 |
Mac Games 2001 - Year in Review
December 28, 2001 | Tuncer Deniz | |
Oh, what a year it’s been. 2001 has been turbulent, strange, and yes, shocking at times. Last year when I sat down to write this very same article, things were a bit different. But with September 11th drenched deep in the fabric of our being, the world is a very different place now. Although Macintosh games pale in comparison to the events that are happening around the world these days, games are nonetheless a part of our lives. Well, at least to those who enjoy them, use them as a form of entertainment, and in my case, make a living off them. Once in a while, usually in a message board on the net, I’ll see someone hammer Macintosh games. Their arguments are usually valid: there’s very few of them, they always seem to come six months or more after their PC counterparts, and on, and on. But what they fail to realize is that the Macintosh is a way of life, it’s a lifestyle, it has become part of our being. As we look back at the year that was, we remember what a wonderful world we live in, the freedoms we enjoy... and oh yes... the computers we love!Macintosh Games Overall it’s been a somewhat stable year for Macintosh games. The year got off to a somewhat rocky start since dozens of Mac games such as Rune, Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, Cro-Mag Rally, and Heavy Metal FAKK 2 were released during the closing months of 2000. This left a bit of a void in early 2001 as companies scrambled after the holiday season to sign new games. As summer and fall approached, a steady stream of Macintosh games began to appear. Indeed, this holiday season hasn’t seemed the same rush we saw last year, which is probably a good thing.Although 2001 didn’t see any giant blockbuster hits on the Mac such as The Sims or Unreal Tournament, the year did see a bevy of important titles come to the Mac, especially in the resurgent RPG genre. GraphSim released Summoner, MacPlay brought over Baldur’s Gate II, and Blizzard unleashed the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction expansion pack. Even shareware got into the RPG act with the release of Pillars of Garendall by Ambrosia Software. Overall it was a banner year for Macintosh games and there were plenty of games in every genre to satisfy hungry Mac gamers. Apple In my “Mac Games 2000 - Year in Review” feature last year, I mentioned that I was a bit worried about Apple. At Macworld Expo 2000 during the summer, Apple had introduced the Cube and new Ruby and Snow iMacs. At that time I had also installed a beta of Mac OS X and wrote:“If OS X is harder to learn and master than OS 9, then 2001 could spell disaster to Apple. I’ll admit it - I’m scared. I’m crossing my fingers that between now and the release of OS X, Apple makes OS X more user friendly.” I guess crossing my fingers helped because Apple hit huge home runs with the new iBooks and PowerBooks in early 2001, and released OS X in spring. Although it wasn't until the release of version 10.1 that people really took notice of the new OS, it was overall a triumphant year for Apple. After the release of OS X, gaming companies began to release carbonized versions of their games. What’s more, some even ventured to release Mac OS X-only games (Giants from MacPlay). The road to OS X, however, has been somewhat bumpy. Some games such as Baldur’s Gate II have had significant performance problems under OS X, while other companies have flat out refused to ship OS X versions of their games (for example, Red Faction) until they can get the speed up. There no need to worry though. Based on recent conversations I’ve had with publishers, it just took a matter of time for their programmers to learn how to program for OS X. As OS X becomes the de facto operating system, I imagine we’ll be seeing more OS X-only games in 2002. But be sure to keep a copy of OS 9 handy just in case. With Macworld Expo San Francisco just around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see if Apple has anything new up its sleeve. Will the much-rumored flat panel iMac come out? Will Macs cross the 1 Gigahertz barrier? When will Apple release the G5? Only time will tell. Sidenote: Big kudos to Rich Hernandez and the great folks at Apple for reviving the Apple games web page! It rules!
|
|
