Looking to add yet another new cooking appliance to your cafe in Cafe World? Zynga hopes that you are, as they have introduced the Bread Oven to the game today, complete with four themed recipes. This Bread Oven works as other appliances released recently, in that you'll be able to cook these exclusive dishes with only one click, and you won't have clean the oven after your meal has been prepared, regardless of whether or not you own a No Clean Fairy.
To see what you need to build this Bread Oven, come with us behind the break to get started. The base of the Bread Oven will be given to your for free upon your next login to the game. From there, you'll need to place the item into your cafe (don't worry, it only takes up a single square) and work on collecting the 30 items necessary to complete its construction. You'll need to gather 4 Loaf Pans, 8 Cooling Racks, 8 Bricks, and 10 Fire Wood.
Earning all of these items is as simple as clicking on the "Ask for More" button seen in the screenshot above, and then sending out individual gift requests to your friends to send you a single unit of that particular item. Luckily, you won't have to resort to posting general news posts that can easily be overlooked (even accidentally), so the construction really shouldn't take a high-level player (or simply a player with a lot of friends) that long to complete.
Once you finish building the Bread Oven, you'll have access to two new dishes immediately, and will be able to unlock two more dishes by completing the Bread Oven goals (guide coming soon check out our guide). The two instantly available recipes are the Sweet Dinner Rolls (a 10 minute dish) and the Banana Bread (a 30 minute dish). Make sure to start building your Bread Oven sooner, rather than later, as I've found that users are much more likely to help you with a project if they're working on it at the same time.
What do you think of the Cafe World Bread Oven? What kinds of recipes are you hoping to see added to the appliance in the future?
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 12, 2011
FarmVille Trees Sneak Peek: Oak Tree & Yew Tree
It seems that Zynga has really heard users that were clamoring for more realistic trees in FarmVille, as it appears that the next two trees to launch in the game will be the Oak Tree, and the Yew Tree; that is, if this newest set of unreleased images is to be believed (we have no reason to think that these items won't release, but remember nothing is official).
These two trees look to be "masterable," as there are two mastery signs to go along with them. Will they be released in the upcoming English Countryside theme? Most likely, so make sure to save up your Farm Cash so that you can afford to have these trees on both of your farms when the time comes (if you choose to buy more than one, of course).
Do you like the trend of realistic trees in FarmVille, or are you eagerly awaiting the release of more whimsical/make-believe trees in the future?
These two trees look to be "masterable," as there are two mastery signs to go along with them. Will they be released in the upcoming English Countryside theme? Most likely, so make sure to save up your Farm Cash so that you can afford to have these trees on both of your farms when the time comes (if you choose to buy more than one, of course).
Do you like the trend of realistic trees in FarmVille, or are you eagerly awaiting the release of more whimsical/make-believe trees in the future?
Cafe World Bread Oven Goals: Everything you need to know
While building the new Bread Oven appliance in Cafe World may be a large project in and of itself, you now have quite the incentive to finish it quickly, as doing so will help you complete the new series of eight goals that have been released in the game. The first of these eight goals sees you simply building the Bread Oven from start to finish.
Place your Bread Oven
Build your Bread Oven
Ask for 1 Packet of Yeast
The Yeast Packet can be earned by simply asking a friend to send you the item, while building the Bread Oven will be more time consuming. Make sure to check out our complete guide to finishing the Bread Oven for everything you need to know.
Finishing the first goal will lead you into Bread Oven II, which immediately puts your Bread Oven to work cooking one of the two new dishes available at the start.
Serve 5 Sweet Dinner Rolls
Serve 5 Pumpkin Pies
Ask for 2 Bananas
Sweet Dinner Rolls take just 10 minutes to cook, while Pumpkin Pie takes much longer, at 12 hours. Remember though, if you've received any free Pumpkin Pie servings from friends, or from your daily cooking bonus, that you can serve those to count for your requirement, saving a lot of time.
Bread Oven III comes next, and it sees you working to unlock the first of two new recipes you'll receive through this mission series. You'll need to serve more Dinner Rolls, and collect more Bananas, and I bet you can guess what the new recipe will end up being.
Serve 10 Sweet Dinner Rolls
Ask for 10 Eggs
Ask for 10 Bananas
If you haven't guessed, the new recipe (and in fact, the reward for this goal) is the Banana Bread recipe. You'll immediately have to put the recipe to work in our next quest, so don't think your work is over anytime soon.
Bread Oven IV will be time consuming for many chefs, but thankfully not because you have to wait for your friends to send you items. This step is all on yourself, so you'll finish it as quickly as your effort allows.
Serve 10 Sweet Dinner Rolls
Serve 10 Banana Bread
Spice Neighbors' Stoves 5 Times
Of course, since you weren't collecting any ingredients for this quest, you won't receive a new recipe as a reward either. You will, however, be able to move onto Bread Oven V, where we do see another new recipe come into play.
Bread Oven V has you collecting more Yeast (first seen at the beginning of this mission set), along with a new ingredient.
Serve 10 Banana Bread
Ask for 10 Packets of Yeast
Ask for 10 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
Again, for all of these items, you'll need to have some very patient and helpful friends (or simply a lot of friends that you can ask in mass quantities) to finish this one quickly. Doing so rewards you with the Sticky Buns recipe, the fourth (but not final) Bread Oven recipe currently available in the game.
Bread Oven VI sees you putting your new recipes to work, along with spicing more stoves.
Serve 10 Banana Bread
Serve 10 Sticky Buns
Spice Neighbors' Stoves 5 Times
Nothing complex here. We've seen these steps before, so just follow the plan and you'll finish them eventually.
You're in the home stretch now, as Bread Oven VII asks you to collect a slew of ingredients for a recipe that even Zynga hasn't announced yet.
Ask for 10 Measuring Spoons
Serve 10 Sticky Buns
Ask for 10 Cups of Bread Flour
While everything associated with the Bread Oven says that there are only four new recipes to unlock, it looks like a fifth is ready as well. This is the Parisian Baguette recipe. Of course, since these goals are so new, and since there's conflicting information even within the game to what we've learned here, anything is possible at this point as to when and if this dish will be made available. Remember, these goals can change at any time, but we'll try our best to keep you as up-to-date with new information as we have it.
Finally, if you've made it this far, you'll be able to finish Bread Oven VIII, which sees you cooking, doing some more cooking, and then cooking again to finish it off. The problem? We're not exactly sure how much cooking you'll need to do. You'll need to cook as-of-now unknown quantities of the following three dishes:
Sweet Dinner Rolls
Parisian Baguette
Sticky Buns
We're not alone in our confusion, as LightChan can confirm that these requirements are without specific numbers. We'll make sure to update you when we know more. For now, though, you've got plenty of work ahead of you to get this point, so by the time you make it there, hopefully everything will be sorted out and clear. Keep checking back with us for the latest.
What do you think of these new Bread Oven goals? Have you made it to goal VIII and can help us fill in the blanks?
Place your Bread Oven
Build your Bread Oven
Ask for 1 Packet of Yeast
The Yeast Packet can be earned by simply asking a friend to send you the item, while building the Bread Oven will be more time consuming. Make sure to check out our complete guide to finishing the Bread Oven for everything you need to know.
Finishing the first goal will lead you into Bread Oven II, which immediately puts your Bread Oven to work cooking one of the two new dishes available at the start.
Serve 5 Sweet Dinner Rolls
Serve 5 Pumpkin Pies
Ask for 2 Bananas
Sweet Dinner Rolls take just 10 minutes to cook, while Pumpkin Pie takes much longer, at 12 hours. Remember though, if you've received any free Pumpkin Pie servings from friends, or from your daily cooking bonus, that you can serve those to count for your requirement, saving a lot of time.
Bread Oven III comes next, and it sees you working to unlock the first of two new recipes you'll receive through this mission series. You'll need to serve more Dinner Rolls, and collect more Bananas, and I bet you can guess what the new recipe will end up being.
Serve 10 Sweet Dinner Rolls
Ask for 10 Eggs
Ask for 10 Bananas
If you haven't guessed, the new recipe (and in fact, the reward for this goal) is the Banana Bread recipe. You'll immediately have to put the recipe to work in our next quest, so don't think your work is over anytime soon.
Bread Oven IV will be time consuming for many chefs, but thankfully not because you have to wait for your friends to send you items. This step is all on yourself, so you'll finish it as quickly as your effort allows.
Serve 10 Sweet Dinner Rolls
Serve 10 Banana Bread
Spice Neighbors' Stoves 5 Times
Of course, since you weren't collecting any ingredients for this quest, you won't receive a new recipe as a reward either. You will, however, be able to move onto Bread Oven V, where we do see another new recipe come into play.
Bread Oven V has you collecting more Yeast (first seen at the beginning of this mission set), along with a new ingredient.
Serve 10 Banana Bread
Ask for 10 Packets of Yeast
Ask for 10 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
Again, for all of these items, you'll need to have some very patient and helpful friends (or simply a lot of friends that you can ask in mass quantities) to finish this one quickly. Doing so rewards you with the Sticky Buns recipe, the fourth (but not final) Bread Oven recipe currently available in the game.
Bread Oven VI sees you putting your new recipes to work, along with spicing more stoves.
Serve 10 Banana Bread
Serve 10 Sticky Buns
Spice Neighbors' Stoves 5 Times
Nothing complex here. We've seen these steps before, so just follow the plan and you'll finish them eventually.
You're in the home stretch now, as Bread Oven VII asks you to collect a slew of ingredients for a recipe that even Zynga hasn't announced yet.
Ask for 10 Measuring Spoons
Serve 10 Sticky Buns
Ask for 10 Cups of Bread Flour
While everything associated with the Bread Oven says that there are only four new recipes to unlock, it looks like a fifth is ready as well. This is the Parisian Baguette recipe. Of course, since these goals are so new, and since there's conflicting information even within the game to what we've learned here, anything is possible at this point as to when and if this dish will be made available. Remember, these goals can change at any time, but we'll try our best to keep you as up-to-date with new information as we have it.
Finally, if you've made it this far, you'll be able to finish Bread Oven VIII, which sees you cooking, doing some more cooking, and then cooking again to finish it off. The problem? We're not exactly sure how much cooking you'll need to do. You'll need to cook as-of-now unknown quantities of the following three dishes:
Sweet Dinner Rolls
Parisian Baguette
Sticky Buns
We're not alone in our confusion, as LightChan can confirm that these requirements are without specific numbers. We'll make sure to update you when we know more. For now, though, you've got plenty of work ahead of you to get this point, so by the time you make it there, hopefully everything will be sorted out and clear. Keep checking back with us for the latest.
What do you think of these new Bread Oven goals? Have you made it to goal VIII and can help us fill in the blanks?
FarmVille Animal Sneak Peek: Black Shire Horse, Mountain Goat, Robin Hood Duck & More
Can we say unreleased animals? I hope we can, because we've been overwhelmed by the huge amount of animals that will apparently be launching in FarmVille in the near future. While some of these animals look to be a part of the upcoming Mystery Game, others look to introduce a new sub-theme within the English Countryside limited edition item theme currently in the game.
The new animals, from left to right in the image at the top of this post, are the Black Shire Horse, Black Shire Foal, Mountain Goat, Wolverine, Robin Hood Duck, Gypsy King Horse, Gypsy King Foal, Pastel Purple Ewe, Pastel Green Ewe, Sonoran Pronghorn Deer (an endangered species), Burrowing Owl, and California Condor.
Note: We think the final two animals will likely be decorations, rather than actual animals, so plan ahead for that outcome.
As you can see, the sub-theme looks to be something along the lines of Robin Hood, or perhaps even King Arthur. There are other unreleased decorations which put further backing behind a potential medieval theme, so we'll make sure to keep a close eye on things and let you know when and if these animals start to become available.
In the meantime, let us know which of these animals you like most in the comments. Are you looking forward to a Knights of the Round Table-esque theme in FarmVille, or do you like these other animals more?
The new animals, from left to right in the image at the top of this post, are the Black Shire Horse, Black Shire Foal, Mountain Goat, Wolverine, Robin Hood Duck, Gypsy King Horse, Gypsy King Foal, Pastel Purple Ewe, Pastel Green Ewe, Sonoran Pronghorn Deer (an endangered species), Burrowing Owl, and California Condor.
Note: We think the final two animals will likely be decorations, rather than actual animals, so plan ahead for that outcome.
