Get Sponsored

The News section is maintained by Jonathan Dreyer. Please send any comments or submissions to him.
Check our Archives for an older news item

Nanosaur to be included on all iMacs
Steve Jobs announced at MacWorld yesterday that Nanosaur will be included on the iMac. The special 2MB version of the game will be shipping on those machines since they have a 2MB Rage II card. Nonetheless, the game actually runs *really* well with very high frame rates on the iMac.
-Brian

MACSOFT TO RELEASE MICROSOFT'S BEST-SELLING STRATEGY GAME 'AGE OF EMPIRES™' FOR THE MAC
NEW YORK, MACWORLD, July 8-10, 1998 - As the guiding spirit of a Stone Age tribe, gamers seek to build the greatest civilization on earth with MacSoft's upcoming release of Microsoft's best-selling strategy game, Age of Empires™, for the Mac.

"The PC version of Age of Empires was the number one selling strategy game this holiday season and continues to sell strong with wide-spread critical acclaim," said Ed Fries, general manager of Microsoft's Games Group. "Working with MacSoft on this title enables us to extend our top strategy game to the Mac platform."

"Age of Empires is simply one of the best PC games ever created," said Peter Tamte, executive director of MacSoft. "We've really wanted to bring this game to the Mac and are absolutely thrilled to be working closely with Microsoft to do this."

Age of Empires, developed by Ensemble Studios, has been a top-ten selling game in dollars sold since its release last fall. This epic, real-time strategy game spans 10,000 years in which players are the guiding spirit in the evolution of small Stone Age tribes. Starting with minimal resources, players are challenged to build their tribes into great civilizations.

Gamers can choose from several ways to win, including conquering enemy civilizations, exploring the world and accumulating wealth. The game also includes a built-in scenario editor for gamers to create their own conflicts and scenarios.

Age of Empires is loaded with features, including:

• multiple gameplay options with more than 40 preset scenarios, individual campaigns or randomly generated games;
• multi-player capabilities for up to eight players via modem, LAN or the Internet;
• capabilities for players to command one of 12 ancient civilizations, from Egyptian to Greek - all with unique attributes based on their historical counterparts.

Age of Empires will be available during the first quarter of 1999 for a retail price of $49.99.

MACSOFT TO BRING MICROPROSE'S 'STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® KLINGON HONOR GUARD™' AND 'STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® BIRTH OF THE FEDERATION™' TO THE MAC
Titles To Release Near Simultaneously With The PC Versions NEW YORK, MACWORLD, July 8-10, 1998 - MacSoft, a leading publisher of Macintosh entertainment software, announces two new PC titles it plans to bring to Mac gamers including, MicroProse's STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® Klingon Honor Guard™ and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® Birth of the Federation™ based on Paramount Television's hit syndicated series, Star Trek: The Next Generation™.

"Using the Unreal engine, Klingon Honor Guard looks like it will be one of the best 3-D shooters when it's released near simultaneously with the PC version later this year and Birth of the Federation is a very intriguing, turn-based strategy game in the Star Trek world which will be released also near simultaneously with the PC version," said Peter Tamte, executive director of MacSoft.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® Klingon Honor Guard™ Klingon Honor Guard will put players on the edge of their seats with real-time action as they embark on a quest to save the Klingon Empire and the life of its leader, Gowron.

Klingon Honor Guard features seven unique 3-D worlds and more than 15 fully interactive levels including space stations, starships and alien cities. Players can also choose from ten powerful weapons, six of which were created especially for the game and two modes of play: a plot-driven campaign and multi-player action.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® Birth of the Federation™ STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Birth of the Federation is the first turn-based, single- or multi-player strategy game featuring the STAR TREK license. It is a strategy game of space exploration, expansion and tactical combat that gives players control of one of five races in the STAR TREK universe.

Birth of the Federation features mechanisms which enable the game to be fast-playing and satisfying for up to five players via Internet, LAN, direct connect, modem head-to-head, e-mail or hot seat.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Klingon Honor Guard will ship during the second half of 1998 and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Birth of the Federation will ship during the first quarter of 1999. Both titles have a suggested retail price of $49.99.

