Let me start off by saying that people who own Macs have been getting the short end of the stick when it comes to looking for games for our computers. But that is all starting to change since the iMac has come out.
I’ll begin by telling you that like most guys hate to sit and read about what keys do what in order to play the game. I just jump right in. In about an hour, or sooner if I can’t figure out what the hell I’m doing, I will read the Manual! So with out further babble from me, here are some short reviews about the games you will find on the Bungie Mac Action Sack.
Minotaur: According to Bungie this game was its first title, and it shows. If you are one of these guys who are into classic games you might like this title. As for me, I like my games with a lot of quality graphics. As I started Minotaur I thought I was in the year 1980 playing it on my Dad’s Commodore 64.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had to stop and check that my new test computer was in fact a 400MHz G3. Well, I was not impressed at all by this game. The character who represents your character is the size of a postage stamp and his or her arms are always moving up and down. Now, you move through a maze looking for who knows what. All I can tell you is that if you are into Dungeons and Dragons you will probably get into this type of game. I need more visual stimulation. This game gets a lowly one GiN Gem.
Pathways Into Darkness: On the box, Bungie says that this title is the first 3D shooter for the Mac. You basically fight aliens while exploring and ancient pyramid. In this game you are a Special Forces Agent that has to kill this Alien God by setting off a small nuclear device in its tunnels. Let me begin by saying that this game, like the one before it, is basic in design. It has very cartoonish-looking graphics so don’t expect to be thrilled. I do admit that Pathways is very easy to use. I prefer using the mouse to move about, because while I’m looking down hunting for the keys for certain commands I get killed.
Pathways also displays three small windows outside the playing field. The first window is the Inventory Window. Here is where all the stuff you collect is kept. It can be examined or dropped to the ground. The next window is the Message Window. This tells the player what is going on. Say you walk over a dead Nazi, It will ask if you wanna search his body for weapons. And finally the Player Window tells about your progress, weapon proficiencies,and health and power status.
This game was another stinker. I tried desperately to pay attention to what was going on. I just found myself feeling very apathic about the whole experience. This game gets one GiN Gem.
Abuse: All right, you all heard me wine and complain about the first two games. Well I am very happy to say that this game is a winner! The first thing that came to my mind when I began Abuse was Aliens vs. Predator. In the game it’s the year 2009 and you have been wrongly incarcerated inside an underground prison where illegal genetic experiments are taking place.
An infectious disease breaks out turning prisoners and guards into mutants which take over the building. You are the only person who is immune to it. Your goal is to don battle armor and reach the Control Room. There you stop the prison’s Abuse-infected water supply from contaminating the outside world. This game is very easy to play!
You can just start it without reading any instructions. Abuse actually tells you at the bottom of the screen what to do to get around — first level only. If you don’t like to keep starting over after you have croaked then you’re in luck. There are places in Abuse called Stations where games are saved. You can save up to five different levels.
All you have to do is stand in front of the station and press the down arrow to activate it. To save your position, click on any of the save screens on the left.
I really loved the weapons in this game. At first I started out with the basic laser rifle, but when I got my hands on the Heat Seeking Rocket Launcher things were looking up. With a single shot I was able to destroy eight mutants. To wrap it up, Abuse is a wild ride. The mutants, killer robots, lava, boulders, and other obstacles will keep you busy for hours.
One final note, if you find that the levels are to easy, Bungie says you can make your own. Abuse has a Level Editor. The editor allows you to actually build new levels and even entire new games of Abuse, in both single and multi-player mode.
Wait! Before you get all excited, please remember we are playing on Macs. So please read what I found about the Level Editor. The following is a quote from the folks at Bungie:
Abuse Editor Product Support: Due to the complexity of the level editor, Bungie will not be able to answer questions about the editor’s use or level creation. Some of the features of this editor require a two-button mouse which is not natively supported on the Macintosh. Currently, there are no workarounds that will allow these features to work. We apologize for this inconvenience.
Oh well. Even if Mac people can’t use level editor I’m still gonna give Abuse 4 1/2 GiN Gems.
Marathon, Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity: I have grouped these last three games together because they are all about the same character taking on different missions. Let me begin by saying that at first I hated Marathon. I started at the easiest setting and could not get off the first level. In the game I found a doorway that was half open, so I tried to crawl under it. Guess what? You can’t crawl or crouch down in this game. After several attempts to escape this level, I submitted to failure.
Ticked off, I was now prepared to write a nasty review. Suddenly a voice passing by my cube said aloud "MARATHON!" A co-worker stood there looking like a ten year old kid at Christmas. He pushed me aside and said "I love this game. Can I play?"
"Go ahead," I said. "But don’t think you will find it much fun being stuck on this level."
He gave me a "You’re and idiot" look and proceeded to explain what to do if you’re new to Marathon. First, set the game to view what is happening at the lightest viewing setting. You will be able to see stuff on the floor that you might miss. Example: steps. I couldn’t believe that I had missed the steps. I was stumbling my way through this level.
To help you along, there are computers that give information about weapons, and where you will need to go to in order to get to the next level. Not all computers in the game work. Some are down because of the enemy take over, but at every level there is one computer that asks if you want to save up to that point. I love this feature, because I can’t stand to start from the beginning.
After my new friend showed me how to get around in Marathon I was hooked. I never thought that a 3D shooter game could be so much fun. I expected to play only for about and hour. I couldn’t believe it when I went to get a sip of soda that three hours had passed. There should be a warning on this game saying: Highly Addictive!
Marathon and its sequels are quite impressive. Not only do they have good graphics, but the game keeps you interested while attacking aliens, elevators, powerful weapons and secret rooms.
I have no other choice but too give these games 4 1/2 GiN Gems. Oh, one last thing I learned about this game. If you go to the screen where you click to start, don’t touch anything. Instead, just wait a minute and the game will show secret rooms and doorways to different levels.