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Today's shredingest video: Guitar Hero III victor
Game Revolution's Nick Tan recently played Guitar Hero III song, Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce, on expert. That website describes it as the hardest in the game, designed to be "unbeatable." And Nick conquered it.Yes, weeks before you adoring, fake guitar fans get a chance to play, the hardest song has been bested by a player on his fourth attempt. The video of the event is mediocre, and the moment of triumph is anticlimactic. ("Go balloons, go balloons, we need more balloons. ...") But we were still floored watching this face-melting song --and player -- in action.Be amazed by the clip after the break.
Guitar Hero III previewed, will release Oct. 28
Gametap's got a quick look at the new Guitar Hero sequel, coming out for the Mac later this year, and the biggest news is that they've got a date: the PC and Mac versions are shipping simultaneously with the consoles on October 28. Rock on! Apparently you'll also be able to use the mouse and keyboard to play (although, come on, Guitar Hero is all about that guitar controller that ships with the game), and this part is pretty slick, too: PC and Mac users will be able to play against (or with) each other online. Very, very nice.No system requirements yet, but I'm guessing that, like Tiger Woods and Madden, this is going to be for the non-integrated video cards only. Still, if you've got the kit to run it, it'll definitely be a good time. Our sister games blog Joystiq has rounded up the entire setlist for the game, with YouTube links to every song in it. In fact, if you've already got Frets on Fire working, you can start practicing now -- you'll need it if you want to shred against me.
Determine your gaming specs with Aspyr Game Agent
Here's a cool freeware utility for Mac gamers (who love Aspyr especially). When you launch The Aspyr Game Agent (TAGA), it compares your machine's specs to the system requirements of their titles, and displays good matches. If you search for a game that won't run well on your machine (according to the system requirements, at least), TAGA suggests appropriate system upgrades.It's convenient and fun, though limited to a single manufacturer's catalog. It's also free (and Universal). If you're a hard core Aspyr fan, check this one out.[Via Twitter]
Guitar Hero III coming to the Mac this year
If you've never played Guitar Hero, you've been missing out. It's quite an experience - you play with a special guitar controller, and as notes fly towards you on the screen, you hit both fret buttons and a strum bar in time to real life rock music. I'm a huge fan of the series, having played the original on PS2, and Guitar Hero II on my Xbox 360. Now, Mac owners will can to take the stage: Aspyr Media has announced that they're bringing the series' third iteration to the Mac.Guitar Hero III is scheduled to be released in October on the consoles and PC. Aspyr will release a hybrid Windows/Mac box, complete with USB guitar. System requirements haven't been released yet, but I'd expect any PC version to have everything the console versions do. The complete setlist contains pretty much any kind of rock you're interested in, from Rage to Bloc Party to Kiss, and even the D and gamer favorite DragonForce.Sounds awesome. Considering the guitar is just a USB device, how cool would it be to integrate it with Garageband? Here's hoping Aspyr stays on beat, and makes the PC/Mac version available shortly after the console release. Until then, you may always rock it out with Frets on Fire. Throw the horns!
Aspyr (not EA) releases Sims Pet Stories for Mac
Good news for you Sims completists out there (or anyone with a daughter on a MacBook): Aspyr Media has released Sims Pet Stories, the standalone Sims Pets game that lets you train, play with, and care for cats and dogs destined for the Pet Show. The reviews aren't exactly shining, but according to the user ratings at the bottom of the page, anyone who wants a cute and funny game that runs on a Mac should like it.Of course, the more cynical side of me notes that this is yet another Electronic Arts game being ported by Aspyr instead of being released directly by EA. What did they promise us at WWDC again? [via MacWorld]
Aspyr porting Neverwinter Nights 2
Aspyr, maker of many Mac game ports, has confirmed they're working on a port of Neverwinter Nights 2 for the Mac. The game features straight-up D&D action in the Forgotten Realms setting, and while not quite as critically acclaimed as Neverwinter Nights (that one was made by Bioware, after all), it did grab a pretty respectable rating of 82 over on Metacritic.There is one problem-- the toolset that players can use to create their own content which came with the PC version won't actually be ported to Mac (more evidence that we're getting leftovers). Those of us who buy NWN2 on the Mac will still be able to play that created content, and join up to all the persistent world servers players have put together (and some of that stuff is pretty cool). No release date yet, but we'll keep you posted.[via MacBytes]
Aspyr looking for a few good Wii developers
Famous for bringing a slew of games to the Mac gaming public, as well as the incredible Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse (developed by Wideload Games), Aspyr has placed job listings via Gamasutra for Mid/Sr Level Console Programmers, asking that the Wii be one of the platforms said applicant has experience with. And, personally, we feel this is one of the very few instances where a port to the Wii wouldn't be a bad thing (we'd play Stubbs again with enhanced Wii controls, for sure).[Via Codename Revolution]
Dreamfall bundled with Longest Journey, at retail and Steam
Never had a chance to check out adventure gaming classic The Longest Journey or its sequel, Dreamfall? Want to get in before that episodic Dreamfall content starts? Think Ragnar Tørnquist is awesome? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then Aspyr wants you to know about Dreamfall Game of the Year Edition, available at retail for $29.99 this May. What that gets you: the original The Longest Journey, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and the MTV award-nominated original soundtrack for Dreamfall: The Longest Journey." Not a bad deal.Interested in the bundle, but have an unhealthy aversion to leaving the house? Well, this is your week. Valve recently announced the adventure titles are available now as a bundle on their Steam distribution service for $34.95, and the previously unavailable The Longest Journey is available alone for $9.95. Interested? Enjoy 20% off both titles all this week (that's cheaper than the boxed version)!
