iGame Radio

Remember me complaining about Sandlot Games bringing Cake Mania 3 to the iPod and iPhone, and not to the Mac? We didn’t even have Cake Mania 2 for the Mac then. Now we do! Thanks to Red Marble Games (bless them), we can smell the yummy goodness of the cake, and eat it too!

From the press release:

The newly-released Cake Mania 2 invites you on an all-new journey of baking and frosting madness, across 204 levels. Lots of new characters will be beating down your door to order new cakes, and this time with a story or two. You can choose to help your friend Jack, down at the heels in his underwater theme park, or your glitzy friend Risha in her posh rooftop bakery. The game has six different possible endings and a branching storyline.

You now have 18 new customers, ten cake styles, 50 unique kitchen upgrades, and a new Endless Mode to go with the original Career Mode. Download the demo, or buy the full game for just $19.95.

CCP, creators of EVE Online, announced last year that they would be releasing EVE Online as a retail version as well as digital download. Well, they just released a PR that details some cool extras that one gets with the retail box.

From the PR:

Breaking with tradition, the collection of extras will include 60 days of free game time, a departure from the standard 30 days offered for most MMOGs, allowing players to sign up and get started without paying any subscription fees for the first 60 days of a new account.

Players redeeming the code to activate a new account will also receive these special in-game items:

1. INSTANT WAR ACCESS: This certificate allows rapid access to organized combat (through increased standings), helping new players get into the action quickly.
2. EXCLUSIVE CAREER GUIDE: Accessed via the website to allow for dynamic updates, the guide includes insider tips and tricks.
3. VIP PASS: Use this card to invite a friend to try the game for 21 days. When that friend becomes an EVE Online subscriber, you will get an additional 30 days of free game time.
4. EXCLUSIVE IN-GAME SHIP: An exclusive new ship, the Interbus Shuttle, will allow players to fly in style with an increased capacity cargo hold to ferry those extra crucial items at high speeds.

In conjunction with Atari, the retail version of EVE Online is scheduled for release in North America on March 10th, and Europe and the Asia Pacific regions beginning March 12th. The MSRP is $34.95/€39.99.

Ever wanted to play a game that melts your mind, or reminds you of having sex with Yog Sothoth (what the hell is Yog Sothoth??)…well, now you can! Brainpipe for the Mac has been released. MacPipe, as Digital Eel calls it, offers the same game-play as the PC version…but with no PC! Wheee!

Here’s a quick list of Brainpipe features from the press release:

A simple and intuitive interface*
10 levels of ramping perplexity
8 pleasurably distracting obstacles
Striking 3D graphics (Ow, my eyes!)
Immersive stereo sound & music
EELMIX sound management
Supports mouse, joystick and gamepad play
Allows windowed mode (but not Windows)
No pesky DRM

*Designed by simple and intuitive, but mostly simple, people.

Hop on over to Shrapnel Games to check out the demo and download the game.

Ubisoft has opened the door to the Mac world a little bit more. In conjunction with Transgaming Inc, Ubisoft has announced the release of several more of it’s titles for the Mac via digital download. Ubisoft will release the award-winning Prince of Persia and Shaun White Snowboarding in March 2009 via Ubisoft’s online digital store, GameTree Online and at traditional retail locations. Mac versions of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Petz Sports will also be released at select retail establishments for the first time in March 2009.

So, should we be thrilled about this? Well, in December 2005 Ubisoft released Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones onto the PC, among other platforms. When did it get to the Mac? October 2008…nearly THREE YEARS LATER. Now, we look at Prince of Persia…released to the PC on December of 2008. When are we getting it? March of 2009. THREE MONTHS LATER. Now, I’d say that’s a significant improvement, folks!

I decided to take last week off, and as often happens when one makes such decisions, game announcements occurred. So now I get to play catch-up today.

Freeverse, for example, updated their iPhone game SlotZ Racer in prep for a standalone Track Editor, then released the Track Editor at the end of the week. The Track Editor is a free standalone App that has all of the same features of the track editor within the game, allowing users to create detailed tracks with jumps, bridges, scenery, and more. But the standalone includes an online track browser, so you can scan through all of the other tracks that players have created and uploaded. Once you’ve created or downloaded a track, you can test it with automated computer cars to see how well the track will race. Also, new tracks can be uploaded, so that everyone else can see and race them.

