We've been salivating for more information ever since Game Insight first announced their fierce new endless runner with a dark overtone this past September. The biggest draw of Running Shadow is that the game aims to take that recognizable endless runner gameplay and infuse it together with core role playing elements: all set against the dismal, yet beautiful backdrop of a Gothic-themed world. So basically, it's pretty much the closest we'll ever get right now to playing a Castlevania endless runner.But that was back when we only had a few measly screenshots to look at. Now a long-awaited gameplay trailer has finally entered the fold…Actually seeing the game in action for the first time, everything about The Running Shadow's mysterious and, well, shadowy lore immediately makes perfect sense. You'll be speeding your way through foreboding castle interiors and dodging all sorts of deadly gauntlet traps like rows of spikes or fire columns. You'll be encountering the fiercest of foes, from dastardly mages to ax-wielding knights. And of course, you'll be running along a crumbling stone bridge with some ominous talons gripping at the edge.So needless to say, we're more than a little stoked to make our way through The Running Shadow's gorgeously stylized world. The game is currently slated to launch on iOS and Android platforms sometime in early 2014, and in the meantime you can check out the game's newly launched website for some more Gothic fun!
We kicked off our best of the year coverage a little early with our special +13 Edition yesterday, but if you're looking for the real meat and potatoes of this countdown, it begins here.We reviewed nearly a thousand games in 2013. That's a staggering number no matter how you slice it. But of the thousand or so games we looked at, only twenty could rise to the top and be called best of the year. (well… 20+13, but you already knew that, right?)But enough jibber jabber. Let's kick things off right. Here are our picks for #20-#16.
If there's one game type that is egregiously missing from the ever-growing trove of the App Store, it's the Animal Crossing-like life sim. Even with vaguely similar entries like Happy Street and The Sims 3 available on iOS, nothing quite scratches our itch for a colorful, cartoony world where you can spend all day fishing or decorating your den—until now. Castaway Paradise by Stolen Couch Games intends to fill that gap and then some, offering a living, breathing world that is inspired by Animal Crossing but expands upon it in ways that will keep players busy, challenged, and right at home.Castaway Paradise takes place on a collection of islands that gradually open up as the game progresses. Players will assume the role of their personally designed avatar, who washes up on shore and decides to make the most of their shipwrecked situation. While you'll start with only a small, donated tent to house your few belongings—basically the clothes and seaweed on your back—it's easy to begin making money and become a productive member of island society. Similar to Animal Crossing, fishing and bug-catching are lucrative means to expand your coffers, but the bucks don't stop there. "Animal Crossing is the obvious inspiration indeed," Eric Diepeveen, co-founder and game designer at Stolen Couch Games told Gamezebo. "We're diverging from that game by making the gameplay deeper and more task-oriented. We like Animal Crossing, but we're not huge fans per se. My personal problem with the game is the lack of tasks. That's why I designed Castaway Paradise more like a social game.
Love your mobile phone, but wish it had a little more old school action? The kind you played on the Nintendo when you were eight? And better yet, do you wish it was free?If you said yes to all of the above, you're incredibly demanding. But also, your wish has been granted.To celebrate the game's latest update (which added a Boss Rush mode, ranking system, and character skill system), Contra: Evolution is available for free until Thursday. Considering the game earned a nearly perfect score in our review, this is a deal that's well worth snagging. Now grab a big gun and head down to South America, soldier - you're needed.
One of the most fascinating topics to come up in our industry these days is how real-money gambling is slowly but surely beginning to make its way into the precious gaming space. Despite the attempts to merge the two worlds, though, gaming and gambling have always been typically seen as two separate entities: except for all of those poker or slot machine video games that let players raise the stakes with imaginary currency. But in fact, now it seems that the lines have begun to blur so much in recent years that one organization in Australia has decided to take action.A new South Australia government-affiliated marketing campaign has recently begun to crop up around the land down under called Gambling is No Game, and stylized as NO GAME. Their main argument is that, in today's digital culture, it's entirely normal for younger children to become fully accustomed to moving around on a smartphone or iPad, and playing various video games with certain mechanics that simulate real world gambling. Naturally, this research has led NO GAME to the conclusion that gambling-simulated gaming in one's early years can translate into real world gambling in their later years."The homepage of the NO GAME website warns parents that "Games that simulate gambling give children the opportunity to practice gambling. Playing these games often becomes a daily activity making gambling seem like part of normal everyday life." It also offers a list of things to look out for in teenagers and younger children who might be crossing the line from gaming to gambling, as well as unearthing the roots of the problem and offering advice on what parents can do if they witness a similar behavior pattern in their own gaming kids.
You didn't think that a little snow would be stopping those determined zombies of PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time, now did you? Well while the rest of the world is preoccupied with wrapping presents and spreading holiday cheer, the plant and zombie war wages on in a brand new winter update to PvZ 2 this month!Everyone's favorite "flower defense" game will be celebrating a 5-day Feastivus event at the end of this month, which features new holiday-themed zombies inching ever closer to your house across a wintry lawn! For every Feastivus level that players manage to complete during the limited window from December 24 to December 30, they'll be able to open a special in-game holiday gift as a reward.And in addition to all of the festive and wintry fun, the new PvZ 2 update also puts in place a few other bells and whistles that are available to download right now, such as a Turbo Feature that will enable players to speed up their game, an updated map with the option to move through the main levels in a more linear fashion, and - wait for it - the triumphant return of the Gargantuar from the original Plants vs. Zombies!
The holidays have to come Springfield this week, with the latest winter-themed title update to The Simpsons: Tapped Out! Players of the popular city-building social game from Electronic Arts can log in today to find that a clerical error has caused it to snow hundreds of gift cards all over the town. And as a result, the amount of holiday cheer has reached an ultimate high (after all, who doesn't love getting a nice Christmas card or two, or two hundred?).All in all, the Tapped Out title update will feature all-new characters that come to Springfield and help spread that good old fashioned holiday cheer, not to mention a bunch of new buildings that are fit for the seasons, and of course, a humorous storyline that "explores the true meaning of the holidays," and is sure to delight both fans of The Simpsons and mobile gamers alike!"The new holiday-themed update is live right now for both iOS and Android versions of The Simpsons: Tapped Out, and is set to run until January 7, 2014. Just make sure you don't leave any delicious cookies and milk out on your table while you play - something tells me they won't last very long with Homer hanging around!
Remember a few days ago when news broke that Daedalic Entertainment would be making a long-awaited sequel to their early adventure hit, The Whispered World? Well get ready to see what the years have done to the whimsical and magical dream world that adventure gamers know and love, as a brand new debut trailer for Silence - The Whispered World 2 has just been released this week. And if this video doesn't perfectly set the tone for what's to come, then I don't know what will!Clocking in at an impressive three and a half minutes' worth of beautifully rendered cutscenes, the debut trailer introduces gamers to new protagonist Noah and his little sister Renie, as the pair struggle with survival in a war-ridden land of ice and snow. And if there's one thing that's clear after getting our very first taste of Daedalic's latest in action, it's that The Whispered World 2 is sure to pack a seriously emotional punch.You can check out the haunting new trailer for yourself just above this paragraph, and be sure to keep checking back on Gamezebo for more updates on Silence - The Whispered World 2 as we get closer to the game's release sometime in the second half of 2014.