March 19, 2010 6:00 AMInside Two Worlds has posted a new hands-on preview of Two Worlds II, the upcoming RPG from TopWare Interactive and Reality Pump. The game will send players to the unexplored land of Eastern Antaloor and will feature detailed graphics, an active combat system, and a complex storyline.Battle system:The battle system has completely been improved. You won’t last long by simply bashing the mouse against all enemies. They now have an AI that fits to their species. Zombies simply attack from the front. Human enemies are more strategic. The bowmen stay behind and the swordfighters try to get you into melee combat. You have the ability to block an enemy attack. If you are attacked from behind then your block does not help you. Alongside the standard attack you have the possibility to do a jump attack or a counter attack. Counter attacks can be done out of a block. You can also do mighty “finisher attacks” which cause extreme damage to an opponent. Keep your blade stuck: Be careful when you draw your weapon and especially where you draw it. In a town people don’t like it if a “wannabe” hero appears in their town and swings his large toothpick. The inhabitants will back off and the guards circle around you and warn you to put your weapon back. If you obey, the guard will watch you for some time and then return to duty, the inhabitants prefer to back off from you for a while. If you kill a villager for no reason at all, the rest of the community will ignore you, or even become aggressive. In larger settlements, the town guards keep the peace and can either arrest you or even bar you from entering the town ever again. So think twice before you slaughter a city.Read the full preview at the link below.Inside Two Worlds: Two Worlds II PreviewTwo Worlds II

March 19, 2010 6:00 AMTale of Tales has announced a week of celebration for the one year anniversary of its unique title, The Path. In addition to discounts on all Tale of Tales products the celebration will include a post mortem of The Path, behind the scenes images, and several game related announcements. The Path is a unique artistic horror title which takes place within a world crafted from the well known Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale.One year ago, on the eve of the Game Developers Conference, The Path was launched from a bed in a room in a hotel in San Francisco. The same hotel where designers Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn first met, exactly 10 years before. Since then, The Path has gone on to become one of the most divisive titles in the history of independent games. Lauded as a milestone in the artistic development of the medium by some and trashed as an insult to the very nature of games by others, The Path left no-one untouched. Today, Tale of Tales celebrates its anniversary with discounts on all their products and a special limited USB edition of The Path. Over the course of the week, an elaborate postmortem will be released, behind-the-scenes images will be revealed, and several announcements are expected about translations of the Path and the highly anticipated soundtrack album by Jarboe and Kris Force. For the occasion, Tale of Tales multiplayer screensaver The Endless Forest will be cast in mist. Keep an eye on the Tale of Tales blog for news. "It will be a festive week!" exclaim Tale of Tales owners Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. "The Path was our biggest production ever. It took 3 years to make it, and lots of blood, sweat and tears. And money. All of this will be revealed in the postmortem. This is a double anniversary for us, since we launched The Path on the 10th anniversary of our collaboration. We've been working together for 11 years now, but it feels like we've only just started." For the next 10 days, all of Tale of Tales' titles will be available at a 50% discount. The Path for PC or Mac now costs 5 US Dollars, The Graveyard for PC or Mac $2.5, The Graveyard for iPhone $1 and Fatale for PC or Mac is available for $3.5. One of the early collaborative projects of the couple, The Godlove Museum, for PC or Mac, can be yours for $10. And Tale of Tales' latest creation, Vanitas for iPhone, is available free of charge until Sunday March 28. The Path is inspired by the fairy tale of Little Red Ridinghood. Six sisters are instructed, one by one, to visit their grandmother who lives at the end of a long path that runs straight through the forest. The forest looms dark and foreboding. But the girls are strangely attracted to it as well. Before long they disobey their mother and set out to explore the misty woods. A journey that ends abruptly when each girl meets her wolf... The Path is a psychological thriller about growing and growing up, about unfulfilled desire, about control and the lack thereof, about the relativity of freedom, and about eternal innocence. An explicit story is not told in The Path. Instead the scene is set for the player to explore and interpret as they play. In the end, The Path is about you, and about those things you'd prefer to keep hidden from yourself. This can be profoundly meaningful for some, and deeply disturbing for others.Visit the page below to learn more.Tale of Tales

March 19, 2010 6:00 AMMMOsite.com recently posted the results of an interview with Blizzard Entertainment's Jay Wilson about Diablo III, the upcoming continuation of its action RPG franchise. Diablo III will return the players to the world of Sanctuary, once again under threat from demonic powers.iablo III is designed to redefine the gaming experience of Diablo series. Diablo I and Diablo II emphasized action scenes, but Diablo III intends to strengthen the game's depth so as to make it a better and more profound RPG. As the previous Diablo installments paid attention to action performance instead of role playing, the developers hope Diablo III can make progress in presenting the role-playing elements and absorb the essence of Diablo I and Diablo II at the same time. It is the most important to determine what the essence of Diablo series is and know what has made Diablo I and Diablo II classical, Jay Wilson pointed out. If developers often review these points, they won't make mistakes and be entangled in trivial things during the development phase. According to Jay Wilson, in order to make Diablo III approachable, developers employ a fixed perspective, mouse manipulation, distinct character types, a reality-based fantasy world and understandable game systems etc. with the hope of allowing people who play the game for the first time to know how to find monsters, cast skills and grind mobs as soon as possible. He said players would operate straight and find what they want to control in the game interface. The formerly inconvenient potion system and the same control of each class have also been modified. Diablo III will prepare unique skills for different classes and each class will be able to take diverse measures to cope with different situations. Furthermore, the specially designed quick-use bar will be corresponded with various skills so that players can flee, defend and cast skills more easily and directly.Click over to the page below to read more.MMOsite.com: Jay Wilson InterviewBlizzard EntertainmentDiablo III

March 19, 2010 6:00 AMSoldak Entertainment has announced the release of a demo version of Din's Curse, the upcoming action RPG. In Din's Curse players take the role of an adventurer cursed to walk the lands in a quest for redemption. The game features 141 possible class combinations, an infinite number of dynamically generated towns, and a game world directly impacted by player choices.Din, champion of the gods, has cursed you into a second life of service because you selfishly squandered your first one while causing misfortune to those around you. To redeem yourself, you must impress Din by building a reputation for helping others. Travel the spacious western plains of Aleria and save desperate towns from the brink of annihilation. Until you're redeemed, you're doomed to wander the earth alone for all eternity. In Din's Curse, you will explore an extensive underground, slaying dangerous monsters, solving dynamic quests, dodging deadly traps, and in your spare time, plundering loot. Quell uprisings, flush out traitors, kill assassins, cure plagues, purge curses, end wars, and complete other dangerous quests or the danger WILL escalate. Not all is as it seems though, traitors will gladly stab you in the back, renegades can revolt against the town, spies can set up ambushes, and items might even curse or possess your friends. Choose one of 141 class combinations and journey to an infinite number of dynamically generated towns with vastly different problems. Every game is a surprise! Your actions have real consequences in this dynamic, evolving world. Your choices actually matter! Open the door to Din's Curse. Surprising adventures await!Features:Uniquely created worlds for every game, with different monsters, items, quests, and even townspeople, give the player a new experience every timeExplore a dynamic, evolving, living worldMany hybrid classes to experience - 6 full classes, 18 specialties, 141 total combinationsYour choices truly impact the gameSurprising, emergent gameplayCo-op multiplayer to adventure with friends (only in full game)The demo for Din's Curse demo is approximately 100MB. For more information click over to the link below.Din's Curse DemoSoldak EntertainmentDin's Curse

March 18, 2010 7:37 AMMacgamestore.com has begun to take pre-orders the digital download version of UbiSoft's upcoming strategy game, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom. Choose your own path to victory in The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, the long-anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy game. Embark on an exciting quest to create, build and manage your kingdom in the most innovative, customizable and re-playable version ever!Choose your own path to victory in The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, the long-anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy game. Embark on an exciting quest to create, build and manage your kingdom in the most innovative, customizable and re-playable version ever!As an incentive, Macgamestore.com is offering a free copy digital download copy of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence when you pre-order the game. To take advantage of this offer, you must pre-order before the game ships on March 23, 2010.The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom is available for pre-order for $49.95.Ubi SoftThe Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom

March 18, 2010 6:00 AMMidnight Mansion 1.1.9, a free update to ActionSoft's action/exploration game, has been released. The latest version fixes several bugs and modifies the Hand tool in the editor. In Midnight Mansion players take the role of Jack Malone as they explore for hidden treasure in eight huge mansions filled with traps, puzzles, and secrets.Midnight Mansion 1.1.9 has the following bug fixes / improvments:- Fixed some license file issues, where the game would sometimes repeatedly prompt registered users to re-enter their code, claiming the computer seemed to be different from the one the code was entered on. This should now be fixed.- Fixed text in in-game dialog boxes to draw correctly on more recent versions of MacOS X, such as Snow Leopard.- Changed "hand" tool in editor to move sprites around. It takes into account the current "Align to grid" settings.- Fixed an editor bug where, if you entered a number higher than 32,767 in the "ObjectID to affect" field for a lever, this number would not be saved properly, and the lever would not affect the ObjectID you had specified.Midnight Mansion is an action/exploration platformer with 32-bit retro graphics, spine-tingling sound effects, and professional quality music. As Jack Malone, you will explore eight huge mansions, each filled with traps, puzzles, and secrets, as you search for legendary treasure. Ride on conveyor belts, avoid zapper beams, and dodge monsters as you collect keys that give you access to new areas of each mansion. Non-violent gameplay allows the whole family to enjoy the game. Features include multiple user accounts, online high scores, suspend Learn more at the links below.ActionSoftMidnight Mansion

