If you have a penchant for older computer games like Shanghai or Privateer, and love space opera movies along the lines of Serenity and Babylon 5, then Vendetta Online might be something to look at. While it does not have bleeding-edge graphics or an intense plot line of some MMORPGs, it runs on pretty much anything you can think of – including Linux. And more importantly, it is stable and usable.
The game offers a free limited game to get you into things, and then only costs $10 a month. This is a great deal for your money. You can go anywhere in the universe (well, if you are capable of defending yourself) and have various ways of getting yourself skills. It is possible, if you wish, to become a fighter, trader ,or miner. However, most players have ships of all types and do whichever meets their fancy.
Unlike many MMORPGs, these are not different characters, merely different ships you can have stored around the universe near whatever you wish to be doing. You need to physically go to where your ship is being stored, but it does allow a great deal of flexibility in the game. Mining and trading are good ways to earn oodles of credits to allow you to fully equip the rest of your ships.
Mining is a rather relaxing endeavor, allowing one to take it easy while still in the game, chatting with others. Trading is a good way to see the universe and get paid for it.
You become part of one of three factions attempting to keep the balance of power in the universe. They range from the authoritarian to the loosely aligned Neutral Territories. In addition there are player run guilds that do everything from being bounty hunters to pirates to traders.
Graphically, the game is not that high-end, but that means the requirements are rather low and lag is nowhere near as common as in most other online games. Most battles are settled by skill, not by who has the least amount of lag.
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