Create iPod quizzes with free utility
Aspyr Media has released iQuiz Maker, a free Mac utility to create quizzes for Apple's iPod game, iQuiz. With a free PC version scheduled for May, maybe educators will begin using iPods as teaching tools in the same way as PSPs. While the iQuiz tool is suited to trivia games, we hope that Aspyr or others will release simple iPod game tools for other genres. However, our wish is tempered by how closed the iPod is to developers; there would be a lot of great games--and sure, bad ones too--if anyone could program for that MP3 player.
LEGO Star Wars goes Universal
A long time ago, in a squarish galaxy far, far away... Aspyr media, in an effort to save Mac users of the planet Earth from certain doom and boredom, released a Universal patch for LEGO Star Wars. That's right: it's been a while since we've had to write about an app (finally) going Universal (Adobe CS3 notwithstanding), and even longer since I've had the opportunity to make a Star Wars pun, so there it is. All joking aside though, Aspyr apparently released this patch earlier in the month, but I just caught it in today's newsletter. You can snag the 4.71MB update from Macgamefiles.com.
Mac publishers expect 2007 rebound, iPhone games uncertain [Macworld Expo]
Mac game developers and publishers at this year's Macworld Expo expect 2007 to be a significantly better year for the platform, with more releases and sales. The Mac companies are looking forward to the iPhone and hope to develop for that platform, but none we spoke with over the show week expected to have that opportunity since the iPod has eluded them. The companies said last year's transition to Intel hardware stalled the Mac gaming industry and closed or slowed several competitors. Ian Lynch Smith, president of Freeverse told us, "Everyone else in the industry ran for the hills. That's why there were very few releases last year versus the year before." His brother and vice president, Colin Lynch Smith, remained positive, saying, "2007 should be a great year for [Mac] games." (Disclosure: This writer has created occasional trailers for Freeverse.)David Stephen, head of Feral Interactive, said the "outlook is decent" for this year. "We're benefiting from growth in Apple's installed base," he added. Stephen also looks forward to the thinner number of competitors, saying the few remaining game companies "[make] it a little less competitive."The companies respond to the iPhone after the break.
Aspyr Media updates, digital distribution plans (Macworld Expo)
Mac games mainstay, Aspyr Media is showing of its latest and upcoming titles at the Macworld Expo. Easily the company with the most Mac game releases in recent years, Aspyr will ship the Mac version of its Best in Show, Prey to retailers next week, with Star Wars: Empire At War next on the company's Mac list. Aspyr also reminded us its PC and PS2 title, The Shield, will also ship to stores next week.In addition to upcoming games, we learned more about the company's Game Agent digital distribution service for Mac gamers. Currently a method of testing Mac hardware to see if new games will run, Game Agent will be relaunched this year to offer a back catalog of Aspyr titles that don't fit on retail shelves.The Mac-only service -- at least initially -- will sell older titles mostly as-is, although some may be updated to work better with the latest version of OS X on a case-by-case basis. OS 9 games, however, will be unlikely to be updated to Mac OS X versions, and Aspyr may not offer those games at all.Aspyr wants to include as many games as possible, but it needs to clear the rights for its older Mac titles, most of which were PC ports. We asked about the potential for small Mac developers to sell games though the service, and we were told that may happen, but that's not the focus. Instead, marketing director, Leah Heck told us Aspyr first wants to "give people access to the back catalog and make it easy to play."
MacBowl charity event raises $24,000 (Macworld Expo)
Aspyr Media and Macworld magazine hosted their seventh annual MacBowl contest Thursday night. The Macworld Expo tradition pits Mac companies against each other while raising money through team fees for the San Francisco Unified School District.This year's competition raised $24,000, while the total -- including previous years -- reached $146,000 donated to local schools. Mac gaming companies have historically been big team sponsors, although this year's limited gaming presence left just Freeverse and Aspyr with event teams, while Microsoft, Elgato, and many others fielded competitors.
