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Macgamestore.com has announced that Ubisoft's Assassin’s Creed 2: Digital Deluxe Edition for Mac is now available as an exclusive pre-order from the store. The Deluxe Edition includes Assassin's Creed 2, an epic story of vengeance in Renaissance Italy, as well as three bonus maps to explore for hidden treasures: Palazzo Medici, Santa Maria Dei Frari, and the Arsenal Shipyard.

Assassin’s Creed 2 is the follow-up to the title that became the fastest-selling new IP in video game history. The highly anticipated title features a new hero, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble, and a new era, the Renaissance.

Assassin’s Creed 2 retains the core gameplay experience that made the first opus a resounding success and features new experiences that will surprise and challenge players.

Assassin’s Creed 2 is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy. Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence’s most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin.

Features:

• EZIO, A NEW ASSASSIN FOR A NEW ERA: Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a young Italian noble who will learn the ways of the assassins after his family was betrayed and he looks to seek vengeance. He is a lady’s man, a free soul with panache yet has a very human side to his personality. Through him, you become a master assassin.
  
• RENAISSANCE ITALY: Italy in the 15th century was less a country and more a collection of city-states where families with political and economic strength began to take leadership roles in cities like Florence and Venice. This journey through some of the most beautiful cities in the world takes place in a time in history where culture and art were born alongside some of the most chilling stories of corruption, greed and murder.
  
• A NEW-FOUND FREEDOM: You will be able to perform missions when you want and how you want in this open-ended world that brings back free-running and adds elements such as swimming and even flying to the adventure. The variety in gameplay adds another layer for you to truly play through the game any way you choose.
  
• DYNAMIC CROWD: Discover a living, breathing world where every character is an opportunity for the player. Blending in with the crowd is easier, working with in-game characters provide ample rewards but can also lead to surprising consequences.
  
• BECOME A MASTER ASSASSIN: Perfect your skills to become a master assassin where you brandish new weapons, learn to disarm enemies then use their weapons against them, and assassinate enemies using both hidden blades.

System Requirements:
Subject to Change

• Mac OS X 10.5 / Mac OS X 10.6
  
• PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz
  
• RAM: 3 GB
  
• VIDEO CARD: 256 MB Dedicated Shader model 3.0 or higher (ATI RADEON HD 4000/5000 series,
  
• NVIDIA GeForce® 100/200 series)
  
• HD: 9 GB
  
• PERIPHERALS SUPPORTED: Keyboard, mouse.
  
• INTERNET CONNECTION: Broadband Internet connection with 128 kbps upstream or faster

System Recommendations:
Subject to Change

• PROCESSOR: Core i5 2.66Ghz or better
  
• RAM: 4 GB or better
  
• VIDEO CARD: 512 MB Dedicated - ATI Radeon HD 4850 , NVIDIA GeForce GT120 or better
  
• Laptop and integrated versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game.

Ubisoft

Assassin's Creed 2

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UPDATE: All trial keys have been handed out!

Inside Mac Games and S2 Games have teamed up to offer 50 trial keys for the company's latest game, Heroes of Newerth. The keys give a player the chance to experience ten free games.

More information about the trial keys:

• You can register keys at http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/trialplay.php
  
• One trial key is for 10 free games (the keys have no time restrictions so they won't expire over any length of time).
  
• The trial key is 100% free and no credit card information will be requested.
  
• The only limitation to the trial keys is that players will only be allowed to play in no stats recorded games.

To learn more about Heroes of Newerth follow the links below.

S2Games

Heroes Of Newerth

HoN Heroes Database

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In recent posts on the Diablo III forums community manager Bashiok revealed new information about the upcoming action RPG. This time the discussion covered a variety of topics including rune combinations, solo play, and the game's level 60 level cap.

The 60 level cap we're working with came from a lot of time and thinking about our content and how we want the experience to feel at every level. It so happens that it works for us really well.

Of course it all comes down to an XP curve. We could, for instance, say the level cap in Diablo III is 60 and then pace that curve and gain out over what we estimate it took someone to reach 99 in Diablo II. Of course we wouldn't do that but it should help illustrate that the time from 1-60 in Diablo II does not equal the amount of time it will take to reach 60 in Diablo III. 60 levels versus 99 levels doesn't mean less content or less powerful characters, etc. These aren't uniform levels of power that move from game to game. And in fact we are pushing a longer game than Diablo II and I'd argue our characters feel way more powerful. Ok, that out of the way, moving on!

The leveling experience is always going to stop somewhere because the real game is the item hunt. So, instead of letting it drag out to a less meaningful 80 or so levels like most people saw in Diablo II we have 60 levels of awesome; at every level you'll get a meaningful and noticeable increase in power. It has a ton of other benefits and fixes a lot of problems a higher cap causes, but I'll take pause.

GameBanshee: Bashiok Diablo III Comments

Blizzard Entertainment

Diablo III

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Electronic Arts has announced the release of Barnacle Bay, a downloadable content update for The Sims 3. The pirate themed downloadable expansion includes new objects, locations to explore, Create-a-Sim assets, and Sims characters.

Nestled in the Simuyan Sea, the island of Barnacle Bay used to be a resting place for sea voyagers. The first settlers of the island were fishermen, pirates and artists, all looking for better lives. Today, the island is considered a vacation getaway, boasting vibrant beaches, campgrounds, and a new downtown emulating urban life. Will your trip be a vacation or a staycation?

Features:

• Meet new Sims, discover the world's secrets, and unwind at Barnacle Beach
  
• Enjoy 18 all-new exclusive objects and clothing only available in Barnacle Bay
  
• In Barnacle Bay - Having lunch on a Pirate Ship is only part of the to-do list:
  
  
  • Grab a bite to eat at Hogan's Deep Sea Diner before fishing at Ophelia's Fishing Hole
    
  • Explore the mystery hidden in Pirate's Hideaway or meet new Sims at The Wanderer's Watering Hole
    
  • Discover the mysterious Barnacle Bay lore by exploring the abandoned piers of Founder's Beach and the relics found within the Goldbeard Galleon Gallery

The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay

Electronic Arts

TransGaming

The Sims 3

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