Capcom’s fighting game guru Seth Killian says it’s kind of cheap, but you can play as Galactus in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. He showed off that feature today in a trailer that showed the devourer of worlds giving Wolverine a beatdown.
We caught this at the New York Comic Con and, as you can probably tell, the crowd loved it. UvMC:3 will be out in late November in the US for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Thứ Tư, 26 tháng 10, 2011
Vita Pre-Orders Start In Japan. Was It Complete Chaos?
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Vita wasn’t the only thing kicking off today. Several new toys from Bandai went on sale today as well as One Piece and Tiger & Bunny figures. Retailers had signs for both the Vita and the toys, and at many stores, the lines consisted of both customers.
One line I did not get to check out was the Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda, which typically can draw hundreds — over even over a thousand for hardware launches. By the time, I arrived, those waiting in line had been moved inside to wait. The security guard I spoke with had no idea how many were waiting. Though, I haven’t heard any estimates, I would not be surprised if the line was in the hundreds. Big stores get more in stock and thus, usually have bigger lines.
One line that Kotaku wasn’t completely able to check out was the Bic Camera in Tokyo’s Yurakucho, where Sony held its official PS3 launch. The store, which was supposed to open at 10am, started pre-orders early. By the time we arrived, there were 20 or 30 people lined up for Vita pre-orders. It’s hard to judge how long the line originally was.
Generally, it is also hard to judge how hardware will do these days, especially with the advent of online pre-orders. I do think the PS Vita will be hard to come by when it launches on December 17 in Japan — especially as Sony flogs the product more and more on television. If you haven’t gotten a pre-order so far today, there still might be time.
One line I did not get to check out was the Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda, which typically can draw hundreds — over even over a thousand for hardware launches. By the time, I arrived, those waiting in line had been moved inside to wait. The security guard I spoke with had no idea how many were waiting. Though, I haven’t heard any estimates, I would not be surprised if the line was in the hundreds. Big stores get more in stock and thus, usually have bigger lines.
One line that Kotaku wasn’t completely able to check out was the Bic Camera in Tokyo’s Yurakucho, where Sony held its official PS3 launch. The store, which was supposed to open at 10am, started pre-orders early. By the time we arrived, there were 20 or 30 people lined up for Vita pre-orders. It’s hard to judge how long the line originally was.
Generally, it is also hard to judge how hardware will do these days, especially with the advent of online pre-orders. I do think the PS Vita will be hard to come by when it launches on December 17 in Japan — especially as Sony flogs the product more and more on television. If you haven’t gotten a pre-order so far today, there still might be time.
Thứ Ba, 25 tháng 10, 2011
LEGO Gears Of War Is As Amazing As It Sounds
Animation team Kooberz Studios figured, you know, all LEGO ever cover is kid’s franchises. There’s never anything with real gore in it. So they whipped up their own LEGO Gears of War video.
And it’s pretty great.
Clocking in at just under two minutes, the Locust could have been better, but Marcus and the way they incorporate game effects like the patented “Roadie Run” more than make up for that.
If you like what you see, you can check out a making-of video here
And it’s pretty great.
Clocking in at just under two minutes, the Locust could have been better, but Marcus and the way they incorporate game effects like the patented “Roadie Run” more than make up for that.
If you like what you see, you can check out a making-of video here
Mooncraft Is Like Minecraft. On The Moon.
There’s a point that a shameless rip-off of a more well-known, established game can be not quite shameless enough to be barred from Apple’s App Store. And Mooncraft knows the point well.
The game is a shameless rip-off of indie smash hit Minecraft. Utterly shameless. From the world design to your inventory management to your movement to the art style, this is Minecraft, only on the Moon, and it’s called Mooncraft, not Minecraft.
If you can get over the blatant intellectual property theft on display, Mooncraft actually serves a very practical purpose, in that it gives iOS gamers a smooth, stable Minecraft-esque experience on their phones or tablet. I mean, instead of building a house you’re building a base, and instead of being some guy you’re now some astronaut, but the gist of the games are almost identical: forage, build, survive.
The game is a shameless rip-off of indie smash hit Minecraft. Utterly shameless. From the world design to your inventory management to your movement to the art style, this is Minecraft, only on the Moon, and it’s called Mooncraft, not Minecraft.
If you can get over the blatant intellectual property theft on display, Mooncraft actually serves a very practical purpose, in that it gives iOS gamers a smooth, stable Minecraft-esque experience on their phones or tablet. I mean, instead of building a house you’re building a base, and instead of being some guy you’re now some astronaut, but the gist of the games are almost identical: forage, build, survive.
Should You Buy Rocksmith? No.
Today marks the release of Ubisoft’s Rocksmith, a music game that may seem a bit on the late end of the Great Music Game Craze of 2009. All the same, it comes with a tantalising promise: it allows players to plug a real guitar into their game console via a 1/4 inch-to-USB cable and play real notes along with the game.
This is an important step away from the plastic instruments of Rock Band — even the Fender “pro guitar” that was sold with Rock Band 3 used a MIDI output and not an analogue output. The ability to plug one’s own guitar into a PS3 or 360 to learn songs sounds pretty cool. But what do our guts say? It’s Gut Check time!
This is an important step away from the plastic instruments of Rock Band — even the Fender “pro guitar” that was sold with Rock Band 3 used a MIDI output and not an analogue output. The ability to plug one’s own guitar into a PS3 or 360 to learn songs sounds pretty cool. But what do our guts say? It’s Gut Check time!
Thứ Hai, 24 tháng 10, 2011
Counter-Strike Global Offensive America Vs Europe Throw Down
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had its first official tournament over the weekend at the New York Comic-Con.
While I showed you a few minutes of play, here’s the full one-hour, blow-by-blow brought to you by the guys over at ESL TV. The tourney took place as part of the Intel Extreme Masters Global Challenge New York
While I showed you a few minutes of play, here’s the full one-hour, blow-by-blow brought to you by the guys over at ESL TV. The tourney took place as part of the Intel Extreme Masters Global Challenge New York
The World’s Best Donkey Kong Players Throw Down In The Kong Off
In Real Life
The World’s Best Donkey Kong Players Throw Down In The Kong Off
By Evan Narcisse on October 20, 2011 at 4:40 AM
Has any game has as much celluloid devoted to it as Donkey Kong? First we had Seth Gordon’s brilliant The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Then we got the feature short Dr Kong about Hank Chien, the guy who unseated Steve Wiebe to become the new DK record holder.
Now comes The Kong Off, the film that shows the same competition where Chien won against the other Jumpman-controlling challengers. The competition happens at Richie Knucklez Arcade Games, owned by the man who just set a new record for Space Invaders. Apparently, there’s something in the air over there in Flemington, NJ.
The Kong Off‘s rather short but it’s interesting to see how little animosity there is between Chien, Wiebe and Mitchell. I guess getting your elite classic arcade skills recognised brings out the best in people.
The World’s Best Donkey Kong Players Throw Down In The Kong Off
By Evan Narcisse on October 20, 2011 at 4:40 AM
Has any game has as much celluloid devoted to it as Donkey Kong? First we had Seth Gordon’s brilliant The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Then we got the feature short Dr Kong about Hank Chien, the guy who unseated Steve Wiebe to become the new DK record holder.
Now comes The Kong Off, the film that shows the same competition where Chien won against the other Jumpman-controlling challengers. The competition happens at Richie Knucklez Arcade Games, owned by the man who just set a new record for Space Invaders. Apparently, there’s something in the air over there in Flemington, NJ.
The Kong Off‘s rather short but it’s interesting to see how little animosity there is between Chien, Wiebe and Mitchell. I guess getting your elite classic arcade skills recognised brings out the best in people.
An Owner’s Guide To Surviving Dark Souls
Some of the fun of playing Dark Souls, and Demon’s Souls before it, is the spectacle of the game and the sheer confusion you might feel when you first drop into the unforgiving world created by From Software.
But that’s not for everybody. Some people don’t like to play their way through a game trial and error. I know, I know, those people are crazy, but it’s still a valid approach to gaming.
For those folks, the ones who like a little help, we present you with the official Dark Souls Quest Log, a glossy mag sent to reviewers to help them through the tougher, early bits of the game.
Obviously, this contains some spoilers and a bit of hand-holding, so don’t read it if you’re not up for that.
But that’s not for everybody. Some people don’t like to play their way through a game trial and error. I know, I know, those people are crazy, but it’s still a valid approach to gaming.
For those folks, the ones who like a little help, we present you with the official Dark Souls Quest Log, a glossy mag sent to reviewers to help them through the tougher, early bits of the game.
Obviously, this contains some spoilers and a bit of hand-holding, so don’t read it if you’re not up for that.
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 10, 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.
Reviews: Writing for different types of gamers
Almost every gaming site that is out there has their own system when it comes to reviewing games. With systems I mean, symbols (Like the "Game Emblems" that Gamespot.com uses to sum up specific areas of the game that is particularly good or bad), different grading scales (Can be 1-5, 1-10, 1-5 with grades like 1.5, 2.5 etc or 1-10 with scores like 7.5 and so on. I I would mention all examples you will grow old and die before finish reading this article. Which would be a good thing in case it is abysmal) or something similar to 1-5 but with stars or something else representing the numbers.
What is interesting about reviews is that it seems very hard to write a review that is for everyone. Depending how deep your interest in gaming is (hardcore, casual or casual-hardcore etc.) you will most likely be looking for different things when reading a review.
To be a casual gamer means that you play games occasionally and only games that you can put down or save your progress whenever you want to. If you are a hardcore gamer you probably play for long periods of time and get deeply involved in whatever game you play. If you are a casual-hardcore gamer you are probably really into a specific genre while playing other types of games on a irregular basis.
A casual gamer would most likely want to read/see a review (I mention "see" due to the fact that a lot of people go to the review score immediately) and a review you would want is probably pretty short but very clear on what is good and what is bad with the game in question.
