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Spiderweb Software has released its latest shareware RPG game, Geneforge 2. The sequel to the popular RPG Geneforge, players can create creatures, make enemies, and forge alliances as they progress towards one of several different endings. Geneforge 2 also contains a large variety of NPC Shapers, all with their own beliefs and ideals.

Here's a bit more info about Geneforge 2:

Geneforge 2 is a fantasy role-playing epic with a science fiction twist. In Geneforge 2, you explore a huge world, choose which side you will fight for, and make your own horde of completely obedient mutant monsters.

You are an apprentice Shaper. You are being given the power to create life and mold it to serve your own needs. The whole world fears and respects the Shapers. Your secrets are many, and your power is absolute.

If you need a servant, you have but to create it, and it will gladly die for you.

But when you and your teacher are sent on what seems to be a simple mission, things go horribly wrong. Monsters roam the countryside. Your allies turn on you. Your teacher disappears. And you find yourself in the middle of a conspiracy to use forbidden powers and overthrow Shaper rule.

To download Geneforge 2, head over to the official Geneforge 2 web site.

Spiderweb Software

Geneforge 2

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On Wednesday game developer Linden Research released Second Life for the PC, a new massive multiplayer online game where players create their own characters who live in an ever-changing online world. Though still in its early state, Second Life is already a huge success, and Linden announced today that they will be bringing the game to the Mac sometime later this year. Here's the official announcement:

Mac users will soon be able to enter the exciting 3D world of Second Life - a rapidly expanding online society, entirely defined and built by its users.

We plan to offer Second Life for Mac OS X by the end of 2003, and hope to begin Beta testing in Fall 2003.

System requirements will be as follows:
- 1 GHz G4 or better
- 256 MB
- ATI Radeon 8500/GeForce 2 or better
- OS X.2.6 or better

For those interested in seeing the game in action, Apple has posted a trailer for Second Life on their website. Be sure to check it out.

Second Life is coming to Mac OS X!

Apple Game Trailers: Second Life

Second Life

Linden Lab

Diablo fan community PlanetDiablo recently got to the chance to sit down with former Blizzard Entertainment employee Bill Roper, to discuss Bill's recent and somewhat surprising departure from the company that brought such hits as Warcraft III, Starcraft, and Diablo II. The interview covers a wide-array a topics; past, present, and future, and offers readers a genuine opinion of the gaming world from Roper himself. Below is a small excerpt from the article:

PlanetDiablo: Tell us one thing about Blizzard Entertainment that only someone on the inside knows.

Bill Roper: Dave Brevik dreamed some of the best ideas for Diablo II up while he was in the shower. We used to joke that Dave needed a waterproof tape recorder so he could get down all the thoughts he had while scrubbing up in the morning before work. One example was when he came into the office and said, “I had this idea in the shower this morning. We should better define the classes through something I am calling Skill Trees so that players can really choose how to grow their characters.” It took about ten seconds for the team to realize that this was a pretty cool idea, and even though it put another 2 – 3 months into the development schedule, it was worth it.

Interview: Bill Roper on Departures

Blizzard Entertainment

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It's been a long time coming, but Sony's EverQuest has finally made it to the Mac? Was the long wait worth it? IMG's Chris Ritchie has written up an extensive review of this MMORPG.

Here's a clip from the review:

If you have played an MMORPG before, the Everquest interface will be second nature. They are practically the default that most MMORPGs follow now. If you have never experienced one of these games, the controls will seem a tad confusing at first, however it is nothing that a few hours of game play can’t fix. As with most role-playing games, you start out at level one with only bread, milk, a starting weapon and a tattered note to your name. You gain experience by killing creatures, or completing tasks that Non-Player Characters (NPCs) give you. Money is earned by selling items you find on the corpses of creatures you have killed, all very basic for anyone familiar with RPGs in general.

IMG Review: EverQuest

Sony Online

EverQuest

Buy EverQuest

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Game developer Ryan Gordon has just updated his online developer's log with news of the Mac port of America's Army: Operations. Following the release of the Mac client earlier this month, users have noted an incompatibility with the game and their M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound cards, which caused the game to crash on startup. While Ryan has yet to offer a full remedy to the situation, he advises those users to remove their sound card in order to play the game, until an official patch is released.

Can you believe that there isn't one goddamn Revolution 7.1 card in all of Raleigh, NC, despite there being several Best Buys, a CompUSA, and, for crying out loud, an Apple Retail Store? What kills me about this is I have _two_ of these cards sitting in Philadelphia. Moving is such a pain in the butt. In the meantime, if you've got one and ArmyOps crashes almost immediately, change your system to use the built-in sound in the System Preferences. It sucks, but at least you won't crash. I'll get this fixed soon, I hope.

As for you server admin types, here's a first (and probably last) stab at a 1.7.0-compatible Mac dedicated server that has been tested long enough to see that it doesn't crash on startup, so that's not encouraging, I know, but people have been asking for it. Reports of success and failure are welcome. I want to make this part of the package deal for 1.9, but there wasn't time to polish it for the first version...I hope you'll all forgive me for opting to get the client out the door first.

Ryan Gordon Developer's Log

America's Army: Special Forces 2.4

U.S Army

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Blizzard has unveiled a new World of Warcraft region called Kalidar, the new home of the reclusive Night Elves. The update includes 13 new screenshots, a music sample, and two new monsters.

Here's a description of the new region:

Off Kalimdor's northern coast lies the island of Kalidar, the new home of the reclusive Night Elves and a stunning testament to the power of their magic and their connection with nature. After the cataclysmic events that followed the invasion of the Burning Legion, the Circle of Ancients and powerful druids combined their powers to grow an immense new world tree on Kalidar. They called the tree Teldrassil, meaning "crown of the earth" in their native tongue. The night elves made their new home in the boughs of Teldrassil, creating a forest of mighty trees and flowing rivers, bathed in the endless night that fell over the lands of the elves from the dawn of time. However, the calm of the enchanted forest has slowly fallen into the shadow of a sinister presence. Crazed furbolgs and fouler beasts have appeared in Kalidar, and it occupies all the attention of the vigilant Sentinels and the wise druids to ensure the safety of their new home.

Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft

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GameRanger today announced the addition of Feral's Warrior Kings and the Army's America's Army to the Macintosh online gaming service. The latest version bring it the program up to version 3.3.3.

Here's a list of addition and fixes:

Not mentioned in 3.3.2: Premium members can see whose gameroom a buddy is playing in

Introduced over three years ago, the GameRanger community is now home to over 120,000 registered members playing more than 100 popular game titles spanning classic, action, strategy and simulation. For more information, follow the link below to GameRanger.

GameRanger

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Mac Games News for Thursday, July 24, 2003
• ActionSoft Seeks Testers for Midnight Mansion	3:58 PM
• Aspyr Announces Indiana Jones Game	3:20 PM
• The Omni Group Featured in Seattle Times	2:19 PM
• Freeverse Ships Burning Monkey Solitaire 3	9:21 AM
• Web Game Developer Seeks Feedback	9:20 AM
• DOOM 3 Playable at QuakeCon	8:58 AM
• VendorNation Releases Descender	8:50 AM
• IMG Store: Pre-Order F/A-18 Operation Iraqi Freedom	8:42 AM
• Vendetta Test Updated	8:42 AM
• MacMame 0.71.2.1 Released	8:30 AM
• Blizzard Posts Frozen Throne Release Party Feature	8:25 AM
• Shadowbane Patch Coming Today	8:25 AM
View all of the Mac games news for Thursday, July 24, 2003 on one page

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