Aspyr's Chris Silman emailed IMG recently to let us know that the company's port of NASCAR Racing 2003 is now in dupllication and will be shipping soon. The updated version of the popular racing game features improved graphics, enhanced AI, as well as all 2003 Nascar drivers, teams, sponsors and all 23 NASCAR tracks including the newly renovated Infineon Raceway and New Hampshire International Speedway.

Here's Silman's note:

All sorts of good news coming out of the Aspyr offices lately. We are pleased to report that NASCAR Racing 2003 Season has gone into duplication! A big thank you to Duane Johnson at Westlake for all of his hard work he put into getting this great new racing game out the door.

Aspyr Media

Nascar Racing 2003

Buy Nascar Racing 2003

THQ Inc announced the release of Finding Nemo, a game based on the Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios' upcoming film of the same name, for several gaming platforms among which the Mac is included.

Though Finding Nemo will not reach theatres until May 30, the game has been released in advance as part of an extensive marketing campaign, and for a limited time all copies of this title will come with a free ticket for the film.

Here are some of the game's features according to THQ's web site:

• Designed for boys and girls 4+.
  
• Play as the film's key characters - Nemo, Marlin and Dory.
  
• 7 fun games and activities based on the settings and characters from the film.
  
• Interact with all the great characters from the film including Bruce, Crush, and the Tank Gang.
  
• Features film clips that capture the fun and hilarity of the movie.

Finding Nemo can be purchased at the THQ online store.

THQ

Finding Nemo

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Introversion has released a demo of Uplink and is available for download at Macgamefiles.com. The game was ported to the Mac by Contraband and will be published by Ambrosia Software.

In the game you play an Uplink Agent who makes a living by performing jobs for major corporations. Your tasks involve hacking into rival computer systems, stealing research data, sabotaging other companies, laundering money, erasing evidence, or framing innocent people.

Introversion had this to say in their Uplink Mac newsletter regarding the release of the demo:

The Mac demo of Uplink is now ready!

We're very happy to announce that the Mac port of Uplink is finally finished, and will be available to buy vey soon. In fact, we're so confident we're going to name a release date of the 26th May (2003 hehe). This Mac port does seem to have taken forever, but it's been worth it and we are very happy that it's finally ready for release.

IMG Preview: Uplink

Contraband Entertainment

Ambrosia Software

Uplink

MGF: Uplink Demo

The makers of TuxPuck recently announced on their website the release of a Mac OS X version of their game. TuxPuck is an open-source computerized version of air hockey, with a twist.
Here's the full announcement:

Jacob told me we have a MacOS X port. Which is nice! Many of you have wanted one, and it is in our download section. Just scroll down. Moreover, Jacob has more time on his hands, so we will start improving the game more rapidly over the next month or so.

TuxPuck for OSX

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IMG recently attended the official preview party for the upcoming Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, thrown by the rocking crew at Aspyr Media. While Alanis Morissette wasn't in attendance (sorry Mike!), the food was free, the staff was friendly, and there were a slew of iMacs running most of Aspyr's just released or upcoming games.

Here's a clip from Eddie Park feature who attended the Tony Hawk 4 event:

The first thing that greeted our eyes was a long row of iMacs, each running a different Aspyr game. This made me happy. The iMacs were all situated on a long bar which seemed well-stocked with various brain numbers. This undoubtedly made James happy. Getting back to the games, some of the titles that immediately caught my eye included SimCity 4, Medal of Honor: Spearhead, Spy Hunter, Tiger Woods 2003, and Bloodrayne. To be honest, I was ready to chuck Tony Hawk out the window and spend the rest of the day in front of Spearhead, but the thought of Tuncer sitting on my head made me reconsider my course of action.

IMG Feature: Aspyr's Tony Hawk 4 Event

Aspyr Media

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Ryan Gordon, the Epic Games programmer in charge of porting Unreal Tournament 2003 to the Mac, recently posted a .plan update discussing the recent release of the Tech Demo of the game.

Gordon first reiterates that all users who try the demo should have Mac OS X 10.2.6 installed on their machines. He goes on to detail what UT2K3 will do if you try to run it on Mac OS X versions less than 10.2.6.

Gordon also explains that UT2K3 does indeed use dual processors:

The game does use dual CPUs...the music is decoded in a separate thread which MacOS X will toss on the second processor on dual systems. Some implementations of OpenAL will do their mixing on the second processor, too. On Linux, this is easily a 5-10 fps boost for SMP boxes, and I wouldn't be surprised to see similar results on the Mac...but I haven't explicitly benchmarked this. Most games are generally single-threaded, but understand that this means a Dual box will still be able to cook one CPU for the game itself and run the other 20 or so system processes on the other processor, so there's still a benefit to this.

We'll be listening to what people say to MacSoft (and I'll be trolling various web forums)...we'll all be taking the responses seriously before finalizing a gold master. The timeframe is short...my personal goal is to bless a gold master sometime after returning from E3, but that is not a solid date commitment, before you go and post my .plan file on Inside Mac Games. We'll go with the standard Epic response of "two weeks". We all know what that really means. :)

If you haven't tried out the Unreal Tournament 2003 Tech Demo yet, head over to MGF to download the 131 MB file. And don't forget, UT2K3 is available for pre-order through the IMG Store.