As you can see, the sub-theme looks to be something along the lines of Robin Hood, or perhaps even King Arthur. There are other unreleased decorations which put further backing behind a potential medieval theme, so we'll make sure to keep a close eye on things and let you know when and if these animals start to become available.
In the meantime, let us know which of these animals you like most in the comments. Are you looking forward to a Knights of the Round Table-esque theme in FarmVille, or do you like these other animals more?
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Royal Table, Sword in the Stone, Moat pieces & More
If you needed a confirmation that a new King Arthur / medieval theme would be coming to FarmVille in the future, then look no further. We've come across a whole slew of items that will allow you to build a moat, and then decorate your castle-themed area with tables, a blacksmith's shop, a large gate house, and even a magical sword trapped in stone.
The specific items are as follows: Moat I, Moat II, Moat III, Moat Left, Moat Right, Moat Bottom, Moat Top, Royal Table, Castle Gate House, the Sword in the Stone (may also be called Excalibur, or just a Sword Statue), and a Blacksmith Shed.
While there's no telling whether or not these items will be released as a separate theme, or just as part of the current English Countryside theme, I personally can't wait to turn my second farm in a medieval playground. We can only hope that castle building ingredients will be released along with this moat (don't worry, rumor has it that a bridge is being developed so we can cross this moat too), to make this an even more epic set of items than it already is.
What do you think of these new decorative items? Is there another sub-theme you would like to see released in the English Countryside instead?
The specific items are as follows: Moat I, Moat II, Moat III, Moat Left, Moat Right, Moat Bottom, Moat Top, Royal Table, Castle Gate House, the Sword in the Stone (may also be called Excalibur, or just a Sword Statue), and a Blacksmith Shed.
While there's no telling whether or not these items will be released as a separate theme, or just as part of the current English Countryside theme, I personally can't wait to turn my second farm in a medieval playground. We can only hope that castle building ingredients will be released along with this moat (don't worry, rumor has it that a bridge is being developed so we can cross this moat too), to make this an even more epic set of items than it already is.
What do you think of these new decorative items? Is there another sub-theme you would like to see released in the English Countryside instead?
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 12, 2011
FarmVille LE English Countryside Trees: Wild Cherry and Bird Cherry Trees
With tonight's FarmVille update, Zynga has stated that this is our "last chance" to pick up limited edition English Countryside items for both of our farms, and its sending the theme out with a bang by releasing two very lovely Cherry Trees. The Wild Cherry and Bird Cherry Trees are available for 5 and 10 Farm Cash each, respectively.
As usual, this is a case where patience is a virtue, as you can actually save 10 Farm Cash if you simply choose to wait for a Bird Cherry Tree to appear from a Mystery Seedling on your farm, rather than purchasing one outright from the store. Of course, if you don't collect trees, and simply wish to purchase one, you're more than welcome to do so as well.
Either way, these two trees will be available in the game for the next two weeks. Will we see any other English Countryside items released before they expire? That much isn't clear, due to Zynga's questionable wording, but we'll make sure to let you know what those items are if and when anymore are released.
What do you think of these Cherry Trees? Will you be sad to see the English Countryside item theme leave the market?
As usual, this is a case where patience is a virtue, as you can actually save 10 Farm Cash if you simply choose to wait for a Bird Cherry Tree to appear from a Mystery Seedling on your farm, rather than purchasing one outright from the store. Of course, if you don't collect trees, and simply wish to purchase one, you're more than welcome to do so as well.
Either way, these two trees will be available in the game for the next two weeks. Will we see any other English Countryside items released before they expire? That much isn't clear, due to Zynga's questionable wording, but we'll make sure to let you know what those items are if and when anymore are released.
What do you think of these Cherry Trees? Will you be sad to see the English Countryside item theme leave the market?
FarmVille LE English Countryside Animals: Hackney Horse & English Goat
With the latest FarmVille update, we've seen two (technically three) new animals released in the FarmVille marketplace. The two animals are the English Goat and the Hackney Horse. The third animal comes in, of course, from the Horse, as you will be able to breed the Hackney Horse for a Hackney Foal by placing the Horse in your Horse Stable.
But first, you'll have to get the horse itself onto your farm, which is done by purchasing it for 26 Farm Cash from the market (no one said horse collections were cheap). The English Goat, meanwhile, costs 14 Farm Cash, and personally, has one of the cutest little faces I've ever seen - just look at that mug!
Whether you choose to add to your horse collection, or add this friendly little goat to your farm(s), you'll only be able to do so for the next two weeks, when these animals (and apparently the entire limited edition English Countryside theme) will leave the store.
Have you been collecting the many limited edition English Countryside animals released over the past weeks? Which one is your favorite?
But first, you'll have to get the horse itself onto your farm, which is done by purchasing it for 26 Farm Cash from the market (no one said horse collections were cheap). The English Goat, meanwhile, costs 14 Farm Cash, and personally, has one of the cutest little faces I've ever seen - just look at that mug!
Whether you choose to add to your horse collection, or add this friendly little goat to your farm(s), you'll only be able to do so for the next two weeks, when these animals (and apparently the entire limited edition English Countryside theme) will leave the store.
Have you been collecting the many limited edition English Countryside animals released over the past weeks? Which one is your favorite?
FarmVille LE English Countryside Decorations: English Hotel, Detective Gnome, Tower Bridge & More
Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it two new buildings and four new decorative items that are available to purchase from the in-game marketplace. Before we take a look at these items, though, we've been warned that this could be our last chance to pick up limited edition English Countryside items, so pay special attention as this could be the final wave or release.
That said, the two new buildings are the English Hotel and the Garden Cafe. These buildings offer both players that save Farm Cash and those that spend it something to add to their farms, as the English Hotel costs 35 Farm Cash (and is a very long, stately building surrounded by a fence), while the Garden Cafe costs 350,000 coins. That may sound like a high price, but this too is a very intricately designed item, with its own surrounding fence and two bistro tables sitting outside on a sort of makeshift patio. Both of these buildings reward you with 3,500 experience points when purchased.
Meanwhile, one of the four new decorations will allow those that are building (or have already built) a moat on their farm another piece to add to the proverbial puzzle. This item is the Tower Bridge, which costs 18 Farm Cash. As the name suggests, London's iconic bridge has been placed over a matching piece of moat from previous releases, allowing it to fit right in. The other Farm Cash item is the Detective Gnome, based off of Sherlock Holmes.
The two coin items are less meaningful (at least in terms of real-world inspirations), and come in the form of the Flower Statue, at 80,000 coins, and the Ornate Iron Fence that sells for 6,000 coins per piece. All four of these decorations, regardless of price, will be available in the store for the next two weeks. Again, this very well might be the last time we see limited edition English Countryside items released in the store, so shop now while you still can.
Would you be happy to see the English Countryside theme end? Are you ready to move onto other themes, or do you enjoy stocking your farm with these many international goodies?
That said, the two new buildings are the English Hotel and the Garden Cafe. These buildings offer both players that save Farm Cash and those that spend it something to add to their farms, as the English Hotel costs 35 Farm Cash (and is a very long, stately building surrounded by a fence), while the Garden Cafe costs 350,000 coins. That may sound like a high price, but this too is a very intricately designed item, with its own surrounding fence and two bistro tables sitting outside on a sort of makeshift patio. Both of these buildings reward you with 3,500 experience points when purchased.
Meanwhile, one of the four new decorations will allow those that are building (or have already built) a moat on their farm another piece to add to the proverbial puzzle. This item is the Tower Bridge, which costs 18 Farm Cash. As the name suggests, London's iconic bridge has been placed over a matching piece of moat from previous releases, allowing it to fit right in. The other Farm Cash item is the Detective Gnome, based off of Sherlock Holmes.
The two coin items are less meaningful (at least in terms of real-world inspirations), and come in the form of the Flower Statue, at 80,000 coins, and the Ornate Iron Fence that sells for 6,000 coins per piece. All four of these decorations, regardless of price, will be available in the store for the next two weeks. Again, this very well might be the last time we see limited edition English Countryside items released in the store, so shop now while you still can.
Would you be happy to see the English Countryside theme end? Are you ready to move onto other themes, or do you enjoy stocking your farm with these many international goodies?
FarmVille LE English Countryside Avatar Clothing: Butler and Royal Guard Costumes
Back in the middle of April, we gave you a sneak peek of two costumes that we thought would be launching in FarmVille in the near future. While it took these costumes a while to actually see a final release, with tonight's game update, we've finally been given the opportunity to dress our in-game avatars as either a Butler, or as a Royal Guard.
Both of these costumes are, of course, part of the current limited edition English Countryside theme, which the FarmVille team at Zynga has stated might be ending sooner, rather than later. That being the case, the matching 10 Farm Cash prices on both of these costumes might not seem like such a high price, since we know this theme won't be around forever. In fact, these two costumes will only be available in the store for the next two weeks. Will we see more female-oriented outfits released before these two expire? It's unlikely, but we'll make sure to let you know if we do.
What do you think of these two costumes? Had you been waiting for their release, or did you forget all about them (like I did)?
Both of these costumes are, of course, part of the current limited edition English Countryside theme, which the FarmVille team at Zynga has stated might be ending sooner, rather than later. That being the case, the matching 10 Farm Cash prices on both of these costumes might not seem like such a high price, since we know this theme won't be around forever. In fact, these two costumes will only be available in the store for the next two weeks. Will we see more female-oriented outfits released before these two expire? It's unlikely, but we'll make sure to let you know if we do.
What do you think of these two costumes? Had you been waiting for their release, or did you forget all about them (like I did)?
FarmVille Mystery Game (05/08/2011): Wales themed animals up for grabs
This week's FarmVille Mystery Game takes on the theme of Welsh animals, with some of these items being familiar to those who saw our recent sneak peek containing a few of them. Even if these animals are entirely new to you, I have to warn you - there's some serious cuteness represented in this week's theme (the Badger Sheep may be one of the cutest things I've ever seen), so watch out!
This week's game costs 20 Farm Cash for each dart if you'd like to play, and here's what you can expect to find inside.
Badger Sheep
Puffin
Roe Deer
Welsh Cow
Welsh Harlequin (duck)
Welsh Horse
Unfortunately, this week's selection might complicate for those that were playing the game last July and August, as the Puffin was released in the game's market during that theme, and you may end up with another. Not that Puffins aren't adorable, but if you're going for variety over quantity, it's something to keep in mind. The same thing can be said for the Roe Deer, which was released last September in another Mystery Game.
Even if you already have both of those animals, there are still four new ones up for grabs, so I suppose it might be worth a bit of a risk. If you're going to gamble, however, do it fast - as you know, this week's Mystery Game will only be around for a week, when the theme and contents of the game will be updated yet again.
Will you play this week's Mystery Game? Which animal are you hoping to win?
This week's game costs 20 Farm Cash for each dart if you'd like to play, and here's what you can expect to find inside.
Badger Sheep
Puffin
Roe Deer
Welsh Cow
Welsh Harlequin (duck)
Welsh Horse
Unfortunately, this week's selection might complicate for those that were playing the game last July and August, as the Puffin was released in the game's market during that theme, and you may end up with another. Not that Puffins aren't adorable, but if you're going for variety over quantity, it's something to keep in mind. The same thing can be said for the Roe Deer, which was released last September in another Mystery Game.
Even if you already have both of those animals, there are still four new ones up for grabs, so I suppose it might be worth a bit of a risk. If you're going to gamble, however, do it fast - as you know, this week's Mystery Game will only be around for a week, when the theme and contents of the game will be updated yet again.
Will you play this week's Mystery Game? Which animal are you hoping to win?
Chủ Nhật, 25 tháng 12, 2011
Facebook user growth has slowed, but what about Facebook games?
Hey, it had to happen at some point, right? Inside Facebook reports that, for the second month in a row, Facebook's growth has slowed down as it nears 700 million users worldwide. However, most of those new users are coming from developing countries that have just gained access to the social network, while countries that have enjoyed sharing every detail of their lives for years now are actually losing users.
For instance, Inside Facebook calculates that the U.S. alone lost some 6 million users in May, while overall growth has decline from 13.9 million new users in April to 11.8 million in May. That's the first time Facebook has lost users in the past year, though other countries have experienced somewhat similar situations, all of which you can check out in detail here. And while it's far too early to pin the nail in the Facebook coffin--this isn't MySpace we're talking about here (zing!)--it is cause for concern.
Companies that have invested millions if not billions in Facebook games like Zynga and EA might want to at least have their ears to the ground on this one. Though according to AppData, Zynga has experienced a small growth spurt in the past 30 days to 259.3 million monthly players, as EA has maintained its 32 million monthly players pretty easily over the same time.
