Analysis: Will iPhone games lead to more on the Mac?

With both the iPhone and the Mac platforms united by OS X, could developers who build games for the mobile device be tempted into boosting their Mac efforts?

Appletell Review - Fable: The Lost Chapters for Macintosh

Section: Software + Apps, Games, Mac + Computers, Software, Features, Review Genre: Action/RPG Format: DVD Developer: Lionhead Studios Macintosh Developer: Robosoft Technologies Publisher: Feral Interactive Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4, 1.6GHz Intel Mac, 512MB RAM, 64MB video card, 3GB hard disk space, DVD ROM, mouse Review Computer: 2GHz 20” Intel Core Duo iMac, 1GB RAM, 256MB ATI Radeon X1600 Network Feature: No Processor Compatibility: Universal Price: $49.95 ESRB Rating: M Availability: Now Demo: No Official Website: www.lionhead.com/fabletlc/ It’s not long into Fable: The Lost Chapters before you realize you’re in for something different. As if the words “Action/RPG” aren’t already enough to warm the soul of Mac gamers everywhere (oh, we’ve tasted action and we’ve tasted RPGs, but we rarely have them served in the same meal), the dramatic conclusion to the otherwise light and cartoony introduction will let you know that maybe this game is special. And it is. First off, I’m not sure what’s “lost” about these chapters. The original version of Fable was for Xbox, and the original version of Fable: The Lost Chapters was for Xbox, so it appears as though this was basically the same game with some additional content thrown in. I only bring this up to let you know this isn’t a sequel. There’s nothing out there you need to play first to avoid being lost in The Lost Chapters. Now, Fable: The Lost Chapters comes to us via Peter Molyneux and Lionhead Studios, the guy and the company that also developed the over-hyped Black & White and the under-hyped The Movies, both of which found their way to the Mac. Fable is quite a different from both, and is quite a bit different from pretty much any other game available for the Macintosh. It plays more like a console game than Mac game; more like The Legend of Zelda than Tomb Raider: Whatever. Fable is very big in both gameplay and in the world it creates, and those who play it will find themselves immersed for quite some time. As with most role-playing games, you start out as a young lad completely unaware of who he is and what he’ll become. Indeed, your first quest is to buy your sister a birthday gift. How quaint. It’s not long, however, before destiny leads you to one of those Harry Potter schools so you can learn to fight and use magic and gather fruit. At this early stage, the game does unfortunately bog down a bit as it seems you’re just going through the motions to master the controls, your inventory system, etc. Pay attention, though; the relationships you form here, good and bad, play a part not only in the game’s plot, but in who your character will grow to be. What’s more impressive is that this customization of character not only happens naturally throughout the game, but is reflected in how your character looks. If you fight most of your battles with melee weapons, he’ll become muscular. If you prefer archery, he’ll remain slim and dress in brown. Focus on magic, and he’ll...grow old? I guess using magic is the fantasy equivalent of having kids. No worries, though; looking old doesn’t change your ability to fight or remain attractive to non-player characters (who don’t seem to age, by the way, while you do...which is a welcome design choice when you enter the brothels). Although it’s fun to watch your character grow, it’s purely cosmetic. Your decisions throughout the game, however, are cosmetic. Everything—from how to talk to/deal with people to what tattoos you wear to your haircut—affects how others react to you. Hell’s Angel, metrosexual, or anywhere in between, you pick the outfits (and obtain the scars) to play the part. Likewise, if you generally run around doing good, you’ll acquire a nice glow and people will dig you. Behave poorly, and you’ll grow some devil horns and get those shifty eyes that spell trouble. Would that real life worked the same way, we’d all know from whom to buy our cars. The dilemmas that affect all of this are presented to you almost immediately, and continue throughout. But that’s not the focus of the game. This isn’t The Sims, thank goodness, it’s an action game, and there’s plenty of fighting to be done. The control system for this, unfortunately, is awkward and quite rigid. You pretty much need a multi-button mouse if you want to be any good, and that’s not even enough, by default. The game maps your block maneuver to the click wheel of the mouse, which is all well and good, but I have my click wheel mapped to duplicate the “double-click” command of the side buttons, so it doesn’t work. Fable seems to base its commands on the button’s assigned function, not on the action of clicking the button, so you my find yourself facing some messy reprogramming to get the controls to work properly. For a game that was originally released for the Xbox, you’d think the controls would be much simpler to manage. Despite the epic feel of Fable (epic, in the RPG use of the word, meaning to grow from boy to man and exact some revenge along the way), there’s no real sense of urgency. With the wide availability of health and resurrection vials, dying is both avoidable and pointless. The main story is fine, if a bit tired, and the side quests seem to be there solely to extend the life of the game. This is all okay, though, because the real joy comes from watching your character grow and seeing how he interacts with others. It’s just as much fun to find a wife as it is to chop off some monster heads, as fun to explore new lands as it is to accomplish the quests when you get there. That’s what the RP in the G is all about, after all. And to top it off, the game looks fantastic. Again, as with Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the folks over at Robosoft Technologies have done a fantastic job of porting the game to the Mac, taking advantage of the Mac’s strengths. The animation is smooth and the environments are wonderfully detailed with great lighting effects, which is key in a game that wants you to buy into a mystical world. It may take a bit to get used to the cartoonish appearance of the characters, but it’ll happen. It doesn’t hurt that the ambient sounds are very natural sounding and effective, and the music score is the type you could listen to outside the game and still be impressed. Arriving late as it did (the PC version was released nearly three years ago), I’m glad Feral stuck with Fable: The Lost Chapters to bring it our way. I’m hard pressed to come up with a Mac equivalent, but there’s really no need to, considering how generally well this one was done. The story is a bit tired, the quests can get repetitive, there are some control issues, and character management gets burdensome, but the game’s atmosphere and the connection you’ll develop with your character and the world around him create an immersive gaming experience we haven’t had for quite some time. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait this long to experience it again. Appletell Rating: Buy Fable: The Lost Chapters Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Mac Games: TransGaming has launched GameTree

