While farming and restaurant games may be the most popular with players on Facebook, there is also a growing number of games available dealing with shopping, retail, and malls in general (Mall Dreams from Metrogames for one). It's no surprise, then, that we see the release of another mall-tycoon game, this one called Magic Mall, from the folk at Mob Science.
Magic Mall just launched on Facebook yesterday, and it has already claimed over 13,000 users. The game allows you to, you guessed it, build your very own shopping mall, store by store, until your heart is content. The game starts you off by asking you to build a Coffee Shop, in this case known as the Lava Java Store.
As computer controlled visitors shop eat at your cafes and restaurants or shop in your stores, each location's unique coin count will fill. This is similar to any number of Facebook games, in that you'll have to come back to the game every few hours to "cash out" those properties, adding your profits to your in-game total.
With that being said, meet us behind the break to see what else makes Magic Mall tick.
In addition to building your own mall, you'll be able to "shop" in your friends' malls, which is where elements from FrontierVille, of all games, start to come into play. Each of your friends' malls will show shopping carts over their stores and restaurants. You'll be able to click on these carts to "shop" in that particular store, earning you experience points or collectible items that can be used back in your own Mall. Here's the catch - these bonus items appear to the side of each store, just like Bonus items like experience points and coins appear in FrontierVille after doing just about anything in the game.
You can use these collectible items when it comes time to upgrade your stores. Upgraded stores will collect more coins for you before they stop (and wait for you to cash them out, that is). For instance, upgrading the Lava Java coffee shop (that I mentioned at the beginning of this post), will raise its coin capacity from 500 coins to 1000. However, you'll need to collect ingredients, or building parts, just like in FrontierVille in order to actually do any upgrading.
For the sake of the argument, the Lava Java upgrade requires eight each of five different items, so you'll need to add a lot of posts to your wall for your neighbors to respond to, or buy single ingredients for "Magic Cash," the game's premium currency.
One last comparison worth noting is the inclusion of an Energy Bar, that drains as you complete tasks other than building new stores in your mall.
After you've built a few stores, you'll have to wait for your stores to earn money so that you can earn experience points, but while you wait, you can purchase decorative items to customize your mall, including new flooring types, decorations like benches and potted plants, new wallpapers and new doors.
While the stores in Magic Mall are nice enough (jewelry stores, toy stores, play areas for children, a pretzel shop and even an arcade), there really aren't that many stores to choose from just yet - likely due to the fact that the game is so new. Still, if all buildings and eventual upgrades work as the Lava Java upgrade does, it seems like all of your progress will be slow coming, if it comes at all, as you won't be able to increase your profits unless you can somehow convince other people to play the game with you. With a lack of gameplay other than the aforementioned... well, good luck in that pursuit.
Where other Facebook games normally push you through a lengthy tutorial, and in the process force you to level up to level 3 or 4, your progress in Magic Mall can come to a stand still without even reaching the halfway point of level 1. Unless you want to flood your mall with the same types of stores ad nauseum in order to boost your experience point total, you'll likely find the game fairly boring. Hopefully with enough time, Mob Science will add more gameplay, or easier ways to upgrade buildings, as there just isn't that much to do in the game's current state.
Showing posts with label Facebook games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook games. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Create on Facebook: This fun physics game forgot you have friends
Create in motion
Most Facebook games are littered with suggestions, pop ups and missions to guide you along in your progress, which certainly serve their purpose well. But not Create. The most recent Facebook game launch by EA, Create is a modified release of the puzzler with the same name currently available for all major consoles, PC and Mac. Tailored specifically for Facebook, this physics-based puzzle game provides players with the tools required to complete each level, but it's hands-off after that. While achieving real time physics on Facebook is certainly impressive, leaving the guesswork to the player soon becomes a double-edged sword.
Find more of our impressions of Create after the break.
Create Dashboard
Essentially, Create is a Rube Goldberg machine on Facebook. Your goal in each level is to, using the tools you're given, guide a soccer ball so that it hits its bulls eye target, making its way through hula hoops along the way for bonus points. However, getting into the meat of the game is rather confusing as Create will always load in sort of a hub world called the Dashboard. It's here that players can create as many soccer balls as they wish to play around with, check their best times and high scores and see how their friends are doing with their own creations. There is also a global list where creators can put others' balls through their own solutions to the game's puzzles. To start, you're given one ball, so just click "Go!" and choose any of the four puzzles.