March 18, 2010 6:00 AMJoystiq has posted a new interview with Valve Software's John Cook, director of Steam development. The interview covers the recent announcement that the company will be bringing native ports of its game titles to Mac users and offer the titles through the Steam download service.Some blogs have reported that Valve "hates the Mac" – From Gabe: "So, they seem to think that they want to do gaming, but there's never any follow through on any of the things they say they're going to do. That makes it hard to be excited about doing games for their platforms." So, as a followup, was Apple involved in this endeavor at all? Did they provide any programming resources or platform-level assistance? First, the statement that Gabe hates the Mac is erroneous. In fact, he worked on a 6Mhz Lisa running a Mac emulator in his first post-college job and is involved in the current Mac work on a daily basis. As for Apple, yes -- we've been working with them on this project and we're looking forward to expanding that relationship as we launch Steam for the Mac.Do you think the presence of Steam on Mac OS X will encourage development or porting efforts for other PC game publishers? If so, why?That's one of the primary goals, yes. Steam has proven to publishers and developers that the PC games is still thriving, it just needs to be attacked from more directions than retail. And like Steam on the PC, it took some proving with Valve titles to get third parties interest. We believe Steam for the Mac will be a similar, but much shorter, process.Will the Telltale games, which are on Steam now and are being ported to Mac OS X, be available on Steam on OS X?We are having discussions with all the 1,000 publishers and developers currently offering their games on Steam and hope that many, if not all, eventually bring Mac versions of their games to market.Read the full interview at the page below.Joystiq: Steam InterviewValve Software

March 17, 2010 6:00 AMBlizzard Entertainment has announced the long awaited Diablo II 1.13 patch will be available March 23. As part of the update's launch the company will also be resetting the Diablo II ladders. All existing ladder characters will be converted to non-ladder status.We will be resetting the Diablo II ladder on March 23 with the release of patch 1.13. We anticipate all Diablo II realms to be down for approximately six hours during the reset. More specific information on realm availability on the day of the reset will be posted in the Battle.net Status forum. When the ladder is reset, all existing ladder characters will be converted to non-ladder. All characters and items being converted to non-ladder will remain intact, but once converted these characters will no longer have access to ladder content such as creating ladder-only rune words. For more information on ladder characters please visit the Arreat Summit Realm Character Types pagelTo learn more click on the links below.Diablo II Ladder Reset And Patch ReleaseBlizzard EntertainmentDiablo II

March 17, 2010 6:00 AMLudosity Interactive has announced that the Mac version of Bob Came in Pieces will be available sometime this week. The game puts players in the role of Bob who must search a strange planet to rebuild his crashed ship. The game features physics based puzzles, a variety of parts and tools to find, and 14 chapters to solve.Bob has crashed on a strange planet, lost a bunch of parts for his ship and above all, is late for work! Find the lost parts and rebuild your ship along the way to solve challenging, physics-based puzzles. You can build your ship any way you like in the ship builder – try to find the coolest ship-design for the puzzle at hand! Rebuild your ship any way You like.Find the lost parts and tools for Your ship – You’ll need them to solve puzzles!14 Chapters of solid level design and clever puzzlesMany hours of replayability, with secrets, Achievements, Leaderboards and moreFor more information follow the links below. The game is now available at Macgamestore.comLudosity InteractiveMacgamestore: Bob Came In Pieces

March 17, 2010 6:00 AMEuropean developer Embergep recently announced the release of Spacework. The new sci-fi action puzzle game challenges players to avoid enemies while collecting keys to unlock levels. Later they will collect fuel for a spaceship and escape from the surface of the deadly planet Titan. The Surface Of The Titan Is Soaked By Acid Precipitation. You Receive Alarm-Signals From The Inhabitants. They Have Also Mentioned A Monolith Having Disappeared Not Long Before This Strange Substance Started To Fall. You and your team set off to investigate the situation and organise the evacuation of the Titanians. On your way, the team is attacked, and you are the only one who survives. The attackers take you and your ship to their planet, the Triton and leave you alone in a zone under control. You want to look around, but you've been locked up.System Requirements:Operating System: Mac OS X (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard)Videocard minimum: Intel GMA X3100Memory: 1GBHard disk space: 50MBSpacework is available for €9.99. Head over to the page below to learn more.EmbergepSpacework

March 17, 2010 6:00 AMTopWare Interactive and Reality Pump recently released new content for Two Worlds II, the upcoming fantasy RPG. The update consists of two new wallpapers from the game. Two Worlds II will send players to the unexplored land of Eastern Antaloor and will feature detailed graphics, an active combat system, and a complex storyline.Two Worlds II presents a totally new gamer experience, one in which 2 years of intensive development has enabled quantum leaps in all spheres: completely overhauled AI and balancing standards, experienced authors, the active combat system and the brand-new engine all combine to provide an unforgettable experience where excitement, sheer enjoyment and graphics rule. “Two Worlds II” simply sets new technical benchmarks in the RPG genre, thanks not least to its seemingly unlimited number of dynamic light sources, micro-detail Parallax Mapping, 24 Bit HDR Post Processing, Space Ambient Occlusion and Human Eye Accommodation. Rescued from prison by former enemies, the player once again assumes control of the unnamed hero, only to find the world of Antaloor has been forever changed in their absence. Boasting a diverse, living world and a limitless open narrative, Two Worlds II could very well be the next sleeper hit of the genre. Antaloor is a mythic world of pristine savannahs and mordant swamps, celestial cities teeming with life that will rise or fall entirely depending of the player's actions, as the reign of the implacable despot Gandohar threatens to throw the world into a state of irreversible decay.View the new wallpapers at the site below.Two Worlds II WallpapersTwo Worlds II

March 16, 2010 6:00 AMTopWare Interactive and Reality Pump recently released a new Two Worlds II newsletter. The sixteenth edition of the newsletter includes information about the game's reputation system, modular character design, and a new bestiary entry for the Giant Wasp. Two Worlds II will send players to the unexplored land of Eastern Antaloor and will feature detailed graphics, an active combat system, and a complex storyline.In the last issue of the Antaloor Post, we told you about how the way a player behaves can really influence what happens to him in the game. However, since all the NPCs communicate with one another, a hero can usually restore his bad reputation by doing a favor for the NPC(s) he insulted, or by paying him (them) for some item or ser- vice. This is just like the real world: good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds are punished. Nevertheless, in some situations, the player can achieve his objective with tougher methods, like threats, blackmail and bribery - after all, a player who has taken the role of a dark hero (or has even taken the role of the Big Bad Guy himself) should never be punished for a bad deed, should he? A player's reputation can even im- pact the management of his own production site (Yep, “Two worlds II” also gives players the opportunity to build their own factories!). Employees are ultimately just normal people, who follow the normal rules of behavior. In other words: if they get paid badly, or not at all, employee morale will fall and the reputation of the boss (that's the player) will plum- met downwards with it. But if getting a bonus, they'll become more productive and the company will seem more attractive to prospective buyers. How the hero is treated by merchants - and vice-versa - depends on how much money he has. If the player completes quests for merchants, e.g. if he cleans up a trade route by killing all the bandits who prey on travelers, or if he goes looking for merchandise that's very difficult to get hold of, the merchants will give him plenty of rebates and price reductions as a reward! In the case of merchants who belong to a special group (a Guild), it’s more advantageous for the player to earn his reputation in that particular Guild - a successful career in one of the five different main factions in the game can result in lots of player benefits. If a player does a favor for the members of certain groups, he'll get reputation points which will influence his position in the Guild in question. In this way, the hero can go from raw beginner to living legend in just 10 steps. Read the full preview at the link below.Two Worlds II NewsletterTwo Worlds II

March 16, 2010 6:00 AMAspyr Media has announced the release of the digital download version of Civilization III: Complete. Available from the company's Game Agent digital download store, Civ III Complete features the original Civ III as well as the Play the World Multiplayer and Conquests expansions packs. Game Description: Sid Meier's Civilization III: Complete includes Civilization III plus the Play the World Multiplayer and Conquests expansion packs. Civilization III: Complete provides more ways to win, more ways to explore, more strategies to employ, and more exciting modes of play all in one box! Civilization III: Complete gives Civ fans the opportunity to enjoy unmatched strategic gameplay alone or against players from around the world. Key Features:Dominate the world through Diplomatic Finesse, Cultural Domination and Military ProwessBuild a civilization from humble beginnings.Explore uncharted territories.Conquer enemies through brute force or cultural finesse.Lead your civilization to greatness.Match wits against 31 of history’s greatest leaders Minimum System Requirements:Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.9, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6CPU Processor: PowerPC G4/G5 or IntelCPU Speed: 500 MHz or fasterMemory: 256 MB or higherHard Disk Space: 2 GB free disk spaceVideo: Display supporting 1024?68 resolution requiredMultiplayer: LAN or Internet Connection required for some multiplayer modes. Broadband Internet connection is recommended for 5 or more players.Multiplayer is Mac to Mac only via GameRanger.Media Required: DVD Drive NOTICE : Intel integrated video chipsets are not supportedCivilization III: Complete is available for $39.99 at the page linked below.Game Agent: Civilization III CompleteAspyr Media

