Kaged: The Magic Orbs
Company: Monkey Byte Games
Shareware: $14.95, $19.95 for CD
http://www.mbyte.com

Mike: Kaged: The Magic Orbs has all the
makings of a classic puzzle game. It has a
simple premise, and it’s easy to learn to play.
However, it’s also challenging enough to make you want to come back for more.

Adam: Good puzzle games are always hard to find for one reason: originality. Many puzzle games are similar to one another, and don’t offer the level of originality that makes the game fun. When you feel like you haven’t played a game before, it’s fun, and Kaged is one of those games.

Mike: Kaged presents you with a game board containing round spaces. Some of these spaces are filled with balls, others are left empty. You can move any ball to any adjacent empty square using the mouse. The object is to move the balls so that they are arranged in a certain pattern, and once this is accomplished, you go on to the next level and have a new pattern to match.

Adam: One tricky thing complicates this: every time you move a ball, it changes color, and your job isn’t just to move the balls into the right pattern, but also to make sure their colors match the colors given in the pattern. So, you have to figure out the sequence of color changes for each ball, and then figure out how many moves it will take for you get the ball into the right spot with the right color.

Mike: Sound easy? Maybe in the first few levels, but as you progress in the game, the difficulty grows and it becomes hard to get everything right. There have been several times where I have put all of the balls into the correct spots, only to have one ball be a wrong color. It can get very frustrating!!!

Adam: Frustrating, but always fun. Even when it seems you’ve mastered the game, Kaged has more tricks up its’ sleeve. There’s still the challenge of solving each level more quickly and in fewer moves. The game keeps track of the time elapsed on each puzzle, and also the fewest number of moves that it has taken to solve each puzzle, so you can always try to set a new record on a level that you’ve already solved.

Requirements/Availability
Kaged requires a PowerPC processor, Mac OS 7.5 or higher, 16MB of RAM and 20MB of hard disk space. Kaged only used 4.5MB of hard disk space on my machine (Adam).

You can download Kaged from the Monkey Byte Games website, at http://www.mbyte.com, or from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: Kaged offers nice graphics and sound, and solid game play. If you’re a puzzle enthusiast, you should definitely give Kaged a try.

Adam: It doesn’t take long to become hooked on Kaged. The level of originality that Monkey Byte Games has produced is excellent. The interface and graphics are eye catching, the sounds are well done, and the game is very entertaining. Highly Recommended by the Game Guys.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.mbyte.com
http://www.download.com

Unreal
Company: MacSoft
Estimated Price: $40
http://www.wizworks.com/macsoft
http://www.unreal.com

From the moment I opened the box, I knew Unreal was going to be my undoing. Once I started playing, it only got worse. My grade point average, my social life… everything down the tubes, due to this game. And I love it!

OK, I’m exaggerating. I’m exaggerating quite a lot. Unreal hasn’t caused me to give up my girlfriend or my social life, even though the amount of time I spend studying has admittedly suffered. Seriously, folks, this game is that good. I know that every magazine and website in existence that has reviewed this game has used this tired and worn cliche/pun, but I can’t think of any better way of saying it: Unreal is, simply put, unreal. Out of this world. It has to be played to be believed. But if you’re still skeptical, let me give you a taste of what you’re in for:

The first and most obvious thing you notice about Unreal is its graphics. Of all of the “unreal” aspects of this game, the graphics are probably the most noteworthy. The game is spectacular–at times breathtaking–and this is on my PowerBook 1400, with an 11.3-inch screen and no video acceleration. If you have a large monitor capable of millions of colors and have a Mac with a graphics accelerator card, I really envy you, because Unreal will look that much better under those conditions. But I’ll be the first to testify that despite all of the hype that ATI Rage Pro or 3Dfx accelerator cards are receiving (and it is well-deserved), Unreal looks outstanding without extra hardware, too. Unlike many magazines which published impressive screenshots of Unreal on souped-up Macs, all of the screenshots in this review are from my ‘Book, so you can see Unreal exactly the way I do, and I am still very impressed.

The detail in everything has been painstakingly done, and the textures and shadows are perfectly rendered and lifelike. Unreal also features a ton of interesting locales–indoors, outdoors, creepy castles, mysterious territories, and even underwater. The settings are immersive; you feel almost like you’re really there.

