The GNU/Linux operating system isn't exactly known for gaming, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any games on it that are worth playing. Recently I installed an array of different titles and, combined with some that I had already played, I've compiled a list of must-have GNU/Linux games (and a few "honorable mentions") to joyously erode your free time.

The Battle for Wesnoth

This is the premiere turn-based strategy game for GNU/Linux. If you're already familiar with games like Crystal Warriors or Military Madness, The Battle for Wesnoth will be very familiar. If you're new to the genre but enjoy strategy games, you'll fall in love with Wesnoth by the time the tutorials are over.

The Battle for Wesnoth is not so much a game in itself as it is a framework for game campaigns. The standard distribution comes with four rather lengthy campaigns, each with interesting storylines, excellent music, and challenging and attractive maps. Each campaign has three difficulty levels, so the replayability factor is fairly high. I've been through the default campaign three times already, each time learning new strategies and tactics.

In addition to the standard campaign set, there are tons of other that you can download from within the game. I've found most of them to be buggy or non-working, and the majority of the downloadable campaigns do not have the depth and attention to detail that the standard set does.

Flobopuyo

I think I speak for humanity when I say that I am all Tetrised out. But Tetris's legacy extends beyond the game itself; one of the biggest games to evolve from it was Sega's Puyo Puyo. Instead of Tetris-like shapes, two-part colored blobs are dropped from above. Connect four or more of them, and they are eliminated; as a consequence, a "garbage" blob is sent over to your opponent's side as well. If, in the process of connecting four blobs, other blobs are rearranged to form another set of four, your opponent gets a whole row of garbage blobs. The idea is to get your opponent to overflow his screen, just like in Tetris.

Although there are several Puyo Puyo clones on GNU/Linux (and at least one Java-based version on the Web), the best one I've found is easily Flobopuyo. It has all of the same features as the original Sega game, except the paper-thin storyline is absent and there are no cut-scenes between levels. The music is substandard, but there's an option to turn it off; the graphics are the best of any Puyo Puyo clone I've yet seen. I do wish that there was an online or network option; perhaps this will be introduced in a future release.

Despite its simplicity, Flobopuyo is embarrassingly addictive. Even after you're sick of it, the addiction comes back to haunt you a few days later.

Unreal Tournament 2004

Who hasn't heard of the Unreal Tournament first-person shooter series? Starting with a late revision of the original game, then carrying on to UT2003 and beyond, the game is playable on GNU/Linux. UT2004 has several game modes that involve a variety of different missions and objectives -- not just traditional deathmatch.

UT2004 stands out among its predecessors and competitors because of its great music, graphics, player control, weapon selection, and online play. I used to love playing UT2004 online, but the prevalence of cheating (aimbots, speed hacks) and the switch to a wireless network connection (which introduces too much latency) has caused my participation to dwindle. Still, in offline "instant action" or single-player tournament mode, it's a heck of a lot of fun.

If you don't want to spend money on the game, you can download a playable demo from the Unreal Tournament site linked above. The demo includes most of the best levels for each game mode, and is able to play online.

Chromium BSU

Another classic arcade game type is the overhead-scrolling space shooter. Basically you're in a spaceship advancing forward, and you have to both defend yourself from enemy attacks and defeat level bosses. A variety of different armor and weapon enhancements are also offered as you go along. If you've ever owned a game console system or spent any time at an arcade in the late 1980s, you have played one of these kinds of games before.

Chromium BSU is a spectacular modern incarnation of the overhead scrolling shooter. The graphics, sound, and music are outstanding, and the gameplay is challenging but not impossible. There are a few unique elements that I have found in Chromium BSU that most other overhead scrollers don't have. The first is, you can't let any of the enemy ships past you; each one will cost you one extra life. That makes the gameplay much more challenging, but you're also given something else that you don't see in a lot of space shooters: damage leeway. If you can't put enough bullets into a ship to kill it, just run into it and endure a little ship damage. You also don't have to worry too much about dodging enemy fire. Lastly, you have limited ammunition -- I have never seen that in this kind of game before.

There is one redeeming element to the game's high level of challenge: the ability to start the game at the last level you completed. So if you get sick of playing after reaching level 2, you can quit the game and come back to it tomorrow and start at level 2. Sure beats feeding quarters to a machine.

Honorable mentions

It's not really a game per se, but I'm excited about the new GGZ Gaming Zone (GGZ), a free software competitor of the MSN Gaming Zone that Windows users have free access to. GGZ includes many card, board, and arcade games that you can play online against other people, or by yourself against the computer. Unfortunately, the service is unknown to most desktop GNU/Linux users; every time I log onto the service, there are few or no people logged in.

Nexuiz is a free software clone of Quake 3. It's improved dramatically since I last reviewed it, but my hands are too used to the feel of the controls in UT2004, so I have trouble adjusting. While we're talking about first-person shooters, Doom 3 is worth mentioning. A lot of people like the Doom series; personally, I do not like games that try to induce heart attacks in their players.

Lastly, for all of the fantasy massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) fanatics, there is PlaneShift. It looks like an awesome game, but I only recently installed it and haven't had the chance to get involved with it yet. So far though, it looks like it'll find its way into my gaming time.

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Copyright 2006 Jem Matzan.