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Post a reply << Go BackTopic: Any other gaming websites similar to shockwave?
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That is a very good question!!! I would love to know that also. Well there is Gamehouse but you have to pay $19.95 a month then there is Pogo where you pay $5.99 a month but those are the only ones I know. Oh and there is Boxerjam where you pay a monthly fee and you play games also, like Crosswire and Dingbats. But those are the only sites I know of. I wish I knew more.
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I have or have had I think every gaming subscription deal. here are my opinions on them--
Gamehouse: Atrocious customer service. Well, actually NO customer service. I was a paying member of their club for over a year when they went to the newest gameclub deal. After they did that, I evaluated it and decided that I did not want to be a full-time member and paying every single month, and I tried to cancel. It did not allow me to cancel at that point on the site, and I shot off an email to customer service that was very clear in my disappointment and feeling that as a long-term customer I was being ignored. Didn't work, since they ignored me after that for a very long time. Finally I *think* I was able to cancel a couple weeks ago. I would not go back to them now for anything.
Shockwave: I quit shockwave after being with them for a long while, and I went to Gamehouse instead. At that time, which again was about 1-1/2 years ago, Shockwave seemed to be releasing a lot of crap every Tuesday and sometimes were late on their releases too. I waited it out for about 6 months, found Gamehouse, which looked good, and canceled shockwave. I never had a problem with Shockwave except for a lack of games that I really wanted. I think that lately they've done better with that. Their customer service I can't really comment on becuase I've never needed it or used it. I will say that my account was extremely easy to handle to sign up, manage, and eventually cancel, which means a lot. I've been looking at them again lately to maybe re-think.
I have a iWin membership that I'm disappointed in, but only because I seldom use their site. I feel that it's kind of unwieldy and their gameloader/interface is really slow. It's cheapish--based not on a subscription service like SW or GH, but for I think 6.99/month, I get a certain amount of their tokens, usually enough to buy a game. I believe they're also like Big Fish in that I can buy as many as I want a month at hte same price. I am disappointed in that I am under a contract and cannot cancel for at least a year. Thus far I just keep letting the forced tokens add up and check it once in a while--i really have not used it much.
PlayFirst--I have about the same thing, for a set monthly fee (I think it's 9.99), I get a game credit basically. The thing about PF and the reason I decided to sign up despite having a zillion other services is that they release certain games exclusively for a while, such as Wandering Willows, Westward, etc. I may not use it often, but for their original games like that, I almost always love them. They are always high quality, so I guess I don't mind it. Again, though, it's more of a once in a while thing.
Now the two that I have found are my favorites:
Big Fish--there have been some debates about them I know, but I definitely use them more than any other. I like that the games are always mine. I figured it up for the differences in the subscription service of GameHouse, which as you said was around $20/month. It's great to have that many games at once, but now I can't access any of the ones that I got from them, despite the fact that I'm sure my payments more than covered the costs of the games based on their current plan. To pay BF $20/month, I can get around 3 games, that will be mine, forever and forever, and I can always cancel. Since I do use them a lot, I keep my "membership" which just means that I get an automatic withdraw from PayPal for $6.99/month. Sometimes they pile up, but more often I spend the token and buy a couple more. I love that there is at least one new game released daily, and sometimes more--as a member I get the "tomorrow game" along with the "exclusive games."
When I first go my laptop, which is a Gateway, it came with a Gateway games console already downloaded. It works with Wild Coins, and at first I got a subscription service where some number of coins were downloaded. The way it works is that each game takes around 3-4 tokens. I kept the subscription and earned up to I think 400 coins and I am still playing them. I like this subscription because once in a while they have quality games. I hate the stupid games that are tied in with a movie--never good quality--and they do have those quite a bit, but there are usually a few really great ones in there too. I use it for games that I know I won't play over and over, such as if a game on here has a great review but the users/GZ say that it's short. I'm not usually one to replay games. I think I still have around 290. The first "trial" that you download of the games is great too--it's not timed. So you get to play your trial as long as you want--I just sometimes do not get enough out of the 60-minute trials if I'm distracted or if they're very slow to start, so that's worth a lot too.
