s power, with support for up to 5,000 units. You’ll wage those battles on large, highly detailed 3D maps with camera modes that allow you to view the battle scene from almost any angle. Games are played using one of a number of mods. Price: The core game is released under GPL License. Fortunately as of now, there are also two mods which have been released under the GNU/GPL, and several more which do not have clear licence terms (owned by their modder). However, there are also several mods for which some parts are still under copyright of Atari. For these you need to own the original TA game if you want to play.Download.
Tremulous - (Linux, Windows, Mac) This is a free open source team-based first-person shooter (FPS) with a game play similar to Gloom for Quake 2. NS. Tremulous features a two team FPS, humans and aliens, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Players on both teams are able to build working structures in-game RTS elements. The overall objective behind Tremulous is to eliminate the opposing team. This is achieved by not only killing the opposing players but also removing their ability to respawn by destroying their spawn structures. The game has been downloaded over 200,000 times. It was voted “Player’s Choice Standalone Game of the Year” in Mod Database’s “Mod of the Year” 2006 competitio, and it placed fifth in the annual Moddb.com competition among Indie games in 2007. This, despite the fact that a new version hasn’t been released since early 2006. Price: Free.Download (Linux, Windows) Download (Mac).
FreeCiv - (Linux, Windows, Mac) The open source game FreeCiv begins in prehistory where your mission is to lead your tribe from the stone age to the space age. This game is similar to the popular PC Civilization series created by Sid Meier. Freeciv is a turn-based multiplayer strategy game, in which each player becomes the leader of a civilization that fights to become the greatest civilization in history. Your goal is to build cities, collect resources, organize your government, and build an army. This is probably one of the most addictive and widely acclaimed open source empire-building strategy games around. The game supports three rulesets, an almost mind-numbing array of features, tweaks, and options, along with a set of unofficial options that will keep you busy for the rest of your life. The game is so popular that it’s been translated into twenty-nine different languages. Freeciv supports up to 30 players and LAN/Internet play. Price: Free. Download.
Nexuiz - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Nexuiz has been in development for close to 5 years by a team of amateur developers called Alientrap, lead by Lee Vermeulen. Their goal is to create fun action games that remain free, yet that compete with commercial game titles. Nexuiz is a 3d deathmatch game made entirely over the internet. The purpose of the game is to bring deathmatch back to the basics, with perfect weapon balancing and fast paced action, keeping itself away from the current trend of realistic shooters. It uses HFX textures by Evil Lair, and currently has 27 maps to frag in. With an advanced UI, the user can select between 15 different player models to use, with an average of two skins for each, and can connect to a master server to play people from all over the world. This game is an open source, cross platform, first person shooter. The current version, 2.2.3, was released in January 2007. Price: Free. Download.
Alien Arena - (Linux, Windows) Alien Arena’s real-time turn-based strategy action has been frantic, fast, and fun. The game contained a single player campaign, but the multi-player action was outstanding. Why are we speaking in the past tense? Because gamers now can enjoy version 6.10 of Alien Arena, with major changes, enhancements, and surprises. Alien Action first was released in October, 2004. Since that initial release, nearly every aspect of the game has been revamped. It’s like an entirely new game. The newest version includes seven brand new arenas with sound, a more balanced and responsive weapon set (including a new weapon - the Violator!), and the ability to 1-to-1 through a duel mode. Input and netcode are improved, resulting in fluid gameplay even at 150+ pings. Last, but not least, CURL is implemented, allowing for much faster map and content downloads. Price: Free. Download (If you already have Alien Arena 2007, you will need to install version 6.10 over top of your existing installation in order to patch it.)
