TayKrOn, the folks who did the PC game Slide Colors, as well as bunch of Kongregate games, announce the launch of Slide Colors for the Xbox. I reviewed Slide Colors fir Indie Game Mag a few months ago, and my IGM review was quoted in the press release announcing the XBox version. The XBox version will cost 80 Microsoft points, which is a dollar in non-stupid currency, so it’s well worth checking out this match-three.
SubSoap, behind Faerie Solitaire (did I mention how much I liked this game?) are planning the launch of an episodic sequel. I thought the original Faerie Solitaire was adorable and I can’t wait to see the new features.
I don’t often post press releases in their entirety (and I get a bit annoyed with publicists who think I should) but I loved this one and wanted to share. The games aren’t bad, either.
Santa Claus Presents The Indie Video Games Advent Calendar 2009
Santa’s Office, North Pole (December 3, 2009) – Santa Claus announced today the indie xmas advent calendar is available for every merry indie gamer out there. Santa’s official advent calendar is featuring unique and innovate indie video games at www.indiexmas.com
The Indie games advent calendar features 24 doors, which can be opened one-by-one. Behind each door, gamers find one or more fun indie game to play, and trailers or demos to watch. Naturally, the indie advent calendar is only available in Christmas time.
When Santa was asked about the fun factor of these games, he replied with a warm “Ho ho ho!” laughter and continued eating porridge.
To follow the Santa’s official indie advent calendar, please visit www.indiexmas.com.
About Santa Claus:
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or simply “Santa”, is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.
This is what adventurers have been waiting for: On November 25, 2009, the games publisher burda:ic will start the Closed Beta phase for the eagerly anticipated free-2-play online strategy game highlight Avalon Heroes. Starting immediately, all registered members can sign up for the one-of-a-kind Closed Beta at alaplaya.net/pages/ahcbapplication. With a little luck, this means that they will already get to marvel at the impressive skills and weapons of the game characters before the release date. Moreover, in the official Closed Beta forum at avalon.alaplaya.net/forum, players will be able to find more detailed information and share what they experienced in the game.
I’m almost embarrassed by how much I love Cooking Mama 2: Cooking With Friends, I even love when I mess up and Mama reassures me that she can fix it. And I can’t wait to play the next Cooking Mama. From the press release:
Mama is back in the kitchen whipping up 80 new recipes – including mushroom quiche, tulip chicken and more. Players use the stylus as an all-in-one cooking utensil to chop, grate, roll, slice, spread, sprinkle and more through over 200 manic mini-games. Eight gameplay modes allow them to shop for fresh ingredients, create custom culinary concoctions, compete with up to three friends in timed challenges and more. Additionally, players can send friends items they grew in Gardening Mama and use them to make meals in Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop!
James Patterson’s Women’s Murder club has been a successful series of novels, a TV show and a series of casual mystery PC games before coming to the DS. The new Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion seems designed for a casual DS gamer to tuck her into her purse, instead of a Patterson mystery novel. Most of WMC is played with the DS turned sideways, using the read-only screen to display a list of objects to find, instructions, or images to accompany the action in the interactive screen, which creates a book-like format for more of an interactive novel feel.
WMC follows the usual pattern of story cutscenes, hidden objects and minigames. The hidden objects casual adventure game is a pretty crowded genre, so it’s hard for a new game to really stand out. Probably the most unique characteristic was the James Patterson characters. Players solve crimes and meet with the WMC ladies as Patterson’s detective Lindsay Boxer, and supporting characters with solid personalities made this more that just a reskinned HO game.
The story progresses via cutscenes and dialogue options. Players have some choices for what to say, but it was more of a quiz on recent plot events. Believable banter makes the cutscenes worth reading, and the linear storyline makes it feel like reading a novel, not being hemmed
Random side note: The mysterious Chinese markings found on the victim actually do say bu zhong, Not Loyal. My Chinese literacy is just good enough to be completely thrilled with the developers for using real words when dramatic red scribbles would have acceptable. (It always cracks me up when I see upside-down characters or random other words.) Good work, THQ.
