Mac Games vs. Windows Games

[Ryanm93]

I have recently bought myself a mac
I'm just wondering what the game list is like for mac.
Are all games that are available on PC available on mac too?

Also some suggestions for my system would be good

Thanks =D


MacBook Pro 13inch 2.4GHz (Intel Core 2 Duo, 4Gb RAM, 250Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics)

 

[Hellhammer]

Valve released Steam for Mac couple months ago so there are quite a few games available now. Popular games are usually ported to Mac later on, like CoD4 for example.

Boot Camp is still your best bet if there is no Mac version available

 

[Ryanm93]

Oh yeah I heard about that Valve thing.. How do i get it?
What is Boot Camp?

 

[Plutonius]

Oh yeah I heard about that Valve thing.. How do i get it?
What is Boot Camp?

Do a google search on Steam Mac Download to find the client to download to your Mac. Then register for a free steam account, logon to steam, and purchase/download the games you want (Mac section of the store).

Bootcamp is where you set aside a portion of your hard drive to install windows. You can then boot up your computer in Windows (it's 100% a windows computer) and run your windows games. You need a copy of Windows to install and it will take up a bunch of your hard drive so I only recommend it if a) there is a pc only game or application that you have to have on your Mac or b) you need the best gaming perfomance. It can be a pain booting every time between mac and pc when you want to game and your Mac will be subject to any pc issues when you boot it as a pc.

 

[Ryanm93]

Do a google search on Steam Mac Download to find the client to download to your Mac. Then register for a free steam account, logon to steam, and purchase/download the games you want (Mac section of the store).

Bootcamp is where you set aside a portion of your hard drive to install windows. You can then boot up your computer in Windows (it's 100% a windows computer) and run your windows games. You need a copy of Windows to install and it will take up a bunch of your hard drive so I only recommend it if a) there is a pc only game or application that you have to have on your Mac or b) you need the best gaming perfomance. It can be a pain booting every time between mac and pc when you want to game and your Mac will be subject to any pc issues when you boot it as a pc.

Ohh okay, thanks thats cleared things up i did that with my windows laptop (windows vista / Ubuntu) but i dont think i will venture that far yet i only just got mac

Can games bought off Steam be written to DVDR? As i see my Macbook pro can write dual layer DVDs. :]

 

[Plutonius]

Ohh okay, thanks thats cleared things up i did that with my windows laptop (windows vista / Ubuntu) but i dont think i will venture that far yet i only just got mac

Can games bought off Steam be written to DVDR? As i see my Macbook pro can write dual layer DVDs. :]

Once you buy the games, they remain in your account on steam and can be downloaded whenever they are needed (i.e. no need to keep a physical disk and the games do not require a disk to play). You can also download them to multiple computers but you can only play them on one computer at a time (you sign into your account when you want to play).

 

[cluthz]

Ohh okay, thanks thats cleared things up i did that with my windows laptop (windows vista / Ubuntu) but i dont think i will venture that far yet i only just got mac

Can games bought off Steam be written to DVDR? As i see my Macbook pro can write dual layer DVDs. :]

It much easier to make a bootcamp install than it usually is to make a win/ubuntu install on a normal PC. There is no need to make partitions yourself, since bootcamp tool fixes everything for you and you can just delete windows and the mac will get the HD space back with no extra trouble

 

[Ryanm93]

Ah okay, I will definitely have a look at Steam and Bootcamp

Thanks

 

[TomE16]

macs are good computers

Mac are good computers

But....the gaming industry is lacking so the best ways to go is a steam account and Battlefield 2142, quake 4, CROSSOVER...... allows windows games to be played on mac using bottles of a certain windows Operating system

 

[Ryanm93]

Guild Wars on Mac?

I want to get a game something like World of Warcraft but i don't want to pay the monthly subscription. I found a game called Guild Wars which I like the look of and has no monthly subscription. I was just wondering if it was possible to get this game on Mac. Or even if there is a game very like Warcraft or guildwars on Mac with no monthly payments.

