Mac Games

Spirited Heart is a very particular game. Apparently it’s a sort of a mix between a life simulation game, set in a fantasy world, complete with the usual character statistics / skills typical of a RPG, and a dating sim.

Is really a unique and innovative combination never seen before on computer games. The game starts with the classic character generation, this time done in a very intuitive and “casual” style. First, the three girls, correspondant to the three races of the game (human, elf and demoness) are presented to the player.

After naming your character, you have to “build up” your early life experiences in a sort of minigame itself. You decide the starting social background, then you need to pick choices on certain events that changed your childhood. Each choice changes your starting statistics.

Then the real game starts, you can choose between 20 jobs to do, and every jobs has minimum requirements but also improves a statistic. While the basic jobs require and improve the same skill (example: the builder requires strength, and improves strength only), the more advanced jobs require two skills at a certain level, and improve a new skill (example: the Healer job requires charisma and wisdom and improve faith).

While you’re doing jobs, random events can occur: some positive, but most are negative ones, and beside have to pick a choice you also need to have some requirements: for example some thugs wants to rob you, you have the “Fight them” option only if you have a good combat skill.

The 6 potential partner encounter are fixed to some jobs only, but they’re clearly explained in the “Relationship Menu” inside the game, once you have met them for the first time, so you know where to look if you want to get one of the six special marriage endings of the game.

I could speak for hours about this game but the best thing to do is download the demo that is quite long and will let you try what this amazing game has to offer: lots of gameplay, fun moments, beautiful dialogues and much more. Definitely reccommended!

Download demo now (about 20mb)

Rise of the Little Brother is a sequel that is loosely based on the earlier game “College Romance”.

This game blends one of those choose-your-own-adventure type books with a little bit of material from a dating sim game, to present a submission that is nearly entirely story-driven. The graphics are professional, and the game builds on that by showcasing the author’s writing skill with multiple story-arcs, and portrayal of various characters’ lives and personality traits.

For a game where a player reads, and occasionally clicks an item from a multiple-choice response menu, it is a surprisingly engrossing experience. The author paints a frighteningly familiar picture of a college student deciding what to do with his life, and influenced by the people with whom he wants to spend his life.

Right alongside our hero, there are four women, each a sharp contrast from one another, all with differently engaging life stories, and personalities and desires that stem logically from their backgrounds. No small feat given that two of them are twins! The multiple choice selections affect which women the protagonist encounters, and what happens, getting the player invested in each story. Rise of the Litter Brother has no “wrong” ending, but for each player, a different ending might seem better than the others; that’s all a matter of taste.

Fortunately this game runs on the Mac, Windows, and Linux, so you can recommend it to your friends regardless of what they run. It’s definitely worth spending time with this jewel of a game, and getting to know the women of Alta, Texas.

Download the game now