It has been quite a week for "Gold" games, and now the first Max OS X-only commercial release joins the ranks: Giants: Citizen Kabuto, a unique shooter/RTS hybrid with gorgeous visuals, has been declared gold and will soon be published by MacPlay. With three radically different "races" and styles of gameplay, this solo and multiplayer title has been ported by Omni Development, staunch proponents of Apple's Cocoa API and OS X as a gaming platform. If Apple has been wishing for an A-list game to really show off their hardware and OS, this is the very game they were looking for.

Here's the press release:

MacPlay is pleased to announce that
Giants: Citizen Kabuto, the first game to be released exclusively for Mac OS
X, has officially gone gold. One of the most visually stunning games,
Giants: Citizen Kabuto will initially be released for the North American
market October 25th, and is being localized for a French and German release
later this year. To see a preview, a QuickTime trailer is now available on
Apple's Games web site at www.apple.com/games.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto, the single and multi-player masterpiece, is played
in real-time 3D. Battle ensues on a massive fragment of shattered planet
consisting of 30 separate islands. Gamers will play three very original
creatures, the Sea Reapers, the Meccaryn and the giant, Kabuto. All are
fighting for control of the beautiful 3D world. Originally published by
Interplay Entertainment, and developed by Planet Moon Studios, Giants
features innovative 3D gameplay. The game was declared one of the top five
games of 2000 by Voodoo Extreme, and was also Game Guru's Game of the Year
and Action Game of the Year.

"MacPlay is thrilled to bring a graphical marvel like Giants: Citizen Kabuto
to Mac OS X," said Mark Cottam, President of MacPlay. "The talented
engineers at Omni Group have implemented SMP (Symmetric Multi Processor)
support into Giants, which takes advantage of Mac OS X's symmetric
multiprocessing feature when running the dual processor Power Mac G4."

"Playing Giants on a dual 800 MHz Power Mac G4 with Mac OS X and a GeForce 3
graphics accelerator will be the best gaming experience one could enjoy on
any platform."

"Mac OS X is built upon an incredibly powerful, rock-solid, UNIX-based
foundation that features core gaming technologies such as OpenGL, QuickTime
and advanced networking capabilities," said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice
president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "MacPlay's Giants is stunning
in every way and we are excited to have it as the first game to be exclusive
for Mac OS X."

Giants: Citizen Kabuto for Mac OS X will make extensive use of OpenGL for
spectacular 3D graphics, and will gain a noticeable performance boost on
systems equipped with premium graphics adapters. Giants is the first game
on the Mac to support the pixel and vertex shader capabilities of NVIDIA's
new GeForce 3 GPU, and deliver the ultimate Mac gaming experience.
"NVIDIA is pleased that this version of Giants will take advantage of the
unprecedented visual realism that is achievable with GeForce3," said Dan
Vivoli, Vice President of Marketing, NVIDIA Corporation. "GeForce3's OpenGL
capabilities on the Mac are a perfect match for this title, allowing the end
user to appreciate the ultimate 3D experience."

Preview: Giants: Citizen Kabuto

MacPlay

MacPlay (add to watch list)

Planet Moon Studios (add to watch list)

Omni Group (add to watch list)

Giants: Citizen Kabuto (add to watch list)

Buy Giants: Citizen Kabuto

MacPlay just keeps unleashing one knockout blow after another against the glass jaws of Mac gamers everwhere -- not only did they ship Baldur's Gate 2 and AvP and declare Giants "gold" this week, now they are announcing a future title. The highly-praised LithTech-powered shooter No One Lives Forever has been added to their catalog of upcoming titles.

Interestingly enough, this spy-themed shooter will be ported to Mac OS X only -- a trend MacPlay began with Giants: Citizen Kabuto and one which seems destined to continue. While it isn't stated in the press release, this leads us to guess that Omni Development is handling the port, which means we can expect stellar performance and a quick turnaround. Here are the details:

Groovy Yeah! Guess what baby? We've done it. We put the grrrr in great Mac gaming, with the recent acquisition of No One Lives ForeverTM, one of the most critically acclaimed first person shooters.

Your Mission: Assume the role of Cate Archer, a beautiful but deadly operative working for UNITY - a super secret organization fighting to free the world from the clutches of H.A.R.M. From tense subterfuge to in-your-face combat, No One Lives ForeverTM ups the ante for plot-driven, 1960's-influenced spy action with killer weapons, vivid international locales and deadly arch villains. Equipped with an arsenal of powerful weapons and ingenious gadgets, you must unravel a mystery that will lead you halfway around the world in a desperate search for answers. Try not to blow your cover . . . or your cool.

