games - page 55

Dragon Age and its sequel (cleverly named Dragon Age 2) have provided PC and console gamers with deep, solid role playing set in an original fantasy world with engaging characters and a wide array of choices to make in storytelling and combat.

While the overarching story is what makes these games work so very well, the combat system, especially in the first game, is unique and compelling to play.

That makes the announcement of a new spinoff of the well-reviewed series, coming to Google Play and iTunes this fall, pretty darn spiffy, as Heroes of Dragon Age seems to focus solely on combat.

This is #BackToSchool week at Cult of Mac Deals. There will be several new deals launching each day. Check in here each day for new deals for #BackToSchool. There will be a ton of apps, gear, gadgets, games, and more to buy just in time for the start of school, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for deals that have school — and savings — in mind.

Games are a great escape. The more involved they are, the bigger the escape — which is just what a student needs every once in a while. The Mac has only become a mainstream platform for games in recent years, and the type of games that tend to be best served on OS X are simulation-style games. That’s why I game more on the Mac than in the past.

Cult of Mac Deals hasn’t shied away from offering games in recent deals (including a “name your own price” bundle), and another bundle is about to make its mark: The Total War Bundle.

Dungeons and Dragons, the venerable tabletop role playing game that arguably started it all, is changing. Currently owned and operated by Wizards of the Coast, the entire game universe is transitioning from the 4th Edition rule sets to what they’re calling D&D Next, a holy grail of streamlined gameplay rules and mechanics that the publisher hopes to spread to all current media, including video games.

It’s with that bit of background that DeNA/Mobage announced the first teaser trailer for a mobile version of Dungeons and Dragons called “Arena of War.” Check it out.

Rubicon, the developer behind successful iOS game, Great Big War Game, announced its latest game in development, Combat Monsters, an interesting mix of tactical, 3D monster battles with deck building card game mechanics.

The game is coming to iOS, Android, Mac, PC, and (what?) Blackberry fairly soon, so we thought it would be a good time to catch up with the Rubicon development team. We chatted with Paul Johnson, managing director and co-founder of Rubicon, about Combat Monsters. Here’s what he had to say.

Gone Home, developed by The Fullbright Company, is a newly released indie adventure game that’s getting quite a bit of buzz across the interwebs. Here’s the setup.

It’s June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM

You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something’s not right. Where is everyone? And what’s happened here?

How do you not want this game? Even better? It’s on sale right now through the 21st of August for $17.99 on Steam.

Champs Battlegrounds is an odd mashup of strategy board gaming and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mechanics. Quark Games has created something compelling, though, with this free-to-play iOS game, available on your iPad or iPhone.

Some of the folks behind Project Gotham Racing and Blur are bringing their racing game chops to iOS this fall with upcoming premium iOS game, 2K Drive. Developed by Lucid Games (Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery, Pixel Smash) and published by 2K Games (XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Borderlands Legends), 2K Drive aims to be everything a car-loving racing game fan could want, all on iPhone or iPad.

Shadowgun: DeadZone, the award-winning multiplayer shooter that has attracted millions of players on Android and iOS, is now available to download on your Mac.

Like its mobile counterparts, the desktop version is completely free, and you can even sign into the same account you’ve already been playing with — so all the characters and weapons you’ve upgraded will be available to you right away.

Apple spotlights a new iOS app each week as a special pick: the App of the Week. Last week, it was a gorgeously designed alarm clock, Rise, that caught Apple’s editorial fancy.

This week, it’s Namco Bandai’s Doodle Fit 2: Around the World, a delightfully drawn puzzle game that’s sure to keep you frustrated yet coming back for more with its maddeningly simple concept.

This highly anticipated game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe is now available on Mac and PC via Steam. The digital game is based on the popular two-player board game of the same name from Games Workshop, originally published in 1989.

The current digital iteration will feature a single player campaign of 15 missions, each set on the giant derelict spaceship (the “hulk” of the title), “Sin of Damnation.” There will also be multiplayer head-to-head action, oh yes.

PopCap has finally gotten around to releasing the new zombie game that everyone and their grandmother has been waiting for — Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time.

It’s been three long years since we were swept away with the original Plants vs Zombies, but we’re happy to say that Plants vs Zombies 2  is just as fun and addictive as ever, if not more so. Yes, you still plant sunflowers, harvest sun, and then use that to get more plants to destroy armies of zombies. But even though the gameplay is still the same, the adventure is more fun than ever.

Phobic Studios are best known for the collaborative development with Backflip Studios on runaway hit, Dragonvale, but the Boulder, Colorado-based company has been in the game for quite some time, spawning several entertaining mobile titles in the process. The company has just announced its next game, an action platformer game set in, well, a solar system.

In Glare, you’ll play as The Shiner, a being of light who must travel around a beautifully rendered solar system and save the sun itself from an evil threat. Glare will release in fall of this year on Steam for Mac, Linux, and PC systems.

Baldurs Gate fans, rejoice, as the classic role playing game, recently ported to iPad in Enhanced Edition, is back on the App Store after a couple of months.

The developers at Beamdog pulled the game in June after some sort of contractual dispute. That was a sad day, as Beamdog are true believers, and were planning to port Baldur’s Gate II to the iPad, while maybe even developing a Baldur’s Gate III if the second game were a success.

Almost half of the top 50 apps on iPad are unavailable or have not been optimized for competing devices that run Google’s Android operating system. That’s according to a new report from Canalys, which believes Google should be doing more to encourage top developers to build high-quality tablet apps for its platform.

