The MGC Times

November 2009 Newsletter

President's Corner

I would like to thank everyone for their e-mails and prayers during the past month. After I announced in last month’s newsletter that I had pneumonia, I received a flood of encouraging e-mails from many of you. I was overwhelmed by your outpouring of support. Thank you!

It has taken me a lot longer than I expected to get my strength back, but I am doing much better. I’m able to resume working on the game company, and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been making almost daily updates to the web site. I’ve added lots of new games and made some improvements. I’ve also been able to take care of all of the behind-the-scenes tasks that have been piling up in the office. So I’m all caught up and ready to continue working on the fun stuff - writing games!

- Troy Hepfner

November Special

For a limited time, we’re offering the Reflexive 10-Game Bundle for Mac and Windows! Get 10 great games for only $29.99 USD! Click on the ad below for details!

Game Reviews

Animals Coloring Book (Mac and Windows) - $19.95 USD

The Animals Coloring Book features an animated user interface created just for children and is easy to cope with, even for unprepared PC users. Your child can color many 3D animals, including fish, cows, bears, ants, mice, frogs, penguins, and more. Use the color palette to mix colors so you can get just the color you want. Color mixing works just like it does with real paints, so it is a good way to learn about basic color and art concepts.

Troy's review: Star Coloring is another independent developer like us, and they have produced three great coloring book programs for young children. We chose to feature the animal one in our newsletter, but they have also produced a Vehicles Coloring Book and a Fruits Coloring Book. Each book includes a wide variety of 3D objects to paint, and each book uses the same clear and easy interface. Not only are these games something that kids will enjoy, but they are also educational. And best of all, your child will never get the paint on themselves or your furniture!

Caster (Mac, Windows, and Linux) - $4.99 USD

Caster is an intense 3rd person action shooter with massive terrain deformation and explosive attacks. Listen to pulse pounding music as you dash across scenic landscapes in your quest to heal and free the land from the Flanx. Level up your 6 unique attacks and abilities to unleash massive destruction upon your enemies.

Troy's review: This is a pretty cool 3rd person action shooter that is made by another indie developer like us. It was awarded Game Tunnel’s Game of the Month in April, and I think it lives up to that award. There are numerous worlds to explore, filled with monsters to battle and stuff to collect. The game provides 6 different weapons that you can level up to the point where you can do some massive destruction to not only your enemies but also the terrain! The game itself is a bit short, particularly if you are used to these kinds of games, but it’s only $4.99 and it is fun to replay. The violence in this game is pretty mild - there’s no blood or gore, and enemies are dispatched in a burst of light. So we gave this game a Family-friendly rating instead of a Teen rating. If you’re looking for a good clean game for your teenage boy, this is a good one!

Princess Isabella (Mac and Windows) - $6.99 USD

Princess Isabella is all set to marry the love of her dreams, Prince Adam. After returning home from a trip, however, she finds that an evil curse has been placed on her castle by a mysterious witch. The curse has placed evil in every room, and turned everyone inside the castle into mirrors! Follow a fairy friend as you piece together the clues and save her friends and family in this gorgeous Hidden Object Adventure game!

Victoria’s review: I loved this game so much I bought it for myself! At times it felt like I was in a Disney movie. The princess returns to her castle and finds that a curse has been placed over the castle. Each room has special puzzles you must solve to remove the curse from that room. When the curse is removed, sunlight returns to the room and makes it easier to search. In each area, you find hidden objects that you can use to solve other puzzles, notes with clues about the curse, and broken mirror pieces containing spirits of the missing family members and servants. When all of the broken mirror pieces for one person are found, they must be arranged in the frame to release that person from the mirror. There are a good variety of puzzles to solve throughout this adventure to keep your interest. Playtime for the complete adventure was about 6 hours for me - that’s longer than many hidden object games. At only $6.99, that’s quite a bargain compared to other games of this type!