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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.
  • Super Hexagon creator releases Flappy Bird clone, and it’s fantastic
    News
    • PC
    Super Hexagon creator releases Flappy Bird clone, and it’s fantastic

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    Stop the competition. Close the internet. The clone wars are over. If you've been wondering which half-assed Flappy Bird knock off was going to rise to the top, you can stop wondering - Terry Cavanagh doesn't half-ass things.The creator of the equally difficult "five seconds and your dead" game Super Hexagon, Cavanagh has just released Maverick Bird: A Flappy Bird Fan Game. It's dripping with both style and substance, pays homage to its inspiration, and does exactly what a good "me too!" game should: it improves on the formula.Maverick Bird is just like Flappy Bird, and yet it's so much better.
  • The real reason Flappy Bird is gone: you wouldn’t stop playing it
    News
    • Android
    • iOS
    The real reason Flappy Bird is gone: you wouldn’t stop playing it

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    There has been a lot of speculation about why Flappy Bird was removed from the App Store and Google Play by its creator on Sunday. At the time, we were left with some cryptic tweets that led many to believe the game's success had given him a nervous breakdown.But in his first interview since removing the game, Dong Nguyen reveals his true motivations for killing the Bird. It wasn't a mental health breakdown - it was a crisis of conscience."Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," Nguyen told Forbes. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."In a world where most developers are trying to figure out how to make their games more addictive, Nguyen finds himself swimming upstream like a salmon. Whether you agree with his decision or not, you've got to be impressed by a man who lives by his principles to that degree.
  • The #3 game on the App Store is using stolen assets
    News
    • iOS
    The #3 game on the App Store is using stolen assets

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    When Flappy Bird creator Dong Ngyuen pulled the game from sale earlier this week, the race was on to see which clone would replace its 'inspiration' and take the throne in the #1 slot. After all, nature abhors a vacuum. That's probably why the top three games on the App Store right now all look and play somewhat similar to Flappy Bird.And the game in third place? It looks awfully familiar. And I think I know why.We've all somehow accepted that game concepts are going to be copied on the App Store - especially when they're proven to work. And to a certain degree, you've got to wonder where the line between "copycat" and "inspired by" can really be drawn. I've made the argument before that if we didn't allow similar games, first-person shooters would have stopped at Wolfenstein 3-D. Platformers would have stopped at Super Mario Bros. So on some weird level, we can forgive Flappy Bee for being a slimy "me too" entry in the race to mimic Flappy Bird. What we can't forgive, however, is using somebody else's assets without their permission. And the bee in Flappy Bee's marketing? It would be hard to deny that it's also the bee from Bee Leader. I see it. You see it. And the developer of Bee Leader, Flightless, definitely sees it.
  • Meet the bikes of Trials Frontier
    News
    • iOS
    Meet the bikes of Trials Frontier

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    Ubisoft's upcoming Trials Frontier is revving up for release this spring, but that doesn't mean you can't catch an early glimpse of the sweet hogs you'll be riding. Ubisoft has shared some new videos and images exclusively with Gamezebo to give you a taste of the different choppers you'll get to saddle up on later this year.This is just a taste, mind you - while they're not committing to a number quite yet, you can expect more than the four bikes you're meeting today. But enough chatter - it's time to see these bad boys in action!
  • The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 – Smoke and Mirrors Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    • PC
    The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 – Smoke and Mirrors Review

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    Don't you hate when a TV series ends its season (or mid-season) on a cliffhanger? It keeps you on the edge of your seat for months, and you just want to throw your remote through the TV. Telltale Games creates a similar fury in me with every single game they release. And The Wolf Among Us is no different.Finally available after a bit of a delay (and nearly four months after Episode 1: Faith), Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors continues the story of Bigby Wolf, sheriff of Fabletown, as he investigates a pair of beheadings that have occurred in the Fable community.What's a Fable? If you have to ask that, we suggest you stop reading this review now and go play Episode 1 (or even better, go read Bill Willingham's award-winning comic Fables that provides The Wolf Among Us its setting). Here's the short version for those not interested in taking our advice: due to some unseemly shenanigans, the characters that populate fairy tales had to escape their world to live in ours. They live normal lives masquerading as humans, but mostly try to keep to their own kind, aka Fables.
  • Still have Flappy Bird installed? Your phone could be worth big bucks
    News
    • Android
    • iOS
    Still have Flappy Bird installed? Your phone could be worth big bucks

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    You might think that everyone who had even the slightest inkling of interest in playing Flappy Bird would already have the game installed on their phones, but if the auctions on eBay today are anything to go by, that doesn't appear to be the case.First reported by USA Today, thousands of auctions for phones with the game installed on it have sprung up in the hours since Dong Nguyen removed Flappy Bird from the App Store and Google Play. And here's a twist you might not be expecting - some of them are actually getting bids.Or at least it looks that way at first glance.
  • Did a hacker just reveal how much Clash of Clans makes in a day?
    News
    • Android
    • iOS
    Did a hacker just reveal how much Clash of Clans makes in a day?

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    Clash of Clans is a big game. #2 top grossing on the App Store for more than a year big (and as of this writing, #1). $1.5 billion to get a 51% control of the company big. BIG big.But what does this "bigness" really translate to in terms of day-to-day dollars? According to one hacker, the answer is around $5 million a day.Last night, the official Clash of Clans Facebook page was hacked by someone using the name 'Ethical Spectrum.' After posting a quick message to confirm the hack, an image was posted that allegedly depicts Supercell's in-house analytics dashboard, which revealed a revenue of $5.15m for February 7, 2014.
  • Say goodbye to Flappy Bird: Creator says he’s taking the game down
    News
    • Android
    • iOS
    Say goodbye to Flappy Bird: Creator says he’s taking the game down

    By

    If you haven't gotten around to downloading Flappy Bird yet, you'd better get on that. By this time tomorrow, the app will be gone.Creator Dong Nguyen broke the news on Twitter less than an hour ago. While no specific reason has been given, it seems as though the overwhelming success/press coverage/hatred that the game has seen over the last few weeks has broken the man down completely."I am sorry Flappy Bird users. 22 hours from now, I will take Flappy Bird down," says Nguyen. "I just cannot take this anymore."In the tweets that followed, Nguyen goes on to say that it's not related to any legal issues, he's not looking to sell Flappy Bird, and that he still makes games.I suppose that overwhelming success really is overwhelming.