Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel takes you on a journey with Detective Bridget “Biggi” Brightstone as she explores a hotel that holds many mysteries. This is a classic Cateia game, like many others G5 has published before, and I love the way they put together games that combine hidden objects and puzzles in a story-based adventure.
While I never reviewed Eschalon Book II beyond my first impressions, the series remains one of my favorites of the last several years. I declared Book I ‘Indie RPG of the Year’ for 2007 at another site, and have been anticipating Book III for quite a while. Now Eschalon Book III has a release date: Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2014. The game will be simultaneously released on Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms – and based on past releases all are native code and perform equally well. Here is some info from the official site: On February 14th the game will…
If you have been gaming for long enough, chances are you have come across a game that wouldn’t install or that you couldn’t keep running for more than a few seconds without a crash. You used all the tricks you know, consulted support and forums, and ultimately had to face the reality that the game would never work for you.
For fans of traditional computer role-playing games (cRPG), there has been a bit of a drought of games the last couple of years. There have been some really good games, but they have been few and far between. Now there’s a Kickstarter for a new RPG that is something RPG fans can get excited about called Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore! Note: Deathfire is down to the final 3 days of funding! Here is the basic description: “Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore” is a party-based computer role-playing game with turn-based combat that hearkens back to the Golden Era of fantasy cRPGs. Built…
My MacBook Pro has 512GB of flash storage. That may sound like a lot, but once you begin editing videos and loading up essential files the space gets consumed rather quickly. SanDisks new Cruzer Fit and Cruzer Force are a great way to add up to 64GB of storage on the go. Capacities top out at 64GB!
Drox Operative is a starship action RPG featuring warring alien races, fierce space battles, as well as dynamic, evolving galaxy, and co-op multiplayer for Windows and Mac. It is fantastic indie RPG that breaks from the standard fantasy RPG genres. Today Soldak games launched the first expansion, Invasion of the Ancients, with loads of new features.
Jeff Vogel’s Spiderweb Software has been putting out some of the best indie role-playing games for 20 years. The Avernum and Geneforge franchises rank up there with some of the best commercial games made through the years. Back in 2011 they broke new ground with the Avadon franchise; now the sequel arrives, improving on the original in every way.
While I do possess the ability to learn some songs by ear, it is always much better if I can at least have the chords available then match the style of the song. An interesting Mac application called Capo 3 was just announced that makes this process much easier. For $29.99 Capo 3 will detect chords and beats from iTunes music making learning them quicker. The new software not only detects the chords being played, but will also show how to play them in chord boxes. Consider it like making a real time tableture of any song in your music…
I take a lot of screenshots when writing Gear Diary posts. Historically they have ben a disorganized mess that increasingly cluttered my desktop. Thankfully, Dropbox 2.4 offers a new feature that automatically saves screenshots to one’s Dropbox folder. That neatly puts all my screenshots in a single place and makes sharing them easier than ever. Get Dropbox 2.4. To activate this new feature, download Dropbox 2.4, launch it, got the preferences, and then select “Share screenshots using Dropbox.” It is that simple. But there is more. Dropbox 2.4 also introduces: Move to Dropbox: A context menu item that will show…
I just got a subscription to Parallels Access, and although I will be doing a full review I had to share a quick post because… “It is all kinds of awesome!” Minutes after creating an account, I had full access to my Mac from my iPad. The gestures are amazing. There’s no lag time. It just works. Check it out. I’ve used LogMeIn Ignition for some time. I like it a good deal and didn’t think I needed or even wanted Parallels Access. But after trying out my reviewer’s access to the service, I’m blown away. The biggest difference? In…
Just to be honest, my initial exposure to WiFi2HiFi was anything but positive. I had won a copy in a website contest, but actually getting the company deliver took more than a month. But the app itself was pretty cool and provided useful functionality, and now they have released a new upgraded version, cleverly called WiFi2HiFi 2. So what IS WiFi2HiFi? Well, the concept is simple. You load an app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. You install the ‘master’ app on your Mac. You pair the two, and then your iOS device shows up as a ‘device’ for…
