sudo apt-get install wesnoth

AssaultCube
Being based on the Cube engine, AssaultCube is a very fast-paced first-person shooter with a gameplay that changes from mode to mode. There are the usual TDM or CTF modes, but also TOSOK (Team One Shot One Kill), KTF (Keep the Flag), OSOK, LSS (Last Swiss Standing) or even PF (Pistol Frenzy). It doesn’t have high system requirements and the online servers are most of the time filled with players.

sudo apt-get install assaultcube

Neverball
Neverball is a 3D action where you control a ball and you have to collect coins. You can start with a beginner level and advance to more advanced levels. Although the concept seems pretty simple, the game is not easy to master and it becomes addictive even in the first minutes of playing. Neverball allows configuration of sound, resolution, graphics details. It can be played in fullscreen mode too, and you can choose from various ball models.

sudo apt-get install neverball

Xonotic
Xonotic is based on Nexuiz, the result of a fork which aims to keep it free and open-source. Xonotic is a shooter with a fast game style, single player and multiplayer modes, lots of maps, models and weapons to choose from.

Download

Hedgewars
This is a Worms-like game, completely free and open-source, which keeps the funny atmosphere the original Worms had. Players control the so-called “hedgehogs”, which take turns, and they have entire arsenals at their disposal to blow their enemies off the orbit. A very funny and addictive game.

sudo apt-get install hedgewars

Warzone 2100
Warzone 2100 is a real time strategy game set in a future, apocalyptic universe, and it provides single player mode, multiplayer, campaigns and lots of maps. The true thing that sets Warzone 2100 apart is the unit/building tech tree, which can be upgraded differently using over 400 technologies.

sudo apt-get install warzone2100

Xonotic uses the Darkplaces game engine, an engine which started as a Quake modification, but it was under heavy development and new improvements were made. Currently the developers of Xonotic state that the game is “on the par with most commercial games from 2006-2007″. Which, for the Linux platform is pretty important.

Xonotic is a fast-paced shooter set in an unreal world, and comes with a wide range of weapons, maps, various player models and a whole bunch of community-created content. Its strong point is the multiplayer mode, however it also includes an instant action mode vs bots and a singleplayer campaign with bots support.

Here’s how Xonotic 0.5 looks like:

Xonotic is full-featured and provides ambient music, keyboard configuration (including switching from fullscreen mode to windowed-mode in-game, without restarting the game), various graphics effects, player models, weapons and maps. The toggle fullscreen option works like a charm, while screenshots can be found inside the ~/.xonotic/data/screenshots/ directory. I wasn’t able to take screenshots of the configuration options though from within the game, so I had to use an external application for that.

Configuring Xonotic

To install Xonotic 0.5 in Ubuntu 11.04, download the zip package from the official website, uncompress it and run the appropriate executable (e.g. ./xonotic-linux32-glx, ./xonotic-linux-glx.sh.