Hands-on

Blizzard is getting ready (we hope anyway) to unleash the StarCraft II multiplayer beta test "soon" but in the meantime they recently invited a number of media folks to check out a new build of the long awaited sci-fi RTS sequel at their offices in Irvine, CA. Our sister site Joystiq made the trek and brought back some hands-on impressions.

They also got a tour of Blizzard's campus and received a new seven minute multiplayer vdeo showing off more StarCraft II gameplay. You can download the HD version of the video right here at Big Download. Newly released screenshots from the game have also been added to our gallery. Finally Joystiq has a extensive chat with StarCraft II producer Chris Sigaty.

Alas, it seems that plans to check out the game's single player campaign were cut at the last minute but there will likely be more press events to show off StarCraft II before it's planned released before the end of the year (fingers crossed).

The mighty Ambrosia Software keeps churning out great games for the Mac, never resting on its laurels. However, there is one title in its roster that continues to iterate, and that's a genuinely good thing, because it keeps getting better with each pass. The Escape Velocity series, originating on the Mac for the now-Classic OS in 1996, has seen its third version drop in 2002, called EV Nova. It has only recently been made available as a Universal Binary, hence its inclusion here in Mac Monday. Even if it weren't for that, however, this game deserves to be brought to the attention of an audience who may not have had the pleasure of playing its earlier incarnations.

At its heart, EVN's gameplay hasn't notably changed from the first version. You take command of a low-level spacecraft, and attempt to rise to power by trading goods throughout the galaxy, indulging in some combat along the way. The graphics are still glorious 2D, which in this case is a welcome deviation from the typical trait seen in game series that run for a while -- the Ambrosia devs know not to mess with a winning strategy.

Reflexive Entertainment, known for previously covered games like The Great Tree and Big Kahuna Reef 2: Chain Reaction, is back with a game in the life simulation genre: Sprouts Adventure. This time around, you're charged with helping a group of tiny plant-like creatures called Sprouts develop their society.

This game features a couple of twists on the standard gameplay, but if you're not already a fan, you probably won't find anything new in this iteration on the genre that will induce you to play more. Read on for exactly what I mean.

This week's Mac Monday title, Mystic Emporium by Merscom, might seem at first blush to be a simple copy of the previously-covered Miriel, the Mystic Merchant, but fortunately, it does iterate a bit on the gameplay, offering a bit more for the money. Add to that a quirky art style and better animation, more item options, and a rudimentary budget system, and it's a great next game for those who enjoyed Miriel.

So what's it all about? Read on to find out!

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is being developed to provide the most realistic and intense military shooter experience possible. Skira, the Pacific island where all the action takes place is based off a real-life area and designed using satellite images, and players are free to go anywhere across its 225 square kilometers of terrain. This includes climbing up the volcano on the far end of the island. Transportation happens in near real-time, so it would take you 9-10 hours to cross the island from one end to the other on foot, but only 9-10 minutes by helicopter. What all this builds up to is a fully open world where players are free to approach a situation from just about any direction.

Download HD Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising E3 2009 Trailer (72 MB)
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Last year at E3 we got our first gameplay glimpse at Alpha Protocol, the super-spy themed action-RPG from developer Obsidian and publisher Sega. This year at E3 2009 we got yet another live gameplay look at the title which is currently due for release this fall.

The behind-closed-doors demo (which we didn't get to play for ourselves) gave us another shot at checking out Michael Thorton, the lead character in the game and a spy-agent in the "JB" tradition (that would be James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer) . The demo emphasized that this will be a true RPG game with action elements. Your character will have a number of different skills that you can improve upon as the game progresses, such as weapons, stealth and more. You will have to choose a few skills to specialize in and you can even get some perks that will give you some extra improvements

Time means a lot of things to different people, but in Singularity, it's a weapon. Developed by Raven Software, the game takes place in 2010, when a despotic leader seizes control of Russia and hopes to solidify his seat of power (and later, global domination) by resurrecting some top secret experiments from 1950 conducted on an island called Katorga-12. The experiments related to an element known as E99, which is instrumental in time manipulation. US Air Forces are sent in to stop the project from being brought back, but the planes are pulled into a singularity. The player takes the role of Nate Renko, a US Air Force pilot who awakens on Katorga-12 with a TMD (Time Manipulation Device) strapped to his arm and trapped on an island where time and space have become extremely unstable.

Download HD Singularity E3 2009 Trailer (32 MB)
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The Sims is one of the best-selling game series in history, and the best-selling PC franchise, with over 100 million units shipped worldwide for the games and expansions. Both the first and second entries in the franchise have exceeded sales records months and even years after their original releases. Now, Electronic Arts has revisited the franchise again with Sims 3, five years after the release of the last numbered title. Thanks to the incredible success of the previous games, it would have been easy to simply reiterate the gameplay into a new engine and call it at that. But Sims 3 does not rest on the laurels of its predecessors, and improves The Sims in ways that make the first two games look dated and obtuse. It is an excellent entry into the series, and will undoubtedly serve as a benchmark for accessible, entertaining simulation games for a long time to come.