A hardcore gamer is more likely to be interested in reading about other aspects than just good or bad. A hardcore review is longer and goes deeper into the different areas in a game such as graphics, sound etc. It also mentions specific problems, if there are any, and will most likely use strong words (by strong I don't mean "bad words" and such, rather words that is enhancing the adjectives used without being a "bad word". Incredible, abysmal are two examples) to describe what kind of impact these things have on the game.A hardcore gamer is more likely to enjoy quite a few genres.
The casual-hardcore category is extremely tricky though. This category is more depending on the people themselves and what genres they prefer and since we are all different (thank god for that. Everyone being exactly like me; horrible thought.) There isn't much else to say about this category.
So why did I decide to make a piece about this? Well as we all know when it comes to marketing, targeting the right consumer-group is crucial to the success of a product. If the review isn't aimed at the right group of people, or written in a way that the target group would want it to be, they are more likely to skip reading it. But there is a dilemma. There are a lot of games out there that can be both hardcore and casual at the same time and it wouldn't make sense for a site/paper/magazine to write several different reviews at once. So the what is written in this case isn't as important as the visuals.
If the review in question contains amazing visuals in the form of pictures, videos or even animated content it can catch a groups attention without them being the main target group. But then again, different groups would want to see different things.
So the main point of this whole article is the following: When writing a review make sure that you know what your target group wants. You are more likely to get the attention that you want that way. If you write a review that is aimed for younger people, be sure to include pictures of things that they would like and use a language that they find funny. Same thing goes for the other ages as well.
What is interesting about reviews is that it seems very hard to write a review that is for everyone. Depending how deep your interest in gaming is (hardcore, casual or casual-hardcore etc.) you will most likely be looking for different things when reading a review.
To be a casual gamer means that you play games occasionally and only games that you can put down or save your progress whenever you want to. If you are a hardcore gamer you probably play for long periods of time and get deeply involved in whatever game you play. If you are a casual-hardcore gamer you are probably really into a specific genre while playing other types of games on a irregular basis.
A casual gamer would most likely want to read/see a review (I mention "see" due to the fact that a lot of people go to the review score immediately) and a review you would want is probably pretty short but very clear on what is good and what is bad with the game in question.
A hardcore gamer is more likely to be interested in reading about other aspects than just good or bad. A hardcore review is longer and goes deeper into the different areas in a game such as graphics, sound etc. It also mentions specific problems, if there are any, and will most likely use strong words (by strong I don't mean "bad words" and such, rather words that is enhancing the adjectives used without being a "bad word". Incredible, abysmal are two examples) to describe what kind of impact these things have on the game.A hardcore gamer is more likely to enjoy quite a few genres.
The casual-hardcore category is extremely tricky though. This category is more depending on the people themselves and what genres they prefer and since we are all different (thank god for that. Everyone being exactly like me; horrible thought.) There isn't much else to say about this category.
So why did I decide to make a piece about this? Well as we all know when it comes to marketing, targeting the right consumer-group is crucial to the success of a product. If the review isn't aimed at the right group of people, or written in a way that the target group would want it to be, they are more likely to skip reading it. But there is a dilemma. There are a lot of games out there that can be both hardcore and casual at the same time and it wouldn't make sense for a site/paper/magazine to write several different reviews at once. So the what is written in this case isn't as important as the visuals.
If the review in question contains amazing visuals in the form of pictures, videos or even animated content it can catch a groups attention without them being the main target group. But then again, different groups would want to see different things.
So the main point of this whole article is the following: When writing a review make sure that you know what your target group wants. You are more likely to get the attention that you want that way. If you write a review that is aimed for younger people, be sure to include pictures of things that they would like and use a language that they find funny. Same thing goes for the other ages as well.
Thứ Sáu, 21 tháng 10, 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!
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 10, 2011
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 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 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.
Chủ Nhật, 16 tháng 10, 2011
Gears of War 3 Multiplayer Beta Impressions (April 18th - Present)
November 7th 2008, Gears of War 2 had just seen release, met with Critical Acclaim and day one sales figures of over an astounding 2 Million, the future looked bright for Epic Games. Avid Gear Heads made the jump immediately to the sequels multiplayer component and where met with both a tremendous gameplay experience, and some disheartening lag issues. And so began the months of title updates intended to combat the flaws and bring us closer to the experience Epic Games originally aimed for. And, Epic being the dedicated development team they are, succeeded, and those of whom stuck with the title through its dificult times, (such as myself) were able to relax in the knowledge that the game was no longer as incosistant as on its release date. Whilst the skillful players remained, Epic were begining to realise a gap in the market, deriving from the modes available in the title. Whilst those with skill were able to enjoy themselves, moving cover to cover gibbing there opponents, others felt discouraged from further playing the game due to there continuous anhialation, followed by a hefty waiting time for the next round to begin and for them to be capable of respawning to meet the same fate. and same wait.
This problem would later be combatted in the third instalment of the franchise, Gears of War 3, with a new mode, Team Deathmatch. Whilst not the treditional Team Deathmatch found in games such as Call of Duty, Halo and such, the game mode had its own "Gears twist". Utilising the idea of a "life-pool", each team has 15 Respawns, with each death a respawn is depleated. Whilst catering for the "newbies", many longtime skilled players (such as myself), where somewhat worried at the prospect of respawns in other than Capture based modes such as Annex and King of the Hill. And gameplay videos didn't offer us an answer as to how much this addition would change the overall experience. However, on December 17th 2010, Epic Games confirmed player would be getting a Beta to the recently delayed third instalment, and so, four months later, on April 18th 2010, we got our answer.
As many members of N4G will be well aware of my obsession with the Gears of War franchise, it will come as no shock that I am currently enjoying the hell out of the Beta for the third instalment and any worries about respawns being implemented being vaporised. Respawns do not deter me from utilising a similar play style to that of which I used in the first two titles, nor do they prevent the game from being enjoyable. In this Blog Post I'll share my opinions of the Beta. First stop, weapons.
W E A P O N S
Anyone who's played a Gears of War titles multiplayer component will be well aware of the central weapon of use and th most requiring of skill, the Gnasher Shotgun. With so many kills registered on a daily bases using the GS, it was an obvious choice for Epic Games to bring a new shotgun into the frame. Many, including myself, were sceptical of the prospect of having a new, more powerfull shotgun, however, I applaud Epic Games, for both the balancing of the weapon, and the enjoyment of using said weapon. Whilst not detering me away from the Gnasher Shotgun, the Sawed off is tremendous, requiring a different approach from the Gnasher entirely, the gun requires the player to get a matter of inches away from his opponent to achieve its kill, and an astoundingly lengthy reload to prepare for its next. With the lengthy reload, this both prevents overpowering of the weapon, and discourages the player from rushing multiple opponents in the hope of challenging each of them to a battle. Whilst many Gears of War forum visiters have complained of the guns power, I assure you, this is solely due to their frustrations of being the victim of the weapon. There are simple ways of avoiding and combatting a user of the Sawed-off shotgun... keep at a distance.
Also (somewhat) new, is the Retro Lancer, being briefly mentioned in the Gears of War 2 Art book, the weapon is the original model of the Lancer Assault Rifle, utilised during the human vs human "Pendulum Wars", of which occured prior to the original game's start. With Gears of War 3's campaign being set in bleak times, with the lambent and locust having destroyed the COG, it can be assumed resources are low, and therefor the team have resulted in fishing out dated weapons to combat Sera's threat. The weapon is incredibly inaccurate, however, each bullet packs one hell of a punch, and with this weapon, Epic have achieved the impossible, they have designed a weapon even Gears Pro's won't mind using close range away from the shotguns. Again, the gun is highly balanced, with its terrible accuracy and insane recoil, the gun demands a certain degree of skill. However, all is not what it seems with the RL, as all of whom have even seen Gears of War will know, the standard lancer wasn't only capable of firing bullets, with its mounted chainsaw, players were capable of tearing the enemy in two. The RL was equipped with the aged equivelent, a bayonnette, allowing for people to charge (similar to the roadie run) with the holding of the melee button (B) and impale any direct enemy.Whilst a one hit kill, the execution last several seconds, leaving you completely open to enemy fire whilst completing the animation, and also, those worrying that the "Retro run" would be over used, the charge needs a lengthy run up to count as more than a standard melee. Also, with Stopping power yet again returning, enemies charging in plain sight, dont stand a chance.
Yet again, the Hammerburst has seen a redesign (of sorts), with the weapon now allowing for the use of iron-sights. New to the franchise, the iron-sights are a welcome addition, whilst only featuring on the hammerburst and requiring single fire due to the slight recoil of the weapon, it feels well incorperated and allows for both a closer look at distant combat and for better accuracy of certain limbs in combat. The hammerburst is widely considered on the Beta to be the mid-ranged rifle, with the lancer being long and the retro being close-ranged, however this doesn't deter it from being occasionally useful in close-quarters.
Another new weapon arriving in to the franchise is the Digger Launcher, its shots burrowing underground, cover becomes useless when faced with this weapon, istead the player needs to be completely aware of the shots tunneling beneath the ground and role out of the way. Whilst the gun is powerful, it features only 3 Shots and requires pinpoint accuracy for the shot to lift above ground before exploding. However, if the player is feeling lucky an accurate hip-fired shot will result in the pirrana like creature trapping in the enemies chest before exploding, incredibly satisfying.
This problem would later be combatted in the third instalment of the franchise, Gears of War 3, with a new mode, Team Deathmatch. Whilst not the treditional Team Deathmatch found in games such as Call of Duty, Halo and such, the game mode had its own "Gears twist". Utilising the idea of a "life-pool", each team has 15 Respawns, with each death a respawn is depleated. Whilst catering for the "newbies", many longtime skilled players (such as myself), where somewhat worried at the prospect of respawns in other than Capture based modes such as Annex and King of the Hill. And gameplay videos didn't offer us an answer as to how much this addition would change the overall experience. However, on December 17th 2010, Epic Games confirmed player would be getting a Beta to the recently delayed third instalment, and so, four months later, on April 18th 2010, we got our answer.
