by Rafi Guroian E3 was a non-stop fun fest this year, and Mac games were surprisingly abundant, to many's surprise. IMG was there and has brought you the complete story. While at E3 we had private interviews with almost every single Mac-related gaming company, including Bungie, Blizzard, Sierra, Berkeley Systems, Dynamix and MacSoft. MacSoft  MacSoft proved to the gaming world that they have no intention of slowing the barrage of Mac games they will be releasing for the Mac. The most popu- lar title MacSoft had at the show was (not surprisingly) Unreal, ported by Westlake Interactive. The game was running incredibly smoothly under Virtual Memory on a G3 PowerMac, and was garnering a good deal of attention from passers-by. Mark Adam's company is finishing up the porting process of Unreal and MacSoft hopes to have the game out of the door within the next four weeks. MacSoft wasn't content with simply showcasing Unreal, however. Peter Tamte, Executive Director at MacSoft, announced at the Apple party on Thursday night that MacSoft will also be releasing two previously unannounced games: Civilization Gold Edition, Total Annihilation, and Deer Hunter. Civilization Gold came as a complete surprise to almost everyone who was in attendance. The game is a collection of Civilization II, the Fantastic Worlds Add-On, and an all-new multiplayer capability. The game is also being produced for the PC by Microprose, but has been delayed and won't ship until late July, placing the Mac version at an almost simultaneous release with the PC. Targeted at a $44.95 price point, the game will replace Civilization II for the Mac and exclusive discount orders will be taken for the first time at MacWorld this July. When asked if the networking of Civ II Gold will be compatible with the PC version, Tamte stated that it should, but has not been fully tested yet. The announcement of Total Annihilation came as a surprise to a good many people at the event, although IMG readers may not be as surprised as we hinted to the possibility in a recent Q&A Forum. Finally, MacSoft confirmed the development of Deer Hunter for the Mac, a game that has proven to be the black horse of computer games this year, smashing Riven and Quake II in PC sales. Because the PC version of the game is published by MacSoft's parent company, GT Interactive, Deer Hunter was not a title that was difficult to obtain and will be released at this summer's MacWorld at a low price of $19.99. When asked about the possibility of using the PC version of Extended Season, the Deer Hunter add-on, with Mac Deer Hunter, Tamte regretfully admitted that the two products are incompatible, but that if the Mac version sells well, a Mac version of Extended Season will be released. Also displayed at the MacSoft booth was Real Pool, which has just been released. The game features incredible graphics that don't require (or even support) a 3-D accelerator; the physics and sound are second to none. Look for our review of Real Pool in Issue 6-3 as well as an exclusive demo that will not be available on the web!! Lastly, MacSoft and Reality Bytes were showcasing Dark Vengeance, a new third person medieval adventure. The game looks simply stunning, and will support RAVE 3D acceleration when it is released. Blizzard IMG Editors Rafi Guroian, Chris McVeigh, and Greg Kramer met with Blizzard's Mac Guru, Brian Love, and were given a hands-on preview of Starcraft for the Mac! The game is running beautifully in one-player mode and multiplayer is being finished up as we speak. The release date of Starcraft is still being forecasted to be around the end of July, and we can tell you that it is well worth the wait. Our jaws dropped as we saw Love demonstrate the game to us; to see the gameplay framed in a Powerbook 5300's casing was enthralling, to say the least. When asked about Diablo II for the Mac, Brian told us that the game is at least a year away, and no final decision has been made to port the game to the Mac, but from what we were able to gather, as long as Diablo and Starcraft sales prove popular, Blizzard won't be hard convinced to keep supporting the Mac. Sierra  Sierra entered E3 a changed company. After Ken Williams' (Sierra's founder) departure from the company, Sierra has undergone a major transformation. No longer are all titles released under the same label. Sierra is now divided into several smaller segments: Sierra Attractions, Sierra FX, Sierra Home, Sierra Sports, and Dynamix. Sierra Attractions will come out of Sierra's newest home (and coropo- rate headquarters) based in Bellevue, Wash- ington. Sierra FX (also known as Yosemite Entertainment) will remain a developing house (and very much Mac-aware) as it readies Quest For Glory V for the Mac. In Quest for Glory news, we spent a significant amount