Aspyr’s port of id’s Quake 4 is now available on Apple’s Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). The popular First Person Shooter (FPS) does support cross-platform play between Mac and Windows users.
Note: Check the requirements below before purchasing!
Quake 4 is based on the Doom III engine and was released back in October of 2005 for Windows. It was later released on Mac OS X, as well as Linux, and Xbox 360, but this is the first time it’s available as a digital download through Apple’s Mac App Store, GameAgent Store, and other locations.
The Mac OS X version was originally released back in April of 2006, just for PowerPC Macs. A Universary Binary version for both PPC and Intel Macs was quickly released afterward. You have to remember that the first Intel Macs had just been released a few months before Aspyr’s launch of Quake 4, and Aspyr had probably done much of its development and testing on PowerPCs. The original Aspyr version is still available through Amazon.com if you want a boxed copy, BUT I do not know what differences there maybe between the retail copies and this new digital download version. I can tell you that at $19.99 through the Mac App Store, it’s cheaper to download (if you have a good connection).
Quake 4 does have a full single-player storyline, but let’s face it – most people don’t buy Quake for single-player play. The Quake series is mostly known for the multiplayer action, with support for Deathmatch, Team, Capture the Flag (CTF), Tournament, and other modes.
Game Description:
In a desperate war for Earth’s survival against an unrelenting alien enemy, the only way to defeat them is to become one of them. Armed with advanced weaponry and vehicles and aided by an elite squad of marines, you take the battle to the heart of the Strogg home planet and become Earth’s only hope for victory.
Minimum Requirements:
– Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later, or Mac OS X 10.7.3 and later.
– Approximately 3.5 GB
– Available in English and French
– 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core)
– ATI Radeon HD 2600 or NVidia GeForce 8600
– Video Memory: 256MB RAM
– Mouse and Keyboard
– Internet Connection for Activation
Supported Video Chipsets:
– NVIDIA GeForce 8600, 8800, 9400, 9600, GT 120, 320M, 330M
– ATI Radeon HD 2600, 3870, 4670, 4850, 5670, 5770, 5870, 6630M, 6750M, 6770M, 6970M
– Intel HD Graphics 3000
NOT SUPPORTED BY QUAKE 4
– Volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive)
– ATI Radeon X1000 series
– NVIDIA 7000 series
– Intel Integrated GMA 950
– Intel Integrated X3100
Looks like early MacBook users are the biggest group that’s left out, but Quake 4 is not a game I’d want to play on an early MacBook.
Kudos to Aspyr Media for continuing to make some of their older games available for Mac users through the Mac App Store. Quake 4, like Team Fortress 2 and other FPS from around the 2005-2007 era are still incredibly popular.
Links:
– Purchase through Quake 4 ™ – Aspyr Media, Inc. (Mac App Store) for $19.99
– Announcement at Apsyr