What is it? The definitive football management sim.
Should you care? Far too intimidating for me, but the hardcore will enjoy.
Thứ Tư, 26 tháng 10, 2011
Dance Central (360)
What is it? The sequel to my second favourite game on Kinect (Child of Eden 4 Lyfe, yo).
Should you care? If you have Kinect, and friends, then yes.
Should you care? If you have Kinect, and friends, then yes.
Batman Arkham City (360/PS3)
What is it? The best licensed game ever made? Some people think so.
Should you care? Care of Batman will tear out your intestines, chuck it in a pot, and baby – you got yourself a stew! (Yes, you should bloody well care!)
Should you care? Care of Batman will tear out your intestines, chuck it in a pot, and baby – you got yourself a stew! (Yes, you should bloody well care!)
This Week In Games
It has begun. The ungodly flurry of top quality releases has already kicked off in earnest with Dark Souls, Gears of War 3, FIFA 12, Forza 4, et al. It continues this week with Batman: Arkham City – and we’re just getting started. My poor bank balance…
Obviously Batman: Arkham City, being that it’s a genuine game of the year contender and all, is top of this week’s shopping list – but Dance Central 2 is also coming out.
Obviously Batman: Arkham City, being that it’s a genuine game of the year contender and all, is top of this week’s shopping list – but Dance Central 2 is also coming out.
Community Review: ICO And Shadow of the Colossus Collection
Surprisingly, within an hour, I was completely engrossed. I think, more than any other PS2 game I can think of, Shadow of the Colossus was really deserving of a HD upgrade. The PS2′s architecture struggled with the game originally, with chuggy frame-rates, and bugs galore. This remake, with its sharp visuals, really utilises the PS3′s grunt to real effect. The game feels transformed.
Shadow of the Colossus was always one of the most aesthetically pleasing PS2 games available, but unlike other titles, the move to HD doesn’t age the game – it adds a whole new dimension. Wander’s character model, in particular the face, really benefits from the upgrade. It could hardly pass for a next gen title, but it comes closer than most.
Plenty had complained about the controls – but I continue to be a fan of games that work their control systems outside of the box, instead of defaulting to a set of control that have become ubiquitous. The controls match the game. It makes sense within the whole stamina/risk/reward matrix that makes climbing atop the colossi so engaging.
Shadow of the Colossus was always one of the most aesthetically pleasing PS2 games available, but unlike other titles, the move to HD doesn’t age the game – it adds a whole new dimension. Wander’s character model, in particular the face, really benefits from the upgrade. It could hardly pass for a next gen title, but it comes closer than most.
Plenty had complained about the controls – but I continue to be a fan of games that work their control systems outside of the box, instead of defaulting to a set of control that have become ubiquitous. The controls match the game. It makes sense within the whole stamina/risk/reward matrix that makes climbing atop the colossi so engaging.
Dark Souls Beaten In Less Than 87 Minutes!
Thanks go to VG247 for unearthing this incredible speed run of Dark Souls. For those of you currently engrossed in one of the most difficult games released this year, or any other year for that matter, this is must watch stuff. And it goes without saying – spoilers. Click on to see how it was done.
A Visual Of Australians In Video Games: The Trilogy Is Complete
Andrew Burdusel has a great habit of summing things up in a visual form, but with this piece – Australians in Video Games 3 – he has finally completed his incredible Aussies in Gaming trilogy. If you want to see a brilliant visual representation of practically every Australian character ever featured in a video game, then look no further.
Thứ Ba, 25 tháng 10, 2011
Valve Tinkering With An Excellent Portal 2 Feature That Talks Back
The people who made Portal 2 want to make it easier for you to make more Portal 2, according to a new report about the making of the game’s Peer Review expansion written by GTTV host Geoff Keighley.
In a free expansion to his PC, Mac and iOS behind-the-scenes article/app The Final Hours of Portal 2 that will be available today, Keighley explains that Valve people are working on “a Photoshop for test chambers,” a user-friendly editing tool that would allow amateurs to easily craft new Portal 2 levels. These folks are also developing a system that would allow Portal 2 players to access the new levels from within the game, without having to go outside the game to access them. “Now maps will appear on an easy to use menu, dramatically expanding the potential audience for fan-created content–and hopefully making it available on the consoles as well.”
In a free expansion to his PC, Mac and iOS behind-the-scenes article/app The Final Hours of Portal 2 that will be available today, Keighley explains that Valve people are working on “a Photoshop for test chambers,” a user-friendly editing tool that would allow amateurs to easily craft new Portal 2 levels. These folks are also developing a system that would allow Portal 2 players to access the new levels from within the game, without having to go outside the game to access them. “Now maps will appear on an easy to use menu, dramatically expanding the potential audience for fan-created content–and hopefully making it available on the consoles as well.”
There’s A Little Thrall In Everyone’s BlizzCon 2011 Bag, Courtesy Of Mega Bloks
In celebration of their upcoming World of Warcraft and StarCraft II lines, Mega Bloks is hitting BlizzCon 2011 big time, with a tiny Thrall for every convention attendee, a limited edition StarCraft II Battlecruiser, and much, much more.
I’ve become a bit of a Mega Bloks fan ever since I picked up one of their Need for Speed vehicles back in August, so I’m pretty jazzed that the company is taking a shot at some of Blizzard’s top properties. They seemed pretty thrilled as well, pulling out all the stops for a titanic showing at BlizzCon 2011 this weekend.
Things start off small with a special present for all physical attendees to the show, a special edition figure of World of Warcraft‘s top orc, Thrall. Everyone at the show will score one, and there will be ‘Make & Take’ stations on the show floor where attendees can try to build their own display stand for the fig.
From there Thrall gets much bigger. Standing seven feet tall and weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds, Mega Bloks Thrall is the biggest Mega Bloks statue ever built. Con-goers are invited to take their picture with the massive creation and Tweet it for a chance to win signed concept sketches of the mini-Thrall giveaway figure.
They’ve even got a custom, one-of-a-kind Mega Bloks replica of the famous evil sword Frostmourne on display, which the attendee closest to guessing the number of pieces in its construction will go home with.
Along with all of that World of Warcraft goodness Mega Bloks will also be debuting their WoW product line at the show, giving fans a sneak peek at what’s in store for them next summer.
I’ve become a bit of a Mega Bloks fan ever since I picked up one of their Need for Speed vehicles back in August, so I’m pretty jazzed that the company is taking a shot at some of Blizzard’s top properties. They seemed pretty thrilled as well, pulling out all the stops for a titanic showing at BlizzCon 2011 this weekend.
Things start off small with a special present for all physical attendees to the show, a special edition figure of World of Warcraft‘s top orc, Thrall. Everyone at the show will score one, and there will be ‘Make & Take’ stations on the show floor where attendees can try to build their own display stand for the fig.
From there Thrall gets much bigger. Standing seven feet tall and weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds, Mega Bloks Thrall is the biggest Mega Bloks statue ever built. Con-goers are invited to take their picture with the massive creation and Tweet it for a chance to win signed concept sketches of the mini-Thrall giveaway figure.
They’ve even got a custom, one-of-a-kind Mega Bloks replica of the famous evil sword Frostmourne on display, which the attendee closest to guessing the number of pieces in its construction will go home with.
Along with all of that World of Warcraft goodness Mega Bloks will also be debuting their WoW product line at the show, giving fans a sneak peek at what’s in store for them next summer.
Thứ Hai, 24 tháng 10, 2011
49% Of Gamers Don’t Buy Downloadable Content
An Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) report has released figures showing that 49% of gamers in the marketplace still aren’t purchasing downloadable content for HD consoles. The report cites that privacy concerns, along with issues of cost and a lack of an ability to return the content are among the major reasons for the slow uptake of paid for DLC.
Interestingly, despite the fact a number of consumers cited privacy issues, EEDAR are claiming that the PSN hacking incident actually had very little effect on the statistics.
However, EEDAR’s survey data does not suggest that the PSN incident had a major impact on consumer privacy concerns. EEDAR’s survey was conducted before and after the official announcement of the breach. When comparing the responses prior to and after the breach, the results were within 4 points of the overall average (47%). In addition, privacy concerns of Xbox 360 owners and PlayStation 3 owners remained within 5 percentage points of each other after the breach.
Personally, I tend to not buy add-on DLC, even if the content promises compelling new content. I’m usually happy with the experience of the boxed games themselves. The one exception for me was the Episodes from Liberty City content, which felt like complete new games as opposed to add on content.
You can read the full report here.
What about you folks – do you commonly pick up DLC through your PSN and 360? Let us know in the comments below.
Interestingly, despite the fact a number of consumers cited privacy issues, EEDAR are claiming that the PSN hacking incident actually had very little effect on the statistics.
However, EEDAR’s survey data does not suggest that the PSN incident had a major impact on consumer privacy concerns. EEDAR’s survey was conducted before and after the official announcement of the breach. When comparing the responses prior to and after the breach, the results were within 4 points of the overall average (47%). In addition, privacy concerns of Xbox 360 owners and PlayStation 3 owners remained within 5 percentage points of each other after the breach.
Personally, I tend to not buy add-on DLC, even if the content promises compelling new content. I’m usually happy with the experience of the boxed games themselves. The one exception for me was the Episodes from Liberty City content, which felt like complete new games as opposed to add on content.
You can read the full report here.
What about you folks – do you commonly pick up DLC through your PSN and 360? Let us know in the comments below.
Will Wright’s Business Cards Are Money
I’ve seen some cool business cards in my time–I remember that at my first GDC, I practically had a Patrick Bateman-style existential crisis over how inferior my own cards were at the time.
But Sim City and Spore creator Will Wright’s got us all beat–he puts his personal information on actual printed money. Sure, it’s Yougoslavian money that has no longer has any actual value, but if anything, that makes it cooler. The image of the “card” itself was shared by The Atlantic‘s Alexis Madrigal, who got the card while interviewing Wright.
Will Wright’s Awesome Business Cards: Just his Information Stamped on Old Currency [The Atlantic]
But Sim City and Spore creator Will Wright’s got us all beat–he puts his personal information on actual printed money. Sure, it’s Yougoslavian money that has no longer has any actual value, but if anything, that makes it cooler. The image of the “card” itself was shared by The Atlantic‘s Alexis Madrigal, who got the card while interviewing Wright.
Will Wright’s Awesome Business Cards: Just his Information Stamped on Old Currency [The Atlantic]
A Special Message For Battlefield 3 Campers
the man behind the crossbow-laden Skyrim fan film we featured last month, teams up with rap artist DeStorm to deliver a special message to folks that are considering finding a nice quite spot to camp on when Battlefield 3 launches next week.
You know the people they’re talking about here. The ones that immediately ran down to the lakeside during the Battlefield 3 beta and crouched down with their sniper rifles, thinking themselves so clever. The first place I went every time I spawned was right down there, swimming my way up behind them to take them out before I had to see them on the kill cam. I hate those fuckers.
Campers Be Warned [YouTube]
You can contact Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at fahey@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
You know the people they’re talking about here. The ones that immediately ran down to the lakeside during the Battlefield 3 beta and crouched down with their sniper rifles, thinking themselves so clever. The first place I went every time I spawned was right down there, swimming my way up behind them to take them out before I had to see them on the kill cam. I hate those fuckers.
Campers Be Warned [YouTube]
You can contact Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at fahey@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 10, 2011
Ironic Choice of Music in Kinect ad
You might recognize the riff.
Vid-1
(sorry the original was taken down)
Its the song used in this Kinect ad
Vid-2
lets look at the lyrics shall we?
The tune is called "Natural's not in it" by "Gang of Four"
The problem of leisure
What to do for pleasure
Ideal love a new purchase
A market of the senses
Dream of the perfect life
Economic circumstances
The body is good business
Sell out, maintain the interest
Remember Lot's wife
Renounce all sin and vice
Dream of the perfect life
This heaven gives me migraine
The problem of leisure
What to do for pleasure
Vid-1
(sorry the original was taken down)
Its the song used in this Kinect ad
Vid-2
lets look at the lyrics shall we?
The tune is called "Natural's not in it" by "Gang of Four"
The problem of leisure
What to do for pleasure
Ideal love a new purchase
A market of the senses
Dream of the perfect life
Economic circumstances
The body is good business
Sell out, maintain the interest
Remember Lot's wife
Renounce all sin and vice
Dream of the perfect life
This heaven gives me migraine
The problem of leisure
What to do for pleasure
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 10, 2011
360 vs: PS3 (a tongue-firmly-in-cheek matchup)
Has anyone noticed the flood of anti 360/Microsoft articles of late? Is this the PS3 troll-brigade playing damage control due to the popularity of Kinect? Or, is the Xbox 360 a truly abysmal console? Find out in this unbiased, facts-only, head-to-head match-up between the PS3 and 360. Which console is the overall best buy? Will it be the 360 with it's shooters and new-found trendy gadget Kinect? Or will it be the PS3 with it's free online and strong exclusive lineup? Read ahead to find out!
