Thứ Tư, 26 tháng 10, 2011
Angry Birds maker Rovio looking at $1 billion IPO next year
Thanks to those irate, wingless birds, Rovio is worth lots and lots of money, apparently. Speaking with Bloomberg, the Angry Birds creator's CMO Peter Vesterbacka said, "We're not ready to file for an IPO tomorrow. Maybe a year from now." And speaking to the recent estimations that Rovio is worth around $1 billion, Vesterbacka all but confirmed the guesswork.
FarmVille Express, Words With Friends, Zynga Poker hit Facebook Mobile
Revealed earlier this week, the company announced the three games as part of its continued push into mobile gaming with the upcoming Dream Zoo and Mafia Wars Shakedown for iPhone and iPad. FarmVille Express is a stripped version of the native iOS game that's already available, but it allows players to plant crops on their main farm, send free gifts to their friends and respond to help requests.
Zynga: Mafia Wars is not connected to Air Force drone fleet virus
The malware that infected the cockpits' hard drives was first found on a connected thumb drive, but according to Air Force Space Command spokesperson Colonel Kathleen Cook, the malware has since been isolated and has not affected the drones directly. While it's possible that the drone crews weren't specifically playing Mafia Wars while said thumb drive was connected to either a personal or military PC, the malware was likely designed to attack social networks with such games on them.
Namco Bandai, DeNA to tell a social tale with Tales of Kizna for Mobage
Players, as with most social games, will have the option to join guilds and form parties to do battle with one another. On paper at least, the game sounds a whole lot like a mobile Mafia Wars, but with a card game as its combat system. Tales of Kizna is due out on Japan's Mobage network this November, and Japanese fans of the series can pre-register for the game right now.
Infographic: 35 percent of social gamers never played video games
Of course, the infographic finds that Facebook is the dominant social game platform, with 83 percent of social gamers using the social network to get their daily farming fix. What's most interesting is the finding that 28 percent of U.S. and UK-based social game fans have paid real money for virtual currency. This is leaps and bounds beyond usual the 3 to 5 percent figure thrown around to estimate the amount of paying social gamers
Lady Gaga says gaga-game over to Moshi Monsters' Lady Goo Goo
Lady Gaga's lawyers were granted the injunction during an Oct. 10 hearing at the New Rolls building in London, England. More specifically, the injunction keeps Mind Candy from "promoting, advertising, selling, distributing or otherwise making available to the public The Moshi Dance OR any musical work or video which purports to be performed by a character by the name of Lady Goo Goo, or which otherwise uses the name Lady Goo Goo or any variant thereon," according to a release.
RockYou to cast Hooked into Facebook's waters next week [Exclusive]
You'll be able to play in synchronous multiplayer, along with a solo mode. Both modes offer a variety of weekly leaderboards that will compare your stats to your friends. When the game launches in beta next week, early adopters will be given extra incentive to come back through "Tickets," which seem to be a type of currency that we'll be able to use on a variety of different features that won't yet be available at launch, but will come soon after release.
CityVille Hometown is here, your miniature mobile metropolis awaits
The game allows players to import their existing Facebook and CityVille friends into a new, but separate mobile experience in the franchise. (Note: This is not a mobile extension of your CityVille web game, but a brand new one.)
Thứ Ba, 25 tháng 10, 2011
Should You Buy Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure? Yes.
Mixing together video games and collectible toys, Activision? How very Captain Power of you. As many will no doubt remember, the good captain and his soldiers of the future wound up defending clearance aisles from evil until fading into obscurity. Should a simillar fate befall Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure? It’s time for a Gut Check.
While You Were Sleeping
While you were sleeping, face squished into a dog’s fluffy, soft body, drooling all over yourself, stuff happen. Video game stuff. Thankfully we’ve rounded up some of the highlights from last night while you were deep in slumber, so here it is!
I mostly skipped Oblivion. And by skipped I mean I spent seven hours without feeling a single shred of reward or progress, and then quit playing. Morrowind, on the other hand, as a student with too much time on his hands, was the elephant graveyard where my grades went to die. At this point, I’m unsure about Skyrim, mainly because I wonder if I have the time to invest in such a game. Long story short – we have an awesome hands on that may help you/me decide. Head here and read it.
Yesterday we found out that Europe is getting The Old Republic on time, while we’re still in the stone ages with the staggered release date. Want to know what we’re missing out on? Head here!
I don’t normally get excited about cosplay – but this is boss. There’s a Devil May Cry HD collection in the works, and here is the Uncharted 3 TV spot.
I mostly skipped Oblivion. And by skipped I mean I spent seven hours without feeling a single shred of reward or progress, and then quit playing. Morrowind, on the other hand, as a student with too much time on his hands, was the elephant graveyard where my grades went to die. At this point, I’m unsure about Skyrim, mainly because I wonder if I have the time to invest in such a game. Long story short – we have an awesome hands on that may help you/me decide. Head here and read it.
Yesterday we found out that Europe is getting The Old Republic on time, while we’re still in the stone ages with the staggered release date. Want to know what we’re missing out on? Head here!
I don’t normally get excited about cosplay – but this is boss. There’s a Devil May Cry HD collection in the works, and here is the Uncharted 3 TV spot.
Zombie In A Penguin Suit Isn’t What You’re Expecting
Yes, zombies are sometimes overplayed. There are zombie books, zombie snacks, zombie plushies, games and movies.
But that doesn’t mean that in the right hands zombies can’t still be interesting… and terrible.
But that doesn’t mean that in the right hands zombies can’t still be interesting… and terrible.
PixelJunk Sidescroller Scrolls Into Being On October 25
News
PixelJunk Sidescroller Scrolls Into Being On October 25
By Mark Serrels on October 18, 2011 at 9:30 AM
Via its twitter account, Q Games has announced that the next game in its stellar PixelJunk series, PixelJunk SideScroller, is set for release October 25 on the PlayStation Network. That’s a US date – but we rarely have delays on the PSN, so we can expect an Australian release will be forthcoming.
Ever since PixelJunk Monsters, I swore a solemn vow to buy and play every single game Q Games releases, and I see no reason to stop with PixelJunk Sidescroller. Essentially a revamped, hyper HD version of R-Type, Sidescroller appears to take some of the raw mechanics of PixelJunk Shooter and places them into a ‘hard as all balls’ sidescroller that will make your knuckles bleed.
Sounds (painfully) good to me.
PixelJunk Sidescroller Scrolls Into Being On October 25
By Mark Serrels on October 18, 2011 at 9:30 AM
Via its twitter account, Q Games has announced that the next game in its stellar PixelJunk series, PixelJunk SideScroller, is set for release October 25 on the PlayStation Network. That’s a US date – but we rarely have delays on the PSN, so we can expect an Australian release will be forthcoming.
Ever since PixelJunk Monsters, I swore a solemn vow to buy and play every single game Q Games releases, and I see no reason to stop with PixelJunk Sidescroller. Essentially a revamped, hyper HD version of R-Type, Sidescroller appears to take some of the raw mechanics of PixelJunk Shooter and places them into a ‘hard as all balls’ sidescroller that will make your knuckles bleed.
Sounds (painfully) good to me.
Thứ Hai, 24 tháng 10, 2011
Before You Start… Tips For Playing Batman Arkham City The Best Way
The excellent Batman: Arkham City is now on sale for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and we want you to have the best possible time with it. So, before you start, here are some tips from us about how to get the most out of the game, right from the start.
No spoilers here, just some friendly advice to make your trip to Arkham ideal….
1) Don’t worry about having played the first game, but do read a plot summary. There are lots of references to the Titan forumla and the state of various villains. Brush up on your Arkham Asylum lore (the plot summary in Wikipedia should help) and you’ll appreciate all that a lot more.
2) Get that Catwoman DLC, and get it before you start. As we’ve noted, the ability to play as Catwoman is available only once you download about 200 MB of data. Do that before you start, because it will affect how the game begins. The new Catwoman intro isn’t great, but her later missions are good (plus, she’s fun to play as, as you can see here). You can get access to the Catwoman content by redeeming a code bundled with new copies of the game, though some retailers may give you a code even if you buy the game used (and, if not, you can buy it online for $US10).
3) Don’t play on easy. First of all, the game isn’t that hard. Second, you can only access the game’s second New Game Plus play-through if you’ve finished it on Normal or Hard.
4) Get into fistfights. One of the beauties of development studio Rocksteady’s Batman series is that you can button-mash through it and have a good time, but you can have an even better time fighting through each skirmish with the precision you’d normally reserve for playing a rhythm game. The best way to get that rhythm is to practice, practice. So send Batman down to the streets and make him punch people in the face. Or the ribs. Or the back. Or put his foot in their gut, on their jaw. Etc.
5) Do the AR missions as soon as you can get them. In the first hour of the game you’ll unlock augmented reality missions, four of them. Do them all, as they unlock a tool that is extremely useful for getting around in the game. Don’t leave this sidequest to the side.
6) Don’t sweat the Riddler stuff right away. The game is packed with Riddler clues to solve, Riddler trophies to collect and Riddler challenges to complete. There are 400 Riddler things to do even if you don’t have the Catwoman content (at least 40 more if you do). It can be overwhelming and a little confusing, since you’ll often see Riddler trophies or challenges tucked into the corners of Arkham City as you swoop through it en route to your chosen mission. You may worry that you’ll never find that Riddler thing again. Don’t worry! Early on, the game will introduce a tool (a holding-down of the left bumper on the Xbox 360 controller) that lets you tag Riddler items that you spy and add them to your map. But even that isn’t a must. A few more hours into the game, you’ll be given a very obvious method for getting Riddler item locations added to your map. This isn’t like GTA‘s hidden packages or Assassin’s Creed‘s treasure chests. Before long, you’ll have all the tools to track these 400+ items down without every consulting an online hint guide.
7) Don’t worry about finishing the sidequests before you finish the story (at least if you have Catwoman access). None of us here at Kotaku has finished the game without also having the Catwoman content installed, so this advice is only for those who have it… When you finish the storyline, you need to wrap up the Catwoman chapters (accessible from the main menu) and then you’ll be able to return to Arkham to finish up side-quests. Hopefully you can do this without the Catwoman content, too, but we can’t say for sure yet. We’re looking into it.
No spoilers here, just some friendly advice to make your trip to Arkham ideal….
1) Don’t worry about having played the first game, but do read a plot summary. There are lots of references to the Titan forumla and the state of various villains. Brush up on your Arkham Asylum lore (the plot summary in Wikipedia should help) and you’ll appreciate all that a lot more.
2) Get that Catwoman DLC, and get it before you start. As we’ve noted, the ability to play as Catwoman is available only once you download about 200 MB of data. Do that before you start, because it will affect how the game begins. The new Catwoman intro isn’t great, but her later missions are good (plus, she’s fun to play as, as you can see here). You can get access to the Catwoman content by redeeming a code bundled with new copies of the game, though some retailers may give you a code even if you buy the game used (and, if not, you can buy it online for $US10).
3) Don’t play on easy. First of all, the game isn’t that hard. Second, you can only access the game’s second New Game Plus play-through if you’ve finished it on Normal or Hard.
4) Get into fistfights. One of the beauties of development studio Rocksteady’s Batman series is that you can button-mash through it and have a good time, but you can have an even better time fighting through each skirmish with the precision you’d normally reserve for playing a rhythm game. The best way to get that rhythm is to practice, practice. So send Batman down to the streets and make him punch people in the face. Or the ribs. Or the back. Or put his foot in their gut, on their jaw. Etc.
5) Do the AR missions as soon as you can get them. In the first hour of the game you’ll unlock augmented reality missions, four of them. Do them all, as they unlock a tool that is extremely useful for getting around in the game. Don’t leave this sidequest to the side.
6) Don’t sweat the Riddler stuff right away. The game is packed with Riddler clues to solve, Riddler trophies to collect and Riddler challenges to complete. There are 400 Riddler things to do even if you don’t have the Catwoman content (at least 40 more if you do). It can be overwhelming and a little confusing, since you’ll often see Riddler trophies or challenges tucked into the corners of Arkham City as you swoop through it en route to your chosen mission. You may worry that you’ll never find that Riddler thing again. Don’t worry! Early on, the game will introduce a tool (a holding-down of the left bumper on the Xbox 360 controller) that lets you tag Riddler items that you spy and add them to your map. But even that isn’t a must. A few more hours into the game, you’ll be given a very obvious method for getting Riddler item locations added to your map. This isn’t like GTA‘s hidden packages or Assassin’s Creed‘s treasure chests. Before long, you’ll have all the tools to track these 400+ items down without every consulting an online hint guide.
7) Don’t worry about finishing the sidequests before you finish the story (at least if you have Catwoman access). None of us here at Kotaku has finished the game without also having the Catwoman content installed, so this advice is only for those who have it… When you finish the storyline, you need to wrap up the Catwoman chapters (accessible from the main menu) and then you’ll be able to return to Arkham to finish up side-quests. Hopefully you can do this without the Catwoman content, too, but we can’t say for sure yet. We’re looking into it.
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure Could Be The Most Expensive Game You Ever Buy
While at least two of us at Kotaku enjoy Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure enough to recommend a purchase, that doesn’t mean we’re oblivious to the costly downsides to a game that sells its downloadable content on toy store shelves.
To experience everything Skylanders has to offer as of this writing would cost roughly $US225.
Merging physical toys with an interactive video game, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure opens up parents and children to a new way to play, but it also opens up parents to a new way to pay for their child’s interactive entertainment.
First they must invest in the game itself, which will run them $US69.99 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, or 3DS (the PC / Mac version is $US59.99). With the three included characters, players have access to a good chunk of the game’s content and are able to play through to the game’s end without worrying about purchasing anything extra.
But the game really makes you want that something extra.
Take the video above. As you play through the console game you’re constantly unlocking special powers for characters you don’t own yet. The game lets you know which power is for what character, and then shows you a preview of that character in action specifically tailored to making young children scream at their parents until they own one.
