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Popular game publisher MacPlay has given their web site a new look recently, adding many new features like game status information and even web-based titles for you to play. Among the biggest change is the partnering with GameHouse to bring you a number of Java games playable immediately over the web. All of the game are free with registration, and also have full versions which can be purchased and played even while offline.

The new site also contains a page for Global Operations, the second in their three-title contract with Crave Entertainment, which was hinted at in Macworld Paris earlier this month. Global Operations is a team-based shooter which uses the LithTech engine from Monolith, much like another game of MacPlay's also in progress, No One Lives Forever. The games features both singleplayer and online modes, with a variety of weapons and player types. Here's a description from the Global Operations page:

Global Operations allows the player to choose between seven player specialties: Reconnaissance, Commando, Medic, Heavy Weapons, Sniper, Demolitions, and Intelligence Officer. Although all specialties will be well trained soldiers, each will have certain unique skills and abilities as well as having unique weaponry from which to choose. However; this does not mean each player specialty cannot use all of the weapons in the game. For example, if a player chooses to play as a heavy weapons specialist and his primary weapon runs out of ammo, he can use any found weapon even if it falls outside of his specialization (although possibly at a lower level of skill).

MacPlay (add to watch list)

Global Operations (add to watch list)

With the recent release of Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, Apple has arguably released the best operating system on the planet. With its incredible stability and slick user interface, Mac OS X has quickly become a powerhouse OS.

Inside Mac Games is dedicating this entire week with five articles dedicated to Mac OS X. We kick this week off with an article entitled Making the Switch. This handy guide should allay your concerns about upgrading, and answer your most pressing questions about some aging hardware and its ability to run Apple's ferocious new operating system.

Here's a snippet from the article:

So, you want to update your system to OS X, yet you are concerned about what you might have to leave behind? It is undeniable that the prospects of protected memory, the GUI goodness of Aqua, the stability of UNIX (the FreeBSD variety) and an OS that can truly take advantage of your dual processor machine are nearly irresistible. However, all the dings OS X has taken may take you aback. First of all, it is a near certainty that you will not be able to completely leave OS 9 behind. If you use a scanner, you need Classic. If your machine does double-duty doing desktop publishing work, you will need Classic for QuarkXpress. Some older games will not run in Classic; thereby requiring a reboot into OS 9. A side note: if you are considering a hardware upgrade, now is the time to upgrade for those that still need to use the classic MacOS. Apple announced that new Mac hardware will not be able to boot into OS 9 beginning in 2003. So, if you want to make the switch to OS X, this handy guide should be of great help.

OS X Week: Making the Switch

Apple (add to watch list)

GameSpot has published a recent feature that examines some of the more popular mods currently in existence. While PC-centric in nature, several of the mods, including the Quake III and Unreal Tournament ones, should work on Macs as well.

Besides the usual FPS mods that are popular on the internet these days, the article also takes a look at some Neverwinter Nights mods, including a unique one titled The Penultima Series:

The Penultima series differs from the single-player campaign that ships with Neverwinter Nights in that it's much more humorous, it's shorter, and it emphasizes dialogue and brawling more than puzzle solving. Players start out in Penultima City, where they can shop for gear, chat with interesting characters and join the Guild of Middlemen, where other modules in the campaign can be accessed.

GameSpot - It's a Mod, Mod World

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A recent thread in the IMG forums discusses a new release of the Mac OS X port of Racer, the freeware driving simulator. Many things have been fixed in the application in v0.5.0 beta 6, including sound, USB support through the OS X HID, and full-screen play. Speed is also said to be much improved in the latest version, and users are now finding ways to customize their experience through editing the title's configuration files.

Racer recommends you use at least system OS X 10.1, but 10.2 is preferred. Installation is now much easier as well:

• Find the .sit you just downloaded.
  
• Double-click it. It will be expanded into 1 file: Racer.dmg.
  
• Double-click the Racer.dmg file; a volume is now created in /Volumes.
  
• In the Finder, go to 'Computer' -> Volumes -> Racer.
  
• Either double-click the Racer application icon here, or drag & drop all files into a directory on your system (which is faster) and run Racer from there.

IMG Forum: 'Racer' 0.5.0 beta 6 Released

Racer (add to watch list)

Tonight on The Gamesome Mac, the weekly Mac gaming radio show, hosts Sean Smith and Omaha Sternberg will be talking with Henry Price, the articulate Director of Sales of Mac game publishing powerhouse MacPlay.

They'll talk about the challenges of selling Mac games at retail, about developing for Mac OS X, and about MacPlay's latest, hottest games.

MacPlay has been going great guns this year, releasing such games as Soldier of Fortune II, Fallout 2, realMyst, Bejeweled & Alchemy, and Heretic II. The company has introduced its innovative Value Series, currently featuring 15 titles, and it is poised to release such premium titles as No One Lives Forever, Freedom Force, and Aliens vs Predator 2.

Sean and Omaha will also take questions from listeners in The Gamesome Mac's chat room; offer Mac gaming news, commentary, and reviews; and give away some great games to their listeners.

The Gamesome Mac can be heard on Mondays from 6 to 8 pm Pacific Time (9 pm Eastern; Tuesdays at 01:00 UTC) on MacRadio.com.

You can tune in live at the program's web page, where you'll find archives of past shows as well. QuickTime 5 or 6 and a 28 kbps or faster Internet connection are all that are required.

MacPlay (add to watch list)

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In another post to the Infogrames forums over the weekend, Mark Rein of Epic Games answers some questions Mac fans are having concerning the status of Unreal Tournament 2003 for Mac OS X. In the post Rein reiterates the game's editor will not be included in the port, due to it's reliance on proprietary Microsoft technologies, specifically the Visual C++ compiler.

Also, as noted before by IMG, Epic's Linux guru Ryan Gordon will be handling the Mac port. Rein explains their decision to not go through a porting house like Westlake Interactive as well as their plans for releasing a public beta test of the Mac demo to help find issues:

Technically we did because Ryan is a contractor but he works very closely with the team and reports regularly to me on the project so I consider it to be just like an in-house job....

Ryan is just getting started on it now so we'll know more about it in a few weeks. We'll do the demo on Macintosh so people will be able to try it out and give us bug reports and feedback on performance issues if there are any.

Mark Rein Forum Post

Digital Extremes (add to watch list)

Unreal Tournament 2003 (add to watch list)

Buy Unreal Tournament 2003

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