Every week MacCentral brings readers the latest happenings from the Mac gaming world, but there are always a few tantalizing tidbits that don’t make it onto our weekday news coverage. That’s why we have this retrospective, the Week in Games. It also gives us an opportunity to link to other sites’ Mac game news content, as well.
Diablo II accounts closed for cheating
Blizzard Entertainment’s Battle.net online gaming service reported this past week that it had closed more Diablo II accounts for using a map-hack that gave those players an unfair advantage over their opponents. More than 112,000 accounts have been closed all told, and their CD-Keys have been documented according to Blizzard — repeat offenders will be permanently banned if they don’t get a clue, according to a recent report on the Battle.net Web site.
Galactica 2.1 sports new multiplayer features
Sacred Tree Software and VendorNation are offering Mac OS X and Mac OS “Classic” versions of Galactica A.D. v2.1, a game of galactic domination and conquest. The new version sports gameplay refinements and administration controls to enhance multiplayer gaming.
Lux 2.2 sports networking enhancements
Sillysoft has released Lux 2.2, an update to their Risk-like strategy game. The new version improves networking features, and includes the ability to have AI players in network games, too. Stability and speed have been improved, and more.
MacMOHAA new and improved
The MacMOHAA Web site is a Mac-centric site devoted to Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, the World War II-themed first-person from Aspyr Media. It’s been revamped with a new look and updated content. The site features FAQs for playing the game, map downloads that work with the Mac version, information about the Spearhead expansion pack, and more.
Shadowbane improvements coming
If you’ve been underwhelmed by reliability and server problems associated with Ubi Soft’s MMORPG Shadowbane since its release, you’ll be happy to know that help is on the way, according to a recent News update. The company is looking to implement changes to address login and server memory leak issues.
Trisection 1.0.1 released
Solarian II and Lunatic Fringe maker Ben Haller is back at it again as Stick Software, and his first new game effort is a puzzler called Trisection. The game uses a triangular grid and pieces, and sports more than a dozen levels. This minor update fixes a compatibility problem with Mac OS X 10.1.5 and earlier.
25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming posted
It isn’t Mac-specific, but it’s a hoot for game enthusiasts of any creed: GameSpy has posted the 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming, a catalog of some of the more questionable, obtuse, and just plain dumb decisions made in gaming over the years, by businesspeople and developers alike.
Elsewhere on the Web
MacGamer.com has posted a review of Medal of Honor Spearhead, the expansion pack from Aspyr for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Inside Mac Games has posted a review of Uplink, the hacker game from Ambrosia Software. Apple’s Games page has posted a QuickTime trailer of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 in action — that game is coming soon from Aspyr Media.
Closer to home
This week on MacCentral, news surfaced that MacPlay will distribute Enigmo, the popular new puzzle game from Pangea Software. Aspyr Media noted that SimCity 4 is in manufacturing and will soon be released on retail store shelves. MacSoft said that it’s shipping Unreal Tournament 2003 and expected it to hit store shelves by this weekend. Feral is closing the gap on finish the Mac conversion of Warrior Kings and has made a number of Mac-specific changes to it. Strange Adventures in Infinite Space is a new quick-to-play strategy game from Digital Eel and Cheap Ass Games.
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 coverage here on MacCentral, or Mac games you’d like to see highlighted. Happy Father’s Day!