Ambrosia Software has long been one of my favorite Mac gaming companies. Since I first spent hours downloading Maelstrom back on my Mac LC, on through later favorites like Pop-Pop, the Escape Velocity series and Avara (does anybody besides me remember Avara?). And of course, Ambrosia’s well known for its utilities too: the indispensable SnapzPro, WireTap Pro, and iSeek. They’re also based out of Rochester, NY, which happens to be where a lot of my family lives.
But I’m glad to see that their Mac gaming side is still going strong. This week, they released racing game Redline. I’m a fan of racing games, so I downloaded and gave it a whirl.
There’re a couple different types of racing games nowadays: ones that favor reality, with accurate physics and precisely modeled cars (think the Gran Turismo series), and then the more classic arcade racing games, where your vehicles flies over bumps in the road and does all sorts of crazy maneuvers. Which type is Redline? Both. The game gives you the option of playing in either simulation or arcade mode—while they might look the same, the handling and racing experience is very different. The demo lets you drive as a Mini Cooper on two different tracks against a number of opponents. There’s also online play of up to 12 racers on LAN or Internet. There’s even an Internet leaders board to rank the best of the best.
The full version will run you $25 and allows you many more cars (Corvette, Dodge Charger, Lamborghini Diablo, and—my personal favorite—DeLorean), more tracks, and more types of races. A small price to pay for supporting one of the great independent Mac game developers.
I downloaded it last night and played around. Apparently the Mini is the only car option and there are only two tracks unlocked. It was quite entertaining, although nowhere on the level of Gran Turismo. It runs smoothly at 1440x900 on my MacBookPro (2Ghz, 2GB, 256MB x1600). Physics were decent, although there is no simulated car damage or wear and tear. Also didn't see how to mod your car, although that could be a limitation of the demo. Ran into a bug when racing two other cars and they acted as if they were the same car. Graphics are very well done, while the sound is ok and the music is non-existant. It does have the ability to play songs through itunes, but I didn't see a way to define a custom playlist.
All in all, not a bad game for $25. I'll probably purchase it.