The game I'm playing at the moment that is giving me such a wonderful experience of playing a character and isn't an RPG is, of course, Batman: Arkham City. Aside from The Witcher 2, no other game this year has placed me so firmly in the boots of a character and succeeded in making me not only feel like I am that character, but react like that character as well. I became emotionally invested in every decision in Assassins of Kings, fretting about the potential consequences and whether or not the decision would violate my (or Geralt's as the case may be) vaunted impartiality.
In Arkham City my pulse quickens every time I hear a phone ringing because I know that Zsasz, that twisted bastard is only minutes away from slaughtering some other innocent and carving another notch into his own skin. I feel the Bat's anger, revulsion and pity every time I face one of the members of his rogue's gallery. Even more that Arkham Asylum, Arkham City makes you feel like you are the Bat. The fact that there is only ever one two possible outcomes to any mission (success or failure) and that your actions have no consequences aside from triggering the next story mission or forcing you to start over again may distance Arkham City from my favourite genre, but as an exercise in character the game is hard to beat.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
D20: What is an RPG anyway II: The Charactering
Way back in the beginning of this column I wrote a rather long-winded but passionate treatise on what constitutes and RPG to me, boiling it down in the end to “interactive and collaborative storytelling”. So far this year we have had some truly fine RPGs, starting with the sublime The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, moving on to a game that I loved but many didn't, Dragon Age II and then on to Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Skyrim is just around the corner but it's going to have to be really damn good to give me a better roleplaying experience than the game I am playing now. The odd thing is, the game I'm currently playing obsessively isn't even an RPG.
When I wrote my first definition of what an RPG is to me I glossed over the concept of character to obsess over story. I touched briefly on character creation being a key component to RPG then in the same paragraph also lauded games with set characters. I think it's high time I had a closer look at character.
When I wrote my first definition of what an RPG is to me I glossed over the concept of character to obsess over story. I touched briefly on character creation being a key component to RPG then in the same paragraph also lauded games with set characters. I think it's high time I had a closer look at character.
Head in the Clouds – Why Cloud Systems are the Future for Gaming
Imagine a world where you never needed to upgrade your graphics card, a world where you needn’t waste time downloading and installing your latest purchase, a world where your collection was accessible from any device, anywhere in the world. Welcome to the world of cloud gaming. It’s very real and set to change the face of gaming as we know it.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Giant Swords And Silly Cleavage? Ah, This Is Code Of Princess
Mass-market appeal, family-friendly mascots and fluffy animals be damned. Code of Princess is a 3DS game that wants to sell itself on giant swords and barely clothed women.
Which sounds awfully crass, but then those barely clothed women have been designed by Capcom legend Kinu Nishimura, who is working on both the characters and the world of Code of Princess. So there’s pedigree to that exposed flesh!
It’s a side-scrolling brawler, with up to four player co-op, and will be out in Japan next year. It’s being developed by Agashima Entertainment.
If you like the looks of the character design, there’s a rather detailed statue of the main character you can check out here. You may not want to do so if you’re at work, though. Just saying.
Which sounds awfully crass, but then those barely clothed women have been designed by Capcom legend Kinu Nishimura, who is working on both the characters and the world of Code of Princess. So there’s pedigree to that exposed flesh!
It’s a side-scrolling brawler, with up to four player co-op, and will be out in Japan next year. It’s being developed by Agashima Entertainment.
If you like the looks of the character design, there’s a rather detailed statue of the main character you can check out here. You may not want to do so if you’re at work, though. Just saying.
She’s A Nun. An Evil Nun. With A Machine Gun.
Fashion model turned famous lady Nozomi Sasaki has a new habit: She’s appearing in upcoming television series based on a social networking game as a boss character.
The game is Kaito Royale, a popular mobile phone title. Sasaki is a machine gun-packing nun named “Sister Snake”.
The drama centres around a group of thieves. The original game debuted on Japanese mobile phones. As of this summer, the game has over 10 million players.
Sasaki plays a bad character — a first for her. According to the drama’s creator, that’s exactly why they wanted Sasaki.
Japan has a long history of nun imagery. Nozomi Sasaki, best known for her fashion pics and chewing gum commercials, is now part of that.
