While I was out at IndieCade, I was also part of a subtlemob. I blogged it over on Indie Game Mag:

After a day of panels and impromptu chats about where gameplay ends and interactive art begins, I went to play subtlemob by the Culver Hotel. Going in, I knew very little about the subtlemob. The instructions were to find a partner, and both download a half hour MP3 and meet at the secret starting area.

via subtlemob At IndieCade | The Indie Game Magazine – Indie Game Reviews, Previews, News & Downloads.

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There are a lot of awesome games in this year’s IndieCade lineup. Trauma‘s gorgeous environments, new interface and dreamlike storyline see particularly appearing.

TRAUMA Gameplay Preview from Krystian Majewski on Vimeo.

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Jason at the Brick Show reviews the LEGO set 7569 Desert Attack, the fifth and final set in the Prince of Persia collection. The Brick Show works out price per piece, always interesting with a playset, and pre-tests the assembly difficulty and suitability for kids, in case you were thinking of getting this for a little niece or nephew. He rates this one as an 8 for little ones, and a 6 for adult collectors, because we probably won’t be making the Hassassins chase the hero around on the carpet.  (But you never know.)

It’s no secret that we love LEGOs at ThumbGods. And if you haven’t signed up for the beta of Lego Universe, what are you waiting for?

Via the Lego blog BrickShow

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In 2009, I reviewed indie games like Funky Farm 2, A Case Of The Crabs, Rotoadventures Momo’sQuest, Slayer of Dragon,  Democracy 2,  Electric Box,  Faerie Solitaire, and CyberWord. I plan to keep focusing on creative, indie games next year. I also played major mainstream titles, like Cartoon Network’s new MMO Fusionfall, and James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club:  Games of Passion for the DS. ThumbGods reviewed the match-3 Atlantis, Totem Tribe, National Geographic’s Mystery of Cleopatra, Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, Sims 2 on the DS, and Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! Major misses  this year were  My Boyfriend,  Create-a-Mall,  the disappointing Build-a-lot 3, and Jack in Lost in Blue 2. (Not all of LiB2. Just Jack.)

I tried to branch out a bit from reviews, and started writing some hints, including a guide to solving MyTribe mysteries and hints for Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger! I’ll probably keep doing this whenever I’m really proud of solving a puzzle and want to help out.

Thumb Gods had a great guest post when when Lexton Collins reviewed Runes Of Magic. I guest posted reviews of Cake Mania 3 and Ciao Bella, over on Casual Gamer Chick, Crayon Physics Deluxe review on Angry Gamers, Travians: Asterix Meets The Sims on SeeJaneGame, and contributed to several issues of Indie Game Mag.

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I was way too excited for the new My Boyfriend game. I anticipated all the fun of Sim dating, plus my favorite guilty pleasure (changing my avatar’s clothes every five minutes), without all that tedious eating and sleeping and meter-watching of actual Sims. I really wanted to like it. I wasn’t lying in angry-feminist wait for objectionable themes, I wanted to blog about frothy dialogue, cute outfits and imaginary boyfriends.

But it was awful.

The game opens with you and your best friend arriving at a resort full of  fun activities and hot guys! Unfortunately, the dialogue is stilted, partly because it’s EFL, and partly because I hoped for witty banter. There’s a lot of clicking ok, only “ok” is an awkward agreement. The dialogue was so awkward that I couldn’t always tell who was supposed to be an attractive possible friend and who was a mean girl to be thwarted with my killer wits. I could tell which guys were potential boyfriends, though, because the minor NPCs only had one line to say.

As you walk around the resort, white stars appear over activatable items, and you have the option to participate in different resort activities. Whether you choose to relax in the sun, rent waterskiis, or swim in the pool, you don’t play a minigame or even watch a little cutscene animation. You watch a clock tick. I’m not exaggerating. You watch a pink clock tick. Um, when does the fun start?

