More Music Hits the Sims 3
Sul sul zeedab nas! The Sims fans will turn up the volume on their HD and PC hardware this Autumn and rock out while playing The Sims 3 game on their PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360, and Wii or when firing up The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack for the PC or MAC. The EA Play Label announced today the robust music line-up for The Sims 3 for console platforms and The Sims 3 Late Night PC/MAC that includes music from a variety of genres such as hip-hop, alternative, pop, rock, electronic, and more. Artists from around the world including Travie McCoy, 3oh!3, Flo Rida featuring Jovi, Kelly Rowland, Kelis, and more recorded current or upcoming hit singles from their latest albums in an entirely new language, ‘Simlish,’ which is the official language of The Sims franchise.
Global artists and Simlish re-recorded songs featured in The Sims 3 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii include:
- 22-20’s – “Latest Heartbreak”
- 3oh!3 – “Double Vision”
- Aceyalone and RJD2 – “Ever Seen This”
- Aeroplane – “We Can’t Fly”
- Alpha Rev – “Phoneix Burn”
- Cody Simpson – “IY IY IY”
- Crash Kings – “You Got Me”
- deadmau5 – “Some Chords”
- Flo Rida featuring Jovi – “Fresh I Stay”
- Free Energy – “Free Energy”
- Hot Chip – “We Have Love”
- Innerpartysystem – “American Trash”
- Jasmine V – “All of These Boys”
- Jessica Mauboy – “Saturday Night”
- John Butler Trio – “Gonna Be a Long Time”
- Kidz in the Hall – “Flickin’”
- Lazee featuring Apollo Drive – “Calling Out”
- Mickey Factz – “Dreamland”
- Ozomatli – “Are you Ready?”
- School Of Seven Bells – “Dust Devil”
- The Dirty Heads – “Stand Tall”
The Sims 3 Late Night includes:
- 3oh!3 – “Double Vision”
- Bryan Rice – “There for You”
- Chiddy Bang – “Here We Go”
- Electrolightz – “Miss Outta Control”
- Eliza Doolittle – “Rollerblades”
- Foxy Shazam – “Unstoppable”
- Hadag Nahash – “Lo Maspik”
- Hadouken! – “M.A.D.”
- Jessica Mauboy – “Saturday Night”
- Junkie XL – “Live Wired”
- Kelis – “Brave”
- Kelly Rowland – “Rose Colored Glasses”
- King Fantastic – “All Black Ying Yang (The Party Song)”
- My Chemical Romance – “Na Na Na”
- Nikki & Rich – “Next Best Thing”
- The Ready Set – “More Than Alive”
- Soulja Boy – “Speakers Going Hammer”
- Travie McCoy – “Need You”
The Sims 3 Late Night gives players all-access and lets them loose on a vibrant, active downtown scene where they’ll rub elbows with celebrities at the hottest parties, hit the local bar after work, tour the scene with their Sims’ band, kick back in a plush hot tub, and discover what’s lurking in the thick of the night. Players will be able to take their Sims into the bustling urban setting where they’ll be able to become a celebrity, member of a music band, mixologist, director, and more. To gain entrance into the most elite clubs in town, players need to keep their attitude in check otherwise they’ll be given the cold shoulder by tough bouncers or find another way onto the list. If chilling is the player’s forte, their Sims can lounge at a chic club or dive bar. If they like to live on the edge, they can be initiated into the dark life of a vampire. Whether embarking on a new career, painting the town red, or throwing a party on the rooftop of a penthouse, it’s always up to the player to tell their unique stories with The Sims 3. What will happen when the lights go out and Sims get all-access?
For more information about The Sims 3 games or The Sims Late Night, please visit http://www.thesims3.com/.
Now on Mac, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
August 31, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, Video Games
BioWare’s Awakening expansion for Dragon Age: Origins is now on the Mac thanks to TransGaming. Set after the events of the core role-playing game in a new area called Amaranthine, Awakening puts gamers in the role of a Grey Warden trying to rebuild, traveling to Vigil’s Keep to assume command of the Wardens there. Players visit several locations while trying to recruit new members for the order.
Gamers can import existing characters, and accumulate extra spells, abilities and specializations. A new, intelligent breed of Darkspawn appears in the expansion, as well as an inferno golem and a spectral dragon.
Specs and Price
Awakenings requires Mac OS X 10.6.2, 2GB of RAM and a Core 2 Duo processor. Video hardware minimums are an ATI X1600 or NVIDIA 7300. Integrated Intel GPUs aren’t supported. The expansion costs $30 and requires a copy of Dragon Age: Origins to play.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent Coming to Windows and Mac
August 27, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, PC Games, Video Games
Frictional Games — best known for the Penumbra series — has announced that its next title, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, has gone gold. Amnesia is a first-person horror game, focusing on immersion. Players assume the role of Daniel, who awakens as an amnesiac in a castle, hearing screams and howls in the distance. The overriding goal of the game is simply to survive.
A video teaser consisting only of gameplay taken directly from the game is below.
