MacSoft sends word today that Age of Empires III, the latest in the popular strategy series, has gone gold master and should be shipping out for OS X this month for both PPC and Intel-based Macs.

Age of Empires III expands on the previous Age of Kings title with new graphics and a "home city" feature:

Age of Empires III picks up where Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings® left off, as players become one of eight European powers exploring, colonizing, and conquering the New World. Age of Empires III featuring amazing 3D graphics, remarkable Ageia® PhysX® technology, and an innovative Home City feature that lets players “level-up” their base of operations to strengthen their economy, technology, and military. Age of Empires III for Macintosh sets many new standards for real-time strategy games.

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IMG Preview: Age of Empires III

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IMG has posted a preview of Heroes of Might & Magic V, which is being brought to the Mac by Freeverse Software. The game, which is scheduled to ship later this year, is the first game that we know of that will be using Cider, the game wrapping technology that does away with the need for porting. Here's a clip from the preview:

For Macintosh users, there is yet another question- is the Cider technology that will be used in for the game going to work as well as native code? That's right, HOMMV is the first game that we know of that will be using Cider from Transgaming. That means no port and only Intel machines will be able to play HOMMV.

IMG Preview: Heroes of Might & Magic V

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Aspyr Media has successfully shipped the expansion for Civilization IV, dubbed Warlords for Mac OS X. This add-on brings many new features to fans of the game, including new cilizations, wonders, and the "warlord" character type:

* Warlords ­ A new great person type called the Warlord will be an indispensable asset to any player bent on world domination.
* Vassal States ­ You no longer need to obliterate an enemy to defeat them. Conquer your enemies and subjugate them to your rule.
* Game Scenarios ­ The expansion will deliver eight new historical scenarios spanning Alexander's conquests through Genghis Khan¹s dominance of Asia, in addition to other scenarios that challenge the way that you currently play the game.
* New Civilizations ­ Six new civilizations will be included, giving you even more options when planning your domination of the world.
* Civilization Leaders ­ Ten new leaders will be provided, including leaders for the new civilizations as well as additional leaders for existing civilizations.
* Leader Traits ­ In addition to the many existing leader traits in Civilization IV, two new leader traits accompany the expansion.
* New Wonders ­ There will be three new awe-inspiring wonders, all contributing new benefits and culture to your civilization.
* Unique Buildings ­ Players will now be able to construct buildings unique to each civilization.
* Units, Resources, & Improvements ­ Many new items not available in the core game will be introduced in the new scenarios.
* Core Game Tweaks and Additions ­ Expanded features and gameplay tweaks will be made to the core game.

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Tricky Software today announced that Apple has posted a trailer of the company's upcoming game, Armado. The game, which is being developed for Macintosh and Windows, is an arcade-style game revolving around an Armadillo named Armado.

The company also announced an iPod Contest where it will be giving out a free Red iPod Nano following the completion of the game. To enter the contest simply enter the information requested on the contest page.

In closing, the company also announced that the game is currently in the final stages of development and is currently in beta:

We’re currently in beta and our testers are giving us great feedback which we’re using to polish the game play and stability.

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Blizzard Entertainment has revealed a new battleground soon to be offered in the upcoming first expansion for World of Warcraft, The Burning Crusade. Eye of the Storm will allow teams of up to fifteen players compete for territory in a contest which combines Capture-And-Hold style gameplay with Capture-The-Flag.

Here's some general information about Eye of the Storm:

• Horde and Alliance teams of up to 15 players compete to control the four towers spread throughout Eye of the Storm and capture flags.
• Each claimed tower generates victory points for the controlling team. The more towers your team owns, the faster your team gains points.
• The first team that gains 2,000 victory points wins the match.
• Players also earn points for their faction by capturing and returning a flag, located in the middle of the map, to a tower controlled by their faction.
• Both the winning and losing team earn honor after completing an Eye of the Storm Battleground, as accumulated victory points translate directly into bonus honor for players. Even if you don't win the Battleground, you earn honor from earned victory points.
• As players compete, they will earn Eye of the Storm marks of honor, which are used as a portion of the purchase price for various honor rewards.
• Unlike other battlegrounds, The Eye of the Storm does not have an actual entrance portal connecting it to the outside world. The only way to enter this battleground is to speak with an Eye of the Storm Battlemaster in one of the major cities.

WoW: Burning Crusade Eye of the Storm

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Ambrosia has posted new screenshots of their upcoming graph-paper shooter Sketchfighter 4000 Alpha. Posted both late last week and yesterday, the shots also include more descriptions about the game's functionality.

According to the latest progress log, Sketchfighter is in its eighth round of final candidate testing and expected for a release as soon as it's verified. The game, which features both single player and 2-player action, lets you take your pen to paper as you fight intergalactic battles. Some of the recent descriptions show off the game's online high-score system, menu screens, and cooperative modes.

Be sure to head over to Ambrosia for a look, and stay tuned for more from IMG as Sketchfighter nears release in the coming weeks.

Sketchfighter 4000 Alpha Screenshots

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Running With Scissors today announced the release of the Postal Fudge Pack, a compilation of games that include Postal, Postal 2, Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend, a total conversion mod called Eternal Damnation, and a fan-created mod called Week in Paradise.

The Postal Fudge Pack is available as a hybrid format DVD for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux and costs $29.99.

System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later, G3/700MHz or faster, 256MB RAM, 2GB hard disk space, and 32MB ATI Radeon or Nvidia GeForce2 MX or better 3D graphics.

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Planewalker Games has released the third part of On The Fly, an ongoing serial story showcasing the world of Mal Nassrin from their upcoming RPG The Broken Hourglass. TBH will feature a 2D isometric viewpoint, a deep storyline, and a rich character development system.

From XYZ:

The trouble that wouldn’t stop nagging Lyrio remained that he had actually enjoyed himself, every terrified, titillated moment. He hadn’t known what to expect. The excitement! The adventure! He had only remarked its like the first time that he had dared his glider into the air. Lyrio Bregna: he was now a man of danger!

Well, he had been for an afternoon. Lyrio tossed the damp paper back upon his desk with a defeated sigh. Then, heart palpitating, he noticed that the abused parchment had been a registered birth announcement for one of the local Patronas, now sporting the child’s name lamentably smudged out with his sweat. With a gargled yelp, Lyrio scrambled for his magnifying lens and quill.

"Vito...? Vita...? Wifla..." Deducing these things amounted to a toss of the dice, but the wealthy were rather peculiar about protecting their children’s identities. This backlash had come from the cutthroat fashions of those who wanted to emulate the powerful. Every time a Senator or imperial dilettante named their newborn something ingenious like "Psopheria" or "Knugarius," a flurry of middle-class "Psopheria" and "Knugarius" babies ensued like clockwork.

On The Fly, Chapter 3

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