DISCLAIMER:
I want to start off by saying that I own a PS3, a 360, a Wii, a Mac, and a PC. I haved owned a large variety of gaming consoles over the years dating back to the Commodore 64 and the Atari. Thus, I hope that you will trust that this is very much an unbiased comparison (unlike many other comparison writers that obviously have a bias when writing a similar review).
1. SONY vs: MICROSOFT:
As we all know, Microsoft kidnaps babies from third world countries and eats them. They come down a conveyor belt and go right into the mouth of Xbox developers. They are crunchy like potato chips. Bill Gates is laughing at you as he swims in your money earned through your blood, sweat and tears.
DISCLAIMER:
I want to start off by saying that I own a PS3, a 360, a Wii, a Mac, and a PC. I haved owned a large variety of gaming consoles over the years dating back to the Commodore 64 and the Atari. Thus, I hope that you will trust that this is very much an unbiased comparison (unlike many other comparison writers that obviously have a bias when writing a similar review).
1. SONY vs: MICROSOFT:
As we all know, Microsoft kidnaps babies from third world countries and eats them. They come down a conveyor belt and go right into the mouth of Xbox developers. They are crunchy like potato chips. Bill Gates is laughing at you as he swims in your money earned through your blood, sweat and tears.
Embrace the First Person Shooter Renaissance
Since about 2007, if you ask me, something's been very wrong about the whole direction of the first person shooter. Sure, FPS is a genre that arguably evolves throughout the generations, but this generation, I feel, the fun has been removed from a lot of first person shooters.
My personal blame for all this is the intertwining of genres, although some great games such as Bioshock have come out of this and the fact a first person shooter has mostly just become an online game competing against each other for a short time span until the next best thing comes along. I'm not saying that I haven't enjoyed a FPS in the last 4 years or so, I've enjoyed Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare campaigns a lot and enjoyed Killzone 2 and the Resistance series to date and I'm a fairly big fan of the Halo universe. I'm just saying I think the genre is getting to the point of stagnation with all of the 'modern' based FPS after we all got virtually sick with the old silent 'space marine' cliche last generation, which nobody EVER came near to Halo. it's time to move on. It's time to escape from the confines of the real world and the wars within it. It's time to be a hero with one liners and a crapload of guns and shoot stuff in block sized arenas or struggle shooting enemies in cramped corridors.
With Bulletstorm, Duke Nukem Forever and Rage coming out this year, it looks like developers are beginning to pay attention that first person shooters are wholly meant to be fun and concentrating on the single player side of the game and have gotten fed up of people buying the game to 'go online'.
When I like a FPS, I prefer a FPS to feel 'chunky'. I can only describe a 'chunky FPS' as a FPS where your gun takes up most of the bottom of the screen, keycards, labyrinth levels, powerups, pick ups, health packs and a basic sci-fi inspired story. Examples, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake 1&2, Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Serious Sam, Nitro Family, Painkiller, Will Rock, Doom 3, Quake 4, quite recently, the shamefully badly marketed but great Singularity. The kind of gameplay in these games were the blueprints for what we play now.
IF you think you think those games are 'linear'. I challenge you to actually go back and play your Call of Duty game, play a level of the campaign and hopefully it'll sink in that the level design and freedom in first person shooters has actually gone backwards, the level design in Doom is more complicated than Call of Duty.
To date, I must say the last 'chunky FPS' released that I played was 2K Games Prey released in 2006. I loved Prey because of the odd, scary, physics breaking world it injected you into and the creative, but basic FPS weapons it supplied you with. The lead character, however, spoke, which is a rarity in chunky FPS. Not since Duke had I heard someone speak so clearly and not be afraid of showing the lead character at the beginning of the game. Prey also had (static) portal mechanics, before Portal, so I do find it a little annoying that Prey gets forgotten so often because to me, it had so many achievements as a game and had real character and concept. Bethesdea now have the rights for the franchise, so hopefully Prey 2 will be under Id tech 5.
Back to the games releasing this year, Bulletstorm arguably, looks like People Can Fly are applying everything they learned making Painkiller and just upping the scale. Combos in FPS aren't a new thing though, shooting combos can be found in the Xbox port of Serious Sam and a little known game made with the Serious Engine for PC named 'Nitro Family' (Go check it out, insane game), I believe the last point award system with multipliers was ironically, CoD4's Arcade Mode. But Bulletstorm looks to put the 'shooting' back into FPS and to be a whole lot of fun. But is actually a continuation of the early 2000's budget shooter that got kickstarted on PC again by Serious Sam which arguably picked up popularity because the FPS genre was getting stale because of getting too 'serious' ingrained in reality, sound familiar?
Duke Nukem Forever, goes without saying. Most people think that DNF will be a grand end for one big joke. I think that it'll be a revitalisation for the first person shooter. For a first person shooter, you really don't need a big story. A first person shooter is the equivalent of an 80's action film and Duke 3D reveled in that. Looking at Duke Nukem Forever, it looks to be giving a swift kick in the balls of what a first person shooter should be, plus, still following 3D Realms trademark as in Duke 3D and Prey, there's going to be a lot of doors to open, buttons to press and general interactivity, maybe even a pool table again.
Rage is Id Software's new baby. John Carmack, what can I say. Id software basically vanished from the development scene after 2004's Doom3, although Doom3 wasn't the macho hell cheese fest everyone expected it had it's moments. For those who did want that kind of crazy action, try the expansion pack 'Resurrection of Evil'. In the past, Id was always the developer to set the ball rolling with how to evolve the FPS. Doom, then Quake, Quake 2 and then hit the online world with Quake 3 Arena and then, arguably. Epic took over with anything with Unreal stamped on it being quality, barring Unreal 2. Meanwhile Id licensed their engines to numerous games and even allowed other developers to follow through with their IP. Rage is Id's IP and unfortunately, Id Software need to keep up with the rest of the gaming world this time. It may just look like another Fallout 3 or Borderlands, but this is Id we're talking about. Id start trends, they don't follow. So I expect a lot out of this.
I hope you agree with my stance of the first person shooter and how personally, they were more fun when they didn't actually take their selves too seriously, connect to real world events or have realistic damage that couldn't be repaired by a box on the ground by a man carrying 10 guns on his back. The chunky FPS returns and I'm all for it.
My personal blame for all this is the intertwining of genres, although some great games such as Bioshock have come out of this and the fact a first person shooter has mostly just become an online game competing against each other for a short time span until the next best thing comes along. I'm not saying that I haven't enjoyed a FPS in the last 4 years or so, I've enjoyed Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare campaigns a lot and enjoyed Killzone 2 and the Resistance series to date and I'm a fairly big fan of the Halo universe. I'm just saying I think the genre is getting to the point of stagnation with all of the 'modern' based FPS after we all got virtually sick with the old silent 'space marine' cliche last generation, which nobody EVER came near to Halo. it's time to move on. It's time to escape from the confines of the real world and the wars within it. It's time to be a hero with one liners and a crapload of guns and shoot stuff in block sized arenas or struggle shooting enemies in cramped corridors.
With Bulletstorm, Duke Nukem Forever and Rage coming out this year, it looks like developers are beginning to pay attention that first person shooters are wholly meant to be fun and concentrating on the single player side of the game and have gotten fed up of people buying the game to 'go online'.
When I like a FPS, I prefer a FPS to feel 'chunky'. I can only describe a 'chunky FPS' as a FPS where your gun takes up most of the bottom of the screen, keycards, labyrinth levels, powerups, pick ups, health packs and a basic sci-fi inspired story. Examples, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake 1&2, Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Serious Sam, Nitro Family, Painkiller, Will Rock, Doom 3, Quake 4, quite recently, the shamefully badly marketed but great Singularity. The kind of gameplay in these games were the blueprints for what we play now.
IF you think you think those games are 'linear'. I challenge you to actually go back and play your Call of Duty game, play a level of the campaign and hopefully it'll sink in that the level design and freedom in first person shooters has actually gone backwards, the level design in Doom is more complicated than Call of Duty.
To date, I must say the last 'chunky FPS' released that I played was 2K Games Prey released in 2006. I loved Prey because of the odd, scary, physics breaking world it injected you into and the creative, but basic FPS weapons it supplied you with. The lead character, however, spoke, which is a rarity in chunky FPS. Not since Duke had I heard someone speak so clearly and not be afraid of showing the lead character at the beginning of the game. Prey also had (static) portal mechanics, before Portal, so I do find it a little annoying that Prey gets forgotten so often because to me, it had so many achievements as a game and had real character and concept. Bethesdea now have the rights for the franchise, so hopefully Prey 2 will be under Id tech 5.
Back to the games releasing this year, Bulletstorm arguably, looks like People Can Fly are applying everything they learned making Painkiller and just upping the scale. Combos in FPS aren't a new thing though, shooting combos can be found in the Xbox port of Serious Sam and a little known game made with the Serious Engine for PC named 'Nitro Family' (Go check it out, insane game), I believe the last point award system with multipliers was ironically, CoD4's Arcade Mode. But Bulletstorm looks to put the 'shooting' back into FPS and to be a whole lot of fun. But is actually a continuation of the early 2000's budget shooter that got kickstarted on PC again by Serious Sam which arguably picked up popularity because the FPS genre was getting stale because of getting too 'serious' ingrained in reality, sound familiar?
Duke Nukem Forever, goes without saying. Most people think that DNF will be a grand end for one big joke. I think that it'll be a revitalisation for the first person shooter. For a first person shooter, you really don't need a big story. A first person shooter is the equivalent of an 80's action film and Duke 3D reveled in that. Looking at Duke Nukem Forever, it looks to be giving a swift kick in the balls of what a first person shooter should be, plus, still following 3D Realms trademark as in Duke 3D and Prey, there's going to be a lot of doors to open, buttons to press and general interactivity, maybe even a pool table again.
Rage is Id Software's new baby. John Carmack, what can I say. Id software basically vanished from the development scene after 2004's Doom3, although Doom3 wasn't the macho hell cheese fest everyone expected it had it's moments. For those who did want that kind of crazy action, try the expansion pack 'Resurrection of Evil'. In the past, Id was always the developer to set the ball rolling with how to evolve the FPS. Doom, then Quake, Quake 2 and then hit the online world with Quake 3 Arena and then, arguably. Epic took over with anything with Unreal stamped on it being quality, barring Unreal 2. Meanwhile Id licensed their engines to numerous games and even allowed other developers to follow through with their IP. Rage is Id's IP and unfortunately, Id Software need to keep up with the rest of the gaming world this time. It may just look like another Fallout 3 or Borderlands, but this is Id we're talking about. Id start trends, they don't follow. So I expect a lot out of this.
I hope you agree with my stance of the first person shooter and how personally, they were more fun when they didn't actually take their selves too seriously, connect to real world events or have realistic damage that couldn't be repaired by a box on the ground by a man carrying 10 guns on his back. The chunky FPS returns and I'm all for it.
Sequels Slump: What's Wrong with the Industry?
Game sequels have been popping out faster than anyone can play them. It appears that for every original intellectual property we get, there are at least two sequels that we have to suffer through. Just look at games like Fable 3 or Fallout New Vegas. These are games that offer slightly more content with kinda improved graphics for the same game play you already had. Sure there are some new weapons a few new gimmicks but it is basically just a lot of DLC collected on a disc. But perhaps that is better than doing business like Bioshock 2 and making us pay for DLC that I already had. Seriously The Sinclair Solutions Test Pack was on the disc, you just had to pay to unlock it.
Speaking of Bioshock I’d like to point out that not all sequels are a bad thing. I cannot tell you how excited I am about Bioshock Infinite. However Bioshock Infinite is a perfect example. Ken Levine (writer of Bioshock) wanted a time consuming and ambitious sequel to Bioshock, to which 2K said no thank you. They put 2K Marin on the job and got the turnaround they were looking for and we all saw the results, mundane multiplayer, a couple of new gimmicks and an ok story overall. Then Irrational Games announces the true successor to Bioshock a year later.
Financial times are hard and for multimillion dollar companies looking at the bottom line this could not be truer but at some point popping out sequels like kittens has to hurt a business. With the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops the industry has sealed its own fate. No game developer is going to bother rebooting a franchise that sells that well. So why bother buying a game that will be released again next year with new features and graphics? At least with games like Halo Reach you know they might wait 2 or 3 years before making another.
Sequels have also become so prominent that games now “tease” the sequel in the game you are playing. Did anyone play Gears of War 2, does anyone believe that 3 will be the last one…NO. Mainly because they let you know after the credits that there are still unresolved conflicts in this “epic” story. And yet I’m supposed to believe that GOW 3 is the last one right? As much as I anticipate getting my claws on Dead Space 2 they have even found a way to ruin it for me before the release. Not too long ago it was said that there is a “tease” for Dead Space 3 somewhere in 2. Seriously, I just bought this game and you are telling me that I’m going to have to buy it again in 2 years or whenever the hell you decided to release it. I mean let’s face it people Dead Space 2 does offer new mechanics but will 3 really give us anything that couldn’t have just been some intense DLC?
