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Graphsim Entertainment has announced the release of Falcon 4.0: Allied Force for Mac OSX. The game includes "numerous advancements over its predecessor, resulting in a flight simulation of incredible detail and realism." Some of the new additions include a new Balkans Theatre of Operations with 18 upgraded or new campaigns, new multiplayer engine, new high resolution terrain, and improved artificial intelligence.

"The Falcon franchise is one of the most successful flight sim properties ever created, and we've certainly built upon this legacy with Falcon 4.0: Allied Force," says Jeff Morgan, President of Graphsim Entertainment. "Exciting new scenarios, game mechanics, and vast feature set improvements have been added. We are certain the advanced play will be met with great enthusiasm from the Falcon fan base and Mac flight sim enthusiasts," he added.

The franchise that set standards for realism and accuracy for the flight sim genre returns to Mac with Falcon 4.0: Allied Force, one of the most comprehensive and powerful combat flight simulators ever made for non-military use. Based on the best multi-role fighter ever built, the U.S. Air Force's F-16 Falcon, Falcon 4.0: Allied Force offers new features and upgrades that enable players to simulate an entire war via the most advanced and truly dynamic campaign engine ever made for personal computers.

New advancements implemented in Falcon 4.0: Allied Force include a new Balkans Theatre of Operations with 18 upgraded or new campaigns; a new multiplayer engine with easy-to-setup user interface; new high-resolution terrain mesh and terrain textures, and vastly improved artificial intelligence for better ground strikes and air-to-air combat.

Other sophisticated features of Falcon 4.0: Allied Force include:

• Pilot three different variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon;
  
• Two operational theaters: Korea and the Balkans;
  
• A variety of air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder;
  
• Cooperative or adversarial multi-player flight over a LAN or internet;
  
• Wide-sweeping ground, air and sea radars;
  
• Real-world doctrine and tactics from wingmen in all aspects of their missions;
  
• AWACS assistance for finding targets when defending from interception;
  
• An array of challenging enemy aircraft, as well as sea and ground defenses - all of which employ real attack and defense tactics;
  
• Authentic Air Traffic Control procedures via your aircraft's radio.

GraphSim

Falcon 4.0: Allied Force

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Blizzard Entertainment has released version 1.4.0 of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The patch features several bug fixes, as well as minor interface changes.

A few of the changes in the update are listed below:

A new Career page displaying placement in past seasons has been added to the League & Ladders section of the Profile.

A new "View Ladder" button has been added to the league display at the bottom of the Quick Match screen. Clicking this button will take you directly to your ladder page.

The post-game score screen for ranked ladder games will now show icons next to each player's name indicating his or her league.

The upload timeout period for publishing custom maps has been increased significantly.

SLI performance has been improved.

When file corruption is detected in un-repairable files (replays, saved games, or downloaded maps), a prompt to run the Repair Tool will no longer occur.

StarCraft II: Patch 1.4.0 Release Notes

Blizzard Entertainment

StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

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Valve has announced new game modes for the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The new Arsenal modes are based on the popular Counter-Strike: Source mod : Gun Game, and are being developed in cooperation with the creators of the original mod.

Targeted for release on Mac OS and a variety of other platforms in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay made popular in the original Counter Strike. Counter Strike: Global Offensive will feature new maps, characters, and weapons as well updated versions of classic CS content. In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, and leader boards.

Arsenal Mode is based on the popular Counter-Strike: Source mod Gun Game. "Arsenal: Arms Race" and "Arsenal: Demolition" add eight new maps and expand on the classic Counter-Strike gameplay.

Valve is working directly with creators of Gun Game to create Arsenal Mode. "We are excited that Valve reached out and is working with us to ensure Arsenal Mode is the best version of Gun Game.", Michael Barr project lead of Gun Game.

Valve Software

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

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Inside Mac Games has posted a new review of State of Play's Lume. The puzzle adventure features a unique world crafted from paper and cardboard, as well as challenging puzzles designed to test players' visual, aural, and memory skills.

Here's an excerpt:

I did have a bit of trouble on some of the problems presented to me, but as time passed I managed to solve them without much trouble. The puzzles range from code cracking to classic piece matching. Each of these mini games tested my logic as well as my memory. A great brain training tool in my opinion. Some of these puzzles are a little abstract but with a little determination even I was able to crack the code. By solving these it does give you a sense of satisfaction and in the end makes it worth the brain strain.

IMG Review: Lume

Lume

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