This is where the fun begins... sort of. In each puzzle, there is a general path players will have to take to reach the target, but it is entirely up to them on how to approach it using the game's five tools. (In other words, this is a thinker.) These items include balloons, which will not float until an object, preferably the ball, make contact with its string. Players can also make use of orange bumpers which will repel any object that comes in contact with them at a high speed in the opposite direction. Suspended fans can also be used to propel the ball while boxes and see-saws serve of malleable platforms, though the see-saws somehow defy gravity. There's no limit to the amount of tools that can be used in any given puzzle, but clutter will be your worst enemy.
Create in motion again
Designed specifically to take advantage of Intel processors, the physics in Create are surprisingly smooth considering it's all happening in real time on Facebook. However, they can easily be broken. So far, I've found that certain items won't respond to gravity if placed in strange places, but who knows what other ways there are to break the system.
While the game's physics are certainly impressive--not to mention that it's refreshing to see a social game that requires critical thought--it's tough to call Create a social game. There seems to be little reason that this game is on Facebook other than the fact that it's a popular platform at the moment. Having friends in the game doesn't effect any portion of gameplay nor is there an incentive to continue logging in, which is something social games in their current state need to thrive. Though, it's doubtful that EA had that in mind to begin with when porting Create to the platform.
And perhaps I'm somewhat rusty when it comes to puzzle games, but Create doesn't exactly lend itself to the instantly gratifying gameplay of most social games. If your experience is anything like mine, you're going to be cracking at some puzzles for quite a while, which one could imagine the average social gamer just doesn't have time for on their lunch break. But if you have an extra minute, try something a little different than your average 'Ville and give that brain some exercise.
Most Facebook games are littered with suggestions, pop ups and missions to guide you along in your progress, which certainly serve their purpose well. But not Create. The most recent Facebook game launch by EA, Create is a modified release of the puzzler with the same name currently available for all major consoles, PC and Mac. Tailored specifically for Facebook, this physics-based puzzle game provides players with the tools required to complete each level, but it's hands-off after that. While achieving real time physics on Facebook is certainly impressive, leaving the guesswork to the player soon becomes a double-edged sword.
Find more of our impressions of Create after the break.
Create Dashboard
Essentially, Create is a Rube Goldberg machine on Facebook. Your goal in each level is to, using the tools you're given, guide a soccer ball so that it hits its bulls eye target, making its way through hula hoops along the way for bonus points. However, getting into the meat of the game is rather confusing as Create will always load in sort of a hub world called the Dashboard. It's here that players can create as many soccer balls as they wish to play around with, check their best times and high scores and see how their friends are doing with their own creations. There is also a global list where creators can put others' balls through their own solutions to the game's puzzles. To start, you're given one ball, so just click "Go!" and choose any of the four puzzles.
This is where the fun begins... sort of. In each puzzle, there is a general path players will have to take to reach the target, but it is entirely up to them on how to approach it using the game's five tools. (In other words, this is a thinker.) These items include balloons, which will not float until an object, preferably the ball, make contact with its string. Players can also make use of orange bumpers which will repel any object that comes in contact with them at a high speed in the opposite direction. Suspended fans can also be used to propel the ball while boxes and see-saws serve of malleable platforms, though the see-saws somehow defy gravity. There's no limit to the amount of tools that can be used in any given puzzle, but clutter will be your worst enemy.
Create in motion again
Designed specifically to take advantage of Intel processors, the physics in Create are surprisingly smooth considering it's all happening in real time on Facebook. However, they can easily be broken. So far, I've found that certain items won't respond to gravity if placed in strange places, but who knows what other ways there are to break the system.
While the game's physics are certainly impressive--not to mention that it's refreshing to see a social game that requires critical thought--it's tough to call Create a social game. There seems to be little reason that this game is on Facebook other than the fact that it's a popular platform at the moment. Having friends in the game doesn't effect any portion of gameplay nor is there an incentive to continue logging in, which is something social games in their current state need to thrive. Though, it's doubtful that EA had that in mind to begin with when porting Create to the platform.
And perhaps I'm somewhat rusty when it comes to puzzle games, but Create doesn't exactly lend itself to the instantly gratifying gameplay of most social games. If your experience is anything like mine, you're going to be cracking at some puzzles for quite a while, which one could imagine the average social gamer just doesn't have time for on their lunch break. But if you have an extra minute, try something a little different than your average 'Ville and give that brain some exercise.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
House, CSI: Miami and NCIS games to air on Facebook this winter
Social gamers are naturally very meta people. Come one, who else would watch an episode of CSI, only to play an episode of CSI: Crime City either during the show or afterward? Ubisoft seems to have struck gold with Facebook games based on TV properties, so the company has announced three more: CSI: Miami, House, M.D.: Critical Cases and NCIS: Major Crimes.