The soundtrack is equally spectacular, and the background noises fit–and even shape–the mood perfectly. You can get an adrenaline rush or have the hair on the back of your neck stand on end just by listening to Unreal. And once again, this is all coming from my 1400′s speaker grille, which isn’t exactly the ideal sound system!

All of the eye and ear candy in the world can’t make up for crappy game play, but Unreal certainly doesn’t lack in this area, either. You begin the game on a prison spaceship, en route to a prison colony, when a riot breaks out. Waking up and getting off your cot, you run out of your cell, armed with only your bare hands, and find that everyone else on the ship appears to be dead. You search around the ship for messages, information, weapons, and equipment, and finally exit the ship to behold a strange, unknown world. Now, you need to explore this world, figure out what’s going on, try to make some friends and allies, defend yourself against the numerous hostile races on the planet, and ultimately find your way off the planet.

Most importantly, though, you need to survive, which is not an easy task. There are more ways to die in this game than I can count, and as many times as I’ve been slaughtered while playing, I’m sure I haven’t gotten close to finding them all out! There are enemies lurking everywhere, and they are smart–so don’t expect to be fighting some brain-dead demons like in DOOM! The bad guys will hide, sneak up behind you, and retreat and regroup. Sometimes the best thing to do is just to run away from your attackers until you’re better equipped to win a battle, or else you won’t survive.

If you tire of the single-player experience, which is hard to do, there are also some great multi-player options available. All of the usual game play modes are here, such as death matches and team play. Play over a network is smooth and intense, but then again I am using a T1 line. (I just had to take the opportunity to rub that in!) Game play is said to be acceptable using a 28.8 or AppleTalk connection, too, though. The multiplayer games in Unreal as equally awesome as the individual experience, and if you’re short on human players to play against, you can have the computer control some opponents and try your hand at a death match against artificial intelligence (good luck!).

The controls are complex, but surprisingly easy to get used to. By default, you look around, aim, and fire your weapons using the mouse, and move around using the keyboard. If you like, you can turn this feature off and use AutoAim, but you have much more control and can be much more precise if you use the mouse, too. It reminded me of the controls of Bungie’s game Abuse, except in a three-dimensional setting instead of a two-dimensional one. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it seems like second nature. Also, Unreal supports the InputSprockets, so if you gave a joystick or gamepad, you can configure it with ease. Make sure you have enough buttons, though; my four-button Gravis GamePad doesn’t give me nearly enough options to do everything I need to do in Unreal, and I find myself going back to the keyboard time and time again.

Speaking of weapons and aiming, there are a ton of ways you can blow things up. The weapons are numerous and varied, and each weapon has a primary and secondary function, so you can usually kill things in two different ways with only one gun. There are also plenty of other tools that you’ll run across in the game, such as a translator for communicating with aliens, flares and flashlights to light your way in the dark, and armor enhancements such as jumping boots, scuba gear, and even a force field!

One of the more interesting options in Unreal is the ability to play from a third-person perspective, much like MDK or Tomb Raider. Although Unreal is primarily a first-person game, and the third-person implementation is a little choppy at times, the option makes for a nice change of pace, and is overall very nicely done. To access this feature, bring up the command line by typing the tilde (~) key in the upper left corner of your keyboard, then type “Behindview 1″ to play in third-person mode, or “Behindview 0″ to return to the first-person experience. (See the screenshots to see how the two modes differ in appearance.)

System Requirements
Unfortunately, no review of Unreal would be complete without a mention of its equally unreal system requirements. I would not dream of running this game on my 1400 if I didn’t have a G3 upgrade. MacSoft lists the system requirements as a 180 MHz 603 or 150 MHz 604, with 32 megabytes of RAM, a 256K L2 cache, and a CD-ROM drive. However, they admit that it would be better to play with a system more along the lines of a 250 MHz 603, 180 MHz 604, or any G3, with 64 megabytes of RAM, a 3dfx Voodoo class 3d accelerator, and 512K L2 cache, with a speedy CD-ROM drive. Unless you have a super-powered Mac, you will need to run virtual memory, too: Unreal wants at least 72 megabytes of RAM itself to run at the lowest resolution and sound settings. If you want to play a game in high-res mode with great sound, prepare to free up close to 90 megabytes of RAM!!! But thanks to the advancements made in virtual memory, this isn’t a huge constraint: I didn’t notice much slowdown at all when the CPU had to access the hard disk for memory, or when it had to access the CD-ROM drive. The more virtual memory you need, the longer you should expect to wait while levels load, but once you’re up and running, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Summary
I can honestly say that no game has immersed me or kept my interest at this height since Bungie’s Marathon series, which is high praise! From the involving storyline, to the outstanding game play, to the amazing graphics and sound, this game has it all. It’s been a good year for Macintosh gamers, with games such as Diablo and Tomb Raider II hitting the shelves, but in my book, nothing can compare to this game. Unreal is my choice for Macintosh Game of the Year, and my advice to you is that if you buy only one computer game this holiday season, make it Unreal.