March 16, 2010 6:00 AMMac|Life recently posted a review of Bullet Candy Perfect from Charlie's Games. The colorful arcade shoot-em-up features 3D graphics, 50 levels, three difficulty settings, and 20 achievements to unlock. Mac|Life gave the game a score of 3.5 out of 5.From the review:You pilot your tiny ship around the space levels, zapping laser-firing enemy ships, clumps of gold rings, and some menacing green orb-like things that follow you around. In some stages, you’ll become so surrounded by the green orbs that you only have two choices: Let them kill you, or commit suicide. As a strategic option, committing suicide results in the loss of two lives, but you get to keep all your perks and power-ups. So if you find yourself trapped but have lots of lives left, it’s in your best interest to right-click to be reborn to fight another day. You gain perks by picking up spinning objects that look dangerous, but they’re actually power-ups. Rounder objects resembling planets boost your laser, while others allow you to become invincible for one round, fire triple-shot ammo, pick up an extra life, and rack up bonus points. The fluid controls have you using the normal WASD keys to move your ship around and the mouse to aim and fire. We like the game’s progress bar, which tracks your achievements, high scores, average score, highest level you’ve reached, the amount of games played, play time, and your rank. You can also look at high scores online and compare them to others around the world. Even better, though, is the Radiohead-style “pay what you like” price: Developer Charlie’s Games is selling Bullet Candy Perfect for whatever you think is fair, starting at a minimum of $1. Even with a 15-level free trial, the tip-cup business model is a fun way to support indie developers.Check out the full review at the page linked below.Mac|Life: Bullet Candy Perfect ReviewCharlie's GamesBullet Candy Perfect

March 15, 2010 6:00 AMBlizzard Entertainment has posted the results of a recent Twitter Q&A with developers about the upcoming StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The question and answer session included discussion of the Mac beta, map editor, and plans for future expansions.The Starcraft II Beta Developer Twitter Chat # 1 revealed several details about beta testing. • Blizzard plans to release a major content patch mid-April to enable some basic achievements and improved voice chat, 3v3 and 4v4 maps, among other unidentified features.• A Mac beta client will be available in April, when it's ready. • The Map Editor will be out before late-April.• No new races are planned for the three episodes of Starcraft II.• The roach, Infestor and reaper are currently in their Watch List.• Critters were not priority for beta, and will eventually be added.• Plans for Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) and community maps ladder and matchmaking.• Dustin said more players will be invited to beta in upcoming weeks, and encourages gamers to enable the beta opt-in option in the Battle.net Account webpage to qualify.• Replay hosting and sharing won't be available at ship date.Streamed replays for Tournament Finals is planned in future Starcraft II expansions.Head over to Blizzplanet to read more.Blizzplanet: StarCraft II Chat TranscriptBlizzard EntertainmentStarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

March 15, 2010 6:00 AMInside Mac Games has posted a new review of Championship Manager 2010. The latest incarnation of the soccer management sim includes a 3D match engine, set-piece creator, scouting networks, and practice matches.Here's an excerpt from the review:The changes don't stop at the gameplay. Championship Manager 2010 has received a complete graphical overhaul for the in-game action. Instead of the air hockey paddles of before, each player is now a fully-animated 3D human model with dozens of animations for heading, kicking, blocking, and running around the field. They do occasionally do things that make no sense whatsoever, but that tendency is greatly reduced once you get your dream team and work your way up from one of the the lowest leagues to the premier league of England. The menus have also been reworked graphically, and the result is definitely positive. All the different sections have new backgrounds that fit with their purpose significantly better. The pictures are vibrant and atmospheric, the menus almost make you forget you're staring at statistics ninety percent of the time, and the tactics screen has numerous colors and shapes to represent your current plan of attack. It is most definitely an upgrade, and has been long in coming.Click over to the link below to read the full review.IMG Review: Championship Manager 2010Virtual ProgrammingChampionship Manager 2010

March 15, 2010 6:00 AMMac|Life has posted a new review of The Abbey. The point-and-click adventure game allows players to take the role of Leonardo who, with the help of his assistant Bruno, must unravel a series of mysterious crimes occurring at a remote monastery. Mac|Life gave the game a score of 2.5 out of 5.From the review:The gameplay is very basic: point and click with your left mouse button to move around the map, and right-click to select an object, clicking it again to add to your inventory, which can be permanently docked on the right side of the game window. Every cutscene is integral to figuring out the end result of the murder and brings you further clues about where to explore, but if we picked the wrong question for Leonardo to ask, we would often leave the conversation without a clue as to what to pursue next. Considering that The Abbey isn’t exactly an intricate role-playing game, your only real objective is to pick up every item that’s selectable and then experiment to see which ones interact with which characters. Some puzzles are easy to figure out, while the answer to others may be hidden in one of your long conversations with the various characters around the monastery, so be ready for some chatter. The animation of the game is truly unique, throwing us back to the days when Don Bluth’s films were on loop in our VCRs, and the voice acting is remarkably on point. However, we found controlling the characters to be frustrating. Not only do Leonardo and Bruno walk at an unhurried pace, but playing the game in windowed mode made it difficult to maneuver our characters to the right or left. Such bland gameplay made this point-and-click adventure seem more like a “point-and-sit-and-watch.”Visit the page below to read the full review.Mac|Life: The AbbeyVirtual ProgrammingThe Abbey

March 15, 2010 6:00 AMTelltale Games has announced it is now taking orders for the Tales of Monkey Island full season Collector's DVD, along with new special items related to the game. In addition to the full five episode pirate adventure for Mac and PC, the DVD includes "making of" team commentaries, production art galleries, promotional videos and more. A special Deluxe Tales of Monkey Island package is also now available for order, which includes the standard DVD as well as a collection of outstanding exclusive extras: a previously un-discovered Voodoo Lady card, a map from Reginald Van Winslow's collection, a piratey piece of eight coin, a drink coaster from Club 41 and a souvenir button from the Trial of the Century. Fans who missed out on the cover art by Monkey Island art legend Steve Purcell with the series pre-order, can now secure this with their Deluxe Edition order. This amazing collection is available for only $14.95 for customers who already own Tales of Monkey Island, and $49.95 for new customers. The celebration continues with a bounty of new Monkey Island items at the Telltale Store, which fans can purchase along with their DVD orders: a full deck of the Voodoo Lady's cards, a Tales of Monkey Island Art Portfolio featuring prints suitable for framing, t-shirts, a new series of buttons and a drinking vessel for your piratey beverages! With this nearly impossible to resist abundance of new Monkey Island product, Telltale is extending free shipping for all orders over $50 for the first weeks of the ordering window.Tales of Monkey Island Collector's DVD (standard edition) Details:The complete five episode season of Tales of Monkey Island Highlight reel with commentary from Telltale design teamProduction art gallery Five fan-created "I Wonder What Happens" video collectionTwo Tales of Monkey Island official trailersPreview of Telltale's next game, Sam & Max: The Devil's PlayhouseDesktop wallpapers and fun forum avatarsDeluxe Edition includes:DVD slip case designed by Monkey Island art legend Steve PurcellA previously un-discovered new card from the Voodoo Lady's deckGulf of Melange MapCommemorative button from Guybrush's Trial of the CenturyDrink coaster from Club 41Piratey piece of eight coinFor more information please visit the website below. Telltale GamesTales of Monkey Island

March 15, 2010 6:00 AMTelltale Games has announced the upcoming release of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse a new series of adventure episodes in the popular series. The first episode of the series, titled The Penal Zone, is set for release on April 15."Telltale continues to excel at channeling Sam & Max's extremely peculiar sensibilities," said Sam & Max creator, Steve Purcell. "For each subsequent season they somehow manage to toss ever more mind-addling scenarios at the Freelance Police. The creative team inhabits these characters so well that if I were their parents I'd be worried about them." As Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse opens, Max has been bestowed with a set of powerful psychic abilities from an unusual ancient source that he'll wield against the strongest and strangest foes the Freelance Police have ever faced. Join gaming's greatest dog and rabbit sleuths as they investigate the source of these powers, with manic Max exercising new and amazing abilities with each episode. Max's shape shifting, teleportation, mind reading and future sight powers prove particularly useful as intergalactic simians, eldritch gods, under-dwellers and an arcane scholar ruthlessly hunt down these powers for their own evil ends. The teaser trailer released today at www.samandmaxgames.com/thedevilsplayhouse gives a peek at the skewed humor of The Devil's Playhouse. The very first in-game screenshots and new concept art are also posted at the site. The PC/Mac pre-order for the series includes a FREE game episode from the Telltale library along with exclusive membership in the Freelance Police "Elite Forces" -- all for just $34.95. Freelance Police Elite Forces members will gain access to a private forum for scheduled chats with Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell and Telltale designers along with first look posts about upcoming episodes before they release. Additionally, these customers will get special deals at the Telltale Store over the course of the season, as well as custom forum avatars and desktop wallpaper downloads. The pre-order for PlayStation users is expected to begin March 18th on the PlayStation Network.Check out the website below for more information.Sam & Mac: The Devil's PlayhouseSam & MaxTelltale Games

