If you tuned into our Twitch livestream yesterday, you've already heard me sing praises about The Room. Our pick for best iPad game of 2012 is a puzzler's dream - the kind of game that has to be played to be believed. The sequel just game out yesterday, and if you're wondering why it's worth your hard earned money, you can find out right now by snagging the original FOR FREE. (The iPhone version is free too, and you can snag it here).If you get stuck (and you will), be sure to check out our complete walkthrough. And stay tuned for our full review and walkthrough of the sequel, The Room Two.Now stop reading and start puzzling!
In partnership with App Gratis, Ring Run Circus is on sale this weekend for just 99 cents. And while saving $3.00 is awesome, Gamezebo wants to help you save the whole $3.99. That's why we're giving away 10 copies of the game on Twitter today.Want to get one? Be sure to follow us on Twitter and keep an eye out for our giveaway tweets. If you're one of the lucky 10 to get a code before anyone else tries, be sure to tweet back to us and let us know.Best of luck!"
Zeptolab are masters in the art of teasing. We've known that Cut the Rope 2 has been coming for a long while now, and every so often they pepper their fans with hints and clues and cute animations about what we might expect in the sequel. But we haven't had anything concrete to go on until now.This morning, one week before the game's December 19 release, Zeptolab finally gave us a sweet sweet taste of upcoming candy.As you can see in the video below, Om Nom is now joined by some friends - the Nommies - who all have a vital role to play in his candy acquisition enterprise. The gameplay looks fairly in line with what you'd expect from the series, though the new twists added by his friends may be enough to give the formula a healthy dose of vitamin fresh. Find out first hand when the game launches next week.
Ready for a (bio)shockingly good bargain? The latest offering at Gamezebo Deals is a Mac-only treat for those looking to dive head first into the depths of Rapture.For $15.99, you can get the Mac versions of Bioshock and Bioshock 2 - two of the most popular games of the last 10 years. A healthy dose of role-playing elements infused these first-person shooters with a fresh sense of gameplay, and the storytelling was simply out of (or perhaps, under) this world.Don't wait too long - the last boat to Rapture leaves soon! Click here to get in on this great Mac-exclusive offer.
The closer we creep to the holiday season, the bigger the releases seem to be getting. For example: today the sequel to our pick for the best iPad game of 2012 hit the App Store. And one of the biggest little mobile games of the last few years got a shiny coat of Adventure Time all over it. The Angry Birds kart racer hit the App Store yesterday, and a surprise Star Trek game hit the App Store this morning.And yes, we're going to take a look at all of them.So please - pull up a seat, pop some popcorn, and join us as we livestream the latest iOS releases. As always, you can join in the live chat by hitting the "read more" button below, or simply by watching this video live on Twitch.tv. (and we'll be sure to archive the show afterwards in case you miss it live). UPDATE: The livestream is now over and archived below.Watch live video from Gamezebo on TwitchTV
Mobile rewards platform Kiip has announced a new partnership today with developer ZeptoLab, which will effectively be bringing their unique digital rewards to all games in the ZeptoLab catalogue, like the hugely popular Cut the Rope and Pudding Monsters. Kiip first began in 2010, working with mid-tier and indie developers to put special rewards into games that players could receive and enjoy just by playing. I recently had a chance to chat with Kiip Co-Founder Brian Wong, and to find out some more about how the Kiip rewards platform actually works, and what it was like to partner up with ZeptoLab in this exciting new manner.The entire basis of Kiip rewards is founded on one simple principle: to own and reward every single "achievement moment" that a user can experience. Kiip strives to capture that special moment of player happiness at the time of reaching a certain milestone in a game, such as leveling-up or completing a stage, and then acknowledges that uplifting emotion by offering rewards. But the best part about it is that players don't have to do anything extra to earn these rewards: they are simply gathered through regular gameplay, and as Wong tells me, "When you get a reward, you feel like you earned it.""But what's really interesting about the foundations of Kiip's innovative rewards program is that it can be seen as more of an actual technology, as there are never any specific title-to-brand integrations to be found here. Instead, Kiip uses their highly refined style of "precision moments targeting" to provide mobile users with unique rewards that will be relevant to them. And this process extends well beyond the gaming realm as well, with Kiip rewards already being implemented in everything from music and workout apps, to productivity and "to-do list" apps.
If you're a Candy Crush junkie, you already know that King is super-committed to bringing you fresh content regularly. New stages are released every few weeks, giving those of you who've mastered the game a constant supply of challenges. Even so, you've never quite seen an update like this before.In all honesty, this thing is so much of a game changer that it warrants the term "expansion."Available to players who've completed level 50 or higher, Dreamworld is a whole new Saga map that takes players on a journey with Odus the Owl - a new character that introduces a equally new game mechanic. You'll need to keep Odus balanced on his half-moon perch by crushing the right candies. Get it wrong, and it sounds as though Odus will take a tumble.It's an interesting solution to a conundrum that King has been wrestling with: how to create new content that isn't just for end-game players. With 30 levels at launch, it shouldn't be long before we find out if King is as quick to create content for Dreamworld as they are for the main game.In the meantime, please excuse me; I have a new owl friend to attend to.
As of today, My Penguin, the mobile companion app to the popular children's virtual world Club Penguin, is no more - but only because it's becoming Club Penguin for iPad.When it launched back in May, My Penguin was designed to give players a way to connect with the web-based MMO while also giving Disney Interactive a chance to learn about how people would interact with the game on mobile devices. Kids could dress their avatars, redesign their igloos and try out a selection of mini-games, but it wasn't the full Club Penguin experience.With its latest update and name change, the mobile version of Club Penguin is ready to take a big leap forward. For the first time, young gamers can play the same way they do online, teleporting to rooms, visiting their igloos, and everything else they've been accustomed to doing on the web.Disney Interactive Worlds Vice President and General Manager Chris Heatherly told Gamezebo that the mobile launch includes about 20 to 25 percent of the content found online, but regular updates over the coming months would get the two versions to be very close to identical before too long.