MacMice Rating: 3.5

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com

Manic Minefields 1.2
Company: Addiction Interactive
Shareware: $7.00
http://www.addiction.se

Mike: When computer games come to mind, you
really can’t help but think of the venerable game,
Minesweeper. Included on virtually every PC in
existence, Minesweeper is a simple but addicting game
that requires a lot of thought and a little patience.

Adam: True, Minesweeper is an addicting game, but its bland interface and lack of exciting features can bore users who have mastered the game. Manic Minefields is a wonderful implementation of Minesweeper that includes loads of bells and whistles to keep even the most experienced players on their toes.

Mike: For those of you not familiar with the game of Minesweeper, here’s the game’s premise. You are faced with a rectangular grid of squares. Underneath some of these squares are mines, while the other squares are either blank or contain a number. The numbers under each square represent the number of mines that are touching that square. Your job, using critical thinking, reasoning, and a little bit of luck, is to uncover all of the squares that don’t contain mines, and to mark, or “flag,” all of the squares that do.

Adam: Controlling the game is a cinch! You simply click on a square to uncover it, and use the option key along with a click to flag a square that you think contains a mine. If you are unsure about a certain square, you can turn the question mark option on, and option-click twice to place a question mark on the square.

Mike: This is another example of how a multi-button mouse is intuitive and easier to use! If you don’t have one to use with contextual menus, then you should get one to play this game!

Manic Minefields contains a number of playing fields, which gives the game a lot of variety. There are grids that have space-related and alien themes, military themes, dinosaur themes, pirate themes, and more. Plus, each theme does a lot more than just change the background of the playing field–the mines, the symbols and numbers used underneath the squares, and the phrases that Manic Minefields uses in the game are all specific to the type of theme that you have chosen.

Adam: Manic Minefields can easily adjust to any skill level by setting the size of the grid. Using the “size” menu, you can set the grid to small, medium, large, or extra-large sizes. The larger the size, the more mines you have to mark, and thus, the harder the game is to play.

I do, however, have a few complaints. The way information is presented on the screen leaves a lot to be desired. It scrolls slowly, and the font is hard to read. Furthermore, Manic Minefields requires that you have at least 16-bit (thousands) of colors and a PowerPC processor, so you can forget about playing it on that old Performa.

Requirements/Availability
Manic Minefields requires a PowerPC processor and a monitor that can display at least 16-bit (thousands) color.

You can download Manic Minefields from the Addiction Interactive website, at http://www.addiction.se, or from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: It doesn’t take long to become addicted to this type of game, and Manic Minefields does a great job of giving Mac users an addicting version of Minesweeper of their own. If you’re a fan of puzzle games or games that require you to use your head, you should definitely give Manic Minefields a try.

Adam: Manic Minefields is a well done game that’s worth a look. The game play is smooth and the graphics are beautiful. Overall, it’s a well-done game that all Mac gamers should try. Recommended by The Game Guys.

Download Manic Minefields 1.2 

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.addiction.se
http://www.download.com

QuicKeys 3.5.3
Company: CE Software
Estimated Price: $118.95
http://www.cesoft.com

I find very few pieces of software to be absolutely essential to my computing experience. A word processor, an email client, a web browser, and maybe a few games are really all that I need to do the vast majority of things that I do with my computer. (In fact, I keep a minimal system on a Zip disk in case of emergency, and that’s about all I have on that Zip disk, in addition to the System software, of course.) In addition to that short list, I could include a few utilities, such as Aladdin’s StuffIt, an antivirus program, and possibly a backup program. Recently, I decided that there was one other piece of software that I needed to include in that list of “must-haves,” because without it, I would not be able to do my work as quickly or as efficiently: a macro utility.

