Aspyr Media on Tuesday released a free update for its multi-player first-person shooter Star Wars Battlefront. The patch, which is available at MacGameFiles, fixes a bug that affected games hosted through the Mac-only online service GameRanger. Previously, players were forced to late-join the games; now, everyone in the waiting room will enter the game as soon as it launches.
Unfortunately, online play in Star Wars Battlefront is only available against other Mac players through GameRanger -- as a result of drastically increased licensing fees, many Mac publishers have been forced to drop GameSpy support from their titles. Cross-platform online play in Star Wars Battlefront would have been available only through GameSpy, although gamers with enough technical knowledge can try playing via Direct IP, which requires knowing the IP address of the server they want to join.
Ported to the Mac by Beenox Studios, the game allows players to take on the role of a Rebel Alliance, Imperial Army, Clone Army or Separatist Army soldier as they battle for control of 10 planets from the Star Wars galaxy, including Hoth, Tatooine, Endor and others drawn from the movies. The non-playable Jedi knights Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Mace Windu and Count Dooku provide support to each side.
Sporting gameplay similar to Aspyris Battlefield 1942, Star Wars Battlefront features 20 different soldier types, each with unique strengths and weaknesses, as well as over 25 air and ground vehicles -- including X-Wings, TIE Fighters, AT-ATs and AT-STs -- that players can use to turn the tide of a battle. Players can test their mettle against computer-controlled opponents or take their battles online, where the Mac-only gaming service GameRanger offers live combatants.
Pricing is US$49.99. System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.3.6, a G4 or G5 1GHz processor, 256MB RAM (512MB recommended), 2.7GB free hard drive space, 64MB video RAM and a DVD drive.
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