A lot of the game was hidden objects, whether it was tidying a crime scene or looking for clues, but this was a particularly bad HO. The small DS screen doesn’t really lend itself to searching, and players search a picture that’s larger than the screen, for maximum squinting-at-the-screen annoyance. It was also the Highlights magazine type of hidden objects, instead of the cluttered-room HO. It felt oddly childish to look for giant peace signs and lightning bolts, especially on crime scenes with mysterious dead bodies. The game does mix up the hidden objects a bit by giving players a clue instead of a list of items, but still gives the feel of an activity book more than an adventure game.
The story leads to several minigames, which were much more engaging than the picture find. When I got the Women’s Murder Club press release, I was pretty excited to see the game included a science lab minigame, and the puzzle’s gameplay didn’t disappoint.
One of the minigames was a mah-jong game, which is also accessible under an icon that says China (This character is a different zhong, an object lesson on why I am not so good at Chinese!). I usually consider mah-jong games to be computer solitaire 2.0, but I found something charming in the tiny tiles and stylus interface, and ended up playing this minigame more than I’d expected.
Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion offers a solid storyline and characters from the popular novels to fans of the hidden objects mystery.
2BeeGames, the leading online community for independent games, has officially announced that their second Indie Game Competition has begun on August 1st. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000 and will enter negotiations with Zoo Games, Inc. for a multi-platform publishing contract.
Aspiring game designers everywhere are invited to create and submit a new, original title starting August 1st until September 15th. Throughout the six week submission phase, participants are encouraged to combine creativity and a passion for gaming towards the development of a new game. Once finished, the game can be submitted to the 2BeeGames.com website for judging. The 2BeeGames community, aka “The Hive”, will play and rate the contestants’ games and vote on their favorites along with a panel of judges. Finalists will be announced in October and a winner will be chosen November 3rd.
In the first 2BeeGames Indie Game Competition, rising developer Cipher Prime beat out intense competition to win $10,000 and is currently negotiating a publishing deal for its upcoming title, Auditorium, a unique and ethereal audio-visual puzzle game. Now, the call for the next game to shake up the indie gaming scene once again has gone out to be answered.
In addition to the second Indie Game Competition, 2BeeGames.com is hosting an “8 Weeks In 8-Bit” contest, where gaming fans are encouraged to submit original works of art inspired by the 8-bit gaming era. The first week of the contest called for gamers to create and submit the ultimate “8-bit Hero,” and the winning designs are up for display on 2BeeGames.com today. There will be a new theme for each week of the contest, with eight different opportunities to win great prizes from “8 Weeks In 8-Bit” sponsor, GamersGate.
For official competition rules and news on the second 2BeeGames Indie Game Competition, as well as information related to “8 Weeks of 8-Bit,” please visit: http://www.2BeeGames.com.
I blogged about the last set of winners, and I can’t wait to see the next winners!
After Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, and Women’s Murder Club: Death In Scarlet comes a new WMC, Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion, this time for the Nintendo DS and DSi. I think the portable DS system, with the stylus-driven games, is perfect for casual gaming, and I’m seeing more and more story-based casual games coming out. I’ve been carrying the Sims (or Sims Castaway!) in my purse, and I also saw a Nancy Drew game for the DS the other day.
From the Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion press release:
“When I dreamed up the ladies of the Women’s Murder Club, I knew they were women of action; women on the go,” said James Patterson. “I never dreamed they could come to life like they have in the Nintendo DS version. This new game gives fans a chance to become a member of the Women’s Murder Club anytime, anywhere.”
And by “anytime, anywhere” I think he means “while waiting at the airport”.
I was lucky enough to get a look at some screenshots from the upcoming game. I had to include this one, because there just aren’t enough science-themed puzzles in games targeted to women!
Obligatory hidden objects minigame. It works well in a mystery-solving game, but I just don’t see what’s fun about squinting at the screen.
Nintendo DSi users will get a special feature that uses the camera, (can’t wait to see how they integrate that) but the game will also be available for the regular DS.
