DimensionZ

Tag: Retro Gaming

  • Pro Throttle and CH Pedals Mac Review (1998)

    Pro Throttle and CH Pedals Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this hardware review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written, with the original screenshots (click to enlarge). More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher CH Products
    Tested on Performa 5260/100 MHz
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jonathan Dreyer

    Pro Throttle and CH Pedals

    These to products used in conjunction with a good joystick can make you a excellent game player.

    Ease of Use/Setup, Driver software

    Pluging in the throttle/pedals and installing the driver software was easy. I liked the ADB Y plug on this better than the Mousestick’s because there was a 6 inch cord coming out of the male plug, on the end of the 6″ cord is another female plug, this keeps a long stick from forming out of your ADB port. Also on the Pro Throttle there are 2 additional ADB pass through ports.

    The software uses a pretty much standard installer that puts the driver parts where they belong in the System Folder and installs a comprehensive electronic manual. The software it’s self is another matter, for the games the software already has sets for it runs great, automatically selecting the set when you launch the game but, if the game you have doesn’t have a pre-installed set or came with a set on it’s disc, programming a set for the game is very very difficult. Learning to program sets for the driver software has a steep learning curve but, once you learn how to do that you can do a lot more with the Pro Throttle’s/Pedal’s software than the Mousestick’s

    Button Use, Quality

    The quality of this stick is great, the buttons have never stuck on me and have a nice “click” feeling. I moved the stick around and hit the buttons harder than I would in normal use to test it and found no flaws in their design except if you have small hands/short fingers or really big feet in the case of the Pedals

    Bugs

    There was only one major bug, every once in a while the software says the stick is not connected and I should connect it then restart even though the Throttle (and this happened sometimes with the Pedals) was plugged in.

    Overall

    Overall I found the Throttle and Pedals valuable assets in my games, although I personally believe that they should cost less than joysticks, if you can afford even one of them I suggest you buy throttle first because that came in hand more often than the Pedals.

    Find one today

    The Pro Throttle and CH Pedals hasn’t been made for years, but used units still turn up for collectors restoring vintage Macs. Search for the Pro Throttle and CH Pedals on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • The Settlers 2 Mac Review (1998)

    The Settlers 2 Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher Blue Byte Software
    Tested on PowerMac 7100/66
    Gameplay 4 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 4 / 5 apples
    Interface 2 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 5 / 5 apples
    Bugs 5 / 5 apples
    Overall 4.5 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by David Leinbach

    You lead a group of Romans, who lost their boat and everything except a few supplies, in an attempt to grow, prosper, and CONQUER!

    Gameplay

    The gameplay is pretty good. You can lead the group of Roman soldiers in a campaign to conquer the world or you play unlimited play in which you get to set the game up how you like, number of enemies, whether you are against the computer or other humans, map, alliance types, etc… In campaign mode, you start out with a simple introductory/training mission and work up to the harder ones. There are 10 missions and they act out like a small story. You use the mouse to do most of the control including building structures and attacking your enemy. You can also use the keyboard for some of the control. As you expand your territory, you will encounter your enemy(s) and you may have to go to war with them. One thing that I didn’t like about this game is that you couldn’t control some of the more useful functions like cutting down trees. Once you have build the appropriate structures you can start cutting down trees for lumber, sometimes opening up a place to build more structures. Unfortunately, you can’t tell them to cut down a particular tree thus allowing you to build something in it’s place.

    Interface, Difficulty & Bugs

    This game had a poor interface. Only part of the time did the program tell you what button you had your mouse over which would have been okay if the manual had told you about the different buttons but it only showed some of them, unusually the ones that the program told you about. Trying to start playing this game, even after reading the manual twice and having it beside me, was difficult. More than once I found myself pressing a button just to find out what it did.

    The game isn’t easy but it also isn’t so hard that you won’t have fun playing it. Under unlimited play you can make it harder or easier but only to an extent which is good. This game isn’t for those who just want a game that they can finish easily, in fact, this game is one that you can never fully beat. You can enhance the game by playing a multiplayer game or by designing your own mission in the unlimited play.

    Only at one time did I have a problem with the game itself. While playing it one time the game froze my Mac and I had to turn the computer off and then on with the power switch. Other than that there weren’t any bugs that I could find.

