What's New in Gamezebo
Just In - Ricochet Infinity and Daycare Nightmare
Today Reflexive Entertainment launched Ricochet Infinity, a game that offers a new take on the traditional paddle-and-ball control scheme of brick-busting games.
And if you thought babysitting was hard enough, try beastie-sitting with Injoy's Daycare Nightmare.
We'll be posting reviews of both games very soon, but click on the links above to try them out.
15 Minutes of Game: Featured Web Game of the Week
Bear with this game for the first five levels (about 20 seconds of your time) and then you'll see how cool it really is. Using the spacebar to shoot and arrow keys to aim, the goal is to destroy the target using physics and gravity to alter the course of the projectile.
Click here to play GravityPods now.
Gamezebo Podcast: Interview with Colin Wilkinson and Megan Kans about Puzzle Quest
If you haven't heard of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, you need to check it out. It's becoming one of the biggest sleeper hits for the PSP and DS and is attracting gamers who would have never played a casual game if you forced them too. Now with the announcement for the game on PC, Wii, Xbox Live Arcade, and mobile phone, we thought we talk to Collin Wilkinson, a Designer at 1st Playable Productions, and Megan Kans, a Publicist at D3 Publisher about the creation of the game, the effect it has had on the industry, and some insight on what is the best magic spells in the game.
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Moorhuhn Kart 2
Moorhuhn Kart 2 is an arcade racer starring the crazy chicken Moorhuhn, who has appeared in more than 20 self-titled casual games spanning genres from Mah Jong to Soccer. Like Mario Kart and other similar offerings, the measure of any racing game's worth can be found in a few basic criteria, including track design, graphics and controls, characters and environments. Let's get to work.
Wedding Dash Review
If you liked Flo, you'll love Quinn.
Yep, fans of the hit game series Diner Dash have been anxiously waiting to swap brooms for grooms in PlayFirst's first official Diner Dash offshoot Wedding Dash, and after a week of intense play, Gamezebo can confirm it lives up to the hype.
Games for the iPhone
Game makers were quick to jump on the Video iPod bandwagon when it launched last year, and not surprisingly developers are already coming out with games for the new Apple iPhone.
Today PopCap launched a version of Bejeweled for the iPhone that users can play for free by visiting www.popcap.com with the iPhone's Web browser.
Just in - Wedding Dash
PlayFirst has just officially launched Wedding Dash. We'll be posting our review and tips & tricks shortly, but in the meantime click here to download the game.
Battleship Fleet Command Review
Ah, Battleship. Many thirty- and forty-somethings likely have fond memories of sitting at a kitchen table with a friend or sibling, and opening up the plastic game that faces away from your opponent. Oh the fun in yelling out "B - 2!" and watching your rival's face sour, meaning it was a direct hit on their fleet. Your goal, of course, is to blow the enemy out of the water before they can do the same. And who could forget that timeless and cheesy line from the commercial: "Hey, you sank my battleship!"
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Round-Up
After a very busy week at Casual Connect Seattle 2007 last week, it was only natural that nothing newsworthy was announced this week. Still, we were approached by many people at the show last week that they look forward to reading our Friday News Wrap-Up, so here it is.
Happy Birthday to iWin
iWin turns 6 next week, and to celebrate they're giving away presents on their website. (Wait a minute... aren't birthdays supposed to work the other way around?) Starting now through to July 31 you get a free backup CD with any game download purchased at iWin.com. Click here to read more about the offer.
Just In - Exclusive Wedding Dash screenshots!
Wedding Dash, a wedding-themed expansion of the Diner Dash restaurant management games, is coming very soon. We'll have a download link and review up the second (ok, maybe the minute or the hour) that the game officially launches. In the meantime, PlayFirst sent us these screenshots to tease you with. Click READ MORE to see the pics.
Scepter of Ra Review
Once in a while a game comes around, where you have no idea how to play it - even after the tutorial - but somehow after fumbling through a few levels a light bulb goes off. Such is the case with Scepter of Ra, a new Egyptian-themed casual game with rules that didn't make much sense to me until my brain caught up with my mouse-clicking finger. The end result is a fun and frenetic puzzler that may remind veteran players of PopCap's Pixelus.
Sally's Salon Review
The years Sally has spent training and saving her money have paid off, and now she's ready to open her first beauty salon. Although it starts off as a small shop in a suburban mall, she'll eventually work her way up until she owns a chain of ritzy salons. Drawing upon the likes of Diner Dash and Burger Rush for inspiration, Sally's Salon brings its own unique twists to the management sim genre.