Other activities do involve minigames. These are activated by talking to an NPC. I’m usually a big fan of minigames (see also: all my recent hidden objects game reviews), but these minigames were awful. AWFUL. We’re talking incomprehensible directions, repetitive gameplay and bizarrely uneven difficultly levels. For Step Aerobics, you need to click the right color in the right order five times to complete level one. For Kareoke, you need to click the right color at the right time FORTY EIGHT times to complete level one. Wait, one is more difficult than the next by a factor of ten?

Your character can also experiment with makeup, but the extremely limited choices forbade either adorable looks or hilarious fashion trainwrecks. (If you think makeup doesn’t lend itself well to a videogame, check out the facial minigame in Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger for a makeup game done right, or Sims 3 for recreational avatar decoration.)

I really wanted to like My Boyfriend, but we have to break up. This just isn’t working out.

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Mystery of Cleopatra follows Herod’s Lost Tomb and other educational, casual games from National Geographic. In this one, you play as a trusted advisor to the queen, charged with solving a mysterious break-in at the palace.

Cleo is a gateway game,  a hidden objects game with elements of an adventure game. While there’s still a certain amount of searching, you aren’t just looking for objects for the sake of squinting at the screen, your character actually uses those items.

I’ve written before about losing interest in hidden objects play, but Cleo held my interest a bit longer with ancient scenes. Did I mention that there are Romans? I’m unable to separate my game reviews from my classicist side, and I have to admit that the later civil wars and the question of Caesarion and Octavian’s inheritance have always interested me. The story leads you through different famous places in Alexandria, like the library and the lighthouse, and touches on some of the Roman-Egyptian tensions at the time. As you click around the hidden objects screens, bits of information appear about the items you’re seeing. You’ll also come across scrolls with a paragraph or two of historical background information. (I soon found myself skimming these, but that’s mostly because I wanted to play more.)

Finding items was quite easy, since you can see silhouettes of the items you’re seeking. I found my location hints recharging much faster than I could possibly need, but of course I was playing in casual mode because I am a huge slacker I don’t like my games to scold me for pausing. At times, silhouettes of items that are used together will appear inside a jeweled circlet, and once all the parts are collected, you can make and use a new item.

The puzzles ranged from the usual reassembly of a torn-up note to really creative, clever puzzles. I particularly liked the logic puzzle to open the armaria (That’s classicist for storage box. You’re welcome.) and the code-breaking puzzle. The only disappointing puzzle was one that required players to arrange numbered scrolls. The directions were seriously confusing, it took me a long time using the red and green hints to figure out what the game was asking me to do. (If you’re stuck, it might be because “across” doesn’t mean what you think it does. )

Later in the game, your character remembers places you’ve previously visited, and you use your inventory and evidence to answer questions about them, a bit like the basic mechanic in Phoenix Wright and occasionally used in Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion as well.

Spoiler Alert! Caesarian gets killed so Octavian can be Caesar’s undisputed heir! Wait, wrong spoiler. The real spoiler is at the end of the game when your NPC sidekick, Kathya, who’s been mostly plot exposition and historical detail so far, turns on you and tries to frame you as the murderer!  The brutal backstabs of palace life!

Overall, Cleo is an engaging Big Fish-type game with great scenery and good puzzles. And Romans.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The next issue of Indie Game Magazine is out!

Issue 7 contains a review of Monkey Island (Episodes 1-3, not just Screaming Narwhal), my Slide Colors review, other game reviews, and new articles on indie games in general.

Via Issue 7: November / December 2009 | Indie Game Magazine.

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I’ve been playing Lost in Blue 2 on the DS, and while I always love games about island survival, like MyTribe, Sims 2: Castaway, etc., there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Cool minigames make use of the the DS’s capabilities, but the hundredth time you have to light a fire, it stops being fun. The same can be said for cooking, fishing, catching animals, and every other repetitive action. I’m a big fan of Cooking Mama 2, but this is no Cooking Mama. Also, the actions you need to perform repeatedly are hidden in sub-menus or are only available after a chain of choices, instead of being accessible, one-click actions.