Inside Social Games reports that the games will launch either at the end of this year or early in 2012. In other words, they're coming this winter. The games will play out procedurally, like episodes of their television inspirations. Players will search for clues after identifying victims, patients or suspects and solve cases with the help of friends and non-player characters.
The French game publisher also announced a deal with Loot Drop, designer John Romero's studio that has yet to release its first game, Cloudforest Expedition. No details were given regarding the game, but this marks the third game set to come out of Loot Drop, its first two with publisher RockYou. Ubisoft will also release Ghost Recon Commander for Facebook.
The game will serve as a companion to the publisher's two upcoming Ghost Recon games: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for console and Ghost Recon: Online for PCs. According to ISG, players will be able to advance in either core game through the Facebook companion and vice versa. We've seen how high-profile companion games do already, but House is poised to be a winner--have you seen how many "Likes" it has on Facebook?
Inside Social Games reports that the games will launch either at the end of this year or early in 2012. In other words, they're coming this winter. The games will play out procedurally, like episodes of their television inspirations. Players will search for clues after identifying victims, patients or suspects and solve cases with the help of friends and non-player characters.
The French game publisher also announced a deal with Loot Drop, designer John Romero's studio that has yet to release its first game, Cloudforest Expedition. No details were given regarding the game, but this marks the third game set to come out of Loot Drop, its first two with publisher RockYou. Ubisoft will also release Ghost Recon Commander for Facebook.
The game will serve as a companion to the publisher's two upcoming Ghost Recon games: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for console and Ghost Recon: Online for PCs. According to ISG, players will be able to advance in either core game through the Facebook companion and vice versa. We've seen how high-profile companion games do already, but House is poised to be a winner--have you seen how many "Likes" it has on Facebook?
Jurassic Park to (hopefully) bring Mr. DNA to mobile, Facebook in 2012
It's just not Jurassic Park without the little guy. Ludia, the Vancouver-based creator of branded Facebook and mobile games like Family Feud and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has announced that it will bring a Jurassic Park social game to mobile devices in 2012. This deal with Universal Studios marks the company's move into the movie industry through branded games.
"This exciting license is our gateway to the movie industry and reinforces our strategy of turning high-profile brands into successful interactive entertainment experiences," Ludia CEO Alex Thabet said in a release, according to Inside Social Games. But it sounds as if the game will be far less about dinosaurs wreaking havoc than about keeping dinosaurs in check.
In other words, it's going to be another property management game. (Ugh.) Ludia will throw players onto the ill-fated island shortly after the events of the first movie, and they'll be able to help rebuild Jurassic Park into a thriving, money printing machine. What sounds most interesting is the ability to breed dinosaurs using new DNA strands discovered in pieces of amber. See? There's no way Ludia can leave out Mr. DNA now.
Of course, players will need to seek the help of their Facebook friends to keep dino-related disasters from happening and more tourists forking over the cash. The game has yet to receive an official title, and will release on mobile devices before hitting social networks like Facebook.
"This exciting license is our gateway to the movie industry and reinforces our strategy of turning high-profile brands into successful interactive entertainment experiences," Ludia CEO Alex Thabet said in a release, according to Inside Social Games. But it sounds as if the game will be far less about dinosaurs wreaking havoc than about keeping dinosaurs in check.
In other words, it's going to be another property management game. (Ugh.) Ludia will throw players onto the ill-fated island shortly after the events of the first movie, and they'll be able to help rebuild Jurassic Park into a thriving, money printing machine. What sounds most interesting is the ability to breed dinosaurs using new DNA strands discovered in pieces of amber. See? There's no way Ludia can leave out Mr. DNA now.
Of course, players will need to seek the help of their Facebook friends to keep dino-related disasters from happening and more tourists forking over the cash. The game has yet to receive an official title, and will release on mobile devices before hitting social networks like Facebook.
Ultima creator Richard Garriott runs social game studio with ... a robot?
At this point, with a guy who flew into space and once ran the craziest haunted house in the nation within his house, I guess you should expect these things. The Huffington Post reports that Richard Garriott, creator of the famed Ultima PC game series and co-founder of social game studio Portalarium, manages his Austin, Texas-based studio remotely ... with a robot. Seriously.
Since July of this year, Garriott has conversed with Portalarium's 25 employees in meetings and casually (the robot is a mobile, remote-controlled machine equipped with cameras and microphones) from his New York home. According to The Huffington Post, all he needs is a broadband connection, his laptop, a microphone and two cameras to make it work.
