GAMES USED TO BE SO SIMPLE. Pick up ax. Wiggle Pong paddle. Keep Ms. Pac-Man one step ahead of Pinky, Blinky, Inky, and that other guy. Then came multimedia, stereo sound, and QuickTime video, and suddenly game developers weren't satisfied with good ol' mindless entertainment. To reach the Mac-game top-ten list today, a game must offer something extra.
Star Wars Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
It's not just a game; it's an interactive feature film. Lucas Arts needed two CD-ROMs to hold all the action of Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire. An involving plot and lightning-fast, full-screen video distinguish this sequel to Lucas Arts' immensely popular Rebel Assault. The cast of characters again stars you as the surprisingly talented Rookie One -- although this time around, female players aren't offered the option of a female Rookie One character as their surrogate. $54.95. 800-985-8227 or 415-472-3400.
McKenzie & Co.
To girls offended that Lucas Arts demoted them from full parity in the Rebel Assault II extravaganza, Her Interactive offers a 5-CD-ROM consolation prize -- but this "fun-filled junior year at Madison High" isn't likely to interest any would-be women warriors. On the contrary, this compilation of oh-so-cute video segments about dating, boy-watching, mall-crawling, and makeup is designed for teens whose idea of adventure is "dancing the two-step with Bret Halsey, a shy cowboy"; giggling through a "madcap marshmallow search with Brandon"; or simply mooning over some other dreamy hunk. $59. 800-561-0908 or 505-880-1718; http://www.her-online.com.
Chaos
This soon-to-be-released adventure game offers a new component to the more-is-more ethos of today's Mac-game developers: learning. As in the Mother of All CD-ROM Adventure Games, Myst, you explore a 3-D environment, interacting with its inhabitants and solving puzzles. The twist to Chaos is that all the puzzles revolve around chaos theory, the stupendously complex mathematical construct that searches for order in seeming disorder. You can trust both the science and the art behind Chaos, if the provenance of its developers is any indication: The Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University's School of the Arts and The New York State Center for Advanced Technology, both working with Harper Collins Interactive. $49. 800-424-6234 or 212-207-7000; http://www.chaoscdrom.com.