From the creative minds that brought you Home Sweet Home and Masters of Mystery comes a brand new adventure! Big Blue Bubble proudly announces the release of Legacy: World Adventure!
Travel the world as Emily King, an intelligent young woman with a yearning for adventure and a craving for knowledge. Help her reclaim her family legacy in an electrifying race around the globe, to win the illustrious Grand Adventurers Expedition! Legacy: World Adventure will challenge your Match 3 abilities and heighten your World Fact knowledge with exciting clues and stunning imagery!
So climb aboard our airships for the race of a lifetime, clever mini-game action, and hundreds of world facts that will push your skills to the limits!
Featuring…
• International Adventure Storyline!
• 30 Real World Locations!
• Hundreds of World Facts!
• 3 Different Types of Match 3 Gameplay!
• 5 Challenging Mini-Games!
Legacy: World Adventure supports 98/ME/2000/2003/XP/Vista. Download it from www.bbbarcade.com TODAY!
I’m a bit late posting this because every time I went to get another screenshot or check a fact, I got sucked into playing a few hands of Faerie Solitaire.
Faerie Solitaire from SubSoap is a new casual game, mixing a cute fantasy story with basic solitaire. I’ve said before that the best games have simple rules, with many variations and strategies. In Faerie Solitaire, you are given a foundation card, and you can either play one card higher or one card lower than the foundation card. A played card becomes the new foundation card, and you do it again. You could easily teach a child to look for a number one higher or one lower than the selected card.
As you play more hands, different hands have a different card layout, including special layouts with unavailable cards in thorn patches or ice. Special cards and events pop us randomly as well, offering bonuses and minigames. The random element made the solid solitaire game that much more addictive for me.
Because the hidden object games have a finite pool of backgrounds and items, it soon became more of a memory game than a hidden objects game. Which is great because I think hidden objects are overdone, they start to feel like filler because they’re the default of the casual games genre.
I sometimes find it annoying when there’s a lot of game to be unlocked. In some cases, it seems like a tacit aknowledgement from the developers that some parts of the game are good and some parts are lame, and to make the game longer, you’ve got to grind through the lame to get to the good bits. When I reviewed GardenParty World, I talked about how not needing a game for the system of working at a dull minigame to earn spending points. GardenParty World is hardly the only offender here, I was also frustrated by unlocking the chance to play indentical levels in Fashion Solitaire. But Faerie Solitaire had a system of power-ups and unlockable features that kept me excited about the next add-on without leaving me feeling like the developers had greyed out most of the game.
In their Faerie Solitaire press release, Subsoap promised strong production values. They delivered, there are no awkward cutscenes or grammatically painful instructions, the usual hallmarks of an indie studio. But what really ties it together is the movie-score music.
This is not an all-encompassing story game but I don’t think it’s meant to be. You won’t be daydreaming at work, thinking about getting home to play Faerie Solitaire. This is a quality solitaire game that had my boyfriend looking over my shoulder. Drawing in other people to kibbutz is a mark of a great solitaire game!
LOS ANGELES, Calif.– March 17, 2009 – Independent video games developer Zombie Studios has reached an agreement with Fox Atomic, a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, and production company Union Entertainment to develop its military action franchise “Blacklight” as a feature film, comic book series and video game. The announcement was made jointly by Zombie CEO Mark Long*, Fox Atomic President Debbie Liebling, and Union President Richard Leibowitz.
An original property created by Zombie Studios,“Blacklight” is a covert military action epic set twenty-five years in the future. The three companies will work together on a movie and comic book series to be produced by Fox Atomic and a multi-platform video game that will be produced by Zombie.
Both the film and the video game will be written by Jason Dean Hall, a veteran writer whose latest film, SPREAD, sold at Sundance to Summit. He is also writing projects for DreamWorks and Universal.
“We are excited by the huge potential “Backlight” has to succeed across multiple platforms — theatrical features, comics books, and video games,” said Liebling,“it offers us a remarkable franchise opportunity for film.”
“From the start, I have envisioned’Blacklight’ as a story that spans all of the forms of media I enjoy most,” stated Long.“It’s an ambitious project and I’ve been fortunate to find partners at Fox Atomic and Union who share that same vision. We are cooperating on the comic, game and movie at levels that are unprecedented in the industry.”
