Netbook gamer thread - recommend games for netbooks

[dud]

From time-to-time I find myself on looong business trips, alone with my netbook. In an attempt to keep my sanity I game on my netbook but I find myself limited to very "mature" (old) games such as Lords of the Realm II and Bejeweled. The purpose of this thread is to share recommendations for those who are looking for other options when it comes to netbook gaming.

Please post your recommendations for your favorite games that you know work/play well on a netbook with/without dedicated graphics.


Thanks ...

 

[WelshBloke]

Baldurs gate series.

 

[dguy6789]

Any of the non 3D Command & Conquer games.

 

[Rakewell]

Plants v zombies

or any POPCAP games

 

[Bl0cks]

Trackmania nations forever, call of duty 1

 

[Martimus]

Jets and Guns

 

[shortylickens]

Baldurs gate series.

Bullshit. The screen is tiny. It would be annoying to play.
I dunno why people have a fascination with playing video games on inferior hardware with tiny screens. Netbooks were never designed to be used for gaming. Even a PSP is better cuz you can hold it in your hands and the games were built from the ground up with a small, low-res display in mind.

Stick to Solitaire.
Or maybe Jets N Guns. Thats probably the one game that would be alright on a netbook, and it would only be fullscreen, not widescreen.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

If you're somewhere with internet you could get into quakelive.

 

[NoQuarter]

Torchlight has a netbook setting even.

 

[dud]

Trackmania nations forever, call of duty 1

I have CoD 1 loaded and yes, it plays but just barely. I would get my rear-end kicked if I tried to play on-line.

 

[dud]

Bullshit. The screen is tiny. It would be annoying to play.
I dunno why people have a fascination with playing video games on inferior hardware with tiny screens. Netbooks were never designed to be used for gaming. Even a PSP is better cuz you can hold it in your hands and the games were built from the ground up with a small, low-res display in mind.

Stick to Solitaire.
Or maybe Jets N Guns. Thats probably the one game that would be alright on a netbook, and it would only be fullscreen, not widescreen.

Damn you're harsh. I consistantly see you posting in OT with a "holier than though" know-it-all attitude. In this case it is practicality not "fascination" that draws me to my netbook. I already carry a work laptop with me ... .one that I cannot do personal things on. The netbook fits in my bag right next to my work unit and allows me to do entertain myself while on business trips. And another thing ... I have a modded PSP and the netbook, even as "inferior" hardware is far superior as an entertainment platform for me. The PSP is very limited while I can do a multitude more with a netbook ... from playing basic games and office tasks to using it to watch movies (both on-screen and through either of my projectors).

Thanks for your input but not your attitude.

 

[Elcs]

Depends on the netbook capabilities.

Personally I'd be highly unlikely to buy a netbook as they do not suit me after using laptops and netbooks side by side but I do own a dual core Atom with ION chipset mini ITX system which I use for most daily tasks.

As of this fact I don't think I can contribute much except to say Defense Grid: The Awakening does play well on Medium @ 1280x768 but do not even contemplate trying to play Dawn of War 2

 

[WelshBloke]

Bullshit. The screen is tiny. It would be annoying to play.
I dunno why people have a fascination with playing video games on inferior hardware with tiny screens. Netbooks were never designed to be used for gaming. Even a PSP is better cuz you can hold it in your hands and the games were built from the ground up with a small, low-res display in mind.

Er, the rez on most netbooks is higher than the one at which Balders gate supports, and it runs fine. (I use TUTU)

I'm guessing you've tried it and are not just being an arse, coz it plays quite well on mine.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Disclaimer: I'm too lazy to try these on mine, but all are old and only expect 256 MB RAM or less, 500 MHz or less:

GOG.com: legal, DRM-free.
- Fallout 1-2-Tactics, Jagged Alliance 2, Heroes of Might & Magic 2-3, Master of Orion 2. All are turn-based.
- Blood: fun shooter using the Duke3D engine (software rendering)

 

[Jjoshua2]

I had a lot of fun playing defense grid and torchlight and my netbooks. DG had to turn down to lowest settings and was still sluggish, but its not a fps. Torchlight ran well.

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Grab the Altitude demo off of Steam and see how it runs. I would think that it would be fine, it's a purely 2D game. It's purely multiplayer, but a lot of fun.

 

[dud]

Grab the Altitude demo off of Steam and see how it runs. I would think that it would be fine, it's a purely 2D game. It's purely multiplayer, but a lot of fun.

