Battlefield 1942 is a first-person shooter first released [...]]]>

Planes are in high demand, as proven by the number of campers in the airfield. They range from heavy bombers (B17), light bombers (Ilyushin, AichiVal, SBD-5), and fighters (Zero, Yak9, BF109).

As of writing, Battlefield 1942 is still available for free on Origin – you just have to download it via this link because it is more difficult to find it on the Origin program. Get it before 1 March 2013.

Bring the boom boom pow to your enemies.

Battlefield 1942 is a first-person shooter first released in 2002. When it came out, it represented  a breakthrough in this genre. You know a game is successful when you keep getting the same thing again and again for years – see the Battlefield series, The Sims and Call of Duty.

It added a variety of ways you can have a rampage over your enemies including blowing them up with a plane’s cannons, blow them up with explosives, or just run them over with your jeep. Have a battle on sea, land and air. Work in teams to coordinate artillery fire, or work alone and climb up a mountain to snipe your enemies.

Each class and each spawn point gives you different abilities and vehicles to choose rom

The game is primarily a multiplayer game, and single player merely means playing the game on the same maps but with really dumb bots. On this note, the game is still highly playable because there are still many servers and players online.

The game runs quite poorly, unfortunately, on a netbook with internal graphics. Playing the game at 640x480x16 with everything set at low, and a disadvantaging visiblity of 50 to 75 per cent, you get a framerate of about 5-20 depending on how many people there are and how many objects there are on a map.

On the other hand, if you have a separate graphics processor, such as an ION 2 like the netbook  that I have, you can play this game without much slowdowns. Running on the ION 2, you can play at Medium settings with a 100% visibility and get a framerate of 15-40, again the same slowdowns will apply, especially when there is a lot of action.

The game runs at a 4:3 resolution, so if you do not want to play with a stretched image, follow this link.

Overall, I’d get the game whether or not you have a discrete graphics processor. It is one of the most entertaining game to have on your computer when you are bored – in class with the university’s WiFi or when you are travelling and can’t bring your main computer.

Tanks: from heavy tanks like the TIger to tank destroyers such as the M10, and everything in between.

Like

The pioneer BF1942: still with all its lustre and nostalgia.

A great variety of weapons and vehicles

Dislike

Runs poorly on integrated graphics

If you’re used to the newer Battlefields, the features in this game might feel limited. I see it as simplicity.

Verdict

It’s free – until 1st March 2013 – you have nothing to lose, so get it. If you have an AMD C-series processor or a Nvidia graphics card in your netbook, you will have a good time. It is playable on integrated graphics, but you won’t get a good score due to a choppy framerate.

An excellent game, simple and varied.

Gameplay: GG

Graphics: Great… unless you have integrated graphics

Work needed to get game to play: Plays right out of the box.

In the first Skyrim on a netbook post, I mentioned how the game is barely playable on a netbook even after all the tweaking. Well, apparently, that’s not the end of the [...]]]>

Are you willing to give it all up to play Skyrim on a netbook?

Note: this applies to netbooks with a Nvidia ION/ATI Radeon discrete graphics. No luck here, Intel Integrated Graphics…

In the first Skyrim on a netbook post, I mentioned how the game is barely playable on a netbook even after all the tweaking. Well, apparently, that’s not the end of the modding that would allow us to play Skyrim on a netbook.

This ain't no kids' game despite how cute that guard you're killing looks.

A commenter on the original post, LARZ, mentioned that it is possible to actually further mod Skyrim such that you can further reduce graphics quality beyond what is possible through the menus. In fact, in order to totally remove the textures from the game, you’ll have to go down and dirty. However, the corollary is that Skyrim is much more playable, at a high cost of losing a lot of graphics eye candy. By doing this, my FPS almost doubled – and doubling means going from a poor single-digit FPS to at least 15fps.

However, in my experience, even though it might seem that you have eased the load on the graphics processor by a lot, it turns out that I am still forced to play the game at the lowest res – 800×450 windowed, lowest draw distance, no special effects and low graphics quality.

HOW?

For people with ION cards, the hack is moderately easy, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Nvidia Control Panel
2. Click Manage 3D Settings on the left
3. Click the “Program Settings” tab, then add the path to your TESV.exe file, if it’s not already there. Make sure you don’t confuse the launcher “skyrimlauncher.exe” with the game TESV.exe as both use the same icons.
4. Click Apply.
5. Download the GeForce SLI Profile Editor here
6. Run it, click Export SLI profiles, save the text file on your desktop. You should get a file called “Nvidia Profiles.txt”
7. Make a backup of this file by copying and pasting it somewhere, in case you want to revert to texturized skyrim.
8. Open the text file in Notepad, do a search for “skyrim”. If there are two entries, search for the one where there is a line “ProfileType Application“. Now, you need to add the line Setting ID_0x00738e8f = 0×00000050 UserSpecified=true. Write it somewhere after the last Setting, but before EndProfile.

