Games
Futuremark’s Game-o-meter shows what games your netbook can play
Jan 19th
One big issue I have when it comes to paying for boxed (or downloadable) games is wanting some assurances they’re going to run on my hardware. I currently don’t own a tower with “real” graphics capabilities – just a netbook and a laptop, both with Intel integrated video.
Fortunately, the crew from Futuremark has a useful little web app called Game-o-meter. It uses a Java-powered system profiler to collect data from your rig and compare it to minimum requirements for tons of different games. Just about every popular title is listed, from WoW to CIV3 and 4, to Rome: Total War.
The results Game-o-meter produces aren’t fool-proof, of course, but they at least give you a little more insight than what’s printed on the box.
One caveat: new hardware might take a little while to show up in their database. As you can see from the test run on my Gateway LT210H, the Pine View graphics are as yet unknown to Futuremark.
To check your system, make sure you have Java installed and then head over to Yougamers.com – just click any game to start testing!
Atom Arcade: Ultimate MMA Simulator is a fun (and very different) league sim
Jan 5th
League manager and sim games aren’t anything new. The Football Manager series has been extremely popular for years, and SI Games’ Eastside Hockey Manager has long been a favorite of mine.
Ultimate MMA Simulator, however, is a new one to me. And it’s just strange enough that it’s worth having a look at.
Select fighters from a huge database covering every league imaginable and all different weight classes, build a card, select a venue, and fire up the simulator. Your scrappers duke it out in pure-text glory and you’ll be evaluated for the quality of your event when it completes. Obviously, my effort above was a little substandard – that’s what I get for careless selection!
The sim offers plenty of depth and runs nicely on the Atom, making it a perfect thinking man’s timewaster for your netbook.
You can grab Ultimate MMA from the author’s link to Mediafire or from Freewarefiles.
Steam’s holiday sale ends today at noon!
Jan 4th
If you’ve been waffling about purchasing some items from Steam’s holiday sale, it’s time to get off your ass and pull the trigger!
Today at noon, the big sales finally comes to an end. Sure, there’ll be another round of special offers to take its place, but there are loads of great titles available at bargain-basement prices right now.
Favorites like World of Goo ($4.99), Audiosurf ($2.49), Evil Genius ($1.99), and the Freedom Force Freedom Pack ($5.01) are great additions to any gamer’s collection and they won’t break the bank.
You probably won’t want to buy the titles in the screenshot for play on your netbook – I just wanted to make sure the timer was in my image…
Get 80 classic Atari games for $5 from Steam!
Jan 3rd
Classic games stand the test of time – and perhaps no one has more truly classic games in their vaults than the chaps from Atari. Right now, Steam is running a special on the Atari Classics pack. Normally only $14.99, you can pick the pack up right now for a measly $5.09.
Yes, you can find emulated versions and fan remakes of these games all over the place, but it’s hard to argue against paying when the price is so low.
What’s included? Arcade hits like Asteroids, Battle Zone, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Super Breakout, Tempest…and a whole lot more. It’s one heck of a deal.