The title uses a 3D, first-person perspective as players explore the castle. As a result the game requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6.4, along with a GeForce 6 or Radeon HD card, a 2.0 GHz processor, and 2GB of RAM. For PC it requires Windows XP/Vista/7, 1.5Ghz processor or greater along with ith aith a GeForce 6 or Radeon HD card.
Amnesia is due to ship on September 8th for $20, although pre-orders receive a 10 percent discount.
Logitech Ships a Multi-Platform Gaming Keyboard
August 5, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Hardware, Mac Games, Mac Hardware, PC Games, PC Hardware, Video Games
Logitech today released a multi-platform gaming keyboard, a rarity for that style of keyboard. The G510 will work with both Macs and Windows PCs.
There are 18 programmable macro keys, each of which has three different possible states. A set of audio input and output jacks also turns any traditional two-way headset into a USB audio device for voice chat and sound without having to plug directly into the computer. Like other Logitech gaming keyboards, G510 has an LCD to show game stats or system data depending on the context. All keys are backlit, and the lighting color can be changed.
The G510 is available now and costs around $120.
Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter Cell Coming this Fall to Mac
July 22, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, Video Games
Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction will finally appear on the Mac by September, details of the company’s next fiscal quarter show. The Mac releases will lag several months behind their console and Windows counterparts. AC2 was released for consoles in November of last year, and for Windows in March 2010
In AC2 players assume the role of Ezio, a man from 15th-century Italy who joins an ongoing conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. Gameplay is based on a blend of stealth, scaling rooftops and hand-to-hand combat. Conviction continues the story of former NSA agent Sam Fisher as he delves further into the death of his daughter. Players evade detection or clear out rooms full of enemies using a host of gadgets.
NASA’s New Lunar Adventure Video Game
July 7, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, PC Games, Video Games
NASA has given gamers a taste of lunar adventure with release of Moonbase Alpha, an exciting new, free online video game.
The game has single and multiplayer options that allow participants to step into the role of an exploration team member in a futuristic 3-D lunar settlement. Players must work to restore critical systems and oxygen flow after a meteor strike cripples a solar array and life support equipment. Available resources include an interactive command center, lunar rover, mobile robotic repair units and a fully-stocked equipment shed.
The game is a proof of concept to show how NASA content can be combined with a cutting-edge game engine to inspire, engage and educate students about agency technologies, job opportunities and the future of space exploration. Moonbase Alpha is rated “E” for everyone.
It is the first game in NASA’s Learning Technologies project. The project supports the delivery of NASA content through interactive technologies such as virtual worlds, games and software applications to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.
Moonbase Alpha is a precursor to a planned NASA-based massively, multiplayer online game project. The project is being designed to have content and missions that require players to gain and demonstrate STEM knowledge to succeed.
NASA released the game on Valve’s Steam network. The agency will use the Steamworks suite of services for server browsing, leaderboards, statistics and more. Steam has more than 25 million accounts and has released more than 1,100 games. It was built on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3. The Army Game Studio developed the game with support from Virtual Heroes, a division of Applied Research Associates in Research Triangle Park, N.C. This collaboration between NASA and the Army’s Aviation Missile Research Development and Engineering Center is an example of government agencies working together to improve education in the STEM fields.
LEGO Universe MMOG Coming Fall of 2010
June 8, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, PC Games, Video Games
The LEGO Group and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced a distribution partnership for LEGO Universe, releasing the second half of 2010. LEGO Universe will be the first MMOG – massively-multiplayer online game – based on the LEGO play experience for gamers of all ages. Under the deal, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be the exclusive retail distributor of LEGO Universe outside of LEGO channels.
“WBIE has tremendous reach as one of the industry’s largest full-scale games publishers, which will enable LEGO Universe to access a broader audience of kids and families interested in online gaming,” said Henrik Taudorf Lorensen, Vice President, LEGO Digital, the LEGO Group. “We believe this partnership will be mutually beneficial for both companies, as well as end users, and are pleased to work with experts in the space on retail distribution for LEGO Universe.”
Developed by the LEGO Group and NetDevil, LEGO Universe will enable players of all ages to build, create, interact with friends, battle, and explore LEGO worlds – past, present and future. The MMOG is currently in a closed beta, with the game scheduled to release later this year.
LEGO Universe is a family-friendly online game, appropriate for players aged eight and above, centered around an epic battle between creativity and chaos. The LEGO brick lies at the center of the experience, and several levels of building are available, from simple gameplay-oriented challenges all the way up to sophisticated brick-by-brick design. With a focus on creativity and building, LEGO Universe invites players to flex their imaginations with the iconic brick in a vibrant online world.
“The LEGO Group has long been a leader in family entertainment, and we are excited to help extend the brand into the online arena through an MMOG platform with LEGO Universe,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We look forward to expanding our relationship with the LEGO Group beyond what we’ve already established with the successful TT Games’ titles. LEGO Universe builds upon the LEGO video games business in an exciting new way.”
You can pre-order the game now for $39.99.
To learn more about LEGO Universe, please visit www.LEGOuniverse.com.
