We just wanted to give a quick heads up that classic WWII shooter Call of Duty 2 has just been released on the Mac App Store.
The sequel to Call of Duty, the 2003 Game of the Year and winner of more than 80 awards, Call of Duty 2 offers more immense, more intense, more realistic battles than ever before, thanks to the stunning [2006] visuals of the Call of Duty 2 engine. Call of Duty 2 provides an amazing experience with all-new enhancements, ranging from stunningly realistic graphics to seamless gameplay, a new engine, groundbreaking AI, and choice-based innovations that allow players to experience the closest thing they’ll ever get to real warfare. Beautifully rendered snow, rain, fog and smoke, combined with dynamic lighting and shadows, make this the most intense WWII first person action title yet.
Click here to purchase the game now, or you can check out a Macworld review of the title here.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a game developed by Bethesda Studios. The game was originally created for the 360 and PC, coming out in March of 2006. Exactly a year later, the game was then released for the PS3. The game itself is a sandbox/open world action-RPG, often praised for its large amount of content and graphical detail at the time. I enjoy the game quite a bit, but not so much in the ways that the creators intended.
I think the reason I played Oblivion so much in the first place was due to the fact that I had just purchased a HDTV. Playing Oblivion on a 62” HD was pretty awesome, and far outshined my ten year old 32”. I was really impressed by the world itself and simply the way everything looked, especially with the day/night cycle. It was exciting to play such a nice looking game on a huge TV.
That’s not to say these are the only things in the actual game I liked or what encouraged me to keep playing. I enjoyed how open ended the world was, and how character building was very customizable (though I disliked the idea of having to do things repeatedly in order to level them up. It just took too long). I also greatly enjoyed the musical score, which never seemed to become dull or repetitive. Truthfully, the music may have been the highest point of the game for me. Ironically, none of these reasons are why I’ve returned to the game over the years. One could say I’ve come back for, literally, all of the wrong reasons.
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Just Cause 2 is a sandbox action game/third person shooter by Avalanche Studios and Eidos Interactive. It was released in March of 2010 for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. I find it to be a pretty silly game, but it’s also very fun for the same reasons. Sometimes, it can be very refreshing to see a game where the developers (hopefully…) knew that people wouldn’t take it too seriously.
All You Need Is The Demo
Don’t buy Just Cause 2, get the demo. The demo will give you the same basic game play as the actual game. Yes, there is the downside that you’ll be confined to one small (actually quite large) area of the game that’s all desert, and you won’t be able to play the game longer than 30 minutes until it restarts itself…and you won’t have access to all the guns, planes, cars, boats, helicopters, and so forth. You’ll even be treated to a cut scene that plays over and over at the start of the demo that stops incredibly abruptly (at least on the 360 demo) and leaves you wondering “wow, did the devs mean to stop there or is this some awkward mistake?” Though honestly, it doesn’t really matter.
Better yet, if you’re able to get the onlive demo, I’ve read that it allows access to the entire world map, just with the 30 minute time restraint. This furthers my point that it’s unnecessary to purchase the game to get the essential full effect of it.
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Left 4 Dead is a FPS/survival horror game released in late 2008 and developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was acquired by Valve during development. Thus, the game was released under Valve. In the game, the player takes control of one of four survivors of a zombie outbreak. The survivors happen to be immune to the virus, so the object of the game is simply to hold off the zombie horde and find a way to survive and escape. While the sequel boasts more maps, more guns, more zombies, and so forth, I don’t necessarily see it as being significantly better than the original…I see it as more of an expansion pack. For the purposes of this article, I’ll only be looking at the first game.
Upon release, Left 4 Dead was received very well, and I have to admit I played it pretty regularly for several months. I had a lot of fun playing it with close friends. However, this is definitely the strongest point of the game, in that it is an excellent team based competitive game. (more…)
Video game fashion is normally boiled down to geek chic; retro ties, Super Mario earrings, and dice-like accessories. Each article of clothing is like a declaration of loyalty to games and gaming culture, a symbol of nerdery. Clothes that real people wear propel gaming culture forward through acceptance and in-jokes. Some out-of-game fashion is great and others are downright embarrassing.
And let’s not forget about cosplay!
There is another way to look at clothing and games: in-game fashion – what attire video game characters wear. Style and games can go together… though it might not always be practical. (more…)
Demon’s Souls is an action-RPG for the PS3 released in early 2009. The gameplay features character creation (where a player can create a character based on a typical RPG class) and strong hack-and-slash based combat with an emphasis on gathering loot and growing stronger. It also features a very unique multiplayer system which adds a ton of depth to the game, but it can be a harrowing experience as well.
Demon’s Souls is not for everyone. It may not even be for most gamers (especially with the current gaming trends leaning toward casual gamers). The game is definitely for me, though, and those similar to me who want to conquer a true devil of a game. Most interesting, Demon’s Souls difficulty is both its greatest strength and weakness. Its unforgiving attitude will really frustrate players from the onset of the game (really, whoever didn’t die to that first mini-boss at the end of the immediate area on their first try without some sort of strategy guide is, hands down, my gaming hero) and potentially make them rage quit and swear that “this game is awful” (I’ve heard it). Indeed, the game was not made for gaming wimps. For me, the consistent challenge posed throughout its levels from ordinary enemies, traps, and bosses, was a huge driving factor.
“I need to beat this, or else it will consume MY soul.”(more…)
Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be doing a series of articles about what works and what doesn’t work in given video games, and if it even matters. The first game I’ll be looking at is one of my absolute favorites, Silent Hill 2. For those who aren’t too familiar with the game, it’s an older survival horror game released by Konami back in late 2001. I imagine most any console gamer has played at least one game in the series, though I argue that this particular entry trumps the others quite easily.
Early Memories
I remember the first time I popped Silent Hill 2 into my PS2. Back in high school, my good friend Ario often kept me up to date on the latest games. While neither of us were particular fans of the survival horror genre, Ario had been talking up Silent Hill 2 for quite some time. I wasn’t really familiar with the series at all, having not played the first game. Ario swore that this sequel was going to be frightening, and would be a departure from the “kill everything that moves” feeling prevalent in the genre around this time. I gave him a slight benefit of the doubt, and we rented the game soon after it was released.
That night, surrounded by several of my good friends, I embarked into the world of Silent Hill 2. While I only ended up playing the game for about an hour or so in that sitting, my first ventures in Silent Hill revealed many of the qualities I would later reflect upon and praise. Playing as the game’s protagonist, James Sunderland, we’re brought to the town of Silent Hill in search of his dead wife. James had recently received a letter from her telling him to meet in their “special place.” Disobeying his own belief about how absurd this is, he chooses to follow up on it. We’re dropped on the outskirts of the town, and we begin our descent into it.
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“Casual gamers are going to save the video game industry.”
I first suggested this idea to a hardcore gamer friend a few weeks ago. After snorting into his Coke, he quipped, “Right, Rachel. Your mom is going to save the industry.”
My mother actually doesn’t qualify as a “casual gamer,” despite her love for Angry Birds, World of Goo, and Solitaire. Casual gamers typically:
Play games to pass the time
Enjoy simple gameplay controls
Do not invest time in increasing gaming skills
Do not tend to define themselves as “gamers”
Mom enjoys her World of Warcraft raids and beating me at Civilization V far too much to be a “casual gamer.” However, my friend’s assumption was not entirely ungrounded: the average casual gamer is a woman in her 50’s. By 2013, casual gaming revenue will likely top $1 billion.
Does the video game industry need saving?
In short: yes. Just like almost every other industry, game companies are suffering in the recession. In fact, ex-Sony executive Chris Deering claims that 70% of all games lose money even though the gaming industry is growing at seven times the rate of the economy as a whole. Essentially, the production of “hardcore” or “core” games is not turning enough profit for the gaming industry. That’s where casual gaming comes in.
Aspyr has announced that starting today and running every Monday through the month of March, all of our titles on the Mac App Store will be 50% off! These titles include:
Furthermore, we’re offering the exact same discounts at our online game store GameAgent.com! Even better? We’re also offering a variety of FLASH SALES at the GameAgent Store each Monday as well. You’ll need to be following the GameAgent Store via Facebook or Twitter to get in on the deals before they expire. Hit the jump for the full press release.
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The sequel to Call of Duty, the 2003 Game of the Year and winner of more than 80 awards, Call of Duty 2 offers more immense, more intense, more realistic battles than ever before, thanks to the stunning [2006] visuals of the Call of Duty 2 engine. Call of Duty 2 provides an amazing experience with all-new enhancements, ranging from stunningly realistic graphics to seamless gameplay, a new engine, groundbreaking AI, and choice-based innovations that allow players to experience the closest thing they’ll ever get to real warfare. Beautifully rendered snow, rain, fog and smoke, combined with dynamic lighting and shadows, make this the most intense WWII first person action title yet.
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