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Virtual Programming has announced the release of Darkest of Days for Mac. Originally developed by 8monkey Labs the first person shooter follows the adventures of Alexander Morris, a soldier who must hop through time to protect specific people at key points in history in an effort to preserve the space-time continuum.

"You're our last, best chance to keep history intact, so no pressure, buddy." That's Kronotek's Agent Dexter speaking to the player in Darkest of Days, Virtual Programming's latest action-packed release for Mac OS X. Gamers step into the time-traveling shoes of Alexander Morris, who Agent Dexter plucks from the ranks of General Custer's army during the Battle of Little Big Horn. Now he must travel through history and relive some of its most famous events while protecting those whose survival is crucial to the space-time continuum.

"Time travel offers many opportunities not only for unique gameplay but also fascinating storytelling, and Darkest of Days offers a cornucopia of both," said Mark Hinton, Virtual Programming's CEO and its foremost expert on the ins and outs of time travel, including that most dreaded of possible side effects, the space-time paradox. "It features realistic recreations of major historical events as well as so many twists and turns in the story that you won't be able to catch your breath until it's over."

Players' quest to keep the space-time continuum intact begins with the Civil War's Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Tannenberg during World War I. They soon learn that a mysterious organization called the Opposition is using its own time travel technology to stop them from protecting a Union Army corporal and a Russian Army officer. Darkest of Days' storyline later takes players to a World War II POW camp and Pompei on the day in 79 AD that Mount Vesuvius erupted.

By the end, players will learn the shocking secret behind the Opposition's motives, and they'll have had a chance to use futuristic weapons on long-ago battlefields. Enemies encountered in each of the game's five time periods fight the way combat was conducted then, heightening the immersive realism and allowing players to adopt different types of strategies for success.

Features:

• Brand New Engine: The dedicated team at 8monkey Labs has created an all-new, groundbreaking game engine known as Marmoset. The Marmoset engine not only breaks from the all-too present Unreal engine FPS clones flooding the market, but also allows for some amazing graphical capabilities. You'll fight through epic battles filled with literally hundreds of NPCs on the screen at the same time, all with an advanced AI and all without a hint of graphical slowdown and all set against wide-open environments that are lushly detailed and dynamically lighted.
  
• Compelling Storyline: Darkest of Days is a compelling, action-packed first-person shooter to be sure, but it's not just mindless run-and-gun, blow 'em up gameplay. You'll have to not only think about how to approach certain key battles and situations, but you'll also have to take care when fighting — certain key people that were never meant to die will be marked with a special blue aura. If you kill them, you'll face dire consequences…
  
• Wreak Havoc with Future Weapons in Antiquity: Something nearly every gamer that's ever played a shooter based in the past has always wanted is the ability to bring a futuristic weapon back through history and kick some major butt. How differently would Custer's last stand have turned out if the General was equipped with an M-16 assault rifle? You'll be able to answer questions like this in Darkest of Days. While not every battle and situation will allow you to wield weapons from the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to unleash futuristic fury on your unsuspecting foes.

System requirements:

• Mac OS X version 10.6.5, or higher
  
• 2.16GHz Intel processor
  
• 1GB RAM
  
• 128MB video card (GeForce 8600, Radeon X1600 or newer)
  
• 5GB Hard Disk space
  
• Internet connection for product registration

Virtual Programming

Darkest of Days

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Electronic Arts has announced that a special Limited Edition version of The Sims Medieval is available for pre-order. The Sims Medieval Limited Edition will launch in spring 2011 and feature exclusive content that will grant players access to three all-new, themed throne rooms with Barbarian, Dark Magic and Princess themes. Limited Edition owners will also get two exclusive outfit sets: the Monarch set featuring "a royally decked out king and queen", and the Executioner set which comes complete with "a leather apron and an intimidating black hood."

“With the Limited Edition version of The Sims Medieval, we are giving players several great bonuses for being among the first to experience our new standalone franchise within the world of The Sims, said Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studio.

The Sims Medieval is a brand new standalone game from The Sims Studio, creators of best-selling games such as The Sims™ 3, andmarks a departure from the traditional The Sims games with all-new features and gameplay. Set in medieval times, players now have the opportunity to build up a medieval kingdom, go on quests, level-up their characters and fulfill storyline elements. Players will find their Sims, the characters unique to The Sims games, in a variety of situations previously unknown to them like duels to the death, choosing whether to poison a witch or marry her and punishing Sims by having them thrown into the Pit of Judgment. Every quest plays out differently depending on which Hero Sim the player is controlling.

Everything in The Sims Medieval is crafted to create an immersive medieval world, from the quest-based gameplay, to the medieval objects such as swords and stocks and thrones, right down to the warm look of the characters and the painterly approach to the world itself. Players can choose to customize every new Hero Sim that comes to the kingdom, including selecting their traits and their fatal flaw. Players get close to their characters, not only sending them on epic quests, but also making sure they carry out their daily responsibilities such as healing the sick, trading for exotic goods, or forging armour.

Electronic Arts

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Blizzard Entertainment has announced the release of a demo version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the continuation of the popular StarCraft real time strategy series. The demo gives players access to the first three missions of the single player campaign and the chance to play as terrans in Skirmish mode vs a computer opponent.

If you haven’t yet experienced the intense strategic combat of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, you can get into the action today with the newly released demo edition. Featuring full access to the first three missions of the single-player campaign, as well as unlimited access to skirmish mode as the terrans versus an A.I. opponent, the free demo gives you an introduction to the cinematic storytelling and fast-paced gameplay of StarCraft II.

Begin your demo experience here. You don’t need a Battle.net account or Internet connection to play once you’ve downloaded the demo, but you will need both if you are ready to upgrade to the full version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. For more information on the demo, read the FAQ.

StarCraft II Demo Download

StarCraft II Demo FAQ

Blizzard Entertainment

StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

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Telltale Games recently announced that today is the release date for It's About Time, the first installment of the new Back To The Future: The Game episodic adventure series based on the classic films. The game takes place six months after the events of the third film in an adventure which challenges Marty and Doc Brown to save the space-time continuum.

Back to the Future: The Game brings the iconic 'Marty McFly', 'Doc Brown' and the DeLorean Time Machine together in a completely new cinematic adventure, which unfolds over five exciting episodes. Six months after the events of the third film, the DeLorean Time Machine mysteriously returns to Hill Valley. 'Marty' must go back in time and recruit aid from a resistant teenage 'Emmett Brown', or else the space-time continuum will be forever unraveled. Back to the Future: The Game features the likenesses of the original stars that made the characters of 'Marty McFly' and 'Doc Brown' legendary: Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd is voicing 'Doc Brown' for the full game series.

Telltale Games

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