7chronicles, It does run on Mac I believe... I can quote the current game system requirements

Mac OSX
• OSX 10.3.9 or higher
• 1.5 GHz G4 or higher, any Intel processor
• 290 MB hard drive space
• 800 x 600 or higher screen resolution
• Millions of colors

Minimum to run Fast or Fastest Graphics Quality Setting
• 800x600 screen resolution
• 512 MB RAM
• Graphics Cards:
• Intel GMA 950 or higher integrated graphics (GMA 3000 may be marginal)
• NVIDIA GeForce 2
• ATI Radeon 9200

This might change with the update but I doubt it. The best part about this game is its free to download. It was made by the Minnesota Zoo and got a grants from the National Science foundation and other sources. They use those grants and donations to update the game...

The only downside to it being free is that it's not bug free. There's nothing that will hurt your computer, but it tends to crash a lot under certain scenarios so saving is necessary.

So on Mariokart is Rainbow Road only impossible on the Wii? Since everyone who doesn't use it likes it?

Being a hardcore gamer the Wii does not interest me.

This statement has always annoyed the heck out of me (No offense 7chronicles) because it means that in order to be a hardcore gamer you have to like fps games. Well the fact of the matter is I hate fps games and I still consider myself to be a hardcore gamer just based on the sheer amount of time I waste on video games.
Maybe I should stop taking offense and be like "yeah, I'm not a hardcore gamer... not at all" and I'd feel better about not getting the pile of dirty dishes done upstairs.
No, fps games aside, I embrace games of all types and genres . Though I have written off mmos for the rest of my life, not because I don't like them, but because I like them far too much. When I was hardcore into WoW, I bet I played that 60 hours a week. Too much. I just don't have the time to put into a game like that so no more mmos.
I don't and have never owned a PlayStation, for the simple reason that I found them way too overpriced and they had no games I was interested in that weren't available on another console.

I downloaded the demo for Heroes of Might and Magic 6 over the weekend. I'm really looking forward to that game next month. I know a lot of people aren't interested in turn based strategy games, but they are truly my forte. It actually looks like if I wanted to, I could download the full game now and get all those cool extras you get for buying the game early. The downside is that A. I like hard copies of my games and B. the demo took 4 hours to download, I hate to think how long the full game would take.

So does anyone in here play CivWorld on Facebook besides me? That game is kind of weird in that it seems so simple and straight forward that there's no way you can beat people unless you're on all the time, but I've been slowly figuring the little tweaks you can make to your strategy to make you better than everyone else. I've slowly been improving. I guess if you win the game, you get a free copy of Civilization VI coming out... sometime.

Oh, and Shadowlander, I want you to know that the Pink Knight on Castle Crashers shoots rainbows and stuffed animals to destroy his enemies. It's awesome. You should download it so we can play it together. It's practically a fps game!

Least Favorite Track: It's a toss up between Wario's Gold Mine and Rainbow Road.

You know what? I retract my previous statement because I suddenly thought of my least favorite track. It's SNES Mario Circuit 3. OOOOH MAN I hate that track. It was the only track I could not beat the timed race on and finally gave up and had my husband beat it for me. (And it was the one that gave him the most difficulty by far.) Amazing how one of the simplest and boring tracks can also be the hardest.

You missed out if you didn't beat the Sky Castle. That has one of my favorite bosses in the game.

*jots down that she has to beat Zelda: Twilight Princess and Portal 2 someday*

I side with FK on the hard-core gamer. I would not classify myself as a hard-core gamer like others do, but I would go as far as suggesting that hard-core gamers play all the systems. Nintendo still puts out some of the best games ever made. The FPS tend to be all about graphics but Nintendo still focuses on what makes a great video game a great video game. It's still hard to beat the 90's classics on the SNES, N64, and PS1 era.

I'm finally working on Kingdom Hearts. I exchanged the bad copy I had and this one is working great. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a different version of KH2 because this one still freezes one hour into gameplay. I know now my PS2 is not dying yet, even after 8 some years of use.

This statement has always annoyed the heck out of me (No offense 7chronicles) because it means that in order to be a hardcore gamer you have to like fps games.

Now now, I didn't get that from 7's statement. I think there's an idea around that Wii isn't a "hardcore gamer's console" in large part because Nintendo has and probably always will cater to a much different demographic than either X-Box and PS3 do. A lot of Wii games tend to be very benign and many times marketed to a younger crowd too. I must admit a lot of times I look at games like that as sorta "fluff", but then again I can't see a Wii player having many nice things to say about many of my games ...it's sorta like a fan of Count Chocula and Frosted Mini Wheats cereals getting into an argument . There are an abundance of FPS's on 360 and PS3, true, and it is one of the dominant genres, but it's not the only game you can buy for the system.

I'm really looking forward to that game next month. I know a lot of people aren't interested in turn based strategy games, but they are truly my forte.

I am all about TBS's! (the game genre, not the cable channel ) You're talking to one of the biggest Civ addicts to ever walk down Pike's Peak.

Oh, and Shadowlander, I want you to know that the Pink Knight on Castle Crashers shoots rainbows and stuffed animals to destroy his enemies. It's awesome. You should download it so we can play it together.

Ok, ok....just to satisfy you (and because you still don't have Family Game Night ) I'll download it and see what all the fuss is about....once I'm done with Deadspace 2

It's practically a fps game!

It sounds like its practically a Wii game....*dodges tomatoes and rotten cabbages*

Ok can I ask a really stupid question...

What in the world are fps and tbs games? And someone really should explain game genres to me because I've never understood it at all...

Yeah -> not a tech wiz, not at all

"FPS" = First Person Shooter. In these games, you have a first-person view (looking through the eyes of the character) and you shoot stuff. So, Halo, Call of Duty, Goldeneye... all FPS's.

