Five great games in Fedora

Did you know that there are over 150 free games available in Fedora? Next time your weekend plans are spoiled by rain, download a couple of these games instead. You can get all of them through the Add/Remove Software utility in your Applications menu. And if you can spare it, spend $20 on a USB joystick, because they’re even more fun with an authentic arcade setup.

Wormux

(3 stars)

With graphics that make you suspect the programmer had a few beers before playing with TuxPaint, this gleeful game of mass murder is best enjoyed with at least two players.

Each player controls a small team that represents a free software group like Firefox, Tux, or GNU. You take turns attacking players from the other team with a variety of weapons, ranging from air bombs to baseball bats. Or polecat launchers.

The only downside I experienced was a series of sudden flashing that left me wondering if the game was meant to induce seizures or if it was sending me subliminal messages. (In case you’re wondering: Neither. Don’t mess with your resolution settings, and you’ll be fine.)

Ballz

(5 stars)

In this side-scrolling game, you play Ballz, an agent of Her Magesty’s service sent to rescue soldiers from an Iranian prison.

Ballz rolls automatically, and you control him by timing your jumps accordingly. Collecting stars gives you access to higher levels, where Ballz gains new abilities.

In addition to the classic platform-style, there is a puzzle element to the game that adds complexity. Plus, the wall-bouncing feels like a game of Pong turned on its side. You’ll have a hard time walking away from Ballz until you’ve worked through all the levels.

Alex the Alligator 4

(4 stars)

You’re Alex the Alligator, rescuing Lola (also an alligator), who was kidnapped by some humans with a helicopter.

Alex the Alligator has a decidedly Gameboy look and a Nintendo feel. Except that the protagonist looks kind of like one of the bad snakes from Super Mario Bros 2.

Monochromatic in color, but great music and playability.

Frozen Bubble

(3 stars)

This game, reminiscent of Snood, will keep you drawn in for hours. You shoot colored (snow?) balls at the ceiling, where they stick. Stick one ball to two others of the same color, and they fall, along with any others attached. Clear all the balls before the ceiling creeps down to the floor, and you win.

Blob Wars

(5 stars)

You’re a yellow blob with a red Rambo-style bandana. The green blobs are the bad guys. The yellow shaking blobs are MIA guys who you have to rescue. They sparkle when you rescue them.

The graphics are somewhat pathetic, but with hilarious sound effects and gratuitous cartoon violence, you’ll find yourself holding down the fire key and racing through each level just to watch the blood spurt everywhere.

True confession: I can’t stop playing this game. It’s like Mortal Kombat mixed with Pac Man.

This entry was posted by The editorial team on Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Fedora. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.