Mac Gaming

So, I’m on the fence about this one. I’ve loved all the GTA games and have spent an embarrassing amount of time traversing their digital landscapes. When GTA IV came out for the consoles earlier this year, I took in the reviews, listened to the podcasts, and generally decided there and then that I’d be picking this up as soon as it came out for PC. But here’s the thing: The system requirements are HUGE — and not just the recommended specs. Here are the minimum requirements listed on Steam:

OS: Windows Vista – Service Pack 1 / Windows XP – Service Pack 3
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHz
Memory: 1.5GB Vista / 1GB XP
Graphics: 256MB Nvidia 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c Compliant Card
Hard Drive: 16GB of Hard Disc Space
Sound Card: 5.1 Channel Audio Card

Ouch! Sure, my iMac meets and exceeds (at least marginally) most of those specs, but the graphics card is the big question. I don’t know how the ATI Radeon 2600 compares to the cards listed. When I tested my system at YouGamers, they said the iMac doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements:

The reason was that the video card didn’t cut it. Here’s the same test, but with Fallout 3:

Fairly low- to mid-range results, but definitely over the minimum. And, for Far Cry 2:

Again, middle of the road. And (I’ll grudgingly admit) the results for these last two games are pretty spot-on. So, what’s a gamer to do?

Two years ago, I bought GTA: San Andreas and played it on a laptop whose video card barely met the minimum requirements. The game played fine, with some settings turned down. Will GTA IV be the same? I wonder if it’s worth $50 to find out.

Update: After a little more research, I think everyone is probably a bit better off waiting to buy the game. According to two posts at Rock, Paper, Shotgun (GTAgate: How Was It for You? and Grand Theft Autorun), a lot of people are having problems just installing the game, let alone playing it. So, pass for now.