Linux Gaming: Are We There Yet?

“Over the past few years, there has been a common question on
the Linux vs. Windows desktop front: does the Linux desktop have
the ability to play various major release games, and if so what is
the performance difference between the two? Linux is commonly
overlooked as a viable gaming platform in most communities. Our
intention today is to shed some light on what does and does not
work inside Linux, as well as give solid performance data for those
looking for another option in the gaming world. Each OS has areas
where it shows superiority over the other, but for the sake of
staying true to the purpose of this article we will only be
focusing on the game performance/functionality differences.

“Unfortunately there are very few game releases that support
running inside Linux natively. To combat this issue there are a few
Linux projects that will allow Linux users to run Windows
applications – note that we did not say “emulate Windows”. We have
selected three Linux projects in order to complete our initial
round of testing. Our open source project selection “Wine” is a
free, easily downloadable project that is created to support both
Windows games and applications. The second selection, “Cedega”, is
a closed source implementation of Wine focused on gaming. The final
selection is Crossover Games which like Cedega is a closed source
implementation of Wine allowing for enhanced usability and gameplay
over Wine.

“Some are probably asking at this point, what is Wine? The Wine
project was started in 1993 to allow Windows applications to be run
under Linux.”

Complete
Story