Gamezebo Archives - April 2012

Whether it’s stories of painful, 1000-device optimization issues or tales of woe about marketplace obscurity, there’s no denying that Android has a... questionable rep among developers. In a recent post on their company blog, however, TinyCo’s Director of Business Development Jennifer Lu sought to take one Android stat out to pasture with some figures from the company’s latest release Tiny Village.

World Without End is an accurate name for the strategy role-playing game that’s currently being put together by Marvel and DC artist/writer, Steve Uy. It takes place on a seamless world map that’s crawling with fantastic monsters and scenery that looks like it was cut straight from a comic book—a truly boundless universe. There’s nothing to stop you or slow you down as you explore the vast overworld, aside from the critters and ghouls that are waiting to ambush you and turn your party into a meal.

Any bozo can throw a punch—and to be frank, lots of bozos love to do so with reckless abandon—but do you have what it takes to dish out a swing that’s beyond a mere peasant’s punch? Do you have what it takes to be a Punch Hero? Gamevil’s upcoming iOS boxing game will give you a chance to demonstrate what you can do when your fists are in the gloves.

Last week, I was fortunate to speak on a panel of Ottawa mobile game industry professionals for the city's regular meet-up of the IGDA. Joined by Magmic's Joshua Ostrowalker, Jeff Bacon of Bitheads, and Matthew Strentse from Iversoft, I offered my perspective on some of the ins and outs of developing for phones and tablets. Perhaps the biggest theme that popped up during the night was the hard truth: there is no surefire strategy for success in mobile.

The upcoming movie Battleship appears to take space battles and put them in the water. Stellar Impact, available now on Steam, does the opposite: It turns multiplayer sci-fi skirmishes into something approximating naval combat thanks to the elimination of that pesky third dimension.

It’s time to finish the fight. Oh wait, that was Halo 3.

7:30 PM: All right, I think I’ve gotten the hang of Polymer. I’ve unlocked all three modes, played each one to death, and made some pretty awesome shapes. I’m really digging this “chess meets LEGO” vibe. I should have all the notes I need to finish this review...unless. Maybe just one more game?

12:30AM: File. New Document.

The last time I saw a cat fired at high altitudes, it was during an unpleasant experience with the unfortunately popular and grotesque Kitten Cannon browser game. Fortunately, Loqheart’s Cannon Cat is here to clear that travesty by revealing how positive and adorable a skybound kitten should be. With some of the best cannon-blast gameplay since Donkey Kong Country, Cannon Cat is as entertaining as it is charming.

If you thought DeNA’s deal with Disney was their last big expansion, you’d better think again. With recent announcements from both Kabam and Nimblebit in partnership with the DeNA-owned Mobage social gaming network, one of Android’s largest social gaming services is bound to get even larger.

Armies of Magic is a game developed by Playdom in which you must defend your kingdom from the goblin threat. Gamezebo’s Armies of Magic strategy guide and walkthrough will provide you with a quick start guide, tips, tricks, hints and cheats to help you come out victorious in battle.

It’s considered games journalism taboo to openly admit this in your work, but I think it’s an important fact to note: I’m not crazy about most modern first-person shooters. I hate getting picked off by snipers from the other side of the screen in a matter of seconds. I hate the infantile wailing of prepubescent children talking smack over a headset. I hate having to invest $60+ every year keeping up with yearly releases.

Tribes: Ascend is none of these things.

Secrets of the Seas: Flying Dutchman may look like your average tale of ghostly pirates on the high seas, but its great use of color makes the game very visually appealing, and its linear, laid back challenge will appeal to those looking for more casual entertainment than difficulty. Can you help the trapped souls on the Flying Dutchman before you are lost forever among them?

Welcome to the Nightmares from the Deep: Cursed Heart walkthrough on Gamezebo. Nightmares from the Deep: Cursed Heart is a Hidden Object Game created by Artifex Mundi. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints and a strategy guide on how to complete Nightmares from the Deep: Cursed Heart.

Considering its proliferation of stationary shooters, it’s no great leap for Glu to enter the hunting arena. iOS makes a great platform for the genre, and with Deer Hunter Reloaded the publisher makes a suitable marriage between social-gaming conventions and a trip to the virtual outback.

We cover plenty of new games here at Gamezebo every week, but the number of games we’ve already covered that show up on new platforms? It’s staggering. Starting this Wednesday and continuing every week, we’ll be rounding up the games that aren’t quite new, but might be new to you depending on your platform of choice.

Welcome to the Puppet Show: Return to Joyville walkthrough on Gamezebo. Puppet Show: Return to Joyville is a hidden object/adventure game created by ERS Game Studios. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints, and a strategy guide to how to complete Puppet Show: Return to Joyville.

How big a fan of Super Mario Brothers are you? Probably not as big as Johan Peitz, founder of Free Lunch Games. In this year’s entry for the Ludem Dare 24 Hour Challenge, he created The Super Mario Summary. It’s a recreation of the original Super Mario but on a single screen.

Check out and play The Super Mario Summary free online. While you are at it, check out Johan Peitz’s free online entry from last year, Bathos. Not bad for 48 hours of work. . .

Kudos to David Kaye and the excellent Game Insiders Group he manages for this tip.

Someday, years from now, when your granddaughter asks, "Where were you when the aliens invaded?" you'll have to admit that you were horsing around somewhere out in space and missed the whole thing. But then you came back and did what you could to rescue a few survivors in Razor Salvation, a new shooter that promises to serve up some of the hottest mobile visuals ever seen.

Over the last year or so, we’ve seen plenty of genres that aren’t traditionally social make the jump to Facebook with pretty great results. Hidden object games are a good example of this. So are role-playing games. And now, thanks to Playdom’s Armies of Magic, we can add side-scrolling defense to that list.

Welcome the Criminal Minds walkthrough on Gamezebo. Criminal Minds is a hidden object adventure game created by Legacy Games. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints, and a strategy guide on how to complete Criminal Minds.