March 12, 2010 6:00 AMAspyr Media has added Lucasarts' The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition for Mac to GameAgent, its digital download store. Currently available for pre-order the game is a "reimagining" of the original 1990 game, updated with contemporary art, remastered music, full voiceover, and a new hint system. The Secret of Monkey Island™: Special Edition faithfully re-imagines the internationally-acclaimed classic game (originally released in 1990) for original and new audiences alike. The game is brought into the modern era with an all new re-imagined contemporary art style, a re-mastered musical score, full voiceover, and an in-depth hint system to help players through the game’s side-splitting puzzles. Purists will also delight in the ability to seamlessly switch between the updated hand-drawn re-imagining and the original classic version. The game's twisty plot leads our naive hero on a hilarious, swash-buckling search for the fabled secret of Monkey Island. Tales of pirate wealth lure him to the port of M?e with high hopes, no money, and insatiable curiosity. If clever enough, he will win the confidence of M?e's pirates and find himself blown by the winds of fate toward the terrifying and legendary Monkey Island -- an adventure that would chill the bones of even the most bloodthirsty buccaneer.Relive the swashbuckling humorous misadventures of the wannabe pirate Guybrush ThreepwoodGo on a daring adventure in your attempt to become the most infamous pirate in the CaribbeanWin the heart of the beautiful governor, Elaine MarleyAlong the way, confront the evil ghost pirate, LeChuckPlay it again for the first timeAll new re-imagined contemporary art style, hand-drawn to feature animation qualityRe-mastered music score presented in full orchestrated detailComplete voice over using the original Monkey Island™ franchise cast brings the story and characters of the original adventures to life like never beforeScene-for-scene hot swap allows for seamless transition between special edition and classic modes anywhere and at any timeIncludes all new featuresAll new intuitive game interface and controls provide a more interactive gameplay experienceIn-game puzzle hint system keeps the puzzles fresh and funMinimum System Requirements:Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard) | Processor: Intel chipset | CPU Speed: 1.8 GHz or faster | Memory: 512 MB or higher | Hard Disk Space: 2 GB free disk space | Video Card (ATI): Radeon X1600 | Video Card (NVidia): GeForce 7300 | Video Memory (VRam): 128 MB | Media Required: DVD Drive | Peripherals: Macintosh mouse and keyboard or Microsoft Xbox 360 Wired Controller.Supported Video cards: NVIDIA GeForce® 7300, 7600, 7800, 8600, 8800, 9400, 9600, GT 120, Quadro FX 4500, ATI Radeon X1600, X1900, HD 2400, HD 2600, HD 3870, HD 4670, HD 4850NOTICE: Intel® integrated video chipsets are not supported. NOTICE: This game is not supported on volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive) NOTICE: Apple Intel® Chipsets only. Power PC Processors (G4 and G5) are not supportedThe Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition for Mac is scheduled to release this Spring and costs $9.99 to pre-order. Click over to the links below to learn more.Aspyr MediaThe Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition

March 12, 2010 6:00 AMAt this year's Game Developers Conference, Razer, a manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, announced an effort to increase support for Mac users by issuing driver support for all upcoming Razer products, including the Razer StarCraft II peripheral suite.“I’m very proud to say that at Razer, we are committed to supporting both Mac and PC gamers,” said Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff, president, Razer USA. “We are constantly working to increase driver support for Mac with our existing Razer products and have plans to release all of our new products with dedicated Mac and PC drivers. This is a really exciting opportunity to expand the gaming industry and make it more inclusive for Mac users by providing the same level of support that we give to our PC users.” In April of 2008, the Razer DeathAdder™ for Mac was revealed, crafted specifically to provide Max OS X users with the same legendary ergonomic form factor and precision enjoyed by the PC gaming community. Complete with lunar white accents to accentuate the crisp, clean lines customary to Apple® products, the Razer DeathAdder for Mac is loaded with 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ technology and five independently programmable Razer Hyperesponse™ buttons. Today, Razer is proud to offer several options for the Mac gaming community, providing full Mac support for the Razer Naga™, the world’s best selling MMO gaming mouse, as well as the Razer DeathAdder, a cult favorite among the right-handed gaming community. Razer is completely committed to supporting Mac users and will be releasing drivers to equip existing products with Mac compatibility. Basic Mac support is already available for the Razer Orochi™, Razer Mamba™ and Razer Imperator™, with further updates scheduled for later this year.Follow the links below for more information.RazerDeathAdder - Mac Edition

March 12, 2010 6:00 AMNamco Networks has announced the launch of Pool Pro Online 3, the first of a series of games using UniteSDK, Namco’s proprietary technology that provides cross-platform play. PPO3 and some future Namco titles will allow gamers to connect with players on a variety of platforms. According to Jonathan Kromrey, general manager of apple games for Namco Networks, “This is only the beginning of where we are going as a company. Over the next several months, we will roll out a series of other features and games that are powered by UniteSDK, including tournaments for Pool Pro Online 3.” “Allowing gamers with the option to play anywhere, anytime and on multiple platforms will be a true milestone for Namco Networks—wanting to play a friend that has an iPhone when someone only has a PC will no longer be a prohibiting factor,” stated Kirby Fong, executive producer of web development and online gaming community at Namco Networks. “UniteSDK allows Namco and in the near future, external developers, to create games that provide cross platform and cross game social community.” Pool Pro Online 3 gives pool fans an opportunity to play friends online anywhere in the world in 8-ball, 9-ball and Snooker. In this 3D game, individuals can make in-game wagers against their opponent and use the winnings to purchase table felts, cue sticks and new pool halls. The iPhone and iPod touch version offers simple and intuitive controls allowing players to set up shots quickly, easily and precisely. Through the power of UniteSDK, players log-in using their device and receive instant access to multiple online features, including: · Friends list to make it easy to find and challenge friends· Global Leaderboards to share scores with people around the world· Achievements to track accomplishments and share them with friends on Facebook· Chat with opponents in real timePool Pro Online 3 will be available for PC, iPad, Mac, Android, Java, BREW, RIM and Windows Mobile in the coming months. Other iPhone and iPod touch games that are powered by UniteSDK and coming out this month include PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN. Learn more about Namco and UniteSDK at the links below. Namco GamesUniteSDK

March 12, 2010 6:00 AMMacgamestore.com has announced the digital download release of Warbirds: Dogfights for the Macintosh. The game is an action-air combat game that puts players in the cockpit of the greatest World War II air combat planes during the pivotal battles of the war. The game was developed and published by iEntertainment Network. The game features the ability to engage in dogfights as a member of either the Allies or Axis powers, more than 100 realistically modeled WWII aircraft and realistic game environments from both the European and Pacific battle theaters of WWII. In addition, players can expect constant diversity in mission play and deep replay value via a dynamic game engine and access to one-month of free playing time for the classic massive multiplayer online game, WarBirds. In WarBirds: Dogfights players can take to the air as a member of either the Allies or Axis powers in the historic air battles in both the European and Pacific theaters of WWII. Once ready to log some time in live fire combat scenarios they choose one of three levels of pilot expertise: Rookie, Pilot, or the highly skilled Ace, as they take off in one of more than 100 historically accurate aircraft. Gameplay environments included in the game are historical recreations of WWII areas of England, Europe, and North Africa, including cities like London, Paris, and Berlin. Also present are areas representing Pacific battle campaigns, the battle for the Philippines, Midway and more. The game features more than 40 base combat missions, as well as dynamic mission generation functionality which ensures virtually unlimited mission play options in single player mode. In each battle the player can score points, build rank, and acquire medals to compete for the coveted title of WGFP - Worlds' Greatest Fighter Pilot in the air battles of WWII. Key Game Features:Aerial combat simulation featuring all the great dogfighting battles of World War IIDynamic mission generator in single player, ensuring that no two missions are ever the sameOver 100 realistically modeled World War II aircraft and the ability to fly for the Axis or Allies in a full campaign for victoryEvery mission is scored for kills and mission success, allowing players to win rank and medals in a quest to be the World's Greatest Fighter Pilot (WGFP)Unlock bonus missions by racking up successful mission accomplishments, and enjoy new bonus missions downloadable every 120 daysThe single player campaign can also be used as a gateway to the world famous massively multiplayer online game WarBirds through the free month's worth of playing time includedSystem Requirements:Mac OS X version 10.4.11 or later1GHz PowerPC G4 or Intel processor256MB of RAM (512MB recommended)128MB video RAMWarbirds: Dogfights is available immediately as a digital download purchase through Macgamestore.com and Mac Games Arcade. The full version costs $29.95 (USD).iEntertainment NetworkWarBirds: DogfightsMacgamestore.comMac Games Arcade

