Tapping classic games with GameTap Lite
Tue 10 Jul 07 22:04 | Tags: Games, Mac
After a few delays, GameTap has recently released the free, ad-supported "Lite" version of their game-playing client for the Mac today. You know I had to get in on that.
GameTap is an online service which allows members to download and play games on their computer. They offer native PC games as well as console and arcade games, which run under an emulation layer. The native PC games are still too Windows-dependent to work, so right now us Mac users can only play the emulated games, and only a small part of GameTap's library is available to play for free, though those games do occasionally rotate. The list is heavy on Capcom and SNK titles; a boon for fans of brawlers.
Ryu struggles to come to grips with Street Fighter Alpha's odd controls.
How well does it work? It's decent. I haven't been able to put too much time into it, but among what I've played so far, I'll go ahead and say the emulation is pretty perfect. Granted, my 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo machine with 2GB of RAM is still pretty hardy by today's standards; I can't vouch for how well it will run on older, slower Intel-powered Macs. (PowerPC owners, you're out in the cold. But you guys are probably starting to get used to the feeling.) I do have a few gripes with the client itself, though.
The fact that I had to watch this ad for SuperDeluxe.com was less annoying than the dumb ad itself was. By the way, I lasted about thirty seconds in 1941.
Yes, it's adware, but I don't think it's too terrible; video ads play while the game is downloading, and a banner ad takes up the bottom of the window while you're playing. I can handle it. What I find more annoying than that, though, is that, when the game starts, there's no indication as to which buttons you press to play the game. For that, you have to switch back to your web browser, go to the game's page, and click on "Controls." After that, you'll be presented a table which tell you what buttons to press… if you're using an Airflow-brand joypad. You have to select "Keyboard" from a menu to see the controls for a standard keyboard. (Confusingly, "Left Keyboard," "Right Keyboard" and "Uinversal Keyboard" also appear in that same menu, with no clear indication as to what the difference between them is.) It would be nice if the client would show the game's controls before the game starts. Games meant for a joystick or game pad are obviously a bit harder to play when you have to use a standard keyboard like me, but I guess that's nobody's fault but my own.
Also, I found it weird that, when I started up Street Fighter Alpha, the button controls were seemingly upside-down… the upper rows of buttons were kicks and the lower were punches, and the strong attack buttons were to the far left. This is exactly inverse of the way Street Fighter games have controlled since the first one came out in the late '80s. What the heck happened there?
With all the delays this had, I would have thought they would have had the time to make a sensical about box.
Then there's the usual beta-ish weirdness. Occasionally the mouse pointer inverts into a disturbingly Windows-like white-with-black-outline monstrosity for no apparent reason. Also, the start buttons seem to have about a one-second lag to them; fortunately, that doesn't apply to any of the gameplay buttons.
Ever since the mid '90s, emulation of classic arcade and home video games has been a popular diversion for personal computers, despite the fact that such activity is usually questionably legal at best. GameTap has their work cut out for them by trying to introduce a legitimate game emulation service into the marketplace. But the emulation quality is there and the ads aren't too intrusive. If GameTap can work out the client's kinks and maybe introduce a wider library of games and consoles, they're going to have a really cool product to offer us Mac gamers.
Check out this Joystiq article for more news and a sample video. (Many of the games in the video are not currently available for free play… and what's with that music?)
UPDATE: Apparently that music is from a game called Psycho Soldier (which is in the video, near the end), which was the first video game with a vocal soundtrack; thanks, TUAW. Also, if you're having a hard time finding the download for the client on GameTap's site, Inside Mac Games' article has a direct link to it.
Get more great Ray Gun Robot content sent directly to your feed reader or email inbox! Subscribe today!
Articles & Links — Via Email Articles Only — Via Email
1 Comment | 0 Trackbacks | 
| 
Trackbacks
No Trackbacks
Comments
#1 | div | 31 Jul 07 13:04
I m really game freak.One of my friend told me about the site which got lots of arcade games .It brought back beyond memories.I really enjoyed specially playing action arcade games , so i thought to share it .I know gamelovers will love it .
http://www.fastarcade.com