Metareview - Gothic 3
Piranha Bytes is frequently credited as the originator of the vast, living worlds showcased in their RPG series Gothic. Unfortunately, this German developer's roleplaying adventures also carry the stigma of non-intuitive interface design, a flawed combat system, and production values that are inconsistent at best. Having just been released in the States, Gothic 3 once again finds the series lost in translation with poor (and sometimes nonexistent) voice acting, and a host of bugs that make it difficult to recommend. Still, those willing to struggle with the controls and wait for patches will find a well-implemented faction influence system that hints at Gothic's still unrealized potential. EuroGamer (80/100) was willing to overlook many of Gothic 3's shortcomings: "This time, however, by concentrating on evolving in its own niche, number three succeeds on its own terms: an interface that actually works, a modern lick of paint, and an (albeit misfiring) attempt to revise its fighting system; now's as good an opportunity as ever to step onto that carousel of orc-bashing familiarity." Pro-G (60/10) suggests waiting for updates, but was fascinated nonetheless: "So, what have I listed up so far for Gothic 3? Terrible graphics, dialogue and narration, and a needlessly resource-hungry engine that renders a large amount of the game unplayable? Yep, check all those. But, ludicrous as it sounds, Gothic 3 has some strangely addictive and compelling qualities that I really have no explanation for." GameSpy (30/100) drew many comparisons to Oblivion: "The difference is that while the basic design of the Gothic games is equal (and occasionally even superior) to Bethesda's offerings, they've also labored under terrible coding, a god-awful number of bugs and weird design decisions that make the releases (including Gothic 3) fail to even come close to fulfilling their potential." See also: Metareview - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Sims 2 Pets will be shedding on the Mac
See Sim Spot run. See Sim Spot chew your Sim's shoes and then chase the Sim neighbor's Sim cat up a tree. Life is about to get a lot hairier for your Sims, but at least Mac gamers will be getting their creature comforts in November, just a few weeks after PC owners. The Sims 2 Pets is the fourth expansion pack in the series, and will feature over 80 breeds of dogs and cats. Better get out the Sim vacuum. See also: Sims on a plane
Sims 2 wins best Mac game award
Aspyr Media's latest newsletter features a summary of the company's participation at last month's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, where they took home the Best Mac OS X Game award for The Sims 2. Also recognized in the Apple Design Awards was runner-up Wing Nuts 2: Raina's Revenge from Freeverse. While Apple isn't doing much for Mac gaming on the hardware front, Aspyr discusses their plans for using OS X Leopard's XCode developer toolset in future Mac game releases. You can download the Universal Binary update for The Sims 2 here.
Gothic 3 contest, expansion pack announced
Aspyr Media and Nvidia are co-sponsoring a contest to promote Gothic 3, and the top prize is a "high end" AMD-powered gaming rig that features a GeForce 7800 GTX graphics card. The game itself isn't due until November, but German developer JoWood is already planning an expansion for their third entry in the cult favorite RPG series. According to CEO Albert Seidl, "We are already working on add-on packages of SpellForce 2 and Gothic 3 series, which will partially be launched in 2007." The SpellForce 2 expansion, Dragon Storm, was announced earlier this summer, and is scheduled to ship in Europe right around the time Gothic 3 launches.[via RPGDot]
Aspyr finally gets a clue, releases Quake 4 demo
Forgive the bitter headline, but I'm sick of Mac game companies releasing games, especially ones as massive and significant as Quake 4, without a demo. This gripe is further compounded by the fact that the current state of Mac gaming is so demanding of hardware; yes, it's certainly improving, but many of these games require a PowerMac G5 or, now with the Intel switch, at least an iMac or a MacBook Pro to run them with any decent amount of detail and frame rate. Releasing $50 games without the ability for users to test them first is shooting oneself in the foot, and apparently, companies like Aspyr seem to have no shortage of feet.With that small bit of editorial out of the way: Aspyr has (finally) released a demo of Quake 4! Hooray! Both a torrent and a direct download link of the 536MB Universal Binary demo are available from MacGameFiles. Enjoy.[via MacMinute]
Gothic 3 in-depth preview
If Oblivion's success is any indication, the upcoming Gothic 3 may also prove to be a breakout hit for fans of expansive, free-form RPGs. GameSpy has a new in-depth preview of the latest entry in Piranha Bytes' cult classic series, which failed to find much of a North American audience in its first two installments.Like Fable 2 and Mass Effect, Gothic 3 will place heavy emphasis on moral decision making as a means to influence every aspect of your game experience. Faction allegiance is also important, and there will be plenty of guilds to join and masters to learn from. Now, all publisher Aspyr needs to do is clean up the English voiceovers from their German counterparts. Viel Glück! See also: Single player RPGs are alive and well
Aspyr moves Mac owners into The Gamerhood
Aspyr has announced plans to launch a new game downloading service intended specifically for Mac gamers. Dubbed The Gamerhood, the application will enable gamers to purchase and download full Mac titles directly to their spinning platters, neatly avoiding disc-based media and inept cashiers in the process. Some of the promised features of the service include the automagic checking of system requirements, easy access to game patches and effortless organization of your personal catalogue.The service launches in Fall 2006, giving Aspyr plenty of time to prep that elusive, purely hypothetical Mac version of Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and start up the online catalogue with a bang. If The Gamerhood can strike a balance between content and convenience, Mac gamers may find it awfully difficult to resist. If not, endless "gamer ghetto" jokes are sure to ensue (and they will all be terrible).[Via TUAW]
