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Page 1 of 2  Linux has games. I'm not just talking about solitaire, chess and mines; I'm talking about the dozens of great 3D first person shooters, puzzle games, role-playing games, community games, simulators, and more. If you're hesitant about making the switch to Linux, or you've made the switch but now you're itching for some solid game play and impressive graphics, then here's a list of games we've found. We're giving you the official websites, genres, what's open source, what's free, and what's not, and a few screenshots here and there.
Before we go into the game list, we know we missed a few, because there's just so many Linux games. We mostly chose the games that we've had a chance to try out ourselves. Please contribute some more games in the comments, so we can expand on this list, or contribute to our general game forum. Linux Game StoresTux Games - The Online Store for Linux Games 
FPS (First Person Shooters)Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Official Website: www.enemyterritory.com
Is it open source/free? No. But there is a free demo, so you can try it out.
Creator: Id Software
Our Review: Enemy Territory Article
Forum page: ET Forum
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: Sci-Fi FPS set in the same universe as the Quake II and the Quake IV games. Though technically a sequel to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and with similar gameplay to its predecessor, the game has many advances, especially graphically. Cube 2 (Sauerbraten)
Official Website: sauerbraten.org
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: Sauerbraten is a major revision of the Cube FPS. The aim of the game is to allow for dynamic, in-game map/geometry editing. Nexuiz
Official Website: www.alientrap.org/nexuiz
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Creator: Alientrap
Brief Synopsis: Nexuiz is a FPS built on a highly-modified Quake engine. Though not a game laden with eye candy, it does feature some advanced video features such as shaders, offset mapping, and high dynamic range rendering. Quake 4
Official Website: www.quake4game.com
Linux FAQ: zerowing.idsoftware.com/linux/quake4
Is it open source/free? No. There is a Linux demo.
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Creator: Id Software
Brief Synopsis: Quake 4 is the fourth in the Quake FPS series. It is a sequel to Quake II. It has received praise for its excellent graphics, plot, and voice acting. Penumbra Overture
Official Website: penumbra-overture.com/game.php
Is it open source/free? No. There is a Linux demo.
Creator: Frictional Games
Brief Synopsis: Though technically not a first person shooter, since you cannot use guns in the game, this horror-style game is still done in the style of FPS. Penumbra relies heavily on solving puzzles in order to progress further in the game. "Penumbra: Overture will keep players on the edge as they have to explore scary and immersive environments never knowing what is behind the next corner. The world is detailed, graphical as well as a story wise making the player feel part of the world as secrets are uncovered." More? Oh yes, there's more
Alien Arena 2007
Assault Cube
Soldier of Fortune
Tremulous
TrueCombat: Elite
Urban Terror
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, LinuxHow2 review CommunitySecond Life
Official Website: www.secondlife.com
Is it open source/free? The basic version is free. The premium version comes with a monthly fee.
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: "Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe." Second Life has exploded into the multiplayer, community gaming arena. MusicFrets on Fire
Official Website: http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net
Is it open source/free? Yes
Brief Synopsis: Frets on Fire is a game of musical skill, where you play guitar with your keyboard. Features inverted keyboard play, support for guitar controllers, song editor for your own tunes, hundreds of community songs, and supports importing of Guitar Hero I and II songs. SimulatorsLincity-NG
Official Website: lincity-ng.berlios.de
Is it open source/free? Yes
Brief Synopsis: "LinCity-NG is a City Simulation Game. It is a polished and improved version of the classic LinCity game." The game includes 3D graphics and an improved graphical user interface. Alternatively: SimCity 3000 is available from tuxgames.com TORCS, The Open Racing Car Simulator
Official Website: torcs.sourceforge.net
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Not yet, but it's in the works.
Brief Synopsis: TORCS is a multi-platform racing simulator. It features more than 50 cars, more than 20 tracks, and 50 opponents against which you can race. Graphically, it includes lighting, smoke, skidmarks, and glowing brake discs. Flightgear
Official Website: www.flightgear.org
Is it open source/free? Yes
Brief Synopsis: Flightgear is a free flight simulator that was developed because of the short comings of proprietary flight simulators.
An alternative Flight Simulator (not open source, but demo available): X-Plane Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Official Website: www.lokigames.com/products/smac
Is it open source/free? No. But there is a demo.
Where is it available? www.tuxgames.com/details.cgi?&gameref=17
Brief Synopsis: "When the colony ship from Earth reaches Alpha Centauri, the crew, once a united group, have splintered into seven factions. You are the leader of one of these factions as you explore this new world and attempt to gain the upper hand against the other groups." This is a classic game. It was ported to Linux by Loki games, and thanks to tuxgames.com, you can still purchase it. PuzzleFrozen Bubble
Official Website: www.frozen-bubble.org
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: "Colorful 3D rendered penguin animations, 100 levels of 1p game, hours and hours of 2p game, nights and nights of 2p/3p/4p/5p game over LAN or Internet, a level-editor, 3 professional quality digital soundtracks, 15 stereo sound effects, 8 unique graphical transition effects, 8 unique logo eye-candies." Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
Official Website: www.puzzlepirates.com
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: "Every activity in Puzzle Pirates is a quick fun game, from commanding a fleet of warships, to pumping the bilge out of one! And with thousands of fellow pirates about there's always friends for a hand of cards, a friendly swordfight or a rowdy drink!" PuzzlePirates is a free, Java-based puzzle game. If you have a Java-enabled browser, you can play this game (download available for non-Java enabled browser). Comic StyleWorld of Padman
Official Website: www.worldofpadman.com
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: Technically a first person shooter, World of Padman is based on a comic strip. World of Padman has been featured in several online publications, such as Mod database, Slashdot, and ESReality. Role Playing Games
Battle for Wesnoth
Official Website: www.wesnoth.org
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: "The Battle for Wesnoth is a free, turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme. Fight a desperate battle to reclaim the throne of Wesnoth, or take hand in any number of other adventures" PlaneShift
Official Website: www.planeshift.it
Is it open source/free? Yes
Online Multiplayer: Yes
Brief Synopsis: "PlaneShift is a Role Playing Game immersed into a 3D virtual fantasy world which is fully free to play." The game is under heavy development, so they warn that you might encounter bugs and glitches. However, the game looks great, and it has hundreds of active players. Other games... A lemmings clone. Pingus is open source and falls under the Zlib license. A standard Mahjongg game, comes with the KDE games package. A 3D open source game similar in style to Super Monkey Ball. An open source, free clone of the civilization games. Only registered users can write comments.
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