Ryan Gordon's .plan

Digital Extremes

MacSoft

Unreal Tournament 2003

MGF: Unreal Tournamet 2003 Tech Demo

Buy Unreal Tournament 2003

Following up on the news earlier this week that talks were being held considering a Mac version of the upcoming party blaster Worms 3D by Team 17, the official Worms 3D site has gotten a slight update. Now it features an Apple logo on the front page, together with the PC, PS2, GameCube and Xbox logotypes. While no announcement has been made yet, the Worms 3D page clearly states that the game is being developed for Macintosh as well as the other systems.

If you for some reason never played Worms, it is a turn-based strategical ballistic shooter where you control your team of worms that is doing their best to kill the opposing forces of worms. You have to consider wind and terrain when aiming your weapons of destruction against the enemy; a slight mistake might blow up one of your own worms instead. The original game delivered tons of fun features and the list has only grown bigger with the sequels.

Worms 3D will bring a lot of new additions to the series as well:

All new missions, play modes, 'Wormpot' modes, training, and challenge modes. All new challenges and all new game structure.

A more immersive single player experience based on unlocking challenges, secret missions, sound sets and landscapes.

A choice of camera modes :: 1st person to look around, and blimp view for a strategic overview of the situation.

Environmental conditions such as rain, snow, night and day add to the strategic decisions facing the players.

Randomly-generated, and fully deformable landscape, all in true 3D.

The inclusion of the 'Wormopedia' and the gallery allow the player to peruse their achievements and view the story behind some of the 'Worms' legends.

All new artificial intelligence, sound effects, music, interface, and much, much more.

[Update]: The Apple logo was removed from the Worms3D website early this morning and added the statement "No Mac version is planned".

[Update 2]: The Apple logo is now back up on the Worms 3D website and there is also an Apple logo on the game information on Team17's webpage.

An IMG Reader emailed the Team 17 webmaster this morning regarding the removed logo. According to the webmaster, they accidently ran a script that put an older version of the web site up and that's why the Apple logo disappeared. The webmaster went on to say "All is ok now". In other words, there WILL be a Mac version.

Worms 3D

Team17

IMG News: Worms 3D for the Mac a Possibility?

Team 17: Mac Worms 3D Forum Thread

Buy Worms 3D

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IGN, the popular entertainment and gaming network, recently interviewed veteran wargame developer Battlefront.com on their upcoming title Combat Mission: Afrika Korps, latest installment of the award-winning tactical simulation series.

Battlefront.com is known for the extreme historical and technical accuracy of their simulations, and Combat Mission: Afrika Korps is no exception. Here's a snip from the interview that covers this particular aspect of the game:

IGNPC: You've said that historical accuracy will be an even bigger priority this time around. Can you explain how this will manifest in the game?

Battlefront.com: Historical accuracy is and always has been our main goal for the Combat Mission series, which we regard as much as a ground combat simulation as a game. We have improved the simulation aspect while moving from Combat Mission Beyond Overlord to Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin, and the third game in the series will see another refinement in this aspect. However, since we seem to have gotten it largely right for Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin, there isn't too much to change anymore for Combat Mission Afrika Korps. At least not without writing a whole new engine - but this is what the "new engine" (see below) is for.

For more information on this title, be sure to check the full text of the interview through the link provided below.

Combat Mission: Afrika Korps is being developed as an OS9-only title by Battlefront.com and, according to their web site, it's expected to be released by the end of 2003.

Battlefront.com

Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

IGN Interviews Battlefront.com

Buy Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

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Preparing for its release later this month, Apple games has posted a trailer of the Medal of Honor expansion pack, Medal of Honor: Spearhead. The add-on is to be published by Aspyr, and will expand upon the already highly acclaimed WWII FPS adventure. The player begins the game as a paratrooper behind enemy lines on D-Day, and advances into all new exciting locales, taking dangerous missions into France, Germany, and all the way to Berlin.

The trailer shows off these new areas, as well as more of the top-quality scripted action, multiplayer combat, and array of new revolvers, machine guns and rifles to be featured in the upcoming expansion.

The trailer clocks in at 2.2 mb for the 240x180 resolution version, but if you have Quicktime Pro, you can grab it at 320x240. The link to the trailer at the Apple games section can be found below.

Medal of Honor: Spearhead is already available for pre-order at the IMG Store, and is expected to be released later in May. Be sure to get your copy as soon as you are done watching this amazing trailer.

Apple Games MOH: Spearhead Trailer, 2.2mb

Medal of Honor: Spearhead

Aspyr Media

Westlake Interactive

Buy Medal of Honor: Spearhead

TGIF. Friday's can only mean one thing: a new desktop from IMG's Brad Custer. This week's design features Payback, a Grand Theft Auto inspired game converted to the Mac by Virtual Programming and distributed in North Amercia by Freeverse Software.

Here's what Brad had to say about his latest desktop:

This week it was up to me to pick the title I wanted to create a desktop for so I started to search through my archive of art and I came across the logo for Payback. This title was released by Freeverse Software a little bit ago and I figured it deserved a nice wallpaper to honor it. I had fun creating this desktop and the sky was the limit since I really only had a logo to go by. It's entitled "Grand Theft Auto" to honor it's inspiration and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.

Custer's Desktops

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