Mac Gaming News

• EA announces ‘The Sims 4′ coming to Macs in 2014.
• In other EA news, they now have the exclusive rights to make Star Wars games. How this impacts Mac gamers is uncertain at this time.
• ‘The Showdown’ have released new FREE DLC for the game. Here’s a trailer detailing it.
• Want a first-person horror game for the Mac where you play through the eyes of a child? Support ‘Among the Sleep’ on Kickstarter!
• ‘The Banner Saga’ now has its own Wiki, so never let any question go unanswered.
• ‘Plants vs. Zombies 2′ gets a teaser trailer and summer launch, with a PvZ FPS in the works too?!
• TechnologyTell discusses Mac games at E3. (more…)

Mac Gaming News

• You wanted to play cards with Claptrap right? Telltale’s ‘Poker Night 2′ is now available. Check out the launch trailer here.
• Apple was recently granted a patent for multiplayer gaming with chat capabilities. 
• If you love the EVE series, rejoice! There’s a massive box set coming out called ‘EVE: The Second Decade – Collector’s Edition.’
• Leviathan: Warships has what might be the GREATEST VIDEO GAME TRAILER EVAR.
• Anomaly 2 is now available for pre-order with some sweet discounts.
• Guns of Icarus Online releases free 1.2 update. (more…)

Since Aspyr released Company of Heroes for the Mac last year, fans of the game have clamored for Skirmish Mode. They heard you loud and clear, because the Mac App Store version of the game has been updated to include this highly requested feature! Skirmish mode is not always the most challenging mode in a RTS, but in Company of Heroes users will not be disappointed.  Crank up the difficulty and see what your troops are made of!

Features

• Set up matches against computer AI on over 50 maps
• Battle up to 4 vs 4!  (You + 3 friendlies vs 4 enemy AI out for blood)
• Includes the two most popular skirmish modes: “Annihilation” and ”Victory Control Point”  

Right now this update is for the Mac App Store version of the game only, and as a bonus, they’ve discounted the game to $10! Aspyr are looking into ways for non-Mac App Store players to enjoy the challenge of Skirmish Mode as well. 

Are you excited to play Skirmish Mode? Have any tips or strategies to share with your fellow Mac gamers? Let’s hear it in the comments!

In case you haven’t heard, recently screenshots surfaced that were allegedly from DOOM 4, accompanied by stories of troubled development for the game. You can read about it in full right here, but the gist is this: perhaps caught under the crushing weight of expectation, iD couldn’t agree on a direction to take the game, which eventually resulted in a complete reboot of their work on the game, scrapping three years of work.  While the game is still in the works, nobody knows what the final product will be like.

The FPS genre has changed drastically even since DOOM 3; games like BioShock Infinite with its beautiful world and compelling story show us what the genre is capable of. Series creator John Carmack has been reported as telling his staff, “DOOM means two things: demons and shotguns.” That leaves the window of possibilities wide open. Since we don’t know anything about DOOM 4, we thought it would be fun to talk about what we want to see in the game.

Disclaimer: We have no affiliation with the development of this game, nor do we have any more information at this time than you. This is simply speculation and discussion of great ideas for the future of this beloved franchise.

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Any game that has the word “runner” in its title better have propulsive music to match, and much to the delight of gamers the world over, quirky retro platformer Bit.Trip Runner delivers on this in spades. Exciting, energetic and fun are just a few words to describe the sounds one encounters when playing this title from Gaijin Games. 

It may be the most popular and recognizable of the games matching its namesake, but it’s actually the FOURTH installment in the Bit. Trip series. Bit.Trip Beat, Bit.Trip Core, and Bit.Trip Void were all great games, but this game’s rhythm-based platform action solidified this indie game developer’s status as innovative and quality, taking a simple concept and character design and continuing to find fresh and fun things to do with it. This was the first Bit.Trip game to feature CommanderVideo as a playable character. Plus, the music is just incredible, featuring chiptune-rock band hybrid Anamanguchi. Listen to the entire captivating soundtrack right here, courtesy of Band Camp.

For those unfamiliar, Anamanaguchi is a rock band in the traditional sense because they have a drummer, keyboardist, guitar player and bassist, yet a huge component of their music is chiptune music reminiscent of the kind you’d hear in 8bit video games. It is the foundation their music is based on, with the live instruments adding flourishes and fleshing out the sound of the digital music. It’s a musical harmony so fun and infectious, it makes you wonder why more bands haven’t tried it in the past. One of their more notable works was composing songs for the Scott Pilgrim game, which also had a fantastic soundtrack.

