The week in games

Every week MacCentral brings readers headlines from the Mac game market, but there are always a few stories that don’t make it onto our regular news pages. That’s why we’ve come up with this retrospective, called the Week in Games. We also link to other sites with Mac game news, too. It’s been a couple of weeks since our last Week in Games update, since this reporter returned from Los Angeles last weekend, site of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video and computer games convention.

Amazed debuts

Dracosoft has released Amazed, a maze game for Mac OS X. You must collect various items as you travel through six different level themes with 96 different characters. There are also four levels of difficulty. Shoes and bombs can help you get through the mazes faster, too. Amazed costs $14.99.

BombSquad 1.2 out

Positive Spin Media has released an updated version of its Minesweeper clone, BombSquad. The new version incorporates bug fixes and adds a new “Zap Click” feature. BombSquad runs natively in Mac OS X with an Aqua interface, and has some unique features — visit the Web site for details.

Brickles3000 v2.04 update now available

Ken Winograd has released a new version of Brickles3000, the brickbashing ball and paddle game. The new version sports improved registration and updated contact information.

Creepy Mines 1.3 released

DanLab Games has released Creepy Mines 1.3, a new version of the game in which you must remove all the diamonds from the playing area by hitting them with the ball. The new version gains a level pass-code feature.

Descender 1.1 now available

SloppyDisk Software has updated Descender to v1.1. A Tetris clone, the new version of Descender sports some bug fixes and new features, like a “glowing piece” effect, the ability to play MP3 and AAC background music, and more. It runs natively on Mac OS X, 8.6 or higher.

The Falls v2.0 Medal of Honor map released

MacMOHAA, a Mac-specific fan site for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, has released a new version of the multiplayer map called “The Falls.” The new version supports TeamMatch mode, fixes a few bugs and adds a new secret tunnel.

Lux 2 released

Sillysoft has released Lux v2, a Mac OS X version of the classic board game Risk. The new version features a multiplayer mode that provides Internet-based play and a built-in game finder. Other changes have been made, too. Lux 2 costs $10 to register.

Puissance 3D available as freeware

Puissance 3D has been released as freeware. It’s described as a “reflexion” game in which you must “make a line with perls in a 3D world.” We’re not sure what that means, but it looks neat. You have to send the author an e-mail to request a key to unlock the full game, but he assures readers that to do so is free.

Roadworks released

ESP Graphics Inc. has released Roadworks, a tile-laying puzzle game that the developers compare to Breakout and Tetris. You must lay tiles, each with different pieces of road, and keep your car from crashing. A five-level demo is ready for download. The game requires Mac OS X or 9.x.

Slope Rider 1.04 fixes QuickTime bug

Monte Boyd Interactive has released Slope Rider 1.04, an update to their snowboarding game for the Macintosh. The new version of Slope Rider fixes a bug that can happen in conjunction with QuickTime 6.1.

Tuxpuck released for OS X

If you’ve always wanted something comparable to the classic Mac game Shufflepuck for your Mac, check out an open source effort called Tuxpuck, now available for OS X. It’s available for multiple platforms, most recently OS X. Bear in mind that this conversion from the Linux world requires SDL (Simple Directmedia Library) to work, and isn’t as user-friendly as the average Mac game, so make sure to read the Tuxpuck forum comments before throwing up your hands in frustration.

X-Plane 7.00b5 released

Laminar Research’s progress towards completing X-Plane continues this week with the release of a new beta version — beta 5. The new version implements minor bug fixes and tweaks to improve realistic behavior in this modular flight simulator.

Elsewhere on the Web

MacGamer has posted a review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the new game from Aspyr Media. Inside Mac Games has reviewed the Revolution 7.1 sound card from M-Audio. Apple’s Web site takes a look at Unreal Tournament 2003, coming soon from MacSoft. And coming up tomorrow night on The Gamesome Mac, an interview with Ryan Gordon, the programmer behind the Mac port of UT 2K3.

Closer to home

This week MacCentral brought readers news that Star Trek: Elite Force II had hit its Mac Alpha development milestone. MacPlay is shipping Europa Univeralis II, the historical strategy game. Aspyr Media announced plans to publish Zoo Tycoon for the Mac. MacSoft surprised many by announcing that it was shipping Tropico Mucho Macho Edition, a version of the real time strategy game with an expansion pack, strategy guide and more. MacSoft also plans to ship Unreal Tournament 2003 on June 11. Logitech will offer its Dual Action Pad for Mac and PC users this summer. GLtron Mac conversion programmer Darrell Walisser has created an OS X driver to get Xbox controllers to work on the Mac, if you add a USB adapter cable. GameRanger has been updated to support Spearhead, the Medal of Honor expansion pack from Aspyr.

As always, we heartily encourage you to drop us a line if you have ideas for ways we can improve our games coverage on MacCentral, if you have questions we haven’t answered, or if you have a game you’d like to see us cover.