As many members of N4G will be well aware of my obsession with the Gears of War franchise, it will come as no shock that I am currently enjoying the hell out of the Beta for the third instalment and any worries about respawns being implemented being vaporised. Respawns do not deter me from utilising a similar play style to that of which I used in the first two titles, nor do they prevent the game from being enjoyable. In this Blog Post I'll share my opinions of the Beta. First stop, weapons.
W E A P O N S
Anyone who's played a Gears of War titles multiplayer component will be well aware of the central weapon of use and th most requiring of skill, the Gnasher Shotgun. With so many kills registered on a daily bases using the GS, it was an obvious choice for Epic Games to bring a new shotgun into the frame. Many, including myself, were sceptical of the prospect of having a new, more powerfull shotgun, however, I applaud Epic Games, for both the balancing of the weapon, and the enjoyment of using said weapon. Whilst not detering me away from the Gnasher Shotgun, the Sawed off is tremendous, requiring a different approach from the Gnasher entirely, the gun requires the player to get a matter of inches away from his opponent to achieve its kill, and an astoundingly lengthy reload to prepare for its next. With the lengthy reload, this both prevents overpowering of the weapon, and discourages the player from rushing multiple opponents in the hope of challenging each of them to a battle. Whilst many Gears of War forum visiters have complained of the guns power, I assure you, this is solely due to their frustrations of being the victim of the weapon. There are simple ways of avoiding and combatting a user of the Sawed-off shotgun... keep at a distance.
Also (somewhat) new, is the Retro Lancer, being briefly mentioned in the Gears of War 2 Art book, the weapon is the original model of the Lancer Assault Rifle, utilised during the human vs human "Pendulum Wars", of which occured prior to the original game's start. With Gears of War 3's campaign being set in bleak times, with the lambent and locust having destroyed the COG, it can be assumed resources are low, and therefor the team have resulted in fishing out dated weapons to combat Sera's threat. The weapon is incredibly inaccurate, however, each bullet packs one hell of a punch, and with this weapon, Epic have achieved the impossible, they have designed a weapon even Gears Pro's won't mind using close range away from the shotguns. Again, the gun is highly balanced, with its terrible accuracy and insane recoil, the gun demands a certain degree of skill. However, all is not what it seems with the RL, as all of whom have even seen Gears of War will know, the standard lancer wasn't only capable of firing bullets, with its mounted chainsaw, players were capable of tearing the enemy in two. The RL was equipped with the aged equivelent, a bayonnette, allowing for people to charge (similar to the roadie run) with the holding of the melee button (B) and impale any direct enemy.Whilst a one hit kill, the execution last several seconds, leaving you completely open to enemy fire whilst completing the animation, and also, those worrying that the "Retro run" would be over used, the charge needs a lengthy run up to count as more than a standard melee. Also, with Stopping power yet again returning, enemies charging in plain sight, dont stand a chance.
Yet again, the Hammerburst has seen a redesign (of sorts), with the weapon now allowing for the use of iron-sights. New to the franchise, the iron-sights are a welcome addition, whilst only featuring on the hammerburst and requiring single fire due to the slight recoil of the weapon, it feels well incorperated and allows for both a closer look at distant combat and for better accuracy of certain limbs in combat. The hammerburst is widely considered on the Beta to be the mid-ranged rifle, with the lancer being long and the retro being close-ranged, however this doesn't deter it from being occasionally useful in close-quarters.
Another new weapon arriving in to the franchise is the Digger Launcher, its shots burrowing underground, cover becomes useless when faced with this weapon, istead the player needs to be completely aware of the shots tunneling beneath the ground and role out of the way. Whilst the gun is powerful, it features only 3 Shots and requires pinpoint accuracy for the shot to lift above ground before exploding. However, if the player is feeling lucky an accurate hip-fired shot will result in the pirrana like creature trapping in the enemies chest before exploding, incredibly satisfying.
helghast102 (User) * Trainee * 1 bubbles * 5 in CRank * Score: 11310 "" PM Add as friend Track Ignore Report I have no words for this (GT5 insanity)
Custom tracks aren't all that good, the track editor doesn't allow for a whole lot of freedom and most of the time you wont get what you want.
But this.. THIS...
The X2010 should not be able to do this, amazing.
But this.. THIS...
The X2010 should not be able to do this, amazing.
Thứ Sáu, 14 tháng 10, 2011
Deus Ex vs. Deus Ex: An Examination of the Current State of Gaming
In the year MM (that's 2000 for you non-Romans), I was accompanying some family on a trip to Dublin City. While engaging in my giddiest pleasure of the time (sifting through PC games new and old), I happened upon a game released that very day. I recalled reading something starkly positive about it in PC Gamer magazine prior to this and decided I'd take a chance on this one.
That game was Deus Ex.
Needless to say, I was completely taken aback by it. My first impression was something of distaste, oddly enough, like the first time you try beer. I was almost disappointed by my inability to kill everything with reckless abandon and similarly offended by my inability to survive what would've been considered a relatively tame fire-fight, certainly by the standards of the time. But persistence (and a little insistence on not wasting my £40) soon paid off. The thrill was no longer about being some one-man army, hell-bent on nothing short of absolute destruction. Now the thrill came from being an unseen, unheard ninja, a living virus to any computer system he touched. But what was most important about all that was the sense of BEING that person. Never had I become so immersed in a character and his world. It changed the way I played games, but more than that, it changed the way I looked at them and entertainment as a whole.
Flash forward ten years or so and we have Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Without going in to too many specifics, I am still playing through the game and have thus far found the experience an excellent one. That said, this also prompted me to re-install my copy of Deus Ex for the first time in about 6 years.
First of all, the similarities. The game world FEELS quite similar. The environment, which would've been considered quite dynamic at the time, is largely the same, although by today's standards it may seem somewhat static. Augmentations are actually a bit more balanced (if not biased a little more towards the stealth method of play) and useful this time around and that sense of freedom remains.
What does not remain, at least not as much, is the sense of impact that my actions had on the world (in the original). My choice to go stealthily and mercifully about my business doesn't seem to affect my relationships with other characters as much. While this could lead to benefits in the original, such is rarely if ever the case in Human Revolution. The benefits of stealth play now come in the form of more experience points, which, while more recognizable to the modern gamer, seems to have cheapened the experience somewhat for me.
More to that, the game highlights just how games have evolved, or in some cases, devolved over the years. Many actions in this game have become automated. Stealthily dispatching of an enemy requires a single keystroke within close proximity, and lethally doing so requires the same effort. Perhaps this offers a thrill of some kind to other gamers, but I personally feel detached from the action, as though I had nothing to do with it. The player's hand is held at almost every turn, and obligatory boss battles have been shoe-horned in, presumably because your game can't be considered epic unless at least one climactic, cinematic confrontation is included. In the original, you could nearly talk your way out of or into any situation, if you worked at it hard enough. If boss fights like these were included in the original, I've no doubt you could've avoided them somehow. In HR, talking summons a mini-game of sorts (via an augmentation) that takes much of the challenge out of carefully traversing the conversation trees. Now you're told specifically which personality type your target is and which conversation options affect this type most in your favour. Modern conventions like incessant "tooltip" help messages appear, and regenerating health has been added, while individual limb damage has been removed.
All things considered, even though it's 10 years later and the it's sporting a slicker presentation, there's simply less GAME.
That game was Deus Ex.
Needless to say, I was completely taken aback by it. My first impression was something of distaste, oddly enough, like the first time you try beer. I was almost disappointed by my inability to kill everything with reckless abandon and similarly offended by my inability to survive what would've been considered a relatively tame fire-fight, certainly by the standards of the time. But persistence (and a little insistence on not wasting my £40) soon paid off. The thrill was no longer about being some one-man army, hell-bent on nothing short of absolute destruction. Now the thrill came from being an unseen, unheard ninja, a living virus to any computer system he touched. But what was most important about all that was the sense of BEING that person. Never had I become so immersed in a character and his world. It changed the way I played games, but more than that, it changed the way I looked at them and entertainment as a whole.
Flash forward ten years or so and we have Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Without going in to too many specifics, I am still playing through the game and have thus far found the experience an excellent one. That said, this also prompted me to re-install my copy of Deus Ex for the first time in about 6 years.
First of all, the similarities. The game world FEELS quite similar. The environment, which would've been considered quite dynamic at the time, is largely the same, although by today's standards it may seem somewhat static. Augmentations are actually a bit more balanced (if not biased a little more towards the stealth method of play) and useful this time around and that sense of freedom remains.
What does not remain, at least not as much, is the sense of impact that my actions had on the world (in the original). My choice to go stealthily and mercifully about my business doesn't seem to affect my relationships with other characters as much. While this could lead to benefits in the original, such is rarely if ever the case in Human Revolution. The benefits of stealth play now come in the form of more experience points, which, while more recognizable to the modern gamer, seems to have cheapened the experience somewhat for me.
More to that, the game highlights just how games have evolved, or in some cases, devolved over the years. Many actions in this game have become automated. Stealthily dispatching of an enemy requires a single keystroke within close proximity, and lethally doing so requires the same effort. Perhaps this offers a thrill of some kind to other gamers, but I personally feel detached from the action, as though I had nothing to do with it. The player's hand is held at almost every turn, and obligatory boss battles have been shoe-horned in, presumably because your game can't be considered epic unless at least one climactic, cinematic confrontation is included. In the original, you could nearly talk your way out of or into any situation, if you worked at it hard enough. If boss fights like these were included in the original, I've no doubt you could've avoided them somehow. In HR, talking summons a mini-game of sorts (via an augmentation) that takes much of the challenge out of carefully traversing the conversation trees. Now you're told specifically which personality type your target is and which conversation options affect this type most in your favour. Modern conventions like incessant "tooltip" help messages appear, and regenerating health has been added, while individual limb damage has been removed.
All things considered, even though it's 10 years later and the it's sporting a slicker presentation, there's simply less GAME.
Fractal, A Brainy Beauty
Fractal: Make Blooms Not War is a beautiful, charming puzzle game - so charming I'm not even a tiny bit grumpy over it calling me "Sweetheart" before we really got to know one another. Yes, what Fractal has in spades is style. Attractive, slick controls, quality sound - it's a glamorous package for a puzzle game that has as much brains as beauty.