That mechanic doesn’t specifically lock content away from the player, but others do.
For instance, each level in the game features doors that can only be opened by Skylanders of a specific element. The game comes with three. There are eight elements. Behind those doors lie short obstacle courses containing in-game prizes (power augmenting hats) that can’t be completely accessed unless you own a toy of each eight elements. With characters running $US7.99 a piece, that brings the total up to $US109.
But wait, there’s more!
Each Skylander unlocks its own heroic challenge in the game. Completing these challenges grants permanent stat and power buffs to whichever Skylander undergoes the trial, so in order to get the most power out of your characters, you’ll need all of them. Since only 12 additional characters are currently available, the total rises to $US165, and that’s before wave two even hits.
For the sake of completion, let’s add in the two adventure packs currently available, each of which add extra game levels and another character each, as well as the Toys”R”Us exclusive Legendary pack, containing three recolored versions of existing toys, including Spyro himself. That’s another $US60, bringing the grand total to $US225.
Again, not counting the next wave of toys, another dozen or so at $US7.99 apiece, tacking on an additional $US95.
So to get the total Skylanders experience you’re going to be paying at least $US320, and I’d argue that you’d need to play both console and 3DS versions (the 3DS comes with an exclusive Dark Spyro figure), since the 3DS version is a completely different game that uses the same figures.
No matter how you do the maths it adds up to a lot of money, possibly more money than you’ve ever spent on a single video game, outside of the pricier Rock Band or Guitar Hero bundles.
On one hand, I can see how that might make someone upset with Activision. They’re trying to take our money, after all. Well that’s what big companies do. Activision has just found a brand new way to do it. It seems to be working, too; the Toys”R”Us I went to on Sunday told me they sold through nearly an entire storeroom filled with Skylanders product.
At the end of the day I’m having fun, I’d like to think my kids are (or one day will be) having fun watching me play, and no other game’s downloadable content has left me with a horde of colourful, well-made statuettes lining my entertainment centre. If that sounds ridiculous to you, then you’re probably not the audience Acti is looking for.
To experience everything Skylanders has to offer as of this writing would cost roughly $US225.
Merging physical toys with an interactive video game, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure opens up parents and children to a new way to play, but it also opens up parents to a new way to pay for their child’s interactive entertainment.
First they must invest in the game itself, which will run them $US69.99 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, or 3DS (the PC / Mac version is $US59.99). With the three included characters, players have access to a good chunk of the game’s content and are able to play through to the game’s end without worrying about purchasing anything extra.
But the game really makes you want that something extra.
Take the video above. As you play through the console game you’re constantly unlocking special powers for characters you don’t own yet. The game lets you know which power is for what character, and then shows you a preview of that character in action specifically tailored to making young children scream at their parents until they own one.
That mechanic doesn’t specifically lock content away from the player, but others do.
For instance, each level in the game features doors that can only be opened by Skylanders of a specific element. The game comes with three. There are eight elements. Behind those doors lie short obstacle courses containing in-game prizes (power augmenting hats) that can’t be completely accessed unless you own a toy of each eight elements. With characters running $US7.99 a piece, that brings the total up to $US109.
But wait, there’s more!
Each Skylander unlocks its own heroic challenge in the game. Completing these challenges grants permanent stat and power buffs to whichever Skylander undergoes the trial, so in order to get the most power out of your characters, you’ll need all of them. Since only 12 additional characters are currently available, the total rises to $US165, and that’s before wave two even hits.
For the sake of completion, let’s add in the two adventure packs currently available, each of which add extra game levels and another character each, as well as the Toys”R”Us exclusive Legendary pack, containing three recolored versions of existing toys, including Spyro himself. That’s another $US60, bringing the grand total to $US225.
Again, not counting the next wave of toys, another dozen or so at $US7.99 apiece, tacking on an additional $US95.
So to get the total Skylanders experience you’re going to be paying at least $US320, and I’d argue that you’d need to play both console and 3DS versions (the 3DS comes with an exclusive Dark Spyro figure), since the 3DS version is a completely different game that uses the same figures.
No matter how you do the maths it adds up to a lot of money, possibly more money than you’ve ever spent on a single video game, outside of the pricier Rock Band or Guitar Hero bundles.
On one hand, I can see how that might make someone upset with Activision. They’re trying to take our money, after all. Well that’s what big companies do. Activision has just found a brand new way to do it. It seems to be working, too; the Toys”R”Us I went to on Sunday told me they sold through nearly an entire storeroom filled with Skylanders product.
At the end of the day I’m having fun, I’d like to think my kids are (or one day will be) having fun watching me play, and no other game’s downloadable content has left me with a horde of colourful, well-made statuettes lining my entertainment centre. If that sounds ridiculous to you, then you’re probably not the audience Acti is looking for.
Proof Tim Schafer Can Do Whatever The Hell He Wants
Here’s the thing – if anyone other than Tim Schafer’s Double Fine had released Happy Action Theater, via the above trailer, I’m sure it would have either been a) roundly ignored or b) written off as a flaccid party game. But do you know what? Tim Schafer has earned the right to create a stupidly fun party game. And he’s earned the right to have me play it.
It looks like a Kinect version of Warioware – a series of utterly insane mini games that are incredibly short, yet incredibly inventive. Happy Action Theater looks as though it appeals to the insane fun of having your living room transformed into a virtual play area and Schafer himself claims the game appeals to “three-year-olds or college dorm rooms full of drunken 20-year-olds.”
I’m not three years old, and I don’t drink – but hey, I will most likely play this game. It is being released this Christmas via Xbox LIVE.
It looks like a Kinect version of Warioware – a series of utterly insane mini games that are incredibly short, yet incredibly inventive. Happy Action Theater looks as though it appeals to the insane fun of having your living room transformed into a virtual play area and Schafer himself claims the game appeals to “three-year-olds or college dorm rooms full of drunken 20-year-olds.”
I’m not three years old, and I don’t drink – but hey, I will most likely play this game. It is being released this Christmas via Xbox LIVE.
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 10, 2011
Disney XD Games
Disney Friends for Change Games
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
Exciting idea/s for HOME, the REAL Gamer's Lounge
How is HOME? Been there lately? It has come a long way these past 12 months, and if you haven't been there, you must go check it out. The amount of content is ludicrous, it's fantastic!
For those who do enjoy HOME, and for those who wish they had more mini games in HOME, and want better contact when dealing with the companies who have products in HOME. Well here is the place for you! You, your friends AND more importantly a place for those people A little over 1 year ago, HOME ran a contest for us to come up with the name of a NEW meeting space. We did not know what this space was going to be. After Sony chose the name, with one of the 1st meetings in it, I did find out what this NEW Space was MEANT to be. Locust Star said, "This place is for Game creators, Publishers etc., to come into HOME, and talk to us, get our feedback etc. Great idea!
Now I have been to a few of these, and while it is cool knowing that some companies DO CARE and want our feedback by showing up in HOME. It's very hard getting a question answered because everyone crowds that special guest, and so many questions are being typed out, you can't even read the replies.
Now I myself, did not like the name, Gamer's Lounge, especially AFTER hearing what this place was truly meant for. IF we all knew what this place was, then "Gamers Lounge", probably would NOT have been chosen.
That is why i came up with this idea, and honestly, it's one of the better ideas I have ever come up with in regards to HOME. The main reason I am saying that is that if this is IN FACT going to be a place for meetings, to interact with the members of HOME, and the developmental community, where idea's are tossed around and so forth, then they should take the wrecking ball to this place, and close this down.
But regardless of the name, here is how to better it for EVERYONE, and if it comes to fruition, it is now a Extremely valuable piece of HOME when it comes to bridging the gap between the gaming creators, publisher's and their parent companies and ourselves.
The Gamer's Lounge, the TRUE Gamers lounge, we NEED Games! We, meaning members of HOME, already "lounge" around in the plaza, bowling alley, listening area and in our owned spaces. Having this space, that even if it had a chess board or two, even when talk about games, ta da, we already DO THAT EVERYWHERE IN HOME. We don't need a designated area to talk about games, and "lounge around" . BECAUSE WE DO IT EVERYWHERE ALREADY. A Meeting place to talk w/ developers etc, is not a lounge. What, if I am in the plaza talking to a few people, and someone brings up Killzone 2, were supposed to stop, go to our menu, go to the Gamer's lounge, and talk about Killzone 2? Seriously? Of course not, lol, are you nuts? lol Were going to talk about it right their on the spot.
Now I was at one of the 1st "meetings" in the Gamers Space with Locust Star. I will more then likely NEVER GO AGAIN. The guy shows up, and he asks everyone to PLEASE NOT CROWD ME so he can tell us what's going on, and answer a few questions. He mentions a few things, then it's a goddamn molestation of the guy, as now everyone is in his face & everyone is typing out questions and comments.
So you can't see what the poor guy is saying, let alone, what anyone else is asking, so you go look at the chat box to see what he said, and the things is scrolling fast as hell because everyone is just typing away. So as I said, enjoy because that will be my last one until you guys can get it under control.
I am a billion % serious, I ask you to please print this out, and hand many copies to your co workers, designers, and your bosses because this is honestly, one of, if not thee Greatest way this can be done for both of our beneftis! Even though 50-60 people showed up for the "meeting", when you have more people coming, it's gonna be jammed packed, and then nothing gets done. All you will have is even more pi$$ed off people like you had today, who complained that they waited around their for that long, "just for that BS"
Now in that meeting, I asked Locust about putting actual games in their, and he said, "We could do that, but, this place is REALLY for the developers and publishers to come and talk about the games, and for the developers to talk to us about their games..
I said take thee wrecking ball to this place and I meant it. OR ...
If you TRULY are going to have publishers and designers COME into HOME and want to talk to US about their games, then you really, REALLY need to put serious thought into this because it can and it WILL work. But things need to change FAST!
And here is what I came up with:
Topic 1-Tell them to build you a NEW space but not any ole space.
Topic 2- Alter the Gamers Space as a true Gamers space!
TOPIC 1 Designers, Publishers & Developers in HOME - Gamer Meetings
1- Ask them to build you a space, that's a Auditorium or a huge Conference room with stadium style seating,(like in college) so everyone who comes IS SITTING down, and the developers/designers/publisher s are at the front of the class so to speak, with their avatars or whatever
If the developmental community is going to come into HOME, they're going to tell us, or ask for our ideas, and/or talk about their games, then they should have the right platform to speak in front of us, with no distractions. Where EVERYONE can see and hear (if they used voice chat) what they are saying, or asking.
(Unlike today for example, and it would be extremely embarrassing for Sony to have created HOME, then have some developer/creator/publisher come in from Activision, SCEA, Rockstar etc, and be witness to that the mob scene that was today. How unruly would it look to one of these developers with 50 people up his a$$ all throwing out questions at once? NOT GOOD
1a- Create a TRUE meeting Space called the "Developmental Publishers and Designers Forum or the Developers, Publishers and Designers Forum :"D-PAD" for short (ooh I LIKE THAT BTW) D-PAD!
Stadium style seating, possibly 2 rooms, so if you have 2 people there, 1 person can speak to a group in one room, and in the other room the other designer talks to everyone else. After say, 30 minutes, the developers switch rooms. PERFECT. Both people talk to the same crowd, just at opposite times so when their done, they switch and we don't have to move from our seat. Now if only 1 developer is there, you can still have him in the front, and like you have the different servers or "instances" for us, like the bowling alley when it is packed, that person will still show up in both rooms.
For those who do enjoy HOME, and for those who wish they had more mini games in HOME, and want better contact when dealing with the companies who have products in HOME. Well here is the place for you! You, your friends AND more importantly a place for those people A little over 1 year ago, HOME ran a contest for us to come up with the name of a NEW meeting space. We did not know what this space was going to be. After Sony chose the name, with one of the 1st meetings in it, I did find out what this NEW Space was MEANT to be. Locust Star said, "This place is for Game creators, Publishers etc., to come into HOME, and talk to us, get our feedback etc. Great idea!
Now I have been to a few of these, and while it is cool knowing that some companies DO CARE and want our feedback by showing up in HOME. It's very hard getting a question answered because everyone crowds that special guest, and so many questions are being typed out, you can't even read the replies.
Now I myself, did not like the name, Gamer's Lounge, especially AFTER hearing what this place was truly meant for. IF we all knew what this place was, then "Gamers Lounge", probably would NOT have been chosen.
That is why i came up with this idea, and honestly, it's one of the better ideas I have ever come up with in regards to HOME. The main reason I am saying that is that if this is IN FACT going to be a place for meetings, to interact with the members of HOME, and the developmental community, where idea's are tossed around and so forth, then they should take the wrecking ball to this place, and close this down.
But regardless of the name, here is how to better it for EVERYONE, and if it comes to fruition, it is now a Extremely valuable piece of HOME when it comes to bridging the gap between the gaming creators, publisher's and their parent companies and ourselves.
The Gamer's Lounge, the TRUE Gamers lounge, we NEED Games! We, meaning members of HOME, already "lounge" around in the plaza, bowling alley, listening area and in our owned spaces. Having this space, that even if it had a chess board or two, even when talk about games, ta da, we already DO THAT EVERYWHERE IN HOME. We don't need a designated area to talk about games, and "lounge around" . BECAUSE WE DO IT EVERYWHERE ALREADY. A Meeting place to talk w/ developers etc, is not a lounge. What, if I am in the plaza talking to a few people, and someone brings up Killzone 2, were supposed to stop, go to our menu, go to the Gamer's lounge, and talk about Killzone 2? Seriously? Of course not, lol, are you nuts? lol Were going to talk about it right their on the spot.
Now I was at one of the 1st "meetings" in the Gamers Space with Locust Star. I will more then likely NEVER GO AGAIN. The guy shows up, and he asks everyone to PLEASE NOT CROWD ME so he can tell us what's going on, and answer a few questions. He mentions a few things, then it's a goddamn molestation of the guy, as now everyone is in his face & everyone is typing out questions and comments.