    Conclusion

    This game is a very good strategy type game. You will never completely beat the game because you can play against other people in a multiplayer game or you can play using your own setup. If you want a strategy type game that you’ll never be able to say that you beat the entire game then this is a good choice but be ready to spend some time learning what the different buttons do and how to do some of the more intricate functions.

    Find a copy

    The Settlers 2 has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for The Settlers 2 on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Shadow Warrior Mac Review (1998)

    Shadow Warrior Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher MacSoft
    Tested on Performa 5260/100 Mhz
    Gameplay 5 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 4 / 5 apples
    Interface 5 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 4 / 5 apples
    Bugs 3 / 5 apples
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jonathan Dreyer

    Lo Wang. Master ninja assassin for 20 years. A shadow warrior. Shadow warriors are the best of the best, and Lo Wang was the best of the shadow warriors. Every top company in Japan had a shadow warrior… a protector, a negotiator, a cleaner.

    Lo Wang worked for Zilla Enterprises, a conglomerate with control in every major industry. Too much control. Power corrupts, and Master Zilla’s corporation was corrupted to the core.

    Lo Wang discovered Master Zilla’s demonic scheme to rule Japan, using creatures summoned from the dark side. A man of honor, Lo Wang quit. But one as powerful as Wang either must be on your side, or no one’s side. Master Zilla unleashes his creatures for their first test: to kill a single man, a shadow warrior… Lo Wang.

    Gameplay

    I am completely sure that everyone knows how a 3D first-person shooter works so… Shadow Warrior is by the creators of Duke Nukem and was ported to the Macintosh by the same man who ported Duke, the infamous Mark Adams. Shadow Warrior is based on the Duke Nukem engine but with many more graphics. The increased number of graphics is why Shadow Warrior will run slower than Duke on the same machine.

    Let’s go over Lo Wangs arrsenal, which includes his Fists of Fury, his Katana sword, shuriken throwing stars, riot gun (quad-barrel shotgun), an UZI or two, a triple mode rocket launcher, grenade launcher, mines that will stick to absolutly anything, a really cool rail gun, and 2 mystery weapons; a “Gaurdian Head” and “Ripper Heart”. Items at Lo Wang’s disposal include gas bombs, smoke bombs, flash bombs, caltrops (small razors that sit on the floor), night vision goggles, and a tool kit which allows you to repair damaged vehicles like tanks, forklifts or other broken machinery.

    The settings in Shadow Warrior are much more interesting than Duke’s, whether it be on a boat, train, or controling a a mechanical gun…

    Interface

    I give kudos to Mark Adams for, as usual, adding all Mac interface preferences control boxes. Most ports will usually leave the PC-like internal graphical control boxes.

    Difficulty

    Shadow Warrior is no more difficult than any other first-person shooter, it’s mostly just shoot everyone and keep going. As in most games Shadow Warrior includes the required 4 difficulty settings.

    Bugs

    I’m sad to say that I found Shadow Warrior unusually troublesome. A few times the game would freeze up just after launching, or every time I tried to change the sound and music setting and restart the game would crash. I eventually worked around those problems and was able to play the game.

    Conclusion

    In my opinion Shadow Warrior is a very decent first-person shooter although it’s nothing to get really excited about, also consider that there have been 3 first-person shooters released in the last while just by MacSoft.

    If you can’t get enough first-person shooters to please you, go for this game, but if you’re becoming tired of these sorts of games maybe you should keep browsing when you’re in your favorite Mac store.

    Find a copy

    Shadow Warrior has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Shadow Warrior on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Mac Review (1998)

    Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher Viacom Newmedia
    Tested on Performa 5260 / 100 MHz
    Gameplay 3 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 4 / 5 apples
    Interface 2 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 4 / 5 apples
    Bugs 4 / 5 apples
    Overall 3 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jonathan Dreyer

    You are a Tirron envoy of the elite Federation diplomatic Corps. Joining forces with the crew of Deep Space Nine, you battle deadly unmanned drones. Track down a murderer on the space station and match strategies with mysterious aliens. All in a struggle to save a Gamma Quadrant race from annihilation and prevent the Deep Space Nine Space Station from suffering the same fate!