Wolfenstein 3D first came out in 1992 and pretty much set the standard for first-person shooters for its time. The series has seen a number of installments since then, with the latest developed by Raven Software, simply called Wolfenstein. Raven is looking to capture the key points that make the series stand out, meaning that B.J. Blazkowicz will being far behind enemy lines to single-handedly take on an army of Nazis seeking to harness the powers of the paranormal.

Download HD Wolfenstein 'Beyond Comprehension' Trailer (80 MB)
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We've seen a number of tabletop strategy games in our time, but Ubisoft win the award for presenting its upcoming real-time strategy game, R.U.S.E. with style. At E3 2009, presenters showed off the The World War II themed game using a touch screen table similar to the one seen in the teaser trailer. It's a gimmick that really shows off what the game is about, zooming out of from the map reveals a strategy board on which the action takes place. The game sets itself apart from other RTS games by putting emphasis on deception in addition to tactical strategy. Commanders have a number of deception abilities called ruses. With these abilities, players can trick opponents using stealth and misdirection to claim victory.

Download HD R.U.S.E. 'Tunisia' E3 2009 Gameplay Video Pt 1 (368 MB)
Download HD R.U.S.E. 'Tunisia' E3 2009 Gameplay Video Pt 2 (481 MB)
Check out all R.U.S.E. downloads

Gallery: RUSE

Forget about most of what you know about Sam Fisher and the Splinter Cell series. Splinter Cell Conviction throws it all out as Fisher goes rogue and leaves the Third Echelon to track down the person who murdered his daughter - an event that was introduced in Double Agent, but not fully addressed until now. It may seem like the developers are giving up political intrigue in favor of a revenge tale, but as to be expected from Splinter Cell, things go much deeper than they initially appear. What's clear is that this is a Sam Fisher that no one has seen before, and the game is practically unlike any other that has come before.

Download HD Splinter Cell Conviction E3 2009 Trailer (68 MB)
Download HD Splinter Cell Conviction E3 2009 Gameplay Video (214 MB)

He may wear the signature outfit of an assassin, complete with retractable arm blades for fast jabbing, but it quickly becomes clear that much has changed since the first Assassin's Creed. We're not just talking about the time period, either. The developers at Ubisoft learned a great deal from the first game and applied a number of huge improvements to the sequel. Assassin's Creed 2 takes place in Italy during the Renaissance as opposed to Medieval Holy Land, but the secret war between the Assassin's Guild and the Templar still rages on. The newest incarnation of the professional free-running killer is still one of Desmond Miles' direct ancestors, which makes us wonder how many of these guys are hiding up this guy's family tree. However, this trip back in time, reliving his genetic memory, won't be a lonely one. Players will have new allies to help with planning, executing and getting away with calculated killings.

Download HD Assassin's Creed 2 Cinematic Trailer (217 MB)
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Trion World Network has been working in near stealth mode since it was first launched three years ago but at E3 2009 last week we finally got a chance to check out an actual playable build (hands-off unfortunately) for the company's first product Heroes of Telara. It's an fantasy MMO game that on the surface at least seems like every other fantasy MMO released but when you dig deeper there are some interesting new features.

One of those cool features is the way the game handles your playable character. Normally you pick your character class (Warrior, Mage, Cleric and Rogue) and you are stuck with it unless you make another character. Heroes of Telara lets you actually switch your character class. Yep you can be all those classes in one person. You still have to advance each class individually and there's no real explanation, story-wise, for why your character can suddenly morph from a warrior to a mage but it is pretty cool.

For this week's Mac Monday, we bring you a little light and light-hearted RPG from Hanako Games, the folks who gave us Spirited Heart, and Cute Knight Deluxe, both previously featured games right here on MM. What do all three games have in common? First of all, they're all anime-influenced to a certain degree -- character designs, dating sim-like play, steadfast goofiness. Second of all, they're all different takes on the RPG genre. And third of all, they're just too adorable.

Science Girls! is more of a standard RPG than the other two featured games. Fans of the genre will immediately feel at home with the interface and leveling style. What may surprise you about SG!, however, is its approachable silliness and gentle humor. Hell, you might even learn a thing or two! Read on for some science!

Illusion Softworks created the original Mafia way back in 2002 just when open world action games were beginning to blow up with the previous year's release of Grand Theft Auto III. While Mafia sold well on the PC its console ports were not as well received. Meanwhile the GTA series continued with a number of follow-ups.

Now the development team, renamed as 2K Czech because of their purchase by Take Two Interactive, are getting closer to completing the long awaited sequel Mafia 2. At E3 2009 we got to see a (hands-off) demo of one of the game's first missions.