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Aspyr Media recently released the latest Borderlands 2 downloadable content, the Psycho Pack, which features a 6th playable character, Krieg the Psycho Bandit. The new character makes use of a giant axe and can rampage for extra melee damage and health regeneration for every kill.

What slices, dices, breathes fire and blows himself up?

Introducing the newest Vault Hunter and 6th character class in Borderlands 2, Krieg! Take a peek at Pandora from behind the menacing eyes of Krieg, the Psycho Bandit, an all-new character and the 6th playable class in Borderlands 2. You’ve fought against them as enemies, now use that aggressive energy on the vault hunter’s side. Slice, dice, light yourself on fire and blow things up – taking damage was never so rewarding – or so much fun!

Krieg uses a giant buzz axe for his action skill, going on a rampage with increased melee damage and instant health regeneration on each kill. Krieg is also unique in that the more damage he takes, the sooner he can use his action skill, thus the deadlier he becomes. His skill trees focus on a mix of stacking combat bonuses in Bloodlust, melee and explosive combat in Mania, and lighting himself on fire in Hellborn. Unlike any previous Vault Hunter, Krieg provides a great way to explore Pandora all over again!

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An IMG reader recently emailed us about Full Control's soon to be concluded Kickstarter campaign for Jagged Alliance: Flashback. Planned for release on Mac, Windows, and Linux PCs, the game is a reboot of the classic Jagged Alliance turn-based tactical action series. Like its predecessors, Flashback will put players in control of a squad of mercenaries and give them the chance to manage their activities both on and off the field of battle.

Full Control recently released a diorama scene showcasing a combat scenario in the game. Although Flashback is still in pre-production, the diorama gives players the chance to explore the scenario from a variety of camera points and zoom levels.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback is our vision of returning a once critically acclaimed franchise back to its roots, it's not a reboot, it's a reset!

Our main goal is to bring back the tactical turn-based action that the original Jagged Alliance games are known for - the game was a thinking man's game, a thinking man with lots of guns!

The games were unique in their blend of tactical turn-based action, controlling and maintaining squads of mercenaries, off and on the battlefield. As a player the decisions you made had a direct impact on how you played the game. Additionally, over-the-top personalities, memorable characters and role-playing elements made the games difficult to put away once you were hooked.

Below we have listed some of the major game features we are planning to implement:

• Single-player tactical turn-based action, including a fully integrated cover system and 30 tile system with multiple levels.
  
• Roleplaying: Interact with NPCs to gain battlefield information, unlock new weapons and mercenaries.
  
• Customizable Mercenaries: From gear down to the hair style.
  
• Base Management: Plan which missions to engage in, build training facilities and research new weapon upgrades.

The game text will be localized to English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

We will give you a choice of distribution, always including a DRM-free option, for both the core game and future expansions.

Our target platform is PC and the game will be available for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux.

STORY:

With flashback we want to take you back to the cold war era and let you play the events that lead up to the founding of the international mercenary organization called A.I.M.

The story is set in the late-1980s, on the Caribbean island group of San Christobal.

Following a coup d'état a socialist regime has been established on the island, a change that undermines the U.S. presence in the area.
Seizing the opportunity, a hard-line fanatic general leads an elite U.S.S.R. military unit to establish a military base right under the nose of the U.S. Under the guise of shipping humanitarian aid, large amounts of cargo and military hardware are headed for San Christobal. A Russian presence larger and closer to the U.S. than Cuba could potentially tip the balance of power and turn a cold war into a steaming hot one.

Under secret orders from the CIA it is now up to you to assemble a team of capable mercenaries, restore the democratic government on San Christobal and drive out the U.S.S.R. presence, by any means necessary.

GAMEPLAY:

We are aiming to build Jagged Alliance: Flashback around the core pillars that made the originals great; the deep strategy, the thrilling action and character RPG elements. The core game is essentially split up into 2 layers, a strategy layer and a tactical layer.

• Base Management is the strategy layer behind all the gun-toting and action, it is your base of operations, where you manage resources and control which missions to engage in.
  
• It functions as a hub between missions and provides you with a map over the game world, it is also where you recruit, customize and take care of your mercenaries.
  
• The base is also used to manage the training of your mercenaries, construction and weapon research/manufacturing.

• The Tactical Screen is the turn-based action layer of the game, it features an isometric 3D camera view of the battlefield and it’s where you control your squad of selected mercenaries to achieve objectives and engage enemies face-to-face.
  
• Gear, character attributes and weapons all affect how a mercenary performs on the battlefield.
  
• There will be fog of war, which prevents a full view of the battlefield and hides enemy movements.
  
• The mercenaries can take cover behind objects in the world to gain different levels of protection.
  