"When I'm up north, I log in in the morning and can meander over to anyone's desk and really be a part of the casual conversations that are so essential to our work," Garriott told The Huffington Post. "Sometimes I feel like a spy, but fundamentally it feels like I am really there." But the game industry veteran didn't buy the $15,000 Anybot QB solely for this job.
When Garriott married his wife earlier this year in the spring, he purchased the robot to ensure that his mother could participate in the ceremony and reception, which took place in Paris. The game designer strapped a cardboard cut-out of his elderly mother to the robot, gave her the controls from her Las Vegas home and it was as if she was there. Hey, at least we now know how dedicated Garriott is to Portalarium's upcoming crown jewel, Lord British's New Britannia (and his mum).
Since July of this year, Garriott has conversed with Portalarium's 25 employees in meetings and casually (the robot is a mobile, remote-controlled machine equipped with cameras and microphones) from his New York home. According to The Huffington Post, all he needs is a broadband connection, his laptop, a microphone and two cameras to make it work.
"When I'm up north, I log in in the morning and can meander over to anyone's desk and really be a part of the casual conversations that are so essential to our work," Garriott told The Huffington Post. "Sometimes I feel like a spy, but fundamentally it feels like I am really there." But the game industry veteran didn't buy the $15,000 Anybot QB solely for this job.
When Garriott married his wife earlier this year in the spring, he purchased the robot to ensure that his mother could participate in the ceremony and reception, which took place in Paris. The game designer strapped a cardboard cut-out of his elderly mother to the robot, gave her the controls from her Las Vegas home and it was as if she was there. Hey, at least we now know how dedicated Garriott is to Portalarium's upcoming crown jewel, Lord British's New Britannia (and his mum).
Sumon is Tetris-meets-math class on Facebook, Chrome and mobile
If there is one game genre that will likely survive them all, it's puzzlers. San Francisco-based Ludei claims to be one of the first social game developers to launch a game on Facebook, Chrome, HTML5, iOS and Android. The game is called Sumon, a puzzle game that evokes feelings of Tetris, but with math-centric gameplay that's said to serve well as a mind sharpening tool.
The game combines simple math problems through addition with spatial reasoning. Players are presented with a series of blocks, each with specific numbers on them, and a goal number. It's up to players to string blocks together to reach that goal number. Of course, the game sets players against the clock, adding numbered blocks until each level is cleared.
"Sumon is the first in a series of titles that is going to take advantage of bleeding edge innovation in mobile entertainment as we plan for a bigger footprint in the U.S. and worldwide," Ludei CEO Eneko Knorr said in a release. "By launching on HTML5, iOS and Android, we're able to bring Sumon to the largest possible audience, a sentiment that is often discussed but rarely executed-until now."
It's certainly a novel strategy in the social games world where the pressure to go multiplatform or go home is increasing. There are three modes of play in Sumon: classic, progressive and respawn. But generally, the more numbered blocks you use to reach a given goal number, the higher your score will go. But really, we're just digging the paper mache art style--so pretty.
The game combines simple math problems through addition with spatial reasoning. Players are presented with a series of blocks, each with specific numbers on them, and a goal number. It's up to players to string blocks together to reach that goal number. Of course, the game sets players against the clock, adding numbered blocks until each level is cleared.
"Sumon is the first in a series of titles that is going to take advantage of bleeding edge innovation in mobile entertainment as we plan for a bigger footprint in the U.S. and worldwide," Ludei CEO Eneko Knorr said in a release. "By launching on HTML5, iOS and Android, we're able to bring Sumon to the largest possible audience, a sentiment that is often discussed but rarely executed-until now."
It's certainly a novel strategy in the social games world where the pressure to go multiplatform or go home is increasing. There are three modes of play in Sumon: classic, progressive and respawn. But generally, the more numbered blocks you use to reach a given goal number, the higher your score will go. But really, we're just digging the paper mache art style--so pretty.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
TicBits brings iAssociate 2 iPhone game to Facebook
I'll admit - one of my favorite iPhone games ever is iAssociate 2 from TicBits. Imagine, then, my delight when I found out that the developer had launched the game on Facebook. For those unfamiliar with the iPhone game, iAssociate 2 is a word association game that is very simple in concept, but easily addictive.
Each level is comprised of a web of words. You'll be given one or perhaps two words to start (based on the web's design), and you'll be able to see all of the words directly related to your starting word via word bubbles. Of course, you'll have to come up with this associated words yourself, but you will be given the number of letters that the word contains.
