"What happens on Facebook, stays on Facebook"—maybe not entirely true, considering how quickly those embarrassing photos of you at the Christmas party's eggnog fountain can spread, but in Vegas City, you can get the thrill of high stakes and bright lights all on your own computer.
Toy Factory is from Fuel Games, a company that might be a first-time Facebook game publisher but is reputed to be the developer of PlayFirst's excellent Chocolatier: Sweet Society. Toy Factory certainly plays a lot like Chocolatier, using a similar basic gameplay style where you manufacture goods in a factory and then sell those goods in a customized, personality store. Toy Factory has you making classic, retro-style toys and uses a retro 50s aesthetic for the entire user interface. Moreso than most Facebook games, Toy Factory is a game that looks very appealing on even the most mundane levels.
The idea of a civilization sim based on the rebuilding of Ancient Rome implicitly delivers a delicious challenge: can Rome be built in a day? It's a standard that any such game should be held to, and any such game should be considered a failure if it's possible. Fortunately, Kabam's Glory of Rome doesn't disappoint in this regard, although some might wonder if it leans too far in the other direction. Indeed, the spans of time needed to succeed in the game have you ready for the Middle Ages after only a few levels.
Do you like Digital Chocolate's Millionaire City? Chances are you do, if you've played it. It's Digital Chocolate's most popular game on Facebook, serving about 12 million monthly users and 2.6 million daily users. Why bring this up in a review of Hollywood City? Well, as it happens, Hollywood City and Millionaire City are basically the same game.
We've seen deserted island simulation games before, but most of them involve surviving against the elements or building a functioning society. Island God, a new title from Digital Chocolate, puts a new spin on the familiar formula. As the name implies, you're not a loin cloth-clad castaway, but an omnipotent deity that has complete control over an island's inhabitants.
Earlier this year, the lovely hack 'n' slash title Deathspank showed us how RPG parody can work to great effect. Hence we were intrigued to give Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes a playthrough - another RPG based on parody, but this time in a turn-based environment.
Until a few days ago, I had never heard of the Epic War series. That's more a knock on me than the game series since I just don't really play browser games very often. Epic War 3 seems to have its fair share of fans out there though, so for those people the news of a port to the iPhone is surely a welcome one. For the rest of us? Maybe not so much...
If you're one of those gamers who cut their teeth on classic role-playing or fantasy board and card games, like "Dungeons & Dragons" or "Magic: The Gathering," the intricate gameplay of Guardians of Graxia will feel like warm kabocha soup and a Snuggie on a frigid night.