Name Your Game

Looking for some action? whether you’re after adrenaline-soaked intensity or a mind-bending puzzler, this comprehensive collection of rated reviews has you covered.

3-D Ultra Pinball Collector’s Edition
A-10 Cuba

Featuring the best flight modeling of any Mac flight sim, A-10 Cuba asks you to pilot your “hawg” around the Caribbean, doing battle with a cigar-champing enemy. Lacking F/A-18 Korea’s beauty and mission-creation capabilities, A-10 Cuba still offers great game play, varied missions, and rough-and-tumble network play. Company: Parsoft Interactive (972/379-4462, http://www.parsoft.com ). Price: $29.95.

Astrorock 2000
Battle-Girl

As Battle-Girl, you must stop the robot Terminus from destroying the Great Machine, with as much sass as you can muster. It’s a kick to move your little craft around this 2-D, overhead environment and blast the heck out of your stick-figure enemies. Frantic action, 99 levels, and a throbbing soundtrack make for an arcade-y good time. Company: Power Media (503/684-8232, http://www.powermedia.com ). Price: $39.95.

Carmageddon
Casino: Play to Win

Whether you need to brush up on your gambling skills or you want to quell your gambling desires without risking your shirt, Casino: Play to Win will let you play blackjack, craps, keno, video poker, roulette, and slots to your heart’s content. The ambient casino noise and realistic game play will remind you of an actual casino–minus the cigarette smoke, of course. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $19.99.

Civilization II
Close Combat&#150A;Bridge Too Far

Command troops in the landmark World War II battle Operation Market Garden. This real-time strategy war game boils down the complexity of battle into a fairly intuitive interface; it’s a solid campaign game where reinforcements, supplies, and morale play a big part in achieving victory or defeat. Company: Microsoft (425/637-9308, http://www.microsoft.com/games ). Price: $54.95.

Deadlock
Deer Hunter

Search for evidence of deer traffic, then hunker down and wait . . . and wait. Eventually a deer will wander by so you can blast it into virtual venison. Limited options and slow play kill this hunt before it begins. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $19.99.

Diablo
Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition

Take on hordes of invading aliens with an impressive array of weapons. Full of violence and sexual content, this first-person shooter offers a comic tone and addictive action that balance out its vulgarity. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $29.99.

Escape Velocity: Override
F/A-18 Korea

Analyze the assault of information your jet provides, but be sure to keep an eye to the skies for the enemy. Spectacular graphics and stunningly realistic flying make this the ace of Mac flying sims. Company: Graphic Simulations (972/386-7575, http://www.graphsim.com ). Price: $29.95.

Flying Circus
HeadRush

The latest mind-bender from the maker of You Don’t Know Jack, HeadRush aims at a younger crowd. Test your knowledge of science, history, and useless pop-culture trivia, and get toasted when you’re wrong. Company: Berkeley Systems (510/540-5535, http://www.berkeleysystems.com ). Price: $29.95.

Imperialism
Jack Nicklaus 4

Featuring five courses, network play, a convincing physics model, and the ability to create your own courses from scratch, this golf simulation has only one bogey: the delay between swinging the club and the corresponding animation. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $29.99.

Links LS
Lode Runner 2

The latest iteration of Lode Runner–the classic run, gather-the-gold, and then hightail-it-to-the-next-level arcade game–lacks the original game’s most attractive feature: simplicity. The 3-D perspective requires that you move diagonally rather than left and right, which can be confounding. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $29.99.

Marathon Trilogy Box Set
Mars Rising

Martian rebels have destroyed the Terran military forces on Mars. It’s up to you to counterattack in your Vac-Fighter, killing Martian forces on the ground and in the air. This challenging sci-fi shoot-’em-up features constantly moving landscapes and nonstop action. Company: Ambrosia Software ( http://www.ambrosiasw.com, 716/325-1910). Price: $20.

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
Monopoly

The classic Parker Brothers board game comes to the Mac and is just as enjoyable as the original. Game play is enhanced by amusing 3-D animations and the ability to play against customized computer opponents as well as with people over the Internet. What’s great about Monopoly is its simpli-city&#150a;more-than-welcome breather from a sea of uninspiring games trying to do too much. Company: Hasbro Interactive (800/400-1352, http://www.hasbrointeractive.com ). Price: $29.99.

Myth: The Fallen Lords
Pax Imperia: Eminent Domain

Raise your species to be the dominant power in the galaxy by exterminating all competitors. This space-age strategy game tries to turn a slow-moving genre into a real-time experience, but lackluster graphics and long waits cause it to fall flat. Company: THQ (818/225-5167, http://www.paximperia.com ). Price: $49.95.