Oh but my favorite was when Valve released Left for Dead 2. Valve swore to us that this game added a new smarter A.I. and content that just could not be put into DLC. Well some people called shenanigans and started a petition. Luckily the petition went away after the person who started it was invited to Valve to play the game and see that it was a true sequel. The author then stopped his own petition after this visit saying that it is truly a standalone game (I’m sure the bribe he had to have received didn’t hurt either). Fast-forward to The Sacrifice DLC release for Left for Dead 1 and 2. This was an amazing add-on that gave Left for Dead 1 the new special infected, weapons and A.I. from L4D 2 that Valve claimed was not possible with DLC. Oh and it deleted any achievement progress for Left for Dead 1 when installed, stellar job Valve.
Sequels are obviously nothing new to the game industry (how many Mario games are there again?) but we are no longer talking about a simple sequel anymore. Dead Space, Resistance and Kill zone have started joining the ranks of Call of Duty, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed. Will Isaac Clark still have an interesting tale when he’s a traumatized forty something psychiatric patient still chasing the Marker? Or even worse they kill him off or pull a Metal Gear Solid 2 and don’t even have him in a majority of the game.
While there are millions of stories in the world that cannot be summed up in one movie, game, book etc., there is just as much soulless money making attempts. I beg the industry to start some new IP’s and if they suck then move on. Don’t beat the good ones to death in order to get its retarted clone out in two years. Money is the only real way to talk to any business. So just ask yourself while standing in the game isle holding that copy of Killzone 5, is this really worth it?
Speaking of Bioshock I’d like to point out that not all sequels are a bad thing. I cannot tell you how excited I am about Bioshock Infinite. However Bioshock Infinite is a perfect example. Ken Levine (writer of Bioshock) wanted a time consuming and ambitious sequel to Bioshock, to which 2K said no thank you. They put 2K Marin on the job and got the turnaround they were looking for and we all saw the results, mundane multiplayer, a couple of new gimmicks and an ok story overall. Then Irrational Games announces the true successor to Bioshock a year later.
Financial times are hard and for multimillion dollar companies looking at the bottom line this could not be truer but at some point popping out sequels like kittens has to hurt a business. With the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops the industry has sealed its own fate. No game developer is going to bother rebooting a franchise that sells that well. So why bother buying a game that will be released again next year with new features and graphics? At least with games like Halo Reach you know they might wait 2 or 3 years before making another.
Sequels have also become so prominent that games now “tease” the sequel in the game you are playing. Did anyone play Gears of War 2, does anyone believe that 3 will be the last one…NO. Mainly because they let you know after the credits that there are still unresolved conflicts in this “epic” story. And yet I’m supposed to believe that GOW 3 is the last one right? As much as I anticipate getting my claws on Dead Space 2 they have even found a way to ruin it for me before the release. Not too long ago it was said that there is a “tease” for Dead Space 3 somewhere in 2. Seriously, I just bought this game and you are telling me that I’m going to have to buy it again in 2 years or whenever the hell you decided to release it. I mean let’s face it people Dead Space 2 does offer new mechanics but will 3 really give us anything that couldn’t have just been some intense DLC?
Oh but my favorite was when Valve released Left for Dead 2. Valve swore to us that this game added a new smarter A.I. and content that just could not be put into DLC. Well some people called shenanigans and started a petition. Luckily the petition went away after the person who started it was invited to Valve to play the game and see that it was a true sequel. The author then stopped his own petition after this visit saying that it is truly a standalone game (I’m sure the bribe he had to have received didn’t hurt either). Fast-forward to The Sacrifice DLC release for Left for Dead 1 and 2. This was an amazing add-on that gave Left for Dead 1 the new special infected, weapons and A.I. from L4D 2 that Valve claimed was not possible with DLC. Oh and it deleted any achievement progress for Left for Dead 1 when installed, stellar job Valve.
Sequels are obviously nothing new to the game industry (how many Mario games are there again?) but we are no longer talking about a simple sequel anymore. Dead Space, Resistance and Kill zone have started joining the ranks of Call of Duty, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed. Will Isaac Clark still have an interesting tale when he’s a traumatized forty something psychiatric patient still chasing the Marker? Or even worse they kill him off or pull a Metal Gear Solid 2 and don’t even have him in a majority of the game.
While there are millions of stories in the world that cannot be summed up in one movie, game, book etc., there is just as much soulless money making attempts. I beg the industry to start some new IP’s and if they suck then move on. Don’t beat the good ones to death in order to get its retarted clone out in two years. Money is the only real way to talk to any business. So just ask yourself while standing in the game isle holding that copy of Killzone 5, is this really worth it?
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!
Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!
Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games
A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Thứ Bảy, 15 tháng 10, 2011
I'm a fanboy apparently
I've recently sold my Xbox 360, making me a PS3 only gamer which I am happy about. I had my usual look on N4g and seen a thread showing two direct feed screen shots of infamous 2, to me they looked jaggy. I played infamous one and that game suffered from the same problem. Here's my exact comment
"very jaggy
like the first one"
Too me that is just my observation about the screen shots and infamous one. I'd love too no how I can be a 360 fanboy when I don't even own one. Its unbelievable that you can't have an opinion with out being labeled a fanboy. No wonder Sony fanboys have the worst reputation, even PS3 only gamers get attacked by them. I think you need to lighten up, I'm not going to name names but if you do read this I'm sure you no who you are. One of the reasons they gave me was that my TV wasn't good enough yet I think my Philips 32" LED 1080p TV has a stunning picture and shows all the little details so that can't be right. Or maybe I'm posing as a PS3 gamer, let the conspiracy theories comence. If you feel the need to check up on me my PSN ID is on my profile but if your lazy here it is, hennessey_86.
So how do you escape the fanboy name tag, I don't think its possible on this site. People are far too defensive when it comes to there gaming. The only way is to not have an opinion on anything and just try to please everybody but that won't happen because if you say a Ps3 games good the 360 fanboys will take your bubbles and vice versa. The best thing to do is not comment at all but thats the whole point to this site, gamers discussing there faviroute games and systems. They should split the site four ways, PS3 only, Xbox 360 only, pc only and gamers. I would join the gamers site, I love gaming and I like to game on as many systems as possible. The reason I sold my 360 is simple, Money. I'm a little skint at the minute and my PS3 is getting used alot more lately so it was a simple choice. I will be getting another one for the release of gears 3 and Forza 4 though. Which site would you join, I think its a good idea. There should be strict rules on trolling in the gamers section so we don't get any fanboys in there, just gamers looking to give there honest opinion on the subject at hand. The PS3 site would be PS3 gamers having a love in on how amazing there exclusives are and the same with the 360 site. PC gamers can compare specs, I know the love that kind of thing. I have left the wii out because I have never seen a Nintendo fan trolling anything.
"very jaggy
like the first one"
Too me that is just my observation about the screen shots and infamous one. I'd love too no how I can be a 360 fanboy when I don't even own one. Its unbelievable that you can't have an opinion with out being labeled a fanboy. No wonder Sony fanboys have the worst reputation, even PS3 only gamers get attacked by them. I think you need to lighten up, I'm not going to name names but if you do read this I'm sure you no who you are. One of the reasons they gave me was that my TV wasn't good enough yet I think my Philips 32" LED 1080p TV has a stunning picture and shows all the little details so that can't be right. Or maybe I'm posing as a PS3 gamer, let the conspiracy theories comence. If you feel the need to check up on me my PSN ID is on my profile but if your lazy here it is, hennessey_86.
So how do you escape the fanboy name tag, I don't think its possible on this site. People are far too defensive when it comes to there gaming. The only way is to not have an opinion on anything and just try to please everybody but that won't happen because if you say a Ps3 games good the 360 fanboys will take your bubbles and vice versa. The best thing to do is not comment at all but thats the whole point to this site, gamers discussing there faviroute games and systems. They should split the site four ways, PS3 only, Xbox 360 only, pc only and gamers. I would join the gamers site, I love gaming and I like to game on as many systems as possible. The reason I sold my 360 is simple, Money. I'm a little skint at the minute and my PS3 is getting used alot more lately so it was a simple choice. I will be getting another one for the release of gears 3 and Forza 4 though. Which site would you join, I think its a good idea. There should be strict rules on trolling in the gamers section so we don't get any fanboys in there, just gamers looking to give there honest opinion on the subject at hand. The PS3 site would be PS3 gamers having a love in on how amazing there exclusives are and the same with the 360 site. PC gamers can compare specs, I know the love that kind of thing. I have left the wii out because I have never seen a Nintendo fan trolling anything.
StarHawk Can Resurrect PSN
With the current farce of the hacking situation of Playstation Network hopefully reaching a satisfactory conclusion next week, I think it's time to start looking forward to what gamers can enjoy on the service once the dust has settled.
Whatever your opinion on PSN, I feel sorry for Playstation 3 only owners for the simple fact they currently cannot enjoy online gaming. I'm a multiplatform owner so it doesnt affect me as much but I would not like it to happen me and although I can understand the hatred towards fanboys on this site, you would not like something like this to happen to you and die hard hostlile fanboys are not the majority.
Soon enough PSN will be back up and things will be back to normal, what better way for a company to get people excited again by announcing a multiplayer purposed title exclusive to the Playstation 3? Let's bring in StarHawk.
Being a Warhawk fan (still play the title from time to time up until the hack situation) I've been trying to gather information about this title from various people for the past three months, some I know in person who got into this wonderful industry and some from being polite and getting to know people from various sources such as Facebook and Twitter.
StarHawk will be revealed within the next week or two (via G4TV according to reports) and I think it is a very smart move by Sony to do so even with E3 fast approaching. Why you ask? Well for one reason it will help smooth over the recent hack once the service has been resumed for the sole purpose that the game has a very strong multiplayer element to it. Apart from getting back into the Killzones, Call of Dutys, Warhawks and so forth, showing something for the near future will get PSN users excited, here is a product designed for PSN and will work well with PSN.
Second reason is from the information I've gathered the game is going to be a vast improvement over Warhawk. Whilst Warhawk is an excellent title in it's own right with a faithful community to boot, it can always be improved on and Dylan Jobe alongside his team have done exactly that. Here is a list of things I've heard about the game:
*Heard nothing of single player or co-op, it's very possible it will be included in the game but I have yet to learn of anything of the kind.
*Much better customisation options including the option to use imported images from the Playstation 3 hard drive for clan logos, troop symbols and plane designs.
*Theatre mode with the option to watch with friends. Highlight options include the abilty to send to Youtube via 480p upload or xmb.
*Excellent lighting engine with much improved sun, reflection and explosion effects
*XP points system that will also show career progress updates & trophy unlock progress during gameplay incidents.
*A vehicle that looks a little similar to the tumbler from Batman Begins/The Dark Knight with a fusion cannon
*Player models are much improved especially the texturing of the combat suits.
*A shotgun has been added
*More defined gun sound effects
*32 players per match
*10 maps not 25 as what had been previously rumoured.
*One map is similar to Island Outpost in level design with a much more futuristic look including stunning weather effects
*Another map has a similar look to the Knossos system,Artemis Tau cluster in the original Mass Effect game.
That's it, whilst it's understandable that many will read this and be skeptical to say the least I would say that the information has come from people who not only have a interest in the game but have employment in the industry. We shall see soon enough but if the information is true or partly true I can say with confidence it will be an excellent game, one to help put the dreadful hacking situation to rest and one that can help restore faith in Sony
Whatever your opinion on PSN, I feel sorry for Playstation 3 only owners for the simple fact they currently cannot enjoy online gaming. I'm a multiplatform owner so it doesnt affect me as much but I would not like it to happen me and although I can understand the hatred towards fanboys on this site, you would not like something like this to happen to you and die hard hostlile fanboys are not the majority.
Soon enough PSN will be back up and things will be back to normal, what better way for a company to get people excited again by announcing a multiplayer purposed title exclusive to the Playstation 3? Let's bring in StarHawk.
Being a Warhawk fan (still play the title from time to time up until the hack situation) I've been trying to gather information about this title from various people for the past three months, some I know in person who got into this wonderful industry and some from being polite and getting to know people from various sources such as Facebook and Twitter.
StarHawk will be revealed within the next week or two (via G4TV according to reports) and I think it is a very smart move by Sony to do so even with E3 fast approaching. Why you ask? Well for one reason it will help smooth over the recent hack once the service has been resumed for the sole purpose that the game has a very strong multiplayer element to it. Apart from getting back into the Killzones, Call of Dutys, Warhawks and so forth, showing something for the near future will get PSN users excited, here is a product designed for PSN and will work well with PSN.
Second reason is from the information I've gathered the game is going to be a vast improvement over Warhawk. Whilst Warhawk is an excellent title in it's own right with a faithful community to boot, it can always be improved on and Dylan Jobe alongside his team have done exactly that. Here is a list of things I've heard about the game:
*Heard nothing of single player or co-op, it's very possible it will be included in the game but I have yet to learn of anything of the kind.