Westlake to Port Tomb Raider!
Westlake announces the development of Tomb Raider I and II for Macintosh, to be published by Aspyr Media. Tomb Raider II is scheduled to ship for Christmas 1998, and will take full advantage of the PowerMac's speed, graphics, and ease of use. Keep checking our web site for progress updates on these exciting new projects.

I don't know whether to laugh or to feel pity but:

MacSoft Announces 'Beanie Baby Collector's Guide' for Mac
To Debut This Week At The MACWORLD Expo MINNEAPOLIS, July 7, 1998 - MacSoft, a leading publisher of Macintosh entertainment software, unveils the Beanie Baby® Collector's Guide for the Mac. The Beanie Baby® Collector's Guide is a fun and interactive way for adults and children alike to keep track of their Beanie inventory, track the current market value, as well as trading activity.

"For the hundreds of thousands of Beanie Baby® collectors throughout the country, this title is a an easy and fun way for them to track purchase prices, market value and catalog their collection," said Peter Tamte, executive director of MacSoft. "Even if you're not an avid collector, Beanie Baby® Collector's Guide is a fun tool to use to view pictures of all the Beanies, read their personal poems and research their birth dates."

Developed by software designers, Varcon Systems Inc., who are also Beanie Baby® collectors themselves, the Beanie Baby® Collector's Guide is filled with many features, including:

• a Beanie Baby® album with color pictures, poems, birth dates, retirement dates, current status (retired or active) and special notes for all existing Beanie Babies® through June 1, 1998;
• the ability to track your collection by storing purchase price information, when and where you bought each Beanie Baby®, the tush and swing tag version and current market value;
• tracking the Beanies you have sold and traded, including the sales price;
• Teenies, the Opera Beanies, Coca-Cola® Beanies, Harley Davidson® Beanies and much more;
• tracking multiple collections, print lists of the Beanie Babies® you want and even print valuation reports;
• tips for avoiding counterfeit Beanie Babies®;
• researching updated information on the Beanie collection by downloading information on new Beanie Baby® releases from Varcon's web site at www.varcon.com;
• researching the most current market values of the Beanies and sharing information on Beanies with other collectors by sending records to the Web site for other collectors to download.

Beanie Baby® Collector's Guide is attractively priced at $19.99 and available in specialty stores nationwide and on various collector web sites where Beanie Babies® are sold. A portion of the proceeds from each game sold will go to benefit the Ronald McDonald House®.

MacSoft to Roll Out Strong Lineup at MacWorld
MINNEAPOLIS, July 7, 1998 - MacSoft, a leading publisher of Macintosh entertainment software, plans to roll out a hit lineup of titles for the Mac, led by Unreal, Civilization II Gold Edition, Dark Vengeance and Deer Hunter, at the forthcoming MACWORLD Expo, July 8-10, in New York. MacSoft also plans to showcase its new Beanie Baby® Collector's Guide for the first time at the Expo, as well as announce three new titles it will release during the next six months.

"Both Unreal and Deer Hunter are currently among the top-five best-selling PC games. Total Annihilation for the PC has been a top-ten game and Dark Vengeance has great potential when it ships later this year," said Peter Tamte, executive director of MacSoft. "With hundreds of thousands of Beanie Baby® collectors throughout the country, the new Beanie title is an easy and fun way for them to track purchase prices, market value and catalog their collection."

Editor's Note: I don't think the "Beanie Bay Guide" is exactly strengthening their lineup : )?

"MacSoft is bringing outstanding games to the Macintosh," said Clent Richardson, senior director of worldwide developer relations at Apple Computer Inc. "With iMac sure to be a hit this holiday season, our customers can look forward to playing some great games on their stunning new Pentium-toasting Macintosh. There is a lot of success to be gleaned from the platform and MacSoft is realizing it."

This year's MACWORLD Expo will feature the largest computer gaming area of any MACWORLD and it will also introduce the first annual National Macintosh Gaming Championship, which will showcase several MacSoft titles.