The game is Kaito Royale, a popular mobile phone title. Sasaki is a machine gun-packing nun named “Sister Snake”.
The drama centres around a group of thieves. The original game debuted on Japanese mobile phones. As of this summer, the game has over 10 million players.
Sasaki plays a bad character — a first for her. According to the drama’s creator, that’s exactly why they wanted Sasaki.
Japan has a long history of nun imagery. Nozomi Sasaki, best known for her fashion pics and chewing gum commercials, is now part of that.
Report: Sony Pictures Closing In On Assassin’s Creed Movie Deal
Sony Pictures is close to signing a deal with Ubisoft to turn period-piece adventure game Assassin’s Creed into a movie, Variety reports. More importantly, it sounds like the deal could actually result in a movie you’d want to watch.
The deal comes after a reported bidding war between several studios including Sony and Universal. Last summer Ubisoft launched Ubisoft Motion Pictures as part of a move to expand beyond gaming and become a transmedia company.
In theory, the new arm of Ubisoft would keep a close eye on the production of the movie to make sure it doesn’t become, well, almost every other video game turned into movie: Bad. Variety reports that this ability to maintain creative control over the film was a key factor in the negotiations, which I’ll take to be a very good sign.
Apparently Sony is as interested in Assassin’s Creed as most of you are. Variety reports that they don’t want to just make it into a movie, but rather bet on it become a major release with some future in the theatre.
The deal comes after a reported bidding war between several studios including Sony and Universal. Last summer Ubisoft launched Ubisoft Motion Pictures as part of a move to expand beyond gaming and become a transmedia company.
In theory, the new arm of Ubisoft would keep a close eye on the production of the movie to make sure it doesn’t become, well, almost every other video game turned into movie: Bad. Variety reports that this ability to maintain creative control over the film was a key factor in the negotiations, which I’ll take to be a very good sign.
Apparently Sony is as interested in Assassin’s Creed as most of you are. Variety reports that they don’t want to just make it into a movie, but rather bet on it become a major release with some future in the theatre.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Latest Articles for PayDay: The Heist
Being a PC gamer isn't always fun. Sure, we get crisp 1080p visuals running at framerates that make a Bullet train feel slow, but we also have to wait longer than our lucky console brothers to get our mitts on many of the latest games. Take Sony's Pay Day: The Heist for example; it's been out on the PS3 for a couple of days already, yet PC gamers are still waiting to get our bank robbery on. Thankfully the wait for the PC version isn't approaching Arkham City levels; turns out PC gamers will have access to the game tomorrow, the 20th of Octobe
PayDay: The Heist
Payday: The Heist is a high-intensity squad-based first person shooter where players take on the role of a hardened career criminal pulling death-defying heists in the never-ending pursuit of the next "big score." Quick wit, an equally fast trigger finger and above all teamwork are the rules of engagement as players will embark on a spectacular crime spree of six heart stopping heists, including blasting their way through a downtown bank vault robbery, managing hostages in an armored car hijacking and even a midnight infiltration of a top-secret, high-security facility.
Additionally, Payday: The Heist challenges players with dynamic environments and adaptive enemy tactics — meaning no scenario will ever play out the same way twice. Teamwork is essential to ensure crew members provide cover under fire, guard key access points, break through various security measures and keep civilians in check. Survive wave after wave of the best that law enforcement can deploy as they shift strategies in response to player actions and gameplay style.
Additionally, Payday: The Heist challenges players with dynamic environments and adaptive enemy tactics — meaning no scenario will ever play out the same way twice. Teamwork is essential to ensure crew members provide cover under fire, guard key access points, break through various security measures and keep civilians in check. Survive wave after wave of the best that law enforcement can deploy as they shift strategies in response to player actions and gameplay style.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
3DS and PSP2 spec. guess
Now I personally had already formed my opinion on what I felt each handheld was going to be pushing spec wise, and here's what I came up with.
3DS thoughts
CPU: 400 - 800 MHz processor for top screen (480 Mhz) Gamecube
100 - 200 MHz processor for bottom screen (120 Mhz) Nintendo 64
Since Nintendo is known for recycling tech I wouldn’t be surprised if the bottom screen is the former top screen for the original DS and only uses a 64 MHz processor. But I think Nintendo's going to try harder this go round, but they're still going to be left behind.
