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Perhaps no game publisher out there (with the exception of Microsoft) is more hated than Sierra, the company which killed Mac Half-Life near the end of completion, cancelled the Mac version of kingdom-sim Pharaoh and dangled Tribes 2 in our faces. When this Dynamix title was first introduced, a Mac OS version of the game was promised from the initial announcement -- and Mac gamers were understandably thrilled, though still stinging from Half-life's disappearance. Yet as the development time for Tribes 2 grew and grew and deadline after deadline was missed, the company backed away from the promised in-house Linux and Mac versions of this tactical shooter. By September of last year the Mac version had gone from a promised release to an "unknown at this time" uncertainty.

Now that this title has finally gone "golden master" for the PC, it is time to step back and take stock of this situation. Our recent conversations with the company GarageGames, which is licensing the Tribes 2 game engine to developers, have given us renewed hope that a third-party will be able to port Tribes 2 to the Mac OS. Furthermore the existence of a Linux port of the game makes a third-party port more likely, and opens the door to a possible Mac OS X port if standards such as OpenGL and OpenAL are used.

We have contacted Dynamix and Sierra to see if there is any shift in their positions now that this game has reached "gold" status. If you're curious about the Tribes 2 saga, be sure to browse our news archive for the many reports we have published on this game. In the meantime, there is one key question about Tribes 2 that must be asked: after all this time and broken promises, do you still want this gorgeous, action-packed teamplay shooter on your Mac? Let us know in the Forums.

Tribes 2 Is Gold PR at Blue's News

Past Tribes 2 Reports and Articles

More Details on GarageGames, Mac Tribes 2

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