Top Ten Games to Play on Your Netbook: Part 2
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. This is the second part of a two-part series: click here for the first five.
Plants Vs Zombies
Plants Vs Zombies is a tower defence style puzzle game which has you defending the left side of the screen from hordes of shuffling zombies- with some plants. As with World of Goo, this game is based on a simple concept, but has a level of depth you won’t believe until you play it. The game may start out fairly easy, but in no time it ramps up to some excellently designed levels that will really test your strategic thinking.
There are so many different types of plant to shoot, eat, or blow up zombie with, with as many types of zombie to be shot, eaten, and blown up. The visuals are packed full of charm and humour, despite hardly taxing your system at all, so this game is perfect for netbook play. You’ll also be able to switch the game on, play a level or two, and leave; great for those moments where you need a quick gaming injection to stave off the pains. Beware, however: you may never be able to stop playing.
Plants Vs Zombies runs perfectly well in Windows, and can be bought from Steam, so you should have no problems there. The game is rated Platinum for running under Wine, so you shouldn’t have any problems using Linux either.
Time Gentlemen, Please! and Ben There, Dan That!
You might not have even heard of these two games. Well, shame on you- they are some of the best adventure games available to you. Monkey Island would run on your netbook, sure- but why play that for the fortieth time? Time Gentlemen, Please! and Ben There, Dan That! were created by Dan Marshall and Ben Ward of Zombie Cow Studios, and are genuinely some of the funniest games since the best days of adventure gaming on the PC.
Packed full of crazy puzzles, self-referential humour, and a wonderfully silly storyline, these games are definitely worth a try whether you’re an adventure game fan or not. If you like laughing (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), then Time Gentlemen, Please! and Ben There, Dan That! are going to give you a great time. What’s more, the first game in the trilogy of two (Ben There, Dan That!) is free, so you’ve got ample time to try it out before deciding to buy the second game.
The games will run perfectly well under both Windows and Linux with Wine, so you there’s no trouble about compatibility. The games are also available through Steam, if you prefer to run them that way- and there’s no worry about your system not being up to scratch. The games only have a bout 2 graphics between them. Don’t let the extremely basic visuals bother you, though- there’s a lot of fun to be had here.
Civilization III
If you’re looking for a much deeper strategy game to play while mobile, Sid Meier’s Civilization III is definitely something to look into. Grow your Civlization from nothing into a huge empire, and everything in between- on a tiny netbook screen. The Civilization games have always been known to cause heavy addiction among strategy aficionados, so why stop when you head off on holiday? Keep the demons away by playing some Civilization on the road.
Civilization III is getting on a bit now, so the visuals can be a little off-putting, but there’s as much game behind them as there ever was. For some players, it may even be a nostalgia-induced trip as well as the gaming equivalent of crack cocaine. If you’ve got a beefier netbook and you’re looking for an even better Civilization experience, you could look into Civilization IV, but for most that may not run too well on your machine. Plus, with Civilization III being so old now, you should be able to find it for a very affordable price.
The Steam edition will run fine in Windows, but there is a little tweaking to be done to get the game running in Linux with Wine. You can pretend it’s a puzzle and get it working yourself, or just go here and follow the instructions. Your call.
The Sims
Come on, everyone has played The Sims. It’s one of the most popular games of all time, and for a good reason. You’re tasked simply with keeping a family (or person) alive, and nothing more- but the experience is so much more than that. Create your dream home, create mischief in a neighborhood, create a friend in Sim form and play out their life, or just kill Sims in swimming pools- it’s up to you.
Everyone has a tale to tell of the time they killed a character in The Sims. The only thing more fun than removing the ladder from the swimming pool is doing it while you’re sitting by a real swimming pool on your holiday. Although the visuals aren’t exactly beautiful any more, the game is certainly still playable, and it’s also a lot of fun to play with mates or family. Everyone loves the Sims, and it might be just the thing to get your companions on holiday with you convinced that you’re a genius for bringing a gaming netbook with you.
There is a problem, however: if you’re running Linux on your netbook, don’t hold out too much hope. The game will only run in Windows officially, and getting it running under Wine is a huge task. There are a few methods of getting it running but it’s probably not going to be worth your time or money. Apologies to Linux users, but really you should be blaming EA and Maxis for not releasing the game on Linux, the bastards. Incidentally, I was not able to test The Sims on my own netbook- but I felt it should get an entry on this list anyway.
Trackmania Nations Forever
Trackmania is getting on a bit these days, but that doesn’t mean that it’s no longer the best racing game available on PC. The racing is all based around beating lap times, and earning medals for doing the crazy courses in the fastest time. It’s the crazy golf course of the driving game world. The racing is fast paced, a lot of fun, and really addictive; great for when you’re looking for an adrenaline rush when you’re gaming on your netbook.
There’s more to Trackmania, too; you can create your own tracks. The track editor is as extensive as you could ever want, and creative types will spend many hours perfecting the craziest track they can muster. There are also online modes, if you find yourself with a stable internet connection. Best of all? It’s a free game. You can get it from Steam here [http://store.steampowered.com/app/11020/], if you so wish. The full game, Trackmania United Forever, is expensive, but adds more modes, track styles and car types.
The game should runs perfectly well on most netbooks running Windows, thanks to it being pretty old- but it’s still a good looking game. Getting it to run on Linux may cause you a little trouble, but there’s evidence to suggest it will run just fine. Plus, the game is playable with just one hand, so there’s no fiddling about with mice our touchpads.
Well, that’s it for Ripten’s list of the top games to play on your netbook. Thanks for reading- we hope you’ve enjoyed it. Obviously this is a far from comprehensive list; feel free to leave a comment and put in a good word for your favourite netbook game if we’ve missed it out!