"TBS" = Turn-Based Strategy. In these games, you and the enemy (or enemies) take turns moving around your characters in strategic ways so as to defeat the other. Think chess, albeit more complicated. Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, and the Final Fantasy Tactics series are probably the more well-known TBS games out there.

TBS games are in contrast with Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games (like Starcraft), where you are constantly managing your troops and directing them to do various things at the same time your opponents are, without any "taking turns".

This statement has always annoyed the heck out of me (No offense 7chronicles) because it means that in order to be a hardcore gamer you have to like fps games. Well the fact of the matter is I hate fps games and I still consider myself to be a hardcore gamer just based on the sheer amount of time I waste on video games.

none taken but...

I HATE fps!!!! I can't stand them! (sorry Shadowlander )

I agree with you and I don't think being a hardcore gamer means you have to like fps!
I think the reason I don't feel the Wii is hardcore are the games, not all of them but the majority of them.
Shadowlander said it best a lot of the games seem like "fluff", but everyone has their own games they like and dislike (don't even get me started on Call of Duty )

I don't and have never owned a PlayStation, for the simple reason that I found them way too overpriced and they had no games I was interested in that weren't available on another console.

It's only $250 now.
Not interstead in any of the games! No Uncharted! LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers! Not to mention the Blu-Ray player.

Thanks wolfloversk! Definitely going to look into that when I get my Mac God willing in March!

Oooh look at that, FK has successfully opened a can of worms and thrown them all over the Video Games thread.

Now now, I didn't get that from 7's statement.

Yeah, I shoulda just kept my big mouth shut. But the problem is that I've heard the exact same statement from too many "hardcore gamers" implying exactly that. So apologies to 7 for assuming the same thing.

What in the world are fps and tbs games?

A couple more that Stardf didn't answer.
MMO - massive multiplayer online. This one is pretty self explanatory, you are one of many other people who get online and play one big game. World of Warcraft is by far the biggest of these, but it's not alone.
RPG - role playing game. This is a pretty broad genre, you are a specific character and you play through a storyline. This one probably covers about 80% of the games out there.

Well I have an unabashed love of FPS's and I'm not ashamed to admit it . I can honestly say there's not a genre out there that I haven't enjoyed playing and I like to keep my options open for what may be the most fun. I even pull out the old Nintendo from time to time to log some hours on some of the older classics .

There's yet a few others that haven't been mentioned

Platformers - games where characters are required to jump around from solid locations or ledges (platforms) to accomplish tasks and win the game. Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong are both great examples

Shooters - games where you have a single character or vehicle going up against a ton of enemies, usually with unlimited ammo. Galaga, Time Pilot, and a few others are good examples

Racers - Self explanatory...you have a car, you race it

Simulation - Self explanatory...you have a car (or aircraft) and fly it with more or less realistic controls

And of course sometimes a few genres are put together to create a sort of mish-mash of styles. A common one is to combine FPS with RPG trappings, so as you guide your character through you can make moral choices and thus be able to win experience points which you can use to grant bonuses to your character.

I'm finally working on Kingdom Hearts. I exchanged the bad copy I had and this one is working great. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a different version of KH2 because this one still freezes one hour into gameplay. I know now my PS2 is not dying yet, even after 8 some years of use.

I actually came into this thread wondering if anyone else played Kingom Hearts, too. If there wasn't already a discussion about it, I was planning to start one.

Anyway, after many failed attempts to beat the Kingdom Hearts game, I'm finally working on it and making some progress. I find it a very entertaining game, and I'm having a lot of fun figuring out where to go next. It probably helps that my brother and dad have both beat the game multiple times, so they're very reliable sources in case I get stuck.

What part are you at, Fencer? I just beat Agrabah and I'm headed to Monstro.

I'm only a few hours into the game. I just finished my first run through at the Colosseum after defeating Clayton in the Jungle with Tarzan. So I'm not far in. I am assuming there will be multiple trips to these areas because I did that in KH 358 1/2 days. That game was my first taste into the series and I like it.

The first one is the only real KH game I've played, though I have watched my dad and brother play KH2 and have a vague understanding of what goes on in that one. I don't have a Nintendo DS, sadly, so I haven't been able to play any of the other KH installments.

As far as the storyline goes, once you beat one world you move onto the next. However, you can always return to all the worlds, and there are multiple things you can do there even after you've beat them. (I'm purposefully not saying too much in order to keep this post spoiler-free. )

I had a hard time beating Clayton. I think it took me about three tries to finally defeat him.

The Colosseum is fun, and in the future, I think you'll find that it's a very good place to level up.

Less than a month until Arkham City comes out! I've pretty much finished with Arkham Asylum, so I'm really excited.

Also discovered this new MMO that's supposedly starting its beta soon. It's called The Secret World and looks absolutely amazing. The game's site is here and here are a few trailers for the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM_lBlm5PkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsLXQEeLiI0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woBJX-KSH_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msv0OKLT468

I agree with you and I don't think being a hardcore gamer means you have to like fps!

Well, how DO you define "hard-core gamer" then anyway ? Back in the days (and still does, judging from some of Mario Galaxy and 2's missions) Nintendo made some of the hardest games to beat. This came to the point that, to this day incredibly hard games are refered to as "Nintendo hard".

I definitely concur. SM Galaxy 2 has some VERY difficult stars to get. In order to get all of them you truly must have every move Mario can do mastered including doing triple jumps in very tight locations. I've done it but it's cost me MANY lives tries to get all of them. The Grandmaster Galaxy Perfect Run star is a total beast. Can't get touched once while dealing with a multitude of enemies. I just wish they'd have made Bowser as challenging, especially with the uber-epic music he's got.