MacCentral strives to bring readers news and product info from the Mac game world in our regular coverage each day, but every so often there are news items that don’t make it into our regular coverage. That’s why we have this weekly retrospective, which we call The Week in Games.
Ancient Warfare released
By Design, Inc. has announced the release of Ancient Warfare for the Mac. The game is a 3D, isometric (three-quarters view) realtime wargame simulator. The initial version ships with Roman and Barbarian armies, and includes a campaign set in the Roman Empire during the first century AD, when Rome had four emperors. The developer said that users can expect the game to be expanded in the coming months, too.
Arcane Arena b5 build in circulation
Freeverse Software has been pretty good about hitting its target of releasing a new weekly build of its massively multiplayer online role playing game currently in development, Arcane Arena. The latest build is b5, and you can download it now.
Green Berets 1.1 patch available
Take Two Interactive Software recently released a game based on the Myth II engine called Green Berets. The game puts players in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Take Two’s support arm, Talonsoft, has offered up a Green Berets 1.1 patch that “fixes a few minor bugs and makes changes to the Unit balance in gameplay to enhance the fun factor in Multiplayer. Some are noticeable and some aren’t, but its all good. This update is for those that own Green Berets. It will not work otherwise.”
Monkey Shines 2: Gorilla Warfare price reduced
For a limited time, publisher Fantasoft is making available the side-scrolling platform-jumping action game Monkey Shines 2: Gorilla Warfare available for US$15. That’s $10 less than the regular price. If you want to kick the tires before you lay down your money, visit the Web site and download a demo.
Myst III: Exile patch still coming, says developer
If you’re still waiting for a Macintosh patch to Ubi Soft’s release of Myst III: Exile, you’re in luck — the patch is still coming, according to developer Presto Studios. The company told MacCentral that a modest patch for the Mac version is still in the works, though it’s up to Ubi Soft to determine when it’s ready for general release. More details as they become available.
The Seventh God Myth II conversion released
Speaking of Myth II, if you’re a big fan of the popular realtime strategy game from Bungie Software and you’re looking for new challenges, listen up: The Seventh God has just been released. It’s an absolutely massive (200+ MB) 18 level solo game conversion for Myth II that tells an entirely new story with new maps, units, artwork and more. You can download it from The Mill if you have the bandwidth and the patience.
Simsville cancelled
Maxis and Electronic Arts had some disappointing news this week for fans of The Sims (published for the Mac by Aspyr Media). The companies announced that development has ceased on Simsville, a sequel to the popular game. No Mac version had been promised, but The Sims and its expansion packs, House Party and Livin’ Large, had been big sellers on the Macintosh, and many folks had expected that Aspyr and EA might bring new Sims titles to the Mac.
Try out uDevGame 2001 contest entries
iDevGames.com is hosting the uDevGame 2001 contest, which will reward developers for their efforts at making Mac games (including some OS X only entries). Editor Carlos Camacho advises readers to stop by and download the contest entries, then vote for their four favorite efforts.
Elsewhere on the Web
Inside Mac Games has posted a preview of Red Faction, the first-person shooter developed by Volition and coming to the Mac courtesy of GraphSim Entertainment. MacGamer has posted the latest MacGamerX column, which looks at Return to Castle Wolfenstein, the new Quake 3 Arena engine-based game coming from Id Software and Gray Matter Interactive. MacGamez has published is Sizzling Preview of eight games it’s excited about.
Closer to home
MacCentral’s game coverage this past week included news from Bold that its forthcoming Mac conversion of the new Links game (a golf simulator) will sport a course designer. In other news from Bold, the company said that it’ll publish Age of Empires II Gold Edition, the recently released combo of AOE2 and The Conquerers expansion pack (thus scrapping plans to just publish the original game). It’s still on for an October release. MacRun Games released a Carbonized version of Captain Bumper, its retro-style side scrolling action game (that means it runs on Mac OS X now). e.p.i.c. interactive noted the release of its Mac conversion of Knights & Merchants, a medieval real time strategy game and economic simulator. There’s more, too. Hit our News Archive page for details.
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 game-related products or services you’d like to see featured in our news coverage.