There Are A Lot Of Great Games On The Mac

There are a lot of great games to download for Mac, whether you use Steam, the Mac App Store, or the myriad other services that cater to Mac users. Still, there are some games whose absences are keenly felt. Here's a roundup of games that are still missing in action on the Mac platform. Some of these aren't just individual games, either - they're entire game series that, years after their introduction, remain missing in action on the Mac platform.

Even though we undoubtedly live in a golden era of computer and video games, there are still some genuinely worthy classics from the ’80s and ’90s.And you don’t need to lovingly restore an actual Macintosh Plus just to play Lode Runner. Modern Macs easily have enough horsepower to emulate the older Mac operating systems.Many of the old 8-bit games are still surprisingly playable Virtually a PowerPCLet’s start with OS X. But the dusty box of floppy disks with that unfinished first novel in MacWrite and your father’s carefully researched family tree in an old version of FileMaker Pro are unreadable binary detritus on a modern Mac.Being able to run old software is the best way to rescue these files, but old Mac apps can be fun too. Run old games on mac emulator.

Mar 31, 2020  Top 5 Games for Mac Revised Games are getting more sophisticated and engaging every year. Fantasy stories look almost real, and have a variety that presents choices for every taste. From playing with aliens, to becoming a hero detective. Best free Mac games. Heroes of Warcraft, but reviewers say it's a lot more like Magic: The Gathering with having to play land cards and build mana. There's a great narrative story, and you.

Far Cry

Crytek's Far Cry debuted in 2004, and it's spawned an entire cottage industry of sequels and spinoffs up to last year's Far Cry 3 and its standalone expansion: Blood Dragon. The core engine technology behind the first person shooter series, CryEngine, has been used to power a number of games that work on Windows and console platforms. But neither Far Cry nor any of its associated games have ever once been seen (natively) on the Mac platform.

Crytek has been enormously successful at what it does, so one can't exactly fault them for neglecting the Mac platform, but it still stings when you have to reboot into Windows to play the games.

Mass Effect

BioWare's Mass Effect series has won plaudits from game reviewers and players for years. The action RPG series has incorporated a far-ranging story line that flings players into the future, when humanity has populated space. The game series focuses on Commander Shephard - a character the player creates (either as male or female) and whose decisions affect the outcome of the game. Ultimately, Shephard must save the galaxy from a race of beings called Reapers.

Mass Effect has appeared on Windows and all the major consoles, and even spawned a few spinoffs for iOS. But the Mac has, sadly, been left out of the mix. Now that the original trilogy has been put to bed, BioWare is set to roll out a Mass Effect 4 that will break away from the trilogy's story line. Hopefully they'll revisit their platform choices and offer the new ME4 for the Mac too.

Arma

Unless you're really into military FPS's or zombies, you may have never heard of Czech developer Bohemia Interactive's Arma series, but my goodness, does it have its fans. It's an open world sandbox, a tactical first-person and third-person shooter that puts you in the role of soldiers fighting to control a fictional island location that changes from game to game. There are single player campaigns in each Arma game, but the secret to the games' successes lie in their extensive multiplayer capabilities, paired with terrific graphics and long-distance rendering that provide a very complete sense of space without relying on fog or other occlusion tricks.

Arma II, which came out in 2009, has engendered a huge number of fans because of a mod called DayZ, which turns Arma II into a survival horror game featuring hordes of zombies. It's become so successful that Dean Hall, the mod's creator, and Bohemia Interactive are working on a fully standalone version of DayZ.

Arma III is coming out soon and it looks astonishing. Still no sign of a Mac version, though. Rats.

Battlefield

There was a time when Battlefield games were available for the Mac - Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2142, for example, were both Mac releases from Aspyr Media, back in the day. But ever since EA and its development studio DICE switched to DICE's Frostbite engine for Battlefield titles, the games haven't been available for the Mac.

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The good news is that that may change. Earlier this year, DICE was seen to advertise for an OS X developer to work on their Frostbite engine. Whether that means the back-catalog of Frostbite-based games will come to the Mac or just new games they're making, it remains to be seen. But it's certainly a step in the right direction. Oh, Frostbite is also used to make Mass Effect. So an OS X native version of Frostbite might help there, too.

Gears of War

Epic Games' third-person shooter series Gears of War{.nofollow} is published by Microsoft Studios, so it's little wonder that you can't get it for OS X, but that really stinks, because it's really awesome. The game that started in 2006 has spawned three sequels, most recently with Gears of War: Judgment. The game takes place in the future, on an Earth-like alien planet populated by sentient creatures called the Locust Horde, who have ravage the human population. You must save the humans from annihilation as a soldier of the Coalition of Ordered Government (COG).

