OpenCL gets touted in Texas

Attendees at the SC08 high-performance computing conference in Austin got a progress report on OpenCL, the the Apple-spearheaded parallel computing API that figures to be a prominent new feature in the upcoming Snow Leopard update to OS X.

Appletell review - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Section: Software + Apps, Games, Features, Review Genre: First-Person Shooter Format: DVD Developer: Infinity Ward Mac Port: Aspyr Studios Mac Publisher: Aspyr System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.4, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon X1600 or Nvidia GeForce FX 7300 graphics card, 8.0GB free hard disk space plus 1GB swap file, mouse and keyboard Review Computer: 2.4GHz 24” Intel Core 2 Duo iMac, 2GB RAM, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Network Feature: Internet (TCP/IP) or LAN (TCP/IP) multiplayer supported Processor Compatibility: Intel only Price: $29.99 ESRB Rating: M (intense violence, strong language, blood and gore) Availability: Out now Official Website: www.callofduty.com As has been noted numerous times here at Appletell and throughout the gaming world, there are three things you can kill in computer games without fear of reproach: Nazis, zombies and Nazi zombies. If you like, you can lump aliens in with the zombies, and you can lump robots in with the Nazis. But you can’t use cops, hookers, marching bands or video game reviewers without expecting to eventually stand before Arlen Specter to explain why the downfall of modern civilization is not because of your little video game. And yet, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (CoD4) is set in a realistic, timely world in which the battles you’re fighting don’t really stray from those you might hear about on “All Things Considered.” The developers get away with this for two reasons. First, then invent militant organizations to serve as their bad guys. Second, this game is a brutal depiction of war. Brutal to an unsettling degree. It doesn’t glorify war, and it doesn’t even really lionize soldiers. If this were a movie script, John Wayne and Chuck Norris would run from it in terror. Is that the appeal of CoD4? Not entirely. It’s the gameplay itself that drives CoD4 to the upper echelon of first-person shooters. More specifically, the multiplayer gameplay, because although the single player are varied and intense, they never really feel like more than a training session for the multiplayer game. In CoD4, you play the role of a United States Marine and a British S.A.S. operative. As with other Call of Duty games, you’re sent on different missions in which you will have different roles, usually assigned to you by your commanding NPC. Sometimes you’ll snipe, sometimes you’ll lead an attack, but almost always you’ll be accompanied by a squad of fellow soldiers who help you in your quest. Keeping your comrades alive can make things easier for you, but there’s never really an emotional involvement with them. You don’t get to know the bulk of them, you just see their names over the head as they run in front of you. Although there are some powerful story elements that make this game smarter than most war games, a little more care with the story leading up to these moments would have greatly improved their emotional impact. But, the developers made the decision—and probably correctly—that a combat-based game should focus on combat. Here, CoD4 delivers. You thought previous Call of Duty games were wild? Huh uh. The action on many of these levels is just insane, with enemies attacking you from all angles and using terrain and weapons better than any AI characters I’ve ever seen. Yes, they’ll occasionally poke their head out from around the wall to give you a chance to shoot them, but by the time they do, you’ve already been killed by a grenade that seemed to come from nowhere. Even a lot of the cover provided in the game won’t protect you long. In CoD4, bullets can travel through items such as wood, so it’s no longer enough to hunker down behind a table and wait for your shot. You’ve got to create your shot by making better use of the terrain and your weapons. This makes CoD4 quite difficult. In many cases, you’ll have to die multiple times before you can even figure out who’s killing you, let alone develop a strategy for killing him/them. It’s frustrating in that matter, and I anticipate that some gamers will be turned away early. Those who stick around, however, will be rewarded with a satisfying gaming experience, and the practice necessary to compete in the multiplayer game. Thankfully, there’s a lot there to satisfy. Mac users can play PC users online, first of all. And, unlike most multiplayer first-person shooters, CoD4 is somewhat RPG-like in its approach; the character you create is rewarded for kills, assists and such, allowing you to accrue experience points that unlock further levels. These, in turn, unlock new weapons, accessories and abilities. My favorites are “Martyrdom,” in which a dying character can go all Jennifer-Grey-in-Red Dawn by blowing up the enemy with a grenade, and “Last Stand,” in which a dying character will be able to get off a few more shots before dying. It’s all very Hollywood. I expect it won’t be long before they release the “I can’t move my legs, go on without me” mod or the “Tell my wife I was thinking about her” extension. What brings all of this together, of course, are the visual and audio effects. If you’ve got the system for it, CoD4 looks fantastic, even when the action is at its most intense. The smoke and particle effects are especially amazing, and really do become strategic elements. The audio is equally stunning, totally immersing you in the action in a way that graphics alone couldn’t accomplish. Using just my iMac’s speakers, I was impressed. Playing the game with headphones, I was floored. If you’ve got a decent set of speakers, your neighbors will be hiding in their basements. Of course, all of this comes at a price. My test computer is at the high end of the system requirements, and I still couldn’t max out the graphics. My home computer, which is my normal test system, is at the bottom end, and I had to dumb things down to the point where I knew I wasn’t doing the game justice. The game still plays, but it looses a lot of its punch. I’ve read numerous reports/reviews that claim Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the greatest first-person shooter of all time. I attribute that more to the emotional impact of the surprising turns along the way, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t an amazing game. The single player game seems shorter than previous Call of Duty games (setting aside all the restarts, of course), but flows well and serves as excellent training for the multiplayer version. There, you’ll be able to kill hours at a time, if you’re inclined to do so. You could also pop in and out within half an hour and still have plenty of fun. Well, as much fun as one can have in a game without zombies and robots. Appletell Rating Buy Call of Duty 4 Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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 - Battlestations: Midway

