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Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.
  • Last Life is ‘Kentucky Route Zero in space’
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    • PC
    Last Life is ‘Kentucky Route Zero in space’

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    At least that's how it was described to me in a tweet from Andrew Webster, former Gamezebo editor and current scribe at The Verge. And after hearing a description like that, there was no way around it: I just had to learn more.Now on Kickstarter, Last Life is a murder mystery with a twist:The murder you're trying to solve is your own."LAST LIFE is a sci-fi noir adventure game for PC, Mac and Linux about a transhumanist colony on Mars," reads the official Kickstarter page. "When a murdered detective is 3D printed back into existence, he reopens his last case to uncover what he missed--a hunt that reveals AI corruption, corporate espionage, and the conspiracy that may have led to Earth's doom."If that sounds as incredible to you as it does to me, you're not alone. The folks at Double Fine happen to agree with us, so much so that Last Life has become the second game to earn the "Double Fine Presents," distinction - an initiative that Tim Schafer & Co. have launched to help raise the visibility of deserving indie games that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. 
  • Civilization: Beyond Earth – because strategy games belong in space
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    • PC
    Civilization: Beyond Earth – because strategy games belong in space

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    You know who's great making PAX East announcements? Firaxis. Last year the studio used the Boston convention to announce the mobile port of XCOM: Enemy Unknown which, yes, managed to live up to the lofty promises they'd made. This year, they decided to go one step further and announce the next entry in everyone's favorite strategy series, Civilization.Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth will take players on a journey into the stars for the very first time (unless you count 1999's spin-off Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, which the devs of Beyond Earth love, but stressed they're going in their "own direction" from in a conversation with Kotaku).Following a series of events that Firaxis refers to as "The Great Mistake," the Earth is looking a little rough around the edges. As a result, humanity sets off to colonize a strange new world. Unlike past games in the series that draw from history, Beyond Earth will be about making choices to shape humanity's future. 
  • BREAKFINITY’s monetization is brilliant
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    • iOS
    BREAKFINITY’s monetization is brilliant

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    When developing a free-to-play game, there's one question every developer faces: how is it going to make money? In-app purchases are one way to go. Ad revenue is another. In many cases, you'll see a mix of both. Phil Hassey's BREAKFINITY is no exception - but it's the way he balances the two that makes it so compelling.BREAKFINITY is what would happen if Breakout or Arkanoid were an endless runner. Players will clear just enough blocks to see their ball move up to the next stage in a never-ending quest for points. You'll only get one ball, but - and here's where things get interesting - you can buy more with premium currency OR get a free ball by watching a video advertisement. You can get two free balls every game in this manner, but since it caps out at two there's still a sense of competition. Your high score is going to be based on those combined three balls alone, not upsetting the leaderboards (unless you want to buy more with premium currency, of course).Plenty of other games provide incentives for watching video advertisements, but the reward usually comes in the form of premium currency, and it's often balanced in a way that prevents you from exploiting the system and raising an infinite amount of in-game cash by watching an afternoon of commercials. BREAKFINITY goes in the opposite direction - watching a quick 15 second video is BREAKFINITY's answer to "insert coin to continue." The more you play, the more ad dollars Phil Hassey gets. It's a win/win.But is it working?
  • This Week in China: Fruity Robo 3
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    This Week in China: Fruity Robo 3

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    I won't lie - that was a fun headline to type. I don't know what a "Fruity Robo 3" is, and there's a good chance that you don't either. But if you're in China, there's a very good chance you do - and you're no doubt excited to learn that it's about to be adapted into the mobile game Three Kingdoms of Fruit.What does it all mean? Read on to find out the answer to that and other questions, like "is Capcom looking for Chinese investment to enter the market?," and "how do the Chinese feel about Papaya?"Thanks again to Laohu.com for sharing the top stories out of China this week. For a daily dose of Chinese gaming news, be sure to bookmark Laohu.com.  
  • The Wolf Among Us: Episode 3 – A Crooked Mile Review
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    The Wolf Among Us: Episode 3 – A Crooked Mile Review

