Laptop gaming

[Forbizzle]

I just got a new Macbook Pro, and have set it up with bootcamp into Windows 7. I want to find some games to play for those times I don't have the luxury of a mouse.

I threw Plants vs Zombies on from Steam, figuring that it's relaxed nature would be great for the trackpad. I never realized how click intensive that game is, bad choice.

I'm running WoW as well, but it's getting annoying how much i have to babysit the camera.

Anybody have any recommendations?

[scoobydiesel]

I have a Macbook Pro but dont bootcamp and the only games i have on here are WoW(dont even play it anymore) and Star Wars uuh...whatever the RTS one is?

I really need more Mac friendly games.

[p0int]

Buy a PC! :)

[decepticon]

I have a MBP as well, and tried Bootcamping with Vista a little while ago...it worked, but I don't know if it was just Vista being shitty, or Bootcamp running Vista shitty but I never got it to run games all that satisfyingly.

The only games I have installed now on my laptop are running in OS X...WoW and World of Goo, but World of Goo might be a little frustrating on a trackpad, never tried it without a mouse to be honest.

Other than that my gaming is all console based, because I don't have the money for a gaming rig right now. On a related note, I REALLY wish PopCap would either find a way to release Plants Vs. Zombies for the iPhone, or at the very least release a Mac version. I don't feel like going back to dual booting. I don't have a Windows laptop for a reason.

[az0madman]

Speaking of PopCap, Peggle is always a good suggestion. Mousepad not needed. Don't know what runs on bootcamp, but some more Steam suggestions that shouldn't be graphic intensive are Audiosurf and Geometry Wars.

[Forbizzle]

Speaking of PopCap, Peggle is always a good suggestion. Mousepad not needed. Don't know what runs on bootcamp, but some more Steam suggestions that shouldn't be graphic intensive are Audiosurf and Geometry Wars.Peggle may be the only popcap game I don't like. I'm not sure why, but I've given it more than a fair chance and I don't get what people like about it. Bring back Candy Train IMO.

Anyways, I mentioned the MBP 'cause it gives a general idea of the resources. There's nothing magic about bootcamp, it's a simple boot loader and windows runs natively. Honestly it's more reliable than a normal PC build, 'cause bootcamp will also add a bunch all the specific drivers you need. I can run prettymuch anything Mac or PC.

I think i'm going to start with Civ4.

[zabusan]

Well I have only played a handful of PC games in my years and you named the big one already...WoW...

So with that being said, I shall make a hasty retreat...Au revoir!!

[ArmpitOfDeath]

I have a MBP as well, and tried Bootcamping with Vista a little while ago...it worked, but I don't know if it was just Vista being shitty, or Bootcamp running Vista shitty but I never got it to run games all that satisfyingly

The latter. It's a neat subversion - accidental (not unimaginable - Apple only write passable software for OS X) or otherwise (if so, minor genius) - in line with their windows icons. Run Vista shitty so that smug Apple users are further reinforced as to the superiority of OS X. I'd never seen a Vista BSOD since I upgraded in '08 until I cranked up a Boot Camped Mac.

A Mac does not run Windows on a par with a machine of the same class. It runs Windows like you'd imagine on some crap-ass DIY.

[xAdonis]

The latter. It's a neat subversion - accidental (not unimaginable - Apple only write passable software for OS X) or otherwise (if so, minor genius) - in line with their windows icons. Run Vista shitty so that smug Apple users are further reinforced as to the superiority of OS X. I'd never seen a Vista BSOD since I upgraded in '08 until I cranked up a Boot Camped Mac.

A Mac does not run Windows on a par with a machine of the same class. It runs Windows like you'd imagine on some crap-ass DIY.

I agree. Vista isn't Windows 7 - but it's still a damn fine OS. It is incredibly stable, and runs great if your system isn't 5 years old.

Anyway - the reason you can't get any games to run well is because the MBP simply doesn't have the GPU power to play serious games. Mac fanboys love to think of their hardware as superior - but I never even try to game on my MBP. I leave that privilege up to my desktop.

[thing2]

Gentleman - whether you like Mac or hate it - that's not what his question was.
The true question our fellow gamer asked was - what can be played on his laptop.

Realistically the MacBook pro is just hardware....it's got an Intel chip and an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU - that's comparable to a number of mid-specced laptops on the market. So - chill out and give the dude some games please...Civility ....

