Daily Contemplation: Dragon Age II on Macs on day one

The Mac version of Dragon Age II will be available right along with the PC version on the game's release date, March 8. Not only that, but it will come on a hybrid disc that includes both the PC and Mac versions.

This probably isn't news, but it's the first I've heard of it. I do wish more developers would do this. Blizzard in particular has long been good about supporting the forlorn Mac gamer, but few other studios have been. I realize those that play games on OS X are a small percentage of a PC game market that's not terrifically healthy to begin with these days, but Apple fans are a loyal bunch and certainly appreciate when they're thrown a juicy bone like this.

Plus, as Macs run on Intel processors these days, it's easier than ever to create a Mac version of a game. I'm sure it's still no cakewalk, but the OS X gaming situation is certainly better than it used to be. Apple is putting passable graphics cards in even lower end machines and, with the advent of Steam for Mac and other digital download services, it's easier than ever for Mac gamers to purchase games for their OS of choice.

Strangely, there's no sign of a Steam version of Dragon Age II for the Mac yet. This is especially disappointing as, in today's increasingly multiplatform, digital world, it's a pain to be forced to purchase separate versions of the same game just to use it on all of your capable devices. Steam's terrific service allows you to purchase a game and not only easily install it on any computer you own, but also gain access to either the PC or Mac versions of anything you buy. It's one of the most consumer-friendly places to purchase games, and it's sad that Dragon Age II won't be taking advantage of that on the Mac side, at least at first.

In any case, good on Bioware for throwing Mac users a bone. Hopefully they'll respond in kind and actually purchase the game so this kind of thing will continue to become more prevalent. 

Best of the Decade: Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead

Platforms: Xbox 360, Windows, Mac OS X

Release Date: November 18, 2008 (360 and Windows)

Developer: Valve Corporation

Publisher: Valve Corporation

Few competitive games manage to grab my attention. While I may like the idea of hardcore competition on paper, it kind of falls apart in the long run if you don’t practice. I don’t tend to stick with single games that long, so my dalliances with competitive play tend to be either fleeting or relegated to more accessible multiplayer setups (read: Nintendo). 

In the early part of the decade, this meant I was out of luck for multiplayer. The gaming scene was competitive or nothing. So I had the occasional fling with Halo and mostly stuck to playing by myself.

What I yearned for was more opportunites to work with friends rather than against them. Beating your friends into the ground can be immensely satisfying, even I know that. I’ve played my share of Smash Bros. and Soulcalibur matches. Playing a game along with a friend can be just as gratifying however, and the Playstation 2 era seemed to forget this. I was thrown a bone every once in a while, such as with the surprisingly fun Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks, but was mostly left wanting.

Luckily this problem has been thoroughly rectified with the most recent console generation. Developers are finally creating more and more fantastic ways to play along with your friends, instead of against them, and co-op is finally an expected feature rather than a rare bonus. 

I can now happily join friends in Halo matches, beat up Yoshi with them in Smash Bros., rock out with them in Rock Band, and, of course, shoot zombies with them in Left 4 Dead.

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Best of the Decade: Portal

Portal

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Release Date: October 9, 2007 (PC and 360 versions of The Orange Box)

Publisher: Valve Corporation

Developer: Valve Corporation

The phrase “short but sweet” isn’t often applied to video games. Most of the time there’s a perfectly good reason for this. Retail games tend to be expensive investments and most gamers expect a certain amount of length for their money. This doesn’t leave much room for those that wish to experiment with conciseness, but it’s an understandable concern. Spending $60 on a game that lasts two hours is rarely fun.

Portal slightly predates the downloadable game revolution that has made it possible for games such as Limbo and Costume Quest to experiment with providing less length for less money, but perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the movement.

Originally debuting as part of The Orange Box, Valve threw Portal into the mix as an experiment. Valve knew they had something good on their hands but didn’t know what to do with it. Downloadable games certainly existed at the time, but hadn’t quite proven themselves like they have in the last couple of years. They decided to stuff it into a compilation of proven successes as an added bonus and see what happened.

What happened was it turned into a verifiable phenomenon and solidified its place in the hearts of gamers everywhere.

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A Windows Realization

Recently, as part of an effort to kick-start my PC gaming after a nice, long lull, I decided it was time to finally reinstall Windows on the iMac that serves as my meager but serviceable gaming computer.

Faced with the prospect of reinstalling and dealing with Windows XP again, I almost ended the project before it started.

Thankfully, I pressed onward.

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Best Mod Ever?

This is why I love the Internet.  Without it, I would never have heard about what is quite possible the most awesome fan-made game modification ever.  In fact, it probably wouldn't have gotten made in the first place.

And that would have been a damn shame.

Some guy decided to rerecord all of the sound effects from Half-Life 2 and replace them with... 

His own voice. 

That's 1,327 sound files, according to his YouTube video description, that are now some dude doing sound effects with his microphone.

This is one of the most entertaining YouTube videos I've seen in quite some time.  Major props to this guy.