Your starting level, for instance, gives you the word "Breakfast." From there, you'll need to think of all of the things associated with breakfast (toast, eggs, cereal, and so on) and enter those into the game to see if they match. Once you find a word, more branches stem off of it, until the entire web is one grand and complex setup, filling the screen.
Due to the idea of word association though, you won't necessarily always be talking about breakfast (in keeping with our example). Early on, you'll have the word Bacon, for instance. Bacon comes from Pigs, and sure enough, that word is in the web as well. Just as easy as that, you've transitioned from talking about breakfast and food to talking about barnyard animals. Know of a movie that contains a pig as the main character? There's another branch in the association - now moving you into the world of cinema and Hollywood.
You'll earn points for each correct word you guess, and certain bonus words will be available that grant you even more points. Once you complete a web, you'll be able to play another level, with another starting theme (Around the House, Comics & Cartoons, etc.). You are given just three levels to start the game, while the others require you to spend cash, a premium currency of sorts.
You can either buy cash with real money, or you can complete offers (surveys, purchase rewards, etc.) to earn them. Aside from that, you'll earn a single coin for each correct word you fill into a web. Additionally, you can simply invite your friends to play the game with you, and for each friend that accepts you'll earn 500 coins. Levels cost 790 coins and up (you start with 1,000 coins), so you'll likely need to invite quite a few friends before unlocking them all.
Once you finish the tutorial level, you'll be able to use hints to reveal one letter of a word of your choice. Hints are limited though, so you'll want to save those hints for when you need them most.
Your overall score will be counted across all levels, allowing you to be compared to your friends on the in-game leaderboard. And if you run out of hints, or simply want to get your friends in on the fun, you can click on the "Help" button in a level to pick a word that you need help with and then post a help request on your wall, asking your friends if they can figure out the word for you.
Social features aside, iAssociate is a pretty addictive package even when played solo. If you don't have an iPhone, I highly suggest trying this one out on Facebook.
Each level is comprised of a web of words. You'll be given one or perhaps two words to start (based on the web's design), and you'll be able to see all of the words directly related to your starting word via word bubbles. Of course, you'll have to come up with this associated words yourself, but you will be given the number of letters that the word contains.
Your starting level, for instance, gives you the word "Breakfast." From there, you'll need to think of all of the things associated with breakfast (toast, eggs, cereal, and so on) and enter those into the game to see if they match. Once you find a word, more branches stem off of it, until the entire web is one grand and complex setup, filling the screen.
Due to the idea of word association though, you won't necessarily always be talking about breakfast (in keeping with our example). Early on, you'll have the word Bacon, for instance. Bacon comes from Pigs, and sure enough, that word is in the web as well. Just as easy as that, you've transitioned from talking about breakfast and food to talking about barnyard animals. Know of a movie that contains a pig as the main character? There's another branch in the association - now moving you into the world of cinema and Hollywood.
You'll earn points for each correct word you guess, and certain bonus words will be available that grant you even more points. Once you complete a web, you'll be able to play another level, with another starting theme (Around the House, Comics & Cartoons, etc.). You are given just three levels to start the game, while the others require you to spend cash, a premium currency of sorts.
You can either buy cash with real money, or you can complete offers (surveys, purchase rewards, etc.) to earn them. Aside from that, you'll earn a single coin for each correct word you fill into a web. Additionally, you can simply invite your friends to play the game with you, and for each friend that accepts you'll earn 500 coins. Levels cost 790 coins and up (you start with 1,000 coins), so you'll likely need to invite quite a few friends before unlocking them all.
Once you finish the tutorial level, you'll be able to use hints to reveal one letter of a word of your choice. Hints are limited though, so you'll want to save those hints for when you need them most.
Your overall score will be counted across all levels, allowing you to be compared to your friends on the in-game leaderboard. And if you run out of hints, or simply want to get your friends in on the fun, you can click on the "Help" button in a level to pick a word that you need help with and then post a help request on your wall, asking your friends if they can figure out the word for you.
Social features aside, iAssociate is a pretty addictive package even when played solo. If you don't have an iPhone, I highly suggest trying this one out on Facebook.
LOLapps gives Critter Island the axe this month
Back in November, LOLapps started a desperate attempt to restore the viral channels in their game Critter Island. After launching the game in August, and then being denied access to social features (by Facebook) after a privacy debacle, LOLapps attempted to regain access to their viral channels in Critter Island (neighbor invites, gift requests, and wall posts), but to no avail.
