Mac OS X software developer The Omni Group recently updated their Web site with news on several new game projects in development. The projects correlate to recent announcements from United Developers subsidiary MacPlay.
The Omni Group is arguably best known for its work on original Mac OS X application software like OmniWeb and OmniGraffle, but the company is also an experienced Mac OS X game developer. The Omni Group previously collaborated with MacPlay on the Mac OS X-only game Giants: Citizen Kabuto. They’ve also released OS X native Cocoa versions of Bungie Software’s third person action game Oni and Quake III Arena, as well as Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2.
According to The Omni Group, they’ve been retained to do Mac OS X conversions of two forthcoming MacPlay Value Series titles — Fallout and Incoming. The company is also working on two other A-list projects for MacPlay — Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix and Freedom Force. What’s more, the company has indicated that a fifth, as yet unannounced project is currently in the works, too.
This is actually Fallout’s second incarnation on the Macintosh. The post-apocalyptic role playing adventure game first appeared under MacPlay’s label when the brand was still part of Interplay. The Omni Group is recreating the game as a Mac OS X title, and it will appear along with fourteen other titles when the new Value Series line hits retail store shelves beginning next month. The Omni Group promises faster performance and better stability than the System 7-era version, and said that this game’s code is based on the improved 1.2 version — an update never released on the Mac.
Incoming has made the rounds as an Interplay-published game console title, but this is its first appearance as a Mac game. Incoming is a 3D action game that puts you behind the controls of a variety of different vehicles as you repel a high-tech invasion of incredible force. The Omni Group noted that this is the first incarnation of Incoming to support OpenGL 3D graphics. It’ll also feature gamepad support via HID Manager.
Freedom Force — a Crave Entertainment-developed role playing game announced for the Mac by MacPlay last month — puts players in control of a variety of comic-book style superheroes as they save a metropolis called Patriot City from danger. The Omni Group is quick to point out that this is the first Mac game release to use NDL’s NetImmerse engine — hopefully “paving the way for future games to follow.”
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is Activision’s best-selling title, also coming to the Mac via MacPlay. Developed by Raven Software, based on Quake 3 Arena engine technology and licensed from the popular military weapons enthusiast magazine, SoF 2 puts you in the role of a counter-terrorist expert armed to the teeth with a sophisticated arsenal. In this game, the world is threatened by an organization that want to unleash the Gemini Virus, and it’s up to you to stop them.
All the games are listed as “Coming Soon.” MacPlay has previously indicated that most of them should be ready this summer.