Dots is a ridiculously fun, simple game that has taken iPhone and iPad owners by storm (and reduced my fingertips down to bleeding little nubs). In fact, the game has been downloaded more than 5 million times and played almost a billion times in less than four months.

Wouldn’t you like to get that on Android and Kindle Fire? Sure you would. Good news! It’s coming to Google Play today. And a new game mode is coming to all devices, including iPhones.

You’ve been waiting for months and months, and it’s finally time. Plants vs. Zombies 2 is finally available in the U.S. App Store after a soft launch last month in Australia and New Zealand.

The download is free, but there are in-app purchases for certain upgrades and power-ups. But it’s not the annoying kind of freemium like Real Racing; you can play through the whole game just fine without having to buy anything. We’ll have a full review up soon.

So what are you waiting for? The sequel to one of the best iOS games in history just came out. Get downloading!

Source: App Store

In a clever Facebook status update, the App Store posted a picture of a zombie hand, thrusting upward through the dirt. The caption reads, “It’s about time. Guess what game is coming tomorrow?”

That game can only be PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies 2, the highly anticipated sequel to smash hit Plants vs Zombies, a lane-based castle defense game that’s since appeared on every gaming platform known. PvZ2 was supposed to release last month in July, but was delayed here in the U.S.

Tomorrow, then, is the big day, and we’re excited.

Here’s an interesting little iOS game for you: Rock Paper Missiles is an evolved version of the classic Rock, Paper, Scissors hand game played by millions of kids across the globe. This game, though, is different in two ways. One, it’s a universal app on iOS, which means you can play it on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Two, it’s got missiles, flamethrowers and grenades.

Rock Paper Missiles is also gorgeously designed, with a monochromatic red-and-white color scheme that really complements the stark and confusing nature of the gameplay.

I don’t want to wax too rhapsodic about a gangster game, but Omerta: City of Gangsters has what it takes to keep me engaged for an afternoon of beer and liquor smuggling, along with mafia-style combat justice along the way. The music is delightfully consistent with the period, and the hand-painted interstitial artwork is simply gorgeous.

An omertá is a code of silence, typically associated with the Mafia, that focuses on non-cooperation with the police and non-interference with the activities of others, especially when illegal. Luckily, we don’t have to be too quiet about this enjoyable romp through 1920s America, developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Studios, the folks behind similar games like Tropico 4.

Populous. The Sims. Minecraft. There’s something about simulation games that I’ve always enjoyed. There are other ones that I’m too fond of (honestly, I find World of Warcraft almost too time-consuming for it to be enjoyable), and others that I will spend hours playing knowing there is a definite end point. Examples of ones I really enjoy would be the Fable series and Star Wars simulation-style games mainly because depending on the choices I make – being good or evil – can really affect the outcome.

Sim City was another I played for hours growing up, and there were several others which caught my attention from time to time that followed a similar theme. The “Tycoon” series of games were personal favorites, and this Cult of Mac Deals offer features one of those games – Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Platinum – for only $4.99!

Take a moment and breathe. That’s what new, meditative space building sim rymdkapsel wants us to do. The concept here is to create and expand a space station (rymdkapsel means “space capsule” in Swedish), defending against waves of ever tougher alien spaceships. The goal is to survive as long as possible, reaching up to four monolith structures.

The game itself–originally released on Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld–is hypnotic, slow-paced, and calming. There’s a strange sense of joy and peace that descends as players build their space station using Tetris-shaped block pieces, sending Pong-shaped minions to build new corridors, gather resources, research the monoliths, and take up arms to defend against the incoming waves of alien shooter ships.

Looks like the venerable video game company is looking to get in on some of GungHo’s Puzzle & Dragons action with Taito’s own arcade-music mashup iOS game, Groove Coaster Zero.

The two companies have just announced a new collaboration in which Groove Coaster Zero gets original and remixed background music from breakout hit Puzzle & Dragons as playable levels in Groove Coaster Zero. In addition, Puzzle & Dragons will get some special Groove Coaster Zero-themed dungeons along with classic Space Invader characters. That’s a mouthful, but super exciting, and it’s coming August 12.

Beaver Tap Games, comprised of Mike Meade and Mike Gaughen, has polished the speedrun hook game to a fine sheen. Echoing Rocketcat Games’ Hook Champ and Super QuickHook, the team’s first game, Mikey Shorts, garnered a ton of praise from critics and fans alike.

With this second release, Mikey Hooks, the team has again raised the bar for well designed levels, a whimsical art style, and a solid control scheme that works surprisingly well on the touch screen. Fans of the genre and newcomers alike will find plenty to love in this leveled speedrun platforming game.

Zepto Labs just released a new update for its popular Cut the Rope: Time Travel game. Now you can travel back in time to the Disco Era, complete with shiny disco balls and a groovy, disco-flavored soundtrack.

You’ll need to travel with Om Nom waaaaaay back in time to the world of the 1970s, meeting up with an ancestor who’s got all the moves, but one problem. All the spotlights in the era are destroying the candy. It’s up to you to cut the ropes and position a shiny disco ball to keep the spotlights from ruining all the sugary goodness.

Last week, The Drowning released on iOS to mixed reviews, many of which echoed our own. Most reviewers praised Scattered Entertainment’s control scheme but panned the gameplay itself as shallow and repetitive.

The game has been doing well, however, hitting the top five most downloaded free apps list on iPhone in 16 countries, and the top five free apps on iPad in 42 countries.

This week, then, The Drowning is getting a global in-game event: The Toxic Beast Hunt, letting players take part in a boss hunt together and compete for prizes, though to truly win, you’ll need to buy some gold.