The highly acclaimed game was named "Action Game Of The Year" by PC Gamer, Computer Games Magazine and Computer Gaming World, as well as garnering ratings of 5 out of 5 from Computer Games Online and Maxim Online, as well as 9 out of 10 from Happy Puppy and Game Maniacs.

"The addition of No One Lives ForeverTM, to our already strong library of titles proves we are the grooviest Mac gaming Publisher around," said Mark Cottam, President of MacPlay. "We feel very groovy, baby, about our partnership with Fox Interactive and believe it will allow us to continue bringing the best in computer gaming to the Macintosh and our loyal MacPlay customers".

No One Lives Forever - Features:

* 15 missions across 60 levels. Unique situations worthy of any super spy - skydive from a plummeting airliner, fight off killer sharks and explore twisted jungles!

* Ride motorcycles and snowmobiles through vast, realistic landscapes and environments rich with texture and detail.

* Choose your weapons carefully: an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9mm silenced automatic or an M79 grenade launcher and a silent but deadly crossbow with sniper scope.

* Use stealth to take down the enemy from a distance or charge in with guns blazing.

* Smart enemies move and react with striking realism. Watch them seek cover, respond to suspicious sounds or launch coordinated attacks.

* Multiplay for up to 16 players. Take your chances in an all-or-nothing Good vs. Evil multiplayer game or go head-to-head in Deathmatch mode. Choose from over 30 different characters.

No One Lives Forerver

MacPlay October Newsletter

Ask MacPlay Volume 2

Click to enlarge

At long last MacSoft has shipped Fly! II, one of the legacy titles they picked up in their deal with GodGames to take over Mac publishing for that now-defunct company, and hardcore flight-sim junkies now have a new fleet of aircraft to take for a spin. Our detailed review of this game discusses what Terminal Reality managed to add to their series of realistic flight sims with this sequel, and what changes they made which might not "fly" well with fans of the series.

Here's an excerpt:

Gameplay in Fly! II is nearly identical to its predecessors. The cockpits are still clickable and conform nearly identical to their real-world counterparts. In Fly! II, the user is presented with additional aircraft: the Pilatus PC-12, a high-end business turboprop, the Bell 407, an entry-level helicopter, and as an added bonus, an old WWI Stearman biplane. The old aircraft have new names and new paint jobs, and a few even come in multiple varieties (water-landing versions, for instance).

In addition, Fly! II now models limited amounts of damage. Though you’ll never see the extensiveness of military simulators like A-10 Cuba! and Falcon 4.0, reasonable support for damage is a welcome addition. Various components of your aircraft can take damage, and although it’s not displayed visually, a helpful dialog box can inform you how much damage each part of your plane has taken and also allows you to instantly repair your aircraft.

Review: Fly! II

MacSoft (add to watch list)

Terminal Reality (add to watch list)

Fly! II (add to watch list)

Buy Fly! II

Click to enlarge

The end to one of the most drawn-out dramas in Mac gaming is here -- MacPlay has confirmed that Fox Interactive's shooter Aliens vs Predator Gold Edition has finally shipped. After innumerable delays and disappearances, this game will actually ship to preorder customers as soon as next week. IMG's offer of $15 a copy for MGCD subscribers still stands, however, so get your order in right away!

Here's the PR:

MacPlay announced today that Fox
Interactive's Aliens Versus PredatorTM Gold Edition has shipped. Offering
three totally unique and spine-chilling, first-person gaming perspectives,
Aliens Versus Predator will feature some of Fox's most notorious sci-fi
creatures.
"The reliability and stability of the Mac OS X platform, along with its
superior memory management, creates a faster-paced and more intense playing
environment for the terrifying world of Aliens Versus Predator Gold Edition
", said Mark Cottam, President of MacPlay. "Aliens Versus Predator Gold
Edition is one of the many quality titles we have been constantly asked to
bring to the Mac platform; we believe its release illustrates our ongoing
commitment to Apple, and its loyal gaming community."
Available for Mac OS X and classic Mac OS platforms, the new game has a
suggested retail price of $29.95. Product information is available on
MacPlay's website at . Customers should expect to
find the game at all major Macintosh software retailers within the next few
weeks.