*Much better customisation options including the option to use imported images from the Playstation 3 hard drive for clan logos, troop symbols and plane designs.
*Theatre mode with the option to watch with friends. Highlight options include the abilty to send to Youtube via 480p upload or xmb.
*Excellent lighting engine with much improved sun, reflection and explosion effects
*XP points system that will also show career progress updates & trophy unlock progress during gameplay incidents.
*A vehicle that looks a little similar to the tumbler from Batman Begins/The Dark Knight with a fusion cannon
*Player models are much improved especially the texturing of the combat suits.
*A shotgun has been added
*More defined gun sound effects
*32 players per match
*10 maps not 25 as what had been previously rumoured.
*One map is similar to Island Outpost in level design with a much more futuristic look including stunning weather effects
*Another map has a similar look to the Knossos system,Artemis Tau cluster in the original Mass Effect game.
That's it, whilst it's understandable that many will read this and be skeptical to say the least I would say that the information has come from people who not only have a interest in the game but have employment in the industry. We shall see soon enough but if the information is true or partly true I can say with confidence it will be an excellent game, one to help put the dreadful hacking situation to rest and one that can help restore faith in Sony
Free Speech: Do you speak it?
How many of you understand free speech? I think it's time we found out.
Starting simply, a website like N4G can censor, delete, or remove whatever they want and there's no 'freedom of speech' violation because it's their server. Almost everyone understands this but occasionally I see people here, or on other sites, decrying administrators for violating 'freedom of speech'.
But now let's look at some real free speech issues.
A popular example would be Wikileaks and the subsequent attacks against any company who tried to disassociate themselves from Wikileaks.
Those companies were exercising free speech and anyone who attacked them was actually going against the concept of free speech. Freedom of speech includes freedom of association and no company is obligated to do business with another. There is a clear cut case of grossly misunderstanding free speech.
It's very simple: If you stop doing business with a company then that's your right and companies have the same right not to business with each other for any reason or no reason at all. I once worked for a company that provided web hosting to thousands of people and unknown to us a Neo Nazi group set up an account with us. We were quickly informed of this by various groups and we choose, as a company, not to associate with the Neo Nazi.
You should now realize that the company I worked for, the companies that refused to do business with Wikileaks, and the basic ability of N4G to regulate itself are all the same thing: Freedom of speech and freedom of association.
A less obvious example is Sony's pursuit of Geohotz, where people actively felt that Sony themselves were doing harm to freedom of speech or freedom of expression. Once again however you have to realize what is actually happening when somebody decides to engage in cyber attacks against Sony in 'defense' of free speech.
What if I don't have a problem with Sony's pursuit of Geohotz? What have you just done if you prevent me from doing business with Sony? You have suppressed my freedom of speech and freedom of association. You've essentially said to me and everyone else that our freedoms do no not matter and once again an effort to defend 'freedom of speech' is having precisely the opposite effect.
Using a physical world example let's say that you don't like a particular fast food chain so you get a large number of people to block the entrances so nobody can get in. Nobody would see this as noble and nobody would defend this kind of behavior, but somehow making it difficult or impossible to access a business on the internet can be seen, by some, as not only acceptable but completely justified.
No amount of bad behavior on the part of a company, real or perceived, gives you the right to stop anyone but yourself from doing business with them. You can of course tell others of this bad behavior by whatever means suits you and perhaps they will agree with you but you cannot, under any circumstance, take it upon yourself to stop others from doing business with a company no matter how much you might hate that company.
Starting simply, a website like N4G can censor, delete, or remove whatever they want and there's no 'freedom of speech' violation because it's their server. Almost everyone understands this but occasionally I see people here, or on other sites, decrying administrators for violating 'freedom of speech'.
But now let's look at some real free speech issues.
A popular example would be Wikileaks and the subsequent attacks against any company who tried to disassociate themselves from Wikileaks.
Those companies were exercising free speech and anyone who attacked them was actually going against the concept of free speech. Freedom of speech includes freedom of association and no company is obligated to do business with another. There is a clear cut case of grossly misunderstanding free speech.
It's very simple: If you stop doing business with a company then that's your right and companies have the same right not to business with each other for any reason or no reason at all. I once worked for a company that provided web hosting to thousands of people and unknown to us a Neo Nazi group set up an account with us. We were quickly informed of this by various groups and we choose, as a company, not to associate with the Neo Nazi.
You should now realize that the company I worked for, the companies that refused to do business with Wikileaks, and the basic ability of N4G to regulate itself are all the same thing: Freedom of speech and freedom of association.
A less obvious example is Sony's pursuit of Geohotz, where people actively felt that Sony themselves were doing harm to freedom of speech or freedom of expression. Once again however you have to realize what is actually happening when somebody decides to engage in cyber attacks against Sony in 'defense' of free speech.
What if I don't have a problem with Sony's pursuit of Geohotz? What have you just done if you prevent me from doing business with Sony? You have suppressed my freedom of speech and freedom of association. You've essentially said to me and everyone else that our freedoms do no not matter and once again an effort to defend 'freedom of speech' is having precisely the opposite effect.
Using a physical world example let's say that you don't like a particular fast food chain so you get a large number of people to block the entrances so nobody can get in. Nobody would see this as noble and nobody would defend this kind of behavior, but somehow making it difficult or impossible to access a business on the internet can be seen, by some, as not only acceptable but completely justified.
No amount of bad behavior on the part of a company, real or perceived, gives you the right to stop anyone but yourself from doing business with them. You can of course tell others of this bad behavior by whatever means suits you and perhaps they will agree with you but you cannot, under any circumstance, take it upon yourself to stop others from doing business with a company no matter how much you might hate that company.
Thứ Sáu, 14 tháng 10, 2011
N4G's hypocritical fan base.
I recent submitted a news story from Eurogamer about an interview with Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream. The co-founder Guillaume de Fondaumiere mentioned how he had lost 1 million sales due to the used market. Some thing caught my eye in the comments. The was a lot of support for the used game market. That is fine but not many brought up the big question. They lost at least 1 million in sales. To put this into perspective on a $60 game (£40 for me) lets say around 15% goes to the developer. So this is around $9 (around £6)per game. So they have lost out by $9,000,000 (£6,000,000).
It seems I have gone on a bit of a tangent. Over the times I have spent going on N4G one thing has struck me. Everyone complains about how there are no new innovative IPs. The users complain how X game is another Call of Duty mould. I ask you do you blame the developers. If Heavy Rain (a new innovative ip) lost $9,000,000 on used game (including piracy, lending) sales why would any other developer take the risk and not go for the easier highly profitable option. At the moment there is always going to be an area where sales are lost (from pirating, used games, giving them to friends). The lack of new ips is a trend that has become more apparent this generation with sequel after sequel and other games using the same formula as the most popular game on the market
Well how do publishers and developers counter this trend. I will tell you. In other stories there seems to be a massive hatred for online pass. To be honest can you blame publishers for introducing online pass.If a developer is loosing $9 million it would be interesting to see how much publishers loose also. I agree some online passes are not implemented well but in an age of used game sales going on the up you must understand they are loosing a lot of money per game. The online pass has become more of a deterrent than a method for increase profits. I was in GAME the other day and I decided to get Medal of Honor. It was £20 new and £15 used. I thought to myself it is only £5. The online pass on top actually make the game more expensive.
I hope you can see why I am getting at when I call the N4G fan base hypocritical. On the one hand they complain about no new innovative IPS and how everyone is copying COD and then on the other the publishers come up with a solution to regain their money so that it can be pumped back into games but there is mass hatred for it. You can't have new ips with a used game market that is taken the money away from these new ips. Those same people who complain about no new ips also strongly disagree with online pass and often proclaim they have bought a game used. There is a reason for the lack of no new ips and it is down to you guys.
Does the N4G users have a better option to keep a used game market and keep sales going to the developer so they can take risks and develop new ideas?. Come on N4G. Stop being a hypocrite.
It seems I have gone on a bit of a tangent. Over the times I have spent going on N4G one thing has struck me. Everyone complains about how there are no new innovative IPs. The users complain how X game is another Call of Duty mould. I ask you do you blame the developers. If Heavy Rain (a new innovative ip) lost $9,000,000 on used game (including piracy, lending) sales why would any other developer take the risk and not go for the easier highly profitable option. At the moment there is always going to be an area where sales are lost (from pirating, used games, giving them to friends). The lack of new ips is a trend that has become more apparent this generation with sequel after sequel and other games using the same formula as the most popular game on the market
Well how do publishers and developers counter this trend. I will tell you. In other stories there seems to be a massive hatred for online pass. To be honest can you blame publishers for introducing online pass.If a developer is loosing $9 million it would be interesting to see how much publishers loose also. I agree some online passes are not implemented well but in an age of used game sales going on the up you must understand they are loosing a lot of money per game. The online pass has become more of a deterrent than a method for increase profits. I was in GAME the other day and I decided to get Medal of Honor. It was £20 new and £15 used. I thought to myself it is only £5. The online pass on top actually make the game more expensive.
I hope you can see why I am getting at when I call the N4G fan base hypocritical. On the one hand they complain about no new innovative IPS and how everyone is copying COD and then on the other the publishers come up with a solution to regain their money so that it can be pumped back into games but there is mass hatred for it. You can't have new ips with a used game market that is taken the money away from these new ips. Those same people who complain about no new ips also strongly disagree with online pass and often proclaim they have bought a game used. There is a reason for the lack of no new ips and it is down to you guys.
Does the N4G users have a better option to keep a used game market and keep sales going to the developer so they can take risks and develop new ideas?. Come on N4G. Stop being a hypocrite.
8 Game Case Mistakes
Whenever people go to buy a new game one of the first things they look at is the back of the game case. Why do we look at it? The pictures and the description can tell us if its going to be a game we'd like or not. But sometimes these descriptions and pictures are wrong. Here's my list of the top 8 mistakes on video game cases. Why 8? Because 5 is to few and 10 is to overused.
8. Description: Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes.
The description on the back of the box reads "Two of the greatest games of all time, Metal Gear Solid 1 and Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty are fused together to form the Nintendo gamecube classic Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes" From reading that description it would be safe to assume that both MGS1 and MGS2 are in the case but its actually just MGS 1 with MGS 2 graphics and controls. While its directly wrong it is misleading. And that's why it gets spot 8.
7. "...they will find you, and you will die...": Vampire Rain
Very few people have heard of this game, and with good reason. It was terrible. It tried to combine the sneaking action of MGS or Socom with a vampire story. The result was unpleasant. The quote, which appears quite boldly on the cover of the game, was actually part of a larger quote by Adam Sessler (Xplay) bashing the games poor stealth mechanic. In his original quote (which I couldn't find) he said something along the lines of: no matter how stealthy you are they will find you and you will die, its terrible. For taking a negative quote and making it sound positive they get spot 7.
6. Bastilla on Ratakaa: Star wars The Knights of the Old Republic
Anyone who's played this game knows what I'm talking about here. But for those of you who haven't here you go. Bastilla get captured and you lose her for half the game. When you finally get her back (presuming you do it right) you begin the final level of the game. However the picture on the back of the box shows Bastilla standing with you in front of the Temple of Ratakaa (the 2nd to last level). Before you comment, No. There is no time to take Bastilla to the Temple of Ratakaa after you get her back. As soon as you get her a scripted series of events happens taking you into the final level.
5. Krea's right hand: Star Wars The Knights of the Old Republic 2 The Sith Lords.
I don't like reusing the same game multiple times, but when a game messes up like this it's hard not to. In the game (early on) one of your characters (Krea) gets her right hand chopped off. On the back of the box it shows her holding a lightsaber in her right hand. While this could have been an earlier picture she didn't get a lightsaber to later in the game and before the game she had an entirely different wardrobe.
4. Right Handed Link: Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
It's a little known fact that Link is in fact left handed. However on the Back of the Twighlight Princess case it shows a right handed Link. The official reasoning for this (and for making Link right handed in the game) is because the majority of players are right handed and it would be easier for them to play the game on Wii that way. However on the Gamecube version Link is left handed again with the case still showing right handed.
3. Magic Bar: Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
Zelda games have always had magic bars. That is until Twilight princess. The magic bar was an early concept idea that was ultimately taken out of the game. That doesn't stop it from appearing in a picture on the back of the box.
8. Description: Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes.
The description on the back of the box reads "Two of the greatest games of all time, Metal Gear Solid 1 and Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty are fused together to form the Nintendo gamecube classic Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes" From reading that description it would be safe to assume that both MGS1 and MGS2 are in the case but its actually just MGS 1 with MGS 2 graphics and controls. While its directly wrong it is misleading. And that's why it gets spot 8.
7. "...they will find you, and you will die...": Vampire Rain
Very few people have heard of this game, and with good reason. It was terrible. It tried to combine the sneaking action of MGS or Socom with a vampire story. The result was unpleasant. The quote, which appears quite boldly on the cover of the game, was actually part of a larger quote by Adam Sessler (Xplay) bashing the games poor stealth mechanic. In his original quote (which I couldn't find) he said something along the lines of: no matter how stealthy you are they will find you and you will die, its terrible. For taking a negative quote and making it sound positive they get spot 7.