Whew. I waste way too much money on this crap... lol but there ya go--my little reviews. I say that BF is the way to go. If I could cancel everything, I'd keep BF and probably my PlayFirst.
I have also played GameTap, which downloads all the older console and PC games that typically came either in things like the Nintendo or even Atari, and other PC games that were NOT intended for casual gaming like downloading. I was not happy with it. The games are just too large so the downloads took forever even with fast speed, and then they were pretty buggy.
Pogo used to have a nice online game section I used to get--I do love wordgames and for a while, their little online games like WordWhomp used to keep me entertained. I heard/read that they've had a shift from AOL, so I don't know if anything will have changed. I did not renew my subscription but I felt it was rather fair--around $30 a year. They have the advantage of having a large community so you could play with other people in games.
Hope this helps from a player perspective.
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I used to love Pogo's Word Riot and then one day it just disappeared.
Scribble thanks so much for all the great information.
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I used to love Pogo's Word Riot and then one day it just disappeared.
Scribble thanks so much for all the great information.
It looks like Pogo lost a lot of their games. I was trying to remember the one I was addicted to--it was the scrabble type game (but not scrabble--I hate their version of scrabble). It's not on there anymore either. :(
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Does anyone know what is due out on Shockwave?? How do we find out what games will be released on Tuesdays???
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Doglekim, usually we have to wait until 9am Pacific time US on Tuesday to find out what they are. We always eagerly await their posting. Every once in a while they will say on their web site that they will release another on on Thursday. They may also list one that is coming soon. But it is really just a wait until Tuesday morning.
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Scribble, check your Iwin account again. They changed it last month or so where there is no more commitment. I was to be finished my year in October or so, waited for one more debit after they changed to the no more commitment and canceled. No problem doing so, and they haven't charged me again. Maybe you can get out that way. IWin was ok, but lousy CS....took ages to get answers but finally got them so I would rate them better than GameHouse.
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GameHouse FunPass is the same as Shockwave Unlimited -- you pay a flat monthly fee and you can download and play all the games you want. However, it's more expensive than Shockwave. GameHouse FunPass is $19.99/month. They used to have an annual payment option though, at only $9.99/month.
I'm on Shockwave Unlimited right now, but I'm also trying out GameHouse FunPass, since they have some games that aren't on Shockwave. Here are some games on GH not found on SW (some are coming soon):
3Tones
10 Days To Save The World
Alabama Smith: Escape from Pompeii
Angela Young's Dream Adventure
Angela Young 2 - Escape the Dreamscape
Angkor
Animal Agents
Antique Shop
Aquapolis
Arctic Quest
Art Detective
Be A King
Becky Brogan - The Mystery of Meane Manor
Bob the Builder: Can-do Carnival
Bob the Builder: Can-do Zoo
Campfire Legends - The Hookman
Club Control
Bookworm Adventures: Fractured Fairytales
Bookworm™ Adventures - The Monkey King
Bugatron Worlds
Bumps
Delicious Deluxe
Detective Agency
Diego Dinosaur Rescue
EcoRescue - Project Rainforest
Emerald Tale
Faerie Solitaire
Fairy Godmother Tycoon
Fashion Apprentice
Frankenstein The Dismembered Bride
G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles - Phantom of the Renaissance Faire
G.H.O.S.T. Hunters - The Haunting of Majesty Manor
Gemsweeper
Hidden World of Art
Hostile Makeover - A Fashion Murder Mystery Game
Impact
Kelly Green - Garden Queen
Keys to Manhattan
Legacy - World Adventure
Legends of the Wild West - Golden Hill
Lego Chic Boutique
Lost Fortunes
Lovely Kitchen
LucyQ Deluxe
Magic Academy II
Magic Farm: Ultimate Flower
Mae Q'West and the Sign of the Stars
Marooned
Midnight Mysteries: Edgar Allan Poe
Musaic Box
Mystery Cookbook
Mystery P.I. - Lost in Los Angeles
Mysteryville 2
Nancy Drew® Dossier™ - Resorting to Danger
Nancy Drew - Phantom of Venice
Nancy Drew - Secret of the Scarlet Hand
Nancy Drew - The Creature of Kapu Cave
Nancy Drew - The Haunting of Castle Malloy
Nancy Drew - The Legend of the Crystal Skull
Night of the Scarecrows
Panda Craze Gold
Paradise Beach
Paranormal Agency
Picket Fences
Quantz
Relic Hunt
Romance of Rome
Sally's Quick Clips
Scuba in Aruba
Splendorvale Skies
Sky Kingdoms
Sprill - The Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle
Sushi To Go Express
The Conjurer
The History Channel - Lost Worlds
Three Cards to Midnight
TikiBar
Townopolis Gold
War Chess
World Adventure
World Mosaics 1
Zulu's Zoo
Zuma's RevengeThat's over 80 games on GameHouse which aren't on Shockwave. I'm subscribing for just one month (plus a 7-day free trial), and at the rate I play games, I'll probably get to finish quite a lot in that period of time! I figure although GameHouse FunPass is more expensive than Shockwave Unlimited, it's still cheaper than buying all these games individually at BigFish. So overall, quite a good deal for me.
