Last updated on August 18th, 2017
Did you know that the popular Android operating system(OS) which runs on a broad range of mobile devices is actually Linux?
Linux is an OS which is legally available for free for anyone to use. It can easily be used as a replacement for the Windows OS. The only setback in Linux was the support for Windows Games as most of the popular Computer Games we play today are developed for the Windows platform. Gladly, in recent times, many Windows games have been tried and tested successfully on Linux;
Thanks to Wine:a free implementation of Windows on Linux
http://www.winehq.org/
and PlayOnLinux: a user friendly front-end for running Windows based programs on Linux.
http://www.playonlinux.com
It was quite a pleasant surprise to find games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Tomb Raider(2013) running pretty well on my Ubuntu Linux system when I used PlayOnLinux. When you install PlayOnLinux, Wine is automatically downloaded and installed.
Here is a long list of tested games on their official website:
http://www.playonlinux.com/en/supported_apps-1-0.html
I’m registered on their website with the name tuxracer 🙂 . Tux is the name of a penguin who is the Linux Mascot 🙂 . “Tux Racer” is also the name of a Game developed for Linux and Windows which I used to play. Hence the name 🙂 .
Did the thought of an exclusive shooter game for Linux come across your mind? We’ll, there is one, called “Nexuiz” based on which a Windows version was also launched in 2012.
It was a delight to know the Linux based platform for Gaming called SteamOS launched by Valve Corporation will be available soon as a free download for users and as a freely licensable operating system for manufacturers.
As of now the Beta version is available for free download:
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/ .
It is good to know that Steam is now encouraging Gamers to build their own rigs highlighting the freedom of the Linux platform:
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown .
Here is a link to a custom installation video guide:
Any Hardcore Gamer knows about the very popular game: Metro: Last Light .
Its great news for Linux Gamers that the game is now officially available for Linux:
Metro: Last Light available on Linux
Here is a video by YouTube user jakedj93, who manually installed an Nvidia driver for his Nvidia Graphics Card on Linux Mint 14 and tested it successfully.
Check it out. It feels so good to know that this game is running so beautifully on Linux:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5W1chlUI54
The possibilities are endless as the Linux platform is a free and open platform. I was extremely happy to know about the new announcement called Steamboy at E3 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM63RuEhgHU
Once you get used to the Linux environment, it is definitely gonna be fun! Cheers and long live the long awaited Linux Gaming Revolution!!!
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