Low End Mac Gaming

Low End Mac is pleased to have Brian Rumsey on board with Low End Mac Gaming. It's an area we've generally overlooked here, mostly from lack of time to play games, let alone write about them.

But more than just enjoying a good game, Brian has a sense for what makes a good playable game on both new Macs with fast CPUs and 3D graphics as well as older Macs with a lot less horsepower.

• Master of Orion on the Mac, Tamara Keel, Digital Fossils, 2008.07.01. The DOS version of this vintage game broke with Pentium or Windows 95, but the Mac version still runs very nicely in the Classic Mac OS.
• 7 great games for Mac users, Korin Hasegawa-John, Mac Daniel, 2001.12.06. Some excellent games for those who don't care for or have the power for first person shooters.
• First person shooters: Hardware & software, Korin Hasegawa-John, Mac Daniel, 2001.11.26. Recommended hardware and software for those interested in first person shooters.
• First person shooters: Netiquette and tactics, Korin Hasegawa-John, Mac Daniel, 2001.11.19. Online gaming etiquette and strategies for staying alive in first person shooters.
• First person shooters: Introduction, Korin Hasegawa-John, Mac Daniel, 2001.11.14. An introduction to first person shooter games and their system requirements on the Mac.
• Mac multiplayer basics, 2001.07.02. An introduction to multiplayer gaming on the Mac.
• Gaming and 3D video cards, 2001.06.01. A look at accelerated 3D video cards for the Mac -- brands, chipsets, standards, and more.
• Blizzard Games: A look at Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo on the Mac, Jonathan Ploudre, 2001.05.23. Some great games that run well on older Macs.
• The gaming challenge, Jake Sargent, iThings Considered, 2001.03.02. How programmers try to make games challenging for all players.
• Classic Mac games updated, 12/8/00. Old favorites such as Quake, Shadow Warrior, Duke Nukem, Marathon, and others have been updated with better than ever 3D performance.
• Preview: New Centurions, 11/15/00. New game from the makers of Realms promises good gameplay and support for oldest color Macs.
• The future of low-end gaming, 10/12/00. Interviews with three game developers on future support for older Macs.
• Review: King of Dragon Pass, 9/19/00. King of Dragon Pass is not your average build and conquer type of game.
• Gaming on older Power Macs, 8/28/00. The best games to play on the oldest Power Macs.
• Looking back at Macworld, 8/8/00. Is the Cube a gaming machine? What new games look promising?
• Gaming with older Power Macs, 7/18/00. Setting up first-generation Power Macs and PowerPC Performas for gaming.
• Review: Realmz, 7/11/00. A great game playable on almost any Mac that supports 256 colors.
• The best sounding Mac games, 7/3/00. "...these games are all good enough with the speakers off that their good audio effects are added bonuses, not the only bright spots in otherwise dismal games."
• Bungie and the future of Mac gaming, Brian Rumsey, Low End Mac Gaming, 6/26/00. Why did Bungie sell out to Microsoft? What does this mean for the future of Mac gaming?
• The Suitability of G3 Upgrades for Gaming, 6/9/00.
• Games for '030s, 5/26/00. A look at games that run nicely on the old 68030-based Macs.
• Gaming on '030s, 5/11/00. There's still some life in those old '030s - and upgrades can be quite reasonable.
• Is the Mac a gaming machine?, 4/26/00. Brian provides a very thoughtful answer to this question.
• Mac games in development, 4/14/00. A look at eight games currently being developed for the Mac.
• Mac game sequels, 3/27/00. New games are great, and earlier versions will often run well on less powerful Macs.
• Where Mac Games Are Going, 3/10/00. Incredible 3D graphics, more first-person views, and a blurring of genres.
• Games for '040s, 2/25/00
• Gaming on '040s, 2/16/00
• Graphics and Game Play, 2/8/00

Other Mac Gaming Links

• How does GeForce3 compare to GeForce 2, Radeon?, Bare Feats, 06.08. 3D gamers will be especially tempted by this card.
• Gamesmania, Mac page, updated regularly
• Gaming Reviews and Specials, Small Dog Electronics
• MacGamer.com, very good site, updated daily
• Inside Mac Games, good site, updated regularly
• iBook Gamer, good up to date info
• Mac Game Database
• Mac Game News