What's New in Gamezebo
The Amazing Brain Train Preview
Power up your intellect and embark on an epic quest aboard The Amazing Brain Train,
a new game that will be launching very soon from Grubby Games. Fueled
by your mental energy, Professor Fizzwizzle's Brain Train will take you
on a brain-boosting adventure.
Color Up! Wedding Scrapbook Review
Fiona's budding photography career gets a big break when she's asked to photograph her best friend Gwen's wedding. But after a mystery culprit breaks into Fiona's studio and trashes her work, Fiona must put together a replacement wedding scrapbook by recreating the photographs through paint-by-numbers puzzle challenges. It's all part of Color Up! Wedding Scrapbook, a relaxing game designed to bring out your inner artist.
15 Minutes of Game: Doeo
Our featured web game of the week is Doeo, a fun little game where the goal is to click on as many "doeos" - little square pink creatures - as you can, as they pop up all over the scenery in various clever and entertaining ways. Click here to give Doeo a try.
Pastry Passion Preview
Pastry Passion - the new game from GameHouse and RealArcade - will be launching mid-May and we got our hands on some screenshots to whet your appetite (literally). In this culinary match-three featuring 60 levels and 2 game modes, the goal is to make high quality pastries by matching the required ingredients to help fun-loving baker Henri prepare for a big wedding. You'll also buy helpful tools and pass Henri's exams to become Master Pastry Chef.
Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel Review
Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel is the eighth game in the long-running Nancy Drew series by Her Interactive, and the latest one to be offered as a download through casual game portals. This first person mystery adventure game brings back the popular teenage sleuth as she attempts to unravel the odd happenings in an eerie amusement park. Her friends, the Hardy Boys, make an appearance in the game also.
Zen Fashion Review
On paper, Zen Fashion works marvels, combining two favorite passions - inner peace and haute couture - into an intriguing match-three puzzler that sends you trotting about China, Japan, Korea and the bulk of the Asian continent. Unfortunately, a snappy Far Eastern aesthetic and soothing soundtrack, not to mention somewhat novel play conceit (donning new duds to mix and match powers), can't save the title from an inconvenient truth. Specifically, that the melding of these twin concepts suffers due to inconsistent level design, too-leisurely pacing and a handful of issues that'll have even the most patient player ready to kick the creators right in their dharma.
Supermarket Mania Review
Apparently, each year the average American consumes 4 pounds of potato chips, 30 pounds of cheese, 56 gallons of soda pop, 75 pounds of sugar, and 221 pounds of meat. Yikes! Anyone getting indigestion? Around 2.4 million people are employed the grocery stores that provide this food, and supermarket cashiers earn a about $7.90 per hour on average. It might not be the best paying career on the planet, but hey, it's a living.
Friday Casual Games Weekly News Roundup
Kat Games Lead Game Designer Miguel Tartaj talks about the making of Dream Chronicles; Oberon's Sr. VP of publishing, Don Ryan discusses Oberon's rebranding of its publishing division and recent acquisition of mobile brand I-play; and funding for virtual worlds continues to flood in. These headlines and more in Friday's casual games weekly news roundup.
The Clumsy's Preview
Tim and his mischievous friends got themselves into quite a pickle when they discovered Grandpas latest invention at his birthday party: The Time Machine. In the upcoming hidden object / adventure game from Gogii Games (of Nanny Mania, Escape the Museum and The Hidden Object Show fame) entitled The Clumsy's, help Grandpa track down 20 kids who have been lost in time and clean up any traces they left behind. Who knows what kind of chain reaction a toy car could cause in the year 200BC?
Just In - Zen Fashion
Zen Fashion has launched on Big Fish Games. The match-3 puzzler lets you step into the shoes of a young Japanese fashion designer who must journey to the fashion capitals of Asia to learn the Zen Fashion secrets of her ancestors. Click here to play Zen Fashion, and stay tuned for our review. Click here to discuss Zen Fashion in our Forum.
Posh Boutique Review
Time management titles are a tricky beast. When done right, the results can be spectacular (see Miss Management). But when done wrong, they can also be bland (cough, Travel Agency, cough) or outright disastrous (take your pick of any of the 200 others released last year whose names we've already forgotten). Thankfully, Posh Boutique, latest in a long run of fashion-themed outings, delivers the goods gameplay-wise and then some, though it's clearly keyed towards female players and a mite too heavy on the chintz.
Caribbean Pirate Quest Review
Ahoy there, casual gamer! If ye enjoy the 'ol match-3 puzzlers you'll want to set sail with Caribbean Pirate Quest, a clever downloadable game that weaves in a treasure hunting component to the core gameplay. Argghhh!
Gig of the Week: Rebel Monkey (enough said)!
