Every weekday MacCentral brings news and info to readers from the world of Mac games. But there are always a few stories that don’t make it into our regular coverage, and that’s why we’ve come up with this retrospective, which we call the Week in Games.
Dark Castle Demo beta updated to 1.0b9
Zsculpt Entertainment has updated its demo of Return to Dark Castle, the forthcoming revisitation of the classic arcade game to be published by Delta Tao, to 1.0b9. The new version can be downloaded from their Web site now.
Escape Velocity Nova to be updated to 1.0.2
On Ambrosia’s Software’s own message boards, the developers indicate that a patch will be forthcoming to update the innovative space adventure/action game Escape Velocity Nova to 1.0.2. The list of changes is quite long, so drop by for more details.
Genie No. 2 added to Westlake project list
Mac game conversion studio Westlake Interactive has added a new as-yet-unidentified project to its growing list of secret projects on its Project Status Web page. The company noted that the game is in early development, but has not yet identified the publisher or general system requirements (Mac OS X is a given, however). It’s the third secret project that Westlake has announced in recent weeks.
MacPipes X released
Factor Software has released MacPipes X, a Mac OS X-native revisitation to a classic arcade game they developed for older Mac OS systems originally. It’s a clever and addictive puzzler inspired by an ancient Amiga title called Pipes.
Otto Matic 1.2.2 released
Pangea Software has updated its hit 3D action game Otto Matic (published commercially by Aspyr Media and bundled on some Macs too) to version 1.2.2. The 1.2.2 update makes “minor performance enhancements.” Download the file now from Macgamefiles.com.
Vector3 3.1.5 released
Schubertit has released a new version of its Vektor3 chess game for the Macintosh. Version 3.1.5 is the latest release. A US$10 shareware title, Vektor3 is extensively customizable. The new build sports some minor refinements and feature tweaks.
Elsewhere on the Web
MacGamer.com has posted a review of Clive Barker’s Undying, the thrilling new horror action game from Aspyr Media. Inside Mac Games has posted a review of The Sims Hot Date, a new expansion pack for the popular simulation game. Apple looks at Tivola Publishing, which is bringing games based on Peanuts characters to the Mac.
Closer to home
Microsoft said that its intellectual property claims may affect the way OpenGL can be licensed in the future; it’s the 3D technology used by most games on the Mac platform. Destineer’s Bold imprint will publish Halo for Mac when it’s done by Westlake Interactive, hopefully to be finished in 2003. MacSoft has no plans to exhibit at Macworld Expo this coming week, but they’ll still be there, and selling Max Payne to boot. Heroes of Might & Magic IV is coming to the Mac, thanks to the efforts of Contraband Entertainment. There’s a new Flash-based game called Yexi – The Interstellar Adventure that you can buy on CD or download. Freeverse Software has announced that Wipeout 2097 is for available and for sale in North America now. MacSoft released a patch to Stronghold to update it to 1.2. Bold will ship Links Championship Edition on July 26th. Cliff Johnson has made his classic puzzle games available for free download online. A new version of iPoker is available for download, and it supports “Classic” Mac OS in addition to Mac OS X.
As always, we encourage you to drop us a line if you have ideas for ways that we can improve our game content here on MacCentral, or if you have Mac games or related products you want to see us mention.