Here are some that still play great on my laptop - I have a Mobile video card 2 down from yours as well in the Go7 Series. You may not be able to crank the fidelity up but you can still play some good games.

Just Cause
Morrowind Oblivion
Elder Scrolls Morrowind
(The Half-Life Series if you're into that - you mentioned WoW so I'll stick to RPG's)
Fallout 3 (on Low graphics settings - the GPU is gonna bottleneck ya' but it's still playable)
Bioshock (Although some Vista users experience issues with this and DX10 - works fine on XP)
Neverwinter Nights Series
Uplink (GREAT GAME)
The Diablo Series (Of course :)

I also *HIGHLY* Recommend trying out - 'Gametap' - it's got a bunch of cool games that run well on medium/low specc'ed machines or just machines with a not so powerful graphics card. (ie: most laptops)


Not sure what other Genre you're into but if you let us know the other games you played and like I'm sure we could help a bit more.

GOOD LUCK!


UPDATE: Ooops - I just reread your post and saw that you didn't have a mouse. Here's a revised list for now:
X-Com: UFO Defense <--- A MUST - I think it's even freeware now...graphics are dated but gameplay is still GOLDEN.
-Perhaps some turned based games like-
Galactic Civilizations
Jagged Alliance
The original fallout games
I double recommend Gamefly now btw - emulator goodness which doesn't need mice.

Text-based adventure games (if that's your thing - I used to love them) - You can find a bunch here that are full retail abandonware: http://www.abandonia.com/en/game/Text+Based/Abandonware
Still neverwinter Nights

N+ <---- GET THIS NOW - http://www.thewayoftheninja.org/n.html (Again it's free for the PC - hours of fun)

[Forbizzle]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been stumbling around WoW without mouselook (getting used to it, but i've got phantom limb).

Regarding:The latter. It's a neat subversion - accidental (not unimaginable - Apple only write passable software for OS X) or otherwise (if so, minor genius) - in line with their windows icons. Run Vista shitty so that smug Apple users are further reinforced as to the superiority of OS X. I'd never seen a Vista BSOD since I upgraded in '08 until I cranked up a Boot Camped Mac.

A Mac does not run Windows on a par with a machine of the same class. It runs Windows like you'd imagine on some crap-ass DIY.
That's just pure bullshit. Bootcamp is nothing more than a bootloader + a set of drivers for the laptop hardware. Windows runs perfectly, if not better than average on most Macs. It's not emulated, windows is installed on it's own partition, similar to how most people run Linux and boot load using Grub. The only reason I would say it runs "better" is that the hardware is still built to run together, and since Apple switched to x86 there's nothing at that level that makes it any different then any other PC. So without having to worry about a variety of hardware combinations they can apply a set of drivers that covers all bases. (eg: the multi-touch pad on the MBP works perfectly in 7 without any configuration)

Anyways, thanks again for the suggestions.

[ArmpitOfDeath]

It would seem to someone who has no experience like bullshit, but alas, no.

The EFI emulates the BIOS. There are some notable incompatibilities - e.g. some software which use BIOS features to implement copy protection don't work on the Mac. While that is a very black and white test, there are other stability issues. And you clearly haven't used Apple's drivers - and all this is before we get to the lower stability of Apple hardware against similarly priced, actually 'pro' mobile / desktop workstations or even gaming-grade Windows machines.

Running Windows on a Mac *is* exactly like running Windows on a crap-ass DIY you built which you think is good. It's one of the reasons I duplicate computing hardware for OS X and Windows - I buy Apple because for OS X, it's my only choice. I definitely wouldn't want such inferior hardware running Windows, especially with the crappy drivers.

[jrklein]

I just got a new Macbook Pro, and have set it up with bootcamp into Windows 7. I want to find some games to play for those times I don't have the luxury of a mouse.

I threw Plants vs Zombies on from Steam, figuring that it's relaxed nature would be great for the trackpad. I never realized how click intensive that game is, bad choice.

I'm running WoW as well, but it's getting annoying how much i have to babysit the camera.

Anybody have any recommendations?

Honestly get a cheap USB mouse, the track pad's are good for something, but when playing games it is better to have the functionality of a separate mouse. The track pad is great for somethings, but for me and laptops it has never really been good for gaming.

[icu]

This raises a related question - I have an MSI Wind which I do like very much and I do play some PvZ and Peggle, but I'd love to know some good netbook games. I think PC Gamer mag did a story on this, but I don't buy magazines.