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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.
  • Jazzpunk might just have the greatest game trailer (that has nothing to do with its game) ever
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    • PC
    Jazzpunk might just have the greatest game trailer (that has nothing to do with its game) ever

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    Remember Johnny Mnemonic? Me too. In a career plagued by stinkers, Johnny Mnemonic might just be Keanu Reeves very worst. Still, those memories will serve us both well when checking out the comedy gold that is the trailer for Jazzpunk from Adult Swim and Necrophone Games.Weighing in at a hefty 2 minutes and 4 seconds, they only manage to squeeze a moment or two of gameplay in at the end - but it's certainly enough to whet our appetites. If you're looking for more, Necrophone's earlier teaser trailer from 2012 will give you a much better feel for what the game is about. But why would you want to know that when you could watch fake-Keanu flailing around like a fish out of water?Expect to see Jazzpunk, "an adventure comedy game and poorly made word processor," according to the developer, hit Steam for PC, Mac and Linux on February 7.
  • CandySwipe: Already fighting the CANDY CRUSH SAGA trademark, prepared to fight CANDY too
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    • Android
    • iOS
    CandySwipe: Already fighting the CANDY CRUSH SAGA trademark, prepared to fight CANDY too

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    Albert Ransom, the founder of Runsome Apps, first released CandySwipe to Android gamers on November 15, 2010 - a full four months before King debuted Candy Crush on King.com (now RoyalGames.com). Both games offer match-3 gameplay and both are built around a candy theme, but in our conversation with Ransom, he wasn't crying "clone." He's just worried about the same thing King is: consumer confusion."If you start typing 'is candy swip' into google, you will get the auto complete 'is candy swipe the same as candy crush'." It's a frustrating experience for a developer whose work came first and who, like King,  was quick to trademark. The CANDYSWIPE trademark was granted to Ransom in July 2011.But being first and having a mark isn't going to do much to sway public perception - especially when a similar competitor shoots to the top of the App Store."Their game (and name) closely resembles CandySwipe; so much so, that CandySwipe is often ridiculed as a Candy Crush knock off," says Ransom. "This infringes on OUR registered trademark and good will."
  • This Week in China: Less jailbreaking, more Clash of Clans
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    • Android
    • iOS
    This Week in China: Less jailbreaking, more Clash of Clans

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    2013 was a big year for Clash of Clans. So much so that we didn't hesitate to call it the year of Clash of Clans. Back in August, their CEO was quoted as saying "you can't be global without being in Asia." Well now they are, and in full force. And as you might have expected, the clones have followed.Thanks to our Beijing-based friends at Laohu.com for gathering up the top stories out of China for us (as they do every week). For a more Chinese gamer news daily, be sure to add Laohu.com to your bookmarks folder.
  • A story that King would like to Pac-Avoid: Scamperghost’s creator accuses King of cloning
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    • PC
    A story that King would like to Pac-Avoid: Scamperghost’s creator accuses King of cloning

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    This week's news about King has really stirred the hornet's nest. Not only has their trademarking of CANDY ruffled a few feathers, and their dispute with The Banner Saga ruffled a few more, but other developers who feel they've previously been wronged by the company are seeing this as an opportunity to let their stories be told.Take Junkyard Sam for instance. Back in 2009, he and Nick Bray teamed up under the name Stolen Goose to make the Flash game Scamperghost. In a recent blog post, Sam explains how the company was in talks with King to publish the game, decided to go with a different publisher, and then quickly saw their game cloned and released on King.com under the name Pac-Avoid:"We were in talks with Lars Jörnow at King.com to license our Scamperghost game.  Before the deal was closed (and certainly before any contracts were signed) MaxGames.com made a better offer so we thanked King for considering our game and politely ended our negotiations. King.com (giant company) retaliated against us (two young indie devs) by quickly making a direct clone of our game and almost released it before us! We only got ours out sooner because a friend close with the company contacted us privately to warn us in advance..."
  • The Banner Saga’s ‘SAGA’ saga: Stoic Studio has responded to King’s statement
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    • PC
    The Banner Saga’s ‘SAGA’ saga: Stoic Studio has responded to King’s statement

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    If you've been following King's trademark sideshow this week (and we know you have), there have been two interesting developments in the last 24 hours that you already know about. Last night, word broke that King was trying to use its IP law muscle to prevent Stoic Studio from using the word SAGA in The Banner Saga. And then this morning, King issued a statement responding to these allegations.This is where things get a little weird, because their response was basically "we're not trying to stop them from using the name, we've just filed a formal opposition with the US Trademark Office that says otherwise." More to the point, they said that if they don't exercise their claim in every instance than the mark on words like SAGA will lose its potency, and they'll have a hard time when it comes to fighting the real targets of their IP theft.It's an argument that's in complete contradiction with a statement they released earlier in the day. "We don't enforce against all uses… some are legitimate of course, we would not ask App developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so."Methinks someone in King's PR department has a really short memory. 
  • 17 great Twitter reactions to King’s trademark craziness
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    • iOS
    • PC
    17 great Twitter reactions to King’s trademark craziness

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    If there's one word that's on the tip of everybody's tongues this week, it's CANDY. King trademarked the word in the EU and is trying to do the same in the US, and the internet has exploded as a result.If you've ever wanted to see what an exploded internet looks like, you need look no further than Twitter. The community has been quite vocal about King's trademarking actions this week - many even going so far as to add CANDY to their Twitter name in protest - and the @#$torm hasn't died down yet.It's been only two days since King's maneuvers first came to light (and one day since we learned about their opposition to The Banner Saga's trademark). Here's the best of what the internet has had to say about it:
  • Deal of the Day: Millennium Bundle
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    • PC
    Deal of the Day: Millennium Bundle

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    If you're an RPG fan who complains "they just don't make them like they used to," you're probably playing the wrong RPGs. Aldorlea Games has been hard at work making SNES-style role-playing games for years, and they're all top notch.Their flagship series, Millennium, is getting ready to launch its fifth installment - so there's no time like the present to get caught up on the first four. Over at Groupees right now, you can get all four games bundled together for only $4.00. Considering that these games retail for $13.99 each normally, you're getting a tremendous deal. That's a savings of 93%.Pick up the bundle now - it goes away tomorrow - and be sure to give the series some love on Steam Greenlight. 
  • King is opposing Stoic’s trademark for The Banner Saga
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    King is opposing Stoic’s trademark for The Banner Saga

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    Remember when you learned that King has a trademark on the word CANDY? It probably won't surprise you to learn that this isn't the only one-word trademark they want to hold. They've also applied for the trademark on the word SAGA, and they're not afraid to defend what they see as rightfully theirs.USGamer's Mike Williams has just brought to light a legal opposition filed on behalf of King in regards to The Banner Saga - a recent release and Kickstarter success that we're delighted to call an early contender for Game of the Year.  You can find the complete Notice of Opposition at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, but the gist of it is this: Stoic, the makers of The Banner Saga, filed to trademark their game's name on January 10, 2013. After the mark was filed "published for opposition," King formally opposed. The argument King makes is that Stoic's use of the term SAGA will be enough to confuse customers into thinking the product isn't from Stoic, but from King. Furthermore, they claim that such confusion could result in damage to King.