At Games.com - The Blog!, we don't support cheating in Facebook games. However, we do want to cover everything there is to know about FarmVille and other top Facebook games. We don't want you to feel out of the loop on the latest tools and tricks for FarmVille. Farmer's Hero is an iPhone (and therefore iPod Touch and iPad) application that makes it easier to collect feed bonuses for FarmVille. What exactly does this mean?
The application requires you to sign in with your Facebook account. It then monitors all of the feed posts that your friends post on their wall and pulls out the ones that include bonuses. This means free bushels, fuel, pollinated seeds, and lost adoptable animals, among more. Farmer's Hero can automatically retrieve this for you as if you clicked them yourself, without requiring the tedium of clicking on each individual post.
Some people consider this cheating, because the application basically automates the process of interacting with feed posts. Every time Farmer's Hero claims something from a wall post, it means one less person can use it. This is more than frustrating if you're a legitimate player and every time you click on a wall post one second after it's posted you're greeted by a "this item has already been claimed" message.
Still, clicking manually on feed items doesn't require skill. It's a boring game of hunting and pecking, and Farmer's Hero makes it so that you no longer have to do this. Another application that does something similar is the controversial Gamer's Unite application.
If you're interested in finding out more about Farmer's Hero, you can watch this explanation video or check out the application in the Apple Store. Right now, the price is $1.99.
Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012
FrontierVille Timed Mission Storage Space II now available
Last week, we brought you the news surrounding the new FrontierVille Storage Shed expansion. At the time, this was just a single timed mission, that would allow you to expand your Storage Shed to have five extra storage slots. We knew that two other missions would be coming behind this original launch, but we didn't know exactly when those missions would launch in full.
Luckily, partners, you can now expand five additional spaces via this afternoon's launch of the Storage Space II mission, a timed mission that must be started on your account before December 21, and completed within three days thereafter.
The mission has three steps, which are to:
Have or Craft 6 Sawhorses
Have or Obtain 15 Nails
Get 15 Cardboard Boxes
Interestingly, the leaked information concerning this mission before its release has now been proven incorrect, as you need to have 15 nails, rather than six, as was first believed. Either way, you'll earn these by asking friends via individual gift requests. The Cardboard boxes are gathered by posting general wall posts asking for your friends to help you, and you'll have to create the Sawhorses within your barn.
A single Sawhorse can be created using 5 Planks and 2 Tools. Remember, Tools can be earned by having your friends hire you on their homesteads, and then posting the Tools as a wall bonus afterwards. Planks are created in the Wagon, using 7 pieces of wood and 250 coins for each Plank.
Unless you already had a few Sawhorses or lots of Tools on hand, you may find this quest to be a bit difficult, especially considering the three day time limit. However, with a little effort, and perhaps some persuading of friends to hire you, you too can add five more storage spaces to your Storage Shed. In addition, you'll earn 300 XP and 500 coins for finishing the quest.
Luckily, partners, you can now expand five additional spaces via this afternoon's launch of the Storage Space II mission, a timed mission that must be started on your account before December 21, and completed within three days thereafter.
The mission has three steps, which are to:
Have or Craft 6 Sawhorses
Have or Obtain 15 Nails
Get 15 Cardboard Boxes
Interestingly, the leaked information concerning this mission before its release has now been proven incorrect, as you need to have 15 nails, rather than six, as was first believed. Either way, you'll earn these by asking friends via individual gift requests. The Cardboard boxes are gathered by posting general wall posts asking for your friends to help you, and you'll have to create the Sawhorses within your barn.
A single Sawhorse can be created using 5 Planks and 2 Tools. Remember, Tools can be earned by having your friends hire you on their homesteads, and then posting the Tools as a wall bonus afterwards. Planks are created in the Wagon, using 7 pieces of wood and 250 coins for each Plank.
Unless you already had a few Sawhorses or lots of Tools on hand, you may find this quest to be a bit difficult, especially considering the three day time limit. However, with a little effort, and perhaps some persuading of friends to hire you, you too can add five more storage spaces to your Storage Shed. In addition, you'll earn 300 XP and 500 coins for finishing the quest.
CityVille: Tower Eats franchise is enormous and expensive
CityVille franchises are a neat aspect of the game, because it's great to have a physical representation in your city of how many businesses you are running in your friend's cities. One of the more daunting franchises in the game is the Tower Eats franchise. Why? Because it costs 800,000 coins to open up a Tower Eats franchise. Yikes.
I spend my money way too quickly in CityVille, so there is no way I'm affording one of these anytime soon. However, after seeing how gigantic the building is, it's making me want to save up! Click on the image to the right to see the Tower Eats franchise when compared with other buildings. It is by far the largest building you can get right now for your city.
Of course, this feat won't come easy. You have to earn a lot of coins to unlock this sucker.
I spend my money way too quickly in CityVille, so there is no way I'm affording one of these anytime soon. However, after seeing how gigantic the building is, it's making me want to save up! Click on the image to the right to see the Tower Eats franchise when compared with other buildings. It is by far the largest building you can get right now for your city.
Of course, this feat won't come easy. You have to earn a lot of coins to unlock this sucker.
Facebook Friend Guide: How to find neighbors to play games with
Playing Facebook games is a lot more fun when you have friends who are playing alongside you. Couple this with the fact that many games incentivize you for having more neighbors, and it can make for a pretty terrible gaming experience if none of your friends want to play. Facebook isn't really designed to allow you to meet new people; Facebook's core intentions were to connect you with the people and acquaintances that you already know. This can make it challenging to find new friends to game with on Facebook, so we have a few tips that will help you get more friends on Facebook to play games with you.
Official game message boards
One of the best places to find other people to game with is on the game's official message boards which are maintained by the developer. On these forums, you can register and post in "add me" threads where other players will find them. If you go this route, remember to include a link to your Facebook profile otherwise they will not be able to add you as a friend. You also should ask them to put in the friend request what game(s) they play, so that you know who they are when they add you as a friend. You should be able to look through the threads and find friends to add as well.
On the wall of the game's fan page
If you go to the fan page for the game that you wish to find friends for, you can comment on the status messages, wall, and review page with "add me". You will see many other people doing this as well, so you can feel free to add them as friends. This is probably the fastest way to find friends. Sometimes, simply clicking "like" on a game's wall post is enough to cause a barrage of friend requests to fly in from all angles.
In "Add Me" groups
Most games (at least the popular ones) on Facebook have various "Add Me" groups that you can join to find other people to play that game with. You will have to join the group, but once you have joined you have unlocked a ton of people who play the game game as you. It's a nice way to exchange tips and tricks on the games too. See FarmVilleAddMe for an example of this.
On Games.com!
Another perfect way to find friends to game with is by commenting on this post! Leave a comment with your Facebook profile link and tell others what games you play. There's a good chance you'll find plenty of friends this way!
General Tips and Warnings:
Remember that if you post on forums and external sites, you will have to delete your posts in the future if you want people to stop adding you as a friend.
When you're adding strangers, it's best to make a special Facebook list/group for them and do not share any personal information or non-gaming status messages with them.
It is possible that spammers will add you, so use careful consideration when accepting friend requests.
Do you have any other tips for finding friends on Facebook? Share them in the comments with our readers!
Official game message boards
One of the best places to find other people to game with is on the game's official message boards which are maintained by the developer. On these forums, you can register and post in "add me" threads where other players will find them. If you go this route, remember to include a link to your Facebook profile otherwise they will not be able to add you as a friend. You also should ask them to put in the friend request what game(s) they play, so that you know who they are when they add you as a friend. You should be able to look through the threads and find friends to add as well.
On the wall of the game's fan page
If you go to the fan page for the game that you wish to find friends for, you can comment on the status messages, wall, and review page with "add me". You will see many other people doing this as well, so you can feel free to add them as friends. This is probably the fastest way to find friends. Sometimes, simply clicking "like" on a game's wall post is enough to cause a barrage of friend requests to fly in from all angles.
In "Add Me" groups
Most games (at least the popular ones) on Facebook have various "Add Me" groups that you can join to find other people to play that game with. You will have to join the group, but once you have joined you have unlocked a ton of people who play the game game as you. It's a nice way to exchange tips and tricks on the games too. See FarmVilleAddMe for an example of this.
On Games.com!
Another perfect way to find friends to game with is by commenting on this post! Leave a comment with your Facebook profile link and tell others what games you play. There's a good chance you'll find plenty of friends this way!
General Tips and Warnings:
Remember that if you post on forums and external sites, you will have to delete your posts in the future if you want people to stop adding you as a friend.
When you're adding strangers, it's best to make a special Facebook list/group for them and do not share any personal information or non-gaming status messages with them.
It is possible that spammers will add you, so use careful consideration when accepting friend requests.
Do you have any other tips for finding friends on Facebook? Share them in the comments with our readers!
FarmVille Animals: Ornament Reindeer & a Partridge in a pear tree (sort of)
Ok, so maybe not IN a Pear Tree exactly, but a Partridge nonetheless... Wait, where was I? That's right - It's a Wednesday, and in the Holiday season in FarmVille, that means we've seen a new update hit the game, which has brought with it a couple of new animals!
The new animals are the Ornament Reindeer and the aforementioned Partridge. Unfortunately, both cost Farm Cash, so I hope you've been saving up for some new items, or that you aren't opposed to simply purchasing Cash outright so that you can enjoy their holiday festiveness on your own farm.
The Ornament Reindeer costs 16 Farm Cash, while the Partridge costs 12 Farm Cash. Both animals can be harvested from once every two days, and you'll receive 80 and 92 coins, respectively, every time you collect. If you're looking for a quick and easy boost to your experience point total in the game, you should also look into these two new animals, as the Reindeer rewards 1600 bonus XP while the Partridge offers 1200.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next nine days, at which point they will expire, and likely won't be seen again until the Winter Holiday celebration in 2011, if at all. Shop fast if you want to collect these new animals before it's too late!
The new animals are the Ornament Reindeer and the aforementioned Partridge. Unfortunately, both cost Farm Cash, so I hope you've been saving up for some new items, or that you aren't opposed to simply purchasing Cash outright so that you can enjoy their holiday festiveness on your own farm.
The Ornament Reindeer costs 16 Farm Cash, while the Partridge costs 12 Farm Cash. Both animals can be harvested from once every two days, and you'll receive 80 and 92 coins, respectively, every time you collect. If you're looking for a quick and easy boost to your experience point total in the game, you should also look into these two new animals, as the Reindeer rewards 1600 bonus XP while the Partridge offers 1200.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next nine days, at which point they will expire, and likely won't be seen again until the Winter Holiday celebration in 2011, if at all. Shop fast if you want to collect these new animals before it's too late!
Thứ Năm, 12 tháng 1, 2012
CityVille beats FarmVille's best numbers, shatters and sets records
It looks like Zynga and the CityVille team have received a New Year's gift now, too. (In fact, CityVille doesn't seem to need an occasion anymore.) TechCrunch reports that CityVille has become the biggest social game to ever grace Facebook, breaking FarmVille's record-setting peak of nearly 83.8 million monthly players in March 2010 with 84.2 million monthly players. Zynga's most recent social-gaming juggernaut has been shattering records since it launched early in Dec. 2010, but this is a first for both CityVille and the Facebook game genre altogether.
We've all said that the growth has to plateau at some point, but continues surging upward, blowing away our expectations and doubts without much more than a few stutters, according to a chart provided by Inside Social Games (ISG). It's ISG that also predicts CityVille to reach 125 million players at some point in 2011. Well, if the game keeps soaring at this rate of almost two million new monthly players daily, it's only a matter of time before CityVille at least reaches 100 million. Either way, CityVille is already the most popular social game to date in the genre's infantile lifespan. That is until Zynga launches something else, of course.
We've all said that the growth has to plateau at some point, but continues surging upward, blowing away our expectations and doubts without much more than a few stutters, according to a chart provided by Inside Social Games (ISG). It's ISG that also predicts CityVille to reach 125 million players at some point in 2011. Well, if the game keeps soaring at this rate of almost two million new monthly players daily, it's only a matter of time before CityVille at least reaches 100 million. Either way, CityVille is already the most popular social game to date in the genre's infantile lifespan. That is until Zynga launches something else, of course.
Top 25 Facebook Games - January 2011
Inside Social Games has released the top 25 Facebook games for January and -- to no surprise -- Zynga's new darling CityVille has gone straight to the top of the charts, overtaking FarmVille, which until recently, seemed darn near impossible. The real question is how long CityVille will stay at the top or if this number is inflated due to extra promotion and the 'new'ness of it all.
