The week in gaming news: January 6, 2012 edition

As you can probably imagine, the first week of 2012 was a little on the slow side. While a number of notable games launched — including the likes of Hidden Chronicles and Scramble With Friends — things were quiet when it comes to gaming news, so this week’s round-up is a little shorter than usual. As we wait for the games industry to pick up steam, here’s all the news from this past week for you to catch up with.

Monday

In this week’s Monday Morning Quarterback editorial, we question whether or not gambling videogames might just be the next big thing.
We also followed up our look at the Best of 2011 with a round-up of the best games to launch in December across all platforms.

Tuesday

We’re sure you’ve bought plenty of games in your day, but what about actually purchasing the rights to a game? That’s what one iPhone developer offered when he put his game for sale on eBay.

Wednesday

Arkadium’s games are available in a lot of places, and that number is set to increase as the developer has signed a publishing deal with Microsoft.
In a trend that shows no signs of stopping, yet another group of experienced game developers have decided to try out life in the social space by forming a new studio called Seismic Games.

Thursday

Not much happened this Thursday, but we did manage to sneak into the offices of Top Eleven developer Nordeus for the latest edition of Gamezebo Cribs.

Friday

The bundles just won’t ever stop. Today Indie Royale announced its latest bundle, which includes the likes of Max and the Magic Marker and Super Crossfire.

Reviews
September 12, 2013
Card Hunter Review
By Nick Tylwalk
Time is precious. Especially gaming time, which means video games, collectible card games, and tabletop games are all vying against each other for yours. Happily, Blue Manchu has a solution to this modern dilemma. Card Hunter manages to combine elements from all three into one fun package that also happens to be free-to-play and run right in your browser window. Sound too good to be true? Then read on adventurer - your new favorite game awaits.In classic meta fashion, Card Hunter is not only the game you play, but also the game within the game, administered to you by an eager but relatively novice GM named Gary. He manages to use big brother Melvin's card set to teach you some of the basics of battling and questing in the land of, ahem, Cardhuntria, before he's discovered and you have to start over with just one lowly Level 1 Warrior. You'll eventually form a party of three from pretty basic archetypes: Warrior, Wizard and Priest, all of whom can be Elf for greater movement, Dwarf for more durability or Human for a happy medium.That simplicity is alright though, because there's a lot more to absorb. Every adventure - which look like old school D&D modules, down to the retro art style and flavor text - contains two or more battles. That's where the magic happens, figuratively and somewhat literally, as each battle takes place on a unique board with a square-shaped grid. The board is 2D but has artwork that depicts terrain, structures and other obstacles, whereas your characters and any enemies are represented by 3D figures.
Reviews
December 10, 2010
Twisted: A Haunted Carol Review
By Andy Chalk
When I was young, my dad would tell me that if I didn't quit messing around I'd get a lump of coal in my stocking for Christmas. Modern dads with techno-savvy children have a better option: threaten them with Twisted: A Haunted Carol instead. It's easier to get hold of, not nearly as messy and about the same amount of fun when you play with it.