Regardless of what might be happening to Facebook overall, this doesn't seem to be any cause for game developers to enter panic mode just yet. And besides, there's always iPhones and Android phones to fall back on--those things are selling faster than hot dogs wrapped in free money.
For instance, Inside Facebook calculates that the U.S. alone lost some 6 million users in May, while overall growth has decline from 13.9 million new users in April to 11.8 million in May. That's the first time Facebook has lost users in the past year, though other countries have experienced somewhat similar situations, all of which you can check out in detail here. And while it's far too early to pin the nail in the Facebook coffin--this isn't MySpace we're talking about here (zing!)--it is cause for concern.
Companies that have invested millions if not billions in Facebook games like Zynga and EA might want to at least have their ears to the ground on this one. Though according to AppData, Zynga has experienced a small growth spurt in the past 30 days to 259.3 million monthly players, as EA has maintained its 32 million monthly players pretty easily over the same time.
Regardless of what might be happening to Facebook overall, this doesn't seem to be any cause for game developers to enter panic mode just yet. And besides, there's always iPhones and Android phones to fall back on--those things are selling faster than hot dogs wrapped in free money.
FarmVille 2nd Birthday: Farm Cash now 40 percent off for 24 hours
FarmVille 2nd Birthday Farm Cash
Happy birthday to you, FarmVille! I've never understood people who throw parties for their own birthdays. I mean, you'd think a birthday is an opportunity to relax and let other people take care of your enjoyment. But FarmVille knows it wouldn't have made it this far without the help of its players, and to show its appreciation, there's currently a 40% off sale of Farm Cash at the store for one day only (basically, until June 15th, 12:00 p.m. PDT)... and the countdown has started!
You can see how much you'll save by looking at the image of the six discount packages below.
Farm Cash 40 percent off
This sale only applies to Farm Cash though. Unlike the other deals, Farm Coins aren't in on this discount. Click here to head straight to the store and start shopping!
Happy birthday to you, FarmVille! I've never understood people who throw parties for their own birthdays. I mean, you'd think a birthday is an opportunity to relax and let other people take care of your enjoyment. But FarmVille knows it wouldn't have made it this far without the help of its players, and to show its appreciation, there's currently a 40% off sale of Farm Cash at the store for one day only (basically, until June 15th, 12:00 p.m. PDT)... and the countdown has started!
You can see how much you'll save by looking at the image of the six discount packages below.
Farm Cash 40 percent off
This sale only applies to Farm Cash though. Unlike the other deals, Farm Coins aren't in on this discount. Click here to head straight to the store and start shopping!
Angry Birds creators' next game is Wine and Dine; pigs snag a starring role
Rovio is working on yet another Angry Birds game, but (thank heaven) it's not all about launching irate birds into wooden forts. TechCrunch reports that, in the midst of the game reaching a milestone of 250 million mobile downloads, the developer will soon release Wine and Dine, a new game that revolves around those pudgy green pigs rather than the wingless birds. Rovio also mentioned that even more games are in the works that feature completely different gameplay within the Angry Birds universe.
Peter Vesterbacka, founder and the company's resident Mighty Eagle, told TechCrunch that Angry Birds Magic is also in development. It's a location-based sub-platform of sorts that will reward players with new bonuses and experiences depending on where they play Angry Birds. It will work with all phones that support Angry Birds, according to Rovio product manager Ramine Darabiha, and Magic will also interact with Angry Birds plush toys that have Near-Field Communication Chips inside them. Can Rovio just revive the Furby franchise with its Angry Birds already?
Peter Vesterbacka, founder and the company's resident Mighty Eagle, told TechCrunch that Angry Birds Magic is also in development. It's a location-based sub-platform of sorts that will reward players with new bonuses and experiences depending on where they play Angry Birds. It will work with all phones that support Angry Birds, according to Rovio product manager Ramine Darabiha, and Magic will also interact with Angry Birds plush toys that have Near-Field Communication Chips inside them. Can Rovio just revive the Furby franchise with its Angry Birds already?
A Peggle sake set? PopCap's auctioning it off (and more) for charity
PopCap Games is embarking on another major charity endeavor this month. Beginning today and lasting until July 12th, all proceeds from their official eBay listing will go to benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation in America and SpecialEffect in the United Kingdom.
PopCap Peggle sake setPopCap Games / eBay
Thirty-four pieces of artwork are expected to be put on sale (currently, 9 are available) and they all feature PopCap's various games from Plants vs. Zombies to Zuma Blitz to Peggle, which gets its own ceramic sake set! There's no Bejeweled Blitz goods in sight though, but we're sure one will appear in the coming weeks. Go to www.ebay.com/popcap to visit the auction.
PopCap's past fundraising efforts included raising $100K to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure fight breast cancer on Mother's Day in 2008, $85K for Haiti relief in 2010, and most recently, $200K going to the International Red Cross for Japan back in March.
PopCap Peggle sake setPopCap Games / eBay
Thirty-four pieces of artwork are expected to be put on sale (currently, 9 are available) and they all feature PopCap's various games from Plants vs. Zombies to Zuma Blitz to Peggle, which gets its own ceramic sake set! There's no Bejeweled Blitz goods in sight though, but we're sure one will appear in the coming weeks. Go to www.ebay.com/popcap to visit the auction.
PopCap's past fundraising efforts included raising $100K to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure fight breast cancer on Mother's Day in 2008, $85K for Haiti relief in 2010, and most recently, $200K going to the International Red Cross for Japan back in March.
Facebook Game Faceoff: Empires & Allies vs Army Attack
Tending to crops in FarmVille or building your own real estate empire in Millionaire City sure is relaxing, but sometimes hardcore and casual gamers alike just want to see something blow up. (What can I say? This is America.) In response to growing list of hardcore-skewed military strategy games like Kabam's Kingdoms of Camelot and Backyard Monsters by Kixeye, Zynga and Digital Chocolate have released Empires & Allies and Army Attack, respectively. Both games are shooting (get it?) for the hearts of the same crowd: the casual Facebook gamers. Welcome to the first ever Games.com Facebook Game Face-off, where we pit two contending Facebook games against one another for you to decide which reigns victorious once and for all.
Army Attack Empires & Allies
Let's break this contest down into the three elements that gamers generally tend to look for in their strategy combat Facebook games. First, of course, is the combat (or blowin' stuff up as we elegantly put it). Next is the city building and resource management. And third is essentially why this genre of games has become so popular: player vs player combat. Ready .... Fight!
E&A Combat
Blowin' Stuff Up:
Empires & Allies handles combat in its own dedicated mini game of sorts. Whether you engage an enemy in the campaign or a friend by invading their empire, combat is handled in sort of a split screen representation of the units you sent into battle vs the units you either chose to attack or, in the case of the single-player campaign, the AI opponent randomly chooses. Battles, which are fully animated and turn based, are decided based on how each unit performs against another in what essentially amounts to a more sophisticated game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Army Attack combat
Army Attack, on the other hand, deals with combat directly on the playing field where cities are built. In fact, the entire playing field houses both attack units and structures, and destroying structures is part of what the game is all about. This is far more faithful to traditional strategy games yet it still revolves around turn-based exchanges that expel Energy. Unlike E&A, this game deals strictly with land units, so there is far less comparison between units involved. Each unit has a range in which it can attack adjacent units, and each time you move a unit it exhausts one Energy. Though, the more units you have in range of an opposing unit, the more of your forces will attack that lone opponent at the cost of one Energy.
E&A City
Commanding and Conquering:
Empires & Allies isn't far different from CityVille in how it handles city building. So much so that cities exist almost separately from combat, only coming into play during combat when an empire is invaded. Players must build residences to increase their population, which dictates what military buildings they can create and thus military units. You also must create resource generating buildings like Farms, Lumber Mills, Oil Refineries and Ore Mines to provide you with resources necessary to create the advanced military units, which are placed around your structures to defend them from invasion. There are five types of Ore, and each empire only yields one type, which spurs trade amongst players for the Ores they can't access.
Army Attack HQ
Army Attack focuses more heavily on unit placement, defense and combat, so there is only one true resource: Supplies. This general resource is used to heal units that are damaged as well as supply captured towns in return for Coins and other goods. To restore Supplies, you must place Drop Zones in your conquered regions, and assign them jobs of varying times and yields. Defeating enemy forces also drops Supplies. And aside from the buildings players must create in order to build advanced military units, there aren't cities to speak of except for your HQ and those cities that you conquer or save from the enemy.
E&A Invasions
Not-so-Friendly Competition:
Empires & Allie's Neighbor Invasions is the crux of PvP in the game. Once you reach Level 6, you have the option to either invade a friend's empire or help it. Invading it allows you to choose and area that will yield the most resources, and attack it using your units compared to whatever defenses the opponent has in place. If you defeat the enemy, you will automatically collect resources from that invaded spot every few hours, or until the player or their friends kick you out. Invading more players increase your Infamy and unlocks special abilities you can use in combat. Of course, this all happen asynchronously.
Unfortunately, there isn't much to be said at the moment of Army Attack in the PvP department. You can't invade your friends' HQ nor can you engage them in combat, but you can always help them out with nifty air strikes against their AI enemy. Perhaps PvP will be added to the game later on, but at the moment it's nowhere to be found.
Both E&A and Army Attack offer deep strategic combat and interesting takes on conquering territories or establishing empires. However, the crux of any combat strategy game--even on Facebook--is player vs player battles. And seeing how Army Attack has yet to include the feature (though, it does allow players to help one another), we declare Empires & Allies the winner of this first Facebook Game Face-off. And now is the moment you've all been waiting for: It's time for you to decide the victor.
Empires & Allies vs Army Attack: Which is the winner?
Empires & Allies reigns victorious!No way, Army Attack is the winner!
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Army Attack Empires & Allies
Let's break this contest down into the three elements that gamers generally tend to look for in their strategy combat Facebook games. First, of course, is the combat (or blowin' stuff up as we elegantly put it). Next is the city building and resource management. And third is essentially why this genre of games has become so popular: player vs player combat. Ready .... Fight!
E&A Combat
Blowin' Stuff Up:
Empires & Allies handles combat in its own dedicated mini game of sorts. Whether you engage an enemy in the campaign or a friend by invading their empire, combat is handled in sort of a split screen representation of the units you sent into battle vs the units you either chose to attack or, in the case of the single-player campaign, the AI opponent randomly chooses. Battles, which are fully animated and turn based, are decided based on how each unit performs against another in what essentially amounts to a more sophisticated game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Army Attack combat
Army Attack, on the other hand, deals with combat directly on the playing field where cities are built. In fact, the entire playing field houses both attack units and structures, and destroying structures is part of what the game is all about. This is far more faithful to traditional strategy games yet it still revolves around turn-based exchanges that expel Energy. Unlike E&A, this game deals strictly with land units, so there is far less comparison between units involved. Each unit has a range in which it can attack adjacent units, and each time you move a unit it exhausts one Energy. Though, the more units you have in range of an opposing unit, the more of your forces will attack that lone opponent at the cost of one Energy.
E&A City
Commanding and Conquering:
Empires & Allies isn't far different from CityVille in how it handles city building. So much so that cities exist almost separately from combat, only coming into play during combat when an empire is invaded. Players must build residences to increase their population, which dictates what military buildings they can create and thus military units. You also must create resource generating buildings like Farms, Lumber Mills, Oil Refineries and Ore Mines to provide you with resources necessary to create the advanced military units, which are placed around your structures to defend them from invasion. There are five types of Ore, and each empire only yields one type, which spurs trade amongst players for the Ores they can't access.
Army Attack HQ
Army Attack focuses more heavily on unit placement, defense and combat, so there is only one true resource: Supplies. This general resource is used to heal units that are damaged as well as supply captured towns in return for Coins and other goods. To restore Supplies, you must place Drop Zones in your conquered regions, and assign them jobs of varying times and yields. Defeating enemy forces also drops Supplies. And aside from the buildings players must create in order to build advanced military units, there aren't cities to speak of except for your HQ and those cities that you conquer or save from the enemy.
E&A Invasions
Not-so-Friendly Competition:
Empires & Allie's Neighbor Invasions is the crux of PvP in the game. Once you reach Level 6, you have the option to either invade a friend's empire or help it. Invading it allows you to choose and area that will yield the most resources, and attack it using your units compared to whatever defenses the opponent has in place. If you defeat the enemy, you will automatically collect resources from that invaded spot every few hours, or until the player or their friends kick you out. Invading more players increase your Infamy and unlocks special abilities you can use in combat. Of course, this all happen asynchronously.