So you can't see what the poor guy is saying, let alone, what anyone else is asking, so you go look at the chat box to see what he said, and the things is scrolling fast as hell because everyone is just typing away. So as I said, enjoy because that will be my last one until you guys can get it under control.
I am a billion % serious, I ask you to please print this out, and hand many copies to your co workers, designers, and your bosses because this is honestly, one of, if not thee Greatest way this can be done for both of our beneftis! Even though 50-60 people showed up for the "meeting", when you have more people coming, it's gonna be jammed packed, and then nothing gets done. All you will have is even more pi$$ed off people like you had today, who complained that they waited around their for that long, "just for that BS"
Now in that meeting, I asked Locust about putting actual games in their, and he said, "We could do that, but, this place is REALLY for the developers and publishers to come and talk about the games, and for the developers to talk to us about their games..
I said take thee wrecking ball to this place and I meant it. OR ...
If you TRULY are going to have publishers and designers COME into HOME and want to talk to US about their games, then you really, REALLY need to put serious thought into this because it can and it WILL work. But things need to change FAST!
And here is what I came up with:
Topic 1-Tell them to build you a NEW space but not any ole space.
Topic 2- Alter the Gamers Space as a true Gamers space!
TOPIC 1 Designers, Publishers & Developers in HOME - Gamer Meetings
1- Ask them to build you a space, that's a Auditorium or a huge Conference room with stadium style seating,(like in college) so everyone who comes IS SITTING down, and the developers/designers/publisher s are at the front of the class so to speak, with their avatars or whatever
If the developmental community is going to come into HOME, they're going to tell us, or ask for our ideas, and/or talk about their games, then they should have the right platform to speak in front of us, with no distractions. Where EVERYONE can see and hear (if they used voice chat) what they are saying, or asking.
(Unlike today for example, and it would be extremely embarrassing for Sony to have created HOME, then have some developer/creator/publisher come in from Activision, SCEA, Rockstar etc, and be witness to that the mob scene that was today. How unruly would it look to one of these developers with 50 people up his a$$ all throwing out questions at once? NOT GOOD
1a- Create a TRUE meeting Space called the "Developmental Publishers and Designers Forum or the Developers, Publishers and Designers Forum :"D-PAD" for short (ooh I LIKE THAT BTW) D-PAD!
Stadium style seating, possibly 2 rooms, so if you have 2 people there, 1 person can speak to a group in one room, and in the other room the other designer talks to everyone else. After say, 30 minutes, the developers switch rooms. PERFECT. Both people talk to the same crowd, just at opposite times so when their done, they switch and we don't have to move from our seat. Now if only 1 developer is there, you can still have him in the front, and like you have the different servers or "instances" for us, like the bowling alley when it is packed, that person will still show up in both rooms.
Thứ Sáu, 21 tháng 10, 2011
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!
Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!
Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games
A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 10, 2011
Virtua Fighters 5 Is Still The King!
I'v just started playing Virtua Fighter 5 because i sold Tekken 6 and im amazed at how well this game still holds up. It's beyond me why Sega has not released an updated version of this game yet. in terms of production quality, gameplay and artistic design this game kills Tekken 6. I know it's a matter of opinion but Tekken 6 was the ugliest game in the series. Graphicaly it had it going but artisticaly it was butt ugly!
Anyway let me know what you guys feel about the VF5 game and whether or not sega should release VF5 evolution or VF6 in the states.
Anyway let me know what you guys feel about the VF5 game and whether or not sega should release VF5 evolution or VF6 in the states.
Buying a console a few years into it's "lifecycle"
Have you ever bought a console years after it was first released? What are the very first things you do?
Well, for me I have done this numerous times. My Wii and PS3 were late purchases, only my PSP and 360 were day 1(ish).
The first processes into owning a new console are extremely daunting. You start by researching exactly what you'll need, and then you set it up. Those first steps are fine but afterwards? It's hard.
Day one of my PS3 I was overwhelmed by what to buy and what to do. I'm one who can spend up to and over an hour playing around with settings, and the PS3 is very in-depth. From it's wifi to HDMI connectivity, to PlayStation Home and PSN.
Even transfering from Xbox to PS3 was odd, because PSN did things differently, you don't buy anything for a starters and you go through what I deemed to be a primitive sign-up process.
Afterwards, there is the choice of games to buy:
The PS3 is a terrible console because of this. There is MGS, LBP, inFamous, Killzone, the early "hiddem gem" titles like Folklore, Motorstorm, etc. (I should note that I got my PS3 in 2008)
When you have these games the process of "settling in" is still odd because you don't really treat it as a gaming console just yet, it's really new. You may play for a few hours of each game but it's SO daunting, especially if you have a pile of back-purchases lined up.
Even if you "settle in" there is a tough choice if you held onto your previous console : which platform do you buy multiplatform titles for? I chose the PS3 because it was my newest console, it was a decent investment (£320) and the fact is you still need to make a small collection so you have all genres (this may be just me).
Luckily my experience with the Wii was different, for starters getting it online for the update was too simple. Then signing up was simple. There were no extras, the only odd thing was using a motion controller.
With back-catalogue buying of a Nintendo console it's much easier. You get the franchise you like the most, my first game being Metroid Prime Trilogy. Enough gaming to get along with in itself, and then after that it's a case of nitpicking.
Then the choice of buying multiplat games for it was very easy: don't. The wii version is essentially what would be the PS2 version or PSP version with motion controls added.
This is by no means slagging the Wii off, I think that the Wii is great when the game is good but otherwise I do believe my points are valid.
I wonder what your own experiences are of buying a new console are? Did you find it daunting? Exciting? Spent a lot of money? Spent as little as possible? Any problems?
Well, for me I have done this numerous times. My Wii and PS3 were late purchases, only my PSP and 360 were day 1(ish).
The first processes into owning a new console are extremely daunting. You start by researching exactly what you'll need, and then you set it up. Those first steps are fine but afterwards? It's hard.
Day one of my PS3 I was overwhelmed by what to buy and what to do. I'm one who can spend up to and over an hour playing around with settings, and the PS3 is very in-depth. From it's wifi to HDMI connectivity, to PlayStation Home and PSN.
Even transfering from Xbox to PS3 was odd, because PSN did things differently, you don't buy anything for a starters and you go through what I deemed to be a primitive sign-up process.
Afterwards, there is the choice of games to buy:
The PS3 is a terrible console because of this. There is MGS, LBP, inFamous, Killzone, the early "hiddem gem" titles like Folklore, Motorstorm, etc. (I should note that I got my PS3 in 2008)
When you have these games the process of "settling in" is still odd because you don't really treat it as a gaming console just yet, it's really new. You may play for a few hours of each game but it's SO daunting, especially if you have a pile of back-purchases lined up.
Even if you "settle in" there is a tough choice if you held onto your previous console : which platform do you buy multiplatform titles for? I chose the PS3 because it was my newest console, it was a decent investment (£320) and the fact is you still need to make a small collection so you have all genres (this may be just me).
Luckily my experience with the Wii was different, for starters getting it online for the update was too simple. Then signing up was simple. There were no extras, the only odd thing was using a motion controller.
With back-catalogue buying of a Nintendo console it's much easier. You get the franchise you like the most, my first game being Metroid Prime Trilogy. Enough gaming to get along with in itself, and then after that it's a case of nitpicking.
Then the choice of buying multiplat games for it was very easy: don't. The wii version is essentially what would be the PS2 version or PSP version with motion controls added.
This is by no means slagging the Wii off, I think that the Wii is great when the game is good but otherwise I do believe my points are valid.
I wonder what your own experiences are of buying a new console are? Did you find it daunting? Exciting? Spent a lot of money? Spent as little as possible? Any problems?
Thứ Sáu, 14 tháng 10, 2011
Battlefield 2143 / Final Fantasy X prequel.
The first few games a gamer plays, are the games that have the greatest impact on his/her gaming career. A few years into their career, they look back and remember how they began, in comparison to where they are now. This is where I am at. Looking pretty dull for me now, what with all these shooters that are bringing nothing to the table coming out one after the other, but on a side note, to take sides, I'd have to say that Battlefield 3 is the clear winner. ;)
Anyway, the games that I grew up with didn't really differ from the norm in their day, but were great games none-the-less.
Final Fantasy X, Air Combat, and Battlefield 2142.
For this blog post im putting a focus on nostalgia, and two of those three games in particular.
Final Fantasy X, great RPG gameplay, over 100 hour’s worth, blockbuster story, and over-all a great experience. Likewise with the stand-alone experience of X-2. Anyway, my opinion is that Square Enix is doing everything wrong, FFXIII wasn't exactly the greatest game in the series, graphics don't make a game, along with the desperate upcoming release of XIII-2, and the never to be seen Versus XIII, and we can’t all forget the broken release of XIV.
Final Fantasy X still has a lot of potential. A possible HD collection bundle, and a prequel if the HD collection is successful, based around the Pilgrimage of Auron, Braska and Jecht. It's all hypothetically possible, but whether they do it or not is the question. Truth is, Square would probably earn more doing this, than wasting their money and time building upon the worst Final Fantasy release of all time. I'd frankly settle for a HD collection, and probably get all my nerdy mates to make me a classic gameplay and graphics Final Fantasy X prequel. (For teh s**ts and giggles xD)
Battlefield 2142. Who remembers the awesome Titan game mode? Yeah, I remember spending every afternoon after school playing it with my friends, owning noobs in walking tanks that we just called 'Walkers' and dropping onto enemy Titan's in pods from APC's. Intense Land and Air combat that entertains me, even to this day. A remake of 2142 is the only Battlefield we haven’t heard anything about (Vietnam in BFBC 2, 1943 etc.). Imagine if they were to implement a 2142 expansion pack in Battlefield 3, like they did with Vietnam for Bad Company 2? Fully destructible environments, great graphics, the vehicles we've all come to love, and the classic Titan mode. The thought makes me shiver in excitement...
Another nostalgic hit, that would sell s**tloads, and make gamers happy.
So yeah, I await a Battlefield 214(3) and a Final Fantasy X prequel. Complaints? Did I do something wrong? Mistakes? Wrong information? This is the first of many blog posts, there's bound to be mistakes, feel free to rip me a new one. I strive to get to industry standard eventually.
Anyway, the games that I grew up with didn't really differ from the norm in their day, but were great games none-the-less.
Final Fantasy X, Air Combat, and Battlefield 2142.
For this blog post im putting a focus on nostalgia, and two of those three games in particular.
Final Fantasy X, great RPG gameplay, over 100 hour’s worth, blockbuster story, and over-all a great experience. Likewise with the stand-alone experience of X-2. Anyway, my opinion is that Square Enix is doing everything wrong, FFXIII wasn't exactly the greatest game in the series, graphics don't make a game, along with the desperate upcoming release of XIII-2, and the never to be seen Versus XIII, and we can’t all forget the broken release of XIV.
Final Fantasy X still has a lot of potential. A possible HD collection bundle, and a prequel if the HD collection is successful, based around the Pilgrimage of Auron, Braska and Jecht. It's all hypothetically possible, but whether they do it or not is the question. Truth is, Square would probably earn more doing this, than wasting their money and time building upon the worst Final Fantasy release of all time. I'd frankly settle for a HD collection, and probably get all my nerdy mates to make me a classic gameplay and graphics Final Fantasy X prequel. (For teh s**ts and giggles xD)
Battlefield 2142. Who remembers the awesome Titan game mode? Yeah, I remember spending every afternoon after school playing it with my friends, owning noobs in walking tanks that we just called 'Walkers' and dropping onto enemy Titan's in pods from APC's. Intense Land and Air combat that entertains me, even to this day. A remake of 2142 is the only Battlefield we haven’t heard anything about (Vietnam in BFBC 2, 1943 etc.). Imagine if they were to implement a 2142 expansion pack in Battlefield 3, like they did with Vietnam for Bad Company 2? Fully destructible environments, great graphics, the vehicles we've all come to love, and the classic Titan mode. The thought makes me shiver in excitement...
Another nostalgic hit, that would sell s**tloads, and make gamers happy.
So yeah, I await a Battlefield 214(3) and a Final Fantasy X prequel. Complaints? Did I do something wrong? Mistakes? Wrong information? This is the first of many blog posts, there's bound to be mistakes, feel free to rip me a new one. I strive to get to industry standard eventually.
Why I think Assassins Creed Brotherhood is the worst of AC, and a worrying title for AC fans
I know I'm going to get some (well, probably a lot) of heat for this but screw it I'll go for it anyway. Just so you know, there will be spoilers ahead about AC:Brotherhood itself and possibly ACII and AC.
Lots of people have talked about what Ubisoft have achieved with the Assassins Creed series. Assassins Creed was a game that was in development for quite a while and was initially planned to be a Playstation 3 exclusive but was eventually announced to be a multiplatform title. Assassins Creed never really lived up to the potential it had, something which Ubisoft admitted a while ago in acknowledging that the hype that began to surface on the title resulted in them making the game a little more mainstream and simplified than they had planned.
Assassins Creed then looked a promising title but never really got off the ground. But Ubisoft knew where they went wrong and weren't afraid to admit their mistakes and try to fix things with Assassins Creed II, and that's exactly what they did. Much improved free-running and gameplay in general with fast-climbing, more hiding options such as blending with groups and on benches, aerial, ledge and hay-bale assassinations, and more of a focus on the player individual assassination sequences and pushing players to be more stealthy. Combat was much improved too from the drab affair it was in Assassins Creed, with different weapons such as the poison blade and the hidden pistol, and also different types of swords and heavy and small weapons being available to the player to buy and use with the new monetary system. Counter-attacking and dodging worked much more efficiently and combat, while still not feeling incredibly different and diverse, was much less dull and irritating as it sometimes was in Assassins Creed.
Assassins Creed II also grabbed our attention with wonderful visuals and graphics and a number of famous and beautiful locations to explore and enjoy, such as Florence and Venice. Story wise players were introduced to the life of a very likeable and interesting protagonist in the amiable and naive Ezio Auditore da Firenze, along with his encounters with a huge range of memorable characters in the supporting cast.
I've blabbed on enough already without even talking about Brotherhood, so let's get down to it, why the hate for the game?
First of all when you jump into Brotherhood you notice how similar it is to Assassins Creed II. In the surroundings of 16th century Italy, in combat, in characters, and even in plot. I was already sceptical about the release of Brotherhood so soon after ACII was released and in a setting that seemed so similar, but hey I enjoyed ACII and enjoyed AC so why wouldn't I like this? My main worry about the game was whether there was really any point in the game in whether the story would actually hold any importance in the overall arc of the AC plot, and it was easy to see on my first playthrough that I was justified in worrying about it.
The game begins directly after the ending of Assassins Creed II (much like ACII begins directly after the ending of AC, albeit a few hours later in that case) with Ezio and his uncle Mario escaping The Vatican with the Apple of Eden. From then on the game, to put it simply, tells the story of how the Assassins lost the Apple, and got it back again. It sounds like I'm literally just dumbing down the story to nothing (which I could perhaps do with ACII aswell and make it seem just as redundant a game), but think about it. The first number of sequences are about things that in ACII would have been skipped on but referenced to since they were so small and unimportant. Ezio has the Apple, Cesare Borgia, another unimportant character although that point is for later, attacks Monteriggioni and kills Mario and steals the Apple of Eden for the Borgia household. The next sequence you get to the Tiber Island hideout. The next sequence you just do missions for the courtesans, thieves and mercenaries to gain their help. The next sequence you rescue Caterina from the Castello Sant Angelo and then destroy one of Da Vinci's war machines. And so on and so on.
In Assassins Creed II I felt there was a point in me playing out what I was playing. I find out Umberto Alberti betrayed Ezio's family and plot revenge on him. Then I begin to find out more about the Templar order. Then I take down to Pazzi to keep Florence a republic in the hands of the Medici and to stop the Templars taking full control of more of Italy, etc. Everything regarding Ezio's story in Assassins Creed Brotherhood is so redundant and unnecessary. Even the main enemy and the main antagonist, Rodrigo Borgia's (or Alexander VI's) son, Cesare Borgia. Cesare first appears in ACB in Monteriggioni as he leads the attack of the Papal Forces on the area and takes the Apple of Eden from Ezio. After this point we get to see his influence and importance in the story, but there's one problem: it doesn't exist. Cesare appears sporadically, at one time to dash out of the Castello when Ezio is trying to save Caterina, at another time to kill a man who claims to have been a loyal servant of his but who made a mistake. We never really get to see much of Cesare until the 8th Sequence when he storms into the Castello whinging to Rodrigo Borgia about him cutting his money as he can't afford to pay Louis XII for his French forces amongst other monetary issues. Rodrigo tells him he took the Apple and hid it away. Cesare eventually kills Rodrigo and finds out the location of the Apple, as does Ezio and they begin a chase to see who will get to it first. Here Ezio regains the Apple for the Assassins and all is right with the world. He eventually also catches up with Cesare once more in the future after he has escaped from the confinement of the Spanish, and seemingly sends him to his death.
My point here is that Cesare Borgia's position in, not even just the overall AC plot, but even just in Brotherhood, seems meaningless. He is portrayed as an idiotic, naive child who doesn't know how to command his men. In Assassins Creed II, Ezio spends the game trying to reach whoever is at the top of the Templar order, at least in Italy, to make whoever ordered the death of the other men of the Auditore family pay. Throughout the game you begin to learn more about "The Spaniard" and how incredibly powerful he really is and eventually, after a long and ardous attempt through multiple intelligence sources and assassinations, Ezio finds his way to reach the ever illusive Rodrigo Borgia, and even then with his fellow assassins by his side he fails to despatch of him. In Brotherhood despite the claims of other characters such as Machiavelli and La Volpe, Cesare hardly seems like he's anything near untouchable, and in time you find that that is definitely the case.
Another one of my main gripes with ACB's structuring is the fact that the whole first 5 sequences are spent introducing new players to the world of Assassins Creed. I'm all for giving new players to any series a chance in to help them understand things and how they work, but not if it ruins the experience for the rest of the players. The first 4 sequences are spent showing players through the Romulus scroll / tomb missions (which are a pretty poor copy of the Assassin tombs from ACII), teaching players how to track and trail targets, how to hide successfully in groups, how to find targets with Eagle Vision, and a number of other things. I wonder to myself "didn't I already play this introduction in Assassins Creed II"? Sequence 5, The Banker (another unimportant character who's killing seems another pointless task to achieve), is the player's first real rest in the whole game for hiding and assassinating anyone, in real sense of the word "assassinate" that is; I found the lack of real assassinations in AC: Brotherhood extremely worrying. The introduction of the assassin recruits was an interesting idea but was another reason why combat and any tasks in general were too easy in ACB.
Only on the near-completion of my second playthrough of Brotherhood did I notice also how bad some of the scriptwriting is. The majority of the memory sequences spend their time giving fan service to Ezio, making him seem like an all knowing, all wise hero of the world. While Ezio is being shown as an infallible hero unable of any misjudgement or wrong-doing, we get cringe-worthy lines from the likes of Caterina Sforza saying something along the lines of "good people of Roma, don't give up hope your time of freedom will come!" and other things such as "Vittoria agli Assassini!" (Victory to the Assassins!). You also begin to notice some other slight issues with certain story elements too. Ezio, a complete womanizer throughout Assassins Creed II, perhaps until he meets Rosa the thief who he seems to become quite close to, at the start of Brotherhood looks as if he wants to settle down for a while with Caterina Sforza, someone who he has had 2 short interactions with, while Rosa has disappeared completely despite being intimate with Ezio for a much longer period. Is she suddenly unimportant in the AC plot because Caterina Sforza was a real person and a historical figure?
Then there's the combat. The thing about a lot of games this gen is that obviously with newer technology developers have more tools available for their games and they can give players more options, but I feel Brotherhood's combat additions are more of a hindrance to ACB (and possibly all future AC games) than a help. The problem with combat in ACB, is that it is incredibly too easy. The addition of the "kick" means that instead of waiting patiently to counter your enemies's attack, or trying to dodge their attacks and break their defense from there, all you need to do is press X (or A) and attack 3 times with the sword and bam, you're done. You also have killstreaks which honestly I can't understand the inclusion of. Basically once you break one enemies' defense and kill them, all you need to do is press the attack button once and aim the analogue in the direction of any other enemy for an instant kill, and you can just do it over and over and over. If that's not enough, there's the introduction of the Crossbow. The crossbow has been teased to players ever since one of the first trailers for Assassins Creed (1), but you can tell why it wasn't included so soon. The crossbow is a way to silently kill any enemy that is from near-medium distance away without any scruple. Again the problem with this is that it makes the game way too easy and reduces that classic tension and patience you have to have in any moment of any old stealth game, like say Metal Gear Solid 1 for example, where you know that around any corner there could be enemies and where you are forced to be as stealthy as possible. With the crossbow in ACB even if an enemy is looking directly at you and from just a few yards away with his suspicion meter rapidly filling you can speedily grab your crossbow and take him out with one simple shot. One of the main problems with this is that it makes the use of the throwing knives, a key item in Assassins Creed, completely useless, especially since with certain enemies it will often take 2 throwing knives to kill them.
Lots of people have talked about what Ubisoft have achieved with the Assassins Creed series. Assassins Creed was a game that was in development for quite a while and was initially planned to be a Playstation 3 exclusive but was eventually announced to be a multiplatform title. Assassins Creed never really lived up to the potential it had, something which Ubisoft admitted a while ago in acknowledging that the hype that began to surface on the title resulted in them making the game a little more mainstream and simplified than they had planned.
Assassins Creed then looked a promising title but never really got off the ground. But Ubisoft knew where they went wrong and weren't afraid to admit their mistakes and try to fix things with Assassins Creed II, and that's exactly what they did. Much improved free-running and gameplay in general with fast-climbing, more hiding options such as blending with groups and on benches, aerial, ledge and hay-bale assassinations, and more of a focus on the player individual assassination sequences and pushing players to be more stealthy. Combat was much improved too from the drab affair it was in Assassins Creed, with different weapons such as the poison blade and the hidden pistol, and also different types of swords and heavy and small weapons being available to the player to buy and use with the new monetary system. Counter-attacking and dodging worked much more efficiently and combat, while still not feeling incredibly different and diverse, was much less dull and irritating as it sometimes was in Assassins Creed.
Assassins Creed II also grabbed our attention with wonderful visuals and graphics and a number of famous and beautiful locations to explore and enjoy, such as Florence and Venice. Story wise players were introduced to the life of a very likeable and interesting protagonist in the amiable and naive Ezio Auditore da Firenze, along with his encounters with a huge range of memorable characters in the supporting cast.
I've blabbed on enough already without even talking about Brotherhood, so let's get down to it, why the hate for the game?
First of all when you jump into Brotherhood you notice how similar it is to Assassins Creed II. In the surroundings of 16th century Italy, in combat, in characters, and even in plot. I was already sceptical about the release of Brotherhood so soon after ACII was released and in a setting that seemed so similar, but hey I enjoyed ACII and enjoyed AC so why wouldn't I like this? My main worry about the game was whether there was really any point in the game in whether the story would actually hold any importance in the overall arc of the AC plot, and it was easy to see on my first playthrough that I was justified in worrying about it.
The game begins directly after the ending of Assassins Creed II (much like ACII begins directly after the ending of AC, albeit a few hours later in that case) with Ezio and his uncle Mario escaping The Vatican with the Apple of Eden. From then on the game, to put it simply, tells the story of how the Assassins lost the Apple, and got it back again. It sounds like I'm literally just dumbing down the story to nothing (which I could perhaps do with ACII aswell and make it seem just as redundant a game), but think about it. The first number of sequences are about things that in ACII would have been skipped on but referenced to since they were so small and unimportant. Ezio has the Apple, Cesare Borgia, another unimportant character although that point is for later, attacks Monteriggioni and kills Mario and steals the Apple of Eden for the Borgia household. The next sequence you get to the Tiber Island hideout. The next sequence you just do missions for the courtesans, thieves and mercenaries to gain their help. The next sequence you rescue Caterina from the Castello Sant Angelo and then destroy one of Da Vinci's war machines. And so on and so on.
In Assassins Creed II I felt there was a point in me playing out what I was playing. I find out Umberto Alberti betrayed Ezio's family and plot revenge on him. Then I begin to find out more about the Templar order. Then I take down to Pazzi to keep Florence a republic in the hands of the Medici and to stop the Templars taking full control of more of Italy, etc. Everything regarding Ezio's story in Assassins Creed Brotherhood is so redundant and unnecessary. Even the main enemy and the main antagonist, Rodrigo Borgia's (or Alexander VI's) son, Cesare Borgia. Cesare first appears in ACB in Monteriggioni as he leads the attack of the Papal Forces on the area and takes the Apple of Eden from Ezio. After this point we get to see his influence and importance in the story, but there's one problem: it doesn't exist. Cesare appears sporadically, at one time to dash out of the Castello when Ezio is trying to save Caterina, at another time to kill a man who claims to have been a loyal servant of his but who made a mistake. We never really get to see much of Cesare until the 8th Sequence when he storms into the Castello whinging to Rodrigo Borgia about him cutting his money as he can't afford to pay Louis XII for his French forces amongst other monetary issues. Rodrigo tells him he took the Apple and hid it away. Cesare eventually kills Rodrigo and finds out the location of the Apple, as does Ezio and they begin a chase to see who will get to it first. Here Ezio regains the Apple for the Assassins and all is right with the world. He eventually also catches up with Cesare once more in the future after he has escaped from the confinement of the Spanish, and seemingly sends him to his death.
My point here is that Cesare Borgia's position in, not even just the overall AC plot, but even just in Brotherhood, seems meaningless. He is portrayed as an idiotic, naive child who doesn't know how to command his men. In Assassins Creed II, Ezio spends the game trying to reach whoever is at the top of the Templar order, at least in Italy, to make whoever ordered the death of the other men of the Auditore family pay. Throughout the game you begin to learn more about "The Spaniard" and how incredibly powerful he really is and eventually, after a long and ardous attempt through multiple intelligence sources and assassinations, Ezio finds his way to reach the ever illusive Rodrigo Borgia, and even then with his fellow assassins by his side he fails to despatch of him. In Brotherhood despite the claims of other characters such as Machiavelli and La Volpe, Cesare hardly seems like he's anything near untouchable, and in time you find that that is definitely the case.
Another one of my main gripes with ACB's structuring is the fact that the whole first 5 sequences are spent introducing new players to the world of Assassins Creed. I'm all for giving new players to any series a chance in to help them understand things and how they work, but not if it ruins the experience for the rest of the players. The first 4 sequences are spent showing players through the Romulus scroll / tomb missions (which are a pretty poor copy of the Assassin tombs from ACII), teaching players how to track and trail targets, how to hide successfully in groups, how to find targets with Eagle Vision, and a number of other things. I wonder to myself "didn't I already play this introduction in Assassins Creed II"? Sequence 5, The Banker (another unimportant character who's killing seems another pointless task to achieve), is the player's first real rest in the whole game for hiding and assassinating anyone, in real sense of the word "assassinate" that is; I found the lack of real assassinations in AC: Brotherhood extremely worrying. The introduction of the assassin recruits was an interesting idea but was another reason why combat and any tasks in general were too easy in ACB.
