The Mac has n’t on the button been inundated with commercial-grade massively multiplayer online games ( MMOGs ) over the years . Blizzard Entertainment ’s superlativeWorld of Warcraftwas the last braggart one , and that debut in 2004 .
EVE Onlineis an MMOG of a very different color , and if you ’re look for a game with incredibly deep and challenging game playing period , this is it . EVE Online form World of Warcraft look like Minesweeper .
All about EVE
So what is EVE Online ? Superficially , it can be described as a space trading , exploration and armed combat secret plan . You spend your entire time capsulize in a spaceship capable of interplanetary flight , traveling from space post to space place . This will fathom immediately familiar to Mac users who whiled out many hours playing the addictiveEscape Velocity gamesfrom Ambrosia , and there are some comparisons . Both games owe more than just a nod to Elite , considered by many to be the great - grandaddy of blank trading games of this ilk .
But EVE Online goes way beyond simply move around from star topology organisation to star system of rules , ferrying passengers and cargo and fighting off the advances of interstellar literary pirate . There ’s a musician - driven economy that affects the prices you bear for commodities in the game , such as minerals and products you need to outfit your ship , ammo , and more . It ’s possible to hold open yourself a lot of money by traveling to different systems where the price of some commodities are much low . ( EVE Online ’s currentness is called “ isk ” in the game , a gracious little clapper - in - brass nod to Icelandic developer CCP Games ’ aboriginal currency , krona , have it off in pecuniary market shorthand as “ ISK . ” )
It ’s the Economy , StupidEVE Online is n’t just about fly around in outer space . You also can track economic trends , making money buying and selling goods , manufacturing and inventing .
It ’s really the ultimate “ sandbox ” experience for on-line gaming — you could , if you wish , become a cargo pilot , shuttling huge quantities of fabric from system of rules to scheme ; a miner , draw out ore from asteroid belt , comic strip - minelaying integral system of their cherished metals ; a battlewagon commander , sending horde of fighters into battle in massive fleet attacks ; or a pirate , hitting private players , raiding their good and leaving in a hurry . But you do n’t need to be a outer space pilot film to succeed at EVE . you may also educate to become an inventor or manufacturer of good , selling treasured items to the highest bidder . you could make a Corporation — the EVE Online equivalent to a World of Warcraft Guild — a collection of like - minded player with interchangeable goal and inspiration — and you could basically run your secret plan from behind a desk .
The depth and width of EVE is really staggering . For more information on the ins and outs of EVE , discipline out my freshman ’s guide to the biz .
Sunset in SpaceEVE Online ’s visuals are stunning , such as this solar glare visible as this spacecraft warp aside to its next destination .
First impressions
EVE Online is also a phenomenally pretty biz . As you flee from organisation to organisation you ’re almost overwhelmed with burn nebulas , the flair of far - off stars , the jumbo rings of nearby gas heavyweight . There ’s a lot to look at in EVE , too . And it ’s go to get even pretty with a young rising slope call Trinity that ’s coming out for microcomputer users afterward this year , and for Mac and Linux users in former 2008 .
Zeroing in for the KillHoning your fighting accomplishment is an authoritative part of the EVE Online experience .
Is the Mac conversion unadulterated ? I ’ve spent less than a week with it , so I ’m not quick to give it net judgment yet . I have it away that on my system , at least , it ’s been quite well - behaved , outside of some peculiarities with mouse control . I ’ll lose the cursor from time to time in Windowed manner , and not be able-bodied to get it back unless I switch to a different app .
I also jazz that a few readers here atMacworldand bill poster to the EVE Online forums are have a bit of trouble . But one style or the other , I do n’t expect that any of this stage a show - stopper that means you should n’t at least download EVE for yourself and give it a try .
Just assume in mind that EVE does command an Intel - based Mac with a non - incorporate graphics chip . That means that if you ’re using a MacBook Pro , Intel iMac or Mac Pro , you ’re belike hunky-dory — but MacBook and Mac mini users might have some worry .
I plan to come up this first flavour with a more complete review once I ’ve really had a hazard to put EVE Online through its pace . For now , however , I strongly commend that MMOG player who have had enough of World of Warcraft and gamers look for the lucid successor to Elite and Escape Velocity should check out EVE Online , post - haste .
you could downloada 14 - day free trialthat does n’t ask a credit card to activate . After that , EVE will cost you $ 19.95 for the first month , and $ 14.95 for each calendar month thereafter . And if you ’re hooked right away and want to save yourself some money , check that to check out theEVE Online storewhere you’re able to purchase game cards .
[ When not dreaming of space piracy , Peter Cohen report on Mac gaming in the Game Room blog . ]
