I’ve never really gotten into playing Massively Multiplayer online games. I like the idea in concept, but I’m always reluctant when it comes to monthly fees. That, and I’ve never found an MMO that really grabbed me. Star Wars: Galaxies, which probably had the best shot, is by all accounts a rather abysmal failure.
But I’ve long been intrigued by the concept of EVE Online, a spacefaring MMO that reminds me a bit of Ambrosia’s old Escape Velocity series. And now that EVE Online is coming to the Mac, maybe I’ll finally give it a shot. With the help of TransGaming’s magic Cider package, the EVE Online crew is porting the game to Intel Macs.
The Mac version should have full parity with the Windows version when released. System requirements haven’t yet been announced; hopefully my MacBook will be good enough. EVE Online is a free download, but the monthly fee is $14.95.
[Rant]
I'm tired of every new cool game coming out being an MMO. I don't, as a rule, play MMOs since a nasty bout of addiction with UO. Is it so much to ask that some of these concepts, like a modern space piracy game, be made into stand-alone games? I know, what I'm asking is that the companies give up their recurring revenue model. It seems everything is turned into either an MMO or a dumbed down console game. Where is the in-between CRPG experience?
[/Rant]
EVE Online is superb, infact, it's the main reason I keep a Windows box up and running in the household. I'm seriously considering getting a Intel based Mac ahead of when I originally planned to replace my beloved PPC Mini and finally put the old PC out of its misery. Good times ahead.
Donn: Agreed, there's been no real standalone space shooter/sims of late worth mentioning which is sad - the market just hasn't supported them. Gone are the days of Independence War and Freespace.
A friend has EVE Online on his Windows box and it blows me away. The only caveat Mac users should know about is that it requires a good 3D video card, so Macbooks and Macminis probably won't run the game at all.