• Mercenaries also gain new abilities as they survive more battles, but when they die - it's permanent!

Check out the page below to learn more.

Jagged Alliance: Flashback Diorama

Jagged Alliance: Flashback Kickstarter

Cloanto recently released Amiga Forever 2013 and C64 Forever 2013, new and improved Windows compatible emulators of the classic Commodore computers. The company also announced it will soon begin work on a Mac version of Amiga Forever and is encouraging interested gamers to sign up for updates on the status of the new version.

We'll soon start working on a Mac version of Amiga Forever, inclusive of the high-quality playback and authoring functionality our customers are enjoying on Windows. While we greatly improved the functionality on Windows, we know that there are also many Mac users among our Commodore/Amiga friends. If you are interested in a Mac OS version please sign up.

This helps us get a better idea of your interest, and we can let you know once something becomes available. Maybe we can even launch a Kickstarter campaign for the Mac OS version, because resources are always tight, and widening the fronts feels like a big challenge. In any case, after this 2013 release, which had a focus on Windows, our goal is to do more cross-platform work.

The preconfigured Amiga ROM, OS and application software files distributed with the existing version of Amiga Forever (Plus Edition) can already be used with different Mac OS ports of the UAE Amiga emulation software.

Ready-to-run and preconfigured universal binaries of E-UAE and Hi-Toro are included in the Private/Mac directory on the Amiga Forever CD.

Note: The current cross-platform content in Amiga Forever, while compatible with Mac applications, is not as user friendly as the Windows version. It is intended for a more technical audience who is already familiar with emulation on the intended platform.

The additional Windows-only software included in Amiga Forever does not run on Mac OS. This includes the Amiga Forever one-click launcher, Software Director and Amiga Explorer. Also, there is no Mac-specific installer included in Amiga Forever (the files have to be copied manually from the Private/Mac directory of the Amiga Forever distribution to the desired destination folder on the Mac hard disk).

Amiga Forever Mac Info Signup

Amiga Forever

Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo III is available now for download and purchase at Mac Game Store. The action RPG sequel continues the story of the world of Sanctuary's battle against demonic forces. Featuring a variety of new characters classes, monsters to defeat, and multiplayer options, the game once again offers players the chance to face off against the minions of evil.

Diablo III is a fantasy Action Role-Playing Game (RPG). Only the third major release in what is considered by many gamers as the most iconic RPG franchise of all time, Diablo 3 continues the land of Sanctuary's battle against a reoccurring demonic evil, and provides players around the world with the opportunity to create the ultimate hero to quest against it with friends online, or on their own. Features include: classic dungeon crawling gameplay, a new batch of character classes, multiplayer options with friends and single player support with the help of AI companions, a new take on character skill assignment and health, online item auctioning, and compatibility with Windows and Mac operating systems.

Darkness Falls. Heroes Rise

Two decades have passed since the events of the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction expansion pack, in which the demonic lords, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, set out across the world of Sanctuary on a vicious rampage, twisting humanity to their unholy will. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils, the memory fades slowly. When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram Cathedral seeking clues to defeat new stirrings of evil, a fiery harbinger of doom falls from the heavens, striking the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. This fire from the sky reawakens ancient evils, but also calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells once again.

Features:

• Rediscover the enthralling RPG gameplay of the iconic Diablo franchises in is first game release in nearly 11 years
  
• Explore fully realized realms of Sanctuary - the living, breathing gothic fantasy world of Diablo III
  
• Battle the unholy forces of the Burning Hells with five character classes, including the otherworldly Witch Doctor, or with re-imagined warriors from Diablo's past, like the powerful Barbarian
  
• Rain hell on your enemies and use the interactive environment as a weapon: lay cunning traps, turn destructible objects against your foes, and use environmental obstacles to your advantage - all powered by the Havok physics system
  
• Experience the intensity of multiplayer Diablo III over an all-new, wickedly enhanced Battle.net platform with numerous enhancements to make connecting with your friends easier, and cooperative gameplay more fun
  
• In single player quests utilize up to three AI followers, from three different classes who can be equipped with basic items and leveled up
  
• Skills and abilities are now automatically unlocked as you level, and players are able to actively use more of them simultaneously than ever before
  
• Experience a new approach to in-game health as the previous reliance on mana and potions is appended by resource types unique to each class, as well as health globes
  
• The ability to craft unique items with found objects is drastically improved through association in-game blacksmith and Jeweler artisans
  
• Sell unique items found within the game for in-game gold or real money via online Auction House functionality

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later
  
• Intel Core 2 Duo
  
• 2 GB RAM
  
• 12 GB HD Space
  
• Video:
  • ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro
    
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

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VG247 recently posted a new interview with Harebrained Schemes's Jordan Weisman about the company's upcoming 2D turn-based RPG, Shadowrun Returns. The game will return players to the Shadowrun universe which features a mixture of cyberpunk tech and high fantasy magic.

