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The developers of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption have released a new status update for the upcoming RPG adventure title. This time the update included news that a playable demo version of the game should be available by the end of June. Inspired by Sierra's Quest for Glory series, Hero-U will combine "the rich character relationships, story and puzzles of a classic adventure game with the exploration and excitement of a role-playing game."

It’s really exciting behind the ivy covered walls of Hero-University. We’ve been working hard to turn the Unity game system into a game engine that has all the abilities of the old Sierra Game engine that created the Adventure Games. Now we’re starting to get it to do things that Sierra could never do. We can’t wait to show you..

We will have a playable demo by the end of the month that will look a bit like an Adventure Role-playing game that you all know and love. We’ve even got a few references in it to the old Sierra games. But there’s a lot more to show off…

Hero-U June News

Hero-U (add to watch list)

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Digital Eel's Brainpipe: A Plunge to Unhumanity is now available for download and purchase at Mac Game Store. The 3D action game sends players on a colorful journey through obstacle filled tunnels where they must collect enough glowing glyphs to allow passage to higher levels. The game features 10 levels of increasingly difficult action.

Brainpipe is an easy-to-pick-up first person game of real-time spatial navigation and quick reflexes. Supported by hypnotic graphics, ear tickling sound effects and immersive dreamscape music, the game's free floating, forward moving intensity gradually increases from serene to frenetic as you play. Effortless to learn, Brainpipe's simple and intuitive interface will have you playing in seconds. Immersive and dreamlike, Brainpipe will always beckon you back for more.

Features:

• 10 long & twisty tube levels
  
• Ramping speed and intensity
  
• 8 dangerously tempting obstacles to avoid
  
• Mind glyphs to collect and score
  
• Hypnotic sound and music featuring EelMix
  
• Creepy eyeball buttons!
  
• Fullscreen or windowed modes
  
• Mouse, joystick, and gamepad support

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
  
• Intel Mac
  
• 128 MB RAM
  
• 40 MB HD Space
  
• 32 MB VRAM

Digital Eel (add to watch list)

Brainpipe (add to watch list)

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Gears for Mac from Crescent Moon Games is available to download and purchase now at Mac Game Store. The 3D physics-based ball rolling platformer features 3 detailed worlds spanning 27 unique levels.

Explore the fanciful world of Gears! A gorgeous 3D physics-based ball rolling platformer that redefines the genre, Gears immerses you into adventure with 3 beautifully detailed worlds of 27 unique and challenging levels. Gears will have you on the edge of your seat for hours of gameplay... this is like no game you’ve ever played bebrbfore.

Enhanced with beautiful high-resolution graphics, Gears also supports Game Center integration.

Gears features easy gameplay with challenging levels. You control your ball to pick up as many power-points as possible with either a swipe of the finger or through tilting your device. Four difficulty settings will let you perfect your game while trying to beat the best of the best on Game Center’s Leaderboards.

Quick Tip: For easier play, turn the game timer off in settings!

Features:

3 UNIQUE WORLDS

The Brass Menagerie: A steampunk-themed world that will let you get up to speed at your own pace.

Rivers of Magma: Make your way through the depths of a volcano as you try and collect as many points as possible.

The Cavern of Omens: Discover the many different pathways you can take in a underground cave with lakes, waterfalls, mazes and traps.

More Features:

• 27 FULL LENGTH LEVELS - Each level is unique and custom designed to delight and challenge you, providing anywhere from 45 seconds to 10 minutes of gameplay per level. You can play with either a time limit to complete each level for more points, or un-timed and at your own pace if you’re just getting started.
  
• HIGH REPLAY VALUE - The world of Gears is large and with many twists and turns. You can take the straight route to the end of the level quickly, or you can explore all the many different branches and paths. Either way you’re bound to always find something new and fun.
  
• ENHANCED GRAPHICS - Gears has been enhanced with high resolution graphics that really show you how your new Mac can shine.

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later
  
• 1 GHz Intel Mac

Gears (add to watch list)

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Muse Games has announced a new update for its post apocalyptic airship combat game, Guns of Icaurs Online. Among other things the update includes a new 2v2 deathmatch map called Paritan Rumble, new clothing item achievement unlockables, and some updates to improve gun use.
 
