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Aspyr Media has released a FAQ explaining the features of the new Remote Console Application for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The standalone app allows players to configure their own dedicated server for the multiplayer first person shooter, offering features like custom map rotations and adjusted game rules.

Q: Okay, cool. What can a dedicated server do?
A: With the addition of player hosted servers, clan servers, custom map rotations, adjustments of game rules, and many other game customizations are now a reality for the Call of Duty: Black Ops Mac player.

Q: Can I choose the location of my server?
A: Yes! When ordering your Call of Duty: Black Ops server from gameservers.com, you will be able to select an option for the location of your server. Pick the location that best suits your needs.

Q: Does this mean I will be an admin and be able to kick people off?
A: Yes! You will have administrative control over your dedicated server. This does mean you will be able to kick and ban other players whom you don’t like, though we suggest a fair and modest rule over your server.

Q: I’ve heard of “Ranked” and “Unranked” servers. What’s the difference?
A: One of the most important decisions you will need to make when ordering your server is if you want a Ranked server or an Unranked server. Here is a brief rundown of key differences between Ranked and Unranked servers:

Unranked Servers

• Allow for significant configuration options including custom map rotations, modification of game rules (player health, scoring, available kill-streaks), and much, much more
  
• Do not award players with XP
  
• Require a monthly subscription fee of $0.99 per player slot (up to 24)

Ranked Servers

• Allow for selection of map rotation, game type, server messaging, and more
  
• Award players with XP
  
• Require a monthly subscription fee of $14.95 for a server with 18 player slots

In general, an Unranked server sacrifices XP gain in return for more configuration options.

CoD:BO Remote Console FAQ

May 24-27 Black Ops Weekend Event

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Feral Interactive and Mac Game Storeare partnering to offer a Mac games bundle that includes six titles for less than $20.

Beginning today game fans can pre-order the bundle through Sunday for $19.99 (USD), which includes LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, DiRT 2, Battlestations Pacific, The Movies: Superstar Edition, Tropico 3: Gold Edition, and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Those who pre-order this weekend will get a $10 (USD) virtual coupon towards the purchase of any other Feral Interactive game from the Macgamestore which must be redemmed by the end of June (terms & conditions apply).

On Monday, May 27th the bundle only will be available from the Mac Game Store for $19.99 (USD) with the offer running through Sunday, June 2nd.

Details can be found at the link below.

Feral Interactive Six Game Bundle

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Indie developer Mousechief has announced that 7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat will be released on June 7, 2013. The unique casual game was a finalist in the Nuovo category of this year's Independent Game Festival and received an honorable mention in narrative. 7 Grand Steps combines board game mechanics with a narrative spanning the formation of modern western civilization.

7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat is a strategy game that uses a board game mechanic to advance a rich, intimate narrative. Via brief text vignettes that add up to the length of two novels, see how the trials our western ancestors endured influence our lives today. Playing as dozens of generations across four social classes that change with the ages, players assume a formative role in the evolution of human history, discovering more than 70 inventions that changed the world, braving a score of heroic adventures, and facing the challenges of three mini-ruling games.

In February, Mouschief released a beta version of 7 Grand Steps through the Humble Store. The game has since been updated and refined based on player feedback. At launch, beta purchasers will be able to download the finished game and receive a free Steam key, if desired.

From the sweat of laborers to the perspective of kings, 7 Grand Steps allows you to experience the drama of a family lineage that survived the changing ages -- or did they survive? How you guide them determines their fate.

About Mousechief
Mousechief, since 2003, has been an independent developer of sophisticated, casual games with meaningful stories. Our previous, critically-acclaimed title, Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!, was nominated by the Writer's Guild of America for Outstanding Script, an IndieCade finalist, and winner of the Casual Game Association's prize for Most Innovative Game. Other games include The Witch's Yarn, an IGF finalist in 2006, and Flagship Champion, an IGF finalist in 1999.

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Muse Games has announced the successful conclusion of a Kickstarter campaign to fundGuns of Icarus Online: Adventure Mode, an expansion for its multiplayer airship combat title. Adventure Mode will expand the original co-op airship combat game to include full co-op player vs. environment (PvE) settings, allowing for player progression, questing, and an immersive setting within the Guns of Icarus world.

CEO Howard Tsao had this to say about where the funds will go and what features to expect, "First I would like to thank all of our supporters, including those that purchased our current game as well as those that are helping fund the next phase. We're absolutely certain we can deliver a PvE experience that will live up to everyone's expectations and be a blast to play and explore. On top of that we're going to strive to deliver the Econo-Political structure discussed in the Kickstarter event, adding dynamic quest and political relations to the PvE framework. While we fell a little short of the funding goal for that addition, we believe it is still within our grasp."

Adventure Mode has three fundamental pillars, each with its own funding target and each building on the previous goals. These are:

• AI Director: At the heart of a good PvE experience is a smart, responsive AI that can go toe-to-toe with players and scale up or down on the fly to keep the experience challenging and entertaining. This pillar will enable the creation of co-op and solo missions to complement competitive PvP.
  
• Socio-Economic System: Adventure mode will add a world map of towns and trade routes, with six player factions and a fully dynamic resource economy. Missions are generated dynamically to help or hinder the towns and the factions that control them, depending on their circumstances and needs. Completing missions earns status in certain quarters and notoriety in others, enabling players to rise in the ranks of their chosen faction, unlock new opportunities and perks, and exert an even greater influence over the world.
  