6. Bastilla on Ratakaa: Star wars The Knights of the Old Republic
Anyone who's played this game knows what I'm talking about here. But for those of you who haven't here you go. Bastilla get captured and you lose her for half the game. When you finally get her back (presuming you do it right) you begin the final level of the game. However the picture on the back of the box shows Bastilla standing with you in front of the Temple of Ratakaa (the 2nd to last level). Before you comment, No. There is no time to take Bastilla to the Temple of Ratakaa after you get her back. As soon as you get her a scripted series of events happens taking you into the final level.
5. Krea's right hand: Star Wars The Knights of the Old Republic 2 The Sith Lords.
I don't like reusing the same game multiple times, but when a game messes up like this it's hard not to. In the game (early on) one of your characters (Krea) gets her right hand chopped off. On the back of the box it shows her holding a lightsaber in her right hand. While this could have been an earlier picture she didn't get a lightsaber to later in the game and before the game she had an entirely different wardrobe.
4. Right Handed Link: Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
It's a little known fact that Link is in fact left handed. However on the Back of the Twighlight Princess case it shows a right handed Link. The official reasoning for this (and for making Link right handed in the game) is because the majority of players are right handed and it would be easier for them to play the game on Wii that way. However on the Gamecube version Link is left handed again with the case still showing right handed.
3. Magic Bar: Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
Zelda games have always had magic bars. That is until Twilight princess. The magic bar was an early concept idea that was ultimately taken out of the game. That doesn't stop it from appearing in a picture on the back of the box.
The PS Vita and the 3DS have a common problem.
With the 3DS already released and the Vita on its way, it got me thinking about the place these devices have in my life. One common problem occurred to me. They are not phones.
To bring my point across we must jump back in time when the PSP and the DS were released. I remember think this is quite cool. A console in my hand. They seemed perfect for travelling and great for passing the time. Now we are going to jump a couple of years with the release of the 360 and the PS3. How so much as changed in such a short time. A drive to become a multimedia device has become more apparent. Sony's attempt to get a blu-ray player in every house left a mark on the gaming industry. These console were not just about gaming any more it had to do everything. Just to produce a gaming console is just not enough. To maximise profits the casual and non gamer must be added to the install base. It then became apparent that this multimedia image came a little too soon because the Wii with interesting new technology grasped this casual market with little multimedia functionality. However as this generation progressed this theme of multimedia functionality became more of a main feature than a nice extra.
Now smart phones have been around for some time. Arguable it didn't take off until the RIM brought out their Blackberry line of phones. It instantly become popular with business people who loved the function of sending emails and having a phone in the same device. But this wasn't anything like the surge to come in 2007. Apple's Iphone shot multimedia devices into the masses. It was a small computer in your pocket that was also a phone. Not only could you check your emails and call people but you could do much more. Now ,on N4G, the idea of the Iphone being used for gaming is seen as blaspheme. In the early days it did struggled but as it progressed the gaming part of the phone became more apparent. It was seen to be cool to have one.
Now the background is out of the way I can get to my original point. The 3DS and PS Vita have one common flaw. They are not phones. Times have changed since the release of the PSP and Nintendo DS. Carrying around one all inclusive device has become very popular in recent years and almost a necessity.
To say, on N4G, the Iphone and other android smartphones are a threat to gaming is followed by onslaughts of abuse especially on the topic of how you are not a "real gamer". This type of gaming is having little to no affect on home consoles but it is ,however, having an effect on portable gaming. It is hard to ignore the success the App Store has had on mobile gaming. The 69p games have very low development cost but relativity high return. These games are also small simple games perfect for on the move. There are other types of games (like Modern Combat) who gets the controls spot on but lack the battery life to really play. This however because a mute point in the large scheme of things.
I am finding it harder and harder to justify getting a dedicated portable gaming machine when the times I am on the move (or anyone for that matter) is barley long enough to justify getting into a fully fledged game. The BBC in 2003 said the average commute in the UK was 45 minutes (which was the highest in Europe). There were no collective figures I could find for America but for Washington it was around 25 minutes in 2006. OK these are people who have jobs but school children are no better. Considering in the UK a lot (bare in mind not all) live in there schools catchment area. My commute was no different to the figures produced by the BBC. The only aspect in life I can see buying a PS vita or a 3DS useful is on flights, where you are spending some hours sitting in one place.
No you may be thinking what I haven't really talked about the phone aspect in great detail but I have in directly. The problem the Vita and the 3DS has is they are in direct competition to the Iphone and android devices but without the most essential component. I know a lot of you will be getting it and think I am mad but even if all of you on N4G get it that isn't enough for the companies. We must look at the bigger picture and so must they. Sony tried, sought of, with the Xperia Play. It ended up being half of each. It wasn't a good phone nor was it a good gaming device. I do hope this hasn't scared Sony off. These smart phone devices offer more games (I know some are garbage) for less money so buying a game at 69p doesn't drain on your wallet like PSP and 3DS games do.
The 3DS has hit road blocks right from the get go. The hardcore gamer seemed less interested by the limited number of games and the casual were not as easily impressed by new 3D technology as they were when the Wii came out. The biggest test for both the systems is when the Vita comes out. It should sell in Japan as they love pocket gaming but with the increase popularity of smart phones, that do everything, there seems to be little reason to get the Vita and 3DS with the £20 per game price tag.
Phones are not the same as they use to be, nor are MP3 players. They have evolved with the times like many other devices. The two dedicated gaming machines must evolve or die and at the moment they are in danger of the latter
To bring my point across we must jump back in time when the PSP and the DS were released. I remember think this is quite cool. A console in my hand. They seemed perfect for travelling and great for passing the time. Now we are going to jump a couple of years with the release of the 360 and the PS3. How so much as changed in such a short time. A drive to become a multimedia device has become more apparent. Sony's attempt to get a blu-ray player in every house left a mark on the gaming industry. These console were not just about gaming any more it had to do everything. Just to produce a gaming console is just not enough. To maximise profits the casual and non gamer must be added to the install base. It then became apparent that this multimedia image came a little too soon because the Wii with interesting new technology grasped this casual market with little multimedia functionality. However as this generation progressed this theme of multimedia functionality became more of a main feature than a nice extra.
Now smart phones have been around for some time. Arguable it didn't take off until the RIM brought out their Blackberry line of phones. It instantly become popular with business people who loved the function of sending emails and having a phone in the same device. But this wasn't anything like the surge to come in 2007. Apple's Iphone shot multimedia devices into the masses. It was a small computer in your pocket that was also a phone. Not only could you check your emails and call people but you could do much more. Now ,on N4G, the idea of the Iphone being used for gaming is seen as blaspheme. In the early days it did struggled but as it progressed the gaming part of the phone became more apparent. It was seen to be cool to have one.
Now the background is out of the way I can get to my original point. The 3DS and PS Vita have one common flaw. They are not phones. Times have changed since the release of the PSP and Nintendo DS. Carrying around one all inclusive device has become very popular in recent years and almost a necessity.
To say, on N4G, the Iphone and other android smartphones are a threat to gaming is followed by onslaughts of abuse especially on the topic of how you are not a "real gamer". This type of gaming is having little to no affect on home consoles but it is ,however, having an effect on portable gaming. It is hard to ignore the success the App Store has had on mobile gaming. The 69p games have very low development cost but relativity high return. These games are also small simple games perfect for on the move. There are other types of games (like Modern Combat) who gets the controls spot on but lack the battery life to really play. This however because a mute point in the large scheme of things.
I am finding it harder and harder to justify getting a dedicated portable gaming machine when the times I am on the move (or anyone for that matter) is barley long enough to justify getting into a fully fledged game. The BBC in 2003 said the average commute in the UK was 45 minutes (which was the highest in Europe). There were no collective figures I could find for America but for Washington it was around 25 minutes in 2006. OK these are people who have jobs but school children are no better. Considering in the UK a lot (bare in mind not all) live in there schools catchment area. My commute was no different to the figures produced by the BBC. The only aspect in life I can see buying a PS vita or a 3DS useful is on flights, where you are spending some hours sitting in one place.
No you may be thinking what I haven't really talked about the phone aspect in great detail but I have in directly. The problem the Vita and the 3DS has is they are in direct competition to the Iphone and android devices but without the most essential component. I know a lot of you will be getting it and think I am mad but even if all of you on N4G get it that isn't enough for the companies. We must look at the bigger picture and so must they. Sony tried, sought of, with the Xperia Play. It ended up being half of each. It wasn't a good phone nor was it a good gaming device. I do hope this hasn't scared Sony off. These smart phone devices offer more games (I know some are garbage) for less money so buying a game at 69p doesn't drain on your wallet like PSP and 3DS games do.
The 3DS has hit road blocks right from the get go. The hardcore gamer seemed less interested by the limited number of games and the casual were not as easily impressed by new 3D technology as they were when the Wii came out. The biggest test for both the systems is when the Vita comes out. It should sell in Japan as they love pocket gaming but with the increase popularity of smart phones, that do everything, there seems to be little reason to get the Vita and 3DS with the £20 per game price tag.
Phones are not the same as they use to be, nor are MP3 players. They have evolved with the times like many other devices. The two dedicated gaming machines must evolve or die and at the moment they are in danger of the latter
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.
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Thứ Tư, 12 tháng 10, 2011
Dexter Slice of Life chops up Facebook after Season 6 debut
Dexter Slice of Life gameplay
It's time to see the darker side of Facebook games ... much darker. Like, "a social game about serial killers" dark. Ecko|Code announced that Dexter Slice of Life is now available for play on Facebook, and just in time for the show's Season 6 debut last night. The game enlists players as Dexter, tasking them with the daunting mission of investigating big-time criminals and giving them the axe--literally.
It appears to be the first social game of its kind to employ real-time stealth gameplay that has players stalking Dexter's prey and lunging for the good old shot of tranquilizer. (We're sure you all know what happens afterward.) Of course, there's no escape yet from common Facebook game tropes like maintaining property--in this case, Dexter's apartment complex--but it's the Dark Passenger multiplayer system that Ecko|Code appeared most excited about when they told us all about the game last month.
Dexter Slice of Life kill room
Well, that and the fact that the game features full voiceover work from the show's star, Michael C. Hall. Not to mention that the Dexter screen writers worked with the developer to craft relevant missions that will explore the Season 6 plot in more detail every Monday, after the latest episode airs on Showtime. Slice of Life looks like it might tread new ground in the ever-growing branded games scene on Facebook, but don't take our word for it. See it for yourself, but beware: Spoiler Warning!
Click here to play Dexter Slice of Life on Facebook Now >
Are you psyched to see Dexter get his very own Facebook game? What do you think of branded games thus far on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
It's time to see the darker side of Facebook games ... much darker. Like, "a social game about serial killers" dark. Ecko|Code announced that Dexter Slice of Life is now available for play on Facebook, and just in time for the show's Season 6 debut last night. The game enlists players as Dexter, tasking them with the daunting mission of investigating big-time criminals and giving them the axe--literally.
It appears to be the first social game of its kind to employ real-time stealth gameplay that has players stalking Dexter's prey and lunging for the good old shot of tranquilizer. (We're sure you all know what happens afterward.) Of course, there's no escape yet from common Facebook game tropes like maintaining property--in this case, Dexter's apartment complex--but it's the Dark Passenger multiplayer system that Ecko|Code appeared most excited about when they told us all about the game last month.
Dexter Slice of Life kill room
Well, that and the fact that the game features full voiceover work from the show's star, Michael C. Hall. Not to mention that the Dexter screen writers worked with the developer to craft relevant missions that will explore the Season 6 plot in more detail every Monday, after the latest episode airs on Showtime. Slice of Life looks like it might tread new ground in the ever-growing branded games scene on Facebook, but don't take our word for it. See it for yourself, but beware: Spoiler Warning!
Click here to play Dexter Slice of Life on Facebook Now >
Are you psyched to see Dexter get his very own Facebook game? What do you think of branded games thus far on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
Frima Studio brings flatulence to Facebook in Pocket God Episode 9
Has Robot Unicorn Attack met its match? In the most recent update to Frima Studio's Facebook take on Pocket God, Episode 9: My Little Pygmy, the Canadian developer has introduced a new pygmy-pulverizing power to the game. We'll just come out and say it: The new power is a unicorn that, when clicked twice, farts rainbows that dissolve pygmies instantly.
If you're not laughing yet, then you have no soul. Come on, flatulent humor never gets old in small doses. Oh, and the gaseous mythical horse can also impale pygmies and send them flying with a rainbow flourish. The fart-filled unicorn is available to players Level 11 and above, and comes with a hidden quest that tasks them with defeating the Night Mare. Players that enlist the help of their friends in besting the beast will have a better shot at unlocking another god idol.