Other newcomers to January's Top 25 list include PopCap's Zuma Blitz, which is a timed version of the classic PC game,and CrowdStar's uber girly game, It Girl, which grew 1.2 million last month.
top 25 facebook games 2011
A few other things to point out in this list:
- CityVille gained 80 million users in one month. Wow. It's surprising to see how a city-building game, which isn't drastically different from the many other city-building games out there, gained that much traction. It's a true testament to the power of Zynga's cross-promotion (and it also might be a sign that Zynga's learning how to make more compelling games).;
- FarmVille has been losing players for monthy (roughly 30 million so far), but in December, managed to gain 4 million players One would assume that's due to a combination of all of the special events in the game for the holiday season, the return of game notifications on Facebook and a cross-promotional synergy among all of Zynga's games, many of which were also up last month (with exception of Mafia Wars).
Other newcomers to January's Top 25 list include PopCap's Zuma Blitz, which is a timed version of the classic PC game,and CrowdStar's uber girly game, It Girl, which grew 1.2 million last month.
top 25 facebook games 2011
A few other things to point out in this list:
- CityVille gained 80 million users in one month. Wow. It's surprising to see how a city-building game, which isn't drastically different from the many other city-building games out there, gained that much traction. It's a true testament to the power of Zynga's cross-promotion (and it also might be a sign that Zynga's learning how to make more compelling games).;
- FarmVille has been losing players for monthy (roughly 30 million so far), but in December, managed to gain 4 million players One would assume that's due to a combination of all of the special events in the game for the holiday season, the return of game notifications on Facebook and a cross-promotional synergy among all of Zynga's games, many of which were also up last month (with exception of Mafia Wars).
Little War on Facebook: Stone Age game at a Stone Age pace
Little War on Facebook
If there is one niche that Facebook games have yet to hit, it might very well be the Stone Age. Thanks to Chinese social game developer Five Minutes, that's no longer an issue with Little War. Set in prehistoric times, Little War puts you in the role of chieftain, overseeing a fledgling tribe as they kill, expand and cultivate their way to caveman supremacy. Drawing obvious similarities from established warfare and city-building games like My Empire, Little War brings a lot to the table in presentation as one the most visually appealing Facebook games out there. Unfortunately, the game moves at a fossilized snail's pace, forcing players to wait for sometimes days before seeing the fleeting moments of combat.
Find more detailed impressions of Little War after the break.
Little War Tirbe
Your nascent tribe begins already facing the stony tips of an opposing tribe's spears, which serves as the training ground for you, the only person this small community has to look up to. While that sure sounds pretty intense, it quickly boils down to "harvest this" and "train this." Worse off, these processes will take hours outside of the tutorial, which grants you with Hourglasses to instantly finish training cycles and push the invaders back with your own pointy weapons.
Unlike most games that operate in coins, Little War is all about Food, which is at least historically accurate to a point. Everything from building dwellings and warrior training grounds to decorations costs Food. Harvesting crops, completing quests, killing roaming monsters and leveling are all sources of Food. Of course, harvesting is the most readily available and reliable source of food, but also the least entertaining. There is also your population cap to worry about, which fills up with the more soldiers you train and increases with the more dwellings you create. Admittedly, it has the potential to become an interesting balance considering it all draws from a single resource.
Little War Monster Hunt
To mix things up, your tribe can also tap ancient magics to summon more monsters to hunt, increase your tribe's statistics, damage other tribes and more. These are accessed by creating new Wonders, or buildings whose only purpose is to fuel new magic powers. Once built, Wonders can be upgraded using parts collected from defeating monsters, purchasing from the shop, completing quests or even--dare I say--asking friends. Yes, asking and helping friends with requests is a major component to Little War like most social games.
On to what should the most exciting part of Little War: combat. Unfortunately, I've yet to enter a combat experience with another tribe on any scale since the tutorial. And while it hasn't been a terribly long time since then, why should it be? When there are plenty of other games out there that are much more rewarding of building and maintaining a community, combat should be more frequent and far more exciting than it is. When fighting monsters, all that decides the outcome is a small cartoon-style scuffle cloud accompanied by a loading bar. When fighting opposing tribes, scale that same goofy animation to fill the entire screen, add some more oomph to it with more warriors and that's how large scale combat is decided. The only statistic that contributes to your success in combat is Combat Power, which is merely a measure of the amount of warriors you possess in your army. In short, the combat won't exactly have you running back to your computer screen for more like in games such as Mighty Pirates or Monster Galaxy.
Little War Level Up
As mentioned before, getting into combat takes long enough--but so does everything else. Training even the smallest regiment of warrior takes two hours, most of the more meaningful magic powers take almost a day to recharge and harvesting a worthwhile amount of Food takes a full day. You're going to spend a lot of time either staring at timers or setting alarms around events that aren't exactly enthralling. Little War has an incredibly charming art style and smooth presentation, but sadly is sitting on a gold mine of potentially exciting content while emulating elements of other popular social games so well. Just because your game is about the Stone Age doesn't mean it has to move like it.
If there is one niche that Facebook games have yet to hit, it might very well be the Stone Age. Thanks to Chinese social game developer Five Minutes, that's no longer an issue with Little War. Set in prehistoric times, Little War puts you in the role of chieftain, overseeing a fledgling tribe as they kill, expand and cultivate their way to caveman supremacy. Drawing obvious similarities from established warfare and city-building games like My Empire, Little War brings a lot to the table in presentation as one the most visually appealing Facebook games out there. Unfortunately, the game moves at a fossilized snail's pace, forcing players to wait for sometimes days before seeing the fleeting moments of combat.
Find more detailed impressions of Little War after the break.
Little War Tirbe
Your nascent tribe begins already facing the stony tips of an opposing tribe's spears, which serves as the training ground for you, the only person this small community has to look up to. While that sure sounds pretty intense, it quickly boils down to "harvest this" and "train this." Worse off, these processes will take hours outside of the tutorial, which grants you with Hourglasses to instantly finish training cycles and push the invaders back with your own pointy weapons.
Unlike most games that operate in coins, Little War is all about Food, which is at least historically accurate to a point. Everything from building dwellings and warrior training grounds to decorations costs Food. Harvesting crops, completing quests, killing roaming monsters and leveling are all sources of Food. Of course, harvesting is the most readily available and reliable source of food, but also the least entertaining. There is also your population cap to worry about, which fills up with the more soldiers you train and increases with the more dwellings you create. Admittedly, it has the potential to become an interesting balance considering it all draws from a single resource.
Little War Monster Hunt
To mix things up, your tribe can also tap ancient magics to summon more monsters to hunt, increase your tribe's statistics, damage other tribes and more. These are accessed by creating new Wonders, or buildings whose only purpose is to fuel new magic powers. Once built, Wonders can be upgraded using parts collected from defeating monsters, purchasing from the shop, completing quests or even--dare I say--asking friends. Yes, asking and helping friends with requests is a major component to Little War like most social games.
On to what should the most exciting part of Little War: combat. Unfortunately, I've yet to enter a combat experience with another tribe on any scale since the tutorial. And while it hasn't been a terribly long time since then, why should it be? When there are plenty of other games out there that are much more rewarding of building and maintaining a community, combat should be more frequent and far more exciting than it is. When fighting monsters, all that decides the outcome is a small cartoon-style scuffle cloud accompanied by a loading bar. When fighting opposing tribes, scale that same goofy animation to fill the entire screen, add some more oomph to it with more warriors and that's how large scale combat is decided. The only statistic that contributes to your success in combat is Combat Power, which is merely a measure of the amount of warriors you possess in your army. In short, the combat won't exactly have you running back to your computer screen for more like in games such as Mighty Pirates or Monster Galaxy.
Little War Level Up
As mentioned before, getting into combat takes long enough--but so does everything else. Training even the smallest regiment of warrior takes two hours, most of the more meaningful magic powers take almost a day to recharge and harvesting a worthwhile amount of Food takes a full day. You're going to spend a lot of time either staring at timers or setting alarms around events that aren't exactly enthralling. Little War has an incredibly charming art style and smooth presentation, but sadly is sitting on a gold mine of potentially exciting content while emulating elements of other popular social games so well. Just because your game is about the Stone Age doesn't mean it has to move like it.
Trial Madness 2 on Facebook is addictive, antisocial motocross
Trial Madness 2
Alright, so it's not exactly a social game in the traditional sense. But Trial Madness 2 by Spanish developer Social Point is just plain fun. Sure, you can add your friends and compare times with them--not to mention to global leader boards. And of course you can create a custom player profile and avatar that will display your highest score and currency. But none of this is the main draw of Trial Madness 2.
It's the gameplay.
And while gameplay alone doesn't seem to get social games very far these days, Trial Madness 2 certainly brings it in spades. Not to mention plenty of competition. Check behind the break for our detailed impressions of Trial Madness 2.
Trial Madness 2 gameplay
This balance-heavy biking game doesn't exactly advance the sub-genre of casual gaming, but Trial Madness 2 certainly does add some much need polish to it. The gameplay remains the same: simple to understand, nearly impossible to master. Players navigate a motocross bike across both somewhat normal and at times ridiculous terrain using the arrow keys. The "up" and "down" arrow key accelerate and apply the brakes, respectively. The "left" key leans the bike backward and "right" leans it forward. Throw in some horribly uneven courses and you got yourself what should be a headache.
Let's put it this way: you're going to crash. A lot. But reload times are so quick that I find myself almost pressing the "Retry" button via muscle memory. Trial Madness 2 evokes this almost insatiable need to beat the next level while maximizing points. Completing the level in the least amount of time will surely increase your score, throwing in a few skillful back flips or front flips here and there will rack up the points. To do a flip, just hold in either the "left" or "right" key while in midair, but the key to a successful flip is knowing when to stop. This trial-and-error gameplay (hence the name) is admittedly addictive.
Level Complete!
After every successful level, you'll be given the option to brag through a News Feed post, taunting your friends into trying to beat your time. Turning up the scale on the competition is World mode, which displays the top players globally with their highest score and Gold won from tournaments.
An otherwise meaningless statistic, Gold is used to buy into Tournaments, which offer large Gold prizes and bragging rights. As you might have already noticed, most of the game's social elements are pretty nebulous, deceptively simple features. Tournaments and Gold are both those types of features, offering no more incentive to partake than a chance at the glory of having your face attached to one of the highest scores. Throw in a long list of Achievements to obtain for nothing more than, again, glory, and Trial Madness might be one of the most competitive games on Facebook. But with such shallow social features, only you and the other otherwise anonymous bikers will know anything of it.
Alright, so it's not exactly a social game in the traditional sense. But Trial Madness 2 by Spanish developer Social Point is just plain fun. Sure, you can add your friends and compare times with them--not to mention to global leader boards. And of course you can create a custom player profile and avatar that will display your highest score and currency. But none of this is the main draw of Trial Madness 2.
It's the gameplay.
And while gameplay alone doesn't seem to get social games very far these days, Trial Madness 2 certainly brings it in spades. Not to mention plenty of competition. Check behind the break for our detailed impressions of Trial Madness 2.
Trial Madness 2 gameplay
This balance-heavy biking game doesn't exactly advance the sub-genre of casual gaming, but Trial Madness 2 certainly does add some much need polish to it. The gameplay remains the same: simple to understand, nearly impossible to master. Players navigate a motocross bike across both somewhat normal and at times ridiculous terrain using the arrow keys. The "up" and "down" arrow key accelerate and apply the brakes, respectively. The "left" key leans the bike backward and "right" leans it forward. Throw in some horribly uneven courses and you got yourself what should be a headache.
Let's put it this way: you're going to crash. A lot. But reload times are so quick that I find myself almost pressing the "Retry" button via muscle memory. Trial Madness 2 evokes this almost insatiable need to beat the next level while maximizing points. Completing the level in the least amount of time will surely increase your score, throwing in a few skillful back flips or front flips here and there will rack up the points. To do a flip, just hold in either the "left" or "right" key while in midair, but the key to a successful flip is knowing when to stop. This trial-and-error gameplay (hence the name) is admittedly addictive.
Level Complete!
After every successful level, you'll be given the option to brag through a News Feed post, taunting your friends into trying to beat your time. Turning up the scale on the competition is World mode, which displays the top players globally with their highest score and Gold won from tournaments.
An otherwise meaningless statistic, Gold is used to buy into Tournaments, which offer large Gold prizes and bragging rights. As you might have already noticed, most of the game's social elements are pretty nebulous, deceptively simple features. Tournaments and Gold are both those types of features, offering no more incentive to partake than a chance at the glory of having your face attached to one of the highest scores. Throw in a long list of Achievements to obtain for nothing more than, again, glory, and Trial Madness might be one of the most competitive games on Facebook. But with such shallow social features, only you and the other otherwise anonymous bikers will know anything of it.