Only on the near-completion of my second playthrough of Brotherhood did I notice also how bad some of the scriptwriting is. The majority of the memory sequences spend their time giving fan service to Ezio, making him seem like an all knowing, all wise hero of the world. While Ezio is being shown as an infallible hero unable of any misjudgement or wrong-doing, we get cringe-worthy lines from the likes of Caterina Sforza saying something along the lines of "good people of Roma, don't give up hope your time of freedom will come!" and other things such as "Vittoria agli Assassini!" (Victory to the Assassins!). You also begin to notice some other slight issues with certain story elements too. Ezio, a complete womanizer throughout Assassins Creed II, perhaps until he meets Rosa the thief who he seems to become quite close to, at the start of Brotherhood looks as if he wants to settle down for a while with Caterina Sforza, someone who he has had 2 short interactions with, while Rosa has disappeared completely despite being intimate with Ezio for a much longer period. Is she suddenly unimportant in the AC plot because Caterina Sforza was a real person and a historical figure?
Then there's the combat. The thing about a lot of games this gen is that obviously with newer technology developers have more tools available for their games and they can give players more options, but I feel Brotherhood's combat additions are more of a hindrance to ACB (and possibly all future AC games) than a help. The problem with combat in ACB, is that it is incredibly too easy. The addition of the "kick" means that instead of waiting patiently to counter your enemies's attack, or trying to dodge their attacks and break their defense from there, all you need to do is press X (or A) and attack 3 times with the sword and bam, you're done. You also have killstreaks which honestly I can't understand the inclusion of. Basically once you break one enemies' defense and kill them, all you need to do is press the attack button once and aim the analogue in the direction of any other enemy for an instant kill, and you can just do it over and over and over. If that's not enough, there's the introduction of the Crossbow. The crossbow has been teased to players ever since one of the first trailers for Assassins Creed (1), but you can tell why it wasn't included so soon. The crossbow is a way to silently kill any enemy that is from near-medium distance away without any scruple. Again the problem with this is that it makes the game way too easy and reduces that classic tension and patience you have to have in any moment of any old stealth game, like say Metal Gear Solid 1 for example, where you know that around any corner there could be enemies and where you are forced to be as stealthy as possible. With the crossbow in ACB even if an enemy is looking directly at you and from just a few yards away with his suspicion meter rapidly filling you can speedily grab your crossbow and take him out with one simple shot. One of the main problems with this is that it makes the use of the throwing knives, a key item in Assassins Creed, completely useless, especially since with certain enemies it will often take 2 throwing knives to kill them.
The Sad De-Evolution...
I want to start off by saying that I'm 28 years old and that I've been playing videogames for pretty much all my life. You'll understand later why this information is relevant.
For as far back as I can remember, it was the late 80s and video games were simple, kid oriented colorful adventures featuring super hero type characters trying to save some kind of world or princess. There were no real storylines to follow, all you had to do was follow the path that would lead you to the next level and so on while staying alive. Videogames as an entertainment medium was still light years behind movies in terms of attracting a more adult crowd because of that lack of story telling and realism.
As my generation matured, so did games. Better technology allowed developpers to create experiences that closed the gap with movies in terms of story telling and visual effects. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7, Tomb Raider, GTA 3 and many more helped create this turning point in terms of confirming that games aren't just for kids anymore. These games featured graphics that were considered very realistic at the time and included complex stories with characters adults of all ages could relate to.
In this first decade of the 21st century the videogame medium took another giant step in terms of taking these great experiences and making them even better. Better graphics, better stories, better gameplay, add to that all the new online components, gaming was on a ride I felt would never end... until recently.
I feel like the industry as a whole has saturated and said: "Enough with the 8-bit generation, we've made as much money as we could with them, let's start a new generation and give them something they can play and have fun with and generate new money!". This is where the Wii, Kinect and I-OS come in. Obviously welcomed with huge success with this new generation of gamers, the games featured are simple, easy to access and contain simple objectives just like back in the 80s but with different types of interactions. Developpers have seen the unbelievable potential of this new generation of gamers and we can see the end result.
- AAA 3rd party exclusives are a thing of the past
- Developpers don't invest unless they are 100% sure that a game will have enough success to generate many sequels and spin offs.
- Games come out unfinished in order to cash in on DLC.
- New IPs are few and far between
- Developpers stick to what works and with a few exceptions (Heavy Rain, L.A. Noire, Catherine) don't try to create completely new experiences in their AAA titles.
Watching the past 2 E3 events was extremely painful. 75% of what was presented featured games that were either 1st or 3rd person shooters. While I like some of these games, I'm personally saturated of the genre and need a breath of fresh air. While all these new devices are a definite breath of fresh air, I'm not buying into this. It's fun for parties and family events, but for the gamer that's been playing games for over 20 years, this just doesn't cut it.
Do I question developpers and blame them for this new direction? Absolutely not! I studied in business and there is no doubt in my mind, I would have taken the same decisions. This is the gamer in me crying out to the world his disappointment about the current state of gaming which I thought would be my #1 pass time until I die.
Truth is I still currently enjoy gaming but at a lesser level than a couple years past. I still have hope that something revolutionary will happen and give me something new and innovative to experience. We can make Gears of War 6 look exactly like a CG movie but if the gameplay doesn't change, where's the innovation.
All this sounds quite negative and cynic but I'm sure I'm not alone feeling like this so feel free to comment and agree or disagree with my view of the current state of gaming
For as far back as I can remember, it was the late 80s and video games were simple, kid oriented colorful adventures featuring super hero type characters trying to save some kind of world or princess. There were no real storylines to follow, all you had to do was follow the path that would lead you to the next level and so on while staying alive. Videogames as an entertainment medium was still light years behind movies in terms of attracting a more adult crowd because of that lack of story telling and realism.
As my generation matured, so did games. Better technology allowed developpers to create experiences that closed the gap with movies in terms of story telling and visual effects. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7, Tomb Raider, GTA 3 and many more helped create this turning point in terms of confirming that games aren't just for kids anymore. These games featured graphics that were considered very realistic at the time and included complex stories with characters adults of all ages could relate to.
In this first decade of the 21st century the videogame medium took another giant step in terms of taking these great experiences and making them even better. Better graphics, better stories, better gameplay, add to that all the new online components, gaming was on a ride I felt would never end... until recently.
I feel like the industry as a whole has saturated and said: "Enough with the 8-bit generation, we've made as much money as we could with them, let's start a new generation and give them something they can play and have fun with and generate new money!". This is where the Wii, Kinect and I-OS come in. Obviously welcomed with huge success with this new generation of gamers, the games featured are simple, easy to access and contain simple objectives just like back in the 80s but with different types of interactions. Developpers have seen the unbelievable potential of this new generation of gamers and we can see the end result.
- AAA 3rd party exclusives are a thing of the past
- Developpers don't invest unless they are 100% sure that a game will have enough success to generate many sequels and spin offs.
- Games come out unfinished in order to cash in on DLC.
- New IPs are few and far between
- Developpers stick to what works and with a few exceptions (Heavy Rain, L.A. Noire, Catherine) don't try to create completely new experiences in their AAA titles.
Watching the past 2 E3 events was extremely painful. 75% of what was presented featured games that were either 1st or 3rd person shooters. While I like some of these games, I'm personally saturated of the genre and need a breath of fresh air. While all these new devices are a definite breath of fresh air, I'm not buying into this. It's fun for parties and family events, but for the gamer that's been playing games for over 20 years, this just doesn't cut it.
Do I question developpers and blame them for this new direction? Absolutely not! I studied in business and there is no doubt in my mind, I would have taken the same decisions. This is the gamer in me crying out to the world his disappointment about the current state of gaming which I thought would be my #1 pass time until I die.
Truth is I still currently enjoy gaming but at a lesser level than a couple years past. I still have hope that something revolutionary will happen and give me something new and innovative to experience. We can make Gears of War 6 look exactly like a CG movie but if the gameplay doesn't change, where's the innovation.
All this sounds quite negative and cynic but I'm sure I'm not alone feeling like this so feel free to comment and agree or disagree with my view of the current state of gaming
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Thứ Năm, 6 tháng 10, 2011
FarmVille Pic(s) of the Day: Master farm artist Nicky Tran
Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're probably wondering why there are so many handsome farms all in one FarmVille Pic of the Day post. Well folks, today is a special day devoted to one very talented farm artist: Nicky Tran. As you can immediately tell, Nicky Tran is a farm artist of the highest caliber. There was no way I was going to be able to choose just one of Nicky's amazing farms to feature. So, I decided to feature them all!
farmville featured farm nicky tranFarmVille designer Nicky Tran is a master of item optical illusions, creating unbelievable 3D surfaces and structures. Not only that, but Nicky carefully selects item themes to prevent their farms from looking to disorderly. However, if I were to go into detail about what makes each one of these such a fantastic farm design, this post would be far too long. So I'm going to let you explore Nicky Tran's farms on your own. Look closely though, there's a lot to see and a lot to appreciate!
Click the images to make them larger!
farmville featured farm of the day nicky tran farmville pic nicky tran
Here's what Nicky Tran had to say about their farms:
First, I'd like to thank you for your compliments! My farms were all inspired by passion. It was that passion that gave me all these ideas for farm designs.
The advice I would give to other upcoming farm artists is to do what's in your mind courageously and boldly. Always do whatever it is you feel like! It was the passion and that understanding that helped me complete these very difficult designs. Once again, I thank you very much. - Nicky Tran
What do you like best about Nicky Tran's farms? Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist.
farmville featured farm nicky tranFarmVille designer Nicky Tran is a master of item optical illusions, creating unbelievable 3D surfaces and structures. Not only that, but Nicky carefully selects item themes to prevent their farms from looking to disorderly. However, if I were to go into detail about what makes each one of these such a fantastic farm design, this post would be far too long. So I'm going to let you explore Nicky Tran's farms on your own. Look closely though, there's a lot to see and a lot to appreciate!
Click the images to make them larger!
farmville featured farm of the day nicky tran farmville pic nicky tran
Here's what Nicky Tran had to say about their farms:
First, I'd like to thank you for your compliments! My farms were all inspired by passion. It was that passion that gave me all these ideas for farm designs.
The advice I would give to other upcoming farm artists is to do what's in your mind courageously and boldly. Always do whatever it is you feel like! It was the passion and that understanding that helped me complete these very difficult designs. Once again, I thank you very much. - Nicky Tran
What do you like best about Nicky Tran's farms? Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist.
Using the CityVille Eiffel Tower: Everything you need to know
So, you've finally completed all three CityVille Landmarks required to unlock the Eiffel Tower: The Sailboat Hotel, the Tonga Tower and the French Riviera Casino. Now that the game's first Wonder is yours, just what do you do with it? More importantly, how does it work? Luckily for you, we have the answers. Here's everything you need to know about the Eiffel Tower:
What's This Thing Do?
Once you unlock the Eiffel Tower, building it is as simple as placing it, and then clicking on its foundation to finish it. What the building does essentially is power-up the payouts of all Restaurants, Hotels and other Businesses in your city. More specifically, Wonders triple the payout of Hotels, double the payout of Restaurants and boost other Businesses by 25 percent. However, this effect only lasts for a limited time. In that respect, Wonders are similar to Attractions in the game.
Giving the Shine Treatment
There's no range on the Eiffel Tower--it's bonuses are city-wide. So, place the building wherever you please. Then, click on the building to get it started. Each time you use the Eiffel Tower, it costs you 3 Energy, and the effect lasts for three minutes. You can extend this time with City Cash, which at least grants you with bonus Energy. During that three minutes, any relevant buildings surrounding the Wonder will sparkle, and you must collect from those buildings while the bonuses are in effect.
Eiffel Tower Maitenance
Pushing the Restart Button
After the three minutes are up, your Eiffel Tower will shut down, so to speak. An icon with a key inside will hover above the building. Click it to open a new window in which displays two options. If you want to use the Wonder again immediately, you can ask your friends for six Keys to start it up again, but if you're willing to wait, the Eiffel Tower recharges in 72 hours. In essence, the Eiffel Tower is one massive Attraction, so push the power button and reap the rewards.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you unlocked the Eiffel Tower yet in CityVille? What do you think of Zynga's approach to Wonders? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
What's This Thing Do?
Once you unlock the Eiffel Tower, building it is as simple as placing it, and then clicking on its foundation to finish it. What the building does essentially is power-up the payouts of all Restaurants, Hotels and other Businesses in your city. More specifically, Wonders triple the payout of Hotels, double the payout of Restaurants and boost other Businesses by 25 percent. However, this effect only lasts for a limited time. In that respect, Wonders are similar to Attractions in the game.
Giving the Shine Treatment
There's no range on the Eiffel Tower--it's bonuses are city-wide. So, place the building wherever you please. Then, click on the building to get it started. Each time you use the Eiffel Tower, it costs you 3 Energy, and the effect lasts for three minutes. You can extend this time with City Cash, which at least grants you with bonus Energy. During that three minutes, any relevant buildings surrounding the Wonder will sparkle, and you must collect from those buildings while the bonuses are in effect.
Eiffel Tower Maitenance
Pushing the Restart Button
After the three minutes are up, your Eiffel Tower will shut down, so to speak. An icon with a key inside will hover above the building. Click it to open a new window in which displays two options. If you want to use the Wonder again immediately, you can ask your friends for six Keys to start it up again, but if you're willing to wait, the Eiffel Tower recharges in 72 hours. In essence, the Eiffel Tower is one massive Attraction, so push the power button and reap the rewards.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you unlocked the Eiffel Tower yet in CityVille? What do you think of Zynga's approach to Wonders? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The Sims Social: Celebrate the last days of summer with new Summer House theme
With the mass popularity of the Sims Social on Facebook, it's no surprise that Playfish / EA are continually adding new decorative items to the game's store, allowing you to personalize your home in new ways. Specifically, this week sees the launch of a "Summer House" theme of items, with items being available for your living room, bedroom and even outdoor areas. There are also plenty of decorative items here to take a look at, so we'll do our best to give you a complete guide to these new items. Check them out!