Here they contribute two tracks, the incredibly frenzied and delightful “Blackout City” and the epic gaming/prog odyssey “Mermaid.” To say odyssey I mean the song is over seven minutes long with several different movements, from a sound typical to the rest of the music on the soundtrack to quieter moments, to a grinding intensity that ends the track with a healthy dose of Tron-flavored tension. It’s something you have to hear to believe.

The rest of the soundtrack is produced in-house by the game studio, with very little details divulged other than that. However, the music varies in tone from more reflective moments to sounds that are straight-up EDM that one might hear in a club. The combination of retro and modern electronic music sounds come together in the most satisfying of ways, particularly on tracks like “Strength” and “Conviction.” It’s great to know that the old, limited sound capabilities of 8bit processors are still finding interesting ways to create new music in the 21st century.

If you enjoy the music as much as we do, the soundtrack can be bought digitally through Amazon and iTunes.

What’s your favorite song on the Bit.Trip Runner soundtrack? Do you think one of the other Bit. Trip games has a better soundtrack? Is there another game with music so brilliant you think we should discuss it here in our Music Monday segment? Tell us in the comments!

Mac Gaming News

• XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Elite Edition, the highly regarded strategy game, is now available for the Mac.
• Grab this exclusive coupon code from 9to5toys for 75% off RCT3 Platinum on GameAgent.
• Looks like Apple is researching game controllers for AppleTV.
• Game Informer’s preview of Civ V expansion ‘Brave New World’ promises a quintessential Civ experience.  (more…)

We’ve discussed strategy game music, interviewed strategy game makers, and even given away store credit to play strategy games yourself. But which strategy games are worth playing for a strategy newcomer? If you dig strategy games, what’s some other game should play? Today we’ve compiled a list of seven of the greatest strategy games and tell you why we think each game is the cat’s pajamas. Did your favorite make the cut?

Star Wars: Empire at War

What person who’s seen the Star Wars movies hasn’t dreamt of controlling an Imperial Starfleet to crush the Rebels or wanted to devise attack patterns for a squadron of X-Wings to deliver a crippling blow to the Empire? This game took the familiar gameplay of war strategy games and put it in a galaxy far, far away. Strategy buffs got a rich game with complex battle system and Star Wars geeks got to play around in George Lucas’ sandbox, exploring locations mentioned or glimpsed briefly in the movies that could now be explored and conquered at your leisure. As an ultimate fan service, this game even includes locations and characters from the expanded universe novels, which is one of the only times this has happened in a Star Wars game. There’s even a multiplayer feature that allows you and a friend to battle against each other using entire star systems as your battleground. Now you can settle that bet and and see who truly has The Force with them.

“If you are a Star Wars fan and you like strategy games, Empire at War is the perfect combo. It has EVERYTHING…space combat with the Millennium Falcon, ground combat with AT-AT’s. Just think of your favorite Star Wars character to control or scenario to relive and you can play it out in real time in this game. Do you want to destroy the galaxy planet by planet with the Death Star? No problem. Do you dream of having Vader and Obi Wan rematches in any Star Wars local you choose? Done. I bet I have 300 hours in this game, and flying around with Boba Fett tossing out seismic charges at X-Wings NEVER gets old.” – Michael Blair  (more…)

Strategy Week continues with this exclusive interview with Feral Interactive, a publisher that has brought plenty of great games to the Mac, including the Batman Arkham games as well as the first two BioShock titles. This week they release the Mac version of the fantastic and highly lauded XCOM: Enemy Unknown in a special Mac-only ‘Elite Edition.’ We discussed their new release, favorite strategy games and why sci-fi and the strategy genre enjoys enduring popularity.

Can you give us a brief introduction of yourself and the game for those that are unfamiliar?

I’m Mary Goodden and I’m the Writer at Feral Interactive, who bring triple-A games to the Mac. As the name suggests, I “write” most of Feral’s web content, from news posts and minisite text to support site FAQs.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Elite Edition is a strategy game about an alien invasion. It’s set in the near future and puts you in charge of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (XCOM), tasked with defending Earth from the invaders.

Gameplay is a mix of turn-based combat and long-term strategy; you get to command a squad of elite soldiers in tactical battles against the aliens before returning to XCOM’s underground headquarters to build new facilities, train up your squad and keep the worldwide panic level to a minimum. That last bit’s crucial–if every member nation panics, they’ll lose faith in the XCOM project and withdraw their funding!