Real Pool
Redjack: Revenge of the Brethren

This enjoyable pirate adventure demands that you, in the guise of Nick Dove, solve puzzles, gather goodies, and cross swords with your enemies. The game features a good story line, slightly rough language, and arcadelike swordplay that’s a bit too hard to master. Company: Cyberflix/THQ (818/225-5167, http://www.thq.com ). Price: $39.95.

Riven
Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter

Like the inexplicable PC hit Deer Hunter, Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter is a soporific exercise in aimless wandering and waiting. Let’s face it: scouting for bear droppings and making ridiculous animal noises just isn’t much fun. Aside from its soothing nature sounds, there’s no reason to hunt for this game. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $19.99.

Scrabble
Shattered Steel

Fans of Mech games will enjoy Shattered Steel. Players control a giant armored robot suit and battle for supremacy in the galaxy. It’s definitely an action game, the visuals are solid (although a few years old at this point), and the play is engaging. The scope of the game’s missions could be more varied, however. Company: Logicware (626/938-9108, http://www.logicware.com ). Price: $29.95.

The Space Bar
Star Control 3

The universe faces destruction from tears in the space-time continuum. You can save the universe by repairing the tears, but it’s probably not worth the trouble. This science-fiction adventure lacks a modern game feel, with stale character interaction and clumsy fighting modes. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $19.99.

Star Trek: Captain’s Chair
Star Trek: Starship Creator

Control the construction of your own starship, from choosing its class to picking its crew. Once you’re ready to go where no one has gone before, see if your newly christened ship has what it takes to successfully complete several automated missions. Unfortunately, you become a mere spectator once your creation heads out into the unknown. Company: Simon & Schuster Interactive (888/793-9972, http://www.ssinteractive.com ). Price: $29.99.

Tempest 2000
TIE Fighter

Embody the Empire’s dark forces and take on the Rebel Alliance. The action of a World War II dogfight is combined with the fantasy of Star Wars in this great game. Company: LucasArts Entertainment (888/532-4263, http://www.lucasarts.com ). Price: $29.95.

Tomb Raider II
Unreal

This 3-D shoot-’em-up reinvigorates a tired genre. Plot, atmosphere, and exploration mix with ferocious enemies to make this game stand out from the pack. Note: 3-D-acceleration hardware is a must. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $49.99.

Warcraft II–Tides of Darkness
The X-Files Game

As FBI agent Craig Willmore, you work alongside Mulder, Scully, and the rest of the cast of the X-Files TV show in this adventure game. Its excellent use of QuickTime video is offset by tediously slow sections. Company: Fox Interactive (310/369-7000, http://www.foxinteractive.com ). Price: $54.98.

You Don’t Know Jack: Huge

February 1999 page: 179

Five New Games We Can’t Wait to Play

Myth II: Soulblighter

In this sequel to the popular strategy game Myth: The Fallen Lords, you return to the land of Myth, where a new enemy threatens the realm. You manage troops in real-time battles against the undead. Topped with the addition of cross-platform, multiplayer gaming via the Internet, this is one of the year’s most eagerly awaited releases. Company: Bungie Software (312/397-0500, http://www.bungie.com ). Price: $49.95.

FutureCop: L.A.P.D.

It’s the twenty-first century. Gangs control large areas of Los Angeles. As a cop, your mission is to put the gangs out of commission and make the streets safe. Armed with a hovercraft that transforms into a mechanical walker, you must infiltrate the gangs and eliminate their leaders. This third-person shooter features variable views and a fully 3-D environment. Company: Electronic Arts (650/628-1500, http://www.ea.com ). Price: $19.95.

Dark Vengeance

The world has been thrown into darkness, and you must bring it back to light. This adventure features three combat styles–hand-to-hand combat, long-range spell casting, and trickery&#150a;d three different characters. In addition to 17 levels of single-player gaming, you can engage in multiplayer action. Company: MacSoft (612/509-7600, http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft ). Price: $49.99.

Starcraft

What gamer doesn’t dream about ruling supreme over the galaxy? Starcraft, the successor to Warcraft, extends that game’s strategic battles to the stars. You aim to conquer the universe, battling in space and on planets as one of three species, each of which requires different strate-gies for victory. As the game evolves, so does the story line. The game includes a scenario and map editor that lets you create a custom adventure. Company: Bliz-zard Entertainment (949/955-1380, http://www.blizzard.com ). Price: $50.

Redneck Rampage

This first-person shooter wins the strangest-premise award: aliens come to Earth and steal a pig from some backwoods rednecks. You, as a backwoods redneck, must get the pig back. Power up with pork rinds, whiskey, and beer, and then grab your shotgun and hit the trail. The soundtrack includes songs by Mojo Nixon and the Reverend Horton Heat. Company: Logicware (626/938-9108, http://www.logicware.com ). Price: $39.95.