Feral Interactive is once again letting it be known that when Mac gamers fight, there are no skirmishes or police actions. For us, it’s war—Total War—as evidenced by the announced that Empire: Total War Gold Edition will be launched for the Mac this spring.

Developed by The Creative Assembly, Empire: Total War Gold Edition sets the acclaimed series’ real-time tactics and turn-based strategy gameplay elements in the 18th century. The Industrial Revolution, America’s struggle for independence, the race to control Asian trade routes, and the globalization of war on land and sea all factor into the players’ fortunes as they build a nation into a dominant world power.

Players command entire fleets in real-time naval combat amid dynamic water and weather effects, where mastery of their vessels makes the difference between glorious victory and humiliating defeat. Ground warfare has also changed, with the arrival of gunpowder, muskets and accurate artillery. To triumph in this radically different environment, players must learn new formations and master new tactics.

The Mac version of Empire: Total War Gold Edition comprises the base game Empire: Total War and all the game updates, improvements and downloadable content, including The Warpath Campaign, where players take command of one of five new Native American factions, defending their lands from invaders. It also includes four unit packs, the Special Forces Units and the Elite Units of the East, West and America.

Pricing and system requirements for Empire: Total War Gold Edition have not yet been announced, but a mini-site dedicated to the game is now online.

Product [Empire: Total War Gold Edition]

There’s been a lot of gaming news today—big releases—but they’ve all been for iOS. If you’re a Mac gamer, how do feel about that? Angry? Does it make you mad? Maybe even fill you with rage? Good, because Aspyr is offering up an appropriate way to release it. The venerable Mac game publisher has announced that Rage: Campaign Edition is available now from GameAgent.com. And if you order it by February 8th, you can get Doom 3 for only $1.

From the makers of Doom and Quake, RAGE is a groundbreaking first-person shooter set in the not-too-distant future after an asteroid impacts Earth, leaving a ravaged world behind. You emerge into this vast wasteland to discover humanity working to rebuild itself against such forces as bandit gangs, mutants, and the Authority—an oppressive government regime that has a special interest in you in particular. Featuring intense first-person shooter action, breakneck vehicle combat, an expansive world to explore and jaw-dropping graphics powered by id’s revolutionary id Tech® 5 technology, RAGE promises an experience like no other.

The OS X release of Rage: Campaign Edition comes with the Wasteland Sewer Missions and Anarchy Edition content (Double Barrel Shotgun, Rat Rod Buggy, Fist of RAGE and Crimson Elite Armor)…the usual benefit of getting a release behind its PC counterpart.

Additional features include:

• Visceral 1st-person gunplay and exploration: Take on bandit gangs and hordes of mutants using an arsenal of exotic weapons and special items, such as Wingsticks, personal turrets, sentry bots, and remote-controlled bomb cars.
• Frenetic 3rd-person vehicular mayhem: Burn rubber across the wasteland in your very own super buggy! Upgrade and customize your car with special parts, paint jobs and weapons, then test your skills as you battle four-wheeling bandit clans and participate in deadly races.
• An expansive experience: Beyond the first-person action and vehicle combat, RAGE offers a world open to explore, with unique characters, side quests, and a compelling storyline.
• Graphics that have to be seen to be believed: Powered by id’s cutting-edge new id Tech® 5 engine, new Megatexture technology brings the vast wasteland to life in never-before- possible detail.

The minimum requirements are OS X v10.7.2 (Lion), a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core) processor, 4 GB RAM, 25 GB hard disc space, mouse and keyboard, and a 256MB Radeon HD 3870 or Geforce 8800 graphics card.

Rage: Campaign Edition is rated M for blood and gore, intense violence and strong language. It’s available now from GameAgent and the Mac App Store for $39.99

Product [Rage: Campaign Edition]

February is upon is, and I can think of no better time to check out G5′s February gaming releases. You? Casual gamers will have plenty from which to choose, including strategy and adventure games, the sequel to a fan-favorite, and a Valentine’s update to a hit city-builder.

Treasure Seekers 4: The Time Has Come (iOS)

In this fourth installment of the game, Tom, Nelly and Totenkraft are in a race for the Holy Grail itself—with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Fortunately, our heroes are terrific at what they do, so the game serves up a healthy dose of hidden object adventuring fun.