I have a copy of the game, but haven’t started playing it yet. I’ll check it out soon enough and report back.

Do you read Fark just so you can Photoshop the images? Do you long to enter image contests, because you get to use your Wacom tablet? Do you love your art design job so much that you take your work home with you? Here is your chance to challenge your skills in the Official iGame Radio Logo Contest!

Launched today, the logo contest seeks everyone with an itch to draw, paint, or move those pixels to create the right design for a new logo for the iGame Radio Podcast. But you better get started, because the deadline is April 10, 2009. After I announce the winner, I’ll be relaunching the site with a new design based on the logo design.

All information about the contest, including rules for format and submission, are located at the the Official iGame Radio Logo Contest page. I’ve also included resource material in case you’re new to design work, or just want a refresher course. The contest will run for two months, after which the logo will be chosen by public acclaim. A prize package valued at over $500 will be offered…more details will be available as the contest proceeds.

So get yer Photoshop skills on!

Just finished moving the last of the iGame Word WordPress files into the main iGame Radio folder (igameradio.com), so that it is all merged into one location. Despite the logo at the top that says “iGame Word”, this is now, in fact, the official site of the iGame Radio Podcast. Over the next couple of months I’ll be making more changes…additions to the site that will be cool and wonderful.

The Game Goods Page, that will be an update of the old screenshots page, and include a lot of cool stuff from games just out and games out for a while for people to review.

The Port Page, which will be about games that are not on the Mac yet, but we wish would be. This will be a location not just to drool over screens, trailers, etc of games we want on the Mac, but also to try and do something about that by providing email links to the original developer and publishing company to send them emails about our desire, and a signing a petition to show how many of us are interested in a Mac version.

New Logo and Web design, which I’ll mention more about in the next post.

So, don’t miss out on things…keep coming back because there will be regular postings, and chances for all sorts of cool stuff.

PSYCLOPS, developer of iPod cases and the interactive dance and music creating website, has released a new iPhone App…the PSYCLOPS Dance Mixer. The application allows users to create their own music video with a selection of characters, pre-recorded music beats, and animated dance moves. They can also set the mood with an animated background or photo real background, and personalize it with a custom message scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

Though one can only share the music and dance video (in QuickTime format) via email, Joy Kovaleski of PYSCLOPS had already hinted in a previous iGame Radio episode of a competition aspect to come…though I don’t know whether that competition will only be on the PSYCLOPSHQ.com site or on the iPhone app as well. Time will tell!

I’ve been playing Ambrosia’s Aquaria for the Mac for the past few days. The visuals are stunning, the game world is extensive, there is no end to the number of baddies out there, and the game continues to drop new and interesting ones on you at every turn.

Not fond of the slog, though. The game has save points, and when you hit them, all the bad guys you killed show up again. I mean, when I kill the bad dude, I want him to remain dead, dammit! Also, I think they were going for kind of a 3D effect using 2D for the maps, but it ends up being a bit confusing.

I’ll give a lot more in the complete review next week.

As a follow-up to my post about gaming today, I also just got in the mail yesterday Feral Interactive’s Black & White 2! Definitely looking forward to installing that game and trying it out. I suspect that more and more my extended desktop is going to get a workout. But geez, the recommended graphics are already slightly over my Macbook Pro’s system specs. So, now I’m gonna have to look into upgrading again soon. Do I look into another Macbook Pro, or ditch my beloved G5 and get a Mac Pro. Ah, decisions, decisions.

I also got a press release about Cake Mania 3 for the iPod…the classic iPod, no less…from Sandlot Games. I veered over to their website to check it out. I mean, if they’ve got it out for the classic iPod, then surely they’ve got a Mac version and I just didn’t hear about it. Nope, my ears didn’t deceive me. They have an iPhone version, and now an iPod version, but still no Mac. C’mon, Sandlot. What’s the deal?