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Rake in Grass, in partnership with Macgamestore.com, today announced the release of Jets'n'Guns Gold, a new version of the classic arcade shooter that was a renowned sensation when released for the Mac last year. The Gold version of Jets'n'Guns adds higher resolution graphics, over 20 new levels (over 40 in all), 7 new customizable ships, 17 new weapons, 70 new enemies, secret levels, new comic screens, new music, medals and ranks, and much more.

Jets'nGuns Gold is available for $29.95 through Macgamesotre.com. Gamers who bought the original Jets'n'Guns from Macgamestore.com can upgrade to the Gold version for just $9.95.

A free Universal Binary demo version of the game is available on the web page.

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Inside Mac Games has posted a review of Snowy: The Bear's Adventures. Here's a clip from the review:

While the title might lead one to believe this is an adventure game, it is not. Rather, it is an arcade game. The game space includes a variety of cartoon screens in which you maneuver Snowy up and down as he winds his way home. You will find common horizontal platforms, placed close enough to allow Snowy to jump up to the next one and cut in such a way so that he can drop down to the ground or a lower one. More challenging screens contain angled paths, vertical walls that need to be hopped over, and even spaces that require a little skill to get into. Take a look at the screen shots to get a better idea. The only way down is to fall off an edge. This isn’t a problem unless the area below happens to be an open pit! While doing this, Snowy has to avoid attacks, capture power-ups, and destroy opponents. There are 88 different screens that can be played in this game.

Inside Mac Games Review: Snowy: The Bear's Adventure

J&R Computerworld has deals on a variety of Mac compatible hardware and software products including: ShuttlePRO 2 multi-button multimedia control device from Contour Design for only $79.99!; watch and record TV on your Mac with Evolution TV from Miglia Tech for only $69.99!; JBL Spyro multimedia speaker system with subwoofer and two flower-shaped satellite speakers for only $129.99; and much more. Get all the details at the following URL: 

http://hotdeals.apple.com/jandr/index.php

Sweetwater Sound has deals on a variety of Mac compatible hardware and software products including: control your beats with the Alesis Control Pad USB/MIDI controller with two switch pedals inputs for only $199.97!; TASCAM MP-GT1 MP3 player/guitar trainer w/variable speed audition, pitch control and looping functions - plus you get a built-in tuner and more for only $199.97!; MOTU 8pre - FireWire audio interface with 8 pre-amps for only $549.97!; get the world's most popular soft synth - Reason 3 from Propellerheads for only $399.97!; and much more. Get all the details at the following URL: 

http://hotdeals.apple.com/sweetwater/index.php

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Aspyr today published their February/March Newsletter. In it, the company announces that Star Wars: Empire at War is currently in approvals and should be shipping shortly.

The last bits of polish are being put on Empire at War, and it should be in approvals and preparing to ship any day. Porting real-time strategy games is always a challenge, especially when working with the multiplayer aspects of the game. Historically most real time strategy games implement network games so that each player's game keeps track of everything happening to all the players' units, and thus the games have to play exactly the same on all computers to stay in sync. Even the slightest difference in execution (say one game blowing up a unit into 10 pieces and another blowing it up into 11) can cause the games to go out of sync. This is one of the reasons we have extended testing cycles on games like Empire at War, to track down and fix all the network issues we can find.

Star Wars: Empire at War is currently available for pre-order through Macgamestore.com for $49.95.

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MacSoft has posted a quick fix for those running Age of Empires III on Mac OS X 10.3.9. According to MacSoft, the game will not run if you are on Mac OS X 10.3.9 and you upgraded to the just-released Quicktime 7.1.5.

Here's a temporary solution while MacSoft works on a patch:

A recent update to Quicktime from Apple has prevented Age of Empires III from starting up on systems running OS X 10.3.9. We are currently working on an update that addresses this issue, but the instructions below will allow you to play Age of Empires III on your Macintosh in the meantime.

1) Please locate the Age of Empires III program on your computer.
2) Control-click or Right Click on the Age of Empires III icon and select "Show Package Contents," then open up the "Contents" folder, then "Resources," "GameData," then finally the "avi" folder.
3) Go to the File Menu and select "New Folder."
4) Drag all of the files in the "avi" folder into the folder you created.
5) Close all of the windows and Start Age of Empires III.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to see the end of Act Movies in game until we have an update for Age of Empires III. However, it is possible to watch the movies if you navigate to the folder that you have created in the steps above. It will be necessary to drag the movies back into the "avi" folder after we have an update for the game that addresses this issue.