Note: if you see this line: Setting ID_0x00738e8f = 0×00000000 UserSpecified=true, delete it and replace it with the line above.

10. Import the text file you saved with the GeForce SLI Profile Editor

After this, your FPS should go up significantly, as long as you keep your graphics on lowest, the game should be playable, or at least, a bit better than it used to be. Unfortunately, we’re still on the edge when it comes to playing games such as Skyrim on a $300 device that was never meant to play it.

Lego Skyrim. Trololol.

If you happen to be one of the lucky/smart/prudent guys who got a AMD C/E-series netbook, and if the Radeons in it don’t have enough beef to play Skyrim, a YouTube video from AtomicGamer has these instructions for you in order to get rid of the textures.

1. Download and install ATI Tray Tools from http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati-tray-tools-/
2. Right click on ATI Tray Tools
3. Go to 3D, then to 3D Settings
4. Find the tab called Additional
5. Change “Texture LOD adjustment” to 10 and apply
6. Skyrim in 1995 mode!
7. To change it back, just change the same setting in ATI Tray Tools back to 0.

Where are the Save Games?

I would assume you play Skyrim on a more beefy computer, like I do, and only bother with Skyrim on your netbook when you are on-the-go, or when you accidentally destroy your laptop in rage (as I did… shhhh). In that case, you can transfer your save games to and fro each computer. The location of the save games are:

C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\My Games\Skyrim\Saves

Perhaps you could set up a sync so that your saves are placed in the cloud and you won’t need to do it manually. I generally use Sugarsync to do this. AWWWW YEAAA.

EDIT: Optimus Issues

I noticed a little problem with this game on my 1015PN, and I’d like to poll users if you experience the same problems. Here’s the deal: when I run the game in Optimus mode, while my game runs, it will not have the same frames per second as it would if I ran it in Nvidia ION-only mode. The game is pretty unplayable in Optimus, but runs a lot better in ION-only mode. Something to note if you have the same system as I do.

I’m not even joking, it is possible to play Skyrim on a netbook… if you really want to. Recently, my ASUS laptop died a terrible death when the hard drive suddenly started making clicking noises. In a sense, I used to play Skyrim on a real computer, until it [...]]]>

Dragons need to take an arrow to the knee, too.

NB: Tested on an ION2 netbook.

I’m not even joking, it is possible to play Skyrim on a netbook… if you really want to. Recently, my ASUS laptop died a terrible death when the hard drive suddenly started making clicking noises. In a sense, I used to play Skyrim on a real computer, until it took an arrow to the knee.

Playing Skyrim on a netbook is possible, although you really have to be patient and be prepared to not have the quality you’re used to when you play it on a higher end computer. The compromises are basically the same – low-res textures, low draw distance and low resolution. Even with these compromises, you’ll still have to prepare yourself for a low frame rate. At its best, I managed to achieve 20fps, averaging 15fps in most situations. It can get as slow as 5fps in the worst of times.

It’s definitely workable if you manually tweaked your settings as follows,

No arrows here!

• Low graphics settings
• Windowed mode, 16:9 widescreen and 800x450px resolution

With these, you will realize that you will get Skyrim up to a playable, although struggling, speed. Obviously, if you have a C-50 or C-60 netbook, things will be much easier for you. Alas, not everyone has the foresight to see that AMD netbooks are probably a better choice than a ION 2 netbook (a.k.a. yours truly).

EDIT: If you want to know the ultimate hack to get max FPS out of the game, click here.

According to Liliputing, Portal will be offered free through September 20 on Steam. As reviewed on a recent article, Portal is playable on a netbook with a discrete graphics card, or if you tweak the Source engine so much so that it renders at the [...]]]>

According to Liliputing, Portal will be offered free through September 20 on Steam. As reviewed on a recent article, Portal is playable on a netbook with a discrete graphics card, or if you tweak the Source engine so much so that it renders at the quality of the original Half-Life.

Portal is a one-of-a-kind puzzle game that requires you to use portals to teleport your character to different parts of the maps such that you can reach the exit. It is mind-boggling at times, but after a while, you’ll learn the in-and-outs of how portals work and then the game gets extremely addictive.