The story begins as two high-schoolers are washed up on a beach after a shipwreck. Players can choose Jack or Amy as their primary character, but they are responsible for the survival of both.

Jack, your companion on the island, is not the brightest bulb in the box. You need to feed him, making him more like a rather dim pet than a boyfriend. Every time he gets hungry, you need to let go of his hand (one click), target Jack (varies), select Talk (one click), tell him you have something for him (one click), wait for him to ask what it is, tell him it’s something to eat (one click), wait for him to ask what he’s eating, and then select the item from your backpack to feed him (varies, but you select, choose ‘give’ and confirm), he says it’s delicious (one click to confirm). Early items, like raspberries and coconuts, fill his meter between 3 and 5 percent, out of a possible hundred percent, so even if he doesn’t perform any physical labor — like a million walks to the stream to quench his inexhaustible thirst — which makes the hunger meter empty faster,  you’ll need to do this series of actions between 20 and 33 times in a day to get him full.

Items must be fed from Amy’s backpack to Jack. You cannot feed him items that he’s carrying, and he will literally die of starvation with a backpack full of lunchboxes and fruit.  To exchange items between backpack, you need to let go of his hand (one click), target Jack (varies), select Talk (one click), tell him you have something for him (one click), wait for him to ask what it is, select give  (one click), wait for him to ask what you’re giving him, and then exchange items between the backpacks. If you play as Jack, Amy becomes similarly dim-witted.

A lot of the game involves learning about the island… read the rest here.

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What happens when you take a pinch of fantasy RPG, a dab of Populous, and wrap it in a warm crust of Sim City? You get Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim. Majesty was a unique breed of RTS released for the PC in early 2000. …

Fans will be happy to hear that Majesty 2 is keeping very faithful to its predecessor. For those unfamiliar with Majesty (which I’m sure must be the vast majority of you; it’s pretty obscure), here’s the rundown: it’s sort of an RTS. You’re the king, and as the king, it’s your job to build, expand, manage, and defend your kingdom. Basically, it’s the base-building and unit production without the combat. Trust me, it’s more fun than it sounds.

This is a pretty detailed review, although it does include a major annoyance of game reviews: saying how obscure and unusual the game you’re reviewing is. This always rubs me the wrong way… if I’m reading it on a major site or in a major magazine, it can’t be too obscure, and if I’m reading a smaller indie site, then I wasn’t looking for Gears of War or Sims news.

I was already pretty enthused about Majesty 2, but it’s good to hear that the fun elements of Majesty will be kept and the game will be prettified and updated for a new release.

Via GamingEvolution.

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Ok, so when I posted about LEGO Rock Band, I was pretty excited. But this is even better!

Monkey Island is back, both as a remake of the original game AND as a new series in the Monkey Island world.

LucasArts and Telltale Reveal Series of New Monkey Island Adventures Coming Soon!
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif – June 1, 2009 – LucasArts today announced that the original hilarious pirate adventure is back, with two new projects underway based on the classic Monkey Island franchise. Beginning in just a few short weeks, Telltale will premiere the Tales of Monkey Island™ game series, delivering a completely new epic storyline and swashbuckling flair that will unfold across five monthly episodes on PC and WiiWare™. The Monkey Island celebration continues later in the summer when LucasArts publishes The Secret of Monkey Island™: Special Edition, a completely re-imagined version of the first game in the series that adds updated high definition graphics, a re-mastered musical score, and full voiceover to the classic adventure game originally launched in 1990. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be made available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC.

Can’t wait to see what kind of insults the Swordmaster has for GuyBrush Threepwood this time!

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I’m so jealous of everyone heading to E3! I’m sure I’ll be going too, once I become a famous games journalist, but for now, I’m just looking on enviously at all the new games and announcements of upcoming games.

I’m pretty excited about LEGO Rock Band, even though a lot of people are complaining that it’s slapping the LEGO name on just another Rock Band game, or slapping the Rock Band name on just another LEGO game. To me, this is a bit like complaining that mint chocolate chip ice cream has MINT and CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

Here’s the trailer, so you can see for yourself.

