Korin Hasegawa-John
- 2001.11.26
The following are just my opinions, which are in general drawn
from my experiences and not that of someone else. I know that a lot
of you won't agree with me, especially as to the game picks.
Hardware Awards
Input Device: Kensington Mouse-In-A-Box Optical Pro,
$29.99. This mouse has a good feel, accurate tracking, a scroll
wheel, and 4 buttons. It's inexpensive, and, as an added bonus,
incorporates an optical sensor. No mouse ball to clean!
Video Card (High-End): ATI Radeon DDR PCI edition, $179.
The biggest, baddest PCI video card around. It has 32 MB of DDR RAM
for more pixel pushing pleasure, DVI, VGA and S-video ports.
Supports RAVE and OpenGL, but has lackluster 2D acceleration - but
if you are only into games, who needs 2D speed?
Video Card (Low-End): 3Dfx VooDoo 4 4500 PCI,
discontinued. Under $100. A good card at a good price. Supports
OpenGL, Glide, and non-windowed RAVE. Native for Mac, so no
ROM-flashing needed. Has 32 MB of RAM and a VGA port. Good 2D
acceleration. Caveat emptor: No OS X support, and it's
unlikely.
RAM in any form. Enough said. Turn off virtual memory and
play those games like they were meant to be played!
Monitor: Any LCD monitor. IMHO, most games look nicer on
an LCD monitor. Maybe it's because they are easier to look at than
a conventional CRT.
Game Picks
Classic: Marathon
II Durandal, Bungie Software, free. This game started the
Macintosh FPS genre. With great graphics for a 1996 era game and
low hardware requirements (100 MHz or faster PowerPC, 32 MB RAM),
this game is a winner for older machines. Added bonuses are a very
good plot (unlike a lot of recent games) and network support for 8
players.
Big Fun:
Unreal Tournament Game Of The Year, MacSoft, $19.99. UT has
almost unlimited expansion. This version includes the Tactical Ops
modification, which adds new challenges to the game. It wins over
Quake III due to superior level design and more innovative team
play.
Best Graphics: Quake III, id
Software, $39.99. Quake III has the helter-skelter play represented
in most of the Quake line. The levels are wide open with plenty of
maneuvering room. However, graphics are what make it shine. Even on
a Rage 128, detail is excellent. The characters also seem better
rendered than UT, with less unnecessary detail.
It's a short list, but hopefully it gives you some ideas as to
what I would suggest. However, try stuff yourself and ask people
who either have hardware you are interested in or the games you are
interested in whether they are happy and if they think the purchase
was a good one. If possible, try before you buy.