“’Blacklight’ plays to Union’s strengths as a film and game production company, allowing us to help bring a great property to consumers in both media,” added Leibowitz, a producer on the project.
Richard Leibowitz will produce and Dmitri Johnson and Dan Jevons will executive produce for Union. Mark Long, in addition to developing the video game, will serve as an executive producer on the feature. Zak Kadison and R. Eric Lieb will oversee for Atomic.
The“Blacklight” film, video game, and comics will feature the same characters and high caliber military action, but with unique, intersecting storylines that complement each other. No release dates for any of the properties have yet been announced.
*Is it just me, or would “Zombie CEO” be one of the best titles ever?
Subsoap(TM) (www.subsoap.com), an up and coming developer of
casual games, today announced the launch of Faerie Solitaire.
The game is a fantasy-theme casual card game that’s full of adventure,
mystery, and wonder. Featuring 360 exciting levels, including Hidden
Object mini games, 8 worlds to play through, and hundreds of hours
of gameplay entertainment. Faerie Solitaire is the next triple-A
casual title, and is available exclusively at Subsoap.com.
Rescuing Lost Faeries
In Faerie Solitaire players will travel across the land of Avalon
in search of magical faeries who have been trapped by some
mysterious force. A move away from what is currently popular in
the casual space, Faerie Solitaire’s strong production values
and compelling gameplay will surely please solitaire fans.
Is it just me, or does that sentence make it sound like other casual games have no production value and boring gameplay? I’m not saying there aren’t a bunch of dull match-3s floating around the internet, but I’ve played some amazing casual games, like Funky Farm 2, Crayon Physics, and Nancy Drew: Lights, Camera, Curses!, just to name a few recent ones that had me addicted. I hope Faerie Solitaire will be one of them!
Subsoap also plans to launch a new casual gaming portal sometime this year.
Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, a new casual game based on James Patterson’s best-selling novels, is available starting today from MSN Games. Here is the press release, and some exclusive screenshots!
NEW YORK, NY – February 24, 2009 -I-play, the world’s leading multi-platform casual games publishing division of Oberon Media, announces the exclusive launch of the second casual PC game based on the best-selling Women’s Murder Club book series by James Patterson. Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Greymakes its debut on MSN Gamestoday, where it will be available exclusively for two weeks. Created by best-selling author James Patterson, in collaboration with I-play’s award-winning team of designer Jane Jensen and producer Robert Adams, this new title delivers another original story and thrilling adventure to follow the massive success of its predecessor, Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet.
“We are pleased to again collaborate with MSN Games on the exclusive launch of Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey”, said Don Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, Oberon Media, I-play’s parent company. “Millions of casual gamers, and James Patterson fans alike, made Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet an interactive gaming hit! Now, James Patterson and the I-play team have created an addictive sequel that will have users riveted with the new Women’s Murder Club storyline through hours of spine-tingling game play.”
A casual adventure game based on Patterson’s massively popular Women’s Murder Club novels, Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is available exclusively for download at MSN Games until March 10. MSN Games will be offering Women’s Murder Club fans exclusive content including a sneak peek of the first ten chapters of James Patterson’s not-yet-released novel “The 8th Confession,” desktop wallpapers, Windows Live Messenger icons and jigsaw puzzles created from in-game scenes and characters. Additionally, players purchasing the game via MSN Games will have access to Women’s Murder Club trivia questions and quizzes. The game is available for PC download for $19.95.
Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey isthe sequel to the tremendously successful Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet seek-and-find mystery game. The adventure begins when a brisk morning jog ends in tragedy for a young military cadet. The famed heroines of Women’s Murder Club are called to the scene and eventually led to a prestigious but secretive military academy in South Carolina. Users will follow Lindsay and Cindy from California to South Carolina as they interrogate suspects and investigate esteemed military personnel. Along the way, players will attempt to reveal the truth and track down the killer by solving challenging puzzles using instinct, fact and forensic evidence to expose years of corruption, cover-up and conspiracy.
Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is filled to the brim with new features including an all new Women’s Murder Club storyline; character dialogue; ten thrilling investigations unveiling a story of mystery, adventure and sordid secrets; twenty-five challenging puzzles; a point system to track progress within the game; and breathtaking art of locations that lead gamers to delve deeper into this interactive adventure. The game is being developed and published online by I-play and will be published at retail by Elephant Entertainment, a division of THQ Inc.
One more screenshot of what looks like a forensics minigame. Awesome!
Supercute gaming site Globulos.com, which offers a bunch of casual multiplayer games, reopens with a free-to-play basic model and a cash shop for extras.
The 20 games and the 50 playing fields are playable 100% for free. Games are 1 against 1 player, 2 against 2 or melee of 4 players. The gameplay is a mix between arcade fun and simultaneous turn based strategy. The kawaii style was noticed by the Japanese Nintendo official magazine, Nintendo Dream with a full page article.
Some options like character customization or power-ups (teletransportation, invisibility and a lot more) can be purchased using Globbies, the website currency.
The 20 games are: Arena, Football, Croquet, Tic-Tac, Save the King, Darts, Funky Foot, Bomber, Rally, Volley, Sumo, Flipper, Pétanque, BomberKing, 4-Square, Snooker, PacGlob, Basket, DartsKing, Monster.
A Nintendo DS game is being developed and is targeting the upcoming DSiWare channel.
Looks like Disney will be following Cartoon Network’s lead with Fusionfall and creating a kid-friendly MMO world. Disney’s new virtual world will be based on the cute movie Cars. From their press release, as quoted on Casual Gamer Chick:
This summer, Disney Online will launch World of Cars Online, a 3D online world based on the hit movie CARS. Players will be able to take an amazing ride into a wacky world full of fun and adventure by designing their own car, becoming a racing legend, making new friends, and playing mini-games with Lightning McQueen and the rest of the cast.
Budapest, Hungary, January 29, 2009 – Artex Studios, Inc., the owner of CasualGameStore.com is scheduled to release the iPhone and WiiWare version of Mahjong Zodiac and Str33t Racing.
Mahjong Zodiac ———————- Mahjong Zodiac is a unique combination of the classic mahjong and the three matching games. The classic mahjong gameplay with the intriguing twist, guaranteed to challenge anyone looking for a brain workout. Embark on a journey through ancient China and Buddha’s life in this story-filled mahjong game. As you progress from level to level, a beautifully illustrated story is revealed, immersing you in a great gaming experience.
- 96 well balanced level - unique hand drawn graphics - particular mahjong tile set - beautiful particle system - authentic background music and sound effects
Mahjong Zodiac sounds a bit like Liong:The Lost Amulets for a blend of mahjong solitaire and a story, don’t you think?
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 19, 2009 – Qwak was released today on the Archive Games distribution platform. In Qwak, players guide a duck through 70 fun and challenging levels. Players try to gain higher scores by collecting fruit. Players will also find numerous other objects in their adventure: keys to unlock doors, jet boots to fly across the screen, umbrellas that cause fruit to rain from the sky, and eggs to throw at the player’s enemies. Many more secret hidden bonuses await those who play through the game! Players do not have to brave alone the six visually stunning worlds depicted in Qwak — they can bring along a friend to help them in the cooperative gameplay mode. Players can post their high scores to a global high scores list.
Qwak was initially released nearly twenty years ago for the BBC Micro by game developer Jamie Woodhouse. In today’s PC release, the classic arcade action gameplay has remained from that age — though the graphics and sound have been updated. The end result is a highly polished arcade experience which is fun for gamers new to the franchise and those who have played Qwak on another platform before.
Archive Games, a distribution platform for independently made games, is proud to welcome Qwak to their games catalog. Archive Games, known for its selection of independently made free games, is excited to offer Qwak as its first paid game. Said Archive Entertainment owner Robby Zinchak, “We’re thrilled to have Qwak join our line-up of independent games! We hope that by distributing paid games as well as free games, we are able to financially assist the plight of the independent game developer. Archive Games allows users to quickly find great independent games, and now, even support the authors of those games.