The Island: Castaway (iOS)

In The Island: Castaway, an extremely addictive simulation game, play as Tom, the leader of the lucky few to escape a sinking ocean liner. Intense challenges await you in this adventure quest game as the castaways try to survive on the island and uncover its secrets.

Virtual City 2: Paradise Resort (iOS)

In Virtual City 2: Paradise Resort, you’ll get to expand your activities to the shining coast of Florida, the snowy lands of Alaska, the rocky mountains of Utah and the arid tundra of Nevada. Offices and hotels, restaurants and clubs, museums and fitness centers—access the widest selection of buildings to make your very own Virtual City unique and prosperous.

Virtual City Playground update 1.3.5 (iOS, Mac)

This update—with new quests, Valentine’s Day-related content and decorations—will appear on the App Store, Mac App Store and Android Market just in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Build the city of your dreams, romantically decorate it…and then run it.

Royal Trouble: Hidden Adventures (iOS)

Travel with a pair of Royals and help the hilarious, bickering twosome escape from a secluded island. Solve the mystery of their captivity, and watch love blossom in this charming, critically acclaimed adventure game with fun twists and turns.

To learn more about these and other G5 games for iOS and OS X, visit the G5 Entertainment website.

• Duke Nukem Forever – $5.00
• Dragon Age Pack – $11.99
• Spore - $7.99

If you’re uncertain whether downloading games is for you, the Amazon Game Downloads Help page has the answers for all of your questions.

Law & Order: Legacies, previously released for iPad and iPhone, is now available on the Mac and PC.

This episodic interactive crime-drama, based on NBCUniversal’s Emmy-winning Law & Order TV series franchises, allows players to work cases as both investigators and district attorneys alongside a full roster of fan-favorite characters from both Law & Order and Law & Order SVU.

The PC and Mac version of Law & Order: Legacies is available for immediate purchase and download at the Telltale Games website for $19.99. Players will receive the first three episodes of Law & Order: Legacies with the subsequent four episodes releasing soon thereafter.

Law and Order is TV’s top rated and longest-running police procedural drama, consisting of storylines based on real-life crimes set against the distinctive backdrop of different law enforcement units.  The original Law & Order series is also tied with Gunsmoke as the longest-running T.V. dramatic series of all time.

Law & Order: Legacies includes the likenesses of iconic Law & Order investigators including: Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach, Law & Order), Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt, Law & Order), Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU) and Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston, Law & Order) for a Law & Order “Dream Team” of characters both past and current.

For purchase and to stay updated on the latest information on Law & Order: Legacies, visit www.lawandorderthegame.com.

Blizzard Entertainment announced today they’re planning to host the 2012 Battle.net World Championship in Asia towards the end of 2012. Participants battle each other in StarCraft 1v1 and World of Warcraft 3v3 arena matches until the winning teams emerge.

In addition, BlizzCon won’t take place this year because they have a busy schedule of upcoming games. Instead, they’ll hold it sometime in 2013. Events at BlizzCon 2011 included a discussion panel with Blizzard Entertainment developers, contests with great prizes, a goodies bag, and activities about Blizzard games from art to lore to how to run a guild and more. The admission fee was $175 in 2011, so it will likely be about the same cost in 2013.

For more information about past Battle.net World Championships and Blizzcon, Blizzard has set up a BlizzCon site with pictures, wallpapers, and more information.

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world. Slated to take place in Asia toward the end of 2012, the Battle.net World Championship will host this year’s StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments. Blizzard gamers and eSports fans from around the world will be invited to attend and witness some of the most skilled pro players on the planet battle it out for cash and glory.

We’re excited to be showcasing Blizzard eSports on a truly global stage this year. We’re also heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players’ hands as soon as possible. In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.

More details about the 2012 Battle.net World Championship and BlizzCon 2013, including specific dates and locations, will be coming in the months ahead.

There are new spells to cast, puzzles to solve, locations to explore and villains to defeat using an all new dueling system. Gameplay features include Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes boxes, which give players invaluable and comical assistance; Spectrespecs, which allow players to see and build with otherwise invisible Spectrespecs LEGO; and Ron’s Deluminator, which helps uncover hidden secrets. Players can also discover and unlock 200 characters, including Fenrir Greyback, Bellatrix Lestrange and Professor Horace Slughorn.