RAM: 128 - 512MB (256MB) More than any Nintendo system
First off I never split up V RAM, and D Ram which is why there's only one figure. The Wii is their most powerful system and it only has 88MB. The 3DS games look on par with the Wii some a little better (whether it’s the tech or small screen?) and with a lower end processor, the web browser, 3D, and other features it needs the RAM update. I'm being generous here, but I think they'll go with 128MB.
GPU: 256 MHz GPU for top screen
64 MHz GPU for bottom screen
Again Nintendo is known for not pushing tech, and if we look at everything the 3DS is doing, it’s not really pushing anything, only catching up. Its games look better than their PSP counterparts, but it doesn’t blow the PSP out of the water. No doubt about it the 3DS is going to improve over time as all consoles do, but I don’t see it reaching XBox 360 level graphics. 480p, 30fps (Max 3D) or 480p, 60fps (2D)
So as you can see I gave the 3DS too much love, and if the rumored specs. are right, then the 3DS is practically on par with the PSP. That's what makes me doubt these rumored specs., but we'll have to wait and see.
PSP2 thoughts
CPU: 1 GHz - 3.2 GHz (1 GHz) Current king of mobile devices
Sony is known to make their consoles 8 - 10x as powerful as the last, and I think the handheld would be no exception, if it weren’t for battery life, and burning our hands due to having some insane tech in it, we would have a 3.2 Ghz Cell mini in the PSP2.
RAM: 512MB - 1GB (1GB) Has to make up for CPU
Since they can’t get the CPU to reach the level of the PS3 they’re going to do it with RAM. Expect the PSP2 to be using 1GB of RAM which is twice as much in the PS3, meaning we should see some near PS3 quality graphics on the handheld.
GPU: 512 MHz GPU
This is the other area where the PSP2 has to improve to hold it’s title as a portable console. The PS3 has a standard GPU in it, which was great at the time, but fast forward at least 5 years later and you have new and better GPU’s available, but mobile GPU’s like CPU’s aren’t up to par with the bigger electronics, so my guess is the GPU will be on par with the PS3’s. 720p, 60fps
3DS thoughts
CPU: 400 - 800 MHz processor for top screen (480 Mhz) Gamecube
100 - 200 MHz processor for bottom screen (120 Mhz) Nintendo 64
Since Nintendo is known for recycling tech I wouldn’t be surprised if the bottom screen is the former top screen for the original DS and only uses a 64 MHz processor. But I think Nintendo's going to try harder this go round, but they're still going to be left behind.
RAM: 128 - 512MB (256MB) More than any Nintendo system
First off I never split up V RAM, and D Ram which is why there's only one figure. The Wii is their most powerful system and it only has 88MB. The 3DS games look on par with the Wii some a little better (whether it’s the tech or small screen?) and with a lower end processor, the web browser, 3D, and other features it needs the RAM update. I'm being generous here, but I think they'll go with 128MB.
GPU: 256 MHz GPU for top screen
64 MHz GPU for bottom screen
Again Nintendo is known for not pushing tech, and if we look at everything the 3DS is doing, it’s not really pushing anything, only catching up. Its games look better than their PSP counterparts, but it doesn’t blow the PSP out of the water. No doubt about it the 3DS is going to improve over time as all consoles do, but I don’t see it reaching XBox 360 level graphics. 480p, 30fps (Max 3D) or 480p, 60fps (2D)
So as you can see I gave the 3DS too much love, and if the rumored specs. are right, then the 3DS is practically on par with the PSP. That's what makes me doubt these rumored specs., but we'll have to wait and see.
PSP2 thoughts
CPU: 1 GHz - 3.2 GHz (1 GHz) Current king of mobile devices
Sony is known to make their consoles 8 - 10x as powerful as the last, and I think the handheld would be no exception, if it weren’t for battery life, and burning our hands due to having some insane tech in it, we would have a 3.2 Ghz Cell mini in the PSP2.
RAM: 512MB - 1GB (1GB) Has to make up for CPU
Since they can’t get the CPU to reach the level of the PS3 they’re going to do it with RAM. Expect the PSP2 to be using 1GB of RAM which is twice as much in the PS3, meaning we should see some near PS3 quality graphics on the handheld.