Unfortunately, there isn't much to be said at the moment of Army Attack in the PvP department. You can't invade your friends' HQ nor can you engage them in combat, but you can always help them out with nifty air strikes against their AI enemy. Perhaps PvP will be added to the game later on, but at the moment it's nowhere to be found.
Both E&A and Army Attack offer deep strategic combat and interesting takes on conquering territories or establishing empires. However, the crux of any combat strategy game--even on Facebook--is player vs player battles. And seeing how Army Attack has yet to include the feature (though, it does allow players to help one another), we declare Empires & Allies the winner of this first Facebook Game Face-off. And now is the moment you've all been waiting for: It's time for you to decide the victor.
Empires & Allies vs Army Attack: Which is the winner?
Empires & Allies reigns victorious!No way, Army Attack is the winner!
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Thứ Sáu, 23 tháng 12, 2011
CityVille Odd Day Goals: Everything you need to know
Apparently, CityVille's Captain Rusty is an odd fellow, as his quirks have rubbed off into a new "Odd Day" goal series in the game. This four-part series brings in some superstition and even sea monsters, but overall is fairly straightforward (if a bit time consuming). You'll need to complete all manner of tasks in these goals, from collecting from your own businesses to sending off trains and cargo ships. Without further ado, let's jump right into completing these goals so you can do so as quickly as possible.
Odd Day with Rusty
Collect from Aquarium 2 Times
Collect from 30 Businesses
Get 5 Ice Cream Cones
The Ice Cream Cones can be earned by asking your friends to send them to you, while any 30 businesses can be collected from to complete this task. If you've yet to build an Aquarium in your town, you can check out how to do so in our guide. Finish this first goal, and you'll be rewarded with 300 Goods. We can all use more Goods, right?
Max and the Sea Monster
Collect 10 Shanghai Shipments
Sent 12 Trains
Collect Shipments from 10 Neighbors' Ships
Shanghai shipments take just an hour to arrive, so feel free to send off 12 five-minute trains to quickly complete both tasks in the same amount of time. For finishing this second goal, you'll earn the Bessie in a Pool decorative item, that places, you guessed it, a cartoon-version of the LockNess Monster in a pool as a decoration. It's a 2x2 item that provides a 5% bonus in payout to nearby structures.
Ruth's New Friend
Have 1 Bessie in a Pool
Collect from 40 Residences
Harvest 35 Cranberries
Cranberries take 12 hours to grow. This gives you plenty of time to collect from 40 Homes, if you don't have that many currently in your town and need to wait for some to recharge. Finish off this third goal and you'll receive just 18 XP.
Gone Missing
Collect from Police Station 2 Times
Capture 5 Bandits
Get 12 Handcuffs
What better way to end an "odd day" than by catching some criminals? We all do that in our everyday life, right? Ok, so maybe not, but we sure are now (virtually, anyway). You can find Bandits by simply collecting from your Businesses, but will only be able to actually catch them if you have police officers working (that is, not asleep). Collect donuts to recharge your sleeping cops faster. You'll be rewarded with 800 Goods for completing this final Odd Day goal, which I have to admit is a fairly good prize.
So, was this day really that "odd?" That much will be up to you, but for 1100 free Goods and a new, clever decoration, they could definitely be worse. There doesn't appear to be a time limit on these goals, so feel free to start them (and complete them) at your leisure.
[Goals 2-4 Via CityVille Wiki]
What do you think of these Odd Day goals? Should the tasks required have been more crazy to fit with the theme, or did Zynga do just fine in their design?
Odd Day with Rusty
Collect from Aquarium 2 Times
Collect from 30 Businesses
Get 5 Ice Cream Cones
The Ice Cream Cones can be earned by asking your friends to send them to you, while any 30 businesses can be collected from to complete this task. If you've yet to build an Aquarium in your town, you can check out how to do so in our guide. Finish this first goal, and you'll be rewarded with 300 Goods. We can all use more Goods, right?
Max and the Sea Monster
Collect 10 Shanghai Shipments
Sent 12 Trains
Collect Shipments from 10 Neighbors' Ships
Shanghai shipments take just an hour to arrive, so feel free to send off 12 five-minute trains to quickly complete both tasks in the same amount of time. For finishing this second goal, you'll earn the Bessie in a Pool decorative item, that places, you guessed it, a cartoon-version of the LockNess Monster in a pool as a decoration. It's a 2x2 item that provides a 5% bonus in payout to nearby structures.
Ruth's New Friend
Have 1 Bessie in a Pool
Collect from 40 Residences
Harvest 35 Cranberries
Cranberries take 12 hours to grow. This gives you plenty of time to collect from 40 Homes, if you don't have that many currently in your town and need to wait for some to recharge. Finish off this third goal and you'll receive just 18 XP.
Gone Missing
Collect from Police Station 2 Times
Capture 5 Bandits
Get 12 Handcuffs
What better way to end an "odd day" than by catching some criminals? We all do that in our everyday life, right? Ok, so maybe not, but we sure are now (virtually, anyway). You can find Bandits by simply collecting from your Businesses, but will only be able to actually catch them if you have police officers working (that is, not asleep). Collect donuts to recharge your sleeping cops faster. You'll be rewarded with 800 Goods for completing this final Odd Day goal, which I have to admit is a fairly good prize.
So, was this day really that "odd?" That much will be up to you, but for 1100 free Goods and a new, clever decoration, they could definitely be worse. There doesn't appear to be a time limit on these goals, so feel free to start them (and complete them) at your leisure.
[Goals 2-4 Via CityVille Wiki]
What do you think of these Odd Day goals? Should the tasks required have been more crazy to fit with the theme, or did Zynga do just fine in their design?
CityVille: Save yourself clicks and hover on bonus items instead
An incredibly helpful update has launched in CityVille this afternoon, bringing the game to a point where it arguably should have been to begin with. Now, instead of having to rapidly click on each and every bonus item that appears from collected businesses, crops, cargo ships, etc., you can just hover your mouse pointer over them to automatically collect them.
What's especially great about this feature is the ability to charge your Bonus Meter much more quickly and easily. Instead of stopping every few seconds when collecting from tons of items at once to make sure you're not letting any bonus items - XP stars, coins, goods and collectibles - disappear without clicking on them (and potentially allowing the Bonus Meter to expire in the process), you can now rapidly swing your mouse pointer from left to right, saving yourself clicks and time while still earning all of those bonus coins we've come to appreciate.
Hopefully, CityVille will just be the first of many games to adopt this gameplay feature. Can you imagine what life in FrontierVille would be like if you didn't find yourself overwhelmed with bonus items each and every time you completed an action? What a glorious day that would be.
Are you happy to see the bonus item feature updated in CityVille, or did you appreciate the challenge of rapidly collecting bonus items before they disappeared? What other games would you like to see this ability added to?
What's especially great about this feature is the ability to charge your Bonus Meter much more quickly and easily. Instead of stopping every few seconds when collecting from tons of items at once to make sure you're not letting any bonus items - XP stars, coins, goods and collectibles - disappear without clicking on them (and potentially allowing the Bonus Meter to expire in the process), you can now rapidly swing your mouse pointer from left to right, saving yourself clicks and time while still earning all of those bonus coins we've come to appreciate.
Hopefully, CityVille will just be the first of many games to adopt this gameplay feature. Can you imagine what life in FrontierVille would be like if you didn't find yourself overwhelmed with bonus items each and every time you completed an action? What a glorious day that would be.
Are you happy to see the bonus item feature updated in CityVille, or did you appreciate the challenge of rapidly collecting bonus items before they disappeared? What other games would you like to see this ability added to?
CityVille's Love Thy Neighbor feature allows you to request where your friends work
If you've ever wished you could tell your friends exactly where to help when they visit your town in CityVille, now you have the chance. Sure, the Visitor Center was supposed to provide that function by allowing us to leave a message for friends, but let's be realistic: how many friends do you know of that still actively use it... or ever used it? As I was saying, this new Love Thy Neighbor feature will allow you to bypass (arguably useless) buildings and get straight to the point by putting hearts on top of items you wish to highlight for your friends when they visit.
An entirely new button has been added to the tool menu, in the form of a heart labeled as "Get Help." When activated, this tool will allow you to click on items like crop plots, residences and businesses to flag them with a small red heart that your neighbors will see when visiting you. These hearts disappear when the tool isn't active, but rest assured, they are still there in the background (this is a good thing, as you won't have to see your own town cluttered to the brim with bright red hearts). If you change your mind, just click on the flagged item again and the heart will be removed.
To introduce you to this feature, you'll be able to complete the "Love Thy Neighbor" goal, which asks you to place five hearts in your city, along with clicking on ten hearts in your neighbors' cities. You'll receive 100 XP for finishing this goal.
When visiting a neighbor's town that has these hearts active (you'll know if they've placed any as the same red heart will be placed on their picture in your friends bar), you'll just need to take a few more seconds to scan for them and then click on those items as you would normally. In this way, your friends will receive the help they truly desire, and you'll be able to feel better about your visit knowing that you truly helped them out. Sure, clicking on their marked items ultimately isn't mandatory, but if you visit neighbors without a current goal's task in mind, why not give them the help they specifically ask for? I'm sure they'll appreciate it, and hey - they'll likely even return the favor. Everybody wins!
Will you use this help request feature to ask your friends for help in CityVille? Will you specifically look for hearts in your neighbors' towns when visiting, or will you continue to click on anything you'd like?
An entirely new button has been added to the tool menu, in the form of a heart labeled as "Get Help." When activated, this tool will allow you to click on items like crop plots, residences and businesses to flag them with a small red heart that your neighbors will see when visiting you. These hearts disappear when the tool isn't active, but rest assured, they are still there in the background (this is a good thing, as you won't have to see your own town cluttered to the brim with bright red hearts). If you change your mind, just click on the flagged item again and the heart will be removed.
To introduce you to this feature, you'll be able to complete the "Love Thy Neighbor" goal, which asks you to place five hearts in your city, along with clicking on ten hearts in your neighbors' cities. You'll receive 100 XP for finishing this goal.
When visiting a neighbor's town that has these hearts active (you'll know if they've placed any as the same red heart will be placed on their picture in your friends bar), you'll just need to take a few more seconds to scan for them and then click on those items as you would normally. In this way, your friends will receive the help they truly desire, and you'll be able to feel better about your visit knowing that you truly helped them out. Sure, clicking on their marked items ultimately isn't mandatory, but if you visit neighbors without a current goal's task in mind, why not give them the help they specifically ask for? I'm sure they'll appreciate it, and hey - they'll likely even return the favor. Everybody wins!
Will you use this help request feature to ask your friends for help in CityVille? Will you specifically look for hearts in your neighbors' towns when visiting, or will you continue to click on anything you'd like?
FarmVille Bug Report: Marans Chicken mastery isn't accurate, or real
Earlier today, we brought you a look at the Marans Chicken, an animal released as part of the current Parisian limited edition item theme in FarmVille. Here's something you may not have noticed though - the Marans Chicken looks like it can be mastered (that is, it has three mastery stars underneath it in the store), but don't get too excited just yet - Zynga has already swooped in and claimed that this is a bug.
Community Manager Grimwell has commented on the issue on the game's official forums, stating that Animal Mastery unfortunately isn't on a slow rollout, and the fact that the Marans Chicken appears to be masterable is "a bug." If you're determined to purchase one of these chickens to stock up on mastery points for the future, Grimwell states that's not such a good idea either, as those points "may not count toward the actual mastery when it's released."
We're told that we can consider this a brief preview of the feature (that is, what the stars will look like in the market), but really nothing else, as Zynga has marked this one as a known issue to stop players from wasting Farm Cash unnecessarily. If you like the chicken just as it is, then by all means go ahead and add one to your collection, but if you're solely in it for the animal mastery, you might want to hold onto your Farm Cash for now.
[Image Credit: Poultry Pages]
Did you notice that the Marans Chicken can be "mastered?" Did you purchase one thinking you could earn the mastery sign before anyone else?
Community Manager Grimwell has commented on the issue on the game's official forums, stating that Animal Mastery unfortunately isn't on a slow rollout, and the fact that the Marans Chicken appears to be masterable is "a bug." If you're determined to purchase one of these chickens to stock up on mastery points for the future, Grimwell states that's not such a good idea either, as those points "may not count toward the actual mastery when it's released."