Macros allow you to automate actions on your computer, or create shortcuts to cut down on the amount of work or steps needed to accomplish a task. These actions or tasks are nearly unlimited; the types of macros you can create are limited more by your imagination than by the capabilities of most macro utilities. Some common macros involve application launching, clipboard manipulation, repetitive batch processing (such as performing a filter on a series of images in an image-editing program), connecting to a file server, controlling the audio CD player, and connecting to the Internet and retrieving email from a server. The types of macros that you create and use will depend largely on what you do with your computer (such as web page editing, image editing, programming and development, or accounting and record keeping, for example). Prime candidates for macros are whatever actions you perform on a regular basis and feel that you could do quicker and more efficiently if you could perform them with a single keystroke or button click.

This review focuses on one such macro utility, namely QuicKeys 3.5.3 from CE Software, and it’s a very good one at that. QuicKeys offers a lot of flexibility and options not found in other macro utilities, uses a clean interface, and comes with good documentation.

You can trigger macros in a variety of ways using QuicKeys. Normal methods, such as using the FKeys or a keystroke, are available. You can also trigger macros using certain types of mouse clicks, by creating a clickable button, or by accessing the macro from a customizable menu (which can be placed either in the menu bar or in the Apple menu). Finally, you can create floating toolbars to hold your most-often used macros, so that they are always just a mouse click away.

Creating macros is a fairly straightforward and elegant process. QuicKeys is pre-configured with several common macros, which is convenient (because you don’t have to take the time to make them yourself), and also several good examples and teaching aids you can use in making your own macros. One very nice feature of QuicKeys is that it features a recorder; in other words, QuicKeys can “record” a series of actions as you perform them, and then create a macro which accomplishes those same actions in the same order. You can also create macros in other ways, and edit macros after you’ve created them. Macros can also be defined as universal (available in all applications) or application-specific (available only in the specified application).

QuicKeys has some very unique and interesting macros, as well. One of my personal favorites, being a full-time PowerBook user, is the ability to simulate a numeric keypad on a non-extended keyboard. If you also purchase the QuicKeys PowerPak (which CE Software is currently offering with QuicKeys in a bundle package), many QuicKeys operations, such as email retrieval and file server connections, can be greatly enhanced and/or simplified.

With its large selection of features and options, it is a good thing that QuicKeys ships with a thorough, well written, and easy-to-understand manual. It gives a very good overview of the operations and functions that QuicKeys offers, with ample illustrations and simplified text. There is also a decent on-line help system available via AppleGuide.

A few months ago I reviewed another macro program, KeyQuencer from Binary Software (http://www.binarysoft.com), and I also know from reader input that OneClick by WestCode Software (http://www.westcodesoft.com) is very popular. Although comparisons between the programs are inevitable, it’s not my purpose to do so here. All three program offer similar functionality, but each has a slightly different feature-set and way of operating, and in my experience, which one is “better” is often a matter of personal preference. So, if you are in the market for a good macro program, you may want to download demos of all three from the respective websites, and try them all to see which one works for you.

However, all comparisons aside, QuicKeys is an elegant and powerful program. It’s flexible and offers a lot of options and customizability. I can recommend QuicKeys as a very functional and useful utility that nearly all Mac users should consider taking a look at.

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.cesoft.com
http://www.binarysoft.com
http://www.westcodesoft.com

Spades Deluxe 1.0
Company: Freeverse Software
Shareware: $19.95
http://www.freeverse.com

Mike: Freeverse Software has been making
quality games for the Macintosh for a long time,
but for much of that time its flagship product,
Hearts Deluxe, was the only one anybody knew
about. Recently, Freeverse has hit several home runs (although not quite as many as Mark McGwire), turning out games such as the poker/Scrabble combination CrossCards, and their own entertaining version of Klondike, Burning Monkey Solitaire. Freeverse has hit another long ball with Spades Deluxe, which promises to do for the game of spades what Hearts Deluxe did for hearts.

Adam: Long time readers of Game Guys will know that I am not a card player, and usually don’t consider playing cads as entertainment. Long time readers will also know that Mike and I are big fans of Freeverse Software’s games, which always seem to capture the card player in me, and get me addicted to a game that I never before considered playing.

Mike: Spades is a card game that requires a lot of thought and strategy, because you are playing as a team with another player, against another team of two players. After each hand is dealt, all four players must say how many tricks they intend to take in that hand. Each team is responsible for collecting the sum of the bids of the two players. For example, if you bid four tricks, and your partner bids three, your team is responsible for taking seven of the thirteen tricks in that hand.