    Gameplay

    This is a first person perspective adventure game. You can move around, open doors, fire phasers, etc.. Beyond that, there are mini games in like manning a phaser to defend the station these use different interfaces. I found moving around in the first person perspective slow, and annoying, besides that the interface is great for the game.There are many different scenes, people and objects to interact in. You choose the choice for what Envoy says. You decide the fate of the Station, as you travel through the station and alien worlds.

    Graphics and Sound

    Harbinger has many cut-scenes with full 3D graphics, that not only look great, but ran silky smooth on my Performa. As for the gameplay graphics, they were wonderful, fully 3D and beautiful to look at. The scenes in the game were just like the TV show’s sets.The characters in the game were also very good, looking just like there real life counter-parts.

    The background sound in Harbinger is excellent, the *EXACT* same as the background sound you hear in episodes of DS9. The hum of the power generators, rumblings in the station. The sound effects in Harbinger are OK, not great, but OK. Some of the sounds are pretty good like the phaser firing, but some are fake sounding like the turbo lift doors opening.

    Interface, Difficulty, & Replayability

    The first person perspective interface of Harbinger is great graphic wise, but slow and annoying gameplay wise.

    Harbinger like all adventure games is challenging, there are hard puzzles to solve and easy puzzles. What sets Harbinger apart are the arcade mini games like defending the station against a drone attack, these make Harbinger much more enjoyable than other adventure games I’ve played recently like ST:TNG A Final Unity.

    Harbinger like practically all Adventure games has zero replayability factor, nothing’ll change the second time you play, it’ll be the exact same as the first time you played.

    Overall

    Overall I enjoyed this game, it was challenging, fresh, and visually pleasing. If somebody asked whether I would recommend this game to them because they were considering it, I would. What I wouldn’t do is recommend this game to somebody who isn’t considering it themselves.

    Find a copy

    Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Jack Nicklaus 4 Golf Mac Review (1998)

    Jack Nicklaus 4 Golf Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher MacSoft and Accolade
    Tested on Performa 5260/100 Mhz
    Gameplay 3 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 5 / 5 apples
    Interface 4 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 4 / 5 apples
    Bugs 4 / 5 apples
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jonathan Dreyer

    Jack Nicklaus is the first game in the MacSoft/Accolade deal which will also bring us Starcontrol 3 and Deadlock. Jack Nicklaus was created and ported to the Mac by Accolade, MacSoft is just publishing and distributing it.

    Jack Nicklaus’ box points out that “Graphics so detailed they look like photos” that part is true but, it goes on “And fast screen re-draws still won’t keep you waiting between shots” that part is not true, I found Jack very slow, not slow enough to make it unplayable but still slow…

    Gameplay

    Jack Nicklaus has a standard computer golf game gameplay, you choose your club, you target the hole, and you swing with the swing meter. I found the computer caddies in this game to be pretty good at choosing the right clubs, I only manually switched clubs once or twice. The targeting feature on Jack Nicklaus I found to be a little inaccurate, I had trouble lining up my shoots exactly as I wanted them but, that didn’t do anything to the actual accuracy of the shoots. I found the swing meter in Jack Nicklaus Golf rather refreshing, it had a nice natural curve to it compared to some other golf games like PGA Tour Golf 3. I have a minor complaint against the swing meter though, maybe it’s just me but it seems to be faster than I would like, maybe I’m just seeing things?

    The most interesting feature of Jack Nicklaus is it’s Course Editor. I found the course editor a little too complex for my tastes but, if you spend the time work at it, you should be able to create any number of your own course adding for unlimited replayability in the game.

    Interface

    Whoever ported Jack Nicklaus, although they did a pretty good job, It seemed to me that it just wasn’t up to the standards I expected compared to games like Quake or Duke Nukem 3D.

    If anyone has any info on Eclipise Software who ported Jack, could you let me know; Jonathan Dreyer

    Graphic & Sound

    One thing that Jack Nicklaus can brag about is it’s beautiful graphics. Jack Nicklaus 4 has the greatest graphics I’ve seen in a golf game yet! In the water you can actually see the reflections of trees, bushes, and other scenery.

