Hands On: Game On

Not many people switching to Linux will do so in order to play games. It comes as no surprise that just about all commercially released games for PCs run on Windows alone.

For that reason, many Linux fans keep a dual-boot setup on their PC: Windows for games, Linux for everything else. Still, there are options for game playing on Linux and we shall take a look at some of these this month.

If you want to run a game from Windows you have only two options; reboot the computer into Windows, or run a copy of Windows from within Linux in a virtual machine, such as the freely available VMware Server.
The first option gives you the inconvenience of having to shut down your system, but otherwise the latter is the most simple way of doing it.

While virtualisation is great for running applications, it’s next to useless with all modern games, since 3D acceleration is not yet provided in the virtual operating system. One alternative method is to use Cedega, a commercial product from Transgaming Technologies.

This is based on Wine, which lets programs for Windows run in Linux directly, requiring no Microsoft software at all. While Wine is a general-purpose framework, Cedega is instead dedicated to making games work, with a tailored configuration for individual popular games.

Some will run without any real issues at all, some will have minor glitches or problems that require workarounds, and some may not work at all. The latest version of Cedega is compatible with many popular Windows games, including World of Warcraft and Elder Scrolls IV.

Cedega is far from perfect, but is a very good option for those who want to play those games that run flawlessly. In order to download the product you must first subscribe to the Cedega newsletter for a minimum of three months, at a cost of $5 (approximately £2.50) per month.

While subscribing, you are entitled to download any new releases or updates.