Screenshot: Paul Blaudschun

One of the biggest things to be developed out of Half Life has to be Portal. While some might argue that Counter-Strike is the most popular, Portal will definitely put up a good fight. Unlike Counter-Strike, Portal is not a first-person shooter. Instead, it is a first-person puzzle game, where you [...]]]>

One of the biggest things to be developed out of Half Life has to be Portal. While some might argue that Counter-Strike is the most popular, Portal will definitely put up a good fight. Unlike Counter-Strike, Portal is not a first-person shooter. Instead, it is a first-person puzzle game, where you are supposed to use blue and yellow portals to teleport your character to the exit. Along the way, you’ll need to use some unique Portal physics to accomplish your goal.

The game is a very interesting and has a very refreshing concept. It is very fun though a bit short. It is mind-boggling, but at the same time, it is extremely satisfying when you complete complex puzzles that seemed impossible.

Portal ran extremely well on my Asus 1015PN which has a Atom N570 processor (1.66GHz dual-core), 2GB RAM and most importantly ION 2. Played at 1024×600, Portal’s frame rate was usually in the high 60s and ocassionally dipped to 20, but only in the worst of situations, which is very rare. That said, this test was done with the lowest graphics settings, which also points to the fact that there will be room should you want to bump the graphics up.

However, on an Intel GMA 3150, the story is radically different. Playing Portal was quite a struggle, and the best way you can get optimal quality and frame rates is to play it in Windowed mode at 640×480, with everything at low. If you have an even weaker computer, you might want to check out how to tweak Half-Life 2, as lots of tips there will help you get the frame rates up to scratch as Portal and HL2 shares the same engine.

Screenshot: Paul Blaudschun

Tested on both ION and Intel GMA 3150

San Andreas is a notable game in the Grand Theft Auto series because it is the first to feature a black protagonist and the first to have a few cities which you’ll have to travel to and fro via a variety of methods including airplanes [...]]]>

Tested on both ION and Intel GMA 3150

San Andreas is a notable game in the Grand Theft Auto series because it is the first to feature a black protagonist and the first to have a few cities which you’ll have to travel to and fro via a variety of methods including airplanes or cars. The game starts off slow, with you trying to blend in back to the hood you came from. Once the leading faction of gangs in San Andreas, after you, CJ, come back from the East coast, you find your gang reduced to a rut. And that’s where you come in… to try to fix things.

The game is very enjoyable, but if you recently played GTA IV, you might find that San Andreas lacks polish and realism. Shooting is also less refined as is other things like crash damage and definitely graphics. But the storyline of how you get back in the hood is quite an interesting one, and then there’s the vastness of the game both in terms of space and storyline. It will keep you on your computer for quite a while.

The sad thing is that the game does not work well on anything other than Fusion processors. On the Nvidia ION 2, the frame rates were great but with one major problem – it won’t load into the main menu on the ION processor, but it will do so if you used the GMA processor instead. However, the latter means frame rates of 10 or so, with signficant slow downs. Definitely not playable. The former, on the other hand, is extremely playable, even if you stretch it all the way up to its maximum res at 1440×900. How do I know? Well, I realised that if you plugged in an external monitor, you can successfully load San Andreas and play it. There’s just no logical explanation for this!

If you know of any fix, please do contact us.

Like

Great storyline

Lengthy game

One of the more unique GTAs

Dislike

Has compatibility issues with ION, isn’t playable on GMAs

Verdict

It’s fun, but you’ll need to get past the compatibility issues with an ION or just do the right thing and get an AMD-powered netbook.

Gameplay:  Great! Not as good as GTA IV, but still up there.

Graphics: A bit dated, but extremely smooth on the ION (1400×900, 25 fps)

Work needed to get game to play: No known fix for ION 2 netbooks other than plugging in an external monitor.

This is only a preliminary test of Team Fortress 2 on a netbook, and not any bog-standard netbook. Using my Asus 1015PN, an Intel Atom N570, ION 2 powered netbook, you might just be able to play Team Fortress 2 on your netbook, with some major tweaking much [...]]]>

Shockingly, you can play TF2 on a netbook

NB: Tested on a ION 2 netbook

This is only a preliminary test of Team Fortress 2 on a netbook, and not any bog-standard netbook. Using my Asus 1015PN, an Intel Atom N570, ION 2 powered netbook, you might just be able to play Team Fortress 2 on your netbook, with some major tweaking much like what I did to play Half-Life 2 on my previous non-ION netbook.

