Jim Squires

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.

News
October 3, 2013
I’m playing video games to help sick kids, and you should too
By Jim Squires
November 3rd, 9am. You wake up, have a good stretch, and put on your slippers. Maybe you'll make some coffee, or crawl back into bed and read a good book, or get dressed real quick and visit with the neighbors. It is a Sunday after all, and the day is rife with possibilities.Unless you're me, that is. I'll be collapsing into my bed at 9am with blurry eyes and an exhausted spirit. I'll have just completed 25 hours of straight gaming, and the wires that provide my brain with any sort of cognitive function will be frayed and strained to their last.And did I mention that it's my birthday?That's ok. It's for the children.On November 2nd at 8am, I'll be joining gamers from around the world in a marathon to raise funds for local children's hospitals in North America. At present, 10525 gamers have signed up for Extra Life 2013 - almost twice as many had signed up a month before the event last year, co-founder Jeremy Adoms tells me. And it seems like it's only going to get bigger.
News
October 3, 2013
Plants vs. Zombies 2: Now on Android (in Australia and New Zealand)
By Jim Squires
Remember that truckload of money that Apple supposedly dumped on EA's doorstep for exclusive first dibs on Plants vs Zombies 2? It looks liked those dibs are about to run out. PopCap announced today that the game is now available in select markets - Australia and New Zealand, to be specific - for Android devices.This isn't the very first time that PvZ2 has hit Android, mind you. The Chinese edition hit Google Play last month. Considering China's love for Plants vs Zombies and Android's dominance in the Chinese market, though, it's pretty understandable that this is where PopCap would want to strike first. Head of EA Labels Frank Gibeau has been quoted as saying that the Android version is outselling the iOS version 6-to-1 in China.There's no specific date on when the zombie invasion of Google Play will go global, but PopCap has assured us that it can be expected "shortly." Keep an eye on the Play Store, folks. As you can see in our review from the August iOS release, this one is definitely a keeper.
News
October 2, 2013
Call of Duty: The Mac Gamer Bundle
By Jim Squires
War is hell. Deals are awesome. The latest Gamezebo bundle for Mac embraces both of these facts, sending you to hell and back five times for one low price!Until October 7th, you can pick up Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty 2, and the Black Ops content packs Rezurrection (zombies!) and Annihilation & Escalation; all for just $39.99. Or as I like to call it, $10 less than just buying Call of Duty: Black Ops Mac Edition on Steam all by itself.Want a little more incentive? Call of Duty 2 and 4 are SteamPlay titles, which means you can enjoy them on your Mac or your PC. It's like a war on two fronts where everybody wins.Click here to get in on Gamezebo's Call of Duty Mac Gamer Bundle today!
News
October 1, 2013
Clash of Clans: Now on Android (in Canada and Finland)
By Jim Squires
It seems like only a few weeks since we were musing on the inevitability of Clash of Clans making the jump to Android, and now the inevitable has come to pass. Android gamers, get ready for the genuine article: Supercell's Clash of Clans is now available to download from Google Play.If you've just clicked that link and decided to call me a liar, I won't blame you. While the game is officially on Android now, it's only available in Canada and Finland. Don't panic though - this is the same sort of soft launch we see all the time in mobile games. "The global release of Clash of Clans on Android will come as soon as we are confident that the Android version is of the highest quality," said a moderator on the Supercell forums. "We hope that will be very soon!"In the meantime, sit tight Android users. There are still plenty of clones out there to cut your teeth on, and you'll want all the practice you can before the worldwide launch. iOS gamers have had a year to get ready, and they're just itchin' to raid the competition.
News
September 26, 2013
King files for IPO
By Jim Squires
Get ready, investors: Candy Crush is coming to Wall Street. The Telegraph are reporting that King has filed the preliminary paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission that will eventually lead to the company's initial public offering.In having filed an S-1 (just as Twitter did earlier this month), King has taken the first steps towards being listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange alongside other heavy hitters in the tech and gaming industry. But as a social gaming giant with seemingly unlimited potential, one called help but remember the rise, IPO, and tumble of the last company to wear that crown: Zynga.I'm not nearly financially savvy enough to weigh in on the how and why of Zynga's sharp stock tumble, but there's no doubt that it's a situation that will be at the top of mind for potential King investors. The companies are different enough that a straight comparison isn't really fair, but still, ZNGA is the undeniable elephant in the room here.
Reviews
September 26, 2013
Infinity Blade III Review
By Jim Squires
If your first reaction to another Infinity Blade is "really? again?," you're not alone. I too was a doubting Thomas. As nice as it is to see a franchise doing well, I'm also a fan of letting a developer stretch their legs, so to speak. As a fan of Chair's earlier game Shadow Complex, as well as a gamer whose heart broke at the cancellation of Infinity Blade Dungeons, my interest in seeing them go to the same well again was lukewarm at best.And then I played it.Infinity Blade III is a lot like that worn blanket you'll never get rid of. It's familiar, but never tired - and it's all too easy to get yourself wrapped up. And like that worn blanket, you'll never want to put it down.
News
September 19, 2013
Zynga brings speed-MOBA Solstice Arena to Mac
By Jim Squires
Here's something you might not have expected to wake up to in the world of Mac gaming this morning: Zynga has taken their popular mobile speed-MOBA Solstice Arena to the Mac App Store. For those keeping score at home, this is the first notable move Zynga has made in the desktop downloads space.I say first "notable," because Zynga's real money gambling titles in select markets were downloadable too - but with a limited geography as well as a limited appeal (and one that must not have worked out too well, considering Zynga's decision to step out of the cash gambling business), those titles lacked the potential that Solstice Arena has to reach a large audience on desktops.And that potential is huge."Free-to-play has quickly become a dominant force in the world of gaming, but depending on your platform, success seems largely tied to genre. On desktop, one of the hottest free-to-play genres is MOBA. From League of Legends to DOTA 2, everyone seems to love diving into team-based matches of territorial dominance.
Reviews
September 18, 2013
CastleVille Legends Review
By Jim Squires
While the original CastleVille fits snuggly in the history of Zynga's Ville games as the spiritual successor to The Pioneer Trail, CastleVille Legends sets out to be something ambitiously new. Designed from the ground up for mobile, Legends is more a game of trading and economics than it is a medieval life simulator.If that description scares you off, don't worry - much of Legends will feel like a familiar experience to the Zynga faithful. The nuts and bolts that bring the game together (crafting, quests, etc) are things that you're already doing in other games. The trick, though, is that these elements come together in Legends in a way that creates something we haven't seen before in a Zynga title.If we were to break CastleVille Legends down to its base mechanics, it would probably look something like this: creating resources, crafting those resources into products, and selling those products for fun and profit.On paper, I admit it sounds a little like FarmVille 2. But the execution here feels markedly different.