Gamezebo Archives - May 2012

People often lament the fact that Nintendo won’t put any of their IP on the App Store. I mean, how great would it to play quick spurts of WarioWare on your iPhone, or hop online for MarioKart on the iPad!? Better yet, what kinds of experiences could a stellar team like the Big N’s cook up if only they were willing to go mobile? Well, thanks to games like Mega Run - Redford’s Aventure, I don’t much care. I’ve got all the polished, whimsical mobile gaming I need.

Ever notice how, in a lot of racing games, you fly through the air almost as much as you drive on a surface? I mean, it’s easy to understand why: flinging your car through the air is fun, while driving on roads is for old people. Fortunately, Bounty Racer is an iOS racing game that gives you plenty of airtime with the help of some uneven dirt roads. Yee-haw!

The argument against cloning is a muddled one. While some games are flagrant in their mimicry of other works, others merely toe the line and leave people debating whether or not they're shameless copies. Zombie Swipeout fromZynga falls into the latter camp, offering a style of gameplay that's reminiscent – but not wholly derivative – of App Store titan Fruit Ninja. Not to mention the whole zombie thing. That's certainly different.

I love hidden object games, but I admit I'm not crazy about their general lack of narrative finesse. The majority of them are entirely item-driven, built on the idea of collecting items and figuring out where to use them. Persha Studia's new hidden object adventure, Tesla's Tower: The Wardenclyffe Mystery is a great game because it does what so many titles in the genre do not: it goes beyond using popular hidden object mechanics for their own sake, and puts them to work telling a good story.

Welcome to the Top Secret Finders walkthrough on Gamezebo. Top Secret Finders is a hidden object adventure game played on the PC created by Vendel Games. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints, and a strategy guide on how to complete Top Secret Finders.

Since its inception, the Humble Bundle has increasingly become the hub for the “who’s who” of indie gaming, offering oodles of great games for a set-your-own-price point you just can’t resist. And personally, during the release of Humble Bundle IV, I thought it couldn’t get any better (I mean, come on, Bit.Trip Runner and Machinarium!?). How foolish of me. How very, very foolish.

Gameloft's Fashion Icon takes the Top Girl RPG and brings it to iPad, with lavish graphics and a minor gameplay twist. Most Top Girl games are about hunting down the best clothes and serving your rivals, but Fashion Icon adds in the idea that you're a fashion blogger at large in Paris.

Everyone likes discount prices on games. Sales let developers get their game noticed, while consumers get games without damaging their pocketbook. We love how affordable great downloadable games can get through bundles, so we’ve been happy to let everyone know when a new indie bundle shows up.

Welcome to the Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen walkthrough on Gamezebo. Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen is a hidden object adventure game created by Eipix. This walkthrough includes tips and tricks, helpful hints, and a strategy guide on how to complete Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen.

Ah, graduation. A time of accomplishment, success, freedom, and really cheap indie games. Wait, what? You heard right! So while you’re marching down the rows to Pomp and Circumstance, worried about where your future will take you, Indie Royale is here to ensure that expensive games won’t be one of your worries.

Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here. Oh, wait! That’s because it’s May! That’s right folks – spring has fully sprung, the temperatures are up, and summer weather is right around the corner. But while you’ve been outside playing in your garden, you’ve missed a ton of great games. How great? Really great. And if you don’t believe me, check out our picks for Games of the Month below!

When faced with a sequel, it’s become a default criticism in the gaming world to cast aside consistent follow-ups: “Unfortunately, it just didn’t add any new gameplay.” That word “new.” Like a non-negotiable bar. And yet in the case of a game like Little Things Forever, whose serene hunt-and-find style is based on the nostalgia of analog games like Where’s Waldo, the essence of play is very much making what’s old, new again.

Let it not be said I have no love for Atlus. They extended online play for Demon’s Souls, and for that they shall forever hold a place dear in my heart. Unfortunately, their latest attempt to infiltrate the freemium arena has been less fruitful. BattleSpace talks the talk, but this uninspired social adventure simply isn’t firing on all thrusters.

Ready for a game where you skateboard your way through dangerous locales gathering pieces of a fallen meteorite so you can harness its power for... something? Jump over spikes, grind dinosaur bones, and skate through warehouses. Extreme Skater doesn’t seem to try and make any of that makes sense, instead focusing on the tilt and trick controls to provide a compelling experience. Do they stick the landing, or crash and burn?

Some things go together incredibly well. Chocolate and peanut butter. Milk and cookies. Flintstones and Jetsons. The same holds true in the world of video games, and that's great news for developer Bitongo's Soctics League. It boldly combines elements of soccer and air hockey, resulting in something a little more strategy-heavy than either of its counterparts. Also, far less dangerous. Have you ever been hit in the head with a soccer ball? Ouch.

Subway Surfers is an endless runner game for mobile devices. All you want to do is tag and collect coins, but the police are none to happy with your hobbies. You’ll need to traverse subway tracks to escape the police and collect as many coins as possible. Gamezebo’s quick start guide is here to help you with tips, tricks, and walkthroughs that will surely help you achieve your goals.

Can a squirrel take down a rampaging gorilla? It’s possible, if he has the power of music on his side. Mad Acorn is a rhythm/action game for iOS that combines funky beats with a sense of humor and general good times. Fans of Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven games or Sony’s PaRappa the Rapper might find a lot to like about this one.

Before diving in to Ghost Recon Commander, I was conflicted. On one hand, it had the right pedigree behind it. Not only was developer Loot Drop headed by industry veterans John Romero (you know, the guy that made that Doom game?) and Brenda Garno Brathwaite (Ravenwood Fair), but they were both massive fans of the series. On the other hand, it was Ghost Recon. How well could it work on Facebook? Spoiler alert: very.

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.

So you’ve been destroying the Pygmies of Pocket God as frequently and casually as mosquitoes on a hot summer afternoon. Over forty unique additions and updates to the series have brought your omnipotent power to islands, underwater, space, and time, but Bolt Creative’s newest update brings the islanders where no Pygmy has gone before: