What's New in Gamezebo
3D Xango Tango Review
To quote beloved cartoon character Meatwad, of Aqua Teen Hunger Force fame: "Everybody loves dancing!" Even more so, naturally, when it's a typically inanimate or computerized object such as shimmying robot Xango, star of 3D Xango Tango, that's getting jiggy with it.
Cathy's Caribbean Club Review
Two things many modern women dream of: The chance to escape reality by spending long, leisurely days sunning themselves on a remote tropical isle and the opportunity to rub elbows with big-name Hollywood celebrities.
Pleasingly, you'll get the opportunity to do both in Cathy's Caribbean Club, in which the titular star - stranded in paradise after a cruise ship accidentally leaves her behind - must wait on the seaside getaway's most exclusive customers.
Arcane Islands Review
Here at Gamezebo, we always applaud the efforts of developers in the casual entertainment space to try something new and innovative.
That goes double for independent outfits like Gamenibus, who further take the time to build three separate play modes into their obviously lovingly-crafted pattern-making puzzler Arcane Islands.
Peggle: How a Spark Started a Fever
"It didn't quite pan out. It was kind of like a pachinko-type thing," John Vechey said. "It was kind of forgotten about, but I always felt a big draw towards it. So had Sukhbir."
It's admittedly not the most noble beginning for a game, but that's where Peggle's story gets its start; a model created by programmer Brian Rothstein that had all but faded from consciousness. However, it was a small flame that Vechey and producer Sukhbir Sidhu had been compelled by, and, with Rothstein's help, ignited one of the most talked about casual games in years.
Mystery of Shark Island Review
We all know how enjoyable a good mystery can be, whether it's hunting down dastardly criminals or investigating odd disappearances and ghost stories.
Mystery of Shark Island starts with a more basic question of "where the heck am I?" and takes things from there, proving along the way to be one of the more interesting entries into the genre to come along in a while.
Little Shop of Treasures Review
Fans of the Where's Waldo books or word search puzzles in newspapers likely enjoy the new trend of "hidden object" games. You know, those fun downloads, such as the Mystery Case Files games, that challenges players to find specific items in a cluttered environment within a predetermined amount of time. The latest in this popular genre is Little Shop of Treasures.
Monarch: The Butterfly King Review
Gamers need not know the difference between a Lepidoptera and larva to have fun with Monarch the Butterfly King, the latest 3-in-a-row swapping game that challenges you to help the hapless monarch rescue his friends from the clutches of a mysterious wizard.
15 Minutes of Game: Featured Game of the Week
For my money, the best way to make a good Web game great is to add a monkey. Miniclip must think so also, with the release of Monkey Kick Off.
Fairy Jewels Review
When's the last time you saw an ugly fairy? Really. To be honest, I don't recall seeing an unsightly pixie...ever. Ugly ducklings, yes. But fairies? They're just so darn cute. And, apparently, it's enough to tick some people off.
Such is the case in Fairy Jewels where you encounter an evil wizard who simply can't stand the adorable little imps. And so, the story begins.
Week in Review
I've noticed that web traffic to Gamezebo jumps on the weekend, the very time I work part-time instead of full-time (we're a start up, you know).
Nonetheless, I figure I'd give all you weekend gamers highlights and re-caps of the week that was in casual games and Gamezebo, as well as hint as to what is coming up next.
Lucy Q Deluxe Review
One of the hottest casual game genres to surface over the past few years is of the "hidden object" variety.
You know, those games, such as Mystery Case Files or Mirror Magic, where you must hunt for objects on the screen and click on them with the mouse? The latest is Zylom's Lucy Q Deluxe.
No News is Good News?
Nothing special or important happened this week in the world of casual gaming. Nada. OK, Kongregate, a social networking site for web games officially launched with lots of good investors, but aside from, pretty slow week.
Abra Academy Review
Hidden-object games are a hot commodity thanks to Big Fish Game's Mystery Case Files. And, like most wannabe products, they run the gamut in quality. Hidden Expedition Titanic, Travelogue 360: Paris, Hide and Secret, Paparazzi and Dream Day Wedding, to name just a few, depict the wide spread.
What sets Abra Academy apart from the rest? Well, at its base element, a spell-concocting storyline.
I'm Mad as H@#%, and I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore!
Don't let my smile in the picture fool you. That picture was taken last year, during more happy days, when every time I checked my Gamezebo email a new gem of a casual game would be there to review.
No, today I am not smiling. Why? Because the casual games industry is stagnating, from the developers who keep creating the same old thing to the distributors who promise products anew but do deliver nothing. The casual games industry needs a swift kick in the-you-know-where, and I'm the man to do it.
Tringo Review
Tringo has the unique distinction of being the first game to be invented inside a virtual world. It first saw the light of day in the 3D online social community Second Life, where it was created by a resident who goes by the screen-name of Kermitt Quirk. The game, which is a clever cross between Tetris and Bingo, reportedly became so popular in Second Life that players started to complain that it was ruining the experience because people were only logging in to play Tringo!
What's New & Hot!
Every week, Gamezebo scours the web searching for the latest and greatest games across the world's leading casual sites so you don't have to.
Burger Rush Review
Heidi has been obsessed with burgers her whole life. She graduates at the head of her class at the International Culinary Academy, but instead of going to work at a famous high-end restaurant, she decides to start her own burger joint to prove to the world that burgers can be fine cuisine too. In Burger Rush, you'll help Heidi realize her dream of creating low-fat, delicious burgers and spreading the burger gospel.