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I’ve been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently. I’ve got a review coming out in the next Indie Games Mag, and I have some DS reviews in the works, but in the meantime, here are some other game sites I like to help you you smiling at work.

Angry Gamers (I love these guys but foul language warning!)
Big Red Potion
Casual Gamer Chick
Eat – Sleep – Game
Gamasutra
Gamers With Jobs
GamerTell
Killer Betties
See Jane Game
Simpson’s Paradox
Talking Orange
Tiny Subversions
Two Bit News
WomenGamers.com

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It’s not often when my interests in China and gaming collide. Nate, of the China blog Orientation, recently posted on Chinese gaming habits, particularly the huge numbers of MMO gamers in wang ba, or net cafes.

China contains an undulating 59 million online gamers. Despite the fact that 47m of them play free-to-play games, this is a massive amount. To put that into perspective, the 2007 estimate of England’s population was 51,092,000 while the 2008 census quoted America as having 306,068,000 million people. Imagine the entire country of England plunking down and playing a game everyday. Keep in mind that these are only online PC games.

The majority of Chinese gamers, though, seem to play in net cafes and not on personal computers. (Although this may be changing, I saw plenty of Beijing teens with their body weight in personal electronics, and laptops can’t be far behind). Playing in net cafes instead of at home changes the gamer culture quite a bit. No more jokes about nocturnal gamers living in their basements, although there are plenty of 24-hour wang ba for late-night gaming sessions.

Also, fewer games rely on the purchase of software (I’ll save the discussion of China and software piracy for a different post!), since one copy will be installed in the cafe and anyone who comes by will use it. Instead, games have an in-game cash shop or an hourly fee. While talking about Runes Of Magic, Lexton Collins credits the Asian game community for bringing us the free-to-play MMO model.

I also wrote on Chinese net cafes and gaming culture over on  Wang Ba: Gaming In A Strange Land on CNReviews. (It feels a bit odd to quote myself, but it’s better than re-writing my description):

Chinese net bars sell computer time by the hour, and most also sell juice, soda, candy, snacks, and instant noodles, the Chinese equivalent of a Hot Pocket. You can also buy cigarettes, smoking isn’t just permitted in net bars, at times I think it’s mandatory.

The library-like silence of an American net cafe is gone, replaced with the usual thousand-decibel cellphone conversations, Tudou or Youtube videos, and shouts from the boys playing CounterStrike. It might not be the most conductive environment for working, especially when compared with the headphones-wearing crowd back home, but the cheery shouts of videogame victory don’t need translation.

Another thing Nate noticed was the divide between guys playing combat-heavy games and girls spending their internet time using QQ, China’s answer to AIM. Chinese girls do play games but it’s more likely to be something cute on a handheld game or on their mobile phones than hardcore PC games.

I’m sure Chinese netizens and Old China Hands will see this as a very surface analysis, but it’s very interesting to me, to see how the gaming sub-culture translates into other countries! Share your thoughts in the comments!

Related: Travel in China is like a Fantasy Novel, Living In China Is Like an RPG.

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TheGameReviews has a Gears of War 2 Hat Giveaway!

It’s day three, and today with have another GoW 2 hat to hand out. Please let other people know about this contest, as the more people who enter, the more often we can do these!

To enter, just post what you hope to see done differently in Gears of War 3! This will be open until March 11 at Noon. The winner will randomly be selected at that time.

So rush over, say what you want to see in GoW3, and cross your fingers!

Via Gears of War 2 Hat Giveaway! – Gamer Talk with TheGameReviews.com.

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I’ve heard about that post-Christmas slump for games, but on ThumbGods, this was a great time for reviews. I reviewed Funky Farm 2, the match-3 Atlantis, A Case Of The Crabs, Totem Tribe, Rotoadventures Momo’sQuest, Slayer of Dragon, the underwhelming Build-a-lot 3,  Democracy 2,  Electric Box, and Cartoon Network’s Fusionfall here on ThumbGods, and Ciao Bella, over on Casual Gamer Chick. Sheihk Chandio reviewed GTA: Liberty City, Pokemon Diamond,  Gran Turismo 4,  Dragonball Z:Infinite World and FF7. Lexton Collins reviewed the upcoming Runes Of Magic.

