Gamezebo Archives - March 2012

The annual Game Developer’s Conference took place in San Francisco earlier this month, and as always, dished up a whirlwind of game announcements and other exciting news. One studio that happened to be on hand was Montreal’s Gamerizon, better known as the team behind the popular Chop Chop series. They were there to show off their upcoming sequel Chop Chop Ninja World, but while chatting with Gamezebo, there was another announcement they were keen to let us in on. As it turns out, a Chop Chop Ninja cartoon series is in the works for the Canadian cartoon network Teletoon.

Nat Geo Games is at it again, and with the help of Polish designer PlayWay, has taken a famous historical event and transformed it into what looks to be an immersive gaming experience. This time, the company’s upcoming Titanic: Unsolved Mystery will allow players to enter the world’s first “ocean floor museum” (the remains of the Titanic having been surrounded in a large dome and now being available to tour) where they’ll find the ability to travel back and forth through time to uncover the remaining mysteries of the doomed ocean liner.

It’s been a long wait for Android users, but after months of wading through phony apps claiming to be Temple Run, the real deal has finally arrived. As of this morning, Imangi Studios’ Indiana Jones-meets-Canabalt endless runner is available as a free download on Google Play.

Peter Griffin suggested it, and now Rovio has confirmed it: the Bird is the Word. In a mere three days following its release on March 22, Angry Birds Space, the latest entry in the highly popular (and highly lucrative) physics puzzle series, reached ten million downloads. That's a whole lot of furious flying fowl, but what comes next for Rovio's rock stars?

Words With Friends is a hit, and for good reason. Scrabble aficionados and casual players alike have flocked to this game. While Words With Friends takes a lot cues from the classic word game (to the point where it often feels like a blatant ripoff), it's constant one-on-one setting and it's friendly approach make it easy to pick up and play. While light on features, most word buffs and novices will find enjoyment in this title.

Oh no, Apple you dUDIDn’t! Kim Mai Cutler at Techcrunch is reporting that Apple is starting to reject apps that access the UDIDs, which is essentially the identification number that is unique to every iPhone and iPad.

This is a meaningful development for game companies and players because the UDID is the key for how games and apps make money. Think of UDID as your phone or tablet’s fingerprint. Mobile ad, game network, and analytics company use the UDID to target ads, save game data, and track usage. Take away the UDID, and it’s no longer business as usual in the world of mobile games.

The upcoming The Supernauts promises cross-platform, free-to-play action in a superhero world where problems are solved not by punching bad guys into a stupor but by working together and sharing content in a colorful, vaguely Minecraft-like environment.

We can all use a little more magic in our lives. We can also use a little more in the way of imps, adventure, shaggy beasts of burden, little horned heroes, and vitamin D. Atomic Chimp has started a Kickstarter in hopes of funding its multi-genre fantasy game, Feeble's Fable. With a little luck and some generosity, Feeble's Fable will give us the magic, monsters, and heroism we crave--but not the vitamin D. You're on your own for that one.

You couldn’t go anywhere over the last few weeks without hearing about The Hunger Games. From non-stop TV ads to countless articles to seemingly everyone you know chatting about it, anticipation for The Hunger Games movie hit epic proportions. It was like the last episode of Seinfeld, the Superbowl, and the moon landing all rolled into one.

Hidden object games have taken Facebook by storm over the last year, and they were all the rage with casual PC crowd for the last decade or so before that. But you know what hidden object game is truly timeless? The one that takes place in the wild between predator and prey. Animals have a natural camouflage to protect themselves – and I’m not just talking chameleons – so what better subject could there be for a hidden object hunt?

When GREE promised to come storming into the US App Store, they weren’t kidding. After the recent release of Zombie Jombie, the company has just launched their newest game, Alien Family. At this rate the App Store will be populated with nothing but GREE games by the end of the year.

RPGs have been one of the few iOS genres that can emulate the quality of major console releases like Final Fantasy Tactics and Chaos Rings II. Because of this, they sometimes command major prices (up to nearly $20 for the aforementioned titles). By contrast, Digital Tales’ Battleloot Adventure aims to present an engaging turn-based RPG for a budget price. Aside from a few issues, it delivers bang for the buck.

Kate Reed, the prosaically named novelist/heroine of the House of 1000 Doors series, has become a “house hunter.” Not that I blame her, as the Alawar Five-BN team’s latest installment, House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster, is a metaphysical treat for players. The game itself functions like a crystal ball of hidden-object tropes, giving us a glimpse into the past by employing the founding conventions of the genre, yet reminding us of how sophisticated we’ve become by fully realizing those conventions.

The village of Rosemount has a problem. For years, it's been beset by a vile witch with an unhealthy liking for cold and snow. Worse yet, it's burdened with a series of foolish individuals who against all logic, seem bent on helping said witch send the village back to the ice age. In Living Legends: Ice Rose, you play a young woman determined to save her gullible beau from becoming the latest of this icy enchantress's willing thralls.

If you watched the Blade Trilogy and found yourself rooting for the vampires, I will never forgive you for betraying Wesley Snipes. But also, there is a game on Google+ waiting for you. Thirst of Night asks "what would happen if bloodsuckers took over the world?" and provides the answer with a strategy game that puts you in charge of a vampiric kingdom. But does the game have the lifeblood to survive, or does it just suck?

Welcome to the quick start guide for Enchanted Realm, a kingdom simulation from Game Insight International.

When you think of Rob Halford, you think of Judas Priest. And when you think of Judas Priest, you think of one thing: heavy metal. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if, instead of becoming a rock god, Rob Halford decided to make casual games? What if instead of Judas Priest, he gave us BeJeweledas Priest? That, in a nutshell, is Skull Smasher.

Earlier in the week, we reported that social games giant 6waves Lolapps laid off most of its internal development staff (essentially, the "Lolapps" half of "6waves Lolapps") in order to re-focus on its efforts on publishing third-party games. Hang on tight, 'cause the earth's still moving: on Friday, Arjun Sethi, the former CEO of Lolapps, announced on his blog that he's leaving 6waves Lolapps entirely.

You’ve built impossibly high towers that strain all laws of architecture and touch the very face of God. You’ve managed cities that sprawl for miles and operate so efficiently that you’re probably qualified to be mayor of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago at the same time. But have you ever cultivated a tree so huge and magical that unicorns live among its branches? Didn’t think so, hot shot. But soon you’ll get your chance with Tree World.

Welcome to the Yesterday walkthrough on Gamezebo. Yesterday is a point-and-click adventure game played on PC, Mac and iPad, created by Pendulo Studios. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints, and a strategy guide on how to complete Yesterday.