Yumsters Review
Let's get one thing straight: Yumsters are not worms. They might look like worms, they might stretch like worms and, for all I know, they might taste like worms, but they're not worms. They're little creatures with a love for music and an appetite for fruit. Your job is to make sure they get enough of the latter so they can indulge in the former.
Gamezebo Video: Sally's Salon
GamesCafe and RealArcade are about to release Sally's Salon and we got the exclusive video.
Sally's Salon is an upcoming time management game with a few new twists we like. I promise, we shall get a review of this game up the second it is released.
Click here to view our exclusive video or click READ MORE.
15 Minutes of Game: Featured Web Game of the Week
Nitrome has launched a sequel to its popular Web game Hot Air, where you use a fan to guide a balloon through levels full of traps and obstacles. Hot Air 2 is more in-depth than the first game, with bigger scrolling levels, boss fights, a map screen, and the ability to make balloons you can use.
First Look: Bottle Buster from Gamezilla
You may not have heard of Gamezilla yet, but after seeing a preview of their upcoming game Bottle Buster, we predict you'll hear a lot about them soon. When Gamezilla told us they had licensed the Havoc Engine (used for hard core video games) to develop Bottle Buster, we were both intrigued and skeptical. But, the results are unlike any casual game we have seen before.
Zenerchi Review
There's something about Zenerchi's unique circular presentation and rotating wheels of color that make it mesmerising to interact with as well as graphically spectacular. But underneath all of the game's talk about finding inner piece is a fiendishly challenging take on match-three.
7 Wonders II Review
It takes over 400 years to build seven wonders plus one surprise wonder, but of course time isn't to scale when playing 7 Wonders II. The sequel to 7 Wonders of the Ancient World explores all new wonders including Stonehenge, The Colosseum, Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Shwedagon Pagoda, Angkor Wat, the statues on Easter Island and one secret wonder which you won't find until you've put together seven pieces of a map you find at the other locations.
Fever Frenzy Review
If you're "sick" of Diner Dash-like micromanagement games, where you need to simultaneously juggle multiple tasks, you might not want to download the latest "service style" game, with a medical twist: Fever Frenzy.
Everyone else, keep on reading.
Peter Flat's Inflatable Adventures Review
Peter Flat starts a new job at the Corporate Corporation and must prove himself by performing various quirky tasks as his world transforms from 2D to 3D. As game premises go, it's an intriguing one, made even sweeter by the fact that it's designed by the same studio that created the charming and stylish Ciao Bella. What could possibly go wrong with Peter Flat's Inflatable Adventures? The answer, unfortunately, is a lot.
First Look: Build-a-lot from Hipsoft
One of the coolest demos we've seen at Casual Connect so far is Build-a-lot, a new strategy game from Hipsoft (makers of Flipwords 1 and 2 and Gem Shop) where you get to build and sell houses to make money and enhance properties with upgrades such as hardwood floors, remodelled kitchens and indoor swimming pools. Click READ MORE to see exclusive screenshots of the game.
15 Minutes of Game: Featured Web Game of the Week
Fans of the Bourne movies now have something to do besides waiting for The Bourne Ultimtum to come out.
The Ultimate Search for Bourne is a web game created by Universal Pictures and Google where players assume the role of a secret agent and use Google apps like Maps, Search and YouTube to track Jason Bourne across the web.
Headlines from Casual Connect 2007
We've got a few more news headlines for you from Seattle as part of our continuing coveage of Casual Connect 2007. Enjoy
Plumeboom: The First Chapter Review
Other than as a logo for a major USA TV network, peacocks don't get much attention... until now. Meet Plumeboom, proud peacock and hopeful hero, to save Orniland in Plumeboom: The First Chapter. Darkness has come over Orniland, a bird paradise where Crowbeak the Dark Wizard and Cornix the Evil Scientist plan to take over Orniland and turn the birds into evil warriors.
Coming Soon: The Price is Right
We got our hands on some screenshots of The Price is Right game that's being developed by Montreal-based studio Ludia, and is scheduled to be released in December.
Click READ MORE to see the screenshots, or visit Ludia's site to watch a brief game trailer.
Just In - Cake Mania 2 screenshots!
Sandlot Games has sent us the first screenshots for Cake Mania 2, the sequel to one of the best selling games of 2006. After saving the family bakery in the first Cake Mania, Jill Evans is ready for new adventures -- and it's up to you to decide how her story unfolds.
Click here to read the Cake Mania 2 press release in case you missed it in our Casual Connect 2007 news roundup. Click READ MORE to see the pics.
Coming Soon: ZenGems from FreshGames
FreshGames, the maker of Word Mojo and the award-winning Cubis series, will soon be releasing their latest title, ZenGems. The game will deliver 195 levels of strategic match-three gameplay tied together by compelling environments and an entertaining story.
Delicious 2 Deluxe Review
Thanks to the rise of culinary TV programs, cookery and catering have well and truly entered the mainstream, shedding the old fashioned image of chain smoking chefs with fake French twangs and battleaxe middle aged ladies pummeling pastry to within an inch of its life with rolling pins. Unsurprisingly, the games industry has been quick to catch on and in Delicious 2 Deluxe, we have another in a long line of colorful, multitasking restaurant sims.
Liong: The Dragon Dance Review
Stressful, fast-paced and super-challenging aren't three words that normally come to mind when I think about the Chinese tile-matching game of Mah jong, but it's exactly what happens when Mah Jong and Zuma collide in Liong: The Dragon Dance.
Coming Soon: Fever Frenzy from Legacy Interactive
Legacy Interactive has announced that they will soon be launching their latest game, Fever Frenzy. Based on what we've seen, Fever Frenzy can be best described as a Diner Dash style service management game that takes place in a crazy and zany medical environment.
Click here to learn more about the game and READ MORE to view screen shots.
Dream Day Honeymoon Review
Hot off the heels of Oberon Games' hit game, Dream Day Wedding, comes their next installment in Jenny and Robert's marital bliss: Dream Day Honeymoon.
Yep, it's up to you to make sure our cozy couple is enjoying their Hawaiian honeymoon, in an attractive, story-driven hidden object adventure.
Pirate Island
My thoughts about Pirate Island are at odds with one another, like two buccaneers fighting over buried riches. On one hand, the world didn't need another match-three sequel, let alone one that was all but identical to its predecessor, Treasure Island. Yet after burning through 61 stages in two days, I want more. How do I review a game that offers nothing new but still grabs me in a way few releases do?
Steals & Deals
Big Fish Games is offering 30% off the price of every hidden object game on their Web site. Just type in coupon code HIDDENOBJECT. Offer expires July 23, 2007.
Thanks to the many people who emailed us about this offer.
Mystery PI Review
Who doesn't dream of winning the lottery? For most, there's one problem with the lottery -- you can't win unless you pay for a ticket. In Mystery P.I.: The Lottery Ticket, Grandma Rose is the owner of the winning lottery ticket. She's lost the ticket and hires you, a private investigator, to search for it. As a reward for finding the ticket within 12 hours, Grandma Rose will pay you $20 million dollars. The bad news is that you can't retire on game money, but you'll feel like a million bucks if you find the ticket.
On Giant Shoulders: How Escape from Paradise learned from the best
In an industry built around whimsy, Gogii Games owner George Donovan isn't afraid to admit to being something of a pragmatist.
"When I start coming up with game ideas, a lot of them come from an analytical approach," Donovan said. "I kind of look at trends and see how well games are doing in other markets. I start looking at the successful games, looking at the mechanics of those games, then I start breaking out the themes. I don't want to say it gives me a list, but it gives me a pulse for the sort of game that should do well."
Donovan is the first to admit that he's standing on the shoulders of giants. But, as Escape from Paradise illustrates, there's an art to knowing exactly which giant shoulders to step on.
First Look: The 80's Game With Martha Quinn
Next week, we'll be at the Casual Connect show in Seattle for what will be the biggest event for casual games of the year (aside for the Zeebys, of course) and giving you a sneak peak of the latest and greatest casual games coming soon to you. Already, the news is coming out.
First up: Funkitron announces that it is releasing a 1980's trivia game with Martha Quinn. We may even interview Martha next week. I am so excited about this.
Click here for more information and READ MORE to see screen shots.
Women in Gaming: Cara Ely, Oberon
When Gamezebo published our Why We Need Women editorial back in January, it hit a nerve. Why aren't there more women in the casual games industry? What can the industry do to attract more women? The truth is, there are women working in the casual games industry, and we thought it was time to start giving them the attention they deserve. And so, welcome to the first installment of our new series, entitled Women in Gaming, where we'll introduce you to some of women who are working behind the scenes to create the games you love to play.
