Every day MacCentral brings readers the latest in Mac game news and information, but there are sometimes stories that don’t make it onto our daily news pages. That’s why we’ve come up with this weekly retrospective, which we call The Week in Games.
Avalanche released
Dracosoft has announced the release of a new arcade puzzle game called Avalanche. You must destroy the avalanche as it approaches, racking up your score by using bombs and combining bonuses. Released as shareware, the game costs $9.99 to register and runs natively in Mac OS 8.6 – X.
Escape Velocity: Nova t-shirts now available
If you’re a fan of Ambrosia Software’s recently released space action/adventure game Escape Velocity: Nova, you might be interested in wearing it on your sleeve — literally. The company has released EVN t-shirts that it’s selling for $19 each plus shipping and handling. Made in the USA of 100 percent cotton, the shirts come with a geek-free guarantee. “Ambrosia certifies that you will never get your ass kicked for wearing this stylish t-shirt,” said the popular game publisher.
Galactica A.D. online goes open beta
MonkeyByte.com has announced the open beta release a new version of Galactica A.D., the galactic colonization and warfare strategy game. Galactica A.D. has been reworked to support online play. MonkeyByte said it’s working on a Web portal specifically to support Galactica A.D. online, and plans to host multi-level tournaments with cash prizes.
Harpoon3 3.4.11 released
Jesse Spears has released a new version of Harpoon3 — the naval warfare simulation game. Harpoon 3 3.4.11 fixes some problems, adds a feature or two, and makes some other changes, so make sure to check it out.
KickOff 2002 coming in June; soccer for the Mac
Virtual Programming Ltd. is working on a Mac conversion of KickOff 2002, an arcade-style soccer (or football, if you’re not American) action game for the Macintosh. The developer is the same company that make Wipeout 2097 for the Mac, as well.
Space-Time Associates releases new Hang3000, American Hangman updates
Ken Winograd and Space-Time Associates has released new versions of Hang3000 and American Hangman — Hangman-style games for the Mac that each feature tons of different categories of clues.
WarBirds free weekend coming later this month
The iEntertainment Network is hosting a free WarBirds Weekend from May 24-27. WarBirds is the company’s popular World War II-era online aircraft dogfighting game. It uses a subscription-based payment model, so you can download the software for free. You can sign up today and practice offline between now and then.
X-Plane 6.14 released
Laminar Research has released a new version of X-Plane, its OpenGL-based flight simulator. As there are in every new build of X-Plane, version 6.14 is stocked with new features, enhancements, fixes, and refinements, so check it out.
X-Plane Global Scenery Project downloads available
In related news, the X-Plane Global Scenery Project has full scenery downloads available to help you get the most out of X-Plane, so if you want to download your special corner of the world, check it out.
Elsewhere on the Web
MacGamer.com has posted an interview with Sid Meier, the legendary designer behind games like the Civilization series. Skewed Perspective has posted a review of Jinni Zeala, the new pinball game from LittleWing. Inside Mac Games has posted a preview of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault from Aspyr. Apple’s Games section takes a look at Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds from Aspyr, as well. French site Mac4Gamer.com has posted an interview with Richard Bannister, the talented emulation jockey behind dozens of Mac-based game console and computer emulators. There are versions both in English and French.
Closer to home
Freeverse Software released Arcane Arena, their entry into the massively multiplayer online role-playing game genre. Looking to improve your Mac’s sound system? Then check out our hands on review of the Champagne SE speakers from Harman. Graphics chip and card maker ATI Technologies Inc. released new retail card drivers that correct a problem that prohibited the installer from working correctly on Mac OS X 10.1.4-equipped systems. Aspyr Media announced that Medal of Honor and Undying are both at Final Candidate status; Undying should be out this month and Medal of Honor will follow this summer. Freeverse Software and Ideas from the Deep unveiled their plans to introduce GameSmith, a new cross-platform (and OS X compatible) game finding service which will debut this July at Macworld Expo in New York. Nvidia’s proud of the fact that its GeForce2 MX graphics chips are being used in the eMac, the new education-only Mac model. If you’re an OS X game developer, you might be interested in the Cocoa Sprite Kit. We posted a hands on review of the new Radeon 7000 Mac Edition card from ATI.
As always, we encourage you to drop us a line if you have ideas for ways that we can improve our games coverage, or if you have a Mac game-related product or service you’d like to let our readers know about.