Top Ten Games to Play on Your Netbook: Part 1
It’s August now, and that probably means you’re heading away on holiday. Obviously, this will be a big worry for gamers like us. That’s why we were given handheld gaming systems- a way to stave off the withdrawal symptoms from being away from some sort of pixel or polygon for too long. However, handheld consoles aren’t the only thing to keep the babies off the ceiling. There’s also the much-overlooked netbook.
Netbooks are essentially tiny laptops- meaning you can do with them what you would do with any laptop, including installing PC games on them. Obviously they’re built mostly for browsing the web, and as such can’t exactly handle something like Crysis (although oddly people still seem obsessed with benchmarking it on their netbooks, if only to impress people). However, most netbooks are actually fairly decent machines, and I’ve decided to run down a few games that you might want to load up your netbook with to take on holiday with you.
All of these games should work on a modern netbook; I’ve tested them all on an Acer Aspire One. Obviously everyone will have a different configuration and level of technical skill, so it can’t be guaranteed that they will run with your netbook. Besides, it’s just a guideline. I’m sure you’ll be thinking of something that I’ve missed out of the list- so leave a comment. Stay tuned tomorrow for the second part of the article, and the other five games.
Torchlight
Torchlight is a Diablo-esque action RPG developed by Runic Games, a company formed by the creators of Diablo, Max and Erich Schaefer. Not only is it a brilliant little game great for playing in either short or long sessions, it’s even got an option in the settings menu for a netbook mode. A mouse might be something to think about when playing this game, as it can get a bit hectic out there in the dungeons, and anybody but a touchpad pro will have trouble keeping up. In fact, that goes for almost all the games on this list.
Even if you’ve never played Diablo, Torchlight will most likely still manage to capture your attention. The game does an excellent job of both treating the player with respect and showing them the ropes, meaning that you’ll be up and running in no time, and enjoying what the game has to offer. The game has scope for mulitple playthroughs, with three distinct player classes and an heirloom system, meaning you can keep items from your previous playthroughs. Perfect for an entire week with nothing else to do.
The game should run well in Windows, but you may have trouble when attempting to install the game on Linux. Certain versions of the game reportedly do not work at all under Wine (A Windows program launcher for Linux), and there is no official support for the platform. A great game if your netbook is running Windows, but it may take a bit of work with Wine so Linux players may have trouble with this one. If you’re determined to get it going you can take a look at the WineHQ page here for more info.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
Serious Sam was recently re-released in HD, but don’t forget that the original is still a manic and highly enjoyable first-person shooter that runs very well on less powerful hardware. Serious Sam, aside from having a bloody excellent name, is everything a shooter used to be in the good old days. Forget any kind of deep and engaging story, or realistic shooting mechanics, or even any sort of suspense or atmosphere. There are only three things that matter in Serious Sam: You, the massive gun in your hand, and the enemy.
Sometimes you don’t want to immerse yourself in a videogame. Sometimes you just want to shoot stuff in the face- and a lot of the time this is how you’ll feel on holiday. Well, why not pretend that your nagging mother is a headless chainsaw-wielding maniac and shoot that in the face instead of taking out on her? Maybe your friend is being irritating again- so shoot at a giant skeleton of a bull instead of shouting at him! It’s fun for all the family. Especially you.
Serious Sam has an official Linux port if you can get your hands on it, although obviously it’s easier to get hold of a Windows version. Luckily, the game runs very well in Wine as well, so both Linux and Windows users should be able to get running and gunning easily.
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
Starcraft II may be at the front of your mind when I mention the Real-Time Strategy genre, but to many Red Alert 2 is the best RTS ever made. Luckily, it’s pretty old now, and the system requirements are low enough for it to be playable on a netbook. That doesn’t mean it’s aged badly, though- it’s as good today as it was back when it was released, thanks to the fact that the visuals are simplistic enough to still look good now, but also the fact that the camp FMV sequences are as funny as ever, and the gameplay will be forever enjoyable.
Red Alert 2 is easy to get into, but almost impossible to get out of- and what could be higher praise than that? After 10 years I’m still installing Red Alert 2 on every system I buy, and it captivates as much as ever. Perhaps RTS aficionados will turn their noses up at the simplicity of the game, but to the rest of us, the fact that you can get playing with little to no experience in the genre is fantastic, and the depth of strategy that the (awesomely weird) units allow means that you’ll be playing for years to come.
The game runs fine in Windows, although you may find you need a crack to stop the game from asking for the CD to be in the drive (since your netbook probably doesn’t have a disc drive). The game does not have an official Linux port, but the game reportedly runs under Wine in a number of Linux distributions, although you might need a bit of tech know-how to get it going.
Half-Life
Probably the most demanding game on this list, but also definitely one of the best. You’ll need more than a basic netbook to play flawlessly, but for many it shouldn’t be a problem. Half-Life is a story-driven First-Person Shooter developed by Valve and released to huge critical acclaim. You’ve probably heard of it, if you have been on the internet at any point in your life.
Still considered one of the best games ever made, Half-Life made huge ripples in the gaming world, and if you want to see where almost all modern FPS games came from, this is the game to look at. Serious Sam is an example of the old days of shooters, but if you’re looking for an engaging and breathtaking journey while you’re gaming on your holiday, Half-Life is the game to play.
The game runs in Steam, Valve’s digital distribution service, and so will run in Windows just fine. As I say, you’ll need a bit more netbook to run this at a playable framerate than many of the other games here, but if you’re willing to put up with a bit of choppiness, it will actually run surprisingly well. Steam runs well in Wine for Linux, and Half-Life is easy to launch and play from there- so there shouldn’t be too many problems in getting it running under Linux on your netbook, either.
World of Goo
If you’re looking for a pick-up-and-play puzzle game with a tonne of character and charm, World of goo should be your first stop. The game asks you to build towers with blobs of Goo, with the aim of getting the most blobs into the pipe at the top of the level. The first few levels will show you how the mechanics work, but by the end you’ll be scratching your head over how to finish the puzzles. Like all great puzzle games, the concept is simple, but the puzzles are as hard as nails.
Sometimes with a netbook game you’ll just want to get going and play for five minutes- and World of Goo fits the bill perfectly. You can jump in and finish one or two levels- or just continue working on that one rock-hard puzzle you’re stuck on. Even on netbook hardware the game looks delightful, and has a great deal of charm. It’s even great for playing with your other half when you realise you didn’t bring any johnnies.
World of Goo had both Windows and Linux versions available, so you shouldn’t have much trouble at all in getting this game going on your netbook. The game also works perfectly well with a touchpad, since it’s a puzzle game and not an action game- so you can get the netbook on and playing with a minimum of fuss.
Come back tomorrow for the second part of the list, and plenty of hookers and blow. Well, there will be one of those things, anyway. You’ll have to check back to see which!