Adam: Taking a trick in spades is the same as in Hearts, where the highest card in the highest suit on the table takes the trick. Of course, in the game of Spades, the trump suit is spades, which means that any spade, no matter what value, will override any other suit on the table. If there is more than one spade on the table, the highest value spade will take the trick.

Mike: The scoring in Spades is based upon the number of tricks you and your partner take in each hand. If you meet or exceed your bids, you get a lot of points. If you don’t meet your bids, you lose points. The amount of points gained or lost is also proportional to the number of tricks that you bid, so being gutsy in your bidding can really make things interesting. If you bid high and make it, you can build a big lead quickly. If you make a steep bid and fail to reach it, however, you can dig yourself a hole that can be tough to climb out of! On the other hand, if you bid low the entire time, you probably won’t lose many points, but your score won’t increase very fast, either.

Adam: Even though the concept of “the highest card wins” is pretty straightforward, it can be a challenge to learn how to play cooperatively with your partner, making good bids at the same time. Once you get the hang of it, though, Spades becomes a lot of fun to play, and it’s even more fun when both you and your partner are doing well.

Mike: In my opinion, the most amazing thing about Spades Deluxe is the job that Freeverse has done with the computer intelligence. To make a game in which the computer opponents react to situations as well as they do in Spades Deluxe is really impressive. This is especially true since one of the computer opponents is a teammate of yours, and the other two have to work together against you, unlike a game such as Hearts where it is everyone for themselves. The opposing computer team will really test your strategy, and your partner is often smarter than you are (at least he was a lot smarter than me!). To top things off, you can choose the type of playing style you want each computer player to have–either aggressive, conservative, or down the middle. Amazing!

Adam: I agree, Mike. You can also set the skill level of the players, the game room, scenery, and much more. And there are always those little humorous features that we have come to expect from Freeverse, including the famous “Boss Coming” feature.

Requirements/Availability
No requirements for Spades Deluxe were given, but it runs without hitch on all three of my Power Macs, a 6100, a 6400, and a PowerBook G3/250.

You can download Spades Deluxe from the Freeverse Software website at http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com, or from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: The game features everything we’ve come to expect from Freeverse games. Anyone familiar with the interface and graphics in Hearts Deluxe will feel right at home, and the game is full of sound bites and comments from the other players–if you make a dumb move, look for your partner to chastise you!

All in all, Spades Deluxe is an outstanding addition to the Freeverse lineup of quality strategy-oriented games for the Macintosh. Anyone who likes card games should definitely give this one a try.

Adam: The fact that Spades Deluxe is so good comes as no surprise to me–I would expect nothing less from Freeverse Software. I have enjoyed playing Spades Deluxe very much, and that’s coming from a guy who normally thinks that playing cards is a waste of time. I highly recommend Spades Deluxe to card fans and non-card fans alike.

Download Spades Deluxe 1.5 

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.freeverse.com
http://www.download.com

Instant QuicKeys 1.0
Company: CE Software
Estimated Price: $29.95
http://www.cesoft.com

CE Software’s latest product is aimed at novices and casual Mac users who want to take advantage of the best features of macro programs, but want to keep it simple and not bother with the macros themselves. Although I find the program a little too simplistic for my needs and taste, Instant QuicKeys accomplishes its goal with style and a clean interface, and should be perfect for its intended audience.

Instant QuicKeys greets the user with a simple window offering all of its capabilities. The user only has to click the appropriate buttons and answer a few questions, and all of the macro-generating is done for them. In no time at all, the user will have generated fast, efficient keyboard shortcuts for their tasks without breaking a sweat.

Instant QuicKeys does place a limit on what type of macros you can create, but the options available should meet the needs of most users. You can assign keyboard shortcuts to launch applications, change printers, log onto file servers, and open often used folders. Other macros can be made for inserting the date and time or a string of text into a document, controlling the Audio CD Player, and carrying out common Finder functions, such as restarting, shutting down, manipulating windows, and switching between active applications.

All of these tasks are generated in a very straightforward interface that involves choosing the appropriate item from a standard dialog box or clicking on a few radio buttons. Choosing which keyboard shortcuts apply to which macro is as easy as dragging-and-dropping the macro’s name onto a picture of a keyboard.