March 11, 2010 6:00 AMSpeaking at the 2010 GDC Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor said the company would be including the Mac platform in future game development plans. The decision comes in response to Valve Software's recently announced Mac support for Steam and the Source Engine. From The Escapist Magazine:"I heard that Apple's market share was 10 or 11% and that last year that grew by 30%," Taylor said. "So taking a 10 or 11% slice of the pie and making that a 14 or a 15% slice of the pie, that is awesome growth. It shows that the OS X platform is really picking up speed. That's super exciting, we need that in the world. We need that kind of balance in our market." Taylor was quick to point out that although Apple has a different operating system, Mac computers run on the same hardware as PCs running Windows. "They're both using Intel chips. So that doesn't propose a lot of cost in changes, they're both using ATi and nVidia graphics hardware. You're talking about a very easy platform to bring PC games over to." Taylor went so far as to state that Gas Powered Games would be behind Mac support on Steam from now on: "We, as a developer, will include a Mac platform option in all of our proposals moving forward. We're in 100% support of it. Absolutely."Visit the pages below to learn more.The Escapist: Gas Powered Mac PlansGas Powered Games

March 11, 2010 6:00 AMA new Q&A is now available on the Team Fortress website. The questions focus on the Mac version of Team Fortress 2, one of the games recently announced as on the way to Apple computers from Valve Software. Other Mac versions of Valve titles in the works include Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and the Half-Life series.Q: I own TF2 on the PC. Do I have to buy it again on the Mac?A: No. If you own TF2 on the PC, you own TF2 on the Mac (and vice versa). You don't have to buy the game twice. In addition, the Steam Cloud will automatically propagate your configuration settings and custom sprays to your Mac for you. Q: Is it just some crappy emulated version of TF2?A: No! Also: How dare you! Mac users aren't getting a crappy emulated version of the game. TF2 will run natively on OSX, like an actual big boy game for adults. Q: Hmm, that all sounds pretty good. But I'll bet I can't play with my friends who own Macs if I'm on my PC.A: Mac and PC users will all play together, on the same servers. We're not creating two separate universes. We're all going to be one big, happy family with guns locked in a bloody, never-ending struggle for cap points.Read more at the page linked below.Team Fortress: Mac TF2 Q&AValve Software

March 11, 2010 6:00 AMHooked Gamers recently posted several new screenshots from Diablo III, the Blizzard Entertainment's eagerly anticipated return to the action RPG franchise. The game will allow players to revisit the world of Sanctuary where they must once again take up arms against the demonic forces threatening humanity.Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen. Diablo III will feature a custom 3D-graphics engine to render lush indoor and outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special effects. The game’s physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players and monsters alike. These elements, along with a new quest system and random scripted events, will be integrated into the game’s random-level generator, giving Diablo III the ultimate combination of dynamic gameplay and replayability. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through an upgraded version of Blizzard Entertainment’s renowned online gaming service, Battle.net.Check out the new visuals at the link below.Hooked Gamers: Diablo III ScreenshotsBlizzard EntertainmentDiablo III

March 11, 2010 6:00 AMNorth Carolina-based game developer, Icarus Studios has announced the Beta release of its Mac-compatible xScape Platform and the Fallen Earth MMO. The software, compatible with Intel Macs, will allow players to connect to the same live server as PC users with game features optimized for their resident operating system.The Fallen Earth MMO, co-developed by Icarus Studios and Fallen Earth, is the first title to support the new Mac platform, with plans to release all existing and future titles using xScape. Icarus Studios is utilizing the open source software Wine to launch the Mac-compatible version of the game."The Mac OS X compatibility project is something we’ve been excited to see implemented for quite a while," said Brad Lineberger, Chief Technical Officer of Icarus Studios. "Our goal for the project is to allow Mac users to run all of our existing and future games in their native OS." Fallen Earth MMO:Fallen Earth is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game set on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 2156. Within the Grand Canyon Province, an isolated pocket of settlements around one of the world’s most amazing landmarks, you’ll face threats to mankind’s continued survival, including everything from irradiated zones to mutated beasts to raiders. Six factions struggle for dominance in the Province. Over time, you’ll have the chance to pick a side in the effort to hold sway over what remains of the post-Fall world.For optimal play, Icarus recommends Mac users have OS X 10.5 Leopard or later, and an Intel-based system with dedicated graphics hardware. Click over to the links below for more information.Fallen Earth Mac Beta FAQFallen Earth

March 10, 2010 6:00 AMOn the heels of Valve Software's recent announcement that it will be bringing Steam to Mac computers in April, EA Dice's executive producer Karl Magnus Troedsson has stated EA is considering bringing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to Apple computers via Steam. From The Universal Gaming Database:EA DICE's executive producer Karl Magnus Troedsson, made mention of the announcement on his Twitter account today stating, "Steam for Mac - Gabe, we like it." The Universal Gaming Database questioned Mr.Trodsson about the possibility of future Battlefield games coming to Mac via the new Steam client, Mr.Trodsson stated "We're currently investigating the possibility of making BFBC2 available on Mac." DICE has released three titles on Steam for Windows; Battlefield 2: Complete Edition, Mirror's Edge, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition and a Bad Company 2 four friend pack similar to the Left 4 Dead's four friend pack. The last DICE game to be released on Mac was Battlefield 2142 in August of 2008. Currently the Windows version of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has more players online then the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version combined, the addition of Mac gamers into the mix would push these numbers even higher.Read more at the link below.UGDB.com: BFBC2 Mac Bound?Electronic Arts

March 10, 2010 6:00 AMInside Mac Games has posted a new review of Presto Studios' The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time 10th Anniversary DVD. JP3 continues the classic adventure story of the Temporal Security Agency and Agent Five. The enhanced version combines the contents of the original four CDs onto one DVD, and features completely remastered graphics and cinematics.Here's an excerpt from the review:It's interesting, therefore, to be presented in late 2009 with the kind of blast from the past that the new reissue of The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time represents, because it's the kind of game that you just don't seem to see any more. Some of its original creators have lovingly resurrected it in a form that runs on modern Macs, and playing it creates a very similar experience to the one provided by the original a decade ago. That's a bit of a two-edged sword: if this game had been designed from scratch today, it would undoubtedly have been done in a different way, and the results would have been far more impressive for modern eyes. Nevertheless, what matters is the content and presentation within its own terms, and this is where Legacy of Time really scores. It was a good game a decade ago, and it's still a good game now; the technology may have aged but the content has not. The fact that it is a good game is clearly what makes the reissue worthwhile, and it's great that it can once again be played on modern systems.Head over to the page below to read the full review.IMG Review: The Journeyman Project 3 Legacy of Time 10th Anniversary DVDPresto StudiosLegacy of Time

March 10, 2010 6:00 AMGerman developer Bigpoint has announced plans to show its new multiplayer game platform at the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco. Uniter, as the software is codenamed, will allow developers to build multiplayer games for Mac OS X and iPhone.At this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Bigpoint plans to demo how multiplayer games can be built for Mac OS X and iPhone. Code-named Uniter, the core of this demo runs on the Unity engine, which still has quite a bit more overhead than a game built natively for each platform with Apple’s Xcode. However, it saves the developers the extra time and effort of writing a game in OpenGL 2.1 for Mac OS X, and OpenGL ES and OpenGL ES2 for iPhone OS devices. Bigpoint claims that this is “the first time that cross-platform gaming has been realized in this form and will provide the industry with a first look at the future of gaming.” It will allow gamers to play the same MMO game on any platform with the same character just as they left it, ideal for true ubiquity across MMO games. “We believe the future of gaming exists in a world without borders and platform boundaries and in real-time,” said Heiko Hubertz, Bigpoint’s CEO and founder, in a press release announcing the company’s GDC plans. “Bigpoint is excited to show the industry how it will unify the gameplay experience for gamers across all the devices they use to play our games.” “We believe that providing a ubiquitous gaming experience that adapts to mobile lifestyles is the future,” Unity CEO David Helgason said. “Bigpoint has been a true pioneer in Web games and in taking this step, they’re staying at the forefront of the industry.”Click over to the Macworld article listed below to learn more.Macworld: Bigpoint- MMO games on Mac, iPhone

March 10, 2010 6:00 AMSoldak Entertainment's Steven Peeler, known for Kivi's Underworld, Depths of Peril, and the upcoming Din's Curse, has posted a blog on the downsides of adding harsh digital rights management schemes to video games. Beginning with Ubisoft's recent decision to require all players to maintain an active internet connection to play the company's games, Peeler discussed the effects of piracy and copy protection on consumers and companies.Unfortunately, what is going to happen is a bunch of people are going to use this crappy DRM as an excuse to download the cracked version and possibly continue with other games. Even if you bought a legit version of the product you are still part of the problem. This will just make publishers want to use even worse DRM. If you do this, you just become part of the endless cycle. I'm going to let you in on a secret, most developers and publishers don't like DRM. In general, it costs a lot of money, takes developer time, introduces more bugs, and causes problems for your customers. Most companies would get rid of all DRM in their products if they thought they could do it without losing money. Yes, I know there are some companies out there that want to restrict how you can use your purchase so they can sell you the same thing multiple times, but they are a small minority. Piracy is the root cause of why we have most DRM.Visit the page below for the full article.Soldak Blog: Ubisoft DRMSoldak EntertainmentDin's Curse