of time with the Yosemite Entertainment/Sierra FX team and game designers Cory and Lori Cole. The game is shaping up nicely and has recently been given a face lift, throwing the graphics up a notch to the 16 bit (thousands of colors) mark. The game's special effects look simply amazing; spells now cast an eerie light on surrounding territory and projectiles now behave as they should, sticking into wood, bouncing off of rocks, and remaining there until they are picked up again. As far as IMG's Rafi Guroian is concerned, this is truly what a Sierra game should be, and always has been. Quest for Glory V is a true Sierra Classic. We also spoke with Sierra concerning a possible release of Diablo: Hellfire for the Mac. As of now, there are no plans to port the title, although that could change. Only time will tell. Dynamix will be releasing a 3-D Ultra Pinball bundle in a few weeks pooling together the three pinball games that have been an enormous success. The bundle will also include a video tape chronicling the history of pinball as well as a full copy of the Incredible Machine 3.0. The bundle will ship on 4 CD's (and the VHS tape). Sadly, Dynamix tells us that this is the last planned release for the Macintosh they will be making. A fourth 3-D pinball game is in the works, and though many of the programmers are Mac users, Dynamix's corporate office doesn't think a Mac version would be profitable. If you would like to see Dynamix to continue to support the Mac, you are encouraged to send an email to sandy.muller@dynamix.com. While we were visiting Sierra's private meeting room, we glanced over and spotted Roberta Williams and Al Lowe sauntering about. Williams was showcasing her latest game, King's Quest 8 which looks decent. The game stars an all-new hero who is a resident of Daventry. When everyone else in the kingdom is turned to stone, he is left with the task of returning the Mask of Eternity to its rightful owner to restore peace. The game is completely 3D driven, taking a third-person perspective on the action a-la Jedi Knight. The game does retain some adventure qualities, but we weren't fully convinced that this is the best way to go with the King's Quest Series. In our opinion, Sierra Attractions should have taken a hint from Sierra FX and have followed Quest for Glory V's lead. Every other company seems to be doing something like King's Quest 8 now; no other company has even considered going back to the tried-and-true 3D adventure as QFGV is doing. Al Lowe is a scary man. That said, he is a very friendly guy and we had an enjoyable conversation with him. Plugging his most recent title, Larry's Casino, he did hint to us that Larry 8 is, in fact, in the works, although it is unclear which division of Sierra will develop it. Lowe also confirmed for us that Capitol Punishment is, in fact, "dead as a doornail." "Frankly, it just wasn't funny," Lowe whispered to us. "On paper, it made great sense, but in reality, it just wasn't fun." Some of you may remember Capitol Punishment which mocked the US government to no end. Players could join Bill and Hillary as they maneuvered their way down WhiteWater Rapids, or help Senator Packwood find a good- looking woman. Al tells us that the game eventually got repetitive and boring, however, and was finally canned a few years ago. THQ/Cyberflix IMG met with THQ and Cyberflix, the distributors and producers of Redjack: Revenge of the Bretheren (formerly known as Redjack's Revenge). Redjack is shaping up to be a truly impressive game in the puppeteer genre. The game, scheduled to ship August 21, will be appearing as a hybrid CD on major retail store shelves.   Bungie  Bungie was at E3 in full force as it plugged Myth II which is scheduled to ship by the end of this year. Also displayed on the giant kiosk of monitors was another Bungie title in dev- elopment at the San Jose branch: ONI. A fully- featured martial arts game including weapon combat, ONI stars a female police officer who lives in a fully-realized asian city in the near future. The game looks to be heavily influenced by anime, and is said to be incredibly realistic. Little information is being divulged from Bungie, but keep your eyes here for any further information. Berkeley Systems The folks at Berkeley and Jellyvision are at it again, bringing us You Don't Know Jack 4, Head Rush, and Don't Touch That Dial, all game shows based on the basic concept created by Harry Gottlieb (aka Nate Shapiro) of Jellyvision. Jack 4 incredibly outdoes all previous incarnations bring back all of the previous hosts of Jack for a great game. Head Rush is a You Don't Know Jack for teens, touching on topics such as Hanson, Scream, and Titanic. Finally, Don't Touch that Dial, a Berkeley Systems creation, quizzes players on their favorite