This is the main area where I find that Instant QuicKeys falls short. When choosing your keyboard shortcuts, you are only allowed to use the function keys (F1-F12) and any combination of modifier keys. I would have preferred to be able to use other shortcuts that I would be able to remember easier, such as Option-Shift-Right arrow to advance my audio CD. This limitation, in addition to not being able to create macros for anything other than Instant QuicKeys’ predefined set, made me feel too restricted to really like Instant QuicKeys.

However, I’m not the type of user that Instant QuicKeys is intended for. On the other hand, Instant QuicKeys would be ideal for people like my parents. Until I got my own computer, they were constantly worried that my tinkering around in the System Folder and other such activities would somehow break the family Mac. (Now they don’t care if I want to try to break my own!) They would rather not have to mess with scripting, complicated installation and preference settings, and the like, but they were impressed with the features and shortcuts that I could make the Mac perform, and they wanted to be able to take advantage of that power, too. Instant QuicKeys provides just that: power to control many of the most popular features that are found in macro utilities, but without the mess of having to actually make the macros.

The conclusion? If you’re fairly confident about your Mac knowledge and want to have the flexibility to design your own macros or make changes to existing ones, then pass on Instant QuicKeys and put the money towards buying a full macro program, such as QuicKeys, KeyQuencer, or One Click. If you’d rather just have easy, simple shortcuts to launching applications, switching printers, and controlling your Audio CDs, all without the hassle of making complicated macros, then your thirty bucks are best spent on Instant QuicKeys. It’s a simple, easy-to-use program that gets the job done.

(If you’re interested in just how much more power and flexibility is available in a full macro program, tune in next month for my review of QuicKeys 3.5.3 and the QuicKeys PowerPak suite of add-ons.)

MacMice Rating: 3

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.cesoft.com

Escape Velocity Override 1.0
Company: Ambrosia Software, Inc.
Shareware: $25.00
http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com

Mike: Ambrosia’s slogan for the release
of their sequel to Escape Velocity was
“Rediscover Addiction.” In my case, it
was discovering addiction for the first time.
I didn’t spend too much time with Escape Velocity when it was first released, but after playing the sequel, I had to go back and see what I had missed in the first installment. I ended up getting addicted to both games at the same time!

Adam: I had never heard of Escape Velocity, let alone played it. However, like Mike, I am now completely addicted to Escape Velocity Override (EV Override).

Gamers new to the world of Escape Velocity (EV) need not worry; both games can be enjoyed on their own, without any knowledge of the other title. Fans of EV will also be glad to know that EV Override contains many of the little touches that made the original game so popular. So Mike, tell us a little about Escape Velocity and its sequel, Override.

Mike: Well, Adam, the original Escape Velocity casted you as the owner of a shuttlecraft in the mid 21st century. Through the process of trading, buying, selling, carrying passengers and cargo, and embarking on special missions, you could earn enough money to buy a new ship, outfit it with your preferred capabilities, and control your own destiny. You could remain neutral in the interstellar war between the Confederate government and the Rebels, or you could take a side and join the war. You could remain a simple merchant and amass a fortune, or you could become a mercenary and accept dangerous missions. You could even become a pirate and make your living plundering other ships.

Override is set 100 years later than the original EV. The Confederate/Rebel war has long since ended, and the human race has reached out even farther into the uncharted vastness of space. In the process, it has discovered new worlds, new technologies, and new enemies. Another war is at hand — against an alien race known as the Voinians. The war is expensive and trying, and some people have become discontent and restless. The universe is torn between interplanetary war and civil unrest, while being on the threshold of exploring amazing portions of deep space and making enormous technological strides.

You have just graduated from the Academy, and are ready to make a future for yourself in space. You have your trusty shuttlecraft — a newer model than the one featured in the first EV game — and 10,000 credits with which you start to make your fortune. Will you become a merchant? A trader? A fighter pilot in the war? A rebel or a pirate? An explorer into uncharted space? As the saying goes, the choice is yours…

Adam: That choice is not always easy or clear, especially at the start of the game. It’s easy to become overwhelmed playing EV Override, since the universe is so vast and there are so many things to do.

Mike: You can land on planets and browse the mission computer while having a drink at the local bar. You can hail other space ships and trade greetings and tips. You can fight battles, hire escorts to aid you in your travels, board and search disabled ships, or gamble for more money. Best of all, your actions have effects on the rest of the game: complete a mission successfully, and you will gain favor with your employer, increasing your chances of more exciting and better paying missions. If you mess up, or if you do something to upset the government, you may find yourself in hot water when you try to return to certain planets.