March 10, 2010 6:00 AMBlizzard Entertainment recently posted a new informational update to its official website for the popular MMO, World of Warcraft. The post details the Mastery System planned for the upcoming expansion, Cataclysm. The system will give passive bonuses to players following a specific skill tree.Here’s how the system works: As you spend points in a given talent tree, you’ll receive three different passive bonuses specific to that tree. The first bonus will increase your damage, healing, or survivability, depending on the intended role of the tree. The second bonus will be related to a stat commonly found on gear desirable to you, such as Haste or Crit. The third bonus will be the most interesting, as it will provide an effect completely unique to that tree -- meaning there will be 30 different bonuses of this nature in the game. This third bonus is the one that will benefit from the Mastery rating found on high-level (level 80 to 85) gear. One of our primary goals with Mastery is to give players more flexibility to choose fun or utility-oriented talents rather than make them feel obligated to pick up “mandatory” but uninteresting talents, such as passive damage or healing. (For examples of the kinds of powerful but boring talents we’re talking about, take a look at the talent tier just above the 51-point talent in many of the existing trees.) In a sense, Mastery makes it so every talent in (just for example) a rogue tree essentially has an invisible additional bullet point that says “…and increases your damage by X%.” This way, if you choose a talent like Master of Deception (which reduces your chance to be detected while stealthed) or Fleet Footed (which affects movement), you won’t feel like you’re giving up damage in exchange for utility. There will still be talents that boost damage, of course, but those talents will also affect the way you play. For example, you can still expect to see talents like Improved Frostbolt, which reduces the cast time of the Frostbolt spell; it increases DPS, but it also affects the mage’s rotation. Piercing Ice, however, is just “6% more damage” and is the kind of talent we’re trying to eliminate by implementing the Mastery system.Check out the page below for more information. World Of Warcraft Forums: Cataclysm Mastery SystemBlizzard EntertainmentWorld Of Warcraft: Cataclysm

March 9, 2010 6:00 AMSpiderweb Software has added a collection of new wallpaper images to its website. The images feature scenes from the popular Avernum RPG series, which recently concluded in Avernum 6. The game wrapped up loose plot threads from previous games and revealed the fate of the underground realm and its popular characters.Avernum 6 is the final game in the popular and long-running Avernum series. Explore a gigantic world, with a fascinating storyline, hundreds of quests, multitudes of side dungeons, and many hours of adventure. The game features clever enemies and dozens of interesting scripted encounters. Learn over 50 spells and battle disciplines. Hunt for hundreds of magical items or craft your own powerful artifacts. Avernum is a world underground. It is a nation of people living in an enormous warren of tunnels and caverns, far below the surface of the world. Once a prison colony for rebels and thugs, it is now a wild frontier, full of adventurous souls looking for wealth, fame, and magical power. Avernum's sole link to the surface world: a single magical portal, small and difficult to maintain. And then the Blight came. Almost overnight, the mushrooms Avernum needed to feed itself withered and died. Then the denizens of the low tunnels, the savage, reptilian Slithzerikai, emerged. Sensing weakness, they struck, destroying much of a weakened Avernum and creating waves of hungry, desperate refugees. Now chaos and hunger stalk this land, and none seem to be able to find a solution or a way to stop the Slith Horde. In the midst of all of this chaos, you joined the army. You had a good, simple reason: Soldiers get food. And yet, through a run of good (or bad) fortune, you find that you have a chance to discover and confront Avernum's enemies. The nation of Avernum is rapidly approaching its final destiny, and you will be at the center of events. Can you save your homeland? And, if Avernum survives, what will become of it? Visit the page below to view the wallpaper images.Spiderweb Software: Avernum Desktop ArtSpiderweb SoftwareAvernum 6

March 9, 2010 6:00 AMTopWare Interactive and Reality Pump recently released new content for Two Worlds II, the upcoming fantasy RPG. The update consists of several new screenshots from the game. Two Worlds II will send players to the unexplored land of Eastern Antaloor and will feature detailed graphics, an active combat system, and a complex storyline.Two Worlds II presents a totally new gamer experience, one in which 2 years of intensive development has enabled quantum leaps in all spheres: completely overhauled AI and balancing standards, experienced authors, the active combat system and the brand-new engine all combine to provide an unforgettable experience where excitement, sheer enjoyment and graphics rule. “Two Worlds II” simply sets new technical benchmarks in the RPG genre, thanks not least to its seemingly unlimited number of dynamic light sources, micro-detail Parallax Mapping, 24 Bit HDR Post Processing, Space Ambient Occlusion and Human Eye Accommodation. Rescued from prison by former enemies, the player once again assumes control of the unnamed hero, only to find the world of Antaloor has been forever changed in their absence. Boasting a diverse, living world and a limitless open narrative, Two Worlds II could very well be the next sleeper hit of the genre. Antaloor is a mythic world of pristine savannahs and mordant swamps, celestial cities teeming with life that will rise or fall entirely depending of the player's actions, as the reign of the implacable despot Gandohar threatens to throw the world into a state of irreversible decay.Click over to the Worthplaying page below to view the screenshotsWorthplaying: Two Worlds II ScreensTwo Worlds II

March 8, 2010 1:41 PMMacgamestore.com today is pleased to announce the release of Murder, She Wrote on its web site. The game was developed by casual games developer and publisher, Legacy Interactive. Murder, She Wrote is an interactive seek and find "who-dun-it" mystery adventure with unique minigames in every scene.Play as the lovable murder novelist Jessica Fletcher and solve each of the five cases by carefully and methodically investigating murders using an innovative new style of hidden object and light adventure gameplay. First, players need to find missing keys from Jessica's typewriter to fill in the unknown letters in the list of hidden objects. After the entire words are revealed, there are more secrets to uncover as not all the hidden objects can be found by just discovering where they lay. As every detective knows, nothing is ever as it seems! Scour over 80 game levels with familiar characters from the show - Jessica Fletcher, Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Mort Metzger. Set in the beautiful New England town of Cabot Cove and across the seas in London, the more than 25 detailed 3-D settings may distract even the most determined player from their investigation. Featuring 5 original cases and over 6 hours of gameplay, Murder, She Wrote provides entertaining twists and turns that are sure to please both long time fans of the show and casual gamers alike.Murder, She Wrote requires an Intel Mac with Mac OS X 10.5 or later, 512 MB of RAM, and a Radeon 9000 or similar. It is available immediately as a digital download purchase through Macgamestore.com and Mac Games Arcade. A free demo is available for download. The full version costs $19.95 (USD).Buy Murder, She WroteMacgamestore.comMac Games Arcade

March 8, 2010 12:39 PMValve Software today officially announced that it will be bringing Steam, Valve's gaming service, and Source, Valve's gaming engine, to the Mac. The company also announced it will be brining Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series to the Mac in April.Here's the press release:"As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients," said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. "The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services." "Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac," said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. "Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play." "We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation," said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. "The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows." Portal 2 will be Valve's first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. "Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."For more, visit Steam's web site.Valve Software

March 8, 2010 6:00 AMGuild Software has announced the upcoming launch of a new MMO middleware product: the NAOS Engine. Developed to power the company's long-running MMORPG, Vendetta Online, the engine provides "a complete and multi-platform solution, with native client build targets for Windows, Mac and Linux." The highly scalable distributed game server uses lightweight Erlang threading to provide persistent handling of hundreds of thousands of individual NPCs and other game elements, with seamless management as they transition across running/non-running boundaries in the game universe. A well-proven update/patch server and client are also included, the server allowing optimized binary patching and user queues for rate limiting and overflow. The update client supports redundant failover to multiple patch server clusters, and includes automated client crash reporting, with fetching and submission of auto-generated tracebacks via HTTP to a proprietary bug tracking system. Finally, a completely custom Lua/FastCGI-based web content management system, with proven billing, messageboard, mailing list and administrative features, rounds out the server solution, creating a nearly-complete package for the prospective MMO developer. All server software can be run on either FreeBSD or Linux, and works well with existing RDBMS solutions such as MySQL or Oracle, as well as DBMS such as Mnesia. Beyond the use of a database for persistency, an integrated RDF triple-store is in development to more elegantly enable applications such as advanced AI, simulated-economics, and monitoring tasks. The NAOS Engine will be available either as a complete licensed source package, or individual components may be licensed separately at a reduced cost. The product is expected to launch in the year, and will be followed by the NAOS Platform, a cloud-based MMO development solution which also includes scalable hosting, with sliding pricing based on usage and revenue, to help startup MMO developers focus purely on their games.For more information follow the links below.NAOS EngineGuild SoftwareStrategy FirstVendetta Online