Unreal Mac Update
Beta 4 of Unreal went out to testers today, this is the version that will be shown at MacWorld NY next week. Memory requirements have been tamed a bit, and many bugs are being squashed. We're concentrating on network play and more optimizations over the next couple weeks. We're still hoping to get any patches that come out for the PC integrated into the Mac before we ship.

Even though it's a national holiday here in Canada today, I'm still here bringing you the news

Mac Hockey 99! Finally a real 3D hockey game for the Mac. Mac Hockey 99 (MH99) is a ice hockey simulator for the Macintosh (and maybe other platforms later). It is being produced by Zaphara Arts. It will allow the player to customize just about everything in the game: teams, players, uniforms, and all the stats. If you make a great team or player, you will be able to exchange it with your friends. Zaphara Arts is currently talking to the NHL and the NHLPA about using real NHL teams and players in the game. Visit Zaphara Arts' Home page for a FAQ and more screenshots.

* * *

Advertising Note:
Think of the MGA as a sorta of PBS, without the support of "viewers" like you we couldn't offer you all this great news, reviews, and info... But, unlike PBS, supporting us won't cost you a dollar, to support us all you have to do is click on the advertising banner on the top of this page, whenever you aren't in a rush, please, just click the banner... Without your support, we won't be able to pay for the MGA's web hosting, so please, please click the banner... Thank You!

MACSOFT AND REALITY BYTES® TAKE MACINTOSH GAMING TO THE EDGE WITH THE RELEASE OF 'DARK VENGEANCE™'
MINNEAPOLIS, June 26, 1998 - MacSoft, a leading publisher of Macintosh entertainment software, introduces a new era in Mac gaming with the release of the third-person, 3-D action game Dark Vengeance™. Dark Vengeance, developed by Reality Bytes®, breaks all the rules of combat gaming and brings a new style and breadth of gameplay to 3-D action.

"Dark Vengeance was created on the Mac for both the Mac and PC. We think the game will revolutionize both markets. It sets new standards for third-person gameplay, and its use of QuickDraw3D/RAVE™ and an assortment of special features such as 16-bit resolution, high-quality textures, magic effects and weapon swipes are a leap forward from earlier games," said Peter Tamte, executive director of MacSoft. "With 3-D graphics and dynamic colored lighting, Dark Vengeance is designed to fully exploit the next generation of hardware."

"Mac gamers will love the excitement, features and performance Dark Vengeance offers on the Mac platform," said Jon Chait, president of Reality Bytes. "Dark Vengeance represents a new era in Macintosh 3-D gaming."

Dark Vengeance immerses players in the midst of an ancient evil that has brought forth the scourge of the land, the Dark Elves. Having vowed revenge on the people of Amagar, the Elves swarm across the surface destroying everything in their paths in search of vengeance. The players' goal is to exact their own vengeance against the enemy and end the reign of death and disaster.

Dark Vengeance offers a vast array of features, including: * players control not just their character's physical appearance, but their actual combat style;

• each character has its own personal reason for seeking revenge (outlined with in-engine cut scenes) making each game a completely unique combat experience;
• a range of weaponry, including: hand-to-hand, short-ranged, long-ranged, tricks, traps, potions and spells;
• a choice of nearly 40 weapons;
• players can use defensive skills like blocking and dodging;
• hree characters with three different styles of combat to choose from;
• supports up to 32 players and 64 voyeurs with dynamic jump-ins, cross-platform networking over TCP/IP or LAN, plus packet management for optimized play on the Internet.

Dark Vengeance is scheduled to release this winter with a suggested retail price of $49.99.

MDK 1.0.1 Released!
Shockwavfe software today released the first 1.0.1 update for Mac MDK. This update fixes a nasty bug which causes problems on Macs with large amounts of VRAM. You can download the update from Playmate's Interactive's ftp site

Advertising Note:
Think of the MGA as a sorta of PBS, without the support of "viewers" like you we couldn't offer you all this great news, reviews, and info... But, unlike PBS, supporting us won't cost you a dollar, to support us all you have to do is click on the advertising banner on the top of this page, whenever you aren't in a rush, please, just click the banner... Without your support, we won't be able to pay for the MGA's web hosting, so please, please click the banner... Thank You!