Thursday ’s launch of the Mac App Store not only opens a unexampled boulevard for getting software program onto your data processor . It also mark a big pace forth for Mac gaming .
With the Mac App Store now open for occupation , gamers can download port of iOS games , games previously only appearing on theSteam online play service , and ports to the Mac platform that had received little flourish up until now . And that ’s one of the Mac App Store ’s greatest advantage — in one stead , you’re able to rule and download almost 200 games .
Mac gamers can select from among 200 game in the Mac App Store .
Mac gamers can choose from among 200 games in the Mac App Store.
The Mac App Store is still in its former stages , but we ’ve gather a guide to what you ’ll see in this initial selection of games .
Traditional Mac developers
In late years , the secure resource for current games was through ports by stake developers TransGaming , Aspyr , and Feral Interactive . Though no longer the only show in town , these long - time friends of the Mac gaming community still have made their comportment known by unloose ports of some gamy - remnant biz from the Windows PC and console existence to the Mac App Store .
TransGaming ’s releases include Garage , Inc , a prohibition - era time management game ; The Path , a dark adventure game restate the story of Red Riding Hood ; and Puzzle Quest , a alone cross of puzzle auto-mechanic and role - playing game elements . range from $ 10 to $ 15 , TransGaming ’s offerings interpret the higher range of mountains of pricing on the current memory — with one elision .
Lego Harry Potter is one of the eminent visibility games in the Mac App Store .
Lego Harry Potter is one of the higher profile games in the Mac App Store.
That would beFeral Interactive ’s Lego Harry Potter : Years 1 - 4 . Arguably the most recognisable title on the Mac App Store , this eminent - end game also has a high - end cost tag of $ 50 . Still , devotee of the Harry Potter and Lego franchises will prize that this game offer arguably the most depicted object and highest - calibre graphics of any title on the Mac App Store .
iOS ports
By far , the most prominent biz class in the Mac App Store is comprise of iOS games make the saltation to the Mac . These games , which up until now have swear heavily on the touchscreen interface of the iPhone , iPod touch , and iPad , must now be made to cultivate with a keyboard and shiner . Some , such as platformer The Incident , will in all likelihood have easy transitions to the Mac oculus sinister . Though The Incident loses its accelerometer - base controls in its Mac App Store form , the ability to move should be easily substitute by directional buttons or “ WASD ” controls .
Angry Birds is one of the titles that has made the jump from the iOS platform to the Mac via the Mac App Store .
For that subject , it ’s easy to assume that almost any iOS game that bank on virtual buttons and tapping will make an easy transition to the Mac platform than games that rely on gestures . game like Angry Birds and Flight Control HD , for model , may take some getting used to for honest-to-goodness fans of the series . Flight Control HD , which sparked a newfangled sub - genre of puzzle “ track - making ” game on the iOS , met with mixed reviews in our office when it was made available on Steam . Will Angry Birds for the Mac have a legato landing place ? Will histrion quickly accommodate to dragging their mouse and plunge bird ? Or will the viral success of Angry Birds finally show some sign of the zodiac of waning ?
Angry Birds is one of the titles that has made the jump from the iOS platform to the Mac via the Mac App Store.
Independent titles
Other games available on the Mac App Store have been previously free on the Mac , either through Steam ’s religious service or via a aboriginal release . PopCap Games , which specializes in habit-forming teaser games , has release Bejeweled 3 , Peggle , and Peggle Nights on the Mac App Store after antecedently convey the deed of conveyance toSteam . But Plants Vs . Zombies , a democratic tower defense secret plan that has been unfreeze on the Mac and Io antecedently , is curiously absent from the initial passing on the Mac App Store .
Other independent game that come out in the memory include Hothead Games ’ Precipice of wickedness episodic theatrical role - playing - game serial , which is based on the Penny Arcade web comic . Initially issue in 2008 and ported to the Mac in 2009 , each title is selling at a reduced Leontyne Price of $ 4 . Precipice of Darkness , like popular teaser plot Zen Bound 2 , paper - platformer And Yet It Moves , and dreamlike physics - based Osmos all make the saltation from Steam to the Mac App Store .
Her Interactive ’s Nancy Drew and Anuman ’s Dracula series also make appearances on the Mac App Store , aid to round out the excerption of games with entries from the adventure genre . The Nancy Drew games have been appear on the Mac for years , but Dracula 3 : Path of the Dragon , presently on the Mac App Store , was antecedently on the iOS for several months and was ported to the Mac last October . The adventure genre is well represented on the Mac App Store , with Women ’s Murder Club , The Mystery of the Crystal Portal , and Midnight enigma — Salem Witch Trials all appear among the initial releases .
PlayFirst ’s iconic eating house - theme time - management Diner Dash series pretend an appearing on the Mac App Store in the mannequin of Diner Dash 5 . The visually telling steampunk risky venture / first - person shooter / time - direction plot Guns of Icarus also makes it way on the Mac App Store , as does the evenly intriguingly - named Gratuitous Space Battles — a sci - fi tower - defense / scheme claim with some impressive visuals conjoin to a unique approach to gameplay .
First impressions
The daytime - one releases on the Mac App Store mainly place the casual game market place . The first - soul shooter , action - adventure , and strategy genre are all fairly absent at this microscope stage . Similarly , eminent - end rubric — bring through for Harry Potter — haven’t arrived yet , but that does n’t imply we wo n’t see other marquise games on the store at a later day .
For the Mac App Store ’s debut , it makes sense for Apple to stay nigh to the formula that ’s made the iOS version of the App Store such a winner . Once gamers bulge out to download game from the Mac App Store , developers could recognize the retail outlet ’s potential difference . That mean not only including games in the Mac App Store , but developing offering with the Mac platform specifically in mind .