The game’s futuristic Seattle of 2054 is going to be teeming with plot strands, dangers lurking in every alley and an assortment of enemies waiting to be engaged in combat. There will be much to consider, but Weisman stressed the game still won’t hold your hand. This is meant to be a tough experience for dedicated players.

“Call it respect for the audience or call it old-school gamer mentality but we’re honestly not hand-holding people through a bunch of training on the mechanics,” he said. “Once upon a time, there was fun in exploring and experimenting. We hope to give players enough info to get them rolling and understanding the basics.”

VG247: Shadowrun Returns Interview

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Anuman Interactive's Fire & Forget is available now at Mac Game Store. Based on the classic shoot'em up released in 1988 this remastered edition includes hundreds of enemies to blast, 10 levels spanning a devastated post-apocalyptic world, and a variety of upgrades for customizing the powerful flying tank.

Fire & Forget is a shooting game featuring an amazing flying « tank » equiped with 2 deadly weapons. A manual aiming dual cannon and a rocket launcher with auto-guided missiles. While the vehicle moves forward by itself at high speed, you just have to focus on avoiding obstacles and blasting the ennemies on your way.

Features:

• Hundred of ennemies to blast in each level.
  
• 10 challenging levels in all over a devastated post-apocalyptic world
  
• Drive and fly the most advanced vehicle ever created
  
• 3 difficulty levels
  
• Great replayability, destroy as many enemies as you can to reach the best scores
  
• Customize your vehicle with impressive skins and upgrades

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Mac|Life has posted a new review of Frozen Synapse, a turn based tactical game from Mode 7 Games. The game features both single and multiplayer action, a variety of guns, hand crafted maps, and a map editor. Mac|Life gave Frozen Synapse a score of 4.5 out of 5.

From the review:

A slick cyberpunk vibe with a futuristic neon glow sets the stage nicely for Frozen Synapse's brain-twisting tactical combat encounters. When it first launched on Mac and PC, this cool indie strategy game garnered high praise for its unique asynchronous take on turn-based combat and play-by-email style multiplayer matches. This iPad port gloriously packs all of the clever strategizing and insane resolutions of the original – and even lets you play against desktop users – without losing anything in the jump to the portable format.

Frozen Synapse sports a strong story-driven campaign to supplement its multiplayer focus, but regardless of mode, the maps are randomly generated, which adds exciting unpredictability and variety to the squad-based battles. Each round tasks you with queuing up sequences of commands for each neon soldier in your unit. Like many turn-based strategy games, the idea is to outmaneuver, outsmart, and outgun your A.I. or human opponents. However, the fact that both you and your foes spring into action simultaneously after planning each turn's moves throws a wild and crazy wrinkle into the mix.

Mac|Life: Frozen Synapse Review

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Frozen Synapse (add to watch list)

Mac Game Store recently announced it will be releasing a special bundle of six Feral Interactive game titles for $19.99. The sale begins on Monday, May 27th, and continues until Sunday, June 2nd. The first game in the pack, LEGO Star Wars: Complete Saga, was revealed on Friday.

Today we are pleased to announce the price and first game in the upcoming Feral Bundle! The Feral Game Bundle, coming May 27th to June 2nd, will be available for $19.99. It will feature 6 amazing games. The first game, revealed today, is LEGO Star Wars: Complete Saga. Be sure to tune in every day as we reveal the other games in the bundle.

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10tons Ltd. has announced Sparkle 2, an upcoming sequel to the action puzzler, Sparkle. The game is scheduled to be released in June 2013 for Mac OS X, Windows, and iOS. Once again Sparkle 2 challenges players to make use of the Orb Slinger to make matches of three or more.

“With millions of players, Sparkle is one of our most popular games, as well as among our greatest commercial and critical successes. We're currently working hard to create an astounding experience which we hope will be enjoyed by millions of more players.”, said Tero Alatalo, CEO of 10tons Ltd.

Sparkle 2 is a super polished premium action puzzle game set in a beautiful magical world. In Sparkle games the player uses the Orb Slinger to launch orbs in order to form matches of three. They also feature top notch playability, a much praised powerup system, and carefully crafted special effects.

The game will first be available on iOS, Windows, and Mac. Other platforms, including Android, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8, will follow later.

To celebrate the announcement, Sparkle the Game and Sparkle HD for iOS are on sale on iTunes App Store starting immediately and throughout the weekend.

Sparkle 2 (add to watch list)

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