FOSSwire

Let's face it, for serious gamers who want to play the latest hit titles, Linux isn't really the operating system of choice. That doesn't mean us Linux guys can't have fun and play games, though. There are an impressive array of free and open source games out there though, that might not be quite as graphically polished as their proprietary competitors, but nevertheless can be just as (and sometimes even more) fun.

Finding good Linux games, whether they're community built or commercial offerings, isn't always that easy and that's why icclus.org maintain a Linux Gamers' Game List. It has 371 games listed at the time of writing.

The list isn't going to be 100% comprehensive, but it's still a good resource to look at if you want to try out some new entertainment, or if you want to know whether a Linux incarnation of a specific title is available.

You can find the list at www.icculus.org/lgfaq/gamelist.php.

Also, if you have any information about a game that they aren't listing, you're encouraged to let them know so they can update the list using the form at the top of the page.

Jacob's recent post on Lemmings clone Pingus reminded me of a similar game (similar in the penguin content anyway) which is also great fun to play and can give you that nostalgic feeling.

It is basically a Super Mario clone, called SuperTux. Unsurprisingly, instead of the moustached man, you control everyone's favourite operating system mascot, Tux.

There are currently two different versions of the game you can download - the stable, but older 0.1.3 and the newer, but as yet unstable 0.3.0 release. They are both great fun to play, and I tried the newer release briefly. Admittedly, I didn't have the time to get very far through the levels, but it seemed pretty well polished to me.

SuperTux is a very well done game and while it might not impress that much graphically, you really can't beat it for pure entertainment value.

SuperTux is free, open source and is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. You can get it from the downloads page (it's probably best to search your package manager application for supertux if you are on Linux though).

How long did you use to spend sitting in front of a PC or NES playing the classic Lemmings? Don't lie. That's right, countless hours.

Well, prepare to do it all over again in the open-source game Pingus.

Pingus is not just a Lemmings clone, it is a complete redesign from the ground up. New levels, new action commands, and the entire theme based on penguins is what this game is made up of.

The game starts you out with a basic storyline, and then drops you right onto Tutorial Island, with 22 full levels. The first few levels will remind you instantly of Lemmings (let's go!), but then you come across some new levels with new action commands to give the lem... err, Pingus, such as a jump command.

After completing the tutorial mode, the game abruptly ends, stating that the rest of the game is to come in another installment. However, that is not all that you are able to play. Along with the tutorial levels, over 250 levels are included with the game. While you cannot access these directly, and some levels are unplayable in their current state, you can open them with the level editor to edit them or play them as you see fit. The stored levels are available in /usr/share/games/pingus/levels on a standard Linux install.

Did I just say level editor? Yes, this awesome game comes with one, and it is a full-featured editor. You can create entire maps for the penguins to run on. In fact, the game was made with it.

Along with the game's excellently designed levels and seamless backgrounds and images, it also has a soundtrack. The music is somewhat reminiscent of music from the Lemmings games, and doesn't seem to get annoying.

The game does have its downsides however. One of them is its obnoxious CPU usage. On the level editor and map screens, your CPU usage may spike up a bit, even though the game appears to be not doing anything. While a minor flaw, it is still a bit of an annoyance when the laptop fan decides to kick on high when you least expect it.

Another small flaw it has is the fact that the music does not loop. If you take too long on a level, the music will just cut out and leave you in silence, only to be scared by the sudden revving up of your CPU fan.

Despite these flaws, I still highly recommend downloading this game by any means necessary. After all, who doesn't like telling mindless penguins what to do, even if it means killing them?

http://pingus.seul.org/