Gamezebo Archives - February 2009

Today, Red Rocket Games announced that the studio's first title (not counting Zenerchi, which was a joint project with PlayFirst), will be a music platformer called Mevo & the Grooveriders. We had to know more about this funky-sounding game so we caught up with Red Rocket Games Co-Founder and CEO Jung Suh. Why music and not match-three? Why keyboard and not mouse? And what exactly is a Grooverider (or a Mevo, for that metter)? Read on to find out.

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PlayFirst has provided hidden object fans with a first peek at the third installment of KatGames' Dream Chronicles series, Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child. In this game, you'll join Faye on her quest to save her daughter from the Fairy Queen Lilith and reveal the secret prophecy of the "chosen child."

In addition to beautiful art nouveau-style backgrounds, intricate puzzles, an underwater maze, and the ability to collect new dream jewels, the most notable thing about The Chosen Child, according to PlayFirst, is the Nexus.
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GameTantra's colorful little Conga Bugs stands out in the crowded marble blasting genre, but not for any one reason. Rather, its mixture of better-than-average graphics, minor but compelling innovations, and fun extras combine to create a game that, while not particularly original, is nonetheless highly engaging casual entertainment.
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Solitaire mah jong, also known as Taipei and Shanghai, has kept people busy for decades, especially since the 1990s when Microsoft released Taipei in its Windows Entertainment Pack. Since then, the game has spawned many variations that offer tile designs ranging from sports teams and cartoon characters to flags and holiday themes. Hexagon Mahjongg attempts to introduce something different with hexagon-shaped (six-sided) tiles.
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Shanghai-based Red Rocket Games (who you might remember as the developer of a cool little puzzle game called Zenerchi with PlayFirst), have announced that they're working on a new music game called Mevo & the Grooveriders.

Mevo, the main character, has to reunite his band, the Grooveriders, and bring "FUNK" back to the universe by defeating the enemy SILENCE. To move Mevo through the game's five fantastic worlds (Ocean, Jungle, Desert, Spaced and Wormhole), players must tap two keys to the rhythm of the game's music as it gets played and shown in the game.
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Check out our strategy guide for Shop-n-Spree. GAME OVERVIEW At the beginning of the game you will be asked to make one of three choices. You can play the game in  untimed mode, normal mode or in hard mode. Here's a brief description of each: UNTIMED If you choose this mode you will be able to take your time and play the game at your leisure without the pressure of a timer. The level will end once you meet the monetary goal. NORMAL In normal mode you have to reach the goal befo... Read more »

Intenium's latest hidden object game, Insider Tales: The Stolen Venus, has just launched. Play art sleuth as you try to track down who stole Boticelli's famous "The Birth of Venus" from an Italian museum. Download the game now from GameHouse, write a review, or talk about it in our forum. Read more »

Egypt III: The Fate of Ramses, also known as The Egyptian Prophecy, is the latest large-file adventure game to become available for download. It's a whopper of a file (almost 2 GB in size), but if your Internet connection can handle it, go ahead and download the game. Write a review here, or discuss the game in our forum. Read more »

In case you haven't noticed, the popular hidden object game genre is evolving rapidly. This includes adding elements from the once-popular point-and-click adventure game genre. The latest to fold these two gameplay concepts into one is GestaltGames' Nick Chase, a puzzle-filled detective story with high production values.

You play as Chase, a cop-turned-P.I., in desperate need of work. Fortunately a mysterious man known only as The Collector shows up and asks you to find clues, collect evidence and solve brain teasers that could unravel the mystery to Leonard Di Vinci's missing manuscript. The tale is told via gritty black & white storyboards and some animated sequences, and voiced by the raspy protagonist in true film noir style.
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Shop-n-Spree is just about everything you'd want in a game. It successfully blends two popular genres (hidden object and time management) around a theme that most people love to do (shopping) with charming graphics to boot. Roll in a story about the underdog standing up to a Big Bad Corporation, and you have a bona fide hit on your hands.
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Like an object hidden in a puzzle, where oh where is Joel this week?

Well, guten morgen where you are, and guten tag from Germany.  I am in Hamburg for Casual Connect:Europe.  Though it is freezing outside, I am here to share you the warmth and excitement that is Casual Connect: Hamburg.  Read more »

Last Day of Work, the makers of fantastic casual sim games including the Virtual Villagers series, Plant Tycoon and Fish Tycoon, have revealed a brand new franchise for PC and Mac called Virtual Families. Virtual Families simulates a small family, allowing the player to care for and nurture it. (Read more.) Read more »

The Mysterious City: Cairo follows its predecessor The Mysterious City: Golden Prague with a new locale and story. Prague had the advantage of being an unusual place for a hidden object game setting. Egypt, however, is familiar territory for casual games, and you have to wonder why the sequel takes place there after the first game featured such a unique location.

The story is lacking in that there’s little to tell. Three artifacts disappear en route to museum in Alexandria, and you must track them down, beginning with the hotel where the delivery person stayed.  The story doesn’t have much of a mystery except for the names of the two main characters.
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Everyone's favorite nanny is back in Nanny Mania 2, which is set to launch later this month. The sequel to Nanny Mania will transport you to Hollywood and put you in the middle of a celebrity family in need of some serious help. According to the game's developer, Gogii Games, you can expect to see new upgrades, plenty of entertaining characters, pets, paparazzi, and -- as you can see from the screenshots -- a story told in colorful cutscenes. Be sure to check back to Gamezebo and we'll let you know as soon as the game launches. Read more »

Emerald City Confidential, the upcoming adventure game from PlayFirst and Wadjet Eye Games, goes gold; Intenium announces a new hidden object game series; and Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir is the fourth best-selling Nintendo DS game in the U.K.These headlines and more behind the cut. Read more »

Amazon.com is offering free full versions of Jewel Quest II, Build-a-lot and The Scruffs, but hurry and grab them fast because the offer ends today. Keep reading for more deals from PopCap, RealArcade, Shockwave, Pi Eye Games and The Games Equation. Read more »

It's always a pleasure to check in with the folks at SomaTone Interactive Audio, the studio that has crafted the music, sound effects and voice-overs for some of the most popular casual games of all time, including the Mystery Case Files, Diner Dash and Virtual Villagers franchises. We asked managing partners Kane Minkus and Nick Thomas to highlights some of the best casual game audio moments of 2008. Read more »

Check out our strategy guide for Costume Chaos. GENERAL TIPS There is one game mode in Costume Chaos, 9 unique locations which have 6 levels each for a total of 54 levels. There are 3 rankings that you can earn in this game, Goal (1 star), Expert (2 stars) and Master (3 stars), with Master being the highest score you can earn. You can replay a level at any time. Just select the level you want to replay from the main menu and you will be able to do so with the same options that you had w... Read more »

Check out our walkthrough for Nick Chase: A Detective Story. This walkthrough provides video solutions to the majority of the puzzles in the game along with screenshots for the levels that do not require a video. GENERAL TIPS The game does not have a timer, you can take your time to solve the puzzles. If a puzzle is too hard, you can skip it by clicking on the "skip" button that is on the lower right side of the scene. In order to use a skip a puzzle, you have to wait... Read more »

The sea of new hidden object game releases has parted to bring us... a marble popper? Download Conga Bugs here, write a review, or talk about it in our forum. We'll be weighing in with our review soon. Read more »