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Welcome to Strategy Week, Mac gamers! All week we’re going to be discussing various strategy games and the aspects that make them great. Since it’s Monday, you know of course that means it’s time to focus on the music. We’ve previously discussed the incredible music of Civilization IV on Music Monday, and while there’s no Yo-Yo Ma or award-winning songs like “Baba Yetu,” the soundtrack to Civilization V is as equally rich, complex, and satisfying as that of its predecessor. Listen to the entire soundtrack here, presented as an embedded YouTube playlist, 35 tracks longs. 

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Mac Gaming News

• Little Inferno is now available for the the Mac, so get to burning things!
• Machines at War 3 is now available for the Mac. Read up on requirements or grab a demo here.
• Ever wanted to play a survival game as an animal protecting her children? ‘Shelter’ is coming soon for Mac. Interested? Help it on Steam Greenlight!
• Rolomotion wants to bring Wii-style motion control gaming to Apple TV and iPhone.
• Post-apocalyptic RPG/Shooter MMO ‘Grimlands’ will now have a Mac version. If it sounds cool, support their Kickstarter!
• Project Eternity has released an updated FAQ.
• Mods are now available for Drox Operative, so get your creative on.
• Frayed Knights 2 gets a title that any Trekkie would love, posts an FAQ.
• The Sims 3 expansion ‘Island Paradise’ will be available in June, now available for pre-order.
• ‘Infinite Space 3: Sea of Stars’ posted concept art, added stretch goals to their Kickstarter campaign.
• Want a game controller case for your iPad mini? Check out Techdy.

Apple News

• Apple stocks plummet to their lowest levels since 2011.
• New rumors on iPad 5 specs are floating around.
• Apple design head Jonathan Ive named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world!
• Twitter launched a new music app for iOS.
• Long time Mac software developer Ambrosia Software has layoffs, but keeps its doors open.
• Yahoo! Mail gets an update on the iPad, while the iPhone gets a Weather update.
• Comedy website ‘Funny or Die’ have released their own Steve Jobs movie.
• Apple can’t catch a break in China, now they’re named in a ‘pornographic apps’ investigation.
• Forbes posted an article saying what needs fixing in iOS, OS X, and iCloud. Agree?
• Pundits think Apple is in trouble if US phone market follows trends in France, India.
• Apple have their own official bikes for employee use. Take a look.
• Patent troll Lodsys sues iOS app developers, despite Apple’s intervention.

Our Posts

• Aspyr Picks 7 Must Play Indie Games
• Bastion & Beyond: An Interview with Supergiant Games
• The Indie Aesthetic: Secrets to What Makes an Indie Game Great
• Music Monday: Braid

Roll Call: New on GameAgent

DeathSpank

For uncounted years, DeathSpank has been a Dispenser of Justice, a Vanquisher of Evil, and a Hero to the Downtrodden. DeathSpank has long searched for a powerful artifact called…The Artifact.

Forged by unknown hands for unknown purposes some unknown time in the past, The Artifact is now within DeathSpank’s reach. But what is The Artifact and what evil tyrant seeks to steal it and how are he and DeathSpank related?

Learn more…

DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue

Join DeathSpank in the hunt for the mighty Thongs of Virtue and their incredible power! DeathSpank’s quest is to destroy the six mystical thongs which have taken over the universe by corrupting those who wear them.

Players will travel through war-torn country sides that recall World War II battlefields, the Old West, outer space and even the North Pole to fight in an epic battle against the Evil Santa.

Battle your way through new quests and challenging puzzles and meet a brand new cast of hilarious characters in the funniest game ever.

Learn more…

DeahSpank: The Baconing

Prepare yourself for the ultimate sci-fi adventure by entering the hilarious and sizzling world of The Baconing created by Hothead Games.

You are DeathSpank, a hero and the ultimate Dispenser of Justice. You must defeat the Anti-Spank and his army of Cyborques, before they cast an evil shadow over Spanktopia.

Unaware of the myth of The Baconing, the hero DeathSpank, on a boring day in Spanktopia, decided to try on all of the thong undergarments at once. Much to his surprise, the result had nothing to do with chafing or wedgies, but rather the summoning of an evil incarnation of himself, the AntiSpank.

Balance can only be restored to the world by entering the Fires of Bacon and destroying five of the thongs. Now, DeathSpank travels the lands to find a sizzling solution to vanquish the AntiSpank and bring about peace once again to Spanktopia.

Learn more…

Quicksave

Next week is Strategy Week on GameAgent, but why wait? Get a taste now with 50% off Feral Interactive’s Total War series, including Rome: Total War Gold and Empire: Total War Gold!