World of Goo

Today, we will take a look at another favourite of mine. The developers, 2D boy, summarize their game like this:

"World of Goo is a physics based puzzle / construction game. The millions of Goo Balls who live in the beautiful World of Goo don't know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious."

And that's what it is - this is not just a game, this is a fictional world with a great story, beautiful cartoony 2D graphics and phenomenal gameplay. Your goal is to get delicious balls of goo to a pipe, which is usually on the opposite side of the level. You do this by making a bridge, tower or another similar structure, with the help of which remaining goo balls can travel to the pipe. Of course there are many variations to the theme and I can assure you that during the course of the campaign you won't get bored. The pipe takes them to the World of Goo corporation, where you can build a huge tower and compare it to other builders from around the world.

Image courtesy of http://workingexamples.org

The amount of attention to detail in this game is amazing, especially for an indie developer. Even though the graphics are beautiful and physics are all-present everything runs smoothly, even on a lower-end machine such as a netbook. The game menu is special and a great introduction to the world. Gameplay runs flawlessly and each mistake is your own fault (I've never failed due to a bug or glitch). During the game you get surprised by many treats, but... I won't spoil the game for you. Let's just say they'll make you open your mouth and stare. Oh, and for perfectionists there is OCD - a goal to complete every level without wasting a single ball of goo.

There is so much to say about this game that I could go on writing about it for hours. If you want to read more glowing reviews, just do a Google search. The simple truth is that the game is great in all aspects. Things that should be mentioned to do it justice is a great learning curve (difficulty increases through the game and there are levels where you are forced to flex your brain quite a bit) and one of the best executed stories in years. You won't feel sorry for the time you invested in this game, which is rarely the case with today's games. I cannot recommend this game enough, and if you can spare the money, you should definitively buy this game - for your own goo:)

One of the available trailers.

Installation: via the Software center or this site (this is also the official site where you can download the demo version). The price is around $20.

Uplink

Uplink, the breakthrough game by one of the best indie game developers out there, Introversion software, is a game about hacking and computer security.

In this game, you become a hacking mercenary, hired by the Uplink company to do jobs (steal research, change crucial data in government systems, hack bank systems,...). Of course, to steal data you need to bypass or disable security systems, which is easy at first, but becomes challenging very quickly. After bypassing systems and doing what you are being paid to do, you also need to cover your tracks so that you don't get caught. All of that in usually a minute or less, which results in lighting-fast nervous clicking and typing all over the place.

Routing through connections to buy some time.

The game consists the main interface and a series of mini-games, all of which are great. The presentation is amazing - Uplink makes you feel like a real hacker, and does it by combining sleek-looking interface and great sound - musical scores and sound effects. It also includes a plot full of conspiracy, where nothing is as it seems. Another great aspect is the upgrading of hardware, which rounds up an already great game.

Uplink is an unique, challenging game. If you are not careful about covering your tracks, you get busted and the game is over. You could be playing for a week, and suddenly boom - you're done. If you're bad at taking a loss, you might want to skip this one. For the rest, this game is a must-have. It's unique, fun challenging and full of surprises at every stage. It's one of my favourite games of all time.

Graduating college has never been this easy.

Price: 15$ (United States), 12€ (European Union), 10₤ (Great Britain). Payment methods include most credit cards and Paypal.

Installation: Via the Ubuntu software center (you need to create/have an account) or by downloading and executing the installation file from the official website.

Links:

• Official website (there is a nice trailer for the game when you enter);
• demo.

Battle for Wesnoth

Today we are going to take a look at another free game. Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based tactical strategy game with beautiful graphics and a very professional all-around feel to it. It is set in a medieval, high-fantasy environment, which involves usual races (orcs, elves etc.) and magic.

The game is played on a landscape, which consists of hexagons. There are two types of units; heroes, which are the leaders of your army and normal units. The only resource in the game is coin, which is used to buy new units. You can play in single (campaigns, scenarios) or multi-player modes (Internet, hot-seat). Difficulty of the gameplay ranges from easy to nearly impossible, depending on the AI/scenario difficulty (or your human opponent). If you are looking for a strategic challenge, look no further.

A screenshot from the campaign.

The lasting appeal of the game is great, but there are so many campaigns and scenarios in it that you will probably stop playing before you finish them all. Similar to OpenTTD, the game is huge and costumizable in many ways - there are loads of built-in content - (many campaigns, more than 200 units,...) and you can also conveniently add new content into the game via the game menu. Game modding and creating new content is supported and encouraged. The language support for this game is also excellent, which means it's great for non-English speaking players.

Game trailer.

In conclusion, this game is a must-have for any respectable Ubuntu gamer and amateur tactician. It is also a great start for a player who isn't familliar with the turn-based strategy genre.

Installation: via Ubuntu software center

Links: Official website

OpenTTD

Let's start with an oldie but goldie. To get the basic idea about the game, let's quote the OpenTTD website: 

OpenTTD is an open source simulation game based upon the popular Microprose game "Transport Tycoon Deluxe", written by Chris Sawyer. It attempts to mimic the original game as closely as possible while extending it with new features.

You are put in charge of a new transport company with a hefty loan from the bank but no infrastructure or veichles. Since you aim to be a tycoon, your goal is to make a fortune by connecting cities and industries and charging for the transport. 

A nice, fan-made clip.

OpenTTD is a real-time strategy game that is easy to pick up but hard to master, which is always the quality of great games. The gameplay (adopted from the original) is smooth, relaxing, fun and addictive. What makes OpenTTD great is the abundance of user-created content, which is easily downloadable from within the game menu. There are endless possibilites of costumising the game with new veichles, buildings, economic models, scenarios, aritifical intelligence and even more. This means that you can always spice the game up with something new, and adds greatly to its lasting appeal.

I really cannot recommend this game enough. The game is open and free but if you like it, please donate at their site, because the developers are really doing a great job with this one!

Installation:

• via Sofware center,
• by executing in the terminal: sudo apt-get install openttd

Links:

•  Official OpenTTD website

Hello and welcome...

...to the Ubuntu game depot!

If you visit again later, you will be able to read about some of the great games I've played on Ubuntu.

Things you should know about / aims of this blog:

• To write about only the best games, but there will be no scoring/grading (I believe the differences between the best games are subjective).
• In time, I hope that we will have a nice archive of great Ubuntu games, which will be great for newcommers.
• For the games that are harder to install, I will write brief installation guides.
• Reviews are supposed to be short and sweet and will include pictures. Presentation is important.

If you want to contribute to this blog, let me know via the comment section.

Well, this is it for now. See you soon,

Boris