Oh, what delicious brains they are, too! Center screen is a board of hexes and by tapping an empty or perimeter hex next to a filled one you create additional tiles from that point, "pushing" the neighbors along their lines. Forming a seven-tile hex cluster (or more), makes a "Bloom" that clears those tiles and pushes the surrounding tiles back - which can lead to some nifty chains. In levels One through Four all you have to worry about is achieving the level score within a certain number of tile "Pushes". With a fixed number of Pushes per level to achieve the target score, you won't be moving tiles all willy-nilly. At level Five, two color mode is introduced to confound matters, and at level Eight you finally get to make use of a power-up - "Explode" - as tiny explosive icons emerge on tiles. All that is only the beginning.
Sounds a little confusing, yeah? Fractal uses presentation to make a very math-y puzzler palatable. Around the hex-board perimeter are more soft pastel hues, and notes scrawled to the player like "Good luck, Sweetheart! XOXO" and "Make Blooms, NOT War!"; add in the melodious tunes and you've got a downright ethereal gaming experience. A game "best experienced with headphones" (which games aren't?), the soundtrack actually responds to the gameplay, even slowing like a dying pulse as you run out of pushes and the level is failed.
A conundrum of stereotype, Fractal is a brainy, feature-rich puzzler that conjures up words like “lovely” and “soothing” while delivering a very smart game. Available for $1.99 on the iPad, there are three game modes plus OpenFeint and Game Center integration packed into the polished title. Campaign and Puzzle Mode offer progressive challenge, and Arcade for time attack and high score players - all this plus achievement tracking and high score competition. Here is a game at half the cost of a typical Starbucks visit with hours more enjoyment on offer, don’t lump it in with similarly priced mediocre time killers, this price point isn’t a mark of an inferior quality timekiller - it’s a steal.
Oh, what delicious brains they are, too! Center screen is a board of hexes and by tapping an empty or perimeter hex next to a filled one you create additional tiles from that point, "pushing" the neighbors along their lines. Forming a seven-tile hex cluster (or more), makes a "Bloom" that clears those tiles and pushes the surrounding tiles back - which can lead to some nifty chains. In levels One through Four all you have to worry about is achieving the level score within a certain number of tile "Pushes". With a fixed number of Pushes per level to achieve the target score, you won't be moving tiles all willy-nilly. At level Five, two color mode is introduced to confound matters, and at level Eight you finally get to make use of a power-up - "Explode" - as tiny explosive icons emerge on tiles. All that is only the beginning.
Sounds a little confusing, yeah? Fractal uses presentation to make a very math-y puzzler palatable. Around the hex-board perimeter are more soft pastel hues, and notes scrawled to the player like "Good luck, Sweetheart! XOXO" and "Make Blooms, NOT War!"; add in the melodious tunes and you've got a downright ethereal gaming experience. A game "best experienced with headphones" (which games aren't?), the soundtrack actually responds to the gameplay, even slowing like a dying pulse as you run out of pushes and the level is failed.
A conundrum of stereotype, Fractal is a brainy, feature-rich puzzler that conjures up words like “lovely” and “soothing” while delivering a very smart game. Available for $1.99 on the iPad, there are three game modes plus OpenFeint and Game Center integration packed into the polished title. Campaign and Puzzle Mode offer progressive challenge, and Arcade for time attack and high score players - all this plus achievement tracking and high score competition. Here is a game at half the cost of a typical Starbucks visit with hours more enjoyment on offer, don’t lump it in with similarly priced mediocre time killers, this price point isn’t a mark of an inferior quality timekiller - it’s a steal.
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.
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Thứ Tư, 12 tháng 10, 2011
PopCap looks to cure its Extreme Fever with Peggle HD for iPad
Still waiting with bated breath for PopCap to bring Peggle to Facebook? (Keep holding it, then.) So are we, but until then, perhaps Peggle in HD will hold you over. The creator of Bejeweled announced that its mega hit pachinko-meets-Breakout game is now available for the iPad under the title--what else?--Peggle HD.
The game, which has already been downloaded 30 million times since its original release on the PC in March 2007, is available now in the App Store for an introductory price of $2.99. Once in the game, players can purchase Peggle Nights, the full-blown expansion to the original, for $.99. Of course, the prices will hike up once this promotion ends (which we imagine will be soon) to $4.99 and $1.99, respectively.
While this is essentially the same Peggle about 30 million of you have played before, this version comes with Game Center support at launch. And yes, that means this "HD" edition of the ultimate pachinko also features Achievements--29 of them, to be exact.
Extreme Fever Peggle
So, not only can you witness Extreme Fever--when every last peg is destroyed in a level--on your purrty 10-inch touchscreen, but brag about it to your friends. Yep, that just might keep me occupied until, you know, I can score free balls like a champ on Facebook.
Might you be one of the few who has yet to play Peggle? If so, do you have an aversion to awesome? Those in the know: Do you agree that Facebook needs some Peggle action? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The game, which has already been downloaded 30 million times since its original release on the PC in March 2007, is available now in the App Store for an introductory price of $2.99. Once in the game, players can purchase Peggle Nights, the full-blown expansion to the original, for $.99. Of course, the prices will hike up once this promotion ends (which we imagine will be soon) to $4.99 and $1.99, respectively.
While this is essentially the same Peggle about 30 million of you have played before, this version comes with Game Center support at launch. And yes, that means this "HD" edition of the ultimate pachinko also features Achievements--29 of them, to be exact.
Extreme Fever Peggle
So, not only can you witness Extreme Fever--when every last peg is destroyed in a level--on your purrty 10-inch touchscreen, but brag about it to your friends. Yep, that just might keep me occupied until, you know, I can score free balls like a champ on Facebook.
Might you be one of the few who has yet to play Peggle? If so, do you have an aversion to awesome? Those in the know: Do you agree that Facebook needs some Peggle action? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Wooga CEO: 'I don't think the 30 percent Facebook share is an issue'
Well, I guess neither do the legions of iOS game makers. Jens Begemann, CEO of Berlin-based Diamond Dash creator Wooga, defended Facebook's 30 percent cut it takes from Facebook Credits in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. The chief of the fourth largest social games company on Facebook outright said that he doesn't think the 30 percent is an issue. (The company just released yet another Facebook game, Magic Land, with plans for mobile expansion.)
"The whole Facebook platform is free, you've got tons of communication channels, you've got lots of viral communication to users, it's an amazing platform and you have traffic that's worth millions of dollars, and you get all of that for free," Begemann told GamesIndustry.biz. "And only when you're successful do you pay your 30 per cent revenue share. So it's fair."
Wooga helped boost the recent launch of Google+ Games with ports of three of its biggest games: Bubble Island, Monster World and Diamond Dash. Begemann went on to say that Wooga's presence on Google+ Games, which currently only charges game developers 5 percent of revenues from purchased in-game goods, is not mutually exclusive. "But we remain very very committed to Facebook," he said. "We will not slow down there."
The Wooga chief had a much more ... diplomatic approach to the Facebook vs Google+ Games debate than, say, Sean Ryan of Facebook recently. The head of games partnerships at the dominant social network said, "Google is at 5% because they don't have any users," to Fortune. While that might be (a heavily exaggerated) truth, what happens when even more game creators are lured in by the tiny number?
Do you think Wooga is right in its defense of Facebook? Does Google have a chance of competing with Facebook even after its discounted revenue cut dries up? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"The whole Facebook platform is free, you've got tons of communication channels, you've got lots of viral communication to users, it's an amazing platform and you have traffic that's worth millions of dollars, and you get all of that for free," Begemann told GamesIndustry.biz. "And only when you're successful do you pay your 30 per cent revenue share. So it's fair."
Wooga helped boost the recent launch of Google+ Games with ports of three of its biggest games: Bubble Island, Monster World and Diamond Dash. Begemann went on to say that Wooga's presence on Google+ Games, which currently only charges game developers 5 percent of revenues from purchased in-game goods, is not mutually exclusive. "But we remain very very committed to Facebook," he said. "We will not slow down there."
The Wooga chief had a much more ... diplomatic approach to the Facebook vs Google+ Games debate than, say, Sean Ryan of Facebook recently. The head of games partnerships at the dominant social network said, "Google is at 5% because they don't have any users," to Fortune. While that might be (a heavily exaggerated) truth, what happens when even more game creators are lured in by the tiny number?
Do you think Wooga is right in its defense of Facebook? Does Google have a chance of competing with Facebook even after its discounted revenue cut dries up? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thứ Năm, 6 tháng 10, 2011
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Catch the winter blues at Onisuka057's farm
While DaTigga's isles farm certainly beats all in terms of creating a water-filled landscape, Onisuka057's river mountain farm is a contender for the greatest number of watery FarmVille decorations used. Just like his golden oasis farm, Onisuka057 proves to be a big spender of Farm Cash items, but he does arrange them in impressive ways. By using nine Waterfalls and one Bear Fishing item, he's managed to create the illusion of a massively long river running down the crevices of his mountain. (The mountain itself is the same kind used by ombra231's Italy farm to recreate the Apennine Mountain Range.)
On the bottom of the farm, he's got more Alps intertwined with more than one Lake and Mirror Lake, which are certainly not cheap. While the Lake is readily available at the Market, the Mirror Lake is a random Mystery Box item, so he must've had to buy a lot of those before he got what he wanted.
FarmVille spelled out in hay bales
For more uses of blue, Onizuka057 planted a ton of what appears to be Forget-Me-Nots, which require at least Level 90. In an earlier version of his farm, he even spelled out "FARMVILLE" in what looks like Perfect Bunches of Morning Glory and Iris flowers. I think his farm looked better with all that blue, though the logo version that he made out of hay bales looks good, too.
Which version of Onisuka057's farm do you prefer? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
On the bottom of the farm, he's got more Alps intertwined with more than one Lake and Mirror Lake, which are certainly not cheap. While the Lake is readily available at the Market, the Mirror Lake is a random Mystery Box item, so he must've had to buy a lot of those before he got what he wanted.
