For all those Mac gamers who are looking for something new to play, Rockstar has just released individual downloads of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy for you.
The individual downloads will see Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City being added to the Macintosh App Store. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released earlier in the past week, and is also available for purchase. The games are all priced at $14.99USD ($15.99AUD; $18.99NZD), and require Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later to run.
While GTA III and Vice City are decent-sized downloads at 705MB and 1.25GB respectively, San Andreas is a hefty 3.88GB. Comments on the Mac App Store suggest that San Andreas is also a bit laggy, so for those who want a smoother experience should opt for one of the former two.
Realistic and absorbing turn-based strategy game, Battle Academy, has made it onto the Mac after the game’s developers (Slitherine Ltd) have tweaked the specs to make it compatible across the board. The game is now seamlessly multi-platform across computers, allowing multiplayer as well as save games to be transferred between the two operating systems without issue. As Macs are quickly gaining a larger market share, this move was probably quite intelligent on the Slitherine’s part.
Battle Academy is an incredibly realistic WW2 strategy game, developed in accordance with the exact requirements of each side as provided by a military historian. With three epic campaigns and multiple units and nations the game encompasses an incredible amount of detail (which was always to be expected from a BBC game).
On top of this, a brand new add-on has been released for both PC and Mac, Battle Academy: Operation Market Garden with eight brand new single player missions, four multiplayer maps and the introduction of campaign mode. The add-on comes at the requirements and concerns of players, Slitherine listening and adapting to the needs of players, which is always nice to see.
For more information and a place to buy the game go here.
The highly successful cult-classic TV show Weeds has always been a favourite of mine. Why not? It’s a comedy about an apparent soccer mum who is actually a drug dealing, weed growing, loose morality-ed, woman stuck with a mortgage and limited options. So it’s not a huge surprise that Lionsgate (creators of the show) along with Ecko|Code wanted to capitalize on the popularity by combining it with something else hugely popular. Yes, Facebook. And then Weeds Social Club was born.
Mytopia are the developers behind this incredibly alternative social game, and all sides have a strong investment in the project. It allows club members to buy, sell and grow their product with other club members around the world. There’s a time-clock system similar to the ever-popular Farmville and the whole point of the game is to make as much dough as possible.
Though the content of the game is illegal in most countries, it steers clear of condoning usage of marijuana, pretty much just leaving it as a popular and expensive product that you are trying to move. The game is free and heavily dependent on the social aspect of Facebook, which ties in well with the drug dealing dynamic. It loosely follows the TV show with some of the lead characters making appearances or the risks and rewards faced in the episodes reflected in the game.
For more information visit the Facebook page and see if you can become Weed King of the Neighbourhood.
With the announcement of a Nintendo press conference to be held on September 13, there have been a few rumours flying around that the big announcement might be the release of a 3DS lite. Alongside this, there have been rumours of a second circle pad to be added to the 3DS. Images of this peripheral for the 3DS have emerged from Famitsu Magazine, which shows it fitting around the outside of the handheld. Right now the price and release date are listed as “TBA”. There is also speculation that the extra circle pad is for the game Monster Hunter Tri G, the 3DS Monster Hunter title. Let us know what your thoughts about this announcement and image are. Does the 3DS really need a second circle pad?
Rod Land: Fairy Tale has gone through many stages and consoles, from Arcade cabinet to the NES and finally now DotEmu has released it on iOS. For those of you who want to travel back to the 90s but not sacrifice your touch controls, Rod Land is a great reboot of a classic.
You are a small fairy whose mother has been kidnapped by a giant scary crow, and you have to fight your way through 60 old-school levels to rescue her. There are two modes, story mode where you try to get the highest score and survival where you only get 5 lives to try and make it through.
As well as being a throwback, DotEmu have included modern-day features with Facebook, OpenFeint and Game Center features for your enjoyment to unlock, share and boast.
Check out the trailer below and take the trip back to good ol’ 90’s gaming!
Rod Land is available for $1.99 from the iTunes store. So go get reminiscing!
With Borderlands 2 in the works for a 2012 release, developers Gearbox want your input on the franchise. A short survey has just gone live, with a handful of questions about the things that are important to you about the game and it’s sequel. What’s most important to you about enemies? Do you want different options for vehicle control? Do you want to be able to smash that little introductory robot to smithereens?
Ok so that last one was mine, but Borderlands was a fantastic game and it’s great to see that Gearbox are going to try and take into account what the fans want from a sequel – after all, we already know there is going to be local co-op online this time around. Hand over your name and email address (totally optional) and complete the short survey to be in with a chance to win some Gearbox goodies.
Love your zombie games but keen to see what it’s like on the other side? Well you’re in luck because Infect Them All HD has arrived on iPad. Magic Cube and AQSystem has teamed up to develop this table-turning zombie game. Infect Them All HD gives you the chance to wander around with your glazed over yet threatening stare and bloody features to your heart’s content. The aim of the game is to infect and eat as many healthy humans as possible, making a contribution to the zombie apocalypse and the inevitable demise of the human race.