Santa Claw: Use Facebook Connect to play a claw machine from home
Well, at this point it's more like, "Wait in line to play a real claw machine from home," but it's awesome nonetheless. Mashable reports that Real Art Design, a Chicago-based design firm, have created a gigantic claw machine using one ton of steel, 700 feet and wire and 1.5 wheelchairs to be played with solely online. That's right, just log in using your Facebook account, Twitter handle or e-mail address and... wait for a really long time to play. As you can imagine, word of this intriguing creation has spread like wildfire--so much so that we can't even fit in the line at the moment.
The idea behind the creation is to give away the gifts that Santa had leftover from this past Christmas. That is, of course, if you manage to get in line before all the presents are gone. If you do somehow squeeze in and, through some mystical alignment of whatever celestial bodies symbolize luck, win a prize, then Real Art Design will send that exact present directly to your house. Who knows what could be inside, but we sure hope Santa dropped a MacBook somewhere along the way.
The idea behind the creation is to give away the gifts that Santa had leftover from this past Christmas. That is, of course, if you manage to get in line before all the presents are gone. If you do somehow squeeze in and, through some mystical alignment of whatever celestial bodies symbolize luck, win a prize, then Real Art Design will send that exact present directly to your house. Who knows what could be inside, but we sure hope Santa dropped a MacBook somewhere along the way.
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
CrowdStar hopes to strike mobile gold again with $10M StarFund
Since hitting the on the iOS App Store with Top Girl, CrowdStar looks like its hungry for another hit in the mobile games space. Well, another 40 hits, to be exact. The social game developer recently launched StarFund, a $10 million fund that the company will use to back independent mobile game developers, $250 thousand at a time, Mobile Entertainment reports.
StarFund has been made possible in part by YouWeb, the developer's original incubator, or a company that oversees a start up's first stages of life to ensure its survival with funding and other resources. Apparently, YouWeb has deep pockets, and is ready to lighten them on the burgeoning mobile games scene. And that's quite alright by CrowdStar.
"What we know is that great teams and products can still get to the top in mobile social gaming," CrowdStar head of mobile Blair Hamilton said. "With StarFund, we are looking to fund the next stars in mobile social games."
CrowdStar StarFund
Who knows, with 40 more mobile games slated to release with the help of CrowdStar and YouWeb, perhaps one of them will finally knock Angry Birds off of its feathery throne. Better yet, maybe this will help the It Girl creator to become a worthy opponent for Zynga and EA on the iPhone.
StarFund has been made possible in part by YouWeb, the developer's original incubator, or a company that oversees a start up's first stages of life to ensure its survival with funding and other resources. Apparently, YouWeb has deep pockets, and is ready to lighten them on the burgeoning mobile games scene. And that's quite alright by CrowdStar.
"What we know is that great teams and products can still get to the top in mobile social gaming," CrowdStar head of mobile Blair Hamilton said. "With StarFund, we are looking to fund the next stars in mobile social games."
CrowdStar StarFund
Who knows, with 40 more mobile games slated to release with the help of CrowdStar and YouWeb, perhaps one of them will finally knock Angry Birds off of its feathery throne. Better yet, maybe this will help the It Girl creator to become a worthy opponent for Zynga and EA on the iPhone.
Amazon will duel Zynga in the social games arena, recent hire suggests
Who else wants in on this? Linkedin? Twitter? It appears that gargantuan Internet retailer Amazon looks to enter the social games melee as well, as the company has hired veteran pen-and-paper (think Dungeons and Dragons) game designer Jonathan Tweet as Game Designer/Producer, according to his Linkedin page, IndustryGamers reports. There are no details regarding Amazon's first social game, but Tweet did confirm his new position to the website.
Tweet is best known for his involvement with Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition and RPGs (role-playing games) like Ars Magica and Everway. However, he has also worked most recently in Facebook games with Gamehouse, and considering Tweet will be leading the project, IndustryGamers guesses that the Amazon social game will have RPG elements. Will we have to swing a sword and fling spells for even better deals on Amazon? Probably not, but that'd be pretty darn cool.
This is far from the first time the Internet retailer has dived into gaming. Even before launching its own Android Appstore, through which PopCap has launched an Android game, the company bought Reflexive Entertainment in 2008 to sell its games online. It appears that, slowly but surely, Amazon is getting serious about gaming--just like everybody else.
Tweet is best known for his involvement with Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition and RPGs (role-playing games) like Ars Magica and Everway. However, he has also worked most recently in Facebook games with Gamehouse, and considering Tweet will be leading the project, IndustryGamers guesses that the Amazon social game will have RPG elements. Will we have to swing a sword and fling spells for even better deals on Amazon? Probably not, but that'd be pretty darn cool.
This is far from the first time the Internet retailer has dived into gaming. Even before launching its own Android Appstore, through which PopCap has launched an Android game, the company bought Reflexive Entertainment in 2008 to sell its games online. It appears that, slowly but surely, Amazon is getting serious about gaming--just like everybody else.
Facebook How-To: Play your games in peace by deactivating Facebook Chat
If you're an active Facebook gamer, or just an active Facebook user, you've likely been greeted by the new Facebook Chat setup, that sees an incredibly large window popping up at will (spanning the vertical height of the entire browser window in some cases), almost each and every time you navigate to a new page (or, say, a new Facebook game). Needless to say, this can get quite annoying very quickly, especially if you're not a fan of the Facebook chat service in the first place, or you'd just like to have some peace and quiet away from the chat requests and "online" status.
Luckily, there is a way to shut Facebook Chat up, and while it's not a permanent solution (allowing you to switch back and forth at your leisure), it will make your life a heck of a lot easier in the future. Please note that the Facebook Chat window has changed in design over the original chat, so the steps for turning it off have also changed. First, the next time the new chat window appears in your way, click on the small gear in the top right corner of the Chat menu, as seen below.
Here, you'll see two options: "Available to Chat," and "Chat Sounds." Unfortunately, both of these are active by default, but while they may not appear to be actual buttons, you can toggle each by simply clicking on them. Say you'd rather be invisible to your currently online friends. Just remove the check next to "Available to Chat," and you'll be sent offline. That's right - no more automatically refreshing friends list, no more chat sounds, and no more annoying window popping up in your face every five seconds (that one's the kicker).
If you would like to hide your online presence to only a specific portion of your Facebook friends list, you can also click on the "Limit Availability" option to see a menu where you can "hide" yourself from particular groups of friends (based on the groups that you've manually created).
After going offline, your games should play as normal, without the possibility for accidentally clicking on a friend to start a chat because it has popped up in your way. The entire chat menu will minimize, giving you peace and quiet at last. Any time you'd like to go back online, just click on the "Chat (Offline)" text in the bottom right corner (where your chat menu is minimized) and you'll automatically go "online" to chat with any of your available friends.
For now, there doesn't seem to be a way to entirely remove the Facebook Chat menu from your account, but at least with these steps, you'll be able to play your games privately, without the sometimes unwanted interference of friends.
Luckily, there is a way to shut Facebook Chat up, and while it's not a permanent solution (allowing you to switch back and forth at your leisure), it will make your life a heck of a lot easier in the future. Please note that the Facebook Chat window has changed in design over the original chat, so the steps for turning it off have also changed. First, the next time the new chat window appears in your way, click on the small gear in the top right corner of the Chat menu, as seen below.
Here, you'll see two options: "Available to Chat," and "Chat Sounds." Unfortunately, both of these are active by default, but while they may not appear to be actual buttons, you can toggle each by simply clicking on them. Say you'd rather be invisible to your currently online friends. Just remove the check next to "Available to Chat," and you'll be sent offline. That's right - no more automatically refreshing friends list, no more chat sounds, and no more annoying window popping up in your face every five seconds (that one's the kicker).
If you would like to hide your online presence to only a specific portion of your Facebook friends list, you can also click on the "Limit Availability" option to see a menu where you can "hide" yourself from particular groups of friends (based on the groups that you've manually created).
After going offline, your games should play as normal, without the possibility for accidentally clicking on a friend to start a chat because it has popped up in your way. The entire chat menu will minimize, giving you peace and quiet at last. Any time you'd like to go back online, just click on the "Chat (Offline)" text in the bottom right corner (where your chat menu is minimized) and you'll automatically go "online" to chat with any of your available friends.
For now, there doesn't seem to be a way to entirely remove the Facebook Chat menu from your account, but at least with these steps, you'll be able to play your games privately, without the sometimes unwanted interference of friends.
Surprise--Zynga slapped with yet another infringement lawsuit
Another day, another lawsuit on Zynga CEO Mark Pincus' desk. This time, myFarm creator SocialApps has filed suit against the FarmVille creator for copyright infringement, violation of trade secrets and a number of other allegations, Patent Arcade reports. Filed in Calif. District Court on June 17, just days after SocialApps registered myFarm with the Copyright Office, the company claims that since myFarm released in November 2008, Zynga approached the company to acquire intellectual rights and source code for its own use.
According to SocialApps, the two entered a Leter of Agreement regarding the source under SocialApps' impression that it would be compensated and credited for Zynga's use of the myFarm source code. Then, the company claims that it failed to get in contact with Zynga as the developer released FarmVille in June 2009 without compensating or crediting SocialApps. As you know, FarmVille went on to peak at 80 million users. And though it has since fallen to 36.8 million players, myFarm enjoys a paltry 17 thousand players in comparison.
Basically, the claim is that Zynga used the myFarm source code to create FarmVille, the iconic Facebook game, without owning up to its end of its agreement with SocialApps. (And the similarity between the two games is striking.)
SocialApps claims to have suffered damages in excess of $100 thousand, and is seeking Zynga's profits and gains, as they're in excess of $500 thousand. (Considering Zynga is said to be worth $20 billion, SocialApps might be low-balling this one a bit.) According to Patent Arcade, SocialApps also believes Zynga went and used the myFarm source code to create games like FrontierVille, CityVille and FishVille.
Keep in mind, this is far from the first time Zynga has been the target of a copyright infringement suit. Most recently, the company agreed to change the name of its upcoming expansion to FrontierVille from The Oregon Trail, the same name of the classic adventure game-turned-Facebook game, to Pioneer Trail after approached by The Learning Company with a lawsuit.
According to SocialApps, the two entered a Leter of Agreement regarding the source under SocialApps' impression that it would be compensated and credited for Zynga's use of the myFarm source code. Then, the company claims that it failed to get in contact with Zynga as the developer released FarmVille in June 2009 without compensating or crediting SocialApps. As you know, FarmVille went on to peak at 80 million users. And though it has since fallen to 36.8 million players, myFarm enjoys a paltry 17 thousand players in comparison.
Basically, the claim is that Zynga used the myFarm source code to create FarmVille, the iconic Facebook game, without owning up to its end of its agreement with SocialApps. (And the similarity between the two games is striking.)
SocialApps claims to have suffered damages in excess of $100 thousand, and is seeking Zynga's profits and gains, as they're in excess of $500 thousand. (Considering Zynga is said to be worth $20 billion, SocialApps might be low-balling this one a bit.) According to Patent Arcade, SocialApps also believes Zynga went and used the myFarm source code to create games like FrontierVille, CityVille and FishVille.
Keep in mind, this is far from the first time Zynga has been the target of a copyright infringement suit. Most recently, the company agreed to change the name of its upcoming expansion to FrontierVille from The Oregon Trail, the same name of the classic adventure game-turned-Facebook game, to Pioneer Trail after approached by The Learning Company with a lawsuit.
Investment bankers like Michael Grimes play CityVille, too
For an IPO as lucrative as Zynga's $1 to $2 billion, Morgan Stanley Managing Director Michael Grimes (pictured) was seemingly willing to do anything, even play CityVille for hours on end, to gain the company's trust, Bloomberg reports. It's a strategy Grimes has used to get the investment firm in on the IPO (initial public offering) of many a company, but Grimes took his dedication to new heights in connecting with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus over his company's hit games CityVille and Empires & Allies.
And Grimes didn't just hop in to see what the fuss was all about, he all but mastered CityVille. "It's not just that Michael is building out a level or two, he's pretty advanced in his game playing," said Michael Kim of Cendana Capital, who worked with Grimes from 1997 to 2000, and is connected with both Pincus and Grimes over CityVille.
But keep in mind, Grimes' efforts in CityVille were likely to grab Pincus' attention as his company tried to tempt Zynga into choosing it to lead an IPO. However, we bet Grimes liked the game ... at least a little bit. Then again, who knows whether Grimes didn't just get a secretary to play for him--we're gonna go with the "Michael Grimes is a CityVille fanatic" scenario, anyway.
