Linux - Review: Kubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 4
by Andrew on 24/08/2008 9:15:57 PM
You're probably wondering why I'm reviewing Kubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4, when I've already reviewed Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 – both of these distributions are looking at the same 'Intrepid Ibex' repositories and therefore have access to exactly the same kernels, proprietary drivers and games. The answer is simple; it's using KDE and not Gnome, and I don't believe Kubuntu gets the attention that they deserve.
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Linux - Review: Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 4
by Andrew on 15/08/2008 10:16:51 PM
I've previously looked at Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 2 and Mandriva 2009 Beta 1 to see what we should expect once the final versions have been released. After finding that Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 2 was just a bit too alpha for gaming, I've decided to have another look to see if things are starting to become a bit more stable.
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Linux - Review: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ET:QW)
by Andrew on 13/08/2008 9:07:32 PM
When it comes to games you can buy 'off the shelf' at your local game store, the list of ones that can be installed natively (without wine) on Linux is very short. The list gets extremely short if you only want to include newer games. Thankfully, companies like id Software openly support Linux and provide not only installers for Linux, but have also open sourced some of their earlier engines. They continue this support with their latest game; Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ET:QW).
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Linux - Review: OpenArena 0.8.0
by Andrew on 10/08/2008 8:17:53 PM
I've previously reviewed version 0.7.7, which itself was a minor update of 0.7.6. Now that 0.8.0 has been released (on the auspicious date of 08/08/08) I think it deserves another look.
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Linux - Review: Powermanga 0.90
by Andrew on 10/08/2008 5:05:15 PM
To cut to the chase, Powermanga is a 2D scrolling shoot-em-up that has nothing to do with Japanese cartoon characters abusing steroids. Version 0.90 was released in September 2007, so it looks like development has either ground to a halt or is very very slow.
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Linux - Review: Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 1 (KDE4.1)
by Andrew on 31/07/2008 5:36:06 PM
Hot off the press, I downloaded the KD4 combo live/install CD for x86-32. I would have much preferred to check out the 64bit version, but alas, this wasn't
available in a Live CD format. This is the first of two planned betas before the two release candidates with the final public release date being the 9th of October 2008. This is some time away so rather than
wait to see if this will be any good as a gaming distro, I'm jumping in now to try it out.
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Linux - Review: Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' Alpha 2
by Andrew on 13/07/2008 4:55:45 PM
It seems like only last week that Ubuntu 8.04 (and family) was released and already news of the next version is filling Linux sites. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS was a
great release and will have desktop support for the next 3 years. This sounds like great news, though you're only covered for security updates, you won't be getting the latest version of Nexuiz, OpenArena
or your other favourite 'apt-gettable' game when you next apply the patches. Luckily for you these should be available in Ubuntu 8.10, though by the time this ships on the 31st of October they may soon be
outdated.
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Linux - Review: OpenArena 0.7.7
by Andrew on 2/07/2008 11:59:37 AM
OpenArena is a remake of Quake 3 Arena, using the open sourced Quake 3 engine that Id software lovingly gave to the open source community (major, major props
go to Id). Though OpenArena is still in development, the game itself is very complete and extremely fun to play. Version 0.7.7 was released on the 29th of May 2008 and contained a host of bug fixes so I
thought I'd jump in a review the game – it's long overdue.
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Linux - PlaneShift 0.4.01 has been released
by Andrew on 30/06/2008 11:01:11 PM
After a long wait, the new version of PlaneShift is out. This new version uses version 1.4 of the Crystal Space 3D Engine and has a host of changes and bug
fixes.
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Linux - Review: linuX-gamers Live DVD 0.9.3
by Andrew on 29/06/2008 10:17:59 PM
Based on Arch Linux, the linuX-gamers Live DVD (bit of a mouthful) first came about as a way to show gaming on linux to the uninitiated. I get the feeling your
average PC gamer (read: Windows gamer) wouldn't accidentally stumble across this DVD unless it was either bundled with a computer magazine or a Linux gamer introduced it to them, though if they did it would
definitely dispel the myth that you can't play games on Linux.
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Linux - Nexuiz 2.4.2 has been released
by Andrew on 12/05/2008 6:17:58 PM
From the looks of it, Nexuiz has followed in the footsteps of UT2004 by making a node based game type where node ownership equals victory. Onslaught was
extremely popular on the UT2004 servers (and still is, though mostly the demo maps 'Primeval' and 'Torlan') and with this inclusion Nexuiz has something else to offer the FPS gamer.
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Linux - Review: Nexuiz 2.4
by Andrew on 26/04/2008 10:19:33 PM
Nexuiz has been around since 2002 and has a strong following. It utilises the Darkplaces engine, which is based on the open sourced Quake 1 engine though the
graphic effects are more akin to Quake 4 than to Quake 1. This has also affected the performance of the game as an old PC that can play Quake 1 smoothly might not be able to run Nexuiz at a playable rate of
frames.
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Linux - Review: Warsow 0.42
by Andrew on 25/04/2008 3:34:31 PM
Warsow is a FPS with graphics in the thick outline style similar to Team Fortress 2, though the gameplay is more your traditional FPS with a few new twists,
such as a dedicated 'special' button which allows you to dash and to jump off walls. The graphics in the game are supurb and the 'comical' feel to the players and levels really add to the gameplay. The
3D engine is based on Qfusion, which is in turn based on the open sourced Quake 2 engine.
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Linux - Review: The Open Racing Cars Simulator (TORCS) 1.3
by Andrew on 24/04/2008 10:39:00 PM
I'll say it right from the start: TORCS isn't complete. Even though the 1.x version number usually denotes a program that has stepped out from testing and
has emerged (gentoo pun) as a complete application. TORCS visually ok, though there are far too many rough edges and I experienced a number of crashes while playing the game.
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Linux - Review: SuperTuxKart 0.4
by Andrew on 24/04/2008 9:15:09 PM
Super Tux Kart 0.4 was released on March the 4th 2008 and is available for all the major distros through their repositories, making this game easy to get a
hold of. The version I tested was 0.4 running on Ubuntu 8.04 (64bit).
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Linux - Review: Progress Quest 6.2
by Andrew on 24/04/2008 6:14:17 PM
This is a bizarre one folks. You see, Progress Quest isn't really a game, as you don't really play Progress Quest – you merely let Progress Quest play
itself. Confused? Join the club, we don't have t-shirts as yet.
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Linux - Review: Glest 3.0.0
by Andrew on 22/04/2008 10:28:42 PM
Glest is a brilliant RTS for Linux. In fact, I'm saying it's the best native RTS for Linux hands down. A big statement, but in all honesty they're not up
against much competition.
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Linux - Review: FreedroidRPG 0.10.3-3
by Andrew on 22/04/2008 5:59:40 PM
FreedroidRPG is one of those games that if you didn't know it existed, the chances of you stumbling upon it would be slim to none. Unless you're like me and
go through the games listing in Ubuntu, madly adding games just to try them out.
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Linux - Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) Linux Client, where art thou?
by Andrew on 1/04/2008 10:13:48 PM
Unreal Tournament has always been a favorite of mine. UT2004 still gets a good workout on my main machine, which until recently was running Kubuntu 7.04 (it's
now running Ubuntu 8.04 beta if you have to know). I've been waiting for UT3 for years with the knowledge that it should be natively installable on Linux. I'm still waiting.
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