March 8, 2010 6:00 AMSoldak Entertainment, developer of Depths of Peril and Kivi's Underworld, has released more new information about the upcoming action RPG, Din's Curse. The latest update features three new additions to the creature list with the unveiling of the Scarabus Blaster, the Dark Elf Warrior, and the Torva.Scarabus Blaster: Since killing enemies is more important than an individual's survival, these creepy creatures will explode if they're really afraid. Watch for signs of impending explosions and run away! Dark Elf Warrior:In a forgotten time the elves were one diverse, surface dwelling race. A question of the heir to the throne divided the empire in two. After unprecedented betrayal and a murder that shook the foundation of elven society at its core, those involved and their supporters were banished from the surface of Aleria. Chased by elementals, this group found a loophole in what was meant to be a death sentence. They fled underground and sealed themselves off from the world above.Generations passed down bitter hatred for the other elves, but they forgot who did the dispelling. They began to believe they sent the others away. They became dark elves, adapting to the darkness around them. The Goddess Valta found them and nurtured their anger, feeding on their violence and hatred.Dark elves have no limits of morality. Twisting magic, they attempted to create legions of monsters to hunt down the others, the banished elves. When prospectors dug into dark elf territory looking for large lifestones, the dark elves discovered a new world they had forgotten, ripe for the taking.Visit the page below for more information about the creatures of Din's CurseDin's Curse MonstersSoldak EntertainmentDin's Curse

March 8, 2010 6:00 AMBlizzard Entertainment has added a new StarCraft II short story to its official website for the upcoming sci-fi RTS. The story reveals the truth of a new zerg unit evolution, the Baneling. The game will return players to the storyline five years after the end of BroodWar and will include an epic single player campaign, improved multiplayer action, and a new editor for players who want to design their own StarCraft creations.Private Ayers:We were about five miles from the colony when the ground just... just exploded all around us. All I can remember is a chittering sea of claws, gnashing teeth, and blood. So much blood. The zerg swam through our platoon like fish in an ocean of red. Private Braden was just in front of me, and I watched as his arm was ripped clean off – armor, bone, everything – and he went down under a pair of the beasts. You and I both know there hadn't been any zerg activity in terran space for years. I'd heard of these xenos, seen the training vids. But nothing can prepare you for the sheer animal terror that hits you when these monsters attack. The speed. The savagery. I've seen hundreds of zerg since that time, but the first attack still haunts me. Always will.Check out the page below to read the full story.StarCraft II Baneling Short StoryBlizzard EntertainmentStarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

March 8, 2010 6:00 AMBasilisk Games is asking for beta testers for its upcoming RPG, Eschalon: Book II. Although testing of the Mac version will not begin immediately, interested Mac users are asked to sign up now. The second in the old school RPG series will include improvements like re-rendered tiles, new weather effects, new skills, new monsters, and a larger world to explore.Before continuing to the application, you need to consider a few important factors: - Beta testing is not fun. It is work. You will be playing a buggy, incomplete game and you may be asked to start over several times. Basilisk Games expects you to check in every few days and let us know how testing is going. You will grow to hate us and the game itself. Is this really what you want? - If you are anticipating the game so much that you want to beta test it just to play it sooner than anyone else, you should just wait. In just a few more weeks you can enjoy the full, bug-free game like it was meant to be played. - Do you still want to help us test Eschalon: Book II? Good! By becoming a beta tester you will be helping make a bug-free game for others to enjoy. Remember, many people will be counting on you to do your job and play-test the game as much as possible. Submit an application only if you have a lot of free time to give us. You will need a minimum of 20-40 hours of free time over a 3-4 week period to properly test Book II. If you don't have this much time to give us, then please don't submit an application. - Just because you apply doesn't mean you will be chosen to help us. We are expecting a lot of applications and only 10-12 people will be approved. To improve your chances of being accepted, fill out the application completely. Use proper grammar and punctuation. Don't tell us what you think we want to hear, just answer the questions honestly. - We're looking for Windows, Macintosh and Linux testers, but we will start with the Windows people. If you want to test the Macintosh or Linux version please submit an application now but remember it will be a couple extra weeks before we start with the other versions. - What do you get for beta testing? Well, if you can complete the minimal requirements of beta testing, you will get your name listed in the game and a registration code that can be used on all future versions of the game. - We will take applications for one full week before selecting anyone, so everyone has an equal chance of getting a beta-test spot.Click over to the link below for more information.Eschalon Book II Beta TestingBasilisk GamesEschalon: Book II

March 5, 2010 6:00 AMElectronic Arts has announced that The Sims 3: Ambitions expansion pack is in development and will launch in June 2010. The second expansion pack to The Sims 3 will allow players to pursue a variety of paths and careers in their Sims’ lives that in turn affect their overall gameplay experience and neighborhood. While on the job, the players will have direct control over their Sims’ work and can choose how to spend their days. “The variety of careers to choose from is unmatched and we’ve never given players the opportunity to follow their Sims to work and affect their actions on the job,” said Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studio at EA. “The Sims 3 Ambitions changes that. Players’ actions at work now directly affect their lives, community and neighbors and become an extremely important part of how the game is played.” Players can opt to make house calls and save lives as a doctor or choose the devious route and test experimental medicine on patients, be the hero firefighter tackling raging infernos or smashing everything in sight at the victim’s home with an axe, or take a shot at solving cases as an investigator, nicely convincing sources to divulge secrets or roughing up perpetrators in a dark alley to get information. Players can now experience some of the most exciting and varied jobs. In The Sims 3 Ambitions, players can choose to hunt down vengeful spirits as the ghost hunter, invent brilliant and potentially destructive gadgets as an inventor, craft glorious masterpieces as a sculptor, and solve riveting cases by any means necessary as an investigator with dozens of cases to solve and numerous clues to find. Additionally, players will be able to change the look and feel of their town by becoming an architect and directly affecting the neighborhood around them leveraging Build and Buy mode. The stylist career and new tattoo system allow players to make over their Sim neighbors in fashionable or catastrophic ways. For the first time, players will be in charge of how their Sims’ career progresses and decide if they will work for good or evil, pursue creative endeavors or technical affairs, climb to the top quickly, or be a slacker. The future of a Sims’ success or failure is entirely in the hands of the player. The Sims 3 Ambitions will also be available for feature phones, iPhone and iPod touch in late 2010 from EA Mobile™.For more information about The Sims 3 Ambitions or The Sims 3, please visit the links below.Electronic ArtsThe Sims 3

March 5, 2010 6:00 AMThe Game Equation has released a new gameplay video and new screenshots showcasing the upcoming casual game for Mac and PC, Deep Blue Sea 2. Set to launch this spring, the game will challenge players to solve over 200 levels of match-3 puzzles and discover three different hidden object locations with over 60 levels. Deep Blue Sea 2 brings highly engaging play to the casual games genre with visually stunning graphics and hand-painted hidden object levels designed with amazing detail. As players complete challenges to build their treasure collection, they will team up with a crew of divers, purchase tools and diving equipment and collect clues to uncover the mystery of Avalonia. Eye-pleasing graphics, an immersive storyline and challenging gameplay will keep players captivated. Get ready to dive in!Read more and view the new visuals at the page linked below.Vertical Wire: Deep Blue Sea 2 Video & ScreensThe Game EquationDeep Blue Sea 2

March 5, 2010 6:00 AMAs part of the ongoing World of Warcraft anniversary celebration, Blizzard Entertainment recently added some new information to its website. The anniversary sections have been updated with completed images of the WoW WarCry Mosiac, new interviews with developer Tom Chilton and forum MVP Palehoof, and a new music track to enjoy.Tom Chilton:How did that runaway success and out-of-control growth change how you designed for the game?We've had to learn a lot of hard lessons about planning for the worst-case scenario. I say worst-case, but they're actually problems that we were in a sense very fortunate to have -- you have too many people that want to play, for example. We thought about that when we launched The Burning Crusade. "We're going to have a huge chunk of people all going into Hellfire Peninsula at the same time -- how are we gonna handle that?" We had this worry that it would be way too crowded, so we made the zone really big, and the instant you came through the dark portal, we were shuttling you off to different parts of the zone. "Alliance, you guys go over there to Honor Hold, Horde, you guys go to Thrallmar, stay away from each other!" We took that a step further in Lich King with the separate zones -- we essentially cut that area's concurrency in half again. With things like Wintergrasp, we really didn't know what to expect. It was this huge, nebulous thing -- were we designing for 15 people being there, or were we designing for 100 people being there? We've only seen since then that we really have to use those same kinds of worst-case scenario design principles so that we're better prepared for load balancing. There have been some pretty significant philosophical shifts in World of Warcraft's design from day 1 to Lich King, obviously. What do you think is the biggest change?There were a lot of sacred cows that had to die. One in early World of Warcraft development was the idea that there should not be an auction house. We were hoping to see the social interaction in any kind of trading -- players meeting up face to face, deciding what the price on something would be, and determining what they were going to do to exchange their goods. After the game had been in beta for a while, and we saw that trading was incredibly cumbersome, and people weren't able to efficiently buy and sell stuff, we made the decision to include a game system to support it. There were also some perceptions about how hardcore raiding was, how much we'd expect out of a raider in the general sense, that have changed. We wanted to make content available to more players, but preserve challenge for hardcore players by including hard modes and that sort of thing.Check out the links below to view the new content.WoW BattleCry MosaicWoW Anniversary InterviewsBlizzard EntertainmentWorld of Warcraft