And Grimes didn't just hop in to see what the fuss was all about, he all but mastered CityVille. "It's not just that Michael is building out a level or two, he's pretty advanced in his game playing," said Michael Kim of Cendana Capital, who worked with Grimes from 1997 to 2000, and is connected with both Pincus and Grimes over CityVille.
But keep in mind, Grimes' efforts in CityVille were likely to grab Pincus' attention as his company tried to tempt Zynga into choosing it to lead an IPO. However, we bet Grimes liked the game ... at least a little bit. Then again, who knows whether Grimes didn't just get a secretary to play for him--we're gonna go with the "Michael Grimes is a CityVille fanatic" scenario, anyway.
Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 1, 2012
Could Disney's Playdom be in worse shape than previously thought?
That's what a report by Business Insider looks to get to the bottom of, citing several anonymous sources. The report lists several bulleted claims by unnamed folks close to Playdom that range from a handful of high level execs have left the company recently to Playdom was forced to relinquish control over what games it made to Disney. And the House of Mouse is unsurprisingly reportedly not very happy about it.
"Six top executives at the VP level or above have moved on in the last three months including Playdom's Co-COO," one nameless source told Business Insider. Another source told the website that soon after Disney's $400 million plus acquisition of Playdom, the new parent company quickly "started to come in and ask Playdom to work on certain games and drop others," according to Business Insider.
Another notable takeaway from the report states that "voices within Playdom" said that they didn't see a value in pursuing Disney's lucrative brands within social games, because kids--Disney's target audience--doesn't pay up on Facebook. Other anonymous sources came to Playdom's defense, claiming that the company "is making three or four times as much money off its users as other social gaming companies," Business Insider reports.
Disney issued a response to Business Insider, reminding readers that Gardens of Time has been the company's most successful Facebook game, reaching top five status at one point. More importantly, the company was keen on letting players know that the first social game based on a Disney brand is coming. (We guess this one doesn't count then?)
This is certainly not the first time doomsayers have outed Disney and Playdom as headed for failure. There's no doubt the two companies have dragged their feet ever since joining hands.
"Six top executives at the VP level or above have moved on in the last three months including Playdom's Co-COO," one nameless source told Business Insider. Another source told the website that soon after Disney's $400 million plus acquisition of Playdom, the new parent company quickly "started to come in and ask Playdom to work on certain games and drop others," according to Business Insider.
Another notable takeaway from the report states that "voices within Playdom" said that they didn't see a value in pursuing Disney's lucrative brands within social games, because kids--Disney's target audience--doesn't pay up on Facebook. Other anonymous sources came to Playdom's defense, claiming that the company "is making three or four times as much money off its users as other social gaming companies," Business Insider reports.
Disney issued a response to Business Insider, reminding readers that Gardens of Time has been the company's most successful Facebook game, reaching top five status at one point. More importantly, the company was keen on letting players know that the first social game based on a Disney brand is coming. (We guess this one doesn't count then?)
This is certainly not the first time doomsayers have outed Disney and Playdom as headed for failure. There's no doubt the two companies have dragged their feet ever since joining hands.
TribePlay's Cube Galaxy is a chip off the Diamond Dash block
It's only been two months since TribePlay released their first Facebook game. But the brainiacs that brought us BrainJewel, an Egyptian-themed math and logic game, have now debuted their second game ever, a sci-fi themed falling blocks puzzler for Facebook called "Cube Galaxy". While brain games are a rarity on Facebook, puzzlers are a popular genre dominated by two greats -- PopCap's Bejeweled Blitz and Wooga's Diamond Dash.
Available in English, German, French, Portuguese, and Chinese, Cube Galaxy was made in Chengdu, the capitol of Sichuan province in China. This game's got all the bells and whistles of your typical Facebook puzzler, including 60-second rounds, the option to purchase boosts with coins or Facebook Credits, the ability to send friends virtual gifts, compare scores with your friends, and a weekly leaderboard. In fact, Cube Galaxy bears a striking resemblance to Diamond Dash. Those basics aside, it does manage to offer a few new twists in terms of gameplay.
Cube Galaxy Thunder Boost
Your goal is to eliminate cubes on the screen by arranging them in groups of 3 or more. But these cubes can be moved one at a time, at your discretion, and they also don't disappear unless you decide they're good enough to zap away. The pace of the game feels faster than either Diamond Dash or Bejeweled Blitz, even though these rounds only last a minute. This is because you're handling a smaller playing field, one that starts off empty, then quickly fills up randomly, just like Tetris.
Gallery: Cube Galaxy
Before a round, you can add boosts to your game, but not all of them are unlocked until you level up. During a round, if you earn points fast enough, your screen will go into Overdrive, which nets you special items for higher scores. Finally, each round concludes with something called "Last Blow", which zaps all the blocks off your board that's in groups of 3 or more. Needless to say, it's in your best interests to keep shuffling blocks until the final second, even if you can't click on those blocks to zap them. Points earned during Last Blow get an added percentage bonus based on what level you're at. For example, if you're at Level 3, you get a +3% added to your Last Blow points.
While Cube Galaxy offers very little that's new, it's still a solid title with a nice aesthetic and a mascot. It'd be nice if TribePlay took further advantage of their sci-fi theme and adorable alien, "QT" (which is Chinese keyboard slang for "cutie"), such as turning him into a virtual buddy, to offer user customizations for the game. Some good examples would be enabling players to purchase backgrounds, interactive animations (hey, "durable virtual goods that enable new gameplay experiences" have definitely worked for The Sims Social), and costumes for QT to wear. Since the game is currently still in beta, one can hope. Right now, there's just not much helping this title stand above the rest.
Available in English, German, French, Portuguese, and Chinese, Cube Galaxy was made in Chengdu, the capitol of Sichuan province in China. This game's got all the bells and whistles of your typical Facebook puzzler, including 60-second rounds, the option to purchase boosts with coins or Facebook Credits, the ability to send friends virtual gifts, compare scores with your friends, and a weekly leaderboard. In fact, Cube Galaxy bears a striking resemblance to Diamond Dash. Those basics aside, it does manage to offer a few new twists in terms of gameplay.
Cube Galaxy Thunder Boost
Your goal is to eliminate cubes on the screen by arranging them in groups of 3 or more. But these cubes can be moved one at a time, at your discretion, and they also don't disappear unless you decide they're good enough to zap away. The pace of the game feels faster than either Diamond Dash or Bejeweled Blitz, even though these rounds only last a minute. This is because you're handling a smaller playing field, one that starts off empty, then quickly fills up randomly, just like Tetris.
Gallery: Cube Galaxy
Before a round, you can add boosts to your game, but not all of them are unlocked until you level up. During a round, if you earn points fast enough, your screen will go into Overdrive, which nets you special items for higher scores. Finally, each round concludes with something called "Last Blow", which zaps all the blocks off your board that's in groups of 3 or more. Needless to say, it's in your best interests to keep shuffling blocks until the final second, even if you can't click on those blocks to zap them. Points earned during Last Blow get an added percentage bonus based on what level you're at. For example, if you're at Level 3, you get a +3% added to your Last Blow points.
While Cube Galaxy offers very little that's new, it's still a solid title with a nice aesthetic and a mascot. It'd be nice if TribePlay took further advantage of their sci-fi theme and adorable alien, "QT" (which is Chinese keyboard slang for "cutie"), such as turning him into a virtual buddy, to offer user customizations for the game. Some good examples would be enabling players to purchase backgrounds, interactive animations (hey, "durable virtual goods that enable new gameplay experiences" have definitely worked for The Sims Social), and costumes for QT to wear. Since the game is currently still in beta, one can hope. Right now, there's just not much helping this title stand above the rest.
Zynga CEO's memo to employees: 'We have nothing to hide in our past'
The big red dog bites back. FarmVille maker Zynga came under fire recently from a Wall Street Journal report that claims CEO Mark Pincus and other executives asked early employees for their unvested stock or face termination. Now, Pincus has responded. Well, not directly, but to his employees. Fortune acquired the Zynga chief's memo to his staff of 2,000 plus.
"The wall street journal posted a story last night (copied below) which paints our meritocracy in a false and skewed light," the memo reads. "The story is based on hearsay and innuendo which is disappointing but is to be expected as we move towards becoming a public company."
The guy has a point: The media has employed a laser focus on Zynga since it revealed its intent to file for its initial public offering (IPO), but this report is by far the most ... unfortunate. Before receiving the memo, Fortune issued its own response to the WSJ report, looking to downplay the severity of the issue.
As the memo reads on, Pincus reminds his employees of Zynga's core values. More importantly, the Zynga chief says that Zynga has "nothing to hide." (But we're reminded of a certain TechCrunch story and video.) Read the memo in full below:
Team,
The wall street journal posted a story last night (copied below) which paints our meritocracy in a false and skewed light. The story is based on hearsay and innuendo which is disappointing but is to be expected as we move towards becoming a public company.
We have nothing to hide in our past and present policies and I am proud of the ethical and fair way that we've built this company. As many of you have heard me say -- we're building a house that we want to live in.
Being a meritocracy is one of our core values and it's on our walls. We believe that every employee deserves the same opportunity to lead. Its not about where or when you enter zynga its how far you can grow. This is what our culture of leveling up is all about and its one of our coolest features.
we want everyone to put zynga first and contribute to the overall success of our company and all of you have.
"The wall street journal posted a story last night (copied below) which paints our meritocracy in a false and skewed light," the memo reads. "The story is based on hearsay and innuendo which is disappointing but is to be expected as we move towards becoming a public company."
The guy has a point: The media has employed a laser focus on Zynga since it revealed its intent to file for its initial public offering (IPO), but this report is by far the most ... unfortunate. Before receiving the memo, Fortune issued its own response to the WSJ report, looking to downplay the severity of the issue.
As the memo reads on, Pincus reminds his employees of Zynga's core values. More importantly, the Zynga chief says that Zynga has "nothing to hide." (But we're reminded of a certain TechCrunch story and video.) Read the memo in full below:
Team,
The wall street journal posted a story last night (copied below) which paints our meritocracy in a false and skewed light. The story is based on hearsay and innuendo which is disappointing but is to be expected as we move towards becoming a public company.
We have nothing to hide in our past and present policies and I am proud of the ethical and fair way that we've built this company. As many of you have heard me say -- we're building a house that we want to live in.
Being a meritocracy is one of our core values and it's on our walls. We believe that every employee deserves the same opportunity to lead. Its not about where or when you enter zynga its how far you can grow. This is what our culture of leveling up is all about and its one of our coolest features.
we want everyone to put zynga first and contribute to the overall success of our company and all of you have.
Does the Call of Duty maker hope to rock the world of social games?
Activision Blizzard, the publisher of hit shooter series Call of Duty, appears to have a love-hate relationship with Facebook gaming. But that scale appears to slowly be tipping in the lovey-dovey direction. During a recent interview with Bloomberg, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick hinted that the company's next move could be a social one, and in a big, big way.
"The exciting thing about Zynga or Facebook as a platform, is they're bringing new audiences to gaming that have never been gamers before," Kotick told Bloomberg. "When you think about that target of a 50 or 55-year-old woman that has never really experienced a game, or someone who's coming in for the first time to play a game with their friends on Facebook, that is a fantastic new platform."
These comments are far more enthusiastic about social gaming than Activision has ever been. While strides have been made to capitalize on the benefits of social gaming with the Call of Duty Elite service, other execs within the company appear even threatened by the prospects of Facebook games. But recently, CFO Thomas Tippl revealed that the shooter king is "methodically investing in mobile and social gaming projects."
"Now, we're never gonna be first guys into those markets, but we usually are the best," Kotick said, closing the interview with Bloomberg on a high note. We'll just have to see how Zynga and EA respond to that. In the video interview below, skip to about 4:30 to hear Kotick's thoughts on Facebook games.
"The exciting thing about Zynga or Facebook as a platform, is they're bringing new audiences to gaming that have never been gamers before," Kotick told Bloomberg. "When you think about that target of a 50 or 55-year-old woman that has never really experienced a game, or someone who's coming in for the first time to play a game with their friends on Facebook, that is a fantastic new platform."
These comments are far more enthusiastic about social gaming than Activision has ever been. While strides have been made to capitalize on the benefits of social gaming with the Call of Duty Elite service, other execs within the company appear even threatened by the prospects of Facebook games. But recently, CFO Thomas Tippl revealed that the shooter king is "methodically investing in mobile and social gaming projects."
"Now, we're never gonna be first guys into those markets, but we usually are the best," Kotick said, closing the interview with Bloomberg on a high note. We'll just have to see how Zynga and EA respond to that. In the video interview below, skip to about 4:30 to hear Kotick's thoughts on Facebook games.