Battle For Wesnoth - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Fight a desperate battle to reclaim the throne of Wesnoth, or take hand in any number of other adventures in the just-released version 1.3.15. The game is set in a fantasy environment with 16 races and 6 factions. There are over 200 units which yield different types of weapons and abilities. There are six major races available to the player. These include humans, elves, orcs, dwarves, undead and drakes. As the game progresses, the player can ally with other races such saurians, merfolk, nagas, ogres, trolls and woses. The game supports online play for you to challenge up to 8 of your friends. Some players will prefer Wesnoth over Freeciv due to its accessibility. The Web site alone is entertaining, with a history of the game and of Wesnoth, along with characterizations, location descriptions and more. Price: Free. Download.
Scorched 3D - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Scorched 3D is a combat game based heavily on the classic DOS game Scorched Earth, “The Mother Of All Games.” Scorched 3D adds a 3D island environment and LAN and internet play. At its lowest level, Scorched 3D is just an artillery game with two+ tanks taking turns to destroy opponents in an arena. Choose the angle, direction and power of each shot, launch your weapon, and try to blow up other tanks. That’s basically it. The mods are what make this game a winner through 2008. The game includes an Apocalypse mod, Operation Scorched, Scavenger Hunt, Scorch Wars mod and more. Version 41.3 Released was just released on 20 January 2008. Price: Free. Download.
Frets On Fire - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Winner of the Assembly Demo Party 2006, Frets on Fire is a Finnish music video game created by Unreal Voodoo. Players use the keyboard like a guitar to play along with scrolling on-screen musical notes to complete a song. One hand is used to press the ‘frets’ (F1 to F5) and another is used to press the ‘picks’ (Shift or Enter). Colored markers that appears are to be played by pressing ‘frets’ of the correct color and ‘picks’ at the correct moment. There are also song editors and tutorials featured in the game. Frets on Fire is free and open-source software. The game is written in the Python programming language and is licensed under the GNU General Public License, though the game incorporates other free and open-source code under other licenses. The game’s included song files and some internal fonts are proprietary, however, so their redistribution is not permitted. Price: Free. Download.
Secret Maryo Chronicles - (Linux, Windows) Secret Maryo Chronicles (SMC) is an open source two-dimensional platform game with a style designed similar to classic sidescroller games. Gorgeous graphics and interesting levels make for a refreshing take on Super Mario. SMC comes with an in-game editor - activated with the F8 key in the game. You can insert enemies, change the player start position on the level, insert active Sprites, and create half-massive Sprites which the Player can jump through, but can not fall through, etc. and more. The Powerup collections are where you begin to beat levels. Go to the site (linked above) to learn more about various graphics, sprites, and change player starting positions along with various levels and worlds. Although this is a simple game, the Powerup layers make SMC complex and fun. Price: Free. Download.
World Of Padman - (Linux, Windows, Mac) WOP is a new and free comic style game that uses the Quake 3 engine. The game was recently featured in 3 German magazine covers; PC Action, BRAVO Screenfun and Linux Intern. This game features full bot support for all game types. All you off-line gamers out there will be happy to play Spray your Colour, Big Balloon and Last Pad Standing with bots. The bots play very well, and most maps have been optimised for good bot play. They included all engines to all installers, so you don´t need to download WoP multiple times if you have more than one OS running, but the installer for your preferred OS - look for the engines in the XTRAS/engines folder. Padman grabbed fourth place in the Mod of the Year Awards 2007 for Indie games. Price: Free. Download.
Vendetta - (Linux,Windows, Mac) This MMO permits thousands of players to interact as the pilots of spaceships in a vast universe. Users may build their characters in any direction they desire, becoming rich captains of industry, military heroes, or outlaws. A fast-paced, realtime “twitch” style combat model gives intense action, coupled with the backdrop of RPG gameplay in a massive online galaxy. Three major player factions form a delicate balance of power, with several NPC sub-factions creating situations of economic struggle, political intrigue and conflict. The completely persistent universe and detailed storyline add to the depth of immersion, resulting in a unique online experience. Price:Try the game for free, no strings attached, no credit card required. Sign up for a trial account, download the client and play whenever you like, up to a total of eight hours in the game. If you decide Vendetta Online suits you, it’s easy to upgrade to a paying account (major credit cards, PayPal, and other methods accepted). Rates are configured by the month, and they offer bulk discounts for larger blocks of time. Download (trial account).