Section: Apple, Software + Apps, Games, Features, Review Genre: Action, real-time tactics Format: DVD Developer: Eidos Interactive Mac Port: Robosoft Technologies Mac Publisher: Feral Interactive System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4, 1.83GHz Intel processor, 512 MB RAM, 128 MB VRam, DVD ROM. Review Computer: 17” iMac, 1.8 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon X1600 Network Feature: Yes Processor Compatibility: Intel Only Price: $50.00 ESRB Rating: T Availability: Out now Official Website: www.battlestations.net Whether you’re in a warship, aircraft or submarine, you control the battle and lead it every step of the mission. Battlestations: Midway allows you to choose a different path on which to play the game. U.S. Campaign, Naval Academy, Ship Challenge, Plane Challenge and the Submarine Challenge are the five different battles of which you can take control. So, if you’re playing the Ship Challenge and are really getting annoyed from the submarine shooting missiles at your cruiser, play as a submarine and demolish a ship. This fast, action-packed game has stunning graphics that make you wonder if they could get any better. Leading and controlling your ship, submarine, aircraft, shipyard or airfield requires more skill than pointing and shooting, such as creating tactics to avoid the emenies and complete your mission. Each unit has its own unique features which change gameplay and keeps it interesting. The graphics of all of the units are filled with incredible detail, whether it be a “Brewster F2A Buffalo” aircraft from the American fleet or a Japanese “Akagi” warship. Even when zooming in, the textures on all of units have great levels of detail. You don’t need a powerhouse Mac Pro to crank up the graphic settings. Some games require heavy processing power, but my two-year-old iMac (Specs above) handled it quite nicely. While I did see a slight increase in graphics quailty when I ran it on a newer iMac with twice the graphics memory, it isn’t CPU intensive. Robosoft Technologies did a great job porting the game to the Mac. I’ve played a bunch of games that are ported to the Mac poorly and they hog up your RAM and CPU usage. Some of those games are virtualized for the Mac, which gives you sluggish gameplay and doesn’t take full use of your computer. In addition, Robosoft gave the game some traditional Mac features, such as automatically pausing the current iTunes Song when launching the game. As for the action, I found it hard to hit opponents when moving fast, but slowing down makes you more vulnerable to being gunned down. But, what’s the fun when it’s too easy? The only thing I struggled with was my Mighty Mouse, which kept throwing me off the screen. It ended up having dirt in the clickwheel. Before playing, I’d suggest cleaning it out, if you’ve got one. On another side of controlling the game, each unit has a different method of controlling it. While they all may be reletaviely easy, it does take some time and would’ve been easier if they had standardized controls for all units. Let’s get a little deeper into the gameplay. When you initially choose a path to play, you’ll be asked to complete certain missions, such as travel to the US ship or “Bomb the Mini-Sub!” Some tasks take quite a while and require lots of planning and thought, while others can be simple and quick. In addition you’ll be switching to new units almost every task. As previously mentioned, you may feel the need to pause to the menu for a second to review the new controls for the unit. Since you switch units so often, you’ll eventually get used to it, but it does get annoying. Leading battles alone in a variety of units is plenty of fun, but multiplayer makes it all the better. The game uses GameRanger for online play, which allows up to 8 players to play together anywhere in the world. Online play can get fun with up to 100 different warships, aircrafts and subs all fighting it out. Multiplayer gameplay gets players to work together, where each player would control a different group of units. Loading screens are quick on just about every Intel Mac, so you can get in to the game fast after every mission. Whether you’re playing a sub, aircraft or one of the other 60 units, or leading massive battlefields you’re sure to have plenty of fun in the war. Appletell Rating: Buy Battlestations: Midway Full Story » | Written by Nicholas Montgomery for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Appletell review - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Section: Software + Apps, Games, Mac + Computers, Software, Features, Review Genre: Team-based first-person shooter Format: DVD Developer: Splash Damage and Nerve Software Macintosh Developer: Aspyr Studios Publisher: Aspyr Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.1, 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon X1600 or NVidia GeForce 7300 graphics card, 5.5GB hard disk space, DVD ROM, mouse and keyboard, broadband Internet connection for Internet play Review Computer: 2GHz 20” Intel Core Duo iMac, 1GB RAM, 256MB ATI Radeon X1600 Network Feature: Internet and LAN Processor Compatibility: Intel only Price: $49.95 ESRB Rating: T (mild blood, mild language, violence) Availability: Out now Demo: No Official Website: www.enemyterritory.com