Author: DarkKnightH20

So people obviously do not buy netbooks for its gaming capabilities, of which there happen to be next-to-none. That isn’t to say that netbooks aren’t capable of running games or anything. In fact, I’ve been able to run a good bit of them. This list will comprise of games that run well for many netbooks. Note that these games are games that run great on the following netbook specifications–

Asus Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK
Windows XP Home Edition
1.66ghz n280 Atom
2GB DDR2 800
160gb 5400rpm Hard Drive

If you stats are similar to this, then this list is perfect for you (1GB of ram is fine too!). If your stats are far below that, then do not worry either, as a lot of these games can be handled by the less powerful netbooks. To run these games, I am not overclocking at all. Doing so will be entirely up to you. Depending on your netbook, you can use a program like GMABooster to overclock your video card and increase your FPS.

Also, just to get it out of the way, this list will not be composed of games such as–

1. Solitaire
2. Minesweeper
3. etc

Pre-installed games do not count! Roms and emulators do not make it to this list either, though they’re applicable. Anyway, hope you enjoy the list. Feel free to suggest more games! Be sure to adjust your game’s graphical settings as necessary to help increase your frame rate!

Top 15 Games to Play on Your Netbook

1. Snood – This game is great. Even computers with next-to-no processing power can run this. It’s incredibly addicting too so have fun!

2. World of Warcraft – Now, not all netbooks can run this game. Mine, however, runs it well. With the stats listed above, I get an average of around 22fps (frames per second), which looks perfectly fine. I turned the grapic settings to NEAR the lowest, which doesn’t make anything look ugly, to help achieve this. Note that in highly populated areas you will lose FPS so try to stay away from biggg towns and so forth. Avoid raids!

3. Diablo II – One of the most highly rated games of all time runs perfectly on netbooks. Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s not good. Diablo I (One) is another good choice too if you want to go the even older route!

4. PokerStars – This recommendation isn’t just for Poker Stars specifically, but any online poker in general. Gamble your chips and feel productive while you make others lose money. Note that Poker Stars is a good one and you can play with real money and also fake money. There are also tournaments and so forth.

5. Ultima Online – Get your MMORPG on with one of the older, better MMORPG’s out there, Ultimate Online (UO). Because it is old, it runs well on netbooks.

5. Starcraft – War! Lots and lots of war! War that requires very little computer processing from your netbook! 🙂 That’s good war!

6. Super Text Twist – This game is another great one for netbooks. It’s available in flash and downloadable form, and is very addicting + fun. Try it out! After all, you don’t even have to download it if you play the flash version.

7. Plants VS Zombies – Very cool game! You have to protect your house from being invaded by zombies using plants. It may sound weird, but the combination works out VERY well. Runs great even on lesser netbooks.

8. Virtual Villagers Series – This series is very fun. In fact, I’ve beaten all of them! You can read the following review for more info on the Virtual Villager games: Review: Virtual Villagers Series.

9. Command & Conquer Classics – Take your Soviet soldiers and take down the Allies from the comfort of your netbook! What’s great about this recommendation is that all of the classics are 100% free now! You can get them from here: Free Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Firestorm, Tiberian Dawn, and Red Alert. I personaly enjoy Red Alert 🙂

10. Warcraft 3 – Mass carnage helps the time go by. Install the expansion pack for additional fun or play online. You can also install the expansions Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne. The older Warcrafts (Warcraft I, II) will run well too!

11. Grand Theft Auto 3 / Vice City – Both of these run okay apparently (or so I’ve read). I haven’t tried them out personally, but they’re fun games and many confirm that they work. The older ones run even better (Grand Theft Auto I and II)!

12. Final Fantasy VII – This game will last you for ages if you let it. It’s so long and with extras constantly available, that you can let your netbook absorb your time for hours upon hours. Cloud vs Sephiroth, woot! Note that Final Fantasy VIII runs well too! You will have to find the Final Fantasy 7 Windows port to play this.

13. Civilization 1 – 4 – Slowly you can become dictator of the world! Take over all other countries and make your enemies bow down to me!…And then afterward, to you (when I’m done with them!). I haven’t tried 1 – 3 yet on my netbook, but I HAVE played Civilization 4 with Beyond the Sword and Warlords expansions installed. The minimum resolution doesn’t completely fit my resolution, but if you put it in window mode and then maximize it, then it fits to your screen. Very addicting and runs well!

14. Age of Empires – Old and fun 🙂 Low requirements too! I haven’t tried them all, but you can likely play the newer ones as well. Check them out!

15. Sid Meier’s Pirates! – Travel the seas, plunder ships, and find treasure! Arrrrrrr! This game is a gem lost in time.

This list can and will likely expand. Expect more updates and if you have any suggested games, feel free to comment / submit them! Thanks!