Sauerbraten - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Sauerbraten (a.k.a. Cube 2) is a free multiplayer/singleplayer first person shooter, built as a major redesign of the Cube FPS. Although Sauerbraten shares most of its design goals and philosophy with Cube, it sues a new 6-directional heightfield world model. This allowance provides much more complex level geometry and easier editing. Much like the original Cube, the aim of this game is not necessarily to produce the most features and eye candy possible, but rather to allow map/geometry editing to be done dynamically in-game, to create fun gameplay and an elegant engine. In addition to the FPS game which is in a very playable state, the engine is being used for an RPG which is in the preproduction phase. The scenes are reminiscent of Myst, with Gothic perspectives and realism. Price: Free. Download (Linux, Windows) Download (Mac)
VDrift - (Linux, Windows, Mac) VDrift is a cross-platform, open source driving simulation made with drift racing in mind. With 19 tracks and 28 cars, you can see plenty of action from this game. It uses a simple networked multiplayer mode, and the physics are realistic. Plus, you have options for the Mouse/joystick/keyboard driven menus. You also have the ability to ability to exchange replays, allow the player to tune the car in the game and exchange settings, grip mode with single player time trial, head to head multiplayer, and time trial multiplayer, drift mode with single player time trial, head to head multiplayer, and time trial multiplayer, autocross mode with in-game editor, singleplayer time trial, multiplayer time trial and more. Price: Free. Download.
Vegastrike - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Vega Strike is a GPL 3D OpenGL Action RPG space sim that allows a player to trade and bounty hunt in the spirit of Elite. You start in an old beat up Wayfarer cargo ship, with endless possibility before you and just enough cash to scrape together a life. Yet danger lurks in the space beyond. As you play, you will see that several species and numerous political entities are present in the game, and they do not all co-exist peacefully. With the invasion of the Union of Dispossessed Colonists,a lesser political entity, the brink of war has been reached between the human dominated Confederation of Inhabited Worlds and the Aeran Ascendancy even as the border between the Rlaan Assembly and the Aera still smolders under a long, tense cease-fire that has failed to become a peace. The Vega Strike engine serves as the foundation for the Privateer Gemini Gold, Privateer Remake, Vega Trek, and Pi Armada projects. Price: Free. Download.
Battlestar Galactica: Beyond the Red Line - (Linux, Windows, Mac) Beyond the Red Line is a stand-alone total conversion for the award-winning Freespace 2 released by Volition and Interplay for the PC. It is based on the popular new tv-show Battlestar Galactica, not the one from the 70s. You’ll enjoy detailed high-resolution ship models, quality engineered audio, original in-game soundtrack in addition to pieces by Bear McCreary and Richard Gibbs. Head online and go head-to-head with your friends—and foes—in intense multiplayer missions including Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and others as you experience exciting Viper combat with authentic weaponry and flight controls. Price: Free. Download.
Excalibur: Morgana’s Revenge v3.0 (EMR 3.0) - (Linux, Windows, Mac) EMR is a unique scenario based upon the Aleph One (Marathon) engine. It is a first-person action adventure game, featuring an epic and in-depth story line. As a Federation Marine resting after your last mission, you start aboard the exploration class Starship Kronos where you learn that your real mission has yet to begin. You are re-acquainted with the AI Merlin, who introduces you to Kronos time traveling technology, and reveals your new mission: to save mankind from the clutches of Morgana and her minions. Through untamed raptor-infested jungles, castle arenas, and war-torn streets of the future, you will wield weapons from all time periods - including the Sword of Power, Excalibur - in an effort to thwart the diabolical plot that unfolds. The EMR adventure, spread across 42 solo levels, weaves a tale of truth and honor, knighthood and bravery, and darkness and treachery. EMR also delivers 27 adrenaline pumped network levels. EMR immerses you in an amazing new world, creating an addictive, fun and unique gaming experience. Price: Free. Download.