MacPlay

Past Articles on Aliens vs Predator

Aliens vs Predator Gold Demo (59 MB)

Logicware (add to watch list)

MacPlay (add to watch list)

Fox Interactive (add to watch list)

Aliens vs. Predator: Gold (add to watch list)

An ardent fan pointed out this interesting development taking place in the Marathon fan community: a team of dedicated Marathon fanatics have "ported" the levels from the original Bungie FPS Marathon to work with Aleph One, the open-source version of the Marathon Infinity engine. This enhanced engine supports such advanced featues as OpenGL hardware acceleration, scriptable events and even MP3 playback.

This conversion of Marathon to the new engine isn't just a raw copy-and-paste; the textures have actually been enhanced with high-resolution versions and the original soundtrack has been ripped to MP3s. This has substantially increased the file size of the game (the download is over 100 MB with all the extras, the original game fit on four floppies!) but seems well worth the time for those who would like to combine their nostalgia for the past with a cutting-edge graphics experience. The project seems to have been oficially endorsed by the Bungie team itself.

If you have an urge to experience the original Marathon again, but your jaded eyes won't submit to those blocky, 8-bit graphics, M1A1 is the way to go. Visit the web site to download the files and creep through the darkened halls of the Marathon once again.

Aleph One Project

M1A1 Web Site

Web site author, MacHome Journal editor and graphic designer Chris McVeigh has penned an article for Apple's game page entitled "Worlds to Explore: Adventure Gaming on the Mac." Rather than focusing on any one title, the article explores the entire genre of adventure gaming through brief discussions of examples of the genre. Noting eleven examples of the genre in total, the article presents short previews of Myst III: Exile, Escape from Monkey Island and Beyond Atlantis, complete with short video clips of the games in action.

If you are a hardcore FPS or RTS gamer who has never really considered a MYST-like title, this may be the article that broadens your horizons. Here's an excerpt:

Adventure games emphasize exploration and discovery. As you move around these new worlds, you’ll come across objects you can pick up or manipulate in some manner. It is your task to figure out the significance of these items, and how they can further your quest. In some cases you’ll have to combine the items to overcome an obstacle. You might have to join a crankshaft to a pulley, for example, to raise a drawbridge. Other times, you may have to offer an item to someone (or something) to coax them to help you out. This can range from a mysterious book to a simple banana — in adventure games, the characters you encounter tend to have strange agendas of their own.

Worlds to Explore: Adventure Gaming on the Mac

Freeverse Software continues the public beta of their PvP massively-multiplayer game Arcane Arena with another beta release, now at Beta 9. This game is being developed "live" according to the feedback of players, and has made rapid progress as a result. An online RPG with a focus on player-vs-player combat, the game has recently started to evolve in other directions, resulting in the sudden popularity of a dungeon stocked with monsters to kill. If you haven't tried this unique game experience, be sure and joint the beta test and offer your feedback.

Here are the latest changes:

• Graphic for Elevator and it now only lets you go as deep as you've been before. i.e. Time to take the stairs. :-)

• New Magic Armor store on level... 60.

• Improved Monster AI.

• More groundwork in place for Quests.

• Monsters will run and join existing battles. Ugh!

• Dozens of bug fixes.

Freeverse Software

Arcane Arena Beta 9 (42.9 MB)

Andrew Meggs of MumboJumbo Games has posted a huge .plan update, discussing the state of Myth III: The Wolf Age and the status of the version for MacOS. The PC build has already been confirmed as Gold Master, and will be ready to ship by the end of the month. According to Meggs, the Mac version is being held up by some conflicts under OS 9. Once they get these resolved, it is expected the game could be out some time early next month. Meggs also gives quite a nod to OS X:

The Mac version is not yet final due to some compatibility issues under MacOS 9. Honestly, the OpenGL performance under MacOS 10.1 is so good that I'd recommend that everyone playing any sort of 3D game on a Mac upgrade if they have the RAM, and to get the RAM if they don't, but we've got to make sure it works for the hold-outs too. This week Bill Heineman (Aliens v. Predator, Zork, and Sin), Chris Jacobson (Baldur's Gate II and Sin), and I (FAKK2 and *sigh* Half-Life) are all working on the Mac version, which is probably something like 20% of the people who've done full-time professional Mac game programming in recent years. :) We'll get this thing out in short order.

For more info on these topics, as well as details on their 'hidden' ranking system and special bonus CDs, check out the rest of his .plan. If you're planning to preorder the game, look no further than the IMG store which has Mac Myth III listed for only $35 ($10 off the MSRP) for MGCD subscribers.

