The Mac App Store is filling up almost as fast as the game board in The Incident...
The Mac App Store went live today, and it's already got tons of offerings, many of them games. Many of them, um, familiar-sounding games. At least if you have an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. Angry Birds, hmm, where have we seen that before?
Of course, if you don't own an iOS device, the Mac App Store is a dream come true -- you can finally try Angry Birds without just being an angry bird that people won't shut up about this Angry Birds game that you haven't tried yet. So there's that. But we thought we'd help out even more by sifting through some launch-day games and recommending which should definitely be on your Mac -- and which should stick to handhelds only.
I've been playing this via OnLive already, and Feral Interactive is about to bring a Mac-native version, also available on the Mac App Store. It's $49.99, but it's a pretty new game—the PC version made a splash at E3 in May 2010. If you like LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman, or LEGO Indiana Jones, you'll take to this like, well, a 6-year-old takes to a box of LEGOs. I actually find the spell system in Harry a little harder than those other games' mechanics, but then again I'm just a muggle.
UPDATE: Lego Harry Potter was in the Mac App Store at launch, then mysteriously disappeared sometime the same day. We're trying to figure out what happened, and will update this with a download link when we hear back. Or you can preorder for $40 directly from Feral.
These came out as Mac, PC, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network titles in 2008, but if you missed them, they're quite fun little single-player RPGs starring Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade. They're only $3.99 each, and have an enjoyable noir style and entertaining stories. Neither is particularly difficult, but with salty language they're also not appropriate for kids. The Mac App Store has them rated for buyers 17 and older.
We saw games called Pretty Good Solitaire and Pretty Good Mahjong for $24.99 each, which seems a little steep when this, and a free version of Minesweeper to boot, both get the job done for nothing. I mean, I could procrastinate by actually setting money on fire and it'd still take me a while to burn 25 bucks. Solitaire's Greatest Hits has 12 variations and no ads, and Minesweeper has five prebuilt sizes plus Custom.
This is available for iPad and iPod touch too (99 cents, universal), but I actually did much better playing with the keyboard-and-mouse controls on the Mac version. Plus, it's only 99 cents, so even if you're doubling up, you're not out a lot of money. If you do happen to have an iPod touch or iPhone, you can even use that as the controller, a trick it shares with the iPad version. Pretty neat.
I just reviewed this latest PopCap addict-o-matic game, and it's fun as ever, especially the cute new Butterfly and Poker modes. It's the same $19.99 on the Mac App Store, so if you haven't gotten it now, and you're a fan of that classic match-3 Bejeweled gameplay with twists-a-plenty, grab it today.
Speaking of classic match-three gameplay, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is $14.99 on the Mac App Store, but it's been around the Mac since 2008, when it was $20. So it really should be, say, $5. But the Bejeweled-esque gameplay wrapped around an RPG is really fun and compelling, so if you still haven't tried it, at least watch for it to go on sale.
If you didn't see this head-turner on Steam or play it on your Wii, give it a whirl on the Mac App Store for $9.99. It's a physics platformer where you actually turn the game world to solve puzzles. And it'll drive you absolutely batty. You know, in a good way.
Better on the iPad (where it's also $4.99, or just $1.99 for Angry Birds Seasons HD), or even the iPhone (where it's 99 cents). I mean, it's the same game but using a mouse feels like taking a shower with rubber gloves. They put a cheesy hand icon for the mouse pointer, which really just served to remind us how fun it is to use our actual hands to play.
This is actually better on the iPad, for $4.99. Or on the iPhone for 99 cents. Same game, but the multi-touch input is far better than the one touchpoint of a mouse or trackpad. It has a couple key commands (y'know...Quit), but strangely Alt-Tab doesn't work. Osmos is definitely worth $10 if you've never played it anywhere before, but if you own an iOS device, get it for that instead.
Once again, Enigmo (also $14.99) and Enigmo 2 are jaw-dropping award-winning iOS titles that seem better suited for touch. They translate to mouse control pretty well, but it just doesn't feel right if you've ever played it with more natural swipes and taps. Enigmo 2's level
The sky is falling on your Mac, but if you're already playing this on your iOS device, you can just open your umbrella and keep walking. The arrow-keys-and-space-bar controls are ok; they actually match the low-res graphics and chintzy sound. And the feeling of franticness is still there. But if you play it on iOS, you get universal versions for iPad and iPhone for $1.99, plus Game Center support.
Any other recommendations? Sound off in the comments!
Follow this article's author, Susie Ochs, on Twitter.
FirstFreedom
January 09, 2011 at 9:32am
I like the game Ninja Puzzle, pretty strange game: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ninja-puzzle/id410796469?mt=12
jackisclark
January 07, 2011 at 12:19pm
Angry Birds is actually quite successful on multi-touch enabled Macs. It uses my Macbook's trackpad like the screen of an iPhone, without having to click—just touch and drag.