TrueCombat: Elite (TC:E) - (Linux, Windows, Mac) TC:E is a modern world total conversion modification of the free, popular, stand-alone FPS Wolfenstein Enemy Territory. Meaning, Truecombat Elite is an entirely free game, made by gamers, for gamers. TC:E currently is being developed by GrooveSix Studios and TeamTerminator. While TeamTerminator is known for the famous Q3 based TrueCombat series, GrooveSix Studios was initiated by retired TeamTerminator co-founder Coroner to develop a Return to Castle Wolfenstein modification that is not released. Thus, as very experienced Quake3 based content creators, TC:E hopes to serve the gaming community with a quality offering. Until then, TC:E puts you into the role of elite mercenary soldier in the conflicts of two internationally operating forces. Their recent Nations Cup game was a total success. Price: Free. Download.
Tux Racer - This is a 3D game that stars the Linux mascot, Tux, the penguin as he races down steep, snow-covered mountains. Enter cups and compete to win the title. Your journey starts as you compete on local courses. Win and you will unlock other courses and cups that will lead you to more exciting and challenging races. As you can tell from the Web site, the last release of Tux Racer was version 0.61 on 29th October 2001. Despite its age, Tux Racer is a friendly open source game that derives its popularity from its replay value and the fact that it can be extended with easy modification. Tux Racer includes a variety of options for gameplay, including the ability to race courses in fog, at night, and under high winds. Users can create new maps by making three raster images to indicate height, surface, and object placement. Price: Free; Download.
The Open Racing Car Simulator (TORCS) - (Linux, Windows, Mac) TORCS is a highly portable multi platform car racing simulation. It is used as ordinary car racing game, as AI racing game and as research platform. TORCS features more than 50 different cars, more than 20 tracks, and 50 opponents to race against. You can steer with a joystick or steering wheel, if the device is supported by your platform, but it’s possible to drive with the mouse or the keyboard as well. Graphic features lighting, smoke, skidmarks and glowing brake disks. The simulation features a simple damage model, collisions, tire and wheel properties (springs, dampers, stiffness, …), aerodynamics (ground effect, spoilers, …) and much more. The gameplay allows different types of races from the simple practice session up to the championship. Enjoy racing against your friends in the split screen mode with up to four human players. The next big development goal is an online racing mode. Price: Free. Download.
Flight Gear - (Linux, Windows, Mac) The idea for Flight Gear was born out of a dissatisfaction with current commercial PC flight simulators. The Flight Gear project is striving to fill these gaps. The goal of the FlightGear project is to create a sophisticated flight simulator framework for use in research or academic environments, for the development and pursuit of other interesting flight simulation ideas, and as an end-user application. These folks are, without a doubt, developing a sophisticated, open simulation framework that can be expanded and improved upon by anyone interested in contributing. In addition, Flight Gear has some of the most accurate and realistic terrain of any simulator. You can do some virtual sight seeing while practicing your flight! Price: Free. Download.
ManiaDrive - (Linux, Windows) ManiaDrive is a free clone of Trackmania, the great game from Nadéo studio, and is an arcade car game on acrobatic tracks, with a quick and nervous gameplay (tracks almost never exceed one minute), and features a network mode, as the original. Once you’ve got that installed you’ll be bumping along at break-neck speeds and flying off the track with an incredible ease reminiscent of Stunt-Trak Racer. In Maniadrive it’s both incredibly hard to stay on track and to complete the race in under the allotted time. This game features complex car physics, challenging “story mode,” a track editor, LAN and Internet modes, dedicated server with HTTP interface, and more than 30 blocks - full soundtrack. rading off some advertising for music appears to have snagged Maniadrive some excellent musical accompaniment. The music is both appropriate and has a very high production quality. Price: Free. Download.