Section: Software + Apps, Games, Web, OriginalsAlthough I enjoy playing video games, I really don’t get a chance to play them as much as I would like. Priorities such as family, work, and life in general always get in the way. But when I have a chance for some personal time, one of my luxuries is to completely immerse myself in a game. I normally play FPS on my Xbox 360 (Gears of War, Bioshock, and Mass Effect are some of my favorites) and occasionally I’ll play them on my 17” MacBook Pro. I recently heard about a new Mac gaming portal, as TransGaming has recently launched GameTree. There are a lot of Windows based PC gaming websites online, and now GameTree Online is planning to offer similar features for Mac users. We already have Mac gaming websites that offer similar services, but I’m always happy to see more. Mac gamers will have the chance to download Mac games and write reviews about them. Also, Mac gamers will have the chance to check up on the latest gaming news and participate in a variety of promotional activities. GameTree Online states: GameTree Online complements TransGaming’s Cider Portability, a turn-key solution for enabling games for the Mac, such as EVE Online and Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Let’s hope this encourages more developers and publishers to publish titles for the Mac. Not only will TransGaming be selling games on GameTree Online, they will also be opening up their doors to publishers and developers, giving them a shot to distribute their back catalog of games. That means those titles we’ve never seen on a Mac could be “Ciderized” and distributed digitally at GameTree Online. GameTree Online hopes to replicate digital distribution offerings for Windows-based PC, enabling consumers to purchase and download Mac games, read gaming news, participate in promotional opportunities, and write game reviews. TransGaming plans to continually add new titles from a mix of genres to its online portal. GameTree Online doesn’t have a lot of games at the moment; Puzzle Quest, The Lost Case of Sherlock Holmes, and The Tuttles: Madcap Misadventures are the ones I saw when I logged onto the website. I’ve been wanting to check out The Tuttles so I’ll most likely download it and see if I enjoy the game. I’ll be checking back in a few weeks, and am hoping they’ll have additional games available for Mac gamers. Full Story » | Written by Opal Tribble for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Blizzard confirms Diablo III; Will be released for Mac and PC

Section: Software + Apps, Games, Mac + Computers, Software, OriginalsFans of the Diablo series have finally gotten their wish; Diablo III is under development. Blizzard confirmed this at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational yesterday in Paris, France. According to Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard has wanted to expand the Diablo series for a long time. Mike said, “We know that players for many years [have been waiting for] a return of the series, so we are very excited to share this announcement with all of you here in Paris and the whole world today.” I logged onto the Blizzard website as soon as I heard the news, and Diablo III already has its own website and forum. Blizzard also has the Diablo III cinematic trailer. If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, you can watch 20 minutes of gameplay footage. Those familiar with the Diablo series will see Deckard Cain make a return in Diablo III. What his role will be in game is unknown. There will be five different classes to play in Diablo III; however, the gameplay video focuses on the Barbarian class (which is the class I usually played in Diablo II). The Barbarian will be able to use Cleave, Ground Stomp, Seismic Slam, and Whirlwind. We’ll also see the introduction of a new class: the Witch Doctor. This is a powerful class that really lays on pain with spells such as Confusion, Firebomb, Horrify, Locust Swarm, and Soul Harvest. He also has pets that he can call to lay on additional damage. You’ll need all the power. Checking out the Beasitary on Blizzard’s website, you will encounter at least five different enemies in Diablo III. Currently there are four beasts that will be in the game: Undead, Khazra, Gnarled Walkers, and the Dark Cultists. There will be tons of new visual and special effects added to the game. Additionally, there will be a random level generator so each level will be unique. Diablo III will also be getting a brand-new 3D graphic environment. It’s based on Havoc physics, so players will be able to interact with and destroy their environment...but watch out; the environment can work for you and against you! Other features we’ll be seeing are full-zoom, a customizable hotbar (which I’m loving) which will enable you to get to your items in your inventory a lot faster. I got into them when I was playing World of Warcraft. I’m hoping we can make our own macros. What we won’t see are more health potions or mana pots. Instead players will have to walk across floating orbs to get health benefits. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about this at the moment, I’ll just have to wait and see for myself. I’m a huge fan of the Diablo series. I was introduced to the series in 2000 while in my local Best Buy. The Diablo II cover intrigued me, so I picked it up and read about the game. I liked what I read, so I was sold. Diablo is an action role playing game involving a lot of hacking and slashing in dungeon environments...I loved it. I preferred playing the Barbarian in Diablo II, and had a blast hacking and slashing my way through dungeons and laying on the pain to any zombie that foolishly got in my way. I’m also a big fan of solo gaming, and that is mainly how I played in World of Warcraft and many of my Xbox games which, at times, made the tasks challenging. Diablo III will focus on cooperative play. I might like having to group up with other players in order to complete some of the missions. P2P gameplay will be available online at Battle.net. Unlike World of Warcraft, which is subscription based, Battle.net is free. Battle.net launched with the original Diablo in 1997. When will the game be released? Blizzard isn’t saying. It most likely will be released after Starcraft III. To say I’m looking forward to this game is an understatement. Although I’m hoping we’ll see it released next year, I don’t want Blizzard to rush the game. Take the time, make it great and I’ll be playing this Blizzard III on my MacBook Pro for a long time. Product [Diablo III] Full Story » | Written by Opal Tribble for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Review: CrossOver Mac Professional 7