Ah, gaming romance. I love stories like this, because they ruin the stereotype of anti-social gamers, and the stereotype that all gamers are men.
LAND O’ LAKES, FL– JANUARY 12, 2009– Artix Entertainment’s MMORPG AdventureQuest Worlds was the setting for the December 29th wedding of longtime Artix gamers Bello and Merca which was broadcast live starting on www.aqworlds.com with over 11,000 gamers in attendance.
The bride, who is a retailer, and the groom, who is a pre-school teacher, have been avid Artix gamers for three years. They live in southwestern Missouri and decided to share their union with fellow gamers worldwide.
“We thought this was a unique opportunity to do something memorable,” said Bello.“We decided to go with AdventureQuest Worlds because we’ve been playing Artix games for years now and almost feel like we’ve been a part of Artix Entertainment’s maturation as a gaming company.”
January 11, 2009 — Platinum Arts Sandbox is an open source easy to use standalone 3D Game Maker and 3D Game Design program currently being used in many schools throughout the world that allows kids and adults to create their own video games, worlds, levels, adventures and quests, even cooperatively! The goal is to make it accessible to kids but also powerful enough for full game projects. Now features new game modes such as sidescroller, machinima, kartmode, RPG, and more! Our homepage is http://Kids.PlatinumArts.Net
DALLAS (January 9, 2008) – MumboJumbo, a leading developer and publisher of casual games, has entered into a publishing agreement with phenomedia publishing gmbh to bring their latest Moorhuhn titles to Nintendo DS™ system in the North American market.
The three-title deal includes Star Karts, Atlantis Quest and The Pharaoh’s Treasure, all of which will launch in 2009 for the popular handheld gaming console at retail prices of $19.99 each.
“We’re very excited to bring these three Crazy Chicken games to the North American audience,” said Mark Cottam, CEO of MumboJumbo. “The strong character, variety of game play and overall production values of these titles make them a perfect fit for MumboJumbo.”
Developed by phenomedia, Star Karts follows the zany Crazy Chicken through an intergalactic racing competition, while Atlantis Quest is a side-scrolling action (or platformer) game that takes Crazy Chicken through 30 levels of challenges both above and below the sea. In The Pharaoh’s Challenge, players can try their hand at puzzle-solving in the Egyptian-themed adventure.
“We would like to tie Moorhuhn’s latest three adventures on Nintendo DS to international success of Moorhuhn DS. Each of these games represents a different genre – racing game, Jump&Run and puzzle – and thus not only emphasizes the platform’s diversity, but also that of the strong character Moorhuhn itself,” said Helge Borgarts, phenomedia publishing gmbh’s CEO.
Crazy Chicken originally launched in Germany as Moorhuhn X and quickly developed a league of fans who found the zany and precocious chickens entertaining and comical. Bringing the mischief and mayhem to Nintendo DS will serve to broaden the game’s already impressive audience.
A new racing game from High Voltage Software, Inc.
Hoffman Estates, IL – January 8, 2009 – High Voltage Software, Inc., one of the world’s largest independent developers, today announced that High Voltage Hot Rod Show, the company’s latest WiiWare title, has been scheduled for release via Nintendo’s downloadable service on January 19th at a price of 1,000 Wii Points.
High Voltage Hot Rod Show is an arcade-style racing title that centers on a unique boost system which requires players to pull off dare-devil stunts in order to achieve maximum speed. The game was built using the company’s proprietary Quantum 3 Game Engine technology, which provides stunning graphical performance.
“We want to wish racing fans a happy New Year by announcing the release of High Voltage Hot Rod Show,” said Kerry J. Ganofsky, CEO and founder of High Voltage Software. “Wii owners who are looking for a tightly focused and highly competitive racing experience should look no further.”
“The team worked extremely hard to refine the look and feel of the game,” said Eric Nofsinger, Chief Creative Officer of High Voltage Software. “Whether you’re playing against AI, working to beat the best online leaderboard times, or racing up to four of your friends in split-screen mode, we think players will be blown away by the experience.”