D2X-XL - (Linux, Windows, Mac) D2X-XL is the most advanced and feature-rich user-enhanced version of Descent to date, as it offers many features like colored lighting, smoke, real-time shadowing, new weapon effects and new game modes that enhance the single-player experience and give new twists to multi-player games. As most ports, it retains full compatibility with the original game and can be switched in appearance between a graphically updated version, and the original look and feel of Descent. When you go to the Web site, make sure you roll your mouse over the side menu to understand the range of levels that can be downloaded. Price: Free. Download.
Hexen II: Hammer of Thyrion - (Linux, Windows, Mac) In 2000, Raven Software released the source code to their class based shooter game Hexen II and its multiplayer extension HexenWorld. Since then, there has been some source ports of this game, such as the now discontinued Anvil of Thyrion project, but nothing has been done for Linux since the beginning of 2002. The Hammer of Thyrion project is a cross-platform source port effort: The developers continue the progress for Linux, BSD and Mac OS X people, with continued support for Windows users as well. Many bugs are fixed and even new features are added: New sound modes, improved mouse handling, improved video modes, OpenGL glows and more. Price: Free. Download.
Ultimate Stunts - (Linux, Windows) This game makes the list because it’s a great work in progress, and we hope that it becomes one of the coolest auto games around. UltimateStunts is a remake of the famous DOS-game stunts. The game is not yet finished, but it already has some important improvements compared to the original game. Stunts was an old DOS game with simple CGA/EGA/VGA graphics, but Ultimate Stunts is a modern multiplatform application. Racing in Ultimate Stunts involves some really spectacular acrobtics, like loopings, corkscrews, bridges to jump over, etc. But the best thing about the new edition is that you can design your own tracks. It also has some new features, like 3D sound and (Internet) multiplaying. Price: Free. Download.
America’s Army: Special Forces - (Linux, Windows, Mac) We were a bit torn about adding this game, but it is one of the most popular games around and it seems it’s only going to gain more ground in 2008. And, as a service of sorts, we’d like to spread the word about the story behind this game. America’s Army is a free game offered by the US army as both a recruitment and training tool. The ethics of the game has often been debated (players with a slow connection are redirected to the Army’s recruitment centers where they can get a free CD of the game). But, going beyond this propoganda static, the entertainment value of the game is rather awesome as it’s constantly being updated with new maps and features. Player models are very detailed and the motion captured movements are light years ahead of many other military shooters. Focus in the last few editions has been on Special Forces operatives. Purely a multiplayer game, America’s Army comes as close to the real thing as any FPS. With that said, the weakness comes with team play, as there are no specifics that keep teams working as a unit. Considering this is a game produced by the U.S. Army, we wondered about that chink in the armor, so to speak. With that said, GameSpy tracked the game usage and reported an average of 4,500 players at any one time between 2002 and 2005. It was enough for America’s Army to rank in the Top 10 Online Games chart. Price: Free. Download.
26. Cube 2 (Sauerbraten)
One thing you will notice with this top 10 list, is that four of the games are FPS. It goes to show that these are some of the most favored out there, and it's no surprise given the graphic and online capabilities. Cube is one of these, for multiple reasons. First, it's a game that's incredibly quick and easy to get into. After running the start script, you are literally standing in the game ready to go, within seconds.
For whatever reason though, you are begun with a low resolution, but that's easily changeable. In addition, sound will work right off the bat (hopefully) with little or no configuration. I have not run into a single problem with running this game in the past, and that's almost a rarity in Linux gaming.
One thing to note though, is that Cube is actually the game engine, but has a game strapped to it. Or so it seems. If you enjoy what you see here and are a game developer, you can grab the engine and create something with it. It's a rather solid engine also... reminiscent of the Quake 1 engine, but more feature-rich. As you can see by these screenshots, the graphics are gorgeous, and runs extremely smooth.