Why Spy?
Imagine you're a Paleolithic man (or woman). You're a hunter of course, and sometimes a food gatherer. You spend all your waking hours in the bush and your dominant focus, your primary activity is scanning the world around you for things you can eat. But nature is a master of camouflage. Most of what you eat does not want to be eaten and has evolved to blend into the background, but you too, have evolved to compensate. You've developed a fairly sophisticated eye that (coupled with the most powerful brain in the animal kingdom) can create order out of chaos.
What does this have to do with games? Everything.
Got Milk?
Who knew that one of the best casual Web games we've seen in awhile would be produced by none other than the California Milk Processor Board. Get the Glass combines a 3D board game with the classy style of the animated movie The Invincibles, without the super-powers.
The good: This is one of the most beautiful casual Web games we've seen and the game play is fun. The bad: Expect long loading screens and the occasional self-serving milk trivia. Which, is not necessarily a bad thing, since milk is good for you.
Fairy Treasure Review
As a given rule of thumb, if you've played one block-breaking arcade game, you've played them all - general mechanics and extended features typically vary little between standard genre selections.
Thankfully, what they lack in ingenuity, recent titles like Fairy Treasure more than make up for in production values, relying on charm, personality and good, old-fashioned entertainment value to carry the day.
15 Minutes of Game: Featured Web Game of Week
Nitrome is one of the best developers of web games on the Internet, and their latest game, Frostbite, does not disappoint.
Wheel of Fortune 2 Review
One of America's most popular TV game shows goes interactive - again - in Wheel of Fortune 2, the latest computer game that lets players be a virtual contestant and win virtual cash.
Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor Review
Most mystery movies allow you to watch the protagonist as he or she collects evidence, interviews suspects and ties together the diverse strands of an unsolved crime. But the Nancy Drew series of adventure games from Her Interactive take you beyond passive observation to be the eyes, ears and, most notably, brains of the famous teenage detective.
Gamezebo game reviewer, interviewer, and author?
Our very own Scott Steinberg, casual game reviewer extraordinaire and the man who interviewed the winners for the Zeebys (video is coming soon, we promise!), has written not one, but two books about the video games industry.
So, of course, we have to give a shout out and congratulations. Don't forget about us, Scott, when you are rich and famous.
What's New & Hot!
Every week, Gamezebo scours the web searching for the latest and greatest games across the world's leading casual sites so you don't have to.
Who said independent gaming is dead?
When David Scott released the free web-based game Flash Element TD, it generated 15 million hits in just 17 days. Now, back comes Mr. Scott with the sequel, Flash Circle TD, along with a new partner Wrigley's gum and the power of the web site Candystand.com. Which shows, with a bit of talent and a pack of gum, the game developer's dream can come true.
Out of Your Mind Preview
We've all been stressed out, over-tired and burdened with negative thoughts like jealousy and suspicion. Wouldn't it be great if we could clean the mental junk from our brains as easily as we clean the plaque off our teeth? In an upcoming new game from the folks at gamelab called Out Of Your Mind, you can do just that
Fairy Godmother Tycoon Review
We all have fond childhood memories of sugary sweet fairytales with happy endings, where pretty girls get to marry handsome princes thanks to a little magical intervention from trusty old Fairy Godmother. But this is the 21st century, and Fairy Godmother doesn't just grant wishes for fun anymore - she's in it for the cold hard cash.
Turtix Review
What do you get when you combine magic, martial arts and hard-shelled reptiles? Nope! It's not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! The correct answer is Turtix, a charming yet challenging, classic-style platform game.
Hide and Secret: Treasure of the Ages Review
Every so often in the casual game space a new kind of gaming experience debuts, which causes a lot of buzz among the community -- and then the "me-too" clones begin to appear.
Big Fish Games' Mystery Case Files series is a perfect example, offering a fun hide-and-seek game-play style that challenges players to search for and click on well-hidden items before the time runs out.
Interview with Alawar Games
If you play casual games, chances are you have played more than few games developed in Russia. Aside from the US, Russia is the top nation for casual games development, and the top casual games company in Russia is Alawar Entertainment. We spoke with Andrew Postnikov, Director of Publishing, to learn all about Alawar Entertainment, and secret behind the Magic Ball series, and why Russian companies are so successful at creating casual games.
Real Estate Empire Review
Comb over your hair and practice your intimidating squint, because Real Estate Empire gives you the chance to experience the high octane life of the real estate mogul - except that where Donald Trump deals with billion dollar high-rises, you'll be dealing with regular old neighborhood houses, trying to buy them up cheap and flip them at a profit.
LEGO Fever Review
First, Lincoln Logs appeared, interlocking bits of wood for building simple log structures. Next, the Erector Set, an industrial age toy that brought the ability to create more diverse mechanisms, but at the cost of greater complexity.
Then, LEGO arrived, offering a compromise between the two -- simplicity and diversity in one. The rest, as they say, is architectural toy history.
Interview with Mathieu Nouzareth, Cafe.com
For the longest time, we (as in, people who work in casual games) have been talking about going multiplayer, adding avatars, offering virtual goods, and the like. Everyone who is anyone is working on it behind closed doors (or so they say...) but finally, someone has actually launched a product. Last week, Boonty officially launched Cafe.com. We chatted with Co-founder and President Mathieu Nouzareth to learn more and to share with you what could be the next big thing in casual games.