The MGC Times

August 2009 Newsletter

President's Corner

We received a lot of e-mails following last month’s release of Dirk Dashing v1.1.1. As usual, the feedback was mostly positive, but it seems that nearly everyone who wrote wants to know when Dirk Dashing 2 is coming out! If you’re asking that question too, then don’t worry - I’ll be resuming work on Dirk Dashing 2 following the release of Fashion Cents: Gents later this month.

With the release of v1.1.1, the game has been upgraded to the latest version of our DynaPaint engine, which contains all of the enhancements and improvements that were added for Rick Rocket. Now I can start building on it for Dirk Dashing 2. I plan to add a lot of cool new features to the engine to support the sequel. With hard work and a little luck, I think I can have the first level built by October’s newsletter so that I can give you a sneak preview! Stay tuned!

- Troy Hepfner

"Fashion Cents: Gents" to be released on August 15, 2009!

That’s right! You’ll be able to get your hands on our newest game in less than two weeks! As always, the game will be available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. The price will be $19.99 USD, but all of our existing customers and newsletter subscribers will receive a coupon code for 25% off.

In the meantime, while you are waiting we thought we would show you another cool new feature that we designed for the Gents version of the game: mustaches and beards! This is a new type of accessory that we added for the sequel, but it works differently than other accessories. First, you don’t have to match the color of the hair. Like the dolls’ hair, the color doesn’t matter. So you can play this accessory on any doll you want. Second, unlike other accessories which are worth 25 points each, this new accessory is worth 100 points! Third, it is a permanent accessory. Once you play it on the doll, it stays with the doll for the rest of the game. This means that any outfit you make on that doll from then on is worth twice as many points!

Our testers have remarked about how this changes their strategy when they play the game, and they like the fact that it isn’t totally identical to the original Fashion Cents game. Between this new kind of accessory and the random 10X multiplier we told you about in last month’s newsletter, the strategy in Fashion Cents: Gents will be a little different than in its predecessor!

Game Reviews

July was a good month for game sequels, so we’ve selected three of our favorites to review for this month’s newsletter. The first two have been available for Windows for a little while, but the Mac versions have only recently been released. So this seemed like a great time to review them!

Cradle of Persia (Mac and Windows) - $19.95 USD

Build Ancient Persia in this engaging puzzle game! This land was filled with luxurious gems and metals that were set to impress peasants and visiting nobles alike! But its exotic gardens and majestic architecture have long since vanished in the passing sands. Now you can seek out the riddles of these ruins as you travel through the land of a thousand and one nights. You will need skill and a keen wit to unlock a mystery never before seen by man, here in the Cradle of Persia!

Our review: This is a worthy successor to Cradle of Rome, and we liked it better than the first! In this matching game, your goal isn’t to just to match three of something but to create long chains of matches in order to collect gold, food, and supplies that you can use to build your civilization. You can choose what you want to build, and each time you complete a new building project, you get a new power-up to help you in the matching portion of the game. You can also upgrade the playing pieces and bonuses, which introduces some strategy elements and adds a lot of replay value to the game. If you like puzzle games, we highly recommend this one!

Tennis Elbow 2009 (Mac and Windows) - $24.95 USD

Created by tennis fans, Tennis Elbow 2009 is a tennis game with fun, realistic gameplay. It is one of the most intuitive tennis games on the market, with a simple control system that lets you easily control the player and the ball. It even has an online mode where you can play against other human players on a LAN or online tennis matches!

Our review: In our opinion, this is one of the best sports games we have in our catalog. Tennis Elbow 2009 isn’t really an update of Tennis Elbow 2006, it’s a complete new game, with a new way to play, featuring 3D male and female characters, a totally remodeled artificial intelligence engine which adds a lot of variety, and increased realism. You can play solo matches, or play through a tennis career of 16 years on either the men’s or women’s tour, starting either on the 1000th rank and working your way up through the tournaments, or starting on the 100th or 30th rank if you want to face the best players right away. There’s also a ton of other improvements that make the $24.95 price tag worthwhile. However, if you are on a budget, you should know that Tennis Elbow 2006 is still a fun game in its own right, and it is now available for only $12.50 USD (both Mac and Windows versions available).

Tribal Trouble 2 (Mac and Windows) - $24.95 USD

Tribal Trouble 2 is a fast-paced real-time strategy game set in the wacky Viking age where pillaging and plundering were everyone's favorite pastimes! In the successor to Tribal Trouble, the game runs directly in your browser and features a steady stream of new content. Create your own Viking chieftain (of chieftess), build a home village, sail on quests to foreign places, and challenge other online players to battle. After a hard day's work, you then sail home and spend your loot on more Viking gear!

Our review: This game is very similar to the original Tribal Trouble, but it runs in your browser. We also found it easier to connect with other players for battles with this version. There's also a lot more depth in the gameplay than the original. You can do a lot as a non-paying player, but when you decide to purchase "oddies" (the online currency in Tribal Trouble 2), you acquire more powerful technology and unlock lots of additional islands and quests. As far as the level of violence goes, even though you can equip your Viking warriors with axes and other weapons, there isn't any bloodshed or gratuitous violence shown. Like the original game, all you see are the characters swinging their weapons at each other, and when a Viking is "killed", he simply falls to the ground. Two things parents should watch out for with this game - 1) the developer requires players to be 13 years or older, and 2) the game itself is clean, but because this is an online game, other players might use offensive language.

Special Offers

GameCenterSolution has recently changed the price on these two games to $9.99 for both Mac and Windows:

Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child
Wandering Willows

Grubby Games has recently changed the price of the Linux versions of these games to $6.99:

The Amazing Brain Train
FizzBall
My Tribe
Professor Fizzwizzle
Professor Fizzwizzle and the Molten Mystery

Mana Games has reduced the price of Tennis Elbow 2006 to $12.50 for both Mac and Windows!