Sauerbraten is for the most part, an online deathmatch style FPS, but has a single player experience in the works. So when you first enter, you can join an online DM session, or play the SP mode which is denoted with a (WIP) label. So, it's directly meant for deathmatch at this point in time.
In progress also is a Cube 2 based RPG game, which is sure to have great potential. It will be a single player experience, and by the screenshots thus far, it could prove to be a winner.
What I enjoy most about Sauerbraten, is that while low on actual SP content and the like, it's a well put together package. The graphics are great and so is the sound, although some of the effects are somewhat bizarre. Aside from that, there is some tight gameplay here. I compare this game more to Quake 1 than I would with Nexuiz because of its smooth, fast and accurate gameplay. However, I discovered quite soon after jumping into the online arenas that I suck. So... maybe you will have better luck than I ;-)
Game Information
- Title : Cube 2 (Sauerbraten)
- Genre : 3D FPS
- Open Source : Yes
- License : zlib
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game : Nexuiz
27. Pingus, #5 Neverball
Puzzle games have proven to be one of the most popular genres around, so it's no surprise that the market is littered with such games. Not only that, but some of the true classics, we have seen recreated and updated time and time again. Not only by the official companies, but by fans also. Pingus, if you cannot already tell, is based off the ultra-popular Lemmings game. When it originally came out in the early 90's, I am sure the developers did not expect it to catch on so rapidly!
Pingus is a true recreation and retains all of the core elements. It has pretty graphics and great sound... it's a well put together package. Of course lemmings won't do in a Linux game, so we have mindless penguins to deal with!
You have a bunch of penguins on the loose that really don't know how to think for themselves. So, they run into walls, walk off cliffs, et cetera. You must tell them what to do, whether it be dig or float. The goal is to safely guide all of your penguins into the exit, which just so happens to be an igloo. Sounds simple, but it gets challenging quick. In order to succeed, you must use strategy and actually ponder your moves. You cannot just jump in and randomly click, or you will lose.
The game looks great, it really does. It has a fixed resolution of 800*600 though, which I found to be way to small for this game. I found myself having to mouse around the entire screen often, and it just became a chore. 1024*768 would have been a lot better.
If you get bored with the ~20 included levels, there is an included level editor to allow you to create your own, and to share. Many levels can be downloaded from this unofficial resource. So, it's no doubt this game has some longevity. Many of the downloadable levels use new graphics and textures to keep things interesting. If you are a fan of Lemmings or any strategic puzzle game, you will want to check Pingus out.
Game Information
- Title : Pingus
- Genre : Lemmings Clone
- Open Source : Yes
- License : zlib
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game : None
28. Neverball & Neverputt
If you enjoy playing with balls, then Neverball should be right up your alley. The game is quite similar to Super Monkey Ball for the Nintendo Gamecube, so if you've played that, then you know what to expect here. The game premise is simple... you have a ball and are required to move it around the level collecting a set amount of coins. Once done, you must make it safely to the finishing portal. It sounds simple, because for the most part... it is.
The game is divided into three difficulties, the first being the easiest. It really is... because you can storm through all twenty levels there in good time. Once finishing that difficulty, you are left with the "Hmm this game is not so hard." mindset. Of course, that's until you begin the next difficulty, then you suddenly realize that this is a game that tests your coordination, and patience.
Each level has a time limit, so you can't just dilly dally around and watch the level beat itself. The game is entirely controlled by the mouse as you can imagine, and the camera view is constantly close to the ball. I hoped to have an option of zooming out a tad, but there was none. You are however, able to edit the configuration file to your liking. It would have been nice to have this accomplished through in-game options though.
You are also able to save and replay your runs, for personal reasons or for a clear way to brag to your friends. As you can likely tell by the screenshots, the game has incredibly clean graphics, full of eye candy. So, you will need a decent video card and CPU if you wish to play the game at its smoothest.