We recently discovered AngryGamers, a new site for gaming rants and reviews (with some NSFW language). We also posted about a cool boardgames craft project, and I wrote my first walkthrough, a guide to solving MyTribe mysteries.

Don’t forget, we’re also on Twitter! You can follow ThumbGods on Twitter for instant updates whenever we post!

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My new Crayon Physics review is a guest post on Angry Gamers today!

In the first couple of levels, the red ball reaches the star by means of stairs or a slide, while later levels involve levers, weights and all kinds of moving parts, for an irresistible mix of coloring outside the lines and Rube Goldberg contraptions.

Via Crayon Physics Deluxe Review – Latest game reviews, Independent Game Reviews, Indie Games.

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The March-April issue of Indie Game Magazine comes out today!

Here’s a late valentine’s day present, IGM issue 3 is now available. This issue is our largest yet and features tons of indie game reviews! We review the 2008 IGF grand prize winner: Crayon Physics, Blast robots to bits in Droid Assault, Kick your way to stardom with New Star Soccer 4, Built a Kingdom in Kingdom for Keflings, and more!

Buy the Issue Sent to your Door (US, CAN, UK)

Buy a Single Digital Issue

Buy it on Zinio

I mentioned this issue the other day, because of the impromptu ad contest. It also has my review of the new indie game Chains. You can either get this magazine mailed to your house on paper or view it instantly online.

Via The Indie Game Magazine.

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New game site AngryGamers (warning, some NSFW language) has a preview of the new content for the latest Grand Theft Auto series. They say:

GTA IV was one of the best games of 2008 and is getting some nice DLC on February 17th, well for Xbox 360 owners anyway. This is the Microsoft hyped Xbox 360 exclusive content that was promised back before GTA IV was even released.

But after a slew of new games (AngryGamers mentions Gears of War 2, I thought more along the lines of the newish sandbox game, Spore, and the latest WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King), is anyone still playing GTA? Are you? Are you excited for the new GTA content, or too busy with your new games to care?

Read the rest of their thoughts at GTA IV Lost and the Damned Preview – Game previews, 360 previews, PS3 previews, Wii preview – Angry-Gamers.net.

New content for GTA4 will be available on February 17th, 2009.

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I’ve been a contributing writer to ThumbGods team since 2005, and in early 2009 I took over as the dedicated blogger. My gaming-related articles  have been featured in Bleech Magazine and in Indie Game Mag. I’ve also contributed articles to WomenGamers.com, Casual Gamer Chick, CNReviews, Azeroth World News, Angry Gamers and SeeJaneGame.

I started my gaming life as a little girl playing Frogger on my dad’s computer. Right now, I play strategy games, sims of all sorts, puzzle games, and standard RPGs. I’m getting more and more into independent games, because it seems like smaller studios take more risks and come up with creative storylines and mechanics.  I don’t like shooters or racing games, at all. Please feel free to recommend a new game for me by leaving a comment or emailing editor@thumbgods.com, and don’t feel shy about telling me about your own game!

My personal blog is at SimpsonsParadox.com, come by and say hello!

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Angry Gamers is an uncensored video game website dedicated to offering unbiased and uncensored content. Angry Gamers contains the latest game news, game previews, original game articles and the latest game reviews for Xbox 360, PS3, Nintentdo Wii and indie games.

Big Red Potion
Casual Gamer Chick
Eat – Sleep – Game
Flash Games Den
Gamasutra
Gamers With Jobs
GameTalk
GamerTell
GameSpy.com
Indie Game Magazine
Killer Betties
Kotaku
My Geek Life
See Jane Game
Simpson’s Paradox
Talking Orange
Tiny Subversions
Two Bit News
WomenGamers.com

Do you know of a good one we missed? Let us know!

