Updated: 30 great games you can play on a Netbook
The third Deus Ex game is in development, while the original is available on Steam.
Update, July 7: This post has been updated to include additional games.
It's time to add a new selection of entries to our list of PC games well-suited for Netbooks. Especially as we expect to see many of these low-cost, low-power laptops in the hands of students during the back-to-school season, it's important to have a little action/RPG/adventure/puzzle break handy when one gets tired of taking lecture notes.
As usual, many of these entries are re-releases of classic games, originally available when even high-end computer hardware was at best comparable with today's entry-level systems. Online services such as Good Old Games and Steam are great resources for these.
One important exception is the new online gaming service OnLive, which takes current high-end PC games, renders the 3D graphics remotely, then streams you the video as you play. It sounds like a crazy idea, but it actually works pretty well, even on Netbooks. Check out our extensive hands-on look at OnLive here.
(Original post continues below:)
Since we put together our first Netbook-friendly PC game list, we've gotten many excellent suggestions from readers for new additions. We've also finally seen some long-awaited new entries from the classic Sierra/Activision library come to the popular GOG.com retro gaming Web site (including one of our long-time faves, Gabriel Knight), which gives us even more to choose from.
The new 2010 crop of Netbooks sadly don't offer much in the way for performance improvements. Instead, systems with the latest Intel Atom N450 CPU have made big gains in battery life. That's always a plus, but it also means our standard admonitions about not expecting too much from your Netbook in terms of performance remain in effect. That said, this collection (which includes links to download or play the games themselves) should help make your Netbook a pretty decent mobile gaming machine.
Like just about everyone else on the planet, you broke down and purchased a Netbook. After all, these low-cost, low-power laptops are great for tossing in your bag for a trip, working at the coffee shop, or just taking to class.
You knew all along that these systems were not made for gaming, and obviously you planned to spend all your time doing Netbook-like things such as Web surfing and working on office docs. Still, somewhere along the way, the thought crept in--maybe I can find some games that'll run on an Intel Atom processor and integrated graphics...
In the name of science, we loaded up a wide variety of games and asked friends and associates what games they had successfully played, all to help us compile this list of Netbook-friendly titles. They range from free to around $20; some are re-released PC classics, some are Web-based casual games, and a few are even from that fast-growing social-gaming genre found on Facebook (such as FarmVille).
Browse through the slideshow below to see our current favorites (and links to where you can download or play them). Bookmark this page for periodic updates as we find new games, or suggest your own Netbook favorites in the comments section below. Most of these will run on any Netbook with Windows 7 or XP, 1GB of RAM, and an Intel Atom processor. A handful are recommended only for Netbooks with Nvidia's Ion graphics.
Note: If you dig into your old dusty CD and DVD binders, there's no doubt you can find a ton of great classic PC games to try (we just found our original discs for both Grim Fandango and System Shock 2), but since your Netbook doesn't have an internal optical drive, we're restricting this list to games one can download from legit online sources, such as Steam or GOG.com.
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> Get a Netbook primer in our Netbook Quick Guide.
> More on Netbooks and video games every week on the Digital City video podcast.
New York native Dan Ackerman (follow him on Twitter), a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and his most recent album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan. 
heres some you could add.
1. Half Life ( + all the mods you can get)
2. Runescape (yeah, kinda childish and dumb, but it makes time fly)
3. Diablo 1+2
4. Halo
plus, if you can actually play Halo or Half Life on an Atom processor without a graphics card, you've gotta be determined to watch it freeze every 3 seconds. with halo, microsoft actually tries to restrict you from playing it without the correct stats. if my laptop (dual core 2.2 GHz AMD, 3.5 GB RAM, 250 GB 7200 rpm HDD) - rated as a 2.5 on the Windows Experience Index because of a lack of a good video card - falls under this category, your Netbook, probably running XP with 1 GB of RAM, crappy HD, integrated video, and ATOM PROCESSOR definitely does. Unplayable game.
Or one could buy an external optical drive for their netbook.
Also, to my knowledge, all of the games that he listed can be downloaded easily except halo.
Half-life from Steam
Runescape is a browser game
Diablo 1 and 2 can be downloaded from Blizzard's new battle.net integration if you bind your cd keys to your account
moreover
CAVES STORY, CAVE STORY, CAVE STORY!!
i'm pretty sure a netbook can run halo if my 10 year old pc can.
eeepc running halo fine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99MDcnDXwi4
Urban Terror should definitely be on this list!!! A Network 1st Person 3D shoot em up on a netbook!!!
If you tone down the settings have enough internet speed... you can get really smooth fps. Windows 7 + 2GB Ram + gmabooster = decent Gaming! Best part about it, it's FREE! (Windows, OSX + Linux!!!)
Would be exceptional if you had an opportunity to continually update this list, kinda like David Carnoy does with the Top 40 must-have Blu-ray Discs.
What about "World of Goo"? It was vetted as game of the year by several media outlets in '08.
I think this list would be applicable to Netbooks.
This is what I found...
Blizzard:
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos $20
Good Old Games:
Freespace 2 $6
Steam:
Sid Meier's Civilization® III Complete $5
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition $10
Freedom Force $5
Grand Theft Auto 3 $10
Half-Life 1 Anthology $15
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 $10
The Longest Journey $10
Quake $10
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II $5
Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition $10
I?m going to buy a few of these for some mobile gaming during the holidays.
I would definitely add Runescape to that list. It's one of the world's largest MMORPGs. Players can choose to play for free or pay for a membership to open more skills, quests, etc. Also a bonus, this game is a browser based game.
Keep your facts straight.
RuneScape holds records for being the worlds largest f2p MMORPG's and btw he never said largest he said one of the largest which is correct.
Keep your reading straight.
:twitch:
Where's starcraft!?
unreal tournament works too =)
It's a classic.
WoW must look like crap on a netbook though....
Unless:
- All you wanna do is chat with your friends. Just don't chat in places like Dalaran or heavily populated areas, unless 1 to 5 FPS isn't a bother!
- Check the Auction House. I recommend doing it in Exodar, Darnassus, Thunderbluff or Silvermoon where there isn't 20 to 50 people surrounding the Auction NPCs unless 1 to 5 FPS is fine with you!
- You just solo! If all you're doing is soloing, grinding, doing stuff alone, then the 10 to 15 FPS should be enough! BUT DO NOT RAID, DO NOT PVP, DO NOT DO 5-MAN DUNGEONS!!!! Even with an nVidia ION, the moment you got other players spamming their AOE spells and tons of particle effects start flying all over the place, you will get 1 to 5 FPS!
- You do not run any add-ons! Oh everything I wrote above... you can only achieve 15+ FPS without any add-ons install! Want to install Dominos? Want to install X-Perl? Want DBM? Quest Helper? Any add-ons at all? Well forget it... WoW alone, without any add-ons will give you a stable 10 to 15 FPS! Start installing tons of add-ons and you'll drop under 10 in a heartbeat!
So if you're like me, and you were considering buying a cute little Netbook JUST FOR World of Warcraft, make sure the store you buy it from will refund you or allow you to trade it in for a 14" or 15" laptop with more power because you WILL be disapointed!
In a nutshell... if you want to raid, PVP or do 5-man dungeons in WoW... a Netbook isn't powerful enough to play WoW seriously! Get a real laptop or else you'll be stuck with just chatting, checking the AH and soloing!
- by blubbabutter December 15, 2009 5:56 AM PST
- Where does a dummy begin? PC games are my speed and am looking forward to netbook games soon but which ones?
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