GPU: 512 MHz GPU
This is the other area where the PSP2 has to improve to hold it’s title as a portable console. The PS3 has a standard GPU in it, which was great at the time, but fast forward at least 5 years later and you have new and better GPU’s available, but mobile GPU’s like CPU’s aren’t up to par with the bigger electronics, so my guess is the GPU will be on par with the PS3’s. 720p, 60fps
Panzer Dragoon Saga has survived the test of time! "13 years & still kicking"
This is an in depth look at how well Panzer Dragoon Saga has survived the test of time.
What other games do you feel have also survived the test of time and hold up well for todays standards?
I'd like to know what you think!
What other games do you feel have also survived the test of time and hold up well for todays standards?
I'd like to know what you think!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Crysis 2: Set up to fail?
I fear that Crysis 2 has become the new whipping boy of gaming as of late. Everyone has it in for the game these days, or so it seems. Still, I think the marketing for Crysis 2 has to be at least partly to blame. If you are going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.
The original Crysis was a beast of a game when it came out for the PC. Graphically it was just a monster, and few people had the hardware to do the game justice. It had an elitism that made it both desirable, and admirable. It still holds its own to this very day. Although one could argue that the steep hardware requirements was financial suicide for Crysis, no one can deny the brilliance of the free advertising it created.
In a gaming world so heavily focused on graphical prowess, Crysis basically marketed itself for free, and made Crytek a household name amongst gamers. Early leaks and pirates ensured the game was minimally profitable, but Crytek succeeded in putting Crysis in the minds of gamers, which is a VERY important feat in such a crowded market. Companies spend countless millions to gain such a desirable image. "Crysis" is now associated with "amazing graphics" to the average gamer. Few think "mediocre gameplay."
With Crysis 2, Crytek was most likely up against a financial wall. Game studios need to make money. Agree with me or not, but developing games for the PC is a difficult proposition given development costs, competition, and pirating. Although pirating is not unheard of on consoles, it is not at the level of the PC. As such, it only made sense for Crytek to bring Crysis 2 to the console masses. The problem here was the hardware: How do you develop a bleeding edge game for the PC, that ALSO runs on 5 year old console hardware?
I will reserve judgment on Crysis 2 on the PC until I see the retail version at full settings, but the interwebz is jumping all over the PC demo in a bad way. For a name built on graphics, being anything less than top of the line is a blow to the image of Crysis 2. Here is where reputation for graphics becomes a double edged sword.
I should point out that the goal of a demo is to get it to the PC masses. The masses don't all have the latest and greatest in computer hardware. As such, it does not surprise me that the PC demo is not running at full graphical steam. Still, many a PC fanboy, angry at "press start to continue", take this as an opportunity to bash Crysis 2. Maybe it is part anti-console angst, or maybe Crytek set themselves up to fail with all it's hype and tough talk about the prowess of CryEngine 3... that they may be unable to deliver on.
On the topic of Crysis 2 being set up to fail, let this be a lesson: In the world of gaming websites and webpage hits, it is easy to tweet/blog/etc comments like "My game is better than your game", or "my game uses 100% of the console power", or "No other game engine could do what our engine is doing" or "my game can make you breakfast." Such comments can get you a lot of free advertising and build hype. The problem is that when a developer starts talking trash, the product better well be able to hold it's own in a fight.
The internet is a touchy medium. Just as quickly as gamers, bloggers and news sites jump on the bandwagon to hype your game, they can easily go sour and be turned against you. Crysis 2 is feeling a bit of that heat right now. In the PC world Crysis 2 is failing to blow the competition out of the water in graphics, and the demo is looking solid, but it is not where fans expect it to be. Some PC gamers blame consoles, and Crytek for "selling out" and playing to the lowest common denominator. To top things off, PS3 fans are upset they have been all but left out to date. No demo yet. The lack of PS3 footage/demo has some PS3 fans paranoid that Crysis 2 will be just another in the line of low-quality ports (in reality, I think it will be fine, Microsoft just paid $$$ for the timed demo exclusive to drive sales of the 360 version). Plus, core PS3 fanboys these days seem to be anti any shooter that is not KZ3 or console exclusive to the PS3. The Crytek boasting, and the KZ3 vs Crysis 2 comparisons did not help matters either...