The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook puts friendly ties to the test
The word "family" implies a lot to the average American: love, togetherness, mutual respect and support ... in-laws. But for folks, you know, in the mob, that same word holds an entirely different meaning. Soon enough, we Facebook gamers will know what "family" means all too well, and that lovey-dovey stuff isn't part of the equation. Kabam, creator most recently of sci-fi-themed strategy Facebook (and Google+) game Edgeworld, has announced The Godfather: Five Families for Facebook.
Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.
Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.
When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.
Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook
While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.
While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.
And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.
Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.
Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.
The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.
Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.
Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.
When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.
Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook
While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.
While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.
And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.
Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.
Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.
The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.
Thứ Bảy, 7 tháng 1, 2012
FrontierVille Pony Express Goals: Everything you need to know
Along with the new Pony Express building that was released in FrontierVille just this afternoon comes the launch of five equally new goals in the Pony Express Goal Series. This set of goals will have you not only building the Pony Express on your Homestead, but will also have you collecting quite a few items before all is said and done. As usual, coins, experience points, and even a free tree are up for grabs by completing this mission set, so let's take a look at what they contain, shall we?
First things first, you must be at a point in FrontierVille where you are already married to your in-game spouse in order to have access to these new missions. That technicality out of the way, the first goal asks you to simply place the Pony Express building on your land. This can be done by purchasing the building from the market for 665 coins and 8 Wood.
Place Pony Express on your Homestead
Hire 3 Neighbors
It should be noted that you don't have to actually finish the Pony Express's construction in order to pass this goal, but you will need to for future goals, so it doesn't hurt to get a head start on asking for the necessary building materials. For a full look at how to complete the Pony Express, check out our guide. Your rewards for completing this first goal are 75 experience points and 250 coins.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at the other four goals in this series.
Part II of V will have expected you to finish the construction on the Pony Express, as one of your tasks is to customize your newly formed building.
Customize the Pony Express
Visit 10 Neighbors
Harvest 15 Apple Trees
By this point, you should have 15 Apple Trees on your own Homestead, but if not, they can be purchased from the market for 800 coins each. Luckily, they can be watered every 30 minutes, so even if you don't own 15 of them, this still won't take you that long to complete. Those tasks finished, your two rewards are 150 XP and 1 free Apple Tree.
Part III of V will introduce you to the new feature accompanied by the Pony Express - that being the introduction of Special Delivery satchels in the game. You'll also have to collect a few items before calling this Goal finished.
Collect 10 Stamp Rolls
Collect 2 Daily Deliveries from the Pony Express!
Have 1,500 Food (used at the end of this mission)
Daily Deliveries can be received by collecting your Daily Bonus from the Pony Express once per day. A rider will come by your homestead and drop one off to you, which can be opened for prizes. Once you finish Part III, you'll receive 100 XP and 100 coins. You'll be able to share 50 Food with your friends as a gift.
While Part III introduced you to the easiest method of receiving Special Delivery packages, Part IV of V alludes to the other - that being reaching the "Insane" level in the game's Bonus Bar (as you pick up items like coins, experience points, wood, and food). You won't have to reach that high of a level though.
Reach "Excellent" on the Bonus Bar
Click on 40 Bonus Objects
Tend 20 Animals
The tending of animals must be completed on your own Homestead, but that's all well and good, because you'll be able to click on all of those coins, experience points, and collection items to count for your 40 Bonus Objects, and to reach the Excellent level (presumably even higher) on the Bonus Bar. Once you complete these three steps (which shouldn't take you anymore than a matter of minutes), you'll receive 50 XP and 150 coins as a reward.
Finally, Part V of V brings in the other method of collecting Special Deliveries, as you'll need to chain together quite a few tasks to release a large sum of Bonus Object at once.
Reach "Insane" on the Bonus Bar
Collect 10 Envelopes
Envelopes can be earned by asking your friends for them, while the Insane level on the Bonus Bar can be reached by completing any number of tasks in immediate succession - harvest a series of crops or trees, feed all of your animals, collect all of your Daily Bonuses - you get the idea. Your final reward in this quest set is 400 XP. You'll be able to share 150 XP with your friends.
We'll make sure to bring you more images of this quest set as they become available. As usual, this feature is being released on what looks to be a very slow rollout, so don't be discouraged if you don't have access to these missions on your Homestead right away.
First things first, you must be at a point in FrontierVille where you are already married to your in-game spouse in order to have access to these new missions. That technicality out of the way, the first goal asks you to simply place the Pony Express building on your land. This can be done by purchasing the building from the market for 665 coins and 8 Wood.
Place Pony Express on your Homestead
Hire 3 Neighbors
It should be noted that you don't have to actually finish the Pony Express's construction in order to pass this goal, but you will need to for future goals, so it doesn't hurt to get a head start on asking for the necessary building materials. For a full look at how to complete the Pony Express, check out our guide. Your rewards for completing this first goal are 75 experience points and 250 coins.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at the other four goals in this series.
Part II of V will have expected you to finish the construction on the Pony Express, as one of your tasks is to customize your newly formed building.
Customize the Pony Express
Visit 10 Neighbors
Harvest 15 Apple Trees
By this point, you should have 15 Apple Trees on your own Homestead, but if not, they can be purchased from the market for 800 coins each. Luckily, they can be watered every 30 minutes, so even if you don't own 15 of them, this still won't take you that long to complete. Those tasks finished, your two rewards are 150 XP and 1 free Apple Tree.
Part III of V will introduce you to the new feature accompanied by the Pony Express - that being the introduction of Special Delivery satchels in the game. You'll also have to collect a few items before calling this Goal finished.
Collect 10 Stamp Rolls
Collect 2 Daily Deliveries from the Pony Express!
Have 1,500 Food (used at the end of this mission)
Daily Deliveries can be received by collecting your Daily Bonus from the Pony Express once per day. A rider will come by your homestead and drop one off to you, which can be opened for prizes. Once you finish Part III, you'll receive 100 XP and 100 coins. You'll be able to share 50 Food with your friends as a gift.
While Part III introduced you to the easiest method of receiving Special Delivery packages, Part IV of V alludes to the other - that being reaching the "Insane" level in the game's Bonus Bar (as you pick up items like coins, experience points, wood, and food). You won't have to reach that high of a level though.
Reach "Excellent" on the Bonus Bar
Click on 40 Bonus Objects
Tend 20 Animals
The tending of animals must be completed on your own Homestead, but that's all well and good, because you'll be able to click on all of those coins, experience points, and collection items to count for your 40 Bonus Objects, and to reach the Excellent level (presumably even higher) on the Bonus Bar. Once you complete these three steps (which shouldn't take you anymore than a matter of minutes), you'll receive 50 XP and 150 coins as a reward.
Finally, Part V of V brings in the other method of collecting Special Deliveries, as you'll need to chain together quite a few tasks to release a large sum of Bonus Object at once.
Reach "Insane" on the Bonus Bar
Collect 10 Envelopes
Envelopes can be earned by asking your friends for them, while the Insane level on the Bonus Bar can be reached by completing any number of tasks in immediate succession - harvest a series of crops or trees, feed all of your animals, collect all of your Daily Bonuses - you get the idea. Your final reward in this quest set is 400 XP. You'll be able to share 150 XP with your friends.
We'll make sure to bring you more images of this quest set as they become available. As usual, this feature is being released on what looks to be a very slow rollout, so don't be discouraged if you don't have access to these missions on your Homestead right away.
StoneDale combines tropical adventures with animal husbandry
StoneDale is a new adventure game by PlayNow Studio, and its bright and lively art style could make the developer's first Facebook game a hit. StoneDale combines some fun features from FrontierVille, Island God, and Wildlife Refuge to make a hybrid social game that feels like it has learned a bit from its predecessors. In this game, you are tending a tropical island, appealing to the gods, and discovering new animals to tame and collect.
The tutorial in StoneDale follows the current trend of keeping it short and simple, launching players into a series of 'quests' after a couple steps have been completed. The island contains trees that need to be harvested, buildings that need whacking to build, animals to discover, and plants to tend to. Resources such as wood and crystals need to be collected to upgrade buildings and complete quests. Energy is the main monetization method in StoneDale, as you need it in order to take part in actions such as chopping, upgrading, and finding animals.
Stonedale
Finding animals is done by uncovering hints while clearing trees and plants. Clicking on the hints such as half-eaten food and habitats will uncover the animal. Once you find an animal, you can tame it and add it to your collection. Tamed animals simply unlock on your collection screen, but they can be raised and fed or sold for a profit.
Stonedale
Overall, there is nothing really unique about StoneDale. It's a cute game with nice art and whimsical music, but it suffers from quite a lot of typos and bugs that may be issues with translation. It managed to entertain me for almost an hour with an rails experience that kept me leveling up and always having something to do. Whether the game has longevity or the power to grow has yet to be seen, as it only has 67,000 monthly active players at this time. Give it a try and see if StoneDale suits your fancy.
The tutorial in StoneDale follows the current trend of keeping it short and simple, launching players into a series of 'quests' after a couple steps have been completed. The island contains trees that need to be harvested, buildings that need whacking to build, animals to discover, and plants to tend to. Resources such as wood and crystals need to be collected to upgrade buildings and complete quests. Energy is the main monetization method in StoneDale, as you need it in order to take part in actions such as chopping, upgrading, and finding animals.
Stonedale
Finding animals is done by uncovering hints while clearing trees and plants. Clicking on the hints such as half-eaten food and habitats will uncover the animal. Once you find an animal, you can tame it and add it to your collection. Tamed animals simply unlock on your collection screen, but they can be raised and fed or sold for a profit.
Stonedale
Overall, there is nothing really unique about StoneDale. It's a cute game with nice art and whimsical music, but it suffers from quite a lot of typos and bugs that may be issues with translation. It managed to entertain me for almost an hour with an rails experience that kept me leveling up and always having something to do. Whether the game has longevity or the power to grow has yet to be seen, as it only has 67,000 monthly active players at this time. Give it a try and see if StoneDale suits your fancy.
FarmVille Valentine Animals: Valentine Elephant, Valentine Pony & Valentine Pony Foal
We're continuing to count down the day until Valentine's Day in FarmVille, and Zynga has made the countdown even more lovely this evening by adding three new themed animals to the game. Two of these limited edition animals can be found in the game's store, while the final animal can be received as an offspring of one of the two.
The two store animals are the Valentine Elephant and the Valentine Pony. Personally, it's a bit of a head-scratcher as to why they aren't called the Heart Elephant and Heart Pony, to coincide with the other themed animals released this year, as they are both covered in hearts, but I suppose we'll let that one slide. Both animals are premium, as you'd expect, with the Elephant being available for 18 Farm Cash, and the Pony being available for 24 Farm Cash.
The third animal, then (as you might have guessed) is the Valentine Pony Foal, which is available if you purchase a Valentine Pony and then randomly breed that pony in the Horse Stable (with either a Wandering Stallion, or some kind of permanent stallion you have on your farm).
Both of these animals will be available in the game for 14 days, proving that the Valentine's Day theme will be sticking around, even if only for a little while, after the holiday itself has passed. Still, wouldn't you rather purchase these items now than later?
The two store animals are the Valentine Elephant and the Valentine Pony. Personally, it's a bit of a head-scratcher as to why they aren't called the Heart Elephant and Heart Pony, to coincide with the other themed animals released this year, as they are both covered in hearts, but I suppose we'll let that one slide. Both animals are premium, as you'd expect, with the Elephant being available for 18 Farm Cash, and the Pony being available for 24 Farm Cash.
The third animal, then (as you might have guessed) is the Valentine Pony Foal, which is available if you purchase a Valentine Pony and then randomly breed that pony in the Horse Stable (with either a Wandering Stallion, or some kind of permanent stallion you have on your farm).
Both of these animals will be available in the game for 14 days, proving that the Valentine's Day theme will be sticking around, even if only for a little while, after the holiday itself has passed. Still, wouldn't you rather purchase these items now than later?
FarmVille Valentine Decorations: Romantic Pavilion, Cupig, Anemone, and More
Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it a series of five new limited edition items - one building and four new decorations. If you're an avid reader of Games.com - The Blog! you'll recognize most of these items from various Sneak Peeks that we've brought you in the past.
To be specific, the new building is the Romantic Pavilion, which is a lovely white, pink, and green item that would fit in perfectly with your Romantic Gazebo, if you chose to purchase that item when it was released a few days ago. However, if you'd like to complete your pair of items by purchasing this Romantic Pavilion, you'll be required to pay 15 Farm Cash to do so. You'll receive 1500 experience points for making the purchase, but we all know that that's secondary to just how pretty this item really is.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other newly released items.