FarmVille spelled out in hay bales
For more uses of blue, Onizuka057 planted a ton of what appears to be Forget-Me-Nots, which require at least Level 90. In an earlier version of his farm, he even spelled out "FARMVILLE" in what looks like Perfect Bunches of Morning Glory and Iris flowers. I think his farm looked better with all that blue, though the logo version that he made out of hay bales looks good, too.
Which version of Onisuka057's farm do you prefer? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Pioneer Trail Baby Bunyan Goals: Everything you need to know
You know, I've always wondered what old Paul Bunyan looked like as an infant. (Was he always that huge--was him mom even bigger?) With the new series of Baby Bunyan Goals, Zynga looks to answer these questions once and for all in Pioneer Trail.
Much like the Injured Animals of old, players Level 18 and above will soon find a Baby Bunyan of their own, all alone on their homesteads. But this will only happen after chopping trees. Get to choppin', and follow along with our guide below:
Big Food
* Feed Baby Bunyan Super Baby Gro 8 Times
* Harvest 50 Potatoes
* Help 10 Exhausted Storks
Once you find your own Baby Bunyan, it's time to nurse it into the tree-choppin' tyke you always dreamed of. (Weird dreams much?) Just like an Injured Animal, you must ask your friends for Super Baby Gro. While this Goal only requires you to do it eight times, it takes 15 Super Baby Gro to nurse him completely.
Harvesting 50 Potatoes will cost you 4,500 Coins total, and take at least four hours, if you plant them all at once. Exhausted Storks are actually a new Injured Animal that are found either clearing debris or harvesting crops. Of course, they require you to ask friends for even more items to nurse them back to health. Your rewards for completing this massive first Goal are 500 XP, 500 Coins and one Stork.
Big Britches
* Collect 100 Cotton Puffs
* Tend 40 Baby Sheep
* Collect 25 Safety Pins
The 100 Cotton Puffs required for this Goal reportedly come from harvesting Cotton, which is news to us. If the ratio is 1 to 1, harvesting 100 Cotton will cost you 6,000 Coins and take three days at the very least. Tending to 40 Baby Sheep could be tough, though Zynga doesn't distinguish between Sheep or your Homestead or those of your Neighbors. The 25 Safety Pins, of course, come from begging your friends some more. Enjoy 750 XP and 750 Coins for completing this Goal.
Need more Super Gro
Who's A Big Boy
* Complete Feed Baby Bunyan
* Bake 25 Cakes In The Inn
* Collect 25 Baby Clothes
By this point, you're expected to have a fully grown (well, sort of) Baby Bunyan, which again, takes 15 Super Baby Gro. To bake 25 Cakes, you will need 50 Fire and 100 Batter. Fire is first crafted in the Wagon using seven Wood and five Cloth, which amounts to 350 Wood and 250 Cloth. (That's 250 visits to old friends, though you can also turn in the Cotton Collection for five Cloth.)
The 100 Batter will take a whopping 2,000 Food and 90,000 Coins--this is gonna' take awhile. The 25 Baby Clothes are, once more, sourced from friends. For finishing this giant Goal, you will be rewarded with 1000 XP, 1000 Coins and one Baby Giant Blue Ox. More importantly, you'll have your very own Baby Bunyan, which will prove to be a boon to your homestead.
Baby Bunyan About
Click on your Baby Bunyan after clicking "Finish" to ask him to chop trees. Here's the best part: Baby Bunyan can chop down three full trees for you at the cost of zero Energy. However, Baby Bunyan can only do this once daily. Still, that's quite the reward for such an arduous set of Goals, so use him wisely.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you started on your Baby Bunyan yet? What do you think of this brand new feature ... and those Goals? Sound off in the comments. 5 Comments
Much like the Injured Animals of old, players Level 18 and above will soon find a Baby Bunyan of their own, all alone on their homesteads. But this will only happen after chopping trees. Get to choppin', and follow along with our guide below:
Big Food
* Feed Baby Bunyan Super Baby Gro 8 Times
* Harvest 50 Potatoes
* Help 10 Exhausted Storks
Once you find your own Baby Bunyan, it's time to nurse it into the tree-choppin' tyke you always dreamed of. (Weird dreams much?) Just like an Injured Animal, you must ask your friends for Super Baby Gro. While this Goal only requires you to do it eight times, it takes 15 Super Baby Gro to nurse him completely.
Harvesting 50 Potatoes will cost you 4,500 Coins total, and take at least four hours, if you plant them all at once. Exhausted Storks are actually a new Injured Animal that are found either clearing debris or harvesting crops. Of course, they require you to ask friends for even more items to nurse them back to health. Your rewards for completing this massive first Goal are 500 XP, 500 Coins and one Stork.
Big Britches
* Collect 100 Cotton Puffs
* Tend 40 Baby Sheep
* Collect 25 Safety Pins
The 100 Cotton Puffs required for this Goal reportedly come from harvesting Cotton, which is news to us. If the ratio is 1 to 1, harvesting 100 Cotton will cost you 6,000 Coins and take three days at the very least. Tending to 40 Baby Sheep could be tough, though Zynga doesn't distinguish between Sheep or your Homestead or those of your Neighbors. The 25 Safety Pins, of course, come from begging your friends some more. Enjoy 750 XP and 750 Coins for completing this Goal.
Need more Super Gro
Who's A Big Boy
* Complete Feed Baby Bunyan
* Bake 25 Cakes In The Inn
* Collect 25 Baby Clothes
By this point, you're expected to have a fully grown (well, sort of) Baby Bunyan, which again, takes 15 Super Baby Gro. To bake 25 Cakes, you will need 50 Fire and 100 Batter. Fire is first crafted in the Wagon using seven Wood and five Cloth, which amounts to 350 Wood and 250 Cloth. (That's 250 visits to old friends, though you can also turn in the Cotton Collection for five Cloth.)
The 100 Batter will take a whopping 2,000 Food and 90,000 Coins--this is gonna' take awhile. The 25 Baby Clothes are, once more, sourced from friends. For finishing this giant Goal, you will be rewarded with 1000 XP, 1000 Coins and one Baby Giant Blue Ox. More importantly, you'll have your very own Baby Bunyan, which will prove to be a boon to your homestead.
Baby Bunyan About
Click on your Baby Bunyan after clicking "Finish" to ask him to chop trees. Here's the best part: Baby Bunyan can chop down three full trees for you at the cost of zero Energy. However, Baby Bunyan can only do this once daily. Still, that's quite the reward for such an arduous set of Goals, so use him wisely.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you started on your Baby Bunyan yet? What do you think of this brand new feature ... and those Goals? Sound off in the comments. 5 Comments
Adventure World Great River Expedition: Everything you need to know
Here we are again, adventurers, giving you another look at a brand new Expedition that has been added to Adventure World this week. If you've been completing Expeditions in a row from left to right across the game's menu, you'll be surprised to see that not one, but three new Expeditions have appeared fairly early on in the list, in anticipation of the arrival of Indiana Jones in the game next month. How do I know that? It's simple - all three Expeditions are tagged with Indiana Jones within the game's menu.
Still going in order, the first of these Expeditions you'll come across is the Great River Expedition. This one will see you reuiniting two villages that are separated by broken bridges. The overall Expedition has a three day time limit, and requires you to have 325 Supplies and two each of Food, Fuel and Water before you can begin. Once you do, you'll have three quests to complete in all - here's a guide to completing them.
Gather a Rubbing
* Collect 12 Cotton
* Collect 24 Vines
* Repair 6 Bridges
* Take a Rubbing of the Standing Stone
Soon after starting this Expedition, you'll see that this is about more than just repairing bridges. Apparently, Indy (or perhaps just the Society) wants you to take a rubbing (with coal and paper) of an ancient Standing Stone at the far end of this map. In order to get there, you'll need to complete these bridges as a result.
The materials necessary to complete these bridges are scattered throughout the map, with the Cotton being found in rows or other farm-esque areas, and the Vines coming by removing Thorns from the map. Each thorn tends to give out four individual Vines, you'll need to remove at least six to reach the 24 total. Each of the six bridges require four Vines and two Cotton, so you'll luckily have enough to build some bridges to reach other areas and collect more materials, without having to do everything at once.
Llama Research?
* Gather 10 Hay
* Ask for 10 Shaving Cream
* Apply Shaving Cream to 10 Llamas
* Shave 10 Llamas
For whatever reason, Emily (your research companion) has taken an interest in the Llamas the frequent this map, and wants their wool. Taking a rather humorous approach, you'll need to gather ten cans of shaving cream by asking your friends to send them to you. You'll then need to click on on each Llama twice: once to apply the shaving cream and once to shave them. The Hay, meanwhile, is scattered around the various islands of the map.
Grapple to the Summit
* Recover the Mountainheart Gem
* Gather the Feed Bag that Weighs the Same as the Gem
* Place the Feed Bag in the Hands of the Mountainheart
Making this Expedition even more complicated, Emily has another demand: she wants the Mountainheart gem that rests along the top left hand corner of this map. This one is guarded by snakes and plenty of debris, and is compounded by the fact that you'll need to have a bag weighing the same as the Gem before you can take it. These bags are found around the map, and come in various sizes. Don't worry about having to personally determine their weight; just by clicking on a single bag, you'll be told whether or not it's the right size. This results in trial and error, sure, but it doesn't require any skill.
Once you have finished these three admittedly complex portions, you'll have successfully completed the Great River Expedition. If this is any indication as to the complexity of future Expeditions, I hope we're all ready for a struggle as we continue on.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of this Great River Expedition? Are there too many steps required to complete it, or do you appreciate a lengthy challenge? Sound off in the comments.
Still going in order, the first of these Expeditions you'll come across is the Great River Expedition. This one will see you reuiniting two villages that are separated by broken bridges. The overall Expedition has a three day time limit, and requires you to have 325 Supplies and two each of Food, Fuel and Water before you can begin. Once you do, you'll have three quests to complete in all - here's a guide to completing them.