Toki Tori Shipping on Steam for Mac
May 12, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, Video Games
Two Tribes‘ Toki Tori is available for purchase through Steam for Mac from day one. If you own the PC version, you can now download and play on the Mac for free!
“Existing customers will be able to play on their Macs as well, since Toki Tori supports the Steam Play functionality, which only requires a single license to play on both PC and Mac”, said Martijn Reuvers, Managing Director at Two Tribes.
New customers, who will experience Toki Tori for the first time, will learn that the gameplay in Toki Tori is blend of two genres. While it looks like a platform game, it’s a puzzle game by heart. To progress through the game, players must pick up all the eggs in a level using a set number of tools.
Players will have to look and plan ahead carefully while using items such as the Telewarp, Freeze-o-Matic and InstantRock. Additional tools are gradually introduced as the player progresses through the games 80+ levels covering four unique worlds.
Toki Tori features
- 80+ levels spread over 4 large worlds
- Instant rewind function
- Charming characters
- Full screen HD graphics
- Controls designed for mouse and/or keyboard
- Steam Achievements
Improvements for Mac Steam version
- Support for multi-touch trackpad gestures
- A single purchase for both Mac and PC (Steam Play)
- Includes all updates made to the PC version from day one
You can read our review of the windows version here.
Steam Launches for the Mac Today (Updated)
May 12, 2010 by Doug
Filed under Mac Games, Video Games
Updated
Valve announced that Steam will launch on the Mac platform today.
On subsequent Wednesdays, additional collections of Mac titles will become available, each designed to highlight specific functionalities of Steam on the Mac.
The first collection of Mac titles will demonstrate “Steam Play,” which allows customers to purchase a game once and play it on all Steam supported platforms. Gamers who have previously purchased games on Steam will find them available in their account on the Mac as they are released.
Portal, in addition to supporting Steam Play, will be the first of Valve’s Source engine based games available on the Mac. Native OS/X support for the Source engine is also available immediately to licensees for use in their games.
Among the initial titles available on Wednesday will be Runic Games’ critically acclaimed Torchlight. “We’re very excited to be bringing Torchlight to the Mac,” said Max Schaefer, co-founder of Runic Games. “Having Steam for the Mac solves so many problems for us as a developer. We look forward to our future games coming out on the Mac as well.”
In addition to bringing the online functionality of Steam to the Mac, Valve will also make its Steamworks suite of publishing and development tools available on the Mac platform. These include product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more. The features and services available in Steamworks are offered free of charge and may be used for both electronic and tangible versions of games.
To spur adoption, Valve is in fact offering Portal for free until May 24th.
Play Golf Via Your Web Browser
April 6, 2010 by Laura
Filed under Mac Games, PC Games, Video Games
Electronic Arts has announced the launch of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, providing on-the-go golf enthusiasts with the most accessible, authentic and feature-rich golf video game experience available through a web browser.
In addition to a free-to-play experience that allows unlimited access to featured courses, players will be able to choose from a monthly or yearly membership, offered at $9.99 and $59.99 respectively (pricing for North America). Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online will also utilize a points-based transaction system allowing players to purchase packages of points at $9.99, $19.99 and $39.99 that can be used on in-game transactions, such as rounds of golf and Pro Shop items. Consumers who purchase the annual membership receive unlimited rounds on all available courses, and will be provided with a package of points that can be spent on Pro Shop items.
“Consumers have an increasing appetite for authentic gaming experiences online and EA SPORTS is driving innovation and growth in the online gaming category, from consoles to mobile devices and the web,” said EA SPORTS President Peter Moore. “The launch of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online signals a shift in the traditional distribution model and will change the way that people will be able to access and enjoy their favorite video games for years to come.”
Beginning today, new players will also be able to enjoy the following highlighted features:
Pro Shop – Players have access to a robust Pro Shop allowing them to customize their golfer’s apparel, gear and clubs. Items in the Pro Shop will positively affect the players’ in-game experience, allowing them to earn more in-game currency and experience with certain items and improve their performance with better clubs. Pro Shop items can be purchased with in-game currency earned through regular on course play. Additional Pro Shop items can be attained with points purchased using real-world money.
Group Tournaments – Group tournaments will help players connect with golf buddies across the globe, as players will be able to challenge their friends in customized, private Group Tournaments. These tournaments are customizable allowing group leaders to set personalized criteria for their tournaments such as selecting the course and playing conditions.
Friend to Friend Messaging – Leveraging the growing social aspect of golf, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online allows players to connect with and message friends in the world’s fastest-growing online golf community.
World Championship Courses – At launch, two new courses will be released for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online – Harbour Town Golf Links and Oakmont CC. Upon launch, the game will feature an initial roster of ten world-class golf courses including Torrey Pines GC, Pebble Beach Golf Links, TPC Sawgrass, Sheshan Golf & CC, St Andrews (Old Course), Wolf Creek GC, Wentworth (West Course), Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Oakmont CC and Harbour Town Golf Links. New courses will continue to be released in the future.
For more information about Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, go to http://tigerwoodsonline.ea.com.