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Between Shockwave Unlimited and Big Fish, I've been able to find almost every game I want to play. Shockwave games are very current, Pure Hidden and Build-A-Lot 4 were released before Big Fish released them. Since I don't replay most games, I don't mind that they aren't mine forever. Big Fish has the Mystery Case Files and Hidden Expedition games, while Shockwave has Mortimer Beckett and the Little Shop series. Between the two, I play all the games I want.
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I'm on Shockwave Unlimited right now, but I'm also trying out the GameHouse FunPass. There are quite a number of games available on Gamehouse that aren't on Shockwave, for example:
Amazing Heists - Dillinger, Animal Agents, Art Detective, Delicious Deluxe, Detective Agency, EcoRescue - Project Rainforest, Fashion Apprentice, G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles - Phantom of the Renaissance Faire, G.H.O.S.T. Hunters, Hidden World of Art, Insider Tales - The Stolen Venus, Keys to Manhattan, Lost Fortunes, LucyQ Deluxe, Mae Q'West and the Sign of the Stars, Marooned, Musaic Box, Mystery Cookbook, Mystery P.I. - Lost in Los Angeles, Mystery P.I. - The New York Fortune, Mystery P.I. - The Vegas Heist, Mysteryville 2, Nancy Drew - Phantom of Venice, Nancy Drew - Secret of the Scarlet Hand, Nancy Drew - The Haunting of Castle Malloy, Nancy Drew - The Legend of the Crystal Skull, Paranormal Agency, Pocahontas - Princess of the Powhatan, Relic Hunt, Sprill - The Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, The History Channel - Lost Worlds, Three Cards to Midnight.
That's 32 games that I downloaded which aren't on Shockwave. I'm subscribing for just one month (plus a 7-day free trial), and at the rate I play games, I'll probably get to finish all those in that period of time! FunPass is $19.99 for a month, much more expensive than Shockwave Unlimited. But it's still cheaper than buying all these games individually, so overall, still a good deal for me -- if only for a month.
I hope you don't have any problem cancelling at the end of the month. I have never tried Gamehouse because there were so many negative comments about them on this forum and others. My advice is to check your credit card statement to make sure they are not still charging you after you cancel and if they are, notify your credit card company immediately. Some people said they had to actually cancel their cards to get the charges to stop.
Good luck.
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I think Real Arcade is okay... but not great. I usually cancel after about 6 months or so because they only release a few games each week. But I agree with everyone else about Big Fish... they are the best ones out there! I've had my subscription with them forever and am never dissapointed. Actually, I believe they are coming out with their new "Big Sea Games" community tomorrow (to replace the older version of their Community Games section). According to their news section, it will have all new updates to alot of their online games... like my fav, Farm 51 is going to be replaced with a newer one called Farm 52 (I think?) and then you will also get to customize your own avatar, along with some other new features as well. Can't wait to go play the new Farm 52 tomorrow though!