Gather a Rubbing
* Collect 12 Cotton
* Collect 24 Vines
* Repair 6 Bridges
* Take a Rubbing of the Standing Stone
Soon after starting this Expedition, you'll see that this is about more than just repairing bridges. Apparently, Indy (or perhaps just the Society) wants you to take a rubbing (with coal and paper) of an ancient Standing Stone at the far end of this map. In order to get there, you'll need to complete these bridges as a result.
The materials necessary to complete these bridges are scattered throughout the map, with the Cotton being found in rows or other farm-esque areas, and the Vines coming by removing Thorns from the map. Each thorn tends to give out four individual Vines, you'll need to remove at least six to reach the 24 total. Each of the six bridges require four Vines and two Cotton, so you'll luckily have enough to build some bridges to reach other areas and collect more materials, without having to do everything at once.
Llama Research?
* Gather 10 Hay
* Ask for 10 Shaving Cream
* Apply Shaving Cream to 10 Llamas
* Shave 10 Llamas
For whatever reason, Emily (your research companion) has taken an interest in the Llamas the frequent this map, and wants their wool. Taking a rather humorous approach, you'll need to gather ten cans of shaving cream by asking your friends to send them to you. You'll then need to click on on each Llama twice: once to apply the shaving cream and once to shave them. The Hay, meanwhile, is scattered around the various islands of the map.
Grapple to the Summit
* Recover the Mountainheart Gem
* Gather the Feed Bag that Weighs the Same as the Gem
* Place the Feed Bag in the Hands of the Mountainheart
Making this Expedition even more complicated, Emily has another demand: she wants the Mountainheart gem that rests along the top left hand corner of this map. This one is guarded by snakes and plenty of debris, and is compounded by the fact that you'll need to have a bag weighing the same as the Gem before you can take it. These bags are found around the map, and come in various sizes. Don't worry about having to personally determine their weight; just by clicking on a single bag, you'll be told whether or not it's the right size. This results in trial and error, sure, but it doesn't require any skill.
Once you have finished these three admittedly complex portions, you'll have successfully completed the Great River Expedition. If this is any indication as to the complexity of future Expeditions, I hope we're all ready for a struggle as we continue on.
Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of this Great River Expedition? Are there too many steps required to complete it, or do you appreciate a lengthy challenge? Sound off in the comments.
Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter goes live on Facebook
Released previously only in a private beta, Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter has now officially gone live on Facebook. Developed by Atari and set in the Neverwinter realm, the game already has 166,000 monthly players from its time in beta, but if you'd like to join them, here's a taste of what you can expect.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove: Coastal Patch expansion now available for coins
If only they had released it sooner! In a move that is sure to both infuriate and excite plenty of FarmVille players (trust me, it's possible to do both at once), Zynga has released a coin option to purchase the first land expansion in Lighthouse Cove, called the Coastal Patch. Why would this be a bad thing? If you recall, we needed to reach at least this expansion for the first set of Bonus Challenge goals in the Lighthouse Cove, but many people (myself included) decided to skip it (and all of the prizes available therein) due to the Farm Cash cost.
Either way, this new coin-option itself does come with a catch. As of this writing, it looks like the vast majority of users need to add more Neighbors to their game in order to unlock it. This isn't a case like in the English Countryside where you must simply ask your friends for help; this is a case where you legitimately need to add new farmers to your account (and whether or not the new FarmVille Friends feature neighbors count remains to be seen).
The amount of neighbors you'll need to add seems to vary across users, but I personally only had to add two (for your reference). Once you've fulfilled whatever the game asks of you, you can then purchase the Coastal Patch expansion for 750,000 coins. If we're starting out with that price, which I wouldn't consider to be inexpensive, I can only imagine how high the prices will soar for additional expansions in the future. In the meantime though, I suppose it's best not to argue and accept this land expansion for coins while we can.
Did you already expand to the Coastal Patch farm for Farm Cash? Will you add new neighbors just to expand for coins? Sound off in the comments.
Either way, this new coin-option itself does come with a catch. As of this writing, it looks like the vast majority of users need to add more Neighbors to their game in order to unlock it. This isn't a case like in the English Countryside where you must simply ask your friends for help; this is a case where you legitimately need to add new farmers to your account (and whether or not the new FarmVille Friends feature neighbors count remains to be seen).
The amount of neighbors you'll need to add seems to vary across users, but I personally only had to add two (for your reference). Once you've fulfilled whatever the game asks of you, you can then purchase the Coastal Patch expansion for 750,000 coins. If we're starting out with that price, which I wouldn't consider to be inexpensive, I can only imagine how high the prices will soar for additional expansions in the future. In the meantime though, I suppose it's best not to argue and accept this land expansion for coins while we can.
Did you already expand to the Coastal Patch farm for Farm Cash? Will you add new neighbors just to expand for coins? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Ba, 4 tháng 10, 2011
RockYou partner Peak Games raises $11.5M for social game projects
For those of you (like myself) who are kind of tired of seeing the western world dominate Facebook games, this news should come as breath of fresh air. VentureBeat reports that Istanbul-based company Peak Games has raised $11.5 million and purchased two companies in efforts to become a power player in Facebook games. The developers in question, Umaykut and Erlikhan, were bought in what Peak Games calls "talent acquisitions." Sound familiar?
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
Would you like to see more Facebook games from these regions? Do you think Peak Games has a good chance at climbing up the ladder? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
Would you like to see more Facebook games from these regions? Do you think Peak Games has a good chance at climbing up the ladder? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Makiziki's lush desert oasis
Howdy folks. Today's featured farm is a handsome design by Makiziki, a player who spends time over at the FarmVille Forums. Makiziki's farm caught my eye because it does something rather novel: paths. Paths may be common in other games such as CityVille, Empires & Allies, and FrontierVille, but in FarmVille, there is no easy way to make paths. All the dirt trails you see are actually created by hand placing the Lush Grass decoration all over the farm.
So not only is this farm a beautiful estate full of crops, animals, and items; but it also serves as a great design guide for other FarmVille artists. Using Lush Grass to cover a farmville tall grass makizikifarm hasn't been done too much, especially considering how nice it looks. Unfortunately, Lush Grass was a limited time English Countryside item that is no longer available. However, a different item, Tall Grass, can be bought in the decorations tab of the market for 1,500 coins apiece. The only difference is that Tall Grass is a little taller, so it will give farms a more wild, natural look.
In addition to the unique use of grass and desert background in order to make paths, the farm has a lot more going on. In an age where FarmVille players have absurd amounts of stuff, Makiziki's farm remains rather organized. Here's what they had to say about their farm:
Well, first of all, I love to design with paths. FarmVille doesn't actually have them yet. And I love a lot of green, so my design looks like a real farm. I worked about 3-4 hours to finsih this farm, and I was so tired when I was done :) But I love my new farm :)
-Makiziki
What do you guys think of Makizki's Lush Grass-filled farm? Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist.
So not only is this farm a beautiful estate full of crops, animals, and items; but it also serves as a great design guide for other FarmVille artists. Using Lush Grass to cover a farmville tall grass makizikifarm hasn't been done too much, especially considering how nice it looks. Unfortunately, Lush Grass was a limited time English Countryside item that is no longer available. However, a different item, Tall Grass, can be bought in the decorations tab of the market for 1,500 coins apiece. The only difference is that Tall Grass is a little taller, so it will give farms a more wild, natural look.
In addition to the unique use of grass and desert background in order to make paths, the farm has a lot more going on. In an age where FarmVille players have absurd amounts of stuff, Makiziki's farm remains rather organized. Here's what they had to say about their farm:
Well, first of all, I love to design with paths. FarmVille doesn't actually have them yet. And I love a lot of green, so my design looks like a real farm. I worked about 3-4 hours to finsih this farm, and I was so tired when I was done :) But I love my new farm :)
-Makiziki
What do you guys think of Makizki's Lush Grass-filled farm? Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist.
Entertainment Games looks to revive soap operas in Facebook games
FarmVille may have killed the daytime soap opera, but it seems like soaps might have their heyday after all. Langhorne, Penn.-based Entertainment Games announced that it hired Michael Fairman (pictured below), a leading expert on daytime soaps (bet you didn't know such a job existed, eh?) to help the company develop a soap opera game with Heyday Games.
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head
Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Want exclusive freebies in The Sims Social? Register on the forums
I'd put away that credit card, if I were you, at least for the moment. I know, it's burning a hole and blah, blah, blah, but Playfish recently announced that it will give The Sims Social players exclusive freebies on a regular basis, but under one condition: You have to register on the Playfish forums. In fact, the game's community team created a new forum category just for this purpose.
Starting last week, Playfish gave away some free Relaxation--an ingredient used in crafting Fun Potions--in a short 24-hour window. So, it looks like, if you do decide to partake in the freebie-fest, you'll have to visit the Playfish forums on a regular basis to catch the next free giveaway that pops up. Perhaps eventually the developer will start to dole some beefier prizes like decorations for your Sim's house or straight-up Simoleons and Social Points.
EA and Playfish have been on a freebie frenzy as of late for all The Sims Social players. Just recently, the developer announced a week-long event in which it will post even more handouts on its Facebook page. At this point, we can't help but ask: Why? Well, considering just how close The Sims Social is to overtaking Zynga's CityVille as the number one game on Facebook in daily players, we're not surprised that Playfish would be pulling all the stops. To register on the Playfish forums, click right here.
Have you been reaping the rewards from Playfish on the forums and on The Sims Social Facebook page? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
Starting last week, Playfish gave away some free Relaxation--an ingredient used in crafting Fun Potions--in a short 24-hour window. So, it looks like, if you do decide to partake in the freebie-fest, you'll have to visit the Playfish forums on a regular basis to catch the next free giveaway that pops up. Perhaps eventually the developer will start to dole some beefier prizes like decorations for your Sim's house or straight-up Simoleons and Social Points.
EA and Playfish have been on a freebie frenzy as of late for all The Sims Social players. Just recently, the developer announced a week-long event in which it will post even more handouts on its Facebook page. At this point, we can't help but ask: Why? Well, considering just how close The Sims Social is to overtaking Zynga's CityVille as the number one game on Facebook in daily players, we're not surprised that Playfish would be pulling all the stops. To register on the Playfish forums, click right here.
