What's New in Gamezebo
Go-Go Gourmet Review
Serving a tasty mix of time management and hidden-object discovery, Go-Go Gourmet brings its own dash of cookery craziness to the table for those hungering for some pulse-pounding, restauranteuring action. What's its recipe for success? Don your apron, grab your Ginsu Knives and follow along!
Cate West - The Vanishing Files Preview
Casual gamers who believe the popular "hidden object" game genre has already reached its peak should reserve their opinion until they click around with Cate West - The Vanishing Files, a highly-polished and story-driven seek-and-find game with many game-play variations to keep things fresh.
Vogue Tales Review
Just when you thought you'd sewn your last garment, affixed your last ribbon and collected your last tip from a trend-conscious customer, along comes Vogue Tales to prove that fashion-themed time management games are still lingering on the casual game scene like last year's Spring collection on the sale rack.
What Do Women <i>Really</i> Want?
To feel secure. To feel safe. To feel a sense of control. The comfort of knowing that certain efforts will yield certain results. Do good, get good in return. Predictability. Affirmation. A modicum of recognition, a genuine expression of gratitude and appreciation. The satisfaction of a job well done. Love. And all this can be yours for $19.95. All this from a game.
BubbleWorld Review
Did you know that the walls of a soap bubble can be only a few millionths of an inch thick? It's hard to imagine anything being trapped in a real bubble, but that is the premise of Bibo Game's new release, BubbleWorld. In BubbleWorld, you are a beautiful fairy named Cindy who has to save her friends who are trapped in bubbles by an evil spell that was cruelly cast by a wicked witch named Makeeba.
Fashion Boutique Preview
If you've ever dreamt of running your own chic clothing store - or better yet, a chain of them across the country - Fashion Boutique will certainly give you a taste of the work (and rewards) for managing such a retail endeavor.
Ice Cream Craze Review
It happens to be a very cold day as I write this. We had threats of school closings, but thankfully the kids went to school while I bundled up and played Ice Cream Craze. With lots of birthdays in January, we have no problems eating and enjoying ice cream in the winter. While an ice cream game won't taste as good as the real thing, this one isn't a bad substitute.
15 Minutes of Game: Planet Cruncher
We chose Planet Cruncher as this week's featured web game because it reminds us of two games we adore: Gamelab's Out of Your Mind and Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy. Set in outer space, the goal of the game is to draw a circle around planets of the same type to "crunch" them together, then use the mouse pointer to collect the gems that are left behind. Collect a certain number of gems to move to the next level. Click here to play Planet Cruncher.
Dream Chronicles 2 Preview
The good news for fans of Dream Chronicles is that the second game in the series is set to launch very soon. The even better news is that the sequel, officially titled Dream Chronicles Book 2: The Eternal Maze, looks to be every bit the intriguing fantasy adventure that the original was - and then some.
Caribbean Hideaway Review
Yo ho, yo ho - it's a pirate's life for you in Caribbean Hideaway, an inspired cross between the match-three puzzle and life simulation genres. Allowing players to not only create their own hidden retreat, but also set sail for high seas adventure, the title's bound to capture your imagination, although it's hardly what we'd call a bar-raising classic.
The I Love Lucy Game: Episode 1 Review
It was one of the most-watched television show in its day - I Love Lucy, which ran from 1951 to 1957, starred Lucille Ball as lovable naive housewife Lucy Ricardo and Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo, her charming husband and bandleader.
Not only is this influential show still in syndication around the world more than 50 years later, and translated to multiple languages, but now casual gamers can relive (or perhaps discover for the first time) Lucy's hilarious antics in The I Love Lucy Game: Episode 1, a collection of puzzle games based around a memorable episode, Lucy Does a TV Commercial, where our hapless heroine continues her eternal quest for TV stardom.
Fashion Rush Review
Call it a victory for style: From Fab Fashion to Jojo's Fashion Show, chic couture takes second place only to haute cuisine when it comes to popular time management title themes as of late. Cue the debut of Fashion Rush, yet another notable entry into the canon, which - although encumbered by several strange design choices - nonetheless excels for (what else) its smart sense of aesthetics.
