March 25, 2008 -- While we're continuing to see new Linux-native games introduced (such as the recent Shadowgrounds announcement) and the continued work by Linux Game Publishing with different games, the Linux gaming market is still far from being saturated and it keeps many gamers from even trying out Linux because of the limited choices. As they near version 1.0, WINE has been making strides at allowing gamers to run their Windows game binaries on Linux and last year Transgaming had introduced Cedega 6.0 with expanded game support -- among other improvements. Today though another option has been introduced and that is using CrossOver Games to run your favorite Windows games on Linux.

March 14, 2008 -- It has been nearly four months since Unreal Tournament 3 first shipped for the PC, while the Linux client is still missing in action due to software legal issues. At the same time, Linux Game Publishing is running late on delivering their Linux ports of both Bandits: Phoenix Rising and X3: Reunion. Over the past couple of quarters it's definitely been an unpleasant time for the Linux commercial gaming scene, but this week there is good news coming out of Finland and that is two games -- both relatively new to the marketplace -- being ported to Linux.

March 01, 2008 -- Since the release of Nexuiz 1.0 in 2005, we have been tracking its progress as one of the leading open-source first person shooters. With time, this fast-pace game has picked up a nice level of artificial intelligence for its in-game bots, engine optimizations, single-player campaign missions, and a variety of technical advancements. Nexuiz has always been one of the leading open-source first person shooter games, and with the release of Nexuiz 2.4 yesterday it reaffirms that you don't need to be a major game studio -- or a game studio at all -- to develop a quality title and even for being a free software game it has impressive graphics. With the graphical settings near maximized, a GeForce 8600GT on a quad-core system was brought to its knees by this free software (and free content) game.

February 26, 2008 -- Linux Game Publishing, the company behind porting such games to Linux as Cold War and X2: The Threat, has prepared a new Linux GUI installer for its forthcoming titles. While this new installer doesn't feature any overwhelming additions, it has been written finally to use GTK2 and other new functionality for this setup utility.

February 15, 2008 -- At Linux Game Publishing, much of their attention as of late has been focused upon their port of X3: Reunion, which is Egosoft's successor to the (already Linux ported) X2: The Threat. However, outside of this space adventure title that shipped for Windows in 2005, Linux Game Publishing has also been working on a few other game ports, among which is Bandits: Phoenix Rising. The closed beta for Bandits: Phoenix Rising had started in January of 2007, but there was only one beta released and no further information from LGP on this game was released. Frankly, we forgot a Linux port was even being worked on. However, thirteen months later the second beta of this Linux port is now available to those in LGP's closed beta testing program.

January 20, 2008 -- Accompanied by an updated Windows release, last week id Software had released its Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.4 update for Linux. We have previously shared most of the details surrounding this major ET: Quake Wars update with the same changes as the Windows build. One of the most interesting features, however, is the new threaded renderer for improved multi-core performance.

December 14, 2007 -- While Unreal Tournament 3 for Linux has been tied up in Epic's legal department, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has been maturing quite nicely since its introduction earlier this year. This week the Windows development team had announced ET: Quake Wars v1.4 would be available before Christmas with a host of new features. Today at Phoronix we can now confirm that this update will also be available for Linux gamers in a timely fashion.

November 28, 2007 -- Last week Ryan "Icculus" Gordon had confirmed that the Linux client and server ports of Unreal Tournament 3 were caught up in a legal issue regarding some middleware used in this latest PC title from Epic Games. However, what is the middleware that Unreal Tournament 3 is caught up in? There is a strong possibility that it deals with the PhysX licensing from Ageia Technologies.

November 10, 2007 -- Last week we mentioned that X3: Reunion for Linux was going forward with beta testing, which is going on ten months after Linux Game Publishing originally announced they would be porting this X2 - The Threat sequel. Well, those fortunate to have closed-beta access privileges at Linux Game Publishing were finally greeted with the X3: Reunion Linux binary yesterday. In addition to the Linux binary, there is also support for DragonflyBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD. X3: Reunion was originally supposed to ship for Linux back in August, but seeing as the closed beta testing hadn't even started until yesterday, don't expect the final release until the first half of 2008.

October 26, 2007 -- The Battle for Wesnoth is not your typical run-of-the-mill TBS game. The genre turn-based strategy, or TBS, is very self-explanatory. It is, simply put, a game where-as the game flow is broken down into turns or rounds and the game plays from there on. Although there are many other fantasy-themed titles floating around the Internet, this one does stand out of the crowd with its many intriguing features. For starters, the game offers nearly 200 forms of units along with 16 variations of races and six factions to choose from. The game allows the users to become creative and embark on their own personalized journeys. From conceiving your own units and characters to forging the worlds you dream of being in, the Battle for Wesnoth is a must-have download for any gamer out there.