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Feral Interactive has announced that SEGA mascot Sonic the Hedgehog and over 25 other fan-favourite SEGA characters are coming to the Mac this summer. Developed by Sumo Digital Ltd. and published by SEGA for consoles and PC, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and SEGA Superstars Tennis will bring the world’s speediest blue hedgehog to the Mac for the very first time.

“I started my games career at SEGA many years ago, and it’s an utter delight to bring these games and their characters to the Mac,” said David Stephen, Managing Director of Feral Interactive.

“We are incredibly excited to be working with Feral Interactive to bring these titles to Mac users worldwide,” said David Corless, Sonic Brand Director at SEGA Europe Ltd. “Leveraging the latest Game Center technology will allow Mac gamers to experience thrilling online races of Sonic & Sega All-Stars; a SEGA title that is pushing a new and exciting progression in multiplayer gaming on Apple systems.”

A star-studded line-up including Doctor Eggman, Tails, Shadow the Hedgehog, Alex Kidd and Super Monkey Ball’s Aiai will battle it out not only in single player and split-screen multiplayer modes, but also online using Apple’s Game Center technology, a feature of the next version of Mac OS X, Mountain Lion. 

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing sees Sonic and friends race cars, motorbikes and even a “bananamobile” across crazily inventive tracks inspired by the incredible worlds of the SEGA games. Players must find secret shortcuts and use hilarious power-ups to give them the edge, making Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing an exhilarating ride for family, friends and online challengers.

SEGA Superstars Tennis pits classic SEGA characters against each other across four smashing (geddit?) tournaments on totally outrageous tennis courts. Players can also put their racket skills to the test in twisted minigames inspired by classic SEGA titles such as House of the Dead, Space Harrier and Super Monkey Ball.

SEGA Superstars Tennis

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

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TopWare Interactive and independent development studio Alkemi Games have announced an official partnership to bring Alkemi’s puzzle-shooter hybrid Transcripted to digital storefronts worldwide in late July 2012. The game combines elements of shooter and matching gameplay, putting players in control of a Nano Probe and tasking them with destroying a deadly disease.

“Transcripted was born from a random idea we had while tinkering with a pair of fairly classic genres,” stated Alkemi co-founder Alain Puget. “Throughout the game’s development we worked to create a coherent and original mix of puzzle and shooter gameplay elements that we hope will appeal to, and capture the hearts of a wide range of players.”

“From the start, Topware has shared our passion and enthusiasm for the game’s concept,” said Alkemi co-founder Mickaël Mouillé.  “Their involvement in the project has tremendously aided us in making our vision of Transcripted a reality.”

History’s greatest battles have always been fought at scales too small for the human eye to see. The microcosm is a violent, chaotic world, where the struggle for existence rages between countless organisms every second of every day… until now. The game has changed- a disease unlike anything in nature has recently been discovered infecting humans, and is spreading fast. This xeno pathogen has proven to be immune to traditional methods of treatment; only the most cutting edge weapons have any hope of stopping the disease before it reaches epidemic proportions. Enter the Nano Probe- a microscopic, experimental device controlled remotely from outside the body by a crack team of engineers and scientists. Like a miniscule master assassin, the Nano Probe is equipped with advanced prototypical weaponry from laser blasters to homing rockets to help it destroy its quarry. Take control of the Nano Probe to annihilate this threat before it wipes humanity from the face of the earth.

Transcripted is a mixture of two incredibly addictive and vastly popular casual gaming genres: the dual-stick shooter and the match three puzzle game. In Transcripted players take control of the Nano Probe, a microscopic apparatus used to combat disease. With the aid of a skill tree that improves ship equipment, health, shields and the Nano Probe’s arsenal of upgradeable weapons, players must successfully navigate through hordes of deadly pathogens to destroy the disease’s pseudo-DNA as it twines perilously on its endless path to infection. Along the way players must defeat gigantic boss colonies the pathogen has evolved with the sole purpose of stopping the Nano Probe from completing its mission. Difficulty levels of both puzzle and shooting segments can be adjusted independently to suit every play style, making Transcripted an incredibly replayable experience.

Transcripted

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TransGaming and Disney Interactive Studios have announced the Mac release of Brave: The Video Game. Based on the upcoming Disney•Pixar film, the game lets players take the role of Pixar's first female hero as well as other characters from the film.

Be Fast. Be Strong. Be Clever. Be Brave.

Play as Merida, Pixar's first female hero and an expert archer, or as Will 'o the Wisp & other popular characters from the new Disney/Pixar film, as you run, jump, and battle your way through the rugged landscape of mythical Scotland. With your wits and bravery, face off against fierce enemies to end a magical curse and save the kingdom!

Features:

• Third-person action-adventure in which player uncover secrets and break a magical curse
  
• Battle fierce enemies with your sword, bow and arrow
  
• Jump, dodge and climb through rugged environments
  
• Hear the voice of Merida as you play the game
  
• Discover new characters and costumes inspired by the film

Requirements:

• OS: Mac OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard or higher
  
• CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor
  
• MEMORY: 2GB RAM
  
• HDD: At least 2.5 GB of uncompressed hard drive space
  
• VIDEO: AMD HD2600 or NVIDIA® 9600GT or Intel® HD 3000 with at least 256 MB VRAM or higher. Other Intel integrated chips are NOT supported.
  
• INPUT: Keyboard and mouse, or Logitech Dual Analog Stick gamepad

Brave

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IGN has posted a new review of Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & Kings, the recently released expansion for the popular civilization building strategy title. The expansion "takes players from founding the first Pantheon of the Gods and spreading religion across the world, to deploying spies in enemy cities to steal information and technology, and much more."

From the review:

The most substantial addition by far, the very reason to get Gods and Kings, comes from the addition of religion and espionage. But this isn’t the religion you know. It’s an entirely new system based around the new Faith resource. New structures exist to build Faith, and once you gain enough you can found a basic form or religion called a Pantheon. Eventually you can accumulate enough Faith to create Great Prophets, using them to create a religion of your own devising by selecting a number of traits from a pool shared amongst everyone. This means that as you pick a trait for your religion, say, +1 happiness for each city that follows it, no one else can have it. Ever. Hence a new race begins in the early game, with civilizations competing over who can get the best religious traits. Additionally, the types of traits you pick can greatly shape how you play. Want to be an aggressor? Pick traits that allow you to use Faith to buy units, or that give you bonuses to fighting near towns that believe in what you do. Alternatively you could go for an expansionist route, selecting options that give your believers a faster birth rate, or help them when dealing with City-States.

Likewise, espionage informs the way you play through enhancing current systems rather than creating entirely new ways to win. Eventually you will be awarded spies as you progress through the tech tree, which you can then plant in enemy cities to find out what they're making or gather intel you can give to other civilizations for small political gain. Alternatively, your spies can be planted in your own cities to serve as counter-agents, or even hop into City-States to rig elections or attempt coups. Your interaction with your spies is limited to little else than telling them where to go, but wise placement can have far reaching consequences. For instance if you're going for a political victory, you could have spies turn City-States to allies, making them vote for you in the United Nations. You could also steal important technologies, progressing you down the science victory route at an advanced rate. It's just really satisfying to set them loose for a few turns, reaping the benefits without having to do a lot of micro-management.

IGN: Civilization V Gods & Kings Review

Aspyr Media

Civilization V: Gods & Kings

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