FOSSwire

It's about time we stopped talking about all this sensible software stuff for a moment and got down to what it should all be about - some good, fun, open source games. Today's serving is Battle Tanks, which as the rather inventive name suggests, involves controlling a battle tank and thoroughly blowing things up.

At the time of writing, most distributions don't ship Battle Tanks in the repositories, so you may have to find a pre-built package. For Ubuntu (I'm running Gutsy for this tutorial), download these two files (builds courtesy of Miriam Ruiz):

btanks-data_0.5.4740-2_all.deb
btanks_0.5.4740-2_i386.deb

and install like this:

$ sudo apt-get install libopenal0a
$ sudo dpkg -i btanks*.deb

Once you launch the game, you can very easily and quickly jump straight into a map. From the home screen, you can select a map and add additional computer-controlled players (or human players) on the right so you have some opponents.

You are in control of your battle tank in a smooth birds-eye 2D world (although the graphics are sped up with OpenGL, so if you don't have the drivers required performance may be sluggish).

You can get started destroying things straight away. Pressing Ctrl is the key to fire, while the arrow keys allow you to manoeuvre your vehicle. Provided you've set up one or more other players on the map select screen, it's now a simple matter of finding your opponent(s) and shooting them down before they get you.

It is a very simple game, but it's highly addictive and great fun.

My only major complaint with it, which isn't really a failing of the game itself is the default control set. Using the Ctrl key as fire and the arrow keys is fine, but my Compiz setup uses Ctrl+arrow key to switch desktops, so I frequently kept accidentally switching desktops. It is very simple to change the keys however, in Options and choosing Redefine Keys.

Call it over-simplified, unimaginative, but Battle Tanks is plain good fun and is definitely recommended.

In the world of turn-based strategy games, Civilization rules the roost. Or at least used to. I personally have spent a lot of hours over the years playing the original series (although I'm not much of a player any more, and never really was very 'good' by any decent standards).

So reviewing FreeCiv is sort of a bit of a nostalgia trip for me, but I'll try and keep that at bay as much as possible.

For those of you who haven't played any of the original Civ series, FreeCiv is a turn based strategy game where you build a civilisation and amass an empire taking turns with other factions trying to do the As the turns elapse, you progress through history - starting from 4000 BC up to the modern day, gaining new technology, starting and ending wars and (in theory) expanding your empire as that happens.

Graphically and conceptually, the game is very close to Civilization II, with similar isometric 2.5D graphics and an almost clone of the CivII interface, down to the layout of the main window to the nation select screens.

I didn't have an awful lot of time to delve into gameplay, but from the playing I did do, it seems very authentic as a clone of CivII. To veterans of the genre and the original series, it will be easy to pick up and the differences are minimal.

New players, especially those unfamiliar with this type of game might be a little overwhelmed. However, there are a set of very useful tutorials available from the FreeCiv wiki. Some tutorials, however, can delve a little too much into the client-server architecture of FreeCiv, which, while informative, might be a little too much for just a casual player who wants to pick up and play.

For fans of the original game series, I highly recommend FreeCiv for a free and cross-platform alternative. It does an admirable job from what I have seen of a good Civilization experience and is well worth a look.

People unfamiliar with the series should still give it a good try, but might want to read up on the tutorials a little bit first and give it some patience. If you're like me, you'll probably get hooked quite quickly!

FreeCiv is available for Windows, Mac OS X and many other Linux and Unix operating systems too.

We've all heard it. "[Insert open-source OS] has no good games."
You know they are wrong. But what do you do?

You use a top-ten list. Or in our case, top thirteen. Whatever works, right?

Now when you want to defend your title as the FOSS Gaming king, prove your position with these gems (listed in no particular order):

Frozen Bubble - One of Linux's biggest and oldest games, Frozen Bubble has the classic puzzle action you've longed for. Not only that; it also has network, hotseat, and even online play for up to five players. It was rumored that this game was the cause of a delay for an older Debian release. (Linux)

Battle for Wesnoth - I think I really covered Wesnoth in this review. But for the lazy, Wesnoth is a RTS type game. It has a pretty big following behind it and lets you play competitively online, as well as offering a server to download new campaigns. The story mode itself is pretty deep, and is enough reason to get this game. (Win, Mac, Linux)

Stepmania - If you are a fan of Dance Dance Revolution, or even if you aren't, get this gem. You won't find it in any package manager, so you will just have to download it directly from their site. It supports DDR and SM songs among other types, although they do not come with the game itself (see the Songs page on the Stepmania website). I personally have a ton of user-made tracks for this game, and it can keep you addicted for hours on end. Version 4.0 in development even includes online play, though it is a bit tedious to set up. (Win, Mac, Lin)

Neverball - Ever played Super Monkey Ball? Haven't? You will like this game. Neverball is where you simply roll a ball around on a stage to pick up coins to open up a goal. The controls are intuitive and the graphics can be shiny for a new computer or can be toned down for an older one. (Linux)

Neverputt - Based on the same engine as Neverball, Neverputt provides a decent mini-golf game with the same bouncy physics. More different than Neverball is that you will be left screaming on how you managed to miss the hole from a meter away. (Linux)

Pingus - Again, I covered this here. Pingus is basically a Lemmings clone that has been Tux-ified. With its flaws and lack of completion, it is still a fun one to play in your free time. (Win, Linux)

Planet Penguin Racer - A basic racing game with a large number of tracks. You are a penguin sliding down a hill, and you need to collect as much fish as you can before you finish. A very good looking (graphically) game that doesn't tax your processor. (Win, Lin)

SuperTux - SuperTux is a Mario clone, but again has been "Tuxified." The game is somewhat incomplete, but still is very fun (and sometimes hard) to complete. A new version is in the works aiming to solve some of the problems the current one has. SuperTux is available for every platform imaginable, even for homebrew PSP and Gamecubes. (Win, Mac, Lin, BSD, more)

Wine - Okay, okay, this isn't a game. But if you have a game on Windows you are deathly attached to, chances are you might be able to run it in Wine. A pristine example: RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 runs flawlessly in the latest version of Wine. (Lin, Mac, BSD)

Open Arena - A very well done clone of Quake III Arena. A very awesome first-person shooter. Runs very fast but looks pretty. What more can I say? Go try it out: it is available in tons of package managers (though it is quite the hefty download). (Win, Lin, Mac)

X-Moto - Peter covered X-Moto pretty well. You drive a dirtbike along a track, while performing tricks to get points and to finish harder courses. Includes a level editor. (Win, Lin)

Gweled - A basic clone of Bejeweled. It has background music and sounds and some nice images, though it is just a simple application. Supports Standard and Timed modes, and is guaranteed to take your day away if you are a Bejeweled fan. (Linux)

GTetrinet - Well, this one is Tetris. Not much to that. However, the key feature of this is the online play. Connect to a Tetrinet server and go crazy with others. Great for parties. Or anything. (Linux)

We'll review some of these games in detail (if we haven't already!) later. For now, go download all (yes) of these. Then set aside a week. Or four.