March 4, 2010 6:00 AMTwo Worlds Vault has posted a new interview with Reality Pump CEO Mirek Dymek about the company's upcoming RPG, Two Worlds II. The interview focused on the ways in which players will be able to explore the world of Antaloor. Two Worlds II will send players to the unexplored land of Eastern Antaloor and will feature detailed graphics, an active combat system, and a complex storyline.TWVault: So we’re basically talking about one of the biggest – and most seamless - free-roamer out there. Exploration-wise, we’ve seen sailing, swimming, horse-riding, teleportation and on-foot transportation.... There’s also been some talk about a few other methods, namely flight. Will the players have the above-ground ‘airborne’ exploration? Mirek Dymek: You've nailed them all... sailing, swimming, etc.. We haven't implemented flying into “Two Worlds II” - but the idea has been in our collective heads for a while now. Never say never :-)… Sailing is the main method of getting from island to island. And for the very bold explorer, there are one or two islands that aren't even on the map! TWVault: That’s so cool! But considering that much land and water to cover, are there different types of mounts, sailboats, running speeds? We’ve not yet seen new horses of TW2, but at least 2 types of boats (a sailboat and a rowing boat), and we’ve noticed player will move differently depending on the ground type. Any skills related to exploration? Maybe a type of horse that can withstand attacks for longer?Mirek Dymek: As far as sailing's concerned, we're still at the balancing stage, so I can't really tell you about boat numbers or types at the moment. There will definitely be various breeds of horses and each breed will have its own speed, life energy and strength. When our hero is on foot, his speed and endurance depend on his “stamina value” - this is represented by a small symbol beside the life and mana energy symbols on the main screen. The way this value develops depends on the way a hero’s skill points are distributed. Visit the page below to read moreTwo Worlds Vault: TW II Exploration Q&ATwo Worlds II

March 4, 2010 6:00 AMMac|Life has published a new review of Rome: Total War Gold Edition, Feral Interactive's latest Mac release. In Rome: Total War players take charge of one of three Roman families with the goal of increasing their family's power in Rome through diplomacy, economic skill, and war. Mac|Life gave the game a score of 4.5 out of 5.From the review:Set at the beginning of the Roman Empire, Total War lets you take command of one of the three great Roman houses of the era, working to expand your influence from one capital city to a full-fledged empire. The game combines old-school turn-based mechanics with real-time strategy, so you’ll get pleasantly lost in the many challenges of upgrading your cities, constructing essential facilities to keep your population happy, recruiting troops for your military, and advancing technologies to build more powerful units to use against your enemies. You can also make deals by sending diplomats to neighboring nations to hear their terms while presenting your own demands in return. If you’re not feeling very diplomatic or you just want a quicker line on what your opponents are doing, send spies to collect data on a nearby army’s forces or technologies an enemy has mastered. Your assassins can even attempt to murder an enemy leader or destroy a critical facility in a nearby town. It all spins together into a web of intrigue that’s fascinating to play through. When it’s time to just brawl, though, Total War’s unique battle system lets you manage skirmishes in real-time 3D, moving your camera to an optimal angle, zooming in and out smoothly, and giving orders to individual units. Tactics make a difference, and you can salvage a seemingly unwinnable battle by flanking an enemy from the sides or killing your opponent’s general to destroy morale.To read more follow the link below.Mac|Life: Rome Total War ReviewFeral InteractiveRome: Total War Gold Edition

March 4, 2010 6:00 AMNCSoft's recently announced Double XP and Account Reactivation weekend for its super hero themed MMO, City of Heroes, begins today. Starting at 8:59am Pacific Time and continuing through March 7 both villain and hero characters will receive double the usual experience points for their accomplishments. The company will also allow gamers with inactive accounts to rejoin the game for the duration of the weekend event.What is a Double Experience Weekend? It's a three day stretch of time during which all participating Hero and Villain characters receive double the XP, Influence, and Infamy for their accomplishments in game. All you have to do is log in and take advantage of this opportunity to level up your favorite characters twice as quickly as normal! And if you pre-purchase Going Rogue, you'll be able to take advantage of all that Double XP has to offer while wielding the Dual Pistols power set! But it doesn't end there. We're also having an Account Reactivation at the same time! This means that all inactive accounts in good standing will be re-activated free of charge and given access to City of Heroes and City of Villains® during Double XP weekend! So grab your friends and loved ones and get them back into the game so that you can play and rack-up the phat loot together! If you or any of your friends haven't played in a while, visit the City of Heroes Website for all the latest game news. Download the PC game client or the Mac game client, or visit our official message forums for a wealth of other information. Double XP and Re-activation Weekend Start: Thursday, March 4th at 8:59am Pacific Time (11:59am Eastern Time)Double XP and Re-activation Weekend End: Sunday, March 7th at 11:59pm Pacific (2:59am Eastern Time) Please note: if your account expires after the reactivation weekend has started, it will not get automatically reactivated. To participate in the Double XP Weekend, you will need to reactivate your account via the usual method. Please check our Knowledge Base (European Knowledge Base available here) for more information on how to reactivate your game account.We hope you take advantage of all the advantages a Double XP/Reactivation Weekend has to offer! Enjoy and have fun.Check out the pages below to learn more.City Of Heroes Account Reactivation & Double XP WeekendNCsoftTransGamingCity of Heroes

March 3, 2010 12:57 PMValve Software today sent out various teaser images to popular Mac and PC web sites confirming its intent to not only bring its digital download platform to the Mac, but will also be bringing its catalog of games to the Mac as well.IMG has learned that Steam for the Mac has been in the works for well over a year and was first shown to Apple at last year's WWDC event back in June 2009. Since then the company has been porting its client along with several games to the Mac. It is expected that a full announcement will be made at next week's Game Developer's Conference, which is scheduled to run from March 9th to the 13th.Several web sites have speculated that Portal and Team Fortress 2 will likelly be the first games to be ported.Valve Software

March 3, 2010 6:00 AMNCsoft and Paragon Studios have unveiled a new website for Going Rogue, the upcoming expansion for its super hero themed MMO, City of Heroes. The add-on will feature a new alignment system which will allow heroes and villains the chance to switch sides, two new primary fictional characters, and the new threat of the parallel universe known as Praetoria.You may have noticed — we've got a fresh look and lots of new content. Visit the Dual Pistols page for written details, screenshots and a video that shows you this amazing gun-wielding power set in action. Check out the newly released Enemy Group pages and learn the motivations behind the Praetorian Police Department (PPD) and Resistance. Remember - sooner or later everyone must pick a side. Visit often because information will keep on coming as we gear up for the release of City of Heroes Going Rogue™ coming in July.City of Heroes: Going Rogue is planned for July 2010 release. For more information visit the pages below.City Of Heroes: Going RogueNCsoftTransGamingCity of Heroes

March 3, 2010 6:00 AMBlizzard Entertainment has updated its Diablo III website with new information about the Wizard class. The additions this time focus on the male wizard with an animated 3D image of the class, as well as two new screenshots. Diablo III will return players to the action RPG world of Sanctuary, once again imperiled by the forces of darkness.Owing to my lack of tolerance for those who would use magic towards their own nefarious ends, many have assumed that I am averse to the practice of the magical arts on a philosophical level. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My quarrel is with those sorcerers who dismiss the ancient traditions and teachings – teachings that have been honed over millennia in order to preserve respect for authority and the rule of law. Recently the youth of Caldeum have fallen prey to the overblown stories of just such a delinquent wizard. That is correct: I used the uncouth term wizard, not sorcerer. It seems that even the title of a civilized magic wielder is too restrictive for this young upstart. Click over to the link below to see the new images.Diablo III Wizard ClassBlizzard EntertainmentDiablo III

March 3, 2010 6:00 AMBlizzard Entertainment has revealed some new information about changes coming in Cataclysm, the upcoming next expansion for its popular MMO, World of Warcraft. Among other things the expansion will include some major changes to character and item stats, including the removal of some such as Defense and Weapon Skill.As many of you know from panels at last year’s BlizzCon and posts here on the forums since then, Cataclysm will bring about major changes to familiar character stats such as Intellect, Armor Penetration, Defense, and others, ultimately designed to make the effects of stats more easily understandable and make gear choices more interesting. As these changes will have a significant impact on how stats work and relate to one another, today we wanted to offer you a closer look at exactly what’s in store and explain some of the rationale before Cataclysm arrives. The most obvious question these changes raise is "Why are stats being changed, and why now?" As the game has matured, we've run into increasingly complex issues with the current stat system. Many stats are inherently confusing, and the way they interrelate can feel convoluted. Attack Power, for example, currently translates to damage, but so does Armor Penetration. Defense provides five different statistical benefits of varying utility. Mana regeneration involves understanding multiple stats and rules and often ends up being irrelevant anyway. In addition, the difference between a "good stat" for a class and a "bad stat" can be extreme. Some casters want Haste but not Crit; hunters want Armor Penetration but not Haste. There are other overarching issues, as well, such as Intellect not being very exciting for casters despite it being a core stat -- and these are just a few examples. Our ultimate goal is to make gear a more interesting (and less confusing) choice by making each stat valuable to more players. While the reasoning behind some of the following changes may be clear, we understand that you may have questions about some of the less obvious alterations, and we'll do our best to answer any questions you may have here on the forums. Follow the links below for more information.World of Warcraft Forums: Cataclysm Stat ChangesBlizzard EntertainmentWorld of Warcraft