So in the end of the day we have a gaming franchise that built its name on graphical prowess, that has in some ways set itself up to fail because maybe, just maybe, it is not the next coming of a graphical Jesus. The tides of hype appear to be changing from positive to negative, and the feeding frenzy is building. Bad news and controversy creates hits, and bloggers/websites want your readership. Combine this with the early leak of Crysis 2 on the PC, and Crysis 2 is looking shaky.
The sad thing is that Crysis 2 looks to be a solid game, with solid graphics, and fresh game-play in a stagnating shooter genre. I personally have enjoyed the demo more than most full games, and it will be a day 1 buy for me. However, I suspect that it will meet the fate that many a PS3 exclusive knows well (think GT5, KZ3): a long period of hype that builds up the game in the mind of gamers to the point that the end product will never be able to satisfy the unrealistic expectations. When the respectable 8 and 8.5 out of 10's start rolling in, Fanboys will troll or cry, and Crysis 2 will be just another shooter. 8 is a terrible score in the minds of gamers who expected 10's. A bad enough score to prevent cash from flowing into the pockets of Crytek, and for torrent to get a healthy consideration.
The original Crysis was a beast of a game when it came out for the PC. Graphically it was just a monster, and few people had the hardware to do the game justice. It had an elitism that made it both desirable, and admirable. It still holds its own to this very day. Although one could argue that the steep hardware requirements was financial suicide for Crysis, no one can deny the brilliance of the free advertising it created.
In a gaming world so heavily focused on graphical prowess, Crysis basically marketed itself for free, and made Crytek a household name amongst gamers. Early leaks and pirates ensured the game was minimally profitable, but Crytek succeeded in putting Crysis in the minds of gamers, which is a VERY important feat in such a crowded market. Companies spend countless millions to gain such a desirable image. "Crysis" is now associated with "amazing graphics" to the average gamer. Few think "mediocre gameplay."
With Crysis 2, Crytek was most likely up against a financial wall. Game studios need to make money. Agree with me or not, but developing games for the PC is a difficult proposition given development costs, competition, and pirating. Although pirating is not unheard of on consoles, it is not at the level of the PC. As such, it only made sense for Crytek to bring Crysis 2 to the console masses. The problem here was the hardware: How do you develop a bleeding edge game for the PC, that ALSO runs on 5 year old console hardware?
I will reserve judgment on Crysis 2 on the PC until I see the retail version at full settings, but the interwebz is jumping all over the PC demo in a bad way. For a name built on graphics, being anything less than top of the line is a blow to the image of Crysis 2. Here is where reputation for graphics becomes a double edged sword.
I should point out that the goal of a demo is to get it to the PC masses. The masses don't all have the latest and greatest in computer hardware. As such, it does not surprise me that the PC demo is not running at full graphical steam. Still, many a PC fanboy, angry at "press start to continue", take this as an opportunity to bash Crysis 2. Maybe it is part anti-console angst, or maybe Crytek set themselves up to fail with all it's hype and tough talk about the prowess of CryEngine 3... that they may be unable to deliver on.
On the topic of Crysis 2 being set up to fail, let this be a lesson: In the world of gaming websites and webpage hits, it is easy to tweet/blog/etc comments like "My game is better than your game", or "my game uses 100% of the console power", or "No other game engine could do what our engine is doing" or "my game can make you breakfast." Such comments can get you a lot of free advertising and build hype. The problem is that when a developer starts talking trash, the product better well be able to hold it's own in a fight.
The internet is a touchy medium. Just as quickly as gamers, bloggers and news sites jump on the bandwagon to hype your game, they can easily go sour and be turned against you. Crysis 2 is feeling a bit of that heat right now. In the PC world Crysis 2 is failing to blow the competition out of the water in graphics, and the demo is looking solid, but it is not where fans expect it to be. Some PC gamers blame consoles, and Crytek for "selling out" and playing to the lowest common denominator. To top things off, PS3 fans are upset they have been all but left out to date. No demo yet. The lack of PS3 footage/demo has some PS3 fans paranoid that Crysis 2 will be just another in the line of low-quality ports (in reality, I think it will be fine, Microsoft just paid $$$ for the timed demo exclusive to drive sales of the 360 version). Plus, core PS3 fanboys these days seem to be anti any shooter that is not KZ3 or console exclusive to the PS3. The Crytek boasting, and the KZ3 vs Crysis 2 comparisons did not help matters either...
