Linux gaming has recently seen an increase in popular titles, but that doesn't mean that it didn't have good games before the arrival of Steam. Nexuiz is one of several such titles that remains a popular game to play on Linux for both old and new users.

Quick Note

Technically speaking, what I refer to as "Nexuiz" is called Nexuiz Classic on various websites as there were plans to remake Nexuiz with CryTek's CryENGINE 3 engine. However, you can't find the newer version anywhere, so "Nexuiz Classic" is currently the only playable Nexuiz game you can get.

How To Get It

Nexuiz can be installed on Windows, Mac OS X, and all major Linux distributions. Windows and Mac OS X can just go to the download page and get the installer, while Linux users can search their respective package manager for "nexuiz" and then install it. The game is just shy of 900MB, so it may take a little while for it to download.

Getting Started

When you first start the game, you're met with three different options -- single player, multiplayer, and settings.

In single player, you go through a series of campaigns that grow in difficulty. For the first two campaigns, you have to go through a tutorial and then fight one-on-one against a computer player and whoever kills the other player ten times wins.

In multiplayer mode, you can customize your character's name and appearance before joining a session or creating one. There isn't a master list that is downloaded, so you'll need to look online for servers or ask friends to host a session. Of course, hosting a LAN session will be the easiest, as you don't have to mess with port forwarding.

You'll be able to mess with a handful of settings within the game. In fact, there are plenty of quality options that are placed on their own "Effects" page. Thankfully, there are shortcuts along the top of the screen so you simply click on Ultra, save, and get on your way.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very fast-paced and engaging. The futuristic theme is clearly present throughout the game, as the weapons can do various things like shoot lasers or plasma blasts. The maps are also very well-developed and futuristic -- it can also react to your actions by reflecting shots and other effects. Considering that Nexuiz first debuted in 2005, this is actually pretty advanced for the time.

With settings cranked to their maximums, you'll definitely find your system lags if you don't have a strong graphics card. In fact, my laptop with integrated Ivy Bridge "HD 4000" graphics was only able to play on Ultra settings while the game was windowed to a very small resolution. So although you shouldn't have problems running the game on any decently powered system, don't expect it to run flawlessly on max settings.

The controls are very similar to any other shooting game -- WASD makes you character move around, the spacebar makes your character jump, the numbers switch to different weapons, R reloads, and so on.

Alternatives

Remember when I said that there was a newer version of Nexuiz? During the development process, the code was forked which also gave birth to Xonotic. Xonotic is more advanced than Nexuiz, but it is more difficult to install because it is rare to find it packaged for various Linux distributions. Instead, you'd have to download the executable and place it somewhere yourself. I may review Xonotic at some point to check out the differences.

Conclusion

Although it might be a little old, Nexuiz is still a great game that has beautiful graphics, a fun game playing experience, and it has become a classic in Linux gaming. So, even if popular new titles come out for Linux, don't forget that there's always some classics that you can play too.

Don't forget to check out other great Linux games!

What's your favorite "classic" shooting game for Linux? For all platforms? Let us know in the comments!