The developer remained fairly quiet on the issue after creating the Restore Critter Island page on Facebook, but we now know that all efforts were apparently in vain. Thanks to a letter received by a concerned player from LOLapps itself, we now know that the entire development team has been transitioned from Critter Island to Ravenwood Fair, and that Critter Island itself will be shutting down alongside Supermodel: The Game on January 31.
That's right, after the end of the month, Critter Island will no longer be accessible. Supermodel: The Game will be closing on the same date. I guess we can only say it was fun while it lasted... or, at least until November when the controversy erupted. Hopefully this will be the last game closure we see from the company in the near future.
The developer remained fairly quiet on the issue after creating the Restore Critter Island page on Facebook, but we now know that all efforts were apparently in vain. Thanks to a letter received by a concerned player from LOLapps itself, we now know that the entire development team has been transitioned from Critter Island to Ravenwood Fair, and that Critter Island itself will be shutting down alongside Supermodel: The Game on January 31.
That's right, after the end of the month, Critter Island will no longer be accessible. Supermodel: The Game will be closing on the same date. I guess we can only say it was fun while it lasted... or, at least until November when the controversy erupted. Hopefully this will be the last game closure we see from the company in the near future.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Perfect Getaway on Facebook: Where your final destination is boredom
Playing this game begs the question: Is this how the crew of the Love Boat felt all the time? Welcome to Perfect Getaway, the cruise ship party game that never ends--literally. You'll never leave the boat, because you can't. Perfect World Entertainment's first entry into the social games arena throws you onto a cruise ship as its captain. It's your job to make sure everyone on the ship is as happy as possible. The game has a distinct anime art style that's undeniably cute, and its gameplay moves extremely fast, giving off the feeling of progression. However, it's not you that's going on the Perfect Getaway, it's your customers.
And despite this game's solid balance and incredibly fast flow, the fact that I personally will never get to go on any of these perfect getaways is tough to get over, given the game's title. Perfect Getaway plays a lot like business management sims that have come before it like Nightclub City and Diner Dash, though the fact that it may or may not have used those games as inspiration isn't the issue.
Perfect Getaway Set Sail
In order to keep patrons aboard your tiny vessel peachy keen, you have to placate them with activities to do, shops to spend money at and objects to interact with like pools. Most of these actions cost Energy, which you get very little of to start. So, using abilities like Whale Watching and Shopping Sprees to boost happiness should be used sparingly. However, the number one thing you can do to increase your customers' happiness is Set Sail.
Gallery: Perfect Getaway
This is essentially the crux of the game, sailing to new locations to constantly restore your patrons' happiness and earn coins from what they spend money on. Then, you must use those coins to buy new attractions. The process is largely cyclical, with the only thing changing being the scale of it all. Thankfully, your journey to creating the ultimate cruise ship is governed by quests, which fly by so quickly they create the illusion of you progressing.
Perfect Getaway Pool Party
But while are you are, in fact, leveling up and gaining new attractions and abilities to maintain your peoples' happiness, you're not really getting anywhere. You're still on the same old boat. Yes, it can be upgraded and customized to your hearts content, into something completely new from the last time you logged in, but it's still the same old boat.
While all the people paying up are seeing the best of what Cuba, the Bahamas Jamaica and more have to offer, you're stuck picking up their towels and boosting your Leisure points to pay your crew to keep the hot dogs coming. Perfect Getaway is one fine Facebook game, logistically speaking, but your actions in the game don't quite live up to its name.
And despite this game's solid balance and incredibly fast flow, the fact that I personally will never get to go on any of these perfect getaways is tough to get over, given the game's title. Perfect Getaway plays a lot like business management sims that have come before it like Nightclub City and Diner Dash, though the fact that it may or may not have used those games as inspiration isn't the issue.
Perfect Getaway Set Sail
In order to keep patrons aboard your tiny vessel peachy keen, you have to placate them with activities to do, shops to spend money at and objects to interact with like pools. Most of these actions cost Energy, which you get very little of to start. So, using abilities like Whale Watching and Shopping Sprees to boost happiness should be used sparingly. However, the number one thing you can do to increase your customers' happiness is Set Sail.
Gallery: Perfect Getaway
This is essentially the crux of the game, sailing to new locations to constantly restore your patrons' happiness and earn coins from what they spend money on. Then, you must use those coins to buy new attractions. The process is largely cyclical, with the only thing changing being the scale of it all. Thankfully, your journey to creating the ultimate cruise ship is governed by quests, which fly by so quickly they create the illusion of you progressing.