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    The first two episodes of The Wolf Among Us got me thinking about how interactive media can transcend games. After all, Telltale's take on the world of Fables plays more like an interactive film than a traditional point-click-adventure.With episode three, a new thought dawned on me: as much as Telltale's approach to the medium can reinvent the way we tell stories, The Wolf Among Us is an equally brilliant example of how well suited this new form of storytelling is to mysteries.Picking up where the cliffhanger in Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors left off, my initial thoughts weren't of what's next, but what came before. I found myself piecing together the bits and pieces of information I'd been fed, weighing them against the narrative, and starting to draw my own conclusions. Do I think their suspect is the guilty party? Why or why not? What evidence have I been shown to support it? And if I don't think they are, what do the clues that have been revealed tell me about who the real killer might be?It's the digital equivalent of an Agatha Christie novel.
  • Osmos made a cameo on The Simpsons this week
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    • iOS
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    Osmos made a cameo on The Simpsons this week

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    It's been a few years since it first launched, but if you dust off your ol' memory box, I'm sure you'll find plenty of happy ones from your time with Hemisphere Games' 2009 masterpiece Osmos. The game was later ported to mobile devices, winning Apple's iPad Game of the Year award in 2010 - and, it would seem, the hearts and minds of The Simpsons show writers.The internet was abuzz this week with talk of this week's Minecraft couch gag on The Simpsons, but a voxelized Springfield wasn't the only indie gaming nod on this week's show. About halfway through the episode, when Milhouse learns that Bart has plenty of stolen goods - including Milhouse's iPad - Bart suggests he relax to the soothing sounds of "this bubble game."We reached out to Hemisphere Games to see how this collaboration came about, and it turns out they were just as surprised as we were."We had no idea The Simpsons cameo was coming," Hempishere's Eddy Boxerman told Gamezebo. "Our jaws dropped in disbelief when we caught wind of it! As a few friends have said (and who are we to disagree?) 'It's official -- Osmos is pop culture now!'"
  • Transistor gets dated: coming May 20th
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    • PC
    Transistor gets dated: coming May 20th

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    Remember that time you fell in love with Bastion? Get ready, because it might just happen all over again. Supergiant Games today confirmed the launch date of their second big release: Transistor will be hitting PC and PS4 on May 20, 2014.Player's will take up the role of Red, a young girl with a mighty big weapon as she fights her way through a gorgeous sci-fi cityscape. The game's official site promises that Transistor "seamlessly integrates thoughtful strategic planning into a fast-paced action experience, melding responsive gameplay and rich atmospheric storytelling." If that doesn't whet your whistle, I don't know what will.Can't wait another five weeks? If you're making your way up to Boston, Supergiant will be showing off a near-final build of the game at PAX East this weekend. Be sure to pay them a visit at Booth 892.
  • Mikey Boots is the next game from Mikey Shorts, Mikey Hooks creators
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    • Android
    • iOS
    Mikey Boots is the next game from Mikey Shorts, Mikey Hooks creators

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    With two critically acclaimed platformers under their belt, it was only a matter of time until they gave us a third. BeaverTap Games, the creators of Mikey Shorts and Mikey Hooks have just released the teaser trailer for their next game, Mikey Boots.As you can probably guess from the name, Mikey Boots will add some cool new footwear mechanics to all of the running, hooking and sliding you're used to. Judging from the trailer, this means ROCKET BOOTS.My apologies for the 'all caps' nature of that statement, but you try typing ROCKET BOOTS in lower case. It's scientifically impossible.They're keeping a tight lid on further details right now, but that doesn't mean that BeaverTap Games doesn't have more good news to share. Mikey Hooks also launched on Android today. To celebrate this momentous occassion, the game is on sale for 50% off on both Android and iOS.If you haven't played Mikey Hooks yet, you should fix that immediately.