Real-time strategy game fans rejoice. German Mac game publisher Epic Interactive has released a playable demo version of Earth 2140. If you’re a fan of games like Total Annihilation, Command & Conquer, or the Warcraft series, you should definitely check this game out.
Earth 2140 was originally developed for the PC by TopWare Interactive and is published for the PC by Interplay. Epic Interactive last year announced plans to bring Earth 2140 and its sequel, Earth 2150, to the Macintosh — it appears that their efforts have finally borne fruit. Epic Interactive, by the way, is a wholly separate entity from Epic Games, makers of Unreal and Unreal Tournament.
Earth 2140 hurls players into a war-ravaged 22nd century, where the Eurasian Dynasty and the United Civilized States fight tooth and nail to control the scarred surface of planet Earth, long devastated by a protracted and vicious war.
Earth 2140 sports more than 50 different missions, multiplayer support and more to keep players busy. Players must build various types of resources to create robotic soldiers, weapons and vehicles; harness natural resources and refine ore mined from mineral-rich environments; and they must strategically position their forces for maximum effectiveness when the inevitable clash with enemy forces ensues.
The demo supports single-player mode only; this version enables you to play a level either as the UCS or the Eurasian Dynasty. System requirements call for a PowerPC equipped Mac with a 603e/180MHz processor or faster; Mac OS 8.6.1 or higher; 32MB RAM; and a 3D video card with 4MB of VRAM or more. The Read Me file included with the demo also indicates that 80MB of HD space is needed, but we suspect that’s a requirement for the full game — the demo clocks in at about 28MB uncompressed.
Epic Interactive publishes games for Mac OS and Amiga. Epic has several other Mac game conversions in the works, as well, including Gorky 17, Simon the Sorcerer 2, and Dafel: Bloodline. Company spokesperson Thomas Steiding recently informed MacCentral that work on Simon the Sorcerer 2 is almost done.
“The classic cartoon adventure ‘Simon The Sorcerer II’ will be shipping in a couple of days,” said Steiding in a recent e-mail.
For more information about Earth 2140 or other Epic Interactive projects, readers are encouraged to visit Epic Interactive’s Web site.
More info || Download Earth 2140 Demo [12.6MB]