    The background sound in Jack is amusing, while not of any great quality, there is plenty of it, be it frogs, birds, whistling wind, etc… There were enough different background sounds to keep me hitting my ball in rather unusual place to see what sounds would play while there.

    Bugs

    Nothing big, I had to re-install once although I never did find out why…

    Conclusion

    In my opinion Jack Nicklaus 4 Golf is a excellent golf game for your money. The most appealing feature of this game is the included Course editor which gives the game UNLIMITED replayability.

    So if you like golf, this is the game for you!

    Find a copy

    Jack Nicklaus 4 Golf has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Jack Nicklaus 4 Golf on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Tonka Search and Rescue Mac Review (1998)

    Tonka Search and Rescue Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher Hasbro Interactive
    Tested on Quadra 840AV, PowerMac 8500/150
    Gameplay 4 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 5 / 5 apples
    Interface 4 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 3 / 5 apples
    Bugs 4 / 5 apples
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Martha Engber

    Have your kids take a drive through Tonka Search & Rescue (ages 4 and up), where my bet is they’ll have a grand time saving people and making repairs using backhoes, cranes, dump trucks and other cool Tonka vehicles.

    Gameplay

    When you enter Search & Rescue you meet a robust Tonka Joe, dressed for rescue, who introduces you to the dispatch center, which is the screen from which you can choose any of the five main activities, each introduced by a character. Hallelujah that two of the five characters are women with one, Rudy Forest the zookeeper, being a minority and the other, Suzy Sparks, being in a non-standard job for a woman (she’s in charge of the garage). That was a big plus for me, the mother of a 6-year-old daughter. The activities themselves seem to be legitimate in terms of number, work required and length of time to complete. Kids can go to Suzy’s garage, where they can equip and customize fire trucks and other vehicles. Choosing “Coach Blaze” means you’ll get a tour of the Tonka Academy where three skills are taught; fire fighting and rescue using a helicopter or motor boat. The meatiest activities, however, are the three missions, which are disaster scenes that the player must clean up and rebuild. One revolves around the burning dock warehouse. The second deals with the aftermath of an earthquake at a zoo in which animals have been set loose, cages wrecked and roads cracked. In the last, old New England fisherman “Nate Cod” takes you through a flooded neighborhood where neighbors need rescuing. For each mission kids accomplish, they get an award certificate from the print center along with a newspaper article featuring their heroism. They can also print out Tonka team member badges, license plates and sheets of patterns to cut out and assemble into construction sites. Envision your computer area awash in paper.

    Graphics and Sound

    The graphics don’t attempt to be photo quality, but rather feel like colorful cartoons that are not too busy to look at. The lion stretches, the St. Bernard pants, the river water runs and gurgles. Best of all, each scenario has a number of faceless little people, some of whom are victims while others are members of the rescue crew. For example, if during firefighter practice at Tonka Academy you don’t put out a manufactured blaze with some speed, the little firefighter helpers sit down and start playing cards. If you wait long enough, they’ll curl up, go to sleep and snore. In terms of detail, the pilings at the harbor have algae growing on them, the power drill in the garage zips loudly like a power drill, the flags wave in the breeze. When you click on vehicles, their engines start and continue to hum until they drive off the screen after completing an activity.

    Difficulty

    The program literature says it encourages kids “to use problem-solving skills, rescue know-how and imagination to get missions accomplished.” I didn’t find this to be the case. Each mission scenario begins by telling kids what to do first and brings them the proper vehicle. It would be better to have a selection of four vehicles at the top of the screen in order to give kids a chance to figure out which is the best vehicle for the job. Telling kids which jobs to do and when gives them little chance to problem-solve or prioritize. What the program does well, however, is teach persistence and task completion, which leads to my next point.

    Interface

    The program excelled at what I called the Patience/Frustration Factor, which is both good and bad. My kids had a hard time maneuvering the vehicles sometimes because it requires a sense of perspective. Take the helicopter at the zoo. You position it in a place you believe to be above the lion, yet when you drop the rescue basket, it lands two inches below the lion. That means you have to move the helicopter up and try dropping the basket again so it gets close enough so the lion will jump in. The same goes for using the backhoe to pick up boxes and pipes on the dock, etc. It’s frustrating to start with, but I found it gratifying that my daughter had to try again and again before getting it right. Besides, once a kid learns the feel of the vehicles, it’s a lot easier the second time. Keep in mind that you should run the program on a machine with a fast processor. otherwise is really tough to maneuver the vehicles. That’s what I found by trying it on my Quadra 840AV (too slow) then on my PowerMac (just right).