Adam: Gaining extra credits also means increasing your chances of survival. After hyperspacing into a certain system, especially ones farther away from Earth, you will jump directly into battles, and ships will attack you, even if you don’t fire on them. With extra credits, you can buy missiles, rockets, or even new, more powerful ships to combat these unexpected attacks.

Mike: EV Override is very nonlinear, offers a little bit of everything, and is a blast to play. The universe is five times larger than the original Escape Velocity universe, there are all new ships and weapons to try out, and plenty of new subplots and inside jokes to enjoy. It’s a little unfortunate that the user interface wasn’t expanded or improved a little bit; hailing a ship or going to the bar brings up the same old (somewhat boring) dialog boxes as they did in the original. Not to say that’s bad, but it definitely lends a slightly dated feel to this otherwise fresh, brand new game.

One thing that has expanded along with the EV universe is the RAM requirement. EV used 6.5 to 8.3 Mb of free RAM, but the sequel wants at least 12.5 Mb. A little hefty, and be warned: the more physical RAM, the better. I experienced a little slowdown and occasional freezes on my ’040 LC 575 with 8 Mb RAM and RAM Doubler enabled. However, on my PowerBook 1400 with 64 MB of RAM, it ran flawlessly.

Adam: Good advice, Mike. Also expanding in the sequel is the shareware fee, from $15.00 in the original to $25.00 this time around. But when you’re addicted, no amount of money will stop you from playing, and asking $25.00 for this top-notch game is not unreasonable.

Requirements/Availability
Escape Velocity Override requires an 8 bit (256) color screen that is 13″ or larger, and it recommends a ’040 or PowerPC processor, but judging by the way it played on Mike’s old computer, I recommend a PowerPC.

You can download Escape Velocity: Override from the Ambrosia Software website, at http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com, or from download.com, at http://www.download.com.

The Summary
Mike: For fans of science fiction and adventure, and EV veterans, Override provides an immersive experience that does nearly everything right. For newcomers to the genre and gamers who have never tried EV, Override should be a pleasant surprise. Ambrosia has really outdone itself this time around — it definitely is time to “rediscover addiction”.

Adam: When a shareware game comes out, the way to really judge it is not by its graphics, sound, or even storyline; it’s by the degree the game has you addicted, and EV Override has me addicted 100%. Whether you’re rediscovering or just beginning, chances are you’ll enjoy Escape Velocity Override.

Download Escape Velocity Override 1.0 

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com
Adam Karneboge
webmaster@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com
http://www.download.com

NuPowr G3/250 upgrade for the PowerBook 1400 series
Company: Newer Technology
Estimated Price: $979.00
http://www.newertech.com

Newer Technology has really come through with a great upgrade for PowerBook 1400 owners. Their NuPowr line is a user-friendly, easy-to-install, high performance G3 upgrade for the 1400 series which packs a good price/performance punch.

The NuPowr came packaged with ample padding, an anti-static strip to use while installing, and most importantly, a well-written and easy to understand manual. (Additionally, the manual had a great sense of humor! Some of the photographs in the manual featured ill-advised handling techniques, such as propping the 1400′s flip-up keyboard up against the LCD display, and the manual is quick to point out the mistake with some humorous comments.)

Installing the upgrade card was as easy as pie. I had already gotten inside my 1400′s guts once before to install a RAM upgrade, so the procedure was not foreign to me. However, someone without a lot of experience handling computer components could probably install the card, too. Both Apple’s engineers, who made the 1400′s innards incredibly user-friendly, and the manual writers at Newer, who gave a nicely detailed description of the steps involved, deserve a pat on the back for this fact. To put it simply, once you’re inside the 1400, installation requires nothing more than removing a few screws with a small Phillips screwdriver, popping out the existing 603e processor, replacing it with the G3 card, and putting all the screws back where you found them.

Once you have the upgrade in place and the control panel installed, you’re ready to fly. According to MacBench 4.0 from Ziff-Davis, my 1400c/133, running with 64 megs of RAM, a 2048K disk cache, and virtual memory off, scored a 135 on the processor test, a 169 on the floating point test, and a 139 on the disk test. The NuPowr G3/250′s default settings scored 842, 616, and 271 on those tests, respectively. Using the control panel, you can tweak a few settings (most notably the speed of the backside cache), and doing so varied the processor score from a low of 744 to a high of 874, while the other scores remained virtually unchanged. Running the tests with Virtual Memory on also had very little effect on the scores, as MacBench 4.0 reported a performance drop of only about 1%. A more detailed description of the scores can be found in the chart below, but the bottom line is that the NuPowr G3/250 boosts the 1400′s processing power by more than a factor of six, while more than tripling the floating point unit’s performance and doubling the disk access capability.