First Look - Escape the Museum
Gogii Games has given us the scoop on its upcoming adventure / hidden object game Escape the Museum. Susan and her daughter Caitlin are enjoying a day at the National Museum of History when disaster strikes in the form of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that rocks the city. Susan manages to get Caitlin to safety but is knocked unconscious by falling debris, and wakes up to find the museum left in shambles. Barely able to move from room to room, Susan works her way through the maze of a museum through a series of puzzles and frantic searching. Can you help Susan get back to Caitlin and escape the museum together?
The game will offer 25 adventure puzzles, 12 hidden object scenes and 3 mini-games, totalling 40 unique scenes with thousands of objects to find. Escape the Museum will be launching soon, so check back for our review and tips & tricks articles. Click READ MORE to see some screenshots of the game.
Natalie Brooks - Secrets of Treasure House Review
Natalie Brooks - Secrets of Treasure House brings to life the story of a young woman who has inherited her grandmother's house. Join Natalie on a journey to unravel the mystery of the house and find the treasure contained therein. Meet a series of characters along the way that can help you discover the secrets, though beware - not everyone has Natalie's best interest at heart. Act fast, because the city has plans to build a road right through the property!
The Sims Carnival SnapCity Review
What do you get when you combine the puzzle-rotating fun from Tetris with the thrill of building and maintaining a bustling town a la SimCity? The answer is The Sims Carnival SnapCity, the latest in Electronic Arts' downloadable Carnival "casual game" series, following BumperBlast. It might sound like an odd fusion of game styles - but it works, and very well at that.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
Welcome to our weekly news roundup, where we bring you casual game headlines from around the web. Gamasutra interviews Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, Gamezebo chats with The Game Equation's Brian Meidell Andersen, and MediaPost ponders what casual games and pharmaceuticals have in common. These stories and more behind the cut.
Interview with Brian Meidell Andersen, The Game Equation
Founded in 2007 by two Hitman programmers, The Game Equation is the latest example of hardcore game-makers jumping ship to develop casual games. The company's first official release is the underwater puzzler Deep Blue Sea. Gamezebo spoke to co-founder Brian Meidell Andersen about what it was like going from Hitman to match-three.
Spirit of Wandering: The Legend Review
Hidden object fans will swoon over the romantic hidden object adventure Spirit of Wandering: The Legend. It's the tale of a female pirate captain who loses her crew - including her lover, Jack - during an attack by the infamous ghost ship the Flying Dutchman. The crew aren't dead, but merely imprisoned in the spirit world, which means the captain must use her compass and Jack's magic orb to get them back.
Greek Goddesses of Solitaire Review
Hades loves to brag. Lately, he's been boasting about his fantastic solitaire skills and the Goddesses have grown tired of listening to him! They tell him that even a lowly mortal would offer him a challenge, to which he responds by locking the Goddesses up and leaving them there until a mortal can beat him at the game. Aphrodite may not be amused, but I thought the story line was funny - Hades, great God of the Underworld has nothing better to do than challenge people to beat him at solitaire! In case you haven't guessed, you are the lucky mortal that has to battle Hades and beat him in order to free the trapped Goddesses in Greek Goddesses of Solitaire.
Quick change: How JoJo switched outfits and became a star
You wouldn't think of it to look at it, but JoJo's Fashion Show, the unusual dress-up casual game, got its start as a different animal entirely.
"Like many casual game characters, Jojo was originally a store owner. She had a little boutique where she sold clothes that she designed," said Gregory Trefry, senior game designer at Gamelab. "We were thinking of it as Diner Dash with an actual menu - not everyone just got a grilled cheese. It was pretty fun, but [iWin VP] Jim [Stern] and the guys at iWin very astutely observed a real glut of spinning plates hitting the market."
Luckily for JoJo and fans of her game, a change of clothes was about to take her from "also-ran" to runway diva.
Aquaria Review
With a story as intriguing as its gameplay, Aquaria submerges you in an addictive action-adventure romp through vast underwater worlds in one of the best independent game releases in recent years. It's charming, original, engaging and packed to the gills with entertainment. What's the price of admission? Plan on $30 and a substantial chunk of your time.
