Aspyr has posted their June edition of the monthly newsletter. In this month's publication, Aspyr has more information on their latest release, Civilization IV and a new gaming application that they have been diligently working on. As always, there is a trivia contest to win a free copy of Aspyr's latest game, this time, Civ IV.

As a game finishes up full testing for PC or Mac, we begin the process of deciding the final system requirements. If it is a game that started on the PC, we usually take a look at the original system requirements as a base. If it is an original game, or ported from the Xbox or other consoles, we start with some initial estimates of the minimum CPU, RAM, and video card. The testers who have been playing the game for months on a variety of systems can then give feedback about playability with those specs. Our goal in setting minimum requirements for a game isn't to set the minimum to launch the game and start the first level. We strive to set realistic requirements that will allow you to play through the complete game, all levels, on the minimum machine. Often (in the case of PC to Mac ports), this means the requirements are higher than the original platform. Civ® IV is a very good example. The CPU and RAM required to just play a simple, small world for a dozen turns is much different than playing a larger world very late in the game. While by its very nature Civ® IV slows down later in the game, with more units, cities, and technologies, we still wanted the minimum machine to provide a fun, and playable experience all the way to the end of the game. Once we have set the system requirements, we do another round of testing on the exact configuration we've specified, to verify that a game is playable all the way from start to finish.

We’ve also been putting a lot of work into a new gaming application for Mac users. From a development standpoint, this is a massive project and will occupy a lot of time at Aspyr Studios over the next few months as we work to complete it before the end of this year. Look for more information on this project from Aspyr over the next few weeks.

Aspyr - June Newsletter

Aspyr Media

Today IMG posted a new feature, Boot Camp: Installation and Implications. The article addresses installing boot camp on an intel-based mac, and the far reaching implications boot camp has on the Mac gaming industry. From the feature:

If you are eager to try out Star Wars Republic Commando or finally create a custom Neverwinter Nights module using the PC-only toolset, then fire up Boot Camp, install Windows, and enjoy, safe in the knowledge that far from being a knife in the back of the Mac-gaming community, Windows on your Intel based Mac could well be a harbinger for a new era of more flexible computer configurations and unprecedented growth for Apple.

IMG Feature - Boot Camp: Installation and Implications

Apple

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Macgamestore.com has begun shipping Civilization IV for the Macintosh. It is available for order for $49.95.

With Sid Meier's Civilization IV, history as you know it, is history. Rule throughout time and create your own legacy as you guide your civilization from the dawn of man through the space age and beyond. Implement new technologies,conduct diplomacy or wage war to grow your society and become the most powerful leader the world has ever known.

For more on Civilization IV, follow the link below.

Aspyr Media

Civilization IV

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Blizzard today, released a minor patch for the USA/Australian versions of World of WarCraft bringing the game to version 1.11.1. This latest patch fixes a few bugs and balancing issues. This patch will be applied in-game, but there is an alternative manual download and install patch available.

Here's a list of changes:

Fixes softlock issues.
General
* The Looking For Group channel is now global.
* Escape Artist now displays a message in the combat log when it fails.
PvP
* Significant changes to the battleground Deserter debuff. The debuff should no longer be applied to characters incorrectly.
Druid
* The Omen of Clarity talent now lasts 10 minutes. The tooltip does not yet correctly reflect the new longer duration, and will be updated in a future patch.
Mage
* Evocation - Cool down reduced to 8 minutes.
* Pyroblast - Cool down removed.
Shaman
* Frostbrand and Flametongue weapon buffs are benefited by +spell damage.

Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft

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Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the long awaited Paid Character Transfer service for World of Warcraft is finally available for a limited set of five realms. Players can now access the account management section of the WoW website and, for a fee, pick the character(s) they want to transfer.

The initial launch of the Paid Character Transfer service will only allow transfers between a limited set of realms.

You can now transfer characters off of these realms:

- Altar of Storms
- Argent Dawn
- Demon Soul
- Illidan
- Warsong

Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft

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Game Over recently reviewed the PC version of Heroes of Might and Magic V, the latest in the long running real time strategy fantasy series. As well as a few new gameplay twists, HoMM V introduces 3D graphics to the mix. Game Over gave HoMM V a solid score of 80%.

From the review:

The battles are still turn-based as well. The interface shows the order for the troops to move, and the higher your morale is, the more often your troops take a turn. If your troops use a melee attack, then enemies can retaliate against them, and so battles are mostly an optimization problem, where you try to kill all of the enemies without them damaging your troops in return. That makes magic (primarily from your hero) and ranged troops of key importance, although fast moving melee units are useful as well.

The main difference between Heroes V and the other Heroes games is the set of included campaigns. Instead of telling six different stories, the campaigns are linked together and describe what happens when the king of the Griffin Empire is killed by demons. First his betrothed names herself queen, then a necromancer decides to make a power play, and finally the demons try to take over the world (as demons are wont to do). The writing isn’t as good here as in Heroes IV, but it’s serviceable, and I liked how the heroes worked together (or against each other) and sometimes showed up in multiple campaigns.

Game Over: HoMM V Review

Freeverse

Ubisoft

Heroes of Might & Magic V

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Runesoft today, announced their 3rd person stealth action game, Cold War has gone gold and will be released in Universal Binary. Developed by Mindware Studios and published by Runesoft, Cold War follows an American journalist who becomes involved in a conspiracy to retake the USSR and restore Communist ideals.

Features:
- Powerful and widely-recognized setting (mid-1980's U.S.S.R.) .
- Strong espionage/stealth gameplay - including gadgets like the x-ray camera.
- Interactive non-linear world with multiple ways to accomplish objectives.
- Use the highly interactive environments: If you can't slip past security cameras, disable them
- Strong and realistic A.I. - enemies behave differently, especially the Specnaz (Russian Special Forces).
- 23 Levels
- Over 15 weapons and gadgets at your disposal.
- 10+enemy types, 20+ NPC's, 15+ hours of gameplay, 3 difficulty levels.

System requirements:
- MacOS 10.3 (10.4 recommended)
- G4/5@1.6 GHz OR Mac Intel@1.6 GHz
- 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended)
- 64 MB graphicscard (128 MB recommnded)
- DVD drive.

Cold War

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