Fight as five types of playable zombies against over twenty enemies, in a variety of campaigns and modes such as Infinite, Survival and Blitz.
While the team over at HotGen have been in the kitchen busily preparing a sequel to their amazing iOS title, To-Fu: The Trials of Chi, they have also managed to dish out a deal for those of you who have yet purchase the original. For a very limited time, To-Fu: The Trials of Chi will be free on the App Store. Get in quick while this offer is around, this is a game you don’t want to miss. The sequel, To-Fu 2 is due out on Thursday 8th of September. Check out the trailer for HotGen’s brand new game below, or you can also read our review of the original To-Fu, or interview with To-Fu developer here at Capsule Computers.
Following from the slight kerfuffel on Microsofts behalf regarding the official release date of Guardian Heroes for XBLA, Sega have come forward and announced a new release date for the title. Originally seen on the old Sega Saturn, Guardian Heroes will return to XBLA on October 12th much to manies delight.
Guardian Heroes is a massively popular side scroller, which upon initial release received praise from all facets of the gaming industry. From its innovative style of play through to the magically crafted music, Guardian Heroes compiled a huge fan base who will delight in its HD upgrade.
Guardian Heroes will be available through XBLA and will cost 800 MP or $10 in real money so check out the trailer and get a glimpse of what will be a fantastic and nostalgic journey.
Golf is just one of those sports, either you like it or you hate it. Personally I can’t stand watching golf, I like sports that make you get on your knees and yell insults and get your blood pumping. Maybe when I’m older I’ll enjoy golf for its peacefulness and soft golf claps. Golf simulation games, however, are a different story. For me they fall just below tennis, they’re easy to understand, take some tactical planning, and I get into them far more than team sports.
Gameplay
For me the most difficult part of Real Golf was choosing my golfer. Real Golf comprises of a selection of Real Golfers from a variety of countries. Since there was no Tiger Woods or any other golfers I knew (my golf knowledge is limited to Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Stuart Appleby) I decided to go with the only Aussie in the lineup, Karrie Webb. I seem to have made a great choice with Karrie Webb, out of all the chicks she’s got the best drive and there’s nothing I love more than driving that tiny ball down the range. That may be because I suck at putting.
The game consists of several different modes, Instant play, Career mode, Challenge and Free play. Instant play lets you choose a golfer and then you play three holes on three different courses depending on which golfer you picked. Career mode involves you participating in tournaments (which vary in rules and length) around the world as provided by your handy little Real Golf Inbox. Challenges are self-explanatory, there are challenges that you either pass or fail. Some are easy; some are the most annoying things of all time – as with most challenges. Free play pretty much just lets you go through all the holes of a particular course and drive, putt and recover to your little heart’s content, in total there are ten courses which you have to unlock as you go.
The controls are pretty standard for a golf simulation. First you choose your club (I tended to skip this as I have no idea what the difference between any of those are, but it didn’t seem to affect my game too much which was good), then where you’re aiming, the power of your swing, and where you hit the ball – or if you hit it at all. There’s also a wind-meter but I never found that to be too effective either. The game makes it pretty straight forward, the power meter has a little flag as a reference to what power you should aim for, there’s another big yellow arrow to show you where to aim your drive, and the centre of the ball where you should hit it is the green part of the meter.
Putting is the most annoying part of the game for me, at first there is a grid with a line that shows you the path the ball will take and then you can aim the ball accordingly. As with all putting there are those near misses that will make you want to tear your hair out, but the biggest issue that really annoyed me was that there was a huge lag when it came to a ball being sunk. Not all the time, but half the time the game would freeze a couple times for a few seconds as the ball would stagger its way to the hole.
Playing competition mode, or just against any other characters, can be frustrating because you have to watch each player line up his or her swing. There is a ‘next’ button which fast-forwards from there to where their ball landed but if you’re playing through several holes you get tired of watching and waiting for others to finish their turn.
There is also a multiplayer version where you can either play online or create your own LAN room to compete against people you know. To be honest, I’ve always seen golf as a fairly solitary sport, but for those of you who would like to get their competitive spirit on, I encourage you to give it a go.
Visual
Visually, as with most animated Real people, it’s pretty shocking. The golfing greens and whatnot are fine, but the people are this awkward mess of angles that move unnaturally and don’t swing a club in a believable way. When you take a far shot the angle will change from behind the golfer to shooting from the hole and follow the ball in a way that isn’t necessary because you can’t see the thing anyway.
Audio
Real Golf 2011’s backing soundtrack absolutely screams golf game. The music wouldn’t have worked with anything else, either it was written for the game or chosen out of the variations of golf game soundtracks there already are.
Conclusion
Despite lag and graphic issues, Real Golf 2011 is still a decent golf game. It’s fun and a bit addictive, the career mode and challenges give you enough to do while also making you want to play through and earn that Real Golf cash.