The four new decorative items are split 3 to 1 in terms of which items are premium, and which are available for coins. The three premium items are the Cupig statue (think Cupid, only a pig) which costs 12 Farm Cash, the Heart Pool that costs 20 Farm Cash, and the Rainbow Finches decorative animal item, which will set you back 15 Farm Cash.
If you're interested in purchasing the Heart Pool, it should be noted that this is a simply massive item, compared to the other decorations that we've seen released in the past, and is actually bigger than many of the buildings released in the game. It's very likely that you'd need to move around some decorations in order to make it fit on your farm, but if you went through with it, you'd earn a whopping 2,000 experience points as a reward for your purchase.
The final new decoration is the Anemone flower garden. Comprised of pink, purple, and white flowers, this flower bed could really be left out on your farm all year round, well into Spring or at least until after Valentine's Day proper has come and gone. It doesn't scream of love and romance, which many will consider a good thing, and it can be added to your farm for just 10,000 coins (that's cheap enough to allow you to buy multiple!).
All five of these items (including the Romantic Pavilion) will be available in the game's store for the next 14 days. Make sure to pick up the items you'd like sooner, rather than later, so you're guaranteed to get the items you'd like.
To be specific, the new building is the Romantic Pavilion, which is a lovely white, pink, and green item that would fit in perfectly with your Romantic Gazebo, if you chose to purchase that item when it was released a few days ago. However, if you'd like to complete your pair of items by purchasing this Romantic Pavilion, you'll be required to pay 15 Farm Cash to do so. You'll receive 1500 experience points for making the purchase, but we all know that that's secondary to just how pretty this item really is.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other newly released items.
The four new decorative items are split 3 to 1 in terms of which items are premium, and which are available for coins. The three premium items are the Cupig statue (think Cupid, only a pig) which costs 12 Farm Cash, the Heart Pool that costs 20 Farm Cash, and the Rainbow Finches decorative animal item, which will set you back 15 Farm Cash.
If you're interested in purchasing the Heart Pool, it should be noted that this is a simply massive item, compared to the other decorations that we've seen released in the past, and is actually bigger than many of the buildings released in the game. It's very likely that you'd need to move around some decorations in order to make it fit on your farm, but if you went through with it, you'd earn a whopping 2,000 experience points as a reward for your purchase.
The final new decoration is the Anemone flower garden. Comprised of pink, purple, and white flowers, this flower bed could really be left out on your farm all year round, well into Spring or at least until after Valentine's Day proper has come and gone. It doesn't scream of love and romance, which many will consider a good thing, and it can be added to your farm for just 10,000 coins (that's cheap enough to allow you to buy multiple!).
All five of these items (including the Romantic Pavilion) will be available in the game's store for the next 14 days. Make sure to pick up the items you'd like sooner, rather than later, so you're guaranteed to get the items you'd like.
FarmVille: Orchards will soon offer Watering Cans!
Perhaps one of the most disappointing things to come out of the Orchard and Mystery Seedling feature in FarmVille is the fact that it just takes so long to earn enough Watering Cans to make a dent in your Mystery Seedling backlog. After all, the more Orchards you have, the more Mystery Seedlings you will invariably end up with. But with each Seedling requiring 10 Watering Cans to grow to maturity, you can become bogged down pretty easily in what many users have started calling the "FarmVille Drought."
Zynga hopes to change this in the near future however, as they have announced via the official FarmVille Blog that soon, Orchards will begin producing Water for users to use for the Mystery Seedlings. In a nutshell, this means that if you don't receive a Mystery Seedling when harvesting an Orchard, you'll receive Water instead (as well as the normal coins).
It hasn't been announced how much water you'll receive for each Orchard, but we'll take anything at this point. Orchards should begin producing water next week - bring it on Zynga!
Zynga hopes to change this in the near future however, as they have announced via the official FarmVille Blog that soon, Orchards will begin producing Water for users to use for the Mystery Seedlings. In a nutshell, this means that if you don't receive a Mystery Seedling when harvesting an Orchard, you'll receive Water instead (as well as the normal coins).
It hasn't been announced how much water you'll receive for each Orchard, but we'll take anything at this point. Orchards should begin producing water next week - bring it on Zynga!
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
FrontierVille: Silver & Gold decorations now available
While the phrase "Silver and Gold" might take you back to Christmas, it seems as though Zynga is hoping they'll put you in the mood for Spring in FrontierVille - or at least tide you over until actual Spring-themed decorations can be released (which is more likely), as 12 new decorations have been released in the game - six each in silver and gold.
The six gold items are:
Huge Gold Font - 60 Horseshoes
Gold Font - 40 Horseshoes
Gold Chest (a gold version of the Hope Chest) - 6 Horseshoes
Gold Tend Here (sign) - 14,250 coins
Gilded Fox - 8 Horseshoes
Golden Still - 33,250 coins
Meet us behind the break for a look at the silver items.
The silver items, if you look closely, do contain two items that are identical to the gold set. The prices, however, are much different (cheaper) for the silver items, so make sure to take special note of that if you choose to purchase one or the other.
The six silver items are:
Silver Bench - 66,500 coins
Silver Carriage - 475,000 coins
Huge Silver Font - 40 Horseshoes
Silver Font - 30 Horseshoes
Silver Picnic Table - 9,500 coins
Silver Samovar - 14,250 coins
For those that are unfamiliar, a Samovar is a metal container found in and around Russia or other European countries that is used to heat or boil water. We doubt this was released as a reference to any new theme in the game, however, as it is likely just available due to the fact that it looks pretty. We'll be sure to let you know if that changes.
All of these items seem to be permanent additions to the game's store, as they haven't been labeled as "Limited Time" items. With the release of the storage shed expansion missions just this afternoon, it looks as though Zynga is already giving you items to fill it with, and we really can't blame them. We'll make sure to let you know if more gold and silver items are released in the game in the future.
Do you like this new set of silver and gold items? Which color would you be more likely to purchase?
The six gold items are:
Huge Gold Font - 60 Horseshoes
Gold Font - 40 Horseshoes
Gold Chest (a gold version of the Hope Chest) - 6 Horseshoes
Gold Tend Here (sign) - 14,250 coins
Gilded Fox - 8 Horseshoes
Golden Still - 33,250 coins
Meet us behind the break for a look at the silver items.
The silver items, if you look closely, do contain two items that are identical to the gold set. The prices, however, are much different (cheaper) for the silver items, so make sure to take special note of that if you choose to purchase one or the other.
The six silver items are:
Silver Bench - 66,500 coins
Silver Carriage - 475,000 coins
Huge Silver Font - 40 Horseshoes
Silver Font - 30 Horseshoes
Silver Picnic Table - 9,500 coins
Silver Samovar - 14,250 coins
For those that are unfamiliar, a Samovar is a metal container found in and around Russia or other European countries that is used to heat or boil water. We doubt this was released as a reference to any new theme in the game, however, as it is likely just available due to the fact that it looks pretty. We'll be sure to let you know if that changes.
All of these items seem to be permanent additions to the game's store, as they haven't been labeled as "Limited Time" items. With the release of the storage shed expansion missions just this afternoon, it looks as though Zynga is already giving you items to fill it with, and we really can't blame them. We'll make sure to let you know if more gold and silver items are released in the game in the future.
Do you like this new set of silver and gold items? Which color would you be more likely to purchase?
Official FarmVille Podcast (03/04/2011): Spring Garden revealed, no additional Pot of Gold prizes coming
In this week's installment of the Official FarmVille podcast, we saw the return of Community Manager Lexilicious as our host. Lexi was on-hand to give us a rundown of the St. Patrick's Day Pot of Gold event, and has confirmed that the Pot of Gold is now available for all players. If you were one of the players that received it later, make sure to check out our complete guide to the prizes inside. Lexi also let us know that there will not be a second page of prizes in the Pot of Gold, as there have been for the past couple of collection events - "That's pretty much it." While "pretty much" does leave some room for additional items, I wouldn't get your hopes up too far for anymore items being released for Gold.
As for news of future releases, we were given a sneak peek of something called the Spring Garden, which will show up "in the near future." The Spring Garden will be apparently be an elaborate decorative item that must be constructed with the help of friends. It sounds as though this item will be the Leprechaun's Cottage or Cupid's Castle of the upcoming Easter event, as we're told that you'll be able to collect eggs and flowers from the garden that can be redeemed for special prizes at a later time.
Additionally, a Spring Countdown will be starting soon, and will be accompanied by the release of new Mardi Gras items, as well as re-releases of Mardi Gras items that were made available in the theme last year. We're pretty sure that we know what most (or at least some) of these new Mardi Gras items are, as we've brought you multiple Sneak Peeks on the subject just this week. Make sure to check those out for a full look at what we expect to be available.
As usual, if you missed the podcast, which contained a full rundown of recent events in the game, you can check it out in full at the top of this post.
Which of these updates are you most excited about? The Spring Garden? Mardi Gras items? Spring Countdown?
As for news of future releases, we were given a sneak peek of something called the Spring Garden, which will show up "in the near future." The Spring Garden will be apparently be an elaborate decorative item that must be constructed with the help of friends. It sounds as though this item will be the Leprechaun's Cottage or Cupid's Castle of the upcoming Easter event, as we're told that you'll be able to collect eggs and flowers from the garden that can be redeemed for special prizes at a later time.
Additionally, a Spring Countdown will be starting soon, and will be accompanied by the release of new Mardi Gras items, as well as re-releases of Mardi Gras items that were made available in the theme last year. We're pretty sure that we know what most (or at least some) of these new Mardi Gras items are, as we've brought you multiple Sneak Peeks on the subject just this week. Make sure to check those out for a full look at what we expect to be available.
As usual, if you missed the podcast, which contained a full rundown of recent events in the game, you can check it out in full at the top of this post.
Which of these updates are you most excited about? The Spring Garden? Mardi Gras items? Spring Countdown?
FarmVille: English Countryside contest to give free trips to England
Zynga is really trying to get people to "Like" the FarmVille English Countryside fan page on Facebook. So much so that they have posted a teaser of an upcoming contest that will apparently only be available to those players who have clicked on the Like button. This contest hasn't started yet, but there is something you can do right now to make the contest better once it does launch - simply Like the fan page if you haven't done so already.
Zynga says that the more folks that Like the fan page, the better the prizes in this upcoming contest will be - we already know that the grand prizes include actual real-world trips to England, so if it can get better than that, then why wouldn't you like the fan page just to see what they can come up with? Here's the official word:
Exciting news, FarmVille fans: The FarmVille English Countryside Sweepstakes will be starting soon! We'll be giving away great prizes including grand prizes of amazing trips to England. The English Countryside fan page will have all the details soon. Make sure you "Like" this page. The more 'Likes' we get, the more prizes we'll add to the sweepstakes!
See? All you have to do is "Like" the English Countryside fan page, and we'll all benefit in the end. We'll make sure to give you all of the details about this contest when it officially does launch, including how much of an impact all of those extra Likes had on the prizes, if they reveal that info.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille English Countryside coverage right here.
Would you like to receive a free trip to England, even if it was backed by Zynga?
Zynga says that the more folks that Like the fan page, the better the prizes in this upcoming contest will be - we already know that the grand prizes include actual real-world trips to England, so if it can get better than that, then why wouldn't you like the fan page just to see what they can come up with? Here's the official word:
Exciting news, FarmVille fans: The FarmVille English Countryside Sweepstakes will be starting soon! We'll be giving away great prizes including grand prizes of amazing trips to England. The English Countryside fan page will have all the details soon. Make sure you "Like" this page. The more 'Likes' we get, the more prizes we'll add to the sweepstakes!
See? All you have to do is "Like" the English Countryside fan page, and we'll all benefit in the end. We'll make sure to give you all of the details about this contest when it officially does launch, including how much of an impact all of those extra Likes had on the prizes, if they reveal that info.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille English Countryside coverage right here.
Would you like to receive a free trip to England, even if it was backed by Zynga?
CityVille Clerk's Office: Everything you need to know
The long awaited release of a "rename" feature has finally hit CityVille via the inclusion of a new Clerk's Office building. Through this building, you'll be able to rename both your businesses (including those that have franchises), and even your City, but there are a couple of catches.
First, you'll need to build the Clerk's Office itself, which can be found for free in your inventory. Building it will take six hits, or six energy in total. You'll then need to collect the proper building supplies (rather than gathering staff) to finish its construction.
These items come in the form of three each of Inkpads, Manila Folders, Marble blocks, Visors, and City Seals. You may luckily already have the City Seals and Marble blocks, so you'll only need to ask for nine items rather than the full 15. Meet us behind the break for more on this exciting new feature.