Neverball is almost like two games in one though, because Neverputt is also included. It runs on the same engine, but is a mini-golf game. It supports two players, so it's some great fun with a friend. Overall, Neverball is a classic that's quick to get into whenever you need a quick break.
Game Information
- Title : Neverball
- Genre : 3D Platform
- Open Source : Yes
- License : GNU GPL
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game: LBreakout 2
29. Nexuiz, #3 Enemy Territory
Nexuiz proves to be one of the most popular open source FPS games on Linux, and for good reason. The game engine used is DarkPlaces, which is a heavily modified Quake 1 engine. That's evident in the graphics. If you've ever played Quake 1 deathmatch, then you are aware that it was one of the pioneers in what it did. Jump in, have some quick fun and log oback out. Personally, it was the first game that I played online quite often. Nexuiz tries to go back to those roots, and delivers for the most part.
The first thing you will notice about the game is that it's gorgeous... the graphics are amazing, considering the engine it's based on. It includes a lot of eye candy... even HDR! So, this is one game that will actually take full use of your high-end graphics card if you have one.
The premise of the game is simple. Jump in, kick some ass. Rinse and repeat. There is a large array of levels included, even some low-grav specific ones. The game actually reminds me quite a bit of Quake III... with the level design and weapon selection. All of the weapons look different than most of what you've seen before, but all act relatively similar. For instance, you will start off with a standard blast gun, but can also pick up a shotgun, rocket launchers and even a rail gun... which does a LOT of damage.
Though the game is deathmatch based, you don't have to play online if you don't want to. There is a single player campaign, though it lacks a story mode of any sort. As you progress through the SP levels, they get increasingly more difficult. The first few you will not have to repeat, but once you make it up a little ways you may need to replay the level a handful of times before beating it. Although you have to unlock the levels in SP to play them, all of the levels are available online at any given time.
Nexuiz is a game that grabbed my attention for a few weeks... I had a blast. However, it can't be compared to Quake or Unreal Tournament in terms of gameplay, because there are modes missing and the control is not near as 'tight'. However, Nexuiz is a prime example of what great open source software is all about. The game is packed with deathmatch action and will keep you going for a while. Heck, it may even take you an hour to just deal with the graphic settings ;-)
Game Information
- Title : Nexuiz
- Genre : Online First Person Shooter
- Open Source : Yes
- License : GNU GPL
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game : Cube (Cube 2: Sauerbraten)
30. Enemy Territory
When Return to Castle Wolfenstein was first released, it was hailed quickly by online gamers. It was a blast to play and had great graphics and sound to boot. Shortly after this, Enemy Territory, originally slated as a commercial expansion pack, was released entirely for free. In early 2004, the source code was released making it easier for modders and those working on total conversions to get things done.
While there are many online FPS games for Linux, this is by far one of the most in-depth and realistic. This is a standard Axis and Allies fare, with five different classes to choose from. The game includes six official maps, but there are far more than that available online provided by the modding community. This game, in a sense, is like Day of Defeat for Windows, and also Counter-Strike. It's like DoD because of the standard gameplay, but CS in the sense that once you die, you stay dead until the round is over or until the timer hit its mark.
Since RTCW was released in late 2001, you can expect graphic capabilities from that time period. Though five years old, the game looks great at high resolution with all the eye candy enabled. The sound, from what I remember is great to match. Now, I was unable to give this game a good test on my rig, because the sound ceased to function for whatever reason. I didn't look too deeply into it, but it seems to be a semi-common problem.
ET has a sequel on the way, Quake Wars, which will be a commercial game and obviously not be free. It should reflect a lot of what made ET so popular, but improve on all gaming elements. The screenshots from the game look like it will be completely revamped in every way. It will be based on the Quake IV/Doom III engine, and will likely be available for Linux at the time of launch.
So, if you are craving some good Axis/Ally online action, ET will fill your stomach with all of its tasty goodness.
