Old school gamer? Wanna play?! Check out our free game servers....

I brought up a test Linux server for Soldier of Fortune 2 this morning, you can connect to it at sof2.altfire.com (no password required).

This is truly an excellent title, and anyone who played it first time around will agree. The violence in this game single-handedly nearly got video games banned outright in Germany!

Read the instructions carefully before connecting, and let us know any way we can improve the server (or if you find any issues).

PlayDeb is an unofficial project with the mission to provide the latest open source and freeware games for the current Ubuntu Linux release, in an easy to install manner.

The PlayDeb repository extends the official repositories by providing latest versions and new games. Unlike the official packages, PlayDeb packages do not have a predefined release schedule - new game versions are provided as they become available from their authors.

For example, the latest Alien Arena in the ubuntu repositories is 7.33, which we have installed here on altFIRE (upgrading soon!). You could of course download the new binaries from the official website, but like me you might like to keep things apt-based so upgrades just involves running apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade.

PlayDeb ensure all your favourite games are available and update-able via APT. Awesome!

To install PlayDeb, do the following:

Go to System-Administration-Software Sources, Third-Party Software tab, Add:

deb http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu lucid-getdeb games

Add the repository GPG key, open a terminal window and type:

wget -q -O- http://archive.getdeb.net/getdeb-archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

Now any games you have installed will update to latest version through APT. New games should be installed via the "Install This Now" buttons on the PlayDeb website.

Boss Cevat Yerli says Crytek is "working very closely with Sony and Microsoft in regards to motion control on both the PS3 and Xbox 360."

Crytek's Global business development manager, Carl Jones, also took the time to talk up 3D technology.

Jones told Develop that the studio is taking 3D "very seriously" saying, "It certainly adds a lot to a number of games. Depth perception in an FPS really changes the game and makes it a lot more enjoyable."

"I think people are starting to wake up and take notice that 3D is on its way, it's not long before developers are taking advantage of it."

Activision has announced Sledgehammer Games, a newly formed studio led by former Visceral Games executives Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey, will develop a new Call of Duty title that will "extend the franchise into the action-adventure genre."

The publisher also confirmed it will release another Call of Duty title in 2011, but it's unclear as of now if this is the same title Sledgehammer is currently developing. This leaves the door open for another studio, possibly Infinity Ward, to develop the 2011 title.

The company also confirmed Treyarch is handling development on the Call of Duty title to be released this fall. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward is still set to develop and release the first two downloadable map packs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

"2010 will be another important year for the Call of Duty franchise," stated Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing. "In addition to continued catalog sales, new downloadable content from Infinity Ward and a new Call of Duty release, we are excited about the opportunity to bring the franchise to new geographies, genres and players."

Activision also says it's looking to expand the franchise with the same focus seen in its Blizzard Entertainment business. This includes looking at "high-margin digital online content" and taking the series to "new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models."

The company has had "discussions with a select number of partners" to bring the franchise to Asia, one of the fastest growing online multiplayer regions.

Following from our post the other day about how to install Alien Arena on Ubuntu, which also works fine on Windows, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new Alien Arena server!

So what are you waiting for? Go read the instructions and hit the server for some instant fragging action

In case you have been living in a closet (don't fret if you have, I tried it for a few weeks once myself) The Guild is an award-winning online sitcom written and starring the lovely Felicia Day, about the lives of an online guild "The Knights of Good", with each webisode 3–8 minutes long. It's sponsored by Microsoft (hence giant Microsoft logos on every PC in the show, even though MS don't make PCs!) - but never mind that little hiccup, it's actually really, really funny. Joss Whedon credits The Guild as one of the inspirations for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which actually also starred Felecia Day.

Anyways, the good news is that they've just received the go-ahead for Season 4

If you need to play catchup, Seasons 1 through 3 are currently available on the official site, iTunes, Amazon and YouTube.

Any gamer on any level will totally love this show. Go check it out if you've missed so far....

Have another game today that can run on a netbook with custom 1024 x 600 resolution - Alien Arena.

Alien Arena is a free, stand-alone deathmatch game based on source code released by id Software (specifically Quake 2). Begun by COR Entertainment in 2004, the game combines a 1950s-era sci-fi atmosphere with gameplay similar to the Quake, Doom, and Unreal Tournament series. Alien Arena focuses mainly on online multiplayer action, although it does contain single-player campaigns against bots.

To install this game in Ubuntu, run

sudo apt-get install alien-arena

and then execute with

alien-arena

The first thing you need to do is set the resolution correctly. On my Dell netbook, I can't even SEE the Video Options in the menu. however, don't panic! They are there, just below the Game Options. Navigate to Game Options +1 on the menu, and press "return", albeit blindly. You will now be in the Video Options screen

Set the following:

Video Mode = Custom
Custom Width = 1024
Custom Height = 600

and navigate to Apply Changes, which is just BARELY viewable at the bottom of the screen. Shazam! The video is now all set correctly and all menus can be navigated properly. Set the rest of your settings and launch a game. I advise turning off light blooms and lowering textures for this particular title.

Enjoy!

While not exactly surprising, Activision confirmed that they are committed to turning Call of Duty into an annual franchise at today's Q4 conference call. We're calling it Call of Duty 7 for lack of an official name, but Activision unfortunately didn't share any details on the title's setting or time period. After pointing out that this year's profits were aided by the enormous success of Modern Warfare 2, the company noted they do not plan to see the same success with this year's installment. No kidding.

Though the next game in the series is still shrouded in mystery, we heard rumors regarding it as far back as last year. The game is unsurprisingly said to be helmed by Treyarch again, and may take place in Vietnam or Cuba. The announcement of a new title this year matches with word of a November release, so it's probably safe to say that we've been close to the mark so far.

Following from a previous report about games with native linux installers, I recently found a whole bunch of installers here.

Of note in this collection (to me anyway) is:

- Daikatana
- Fallout
- Farcry
- Soldier Of Fortune II

I've played all these games previously and would love to have them on my Ubuntu system, particularly John Romero's Daikatana, which actually sucked but was kinda cool too