In a world with very few high profile games making their way to a native Linux release it is interesting to find a title that sports direct support for the platform. Linux use has never quite caught on with gamers except through emulation thanks to CeDega or Wine but those of us who no longer wish to be slaves to the Microsoft OS Taxes every few years often find nice alternatives like this one.

Created by Basilisk Games, Eschalon Book 1 is a tile based RPG with a decidedly old-school feel. You can find a trailer for the title here, and from all appearances the game captures the classic Ultima style of RPG pretty well. Basilisk is an independent game studio based out of Indianapolis, Indiana whose stated mission is:

“to produce compelling old-school computer role-playing games for gamers who still remember what great computer RPGs used to be about… Single player. Turn based. Stat heavy. Story driven.

Ever played the Ultima series? Might & Magic? Wizardry? Fallout? If so, you get the idea of the types of games we’re working on.”

The game also has Windows and Macintosh versions for those using less obscure operating systems.

Eschalon: Book I v1.04 Windows Demo
Eschalon: Book I v1.04 Mac Demo

Another Saturday, another round of patches. This week though, I have decided to include the latest clients and demos in the same post because – to be honest – we did not receive too many during the week. Regardless of whether or not you are playing something mainstream or a little off the charts, I am sure our wonderful brethren at FileFront have something that will make you slowly come out of your potato chip induced coma and take notice.For more information on any of the titles listed, just click on the respective link. Enjoy!

Latest Patches:

Gothic III: An unofficial patch for Gothic III updating it to v1.5.2. This update removes the copy protection and adds compatibility with the Gothic Universe bundle – a compilation which includes Gothic 1, Gothic 2, Gothic 2: Night of the Raven, and Gothic 3.

Combat Mission: Shock Force -Battlefront Version Game Patch: The following patch is only for the Battlefront.com release versions of the game (v1.01, v1.02, v1.03 or v1.04). If you purchased the game from Paradox Interactive, in a retail store, or if you downloaded the game from Gamersgate.com, DO NOT INSTALL THIS PATCH!!! Instead, download the v1.05 patch specific to the Paradox or Gamersgate version. This patch is all inclusive and includes all the fixes from the earlier v1.02, v1.03 and v1.04 patches.

Original War: v1.09 adds Master Server Support which allows players to setup multiplayer games which can be joined without any 3rd party software. It also fixed a lot of bugs and improves tools like GM Editor.

Universe at War: Earth Assault: Petroglyph has released the first patch adding extra balancing and making various gameplay fixes/tweaks.

The latest clients and demos are listed after the break.

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Gamers looking for excellent old school RPGs like Wizardry, Might and Magic or the Ultimas should check out the new Eschalon: Book I Demo for Linux. The demo is also available for Windows and Mac.

Eschalon: Book I is a classic role-playing game that takes players across vast outdoor environments and deep into sprawling dungeons on a quest to uncover the mystery of who – or what – you are.

The game features:

• A tile-built, turn-based game world where the result of absolutely every action is rolled, calculated or statistically determined. Strategy is paramount to success; careful skill management, equipment selection and magic usage will win your fights, not rapid button clicking. We are very pleased to say this is not another “action RPG”.
• Hundreds of items and dozens of creatures await your discovery. A combination of randomly generated treasure and carefully hidden goodies means that no two games will play the exact same way.
• Unlimited character development style: Choose from 24 unique skills to make the character you want and 8 base attributes that affect your character’s every action throughout the game. The game world does not scale or adjust itself to match anyone’s play style, so the ease or difficulty of the game is directly related to how successful you are at developing your character.
• Combat plays out at your pace. Eschalon: Book I features a turn-based system that allows you to roll through combat as fast or slow you want…make it fast and furious, or analyze every option for maximum advantage.
• A non-linear storyline means that the game world is open to explore as you desire. Follow the storyline or don’t…it’s up to you. Just be careful where you go and who you choose to trust- the world of Eschalon can be a deadly place for an inexperienced adventurer.

via Eschalon: Book I

Is the thought of spending loads of money on Christmas presents getting you down? Upset because you have to buy your weird cousin Delbert something instead of a new game? Until your funds get back to normal, why not try out some demos in the meantime – that way when the blessed day after Christmas comes, you have an idea of exactly what you want. If the demos I have listed below do not float your boat, click here and pick out something you really like.

Democracy 2 – Positech Games provides us with a political strategy / simulation game. Based on a complex Neural network, the game simulates the motivations, loyalties and desires of everyone in the country. As president or prime minister, it’s your job to balance the need for income from taxes against the demands of the voters. Do you want your country to be an eco-friendly green paradise or a socialist utopia? Will you pander to the patriots, the liberals or the religious pressure groups? Can you keep crime under control without destroying the civil liberties of your citizens?

Scoop – gathers real-time news headlines from all across the internet to create unlimited, unique crossword puzzles. Solve the missing word from each headline clue to complete the puzzle. There is a version for Mac users as well.

Eschalon: Book I v1.04 – An updated demo of Basilisk Games’ RPG for Windows which contains all the latest bug fixes plus 2 additional maps not included in the original demo. Eschalon: Book I is the start of an epic trilogy of old-school computer RPGs created in the spirit of the great role-playing games of the past. The game takes players across massive outdoor environments and deep into dozens of sprawling dungeons to uncover the mystery of their character’s past.

Secrets of the Solstice – Now so much a demo as an actual beta client, Secrets of the Solstice from Outspark is a free to play online MMORPG featuring hundreds of environments filled with fanciful creatures and a classic feel, which invites players to create a character and save the world of Xen. Aspiring heroes have access to plenty of in-game quests, unique and colorful items for their characters and an innovative smelting system for enhancing equipment. In dynamic daily in-game events run by Outspark game masters, players can experience Secret of the Solstice in a completely new way…and even contribute to the evolution of the game’s storyline.

So there ya have it, a taste of just some of the demos available on FileFront. For more demos, click here.