Game of the week: Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness for Macs

Long before modern gamers were playing World of Warcraft, an earlier generation of video game fans was introduced to the fantasy world of Azeroth in 1994 through the real-time strategy game Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.

That original Warcraft game was a solid vehicle, but the series from Blizzard Entertainment really showed its potential and shined with the game's sequel, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, available for both PC platforms and Macintosh computers by 1996.

This game was basically a campaign war game and had several different modes. The player could enter campaign mode and play either as the orcs or the human forces against the opposing side run by the computer. Also, the player has an editing tool to create his or her own maps and can then go to war on those maps against the computer.

Gameplay consisted of a single player mode or a mode for multiple players, in which case the player could go online and face off against other opponents. Despite this game being more than 15 years old, Warcraft II still has a sizable following online that consistently battles against one another.

Combat might be the main function of this strategy game, but it is not the only one. Players also have to spend quite a bit of time building up their resources before they can go to war, or during the middle of a war. This includes cutting down trees for wood and digging into mines for gold. Then the wood and gold is used to build buildings and troops.

The main difference between this game and its predecessor is that Warcraft II allows for battle on water. Yep, you can build your own ships and send them off to war against the enemy. That being said, there were several other cosmetic changes from the original Warcraft game, the most noticeable one being a better user interface.

Warcraft II did well with reviewers of the mid-to-late 1990s, and it was popular among gamers. It's popularity was enough for Blizzard Entertainment to release multiple add-on packages for Warcraft II as well as the eventual creation of many sequel and related games. Just think, without Warcraft II there might not have ever been a World of Warcraft.

When comparing the PC and Mac versions of this great game, there is little difference in actual gameplay, though a slight edge might be given to the Macs of the time for slightly better graphical capabilities.

Game of the week: Mechwarrior 2 for Macs

The year is 3057. You are a warrior for either Clan Jade Falcon or Clan Wolf. Ahead of you lies the Refusal War in which you must pilot a BattleMech against your enemies. The future of the galaxy depends upon you, soldier!

Yeah? Who cares?

Let's get to shooting and blowing up stuff! Because that's what the MechWarrior games are really all about.

And MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat won't let down fans of the BattleMech genre. There's tons of combat and explosive action to be found here.

I have to admit right up front that back in the early-to-mid 1990s, I preferred Apple's Macintosh computers for gaming because they had better graphics. PC play has caught up today, but back then, the Macs ruled.

Which was on reason I preferred to play MechWarrior 2 on a Macintosh. Better graphics.

There is a complex background story to this game, and it does come up from time to time while playing, but for the most part you can just sit back and enjoy riding along in a gigantic bi-pedal tank that's sort of like a robot while you get to blow up stuff and shoot stuff.

At the start of Mechwarrior 2 you are given a choice of which of two clans to join, but either way you will face 16 missions ahead of you. The first mission or two are relatively straightforward and relatively easy, but the missions get tougher and tougher, as does the action!

This game will not bore you, I promise. Each mission is different and has different jobs needing done, and you'll have a variety of Mechs to drive as well as you'll face a variety of enemy Mechs, too.

The controls can get a little complicated because there are so many buttons to keep track of on your keyboard, and each one is important, but one of the cool things about this game is you can set up your own controls, and there's an option for quite simple controls, basically just pointing and shooting with a little movement.

The graphics are superb for the time period, perhaps the best 3D computer game graphics from the mid-1990s. And the sound is quite awesome as well; not only are the explosions and Mech noises quite believable but the musical soundtrack by Jeehun Hwang is excellent, quite militaristic in places.

So, if you're an old-school Mac gamer, you've got to get this game. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

Enjoy!

How many Tron video games have there been?

In 1982, Walt Disney Productions released a movie known as Tron, starring Jeff Bridges. The film enjoyed modest success at the box office, but over the years has gained a huge following. And why not? Released during the height of the arcade video game crazy, Tron was about a programmer who is pulled into a world where video games are reality.

Now Disney has released a sequel, Tron: Legacy, also with Jeff Bridges as one of the stars. Considering it has been almost 30 years since the first Tron movie, will Tron: Legacy still be able to find an audience? So far the critics are mixed, but with all the fanfare the film has built, and the awesome graphics its trailers portray, Tron: Legacymight be the start of a new film and video game franchise.