15 Minutes of Game: Snowball 2008
Given the blizzard that's currently raging outside my window, Armored Games' Snowball 2008 seemed a fitting choice for our featured web game of the week. Roll a snowball down a giant hill and watch it gradually get bigger and heavier as you use the arrow keys to keep it out of harm's way by dodging rocks, trees and other obstacles. Click here to play Snowball 2008.
Go-Go Gourmet Preview
From Cake Mania and the Diner Dash games to Turbo Subs, Chocolatier 2, Hot Dish and Family Restaurant, game makers appear to have a serious obsession about food. Fortunately, this pervasive culinary theme has spawned some of the finest casual games in recent memory. And soon you can add Go-Go Gourmet that that list - it's the latest restaurant simulation soon to be released from Oberon Games that had us hungry for more minutes after we stopped playing.
Purrfect Pet Shop Review
And the pet games keep coming. Game developers must think those sweet animals will urge casual gamers everywhere to play. The time management game Purrfect Pet Shop combines caring for the cuties in an animal shelter with matching them to the right owners.
Turbo Subs Review
Many casual games are leisurely pursuits that help you unwind after a stressful day at the office. Turbo Subs, however, isn't one of them. Although fun and well-produced, Turbo Subs has the same frenetic pacing that made its predecessor, Turbo Pizza, one of the most insanely challenging (and adrenaline-pumpingly energetic) time management games on the market.
Magic Seeds Review
Cross pumpkin seeds with cabbage and what do you get? Not lettuce of any kind nor anything from the squash family. In Magic Seeds, mixing these two produces sausage. How about mixing lemon with watermelon? Corn with tomatoes? These product that most dreaded and loved food: The fully-loaded carb food, bread.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
Welcome to Friday's weekly roundup of casual game headlines from around the web. Keynote speakers have been announced for Casual Connect Europe, execs talk casual games at CES, and Hasbro cracks down on the makers of Scrabulous, one of the most popular applications on Facebook.
Just In - Turbo Subs
Turbo Subs, the sequel to Turbo Pizza, has just launched! We're working on our review, but in the meantime click here to read our preview, or click here to download the game.
Family Restaurant Review
If you haven't yet had your fill of restaurant-themed time management simulations - such as the Diner Dash, Cake Mania or Turbo games - then don your apron and get cooking with Family Restaurant.
Interview with Damir Slogar, Big Blue Bubble
In the casual game world, Big Blue Bubble is best known for creating the home improvement-themed strategy puzzler Home Sweet Home. There's much more to the Canadian developer than that, however, as we discovered when we spoke with Big Blue Bubble CEO Damir Slogar.
DragonStone Preview
Whether you're the kind of player who gravitates towards action-oriented puzzle games or story-driven adventures, DragonStone has both fronts covered. The upcoming fantasy-themed marble popper from PlayPond also ingeniously incorporates role-playing elements like monster encounters, side-quests, equipment upgrades and non-player characters (NPCs), resulting in a hybrid that should prove charming enough to make a few die-hard fans of either genre cross over to the other side.
Hot Dish Review
One of the more interesting takes on the time management genre we've seen in recent months, surprise gem Hot Dish serves up a heaping helping of fun. No matter your culinary skills, it's worth having a look at, if only to see how much room remains for innovation in the category - especially when such enhancements prove this easy to swallow.
Gamezebo News: 2 Casual Game Companies to Watch Out For
Time to get your inner-Sangia ready! Ludia, a new studio started by industry veteran Alex Thabet, announced a deal to create online games based on the reality TV show American Idol. According to the the press release, the game will feature performance, online community and social networking.
And, there is an interesting story in the New York Times about Zynga, a new company focused on creating casual games for social networks (e.g., Facebook). The founder, Mark Pincus, is a successful serial entrepreneur and is the first guy to hire me out of college. So, we know he's smart.
Click here to read the article on Ludia and American Idol. And here, to read the article on Zynga (password required) or to go directly to their Web site.
