Requirements: 300MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 8.6-9.x or OS X 10.0 or later
Fly, blast, conquer—what more could you want? This cool, vertical scrolling, arcade shooter has you flying with the Lancer Squad, an elite team whose current mission is to defeat the diabolical war machine of an alien army bent on taking over the universe (what else?). Fly over diverse landscapes and prepare to do battle with alien ships, tanks, boats, and gun turrets. Fly solo or with a buddy. Those of you MacAddict Disc Tour fans may recognize the soundtrack... Take a listen.
Requirements: 400MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 9.x or OS X, OpenGL video accelerator with 16MB memory or faster card
A swashbuckling sugar glider? You betcha! This colorfully cute and fun adventure game has you playing the role of Slash, a furry little sugar glider who ties a mean skull cap and wields a mighty sword. After surviving a shipwreck, which left him all alone on the shores of Pirate Isle, Slash uncovers a few secrets on the island, which can lead to treasure and a way home. Run, jump, climb, and glide your way through the island’s terrain while battling hungry seagulls, piranhas, giant crabs, feral cats, and other vicious monstrosities.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later, OpenGL accelerated graphics card
This way cool Asteroids-inspired game gives you all the blast happy fun that you loved about Asteroids, and packages it into a more sophisticated, 3D rendered, crystal-mining arcade adventure. Navigate through deadly asteroid fields, battle it out with some pesky pirates and loathsome scavengers, and gather up all the crystals you can find to buy better weapons and power-ups.
Requirements: 500MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later, 128MB RAM, ATI Rage 128 or faster card with 8MB VRAM
So you wanna be a cowboy? How ’bout a space cowboy? If your trigger finger is getting itchy, this four-in-one, 3D arcade-style action game lets you be just that. As Billy Frontier, you’ll be rewarded as long as you can shoot anything that moves accurately. The game is made up of four mini games—fight it out in duels, shootouts, stampedes, and target practice. Yee-haw! (Though Pangea set system requirements for Mac OS X 10.2 or later, they say that this game may also run on OS 9.2.2 and possibly OS X 10.1, but they don’t support either.)
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1 or later
Lions, zebras, and monkeys—oh my! Keep safari animals from getting hungry by feeding them the right food. If your fingers aren’t fast enough, your screen will overflow with unfed, unhappy animals. As various animals fall down onto the puzzle board, you must choose the right food tile and place it next to the compatible animal to make the same group of surrounding animal tiles disappear. The object is to keep the animals from reaching the top of the stack. For you short-attention span people—the game starts out really easy, but gets way harder as you move up the levels. This demo version allows you to play the Attack and Puzzle modes—registering gives you access to the Adventure mode.
Frozen-Bubble (Jaguar) 1.0—Freeware
Redivi, info@redivi.com, http://redivi.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2.x, unmodified version of Perl
Animated penguins on ice—in four zippy flavors. Frozen-Bubble is a colorfully cute, arcade shooter/puzzle game that has you shooting a cannon full of bubbles at a board full of colorful frozen bubbles. The object is to clear the patterned board by aiming for bubble groups of 3 or more like colors—hitting them will cause them to fall off the board. The game features 100 levels, a stereo music soundtrack, fun sound effects, and a level editor. This is a Mac port of the original Linux-based Frozen-Bubble. Go to www.frozen-bubble.org to visit the original game site.