All those numbers may sound impressive, but the bottom line is, how does the thing actually perform in real-life use? The answer is, simply put, fast! Extremely fast. Booting the PowerBook takes less than half the time it used to, and Finder operations, such as copying files and emptying the trash, occur in the blink of an eye. I had to change my trackpad and mouse control panels to slower settings, because I would routinely fly past the menu command or folder that I wanted to select- that’s how much of a difference the upgrade makes! Other applications, such as Netscape and ClarisWorks, open much, much faster than before, too. (I forgot to time the launching process for these apps with the 133 processor installed, so I can’t make an accurate comparison, but rest assured the G3/250 takes only a fraction of the time.) Graphically heavy and RAM-hungry games, like the Marathon series and Riven, are incredibly responsive with the NuPowr card, too.

The only conflict that I have run across with the NuPowr upgrade concerns PC-formatted disks. Using an unlocked PC-formatted disk with a NuPowr-upgraded 1400 will cause the disk to be unreadable by most PCs. However, other Macintoshes will read the disk and see the PC files on the disk just fine. (I don’t know whether or not using VirtualPC, SoftWindows, or a DOS processor card in a Mac will allow you to use the PC files on the disk in a Windows environment.) Newer knows of this problem (in fact, I was informed of it by a notice that was including in the box by Newer themselves), and is working on a fix. It should be available from their website shortly.

Some users have recently complained about the NuPowr causing the PowerBook to run hotter and drain the battery more quickly than the original processor. These are valid concerns, but they also should have been expected, since a not-so-powerful processor is being replaced with a more powerful one, and a small L2 cache is being replaced by a very large one. So, if you’re in the market for a NuPowr upgrade, be aware of these issues — you don’t want to be unpleasantly surprised after you’ve made your purchase!

Personally, I don’t have much of a problem with either concern. For starters, my PowerBook functions primarily as a desktop machine. It normally sits on my desk, hooked up to the campus Ethernet network and plugged into an electrical outlet. So, heat from the bottom of the computer is not a problem for me, nor is the reduction in battery time. (However, I would recommend buying and attaching some small rubber feet to the bottom of the PowerBook to provide some space in between it and the desk; this will make it easier to dissipate some of the excess heat.) However, there are times when I do want to take my PowerBook with me, such as when I want to do research at the library, get some typing done on a road trip, or do some work at home when I visit my family. My solution to the heat/battery issue in those instances is simple: I disable the backside cache. Yes, this causes the performance to drop dramatically, but it is still significantly faster than a stock 1400/133. The cache draws a significant amount of power, and with it turned off, the notebook can rest comfortably on my lap without it feeling too hot. And I still get acceptable battery performance — roughly what I was used to with the 603e processor (in between 35-50 minutes, depending on what tasks I’m doing).

Some people may think that sounds more like a cheap workaround than a true solution, and they may be right. However, if you’re going to need top-notch G3 performance while you are mobile, and the heat and battery concerns are big problems for you, maybe the NuPowr G3/250 isn’t for you. In that case, I would suggest ditching your 1400 in favor of a brand new G3 PowerBook. Another option for the mobile professional is to go with Newer’s other model, the NuPowr G3/216. It featured a slightly slower processor and only 512 K of backside cache, but costs a couple hundred dollars less, uses less power, and runs a little cooler. It should be ideal if you consistently need G3-caliber performance on the road, but don’t want to get rid of your 1400.

On the other hand, if you don’t need to be on the road all the time, want blazing speed and top-of-the-line performance, and don’t mind a little heat, the NuPowr G3/250 is the right choice for you. It makes the PowerBook 1400 slightly faster than the 250 MHz models of Apple’s G3 series, and the cost is pretty reasonable. It suits my needs perfectly, and has assured me that my PowerBook 1400 will be a viable desktop replacement for at least the remainder of my college years. With easy installation, very few known conflicts, and great performance, it is an awesome way to revitalize your trusty 1400. I am one very impressed, satisfied customer.

MacMice Rating: 4.5

Mike Wallinga
mikew@mymac.com

Websites mentioned:
http://www.newertech.com