We're told that we can consider this a brief preview of the feature (that is, what the stars will look like in the market), but really nothing else, as Zynga has marked this one as a known issue to stop players from wasting Farm Cash unnecessarily. If you like the chicken just as it is, then by all means go ahead and add one to your collection, but if you're solely in it for the animal mastery, you might want to hold onto your Farm Cash for now.
[Image Credit: Poultry Pages]
Did you notice that the Marans Chicken can be "mastered?" Did you purchase one thinking you could earn the mastery sign before anyone else?
PopCap fulfills one 10-year-old's awesome wish with Allied Star Police
This is the double whammy: both touching and badass at the same time. (How does PopCap do it?) The company's--recently acquired by EA--indie mobile games studio 4th & Battery has teamed up with 10-year-old Owain Weinert to create Allied Star Police for iOS devices. This 100 percent free reverse tower defense game was made to fulfill Weinerts wish submitted to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And, get this, the game is a blast.
Players create increasingly powerful units using constantly-generated cash to fend off the evil Flamoid alien race from planets in the galaxy. Vehicles range from blue ATVs with mounted machine guns to massive orange tanks that fire off massive rounds into your enemies' alien faces. The best route to victory is to always keep your four lanes of units evenly stocked up so as to not let any of the purple buggers in.
Once you reach the giant purple alien base, it's time to spend, spend spend. Keep up the spending and watch the missiles and explosions fly. This addictive, simple hook will last for three levels, though each one becomes increasingly difficult. In fact, this game is pretty darn challenging. And the fact that a 10-year-old going through as much as Weinert is made this game makes it that much more remarkable:
Allied Star Police
PopCap met Owain in April when Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Alaska & Washington told us about his wish to make a video game. Owain (which means "little warrior" in Welsh) was diagnosed with pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia last year and has gone through lots of difficult treatments. But his dad said that what he really wanted was to hang out with "real game designers". So we volunteered to help Owain make his video game during PopCamp.
This is just a glimpse at the story of how Owain made one darn impressive PopCap mobile game. Regardless of his troubles, this is extremely impressive design work, and he should be proud to call himself a game designer. (I know I couldn't even draw that well at 10, so you're light years ahead of most of us, kid.)
Allied Star Police
Click here to download Allied Star Police for iOS devices >
Have you tried Allied Star Police yet? What do you think of the games created so far at 4th & Battery? Which are your favorites?
Players create increasingly powerful units using constantly-generated cash to fend off the evil Flamoid alien race from planets in the galaxy. Vehicles range from blue ATVs with mounted machine guns to massive orange tanks that fire off massive rounds into your enemies' alien faces. The best route to victory is to always keep your four lanes of units evenly stocked up so as to not let any of the purple buggers in.
Once you reach the giant purple alien base, it's time to spend, spend spend. Keep up the spending and watch the missiles and explosions fly. This addictive, simple hook will last for three levels, though each one becomes increasingly difficult. In fact, this game is pretty darn challenging. And the fact that a 10-year-old going through as much as Weinert is made this game makes it that much more remarkable:
Allied Star Police
PopCap met Owain in April when Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Alaska & Washington told us about his wish to make a video game. Owain (which means "little warrior" in Welsh) was diagnosed with pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia last year and has gone through lots of difficult treatments. But his dad said that what he really wanted was to hang out with "real game designers". So we volunteered to help Owain make his video game during PopCamp.
This is just a glimpse at the story of how Owain made one darn impressive PopCap mobile game. Regardless of his troubles, this is extremely impressive design work, and he should be proud to call himself a game designer. (I know I couldn't even draw that well at 10, so you're light years ahead of most of us, kid.)
Allied Star Police
Click here to download Allied Star Police for iOS devices >
Have you tried Allied Star Police yet? What do you think of the games created so far at 4th & Battery? Which are your favorites?
CityVille Library Upgrades: Everything you need to know
If you're looking to boost the maximum population of your city in CityVille, without adding another building to what might be already cramped living quarters, you'll be happy to know that you can achieve the same outcome by simply upgrading your Library instead. Not to be confused with the College Library Upgrades, these new upgrades apply to the original Library, with the first upgrade seeing your building taken from 400 population to 500.
To achieve this, you'll need to fill five more positions in your Library's staff, by asking your friends to come and work with you. To be specific, your Library already has 10 staff members, and you need 15 to upgrade. Once that's done, the upgrade process isn't complete just yet, as you can upgrade from Level 2 to Level 3 by gathering 10 more staff to work with you (specifically, going from 15 to 25 staff members in total). Finishing this task will see your Library not only take its final visual form as a larger, more grand building, but will also increase the total population allowed by the building to 700.
Altogether, these Library upgrades may only add 300 citizens to your total maximum population, but since they don't require you to ask for dozens of different building ingredients, I think it evens itself out. We'll make sure to let you know when more building upgrades are released for your city, so keep checking back.
Have you started the Library upgrades in your city? What do you think of them - do they upgrade the population stat high enough, or should we be given more room for citizens for the work we put into upgrading?
To achieve this, you'll need to fill five more positions in your Library's staff, by asking your friends to come and work with you. To be specific, your Library already has 10 staff members, and you need 15 to upgrade. Once that's done, the upgrade process isn't complete just yet, as you can upgrade from Level 2 to Level 3 by gathering 10 more staff to work with you (specifically, going from 15 to 25 staff members in total). Finishing this task will see your Library not only take its final visual form as a larger, more grand building, but will also increase the total population allowed by the building to 700.
Altogether, these Library upgrades may only add 300 citizens to your total maximum population, but since they don't require you to ask for dozens of different building ingredients, I think it evens itself out. We'll make sure to let you know when more building upgrades are released for your city, so keep checking back.
Have you started the Library upgrades in your city? What do you think of them - do they upgrade the population stat high enough, or should we be given more room for citizens for the work we put into upgrading?
Thứ Sáu, 16 tháng 12, 2011
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Edrenee's farm has a little bit of everything
Previously this week, you folks had a couple complaints about Hemi 426's featured zoo farm. Though you agreed it was a huge FarmVille achievement, many of you folks thought it was just too cluttered and disorderly. In response, I present to you Edrenee's extremely organized farm.
While Edrenee's farm doesn't do anything incredibly artistic, you can't disagree that the orderly rows of crops and trees create a remarkable effect. It almost looks like a gardening enthusiast's back yard, with all kinds of crops neatly planted in rows. It's certainly a nice break from what we usually see: endless plantation-sized fields of the same crop. So even though it's not as creative as say, the dragon farm we featured a few weeks ago, it is a very nice FarmVille design that is certainly unique in its own right.
Finally, make sure you realize just how difficult it would be to coordinate all the crop grow times to take this photo. Very impressive Edrenee.
What do you think of Edrenee's farm?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
While Edrenee's farm doesn't do anything incredibly artistic, you can't disagree that the orderly rows of crops and trees create a remarkable effect. It almost looks like a gardening enthusiast's back yard, with all kinds of crops neatly planted in rows. It's certainly a nice break from what we usually see: endless plantation-sized fields of the same crop. So even though it's not as creative as say, the dragon farm we featured a few weeks ago, it is a very nice FarmVille design that is certainly unique in its own right.
Finally, make sure you realize just how difficult it would be to coordinate all the crop grow times to take this photo. Very impressive Edrenee.
What do you think of Edrenee's farm?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Playfish founder: We have redefined social games with The Sims Social
The Sims Social is just an arm's reach from being the number one game on Facebook, so this kind of logic is expected. In an interview with MCV, Playfish founder and co-GM Kristian Segerstrale said, "In bringing one of EA's most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games."
While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.
Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.
"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.
The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)
Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)?
While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.
Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.
"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.
The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)
Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)?
Empires & Allies Battle Blitz launches global PvP (and special prizes)
Finally, Zynga's answer to the growing legion of hardcore strategy games on Facebook, Empires & Allies, puts on the brass knuckles, so to speak. The developer has released Battle Blitz to the game, a feature that essentially allows you to invade (or be invaded by) any opposing Empire in the game. In other words, E&A finally has its own global PvP (player vs player) mode.
The feature appears on your tool bar to the bottom right of the screen with an icon that looks like two heads butting each other. Click on it to open the Battle Blitz menu. This replaces your Neighbor Bar for the time being with portraits of players that may or (most likely) may not be your Facebook friends. However, you must fight these players in succession--more on that later.
Once you click on the player, you will be taken to their Empire. Then, it's clobbering time as per usual. Click on a site to invade, and proceed to bring it to the ground. Once you successfully invade an opposing Empire, the Prize Machine will appear. Successfully invading Empires through Battle Blitz earns you Tokens to use in this feature for rewards like resources.
E&A Prize Machine
The reason you must invade Battle Blitz players in succession is that the higher you climb on the Battle Blitz ladder, the better your rewards will be from the Prize Machine. And just like normal invasions between friends, players can easily opt out of Battle Blitz by using your Immunity Tower or click on the white flag icon found to the left of the Battle Blitz bar. But look, this is war--why would you want to do that? What are you ... chicken?
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.
Have you participated in the Battle Blitz feature yet--what do you think? Is this the feature you've been waiting for in E&A, or what else do you think the game needs?
The feature appears on your tool bar to the bottom right of the screen with an icon that looks like two heads butting each other. Click on it to open the Battle Blitz menu. This replaces your Neighbor Bar for the time being with portraits of players that may or (most likely) may not be your Facebook friends. However, you must fight these players in succession--more on that later.
Once you click on the player, you will be taken to their Empire. Then, it's clobbering time as per usual. Click on a site to invade, and proceed to bring it to the ground. Once you successfully invade an opposing Empire, the Prize Machine will appear. Successfully invading Empires through Battle Blitz earns you Tokens to use in this feature for rewards like resources.
E&A Prize Machine
The reason you must invade Battle Blitz players in succession is that the higher you climb on the Battle Blitz ladder, the better your rewards will be from the Prize Machine. And just like normal invasions between friends, players can easily opt out of Battle Blitz by using your Immunity Tower or click on the white flag icon found to the left of the Battle Blitz bar. But look, this is war--why would you want to do that? What are you ... chicken?
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.
Have you participated in the Battle Blitz feature yet--what do you think? Is this the feature you've been waiting for in E&A, or what else do you think the game needs?
FarmVille Livestock Pen Animals re-released to fill your habitats
If you're looking for a slew of new (ok, re-released) animals to fill your new Livestock Pen in FarmVille, you'll want to check out the game's store within the next five days, as you can choose from a selection of re-released pigs, sheep and goats for a limited time. Here's the full lineup of re-released animals, along with their prices for your reference.
Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.
Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm?
Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.
Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm?
FarmVille Livestock Mystery Crate: What's inside?
As part of Zynga's attempt to make people care about the Livestock Pen in FarmVille, which, admittedly is a little hard (don't we already have dedicated storage buildings for both pigs and sheep?), it has released a Livestock Mystery Crate in the game's store containing six animals that can be stored inside your new pen. Now, the Livestock Pen can also store animals like goats or llamas, but unfortunately, only two items of these six re-released animals isn't some form of Pig or Sheep. Here's a full list so you see what I mean:
Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram
Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.
Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside?
Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram
Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.
Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside?
Thứ Tư, 14 tháng 12, 2011
ESRB soon gets to say, 'You must be this old to play this iPhone game'
With this bit of news, you're mileage may vary. This could be either the most depressing or comforting news you hear all day, dependent upon your age. The ESRB, or the Entertainment Software Rating Board, will roll out a content ratings system for iOS and Android. IndustryGamers reports that the ESRB will have help from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
The new system will standardize video game and app ratings across iOS and Android devices, which is admittedly a fragmented mess at the moment. While the App Store allows developers to choose ratings based on age, the Android Market features ratings with wording from "Everyone" to "High Maturity." With this system, mobile game creators would have to submit their games to the ESRB--just like they do with console and PC games--in order to receive a rating.
According to IndustryGamers, the ESRB has rated over 21,000 games since its inception in 1994. With the amount of games that hit the App Store and Android Market every week, that number is about to skyrocket. How this system will be enforced once employed is unknown, which is certainly a concern considering the amount of parents that let little Mary Sue play with the iPad.
Are you relieved or annoyed that mobile games are about to get their own standardized ratings system? How could the ESRB enforce such a system on the App Store and Android Market?