The game features cooperative gameplay either on the same computer or over the Internet with a dynamic split screen, giving hours of enjoyment as you play through 24 story events and attend 16 different lessons.

Minimum system requirements call for a 1.4GHz Intel Mac with at least 2GB RAM, 128MB or better graphics card, and Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. The recommended system requirements are a 2.4Ghz Intel Mac with at least 4GB RAM, 512MB or better graphics card, and Mac OS X 10.7.2 or later. The following graphics cards aren’t supported: ATI X1xxx series, NVIDIA 7xxx series and Intel GMA series.

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 for the Mac will retail in North America for US $29.99, £19.99 in the UK, and €24.99 throughout Europe. It’s available for pre-order now through Feral’s online store and will be available online for direct download from Feral Interactive and the Mac App Store on February 16th.

A mini-site dedicated to the game will be available soon.

Runesoft has announced that the real time strategy game Cultures: Northland is now available in the Mac App Store. The game, which was originally developed by Funatics, tasks the player with building and managing a viking settlement.

Create a thriving settlement with farms, bakeries, Potteries, Mason Shops, Schools, Armories and many more. Manage your settlement and its Settlers, erect new buildings, raw materials will roll in, finished goods will roll out so you can grow more people. Watch your people walk, eat, sleep, and talk to each other for entertainment. Couples marry. Babies are born, grow up, and are assigned careers of their own. Each person is a unique character who can be assigned a career. As they go about their careers, their skills improve. As their skills improve, new careers are opened to them. Stay out of the way of your enemies or attack them when you feel there is no other option.

Cultures: Northland follows the story of a wandering band of Vikings, guided by a quartet of heroes named Bjarni (son of the famous explorer Leif Ericsson), his lover Cyra, and their friends Hatchi and Sigurd. Hatchi soon finds that his homeland is overrun by enemies. As a result, he calls upon his friends for help. The game’s campaign is spread out over eight missions, and you can also play an additional eight stand-alone missions that are unrelated to the story.

Get good enough, and maybe you can help them prevent their football team from moving to L.A.

Cultures: Northland features:

• 8 campaign Missions with several subquests and 8 single missions 
• 4 heroes that join forces to fight the final battle 
• Over 30 different occupational groups, updated job and skills systems
• Menus with different level of detail to fit each gamers needs and preferences
• Highly detailed 3D environment
• Extensive tutorial with step by step introduction into the game and its features
• Improved AI (for the villagers as well as for other tribes)
• 3 difficulty levels to make the game fun for everybody from beginners to experts
• Special effects like weather effects, fog, ghost units etc.

Cultures: Northland requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later, and is available now for $19.99.

Product [Cultures: Northland]

Thinking of finding some hidden objects this weekend? You’re in luck. Big Fish Games not only has a lot of hidden objects to find, they also want to make it less expensive for you to look. Many of their games are on sale, including popular, exclusive titles such as Haunted Past: Realm of Ghosts Collector’s Edition, Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek and Voodoo Whisperer: Curse of a Legend.

Haunted Past: Realm of Ghosts Collector’s Edition – $13.99 (normally $19.99)

You’ve inherited a home, only to discover restless spirits lurk, and only you can hear them. Years ago, a woman plummeted from an attic window to her doom, now she haunts her former home from another realm. Help her with her unfinished business and put her soul to rest in this incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. Commune with the dead, and solve the mystery of Emily’s demise. All is not as it seems in Haunted Past: Realm of Ghosts.

Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres Collector’s Edition – $13.99 (normally $19.99)

Take on Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres, a challenging Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! Stop the evil witch Viviana and save Esther’s family! With her heritage on the line, it’s up to Esther to discover the history of the ancient Ambroses and explore time itself. Go on an incredible adventure and change events in the past to solve an incredible mystery in Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres!

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek – $2.99 (normally $9.99)

Find a kidnapped teenage girl and save yourself in Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek, a fun Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! After waking up in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, you must piece together your memories and figure out why you ended up in Maple Creek. Discover the ancient evil that lurks in the seemingly peaceful lands of Vermont and learn the truth in this thrilling detective story!

Hallowed Legends: Templar – $2.99 (normally $9.99)

Strange figures have taken over a small town in Hallowed Legends: Templar! Stop the Knights of the Templar in this exciting Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! Travel to your brother and his wife’s hometown and take on an incredible mystery. Scour gorgeous scenes and search for important clues as you track down the terrifying evildoer and save the entire town in Hallowed Legends: Templar!

