Is it wrong that sometimes I get more excited for all the amazing holiday deals in gaming rather than the actual holidays themselves? Well if you'd only take a look at some of the insane price cuts going on in support of Valentine's Day weekend, then you'll see why these deals are way better than a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolate (flowers wilt, chocolate gets eaten, but games? GAMES ARE FOREVER).Ahem. Anyway, this weekend lots of gaming storefronts have gotten into the lovey-dovey spirit and started offering tons of free games and sales to get you and your special someone in the romantic gaming mood. You've got a brand new bundle from Indie Royale, a massive Valentine's Day weekend catalogue sale on IndieGameStand, and a cool focus on multiplayer and co-op game sales over at GOG.com."So lay those rose petals on the iPad or keyboard, and get ready to scoop up some seriously awesome games this Valentine's Day weekend. And if there happen to be any other deals out there that may have slipped us by, please don't hesitate to let us know about them down in the replies!
Hey internet - remember how mad you were last week that Dungeon Keeper on iOS was a free-to-play game? I didn't mind, but judging by the comments you left for me, it seems that the rest of you really did.Thanks to GOG.com, though - it doesn't even matter anymore. Now you can have your cake and eat it too. Dungeon Keeper - the original PC classic - is free on GOG today.I'd chatter more, but what's the point? The more time you spend reading, the less time you spend playing. Get on it, people!Want even more? Dungeon Keeper 2 is on sale for $1.49.
Ah, love is in the air this Valentine's Day! I'm sure a lot of people will be making a fancy dinner at home for their boyfriend or girlfriend. Others might be going to a sold-out Broadway show with their husband or wife. But since you're here reading this article on Gamezebo, I've got another idea: why not play some great games with your loved one this February 14th?Maybe they're a fun way to collaborate or simply pass the iPad around, but the odds are your partner will love the following list of games almost as much as they love you! And if I'm being completely honest, I'd like to think that a lot of these games are way better than flowers or chocolate or front-row Broadway tickets, anyway."So be sure to hit the comments and let us know what you think of our Valentine's Day suggestions, or what some of your favorite games to play with your honey are!
While Flappy Bird may be gone from the App Store, it's far from forgotten. This week, indie developers around the world have banded together in a show of solidarity for the bug-eyed bird that was and its humble, overwhelmed creator, Dong Nguyen. Their virtual pat on the back comes in the form of Flappy Bird-inspired games designed specifically for #FlappyJam. Although FlappyJam was started by developer Ivano Palmentieri only a few days ago—with its first submission, Bouncy Pixel by Aaron Puente, going live February 9th—there are already 140 games available to play and more consistently pouring in. While many entries follow the basic fly-through-dangers premise of Flappy Bird, the themes, focal points, and even genres range from disembodied floating heads and arsonist Pikachus to text adventures. The one shared trait among every entry is difficulty, which is both stated on the FlappyJam page and has been reiterated by Palmentieri numerous times on Twitter: "I had to specify on the jam site that FLAPPY word or gameplay are NOT mandatory, only 'rule' is to make a hard game AND have fun."The goal of FlappyJam is to show support for Flappy Bird, Nguyen as a game designer, and the entire indie development scene, with the thoughtful mission statement that "indie game devs are friendly and supportive, envy and teasing should not belong to our community, nor be a cause of suffering." As Palmentieri reminded potential entrants yesterday: "Guys, just as a reminder: the point is not making Flappy Bird clones or anything, we are just trying to have fun and support each other." If you'd like to show your own support for the indie development community, all of the FlappyJam games can be viewed, and many played, here. We've called out ten of our favorites below.
Everyone likes to hear the tale of the indie developer who bucks the odds and turns into an overnight success.The story of Sneaky Games and its turn-based MOBA/tactical hybrid Arena of Heroes isn't one of those. It's more a saga of mild success followed by more hard work to try to shine a bigger spotlight on a product the studio truly believes in, all while financial uncertainty swirls around in the background. As such, it's probably a lot more typical of the indie experience than going from rags to riches in one fell swoop.Sneaky Games was known mainly for social games before it dreamed up Arena of Heroes. The game's high concept was a good one: take the framework of a MOBA, but make the action turn-based and put it on multiple platforms to expand the potential player base.Released last summer for iPad, PC and Mac, it attracted enough players to get some traction but didn't take off the way the studio hoped. Part of it was likely due to a bit of an identity crisis. Was the game a MOBA that just happened to be turn-based? Or was it a tactical game with some MOBA trappings?
The latest addition to Steam came in the form of Steam Tags this week, which allow all users to creatively label games in a way that is both expressive of their own gaming interests and helpful to others. But as everyone knows, when you ask someone on the internet to do something, the odds are they're probably going to do it in the exact opposite way you intended.It's hardly been 24 hours since the Steam Tags beta launched, and we've already seen a number of ways that users have begun to abuse their newfound tagging power with some pretty hilarious results. The real problem with Steam Tags is that everyone is allowed to tag any game they please: regardless of if they even played it or not. There's honestly nothing stopping me from going on The Banner Saga's page and tagging the game as "Ice Cream Sandwich" if I wanted to."So we did some digging and found some of the most ridiculous Steam Tags circling around the storefront right now (most of which are even listed among the program's most popular tags!). Like most bad ideas, we think it will only be a matter of time before Valve removes the program entirely, or at least heavily curbs what you can or cannot tag, sort of like how they had to tighten the restrictions with projects being submitted on Greenlight.But until that happens, let's all bask in the glory of these ridiculous user-created Steam Tags:
In 2013, the OUYA seemed to be the micro-console that the press just loved to hate. But you know what? We didn't. In fact I still rock out with my OUYA on a regular basis. Despite all of the company's initial bungling, this little powerhouse delivers exactly what it promised - a living room portal for amazing indie games, with loads to discover.It's also become the defacto multiplayer gaming device in our house. Whenever friends come over, we're all too happy to break out Towerfall or Mrs. Dad vs. korv - and it's even easier to do when you realize that the OUYA supports additional controllers from other devices (we use PS3 controllers, for example).And with Toto Temple Deluxe coming soon, there's really no better time to pick one up.So what are the savings you'll be netting through the latest Gamezebo deal? The OUYA normally runs for $99, so you'll be saving $14 right off the bat. But we're also throwing in a $25 game credit that you can use on the OUYA Discover Store - so that's $39 in savings! And better yet, every game on the OUYA is free to try, so when you spend that game credit, you'll have done so wisely.If you've been thinking of picking one up, stop waiting. This thing has the Gamezebo Seal of Approval. I seriously love my OUYA. You will too. Click here to pick one up today.
The release window for the fifth and final episode in the Blackwell point-and-click adventure series has officially been unveiled today, and players will finally have the chance to see how Rosa and Joey's intertwining story is going to end this April with The Blackwell Epiphany. Though standalone adventures in their own right, the Blackwell games have still followed an overarching sense of growth for their characters ever since Wadjet Eye Games first released The Blackwell Legacy way back in 2006.In speaking on the upcoming bittersweet ending to the acclaimed point-and-click adventure series, Blackwell creator Dave Gilbert had this to say: "I always knew how Rosa and Joey's story would end, but figuring out how to get there was a challenge. This is the last Blackwell game and we've given it our all - it's longer, more detailed, darker, and more atmospheric than any of the games that came before it. I can't think of a more worthy note to end on."Like the four other episodes that came before it, The Blackwell Epiphany will be a standalone adventure when it releases for PC this April. But if you still want to check out Rosa and Joey's earlier adventures, you can currently pick up a bundle featuring the first four Blackwell games for only $14.99 on GOG.com.