But over the years, there has to some extent already been a Tron video game franchise. There have been a number of official Tron video games going all the way back to the early 1980s and up to today. Just how many Tron games have there been?

Let's count and take a look back.

Tron (1982)

Bally Midway released this arcade game in 1982 right before the release of the Tronmovie by Disney. This one set the stage for many future Tron games in that it the gameplay actually includes more than one different sub-game within the overall game, and one of those sub-games here is a light cycle game, and light cycle games have been somewhat popular ever since. Besides the light cycle mini game, there is also a sub-game in which the player has to shoot out colored blocks in a rotating tower, a game in which the player takes on enemy tanks in a maze, and a game in which the player takes on electronic spiders. The player can choose in which order he or she wants to tackle each of the mini games.

Tron: Deadly Discs (1982)

In 1982, at the height of the home video game market, the toy company Mattel was lucky enough to land the Tron franchise for home video games. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't a huge blockbuster at the time (despite its later huge following), so this didn't help game sales. Still, Mattel put out some great games based upon Tron. This is my personal favorite, originally made for the Intellivision home video game system by Mattel, though shortly thereafter Mattell released a version for the Atari 2600 under its M Network titles. As far as gameplay, basically you control a character who runs around an arena while zapping enemies with your throwing disc. Your character can also use the disc as a shield to block discs thrown by the enemies.

Tron: Solar Sailer (1982)

This was another home video game released by Mattel for the Intellivision system, and it was one of only four games that utilized the Intellivoice module for the Intellivision, basically an external component that added voice sounds to the game. This was never a very popular game, and if you ever play it you'll see why; it seems kind of fruitless as you travel through grids while avoiding spiders and tanks, and then when you get to the end of the grid you just go on to another grid.

Tron: Maze-A-Tron (1982)

This was the third and final Tron home video game Mattel made for its Intellivision system. Basically, you run through a maze while trying to avoid enemies who are after you. Not a great game, but not awful. It had fairly decent graphics for the time, but then the Intellivision system was known for its graphics back in the day.

Adventures of Tron (1982)

Mattel also made this game, but not exactly for its Intellivision home video game system, but for the Atari 2600 home video game system. How did this happen? Well, this game was supposed to be a version of Maze-A-Tron for the Atari 2600, but once this game was finished it was totally different from Maze-A-Tron. What to do? Mattel released it anyway, even though there technically wasn't a version of this game for their own home video game system. This is kind of a climbing game in which the character moves up and down levels while collecting items flying at you.

Tomytronic Tron (1982)

To my knowledge, this is the only handheld or tabletop video game every made for the Tron franchise. The company Tomy released this game in 1982. This was another Tron game that was more than a single game, but several games in one. Here, there were tree games, a light cycle game, a disc combat game, and then a game where you take on the master computer.

Discs of Tron (1983)

This one was another arcade game, and my favorite of the arcade Tron games. Bally Midway released it. The play would seem fairly simple, you playing a character who jumps around on screen while throwing discs at an enemy while avoiding discs he throws at you, and play is simple for the first couple of screens. But then things begin to change. Walls pop up. Your enemy starts throwing grenades. Some of those grenades actually begin following you around on screen. And much, much more. An awesome game.

BeamWars (1992 - unofficial)

Polaris Software released this game initially as shareware for Macintosh computers. It's a pretty simplistic (by today's standards) light cycle game. It is now available as an app for some cell phones. This game, or other ones very, very similar to it, has been introduced under other names, including Beamtron, but it's basically the same game.

Ricochet (2000 - unofficial)

Ricochet is actually a multi-player mod for the first person shooter video game Half-Life. It's actually an official mod, and it's obviously based upon the world of Tron. How so? It's a death-match style game visually, and even somewhat in gameplay, similar to Tron and some of the Tron video games. Characters jump around on platforms while trying to take one another out with throwing discs. The colors and graphical styles of the game are also quite reminiscent of Tron.

Tron 2.0 (2003)

Tron 2.0 is meant to be a sequel of sorts to the original Tron movie. It is basically a first person shooter game, initially available for PCs from Buena Vista Games, though later MacPlay released a Macintosh version. Also, a version of this game was ported to the Xbox and the Game Boy Advance under the name Tron 2.0 Killer App.