Thanks

 

[ashermechwel]

Obviously mac is better then Windows but in the game play i think windows is so better then mac. and windows give very big game support. so i like windows for gaming.

 

[Jomskylark]

There aren't nearly as many Mac games as Windows games, but it's not as small as you might have heard, either. Places like Steam or Apple Games are good, and just doing a google search for Mac Games brought up some promising links. Two of my favorites:

- Galcon Fusion: Online multiplayer RTS, $9.99, Mac/Windows/Linux/Steam/iPad (iPad is $8, and there are also different versions for iPhone/iPod Touch)
- Bitfighter: Free online multiplayer shooter, Mac/Windows/Linux

 

[Dr. McKay]

And when you compare performance of the same game on the same machine, then you'll be disappointed with OS X.

F.e. Half Life 2, Civ4 (bought on Steam so available to me in both OS X and Windows) and Starcraft 2 beta (downloadable in both versions) run a lot smoother in Vista Bootcamp than they do in OS X.5.8.

Reason : drivers. Plus the fact that the Mac versions are merely 'ports' of the PC-originals. Civ4 even runs smoother on my Dell Inspiron laptop 2.1Ghz Pentium Dual Core with Windows 7 than it does on my iMac 2.8Ghz Core2duo with OS X Leopard.

 

[aiterum]

Mac are good computers

But....the gaming industry is lacking so the best ways to go is a steam account and Battlefield 2142, quake 4, CROSSOVER...... allows windows games to be played on mac using bottles of a certain windows Operating system

haha yeah don't listen to this. crossover is terrible in compatability.

 

[Huntn]

Go Bootcamp!

 

[OpenLaszlo]

I want to get a game something like World of Warcraft but i don't want to pay the monthly subscription. I found a game called Guild Wars which I like the look of and has no monthly subscription. I was just wondering if it was possible to get this game on Mac. Or even if there is a game very like Warcraft or guildwars on Mac with no monthly payments.

Thanks

Hello,

I purchased Guild Wars: Nightfall about a year ago with similar intentions and I just would like to offer my two cents on your situation. Guild Wars has a level limit of 20, and if you play about an hour or so a day you can easily reach it in maybe 2 or 3 weeks. The gameplay is heavily focused on PvP matches which are 4v4 and are set in deathmatch style arenas. I found the biggest downside of the game to be the fact that to unlock all of the available skills for each class you have to buy all 3 GW versions...each one includes a couple more quests but doesn't raise the level limit, unfortunately.

I got tired of the game rather quickly because once you reach the maximum level (about halfway through the storyline) the rest of the game just becomes a trial-and-error-combine-your-skills-to-progress type ordeal, in which you spend all of your time fiddling with you last few attribute points in order to maximize your skill effectiveness given the limited character level you can reach.

I know this was a bit off topic but I wouldn't recommend the game to someone looking for a WoW replacement. There just isn't enough content in the game to keep you interested for long. The game does look fantastic, but unless you really really really like PvP, you won't be playing this for over 2 months.

 

[JoeDangle11]

I thought that this would be a good place to put this question out there. I just reserved my copy of Starcraft 2 today, I was greatly excited until I got to thinking that I might need a copy of it made for the Mac. I know that's it's going to be made for the Mac, but will the same copy of the disc work for both windows and Mac?

 

[Huntn]

Hello,

I purchased Guild Wars: Nightfall about a year ago with similar intentions and I just would like to offer my two cents on your situation. Guild Wars has a level limit of 20, and if you play about an hour or so a day you can easily reach it in maybe 2 or 3 weeks. The gameplay is heavily focused on PvP matches which are 4v4 and are set in deathmatch style arenas. I found the biggest downside of the game to be the fact that to unlock all of the available skills for each class you have to buy all 3 GW versions...each one includes a couple more quests but doesn't raise the level limit, unfortunately.