Perfect Getaway Pool Party
But while are you are, in fact, leveling up and gaining new attractions and abilities to maintain your peoples' happiness, you're not really getting anywhere. You're still on the same old boat. Yes, it can be upgraded and customized to your hearts content, into something completely new from the last time you logged in, but it's still the same old boat.
While all the people paying up are seeing the best of what Cuba, the Bahamas Jamaica and more have to offer, you're stuck picking up their towels and boosting your Leisure points to pay your crew to keep the hot dogs coming. Perfect Getaway is one fine Facebook game, logistically speaking, but your actions in the game don't quite live up to its name.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Lucky Space update hits the (new) desert, and we have pics [Exclusive]
Lucky Space content update
Wait a tick: Wasn't the first planet essentially a desert that was just all ... purple? At any rate, A Bit Lucky has released a major content update to Lucky Space with a brand new planet to explore that looks more traditionally "desert". The update allows the game's 280,000 monthly players to complete time-sensitive missions and compete in a new scoring system.
According to A Bit Lucky, the timed missions are generally set in three, five or seven-day intervals. For instance, one of the new timed missions on the desert planet, Red Gold, tasks players with mining as much ore as possible in three days. Should they mine enough ore, players will earn Space Bucks and other rare items for their colonies. It sounds like the new scoring system will contain friendly and global leaderboards, and we're guessing those will include these new timed missions.
Gallery: Lucky Space on Facebook
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"Since launching Lucky Space earlier this fall, we've been hard at work creating new content to keep our fans entertained and engaged," A Bit Lucky director of product management Whalen Rozelle said in a release. "The addition of challenges, leaderboards and trophies are sure to bring out the competitive nature of gamers, adding another dynamic to the game."
Based on these exclusive screen shots provided by A Bit Lucky, it looks like more of the same but on a new rock and with more pressure to win. We love hearty competition as much as the next gamer, but we just hope this new content in Lucky Space takes on the same humor as its launch. Keep breaking that fourth wall, guys--no, seriously. It's hilarious.
Have you been digging Lucky Space since it released earlier this fall? If not, do you think this content will pique your interest?
Wait a tick: Wasn't the first planet essentially a desert that was just all ... purple? At any rate, A Bit Lucky has released a major content update to Lucky Space with a brand new planet to explore that looks more traditionally "desert". The update allows the game's 280,000 monthly players to complete time-sensitive missions and compete in a new scoring system.
According to A Bit Lucky, the timed missions are generally set in three, five or seven-day intervals. For instance, one of the new timed missions on the desert planet, Red Gold, tasks players with mining as much ore as possible in three days. Should they mine enough ore, players will earn Space Bucks and other rare items for their colonies. It sounds like the new scoring system will contain friendly and global leaderboards, and we're guessing those will include these new timed missions.
Gallery: Lucky Space on Facebook
Exclusive 1Exclusive 2Exclusive 3Exclusive 4
"Since launching Lucky Space earlier this fall, we've been hard at work creating new content to keep our fans entertained and engaged," A Bit Lucky director of product management Whalen Rozelle said in a release. "The addition of challenges, leaderboards and trophies are sure to bring out the competitive nature of gamers, adding another dynamic to the game."
Based on these exclusive screen shots provided by A Bit Lucky, it looks like more of the same but on a new rock and with more pressure to win. We love hearty competition as much as the next gamer, but we just hope this new content in Lucky Space takes on the same humor as its launch. Keep breaking that fourth wall, guys--no, seriously. It's hilarious.
Have you been digging Lucky Space since it released earlier this fall? If not, do you think this content will pique your interest?
Will the Ultima maker's new social game appeal to all forms of gamer?
That's sounds pretty ... ambitious (to say the least), but that seems to be what game designer Richard Garriott is going for. During a recent interview with IndustryGamers, Ultima creator Garriott somehow revealed his master plan for how he's going to change social gaming without revealing anything specific, really. While it's too early to make serious judgment calls, his idea sounds downright awesome.
At least on paper, it sounds as if players will be able to carve out their own role in a fantasy world that rewards several different types of play. Basically, members of a group of friends can each take on different roles--be it farmer, shop owner or even adventurer--and somehow contribute to the overall world both in real time and asynchronously.
"And allowing it to be asynchronous interaction as well as synchronous interaction," Garriott told IndustryGamers. "So if you're the farmer, and you're playing your FarmVille style of gameplay, and that's what you like, that's fine, and you can either sell it on your produce stand or come over to my cafe and sell it to me directly, but either way, if you're offline, me or my chef can come over to your farm stand or to you personally if you're online, and buy the produce we need, and in either case we're gonna sell meals to the adventurer that just came through and might be bringing back the special dragon egg to make the greatest omelet that's ever been made in the history of the world! I can now make it in my cafe based on the stuff the adventurer brought back."