Codeweavers CrossOver Mac Professional 7.0.2 uses just the Windows application programming interface (API) to run Windows apps on your Mac, without the Windows OS. It's an ingenious idea for a program that can save time and costs less than buying a separate copy of Windows. But CrossOver supports only a handful of commercial applications.

Porting games to the Mac is a tricky business

Section: Software + Apps, GamesRemember back when Apple made the switch to Intel and it suddenly seemed as if all those PC games would be more easily ported to the Mac? So do I, and I’m still wondering where everything is. We saw some big name titles from EA, but after their initial release of four A-list titles (Madden, Need for Speed, etc.), nothing. Companies such as Aspyr and Feral continue to release popular games such as Call of Duty 4 and Tomb Raider Anniversary, but certainly no more so than when Macs were happily chugging away on PowerPC chips. So, what’s been going on? Alex McLarty at The Mac Gamer finds some answers from one of the best sources in Mac gaming: Glenda Adams, Director of Development for Aspyr Media: TMG: We’ve had Intel in our Macs for a few years now. Has how the switch changed game development for the Mac? Glenda: It’s lessened some of the work we have to do, but unfortunately the graphics side of games has just exploded. The amount of shader code and complex rendering is probably 2-3 times as much work as it was for games a couple years ago, so that has more than offset the efficiency gains we had from the Intel switch. TMG: Why hasn’t there been a flood of games for the Mac that some predicted? Glenda: I think there are several reasons - Mac game sales are still fairly constant, and haven’t expanded with Apple’s market share increases over the last two years.  So there isn’t loads of money to be made. And the complexity of games has made it more difficult to port them to the Mac. Lastly, the PC market has been really beat up in 2007 and 2008, and there just aren’t as many AAA PC games out there that make sense to bring to the Mac. And if you think that sounds depressing, hold on; it gets worse. TMG: How do you see gaming progressing in the next few years? Glenda: The shift to console is undeniable. There are just so many benefits to working on a stable and well defined hardware platform. This is a shift that has been taking place for some time now. More and more computer games are being released simultaneously with the console counterparts. The result of this is that computer games are being “dumbed down” to the console system(s) for which they’re developed. The days of taking full advantage of the WASD + mouse control system, which for many games is far superior to that of a traditional console gamepad (especially first-person shooters), are disappearing, leaving us with games that feel clunky on computer systems. Plus, with the advent of the Wii Remote + Wii Nunchuck system of the Nintendo Wii, there’s actually a control system out there that’s better than the keyboard/mouse combo of the computer. But the news gets still worse for Mac gamers: TMG: Thoughts on the iPhone? Will you be developing anything for it? Glenda: We’re actively working on several games for the iPhone, and it is a very exciting platform. We can’t wait to get our first apps out and in the store. This is something of which I’ve been hearing a lot from developers: “Exciting.” I take that to mean lucrative, as it’s apparently quite easy to develop for the iPhone, publishers don’t have to worry about packaging and retail space, distribution is easier, and there is (or will be) a much wider audience for iPhone games. I imagine that many Mac developers will soon shift their focus towards the iPhone, leaving us with even fewer options for games that don’t concern girls serving cake to impatient patrons. You can follow the link below for more of The Mac Gamer’s interview with Glenda Adams. Or, like me, you can just go hide yourself in a prolonged gaming session with Neverwinter Nights 2. Try bringing that to the iPhone, Glenda! Read [The Mac Gamer] Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »