Aspyr Media has launched GameAgent, its digital download store. The store debuts with two Mac titles available for download and purchase: Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat and the SAT prep game futureU.

Users of the store are allowed to download their purchases once to a single machine and deauthorize and install it on other machines two more times. For a $4.99 per game fee users can purchase a two year Extended Download Service which allows owners to make multiple downloads of previously purchased game titles.

More about GameAgent:

What can I do at GameAgent.com?
• Purchase games and download them online
• Play games without physical CD/DVD media
• Register your games online
• Receive alerts on game updates
• Receive alerts to current Aspyr projects and new games
• Take advantage of special offers

Can I switch to a new machine and still have my games?
Yes, but only if you have purchased the Extended Download Service (EDS). EDS essentially allows you to download your purchase again for up to two (2) years, in the event your computer crashes or the downloaded file becomes damaged or corrupt. It can be thought of as an insurance policy in case anything goes wrong with your computer or the downloaded product. When you have downloadable items in your order, you will see a link to add EDS to your order on the shopping cart page or the checkout page. Upon payment of the specified fee, Digital River, Inc. ("DR") agrees to provide you (the "End User") a service that enables the End User to make multiple downloads of digital computer software products (a "Product" or "Products") purchased in a single order (an "Order") and downloaded from this Web site (the "Site") for a period of two (2) years after the date the End User purchases the Product (the "Service").
To purchase EDS for download products in a completed order, you must look up your order and complete an additional purchase.
You are also allowed to activate your game up to 3 times with a single serial number.

How will GameAgent.com handle piracy issues?
Each game that you download is, by default, locked to your computer. A game can only be played on the particular computer where it has been authorized.

GameAgent

Aspyr Media

Mac|Life: Aspyr Launches GameAgent

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Soldak Entertainment has released beta patch 1.014 for the Mac version of the action RPG, Depths of Peril. The update includes a variety of changes and bug fixes.

In the game players take the role of a faction leader engaged in defending the barbarian city of Jorvik. Along the way players venture forth to complete quests and fight monsters while at the same time preparing to defeat rival factions in the race to rule the city.

Here are a few of the changes in the latest patch:

• fixed some quest localization issues
• now stat bars can set the blinkIntensity
• increased ItemGenerationTries for armorsmith and weaponsmith quests to ensure they drop a reward item
• improved mouse scrollball support
• added a bit of text to explain why every monster doesn't drop a quest part
• localized Left Click stuff in keyboard options
• fixed some localization issues on relations screen
• localized PoisonedSupply variant text correctly

Depths of Peril Beta Patch

Soldak Entertainment

Depths of Peril

Buy Depths of Peril

Freeverse today announced the release of Flick Bowling for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Flick Bowling allows a player to control the action using a flick of their finger to line up their shot and adjust the speed and direction of the ball.  Flick features colorful characters and fully 3D environments.

Freeverse plans to release additional Flick Sports titles for the iPhone, including Flick Fishing, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, and Soccer.  Each game is designed to make use of the iPhone's multi-touch technology.

“This game would not be possible on any handheld device besides the iPhone”, said Ian Lynch Smith, President of Freeverse.  “The touch-screen interface allows us to build games that have never been possible before.”

Flick Bowling

Freeverse

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Apple Games takes to the high seas with a review of the swashbuckling adventures in the recently release Sid Meier's Pirates! for Mac OS X. The game allows players to lead their own pirate band as they cruise the Caribbean looking for plunder and adventure. Apple's article includes an overview of the game's action, comments from Firaxis Games' Barry Caudill, and a list of tips and tricks to keep would-be pirates from walking the plank.

While a game like Pirates! is steeped in historical and cultural reference points, however, research isn’t front-and-center when Meier, Caudill, and their team embark on a new game. “We have a unique approach at Firaxis,” Caudill observes. “We do the research after we design the game. We do that for several reasons. First, the game is our main concern and all the research in the world won’t define the fun, so we do the research to support the game and fill in the blanks.”

He adds: “Second, when you spend a lot of time researching, you end up making a game that requires the player to have read the same books used in the research in order to understand that game, which can greatly limit the audience. Our goal is to make a fun game that anyone can pick up and play, and maybe they’ll end up learning a little something in the process, if they aren’t careful.”

Apple Games: Sid Meier's Pirates!

Feral Interactive

Pirates!

Buy Pirates!

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Electronic Arts recently announced that Maxis' Spore has sold more than one million copies at retail worldwide since shipping on September 7th. The total combines sales of Mac, Windows, and Nintendo DS versions of the game. To date, gamers have used the creativity tools in Spore to populate the universe with more than 25 million creatures, vehicles and buildings available to view in the Sporepedia.

Spore gives players the chance to create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers. Spore gives players a variety of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and spaceships.

"Spore is a hit," said Frank Gibeau, president of the EA Games Label. "Will Wright's latest delivers an incredibly diverse game that appeals to casual gamers and the core alike. We're off to a great start moving into the holiday season and believe Spore will deliver a platform of creativity for gamers of all stripes for years to come."

"We're humbled by how quickly the community has taken to the creativity tools in Spore," said Lucy Bradshaw, vice president of Maxis and Spore's executive producer. "It's amazing to see the sheer imagination represented in the hundreds of thousands of creatures, vehicles and buildings that have been uploaded around the clock since launch."

Electronic Arts

TransGaming

Spore

Buy Spore

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