Some changes in Version 1.2.1:

New 2v2 Deathmatch map, Paritan Rumble

New costumes, hats, and goggles for achievement unlocks

“Skyrider” costume for Adventure Mode Kickstarter backers

Added new progression achievements and ranks (level cap raised to 13)

Fire weapons have been tweaked, and are much deadlier

Guns will now maintain their direction prior to mounting after mounting

Guns Of Icarus Full Patch Notes

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Guns Of Icarus Online (add to watch list)

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Eduardo and Alberto Saldaña, co-founders of Sons of a Bit Entertainment, recently informed us about development of their upcoming first commercial video game: IslaBomba. Planned for release on a variety of platforms including Mac, the action puzzler will challenge players to save IslaBomba from the destructive tyrant King Nasty. To save the island from King's bombs, players will need to make careful use of the penguin, rabbit, and turtle's special abilities.

What is IslaBomba?

• Single-player experience
  
• Perfect match of puzzle and action games
  
• In English and Spanish (more languages in the way)

IslaBomba, a peaceful island in the middle of the ocean, is ruled by King Nasty, a tyrant king who wants to bomb its inhabitants’ homeland to build a paddle court, a kart circuit, a bowling alley and other important stuff King Nasty obviously needs.

Your mission is to throw King Nasty’s bombs into different substances, such as water or quicksand, before the spark burns the whole fuse. In order to do it, you’ll control three of these inhabitants, each one of them with unique features and skills:

• The penguin can grab bombs and throw them far away.
  
• The rabbit can hop and push bombs with its body.
  
• The turtle can push buttons with its legs and carry bombs on its shell.

Together with the characters’ skills, stages will include dynamic elements, such as: changing wind, quicksand, physics-related puzzles and even flocks of doves! All this will make the game more and more varied, funny and challenging.

IslaBomba offers:

• 3 different characters with unique skills
  
• 200 challenging stages
  
• 4 different environments: jungle, desert, ice and an unlockable location only available when finishing the game.
  
• Endless hours of fun and happiness

IslaBomba will be released on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android devices, PC, Mac and XBox 360 digital distribution platforms. Also, we have the firm intention of making IslaBomba available on eshop (Wii U) and PSN (PS3).

For more information follow the links below.

IslaBomba Pre-Alpha Trailer

IslaBomba

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Paradox Interactive has announced the release of a new update for its tactical action game, Leviathan: Warships, and has unveiled a "jazzy trailer" to celebrate. The game, which challenges players to assemble customized fleets of warships and weaponry, features cross-platform gameplay across all supported platforms. Leviathan ncludes a full co-op campaign and several player-vs.-player maps ready to put fleets to the test.

In response to popular demand (not that we’re slaves to what’s popular; just doin’ what feels right, you know how it is), today’s update brings the sound of a new jazz music soundtrack to the game, along with the silky-smooth vocal gifts of Jazz Boatman, narrator of Leviathan’s hit trailers, as a new in-game announcer. To feel these features flowing through your game, all you gotta do is hit the Big Red Jazz Button. That’s right, friends – our game’s got a Big Red Jazz Button. Hey, don’t be jealous, we can share.

Check out what to expect from the Jazz Boatman Update, and get some insight into the mind of its now maybe too-internet-famous narrator, in the new trailer.

It’s not all tuning and crooning, you know; the update has some of those careful gameplay balances we know you dig on. There’s a hull of a lot of changes to weapon damage and function, and yes – those changes are all part of the game cannon now. We even put the most effects in our post effects, ‘cause there’s always room for bloom.

Leviathan Warships Update Trailer

Leviathan Warships Patch Notes

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Mac Gamer HQ has posted written and video reviews of Feral Interactive's Batman Arkham City, as well as a written review of Frozenbyte's Trine 2. Arkham City returns player once again to the mean streets of Gotham where they will take control of the famous caped crusader as he uses gadgets and brawn to keep the city safe. Trine 2 centers around the adventures of knight, thief, and wizard heroes working to solve physics based puzzles and unravel an epic mystery.

From Arkham City Review:

The game takes place six months after the events Arkham Asylum. Since the events at Arkham Asylum, Major Sharp has built a super prison. This super prison is meant to home Gotham’s biggest and baddest super criminals in one place, but behind the walls of Arkham City it is far from a prison. All the major criminals have taken territories all over the city in a bid to become the most powerful crime boss. The three most prominent bosses on the streets are Two Face, Penguin and Joker.