Frozen-Bubble (Panther) 1.0—Freeware
Redivi, info@redivi.com, http://redivi.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.3.x, unmodified version of Perl
Animated penguins on ice—in four zippy flavors. Frozen-Bubble is a colorfully cute, arcade shooter/puzzle game that has you shooting a cannon full of bubbles at a board full of colorful frozen bubbles. The object is to clear the patterned board by aiming for bubble groups of 3 or more like colors—hitting them will cause them to fall off the board. The game features 100 levels, a stereo music soundtrack, fun sound effects, and a level editor. This is a Mac port of the original Linux-based Frozen-Bubble. Go to www.frozen-bubble.org to visit the original game site.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 9.2.2 with GameSprocket 1.7.5 and CarbonLib 1.6 or Mac OS X 10.0 or later, 128MB RAM
If you like your action down deep in the trenches, this top-view, tactical, third person shooter has you (and possibly a buddy) surveying the action from above as you make your way down through the Epsilon Nine bunker. Battle armies of mutated creatures as you wind your way though the labyrinthine tunnels down to the 40th floor 2,000 feet below the Earth’s surface, on a mission to destroy the breeding machine that threatens mankind. The game features some nice graphics, interesting graphical effects, 1- and 2-player mode, four playable characters, tons of weapons and powerups, monsters and gore galore, 64 levels, and more. Bloody good fun. The unregistered version allows you to play the first 12 floors.
OIDS.X 10.0.3—Shareware
Xavagus Prime Software, support@xavagus.com, http://www.xavagus.com
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.1.3 or later, ATI Rage 128 or faster video card
This fast and fun arcade shooter may be reminiscent of Choplifter, Asteroids, and Defender—after all, it was originally released back in 1990—but the game is a destined classic that will never die. Now optimized for OS X play, using OpenGL for graphics, the game takes on a new life with new sound effects, revamped graphics and animation, cool particle effects, and more. Rescue the OIDS from the Fiendish Biocretes who are turning them into vending machines and household appliances (or not, if you’re having a serious Snickers attack and crave a cup of coffee). Fuel your ship, charge your shields, and blast off to adventure as you battle the baddies, avoid gravity traps, and solve treacherous teleport puzzles.
Pac the Man 2 1.0.3—Freeware
McSebi, support@mcsebi.de, http://www.mcsebi.de
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 8.6-9.x with CarbonLib or Mac OS X 10.0 or later
Pac-Man was one of the funnest, most addictive games of its time back in the early 80s, and this remake of the classic is as good as it gets and then some. Though the gameplay remains the same—control a gobbling yellow head (looks like a pie with a slice missing for those of you who just climbed out from under your rock) around a maze, eating up dots while avoiding ghosts until you swallow a power pill—the graphics and sound are much better. The game features 25 levels, three difficulty levels, four cute ghosts (but they’re bad), two hungry heros (Pac and his missus), and a few unique play twists. Want another reason to love it? This game is free!
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 8.5 or later, QuickTime 4 or later
The platform-jumping Rayman series comes to the Mac with Rayman 3. In this episode, Rayman, a limbless cartoon wonder, helps his friend Globox fight the dreaded Hoodlum army. Get a peek at the action in this game trailer.
Requirements: G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS X 10.2 or later
Remember those wooden labyrinth boards that had the two knobs you used to tilt the board every which way to guide a marble through the maze without dropping it down a hole? This software version challenges you with a similar feat. Control the maze, allowing gravity to work its magic with the marble, and guide ol’ rollie-polie through the twisted, OpenGL accelerated terrain. The full game features 46 levels—the unregistered version allows you to tilt and tumble through the first eight.
Requirements: 500MHz G3 or faster Mac, Mac OS 9.1-9.x or OS X 10.1.3 or later, 128MB RAM (256MB for OS X)
Are you a warrior or a wimp. You better be the former if you plan on succeeding in this strategy adventure game. In a world of knights and demons, your mission is to restore a once great kingdom to its former glory. Command your army to seize power as you battle those who are bent on sabotaging your plan. Be sure to take care of your comrades—you don’t want them starving to death out on the battlefields.
Requirements: Power Mac, Mac OS 8.5 or later, QuickTime 4 or later
If you’re an animal lover, Zoo Tycoon allows you to build and maintain your ultimate zoo. This sim game has you designing animal habitats, acquiring animals, and getting the public to come in and enjoy your creation. This game trailer gives you a peek at the action.