Orchidia Review
We've seen our fair share of falling block games - where items fall from the top of the screen and have to be moved to create matches or rows that clear them from the screen. Orchidia, however, is possibly the first "floating block" game in existence, where objects don't fall from the screen but are rather carried there on the currents of a river.
Turbo Pizza Review
Turbo Pizza is like Diner Dash on steroids - it's an arcade-like restaurant simulation for "seasoned" gamers as it gets insanely crazy.
First Look: Plant Tycoon from Last Day of Work
Last Day of Work (makers of hits Fish Tycoon, Virtual Villagers 1 & 2), has just announced their next real-time life simulation in the works is Plant Tycoon.
Coming in September, Plant Tycoon will feature a wide variety of seed varieties, plant species, gardening tools, collectible insects, new ways to customize your store, and much much more.
Click here to get more details and click READ MORE to check out an a few early screen shots.
Stone of Destiny Review
The gaming landscape is chock-full of great hidden object titles, but that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't room for one more - especially when the game looks as good as Stone of Destiny. Truth be told, the game brings very little to the table that hasn't been seen before, but it's a fun experience while it lasts, bolstered by high production values.
Featured Web Game of the Week: Dangle
MTV and Nitrome just released Dangle today, their latest Web-based casual game platformer. Drop, twist, and turn through 15 levels of traps and enemies. Collect coins and extra items or speed to the bottom and grab a time bonus score!
Posh Shop Review
Computer games initially served as a fun way to unwind after a long day at work or school, and were largely fantasy-based since they gave us a temporary escape from reality. Ironically, some of the hottest games today put you to work in a frantic environment, such as a waitress in Diner Dash. Who knew playing a game about 9 to 5 life would be fun after our real 9 to 5 job?
And Puzzle Labs' Posh Shop is no different. In this clever - but not too original - clothing store simulation, you must help shoppers complete outfits to make your daily sales quota.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
It's Friday, which means it's time for Gamezebo's Casual Games News Roundup. A few interesting things hit the wires this week, including an article about the Manifesto Games and Kongregate.com game portals, and a feature that examines the question of what makes a game too short or too long.
Solitaire Cruise Review
Given the enduring popularity of solitaire, it's easy to understand why so many developers feel compelled to put their own spin on the classic card game - even when the end result, Solitaire Cruise, is something that is so far removed from the original concept that it can barely be called "solitaire" at all.
Although the game uses regular playing cards, Solitaire Cruise actually has a lot more in common with the tile-matching game Mah Jong than it does with traditional solitaire. It's a concept that works with varying degrees of success.
Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor Review
Before vocal Gamezebo readers write in and accost me for giving a great score to yet another seek-and-find game, do yourself a favor and download Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor, a highly enjoyable yet not entirely original adventure that gets mostly everything right.
Steals & Deals: 4th of July
iWin is offering a 40% discount on its games to commemorate Independence Day, proving that you don't have to be American to enjoy the 4th of July. The promotion has even started a day early!
Professor Fizzwizzle and the Molten Mystery Review
When was your last truly relaxing vacation? You know what I mean, a quality break from the pressures of life to unwind and clear your mind. Yeah, same here, and that mental respite's long overdue. We're not the only ones either. While taking a well-earned vacation, Professor Fizzwizzle's investigation of an odd volcano landed him in the hot seat. So, forget about working on that tan and sipping Pina Coladas. The Professor needs your help!
Safari Island Deluxe Review
It's sometimes difficult to tell one mah jong game from the next since many of them stick closely to the appearance and rules of the original ancient Chinese tile-matching pastime. While there's nothing wrong with re-creating the classic mah jong experience, Zylom earns kudos for breaking a whole lot of new ground with Safari Island Deluxe.
Interview with George Donovan, Gogii Games
For an industry that is so focused on the mass-market consumer, there are very few game development shops run by business guys. That is why George Donovan of Gogii Games is unique. That, and the fact that he's launched 3 hit casual games in the past 2 months (Private Eye, Escape from Paradise, and Nanny Mania) and he releases more games in a month than most developers release in a year. We talked to George about the secret to his success, his unique way of thinking, and the importance of history in the context of casual games.
Secrets of Great Art Review
Secrets of Great Art is a lot like a movie sequel: it's a formulaic yet somewhat entertaining getaway but by no means is it a groundbreaking experience.