Click to enlarge

After months of anticipation, Blizzard today released the much talked about Diablo II patch, bring it to version 1.10.

Here's more from the official press release:

This patch is our largest to date in terms of game changes and offers many new things for Diablo II players worldwide, including seasonal ladder characters, more-challenging gameplay, enhanced skills, new items, new anti-cheat measures, a new game-world event, and much much more! We'd like to thank the Diablo II 1.10 beta testers for helping us test the patch, and we'd like to thank everyone for their patience while the patch was completed. We hope you enjoy this special upgrade to Diablo II. Simply connect to Battle.net to download the patch (5.5MB). We will post the standalone version on our FTP site as soon as it's available. See you on Battle.net!

[Update] A link to the list of patch changes is now listed below. Two in particular should be good news for Mac users:

• Support for both "widescreen" and "4:3" mode in Mac OS X 10.2+.
  
• Improved OpenGL performance for systems with minimum requirements: MacOSX 10.2, 256MB RAM, and Radeon or GeForce AGP video card.

Blizzard Entertainment (add to watch list)

Diablo II (add to watch list)

Diablo II 1.10 Patch Info

Buy Diablo II

A new beta of Exult is now available for Mac OS X. Exult is an application that lets you play the classic RPG Ultima VII originally released in 1990 for DOS.

About the project:

Ultima 7, an RPG from the early 1990's, still has a huge following. But, being a DOS game with a very non-standard memory manager, it is difficult to run it on the latest computers. Exult is a project to create an Ultima 7 game engine that runs on modern operating systems, capable of using the data and graphics files that come with the game.

Exult

Exult Dowloads

Click to enlarge

Aspyr Media has released updates to two of their extreme sports games: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer. Both patches addresses some problems that was introduced with Apple's newest system Panther, as well as some other issues.

Fixes is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 1.0.2

Fixed a crash when game is installed on non-main volume.

Fixed shadow problems with fog and shadows are enabled.

Fixed an unsupported resolution crash on Panther (Mac OS 10.3).

Added verification of available VRAM for anti-aliasing use.

Added a warning for unsupported resolutions.

Fixed detection of supported resolution/anti-aliasing combinations.

Added verification of available VRAM for anti-aliasing use.

 Fixed white texture problem under Panther (Mac OS 10.3).

Fixed a crash on startup when multiple volumes are mounted.

Fixed detection of supported resolution/anti-aliasing combinations.

Aspyr Media (add to watch list)

Beenox (add to watch list)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (add to watch list)

Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer (add to watch list)

MGF: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 1.0.2

MGF: Kelly Slater Pro Surfer 1.0.1

Buy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

Buy Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer

Click to enlarge

Max Gaming Technologies has recently announced the opening of beta signups for its upcoming title, Dark Horizons: Lore. MGT lists the total number of slots available as 1000 and provides a link to an online registration form.

Dark Horizons: Lore, currently in development via the Torque Engine, is an action game that puts players in the cockpit of a Mechanized Assault Vehicle (MAV), a heavily armed machine used to wage war during the year 2160:

Lore throws you in control of the worlds most advanced weapon system during the conflicts between the Federated States and Eastern Confederation. Remote pilot vehicles like the AR-16b Hunter mechanized assault vehicle or the ECM-74 Juggernaut tank in explosive multiplayer action.

Dark Horizons: Lore (add to watch list)

Click to enlarge

Mac gamers starving for more turn-based strategy games may be interested in a new offering from Shrapnel Games. A demo has been released for its upcoming fantasy title Dominions II: The Ascension Wars, and the 71 MB MacOS demo can be downloaded directly from their site.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Dominions II has players wage war as a pretender god seeking to become the one true god. Naturally, competing pretenders are also after the same goal, and war can be waged through a huge variety of means, including rituals, assassinations, starvation, and enchantments:

Use awe-inspiring magical items or craft your own, create new prophets to spread your gospel, and build up your defenses with new castles. On the field of battle you’ll fight with legions of bizarre creatures and truly heroic heroes, as the best in the world will be rewarded for their deeds with newfound powers.

Dominions II - Demos

Dominions II (add to watch list)

Buy Dominions II

Click to enlarge

According to the project status page at Aspyr's website, X2: Wolverine's Revenge has cleared all the development hurdles and is now shipping. A 3D action title along the lines of titles like Oni and BloodRayne, X2 puts players in the persona of the popular mutant Wolverine as he searches for a cure for the virus contained within him:

Decades ago, a secret organization brainwashed you and implanted a virtually unbreakeable adamantium skeleton into your body. Now, as Wolverine - the X-men's most dangerous weapon-you've discovered you were also implanted with a deadly virus that will kill you within the next 48 hours unless the antidote is found. Your future is at risk, you must return to confront your past at the sinister Weapon X facility. Time is running out. And so is your life.

X2: Wolverin's Revenge Preview

Aspyr Media (add to watch list)

X2: Wolverine's Revenge

Buy X2: Wolverine’s Revenge

Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.