Blood Ties Review
Vicki Nelson is an ex-cop turned private investigator whose eyesight is failing; Henry Fitzroy is a 450-year-old vampire and the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII. Together they're crime fighting's odd couple, investigating unique cases that involve zombies, ghosts and demons. You'll get to step into Vicki and Henry's shoes In Blood Ties, a hidden object game based on the Blood Ties TV show (which in turn is based on Tanya Huff's Blood Books).
NiBiRu: Age of Secrets Review
Many Gamezebo readers are aware of my soft spot for the adventure genre - um, perhaps it's because I wax nostalgic about these point-and-click story-driven games in my reviews whenever possible - so I'm the first to jump on an assignment that lets me play and write about them. Such is the case with NiBiRu: Age of Secrets, a nearly 3 year-old CD-ROM adventure game that is now available as a sub-$20 "casual" game download.
15 Minutes of Game: Campaign
Our featured web game of the week, Campaign, takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the upcoming U.S. presidential election by presenting the contest as a down-and-dirty strategy warfare game pitting Democrats against Republicans. Choose a candidate to lead your "army" such as Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton or Republican hopeful Rudy Giuliani, recruit foot-soldiers like Hatchetmen, Operatives and Spinmeisters, then strategically engage the "enemy" for control of a map of the States by deploying special attack like mud-slinging, flag-waving and attack ads. Click here to play Campaign.
Deep Blue Sea Review
Even the most well-worn of genres can seem new again in the right hands, and Deep Blue Sea is solid proof of that. A debut title from The Game Equation (a studio founded by two of the programmers who worked on Eidos Interactive's Hitman), Deep Blue Sea takes the match-three formula made popular by Bejeweled and its ilk and makes it its own thanks to the right balance of clever power-ups, challenging levels, and good production values.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
Welcome to Friday's casual games news roundup. Sony announced at last week's Consumer Electronics Show that it plans to give the 7-year-old PlayStation 2 new life as a casual gaming machine, positioning it as a direct competitor to the Nintendo Wii. Other highlights this week include an interesting article about game design and consumption in India, a survey of in-game ads in 2007, and Sandlot's Daniel Bernstein's reflections on the Super Granny franchise.
Just In - Hot Dish
The culinary time management game Hot Dish has just launched on Big Fish Games. We're working on a review, but in the meantime click here to check it out.
Golden Hearts Juice Bar Review
To pay her college tuition, Kelly finds herself working at the local juice bar making delicious fruit smoothies and milkshakes for customers. As jobs go, it could be worse. As games go, however, Golden Hearts Juice Bar could be better as a great premise is compromised by sloppiness and an annoying glitch.
Jack's Bouncy Qubes Review
Those who grew up with the iconic '80s arcade character, Q*Bert, can relive those memories with Jack's Bouncy Qubes, a new arcade puzzler for the PC that - while far from ground-breaking - it does build upon the classic cube-hopping concept.
Run Granny Run: Sandlot Founder & CEO Daniel Bernstein reflects on Super Granny
When the original Super Granny launched in 2004, we were concerned that the Lode Runner-inspired game dynamic would be too hardcore for our target audience. No keyboard action/platform game had ever been successful in the casual games market. So how were we going to make a hit? After recently launching Super Granny 4 and observing record-breaking downloads from our site, let me reflect on why the audience for this franchise continues to grow.
Charm Tale 2 - Mermaid Lagoon Review
Charm Tale 2: Mermaid Lagoon doesn't count as a sequel, having nothing in common with Charm Tale except that both tell a story. The puzzles, the themes, and the graphics quality also differ between the two. Kids would easily become frustrated with the original, but they can easily play and enjoy Charm Tale 2.
Sheep's Quest Review
Classified as a puzzle game, Sheep's Quest is a mix of arcade action and logical brainteasers wrapped in the veneer of a coin-collecting mission to acquire the needed funds to rebuild a dilapidated farm for the world's fluffiest sheep. Avoiding, in the process, the requisite collection of enemies and obstacles. The end result is a charming romp filled with sheep thrills and woolly, lemming-like, follow-the-leader antics.
