What's New in Gamezebo
The Price is Right Review
Casual gamer, come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price is Right. Yep, one of the most popular television game shows has gone interactive with Ludia's first computer game offering, The Price is Right, that looks and plays like the real deal - though without Drew Carey or Bob Barker.
Where are all the Real People?
Listen to me now. A black man is close to becoming President of the United States. A black woman is Secretary of State. A black man just became Governor of New York. Oprah is arguably the most powerful media personality in the world. Yet when was that last time you saw black face in a game? A real black face. Oh, there are a few, in the background. There's a couple in Wedding Dash. There might be one in Shop Mania. But the fact is that Sasquatch sightings are more common. Unicorns outnumber people of color in casual games at least 10-1. What's going on here?
Westward II: Heroes of the Frontier Review
When it comes to westerns, gamers, like prairie dogs, have been left to perish in a sun-parched desert. Few developers have seen fit to address the paucity either. Thankfully, Sandlot Games just rode into town with a saddlebag full of goodness in the wild-west sequel, Westward II: Heroes of the Frontier. Like its forbearer, Westward, this ant-farm-filled-with-gunslingers serves up a tasty tin of casual sim and real-time strategy fun.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
The USA Network and SciFi.com are the latest companies to launch casual games on their websites; Mytopia - a platform that allows people on different social networks (i.e. Facebook and MySpace) to play the same games together - launches; and The Escapist's Andy Chalk writes about his newfound obsession with casual games in Keeping it Casual. These articles and more in our weekly news roundup.
Cooking Academy Preview
Even the greatest chefs have to start somewhere, and that's what Cooking Academy is all about. An upcoming game from Fugazo - the makers of Fashion Fits - the game takes place in the prestigious Culinary Academy, where you've enrolled as a freshman to learn how to prepare delicious meals.
Ice Cream Mania Review
Don't glance at our 3 out of 5-star rating for this game and write it off as a waste of time - on the contrary, we had fun with Ice Cream Mania - but it plays just like the other five dozen time management games available today. In the end, it's simply an average yet entertaining downloadable diversion that, at the very least, is worth playing the 60-minute free trial.
Elias the Mighty Review
Ever notice how most great movie villains have foreign accents? Russian, German, British... it usually depends on when it was made, but the common thread is there. Animated films are particularly notorious for this. You will find plenty of Russian villains in Elias the Mighty, but also some Russian heroes too - in fact, the game is based on a Russian folk legend.
Spring Up! Review
Wikipedia defines a computer game as software that "involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device." Although that sounds cold and technical, if you apply it to the new casual offering, Spring Up!, then Frozax's release would certainly qualify as a computer game. Unfortunately, despite a sincere effort on the part of the developers, it's about as fun to play as reading a dictionary.
Jane's Hotel: Family Hero
Move over, Paris Hilton - in Jane's Hotel: Family Hero, you're an heiress who actually works hard at her family business! Jane vows to stop the foreclosure of four hotels by borrowing money from the bank and then working at each one until enough cash is collected to help pull her family through. Through this ambitious venture you'll work at a beachfront resort in the Canary Islands, a castle in England, a fancy French inn and a traditional Japanese hotel.
15 Minutes of Game: Patchworkz!
A game about making quilts is definitely something you don't see every day, and it's why we chose Patchworkz! as our featured web game of the week. Fill in the lovely patterns by fitting together the correct pieces of fabric so that the shapes interlock. Click here to play Patchworkz!