GLtron - 0.70 (2003 - unofficial)

0.70 is the most recent version of this game, though there were some earlier versions. As is obvious from the graphics, this game is based upon the light cycle duels of the Tron universe. GLtron is on open source computer game available for PCs as well as Macintoshes. If you think you've got the right stuff, go check out the official websiteand join in the fun.

Armegatron Advanced (2004 - unofficial)

This is the most recent version of a computer game originally known only as Armegatron. What is it? Yet another light cycle game based upon Tron; apparently the light cycles are popular, what with all this different games based upon that sequence in the original movie. This game is available for a bunch of different kinds of computers, from PCs to Linux to Macs to more, so if you are interested, you can check it out right here. This is a multi-player game, and it's available for free.

Space Paranoids (2009)

In the original Tron movie, there was a video game called Space Paranoids. And now, all these years later (and probably because of the new Tron: Legacy movie that's out), this game actually exists as an arcade game, plus you can play it online, too. It's a first person shooter game, and you would likely recognize many of the graphical elements because they are based upon enemies in the Tron movies.

Tron: Evolution (2010)

Just in time for the new Tron: Legacy movie, Propaganda Games has released Tron: Evolution for the Xbox 360,Playstation 3, PSP and for Windows. This is a third-person game with some combat and RPG elements. There is disc combat to be found here as well as light cycle gaming. Online gaming is available, as is general multi-playing, and downloadables are expected in the near future.

Tron: Evolution - Battle Grids (2010)

This game is pretty much the Tron: Evolution game, but then some. It has been released only for the Wii and Nintendo DS systems, at least so far. I've not checked this game out yet, but from what I here there's more of a sandbox element in which the player can explore the Tron world by traveling on a light cycle or even in a tank.

In conclusion

So, how many Tron video games have there been? It's difficult to say. I counted 15 total, with four of them being unofficial games. Also, there's often more than one version of a Tron game available for computers or as an app, so how does one count those? And then there were also portions of the game Kingdom Hearts andVirtual Magic Kingdom that were based upon the Tron franchise. Do you count those?

I don't know. I suppose it's possible there are a hundred different Tron games if you take into account the different versions of games for different home video game systems and computers and online, etc. But I'll stick with the number 15, because any other games at the least seem to be based upon one of those 15.

Video game links

Classic Video Gamers, a blog for old school gamers

20 Classic Arcade Games from the Early 80s

What was the very first video game?

Game of the Week: Action Strategy Baseball for Macintosh

Back in what now seems like the Stone Age of the computer revolution, the early 1990s, video games were just starting to become a strong market for home computers. Of course there had been games for earlier systems, such as the Commodore 64 and TRS-80 computers, but most of those had not sported great graphics.

Unfortunately, in the early '90s there was still a lack of great graphics, though that was slowly changing.

But still, even in black and white and with sub-par graphics, there were plenty of great games that could take up your time.

One such game was Action Strategy Baseball. Written by programmer Cary Torkelson and released as shareware or freeware in the early 1990s, Action Strategy Baseball was for many Apple fans the first chance they got to play a baseball game on a Macintosh.

Yes, the game was black and white only, but many of the Macintoshes back then only had black and white screens anyway, such as the common Macintosh SE. And yes, the graphics were little more than stick figures, but that didn't matter. Why? Because the gaming action was awesome.

You got to hit and run, play the outfield and even jump up to catch balls. You could adjust your speeds and jumping abilities. One feature that was truly fantastic was you could create your own team and play against the computer or friends, and could even build up entire baseball seasons and play against a bunch of people.

Statistics were kept for each of your players, and it was always interesting to see how a player performed over time. And just like in real baseball, the batting lineup for your players was important.

Another interesting feature was the pitchers' statistics. And pitchers actually got tired the longer they were on the mound. After a pitcher had been pitching for 6 or 7 innings, his arm was tired and he couldn't pitch nearly as well as he did earlier in the game. That's when you brought out your relief pitchers. Yes, Action Strategy Baseball even allowed for changing out pitchers.

It was almost like real baseball. Just in black and white.

And it was always fun.

More video game links

10 Forgotten Arcade Games I Still Love

Atari 7800 had great games like One-on-One Basketball