Every day on MacCentral we bring you the latest news and info from the world of Mac gaming, but even then there are stories that don’t make it on to our regular news pages. That’s why we have this retrospective called The Week In Games.
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BombSquad now available
Positive Spin Media has released a new shareware minesweeper game for Mac OS X called BombSquad. It costs US$5 to register. The game features multiple difficulty levels, an adjustable field size and six different play combinations.
BoXiKoN released by e.p.i.c.
e.p.i.c. interactive has focused its resources on developing commercial games for the Mac (and Amiga) up until now, but the company is getting into the shareware market with an action puzzler called BoXiKoN. BoXiKoN is like a cross between Tetris and Alchemy: you put Tetris-style puzzle shapes into a static grid, making them disappear when you’ve created a complete horizontal or vertical row. A downloadable demo version is available; it costs US$9.95 to register.
Food Chain available for $4
Cajun Games is now offering a blowout deal on its offbeat board-style strategy game Food Chain. The company is selling copies of the game on CD-ROM for $3.95 each (it doesn’t run natively in Mac OS X, but does work in Classic).
iConquer debuts
If you’re looking for a Mac OS X answer to the classic strategy board game Risk, check out KavaSoft’s new iConquer. It’s a strategy game for one to six players in which you have to take over the world. The game features computer-controlled players and multiplayer support, a NASA satellite photograph-derived map and more. It costs $12.99 to register.
Monkey Byte offers OnDemand games
Monkey Byte Development is now offering some of its titles as part of a new Software OnDemand program. The games you download are locked but fully equipped; entering a registration code enables you to unlock the full game. The company is doing this to prevent users from having to download demos and then the full games afterwards.
Solitaire Till Dawn X released
Semicolon Software has released version 1.0 of Solitaire Till Dawn, one of the longest-running solitaire games ever made for the Mac. It sports 50 different solitaire games and has been rewritten from the ground up for Mac OS X with new features and an Aqua interface. It costs $24.95, or $14.95 if you registered an older version.
Stoenworks offers rudder tips for pilots
Hal Stoen’s Stoenworks site is a great resource for pilots looking for stories, tips and tricks from an experienced commercial pilot. Stoenworks publishes tutorials suitable for real-world and simulator pilots alike, and has recently made a new one called Step on it! that teaches you about the importance of rudder control in turning and slipping.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 now in beta
Aspyr Media recently noted that its Mac conversion of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 — currently in development by Beenox Studios — has hit its beta milestone, a major accomplishment towards the game’s completion.
Elsewhere on the Web
Inside Mac Games has reviewed the Altec Lansing 4100 speakers. MacGamer has posted a review of the X-Arcade joystick system (as well as an interview with Yours Truly ). Apple Games has posted a preview of World War II Online.
Closer to home
This week on MacCentral, we noted that GameRanger now supports Heroes of Might & Magic IV. Speaking of which, the 3DO Company announced it was shipping the game for the Mac this week. The Mac Edition of World War II Online also began shipping. Feral Interactive has released a playable demo of F1 Championship Season 2000, a Formula One racing game. Virtual Programming has released a demo of Payback, a Grand Theft Auto-style game for the Mac. Pixar’s new movie Finding Nemo will spawn two new games for PC and Mac when the movie is released next year. Voting on uDevGame 2002 contestants starts this week.
As always, we encourage readers to drop us a line if you have ideas for ways that we can improve our games coverage here on MacCentral, if you have questions that weren’t answered, or if you have Mac games or related services you’d like to see featured on these pages.