So in the end of the day we have a gaming franchise that built its name on graphical prowess, that has in some ways set itself up to fail because maybe, just maybe, it is not the next coming of a graphical Jesus. The tides of hype appear to be changing from positive to negative, and the feeding frenzy is building. Bad news and controversy creates hits, and bloggers/websites want your readership. Combine this with the early leak of Crysis 2 on the PC, and Crysis 2 is looking shaky.
The sad thing is that Crysis 2 looks to be a solid game, with solid graphics, and fresh game-play in a stagnating shooter genre. I personally have enjoyed the demo more than most full games, and it will be a day 1 buy for me. However, I suspect that it will meet the fate that many a PS3 exclusive knows well (think GT5, KZ3): a long period of hype that builds up the game in the mind of gamers to the point that the end product will never be able to satisfy the unrealistic expectations. When the respectable 8 and 8.5 out of 10's start rolling in, Fanboys will troll or cry, and Crysis 2 will be just another shooter. 8 is a terrible score in the minds of gamers who expected 10's. A bad enough score to prevent cash from flowing into the pockets of Crytek, and for torrent to get a healthy consideration.
February Contest Winners!
Has the wait been terrible? I'm pretty excited about this one! Here is the winner of our first ever LOYAL READER LOTTERY...
**************PaladinXII!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*********** * ******
(enough "!"?)
PaladinXII wins his choice of PS3 Slim or 360 Slim! Congratulations and thank you for visiting N4G so faithfully!
Congratulations to the winners of the February FORUM LOTTERY:
That_Whore
Kon
killer_pwned89
SnuggleBandit
Rage_S90
_Q_
You each have a choice of a PSN or XBL card valued at $20!
Congratulations to the winners of the February CONTRIBUTOR CONTEST:
1. BIoodmask, $250
2. mezzo, $150
3. Kors, $50
4. Nineball2112, $50
5. n4gboy, $50
You'll all hear from me soon so we can get you your prizes!
**************PaladinXII!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*********** * ******
(enough "!"?)
PaladinXII wins his choice of PS3 Slim or 360 Slim! Congratulations and thank you for visiting N4G so faithfully!
Congratulations to the winners of the February FORUM LOTTERY:
That_Whore
Kon
killer_pwned89
SnuggleBandit
Rage_S90
_Q_
You each have a choice of a PSN or XBL card valued at $20!
Congratulations to the winners of the February CONTRIBUTOR CONTEST:
1. BIoodmask, $250
2. mezzo, $150
3. Kors, $50
4. Nineball2112, $50
5. n4gboy, $50
You'll all hear from me soon so we can get you your prizes!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!
Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Why the next-gen consoles will have a bigger graphical leap than previous generations
Many may say that the difference between the current gen consoles and the previous generation is bigger than what the difference between current generation and the next will be. I think that's only true resolution-wise. Here is one very good reason:
No resolution-jump: Take a look at the, for example ps1 and the ps2. Although the ps2 were capable of higher resolutions, most games were in 480p since most TV:s at launch, weren't capable of handling higher resolutions. Therefor the graphical enhancements were put into other things than resolution. Today all new TV:s can handle 720-1080p, at least in the wealthier parts of the world. This will mean that the next gen console won't focus on outputting a resolution higher than that, although this will probably added through a firmware update if a new resolution becomes standard in the lifetime of the next gen consoles.
So what does this "no resolution-jump" mean for the graphical quality of games? It means a lot, and I am no professional, but I can describe a few things.
Tessellation: This is a great, computational power-saving feature. This will greatly enhance the drawing-distance, among other things, in the next gen. Tessellation is a DirectX 11 feature for PC's today. Some Tessellation can be done today on consoles, but not to the extent that it really matters. This is a feature that will be present in the next gen.
