Classic games are awesome and while some fade into the vast dark reaches of lost memory, there are some that stand the test of time.
Maelstrom stands the test of time and then some. Still highly addictive and highly entertaining, this space shooter of the asteroids ilk is still kicking ass since it’s original shareware release in 1993.
Since it’s Mac (Power PC) release it’s gone on to be ported to Linux and Windows as well as being (as far as I know) GPL’d.
I love this game and so did all my friends back in 1993 when we were playing it in the computer lab in school. In fact, we loved this game so much, that a bunch of us made our own version of it called “Spacers 2.3”, which has since been lost to a 3.5 inch disk in the bottom of somebody’s old sock drawer!
So, today I’m bringing some of those memories back and invite you to play along with me.
If you want to join in the fun, here are the download links for the platform of your choice.
UPDATE: These download links no longer work. I’ll update when I find a working copy.
UPDATE 19/09/2011: All links are working again.
Maelstrom 3.0.6 and 3.0.7 Binaries Download
- Windows 95/98/ME/NT/XP/Vista/7:
- Maelstrom-3.0.6-Windows.zip
Windows 10 and newer:
Maelstrom-3.0.7-Windows.msi
- BeOS:
- Maelstrom-3.0.6-BeOS.zip
- Mac OSX 10.7 and newer:
- Maelstrom-3.0.7-MacOSX.dmg
You pilot your ship through the dreaded “Maelstrom” asteroid belt — suddenly your best friend thrusts towards you and fires, directly at your cockpit. You raise your shields just in time, and the battle is joined.
The deadliest stretch of space known to mankind has just gotten deadlier. Everywhere massive asteroids jostle for a chance to crush your ship, and deadly shinobi fighter patrols pursue you across the asteroid belt. But the deadliest of them all is your sister ship, assigned to you on patrol. The pilot, trained by your own Navy, battle hardened by months in the Maelstrom, is equipped with a twin of your own ship and intimate knowledge of your tactics.
The lovely Stratocaster R&R facility never sounded so good, but as you fire full thrusters to dodge the latest barrage you begin to think you’ll never get home…
As a bonus, check out this page where you can download additional sound packs for Maelstrom and check out the “ReadMe” in the .zip file to see how to enable networked multiplayer Maelstrom!
Enjoy!
Paul O'Flaherty 