    Find a copy

    Tonka Search and Rescue has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Tonka Search and Rescue on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Infocom Collections Mac Review (1998)

    Infocom Collections Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher Activision
    Tested on Macintosh Quadra 605 (25MHz 68LC040)
    Gameplay 5 / 5 apples
    Interface 4 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 4 / 5 apples
    Bugs 5 / 5 apples
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jon Ostenson

    North of House

    You are facing the north side of a white house. There is no door here, and all the windows are boarded up. To the north a narrow path winds through the trees.

    >look at the house

    The house is a beautiful colonial house which is painted white. It is clear that the owners must have been extremely wealthy.

    >go north

    Forest Path

    This is a path winding through a dimly lit forest. The path heads north-south here. One particularly large tree with some low branches stands at the edge of the path.

    >climb up the tree

    Up a Tree

    You are about 10 feet above the ground nestled among some large branches. The nearest branch above you is above your reach.
    Beside you on the branch is a small bird’s nest.
    In the bird’s nest is a large egg encrusted with precious jewels, apparently scavenged by a childless songbird. The egg is covered with fine gold inlay, and ornamented in lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. Unlike most eggs, this one is hinged and closed with a delicate looking clasp. The egg appears extremely fragile.

    If the above snippet (from the game Zork) looks familiar to you, you’ll no doubt be interested in Activations re-release of the original Infocom classic adventure games. Back in the days of 8-bit computers and before the likes of Myst, Infocom was king–their text adventure games challenged thousands (myself included). Infocom has since disappeared, and Activision now owns the rights to these games. In their re-release, they’ve placed most of Infocom’s original games on five CD-ROMs divided by genre (Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Comedy, and Science Fiction).
    These games (over thirty in all) will take you just about anywhere: from being a deck-swabbing ensign aboard an interstellar cruiser to an intrepid explorer in the Great Underground Empire to a detective struggling to unravel the twisted motives and clues behind a grisly murder. The stories range from serious drama to lighthearted poking fun at the government. No matter what your preferences, there’s sure to be a game in this collection that will strike your fancy.

    Gameplay & Interface

    Since these games were created during the era of the 8-bit computer, you won’t find dazzling 3D graphics and effects, nor is there any mouse-driven navigation. Gameplay takes place by means of a command-line interface; you “communicate” with your on-screen alter ego through conversational sentences and commands (i.e., “Take the bottle then give it to the hobo”). Infocom developed a remarkable parser that understands more than you’d imagine (sometimes, too, more than you’d want it to understand). The parser makes navigating through areas and manipulating objects relatively easy, although it does have its limits. Communicating with the game can sometimes be frustrating if you don’t know exactly what the parser expects you to type.
    While these games may seem austere and backwards by toady’s standards, the stories are as complex and challenging as the best games on the market today. Each game is sure to keep you involved for hours as you try and find your way to a solution. One of the keys to succeeding at text adventure games like these is making maps and reading every single word that the computer spits out at you. You will consult your map quite frequently, as exploration is also vital to completing these games.
    If you do remember the days when these games came from Infocom, you’ll also remember Infocom’s clever packaging. Make-believe ID cards, parchments, and even “Don’t Panic!î buttons were standard fare. Unfortunately, Activision has not reproduced exactly these ingenious extras. Documentation is not sparse, though, and each game’s original manual has been reproduced along with as many accouterments as possible. Most games also include maps to aid you in navigating through the game’s complex story.
    Difficulty & Replayability
    Infocom’s games are well-known for being difficult. Each game presents a nice combination of difficult and less-difficult puzzles that provide nice variety throughout the game. The nice things about these games, since they are quite old, is that hints and solutions are readily available on the Web. While you probably won’t get stuck too often, there are bound to be a few puzzles in each game that are just stumpers but that’s all a part of the fun!). The stories are all basically linear (with only a couple of exceptions), so there isn’t really any opportunity for replayability.