Possible ray-tracing: Ray tracing is not only good for simulation of lightning, but the algorithm used opens new doors to parallelization(which basically means better performance from multi-core devices). More calculations per cycle can be done and the more calculations, the better the graphics. Basically. Please correct me with comments if I am wrong^^ As I said, I'm no professional.
The return of SSAA: SSAA (Super Sampling anti-aliasing, also known as full-scene anti-aliasing) was cut from graphic-cards with the arrival of DX8 due to the amount of computational power required. It has been enabled again in the current graphic-cards, but are almost exclusively used on older games due to the cost. SSAA provides the highest quality image of all current anti-aliasing techniques and with the progress being made in computation today, this is a feature that might finally be brought to consoles.
Stereoscopic-splitscreen: 3D with glasses is stereoscopic 3D. Stereoscopic-splitscreen will make it possible to play more than one person on the same TV without having to split the image in two. I know that Sony filed a patent for this a year ago or so, (or was it 2?), but I'm sure Microsoft will find a way to do it their own way. This is a feature that is NOT possible without glasses.
The next gen will bring the long awaited 1080p 60fps -games. It will be a minimum for most games. If there is no increase in resolution the added computational power that the next gen will bring has to go somewhere, into features like the ones I mentioned above. Please add your own thoughts about new graphical features in the comments below :)
No resolution-jump: Take a look at the, for example ps1 and the ps2. Although the ps2 were capable of higher resolutions, most games were in 480p since most TV:s at launch, weren't capable of handling higher resolutions. Therefor the graphical enhancements were put into other things than resolution. Today all new TV:s can handle 720-1080p, at least in the wealthier parts of the world. This will mean that the next gen console won't focus on outputting a resolution higher than that, although this will probably added through a firmware update if a new resolution becomes standard in the lifetime of the next gen consoles.
So what does this "no resolution-jump" mean for the graphical quality of games? It means a lot, and I am no professional, but I can describe a few things.
Tessellation: This is a great, computational power-saving feature. This will greatly enhance the drawing-distance, among other things, in the next gen. Tessellation is a DirectX 11 feature for PC's today. Some Tessellation can be done today on consoles, but not to the extent that it really matters. This is a feature that will be present in the next gen.
Possible ray-tracing: Ray tracing is not only good for simulation of lightning, but the algorithm used opens new doors to parallelization(which basically means better performance from multi-core devices). More calculations per cycle can be done and the more calculations, the better the graphics. Basically. Please correct me with comments if I am wrong^^ As I said, I'm no professional.
The return of SSAA: SSAA (Super Sampling anti-aliasing, also known as full-scene anti-aliasing) was cut from graphic-cards with the arrival of DX8 due to the amount of computational power required. It has been enabled again in the current graphic-cards, but are almost exclusively used on older games due to the cost. SSAA provides the highest quality image of all current anti-aliasing techniques and with the progress being made in computation today, this is a feature that might finally be brought to consoles.
Stereoscopic-splitscreen: 3D with glasses is stereoscopic 3D. Stereoscopic-splitscreen will make it possible to play more than one person on the same TV without having to split the image in two. I know that Sony filed a patent for this a year ago or so, (or was it 2?), but I'm sure Microsoft will find a way to do it their own way. This is a feature that is NOT possible without glasses.
The next gen will bring the long awaited 1080p 60fps -games. It will be a minimum for most games. If there is no increase in resolution the added computational power that the next gen will bring has to go somewhere, into features like the ones I mentioned above. Please add your own thoughts about new graphical features in the comments below :)
The Illusion of Community-Driven Commentary: The Bubble System
Ah yes, the much talked about bubble system. There seems to be a serious disconnect between what the administrators feel the system accomplishes, and what it's actually doing. This post will attempt to summarize and analyze the problems surrounding the system, while attempting to provide plausible solutions.
The blog post is meant to engage the news-reading N4G'ers rather than just the forum go'ers, and to promote a meaningful discussion towards a better commentary system.
TLDR; Get rid of bubbles, it's a form of censorship. Use a simple agree/disagree where trolls/spam can be buried. Also, a possible 'exp-based' reputation system around rewarding users for good comments but not censoring different opinions.