I got tired of the game rather quickly because once you reach the maximum level (about halfway through the storyline) the rest of the game just becomes a trial-and-error-combine-your-skills-to-progress type ordeal, in which you spend all of your time fiddling with you last few attribute points in order to maximize your skill effectiveness given the limited character level you can reach.

I know this was a bit off topic but I wouldn't recommend the game to someone looking for a WoW replacement. There just isn't enough content in the game to keep you interested for long. The game does look fantastic, but unless you really really really like PvP, you won't be playing this for over 2 months.

Great info, thanks! A friend and I tried GWs back when I was active with WoW. What I did not like was 100% instanced questing space, lots of invisible walls and no accidentally falling to your death. Falling to your death has to do with immersion or lack thereof. It could be fun if you had a dedicated party to run through the quests.

 

[OpenLaszlo]

Great info, thanks! A friend and I tried GWs back when I was active with WoW. What I did not like was 100% instanced questing space, lots of invisible walls and no accidentally falling to your death. Falling to your death has to do with immersion or lack thereof. It could be fun if you had a dedicated party to run through the quests.

I found the instances to be a refreshing change from the usual MMO fare, but quickly began to feel that the world became very empty when I stayed with only three other people in the entire map. As annoying as crowded zones, loot stealing and such are, I realized that just having company as you grind your way through quests, other than your group, is quite nice and makes the game environment much more enjoyable.

 

[Huntn]

I found the instances to be a refreshing change from the usual MMO fare, but quickly began to feel that the world became very empty when I stayed with only three other people in the entire map. As annoying as crowded zones, loot stealing and such are, I realized that just having company as you grind your way through quests, other than your group, is quite nice and makes the game environment much more enjoyable.

For your reference, loot stealing is not really a problem with WoW IMO.

 

[OpenLaszlo]

For your reference, loot stealing is not really a problem with WoW IMO.

Got it. I've only played the trial, and logged most of my time on Everquest & Everquest II.

 

[Huntn]

Got it. I've only played the trial, and logged most of my time on Everquest & Everquest II.

In WoW, the group leader can set loot rules. It's been 7 months since I've played, but the default setting is something like "rotate" where loot is accessed on a rotational basis. But it can also be set to "need", "greed", or "leader", where the leader of the group hands it out. This is more important in dungeons where good stuff can fall, but many of the 5 men dungeons I used to do, the rule was usually "need" or to "pass"and then have a group discussion about who should get it.

 

[MythicFrost]

And when you compare performance of the same game on the same machine, then you'll be disappointed with OS X.

F.e. Half Life 2, Civ4 (bought on Steam so available to me in both OS X and Windows) and Starcraft 2 beta (downloadable in both versions) run a lot smoother in Vista Bootcamp than they do in OS X.5.8.

Reason : drivers. Plus the fact that the Mac versions are merely 'ports' of the PC-originals. Civ4 even runs smoother on my Dell Inspiron laptop 2.1Ghz Pentium Dual Core with Windows 7 than it does on my iMac 2.8Ghz Core2duo with OS X Leopard.

IIRC, all steam games are native versions, not ports (referring to HL2).

 

[Huntn]

Got it. I've only played the trial, and logged most of my time on Everquest & Everquest II.

In WoW, the group leader can set loot rules. It's been 7 months since I've played, but the default setting is something like "rotate" where loot is accessed on a rotational basis. But it can also be set to "need", "greed", or "leader", where the leader of the group hands it out. This is more important in dungeons where good stuff can fall, but many of the 5 men dungeons I used to do, the rule was usually "need" or to "pass"and then have a group discussion about who should get it. (Any excuse and I'll blather on about WoW.)

 

[DrakeShin]

Gaming On Mac - Major Concern

For me, I need a computer that does it all. I'm an animator, techie, geek, and play as hard as I work. So to have to switch from machine to machine to suit my lifestyle was just plain annoying. But now, with the better graphics cards, and tech offered in Macs now, every things just great. Hell, heres a vid of me playing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on my iMac 3.4 Quad i7 Beast

http://www.youtube.com/embed/7a3EC9M45rE