Once a pirate, always a pirate is what they say! Even when you've found yourself at the end of a mighty fine lootin' and shootin' journey out to sea, there's always another adventure just lying in wait around the corner: especially when it comes to Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Pirates. And in true Assassin's Creed fashion, the new content has already started rolling out less than a month after the game's initial release, to keep you cruising across the Seven Seas while the wind is still fresh in your sails.The bulk of the update is centered on a brand new campaign mission that's set around a gorgeous new map called Nassau. The Nassau map is said to bring a higher level of challenge into the fold, as seasoned Pirates players will now have to master new dodging mechanics, which effectively let them take down enemy cannonballs in mid-air. 10 new side missions will also accompany the new campaign, leading way for more treasures to be uncovered and more ships to be unlocked."And finally, the first Pirates update will also be adding in a new social component that allows all mobile buccaneers to compare their journey at sea with other players in the game. We happened to think that Assassin's Creed Pirates was a pretty fine swashbuckling good time when we reviewed the game back in December, and so more of the same surely won't disappoint. The new update is officially available today for both iOS and Android versions of the game.
Do you like adventure? How about stepping on little plastic bricks that your kids leave around the house? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, and own a Mac, then the latest offering on Gamezebo Deals is for you!Bundled together for the first time on Gamezebo Deals, you can get the Mac versions of LEGO Batman, LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, and LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues.Individually purchased, these games would normally run you $110 - but in our bundle, you can snag the whole lot for $39.99! Don't hesitate LEGO-loving Mac gamers - unlike LEGO, this deal won't be around forever.
Now this is what I'm talking about: a Wednesday night with so many exciting new iOS releases that it takes me all morning to narrow them down to just four to talk about in this article! The App Store has been feeling a little dry as of late, especially after the holidays and last week's surprisingly slim selection of new games. But now I'm very happy to say that we are back to our regularly scheduled mobile euphoria.And to kick off 2014's first massive batch of new mobile releases, you'll be seeing everything from a devious strategy game that has you battling legions of adventure heroes as you protect your kidnapped princess, to another stunt-filled ride across the living room table, to a game that's so intuitive that even a monkey could play it! So get those iPads charged, get those fingers ready for tapping, and sit back to enjoy the start of a wonderful new year in the mobile gaming world.
I've said it once and I'll say it again: 2014 is truly shaping up to be the year of long-awaited sequels to some of the earliest smash-hit mobile games (see Jet Car Stunts 2 and Mega Jump 2). And perhaps no game took the world of smartphones and tablets more by storm in the early days than 2010's Across Age from FDG Entertainment, which many consider to be the first Japanese action-RPG to make its way to the App Store.Across Age 2 was first officially announced back in September for a Winter 2013/2014 release, and now we can finally confirm that mobile gamers will be able to hop back into the adventure next week on January 16, 2014. The game will be continuing the engaging time travelling storyline that was established in the first installment, with four playable characters and gorgeous anime-styled cutscenes.In case you needed a reminder of how awesome Across Age 2 looks in action, you can view the game's debut gameplay trailer again from right within this page. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled when the highly-anticipated sequel puts the Japanese action-RPG game back on the mobile map next week!
Video games are so hot right now. Specifically, games with digital cards that fight each other and multiplayer online battle arenas.MMOs are quite popular as well I hear (at least developers continue to think so), and turn-based strategy games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Fire Emblem: Awakening proved that when people say they want more games in that glorious genre, they don't actually mean more shooters.These genres can't possibly have anything in common, you say. They're all such very unique snowflakes. You'd be wrong, of course. What they have in common is war: the eternal war of the Warhammer franchise from Games Workshop, to be exact.
Tell me if this sounds familiar: you're browsing your favorite website on your phone, and without realizing it you've clicked on an ad. Oops! Guess your finger slipped, and that's why you're now in the App Store being told to download Candy Crush Saga (even though as a Gamezebo reader, you probably already have it).Maybe your finger slipped… but maybe it didn't.Sites all around the web this week (like Digiday, TechCrunch and Valleywag) have been reporting on a strange and somewhat sleazy phenomenon: ad networks that are automatically sending you to the App Store to download the game they're pitching. Games that have been mentioned as part of this scheme include Candy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans and Game of War - Fire Age.In other words, the three top grossing games on the App Store.
Game development is a tough business, and it's one where the models are always changing. For example, the old model of "delay a game to get it right" can only work for so long until your costs drastically start to outstrip your earnings potential. Such was the case for Toki Tori 2.Originally slated for a Spring 2012 release, the game didn't see the light of day for another year; first on the Wii U in April 2013, and then on Steam in July. This delay, combined with lackluster sales, has forced Two Tribes to close shop on its existing development company, Two Tribes B.V."When Toki Tori 2 ended up taking way longer than expected and not achieving the sales we needed, it basically took the company down with it," reads a blog post on the company's website. "There's a lot to learn from what went wrong and what we could have done better."
I'm sure you've heard the phrase "location is everything" once or twice before in your life, but never has that notion applied more to the world of mobile games than right now! As smartphones and tablets get more and more advanced each and every year, new geographic features like GPS have unlocked a number of exciting location-based options, and not only for map-based apps either: even mobile games are diving into the geographic fun these days! But this past December, Apple officially activated their new iBeacon technology, and if it truly catches on in the way that some are hoping, then you might never walk down the street with your iPhone in the same way again!In simple terms, iBeacon is a new geographic technology from Apple that works primarily through Bluetooth, rather than GPS, so the total power consumption on your device remains both manageable and low. Right now, the iBeacon technology is mostly being used by restaurants and retail stores to present customers with various promotional deals and coupon offers, but a few development studios have begun to see a greater purpose for the budding new advancement: for use in video games!One such studio is The Tap Lab, who made a name for themselves in the mobile world with their location-based game Tiny Tycoons, which lets players build their own city by purchasing bite-sized versions of real-life properties surrounding their actual location. I recently had a chance to speak with Dave Bisceglia, the Co-Founder and CEO of The Tap Lab, and Kabir Hemrajani, the VP of Products at The Tap Lab, to find out their thoughts on iBeacon and its future in the mobile games space.The Tap Lab have already released a short video showcasing one of the many ways that iBeacon could be used to enhance the overall Tiny Tycoons experience just by stepping into your location Starbucks coffee shop (the Starbucks chain has yet to adopt iBeacon support, so a simulated iBeacon was used in this example). For instance, in the demonstration video, when a Tiny Tycoons player walks into the Starbucks location in real life, a notification pops up on their phone giving them the property's value and the name of its owner.