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Aspyr Media announced today that The Sims Life Stories web site has launched on Aspyr.com. The game is expected to ship in late March.

The Sims Life Stories introduces an all-new Story Mode with two stories that
follow the lives of Riley Harlow and Vincent Moore, two very different
characters who have reached similar crossroads in their love lives. A comic
romantic plot centered around engaging characters guides players through
twelve chapters of this one-of-a-kind entertainment experience. Players can
take their Sims through unique and entertaining storylines filled with
romance, intrigue and dramatic twists. Will female lead character Riley
ditch beau number one to marry and have kids with beau number two? Will
successful entrepreneur Vince ever find love, or the culprit who's been
foiling his heart-earned efforts to find it? Players can discover these
answers and more, or enjoy classic open-ended Sims gameplay.

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MacWorld's Peter Cohen confirms that EVE Online is coming to the Mac. CCP Games confirmed to Macworld that they would be bringing the game to Intel-equipped Macs. The company is working with Cider developer TransGaming Technologies.

Here's more from Macworld's report:

CCP Games calls EVE Online the world’s largest game universe. It’s a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) set in outer space. The service currently has over 160,000 active subscriptions — more than 34,000 thousand players have been online at once.

Players encounter a new online universe where the setting is the distant universe, and mankind has migrated to the stars. Different factions control various regions of space.

The world of EVE Online is very open-ended. Players pilot their own spacecraft, customizing them or trading up as they can. Players can participate in a variety of activities from mining to fighting, manufacturing to trade, transport of goods, even piracy.

For more on Eve Online, be sure to check out the Macworld report.

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Macworld: EVE Online multiplayer space game is Macbound

Macworld recently posted an interview with PlayFirst's Brad Edelman about the casual game company's success selling titles to Mac gamers. Edelman also discusses the recently released Playground SDK, a new game creation tool designed for Mac and PC.

“We have a much higher conversion rate on our Mac demos than we do our PC demos,” PlayFirst CTO Brad Edelman told Macworld. The conversion rate compares the number of people who download a game’s demo and then buy it. Edelman said that Mac conversion rates are two to three times what they are on the PC.

“I think Mac users are hungry for quality casual games,” Edelman said. “They’re also looking for something that works well on their system, and they may not have the latest and greatest hardware.”

Most of PlayFirst’s focus has been on electronic distribution — their games are available for download and purchase on their own site, as well as a number of “portal” sites that offer casual games. But PlayFirst has recently begun to make a push into retail stores.

“We’re just getting in to Apple stores now,” said Edelman. “Diner Dash should be showing up real soon.”

Macworld: Playfirst Finds Success With Mac Gamers

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A recent IGN review examined the PC version of The Sims Life Stories, the first in a new series of laptop computer friendly Sims titles developed by Aspyr Media. The game offers a new storyline mode complete with romance, dramatic twists, and unlockable content, as well as more traditional open ended play. IGN gave the game a score of 7.3 out of 10.

We tried the game on a couple low-caliber machines, one laptop and one desktop, that barely met the minimum requirements. Even with full graphics options enabled, the game ran well, with only a few hitches here and there when many Sims were on the screen at once. This still holds even if you want to run the game in windowed mode (which is actually the default), allowing you to play the game while doing anything else on your computer, such as using instant messaging programs or writing something in MS Word (not that we'd ever encourage blowing off homework or office work for a game, of course).

Life Stories was built on the Sims 2 engine, which means a major performance boost is no small feat. Every object and character in the game is three-dimensional, unlike The Sims 1, where only the Sims themselves were three-dimensional (everything else was a two-dimensional sprite). Lighting has color to it, and emanates from the sources they should; that is, lamps seem to give off light, rather than rooms being magically bright just because a lamp object is there. Mirrors can reflect what's actually in the room, and shadows are more than serviceable. Free Will, the option that turns on artificial intelligence for your own Sims, actually seems improved over the core game. Yet, no slow down.

IGN: The Sims Life Stories Reviewed

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