Game Information
- Title : Enemy Territory
- Genre : Online First Person Shooter
- Open Source : Yes (Game Logic, not the Engine)
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game : RTCW (Commercial Game)
31. Frozen Bubble, #1 Battle for Wesnoth
If there ever were a popular puzzle game for Linux, Frozen Bubble would be it. Based off what we have seen with Bust a Move, Frozen Bubble is a rather simplistic puzzle that that requires some sort of strategy to succeed.
The game board is filled with multiple colored balls, and it's your goal to match three or more of the same color to get rid of them. Sometimes the game board begins with more than three coupled together, but they don't just go away on their own. What color ball comes next is completely random, so you must use some strategy to make sure that you are not going to get caught in a dead end. If you do take too long for a move, it will tell you to hurry up. After so many throws of a ball, the mechanism on the top will push all of the balls down a notch, making things more difficult.
As far as I can tell, once you make it to a certain level within a game, you can continue trying it over and over again until you finally do beat it. Or, if it becomes too much of a challenge, you can just quit. When you finally do quit, you will be placed in the high scores list, showing you which level you made it to, along with how long it took.
I have to say that this is one addictive game. I started it up, and an hour flew by before I knew it. It's amazing how addictive some very simple games can be, really. I am impressed with the game as a whole, but wish that you could adjust your resolution. It's set to 640*480, so it doesn't look at that sharp. My only real complaint would be the lack of mouse support. Personally, I would find it much easier to control the dial at the bottom with the mouse, but the keyboard is the only option.
In addition to the single player game, you are also able to play against a friend on the same PC. If you happen to get bored of the included 100 levels, you can easily create your own, or even edit the ones that are default.
Frozen Bubble is meant to be a quick jump in and go type of game, so there is no real depth. There are only 7 different colors also, and none are added in later levels. So, it does lack some things I'd like to see, but it's still quite a fun game overall. It successfully sucked an hour out of my day, so that speaks for itself ;-)
Game Information
- Title : Frozen Bubble
- Genre : Puzzle
- Open Source : Yes
- License : GNU GPL
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game : Xbubble
32. Battle for Wesnoth
Here is a game that was constantly being noted as a great game, but I have never even heard of it until recently. Wesnoth is a fantasy turn based strategy game that is truly cross platform. It's not only available for Linux but also Windows, BeOS, Mac OS X, FreeBSD and others. David White, the creator of the game, based it off a few Sega Genesis classics. He wanted the game to be rather simple to play, yet have strong AI. He strongly believes in the "Keep it Simple, Stupid" analogy, so you can't expect deep gameplay that will drag you away from real life for hours at a time.
You can start off the game with a tutorial, which is rather well done. Your 'master' teaches you how to do things, and within minutes you are off killing. In the end, you can build a huge army of different fighters throughout different classes. Each of your units have various stats that build up as they level. You can go into each panel and view their weakness, and even see how their defensive abilities differ depending on which type of terrain they are on.
The game is based around factions... six in total. Depending on which you choose, the races vary. If you choose Knalgan Alliance for instance, you will be dealing with Dwarves, which are powerful but slow. As you would also expect, there are campaign missions to be had, each with three levels of difficulty. You can even download more through the game, most of which are user-created.
Like some other strategy games, Wesnoth is build on a hexgrid board, so your character can move in one of six ways.
The graphics in Wesnoth are nothing incredible, but they are crisp and colorful. The primary sound in the game is the overbearing music, which I found myself turning off pretty quickly. Not because it was bad, but because the bass was making the rest of the household angry ;-)
I am not a huge RTS or TBS fan, so I didn't play Wesnoth for any significant amount of time. However, it has a very active development team and a huge fanbase, so you can expect this one to continue on for quite a while. It must be good to hit #1 in our list! So do yourself a favor and give it a go.
Game Information
- Title : Battle for Wesnoth
- Genre : Turn-Based Strategy
- Open Source : Yes
- License : GNU GPL
- Official Website : Link
- Related Game : Crimson Fields
More Will come soon
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