Sunday’s here, so it’s time for another edition of The Week in Games, MacCentral’s weekly retrospective of the game news that didn’t make it into our regular coverage during the week. We also offer up links to other sites with Mac game news and more, so read on for details.
Alida now available for OS X
Dejavu Worlds has released its Myst-style adventure game Alida for OS X. It’s the story of a rock band gone out of control, who built a theme park on an island far out at sea called Alida — a theme park which ultimately becomes a hermitage for the band’s members. You visit the island 15 years later when one has gone missing, to find out what happened. The game was released for “Classic” Mac OS earlier this year.
Downfall 2.0 released
Norbyte has released Downfall 2.0, a new version of their falling blocks puzzle game. It sports 3D graphics and special features like special bonus blocks and more. It costs $14.95.
Escape Velocity Nova 1.0.5 released
Ambrosia Software has released a new version of Escape Velocity Nova, the popular adventure/action game set in outer space. Dozens of changes were made in both the game’s core engine and in the individual story scenarios.
Fakie Flair Challenge released
Newcomer Fujeyla Studio has released Fakie Flair Challenge, a skiing game in which you perform stunts to get points.
iConquer 2.1 available
KavaSoft’s iConquer 2.1 is now available for download. It’s a Risk-style strategy game for Mac OS X. The new version features six new maps — including a more complex world map. New toolbar items and an improved statistics window have been added, and the game now sports better accessibility for vision-impaired users. iConquer can be played against the computer or up to five other players over the Internet.
Shadowbane hacked
Ubi Soft’s massively multiplayer online role playing game Shadowbane suffered a setback this week when some unscrupulous players exploited a client-side hack to give themselves special powers and to kill other player characters. The admins responded by banning the users and rolling back the servers to events prior to the attack. Ubi Soft and Wolfpack Studios, the game’s developer, plan to prosecute the perpetrators as best they can.
SuperTac released
Epigroove has released SuperTac, a cross platform Internet-playable variation on Tic Tac Toe. In this game, you must get five in a row. You can also exchange text messages and “emo-tac-ons” to your opponent during play.
Elsewhere on the Web
MacGamer posted a review of GarageGames’ latest effort, Orbz. Monday’s edition of The Gamesome Mac QuickTime Webcast radio show will feature Aspyr Media president Michael Rogers. Inside Mac Games has published an interview with Terminal Reality about their new game Bloodrayne. Apple’s Games site has posted a feature on the new Finding Nemo games from THQ Inc.
Closer to home
MacCentral posted news this week about MacPlay’s School’s Almost Out $10 deals. Heroes of Might & Magic publisher The 3DO Company filed for bankruptcy protection this week. A demo version of Aspyr’s NASCAR Racing 2003 Season is available for download. Blizzard Entertainment announced that Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion pack for the original Warcraft III, has gone gold master and is due to hit stores on July 1st. Researchers at the University of Rochester said that video games increase visual skills by up to 30 percent. Cosmic Encounter Online has finally been released; it’s the online version of the classic strategy game. Aspyr has released SpyHunter for Mac and PC. Ambrosia has published Uplink, a game about computer espionage. The original Unreal Tournament will be released for OS X in a “real” version, from the developer of Unreal Tournament 2003. McSebi has released Pac the Man 2, a Pac Man homage with single or two-player modes.
As always, we encourage you to drop us a line if you have questions we didn’t answer, ideas for ways we can improve our games coverage, or Mac games you’d like to see mentioned on these pages.