Rebel Monkey is the next big thing in casual games. Why? One, it's a company founded by Margaret Wallace and Nick Fortugno, whose past hit games include Qbeez and Diner Dash. Two, they have raised tons of money. Three, they have the coolest name for a new games company.
The good news for all of you who love casual games but hate your current job or are just unemployed, Rebel Monkey is hiring. Click here to see all their job openings.
15 Minutes of Game: BLockoban
Our featured web game of the week is BLockoban, a puzzle game inspired by Sokoban and Cubeoban. You have to move colored blocks to corresponding targets of the same color by sliding them with the mouse. You can also design your own levels using the game's built-in level editor - the very best will be added to the game for others to play! Click here to try BLockoban.
Dairy Dash Review
Given the success of Diner Dash, it's not surprising that PlayFirst has developed numerous spin-offs that transplant the game's classic time management gameplay into new settings. Hot on the heels of Doggie Dash and Wedding Dash (and we do mean hot since Doggie Dash was released a mere two months ago) comes Dairy Dash, a game that explores the challenges of farm life.
Mystery Cookbook Review
It's not because I just returned from visiting Pixar Animation Studios that I find similarities in the story between the animated flick, Ratatouille, and Alawar's new hidden object game, Mystery Cookbook. After all, both follow a mouse/rat who wants to be a skilled chef. Um, sound familiar? While we won't dock points for story unoriginality, we must in the gameplay department, and for other issues, which we'll soon get to.
Eye for Design Preview
Sandlot Games sent us some screenshots for Eye for Design, an upcoming puzzle game set in the fun and creative world of interior design. The game should be launching in late April/early May.
Travel Agency Review
Face it: If there's one genre of casual game competing with hidden object outings for the title of "most overdone" lately, it's the time management category. And at first blush, Travel Agency certainly seems to make the same mistakes as so many forgettable mouse-mashers which have come before. But look beyond the throwaway storyline, general lack of personality and slow opening, and you might be surprised. For a largely forgettable endeavor, it's still a well-executed take on the standard "click here, run there, rinse and repeat" formula that delivers decent thrills, once the excitement really gets up and running.
Hidden Mysteries - Civil War Review
The civil war between the Union and Confederate armies was a bloody and turbulent chapter of American history, and one that Gunnar Games and GameMill attempt to capture in the seek-and-find adventure Hidden Mysteries - Civil War. While a narrative chock full of historical details should be enough to intrigue those with an interest in the time period, the gameplay itself largely fails to hold up its end of the equation, resulting in an uneven effort that doesn't quite live up to its obvious potential.
Remedy Review
Remedy is the first game in the Carol Reed mystery series developed by MDNA Games, and although it has been out for quite some time, it's only recently been released by several of the larger game portals. While graphically Remedy isn't as good as later games in the series, such as East Side Story, it still measures up in the gameplay and story departments.
Just In - Dairy Dash
PlayFirst is "milking" the Dash series for all its worth - the latest game in the series, Dairy Dash, launched on PlayFirst's site moments ago. Click here to try your hand at managing the family farm and see if you're as good at feeding pigs and growing corn as you are waiting tables. Click here to discuss Dairy Dash in our forums.
Speaking of PlayFirst, the company recently celebrated its fourth birthday! Click here to read some birthday thoughts from CEO John Welch.
Just In - Travel Agency
First, fashion was the "new black." For a while, every game we saw was about buying clothes, making clothes, even buying and making clothes. Then, we saw a whole slew of new games about cooking. After the release of Airport Mania last week and Travel Agency this week, could travel be the next big theme in casual games?
iWin just released Travel Agency, a new time management game. Our review is coming soon, but in the meantime, you can click here to download a free trial of Travel Agency. Click here to discuss Travel Agency in our forums.
The Game of Life - Path to Success Review
Created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as The Checkered Game of Life, the modern board game has its roots in the 1960 version renamed The Game of Life. Many re-publishings have resulted in changes such as salary increases, a switch from convertibles to mini-vans and the replacement of the Travel Agent with a Computer Consultant, but gameplay remains basically unchanged. That's not true, however, with The Game of Life - Path to Success.
The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes Preview
If you're in the mood for a mystery to really sink your teeth into, look no further than The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, this upcoming puzzle adventure / hidden object game boasts not just one, but 16 original cases to solve, all of which are crafted in the style of the beloved Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Cooking Quest Review
Foodville is holding its annual Restaurant Row Chef's Challenge and you've earned a spot in the prestigious contest. With a limited budget and a ticking clock, Cooking Quest is all about seeing whether you have what it takes to assemble the best ingredients and hustle in the kitchen to prepare five-star dishes that will impress the judges.
