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Inside Mac Games has posted a new review of Feral Interactive's XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Elite Edition. Developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games for Windows PC and consoles, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a re-imagining of the classic X-COM: UFO Defense.

Here's an excerpt:

Research is the foundation for developing better weapons and armor needed to defeat the aliens. During the time between battles you will need to interface with the head of your research team to decide which direction research will go. There are usually a number of possible projects to choose from. Deciding the best options for your game plan is important and one of the game’s biggest challenges. Spend too much time developing items for your ground troops and your aircraft battles eventually turn into disasters. Research includes projects like analyzing alien weapons, energy sources, exotic materials, along with the dissection of dead aliens recovered, and the study of live aliens that are captured. All generally lead to knowledge of the aliens and how to defeat them.

IMG Review: XCOM Enemy Unknown Elite Edition

Feral Interactive

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Elite Edition

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Soldak Entertainment has released patch version 1.020 for Drox Operative, its starship action RPG. The game puts players in the role of an elite starship captain and features warring alien races, fierce space battles, a dynamic and evolving galaxy, and co-op multiplayer.

Eons ago the Drox ruled the galaxy through their mighty Operatives. These elite starship captains were trained to accomplish the impossible at whatever cost necessary. Whether employing stealth or brute force, they were always deadly. Using these Operatives, the Drox built a starlane system for quick travel amongst the stars, colonized and conquered millions of planets, and ruled the galaxy with an iron grip for over 100,000 years. Eventually realizing their Operatives were a threat, they attempted to assassinate all of them. They failed. The following Galactic Civil War was devastating.

Thousands of years later, the Drox are extinct, but the secretive Drox Operative guild lives on. They have learned their lesson though: loyalty to any one race is foolish. They now work for whoever can pay. And pay they do! Empires might span hundreds of planets and thousands of ships, but when a critical task arises, they still turn to an Operative.

In the new space race, the major races are scouting, colonizing, and expanding, trying to take over the galaxy by diplomacy, technology, war, or any other means their scheming minds can contemplate.

As a Drox Operative it's NOT your job to manage all of those annoying people, build thousands of buildings, play nice with your enemies, or balance the budget. It IS your job to pick the winning side and maybe even help them conquer the galaxy if you're being nice, more importantly though is to rake in as many credits as possible, well that and build the coolest, deadliest ship in the known universe. Not many screw with an Operative captaining a Dreadnaught!

Features:

• Explore a dynamic and evolving galaxy
  
• Explore a unique sector of the galaxy in every game, with different "monsters", ship components, quests, and even races
  
• Fight in the galactic war between the various alien races
  
• Battle hundreds of different enemy starships
  
• Build the coolest and deadliest starship in the galaxy
  
• Outfit your ship with thousands of components and crew
  
• Adventure with your friends with co-op multiplayer

Drox Operative Patches

Drox Operative Patch Notes

Soldak Entertainment

Drox Operative

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Last week Feral Interactive released version 1.1 of Empire: Total War Gold Edition. In addition to new features like retina support and various stability improvements the update introduces online multiplayer to the game, with support for Apple's Game Center (Mac App Store only), and GameRanger (all versions).

Today heralds the release of Empire: Total War - Gold Edition 1.1, a free update carrying all the glory and excitement of the original game along with new elements forged in the furnace of hard fought combat over the last few months.

Empire: Total War - Gold Edition 1.1 unveils a number of new features, including retina support, stability improvements, gameplay statistics and perhaps most excitingly of all Online Multiplayer with full support for Apple's Game Centre (Mac App Store version only) and GameRanger (all versions).

To download the patch, Mac App Store customers should visit the Mac App Store and click on the "Updates" tab. Everyone else can simply open the Empire: Total War - Gold Edition application and follow the prompts to update automatically.

Empire: Total War Gold Edition Multiplayer Update

Feral Interactive

Empire: Total War Gold Edition

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Amplitude Studios, developer of the 4X space strategy title Endless Space, has announced work on Endless Legend, a new 4X fantasy strategy title. The game will give players the chance to take control of one of eight civilizations as they explore, conquer, and research their way to supremacy. As with Endless Space, Iceberg Interactive will serve as publisher for the new game.

“Creating a fantasy 4X game was a dream for all of us at Amplitude. The success of Endless Space and the support of our community have allowed to make this dream come true”, comments Mathieu Girard, CEO of Amplitude Studios. “With respect towards great games released before us, we intend to set a new benchmark in creating a rich, immersive, thrilling, and accessible 4X strategy game in a new fantasy setting”, he adds.

Erik Schreuder, CEO at Iceberg Interactive says: “4x strategy remains a key genre for us, whether set in a sci-fi or fantasy setting. We’re very excited to continue our co-operation with Amplitude Studios and are certain that Endless Legend will be another flagship title, when it releases in 2014.”

Story of Endless Legend:
Another sunrise, another day of toil. Food must be grown, industries built, science and magic advanced, and wealth collected. Urgency drives these simple efforts, however, for your planet holds a history of unexplained apocalypse, and the winter you just survived was the worst on record. A fact that has also been true for the previous five.

As you discover the lost secrets of your world and the mysteries of the legends and ruins that exist as much in reality as in rumor, you will come to see that you are not alone. Other peoples also struggle to survive, to grow, and perhaps even to conquer.

You have a city, a loyal populace, and a few troops; your power and magic should be sufficient to keep them alive. But beyond that, nothing is certain… Where will you go, what will you find, and how will you react? Will your trail be one of roses, or of blood?

Key Features:

• Explore legendary lands with one of the eight civilizations available both in single and multiplayer, as you adventure through seasons, striving to discover the secrets of Auriga.
  
• Expand beyond the unknown and send your heroes in every corner of the world to find mysterious artifacts to equip your troops, and assimilate powerful minor factions which will help you overwhelm your opponents.
  
• Exploit every opportunity by researching new technologies and magical powers while collecting Dust, luxuries and strategic resources tradable on the marketplace.
  
• Exterminate fools who defy you with a genuine combat system where terrain and your unit abilities are key to take the advantage over the enemy armies.

Endless Legend

Amplitude Studios

Iceberg Interactive

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Control Command Escape has posted a new review of BioShock Infinite, the soon to be released Mac version of Irrational Games' epic shooter. Brought to the Mac by Aspyr Media, BioShock Infinite introduces an "entirely new narrative experience that lifts players out of the familiar confines of Rapture and rockets them to Columbia, an immense city in the sky."

Special attention must be given to Elizabeth, who serves as your companion for the majority of the game. She has been supremely well-realised, both in terms of her animation (where she’ll saunter about the place, scamper off ahead of you, and stop to investigate paintings and so on), how she reacts to things that happen in the game, and how she actively helps you out without managing to get in the way. The first of those is probably the most striking whilst you play, and it becomes something of a joy to just pay attention to what you do. But where the developers really deserve credit is in resisting the temptation to make her a “girl with a gun”. Elizabeth abhors violence, and her assistance to you is merely in spotting points of interest, and scavenging and providing you with support. During a heated battle, she might yell that she’s found something, and throw you some ammunition or something to replenish your health or salt levels. Outside of combat, she’ll frequently throw you a coin she’s found somewhere (which happens too frequently for my liking) or spot a lockpick (which you can have her use to pick locks for you when you find them).

Control Command Escape: Bioshock Infinity

Aspyr Media

BioShock Infinite

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