IMG: MumboJumbo's Mythadventures

Andrew Meggs .plan Update

MacSoft (add to watch list)

Although (as we learned yesterday) Mac gamers won't be playing this game until early Spring, the fact that the title Stronghold is "gold" and in production for the PC means that even more details about the title are becoming available. HomeLAN has posted an interview with two members of Firefly Studios, the team that developed the game for GodGames/Take Two Interactive.

Stronghold's unique mix of economic sim and "builder" game, with a little RTS thrown in for excitement, is sure to find an eager audience among jaded gamers. The emphasis on historical realism vs "dungeons and draons" and the crisp, hand-drawn graphics will set this title apart from others, and we can't wait to see it in action.

The interview discusses the balance of sim and RTS in the game, the research they did while creating it and much more. Here's an excerpt:

HomeLAN - Can you explain some of the sim-aspects of the game for us?

Eric Ouellette - Stronghold is at the core a sim. The player doesn’t have to micro-manage resource gathering or continually click to produce troops, these all happen automatically for them. Instead they must balance their overall economy setting rations and tax levels to keep themselves popular. The main variable in managing the castle economy is popularity. Your popularity rating determines how many people will come and work at your castle. The higher your popularity the faster people will immigrate into your lands. If your popularity falls to low, people will leave your lands to find work elsewhere. Some of the factors effecting popularity are how well are you feeding your people? Are you starving them on very little food or giving them extra rations? How many food types are you feeding them? Are you feeding the people just wheat or apples and cheese as well? How high is the tax rate or have you had to bribe your peasants to stay. Is there disease in the castle? Have you built enough churches or given out free ale lately?

One area we spent a lot of time on was visual feedback. The game features over 70,000 frames of character animation. We want the player to be able to build a castle and then sit back and watch it come to life. The buildings cut away to show tasks being carried out such as baking bread, making armor and brewing ale.

Updates from MacSoft

Stronghold Interview at HomeLAN

In an interesting departure from the norm, Spiderweb Software is publishing a title not developed by Jeff Vogel: Galactic Core is a game of space conquest developed by Chromite Software, featuring an epic battle among six diverse races for control of the galaxy.

The turn-based game is designed to appeal to novices as well as expert players, and even offers a play-by-email option. With six full campaigns and a built-in scenario editor, this title promises a lot of gameplay for the mere $15 shareware fee. Here are the details:

Spiderweb Software and Chromite Software, the makers of Lost Souls and Ocean
Bound, announce the upcoming release of Galactic Core, a game of
exploration, strategy and carnage in the depths of space.

You play one of six unique species locked in lethal warfare. Hop from planet
to planet, colonizing the new worlds, creating new fleets, and attempting to
overwhelm the enemy. Decide what to research, how to exploit the resources
of your worlds, and what to build. Choose between huge warships and unusual
strategic vessels, like planet killers or holographic vessels.

Galactic Core comes with six campaigns, designed to provide many hours of
challenge and torment. When you have completed them, however, the game is
far from done. Use the campaign editor to make your own scenarios, and
download new ones off the net. You can have Galactic Core create a random
level for you to conquer.

You can even take the battle to your friends! Galactic Core features play by
E-mail. Meet new opponents on the Spiderweb Software message boards and
fight them from afar.

Galactic Core is an exciting and fast-moving game of exploration and
conquest, designed to be easily learned to the novice player. Don't worry
about wading through unending rules. Just get out there and seize the
galaxy!

Galactic Core will be available for Macintosh in Winter, 2001. Minimum
system requirements: PowerPC (150 MHz or higher recommended), MacOS version
8.0 or higher, 24MB free RAM, 18MB disk space, 640 by 480 monitor displaying
thousands of colors (800 by 600 recommended). Galactic Core will be $15.

Spiderweb Software

Galactic Core

Gamers wanting to give Warbirds III a try can do so the weekend of October 24th to 29th. iEntertainment will allow people to sign up for a temporary account and play free for that time period. Players will have the opportunity to upgrade their free accounts to pay-for-play if they want to continue dogfighting after the trial period has lapsed.

This promotion will coincide with the Warbird Players Convention. The Warbird Players Convention, to be held at Dayton, OH from the 25th to the 28th of October, will allow Warbirds players to meet and play for prizes. It will also offer events such as guest speakers, a tour of the USAF Museum, and air combat training.

Warbirds III is a massively-multiplayer online air combat simulation. It allows players to take to the skies in a number of fighters, bombers, and ground vehicels as part of a persistent online universe.

Warbird Players Con

Warbirds III

Warbirds III Free Weekend Sign-up

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