Thanks. It looks interesting. I'll give it a try.

 

[mundane]

..

 

[AndroidVageta]

Have you thought of emulation OP? Put some classic NES, SNES, Genesis games on there...PLENTY to choose from...I know that my old netbook (HP 110 or some shit) could even play N64 and PS1 ROMs too...mostly at the original console settings...but it played them well and fast. Was in New Mexico for a couple months on business and beat Zelda Ocarina of Time for the N64 on my netbook.

Basically, I wouldnt worry too much about current PC games...anything pre-2003 and emulation will work.

 

[WelshBloke]

Have you thought of emulation OP? Put some classic NES, SNES, Genesis games on there...PLENTY to choose from...I know that my old netbook (HP 110 or some shit) could even play N64 and PS1 ROMs too...mostly at the original console settings...but it played them well and fast. Was in New Mexico for a couple months on business and beat Zelda Ocarina of Time for the N64 on my netbook.

Basically, I wouldnt worry too much about current PC games...anything pre-2003 and emulation will work.

Good call!!

My phone will play SNES games!

 

[shortylickens]

Damn you're harsh. I consistantly see you posting in OT with a "holier than though" know-it-all attitude. In this case it is practicality not "fascination" that draws me to my netbook. I already carry a work laptop with me ... .one that I cannot do personal things on. The netbook fits in my bag right next to my work unit and allows me to do entertain myself while on business trips. And another thing ... I have a modded PSP and the netbook, even as "inferior" hardware is far superior as an entertainment platform for me. The PSP is very limited while I can do a multitude more with a netbook ... from playing basic games and office tasks to using it to watch movies (both on-screen and through either of my projectors).

Thanks for your input but not your attitude.

Since I have no clue what you are talking about, I'm gonna need you to post a link to these things supposedly in OT.

 

[shortylickens]

Er, the rez on most netbooks is higher than the one at which Balders gate supports, and it runs fine. (I use TUTU)

I'm guessing you've tried it and are not just being an arse, coz it plays quite well on mine.

If you go back and read my post really, REALLY close, I never said it couldnt run or it wouldnt run fine. And resolution does not equal size or image quality. I said it would look like ass. And unless you can take a picture of your screen to show me otherwise, I will continue to think so. I find that possibility unlikely seeing as how its obvious you were just looking for a fight and not using logic to continue an otherwise intelligent discussion.



For reference I just tried and while it does install from a USB thumbdrive it will not play from one. Keep getting messages saying I need a CD drive to play the game. Tried gamecopyworld with no luck. And playing with the Baldur.ini drive paths doesnt seem to have an effect.

 

[Red Storm]

Heh, you could always sign up for OnLive and play new release games on your netbook.

A cheaper option would definitely be the classics, such as Age of Empires II, the Baldur's Gate series, or even emulation.

 

[NoQuarter]

If you go back and read my post really, REALLY close, I never said it couldnt run or it wouldnt run fine. And resolution does not equal size or image quality. I said it would look like ass. And unless you can take a picture of your screen to show me otherwise, I will continue to think so. I find that possibility unlikely seeing as how its obvious you were just looking for a fight and not using logic to continue an otherwise intelligent discussion.

I went back and read your post really really close and I'm just going to say you weren't/aren't interested in contributing. The thread isn't about how bad netbooks are, it's about what games can run on them so people who have a netbook can think about some games to pick up and try out when that's all they have.

If you legitimately think Baldur's Gate will be unplayable because the view distance is too small (1366x768 is not bad for a game that was played quite often on 1024x768 or 1280x1024) to tell your characters where to go that would be a good point to make but saying it's bullshit to try playing it because the hardware is inferior is not useful.

 

[Qbah]

Torchlight has a netbook setting even.

God no. This game runs like absolute shit on a netbook, even the lowest settings. And it's the CPU that's too slow for this game... I ran the game at 640x480 and 1024x600 and the FPS was the same... All lowest! I even loaded a mod that further lowers texture resolution. No change. So no, a netbook can't run Torchlight. Unless you consider 10-ish FPS playable. It's very laggy and a giant frustration. Paired with a tiny 10" screen... just no. Was a 1.6 Atom with GMA950 (thank god I sold that POS!).

I would say Fallout 1 and 2. Both games have a great story and many many hours of fun. Also Heroes of Might and Magic 3. Those games are turn based so a touchpad won't be a big hindrance.