If you are an avid user of Documents to Go you probably already knew about some of DataViz, Inc.’s product offerings in the software office arena. One aspect that is critical to office integrity is security, and DataViz has recently stepped up to the plate with their new Passwords Plus cross-platform password security software. Starting at $9.99, Passwords Plus works to keep passwords, PINs and related sensitive information secure from prying eyes and keep that data synched between devices. No more struggling to remember passwords or hunt through filing cabinets for password lists! It should be no secret that…
ARS Technica has a hands-on look at using the Leap Motion Controller. If you aren’t familiar with this device, which just began shipping this week, it is a small box that connects to your Mac and allows your hands to act as input devices for your computer. Now in and of itself, that isn’t so interesting. After all, it is your hands on a mouse or trackpad that currently allow you to input and control your computer. The difference here is that the Leap Motion Controller allows you to simply wave your hands in front of the screen and control…
When Green Jelly was released for the iPad and iPhone last December I enjoyed the physics-based game, and now it is available on the Mac! How does a very finger-friendly game translate? Let’s take a look! Type of app: Physics/Puzzle game Platform/where to buy: Mac; available in the Mac App Store Developer: MaxNick / G5 Entertainment Description: Green Jelly features include: ? 60 Levels in three locations: Cake, Chocolate and Waffles ? Over 10 types of objects for physics-based interaction ? 20 Funny achievements to share with friends ? Cute graphics and amusing sounds ? Updates with new levels to…
Have you ever seen the film Righteous Kill? I never did, and consulting RottenTomatoes tells me I didn’t miss much – I did try to stream it, but it wasn’t freely available so I requested it from Goozex, but I wasn’t able to get it before doing this review. Turns out it doesn’t matter, since this game is more ‘based on’ the movie then actually tied to the film. Based on what I hear, that is a good thing. As for the game itself – let’s take a look!
This morning Evernote brought word they were adding a key functionality that many have long requested. Yes, as of today Evernote’s Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Web applications let you set reminders for specific notes. It is a small addition to Evernote’s functionality that will make a big difference for many of us. As the Evernote blogpost notes, Reminders are here; our three most requested features rolled into one small package: In-app and email Alarms Quick to-do lists Pinning notes to the top of your note list The Reminders feature is being rolled out for Mac, iOS and Web but if…
Dropbox is one of the most important productivity tools I use these days. Having my files, documents and images in Dropbox means I can have access to any and all of my files no matter where I am and no matter what device I happen to be using on any particular day. That’s the reason I keep almost all my active documents in my Dropbox account. Side note: I also have a huge folder in Dropbox entitled “Not Kept Local”. It has all the files, movies and pictures I want to safeguard but don’t need on a daily basis. That…
I reviewed the original Epic Adventures: La Jangada here, which was based on the Jules Verne’s story ‘The Raft’ (direct translation of La Jangada). My opinion of the original was that it was an interesting story but hampered by glacial pacing and a dreary palette. Does the sequel Epic Adventures Cursed Onboard deliver where the original failed? Read on and find out! Type of app: Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) game Platform/where to buy: Mac; available in the Mac App Store Developer: Urchin Games / G5 Entertainment Description: Here are some of the features: 25 Eery locations 10 Unique mini-games…
If you work in a creative industry, chances are you use software programs from Adobe’s extensive creative suite. The issue, of course, is that these applications are insanely expensive. Interested in image-manipulation through Photoshop CS6? MSRP will cost you $700 for that program alone. You can grab it off Amazon right now for $560, but that’s not exactly a bargain. What about Illustrator? Dreamweaver? After Effects? The list goes on and on. How can anyone possibly afford to keep a solid library of digital tools? Here’s the answer: Adobe Creative Cloud. Subscription services have been around for ages, but software-based…
Have you ever started playing a game, left it for a while, and after trying to get going again felt lost and restarted? That is what happened to me with Inbetween Land for the Mac. The story centers on a city that is suddenly sent into turmoil by a flying island in the sky … which goes from being an object of fear to a tourist destination. Your friend Mary goes missing after a beam of light appears from the floating island, so that is where you start your search. The gameplay elements are immediately familiar – you have puzzles,…
Evernote 5 for Mac has arrived, and it is ready to take rings to the next level. This is a major redesign that includes: A new left panel for easier than ever access to shortcuts (new!), recent notes, notebooks, atlas and more Major search improvements, including type ahead search Easier sharing with better notebook integrations and improved activity stream Improved note editing, such as plain text options and new framing And much more. Here’s the company’s walk-through. According to the Evernote blog, The Evernote desktop experience has evolved significantly over the years. We’ve changed things in response to new features,…