Last night, I ventured into the realm of a commercial implementation of Wine, CrossOver for Mac. CodeWeavers has released a freely downloadable public beta version for users to try and test. Once I saw that Counter-Strike 1.6, an old school Half-Life mod that we still seem to hang on to over here in average admins and OSP land, was in the approved games list, I knew I was down for some serious testing.
You’re gonna hate me after you play this game. Someone was complaining about it in the #Debian channel so I had to see what the fuss was all about.
A quick apt-get install xmoto and 2 seconds later I was playing the game.
The game is based entirely on a very loose set of physics. The goal is to simply get from one side of the level to the next. That can’t be too hard, right? WRONG!!!
The game is very addicting, however, so you might hate me, but you’ll love the game.
The game works on Windows, Linux, and who knows, maybe Mac, too!
If you’ve never played Trade Wars, then you missed out on some cool BBS action back in the day. I’m sure Jeff remembers the game.
Anyway, I got this email today and thought that I would pass it on. I completed both the one question survey and the other 10 or so question one.
—————————- Original Message —————————-
Subject: Trade Wars Survey
From: “John Pritchett - EIS”
Date: Fri, October 13, 2006 3:12 pm
————————————————————————–
Dear Trade Wars fan,
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the original release of Trade Wars
(December, 1986), I am pleased to announce that I have reached an
agreement with Sylien Entertainment to develop a long-overdue graphical
remake of this classic game. But before we can proceed, we need your
help. Because Trade Wars is 20 years old, I have lost touch with all but
a small percentage of its fanbase. Unless we can reach out to this
fanbase and prove that interest in Trade Wars still exists, we will be
unable to secur
e the funding necessary to complete this project.
To accomplish this, we are running a small survey to estimate the number
of people who have played or hosted Trade Wars over the years. By
answering this one-question survey, you will enable us to demonstrate the
great potential of a new Trade Wars project. Nothing else will be
required of you, but if you choose, you may request to receive a monthly
Trade Wars newsletter with updates on our progress. And if you really
want to help out, you can complete an optional, more extensive survey.
We would lov
e to learn more about your experience with Trade Wars.
The survey is located at http://www.sylien.com/survey.php
For this effort to succeed, I need you to forward this email to anyone who
might be in contact with a past Trade Wars player or game host. Most of
them have been away from the game for many years, and this is our only
hope of reaching them.
Thank you for helping us to update this classic game for a new generation
of gamers!
John Pritchett, EIS
jpritch@eisonline.com
NOTE: You are receiving this email because you are an EIS customer, a
member of one of several active Trade Wars forums, or because it was
forwarded to you by someone who believes you are interested in this game.
You do not need to take any action to avoid receiving future emails.
This has got to be one of the coolest flash games I’ve played in a long time.
http://www.deviantart.com/view/36706349/
If you’re like me and you like to hang on to stuff like this in case it disappears in the future, make sure you download it using the download link at the top left.
Here are a few other flash games that I’ve run across:
http://www.addictinggames.com/kittencannon.html
Just got 1200ft after about 20 tries. Press the spacebar after you’ve died to start over … you don’t need to click on Continue.
http://www.addictinggames.com/bowman.html
As with any flash games, if you want a bigger game to play and you don’t like looking at all of the advertisements, view the source of the page and search for ’swf’. Once you find the link to the flash game, just copy and paste it into your address field and you’ll not only be able to play a bigger version of the game, but you’ll also be able to save it.
Got any flash games you can’t live without?
My little brother and I will usually end up playing chess a million times when he comes to visit. There’s always a chess board on my breakfast table so during breakfast or lunch, or whenever, we’ll sit and play a few games.
I remember playing chess via email a LONG time ago so I did a quick Google search and found the very same game I played back in the day.
It’s Shockwave based and from what I can tell, it only works in IE. It’s still a cool game, though, and if you’ve got access to IE, give it a try. If you’re looking for someone to play against, feel free to send a challenge my way. You can reach me at chris.davis *at* averageadmins.com.
And now on with the link: http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/emailchess.jsp
Wow, there are some very cool games in this list. Read through the comments, too, as there are more cool games mentioned there.
http://akaimbatman.intelligentblogger.com/wordpress/archives/27
I’ll definitely be installing some of these games!
And remember, just because it’s Open Source, doesn’t mean it won’t run on Windows. The most talked about game on that list, Nexiuz, will run on Windows.
Here are a few games that aren’t on that list (both open and closed source):
Enemy Territory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfenstein:_Enemy_Territory
Ok, there are too many to list and, as usual, the Wikipedia has a very nice list already. On with the Wikipedia links:
Other free FPS games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_first-person_shooters
List of Open Source games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open_source_games
List of Freeware games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_freeware_games
Maybe this will get you gamers started.
As of yesterday 4/27/06, the big N has renamed their “Revolution” gaming console. The new name for this machine is going to be “Wii“, pronounced ‘we’. From the Revolution site:
“Introducing … Wii. As in “we.” While the code-name “Revolution” expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games … and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean?”
“Wii sounds like ‘we,’ which emphasizes this console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.”
“Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play. And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.”
“So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it’s really not about you or me. It’s about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything.”
Like many gamers, I will probably still call this machine Revolution. I don’t think I’ll want to call my friends over so we can play with my Wii.