SolTrain Cubic (Shelving Unit)
* Costs: 35 SimCash
* Value: $5,150
SolTrain Chair (Buildable item)
* Costs: 2,250 coins
* Value: $1,800
SolTrain Kingsize (Bed)
* Costs: 79 SimCash
* Value: $11,700
* Sleep Stat: 11
SolTrain Rays (Lamp)
* Costs: 3 SimCash
* Value: $450
BasketCase Travel (Requires Level 30)
* Value: $350
SolTrain UV Lite
* Costs: 12 SimCash
* Value: $1,750
BasketCase XL (Requires Level 30)
* Value: $600
SolTrain UV XL (Lamp)
* Costs: 22 SimCash
* Value: $3,250
Summer Tones (Painting - requires level 30)
* Value: $750
Woody Divider (Requires Level 24)
* Value: $1,300
SolTrain BagelUp
* Costs: 5 SimCash
* Value: $750
Woody Boxout B (Kitchen cabinet - requires Level 26 - Buildable item)
* Value: $1,650
Woody Boxout L (Kitchen Cabinet - requires Level 26 - Buildable item)
* Value: $1,650
SolTrain Panama (Outdoor Bed)
* Costs: 49 Sim Cash
* Value: $7,250
SolTrain Snug (Buildable item - requires Level 30)
* Value: $2,200
Palm Tree
* Costs: 1,750 coins
* Value: $1,650
* Happiness Stat: 3
* Social Stat: 3
SolTrain Parasol
* Costs: 59 SimCash
* Value: $8,700
SolTrain Swing (Buildable item - requires Level 30)
* Value: $4,850
* Sleep Stat: 3
UltiMax Top Deck (Stereo)
* Costs: 59 SimCash
* Value: $8,700
* Fun Stat: 5
In addition to all of these items, there's a full set of windows available in the Build menu is a new "Alpine" theme, which consists of a dark tan, almost orange colored frame. Four flooring options are available for either Social Points or (at most) a single SimCash per tile, and the theme is rounded out with a "SolTrain Beach" wallpaper that costs 55 Social Points per square.
As with previously released themes, these Summer House items don't appear to be limited edition; rather, they should be available permanently in the game's store. That being the case, you should be able to save up coins, or Social Points, or have time to purchase SimCash long into the future to create this theme in your home as far into the future as you like. If we see this change, we'll make sure to let you know.
What do you think of these Summer House items in Sims Social? What kinds of items would you like to see released next in the game? Sound off in the comments.
SolTrain Cubic (Shelving Unit)
* Costs: 35 SimCash
* Value: $5,150
SolTrain Chair (Buildable item)
* Costs: 2,250 coins
* Value: $1,800
SolTrain Kingsize (Bed)
* Costs: 79 SimCash
* Value: $11,700
* Sleep Stat: 11
SolTrain Rays (Lamp)
* Costs: 3 SimCash
* Value: $450
BasketCase Travel (Requires Level 30)
* Value: $350
SolTrain UV Lite
* Costs: 12 SimCash
* Value: $1,750
BasketCase XL (Requires Level 30)
* Value: $600
SolTrain UV XL (Lamp)
* Costs: 22 SimCash
* Value: $3,250
Summer Tones (Painting - requires level 30)
* Value: $750
Woody Divider (Requires Level 24)
* Value: $1,300
SolTrain BagelUp
* Costs: 5 SimCash
* Value: $750
Woody Boxout B (Kitchen cabinet - requires Level 26 - Buildable item)
* Value: $1,650
Woody Boxout L (Kitchen Cabinet - requires Level 26 - Buildable item)
* Value: $1,650
SolTrain Panama (Outdoor Bed)
* Costs: 49 Sim Cash
* Value: $7,250
SolTrain Snug (Buildable item - requires Level 30)
* Value: $2,200
Palm Tree
* Costs: 1,750 coins
* Value: $1,650
* Happiness Stat: 3
* Social Stat: 3
SolTrain Parasol
* Costs: 59 SimCash
* Value: $8,700
SolTrain Swing (Buildable item - requires Level 30)
* Value: $4,850
* Sleep Stat: 3
UltiMax Top Deck (Stereo)
* Costs: 59 SimCash
* Value: $8,700
* Fun Stat: 5
In addition to all of these items, there's a full set of windows available in the Build menu is a new "Alpine" theme, which consists of a dark tan, almost orange colored frame. Four flooring options are available for either Social Points or (at most) a single SimCash per tile, and the theme is rounded out with a "SolTrain Beach" wallpaper that costs 55 Social Points per square.
As with previously released themes, these Summer House items don't appear to be limited edition; rather, they should be available permanently in the game's store. That being the case, you should be able to save up coins, or Social Points, or have time to purchase SimCash long into the future to create this theme in your home as far into the future as you like. If we see this change, we'll make sure to let you know.
What do you think of these Summer House items in Sims Social? What kinds of items would you like to see released next in the game? Sound off in the comments.
Cafe World Red Phone Booth Goals: Everything you need to know
While we all have plenty of goals on our plate in Cafe World right now, what with the release of not one, but two five-part goal series dealing with the game's two-year anniversary, there's another goal series to complete concerning a Red Phone Booth. To be fair, this trio of goals deals with the two-year anniversary event itself, in that it will give you a bonus on all of the Travel Passes you earn. Remember, collecting more Travel Passes gives you a better opportunity of earning prizes both in-game (stoves and the like) and in the real world (trips to exotic locales). Here's a complete look at the Red Phone Booth goals.
Also, this is another case where the dishes you're asked to serve will likely vary from those listed here. It is impossible for us to predict which dishes each individual user will be required to cook, but for that we apologize.
Phone a Friend 1
* Place Red Phone Booth
* Serve 12 Biscuits of Tomorrow
* Call 3 Friends from your Phone Booth
Luckily, even though the Red Phone Booth is an item we'll place in our cafes, it doesn't need to be built like other items. Instead, you'll be able to look inside it and post messages ("phone calls") to your friends' walls. If they agree to be your Travel Buddy (it looks like you can collect 30 Travel Buddies in all), you'll earn points. As you earn Travel Buddies, you'll unlock items, as seen below:
3 Travel Buddies: Crispy Egg Rolls
6 Travel Buddies: Ivory Lightning Stove
10 Travel Buddies: Pineapple Cake
15 Travel Buddies: Double Travel Passes
Phone a Friend 2
* Call 6 Friends from your Phone Booth
* Spice 10 Neighbors' Stoves
* Serve 10 Napoleon's Napoleon
Remember, if you want to rush your way through this goal series to get back to the main two-year anniversary goals, you can use spices on your own dishes to make them cook faster. You can also check out your Gift Box to make sure you don't have extra servings lying around that you can use to instantly skip any cooking time here.
Phone a Friend 3
* Call 10 Friends from your Phone Booth
* Spice 10 Neighbors' Stoves
* Serve 15 Basil Finger Sandwiches
Again, this goal is fairly self-explanatory; just head inside your Red Phone Booth to post messages to your friends' walls, thus fulfilling the "call" task, and you'll be able to finish this one off basically in the time it takes to cook the dish you're required to. After that's done, you'll be able to celebrate by (hopefully) unlocking the double Travel Passes boost in your cafe, and can go back to completing tasks in the two-year anniversary event. Happy Cooking!
What do you think of these Red Phone Booth goals? Do you think they have a real purpose, or should the Phone Booth have been released without them? Sound off in the comments.
Also, this is another case where the dishes you're asked to serve will likely vary from those listed here. It is impossible for us to predict which dishes each individual user will be required to cook, but for that we apologize.
Phone a Friend 1
* Place Red Phone Booth
* Serve 12 Biscuits of Tomorrow
* Call 3 Friends from your Phone Booth
Luckily, even though the Red Phone Booth is an item we'll place in our cafes, it doesn't need to be built like other items. Instead, you'll be able to look inside it and post messages ("phone calls") to your friends' walls. If they agree to be your Travel Buddy (it looks like you can collect 30 Travel Buddies in all), you'll earn points. As you earn Travel Buddies, you'll unlock items, as seen below:
3 Travel Buddies: Crispy Egg Rolls
6 Travel Buddies: Ivory Lightning Stove
10 Travel Buddies: Pineapple Cake
15 Travel Buddies: Double Travel Passes
Phone a Friend 2
* Call 6 Friends from your Phone Booth
* Spice 10 Neighbors' Stoves
* Serve 10 Napoleon's Napoleon
Remember, if you want to rush your way through this goal series to get back to the main two-year anniversary goals, you can use spices on your own dishes to make them cook faster. You can also check out your Gift Box to make sure you don't have extra servings lying around that you can use to instantly skip any cooking time here.
Phone a Friend 3
* Call 10 Friends from your Phone Booth
* Spice 10 Neighbors' Stoves
* Serve 15 Basil Finger Sandwiches
Again, this goal is fairly self-explanatory; just head inside your Red Phone Booth to post messages to your friends' walls, thus fulfilling the "call" task, and you'll be able to finish this one off basically in the time it takes to cook the dish you're required to. After that's done, you'll be able to celebrate by (hopefully) unlocking the double Travel Passes boost in your cafe, and can go back to completing tasks in the two-year anniversary event. Happy Cooking!
What do you think of these Red Phone Booth goals? Do you think they have a real purpose, or should the Phone Booth have been released without them? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille: Russian-themed items available for a limited time
After releasing Mexican-themed items in CityVille in celebration of the Mexican Independence Day, it looks like Zynga wasn't ready to leave the international travel behind just yet, as it has released a set of Russian items into the store. As usual, you can expect to find businesses, homes, decorations and more available here, so read on for a complete overview of these items.
Cosmonaut Statue (Decoration)
* Costs: 10 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 10% - extra 10% to Russian-themed items
Baranovsky House (Home)
* Costs: 500,000 coins
* Population: 250-480
* Rent: 110 coins every four hours
Balalaika Shop (Business)
* Costs: 40 City Cash
* Requires: 305 Goods
* Earnings: 1,648 coins
Russian Tea Room (Business)
* Costs: 30 City Cash
* Requires: 265 Goods
* Earnings: 1,468 coins
Winter Wheat (Crop)
* Costs: 4 City Cash per square
* Harvest Time: Instant
* Produces: 127 Goods per square
Russian Hall (Community Building)
* Costs: 75 City Cash
* Allows: 2,250 citizens added to maximum population cap
Matryoshka Dolls (Decoration)
* Costs: 10 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 10% - extra 10% to Russian-themed items
Caviar Shop (Business)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Requires: 430 Goods
* Earnings: 2,198 coins
Rudzinskaya House (Home)
* Costs: 25 City Cash
* Population: 250-490
* Rent: 120 coins every four hours
Ballet Company (Community Building)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Allows: 1,400 citizens added to maximum population cap
Russian Folk Dancers
* Costs: 10 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 10% - extra 10% to Russian-themed items
Alexandrov Apartments (Home)
* Costs: 55 City Cash
* Population: 1,350-2,650
* Rent: 165 coins every eight hours
Simcovich Apartments (Home)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Population: 1,850-3,650
* Rent: 185 coins every eight hours
On top of all of this, there's also a Russia Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Russian Hall, Simcovich Apartments, Alexandrov Apartments or the Balalaika Shop. Unfortunately, that wraps up the theme at this point, with all of these items being available ranging from 11 to 12 more days in the store. With only one coin-related item available, I personally really hope that more items are added in the future, or I doubt I'll be the only one that skips this theme altogether. Am I right?
What do you think of these Russian themed items? Would you purchase many of these items if they cost coins rather than City Cash? Sound off in the comments.
Cosmonaut Statue (Decoration)
* Costs: 10 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 10% - extra 10% to Russian-themed items
Baranovsky House (Home)
* Costs: 500,000 coins
* Population: 250-480
* Rent: 110 coins every four hours
Balalaika Shop (Business)
* Costs: 40 City Cash
* Requires: 305 Goods
* Earnings: 1,648 coins
Russian Tea Room (Business)
* Costs: 30 City Cash
* Requires: 265 Goods
* Earnings: 1,468 coins
Winter Wheat (Crop)
* Costs: 4 City Cash per square
* Harvest Time: Instant
* Produces: 127 Goods per square
Russian Hall (Community Building)
* Costs: 75 City Cash
* Allows: 2,250 citizens added to maximum population cap
Matryoshka Dolls (Decoration)
* Costs: 10 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 10% - extra 10% to Russian-themed items
Caviar Shop (Business)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Requires: 430 Goods
* Earnings: 2,198 coins
Rudzinskaya House (Home)
* Costs: 25 City Cash
* Population: 250-490
* Rent: 120 coins every four hours
Ballet Company (Community Building)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Allows: 1,400 citizens added to maximum population cap
Russian Folk Dancers
* Costs: 10 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 10% - extra 10% to Russian-themed items
Alexandrov Apartments (Home)
* Costs: 55 City Cash
* Population: 1,350-2,650
* Rent: 165 coins every eight hours
Simcovich Apartments (Home)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Population: 1,850-3,650
* Rent: 185 coins every eight hours
On top of all of this, there's also a Russia Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Russian Hall, Simcovich Apartments, Alexandrov Apartments or the Balalaika Shop. Unfortunately, that wraps up the theme at this point, with all of these items being available ranging from 11 to 12 more days in the store. With only one coin-related item available, I personally really hope that more items are added in the future, or I doubt I'll be the only one that skips this theme altogether. Am I right?
What do you think of these Russian themed items? Would you purchase many of these items if they cost coins rather than City Cash? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Ba, 4 tháng 10, 2011
CrowdStar, others dock in Sibblingz Spaceport for mobile social games
If we haven't driven home yet that mobile will be massive in the future of social games, we clearly haven't done our job. Luckily, news like the fact that Sibblingz has signed on It Girl creator CrowdStar and a number of other developers to use its Spaceport service helps us make good on that.
TechCrunch reports that--in addition to CrowdStar--BitRhymes, IKIGames, LuckyLabs, Fortune Planet and DeezGames have signed on to use Spaceport to create mobile versions of their Facebook games. Spaceport is Sibblingz's cloud-based game development platform that allows developers like CrowdStar to create mobile games that work on both iOS and Android devices.