In essence, Garriott's Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will somehow allow the FarmVille player, the Cafe World fan and the Skyrim fanatic to all play the same game in their own way and help one another. If developer Portalarium can live up to these ambitions, then count us in.
[Image Credit: CollectSpace]
Does this make you excited for the designer's first full social game? More importantly, can a game like this be what it takes to usurp the Zynga throne?
At least on paper, it sounds as if players will be able to carve out their own role in a fantasy world that rewards several different types of play. Basically, members of a group of friends can each take on different roles--be it farmer, shop owner or even adventurer--and somehow contribute to the overall world both in real time and asynchronously.
"And allowing it to be asynchronous interaction as well as synchronous interaction," Garriott told IndustryGamers. "So if you're the farmer, and you're playing your FarmVille style of gameplay, and that's what you like, that's fine, and you can either sell it on your produce stand or come over to my cafe and sell it to me directly, but either way, if you're offline, me or my chef can come over to your farm stand or to you personally if you're online, and buy the produce we need, and in either case we're gonna sell meals to the adventurer that just came through and might be bringing back the special dragon egg to make the greatest omelet that's ever been made in the history of the world! I can now make it in my cafe based on the stuff the adventurer brought back."
In essence, Garriott's Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will somehow allow the FarmVille player, the Cafe World fan and the Skyrim fanatic to all play the same game in their own way and help one another. If developer Portalarium can live up to these ambitions, then count us in.
[Image Credit: CollectSpace]
Does this make you excited for the designer's first full social game? More importantly, can a game like this be what it takes to usurp the Zynga throne?
Turkeys go on Thanksgiving vacay in Island Paradise, or do they?
No, not really. (The poor saps.) Meteor Games has pushed a Thanksgiving update to Island Paradise, and while it looks like the bird most associated with food is finally getting a break, rewards like the "Turkey Oven" lead us to believe otherwise.
A new Turkey Day-themed mini game has arrived in Island Paradise, titled "Get Stuffed!" has 10 rewards for players to unlock. The mini game has players essentially switching five turkeys between "open wide" and "take cover" from delicious feed and stinky trash, respectively.
You have 60 seconds to gobble up as many good eats as possible, but accidentally munching on stinky foods leaves you with points lost. Reaching certain point milestones unlocks the 10 rewards, which include the both dreaded and delightful Turkey Oven, depending on which camp you sit in.
Players can also win a Wampanoag Log House, Thanksgiving campfire and a Mayflower for playing "Get Stuffed!" every 30 minutes. Of course, players can pay up in Facebook Credits to play again instantly. Meteor Games is also throwing its first-annual Cranberry Sauce Cook-Off a competition between players that runs from Nov. 23 through Nov. 25.
Island Paradise Get Stuffed
Other items featured in the game for our favorite day of food and football include a coconut tree that produces orange coconuts for new in-game recipes, a new themed cabin and a crepe turkey dish. (Now, that might be a Thanksgiving first.) Players can also give their Island Paradise avatars a hand turkey as a pet. Aw, it's just like we're in grade school again.
Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving themed coverage right here.
Are you still digging on Island Paradise? What other plans to do you have for Thanksgiving?
A new Turkey Day-themed mini game has arrived in Island Paradise, titled "Get Stuffed!" has 10 rewards for players to unlock. The mini game has players essentially switching five turkeys between "open wide" and "take cover" from delicious feed and stinky trash, respectively.
You have 60 seconds to gobble up as many good eats as possible, but accidentally munching on stinky foods leaves you with points lost. Reaching certain point milestones unlocks the 10 rewards, which include the both dreaded and delightful Turkey Oven, depending on which camp you sit in.
Players can also win a Wampanoag Log House, Thanksgiving campfire and a Mayflower for playing "Get Stuffed!" every 30 minutes. Of course, players can pay up in Facebook Credits to play again instantly. Meteor Games is also throwing its first-annual Cranberry Sauce Cook-Off a competition between players that runs from Nov. 23 through Nov. 25.
Island Paradise Get Stuffed
Other items featured in the game for our favorite day of food and football include a coconut tree that produces orange coconuts for new in-game recipes, a new themed cabin and a crepe turkey dish. (Now, that might be a Thanksgiving first.) Players can also give their Island Paradise avatars a hand turkey as a pet. Aw, it's just like we're in grade school again.
Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving themed coverage right here.
Are you still digging on Island Paradise? What other plans to do you have for Thanksgiving?
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