    Conclusion
    If you remember the original Infocom series, these games are worth it just for nostaligia’s sake. But even if the concept of text adventures is new to you, you’ll find a depth and complexity to these stories and your ability to interact with them that is rarely found in today’s more graphical adventures.

    Find a copy

    Infocom Collections has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Infocom Collections on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • A-10 Cuba! Mac Review (1998)

    A-10 Cuba! Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher Parsoft
    Tested on Performa 5260/100 Mhz
    Gameplay 4 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 3 / 5 apples
    Interface 4 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 5 / 5 apples
    Bugs 4 / 5 apples
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jonathan Dreyer

    Guerrilla forces have taken control of the beautiful island of Cuba! Once again the A-10 Wathogs must suppress the enemies of freedom. A-10 Cuba adds more action packed missions and new features to the award winning A-10 Attack! Defend the run down Naval Air Station at Guantanamo Bay, escort damaged aircraft over heavily defended occupied territory, and then destroy the precious resources which fuel the enemy war machine. Transform aircraft and tanks into piles of smokin’ garbage with the largest airborne arsenal available to mankind.

    Gameplay

    First off I’ll tell you what I didn’t like about A-10 Cuba. First of all, A-10 Cuba isn’t really a game, you don’t earn points or awards it’s a REAL simulation, at the end of the mission you land if you want to and select end game unlike F/A-18 Hornet where after you land it gives you a screen showing that you successfully completed the mission and show what you destroyed. Now what I liked, I really like it’s realistic flight engine, I believe this is the most realistic flight simulator I have EVER played now mind you I’ve never actually flown a plane but, of all the books I’ve read and simulators I’ve flown, this is still the most realistic.

    Interface, Difficulty, and Reliability

    Since this is a mac first game not a port the interface is very Macish, it has all the options, dialogue boxes, and buttons you aspect in a mac game. It has all sorts of difficulty options, graphic options, sound options, and more of the usual.

    I found A-10 Cuba very difficult to master, it has I very steep learning curve and lots of buttons. As for the missions, I found those very interesting although not much new to a flight sim veteran.

    A-10 Cuba is very replayible in the Network mode, if your not connect to a network you can use a program like NetLink Remote or ARA to play a modem game.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion A-10 Cuba is a excellent simulator but a bad game, if you want a simulator this is what to get, if you want a game then I suggest F/A-18 Hornet.

    Find a copy

    A-10 Cuba! has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for A-10 Cuba! on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Castles: Siege & Conquest Mac Review (1998)

    Castles: Siege & Conquest Mac Review (1998)

    This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher MacPlay
    Tested on LC475 (25MHz 68LC040)
    Gameplay 4 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 3 / 5 apples
    Interface 5 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 5 / 5 apples
    Bugs 5 / 5 apples
    Overall 4 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by Jon Ostenson

    Castles: Siege & Conquest is set in the middle of chaotic 14th-century France, a time of great bloodshed and contention for the throne of France. During the course of the game you will conquer territories, build castles on them to ensure their allegiance to you, and maintain a delicate balance between the political, economic, and military aspects of your realm. You also have to keep your people happy and maintain a good relationship with the Pope. Your ultimate goal is to become king; to do so, you’ll need to gather enough might and resources and petition the Pope to declare you king. If he grants your request, you’ll win the game. If another player successfully petitions the Pope first, you lose.

    Gameplay & Interface
    An attractive graphical interface also serves to easily give you access to all of the game’s commands. Events take place in real-time, so it would be easy for the game to get out of hand, but MacPlay has done a good job of making the interface work to your benefit. There are numerous tutorials included with the CD-ROM version that introduce you nicely to the game’s features and what it will take to be successful. These tutorials function much like Apple’s AppleGuide, taking you step-by-step through the game’s interface and commands.
    Quicktime movies and sound clips of old black and white movies add some realism and, at times, humor to the game. These clips often introduce numerous side plot lines that will demand your attention at the same time as you seek to conquer the realm. Successfully navigating through these plots may influence your relations with the Pope (an all-important figure in this game), alleviate your people’s sufferings, or increase your stockpiles of resources.
    As you move along conquering territories and subjugating enemies, you’ll need to build castles on your lands to ensure their allegiance to you. The castle design stage allows you to either design your own or choose from historically-based designs. If you do choose to design your own castle, the process is simple and intuitive (and kinda fun!). Once you lose your first territory to rebellion, you’ll understand the importance of these castles.