The new system will standardize video game and app ratings across iOS and Android devices, which is admittedly a fragmented mess at the moment. While the App Store allows developers to choose ratings based on age, the Android Market features ratings with wording from "Everyone" to "High Maturity." With this system, mobile game creators would have to submit their games to the ESRB--just like they do with console and PC games--in order to receive a rating.
According to IndustryGamers, the ESRB has rated over 21,000 games since its inception in 1994. With the amount of games that hit the App Store and Android Market every week, that number is about to skyrocket. How this system will be enforced once employed is unknown, which is certainly a concern considering the amount of parents that let little Mary Sue play with the iPad.
Are you relieved or annoyed that mobile games are about to get their own standardized ratings system? How could the ESRB enforce such a system on the App Store and Android Market?
Playdom will pull the plug on Social City next month
I hate to say it gamers, but it was only a matter of time. After launching Social City on Facebook back in the Spring of 2010, Playdom's city-building game skyrocketed in popularity and for a time sat on the top charts for most popular Facebook games. That popularity declined quickly however, and the game has continued to hemorrhage users up until now, with the game currently resting at just 270,000 monthly active players (20,000 daily active players, according to AppData).
While new content is still regularly pushed out for the game, one could argue that CityVille's release last year was the final straw for what would break its chance of a revival. It may have put up a hard fight, but Playdom is finally saying goodbye to its city-builder. Via emails that have now started circulating to players, we see that the game will officially close on December 20, 2011. There's no mention as to what will happen to any remaining City Bucks, the game's premium currency, but the ability to purchase more has seemingly been removed from the game (you'll receive an error message when attempting to go to the "Get City Bucks" page).
We can only assume that the reasoning behind the closure has been the mass exodus of players, along with any revenue they might have been providing, but Playdom is attempting to save existing players by advertising Gardens of Time and Gnome Town in the same breath as this closing announcement. "Unfortunately we feel the game has run its course," the email reads. "As we release new games, we hope to have your continued support and patronage!"
It's been fun Social City. Thanks for the memories.
Were you one of the faithful players that still latched to hope for the game's resurgence, or had you long ago abandoned the game for Zynga's CityVille or other city-builders on Facebook?
While new content is still regularly pushed out for the game, one could argue that CityVille's release last year was the final straw for what would break its chance of a revival. It may have put up a hard fight, but Playdom is finally saying goodbye to its city-builder. Via emails that have now started circulating to players, we see that the game will officially close on December 20, 2011. There's no mention as to what will happen to any remaining City Bucks, the game's premium currency, but the ability to purchase more has seemingly been removed from the game (you'll receive an error message when attempting to go to the "Get City Bucks" page).
We can only assume that the reasoning behind the closure has been the mass exodus of players, along with any revenue they might have been providing, but Playdom is attempting to save existing players by advertising Gardens of Time and Gnome Town in the same breath as this closing announcement. "Unfortunately we feel the game has run its course," the email reads. "As we release new games, we hope to have your continued support and patronage!"
It's been fun Social City. Thanks for the memories.
Were you one of the faithful players that still latched to hope for the game's resurgence, or had you long ago abandoned the game for Zynga's CityVille or other city-builders on Facebook?
Quote of the Moment: 'A brand is never a replacement for a good game'
Branding
That's all well and good, but it's also not to say that brands aren't "extremely important" to Facebook games today. Playfish GM John Earner made the quip to GamesIndustry.biz during a recent interview. According to Earner, the Facebook game space is growing increasingly crowded. In other words, big time creators like Zynga, Playfish and wooga have a competitive advantage.
"So I think brands are now extremely important, and I think that you either are a big player in the space already and you have an installed base of users, or you have a... man, otherwise I think you're in big trouble," Earner said to GI.biz. "It has just become a much more mature platform, and I'm not saying somebody can't rise up from the bottom--sure they can--but the barriers to entry now have changed in a big way and it's become a lot harder. I see that trend continuing, but at the end of the day, though, a brand is never a replacement for a good game. If you have a great product and a great brand, you'll have a lot of success."
Branding in Facebook games has become almost a norm among the top developers and games. While Zynga has been a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to branded games, the company has employed the pull of major celebrities and companies for some time now. And soon, the company will have its very first branded game: Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game.
We've been told before that the day of the indie game creator on Facebook is through. However, Earner may be right--just look at games like Weeds Social Club and Dexter Slice of Life. While the latter does add refreshing new gameplay, neither of which have exactly taken off, according to AppData. Sadly, it'll eventually be first instinct to see whether Feature Film A, TV Show B or Video Game C has a Facebook game. Check out the interview in full here to learn much more about The Sims Social.
Are you digging The Sims Social still? Are you excited or disappointed at the prospect of branding gaining popularity in social games?
That's all well and good, but it's also not to say that brands aren't "extremely important" to Facebook games today. Playfish GM John Earner made the quip to GamesIndustry.biz during a recent interview. According to Earner, the Facebook game space is growing increasingly crowded. In other words, big time creators like Zynga, Playfish and wooga have a competitive advantage.
"So I think brands are now extremely important, and I think that you either are a big player in the space already and you have an installed base of users, or you have a... man, otherwise I think you're in big trouble," Earner said to GI.biz. "It has just become a much more mature platform, and I'm not saying somebody can't rise up from the bottom--sure they can--but the barriers to entry now have changed in a big way and it's become a lot harder. I see that trend continuing, but at the end of the day, though, a brand is never a replacement for a good game. If you have a great product and a great brand, you'll have a lot of success."
Branding in Facebook games has become almost a norm among the top developers and games. While Zynga has been a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to branded games, the company has employed the pull of major celebrities and companies for some time now. And soon, the company will have its very first branded game: Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game.
We've been told before that the day of the indie game creator on Facebook is through. However, Earner may be right--just look at games like Weeds Social Club and Dexter Slice of Life. While the latter does add refreshing new gameplay, neither of which have exactly taken off, according to AppData. Sadly, it'll eventually be first instinct to see whether Feature Film A, TV Show B or Video Game C has a Facebook game. Check out the interview in full here to learn much more about The Sims Social.
Are you digging The Sims Social still? Are you excited or disappointed at the prospect of branding gaining popularity in social games?
Nexon's next social game, Zombie Misfits, looks for brains on Facebook
Alright, we thought it too: "Another zombie game?" But hold on just a second there, naysayers. Nexon's new Facebook game, Zombie Misfits, takes the whole zombie craze in a decidedly different direction. Co-developed by Canadian studio Antic Entertainment, this social take on what's quickly becoming a tired trend turns is a side-scrolling tower defense game.
Wait, according to a release, it's a "cartoon-style apocalyptic tower defense game with an RPG flare." Does that sound different enough for you? And if you ask us, the game's art style looks like something you'd easily find on Cartoon Network.
Ever since Nexon struck gold with MapleStory Adventures, the company has been bullish on Facebook games, but has taken its sweet time. (The publisher likely could have thrown its name on a number of Facebook games this year, but didn't.)
But back to the brain bustin'. Zombie Misfits has players defend survivors of the zombie apocalypse in two-dimensional zones against wave after wave of walking cadavers. To do so, you must place Defenders in key, predefined points in each level to kill off the walkers (thanks, The Walking Dead) before they reach the hovel of "breathers", as tutorial character Slim calls them.
The game features a number of different defenders like the Biker, a club-wielding badass type, and the pistol-toting Trooper--all of which can be modified and upgraded. Of course, you'll need to strategize which Defenders to place as you unlock them to fight the numerous types of zombies. And players can enlist the help of their friends, as per usual. But really, nothing beats the feeling of taking a giant chain saw to a morose mob of undead mouth-breathers.
Click here to play Zombie Misfits on Facebook Now >
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
Do you think there's room for another zombie game on Facebook? What do you think of the zombie craze overall--is it just a fad?
Wait, according to a release, it's a "cartoon-style apocalyptic tower defense game with an RPG flare." Does that sound different enough for you? And if you ask us, the game's art style looks like something you'd easily find on Cartoon Network.
Ever since Nexon struck gold with MapleStory Adventures, the company has been bullish on Facebook games, but has taken its sweet time. (The publisher likely could have thrown its name on a number of Facebook games this year, but didn't.)
But back to the brain bustin'. Zombie Misfits has players defend survivors of the zombie apocalypse in two-dimensional zones against wave after wave of walking cadavers. To do so, you must place Defenders in key, predefined points in each level to kill off the walkers (thanks, The Walking Dead) before they reach the hovel of "breathers", as tutorial character Slim calls them.
The game features a number of different defenders like the Biker, a club-wielding badass type, and the pistol-toting Trooper--all of which can be modified and upgraded. Of course, you'll need to strategize which Defenders to place as you unlock them to fight the numerous types of zombies. And players can enlist the help of their friends, as per usual. But really, nothing beats the feeling of taking a giant chain saw to a morose mob of undead mouth-breathers.
Click here to play Zombie Misfits on Facebook Now >
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
Do you think there's room for another zombie game on Facebook? What do you think of the zombie craze overall--is it just a fad?
With 11.1 million daily players, it's clear why Zynga is down with mobile
Zynga Mobile David Ko
CityVille creator Zynga has released 10 games across iOS and Android devices this year alone. (And that includes two varieties of CityVille and Words With Friends.) We all know that mobile is the future of gaming--and blah, blah, blah--but we still wondered why exactly Zynga has pushed mobile so hard. Well, how about the fact that it's drawn 11.1 million daily players?
That figure was revealed in the company's recently-amended filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission, according to Inside Mobile Apps. This new number, which includes all Zynga games on mobile devices, marks pretty significant growth considering the developer had 9.9 million daily players last quarter ending September. According to IMA, Zynga's most lucrative games are still Zynga Poker and Words With Friends, but we'll chalk this growth up to the three HTML5 games the company released last month.
And while this number is certainly impressive, it's still a distant second to Rovio's Angry Birds, which is said to tout 30 million daily players across all mobile devices. It's no wonder rumors are spreading that Zynga has taken a liking to the Finnish game developer entertainment company. Just this week alone, Zynga has released CityVille Holidaytown and Dream Zoo, so you can likely expect the same crazy pace going into 2012.
CityVille creator Zynga has released 10 games across iOS and Android devices this year alone. (And that includes two varieties of CityVille and Words With Friends.) We all know that mobile is the future of gaming--and blah, blah, blah--but we still wondered why exactly Zynga has pushed mobile so hard. Well, how about the fact that it's drawn 11.1 million daily players?
That figure was revealed in the company's recently-amended filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission, according to Inside Mobile Apps. This new number, which includes all Zynga games on mobile devices, marks pretty significant growth considering the developer had 9.9 million daily players last quarter ending September. According to IMA, Zynga's most lucrative games are still Zynga Poker and Words With Friends, but we'll chalk this growth up to the three HTML5 games the company released last month.
And while this number is certainly impressive, it's still a distant second to Rovio's Angry Birds, which is said to tout 30 million daily players across all mobile devices. It's no wonder rumors are spreading that Zynga has taken a liking to the Finnish game developer entertainment company. Just this week alone, Zynga has released CityVille Holidaytown and Dream Zoo, so you can likely expect the same crazy pace going into 2012.
Disney's cleaning house, Playdom's ESPNU College Town is next
Did you get the email too? Social City--um, never mind--Gardens of Time maker Playdom has announced in a mass email sent to players that ESPNU College Town will be closed for good this Dec. 20. According to the message (the game features a truncated version), Playdom feels that the game has run its course." And players already appear quite upset in the forums.
No information has been given on whether players will be able to transfer their existing premium in-game currency to another Playdom game nor whether players will be reimbursed for their money spent. And that fact seems to have players more upset than anything.
"What a waste for everyone who ever did anything with this game," player Dean, Johnstown State writes. "I'm ashamed I ever signed up. Get an email saying I was one of the game's best, well, I hate myself for the money I spent playing this POS game and what it became and, now, how it's going out."
ESPNU College Town was one of the first major branding attempts in Facebook games, which enjoyed considerable success in 2010. And, at least as far as we know, ESPNU was the first social game to receive TV advertisement. As of this writing, the game welcomes just 150,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData.
ESPNU College Town Closing Notice
This is the second game this week alone to get the axe, following Social City. A lack of players is certainly the primary reason, but you can imagine that Disney is looking to make room for its upcoming Facebook games to be developed by Playdom. It looks like the company's new social games head is already hard at work.
Were you a long time ESPNU College Town fan? How do you think Playdom should handle the shutting down of these games, and do you plan on picking up any other Playdom games?
No information has been given on whether players will be able to transfer their existing premium in-game currency to another Playdom game nor whether players will be reimbursed for their money spent. And that fact seems to have players more upset than anything.