After you finish building your Clerk's Office, you'd think that you could start a spree of renaming businesses and franchises, but it's actually a bit more complicated than that. By clicking on the Clerk's Office, you'll be able to bring up the Renaming Menu. From there, you'll see a list of your businesses, along with how many signature approvals you'll need in order to change the name of that business. In an effort to add some realism to this feature, you'll need signatures as a way to gain public approval for the change, although we doubt your friends would really say no just to be snarky.
At any rate, different businesses require different amounts of signatures, and businesses that are part of franchises will require more signatures based on how many franchise locations are currently open. To rename your city, you can simply click on the top-most "Propose New Name" button in this menu, while renaming any business is done by clicking on the box directly to the right of it.
Once you have proposed a new name, you'll need to click on the "Get Signatures" button to post a general news item to your wall that your friends can click on to send you a signature. You can only propose a new name for something once every four hours, but the feed item that you post can accept up to 10 signatures, which will complete the requirement for most of you before time becomes a factor.
Renaming a franchise will change not only the business's name in your own city, but also automatically change the name of the business in every other city it's located in as well, hence the requirement of more signatures, as this will clearly change your friends' towns as well.
Either way, this is an exciting new feature to CityVille that, yes, probably should have been included from the start, but we're happy to say "better late than never" with this one.
[Final image credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think? Did Zynga make the process of renaming businesses too complicated?
First, you'll need to build the Clerk's Office itself, which can be found for free in your inventory. Building it will take six hits, or six energy in total. You'll then need to collect the proper building supplies (rather than gathering staff) to finish its construction.
These items come in the form of three each of Inkpads, Manila Folders, Marble blocks, Visors, and City Seals. You may luckily already have the City Seals and Marble blocks, so you'll only need to ask for nine items rather than the full 15. Meet us behind the break for more on this exciting new feature.
After you finish building your Clerk's Office, you'd think that you could start a spree of renaming businesses and franchises, but it's actually a bit more complicated than that. By clicking on the Clerk's Office, you'll be able to bring up the Renaming Menu. From there, you'll see a list of your businesses, along with how many signature approvals you'll need in order to change the name of that business. In an effort to add some realism to this feature, you'll need signatures as a way to gain public approval for the change, although we doubt your friends would really say no just to be snarky.
At any rate, different businesses require different amounts of signatures, and businesses that are part of franchises will require more signatures based on how many franchise locations are currently open. To rename your city, you can simply click on the top-most "Propose New Name" button in this menu, while renaming any business is done by clicking on the box directly to the right of it.
Once you have proposed a new name, you'll need to click on the "Get Signatures" button to post a general news item to your wall that your friends can click on to send you a signature. You can only propose a new name for something once every four hours, but the feed item that you post can accept up to 10 signatures, which will complete the requirement for most of you before time becomes a factor.
Renaming a franchise will change not only the business's name in your own city, but also automatically change the name of the business in every other city it's located in as well, hence the requirement of more signatures, as this will clearly change your friends' towns as well.
Either way, this is an exciting new feature to CityVille that, yes, probably should have been included from the start, but we're happy to say "better late than never" with this one.
[Final image credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think? Did Zynga make the process of renaming businesses too complicated?
CityVille Wedding Goals: Everything you need to know
If you've been keeping track of the love-story between Louise and Dr. Sheperd in your town in CityVille, you'll probably be excited to learn that after all of the dating, Dr. Sheperd finally decides to pop the big question, and Louise even says yes! This triggers a new set of goals called the "Wedding" goals in your town, that begin with a goal called "Wedding Baking."
For Wedding Baking, you'll need to complete three tasks that are all related to your French Restaurant(s).
Have 3 Baguettes
Have 3 Croissants
Collect from French Restaurants 5 Times
Both the Baguettes and the Croissants are part of the French Restaurant Collection, which can be earned by collecting from the French Restaurant, so if you still need them, you'll be crossing off two tasks with one click there. After this mission, you'll unlock the second of three Wedding Goals, called "Wedding Dinner."
Meet us behind the break for more on the "Wedding Dinner" goal and what follows after it. The Wedding Dinner goal has you working on another item from the French Restaurant Collection, but also harvesting quite a few crops as well.
Have 3 Lilies
Have 3 Fromage
Harvest 40 Eggplant
The Fromage is the French Restaurant collectible, while the Lilies are from the Flower Kiosk Collection. While you're waiting for those items to spawn in your game, you can work on growing those 40 Eggplant, which grow in just one hour, cost 28 coins to plant, and produce 30 goods for your businesses.
Those two quests completed, you'll finally move onto the finale of this mission trio, called "Make the Cake." What's a good wedding without a wedding cake? You'll need to help this cake look marvelous by collecting a variety of items, including some parcels from a far off location at the dock.
Have 1 Wedding Cake Topper
Have 6 Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Collect 15 Paris Parcels
The Wedding Cake Topper is part of the Wedding Dress & Tux Rental collection, while the Chocolate Covered Strawberries are part of the Strawberry Crop Collection. While you're working on growing strawberries, which takes just five minutes, you can send your boats off to Paris, where they will return from after a full day out at sea.
For finishing each of these quests, you will receive 200 coins, giving you 600 coins in total. Whether completing these quests is worth that, however, will be up to you.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Let us know what you think of these quests in the comments - are they worth the measly prizes at the end, or are you just happy that two of your characters could find love in your town
For Wedding Baking, you'll need to complete three tasks that are all related to your French Restaurant(s).
Have 3 Baguettes
Have 3 Croissants
Collect from French Restaurants 5 Times
Both the Baguettes and the Croissants are part of the French Restaurant Collection, which can be earned by collecting from the French Restaurant, so if you still need them, you'll be crossing off two tasks with one click there. After this mission, you'll unlock the second of three Wedding Goals, called "Wedding Dinner."
Meet us behind the break for more on the "Wedding Dinner" goal and what follows after it. The Wedding Dinner goal has you working on another item from the French Restaurant Collection, but also harvesting quite a few crops as well.
Have 3 Lilies
Have 3 Fromage
Harvest 40 Eggplant
The Fromage is the French Restaurant collectible, while the Lilies are from the Flower Kiosk Collection. While you're waiting for those items to spawn in your game, you can work on growing those 40 Eggplant, which grow in just one hour, cost 28 coins to plant, and produce 30 goods for your businesses.
Those two quests completed, you'll finally move onto the finale of this mission trio, called "Make the Cake." What's a good wedding without a wedding cake? You'll need to help this cake look marvelous by collecting a variety of items, including some parcels from a far off location at the dock.
Have 1 Wedding Cake Topper
Have 6 Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Collect 15 Paris Parcels
The Wedding Cake Topper is part of the Wedding Dress & Tux Rental collection, while the Chocolate Covered Strawberries are part of the Strawberry Crop Collection. While you're working on growing strawberries, which takes just five minutes, you can send your boats off to Paris, where they will return from after a full day out at sea.
For finishing each of these quests, you will receive 200 coins, giving you 600 coins in total. Whether completing these quests is worth that, however, will be up to you.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Let us know what you think of these quests in the comments - are they worth the measly prizes at the end, or are you just happy that two of your characters could find love in your town
Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 1, 2012
Zynga meets an IPO challenger, MapleStory maker to raise $1.2 billion
It looks like Japan is about to get its own Zynga. MapleStory Adventures maker Nexon has adjusted the price for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) from $1.3 billion to $1.2 billion, likely in response to Zynga's recent adjustment. The San Francisco-based FarmVille creator recently upped its asking price to $1.15 billion, but brought down its expected valuation to $7 billion at most.
Nexon plans to sell half of its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and half overseas, because of its huge presence in the US and abroad, at 1,300 yen, or $16.60 USD starting Dec. 14. "There are not that many Japanese companies with overseas growth stories. That makes it attractive," Stats Investment Management chief investment officer Toru Hashizume told Reuters.
This pricing will give Nexon a valuation, the projected total worth of a company based on several factors, of 560 billion yen, or $7.1 billion USD. And what do you know, that's worth just as much as Zynga expects out of its IPO. And rightfully so, Nexon is credited with popularizing the free-to-play game model in the US with games like MapleStory for PC. And now, the company enjoys success on Facebook, thanks to MapleStory Adventures and recently Zombie Misfits.
Zynga begins to make the rounds in its IPO roadshow this week. The question is, however, will investors be more interested in a company that's made as much in less than half the time as Nexon (it's been around since 1994), or a pioneer with a far longer track record of success? Ready ... Fight!
Do you think Zynga or Nexon will do better with its debut on the market? Which do you think is more worthy of the billions?
Nexon plans to sell half of its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and half overseas, because of its huge presence in the US and abroad, at 1,300 yen, or $16.60 USD starting Dec. 14. "There are not that many Japanese companies with overseas growth stories. That makes it attractive," Stats Investment Management chief investment officer Toru Hashizume told Reuters.
This pricing will give Nexon a valuation, the projected total worth of a company based on several factors, of 560 billion yen, or $7.1 billion USD. And what do you know, that's worth just as much as Zynga expects out of its IPO. And rightfully so, Nexon is credited with popularizing the free-to-play game model in the US with games like MapleStory for PC. And now, the company enjoys success on Facebook, thanks to MapleStory Adventures and recently Zombie Misfits.
Zynga begins to make the rounds in its IPO roadshow this week. The question is, however, will investors be more interested in a company that's made as much in less than half the time as Nexon (it's been around since 1994), or a pioneer with a far longer track record of success? Ready ... Fight!
Do you think Zynga or Nexon will do better with its debut on the market? Which do you think is more worthy of the billions?
Halfbrick will open a whole new studio just for the Fruit Ninja sequel
In this case, it's 100 percent OK to let out a ninja cry like this dude. Those around you will understand once you tell them it's because you found out that Fruit Ninja creator Halfbrick plans to open a whole new studio just for the sequel to the iconic mobile game. The Brisbane, Australia-based game maker announced that, after a $3 million funding injection into the industry by state officials, it will open a new studio in Sydney and hire a new team to make the long-awaited second Fruit Ninja game.
"The new Sydney team will develop the next evolution of the Fruit Ninja games franchise," New South Wales deputy prime minister Andrew Stoner told Develop. "It will involve players launching a series of fruit to knock ninjas off their towers in a 3D world, with each fruit having special powers." In short, it will be remarkably different from the first game.
That's a relief, considering Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots did enough to flesh out the classic fruit-flaying gameplay to be worthy of the word "sequel". According to Stoner, the game is due out in 2012 for iOS devices initially. Though, we're sure Halfbrick will go platform crazy with this version as well, slapping the game onto Android, Facebook and even Xbox 360 Kinect. This news almost gets us excited enough to act like this guy ... almost (NSFW):
[Via Pocket Gamer]
Are you psyched to hear that a new Fruit Ninja game is in the works? What do you think of the premise so far?
"The new Sydney team will develop the next evolution of the Fruit Ninja games franchise," New South Wales deputy prime minister Andrew Stoner told Develop. "It will involve players launching a series of fruit to knock ninjas off their towers in a 3D world, with each fruit having special powers." In short, it will be remarkably different from the first game.
That's a relief, considering Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots did enough to flesh out the classic fruit-flaying gameplay to be worthy of the word "sequel". According to Stoner, the game is due out in 2012 for iOS devices initially. Though, we're sure Halfbrick will go platform crazy with this version as well, slapping the game onto Android, Facebook and even Xbox 360 Kinect. This news almost gets us excited enough to act like this guy ... almost (NSFW):
[Via Pocket Gamer]
Are you psyched to hear that a new Fruit Ninja game is in the works? What do you think of the premise so far?
If Zynga's next big 'Ville is 'ForestVille', how will it be any different?
ForestVille
Don't CastleVille and FrontierVille--sorry, Pioneer Trail--already take place in forests? That's about the only question we have, as Fusible discovered recently that Zynga has registered numerous domain names for "ForestVille". The social games giant has registered everything from "Forestville.com" onwards (the real deal belongs to a school district), to "Forestvillegame.com".
According to Fusbile, all of the domain names were registered through Internet brand protection company MarkMonitor, which Zynga regularly uses to acquire domain names. And Fusible points out that Zynga's own "Zynga.com" along with hundreds of other domains representing the company's properties are registered with MarkMonitor. So yeah, this is definitely Zynga.
Zynga has yet to make any announcement regarding such a game, so the company could purely be covering its bases in preparation for a game that doesn't even make it to Facebook. (Ahem, Kingdoms & Quests.) But again, two of Zynga's 'Ville games already revolve around creating communities in the woods, at least indirectly. We can't wait to see how the developer pushes a game centered around just that.
