The best way I can sum up Sims 3 is to admit that I’ve put off writing this review for weeks. It’s not because the game is bad. A review of a bad game is a breeze to write. It’s taken me this long because I’m not entirely certain how I feel about the game. It’s fair to say that a whole load of people like the basic concept of The Sims franchise. It’s been around for years and has managed to sell an ungodly number of (really) marginally useful expansion packs. I’m even forced to admit that I once bought a Sims Pet expansion in lieu of the Sony Aibo I couldn’t afford.
So the Sims formula works, and Sims 3 definitely takes an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-try-to-fix-it-and-inadvertently-fuck-up-the-money-press approach. What it successfully does is tweak, layer, and evolve the holy hell out of this formula. If you’re the sort of gamer who loved any of the previous Sims games then you’ll assuredly be at home. You’ll burst with fruit flavor when you realize you can finally place things at an angle or on half of a tile, and that you can now simply create diagonal walls. You may cackle with joy the first time you walk from your house to insult the mayor across town without a single load screen to slow you down. It will probably tickle you to see the trait system that’s been implemented, allowing delightful combinations such as an Evil Sim with a Green Thumb or a Great Kisser who’s also Insane.
On the other hand, if the idea of escaping from real-life minutia to the minutia of a Sim’s world seems a bit odd, you can skip this game and perhaps even my review. But that could hurt my feelings.
Continue reading ‘The Sims 3 for Mac’
Virtual Programming has announced X3: Terran Conflict for Mac, available today:
The X Universe story embarks on a thrilling final chapter with Virtual Programming, Ltd.’s release of X3: Terran Conflict for Mac OS X. A new standalone game that’s more expansive and open-ended than previous entries in the series, X3: Terran Conflict features stunning graphics and spine-tingling audio that make players feel as if they’re really exploring deep space. They’ll undertake dangerous missions, become economic powerhouses, and engage in conflicts ranging from dogfights between small spacecraft to massive battles involving fleets of ships.
X3: Terran Conflict continues the X Universe’s story of human, alien, and machine races vying for power — players choose between several different characters, with their selection slightly altering the plot. The X Universe has made contact with the Solar System, but Earth is a much different place than it was centuries ago, when a calamity cut the planet off from a small group of humans.
Interestingly, X3: Terran Conflict isn’t using Transgaming’s Cider technology and instead has gone for the fruit juice option - a straight port! Mark Hinton, Virtual Programming’s CEO:
Cider was used in X3, unfortunately it didn’t deliver the performance Virtual Programming and its customers required.
I’ve had issue with Cider since
BF2142 for Mac, what with performance being on par with a one-legged racing dog that’s fallen down a well and has spontaneously caught on fire.
It looks like Luis will be braving the dark skies of X3: Terran Conflict, hopefully finishing before the one-legged, burned demon dog of Cider turns up on his doorstep demanding a reinstall.
I just picked up Fight Night Round 4 for my PS3, not because I particularly like boxing as a sport, but more so because I like boxing as a video game. I like to create a character named after myself, make his stats and attributes similar to mine, and climb my way from the bottom to the top in virtual rings, because Lord knows I would never step into a real one.
Continue reading ‘It’s in the game, but I’m not’
No love for the Mac on the battlefield says my contact at EA:
At the moment there are no immediate plans for a Mac SKU for either Heroes or BF1943.
It certainly is a bit of a bafflefield (ho ho) out there right now. Mind you, my question of Battlefield 3 for Mac wasn’t answered - mistake or indication of a release? We’ll see next year.
Currently the only Battlefield game on the Mac is BF2142 which runs like a dog sans legs on all of the Macs I’ve owned. Interestingly I tried BF2142 on a last gen MacBook Pro and it ran well at 800×600, with non of the ‘orrible lag that I get on my Mac Pro.
Transgaming have been unable to find my issue with BF2142 so I’m still booting into Vista to get dog tags. The Mac version of BF2142 is good for something though: I use the Mac disc to run my Windows install after the disc cracked.
Those crazy cats at Aspyr have released the original Call of Duty and it’s expansion pack:
Call of Duty Features:
- Play through 24 epic single-player missions on four interconnected campaigns, or go online for Axis versus Allies team-based multiplayer action.
- Intense battlefield moments put you in the heat of the action, capturing the chaos of battle like never before.
- Together with your squad, take on Nazi forces through a variety of authentic combat missions.
- Move through the ranks, taking on more dangerous missions such as sniper missions and ambushes until you are promoted to tank commander.
Call of Duty: United Offensive Features:
- 13 new Single-Player missions!
- 11 new Multiplayer maps and 3 new modes, with vehicles including tanks and jeeps!
- Fight in tanks, jeeps, motorcycles, even a bomber.
- Work with your squad through snow and rain, using new weapons including flamethrowers and deployable machine guns, or by calling in artillery strikes.
- Join the 101st Airborne for the climactic moments of the Battle of the Bulge.
- Fight as a British airman shooting down German ME-109’s from the gunner position of a B-17 bomber, before transferring to Churchill’s elite S.O.E. and clearing the way for the invasion of Sicily.
- Finally, follow your Russian comrades into the Battle of Kursk, one of the greatest tank battles of all time.
Also, EA and DICE finally got around to releasing Battlefield Heroes, their casual, pay to customise shooter that’s playable in your browser. I haven’t had a chance to play yet, but Jim at Rock, Paper, Shotgun certainly didn’t seem that impressed:
I only spotted a couple of people who’d bothered to spend money upgrading the ultra-bland insta-soldier that you spawn with. I’m not quite sure how looking ridiculous helps you have more fun on the field of battle, but it’s never hurt the hobo clown denizens of a hundred MMOs, so I guess it’s going to work out here too. I can’t knock it too hard: if it pays to keep the landscape of gaming a little broader, that’s fine. But there’s not a chance in the multiverse that my sad, crumpled cashmoney is heading anywhere near those particular micropayments, and I doubt I’ll sink much more than an afternoon into this.
As there isn’t a Mac version available, I’ll have a play around with Heroes in Windows. I’ve contacted EA to see if a Mac version is coming.
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