Behind every leader is a man pulling the strings, and in this case it’s Hugo Strange. Not a lot is known about this Hugo character, but he knows a lot about Batman and Bruce Wayne specifically. In fact, he knows the greatest riddle of them all, that Bruce Wayne is Batman. This forces Batman to act quickly and find out exactly what his grand plan (Protocol 10) for Gotham is and what it involves but not before being thrown in Arkham City by Strange and his elite Tyger guards.

Trine fans will recognise the characters. They are the same as in the original game. For those of you who haven’t played Trine, you can play as a Knight (Pontius), Thief (Zoya) or Wizard (Amadeus), with each character offering an unique gaming style. The Knight is a DPS (damage per second) hungry fighter who hacks and slashes his way through levels. The Thief is a nippy character who uses a bow and a Grappling hook which can be fired into wooden structures and use them as a swing to get to higher areas. The Wizard has a levitate skill which can be used on objects and can conjure boxes by holding the mouse button and drawing them on screen. These can be used to stand on them and make stacks. I found the Wizard was the most resourceful character but still lacks combat skill.

Mac Gamer HQ: Batman Arkham City Review

Mac Gamer HQ: Batman Arkham City Video Review

Mac Gamer HQ: Trine 2 Review

Feral Interactive (add to watch list)

Batman: Arkham City Game Of The Year Edition (add to watch list)

Frozenbyte (add to watch list)

Trine 2 (add to watch list)

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Buy Trine 2

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Pinkerton Road has released a new trailer and screenshots for Moebius, Jane Jensen's upcoming adventure title funded by a $435K Kickstarter campaign in back May 2012. The third-person mystery adventure game centers around the exploits of Malachi Rector, an antiquities expert asked by a mysterious government agency to investigate the death of a politician's wife in Venice.

Malachi Rector, a prestigious antiquities expert with an uncanny knowledge of history, travels around the world evaluating antiques for auction houses and private collectors. He can tell at a glance whether a varnish is 14th century Venetian or a 21st century imitation, where a particular hinge was forged, and what tomb an Egyptian artifact came from.

The game begins when a mysterious government agency named F.I.S.T. offers Malachi an odd job: instead of evaluating an antique, he will travel to Venice to investigate the death of a politician's wife. Though this is far outside the scope of his usual work, Malachi is curious, so he agrees.

What Malachi doesn't know is that his photographic memory and genius for history is of extreme interest to not only F.I.S.T. and the U.S. government, but to other top-secret agencies as well. And Malachi's about to meet a man in his travels who holds the key to it all...

Moebius Trailer

Moebius (add to watch list)

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In a new Kickstarter update Two Guys From Andromeda provided an update on the status of a demo version of the upcoming sci-fi adventure game, Two Guys SpaceVenture. In development by Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe, creators of the classic Space Quest series, the game will feature the trademark game elements of the team's previous efforts.

Okay, so the demo is still not quite ready. We do want some polish to it since we will be showing it off to you fine folks and to the press at San Diego Comicon this year, hope everyone understands the logic there.

To tide you over, I wanted to share some of the facts about this small piece of the game you'll get to experience in the demo:

• There will be 7 beautifully created scenes by Mark Crowe.
  
• Every scene contains hilarious dialogue written by Scott Murphy.
  
• You'll get to control the man, the legend, Ace Hardway himself as well as his lovable robotic K-9 sidekick Rooter!
  
• Space Quest fans might notice a few fun easter eggs thrown in as well.
  
• There are 8 different tasks(puzzles) you'll have to accomplish in order to beat the demo, some more difficult than others.
  
• At the moment there are 4 possible funny ways to die. There might be a couple of more added soon as well. We have a very creative and tactful way to accomplish this that we think you'll love, whether you like the Sierra method or LucasArts method of Adventure Games.
  
• The demo is laced with some epic music and SFX created/produced by Ken Allen
  
• As far as voice over goes, we have 3 different characters being voiced in the demo.
  
• And a nice little ending to the demo that will leave you wanting more!

As far as the demo goes, we mostly have some more programming to wrap up and a little more polish left. I can't make any promises, but cross your finger for a release coming your way soon!

Two Guys SpaceVenture Demo Update

Two Guys From Andromeda

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