• World-Building Tools: A robust toolset is necessary to build an expansive world map with diverse and varied environments. This pillar involves the creation of new tools and processes to speed up the development of new maps and locales using a combination of procedural generation and manual composition. While the existing PvP maps have all been assembled painstakingly by hand, worldbuilding on the scale of Adventure Mode will require a whole new way of doing things.

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Mac Gamer HQ has posted a new review of 11 bit studios' Anomaly 2, the sequel to Anomaly Warzone Earth. Available for Mac, Windows, and Linux PCs, the "tower offense" title features multiplayer action, a new single player campaign, and more than a million tactical combinations for squad building.

From the review:

While the game is fun and the gameplay satisfying, Anomaly 2 does feel less original, as the gameplay hasn’t changed much since Anomaly: Warzone Earth. However, one key addition makes the difference: morphing units. Every unit has 2 forms, and in most cases one form will be better for close quarter combat while the other will be more effective in long-range combat. This fleshes out the gameplay, bringing a new layer of complexity and more choices.

The story isn’t spectacular but does the job. Humanity lost the war, you failed to defend Earth and this is mankind’s last effort to defeat the aliens. There’s a secret weapon out there and you are in charge of finding it and give Mankind one last chance to defeat the Aliens.

Mac Gamer HQ: Anomaly 2 Review

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Mac Game Store recently added Mahjong Adventure - Paris from Rokapublish to its list of game titles available for download and purchase. Players join Marie in Paris for 60 levels of mahjong challenge in either Adventure Mode against the clock, or in Relax Mode for a more sedate experience.

Join Marie for an exciting day in Paris.

When Marie woke up early this morning, she had no idea what an exciting day awaited her—and neither did you! Join her for a chaotic, action-packed day full of crazy coincidences in the French capital of culture.

“Mahjong Adventure - Paris” is a fun-filled Mahjong puzzle classic with 60 enchanting puzzle levels. Whether you’re a beginner playing in Relax Mode or a puzzle pro pitting your skills against Adventure Mode, it’s all up to you and your mahjong might.

Lead Marie through the French capital and prepare to be enchanted.

Features:

• 60 fantastic levels
  
• Relax (no time limit) and Adventure Modes (time challenge!)
  
• An exciting day in Paris
  
• Lots of power-ups and extras
  
• Brain-teasing mahjong levels
  
• Entertaining comic story
  
• Breathtaking orchestral music

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
  
• 1 GHz Intel Processor
  
• 512 MB RAM
  
• 75 MB HD Space

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Daedalic Entertainment's The Night of the Rabbit is available to pre-order now at Mac Game Store. The adventure game centers around the adventures of 12 year old Jerry, a young man who dreams of magic. After traveling to a magical world Jerry and his friends must foil the schemes of an evil wizard.

Lose yourself in a tale of magic and wonder, where anything is possible and where nothing is quite as it seems: join young Jerry and follow a peculiar white rabbit to the wondrous realm of Mousewood, a land where critters can speak and where mystery abounds.

It is here that Jerry’s dream of being a magician comes true, though a haunting, sinister force casts a long shadow over the forest. Someone offers the residents of Mousewood a deal of their lifetime - tickets to the greatest magic show that the world has ever seen. But the price is steep, as they'll have to stake their most precious possessions and also their lives.

As the shadows grow deeper, the residents of Mousewood have only Jerry to turn to. On an adventure full of laughter and tears, joy and fear, the young boy will face the ultimate trial, leaving behind the world he once knew, and his childhood, too, will become a thing of the past.

Features:

• Story-driven exploration/adventure: The Night of the Rabbit was conceived, written and designed by Matthias Kempke, who believes that games design is all about creating new worlds to be explored by players.
  
• Multi-layered story: it starts out in a light-hearted and funny way, but soon shift to a dramatic and thought-provoking tone over the 20 hours of gameplay.
  
• Original character and world design: the animal people who populate the game were originally developed in short stories written by game creator; these stories are included as the in-game bonuses.

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SuperVillain Studios' Tower Wars is available now for download and purchase from Mac Game Store. The competitive multiplayer game combines elements of tower defense with real time strategy, featuring both PvP and cooperative play.

Tower Wars is a new and unique spin on the competitive multi-player tower defense genre! The game combines elements of tower defense, real-time strategy, and all-out multi-player mayhem to bring you a completely unique experience, delivered with a fun and funny not-so-old world style!

• Play Tower Wars online in 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 ranked or unranked matches against Mac and PC players!
  
• Play in Co-Op mode with your friends to fend off wave after wave of invading enemies.
  
• Build and upgrade unique towers, creating lengthy mazes to punish incoming enemy units!
  
• Upgrade, assemble, and unleash multitudes of specialized units in massive - attack waves!
  
• Unlock and upgrade technologies to bolster the stats and functions of your units and towers!
  
• Compete in the online leaderboards!
  
• Steam! Features include achievements, leaderboards, matchmaking, and stat tracking!
  
• Need a break? Play one of our offline classic tower defense maps for a quick Time Trial diversion!
  
• Get on board! Help us bring you MUCH MORE! The future looks bright for Tower Wars!

Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.6 or later
  
• 2GHz Dual Core Intel Processor
  
• 2 GB RAM
  
• 1.6 GB HD Space
  
• 256 MB VRAM
  
• Video:
  • ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT
    
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
  Important Notes: Requires Steam and a Steam Account to play.

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