[Via Joystiq]
Would you play a game by Zynga called "ForestVille"? How could this game be different from both CastleVille and Pioneer Trail?
Don't CastleVille and FrontierVille--sorry, Pioneer Trail--already take place in forests? That's about the only question we have, as Fusible discovered recently that Zynga has registered numerous domain names for "ForestVille". The social games giant has registered everything from "Forestville.com" onwards (the real deal belongs to a school district), to "Forestvillegame.com".
According to Fusbile, all of the domain names were registered through Internet brand protection company MarkMonitor, which Zynga regularly uses to acquire domain names. And Fusible points out that Zynga's own "Zynga.com" along with hundreds of other domains representing the company's properties are registered with MarkMonitor. So yeah, this is definitely Zynga.
Zynga has yet to make any announcement regarding such a game, so the company could purely be covering its bases in preparation for a game that doesn't even make it to Facebook. (Ahem, Kingdoms & Quests.) But again, two of Zynga's 'Ville games already revolve around creating communities in the woods, at least indirectly. We can't wait to see how the developer pushes a game centered around just that.
[Via Joystiq]
Would you play a game by Zynga called "ForestVille"? How could this game be different from both CastleVille and Pioneer Trail?
Avast ye, bingo fans! Gamesville's Pirate Cove Bingo sails on Facebook
Not to be confused with a Zynga game, Gamesville is a large web games portal that's been proudly "Wasting your time since 1996". Back in March, Gamesville debuted their first Facebook game, Super Chef Full Boil, as a Facebook exclusive, along with their usual promises of free cash drawings and prizes for players. But during the summer, the game was quietly dropped from Facebook, and now exists solely on Gamesville.
Undaunted, Gamesville unleashed another Facebook game today, a pirate-themed bingo game, with a rum-lovin' pirate announcer in tow, called Pirate Cove Bingo. Unlike Super Chef Full Boil, a puzzler that required Facebook players to register on Gamesville.com to participate in free cash and prize drawings, Pirate Cove Bingo is Facebook player-friendly.
In Pirate Cove Bingo, there's a $25 USD daily sweepstakes drawing. Every player gets unlimited White Cards and 5 Gold Cards per day to play bingo. If you get a bingo while using a Gold Card, the Gold Card becomes submitted as an entry to the day's daily sweepstakes.
Pirate Cove Bingo
However, only players from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are 18 years-old and above are eligible for the sweepstakes. On top of that, Canadians have an extra hurdle where they must "answer a mathematical, time-limited question administered by telephone, mail or email" if they are chosen as winners. (This requirement is likely a quirk of Canadian law, and not the fault of Gamesville, which is based in Waltham, MA.)
Pirate Cove Bingo creators
Like most Facebook games, it's free-to-play, though I suspect Gamesville will eventually allow players to buy more Gold Cards using Facebook Credits. There's already future plans to offer a level and ranking system, new game rooms, and coins later on. The thirty-three seconds between rounds are used to run commercials for the game's sponsors. I've seen one recurring commercial for the Nintendo 3DS so far. As for social elements, there's a chat room and leaderboard of the eleven, most recent sweepstakes winners.
Click here to play Pirate Cove Bingo on Facebook now >
Do you prefer playing bingo in real life or online? Do you have a favorite bingo game on Facebook?
Undaunted, Gamesville unleashed another Facebook game today, a pirate-themed bingo game, with a rum-lovin' pirate announcer in tow, called Pirate Cove Bingo. Unlike Super Chef Full Boil, a puzzler that required Facebook players to register on Gamesville.com to participate in free cash and prize drawings, Pirate Cove Bingo is Facebook player-friendly.
In Pirate Cove Bingo, there's a $25 USD daily sweepstakes drawing. Every player gets unlimited White Cards and 5 Gold Cards per day to play bingo. If you get a bingo while using a Gold Card, the Gold Card becomes submitted as an entry to the day's daily sweepstakes.
Pirate Cove Bingo
However, only players from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are 18 years-old and above are eligible for the sweepstakes. On top of that, Canadians have an extra hurdle where they must "answer a mathematical, time-limited question administered by telephone, mail or email" if they are chosen as winners. (This requirement is likely a quirk of Canadian law, and not the fault of Gamesville, which is based in Waltham, MA.)
Pirate Cove Bingo creators
Like most Facebook games, it's free-to-play, though I suspect Gamesville will eventually allow players to buy more Gold Cards using Facebook Credits. There's already future plans to offer a level and ranking system, new game rooms, and coins later on. The thirty-three seconds between rounds are used to run commercials for the game's sponsors. I've seen one recurring commercial for the Nintendo 3DS so far. As for social elements, there's a chat room and leaderboard of the eleven, most recent sweepstakes winners.
Click here to play Pirate Cove Bingo on Facebook now >
Do you prefer playing bingo in real life or online? Do you have a favorite bingo game on Facebook?
The Oregon Trail mozies on over to Wii for a fine 'n dandy price of $20
Oregon Trail Wii
Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?Oregon Trail Wii
Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?
Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?Oregon Trail Wii
Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?
PlayStation Home renovations make 'a true social game platform'
The idea of PlayStation Home was always an intriguing one: Rather than simply log into a service, go to a more literal destination to connect with your game friends. While Home has enjoyed 24 million users worldwide, Sony hasn't exactly capitalized on that healthy player base. Since its launch in 2008, the company has listened to feedback, and here we have the new Home, "a true social game platform," Sony says.
Now, wait a minute, we thought social games were reserved for social networks or at least connected to them. Well, consider this Sony ... redefining the term "social network." The new core of PlayStation Home is the aptly-named Hub, which serves as the main place for PS3 gamers to socialize in real time through their avatars.
This Hub also provides players with quests that span a number of new free-to-play games and community events through the Activity Board. The Hub, as its name implies, also connects players to the various districts of Home:
Action District: A gathering place for hardcore gamers, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.
Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights and sports-themed games.
Adventure District: At the launch of the PlayStation Home redesign, the Adventure District will present the Uncharted 3: Fortune Hunter total game integration event, providing a third-person adventure experience including a partial recreation of the Yemen level from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer mode and a cover-based shooting system complete with weapons and gameplay inspired by the hit series. Players can unlock content that can be used in the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Blu-Ray Disc game as well as additional PlayStation Home rewards.
Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for more games.
PlayStation Home Theater: The PlayStation Home Theater features an ultra-modern architectural design and hosts a wide range of videos programmed specifically for PlayStation gamers, including episodes of Pulse and Qore, trailers and interviews from the PlayStation Blog, and exclusive user-generated videos in the popular Community Theater.
PlayStation Home Mall: The PlayStation Home Mall is loaded with thousands of pieces of content from some of the most popular games and entertainment in the world. Shop for PlayStation Home games, extravagant personal spaces, costumes, clothing items and other avatar enhancements, and tons more in the redesigned Mall.
PlayStation Home Cogs
But what sounds most "social" to us are the several new free-to-play games strewn across the new Home. These new games are supported by microtransactions, much like the Facebook games you likely play daily. However, most of these games certainly cater more to the traditional gamer, and here's why:
Bootleggers '29: Set in the seedy underbelly of the Roaring Twenties, this PlayStation Home exclusive first-person shooter found in the Action District pits cops vs. criminals in a Prohibition-era game of Capture the Cask. Boasting real-time multiplayer action, a variety of vintage weapons and unlockable rewards, and the unique ability to play as your PlayStation Home avatar, Bootleggers '29 is a 100% free-to-play game that introduces a classic narrative to the modern shooter genre.
PlayStation Home Hold 'Em: A series of backroom poker tables hosted in the brand new Sportswalk district, PlayStation Home Hold 'Em squares players off in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all battle of the bluffs. Only the best of the best will progress to the high stakes tables and collect all the prizes in this free version of the wildly-popular Texas Hold 'Em card game.
PlayStation Home Sports Trivia: Test your sports expertise against the PlayStation Home community and unlock a series of themed rewards in this massive sports trivia game, found in the Sportswalk. Packed with over 10,000 trivia questions, this game will challenge the memories of even the most die-hard sports fans.
RC Rally: Build and customize your own remote controlled car and race against friends over multiple courses, performing stunts and tricks and unlocking numerous upgrades along the way. This fast-paced PlayStation Home original game can be found in the new Pier Park.
Cogs: A 3D version of Lazy 8 Studios award-winning Steampunk puzzle game, Cogs can be found front-and-center in PlayStation Home's new Hub. Build a variety of machines from sliding tiles and unlock exclusive PlayStation Home rewards in this highly-addictive puzzler.
PlayStation Home RC Rally
The new focus for Sony's PlayStation Home is the games, according to PlayStation Home director Jack Buser. However, we're still hung up on this whole "social" thing. (And not only with Home, but with that PS Vita, too.) Whether Home will better connect players through its increased focus on games will be seen starting tomorrow. PlayStation Home launches on the PS3 on Nov. 3, but until then, tease yourself with this trailer.
What do you think of the new PlayStation Home? How about Sony's overall focus on social through both of its leading consoles?
Now, wait a minute, we thought social games were reserved for social networks or at least connected to them. Well, consider this Sony ... redefining the term "social network." The new core of PlayStation Home is the aptly-named Hub, which serves as the main place for PS3 gamers to socialize in real time through their avatars.
This Hub also provides players with quests that span a number of new free-to-play games and community events through the Activity Board. The Hub, as its name implies, also connects players to the various districts of Home:
Action District: A gathering place for hardcore gamers, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.
Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights and sports-themed games.
Adventure District: At the launch of the PlayStation Home redesign, the Adventure District will present the Uncharted 3: Fortune Hunter total game integration event, providing a third-person adventure experience including a partial recreation of the Yemen level from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer mode and a cover-based shooting system complete with weapons and gameplay inspired by the hit series. Players can unlock content that can be used in the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Blu-Ray Disc game as well as additional PlayStation Home rewards.
Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for more games.
PlayStation Home Theater: The PlayStation Home Theater features an ultra-modern architectural design and hosts a wide range of videos programmed specifically for PlayStation gamers, including episodes of Pulse and Qore, trailers and interviews from the PlayStation Blog, and exclusive user-generated videos in the popular Community Theater.
PlayStation Home Mall: The PlayStation Home Mall is loaded with thousands of pieces of content from some of the most popular games and entertainment in the world. Shop for PlayStation Home games, extravagant personal spaces, costumes, clothing items and other avatar enhancements, and tons more in the redesigned Mall.
PlayStation Home Cogs
But what sounds most "social" to us are the several new free-to-play games strewn across the new Home. These new games are supported by microtransactions, much like the Facebook games you likely play daily. However, most of these games certainly cater more to the traditional gamer, and here's why:
Bootleggers '29: Set in the seedy underbelly of the Roaring Twenties, this PlayStation Home exclusive first-person shooter found in the Action District pits cops vs. criminals in a Prohibition-era game of Capture the Cask. Boasting real-time multiplayer action, a variety of vintage weapons and unlockable rewards, and the unique ability to play as your PlayStation Home avatar, Bootleggers '29 is a 100% free-to-play game that introduces a classic narrative to the modern shooter genre.
PlayStation Home Hold 'Em: A series of backroom poker tables hosted in the brand new Sportswalk district, PlayStation Home Hold 'Em squares players off in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all battle of the bluffs. Only the best of the best will progress to the high stakes tables and collect all the prizes in this free version of the wildly-popular Texas Hold 'Em card game.
PlayStation Home Sports Trivia: Test your sports expertise against the PlayStation Home community and unlock a series of themed rewards in this massive sports trivia game, found in the Sportswalk. Packed with over 10,000 trivia questions, this game will challenge the memories of even the most die-hard sports fans.
RC Rally: Build and customize your own remote controlled car and race against friends over multiple courses, performing stunts and tricks and unlocking numerous upgrades along the way. This fast-paced PlayStation Home original game can be found in the new Pier Park.
Cogs: A 3D version of Lazy 8 Studios award-winning Steampunk puzzle game, Cogs can be found front-and-center in PlayStation Home's new Hub. Build a variety of machines from sliding tiles and unlock exclusive PlayStation Home rewards in this highly-addictive puzzler.
PlayStation Home RC Rally
The new focus for Sony's PlayStation Home is the games, according to PlayStation Home director Jack Buser. However, we're still hung up on this whole "social" thing. (And not only with Home, but with that PS Vita, too.) Whether Home will better connect players through its increased focus on games will be seen starting tomorrow. PlayStation Home launches on the PS3 on Nov. 3, but until then, tease yourself with this trailer.
What do you think of the new PlayStation Home? How about Sony's overall focus on social through both of its leading consoles?
Đăng ký:
Bài đăng (Atom)