Joystiq tour: GameTap Mac client
by Jared Rea 
{ Jul 10th 2007 at 1:00AM }
What awaits the glorious splendor of your Mac? Dig in after the break as we take you from installation to domination: Pyscho Soldier style.
Behold! The installation screen! If you're seeing this, that means so far, you're doing it right! The installer itself can be found on their website and comes in the standard, DMG format. Nothing terribly fancy going on here, but the process is as painless as can be. After we're done here it's just a double-click of an icon and ...
Ah, one of the quirks of the Lite client. Seeing as it was designed for both non-subscribers and members on the go, it doesn't actually feature the library function. Instead, you must go to the GameTap website and select a game compatible with the Lite client, such as those from the free play section, should you not be a subscriber.
So we hopped on over to GameTap.com and scoped out the games available. Using their handy search function, we narrowed down their entire library to compatible games. Well, imagine that! The 1986 SNK release, Psycho Soldier, is playable! A click in our browser (we successfully used both Safari and Camino) and the GameTap client booted up automatically, downloading our selection. This is probably where we should tell you about some of the limitations of the client itself.
First of all, it can only run in windowed mode. Secondly, you can't change any of the default control. After mashing at our keyboard in a sad attempt to find the right buttons (note: "z" through "b" seem to be a safe bet), we soon realized that documentation could be found on each game page. Desperately in need of a controller, we snagged a driver for our Xbox 360 controller. Aside from having to press the "return" key for start, it has thus far worked flawlessly. As for the games themselves?
First of all, it can only run in windowed mode. Secondly, you can't change any of the default control. After mashing at our keyboard in a sad attempt to find the right buttons (note: "z" through "b" seem to be a safe bet), we soon realized that documentation could be found on each game page. Desperately in need of a controller, we snagged a driver for our Xbox 360 controller. Aside from having to press the "return" key for start, it has thus far worked flawlessly. As for the games themselves?
Fantastic. Now, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Hey Joystiq. I really don't think Psycho Soldier is a good example of what GameTap can do on a Mac." We've tried out plenty of titles, including the underrated Neo-Geo shooter Blazing Star, the 32X tragedy otherwise known as Knuckle's Chaotix and much, much more. Thus far, the performance has been equal to our PC's running GameTap, which means that now, outside of illegal emulation, Mac owners have access to arcade perfection.
When it comes to PC perfection, however, the Mac client can't even be bothered. Finding a few DOS and Windows titles hiding in the library, we attempted to boot them up with a huge grain of salt. Said grain proved useful as the client downloaded our games, then immediately rejected them in a crashing blaze of glory. This was, of course, totally expected, but we were really looking forward to some Willy Beamish.
A few minor quirks aside, the first release of GameTap for Mac is solid. The titles that support online play perform just as well as they do on the PC, which means that now everyone can appreciate the multiplayer joy that is Twinkle Star Sprites.
When it comes to PC perfection, however, the Mac client can't even be bothered. Finding a few DOS and Windows titles hiding in the library, we attempted to boot them up with a huge grain of salt. Said grain proved useful as the client downloaded our games, then immediately rejected them in a crashing blaze of glory. This was, of course, totally expected, but we were really looking forward to some Willy Beamish.
A few minor quirks aside, the first release of GameTap for Mac is solid. The titles that support online play perform just as well as they do on the PC, which means that now everyone can appreciate the multiplayer joy that is Twinkle Star Sprites.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nushio @ Jul 10th 2007 1:10AM
I know "Linux Gamer" is an oxymoron, but lets hope that Gametap brings their content to Linux. Same with Steam.
Linux isnt just for servers anymore.
Brad Laue @ Jul 10th 2007 11:24AM
Nushio: Linux users wouldn't pay for this even if it were available for purely ideological reasons. The majority tend to pay lip service to commercial application support, and then deride it once it arrives by attempting to tout "superior" open-source versions.
The Linux market is a difficult nut to crack. And it's a far better server than it is a desktop.
Nushio @ Jul 10th 2007 11:30AM
Brad: Thats an absolute lie. There's companies like Cedega that try to charge for game-compatibility.
As a gamer, I don't mind paying for Gametap or Steam.
The reason I use Linux isn't because I'm a cheap pirate, which is what you're making me sound, but because I chose not to pirate Windows instead.
Bbox @ Jul 11th 2007 9:19AM
Nothing coming for us with PowerPC chips? :(
terminus @ Jul 10th 2007 4:02AM
Unfortunately, PowerPC users are going to continue to be left out in the cold like this. The libraries used to run the games (Transgaming's Cider, based on Wine) are basically reverse-engineered Windows libraries, originally for Linux. The games aren't emulated at all, they achieve near-perfect speed because the Intel instructions are basically being executed just as they would on a machine running Windows. Cider translates the system calls from Windows to Mac, and the DirectX calls to OpenGL. Compatibility is iffy, but what runs, runs well. Because of the way it works, the technology would have to be ported to PowerPC, and then REAL emulation would have to occur, rendering games so slow, they just wouldn't be usable.
t_m @ Jul 10th 2007 4:25AM
If i could get Gametap and Steam on linux then that would overcome the only thing thats keeping me on PC.
I'd switch my OS over to linux straight away.. and then maybe get a mac next time i upgrade.
shaoron @ Jul 10th 2007 4:27AM
i was jsut gonna ask if that one game was really named "Psycho Mother *()&)( Soldier"
ChinnyReckOn @ Jul 10th 2007 4:34AM
nothing to do with this, but the joystiq redesign looks UGLY!
Miharu @ Jul 10th 2007 8:00AM
So what's the big deal? These are all ancient old games and anyone could play them on any emulator. Virtual console I can understand as you can play the games on your TV but they are horribly overpriced.
Anam @ Jul 10th 2007 12:33PM
This way you can play them legally. It's a strange word in PC gamer land, I know.
zwarrior @ Jul 10th 2007 8:19AM
that song is catchy
Roy @ Jul 10th 2007 9:01AM
The article isn't exactly true. The lite client isn't only for "free" games. If you're a gold member, you can play any lite enabled gold game as well in the mac client and it works fine.
hvnlysoldr @ Jul 10th 2007 9:22AM
Liked the song. What was that Capcom game at the end with the superdeformed fighters?
hvnlysoldr @ Jul 10th 2007 10:07AM
Haha! Zangief upended the tea table like the MiyahonCheck.
greeneo @ Jul 10th 2007 9:32AM
D'oh, I couldn't find where to get it on Gametap's site itself. Had to use the link here on Joystiq.
funkonaut @ Jul 10th 2007 10:05AM
Who would have thought that in 2007 we'd be playing arcade games on UNIX? Apple rocks in a huge way.
WhatIsThatThing @ Jul 10th 2007 10:26AM
If you're annoyed with the joystick (heh I almost typed Joystiq) configuration, try the free program "JoyToKey". It maps your controller buttons to keys, the mouse, or pretty much anything else. Find it at http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version.htm
Blade @ Jul 12th 2007 5:57PM
Almost, but not quite. The arcade and console games are emulated.