The update introduced a Daily Bonus mechanic to Pocket God, something that most Facebook games have enjoyed for some time now. But we're sure Frima Studio is far more excited at introducing such a chuckle-worthy character.
As of this writing, Pocket God enjoys just over 222,000 monthly players and over 27,000 daily players, according to AppData. Frankly, a game with this much humor (and this little shame) deserves far more players than that. Well, it at least deserves points for originality.
Have you played around with this gassy unicorn yet in Pocket God? What do you think of the game's Facebook rendition so far? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
If you're not laughing yet, then you have no soul. Come on, flatulent humor never gets old in small doses. Oh, and the gaseous mythical horse can also impale pygmies and send them flying with a rainbow flourish. The fart-filled unicorn is available to players Level 11 and above, and comes with a hidden quest that tasks them with defeating the Night Mare. Players that enlist the help of their friends in besting the beast will have a better shot at unlocking another god idol.
The update introduced a Daily Bonus mechanic to Pocket God, something that most Facebook games have enjoyed for some time now. But we're sure Frima Studio is far more excited at introducing such a chuckle-worthy character.
As of this writing, Pocket God enjoys just over 222,000 monthly players and over 27,000 daily players, according to AppData. Frankly, a game with this much humor (and this little shame) deserves far more players than that. Well, it at least deserves points for originality.
Have you played around with this gassy unicorn yet in Pocket God? What do you think of the game's Facebook rendition so far? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
The Godfather: Five FaThe Godfather: Five Families on Facebook puts friendly ties to the testmilies on Facebook puts friendly ties to the test
The word "family" implies a lot to the average American: love, togetherness, mutual respect and support ... in-laws. But for folks, you know, in the mob, that same word holds an entirely different meaning. Soon enough, we Facebook gamers will know what "family" means all too well, and that lovey-dovey stuff isn't part of the equation. Kabam, creator most recently of sci-fi-themed strategy Facebook (and Google+) game Edgeworld, has announced The Godfather: Five Families for Facebook.
Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.
Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.
When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.
Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook
While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.
While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.
And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.
Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.
Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.
The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.
Click here to sign up for The Godfather: Five Families Closed Beta Test Now >
Are you psyched about a Godfather game coming to Facebook? How well do you think the game will represent the films in its social strategy combat format? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
There may not be another Zynga game in which Energy is more important than in Adventure World. Every switch thrown, every puzzle solved and beastie whacked costs you the Facebook game juice. Players often find themselves without Energy minutes into an Expedition. But this isn't the time for whining--it's time to show you the value of upgrading your Tools and how to do it.
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.
Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.
When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.
Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook
While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.
While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.
And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.
Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.
Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.
The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.
Click here to sign up for The Godfather: Five Families Closed Beta Test Now >
Are you psyched about a Godfather game coming to Facebook? How well do you think the game will represent the films in its social strategy combat format? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
There may not be another Zynga game in which Energy is more important than in Adventure World. Every switch thrown, every puzzle solved and beastie whacked costs you the Facebook game juice. Players often find themselves without Energy minutes into an Expedition. But this isn't the time for whining--it's time to show you the value of upgrading your Tools and how to do it.
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Thứ Tư, 5 tháng 10, 2011
The Sims Social: Grab your free Plumbob Hoodies while you still can!
While we knew that the Sims Social would be celebrating fans this week with a series of freebies (including Simoleons, collectibles and the like), here's a gift that tops them all - a free Plumbob Hoodie for both girl and boy Sims! For those that don't know, the Plumbob is the name of the Gem that appears over each Sims' head, and lets the owner know of their status based on its color. This particular Hoodie displays a bright green Plumbob, and it's yours for the taking, but only for a limited time.
To be clear, there are two links available to claim this Hoodie, and therefore two Hoodies available for all users: one for male Sims and one for female Sims. Even if you are fairly certain you'll never change the gender of your Sim, why not grab both? They're both absolutely free, after all. Here are the links to claim both (found on the game's Facebook fan page):
Female Sim Plumbob Hoodie
Male Sim Plumbob Hoodie
While you're on the game's fan page, make sure to grab the extra Simoleons and Hope items that are also being given away. Now's a great time to be a fan of the game, with daily giveaways like these, but we'll make sure to let you know when the more noteworthy prizes come along if you don't want to fan the page yourself.
What do you think of these Sims Plumbob Hoodies? Did you claim both, or just the one for your Sim's current gender? Let us know in the comments!
To be clear, there are two links available to claim this Hoodie, and therefore two Hoodies available for all users: one for male Sims and one for female Sims. Even if you are fairly certain you'll never change the gender of your Sim, why not grab both? They're both absolutely free, after all. Here are the links to claim both (found on the game's Facebook fan page):
Female Sim Plumbob Hoodie
Male Sim Plumbob Hoodie
While you're on the game's fan page, make sure to grab the extra Simoleons and Hope items that are also being given away. Now's a great time to be a fan of the game, with daily giveaways like these, but we'll make sure to let you know when the more noteworthy prizes come along if you don't want to fan the page yourself.
What do you think of these Sims Plumbob Hoodies? Did you claim both, or just the one for your Sim's current gender? Let us know in the comments!
FarmVille Halloween Items: Nightmare Unicorn, Fire Peach Tree and more
With tonight's FarmVille update, we see a slew of new items launch in the current limited edition Halloween item theme. If you've yet to pull your Halloween items out of storage, now's the time, as you've got plenty of items to further flesh out your spooky graveyard or ghost town on your farm(s). As usual, we're here to give you a complete rundown of the items available this evening, so let's get started!
Trees
Fire Peach Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Fire Peach Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Jack O Lantern Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Jack O Lantern Tree - 14 Farm Cash
For tree collectors, tonight's update is a big one as it sees the release of four new trees, along with four corresponding mastery signs. As you'd expect, the two Peach Trees are a pair, with the giant version being available for free via Mystery Seedlings. Likewise, the Giant Jack O Lantern Tree is available as a Mystery Seedling as well, so feel free to skip purchasing it and only invest in the Jack O Lantern Tree. As for mastery, all of these trees come with the same stats, and will be mastered after 75, 150 and 225 harvests each.
Animals
Nightmare (Pony) - 26 Farm Cash
Nightmare Unicorn - 30 Farm Cash
Nightmare Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Nightmare Cow - 24 Farm Cash
All of these animals have one thing in common, other than having "Nightmare" in their names: they are all a dark brown/black animal with some kind of flames for "hair." In the case of the Nightmare Unicorn, the flames are an awesome bright blue color, while the other three animals have orange flames. Keep in mind, farmers, that the Nightmare Pony (officially called just the "Nightmare") was originally released in last year's Halloween theme, and then again in the Birthday event last June. Make sure you don't already have one in your collection before spending anymore Farm Cash on the animal.
Buildings
Ghost Inn - 30 Farm Cash
Yet again, we're seeing a fairly awesome Halloween building being released for Farm Cash (unfortunately). This one is a few shades of purple and has glowing windows. Perhaps I'm just partial (my favorite color is purple, after all), but this one is definitely temping my wallet.
Decorations
Raven - 18 Farm Cash
Trick or Treat - 15 Farm Cash
Misty Waterfall - 18 Farm Cash
Skeleton Flamingo - 30,000 coins
Black Rose Planter - 8,000 coins
Dreadful Fence - 5,000 coins
If you already own a few of the Black Rose items from previous themes, know that this one is a different item that you can add to your collection. As for the Dreadful Fence, this is a re-released item that would make the perfect accompaniment to any Graveyard area you have setup on your farm with previously released tombstones.
Avatar Costumes
Ugly Duckling - 50 Farm Cash
Duck - 45 Farm Cash
Black Sheep - 40 Farm Cash
Sheep - 45 Farm Cash
Pink Cow - 35 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, if you want your avatar to be dressed up as any of the most basic animals from FarmVille, you're going to have to shell out a ton of Farm Cash to do so. Hopefully, we'll see additional costumes released in the future - even if they're re-released ones - that are a bit cheaper.
As usual, these new items come with a two week time limit, giving you plenty of time to purchase Farm Cash if you need to, and enough time to pull out your other Halloween items to see just which of these new items go best with those already in your collection. Just remember to go shopping sooner, rather than later, so you don't forget about these new items entirely (trust me, I've been guilty of that more than once).
What do you think of these new FarmVille Halloween items? Have you already decided which costume to dress your avatar up in this year? Sound off in the comments.
Trees
Fire Peach Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Fire Peach Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Jack O Lantern Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Jack O Lantern Tree - 14 Farm Cash
For tree collectors, tonight's update is a big one as it sees the release of four new trees, along with four corresponding mastery signs. As you'd expect, the two Peach Trees are a pair, with the giant version being available for free via Mystery Seedlings. Likewise, the Giant Jack O Lantern Tree is available as a Mystery Seedling as well, so feel free to skip purchasing it and only invest in the Jack O Lantern Tree. As for mastery, all of these trees come with the same stats, and will be mastered after 75, 150 and 225 harvests each.
Animals
Nightmare (Pony) - 26 Farm Cash
Nightmare Unicorn - 30 Farm Cash
Nightmare Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Nightmare Cow - 24 Farm Cash
All of these animals have one thing in common, other than having "Nightmare" in their names: they are all a dark brown/black animal with some kind of flames for "hair." In the case of the Nightmare Unicorn, the flames are an awesome bright blue color, while the other three animals have orange flames. Keep in mind, farmers, that the Nightmare Pony (officially called just the "Nightmare") was originally released in last year's Halloween theme, and then again in the Birthday event last June. Make sure you don't already have one in your collection before spending anymore Farm Cash on the animal.
Buildings
Ghost Inn - 30 Farm Cash
Yet again, we're seeing a fairly awesome Halloween building being released for Farm Cash (unfortunately). This one is a few shades of purple and has glowing windows. Perhaps I'm just partial (my favorite color is purple, after all), but this one is definitely temping my wallet.
Decorations
Raven - 18 Farm Cash
Trick or Treat - 15 Farm Cash
Misty Waterfall - 18 Farm Cash
Skeleton Flamingo - 30,000 coins
Black Rose Planter - 8,000 coins
Dreadful Fence - 5,000 coins
If you already own a few of the Black Rose items from previous themes, know that this one is a different item that you can add to your collection. As for the Dreadful Fence, this is a re-released item that would make the perfect accompaniment to any Graveyard area you have setup on your farm with previously released tombstones.
Avatar Costumes
Ugly Duckling - 50 Farm Cash
Duck - 45 Farm Cash
Black Sheep - 40 Farm Cash
Sheep - 45 Farm Cash
Pink Cow - 35 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, if you want your avatar to be dressed up as any of the most basic animals from FarmVille, you're going to have to shell out a ton of Farm Cash to do so. Hopefully, we'll see additional costumes released in the future - even if they're re-released ones - that are a bit cheaper.
As usual, these new items come with a two week time limit, giving you plenty of time to purchase Farm Cash if you need to, and enough time to pull out your other Halloween items to see just which of these new items go best with those already in your collection. Just remember to go shopping sooner, rather than later, so you don't forget about these new items entirely (trust me, I've been guilty of that more than once).
What do you think of these new FarmVille Halloween items? Have you already decided which costume to dress your avatar up in this year? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Raffle Booth (10/02/11): Royal Steed and Flower Bridge up for grabs
The FarmVille Raffle Booth has been updated this evening with two new items, along with three which have clearly become the standard "filler" prizes for the feature. One of these new items was free in a previous release, while the other would have set you back quite a few Farm Cash. Here's a complete list of this week's prizes, along with your odds of winning them.
* 10 Special Delivery Boxes - 1:5
* 3 Farmhands - 1:20
* 5 Love Potions - 1:50
* Flower Bridge - 1:200
* Royal Steed - 1:500
All told, the 1:500 odds for the Royal Steed (horse) aren't the worst we've seen, but then again, this item isn't as limited as other top prizes either. It was originally given away for free to users that collected enough guests in the Royal Wedding event. Meanwhile, the Flower Bridge has even better odds, but is arguably more valuable. It was released back in July of last year in the New England event, but it cost a whopping 42 Farm Cash to purchase at the time. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping my tickets earn me that item, rather than another Royal Steed.
Either way, remember that while you can purchase additional Raffle Tickets for Farm Cash, the rest can be earned for free from friends. Just remember to ask for as many as you can between now and next Sunday, when the drawing will take place. Good luck!
Which of these prizes are you hoping to win in this week's Raffle Booth? Let us know in the comments!
* 10 Special Delivery Boxes - 1:5
* 3 Farmhands - 1:20
* 5 Love Potions - 1:50
* Flower Bridge - 1:200
* Royal Steed - 1:500
All told, the 1:500 odds for the Royal Steed (horse) aren't the worst we've seen, but then again, this item isn't as limited as other top prizes either. It was originally given away for free to users that collected enough guests in the Royal Wedding event. Meanwhile, the Flower Bridge has even better odds, but is arguably more valuable. It was released back in July of last year in the New England event, but it cost a whopping 42 Farm Cash to purchase at the time. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping my tickets earn me that item, rather than another Royal Steed.