Outside of the fact that Microsoft uses Gears as a showcase for Windows and Xbox 360 gaming, there's no legitimate reason why it shouldn't be on the Mac. After all, Epic Games is the developer, and their Unreal engine has worked on the Mac for many years. But, well, Microsoft. Bah.

Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter

The Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter recently went live after a couple months of open beta testing. It's free to play, too! Based in the Forgotten Realms city of Neverwinter, this is a completely unique standalone game not related to BioWare's legendary Neverwinter Nights RPG. You take the role of a character based on one of five classic D&D classes, going on quests in and around the city of Neverwinter, now in chaos after the disappearance of the last Lord of Neverwinter.

MMOs have proven their ability to sell well on the Macintosh - just ask Blizzard, which keeps its Mac version of World of Warcraft in lockstep with its PC counterpart. Alas, Cryptic Studios didn't get the message, so Mac users are left out in the cold.

Defiance

SyFy and Trion World's ambitious science fiction MMO is an interesting attempt to blend a multiplayer action game with a TV show. While the setting of the TV show is in the ruins of old St. Louis, Defiance the game takes place in San Francisco, which has been transformed into an unrecognizable alien landscape following the arrival of the alien collective called the Votans, and their attempt to terraform Earth into something more palatable.

You are enlisted to become an Ark Hunter, a scavenger of sorts who plunders Arkfalls - massive pieces of alien ships whose ruined hulks occasionally fall to Earth after falling out of orbit. They contain valuable technology sought by Humans and Votans alike. I'm a big fan of the TV show, so I'd love to see this one come to my gaming platform of choice.

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Titanfall

At this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 - the annual giant gathering of video game companies in Los Angeles - few titles had as much buzz as Respawn Entertainment's forthcoming Titanfall. It's a multiplayer game in which you fight on foot or pilot giant robots. Coming in 2014, it's going to be published by EA, for Microsoft's new Xbox One console, Xbox 360 and, predictably, Windows.

But Titanfall's technical underpinnings - the core engine technology - is Valve's Source engine, which works quite well on the Mac. So it's a shame that EA is hamstringing the game by making it run only on Microsoft's console hardware and operating system. EA's been better and better about supporting OS X in recent years; hopefully they can be convinced to do it or to license it to a Mac publisher, because it looks awesome.

FIFA 14

FIFA 14 is the latest and greatest version of EA's long running soccer/football game. It's in development for Windows and just about every console and handheld gaming system known to man including iOS. But OS X is totally off their radar for this one.

Sports games on the Mac are rarer than hen's teeth. It's a shame, too, because I know plenty of Mac gamers who would kill to get their hands on a proper soccer/footie action game, but apparently it's still not enough to coax EA into gracing our platform with a decent game.

So what's Apple to do?

Apple has dedicated staff whose job it is to support game developers and publishers who want to make products for OS X, but that doesn't convince developers and publishers that they should support OS X. That's an entirely different problem.

For many big-budget publishers whose marketing budgets on new releases can run, quite literally, tens of millions of dollars, the prospect of reaching an incrementally larger audience by plowing development and marketing money into a Mac version doesn't seem particularly smart.

There are a few exceptions to that, like Activision Blizzard's exceptional parity with StarCraft, World of WarCraft and Diablo III, but most major publishers look at Mac revenue as little more than a rounding error on their balance sheets.

That's what has kept companies like Aspyr Media, Feral Interactive, and others in business - they assume the risk of developing and publishing Mac versions of games, and in return they're able to scratch out a living by selling those versions to Mac users. But there's long been an inequity there that many Mac gamers find hard to swallow - they end up paying more and waiting longer for Mac versions of games. The needle is moving, though, thanks to advances like Valve's Steam download service and 'Steam Play,' which puts Mac, PC and even, occasionally, Linux users on equal footing.

I'll be looking at this quandary - and some possible solutions - in another gaming editorial soon. In the interim, I want to hear from you! Do you wish any of these games would come to the Mac? Are there other titles I've left off the list that I should have included? Or is gaming on the Mac a complete waste of the time? Please tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Concepts everywhere

Another day, another iPhone 12 Pro concept. How much would you pay?

If reports are accurate we might be waiting a little while longer than normal for iPhone 12 Pro. But would you care if it looked like this?

If you're new to the Macintosh, or even if you've had one for a while, you may be interested in putting the work aside from time to time and playing games on your lovely machine. Macs may not have the same number of games as Windows PCs, but there are still plenty of places to get them if you know where to look. Here are some of my favorites. What are yours?

Steam

Valve's Steam service has been available for the Mac for a while now, and offers a pretty rich combination of indie and commercial titles for the Mac. They have their own Mac OS X section, which makes it very easy for Mac gamers to find what they're looking for.

What's more, Valve puts Mac gamers on a pretty even playing field with their Windows counterparts when it comes to sales and promotions — so you can usually get the same remarkable discounts. This weekend, for example, they're doing a free play weekend for the popular FPS Borderlands 2, with a 50 percent discount available as well.