Guadalajara, Jalisco México – January 06, 2009 – Happy Nutz Studio releases Rotoadventures Momo’s Quest – an action/platform mouse-only game so easy to play that can be enjoyed by the whole family. The game demo can be downloaded from www.RotoAdventures.com
The game is hand draw frame by frame and tells the story of Momo, a little squirrel in a life quest for finding his owner. The game guides the player from an enchanted forest to cybernetic mines and from a school to a cursed castle exploring various themes like vandalism and ecology.
Features:
- Easy to play, you only need the mouse.
- Choose between light and dark chapters.
- Get new abilities for each chapter.
- 20 Different worlds.
- 10 Boss enemies.
- Unlock more than 20 Wallpapers.
- Different endings.
Yeah, you read that right. A squirrel (a really cute squirrel, actually) who has to choose between the light side and the dark side. Here’s a sneak preview of the freakishly cute little guy:
Gametribe.com, the premier destination for Free-to-Play games starts 2009 with a great update to come on January 7th!
We are happy to introduce the Marriage system for all the lovers!
Declare you Love and get married to unlock extra bonuses with your
partner.
To prepare a great wedding ceremony, you can now get the two
beautiful Ring of Devotion (to give energy to the partner) and Partner
Pager (to summon the partner at any time).
Depending on the rings set you choose (Plain, Gold, Platinum or
Diamonds), you will have access to the different wedding costumes
(Chinese, Japanese and Fantasy) and wedding places (Chinese, Church and
Fairytale).
Invite all your friends, prepare a special banquet, it’s a unique moment!
If you want to get married, you can also try the Lover’s quests:
- Devoted Love in Darkdale lvl 20
- Mutually Love in Swan Lake Basin lvl 25
- Everlasting in Blakatoa lvl 30
- Loving Forever in Grassgreen Square lvl 35
- Never regretting Giantwood Forest lvl 40
These quests give wedding dresses and love titles!
Another big feature coming is the Potential Development Instructor
(meet him at the Eversun Dojo). He will give you several quests that
will let you reach the new cap, the level 62!
New items and goodie bags:
• Permanent Emperor’s New Hat and Bounty Hunter Costume available until January 21st
• Purple Butterfly Wings
• Devil’s Wings
• Wedding Venue Lease Contract: for couples to enter a wedding place another time
• Costume goodie bags available until February 4th:
o For girls: Bestial Girl costume, Wild Girl costume and Fairy Horn
o For boys: Red Ghostly Gown, Blue Ghostly Gown, and Demon Horn
• Special riding Pet goodie bag available until January 21st: you may get a permanent Lil’Dairy Pu or Pure White Pupu!
The new update will be available to players after the weekly Wednesday maintenance window.
DOMO is a Free-to-Play social MMORPG based on ancient Chinese
mythology. Join with thousands of other gamers in an amazing
anime-inspired world where you can socialize, form friendships, craft
and master a variety of jobs, all within the underlying quest of trying
to solve the riddles of the ancient myth of the Kunlun Mirror.
To download and play DOMO visit the game’s official website through www.gametribe.com.
Big Blue Bubble is proud to announce that Masters of Mystery: Crime of Fashion is scheduled for release on all major portals and is available now at www.bbbarcade.com! Crime of Fashion is the first in a series of hidden object games that will appeal to fans of the genre and anyone who loves a good murder mystery!
The New York fashion world is turned upside down when Detective Carrie Chase discovers that a famous Fashion Designer has been murdered. She soon comes to the frightening realization that a serial killer is at large with an eye for design and a thirst for murder. Masters of Mystery: Crime of Fashion is a thrilling, hidden object game with a twist. Using interactive forensic tools, the player will solve cunning puzzles to ultimately uncover the horrifying truth behind these brutal crimes.