Either way, remember that while you can purchase additional Raffle Tickets for Farm Cash, the rest can be earned for free from friends. Just remember to ask for as many as you can between now and next Sunday, when the drawing will take place. Good luck!
Which of these prizes are you hoping to win in this week's Raffle Booth? Let us know in the comments!
FarmVille Mystery Game (10/02/11): Horse theme leads to a free Halloween Tower
If you're a FarmVille Horse collector that still hasn't had your fill of adding Horses to your collection with the release of Mystery Boxes and return of plenty of past Horses to the store, why not take a look at this week's Mystery Game? That's right, this week's theme is primarily Horses, while this week's bonus prize is a bit... odd.
First things first, this week's game costs 20 Farm Cash to play per dart. While you don't have a guarantee of receiving a different animal with every dart you throw, if you do win, you'll walk away with one of the following:
* Black Arabian
* Brumby Horse
* Peruvian Horse
* Tennessee Horse
* Trakehner Horse
* Trotter Stallion
If you win all six (again, this might not happen on your first six darts, and can turn into a very expensive prospect depending on your luck), you'll walk away with a bonus prize, this time in the new Halloween limited edition item theme. The item specifically is the Halloween Tower, as seen at right in TritonHelper's picture from the FarmVille forums.
Interestingly, it looks like these Horses are scaled down a bit, as looking at the Foal in the background shows that they aren't as big as other Horses you may already have in your collection. Not that this is the first time animals have been oddly scaled in the game, but I digress.
Whether you're going for the full set, or just one or two of these Horses, make sure to throw those darts within the next week, while they're still available. Good luck!
Will you play this week's Mystery Game? Which Horses did you want to win? Which ones did you actually end up with? Sound off in the comments!
First things first, this week's game costs 20 Farm Cash to play per dart. While you don't have a guarantee of receiving a different animal with every dart you throw, if you do win, you'll walk away with one of the following:
* Black Arabian
* Brumby Horse
* Peruvian Horse
* Tennessee Horse
* Trakehner Horse
* Trotter Stallion
If you win all six (again, this might not happen on your first six darts, and can turn into a very expensive prospect depending on your luck), you'll walk away with a bonus prize, this time in the new Halloween limited edition item theme. The item specifically is the Halloween Tower, as seen at right in TritonHelper's picture from the FarmVille forums.
Interestingly, it looks like these Horses are scaled down a bit, as looking at the Foal in the background shows that they aren't as big as other Horses you may already have in your collection. Not that this is the first time animals have been oddly scaled in the game, but I digress.
Whether you're going for the full set, or just one or two of these Horses, make sure to throw those darts within the next week, while they're still available. Good luck!
Will you play this week's Mystery Game? Which Horses did you want to win? Which ones did you actually end up with? Sound off in the comments!
FarmVille Gamestop promotion offers rewards with Game Card purchase
Zynga has launched a new cross-promotional event in FarmVille this evening, teaming the game up with video game retailer GameStop to offer "exclusive mystery goods" to users that purchase and redeem Zynga Game Cards from GameStop. That is, in addition to simply earning the appropriate amount of Farm Cash based on the card value you redeemed (whether that be $10, $25 or $50), you'll also receive a free gift.
So far, it looks like you'll receive one of four items all wrapped up in a red and white box. All of these items are themed for Halloween, with three being re-releases. Specifically, there's a Wizard Gnome and Spooky Bush from last year's Halloween theme, while a Plant Monster from both Halloween 2009 and 2010 is also available. In terms of new goodies, you have a chance to earn the Candy Corn Chicken, although the loading screen above doesn't detail whether or not we'll be able to choose our prize, or if we'll just need to get lucky. For someone that already has the three previously released items, that's definitely something to keep in mind. On the other hand, there's also the slight possibility that a single card will guarantee you all four items, but again, that wasn't detailed either.
We'll be able to learn more about this promotion by visiting GameStop's website, but as of this writing, the promotion link doesn't work (it instead redirects to GameStop's downloads page). We'll make sure to keep checking on things and will let you know when the link goes live, along with exactly what you'll find there (hopefully answers to our questions). Either way, we do know one thing: this promotion will end November 6.
Update: We now know the specific details of this feature, as Gamestop's page is now live. Depending on the dollar amount you spend on a Zynga Game Card, you'll be eligible for different amounts of items. For $10, you'll receive one mystery item. For $25 you'll receive three and for $50 you'll receive six. However, as there are only four listed items, it looks like if you purchase a $50 card for FarmVille, you'll receive two mystery boxes (containing truly mystery items) along with the four listed above.
Will you purchase a Zynga Game Card for a chance at these Halloween-themed items in FarmVille? Sound off in the comments.
So far, it looks like you'll receive one of four items all wrapped up in a red and white box. All of these items are themed for Halloween, with three being re-releases. Specifically, there's a Wizard Gnome and Spooky Bush from last year's Halloween theme, while a Plant Monster from both Halloween 2009 and 2010 is also available. In terms of new goodies, you have a chance to earn the Candy Corn Chicken, although the loading screen above doesn't detail whether or not we'll be able to choose our prize, or if we'll just need to get lucky. For someone that already has the three previously released items, that's definitely something to keep in mind. On the other hand, there's also the slight possibility that a single card will guarantee you all four items, but again, that wasn't detailed either.
We'll be able to learn more about this promotion by visiting GameStop's website, but as of this writing, the promotion link doesn't work (it instead redirects to GameStop's downloads page). We'll make sure to keep checking on things and will let you know when the link goes live, along with exactly what you'll find there (hopefully answers to our questions). Either way, we do know one thing: this promotion will end November 6.
Update: We now know the specific details of this feature, as Gamestop's page is now live. Depending on the dollar amount you spend on a Zynga Game Card, you'll be eligible for different amounts of items. For $10, you'll receive one mystery item. For $25 you'll receive three and for $50 you'll receive six. However, as there are only four listed items, it looks like if you purchase a $50 card for FarmVille, you'll receive two mystery boxes (containing truly mystery items) along with the four listed above.
Will you purchase a Zynga Game Card for a chance at these Halloween-themed items in FarmVille? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Ba, 4 tháng 10, 2011
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.
Cafe World Amelia's Admirer Goals: Everything you need to know
A new goal series has launched in Cafe World this week, which sees Chef Amelia having a bit of a secret admirer. Don't worry though - this doesn't come with a lengthy romance that you'll need to help evolve, as it turns out to be far more innocent than that. We'll get to the specifics of the story here later, but for now, let's get started on the guide for this eight part goal series.
Note: Zynga didn't confirm whether or not these goals will be different for each user (we expect that they will be) so if you are required to cook other dishes, that's completely normal.
Amelia's Admirer 1
* Serve 30 Vegetarian Chili
* Serve 10 Kung Pao Stir Fry
* Complete 5 Eat Missions
Eat Missions are those that see you trying the "daily special" in your friends' cafes. As for the Kung Pao Stir Fry, it takes four hours to prepare and the Vegetarian Chili takes two hours.
Amelia's Admirer 2
* Ask for 8 Chocolate Chips
* Serve 20 Belgian Waffles
* Ask for 8 Frosting Squeezers
Belgian Waffles take two hours to cook. By this point, Amelia will have been given a love letter in the shape of a heart, which explains this goal's prize: the Heart-Shaped Cookie Cake recipe.
Amelia's Admirer 3
* Ask for 10 Clue Notebooks
* Serve 25 Fish n Chips
* Serve Gem Cake 12 Times
Fish n Chips takes two hours to prepare, while Gem Cake takes 12 hours. There's still no official word as to who the secret admirer is by this point, so let's keep going.
Amelia's Admirer 4
* Ask for 8 Macaroni Noodles
* Serve Macaroni and Cheese 20 Times
* Ask for 6 Chipotles in Adobo
Macaroni and Cheese takes two hours to prepare. At this point, you'll get another clue: a heart made of macaroni on a note. It looks like the new recipe for this goal is 4-Alarm Chili Mac.
Amelia's Admirer 5
* Serve Angel Fruit Cake 16 Times
* Serve Jammin' Jelly Donuts 40 Times
* Master Heart-Shaped Cookie to Level 1
Jammin' Jelly Donuts take 20 minutes to prepare, while Angel Fruit Cake takes eight hours. As for the Heart-Shaped Cookie Cake, this new recipe takes just 30 minutes.
Amelia's Admirer 6
* Ask for 8 Multicolored Sprinkles
* Serve Triple Berry Cheesecake 20 Times
* Ask for 10 Vanilla Extract
Another note arrives at this goal, this time with an animal drawn on it. Hmm, macaroni pictures and drawings of animals - are you starting to put two and two together about who this secret crush could be? While you're trying to piece together the puzzle, you'll need to serve Triple Berry Cheesecake, which is ready in 12 hours. For finishing this goal, you're given the Ice Animal Cookies recipe.
Amelia's Admirer 7
* Serve Iced Animal Cookies 20 Times
* Serve Triple Berry Cheesecake 20 Times
* Spice 5 Neighbors' Stoves
We'll tell you outright - something seems a bit off about this goal. The in-game window says that you need to serve 40 Cheesecakes, while the text says 20, but the accompanying picture is of a chair, not the cheesecake itself. Whatever the official requirement may be, the story here becomes completely clear as we learn that Amelia's secret admirer is actually a young boy - a child by the name of Oscar in the local kindergarten class who has found his first crush! How cute! There's just one more thing left to do before finishing this goal series off completly.
Amelia's Admirer 8
* Serve Heart-Shaped Cookie Cake 1 Time
* Master Iced Animal Cookies to Level 1
* Ask for 10 Balloons
To make Oscar's day, you'll be able to bake him a few goodies, and in doing so, you'll also finish this goal series off for good. You won't receive any additional recipes for finishing the goal series entirely, but you will have made a (virtual) little boy's day. Isn't that reward enough?
What do you think of the Amelia's Admirer goals in Cafe World? Were you able to figure out who the admirer was early on in the series? Sound off in the comments.
Note: Zynga didn't confirm whether or not these goals will be different for each user (we expect that they will be) so if you are required to cook other dishes, that's completely normal.
Amelia's Admirer 1
* Serve 30 Vegetarian Chili
* Serve 10 Kung Pao Stir Fry
* Complete 5 Eat Missions
Eat Missions are those that see you trying the "daily special" in your friends' cafes. As for the Kung Pao Stir Fry, it takes four hours to prepare and the Vegetarian Chili takes two hours.
Amelia's Admirer 2
* Ask for 8 Chocolate Chips
* Serve 20 Belgian Waffles
* Ask for 8 Frosting Squeezers
Belgian Waffles take two hours to cook. By this point, Amelia will have been given a love letter in the shape of a heart, which explains this goal's prize: the Heart-Shaped Cookie Cake recipe.
Amelia's Admirer 3
* Ask for 10 Clue Notebooks
* Serve 25 Fish n Chips
* Serve Gem Cake 12 Times
Fish n Chips takes two hours to prepare, while Gem Cake takes 12 hours. There's still no official word as to who the secret admirer is by this point, so let's keep going.
Amelia's Admirer 4
* Ask for 8 Macaroni Noodles
* Serve Macaroni and Cheese 20 Times
* Ask for 6 Chipotles in Adobo
Macaroni and Cheese takes two hours to prepare. At this point, you'll get another clue: a heart made of macaroni on a note. It looks like the new recipe for this goal is 4-Alarm Chili Mac.
Amelia's Admirer 5
* Serve Angel Fruit Cake 16 Times
* Serve Jammin' Jelly Donuts 40 Times
* Master Heart-Shaped Cookie to Level 1
Jammin' Jelly Donuts take 20 minutes to prepare, while Angel Fruit Cake takes eight hours. As for the Heart-Shaped Cookie Cake, this new recipe takes just 30 minutes.
Amelia's Admirer 6
* Ask for 8 Multicolored Sprinkles
* Serve Triple Berry Cheesecake 20 Times
* Ask for 10 Vanilla Extract
Another note arrives at this goal, this time with an animal drawn on it. Hmm, macaroni pictures and drawings of animals - are you starting to put two and two together about who this secret crush could be? While you're trying to piece together the puzzle, you'll need to serve Triple Berry Cheesecake, which is ready in 12 hours. For finishing this goal, you're given the Ice Animal Cookies recipe.
Amelia's Admirer 7
* Serve Iced Animal Cookies 20 Times
* Serve Triple Berry Cheesecake 20 Times
* Spice 5 Neighbors' Stoves
We'll tell you outright - something seems a bit off about this goal. The in-game window says that you need to serve 40 Cheesecakes, while the text says 20, but the accompanying picture is of a chair, not the cheesecake itself. Whatever the official requirement may be, the story here becomes completely clear as we learn that Amelia's secret admirer is actually a young boy - a child by the name of Oscar in the local kindergarten class who has found his first crush! How cute! There's just one more thing left to do before finishing this goal series off completly.