Have you been reaping the rewards from Playfish on the forums and on The Sims Social Facebook page? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
Chủ Nhật, 2 tháng 10, 2011
Cafe World Farmers Insurance promotion comes with Professor Burke Statue
If anything, the folks at Zynga definitely know how to setup a good cross-promotion. After Capital One recently set up shop in a slew of Zynga's games (and practically took over FarmVille), we now see a new promotion launching in Cafe World with another company: Farmers Insurance (remember, we were told that Farmers would be making an appearance in the game back in June). If you watch a lot of TV, you might recognize this promotion's mascot of sorts - Professor Burke - from recent Farmers Insurance commercials.
Now, Professor Burke has come to your cafe as a character and as a statue, plated in gold. This "Professor Burke Statue" has a limited time of effectiveness, but will "insure" your cafe, granting you spoil protection on all of the dishes you cook from now until October 2. Luckily, the statue is free, and it doesn't require any "building" to gain its effect. You can either simply place the statue from the in-game pop-up that appears, or you can head into the game's build menu manually to drag your free statue out and into your cafe.
If there's one thing to remember about this, it isn't that the statue itself comes with a time limit that can be turned on and off depending on when you place it in your cafe; rather, it's a case where you'll want to place it in your cafe as soon as possible as the overall countdown timer ticks down until October 2. If the Farmers Insurance promotion grows in Cafe World, we'll make sure to let you know.
Would you have liked the Professor Burke Statue to have another effect, rather than wither protection? Or, will you take advantage of this opportunity to cook some quickly cooking dishes while you're busy doing other things since they won't spoil? Sound off in the comments.
Now, Professor Burke has come to your cafe as a character and as a statue, plated in gold. This "Professor Burke Statue" has a limited time of effectiveness, but will "insure" your cafe, granting you spoil protection on all of the dishes you cook from now until October 2. Luckily, the statue is free, and it doesn't require any "building" to gain its effect. You can either simply place the statue from the in-game pop-up that appears, or you can head into the game's build menu manually to drag your free statue out and into your cafe.
If there's one thing to remember about this, it isn't that the statue itself comes with a time limit that can be turned on and off depending on when you place it in your cafe; rather, it's a case where you'll want to place it in your cafe as soon as possible as the overall countdown timer ticks down until October 2. If the Farmers Insurance promotion grows in Cafe World, we'll make sure to let you know.
Would you have liked the Professor Burke Statue to have another effect, rather than wither protection? Or, will you take advantage of this opportunity to cook some quickly cooking dishes while you're busy doing other things since they won't spoil? Sound off in the comments.
Cafe World Manny's Mobile Meal Catering Order: Everything you need to know
Last week, we gave you a look at the second portion of the Cafe World two-year anniversary event, which takes us to the Philippines to help Manny on a Journey. While that may have been an already complex series of goals (and even a building project), Manny's story becomes even more in-depth today, as the accompanying catering order has finally launched. This order asks you to cook up a storm for a Filipino feast, and comes with the usual free recipe for completing this order with a three star rating.
Unfortunately, this is another order that will likely be impossible for some chefs to complete, unless they've already completed Manny's goals enough times to unlock all of the new Filipino recipes launched in this particular event. To be specific, you'll need to serve Lechon 475 times, Sisig 45 times and Filipino Paella 140 times. I suppose you could get lucky and have some really, really helpful friends do the cooking in these tasks for you (while you showered them with thanks, of course), or you could even pay your way through the goals with Cafe Cash to unlock the dishes more quickly that way. Either way, you're looking at some lengthy gameplay before you can even be eligible for completing this catering order on your own.
While you're cooking (or waiting on your friends to cook), you can ask your friends for the two collectible items in this order: 12 Monster Skewers and 16 Banana Leaves. Both of these are earned by sending out individual requests to friends, so earning all 28 may take you a few days, depending on the number of neighbors you have available to ask for help.
If you can complete this entire order within the first three days, you'll earn the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the Cassava Cake recipe. In addition, since this order is technically part of the two-year anniversary event, finishing with the three star rating also gives you a bonus of 10,000 Travel Passes. If three days proves to be too short, but you can finish within five days, you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the first five days have passed, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins. Again, you must finish with the three star rating to unlock the new recipe and the extra Travel Passes, so feel free to "cancel" your order if you run out of time and start over for another try.
What do you think of this newest catering order? How many of these three required dishes have you already unlocked in your cafe? Let us know in the comments.
Unfortunately, this is another order that will likely be impossible for some chefs to complete, unless they've already completed Manny's goals enough times to unlock all of the new Filipino recipes launched in this particular event. To be specific, you'll need to serve Lechon 475 times, Sisig 45 times and Filipino Paella 140 times. I suppose you could get lucky and have some really, really helpful friends do the cooking in these tasks for you (while you showered them with thanks, of course), or you could even pay your way through the goals with Cafe Cash to unlock the dishes more quickly that way. Either way, you're looking at some lengthy gameplay before you can even be eligible for completing this catering order on your own.
While you're cooking (or waiting on your friends to cook), you can ask your friends for the two collectible items in this order: 12 Monster Skewers and 16 Banana Leaves. Both of these are earned by sending out individual requests to friends, so earning all 28 may take you a few days, depending on the number of neighbors you have available to ask for help.
If you can complete this entire order within the first three days, you'll earn the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the Cassava Cake recipe. In addition, since this order is technically part of the two-year anniversary event, finishing with the three star rating also gives you a bonus of 10,000 Travel Passes. If three days proves to be too short, but you can finish within five days, you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the first five days have passed, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins. Again, you must finish with the three star rating to unlock the new recipe and the extra Travel Passes, so feel free to "cancel" your order if you run out of time and start over for another try.
What do you think of this newest catering order? How many of these three required dishes have you already unlocked in your cafe? Let us know in the comments.
CityVille: Finish your Bridge, Dam and more with discounted materials
If you've been putting off building one of the larger structures in CityVille (like the Bridge or Dam, as examples), because you didn't want to gather the required building materials from friends, or simply didn't want to pay the high prices to purchase those materials with City Cash, the team at Zynga is hoping that buy putting these items on sale (well, some of these items anyway), it might be enough to persuade you to open your wallet.
To be specific, a sale is now being held for up to 40% off building materials in the game. The materials are unfortunately limited to a specific set of buildings: the Bridge, Sailboat Hotel, Dam, Mall, Mall 2, Pirate Ship Attraction and Go Kart Attraction, and the rest of the game's many, many buildings are left unaffected. To make matters worse - between the two of us - the sale really isn't that good.
For example, let's say you wanted to finish your Pirate Ship Attraction. This one's building materials still cost 3 City Cash each. Perhaps if that were three City Cash in total for all of a particular ingredient I needed (say, two Ship's Prows or five Overhead Bars), that might be an acceptable price, but in our particular example, we're still looking at six City Cash for the Ship Prows and 15 City Cash for the Overhead Bars. Wouldn't it still be smarter (if not more time consuming) to ask friends for these items instead?
I suppose if you're looking for an easier way of completing these specific buildings, then you'll want to take advantage of this apparently limited time opportunity. Just don't feel any unneeded pressure to purchase building materials; the free way is still available, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Will you spend City Cash on any of these discounted building materials, or have you already completed the construction on all of these buildings? Let us know in the comments.
To be specific, a sale is now being held for up to 40% off building materials in the game. The materials are unfortunately limited to a specific set of buildings: the Bridge, Sailboat Hotel, Dam, Mall, Mall 2, Pirate Ship Attraction and Go Kart Attraction, and the rest of the game's many, many buildings are left unaffected. To make matters worse - between the two of us - the sale really isn't that good.
For example, let's say you wanted to finish your Pirate Ship Attraction. This one's building materials still cost 3 City Cash each. Perhaps if that were three City Cash in total for all of a particular ingredient I needed (say, two Ship's Prows or five Overhead Bars), that might be an acceptable price, but in our particular example, we're still looking at six City Cash for the Ship Prows and 15 City Cash for the Overhead Bars. Wouldn't it still be smarter (if not more time consuming) to ask friends for these items instead?
I suppose if you're looking for an easier way of completing these specific buildings, then you'll want to take advantage of this apparently limited time opportunity. Just don't feel any unneeded pressure to purchase building materials; the free way is still available, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Will you spend City Cash on any of these discounted building materials, or have you already completed the construction on all of these buildings? Let us know in the comments.
CityVille Governor's Run Family Goals: Everything you need to know
In your quest to become Governor in CityVille, you've had to help the farmers and the toy makers, but now it's time to look a little closer to home. Your third and final portion of Act I of this event will see you earning a family's vote in your campaign. Specifically, you're looking to impress the Stumpford family (remember them from the Family Vacation goals released back in August?). Why the Stumpfords wouldn't automatically be on your side after helping them before is anyone's guess, but here's how to earn their vote of confidence officially.
Family Matters
* Ask friends for 10 Magazine Subscriptions
* Collect from the Executive Driving Range 4 times
* Collect from Community Pool 6 times
As you might have guessed, the Magazine Subscriptions are earned via a general news post you'll post to your wall asking all of your friends to help you at once. As for the Executive Driving Range, this is the game's newest attraction that you can find the guide to building right here. Finally, the Community Pool is a Community Building that can be purchased from the store for 150,000 coins. By finishing this first goal, you'll receive a prize of 85 coins.
School of Thought
* Ask for 15 Tutors
* Upgrade Middle School to Level 3
* Harvest 70 Brussel Sprouts
The 15 Tutors, again, need to be earned via friends. As for the Middle School, you've been able to upgrade this particular Community Building since late August, but if you don't have it done already, you can check out our guide to doing just that. Finally, Brussel Sprouts are available to plant for 48 coins and are ready to harvest after eight hours. Finishing this second of three goals gives you 4,500 coins.
