14 DAY TRIAL // A Mac gamer who is so into his MacBook and into Half-Life 2 decided to try using the public beta version of CrossOver Mac on his notebook in order to play Half-Life 2 without having to use Windows. The successful result came as a surprise as few thought that he will manage to use a tool meant for running PC applications on IntelMacs without Windows to play Half-Life. Of course bugs and glitches are expected to show up as Half-Life 2 previously needed XP booting in order to work on IntelMacs.
Mac gamers are excited with the possibility of exploring City 17 embodied by Gordon Freeman and by being able to form alliances with Black Mesa colleagues, Vortigaunts and oppressed citizens of City 17.
By now an Xbox port of the game has been released and two more versions for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are expected in the spring of 2007. But most users play Half-Life 2 using the PC, as 750,000 copies of Half-Life 2 have been purchased through Steam content delivery service.
This experiment could trigger a lot of events in the gaming community. Maybe PC publishers will be able to port titles quicker to IntelMac platforms or maybe Mac releases will slow down because Mac gamers will be able to play the PC releases without booting into XP. We'll have to wait and see!