World Domination or World Peace . . . I can't decide.
So you've bought your 240mHz PowerMac, loaded it up with 64mb of RAM, surround sound speakers, a 21-inch monitor, ergonomic keyboard, trackball, and fuzzy dice. You laughed at all those PC users who claimed a Mac OS system wasn't good for anything and locked yourself in your room, spending countless glorious hours with your multimedia design software and digital camera. But then you logged off the Internet, looked up from your drawing tablet, and asked yourself, "SO WHAT DO I DO FOR FUN?"
Finally, the Macintosh is started to come out of the Dark Ages and into the modern age of computer gaming. Long the machine of producers, PowerPC-based computers are starting to be recognized by serious game companies as the choice of a good segment of computer consumers, and Westwood Studios' Command & Conquer for the Mac is a good example of this transition. On of the few games released that only operate on the PowerPC chip, game makers are leaving the old 68k machines behind.
Almost pixel for pixel identical to the original PC version, the Macintosh release of Command & Conquer accompanies the concurrent release for the Sega Saturn. As in the PC version, you command a cadre of Global Defense Initiative or Brotherhood of Nod forces in an attempt to conquer your enemy's lands over the span of 35 different missions. I know I've always been on the Westwood bandwagon, but it still deserves mention that Command & Conquer was the game responsible for the epidemic popularity of Dune II-style combat strategy wargames, and it's winning combination of sound effects, music, video sequences, storyline, along with a no-nonsense user interface make it easy to see why.
But not all is glowing praise for Command & Conquer. As was mentioned earlier, the game is almost an exact port of the PC version, and with that comes some inherent problems. For some reason, scrolling during the game tends to be a little jerky, despite enabling all the options to remedy that quirk. Also, since the mouse button has been designated as the active key for video sequences and not the 'Esc' as it is on the PC, you aren't allowed to skip the Intro and sneak preview if you accidentally choose to see it again.
The most important drawback of Westwood's faithfulness to the original, however, doesn't have anything to do with the game's programming; it has to do with Warcraft II. With Blizzard's Macintosh release of it's smash hit game last year, Mac OS users have had access to all the features of a modern wargame, including custom scenario development, multiplayer games for up to eight people or AI computer opponents, and extra-senario one-on-one play against the computer. Though included in the recently released Red Alert for the PC, Command & Conquer, sans these advanced features, is nearly a year behind and pales in comparison to Warcraft II in the struggle of computer escalation. In addition, the game of orcs and humans takes advantage of two uniquely Macintosh features: easy networking through the built-in AppleTalk protocol and speech recognition technology. Westwood's offering requires IPX protocol for LAN play or use of their
Westwood Chat service for Internet play. It will not let you set up a simple AppleTalk link with one of your friends. The result is a Command & Conquer that, although it may herald in a new era of Macintosh computer gaming, misses the boat on being a truly revolutionary wargame.
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