Pizza Chef Review
Pizza Chef, with its combination of match-three and restaurant management gameplay, might seem at first glance a playable if unremarkable time-waster good for a few hours of harmless fun. Dig deeper, however, and you'll see that something more sinister is going on. Pizza Chef bears more than a passing resemblance to Gamenauts' Burger Rush but with far less charm and polish and some downright illogical design decisions. In short, Pizza Chef seems like a game rushed out thoughtlessly and on the cheap after swiping another developer's core concepts. Ouch.
15 Minutes of Game: Chain Factor
Chance are you'll be spending a lot more than 15 minutes on our featured web game of the week, Chain Factor. The goal of this fun and highly addictive game is to drop numbered discs into a grid Connect Four-style. If the number on the disc matches the size of the row or column it's in, it will disappear. Click here to play Chain Factor.
GameHouse Solitaire Challenge Review
Solitaire is so old that historians don't even know precisely who invented it, when or where - but that hasn't stopped countless people from enjoying the card game and its many variations. GameHouse Solitaire Challenge doesn't put a new spin on Solitaire like we've seen with Fairway Solitaire, Solitaire Cruise and other casual game offerings. Rather, it's a straightforward collection of 10 of the most popular types of Solitaire with a Challenge mode and stat tracker thrown in.
Blackwell Unbound Review
Everything seems to be retro these days - from afros to disco to Alvin and the Chipmunks. So why shouldn't classic PC adventure games make a return in 2008? You know, those point-and-click stories from the '90s like Sierra's King's Quest or LucasArts' Monkey Island games, where your 2-D hero talks with characters, picks up items to store in their inventory and solves puzzles such as using a found key on a locked door.
Well, thanks to talented developers at Wadjet Eye Games and their Blackwell series, what's old is new again - right down to the pixilated graphics and branching dialogue trees. While some might be turned off by this approach, Gamezebo found last year's The Blackwell Legacy a fun, refreshing and kitschy experience.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
It's Friday, which means it's time for our weekly casual games news roundup. Among the highlights: Adweek Magazine predicts casual gaming as a hot trend for 2008, along with such things as handmade goods and branded entertainment. Also, Jayisgames.com has announced its fifth Flash Game Design Competition based around the theme UPGRADE.
Hyperballoid 2 Review
No, sci-fi brick-basher Hyperballoid 2 isn't named after a rare and debilitating medical condition. But if it were, symptoms would include excessive muscular contractions around the wrist, darting eyes, heightened blood pressure and an irresistible compulsion to remain glued to the PC. A highly engaging and surreally beautiful take on the ancient art of arcade-style, Arkanoid-inspired block smashing, it's the sort of value-minded title that successfully lobbies hard to earn a spot in your personal gaming collection.
MostFun.com shakes up try-before-you-buy
It's a business model that has been with the casual gaming industry nearly since the beginning: Play a game for an hour and if you like it, buy it.
MostFun.com is one of a growing number of sites that are challenging the paradigm and allowing players to sample full games for free without shelling out a dime. Gamezebo spoke with Jonathan Venier, the marketing director of Mostfun.com, to get the low-down on the recently-launched site.
2007: The Year that Was . . . And Wasn't
2007 was a banner year for casual games. Traditional video game companies finally woke up to the phenomenon that is casual games and announced they're joining the bandwagon. More casual games were released on more platforms than ever before. And, according to the Casual Games Association's (CGA) 2007 Report, casual games is now a $2.25 billion a year business!
But, don't you go trading in your Nissan Altima for a Mercedes CLK just yet, my casual game industry friends. 2007 was indeed a year of great promise, but for the most part, of it was a year of promise unfulfilled. And we only have ourselves to blame.
15 Minutes of Game: I'll Get It!
Our first featured web game of 2008 is a neat little time management sim called I'll Get It!, which is quite possibly the first game of its kind to be set in a library. As the librarian, you must help students with their research by looking up their request in the library catalogue, then selecting the most appropriate book, periodical or website for them to read.
For example, if the research query is "How many cars did Toyota sell last year?" your choices might be Car and Driver magazine, Ward's Automotive Yearbook, or the online Toyota Motor Corporation Annual Report or Yahoo Statistics Directory. When the students have finished reading, you'll deposit the document into the book return box to keep the library neat and tidy. Click here to play I'll Get It!