Linux frag-fest: the games Linux plays

David M Williams
Monday, 22 October 2007 16:42

Business IT - Open Source

If you emulate a Windows game, you will need to purchase it; as far as the vendor is concerned, you’re buying a Windows game for a Windows computer. There’s no free route here.

Not all gaming needs are that sophisticated. You might just want to dust off Dark Forces, or Prince of Persia, or the original Warcraft, or Rise of the Triad or any of a number of classics. What these all have in common is that they are DOS titles; they didn’t run under Windows and do not require a Windows emulator.

Here’s where DOSBox comes into its own; again an emulator, this free open-source app emulates 286 and 386 processors and a suite of popular video and sound cards from that era. A very lengthy list of games known to work with DOSBox is online and you will find hundreds of titles here. Of course, actually finding the old (and commercial) DOS games may be a bigger challenge – but if you have them in your library, chances are very good you can play them.

Virtualisation
Finally, you might hope for a better experience using virtualisation. In this case, rather than run a Windows emulator – which may have varying degrees of success – a Windows virtual machine will likely give a much more realistic Windows environment. VMWare’s server and player systems are available for free, but you still need a legitimate copy of Microsoft Windows to make your virtual machine.

The biggest advantage of virtualisation is it gives a greater guarantee of a Windows application working. However, the biggest drawback of virtualisation is it largely ignores your computer’s hardware and instead tricks the virtual machine into thinking it just has bog standard hardware. This avoids any tricky driver problems, but will mean fast-moving games with flashy visual effects will look terrible. Virtualisation shouldn’t be discounted completely; some people do report they have successfully run Maxis’ The Sims on a virtual PC.

End matter
Dispel the myth: Linux is as much a gamer’s platform as is Windows. You need not fear that if you choose to adopt Linux you have to abandon your favourite fun pastimes.

You will need to research carefully though; if you are keen on a game, first check for a Linux port. That’s always the best option. Sometimes the Linux port may not even be by the original provider. I’m a keen Warcraft 2 player from years ago. Blizzard don't have a Linux version, but happily, the free third-party engine Wargus helps slake my Warcraft 2 thirst.

Failing a native Linux version, do check out the Wine application database and check for any successful experiences by others. You’ll find interesting performance comparisons online too, comparing Windows XP with Wine.

If Wine doesn’t work for you, you might like to try Cedega or a virtual machine but definitely ask around: Linux gamers are always happy to lend a hand.

You can find a wide range of native Linux games listed online at Ubuntu’s help community. You needn’t even restrict yourself to just what you know from the Windows world; take a good look: there are loads of exciting Linux-only games there too. Whether you’re a shooter, a strategist, a racer, a flight-simmer, a platform game enthusiast or even a humble Tetriser, there’s more than plenty to float your boat.

Finally, another great site with loads of helpful information is the Linux Gamers’ FAQ. And not once did we ask you to reboot into Windows :)