I’m a recent convert to Ubuntu. I’ve been using it for a few months now and have no complaints. I can’t see myself ever going back to Windows.

If you’re one of those people who are considering the switch from Windows to Linux, but have been put off by the lack of decent games, then it might be time to think again.

Techgage have compiled their list of the top 10 free games for Linux. My only experience of gaming on Linux so far is the default games that come supplied with Ubuntu, and to be honest they’re nothing special. I can’t even beat the computer at Four-In-A-Row on level 2

The criteria for the Techgage top 10 list was as follows:

• Has to be 100% free… no strings attached.
• Cannot require wine to run.
• Open Source not a requirement.
• Installation must be painless.
• Cannot be an add-on to a commercial game

I’ve always been a big fan of FPS games on Windows like the Half-Life series and there are some promising looking FPS games on the top 10 list.

Take Americas Army for example which is based on the Unreal engine. This game was used by the US government to train army recruits to avoid sniper fire in Iraq. The graphics look great.

Then there is Nexuiz which is based on the DarkPlaces engine. It is not claimed to be the best game out there in terms of eye candy but it does make use of some good display effects.

If you’re not into FPS games then the Top 10 list has other games that might interest you.

I haven’t tried downloading or playing any of these games so can’t comment on what game appeal they have. But it is good to see an active community of developers out there creating free software, some even Open-source, for Linux.

I hope these games get bigger and better, taking full advantage of the graphics hardware available in modern PCs, so that they rival those available in Windows. That would then offer another incentive for people to make the switch to Linux.

Actions

• Leave a comment
• Subscribe
• Subscribe by email

Bookmark

• Facebook
• del.icio.us
• Stumble it!
• Digg It

Related Articles

• Ubuntu 7.10 Clean Install First Impressions
• Ubuntu 7.10 Upgrade First Impressions
• Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon Beta Now Available
• Linux Links For Newbies
• Ubuntu 7.04 Upgrade First Impressions
• Introducing Ubuntu 7.10 The Gutsy Gibbon