Halo For Mac Shipping Dec. 11

by , 3:30 PM EST, December 9th, 2003

MacSoft has announced that Halo: Combat Evolved, "The most anticipated game in Macintosh history," will be shipping Thursday, Dec. 11. It is expected to be in North American stores the week of Dec. 14.

The hit first-person shooter, which was originally to be released for Mac and PC in early 2000, became the subject of controversy after Microsoft bought Bungie, the game's developer, to bolster titles for its Xbox. After the Nov. 2001 Xbox release, there was serious doubt that it would make it to the Mac until Microsoft announced the upcoming port.

According to MacSoft, the Macintosh port features enhancements over the Xbox version. From MacSoft's Halo Web page:

Intense Online Multiplayer Shootouts
Halo for Macintosh lets you compete against 15 other Mac or Windows users on the Internet or a Local Area Network. Take the battle online with gamers all over the world in a variety of individual and team-based games such as King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, Race, Oddball, Death Match, and more.

Cutting-Edge Graphics
Halo for Macintosh looks great on just about any modern video card. And, it is one of the very first games to take advantage of the “pixel shaders” found in the most recent NVIDIA and ATI video cards. Grass is thick. Vehicles shine in the sunlight. Alien buildings reflect like mirrors, and much more. Additionally, Halo for Macintosh supports video resolutions up to 1600x1200 for remarkable visual clarity.

New Weapons
The Fuel Rod Gun for multiplayer is of Covenant origin. It's an arching, lob-type weapon similar to a grenade launcher. With firepower roughly on par with the rocket launcher, you can decimate opponents over obstacles and defenses.

The Flame Thrower -- burn, baby, burn!

New Vehicles
It’s true! You can now fly the Banshee in multiplayer games. Plus, there’s a new Rocket-equipped Warthog, and you can also control Covenant Gun Turrets in multiplayer.

More game information can be found at MacSoft's Halo Web page.

The Mac Observer Spin:

It's been a long time in coming, but Halo for the Mac is finally out the door. The saddest thing is that the platform that it was originally being designed for is the last to finally receive it.

MacSoft