United Developers LLC is hoping to appeal to Mac OS X-using casual gamers looking for some 3D action fun with the commercial release of Snowball Run. The game is now available for purchase through United Developers subsidiary MacPlay’s e-store and through retailers who carry MacPlay-branded titles.
Snowball Run is evocative of Super Monkey Ball, Marble Blast and other similar games. You control a snowball-riding penguin through 75 levels and across five differently themed worlds as he rolls up and down ramps, around curves and obstacles, over jumps and past other pitfalls as he collects fish and racks up points, collects bonuses and earns extra lives.
Snowball Run was originally developed as an exclusive holiday version available through MacPlay last December. The game was created by another United Developers group, the Dallas-based studio of Mumbo Jumbo. Mac gamers with long memories may also remember Mumbo Jumbo’s now-disbanded California-based development team as the creators of Myth III: The Wolf Age. Mumbo Jumbo’s Dallas offices now focus on developing Windows and Java-based downloadable puzzle games, according to a statement from United Developers, though Snowball Run runs natively on Mac OS X.
Snowball Run is suitable for all ages, according to the publisher. Snowball Run costs US$19.99. System requirements call for a Mac OS X 10.2.4 or later, G3/450MHz or better, 128MB RAM and ATI RAGE 128 graphics.