Playing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ETQW), I find myself empathizing with Roger Ebert when he has to go see one of those Diary of the Princess Pants movies. I am not the target audience. This game is not meant for me. It’s meant for gamers who not only have the time to spend mastering the controls and strategies required to be effective, but the desire to do so. Perhaps a side-effect of reviewing Mac games for over 10 years is that I’m so used to being forced to move along quickly, that I now get bored if I don’t. Which isn’t to say that ETQW is boring. Far from it. The action is relentless, the graphics are some of the best available in a Mac game (provided your computer can handle them), both the single-player and multiplayer versions are intense. This is a great game; most likely the best team-based FPS currently available on the Mac. I just wish I didn’t suck at it so badly. There’s kind of a story in ETQW, but it’s as pointless as adding a story line to Wheel of Fortune. No one cares about why you have to kill all these Strogg fellows (other than that the name just sounds like something you’d want to kill), it just matters that you do. Strogg invade Earth, Earth fights back. Roll credits. There are two ways in which you can defend the Earth: alone, or with a little help from your friends. No matter which component you’re playing, the layout is the same. After receiving a briefing on the mission goals, you pick what type of soldier you’d like to be, and you’re then dumped on the battlefield. Go. Even in the single-player mode, the class of soldier you pick directly affects your role in the mission. Obviously, if you’re a sniper, you can’t be expected to hop into an armored vehicle and tear straight through enemy lines. Rather, it may be your job to take out someone who would prevent that vehicle from getting through. This adds a lot of replay value to the single-player version, as playing a different class of soldier greatly alters the gameplay of each level. And believe me, there’s plenty to do. You can play as any of five classes of human soldiers or Strogg soldiers. There are over 40 types of vehicles you can commandeer, such as tanks, alien walkers, helicopters and anti-gravity ships. Your missions will see you establishing bases, destroying bases, taking out enemy defenses, defending your own, etc., and will often change multiple times during a mission. It’s actually an interesting comment on the industry. There was a period of time when first-person shooters such as this sought to one-up each other on graphics alone. The big news was always the new graphics engine, or perhaps the addition of two new types of guns. Yippee! Now, it seems the graphics are a given, so attention has focused to actual gameplay. With locales that vary greatly and a huge number of weapons and vehicles to employ, the gameplay has to be able to fill all of this up or risk being dwarfed by the design. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is up to the task, which is why it can focus its attention on the multiplayer component, with the single player component feeling tacked on. See, adding a story line to play through can give a game purpose and drive if there’s really not much to do. But, there’s so much you can do in ETQW that the story isn’t needed. Indeed, as I mentioned above, it just gets in the way. I could go into the benefits of team-based play in ETQW, but there’s really no point. I mean, it’s fairly obvious, isn’t it, that a game centered around squad combat would be more fun with an actual, you know, squad? You get a rush from fighting alongside other human players (especially if you have some sort of VOIP set-up, such as TeamSpeex or Ventrilo). The action in ETQW just feels more urgent when played with humans and against humans, and is ultimately more satisfying. So, why a single-player version at all? Because the game is hard. Learning when and how to use all of these vehicles and weapons takes plenty of practice, and I don’t need to tell you that multiplayer action can be a horrible experience when you’re not any good at the game. Practicing will pay off, too, as you’ll be rewarded in the multiplayer version with special weapons and abilities as you rise through the ranks. This helps the multiplayer version remain fresh, and gives you incentive beyond simply completing each individual mission. Aspyr Studios did a fantastic job with the Mac port, bringing us parity with the PC version (which provides a huge online gaming community). The graphics provided by id Software’s MegaTexture rendering technology are stunning, but they come at a price. I wasn’t able to get decent enough performance on my 2GHz Intel Core Duo iMac with 1GB RAM and a 256MB ATI Radeon X1600, and had to install the game on the 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with 2GB RAM and 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 at the office in order to do the game justice. What a difference it makes to be able to play ETQW without handicap. It’s somewhat playable at the lower range of the recommended system specs, but you’ll really have to dumb down the graphic in order to avoid series hiccups during the battles. And the last thin you need during these battles are hiccups. As far as I know, MacSoft still plans to release Unreal Tournament III for the Mac. The UT series has been Quake’s rival for some time now, so I’m curious to see if it’s able to top the features and gameplay of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Until UT III’s release, though, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars stands without competition on the Macintosh. Just be sure you set aside a lot of practice time, and perhaps a few paychecks to cover the purchase of a Macintosh that can handle the game. Me? I have to move on to the next game...thank God. A man can only take so much embarrassment, even if those mocking his FPS abilities are half a country away. Appletell Rating: Buy Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Review: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare game

From its visually stunning beginning to its emotionally wrenching ending, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a surprisingly deep, rich, and unique approach to the first-person shooter.