Downloading the 10GB worth of data from Steam took quite long, but since it’s a free game, might as well try. With ION 2, the gameplay quality wavered wildly from acceptable to abysmal. When you play with a lot of bots, it slows down significantly. When you play online, however, it usually is fine until you get cornered and get into a big gun fight with sentry guns, rocket launchers which will eventually lead to your loss as you’ll see frame rates tumble from 18 to 5.

And the problem with online games is that more likely than not, you’ll find servers that are chock-full. Certain maps are better than others too. Maps that stretch very far are a drain on performance, but smaller and more indoor-based maps are less strenuous on the netbook. One odd thing is that when I lowered the graphics down to 640×480, I actually got around the same frame rates, and sometimes worse, than when my display was 1024×600. Not sure why, but it does show that you have to toggle the settings around and find out what suits your netbook best.

I suspect that the biggest bottleneck is now the Atom rather than the graphics processor. Unfortunately, there isn’t much one can do unless you decide to overclock the system. However, I suspect that if you have bought an AMD-powered netbook, you might have significantly better chance of playing Team Fortress 2 reliably.

On a later date, I hope to write a guide on how you can tweak Team Fortress to be able to play it on a netbook such as mine. Hopefully, the tips that I gained from modifying Half-Life 2 would come in handy.

The adventurous me decided to test another recent game that was way beyond the capabilities of my new Asus Eee PC 1015PN, with its ION 2 processor. The results were a bit surprising, although in the end it was hardly playable, but hey, this is Netbookist, where everything [...]]]>

This is what you'll see quite often when playing on a netbook

NB: Tested on an ION 2 netbook.

The adventurous me decided to test another recent game that was way beyond the capabilities of my new Asus Eee PC 1015PN, with its ION 2 processor. The results were a bit surprising, although in the end it was hardly playable, but hey, this is Netbookist, where everything that can be tested is tested, even just for the sake of testing.

Black Ops can be downloaded off Steam and therefore you don’t need a CD drive to get it on your computer. And 15GB worth of downloading later, I have both the single-player and multiplayer ready.

Multiplayer ran pretty… nonsensically. Averaging 10fps, and having significant mouse lag, you basically are just meat for even the noobiest of gamers. I played a few rounds of Combat Training and it was somewhat playable, just that you’ll have to always be disadvantaged because of the poor frame rates, mouse lag and a ping of 100+.

The truth is that for novelty’s sake, you might be able to squeeze one or two games out of Black Ops, but otherwise, it really makes no sense to bother. Play it on a contemporary computer instead and enjoy.

However, if you happen to have a AMD E-series or 16-core ION netbook, you might have better luck with Black Ops at its lowest-res of 800×600, no AA and no other niceities.

In fact, there are a few websites out there which outline how you might be able to play Black Ops on a near-minimum requirements computer. Cleartechinfo did a great job of compiling a few tweaks which you can do to get Black Ops running better on your computer. This requires you to go under the hood and might have adverse effects on your graphics. The suggestion to switch force 640×480 resolution via Compatibiity Mode works to some extent, but in my experience, it affords only around 2fps and sometimes does not allow certain multiplayer games to load.

Can’t believe it? Well, it’s real. This is a screenshot taken from my Asus Eee PC 1015PN. Unfortunately the truth is that BF:BC2 plays terribly. At 10fps, and a lack of processing power causing my ping to hit 400-600ms, the truth is that you’re [...]]]>

ya srs!

NB: Tested on an ION 2 netbook.

Can’t believe it? Well, it’s real. This is a screenshot taken from my Asus Eee PC 1015PN. Unfortunately the truth is that BF:BC2 plays terribly. At 10fps, and a lack of processing power causing my ping to hit 400-600ms, the truth is that you’re better off staying away from Bad Company.

This is proof. And that on the bottom right is my FPS.

Although people who have the 16-core ION 2 present in larger netbooks generally have a better experience, but on the 1015PN, unless you seriously overclock your netbook, you’re not likely to reach anywhere near playable frame rates.

Also, the fact that BF:BC2 requires a 1024×768 screen minimum doesn’t help things. Perhaps if you could find some hack that allowed you to run at 640×480, then maybe it’ll be playable. So far, I haven’t found any, but if you do, please contact me!

It seems that you can actually download the game off Origin, which is EA Games’ Steam-alike service. You just need a CD key, and then you’ll be able to download the 8GB worth of Bad Company.