"What a waste for everyone who ever did anything with this game," player Dean, Johnstown State writes. "I'm ashamed I ever signed up. Get an email saying I was one of the game's best, well, I hate myself for the money I spent playing this POS game and what it became and, now, how it's going out."
ESPNU College Town was one of the first major branding attempts in Facebook games, which enjoyed considerable success in 2010. And, at least as far as we know, ESPNU was the first social game to receive TV advertisement. As of this writing, the game welcomes just 150,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData.
ESPNU College Town Closing Notice
This is the second game this week alone to get the axe, following Social City. A lack of players is certainly the primary reason, but you can imagine that Disney is looking to make room for its upcoming Facebook games to be developed by Playdom. It looks like the company's new social games head is already hard at work.
Were you a long time ESPNU College Town fan? How do you think Playdom should handle the shutting down of these games, and do you plan on picking up any other Playdom games?
In case your life somehow lacks zombies, Zombie Lane is on iOS
Zombie Lane on iPhone
In 2011 alone, pop culture has provided all the training videos and simulators we'll ever need to survive the zombie apocalypse. Keeping with that lovely tradition, Millionaire City maker Digital Chocolate launched its second most popular social game, Zombie Lane, to iPhone and iPad. This mobile version looks nearly identical to its Facebook counterpart, though it is undoubtedly a visual upgrade to the original.
"Zombie Lane has been a hit game on Facebook - with 17 million cumulative users so far eliminating more than 6 billion Zombies," Digital Chocolate president Marc Metis said in a release. "Players are looking to play on their device at their convenience and on their terms, and Zombie Lane for Apple mobile devices lets them do that with the best of all the Zombie games on these platforms."
Zombie Lane on iPhone in action
However, the pocket variety of Zombie Lane looks and sounds as if it plays exactly as it does on Facebook, based on these first screen shots. Players can enlist the help of their friends through Facebook Connect and Game Center to fend off encroaching cadavers as they rebuild their homes in the midst of the zombie invasion. (Sound familiar?) With an interface that's nearly indistinguishable from the web version, we can't help but think this is the same game, but tinier and prettier.
That could be exactly what players are looking for, but between The Walking Dead, Zombie Misfits, the numerous zombie games on consoles and even Zombie Lane on Facebook we unfortunately doubt that. Perhaps the already-teased Downtown feature will provide that twist we're all clamoring for. And it's free, so what the hey?
Click here to download Zombie Lane on iPhone or iPad for Free Now >
Are you a fan of Zombie Lane for Facebook? Are you psyched to try the game on iPhone, or are you slowly coming down with zombie fatigue?
In 2011 alone, pop culture has provided all the training videos and simulators we'll ever need to survive the zombie apocalypse. Keeping with that lovely tradition, Millionaire City maker Digital Chocolate launched its second most popular social game, Zombie Lane, to iPhone and iPad. This mobile version looks nearly identical to its Facebook counterpart, though it is undoubtedly a visual upgrade to the original.
"Zombie Lane has been a hit game on Facebook - with 17 million cumulative users so far eliminating more than 6 billion Zombies," Digital Chocolate president Marc Metis said in a release. "Players are looking to play on their device at their convenience and on their terms, and Zombie Lane for Apple mobile devices lets them do that with the best of all the Zombie games on these platforms."
Zombie Lane on iPhone in action
However, the pocket variety of Zombie Lane looks and sounds as if it plays exactly as it does on Facebook, based on these first screen shots. Players can enlist the help of their friends through Facebook Connect and Game Center to fend off encroaching cadavers as they rebuild their homes in the midst of the zombie invasion. (Sound familiar?) With an interface that's nearly indistinguishable from the web version, we can't help but think this is the same game, but tinier and prettier.
That could be exactly what players are looking for, but between The Walking Dead, Zombie Misfits, the numerous zombie games on consoles and even Zombie Lane on Facebook we unfortunately doubt that. Perhaps the already-teased Downtown feature will provide that twist we're all clamoring for. And it's free, so what the hey?
Click here to download Zombie Lane on iPhone or iPad for Free Now >
Are you a fan of Zombie Lane for Facebook? Are you psyched to try the game on iPhone, or are you slowly coming down with zombie fatigue?
Frogger may be 30 years old, but he's leaping onto the iPhone for free
Look, for an amphibian that insists on leaping into oncoming traffic, Frogger is damn old. But Frogger turns 30 this year, and he's determined to ring in the milestone with a bang. Konami has released Frogger Free for iOS on the App Store, a Facebook-connected version of the classic (with three new modes, mind you) for the ultimate price of zero dollars and zero cents.
For ultimate nostalgia trip, players can enjoy Frogger in all its retro glory with multiple control styles including swipe, touch and tilt. Those control options extend into the game's three new gameplay modes: Turbo, Nighttime and Inferno. Turbo we imagine simply sends those cars and trucks into overdrive, while Nighttime seems to simply change the color scheme. Inferno, however, leaves a trail of flames in Frogger's wake that limits players' moves as they lead more frogs across the highway.
This version of Frogger features and Facebook Connect, meaning players can share their accomplishments with their friends across local, friendly and global leaderboards. The game also features 10 achievements for players to collect, but we all know none will be as prestigious as surpassing the ultimate high score: 896,980 points. This game follows Frogger's first original game on Facebook, Frogger Pinball. With two new, free ways to celebrate how Frogger's miraculous survival of 30 years of jay-hopping, you pretty much have no excuse.
For ultimate nostalgia trip, players can enjoy Frogger in all its retro glory with multiple control styles including swipe, touch and tilt. Those control options extend into the game's three new gameplay modes: Turbo, Nighttime and Inferno. Turbo we imagine simply sends those cars and trucks into overdrive, while Nighttime seems to simply change the color scheme. Inferno, however, leaves a trail of flames in Frogger's wake that limits players' moves as they lead more frogs across the highway.
This version of Frogger features and Facebook Connect, meaning players can share their accomplishments with their friends across local, friendly and global leaderboards. The game also features 10 achievements for players to collect, but we all know none will be as prestigious as surpassing the ultimate high score: 896,980 points. This game follows Frogger's first original game on Facebook, Frogger Pinball. With two new, free ways to celebrate how Frogger's miraculous survival of 30 years of jay-hopping, you pretty much have no excuse.
Will the Ultima maker's new social game appeal to all forms of gamer?
That's sounds pretty ... ambitious (to say the least), but that seems to be what game designer Richard Garriott is going for. During a recent interview with IndustryGamers, Ultima creator Garriott somehow revealed his master plan for how he's going to change social gaming without revealing anything specific, really. While it's too early to make serious judgment calls, his idea sounds downright awesome.
At least on paper, it sounds as if players will be able to carve out their own role in a fantasy world that rewards several different types of play. Basically, members of a group of friends can each take on different roles--be it farmer, shop owner or even adventurer--and somehow contribute to the overall world both in real time and asynchronously.
"And allowing it to be asynchronous interaction as well as synchronous interaction," Garriott told IndustryGamers. "So if you're the farmer, and you're playing your FarmVille style of gameplay, and that's what you like, that's fine, and you can either sell it on your produce stand or come over to my cafe and sell it to me directly, but either way, if you're offline, me or my chef can come over to your farm stand or to you personally if you're online, and buy the produce we need, and in either case we're gonna sell meals to the adventurer that just came through and might be bringing back the special dragon egg to make the greatest omelet that's ever been made in the history of the world! I can now make it in my cafe based on the stuff the adventurer brought back."
In essence, Garriott's Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will somehow allow the FarmVille player, the Cafe World fan and the Skyrim fanatic to all play the same game in their own way and help one another. If developer Portalarium can live up to these ambitions, then count us in.
At least on paper, it sounds as if players will be able to carve out their own role in a fantasy world that rewards several different types of play. Basically, members of a group of friends can each take on different roles--be it farmer, shop owner or even adventurer--and somehow contribute to the overall world both in real time and asynchronously.
"And allowing it to be asynchronous interaction as well as synchronous interaction," Garriott told IndustryGamers. "So if you're the farmer, and you're playing your FarmVille style of gameplay, and that's what you like, that's fine, and you can either sell it on your produce stand or come over to my cafe and sell it to me directly, but either way, if you're offline, me or my chef can come over to your farm stand or to you personally if you're online, and buy the produce we need, and in either case we're gonna sell meals to the adventurer that just came through and might be bringing back the special dragon egg to make the greatest omelet that's ever been made in the history of the world! I can now make it in my cafe based on the stuff the adventurer brought back."
In essence, Garriott's Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will somehow allow the FarmVille player, the Cafe World fan and the Skyrim fanatic to all play the same game in their own way and help one another. If developer Portalarium can live up to these ambitions, then count us in.
Play the other football on Thanksgiving with Top Eleven on iOS
Sorry, friends around the world, but we only say that because Thanksgiving is originally an American holiday, after all. Nordeus has finally released its hit football/soccer game Top Eleven on iPhone and iPad for the fine price of free. Based on a brief description of the game provided by Nordeus, this looks to be simply a port of the Android version released in October.
A port this game may be, but one that will likely expand the game's player base. Just like before, players can create their own football clubs and take on nearly every aspect of the process as manager. And when we say "every aspect," we mean everything from training players to getting sponsorship for the team. More importantly, however, is that Top Eleven veterans can access their existing football clubs from Facebook, iPhone or Android and interact with their friends on any said platform.
"We aim to provide a seamless gaming experience for our Top Eleven fans no matter what device you're using." Nordeus CEO Branko Milutinović said in a release. "You can kick off a Top Eleven game on a desktop, and if you have to pop out at half-time you can now continue to follow your game on your iPhone."
Top Eleven iPhone in action
According to the developer, the Top Eleven is enjoyed by 3.5 million monthly players since its Android release last month, and Nordeus clearly looks to see that number grow through the App Store. So, now you can play football while watching football tomorrow ... just don't tell the rabid NFL fans in your life when they come to visit.
A port this game may be, but one that will likely expand the game's player base. Just like before, players can create their own football clubs and take on nearly every aspect of the process as manager. And when we say "every aspect," we mean everything from training players to getting sponsorship for the team. More importantly, however, is that Top Eleven veterans can access their existing football clubs from Facebook, iPhone or Android and interact with their friends on any said platform.
"We aim to provide a seamless gaming experience for our Top Eleven fans no matter what device you're using." Nordeus CEO Branko Milutinović said in a release. "You can kick off a Top Eleven game on a desktop, and if you have to pop out at half-time you can now continue to follow your game on your iPhone."
Top Eleven iPhone in action
According to the developer, the Top Eleven is enjoyed by 3.5 million monthly players since its Android release last month, and Nordeus clearly looks to see that number grow through the App Store. So, now you can play football while watching football tomorrow ... just don't tell the rabid NFL fans in your life when they come to visit.
Top Eleven meets a new challenger in The Sun Football Legends
Come on, you know you were thinking it too. Oddly enough, The Sun--one the UK's leading tabloids--has launched its first Facebook game. Developed by social game maker Enteraction, The Sun Football Legends allows players to create their own legendary soccer football player both on and off the field. The game attempts to bring skill-based gameplay to sports games on Facebook, but you be the judge of whether that's successful.
Players are tasked with performing well in key roles during a given football match like successfully head-butting a ball or making a simple goal through timed clicking challenges. (Let's just say we're thankful you're given the option to simulate these sequences.) Successful games have players level up their completely personalized football legends with attribute points, and allow them to purchase clothes and other items for their legends. Players can eventually create a team full of legends.
"We are hugely excited about launching this game with The Sun, and our innovative partnership with them," Enteraction managing director Andy Rogers said in a release. "They have shown time and time again that they understand their audience and how to market products which exceed expectations. They are market leaders in other gaming sectors and we are confident that this will be no exception."
Sun Football Legends Free Header
Outside the field, players can take their legends on outings that could draw a few laughs (or a scandal all their own). However, players can only make moves in these outings once an hour, and there isn't much to them other than choosing an option out of three. While your mileage with Sun Football Legends may vary, this could be the first newspaper to launch a Facebook game. So, the game is worth a shot if only to see whether this is a trend other newspapers should hop on ... or avoid entirely.
Players are tasked with performing well in key roles during a given football match like successfully head-butting a ball or making a simple goal through timed clicking challenges. (Let's just say we're thankful you're given the option to simulate these sequences.) Successful games have players level up their completely personalized football legends with attribute points, and allow them to purchase clothes and other items for their legends. Players can eventually create a team full of legends.
