Gamezebo Archives - December 2011

Steam has launched its annual holiday sale from now until Jan. 1, offering huge savings on games and a couple of fun promotions: The Great Gift Pile challenges gamers to complete up to six objectives each day to win free games and coupons. Participants who don't win earn lumps of Coal that they can use to enter the Epic Holiday Giveaway, where the top prize is to win every game on Steam! The more coal you have, the better your chances to win. Visit Steam to check out the complete list of holiday deals.

I've got a confession: Tintin helped teach me to read. My parents, desperate to get me to away from the television, realized that I was a sucker for comic books. Unfortunately, comics in the 1980s and 90s weren't exactly quality literature; when my folks realized that the Adventures of Tintin books were better reading material than the latest issues of Bloodshot and Youngblood, they bought out the local bookstore. By the time I was ten, I'd read the entire series.

Amidst the glut of Angry Birds wannabes, Monkey Quest: Thunderbow has hit the App Store backed by the power of Nickelodeon. Based on the publisher’s free online adventure, Monkey Quest: Thunderbow sprinkles in a few new ingredients to a now exhausted physics formula.

Not too long ago mobile games developer TeamLava released Pet Shop Story, and hot on its heels comes their latest social app, Zoo Story 2. Combining mechanics of the previous title with the original Zoo Story, the business simulation comes with all the familiarity players are used to. Unfortunately, that also means there isn’t a whole lot of innovation at the heart of the title, but at least TeamLava incorporates a bit of discovery in the game through animal breeding.

After months of hype and speculation, Zynga officially went public last Friday with a most curious offering.

Zynga raised $1 billion in one day, for the biggest tech IPO in the US since Google raised $1.9 billion in 2004. Zynga started as a company 4 years ago and now has a valuation of $8.9 billion (for perspective, Electronic Arts is valued at $6.9 billion). That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Zynga priced its IPO at $10/share and ended the day at $9.50/share in what can best be described as a lackluster opening day. Which begs the question -- what happened on the road to IPOville?

Netflix is not getting into games, but Gamefly is borrowing a page out of Netflix’s playbook.

Gamefly, which is known as Netflix for Games (basically, get games in the mail) has released in public beta its all-you-can-eat digital download service for PC games.

If you are a Gamefly member, you get the Unlimited PC Play service for free.

Facebook is traveling to a place of serenity and balance with a new simulation title by the name of Karma Kingdom. Reminiscent of games like Happy Island, the application promotes the concepts of kinship and enlightenment, as well as incorporates the noble endeavor of charity. Nevertheless, in terms of gameplay, the new ideas it does present are often vague and come accompanied with a handful of obnoxious bugs.

Oh, my poor editor here at Gamezebo must have been pulling his hair out waiting for this review. I missed my deadline by a good 12 hours, at least. The problem was that I couldn’t stop playing the game long enough to take the time to write these words. The only reason I’m writing them right now is because I purposefully left my phone at home when I went out to get breakfast, just to force myself to ignore the temptation long enough to bang out the words necessary to tell you that Epic Astro Story is awesome.

2011 showed that adventure games are alive and well across all of the platforms we cover here on Gamezebo, from iPhone and Facebook to PC and Mac. This was also a year that some new developers came onto the scene and surprised us with wonderful hidden gems. Here are our favorites among the dozens of adventure games that crossed our desks in 2011.

The North American gold rush was a time of both excitement and danger. In Alawar’s The Golden Years: Way Out West, Gertrude unexpectedly experience the adventure of their lives when her husband Samuel is imprisoned because of debts and she has to travel through the country on her quest to find gold. Vacation Mogul, The Golden Years can best be described as a hybrid of adventure, building sim, and resource management - and it’s both fun and unique.

Gameloft has brought the GT Racing series to Google+ with GT Racing Motor Academy, the first 3D racing game to grace Google's social network.

Some of my fondest gaming memories start with the Super Nintendo and SimCity. Building up cities and watching them grow and flourish was a fascinating process. With Kairosoft’s Venture Towns, you won’t be getting the same scale of building your own virtual world, but what you will get is the same addictive gameplay that has hooked you on other city-building games in the past.

ForestVille developed by Zynga for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch lets you guide all the critters of the forest as they build a new home with shops, farms, landmarks, and all kinds of fun quests to complete. Help them find a great place to live, work and hang out! Gamezebo’s quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.

Retro games portal DotEmu is the latest website to get into the holiday spirit by offering massive discounts on a wide variety of classic titles! From now until Jan. 2, more than 100 games in the catalog are between 40% and 80% off. Check out the sale here.

There's been an incredible amount of anticipation for Trenches II since it was announced earlier this year. Almost two years to the day after Trenches was first released, Thunder Game Works and EA have finally released the game's true sequel. There's no easy way to say this, so let's just rip the band-aid off: Trenches II is a heartbreaker, thanks in large part to some glaring design issues.

You've got to love secret government agencies and their creative acronyms. Until now, Marvel Comics' S.H.I.E.L.D. has set the bar when it comes to protecting humanity, but it looks like it'll have some serious competition from M.U.S.E. This new organization, which stars in a new iOS game of the same name, might very well become the role model for saving the world and looking like a bunch of hardcases while doing so.

Welcome to the 9: The Dark Side walkthrough on Gamezebo. 9: The Dark Side is a hidden object/adventure game played on the PC created Play Favorite Games. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints, and a strategy guide to how to complete 9: The Dark Side.

The Sims FreePlay is a life simulation game from Electronic Arts for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The Sims have returned to the App Store, and you have to make sure they’re on the right path to having a successful life. Having control over lives may not be the easiest task, but with Gamezebo’s quick start guide, you’ll have all the tips, tricks and walkthroughs necessary to stay on top of things.

Modern War is the social game of military domination! Build a phenomenal military base, forge relationships with allies, and use your strength to destroy your enemies while looting and destroying their bases. There are over three hundred different missions to complete, with over one hundred powerful units on the air, sea and ground. Gamezebo’s quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.

Snow is on the ground. Shops are filled with Christmas music. And you probably still have a lot of shopping yet to do. Yep, the holidays are almost here. Seriously, Christmas is next weekend. How crazy is that? The week before the week before the big day wasn't especially busy in terms of gaming news, but there were still plenty of notable stories. Thankfully, we've got this handy round-up of all the week's news so you can make sure you don't miss a thing.