Key Features
- A COMPELLING MYSTERY TO SOLVE
- STUNNING, PHOTO-REALISTIC SCENES
- HUNDREDS OF UNIQUE OBJECTS TO FIND
- ENGAGING MINI-GAMES AND PUZZLES
- INTERACTIVE FORENSIC TOOLS
With over 30 high profile games in its portfolio, Big Blue Bubble Inc. is one of Canada’s leading video game developers. Each of company’s divisions (Console and Casual) is dedicated to making the best possible games by combining innovative designers with top calibre artists and industry leading programmers. By maintaining a strong focus on the development of technology and showcasing it through award winning games, Big Blue Bubble will continue to lead the way in becoming a cornerstone of the casual gaming world.
For more information on Big Blue Bubble and its ongoing projects, please visit www.bigbluebubble.com.
World of Kung Fu is a free-to-play MMORPG, with an optional system of paying real cash for extra gold and special features. Here’s their latest press release:
Shanghai, Dec. 31st, 2008– World of Kung Fu, the popular MMORPG from VestGame Entertainment wishes the entire gaming community a Happy New Year! We’d like to thank our players, fans, and supporters all over the world for making 2008 such a great year. As a special thank you, and in the spirit of celebration, World of Kung Fu will be hosting several special New Year events and offering some cool free prizes to our players.
First off, all players will be able to claim a free Chinese traditional costume for their characters – A nice suit for the men and a special Mandarin dress for the ladies. These special outfits will be given out from 8:30 – 10:30 PM Eastern Time Jan 1st on the Jade Dragon Server, Jan 2nd on Golden Serpent, and Jan 3rd on Iron Monkey.
Secondly, as a “thank you” New Year present, we will award all players with Double Loot Ratio on all three servers for the first three days of 2009! This special bonus will run from midnight December 31st until midnight on January 3rd.
Finally, the main cities in WoKF will be specially decorated for the event. Don’t be surprised if a big floral basket suddenly appears by your side! Some of the GMs might even bring fireworks to enhance the celebration.
All in all, 2008 was a very good year for World of Kung Fu, and 2009 is set to be even better. There will be a major upgrade to the game in mid-January followed by others at regular intervals throughout the year. We encourage all of our players to join us for the New Year festivities, and welcome all new players into the game.
For more information about World of Kung Fu including tutorials, forums, screenshots, videos, and downloads, please visit the official World of Kung Fu website at http://www.worldofkungfu.com.
Speaking of New Year’s festivities, it’s almost time for WoW’s Lunar Festival, another chance to get a qipao and fireworks for your in-game avatar!
BHG are today pleased to announce the submission of iPhone game Retro to the Apple store.
Grabbing the best bits of retro gaming and wrapping them in glorious visuals BHG have produced the perfect game for the iPhone platform.
True to the traditions of classic Sci-fi, Retro is set in the near future, our experiments to harvest the Sun´s energy is about to send it super nova, your mission is to rescue scientists stranded on orbiting planets.
Retro takes you on 23 missions deep below the surface of orbiting planets, the super smooth control system allows you to tilt the iPhone to turn the craft, tapping the screen to apply thrust, gliding through the tightest caves to find stranded scientists, keeping one eye on the fuel and shield and the other on the rocky outcrops.
23 missions with gameplay that includes laser gates and teleporters.
Retro will be in the store during the Christmas holidays.
TayKrOn, the folks who did the PC game Slide Colors, as well as bunch of Kongregate games, announce the launch of Slide Colors for the Xbox. I reviewed Slide Colors fir Indie Game Mag a few months ago, and my IGM review was quoted in the press release announcing the XBox version. The XBox version will cost 80 Microsoft points, which is a dollar in non-stupid currency, so it’s well worth checking out this match-three.
Faerie Solitaire
![[Presidio+Crime+Scene.jpg]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vFZAfe3GuA4/SaRJYV-glfI/AAAAAAAABUE/vWmMDenLsXM/s1600/Presidio%2BCrime%2BScene.jpg)
The 20 games and the 50 playing fields are playable 100% for free. Games are 1 against 1 player, 2 against 2 or melee of 4 players. The gameplay is a mix between arcade fun and simultaneous turn based strategy. The kawaii style was noticed by the Japanese Nintendo official magazine, Nintendo Dream with a full page article.
Mahjong Zodiac