There Are A Lot Of Great Games On The Mac Download

Mac App Store

I've already said my piece about what I perceive to be the problems with the Mac App Store. But those issues notwithstanding, Apple deserves credit for bringing forth a robust marketplace for Mac app developers. What's more, Mac App Store is baked right in to OS X and uses Apple ID credentials, which means that it instantly has a potential user base of almost half a billion accounts, many more than the total number of Macs in use today.

The Mac App Store features indie and commercial titles alike, and also keeps lists of top paid and top free games, so there's something to appeal to gamers regardless of the budget. You can usually find the latest hot releases for Mac offered here, but sometimes it's a good idea to compare to Steam to see if you're getting the best deal.

MacGameStore

Even before the Mac App Store launched, MacGameStore came on the scene to provide Mac gamers with the latest downloads. In fact, they've been serving up games to Mac customers since 2005.

You can buy games directly from the web site, though there's a handy app that you can use if you prefer. MacGameStore regularly runs specials and deals, and if demos are available you can find links to them there too.

Apart from decimating enemies and winning battles, the game also offers plenty of opportunities to explore the amazing planets and unravel the hidden secrets of space. Pixel StarshipsAs I have always relished spaceship management game, I’m glad to include “Pixel Starships” in this coveted roundup. For sheer domination over rivals, you can forge an alliance with your friends and other players from around the world. Set in an 8bit huge online universe, the game offers full freedom to build amazing starships. And with a plethora of aliens, races, and factions to encounter, it keeps the intensity alive for long. Game factory 2 for mac download.

GameAgent.com

GameAgent.com started out as Mac game publisher Aspyr's way of reaching out to its own customers, but since then it's grown into an active Mac gaming service that offers downloads not just of Aspyr games but of other company's products too. They sport deals, favorites and games under $10, to make it easy to find something you might like.

If you set up an account with GameAgent, you can also use their Mac Match service to find out what games are supported on your system, taking the guesswork out of system requirements. You can also create a wish list, get access to special deals and more.

Feral Interactive

Mac game publisher Feral Interactive is a perennial darling of the Mac App Store, but you can usually find their games through other Mac game services too. If you'd prefer to go direct to the source, Feral is happy to take your money — they run their own Mac game download service, which is exclusive to their games.

Feral follows the 'traditional' model of Mac game publishing — they license top rated games from PC and console game publishers, then produce and publish Mac versions. So if you want the new Tomb Raider game, for example, or XCOM: Enemy Within, you know where to look.

GameTree Mac

TransGaming is a company that mostly stays behind the scenes — they're content to convert games to the Mac using their Cider technology (which has its distant origins in the open-source WINE project) and let the publishers themselves to the heavy lifting. But they also operate their own game sales service, called GameTree Mac.

GameTree Mac has the usual Mac-compatible products from other commercial and indie game publishers, but they also sport the titles that TransGaming has worked on, which often can't be found through other services. So there are some exclusives there that might peak your interest.

GOG.com

There Are A Lot Of Great Games On The Mac Free

There Are A Lot Of Great Games On The Mac

GOG.com — what was once branded as 'Good Old Games' — specializes in selling 'vintage' computer software. They do have some more recent releases like Torchlight, for example, but much of their specialty has to do with resurrecting games from the DOS and early Windows era, recycled to run on modern hardware.

They're much better about supporting the Mac than they used to be, and you can usually find games for $6 — $10 without too much of a problem. Just be advised that GOG.com games are typically running inside some emulation layer or shell in order to operate and haven't been updated, so you're getting the real look and feel of vintage games, with their unusual control schemes and blocky graphics to boot.

GamersGate

GamersGate is another online service where you can download Mac and PC games alike. The service is clientless, just like most of the other services we've talked about, but one cool thing about GamersGate is that they have 'gamified' the experience of using their service with a rewards system.

The more active you are on their boards — posting reviews, ratings, solving problems for other gamers, and more — the more 'Blue Coins' you'll earn, which will get you discount on future orders. You'll also gain experience points, which will entitle you to special discounts on games.

Straight from the source

More and more Mac game publishers are hopping on board with support for the platform for their own download services. Electronic Arts' Origin, for example, is where you'd go to download SimCity and connect to other players. Want to buy popular Blizzard games like World of Warcraft or Diablo III? Off to Battle.net with you, then.

There Are A Lot Of Great Games On The Machine

So look around — Mac games are a lot more available than you might think. And have fun gaming!

Do you have other favorite places to buy Mac games? Sound off in the comments.

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Concepts everywhere

Another day, another iPhone 12 Pro concept. How much would you pay?

If reports are accurate we might be waiting a little while longer than normal for iPhone 12 Pro. But would you care if it looked like this?

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