Every week MacCentral brings readers the latest news and info from the world of Mac gaming. There are always a few stories that fall through the cracks, however, so we came up with this weekly retrospective, which we call the Week in Games.
Airburst 1.041 released
Strange Flavour has released a minor update to its arcade action game Airburst. The new version corrects a bug that happened on Mac OS 9 systems equipped with QuickTime 6. The developers also noted that they’ll be testing Jaguar once they get it and possibly releasing another update if there are any issues.
Cintos 3.1.0 released
John Haney has released Cintos 3.1.0, a strategy board game that can be played online as well. The goal of Cintos is to capture pieces and territory until one player has it all. The new version of Cintos sports several enhancements to gameplay and additional features, including a resizable board, toolbar, and more.
Cro-Mag Rally 2.1
Pangea Software has released a new version of Cro-Mag Rally, its caveman kart racing game. Formerly offered both as a commercially available release and bundled with iBooks and iMacs, Cro-Mag Rally is now available as shareware from Pangea. The new version, 2.1, incorporates support for a new online version checking system. It can be downloaded from Macgamefiles.com.
Forever Games updates TACS, releases Gravitass
Forever Games has released an update to TACS, or Tactical Air Combat Simulator. The game puts vector-based biplanes in an arena and offers you ways to control them to dodge and attack their enemies. Gravitass is a new offering that combines driving with time travel.
PopEdit released; editor for Pop-Pop
A new, unsupported Mac OS X editor for Pop-Pop called PopEdit is now available for download from Macgamefiles.com. Pop-Pop is Ambrosia Software’s brickbashing combat game. This editor enables you to create your puzzle levels.
Power64 4.1 released
Hankering to play old-school games from your Commodore 64 days? Roland Lieger has updated Power64 — his Commodore 64 emulator for the Power Mac. The new version contains an updated library, fixes several major and minor bugs, and sports support for the GEOS mouse.
Smiley’s Challenge 1.0 released
MacMuse Software has announced the release of Smiley’s Challenge 1.0, a game for students and adults which runs on classic Mac OS and Mac OS X. It actually includes two games, Find Smiley and Capture Smiley. Distributed as US$7 shareware, the game is free to registered users of other MacMuse Software titles.
Ultranium2 for Mac OS X released
Jadeware has released Ultranium2, a breakout-style brickbashing game for Mac OS X that has been completely redesigned. It runs natively in Mac OS X and sports 32-bit color, new levels, different themes, and a new soundtrack.
Warcraft III v1.0.2 released
Blizzard Entertainment has released a patch for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos to bring it to version 1.0.2. The new version has some fixes and balance changes. If you play on Battle.net to play online regularly, you can update by logging on. The new version will download automatically. A standalone Mac updater is expected to released on Blizzard’s Web site soon.
Elsewhere on the Web
MacGamer.com remains on an extended hiatus. Inside Mac Games has taken a look at the PowerBook G4/800 from a gamer’s perspective. And coming tomorrow (Monday), Sean Smith will talk with Solarian II and Lunatic Fringe author Ben Haller on The Gamesome Mac, a QuickTime Webcast radio show. Apple’s Games site has turned its own sights to multiplayer gaming on the Mac. Wargamer.com has posted a preview of TacOps v4, the latest major release of the tactical level wargame for the Mac and Windows.
Closer to home
MacCentral posted a review of the PlanarMedia 9 speaker system from Monsoon. e.p.i.c. interactive has launched a new e-store where you can buy games and expansion packs from them directly. QuakeCon wraps up today in Mesquite, Texas, where Aspyr Media has been a sponsor. Wipeout 2097 1.2 is now available and makes changes to help improve gameplay on OS X. The Game Career Guide might help you get a foot in the door if you’re interested in a job in the game industry. MacSoft has patched Civilization III to version 1.21g. Virtual Programming plans to bring the robot combat/programming game Mindrover to the Mac later this year. A new Spy Kids game is available, but only for “Classic” Mac OS. Disney Interactive has released new games based on popular Playhouse Disney TV shows.
As always, we encourage you to drop us a line if you have ideas for ways we can improve our games coverage here on MacCentral, or if you have a Mac game or related service you’d like to let our readers know about.