As you may or may not know, many fairy tales have been sugared up from their original versions. For example, in Cinderella, did you know the evil stepsisters originally cut off their toes to fit their fat feet into the glass slipper? While not as awesomely gruesome, South Africa-based RetroEpic's A Day in the Woods is a sliding puzzle game that shows us just how extensive Little Red Riding Hood's trek through the forest actually was.
In the past few years co-op gaming has found a bit of a new life. As a fan of working with players instead of against them I fully support this whenever I get the chance. There's nothing like kicking back with a friend and mowing down hoards of enemies and celebrating with a high-five (real or virtual). Bunch of Heroes, a top-down shooter from NGD Studios, is here to throw their co-op hat into the ring.
When you think of squids, you probably think about slimy sea creatures or tasty calamari or —if you're a fan of the classics— that monster that attacked the Nautilus in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Until now, our tentacled friends aren't exactly known for being cute and cuddly. That's all about to change, though, thanks to Squids, the first game from The Game Bakers. And with how great this game is, it looks like squids are about to get a massive public image adjustment for the better.
German developer Goodgame Studios is hoping to revive a slowly declining genre on Facebook with Goodgame Mafia. A child of the text-based role-playing games of yesteryear, the game is a bit more visual in its presentation, but offers little in terms of a hook or anything particularly new. Even worse, for a game centered around organized crime, it is notoriously slow paced, even for a social game, and grants minimal gratification or reward for playing and progressing.
Creating an interesting, accessible and complex city simulation is no small feat, but developer G5 Entertainment managed it withVirtual City, a truly underrated game. With the release of its sequel,Virtual City 2: Paradise Resort, it's safe to say that the formula still works.
Like solving brain teasers? Have I got a game for you. Echoes of the Past: The Citadel of Time puts up a mess of seriously good puzzle action blended with a healthy shot of great hidden object searching in a game that's not perfect but that does what it does so well, you probably won't even notice.
Fairy tales are fertile ground for games and this month, Alawar Entertainment draws its latest hidden object adventure straight from them. Oddly Enough: Pied Piper follows classic fairy tale, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," telling the story of a village plagued by rats that hires (and then swindles) a skilled musician to lure the rats away. While the tale's a natural fit for this kind of adventure, the game suffers from an ill-thought-out ending.
Have you ever seen those fish that stick to the side of the aquarium like a suction cup? Creepy, right? Well what if those fish weren't fish at all, but winged creatures called "suckies"? And what if instead of hanging out all docile in your fish tank, you pulled on their tails and shot them through the air to pop bubbles? Yep - we'd think that was pretty awesome too.