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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Cyber Cynic

Windows gaming on Linux & Macs made easy

27 comments

TAGS:CrossOver, desktop linux, Guild Wars, Linux, Mac OS X Windows, Spore, video game, WINE
IT TOPICS:Desktop Applications, Linux, Macintosh & Apple, Open Source, Operating Systems, Personal Technology, Software, Windows & Microsoft

Sure, it's handy being able to run Internet Explorer or Microsoft Office on Linux or the Mac thanks to WINE and Crossover Linux and Mac, but you know what's even cooler? Running WoW (World of Warcraft) or Guild Wars on them.

That's why I'm really pleased to see that CrossOver, the company behind WINE, the programs that lets you run Windows programs on Linux and Mac OS, has just released new editions of CrossOver Games for Mac and Linux, version 7.2.0.

At first, you might think, "Are they kidding, you can't run -- seriously run -- a demanding Windows game on Linux or the Mac." You'd be wrong.

I'm not much of a game player, but I'm a hardcore player vs. player gamer in Guild Wars-look for level 7 gladiator characters in Team Arenas with 'Totten' as part of their name-and it works great. Let me put it this way, if I couldn't kick rump and take names just as well while running Guild Wars with CrossOver on Linux as I do on native Windows, I wouldn't be running it. I like winning more than I do operating systems.

The major new feature in this version is that it now supports Spore. Spore, I'm told, is a popular, single-player game where you evolve your species from one-cell organism to interstellar empire builder.

This edition comes with a lot of improvements. The overall effect is to improve speed and stability. That's especially true if you're running Steam-powered games. The most noticeable upgrades are in CrossOver Game's DirectX support. I see a lot fewer artifacts now than I used to.

If you're already a Crossover customer with an active subscription, you can just download the new version. You haven't tried it? You can get a full-featured trial version that will run for seven days. If you like it, you can buy a license for either Mac or Linux for $39.95. I think it's worth the cash, but, with a seven-day trial, you can decide for yourself.

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For those who are

Submitted by Dann on March 25, 2009 - 6:59 P.M.

For those who are interested, I do a full 1920x1200 run of wow via Crossover Games.
Aside from the temporary increase in fan speed and heat on my laptop, everything runs as smooth as can be.

Granted, some games I love don't work 'quite' as well as I would want, I'm still amazed at what they have done.

Installing Internet Explorer 6 is as simple as a few clicks on Crossover Office's installer. In fact, installing a lot of Windows software (.net, IE, DirectX) is built into the Crossover Installer so getting these packages installed is just like using a package manager.
Not that it's a good thing, mind you ;)

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Good review

Submitted by Perspectoff on March 6, 2009 - 11:10 A.M.

Thank you. Good review.

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WoW on Mac

Submitted by FreeMarket on March 5, 2009 - 10:44 A.M.

WoW is a poor example. It installs and runs natively on a Mac, so obviously it does not need to use DirectX on a non-Windows system.

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Games

Submitted by Whitespiral on March 5, 2009 - 2:13 A.M.

"I like winning more than I do operating systems. "

Hahaha, well said.

Too bad Combat Arms doesn't work on Linux.

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And again verify your

Submitted by Anonymous on March 4, 2009 - 8:52 P.M.

And again verify your information, Codeweavers are not behind WINE.

Wine is a full open source project...

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Ummm....

Submitted by Jon Parshall on March 5, 2009 - 10:22 A.M.

To clarify, we *are* behind the Wine Project, in the sense that we've for years been the largest corporate supporters of Wine, and have always returned all of our work on Wine to the Project. We also benefit from supporting Wine in that we are able to bring in the patches from other contributors to the Project as well. But we've done a *lot* of the "heavy lifting" in Wine development, since we have most of the really gifted Wine developers on our staff, including the Project's Maintainer, Alexandre Julliard.

Best Wishes,

-jon parshall-
COO
www.codeweavers.com

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Codeweavers (and Google) have been supporing WINE

Submitted by sjvn on March 4, 2009 - 10:04 P.M.

for ages, Ubuntu is full open source too, but Canonical pays the bills.

S_V

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No, Codeweavers is the main

Submitted by perspectoff on March 6, 2009 - 11:14 A.M.

No, Codeweavers is the main contributor to Wine. Don't downplay their contribution. The Linux community owes a big debt of gratitude to them, and they deserve to be supported for Crossover for Linux, which is committed to keeping current programs (that erroneously were written for Windows platforms) running in Linux!

Kudos to Codeweavers.

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Remember This Article When You.......

Submitted by Anonymous on March 4, 2009 - 7:18 P.M.

Steven, I hope you'll remember this article the next time you write one of you're often done Linux vs. Windows price comparison pieces.

You know, you'll need to add to the Linux side of the equation, the $39.95 for Crossover for playing (only a few supported Windows) games. Then add the $20+ for proprietary media codecs. Then again add $20+ for a legal DVD player. Anything else?

Even assuming that a user doesn't need the newest Microsoft Office (unavailable on Linux) and can get by with Open Office, getting a complete and overall usable Linux install is at present a lot like buying a printer. You get the printer for next to nothing (Linux can be free)but get nickle and dime'd ($20--$40'd)to get it to do anything useful.

Notwithstanding the debate on security and reliability issues, any honest cost assessment of Linux vs. Windows only shows a clear and compelling Linux price win when the need for any of these extras aren't anticipated by the end user. You aught to try it. Honest assessments, I mean.

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Don't need Crossover to play WoW

Submitted by Anonymous on March 5, 2009 - 6:18 P.M.

I've been using stock (and free) installs of WINE for years to play World of Warcraft. There isn't a "need" for Crossover- it's a "nice to have" that brings some more hand-holding (support) and some bleeding edge code that is only needed for a few apps. I just don't see why you would have to include the cost of Crossover in a comparison to Windows.

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