commercials in a YDKJ-esque fashion. Although none of the Jellyvision Jack hosts were on hand, we were able to snag an exclusive preview Quicktime movie of Jack 4 that was being demoed at E3. Terminal Reality Terminal Reality was showcasing their jaw-dropping flight simulator, Fly!, Which is being developed for both Mac and PC. The game, which is coded for both Voodoo 1 and Voodoo 2 compatibility is looking simply incredible. A pure simulation (no dogfighting or specific missions), the game features satellite-generated topography, enabling players with actual flight maps to literally fly anywhere in the world. The demo we were given left jaws dropping as the PowerMac effortlessly ran the game with precision and detail. Keep your eyes on this title. Fox Interactive  Fox Interactive's show booth was quite a scene as they demoed X-Files: The Game. On top of it, Gillian Anderson was on-hand on Saturday to sign autographs. In addition, Anderson held a roundtable discussion with selected media. IMG served as the Macintosh representatives as Greg Kramer and Chris McVeigh met with Anderson with twelve other people. See issue 6-4 for a full report! Disney Interactive Disney was displaying one mac game, and was it ever impressive! Taking a lead from Berkeley and Jellyvision, Disney Interactive was showcasing the D Show, a You Don't Know Jack for Disney fans that incorporates audio and video into the You Don't Know Jack game show interface. Although the show's announcer seems a bit bland, Disney fans will enjoy the game for its knowledge of heritage and obscure facts that seemed long-forgotten. Keep an eye out for the D-Show this Christmas!! Red Orb IMG managed to arrange for a brief meeting with Red Orb producer Andrew Pedersen concerning a Mac version of Prince of Persia 3D. According to Pedersen, Red Orb is willing to meet with Apple and possible third-party developers to work out a way a to bring POP 3D to the Mac. Red Orb doesn't seem to be thoroughly convinced that the Mac can support the graphical horsepower needed to power POP3D, and is willing to entertain Apple and other parties concerning this matter. Pedersen tells us that Red Orb is more than willing to bring POP 3D to the Mac if it can be done reasonably easily. We'll keep you updated on this issue as it develops. Sega PC SegaPC had a kiosks of PowerMacs set up as it presented the sequel to SimTower, Yoot's Tower. Although the game being demoed was the Japanese edition, fans of SimTower will be pleased to know that the game's basic format and premise remain the same, although the publisher and name have changed. Stay tuned for more information on this title as it makes its way to the states. MicroConversions/Voodoo 2 IMG Editors Rafi Guroian and Chris McVeigh had a thoroughly enjoyable and impromptu conversation for Micro Conversions' Robert Archer. Archer assured us the Voodoo 2 for the Mac is coming and was quite excited about it. Although the situation looked grim for a while, Micro Conversions was successful in convincing both Apple and 3Dfx that Voodoo 2 for the Mac is a good thing, and development of the PCI card is chugging along. Archer tells us that the card will retail for approximately $299 and will be available in the near future. We will be sure to keep you updated on this situation. Simon & Schuster/Starship Titanic The Starship Titanic's booth was outfitted with 5 or so computers demoing Douglas Adam's newest adventure game. Mr. Adams was even present at the booth, in fact, on Friday to sign autographs and take pictures. IMG News Editor Rafi Guroian held a lengthy conversation with the famous author who uses only Macs, and we have learned that the game should become available this fall as early as November! In addition, the game will be shipped on a hybrid CD utilizing the Quicktime 3.0 technology, so keep an eye out! Mr. Adams seemed excited about the release of the Mac version as he hasn't been able to play his own game due to the PC-specific availability. We will be sure to keep you updated on any further developments. TIG Entertainment TIG Entertainment was showcasing Shadoan, the latest adventure game in the Kingdom of the Far Reaches series. On-hand was Rick Dyer, creator of Shadoan and Dragon's Lair. Look for IMG's review of Shadoan in Issue 6-3. Digital Leisure Digital Leisure was at E3 showcasing Dragon's Lair DVD which will be appearing later this summer on the Mac. The game is the same old Dragon's Lair we have come to know and love, but is now featured in MPEG-2 video, giving the game the Laserdisc Quality it once had when it hit the arcades in the 1980's. Dragon's Lair enthusiasts interested in the title will want to keep tabs on this game, as Digital Leisure tells us that they have few plans of promoting or advertising Dragon's Lair DVD for Mac.