Voodoo Whisperer: Curse of a Legend – $2.99 (normally $9.99)

Mentored by one of the most powerful voodoo priestesses in the world, Lillian is learning to use her power. But, a dark force has settled over New Orleans, and Marie Leveau, Lillian’s teacher, has been placed under a curse. The entire town has been put into a deep, dark sleep by a mysterious evil force. Now young Lillian must find allies and uncover the dark secrets of voodoo in order to save her master and free her friends before it is too late.

Head over to Big Fish Games for other sale titles, including many more for $2.99 for new customers only.

Gameplay

Legacy of a Thousand Suns (LoTS) is based around Energy, Stamina and Honor, which you use with the goals of getting experience to level up the gear you wear, to increase attributes, and to get items to use in the Lab to make a variety of items. You can also work towards getting Legendary items. It’s difficult to do, but it rewards you with excellent gear, officers, and crew. Once you run out, you can either get more with Golden Suns (the in-game currency you buy with money or Facebook credits) or wait for them to refill over time.

Energy is mainly used for missions or quests which unlock access to raid bosses you can later summon. This is where the story progresses, as each mission tells the tale of your ragtag group as they go around the galaxy killing and destroying property along the way, all for the noble cause of protecting Princess Illaria and the Sian Empire. Missions are also useful as there’s a chance to get gear and, more importantly, items you can use in the Lab to increase your attributes. Stamina is used in general raid bosses and Honor is used in alliance raid bosses. In both cases there is a variety of gear and items you can get; the more damage you do, the more gear and items you get of higher quality. You can also get ingredients for Legendary items by fighting general and alliance raid bosses by wearing the right gear (acquired from missions and other general and alliance raid bosses) and having the right officers and crew in your ship.You can also use Stamina and Honor to fight other players. Even though there are different options (Duel, Skirmish) you only get meaningful rewards from the Galaxy Dome. You make a team of four people from your friend’s list and outfit them with the gear you’ve collected and fight against other teams up to 20 times a day using 10 Stamina each time. By winning Galaxy Dome fights you increase your level, which grants you access to gear and buffs which help you win future fights.

However, there is work that is being done on Duels since LoTS is always being worked on and expanded.

Once you get officers and crew, you can put them in a ship. Most ships have a limit to what kinds of officers and crews you can use and have a power bonus as well. You can get ships, officers, and crew from the Lab, Missions, Raids, and using Golden Suns. The benefit of having a well-stocked ship is felt in raids with the more ship power you have influencing how much damage you do. In addition, officers and crew have their own special abilities which can do extra damage in raids, increase your attack/defense, reduce damage you take, and more.

You get credits as a reward for doing missions and raids, and can use them to buy items in the shop and more faculties. Faculties are collected every few hours, and you can get gear, items, and Golden Suns as a reward. It’s different from other Facebook games where you buy land with gold that gives you more gold that you stockpile. This is also beneficial if your friends don’t send you a lot of gifts.

Accepting gifts on Facebook has always been a chore. You have to go back and forth between the requests page and the game page to accept each and every gift. Fortunately, you can now do so from within LoTS with one easy click to accept a gift and another to send a gift in return. The first time you send a gift to someone there is another button you have to click, but you only have to do that once.

In-Game Purchases

Every two-weeks or so there are four different limited duration items to buy which are better than what you can get elsewhere. Often, they are designed around a theme, and each item gets more powerful the more the set is completed. You can also take a chance with the Expedition packs, and although you have no control over which item you get from the selection, it’s usually worth it to take the gamble.

What I appreciate about LoTS is that it rewards you for being a regular player by giving you free Golden Suns (the in-game currency) when you level up and if you play every day. While you can buy more Golden Suns with real money, I appreciate that even people without a lot of money to spare can occasionally get a more powerful item just by playing.

Conclusion

Legacy of a Thousand Suns is a fun Facebook game with many goals to work towards and many ways to work with and fight against other people. It also doesn’t take a lot of time, and you don’t need to spend any real money to get powerful items or risk falling behind. The art is very well-done, and the story has excellent detail and intriguing characters.

If you want a space game on Facebook, Legacy of a Thousand Suns is one of the better ones.

• Legacy of a Thousand Suns on Facebook

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