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I love that game! -
I go to mostfun and you can play a lot of their games for free untimed. You just have to watch a 15 second ad every once in a while. Not a lot of ads during play.
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I'm on WildTangent by the HP Game Console; its website is http://wildgames.com. WildCoins are 14–20¢ for a 2–12-month subscription at $20–84.
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I belong to Shockwave, Big Fish, and Gamehouse as of now. Shockwave was my first, through their jigsaws on a photo site. Then my ISP, our local phone co, came out with their Zoomtown Plus, which included shockwave. Now I got a notice that they are discontinuing their plus program for other stuff. I wrote shockwave re: whether I could keep my curren t acct and when I needed to start paying, but have received no response. Usually I get some kind of answer, but not this time. Does anyone know a phone # for them? I don't want to lose my subscription.
Their response to problems is ok if it is a simple concrete issue, but I had to wait years until we just got a new computer to download fishdom, as I could never get it to work on my older xp computer and received no answer that actually helped.
I have had terrific service from BigFish in the 6 weeks or so that I have belonged. The best I have received on the net for any issue, actually. Game House did follow up on a problem I had recently.
As I am a disabled person with fibromyalgia and starting arthritis, I do wish these places gave longer trials, as I am so much slower than average. Only shockwave does that I know of. Thanks for any info anyone can provide. Have a wonderful day!
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Just a heads up -- the Annual Funpass is available again on GameHouse. It comes out much cheaper! The monthly payment option is $19.99 but if you go for the annual payment option, it goes down to $9.99 a month (although, just like Shockwave, you have to pay the full 12 months up front).
I did the 7-day free trial, then I did the monthly $19.99 Funpass, but I was so pleased with it, I decided to cancel the monthly plan and re-subscribe with the annual plan.
To find the link for Annual FunPass, go to GameHouse's front page, scroll down to the text links at the bottom and click on "Site Map". On that page you'll see "FunPass Annual" listed among the first few links.
I'm still subscribed to Shockwave Unlimited's annual plan as well, but lately I've become impatient waiting for their releases (they usually get their games weeks or months later than other game portals). I also buy from Big Fish, especially for their exclusives.
Recently, I've noticed that GameHouse has been releasing pretty good exclusives too (Conjurer, Marooned, Campfire Legends Hookman, and the upcoming Mortimer Beckett 3) and they're not too far behind BFG in releasing the latest games. So to me, I'm finding GH FunPass a great compromise between SW Unlimited's low-priced "play-all-you-can" buffet and BFG's fresh new releases.
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IWin has a subscription service now called Club IWin All Access. It's $9.99/month, but it doesn't look like you to have commit to a year contract.
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That's great new Zborno! Glad that more and more game portals are giving us this "play-all-you-want" option!
I checked out the Club iWin All Access service and something puzzles me about the fine print:
Club iWin All Access members must be online to play games
All Access members will be billed monthly $9.99 until cancellation
Customers who join Club iWin All Access will pay a monthly charge of $9.99 and receive unlimited access to play over 800 downloadable games as long as their membership is active. Members simply download any game that they wish to play, and that's it! Members must be online to activate the games that have been downloaded and then can play those games offline for up to 24 hours. In addition, Club iWin All Access members can purchase games at low club prices at anytime - most games are $6.99 or less.Other benefits:
At least 20 new games every month
Play all you want, ad free
Sneak Peeks on all iWin-developed games
Double Opals for playtime on purchased games
500 Opals for every game you purchase
Steals and Deals with games at up to 75% off list priceSo does this mean that we can only play each game for 24 hours? Why put a limit? For hidden object games that's no big deal, as they only take a couple of hours to finish. But for the arcade, strategy, match 3, building, farming, RPG and simulation games, I think we should be allowed to play as long as we wish.
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Browsing around the iWin site some more, I came across this category:
Purchase Only Games
Purchase Games are not available for rental or All Access
http://www.iwin.com/categories/games/purchase-onlyOn that list are all their most popular games, exclusives and large file games. Now that's a kicker, which spoils everything. No deal for me.
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Any other gaming websites similar to shockwave?
Report as InappropriatePosted on 07/16/09, 02:00pm