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We've received word from several IMG readers and posters on our forums that copies of Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force are beginning to arrive on shelves and doorsteps for eager Mac gamers. Be sure and shop around, as the price for this game varies widely -- from over $50 to below $40.

One issue many purchasers of the game are reporting is a perceived lower overall frame rate compared to Quake 3 Arena, which shares the same graphics engine. As many previewers and reviewers of this game have mentioned, the level and model design of this title are much more complex than Q3A's straightforward deathmatch arenas, and thus a slowdown is to be expected. The addition of advanced artificial intelligence for your teammates in the solo game is also another source of CPU strain. In any case we were able to achieve excellent performance by just turning down a setting or two, so be sure and explore the System settings and options. We'll have more detailed tips on tweaking performance with our review of this title.

Another issue many Mac gamers noticed immediately when they tried to play Holomatch online was a seemingly total lack of servers to play on. Well, here is an interesting twist on a common situation -- it turns out the reason that Mac Elite Force players can't find any online servers is due to a version mismatch between our copy and the PC servers. However, the version mismatch is in the opposite direction from the usual situation -- it is the PC servers that are out of date! The Mac OS version of Elite Force contains version 23 of the Holomatch client/server, while the PC crowd is using version 22; on the PC side, 23 has been held up while they are putting together a patch that fixes several AI and scripting bugs as well. For once we are ahead of the game, and the situation will be resolved as soon as the PC patch is released.

Finally, many are wondering when the demo for this game will appear. We can confirm it is on the way very soon, so keep your eyes on Macgamefiles.com. And if you want a chance to play this amazing game for free, be sure and sign up for our Elite Force and Livin' Large Giveaway!

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Preview

Elite Force and Livin' Large Giveaway

Aspyr Media

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Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (add to watch list)

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