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There's finally some good news for America's Army fans: the Mac version is finally coming back. Programmer Ryan Gordon quietly announced on his web site that America's Army 2.3 for the Mac is currently in beta testing. This is great news for those who miss playing the popular online first-person shooter.

Back in December IMG posted a story about the delay that caused the Mac version to miss various patches for America's Army (see the "GameSpy Dropping Mac Support?" news article linked below for more). Gordon at the time said that there were "minor contingency plans in place" to get the Mac version back up to speed, but that the delay would be extensive.

According to some sources, America's Army 2.3 for the Mac does not use GameSpy but instead gets the server list from a new master server. Functionality wise this means that Mac users will still be able to play against PC and Linux users.

Here's the brief post on Gordon's web site about the upcoming Mac version:

ArmyOps 2.3.0 for MacOS X is in beta testing right now. No release date, but it shouldn't be long, I hope.

GameSpy Dropping Mac Support?

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Ryan Gordon's .plan

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Aspyr has announced that it has begun shipping Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour, the expansion pack for the for the critically acclaimed Command & Conquer Generals. Ported to the Mac by i5works, Zero Hour is expected to arrive in online and retail stores by Friday, February 25th.

Here's more from the press release:

Even the most experienced Command & Conquer Generals veteran must learn new strategies and tactics to take full advantage of - and learn to defend against - the next generation of the world's most lethal weapons.

With new units, structures, and upgrades, as well as the all-new Generals Challenge Mode, Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour delivers all the firepower players need in the quest to become the ultimate modern warfare General. Unload on enemies with an all-new, hi-tech arsenal featuring 30 new units and 20 new upgrades from the Chinese ECM Tank to the United States Spectre Gunship. Fifteen new missions rattle veteran Generals as they set out to destroy the U.S. fleet in the Mediterranean, root out a splinter cell in Cairo and send in special operatives to capture weapons of mass destruction.

The IMG Store is currently taking pre-orders for the game and should be shipping in the next few days.

IMG Preview: Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour

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Macintosh game developer DanLab Games has released the game Video Poker Solitarus for the Macintosh. The game is being released as freeware, the same as their previous Solitarus solitaire card game release.

Video Poker Solitarus is a simple video poker game with cool graphics.

On each hand place your bet (the 'Bet' button places down one chip for every press and the 'Bet max' button goes ahead and puts the maximum bet of five chips in) and click 'New Hand' to receive five new cards. Take a look at your hand and decide which cards to hold and which to discard. Once you're pleased with your selection(s) press 'Deal' and REPLACE any cards you're not holding.

Shareware and Freeware Games for the Mac

MGF: Shareware - Board & Card - Video Poker Solitarus

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