"We are hugely excited about launching this game with The Sun, and our innovative partnership with them," Enteraction managing director Andy Rogers said in a release. "They have shown time and time again that they understand their audience and how to market products which exceed expectations. They are market leaders in other gaming sectors and we are confident that this will be no exception."
Sun Football Legends Free Header
Outside the field, players can take their legends on outings that could draw a few laughs (or a scandal all their own). However, players can only make moves in these outings once an hour, and there isn't much to them other than choosing an option out of three. While your mileage with Sun Football Legends may vary, this could be the first newspaper to launch a Facebook game. So, the game is worth a shot if only to see whether this is a trend other newspapers should hop on ... or avoid entirely.
Want some free Android games? Better follow Gameloft this weekend
The insane industrious lot of you are probably amidst the shopper hordes, taking great advantage of today's sales. The rest of us? Well, we're either stuck at work or taking the lazy route, as in waiting for Cyber Monday. But the Android gaming crowd doesn't even have to leave the bed today: Gameloft is giving one Android game away for free today through Monday each day for just two hours at a time.
All you need to do is follow Gameloft's Android Twitter account, @GameloftAndroid, for when the developer opens the floodgates. Of course, Gameloft won't tell when the fateful tweets will go out each day, so you'll just have to check Twitter every 30 minutes or so, which isn't that big a deal. As of this writing, the @GameloftAndroid account hasn't been updated at all, so we're guessing the only tweets coming from this account over the next few days will be those for free games.
And if you happen to already own the games that go up for grabs for the fine price of "nada", every single Android game from Gameloft will be available for $0.99 this weekend. (And yes, that includes HD versions of its games designed for tablets.) So don't be blue about missing out on Black Friday--it's crazy town out there. At least you can get some free games out of it. (Just hope one of them isn't Order & Chaos Online, kay?)
Are you an avid Android gamer? What do you think of Gameloft's games on the platfor
All you need to do is follow Gameloft's Android Twitter account, @GameloftAndroid, for when the developer opens the floodgates. Of course, Gameloft won't tell when the fateful tweets will go out each day, so you'll just have to check Twitter every 30 minutes or so, which isn't that big a deal. As of this writing, the @GameloftAndroid account hasn't been updated at all, so we're guessing the only tweets coming from this account over the next few days will be those for free games.
And if you happen to already own the games that go up for grabs for the fine price of "nada", every single Android game from Gameloft will be available for $0.99 this weekend. (And yes, that includes HD versions of its games designed for tablets.) So don't be blue about missing out on Black Friday--it's crazy town out there. At least you can get some free games out of it. (Just hope one of them isn't Order & Chaos Online, kay?)
Are you an avid Android gamer? What do you think of Gameloft's games on the platfor
Facebook to host social games hack-a-thon, hopefully to inspire variety
Let's face it, people: Things are getting a tad stale around here. (At least when it comes to popular Facebook games.) Facebook has said it, the developers have said it and we know you readers have, too. Finally, Facebook has decided to take the problem by the reins, and has announced a social game hack event in its headquarters in Palo Alot, Calif. Facebook wanted a social smörgåsbord, so it decided to try and make one itself.
The all-day event, held on Dec. 8 at Facebook HQ, will let developers get hands-on experience with developing Facebook games with the Facebook team, who will share best practices with the developers. Facebook specifically mentions the Open Graph, which developers like Zynga have already taken part in with games like CastleVille. But hopefully some of the company's desire for variety in Facebook games will rub off on the bigger folks. (So, more games like this?)
At the end of the event, developers with the most impressive games will be rewarded with prizes, and the announcement specifically mentions that the games do not have to be made from scratch at the event. Those interested can register for the event right here, but Facebook asks for developers only. What we're more interested in is the potential long term results, anyway.
[Image Credit: Eva Meszaros]
Do you agree that the Facebook game space needs more visible variety? What other types of games would you like to see on Facebook?
The all-day event, held on Dec. 8 at Facebook HQ, will let developers get hands-on experience with developing Facebook games with the Facebook team, who will share best practices with the developers. Facebook specifically mentions the Open Graph, which developers like Zynga have already taken part in with games like CastleVille. But hopefully some of the company's desire for variety in Facebook games will rub off on the bigger folks. (So, more games like this?)
At the end of the event, developers with the most impressive games will be rewarded with prizes, and the announcement specifically mentions that the games do not have to be made from scratch at the event. Those interested can register for the event right here, but Facebook asks for developers only. What we're more interested in is the potential long term results, anyway.
[Image Credit: Eva Meszaros]
Do you agree that the Facebook game space needs more visible variety? What other types of games would you like to see on Facebook?
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?
Thứ Hai, 12 tháng 12, 2011
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!
Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!
Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games
A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Disney XD Games
Disney Friends for Change Games
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
Disney XD News
DISNEY XD TO PREMIERE “FORT BOYARD – ULTIMATE CHALLENGE,” A REALITY ADVENTURE SERIES ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 17
Geno Segers (Disney XD’s “Pair of Kings”) and popular British television presenter Laura Hamilton (“Dancing On Ice”) host an exciting competition requiring brainpower, courage and teamwork, “Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge,” a 10-part series premiering MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET/PT), with a thrilling finale MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Based on the international game show phenomenon “Fort Boyard,” the series is set in a 19th century sea fort off the coast of France. It introduces six teams — 24 teens from the United States and the United Kingdom — who team up for a tournament where only one team will ultimately get the key to unlock the historic fort’s hidden treasures and win the honor of calling themselves “the conquerors of Fort Boyard.”
The reality adventure series marks the first kids’ version of the popular game show which premiered more than 20 years ago and has since been produced in over 38 countries worldwide.
In the premiere episode, team members from the Red Vipers and Yellow Scorpions compete in the first round of challenges to find out which team has what it takes to move on to become the conquerors of the fort.
“Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge” is produced by Zodiak Media Group’s production companies The Foundation and Adventure Line Productions, who created the concept for the original “Fort Boyard” and have been producing the series for 22 years.
The executive producers are Nigel Pickard and Ged Allen for The Foundation, Pierre Godde for Adventure Line Productions and Jamila Metran for CiTV. The producer is Steve Pinhay.
The series will be televised on Disney XD cable and satellite channels around the world (excluding France and the Nordics) and CiTV in the UK.
About “Fort Boyard”
“Fort Boyard” is the most successful adventure game show in the world, having sold to over 30 territories, while dominating France 2′s primetime summer schedule every year since 1990. The action takes place in an imposing fortress built in the middle of the ocean. This provides the perfect backdrop for strenuous, against-the-clock physical challenges and mind-boggling riddles, featuring strange characters and fearsome animals. All this and more awaits those attempting to reach the Treasure Room! Only the fittest and most intelligent contestants can hope to conquer Fort Boyard.
About Disney XD:
Disney XD is a basic cable channel and multi-platform brand showcasing a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for Kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor. Disney XD branded content spans television, online, mobile and VOD platforms. The programming includes series, movies and short-form, as well as sports-themed programming developed with ESPN. In the U.S., disney channel XD is seen on a 24-hour, advertiser supported network that reaches over 78 million households via its basic cable and satellite affiliates. There are 22 other Disney XD Games channels around the world.
Geno Segers (Disney XD’s “Pair of Kings”) and popular British television presenter Laura Hamilton (“Dancing On Ice”) host an exciting competition requiring brainpower, courage and teamwork, “Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge,” a 10-part series premiering MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET/PT), with a thrilling finale MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Based on the international game show phenomenon “Fort Boyard,” the series is set in a 19th century sea fort off the coast of France. It introduces six teams — 24 teens from the United States and the United Kingdom — who team up for a tournament where only one team will ultimately get the key to unlock the historic fort’s hidden treasures and win the honor of calling themselves “the conquerors of Fort Boyard.”
The reality adventure series marks the first kids’ version of the popular game show which premiered more than 20 years ago and has since been produced in over 38 countries worldwide.
In the premiere episode, team members from the Red Vipers and Yellow Scorpions compete in the first round of challenges to find out which team has what it takes to move on to become the conquerors of the fort.
“Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge” is produced by Zodiak Media Group’s production companies The Foundation and Adventure Line Productions, who created the concept for the original “Fort Boyard” and have been producing the series for 22 years.
The executive producers are Nigel Pickard and Ged Allen for The Foundation, Pierre Godde for Adventure Line Productions and Jamila Metran for CiTV. The producer is Steve Pinhay.
The series will be televised on Disney XD cable and satellite channels around the world (excluding France and the Nordics) and CiTV in the UK.
About “Fort Boyard”
“Fort Boyard” is the most successful adventure game show in the world, having sold to over 30 territories, while dominating France 2′s primetime summer schedule every year since 1990. The action takes place in an imposing fortress built in the middle of the ocean. This provides the perfect backdrop for strenuous, against-the-clock physical challenges and mind-boggling riddles, featuring strange characters and fearsome animals. All this and more awaits those attempting to reach the Treasure Room! Only the fittest and most intelligent contestants can hope to conquer Fort Boyard.
About Disney XD:
Disney XD is a basic cable channel and multi-platform brand showcasing a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for Kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor. Disney XD branded content spans television, online, mobile and VOD platforms. The programming includes series, movies and short-form, as well as sports-themed programming developed with ESPN. In the U.S., disney channel XD is seen on a 24-hour, advertiser supported network that reaches over 78 million households via its basic cable and satellite affiliates. There are 22 other Disney XD Games channels around the world.
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
angry birds for pc
activate free angry birds for pc
angry birds FLASH SCAM
angry-birds-online scam
free angry birds games full version for window xp
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
angry birds for pc
activate free angry birds for pc
angry birds FLASH SCAM
angry-birds-online scam
free angry birds games full version for window xp
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Thứ Sáu, 9 tháng 12, 2011
Rovio goes nuts for branding: Angry Birds new pistachio-peddling game
Yet somehow ... it just feels right. Rovio and Wonderful Pistachios have joined forces to release The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio, a branded Angry Birds game playable on the nut-seller's website through Google's Chrome browser. Rovio calls this the developer's first fully-branded Angry Birds game, as it was built from the ground up with Wonderful Pistachios in mind.
Rovio told Mashable that this is different from Angry Birds Rio, which just received its final update, since characters were integrated into that game. We still don't really see the difference, but moving right along. In this web version of Angry Birds, players must crack open pistachios and crush enemy pigs across five new levels available through Dec. 31.
But there's more incentive to play this variety of Angry Birds than to simply feed the need. By playing The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio, players have the chance of winning a total of $300,000 in prizes. The goodies range from a year's supply of Wonderful Pistachios to Angry Birds plush toys and $25,000 in cash, but you need to get to at least Level 3 to qualify. From then on, you can invite your friends on Facebook to get extra attempts at each level, and more chances at prizes.
Angry Birds Pistachio game
This all started when the Angry Birds were featured in a Wonderful Pistachios commercial. But Rovio is certainly no stranger to branding: The company has released everything from Angry Birds t-shirts to a cookbook, and plans to release a feature-length film by 2014. Making sure everyone and their mother has heard of you is certainly a fine strategy to soar past 500 million downloads.
Click here to play Angry Birds: The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio (Chrome Users Only) Now >
Are you still and Angry Birds fan after all this time? What do you think of these five new Angry Birds levels?
Rovio told Mashable that this is different from Angry Birds Rio, which just received its final update, since characters were integrated into that game. We still don't really see the difference, but moving right along. In this web version of Angry Birds, players must crack open pistachios and crush enemy pigs across five new levels available through Dec. 31.
But there's more incentive to play this variety of Angry Birds than to simply feed the need. By playing The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio, players have the chance of winning a total of $300,000 in prizes. The goodies range from a year's supply of Wonderful Pistachios to Angry Birds plush toys and $25,000 in cash, but you need to get to at least Level 3 to qualify. From then on, you can invite your friends on Facebook to get extra attempts at each level, and more chances at prizes.
Angry Birds Pistachio game
This all started when the Angry Birds were featured in a Wonderful Pistachios commercial. But Rovio is certainly no stranger to branding: The company has released everything from Angry Birds t-shirts to a cookbook, and plans to release a feature-length film by 2014. Making sure everyone and their mother has heard of you is certainly a fine strategy to soar past 500 million downloads.
Click here to play Angry Birds: The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio (Chrome Users Only) Now >
Are you still and Angry Birds fan after all this time? What do you think of these five new Angry Birds levels?
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