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Casual Gamer Chick reviews the new iPhone game Chicks On The Loose:

Chicks on the Loose is an arcade style game for the iPod Touch and iPhone. The goal of the game is to reunite the baby chickens with their Moms. Players know which chick belongs to which mother by the color of the chick. The chick needs to be reunited with the same color mother. Players reunite the babies and their mothers by dragging the baby chicks to their mothers.

So cute! It’s making me want an iPhone even more!

Via Chicks on the Loose Review | Casual Gamer Chick

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In beta news, I beta-tested the awesome Nancy Drew: Lights, Camera, Curses and the awful Tropical Dream. Listen to a short podcast comparing the two.

In casual games, I reviewed the hidden objects game Ancient Secrets and the addictive island sim MyTribe.  I also got a review copy of the Princess Bride Game, an actual hard copy, a first in my game-reviewing career! Overall, the beloved Princess Bride characters made a sweet casual game a classic. On Thumbgods only, I reviewed Alabama Smith.

In January, I’ve got a couple new reviews in the works (including the hidden-objects Mystery Case Files: Castle Ravenhearst). What games would you like to see here? What games are you planning to play this month?

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So, by now everyone knows that Sims3 is on it’s way. But I just saw that when you pre-order the “Collector’s Edition”, you also get some neat extra goodies… including a thumbdrive shaped like the famous active-Sim green diamond! How cool would that be? I mean, if you have to take work home, that’s the way to do it. (or a Lego flash drive)

I’m still not sure if I’m going to get the Sims3. I haven’t seen anything in the Sims 3 that the Sims2 game doesn’t offer, and I already have Sims 2 expansions, like Nightlife. I’ll probably wait for the blog reviews to come in, and then see if there’s anything the third Sims has that the second doesn’t.  Are you going to get it?

Via EA Store (US) Online Store

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A few days ago I bought Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, and believe me this game is worth a buy. I saw this game at one of my friends house. I did’nt get the chance to play the game as I was in a hurry, but the game looked so good that I decided to buy it for my self. Shing Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is an excellent role playing game with a great story that will give you hours of fun. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 was released on 8 December 2008 by Atlus Co. and its ESRB rating is Mature. You will play the role of a detective who is on to solve a murder mystery and has the power to summon different creatures. You will get the chance to explore different environment including a series of dungeons all having a different layout. The combat system in this game is very addictive and entertaining and it is a lot better from its predecessors. This game features realistic and attractive looking characters. You will meet different characters as you will progress further in the game. This game is great and the only problem I found in this game is the bad camera angle that produces difficulty in taking turns while you are in the dungeons. But, overall this game is great and I will recommend it to everyone. I will give this game 9 out of 10 because it is worth it.

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Open a WoW-themed cafe, of course!

Seeking to capitalize on the success of World of Warcraft in his native country, a Chinese businessman has opened a restaurant rife with artistic touches gleaned from Blizzard’s MMO.

His goal, he claims, is to offer WoW fans a place to enjoy themselves and share in his affection for the game. From the recreation of Tel’drassil in the center of the dining room to the vast murals depicting artwork from the game, the attention to detail alone is evidence of that affection.

While I’m sure this eatery would be sued out of existence if it were created here in the United States, Chinese copyright law is somewhat less strict. Though I’m sure Blizzard — and Chinese WoW operator The9 — are less than pleased with the restaurant, it’s unclear if either firm has any legal options regarding the establishment.

Much as I love China, China is where intellectual property and copyright means nothing. Nothing. You ca buy knockoff everything, not just on the street but on the shelves in real shops, so I don’t know if Blizzard is going to be making any money from this cafe. (Although with millions of Chinese subscribers, and the number steadily increasing, they’re probably not hurting for RMB)

I can definitely vouch for WoW’s popularity in wang ba or internet cafes. I wish I’d gotten to see this when I was in ChinaQ

Now for the important questions: Can I order Deviate Delight and Nogginfogger Elixir here?

Via World of Warcraft Restaurant Opens in China | Game | Life from Wired.com

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