Essentially, it allows developers to create a mobile game once and have it run on multiple mobile devices. The platform makes use of coding languages like Javascript and HTML5, but neither of which are known for making robust or fully-featured games on iPhones or Android phones. However, Sibblingz claims that games built on Spaceport feature an app-like experience.
What Sibblingz means is that, while these games are built using simpler code languages, they will perform like, say CityVille Hometown by Zynga. That game was built using tools specifically for iOS devices and is thus more visually impressive and feature-rich than mobile browser games. However, according to TechCrunch, developers can even create games specifically for iPhones and iPads through Spaceport.
Sibblingz also says that developers can make games for Facebook's worst-kept secret, Project Spartan--an initiative to bring Facebook to mobile devices through browsers using HTML5 complete with full-featured apps and games--through Spaceport. Jeez, on paper it sounds like Spaceport can do anything but make the cash flow.
Regardless, what's important to take away here is that social game developers realize that mobile is where it's at. Frankly, it's one area where clear winners have yet to be defined, much unlike Facebook (ahem, Zynga and EA). At this point, anyone could come out a winner on mobile, and perhaps the companies that embrace cross-platform game creation like CrowdStar will have the upper hand.
Do you think these developers have a chance at winning the mobile race these social game creators are running with Spaceport? Who do you think will ultimately win the mobile social gaming war? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
TechCrunch reports that--in addition to CrowdStar--BitRhymes, IKIGames, LuckyLabs, Fortune Planet and DeezGames have signed on to use Spaceport to create mobile versions of their Facebook games. Spaceport is Sibblingz's cloud-based game development platform that allows developers like CrowdStar to create mobile games that work on both iOS and Android devices.
Essentially, it allows developers to create a mobile game once and have it run on multiple mobile devices. The platform makes use of coding languages like Javascript and HTML5, but neither of which are known for making robust or fully-featured games on iPhones or Android phones. However, Sibblingz claims that games built on Spaceport feature an app-like experience.
What Sibblingz means is that, while these games are built using simpler code languages, they will perform like, say CityVille Hometown by Zynga. That game was built using tools specifically for iOS devices and is thus more visually impressive and feature-rich than mobile browser games. However, according to TechCrunch, developers can even create games specifically for iPhones and iPads through Spaceport.
Sibblingz also says that developers can make games for Facebook's worst-kept secret, Project Spartan--an initiative to bring Facebook to mobile devices through browsers using HTML5 complete with full-featured apps and games--through Spaceport. Jeez, on paper it sounds like Spaceport can do anything but make the cash flow.
Regardless, what's important to take away here is that social game developers realize that mobile is where it's at. Frankly, it's one area where clear winners have yet to be defined, much unlike Facebook (ahem, Zynga and EA). At this point, anyone could come out a winner on mobile, and perhaps the companies that embrace cross-platform game creation like CrowdStar will have the upper hand.
Do you think these developers have a chance at winning the mobile race these social game creators are running with Spaceport? Who do you think will ultimately win the mobile social gaming war? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Mafia Wars 2: Like Facebook fan page to unlock prizes in final game
While little is known about Mafia Wars 2 in terms of it's actual gameplay, we do know that prizes are being offered for users that Like the game's Facebook fan page. If this entire promotion looks familiar, it's because EA/Playfish pulled this one during the Sims Social pre-launch hype, and now we're seeing it again here.
Either way, we know that there will eventually be nine prizes available to unlock, although only seven of them have been revealed. These prizes are limited to varying (increasing) amounts of Likes, and will be unlocked in the final game upon launch if we reach those milestones in time. Here's the complete rundown:
Black Mohawk Hair - 20,000 Likes
Casino Row T-Shirt - 50,000 Likes
Graffiti Wall - 100,000 Likes
Skull Bandana - 250,000 Likes
Animated Lions - 500,000 Likes
Tribal Tattoo - 1 million Likes
Stripes Baseball Cap - 1.5 million Likes
Two additional prizes have yet to be revealed. So far, the fan page has only gained 70,000 Likes, so we've only managed to unlock the Black Mohawk Hair and Casino Row T-Shirt as prizes. Since the game's announcement is so new, and the hype train has barely left the station, I'd imagine we'll see that number climb slowly at first, and then monumentally as the game comes closer and closer to launch. And once we find out what those final two prizes are, we'll make sure to let you know.
Are you excited about Mafia Wars 2? If the game doesn't offer any incentive for users to switch from the original to this new version, will you? Sound off in the comments.
Either way, we know that there will eventually be nine prizes available to unlock, although only seven of them have been revealed. These prizes are limited to varying (increasing) amounts of Likes, and will be unlocked in the final game upon launch if we reach those milestones in time. Here's the complete rundown:
Black Mohawk Hair - 20,000 Likes
Casino Row T-Shirt - 50,000 Likes
Graffiti Wall - 100,000 Likes
Skull Bandana - 250,000 Likes
Animated Lions - 500,000 Likes
Tribal Tattoo - 1 million Likes
Stripes Baseball Cap - 1.5 million Likes
Two additional prizes have yet to be revealed. So far, the fan page has only gained 70,000 Likes, so we've only managed to unlock the Black Mohawk Hair and Casino Row T-Shirt as prizes. Since the game's announcement is so new, and the hype train has barely left the station, I'd imagine we'll see that number climb slowly at first, and then monumentally as the game comes closer and closer to launch. And once we find out what those final two prizes are, we'll make sure to let you know.
Are you excited about Mafia Wars 2? If the game doesn't offer any incentive for users to switch from the original to this new version, will you? Sound off in the comments.
Earn 4 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Capital One promotion
At this rate, perhaps we should just rename FarmVille "Capital OneVille." Why? Yet another cross-promotional activity has launched in the game, allowing users to walk away with 4 free Farm Cash. Unlike the Capital One farm and goat, or even the Capital One free gift that can be sent to friends, this promotion is found where most other free Farm Cash promotions are located: underneath the FarmVille gameplay area.
This promotion is a fairly lengthy one. Once you launch the activity window, you'll need to watch a full Capital One trailer, and can then answer some quiz and survey about what you've seen or the Capital One brand in general. Don't worry - these "quiz" questions are incredibly easy, and if I had to make a guess, it likely wouldn't matter which way you answered; you'd still likely get the Farm Cash at the end.
After manually answering one fill-in-the-blank question, the activity will finally be complete, and you'll be the proud owner of 4 free Farm Cash. This is double the amount of Farm Cash we normally see released in such promotions, so at least it excuses a bit of the additional time it takes to complete this particular activity. As usual, you'll want to complete this promotion as soon as you see it pop-up underneath your game; there's no telling when it will expire, and you will have missed your chance.
Have you seen the Capital One promotion appear under your gameplay area in FarmVille? What will you do with your four free Farm Cash? Sound off in the comments.
This promotion is a fairly lengthy one. Once you launch the activity window, you'll need to watch a full Capital One trailer, and can then answer some quiz and survey about what you've seen or the Capital One brand in general. Don't worry - these "quiz" questions are incredibly easy, and if I had to make a guess, it likely wouldn't matter which way you answered; you'd still likely get the Farm Cash at the end.
After manually answering one fill-in-the-blank question, the activity will finally be complete, and you'll be the proud owner of 4 free Farm Cash. This is double the amount of Farm Cash we normally see released in such promotions, so at least it excuses a bit of the additional time it takes to complete this particular activity. As usual, you'll want to complete this promotion as soon as you see it pop-up underneath your game; there's no telling when it will expire, and you will have missed your chance.
Have you seen the Capital One promotion appear under your gameplay area in FarmVille? What will you do with your four free Farm Cash? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: Splurge on an Unwither Ring for your new farm
Even though the actual act of farming isn't the main focus of FarmVille's third farm the Lighthouse Cove (rather, the focus is on creating a resort village with buildings, trees or even animals), if you really don't want to have to worry about farming (specifically, losing your crops) ever again, you can purchase an Unwither Ring specifically for your new farm so that your new crops will never wither... ever. Even if you happen to forget you've planted crops in your new farm, or plant short-growing crops that happen to wither quicker than you imagined, this Unwither Ring will prevent all that.
Of course, just because you're purchasing one for a new farm doesn't mean the price of this luxury / convenience has gone down. A single Unwither Ring costs 250 Farm Cash, and you can either keep one for yourself, or purchase one to send to a friend (a very, very lucky friend). If the color matters, this new version of the Unwither Ring comes in a lovely purple box.
As usual, this Unwither Ring release isn't permanent, as you'll only have 12 days to purchase one for your Lighthouse Cove. While the item will permanently function on that farm, your ability to purchase is fading fast. Still, is the current equivalent of over $45 US worth the convenience of never having to worry about your crops' time limit? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
Will you purchase an Unwither Ring for your Lighthouse Cove farm? Do you have a ring on your other farms? If so, were they worth the purchase? Sound off in the comments.
Of course, just because you're purchasing one for a new farm doesn't mean the price of this luxury / convenience has gone down. A single Unwither Ring costs 250 Farm Cash, and you can either keep one for yourself, or purchase one to send to a friend (a very, very lucky friend). If the color matters, this new version of the Unwither Ring comes in a lovely purple box.
As usual, this Unwither Ring release isn't permanent, as you'll only have 12 days to purchase one for your Lighthouse Cove. While the item will permanently function on that farm, your ability to purchase is fading fast. Still, is the current equivalent of over $45 US worth the convenience of never having to worry about your crops' time limit? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
Will you purchase an Unwither Ring for your Lighthouse Cove farm? Do you have a ring on your other farms? If so, were they worth the purchase? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: New items come with sale prices for a limited time
On top of releasing new items in the FarmVille marketplace this evening, Zynga has also given us an extra incentive to go shopping by placing (most of these) new items on sale, but only for a limited time. These items come in the Lighthouse Cove theme, which, as you'll recall means that you can either place them on your Lighthouse Cove proper, or can place them on other farms as well. Just remember that if you purchase them on your Home or English farm and then want to move them to the Lighthouse Cove, you won't be able to move them back and forth until we've been given the ability to access storage across all three farms. Without further ado, here's a look at this week's available items.
Trees
Autumn Cherry Tree - 5 Farm Cash (down from 8)
Bradford Pear Tree - 10 Farm Cash (down from 14)
The Autumn Cherry Tree is the level one tree in this equation, meaning you can earn Bradford Pear Trees for free from Mystery Seedlings. These sale prices bring the trees back down to the prices we used to see trees priced at normally, so make sure to snag one (some) if those cheaper prices are acceptable to you.
Animals
Brown Maine Coon - 8 Farm Cash (down from 10)
Brown Pinto Mini - 22 Farm Cash (down from 26)
The Brown Maine Coon is simply a brown version of the original Maine Coon that's available for 200,000 coins, permanently. It does, however, come with its own mastery sign, so you'll need to splurge on at least one if you want to be eligible to earn it. As for the Brown Pinto Mini, this is a new horse that gives you 2,600 experience points upon purchasing it.
Buildings
Fisherman's Shack - 16 Farm Cash (down from 20)
New England Inn - 30 Farm Cash
If you're taking the supposed "purpose" of Lighthouse Cove seriously (that being to create a building-centric resort town), you'll be happy to see that this Fisherman's Shack placed on sale, as you'll be able to further flesh out that building with this "home" for even cheaper than before. Interestingly, the New England Inn isn't on sale, but it's not the only one that's not been given the sale price treatment.
Decorations
Autumn Creek - 12 Farm Cash (down from 15)
October Picnic - 3 Farm Cash
Flowery Picket - 5,000 coins
Porch Swing - 50,000 coins
Tree Arch - 10,000 coins
As I said before, here's another set of items that haven't been given sale prices. While this is expected with coin items, as coins are free to come by, I am surprised that the October Picnic hasn't been priced at 1 or 2 Farm Cash instead of 3, just so it too could be "on sale." Either way, make sure to check your storage for a Tree Arch, as it's been released before in previous events. Also, while an item called the "Porch Swing" has been released before, please note that this item is different.
As usual, all of these items are on a time limit, and will only be around for the the next 13 days. Happy farming!
Which of these items will you purchase for your farms? Have you been using these Lighthouse Cove items on other farms as simply decorations, or are you keeping them on your new farm? Sound off in the comments.
Trees
Autumn Cherry Tree - 5 Farm Cash (down from 8)
Bradford Pear Tree - 10 Farm Cash (down from 14)
The Autumn Cherry Tree is the level one tree in this equation, meaning you can earn Bradford Pear Trees for free from Mystery Seedlings. These sale prices bring the trees back down to the prices we used to see trees priced at normally, so make sure to snag one (some) if those cheaper prices are acceptable to you.
Animals
Brown Maine Coon - 8 Farm Cash (down from 10)
Brown Pinto Mini - 22 Farm Cash (down from 26)
The Brown Maine Coon is simply a brown version of the original Maine Coon that's available for 200,000 coins, permanently. It does, however, come with its own mastery sign, so you'll need to splurge on at least one if you want to be eligible to earn it. As for the Brown Pinto Mini, this is a new horse that gives you 2,600 experience points upon purchasing it.
Buildings
Fisherman's Shack - 16 Farm Cash (down from 20)
New England Inn - 30 Farm Cash
If you're taking the supposed "purpose" of Lighthouse Cove seriously (that being to create a building-centric resort town), you'll be happy to see that this Fisherman's Shack placed on sale, as you'll be able to further flesh out that building with this "home" for even cheaper than before. Interestingly, the New England Inn isn't on sale, but it's not the only one that's not been given the sale price treatment.
Decorations
Autumn Creek - 12 Farm Cash (down from 15)
October Picnic - 3 Farm Cash
Flowery Picket - 5,000 coins
Porch Swing - 50,000 coins
Tree Arch - 10,000 coins
As I said before, here's another set of items that haven't been given sale prices. While this is expected with coin items, as coins are free to come by, I am surprised that the October Picnic hasn't been priced at 1 or 2 Farm Cash instead of 3, just so it too could be "on sale." Either way, make sure to check your storage for a Tree Arch, as it's been released before in previous events. Also, while an item called the "Porch Swing" has been released before, please note that this item is different.
