It’s not every day a good game comes to the Mac. In fact, there aren’t many who consider the platform to be one for games. Thanks to the Mac App Store, some quality titles are slowly making their way to Apple’s computers. One consistent publisher has been LEGO with its editions of popular fiction — Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, etc. This week LEGO released yet another beautifully-built game, this time for fans of The Lord of the Rings. But the game releases for the week don’t end there. Let’s take a quick look at the top two games that just arrived on the Mac App Store.
LEGO The Lord of the Rings
Proof that Golum can get creepier.
First we have LEGO’s recreation of The Lord of the Rings in a brick-ified video game. It’s brought to you by Feral Interactive, developer of popular titles like BioShock and Mini Ninjas. This game will take you through J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy in a comical and unique way that you’d expect from LEGO. There are over 80 playable characters in the game, along with the three great weapons of the novels: Narsil, Aragorn’s sword; Gimli’s axe; and Legolas’ amazing bow. You can play with your friends, too, using the cooperative mode included with the game. Have them help you out with quests, recover buried treasure, and wreak havoc on the Orcs. (You will want to have an extra keyboard or two on hand for this.)
At $29.99, the 6.25 GB download is a steal. The whimsical storytelling should keep your attention and there are a good many hours of quality gameplay available. Just so things don’t get boring, put on the One Ring for added drama.
Another World – 20th Anniversary
“Die, fool!”
It’s one of the science fiction classics. The critically acclaimed French video game was known as “Out of This World” in the United States back in the early 1990s. Those names may sound boisterous now, but this title is one of the greats.
Another World is a platforming game, much like Super Mario Bros. The story revolves around a scientist, Lester, who mistakenly sends himself to a different planet that is filled with peril around every corner. He must confront the dangers of this new world, and hopefully get back home. The graphics may not look like much, but for its time the game was a masterpiece. With both cinematic and graphic appeal, the game excelled into a critically acclaimed classic.
Now, Another World is over 20 years old, and the developer has ported it to Android, iOS, and Mac, improving the graphics but keeping the best elements of the game in tact. In the 20th anniversary edition, all the old gameplay can be relived at a much higher resolution. It is now available on the Mac App Store for a grand total of $9.99.
SimCity Launches Sometime This Spring
Don’t forget that Electronic Arts’ SimCity will be coming to the Mac sometime this spring. The PC version releases on the 5th of March, but the Mac version is delayed. The developer wants to ensure that the Mac experience is as good as, if not better than, the PC one. With that said, EA will be releasing the game to Mac when its fully native version is available. It should be released sometime this spring, according to the official FAQ, which also notes that the Mac edition will only be available as a digital download. Though there is no mention of the Mac App Store, the title should be making its way to Apple’s marketplace.
Thanks for reading this brief update on the Mac’s gaming scene. Join us in the future for more just like it, and see you around town!