Exterior Decorator
* Ask friends for 20 Street Sweepers
* Remodel 6 Residences
* Unwither 24 Neighbor Crops
If you have any friends that stopped playing the game and left some crops growing (which most of us probably do), you should have no problem finding 24 individual squares to unwither. Just click on them when visiting friends' towns and you'll finish that task fast. For the residence remodeling task, this can turn into an expensive one, depending on the houses you choose to upgrade and the particular upgrades themselves, but you can see how to start the process in our guide. Finishing this final goal will complete your work with the Stumpfords (although I'm sure they'll be back in another feature in the future), and you'll receive the Mega Nail Salon business as a reward. This is a massive building that requires 410 Goods but supplies 3,050 coins each time those Goods are used.
Again, after you finish helping the Stumpfords (so long as you've also finished with the farmers and toy makers), you'll have finished the first portion of the Governor's Run event, but there's still a lot more waiting down the line. As the event continues to expand, we'll make sure to give you all of the details you need, so keep checking back with us!
[Via CityVille Wiki]
What do you think of these Governor's Run Family goals? Are they the most difficult of the three goal sets in this event so far? Sound off in the comments.
Family Matters
* Ask friends for 10 Magazine Subscriptions
* Collect from the Executive Driving Range 4 times
* Collect from Community Pool 6 times
As you might have guessed, the Magazine Subscriptions are earned via a general news post you'll post to your wall asking all of your friends to help you at once. As for the Executive Driving Range, this is the game's newest attraction that you can find the guide to building right here. Finally, the Community Pool is a Community Building that can be purchased from the store for 150,000 coins. By finishing this first goal, you'll receive a prize of 85 coins.
School of Thought
* Ask for 15 Tutors
* Upgrade Middle School to Level 3
* Harvest 70 Brussel Sprouts
The 15 Tutors, again, need to be earned via friends. As for the Middle School, you've been able to upgrade this particular Community Building since late August, but if you don't have it done already, you can check out our guide to doing just that. Finally, Brussel Sprouts are available to plant for 48 coins and are ready to harvest after eight hours. Finishing this second of three goals gives you 4,500 coins.
Exterior Decorator
* Ask friends for 20 Street Sweepers
* Remodel 6 Residences
* Unwither 24 Neighbor Crops
If you have any friends that stopped playing the game and left some crops growing (which most of us probably do), you should have no problem finding 24 individual squares to unwither. Just click on them when visiting friends' towns and you'll finish that task fast. For the residence remodeling task, this can turn into an expensive one, depending on the houses you choose to upgrade and the particular upgrades themselves, but you can see how to start the process in our guide. Finishing this final goal will complete your work with the Stumpfords (although I'm sure they'll be back in another feature in the future), and you'll receive the Mega Nail Salon business as a reward. This is a massive building that requires 410 Goods but supplies 3,050 coins each time those Goods are used.
Again, after you finish helping the Stumpfords (so long as you've also finished with the farmers and toy makers), you'll have finished the first portion of the Governor's Run event, but there's still a lot more waiting down the line. As the event continues to expand, we'll make sure to give you all of the details you need, so keep checking back with us!
[Via CityVille Wiki]
What do you think of these Governor's Run Family goals? Are they the most difficult of the three goal sets in this event so far? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille: Sheep and Pig Mastery now available
If you've been stocking up on pigs and sheep in FarmVille with the knowledge (or even just hope) that the FarmVille team would launch pig and sheep mastery in the game, your wait is over. Now, if you're wondering how exactly this will work with the literally thousands of possibilities for different kinds of pigs and sheep to be bred in the game, let me calm your fears: this doesn't result in the addition of an equal number of mastery signs; rather, the system is pretty straightforward, once you get past the "rules."
Basically, there are two sets of both sheep and pigs that determine which kind of mastery sign you'll earn. In Sheep Breeding, for an example, if the animal is specifically labeled as a Ram or Ewe, it's considered a "Sheep Pen Ram" or "Sheep Pen Ewe," which makes sense. All Sheep Pen Rams and Sheep Pen Ewes are combined into those two categories and work cumulatively towards a pair of mastery signs. That is, if you have a a purple Ewe on one farm and a pink or yellow Ewe on another farm (or even those with patterns), when harvesting them, they'll all be treated equally, working towards the same mastery sign.
This entire process is replicated when it comes to pigs. If it's a Boar or Sow, it works towards cumulative breeding pig mastery signs. On the other hand, if the animal is a basic pig or basic sheep that can be purchased from the store and doesn't immediately relate to breeding (some examples being a Party Pig, Grape Sheep, Polka Dots Sheep and so on), these do have their own individual signs, giving you plenty of additional signs to work towards.
As you might have guessed, the amount of mastery points required for these cumulative breeding signs are fairly substantial. In the case of pigs, the Pig Pen Boar sign's first star comes at 467 harvests, while the Pig Pen Sow's first star is earned after 588 harvests. For sheep, the Ewe sign's first star is earned at 840 harvests, while the first Ram star is acquired at 560 harvests.
Keep in mind, while pig and sheep mastery is fairly exciting, we still haven't seen the launch of Calf and Foal mastery in the game. That too is "coming soon," and we'll make sure to let you know when it launches in full.
Will you breed more sheep and pigs just to earn these new mastery signs? Will you purchase additional sheep or pigs from the store? Sound off in the comments.
Could the Angry Birds replace the proverbial demands of "Make Some Noise" at your next baseball game? Maybe not your next one, but soon you could be cheering to fling the irate winged beasts into their plump green enemies. Pocket Gamer reports that Uplause, a Finnish developer of crowd-based games, has rebuilt Angry Birds with its creator, Rovio, into a version controlled by noise.
The self-proclaimed "social game maker for big crowds" has created similar games for use in stadiums for ice hockey games, soccer matches and even music festivals. Over the past summer, Uplause worked with Rovio to create a version of Angry Birds that is controlled using noise as an input device. (Namely, cheering, clapping, stomping and perhaps even booing, we assume.)
"As in the original, there's about a four second period before firing," Uplause CEO Veli-Pekka Marin explained to Pocket Gamer. "For live events, we'd expect each gaming session to take a few minutes." But in that time, thousands of folks will play at the same time. If anything, it's terribly efficient.
While all we know about this seriously social version of Angry Birds is that noise generates power for the game's slingshot, Pocket Gamer guesses that aiming is done automatically. Rovio and Uplause will first test this massive version of Angry Birds at a Formula 1 race taking place in Singapore this weekend, and the company's CMO Peter Vesterbacka sounds excited for its imminent global expansion.
"Through social participation, our fans will get to interact with the Angry Birds in an entirely new way," Vesterbacka said to Pocket Gamer. "We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters." I think Vesterbacka is confusing "emotional connection" with "drunken, crowd-fueled stupor." Check out the video below to get an idea of how it might work. Who knows you might be doing the same thing at the next World Series.
What do you imagine a noise-controlled version of Angry Birds would be like? What other games come to mind when you think of this approach? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Basically, there are two sets of both sheep and pigs that determine which kind of mastery sign you'll earn. In Sheep Breeding, for an example, if the animal is specifically labeled as a Ram or Ewe, it's considered a "Sheep Pen Ram" or "Sheep Pen Ewe," which makes sense. All Sheep Pen Rams and Sheep Pen Ewes are combined into those two categories and work cumulatively towards a pair of mastery signs. That is, if you have a a purple Ewe on one farm and a pink or yellow Ewe on another farm (or even those with patterns), when harvesting them, they'll all be treated equally, working towards the same mastery sign.
This entire process is replicated when it comes to pigs. If it's a Boar or Sow, it works towards cumulative breeding pig mastery signs. On the other hand, if the animal is a basic pig or basic sheep that can be purchased from the store and doesn't immediately relate to breeding (some examples being a Party Pig, Grape Sheep, Polka Dots Sheep and so on), these do have their own individual signs, giving you plenty of additional signs to work towards.
As you might have guessed, the amount of mastery points required for these cumulative breeding signs are fairly substantial. In the case of pigs, the Pig Pen Boar sign's first star comes at 467 harvests, while the Pig Pen Sow's first star is earned after 588 harvests. For sheep, the Ewe sign's first star is earned at 840 harvests, while the first Ram star is acquired at 560 harvests.
Keep in mind, while pig and sheep mastery is fairly exciting, we still haven't seen the launch of Calf and Foal mastery in the game. That too is "coming soon," and we'll make sure to let you know when it launches in full.
Will you breed more sheep and pigs just to earn these new mastery signs? Will you purchase additional sheep or pigs from the store? Sound off in the comments.
Could the Angry Birds replace the proverbial demands of "Make Some Noise" at your next baseball game? Maybe not your next one, but soon you could be cheering to fling the irate winged beasts into their plump green enemies. Pocket Gamer reports that Uplause, a Finnish developer of crowd-based games, has rebuilt Angry Birds with its creator, Rovio, into a version controlled by noise.
The self-proclaimed "social game maker for big crowds" has created similar games for use in stadiums for ice hockey games, soccer matches and even music festivals. Over the past summer, Uplause worked with Rovio to create a version of Angry Birds that is controlled using noise as an input device. (Namely, cheering, clapping, stomping and perhaps even booing, we assume.)
"As in the original, there's about a four second period before firing," Uplause CEO Veli-Pekka Marin explained to Pocket Gamer. "For live events, we'd expect each gaming session to take a few minutes." But in that time, thousands of folks will play at the same time. If anything, it's terribly efficient.
While all we know about this seriously social version of Angry Birds is that noise generates power for the game's slingshot, Pocket Gamer guesses that aiming is done automatically. Rovio and Uplause will first test this massive version of Angry Birds at a Formula 1 race taking place in Singapore this weekend, and the company's CMO Peter Vesterbacka sounds excited for its imminent global expansion.
"Through social participation, our fans will get to interact with the Angry Birds in an entirely new way," Vesterbacka said to Pocket Gamer. "We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters." I think Vesterbacka is confusing "emotional connection" with "drunken, crowd-fueled stupor." Check out the video below to get an idea of how it might work. Who knows you might be doing the same thing at the next World Series.
What do you imagine a noise-controlled version of Angry Birds would be like? What other games come to mind when you think of this approach? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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