As usual, all of these items are on a time limit, and will only be around for the the next 13 days. Happy farming!
Which of these items will you purchase for your farms? Have you been using these Lighthouse Cove items on other farms as simply decorations, or are you keeping them on your new farm? Sound off in the comments.
Chủ Nhật, 2 tháng 10, 2011
Mafia Wars 2: Like Facebook fan page to unlock prizes in final game
While little is known about Mafia Wars 2 in terms of it's actual gameplay, we do know that prizes are being offered for users that Like the game's Facebook fan page. If this entire promotion looks familiar, it's because EA/Playfish pulled this one during the Sims Social pre-launch hype, and now we're seeing it again here.
Either way, we know that there will eventually be nine prizes available to unlock, although only seven of them have been revealed. These prizes are limited to varying (increasing) amounts of Likes, and will be unlocked in the final game upon launch if we reach those milestones in time. Here's the complete rundown:
Black Mohawk Hair - 20,000 Likes
Casino Row T-Shirt - 50,000 Likes
Graffiti Wall - 100,000 Likes
Skull Bandana - 250,000 Likes
Animated Lions - 500,000 Likes
Tribal Tattoo - 1 million Likes
Stripes Baseball Cap - 1.5 million Likes
Two additional prizes have yet to be revealed. So far, the fan page has only gained 70,000 Likes, so we've only managed to unlock the Black Mohawk Hair and Casino Row T-Shirt as prizes. Since the game's announcement is so new, and the hype train has barely left the station, I'd imagine we'll see that number climb slowly at first, and then monumentally as the game comes closer and closer to launch. And once we find out what those final two prizes are, we'll make sure to let you know.
Are you excited about Mafia Wars 2? If the game doesn't offer any incentive for users to switch from the original to this new version, will you? Sound off in the comments.
Either way, we know that there will eventually be nine prizes available to unlock, although only seven of them have been revealed. These prizes are limited to varying (increasing) amounts of Likes, and will be unlocked in the final game upon launch if we reach those milestones in time. Here's the complete rundown:
Black Mohawk Hair - 20,000 Likes
Casino Row T-Shirt - 50,000 Likes
Graffiti Wall - 100,000 Likes
Skull Bandana - 250,000 Likes
Animated Lions - 500,000 Likes
Tribal Tattoo - 1 million Likes
Stripes Baseball Cap - 1.5 million Likes
Two additional prizes have yet to be revealed. So far, the fan page has only gained 70,000 Likes, so we've only managed to unlock the Black Mohawk Hair and Casino Row T-Shirt as prizes. Since the game's announcement is so new, and the hype train has barely left the station, I'd imagine we'll see that number climb slowly at first, and then monumentally as the game comes closer and closer to launch. And once we find out what those final two prizes are, we'll make sure to let you know.
Are you excited about Mafia Wars 2? If the game doesn't offer any incentive for users to switch from the original to this new version, will you? Sound off in the comments.
Earn 4 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Capital One promotion
At this rate, perhaps we should just rename FarmVille "Capital OneVille." Why? Yet another cross-promotional activity has launched in the game, allowing users to walk away with 4 free Farm Cash. Unlike the Capital One farm and goat, or even the Capital One free gift that can be sent to friends, this promotion is found where most other free Farm Cash promotions are located: underneath the FarmVille gameplay area.
This promotion is a fairly lengthy one. Once you launch the activity window, you'll need to watch a full Capital One trailer, and can then answer some quiz and survey about what you've seen or the Capital One brand in general. Don't worry - these "quiz" questions are incredibly easy, and if I had to make a guess, it likely wouldn't matter which way you answered; you'd still likely get the Farm Cash at the end.
After manually answering one fill-in-the-blank question, the activity will finally be complete, and you'll be the proud owner of 4 free Farm Cash. This is double the amount of Farm Cash we normally see released in such promotions, so at least it excuses a bit of the additional time it takes to complete this particular activity. As usual, you'll want to complete this promotion as soon as you see it pop-up underneath your game; there's no telling when it will expire, and you will have missed your chance.
Have you seen the Capital One promotion appear under your gameplay area in FarmVille? What will you do with your four free Farm Cash? Sound off in the comments.
This promotion is a fairly lengthy one. Once you launch the activity window, you'll need to watch a full Capital One trailer, and can then answer some quiz and survey about what you've seen or the Capital One brand in general. Don't worry - these "quiz" questions are incredibly easy, and if I had to make a guess, it likely wouldn't matter which way you answered; you'd still likely get the Farm Cash at the end.
After manually answering one fill-in-the-blank question, the activity will finally be complete, and you'll be the proud owner of 4 free Farm Cash. This is double the amount of Farm Cash we normally see released in such promotions, so at least it excuses a bit of the additional time it takes to complete this particular activity. As usual, you'll want to complete this promotion as soon as you see it pop-up underneath your game; there's no telling when it will expire, and you will have missed your chance.
Have you seen the Capital One promotion appear under your gameplay area in FarmVille? What will you do with your four free Farm Cash? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: Splurge on an Unwither Ring for your new farm
Even though the actual act of farming isn't the main focus of FarmVille's third farm the Lighthouse Cove (rather, the focus is on creating a resort village with buildings, trees or even animals), if you really don't want to have to worry about farming (specifically, losing your crops) ever again, you can purchase an Unwither Ring specifically for your new farm so that your new crops will never wither... ever. Even if you happen to forget you've planted crops in your new farm, or plant short-growing crops that happen to wither quicker than you imagined, this Unwither Ring will prevent all that.
Of course, just because you're purchasing one for a new farm doesn't mean the price of this luxury / convenience has gone down. A single Unwither Ring costs 250 Farm Cash, and you can either keep one for yourself, or purchase one to send to a friend (a very, very lucky friend). If the color matters, this new version of the Unwither Ring comes in a lovely purple box.
As usual, this Unwither Ring release isn't permanent, as you'll only have 12 days to purchase one for your Lighthouse Cove. While the item will permanently function on that farm, your ability to purchase is fading fast. Still, is the current equivalent of over $45 US worth the convenience of never having to worry about your crops' time limit? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
Will you purchase an Unwither Ring for your Lighthouse Cove farm? Do you have a ring on your other farms? If so, were they worth the purchase? Sound off in the comments.
Of course, just because you're purchasing one for a new farm doesn't mean the price of this luxury / convenience has gone down. A single Unwither Ring costs 250 Farm Cash, and you can either keep one for yourself, or purchase one to send to a friend (a very, very lucky friend). If the color matters, this new version of the Unwither Ring comes in a lovely purple box.
As usual, this Unwither Ring release isn't permanent, as you'll only have 12 days to purchase one for your Lighthouse Cove. While the item will permanently function on that farm, your ability to purchase is fading fast. Still, is the current equivalent of over $45 US worth the convenience of never having to worry about your crops' time limit? We'll leave that up to you to decide.
Will you purchase an Unwither Ring for your Lighthouse Cove farm? Do you have a ring on your other farms? If so, were they worth the purchase? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: New items come with sale prices for a limited time
On top of releasing new items in the FarmVille marketplace this evening, Zynga has also given us an extra incentive to go shopping by placing (most of these) new items on sale, but only for a limited time. These items come in the Lighthouse Cove theme, which, as you'll recall means that you can either place them on your Lighthouse Cove proper, or can place them on other farms as well. Just remember that if you purchase them on your Home or English farm and then want to move them to the Lighthouse Cove, you won't be able to move them back and forth until we've been given the ability to access storage across all three farms. Without further ado, here's a look at this week's available items.
Trees
Autumn Cherry Tree - 5 Farm Cash (down from 8)
Bradford Pear Tree - 10 Farm Cash (down from 14)
The Autumn Cherry Tree is the level one tree in this equation, meaning you can earn Bradford Pear Trees for free from Mystery Seedlings. These sale prices bring the trees back down to the prices we used to see trees priced at normally, so make sure to snag one (some) if those cheaper prices are acceptable to you.
Animals
Brown Maine Coon - 8 Farm Cash (down from 10)
Brown Pinto Mini - 22 Farm Cash (down from 26)
The Brown Maine Coon is simply a brown version of the original Maine Coon that's available for 200,000 coins, permanently. It does, however, come with its own mastery sign, so you'll need to splurge on at least one if you want to be eligible to earn it. As for the Brown Pinto Mini, this is a new horse that gives you 2,600 experience points upon purchasing it.
Buildings
Fisherman's Shack - 16 Farm Cash (down from 20)
New England Inn - 30 Farm Cash
If you're taking the supposed "purpose" of Lighthouse Cove seriously (that being to create a building-centric resort town), you'll be happy to see that this Fisherman's Shack placed on sale, as you'll be able to further flesh out that building with this "home" for even cheaper than before. Interestingly, the New England Inn isn't on sale, but it's not the only one that's not been given the sale price treatment.
Decorations
Autumn Creek - 12 Farm Cash (down from 15)
October Picnic - 3 Farm Cash
Flowery Picket - 5,000 coins
Porch Swing - 50,000 coins
Tree Arch - 10,000 coins
As I said before, here's another set of items that haven't been given sale prices. While this is expected with coin items, as coins are free to come by, I am surprised that the October Picnic hasn't been priced at 1 or 2 Farm Cash instead of 3, just so it too could be "on sale." Either way, make sure to check your storage for a Tree Arch, as it's been released before in previous events. Also, while an item called the "Porch Swing" has been released before, please note that this item is different.
As usual, all of these items are on a time limit, and will only be around for the the next 13 days. Happy farming!
Which of these items will you purchase for your farms? Have you been using these Lighthouse Cove items on other farms as simply decorations, or are you keeping them on your new farm? Sound off in the comments.
Trees
Autumn Cherry Tree - 5 Farm Cash (down from 8)
Bradford Pear Tree - 10 Farm Cash (down from 14)
The Autumn Cherry Tree is the level one tree in this equation, meaning you can earn Bradford Pear Trees for free from Mystery Seedlings. These sale prices bring the trees back down to the prices we used to see trees priced at normally, so make sure to snag one (some) if those cheaper prices are acceptable to you.
Animals
Brown Maine Coon - 8 Farm Cash (down from 10)
Brown Pinto Mini - 22 Farm Cash (down from 26)
The Brown Maine Coon is simply a brown version of the original Maine Coon that's available for 200,000 coins, permanently. It does, however, come with its own mastery sign, so you'll need to splurge on at least one if you want to be eligible to earn it. As for the Brown Pinto Mini, this is a new horse that gives you 2,600 experience points upon purchasing it.
Buildings
Fisherman's Shack - 16 Farm Cash (down from 20)
New England Inn - 30 Farm Cash
If you're taking the supposed "purpose" of Lighthouse Cove seriously (that being to create a building-centric resort town), you'll be happy to see that this Fisherman's Shack placed on sale, as you'll be able to further flesh out that building with this "home" for even cheaper than before. Interestingly, the New England Inn isn't on sale, but it's not the only one that's not been given the sale price treatment.
Decorations
Autumn Creek - 12 Farm Cash (down from 15)
October Picnic - 3 Farm Cash
Flowery Picket - 5,000 coins
Porch Swing - 50,000 coins
Tree Arch - 10,000 coins
As I said before, here's another set of items that haven't been given sale prices. While this is expected with coin items, as coins are free to come by, I am surprised that the October Picnic hasn't been priced at 1 or 2 Farm Cash instead of 3, just so it too could be "on sale." Either way, make sure to check your storage for a Tree Arch, as it's been released before in previous events. Also, while an item called the "Porch Swing" has been released before, please note that this item is different.
As usual, all of these items are on a time limit, and will only be around for the the next 13 days. Happy farming!
Which of these items will you purchase for your farms? Have you been using these Lighthouse Cove items on other farms as simply decorations, or are you keeping them on your new farm? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille: Limited edition Cows come back to the barnyard (again)
No, you're not experiencing deja vu farmers, Zynga has yet again re-released a set of cows into FarmVille, giving you guys a chance to fill your collections in anticipation of what looks to be a Cow-centric breeding habitat coming to the farm. We last saw some of these Cows back in August, when Animal Mastery hit the farm, but there are some different options for your shopping pleasure this time around.
As usual, you'll only have a week to do any shopping associated with this re-release of Cows, so here's a complete look at those that have been re-released:
Autumn Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Blue Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Robot Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Western Longhorn - 20 Farm Cash
Devon Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Mohawk Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Fairy Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Hereford Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Highland Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Chrome Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, there aren't any coin-only Cows in this update, so you'll have to spend some of your hard-earned Farm Cash to stock up on any of these animals. Unlike previous animal habitats, the upcoming Cow building will allow you to breed Calves, rather that duplicates of these Cows, so if you don't want to waste time waiting for those Calves to grow inside your Nursery Barn, you might want to buy these Cows as is.
We'll make sure to let you know when the next animal habitat launches in the game, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you the news very, very soon.
Will you purchase any of these Cows for your farms, even if you don't place them in a storage building? Which ones are your favorites? Sound off in the comments.
As usual, you'll only have a week to do any shopping associated with this re-release of Cows, so here's a complete look at those that have been re-released:
Autumn Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Blue Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Robot Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Western Longhorn - 20 Farm Cash
Devon Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Mohawk Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Fairy Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Hereford Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Highland Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Chrome Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, there aren't any coin-only Cows in this update, so you'll have to spend some of your hard-earned Farm Cash to stock up on any of these animals. Unlike previous animal habitats, the upcoming Cow building will allow you to breed Calves, rather that duplicates of these Cows, so if you don't want to waste time waiting for those Calves to grow inside your Nursery Barn, you might want to buy these Cows as is.
We'll make sure to let you know when the next animal habitat launches in the game, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you the news very, very soon.
Will you purchase any of these Cows for your farms, even if you don't place them in a storage building? Which ones are your favorites? Sound off in the comments.
Đăng ký:
Bài đăng (Atom)