Amelia's Admirer 8
* Serve Heart-Shaped Cookie Cake 1 Time
* Master Iced Animal Cookies to Level 1
* Ask for 10 Balloons
To make Oscar's day, you'll be able to bake him a few goodies, and in doing so, you'll also finish this goal series off for good. You won't receive any additional recipes for finishing the goal series entirely, but you will have made a (virtual) little boy's day. Isn't that reward enough?
What do you think of the Amelia's Admirer goals in Cafe World? Were you able to figure out who the admirer was early on in the series? Sound off in the comments.
Cafe World Soap Box Supper Catering Order: Everything you need to know
Here's an interesting one: a new Catering Order has launched in Cafe World asking you to help feed a group of racers after their Soap Box Derby race. You'll be there at the finish line waiting, and if you can help these racers out in time, you'll walk away with a free recipe for your efforts.
This particular catering order requires you to serve Tony's Classic Pizza (a five-hour dish) 100 Times, Basil Finger Sandwiches (a six-hour dish) 35 Times, Clubhouse Sandwiches (an 18 hour dish) 20 times and Bacon Cheeseburgers (a five-minute dish) 300 times. Luckily, the Bacon Cheeseburger happens to be the shortest cooking dish and is the one required in the highest quantity. This means that you'll be able to push out dozens of servings in a single sitting in the game, and when you bring up to 14 of your friends in on this order with you, the progress becomes even quicker.
In addition to these cooking tasks, you'll also need to collect 12 Axles and 12 Racing Flags to go along with the Soap Box Derby theme. Both of these sets of items are earned through individual gift requests sent to your friends.
If you can finish all six tasks within the first three days of starting, you'll earn the three-star rating, 15 Catering Points, 7,500 Cafe Points, 200,000 coins and a Fried Chicken Sandwich recipe. Unfortunately, you must complete this order with the three star rating in order to earn the recipe, so feel free to cancel the order and start over if you haven't finished it by that time. If you do decide to push on, however, and can finish before five full days have passed, you'll receive two stars, 10 Catering Points, 5,000 Cafe Points and 125,000 coins. Finally, finishing at any point after those first five days gives you a single star, 5 Catering Points, 3,000 Cafe Points and 75,000 coins.
All in all, this Catering Order doesn't have a time limit in terms of when it must be started, so if you have more time-sensitive tasks to complete in your cafe first, feel free to complete those entirely before coming back and helping these racers.
What do you think of the Soap Box Supper Catering Order? Do you appreciate "easier" orders like these, or do you prefer a true challenge? Sound off in the comments.
This particular catering order requires you to serve Tony's Classic Pizza (a five-hour dish) 100 Times, Basil Finger Sandwiches (a six-hour dish) 35 Times, Clubhouse Sandwiches (an 18 hour dish) 20 times and Bacon Cheeseburgers (a five-minute dish) 300 times. Luckily, the Bacon Cheeseburger happens to be the shortest cooking dish and is the one required in the highest quantity. This means that you'll be able to push out dozens of servings in a single sitting in the game, and when you bring up to 14 of your friends in on this order with you, the progress becomes even quicker.
In addition to these cooking tasks, you'll also need to collect 12 Axles and 12 Racing Flags to go along with the Soap Box Derby theme. Both of these sets of items are earned through individual gift requests sent to your friends.
If you can finish all six tasks within the first three days of starting, you'll earn the three-star rating, 15 Catering Points, 7,500 Cafe Points, 200,000 coins and a Fried Chicken Sandwich recipe. Unfortunately, you must complete this order with the three star rating in order to earn the recipe, so feel free to cancel the order and start over if you haven't finished it by that time. If you do decide to push on, however, and can finish before five full days have passed, you'll receive two stars, 10 Catering Points, 5,000 Cafe Points and 125,000 coins. Finally, finishing at any point after those first five days gives you a single star, 5 Catering Points, 3,000 Cafe Points and 75,000 coins.
All in all, this Catering Order doesn't have a time limit in terms of when it must be started, so if you have more time-sensitive tasks to complete in your cafe first, feel free to complete those entirely before coming back and helping these racers.
What do you think of the Soap Box Supper Catering Order? Do you appreciate "easier" orders like these, or do you prefer a true challenge? Sound off in the comments.
CityVille Governor's Run Act 2 Nature Goals: Everything you need to know
If you've been keeping up with the governor's election in CityVille, you'll now be ready for Act 2 to begin. After helping "the people" in Act 1, Act 2 sees you helping out special interest groups, starting with a nature-loving group led by Zookeeper Karen. If you don't want Captain Krunsch to earn Karen's vote (and those of her friends), you'll need to finish the following three goals.
When Nature Calls
* Place Conservatory
* Collect from Conservatory four times
The Conservatory is a new Community Building that requires 12 staff members to operate. Once you build the base, you'll need to ask 12 friends to come staff the building, at which point you'll gain a bonus of 3,750 citizens to your maximum population cap. Just collect its profits four times after it's built to finish this first goal. You'll receive eight energy when doing so.
Food For Thought
* Ask friends for 6 Gardening Gloves
* Water Rose Garden 5 Times
* Harvest 80 Cranberries
You can have more than one Rose Garden in your city, so feel free to place multiples just so you don't have to wait for the same Garden to be ready five times in a row (a time-consuming process, to say the least). As for the Cranberries, these take 12 hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll earn 840 Goods.
More Power To You
* Ask friends for 12 Recyclable Bags
* Collect from Produce Paradise 30 Times
* Collect from City Works 6 Times
The City Works is another Community Building that you might already have in your town. If not, here's a guide to building one. As for the Produce Paradise, this is a Business that's available from the store. It requires 253 Goods to operate and gives you 1,413 coins in profit by default. To more quickly finish this particular step (since 30 times is a long time to wait), make sure that the Produce Paradise is the only business operating in your town so that all customers will come to it, allowing it to sell out much more quickly than normal. Finishing this third goal gives you the EV Charging Station, a business that requires 475 Goods to operate and produces 2,393 coins.
Since this is just the first part of the second act of the Governor's Run event in CityVille, once you finish two more sets you'll receive an additional item: the Capital Rotunda building. What's more, you don't have to complete the entirety of Act 1 in order to access these Act 2 goals either, and can have them all running simultaneously in your town - talk about multi-tasking! We'll make sure to let you know when additional political goals launch in the game, so keep checking back with us!
What do you think of these Nature goals? Are you enjoying the Governor's Run event so far? Sound off in the comments.
When Nature Calls
* Place Conservatory
* Collect from Conservatory four times
The Conservatory is a new Community Building that requires 12 staff members to operate. Once you build the base, you'll need to ask 12 friends to come staff the building, at which point you'll gain a bonus of 3,750 citizens to your maximum population cap. Just collect its profits four times after it's built to finish this first goal. You'll receive eight energy when doing so.
Food For Thought
* Ask friends for 6 Gardening Gloves
* Water Rose Garden 5 Times
* Harvest 80 Cranberries
You can have more than one Rose Garden in your city, so feel free to place multiples just so you don't have to wait for the same Garden to be ready five times in a row (a time-consuming process, to say the least). As for the Cranberries, these take 12 hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll earn 840 Goods.
More Power To You
* Ask friends for 12 Recyclable Bags
* Collect from Produce Paradise 30 Times
* Collect from City Works 6 Times
The City Works is another Community Building that you might already have in your town. If not, here's a guide to building one. As for the Produce Paradise, this is a Business that's available from the store. It requires 253 Goods to operate and gives you 1,413 coins in profit by default. To more quickly finish this particular step (since 30 times is a long time to wait), make sure that the Produce Paradise is the only business operating in your town so that all customers will come to it, allowing it to sell out much more quickly than normal. Finishing this third goal gives you the EV Charging Station, a business that requires 475 Goods to operate and produces 2,393 coins.
Since this is just the first part of the second act of the Governor's Run event in CityVille, once you finish two more sets you'll receive an additional item: the Capital Rotunda building. What's more, you don't have to complete the entirety of Act 1 in order to access these Act 2 goals either, and can have them all running simultaneously in your town - talk about multi-tasking! We'll make sure to let you know when additional political goals launch in the game, so keep checking back with us!
What do you think of these Nature goals? Are you enjoying the Governor's Run event so far? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille German items start an Oktoberfest celebration
Here's one update I honestly didn't think we'd see come to FarmVille so soon. With the Halloween theme officially launching in the game earlier this week, we've seen yet another theme - German, or Oktoberfest - launch tonight as well. This theme is relatively small (so far), consisting of nothing but buildings and decorations that are re-releases of those items seen in a previous German theme. Whether or not we'll see any trees or specific animals launch as well is anyone's guess. For now, let's take a look at what's available so far.
Buildings
Festival Wheel - 38 Farm Cash
Festival Tent - 34 Farm Cash
I have to admit, even for its high price, the Festival Wheel (Ferris Wheel) is still one of the neatest looking items I can remember seeing launched in the game (it was originally available in last year's German event). This thing has it all - animation in the wheel itself and lights throughout as though it were at a real carnival. I'll tell you one thing: it will be hard for me not to personally splurge on one of these items for my own farm this year.
Decorations
German Gnome - 18 Farm Cash
Festival Carriage - 22 Farm Cash
Festival Gnome - 18 Farm Cash
Cider Stand - 120,000 coins
Festival Pavilion - 240,000 coins
Barrel Tub - 120,000 coins
Again, all of these items are re-releases of those seen in the game previously, so you'll want to take a few moments to search your storage for any of them so that you don't needlessly purchase duplicates (especially if the item costs Farm Cash).
It will be interesting to see if any other items release that are actually new to the German theme this year, but for now, you've got seven days to purchase any of these items that have come back around.
Are you happy to see these items re-released in the game's store, or did you purchase all of the items you wanted last year? Sound off in the comments.
Buildings
Festival Wheel - 38 Farm Cash
Festival Tent - 34 Farm Cash
I have to admit, even for its high price, the Festival Wheel (Ferris Wheel) is still one of the neatest looking items I can remember seeing launched in the game (it was originally available in last year's German event). This thing has it all - animation in the wheel itself and lights throughout as though it were at a real carnival. I'll tell you one thing: it will be hard for me not to personally splurge on one of these items for my own farm this year.
Decorations
German Gnome - 18 Farm Cash
Festival Carriage - 22 Farm Cash
Festival Gnome - 18 Farm Cash
Cider Stand - 120,000 coins
Festival Pavilion - 240,000 coins
Barrel Tub - 120,000 coins
Again, all of these items are re-releases of those seen in the game previously, so you'll want to take a few moments to search your storage for any of them so that you don't needlessly purchase duplicates (especially if the item costs Farm Cash).
It will be interesting to see if any other items release that are actually new to the German theme this year, but for now, you've got seven days to purchase any of these items that have come back around.
Are you happy to see these items re-released in the game's store, or did you purchase all of the items you wanted last year? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Bảy, 1 tháng 10, 2011
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Shammie 77's mountaintop kingdom
Click here to make the image larger.
Today I've got a real treat for you fine folks: Shammie 77's mountain farm. It's farms like these that reinforce my belief that FarmVille designing is an art. Sure I've labeled some questionable farms as art in my time, but you have to agree that Shammie 77's design is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Shammie's farm does so many things right. The idea for the design itself is excellent, a fortress on a hill, with a small village at the bottom. The design is kept simple, featuring only the items that were absolutely necessary. This gives the whole thing a very clean look. Of course, the optical illuison is really excellent. Where other farmers tend to overdo or exagerate their FarmVille design illusions, Shammie includes it nonchalantly, giving the farm a really natural and convincing appearance. In addition, Shammie 77 smartly connects the areas together with paths and a river, furthering the optical illusion.
I could go on and on about everything that makes this farm so great, but instead I'm going to give you a chance to look it over by clicking the image above. This creation reportedly took Shammie 77 several weeks to make, so take your time checking it out.
What do you think of Shammie 77's sprawling kingdom?
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.
Today I've got a real treat for you fine folks: Shammie 77's mountain farm. It's farms like these that reinforce my belief that FarmVille designing is an art. Sure I've labeled some questionable farms as art in my time, but you have to agree that Shammie 77's design is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Shammie's farm does so many things right. The idea for the design itself is excellent, a fortress on a hill, with a small village at the bottom. The design is kept simple, featuring only the items that were absolutely necessary. This gives the whole thing a very clean look. Of course, the optical illuison is really excellent. Where other farmers tend to overdo or exagerate their FarmVille design illusions, Shammie includes it nonchalantly, giving the farm a really natural and convincing appearance. In addition, Shammie 77 smartly connects the areas together with paths and a river, furthering the optical illusion.
I could go on and on about everything that makes this farm so great, but instead I'm going to give you a chance to look it over by clicking the image above. This creation reportedly took Shammie 77 several weeks to make, so take your time checking it out.
What do you think of Shammie 77's sprawling kingdom?
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.
Đăng ký:
Bài đăng (Atom)