    Difficulty & Replayability
    Castles provides four different levels of difficulty (ranging from Easy to Impossible) that should provide many hours of challenge. You may also play as any of five different lords, each situated in different geographical areas of the map. As you try to conquer the other lords in the land, you can take a number of approaches (I.e., military domination, economic domination, etc.). These different factors make for a practically unlimited number of scenarios.
    This is not an easy game, even at the simplest level. It will be long months before you’re in a position to petition the Pope, and then after you petition him you must keep you total points above a certain level to keep his attention.

    Graphics & Sound
    Castles’ graphics are nice, but nothing to write home about.Likewise, there’s some nice sound effects, music, and speech, but this game won’t make you run out and buy some Bose for your Mac. This isn’t a game, though, that relies heavily on multimedia, but instead on strategy and skill. In those areas it is very successful.

    Find a copy

    Castles: Siege & Conquest has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Castles: Siege & Conquest on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

  • Damage Incorporated Mac Review (1998)

    Damage Incorporated Mac Review (1998)

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    From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

    Publisher MacSoft
    Tested on PowerMac 6500 and Performa 575
    Gameplay 4 / 5 apples
    Graphics & Sound 4 / 5 apples
    Interface 4 / 5 apples
    Difficulty 5 / 5 apples
    Bugs 4 / 5 apples
    Overall 4.5 / 5 apples
    Reviewed by J. Driver

    Damage Incorporated is a three-dimensional Macintosh game in which you are a Marine sergeant who commands up to four other Marines in six different scenarios. Your goal is ultimately to track down a powerful militia leader and terminate him.

    Gameplay

    Damage Incorporated is based on the Marathon 2 engine, with some improvements. You can run, jump, duck, and swim through thirty levels. You have ten weapons to choose from. You can also open doors, either mechanical or swinging, some requiring key cards to open. In addition to killing enemies, you may also have to rescue hostages, which talk (assuming you have v. 1.1.) You can also have a game on a LocalTalk network or equivalent. There is, however, no TCP/IP or modem play. Choose your squadmates carefully! If you bring the wrong ones, you could really be asking for trouble, unless you do not mind if they occasionally go TRAITOR or BERSERK. Overall, gameplay is very intense and easy to play, even on a slow machine. One word of advice: get the updated version, v.1.1. It allows hostages to talk, text to appear, and fixes many bugs.

    Graphics and Sound

    All the textures in Damage Incorporated were either hand-painted or created on Macintosh computers, resulting in a beautiful environment. In addition, levels contain sounds related to the level?s location. And when enemies die, you know when they do. There were a few problems related to sounds not appearing (specifically mission briefings when starting certain levels.) Also, when you are looking at a wall or column, and it is slanted, the texture may look strange.

    Interface

    Damage Incorporated allows you to use a keyboard or mouse, primarily. It also allows you to change settings very easily. When you bring your map on screen, you can even use your mouse to command your teammates to go to a specific location on the map! This is probably the best feature of the game! Unfortunately, there is no crosshair, something every Build engine-based game has today.

    Difficulty

    Like the interface, Damage Incorporated also allows you to change the difficulty level, ranging from ?Grenada Landing? to ?War in Vietnam.? This allows both beginners and well-seasoned players to have a great time. And, again, choose your squadmates carefully, because if one of them goes TRAITOR or BERSERK, watch out! This is also on of the game?s best features!

    Conclusion

    Unlike most games, Damage Incorporated gives what they really want: mass carnage in a great environment. Like in real life, you men can become mentally wounded in combat. Unfortunately, I think it very slightly gives the public an untrue image of the Marine Corps. They are not ?mindless killers? and are the best military unit in the world (in my opinion.)

    Find a copy

    Damage Incorporated has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Damage Incorporated on Amazon.

    Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.