<<What's the point of it anyway?>>
Essentially, the bubble system is an attempt to allow the community to self-moderate. That is to silence trolls, flamers and spammers meanwhile rewarding posters the community deems proper.
<<What does it really do?>>
It effectively strangles commentary through a number of ways:
a) Opinions by their nature are subjective.
Therefore not everyone will agree. Sure, this is an alternative 'agree/disagree' but we all understand how heated console wars are--how often are people hitting 'disagree' and then de-bubbling too? It's a system that builds fanboyism in itself, since the 'community' feels justified in de-bubbling when there are lots of disagrees.
b) 'Community-driven' is inaccurate.
Bubble votes are counted differently based on the person de-bubbling--the more bubbles the more power. This perpetuates *their views* while marginalizing others. If everyone had an equal say in de-bubbles less griefing would occur. Essentially, the 'community' are actually those that the community itself deems worthy. Therefore the 'community' is a self-perpetuating body made up of members who all share the same opinion.
c) Builds superficial reputation.
A posters comment is only as relevant as their bubbles. Posters are pre-judged based on bubbles, making their comments seem false before some even read them. This also communicates to other posters that whatever this commentator says is not what the community as a whole believes--hence their lack of bubbles. A better reputation system is suggested below, which unlike the current one does not vilify it's own users.
d) 'One-hitter' posts
When a user has one bubble, no conversation can be permitted. This provides incentives for users to post 'one-hitters' or rather, single posts that try to communicate one idea while attempting to pre-empt possible replies (since they themselves cannot reply). This often leads to troll-like flame posts rather than anything meaningful, because after all, why post something meaningful if you cannot even continue the conversation? Creating a new account only get you banned, so essentially, if you do not agree with the 'community' you are permanently reduced to sound bites. Sounds like censorship.
<<So far, what are the results?>>
Fanboys. Yes, the system that is meant to keep them at bay only perpetuates it. The gaming news media knows it, hell even developers know it. This site's full of 'em. Look at the news posts we've seen, tons of sensationalist fanboy titles. What comments are really being de-bubbled, even disagreed? If you take a close look, most aren't trolling, offensive or destructive--they're different points of view often being de-bubbled by fanboys. Sure some are often abrasive, but surely discussion can have tension--it's in the very nature of debate.
When opposing views are be-bubbled it simply justifies the 'community's fanboyism'--whatever side that may be. Posters who are punished for their views leave the site, or return to antagonize others--strengthening the opposing 'community fanboys' and adding to flame wars. Ultimately, the point of debate is to not only prove your own argument, but to provide others with different perspectives. The bubble system prevents that, marginalizing any intelligent conversation into carefully worded sound bites which aim to either piss off fanboys, or are too meek to add anything interesting to the conversation (ie. "cool game bro").
<<What can be done?>>
First, N4G needs to swallow it's pride. It's not the first news aggregator with a large community. Many, many other sites have similarly built communities but do it much better. Part of building a site is not only maturing the features and technology in the backend, but also maturing the community by allowing it to grow through it's own commentary (see NeoGAF).
Reddit is a crucial example of how the internet can self-moderate but not censor itself. There are articles for fanboys, agnostic gamers and casuals. Commentary ranges from outright fanboys to casuals and even developers. Why can't N4G be like that too?
<<Solution>>
The bubble system is flawed. Period. No other community site uses a system which marginalizes opposing views, stifles intelligent discussion, and reduces commentary to sound bites. It needs to go.
The best method is to continue with agrees/disagrees, but instead when a comment hits a certain ratio (which the user may be able to customize) the comment is 'hidden'. Hidden does not mean gone--it will still allow others to post and continue the dialog whether it's flamebait or not. This just means the rest of the community doesn't have to be subjected to it if they don't want to be. This still allows conversation to flow meanwhile hiding unpleasant troll-like comments or flame wars. While we're at it, deeper comment nesting would be nice too.
But what about reputation? How about this:
HEATSCORE™
This was a concept developed using other CMS-PHP 'points' systems as way to built reputation. This was based of early CRPG's and their 'karma' system using 'posting EXP', essentially it works like this:
Everyone starts off 'neutral'. Let's say a heatscore of 100. Whenever people 'agree' with their posts their score 'cools down', when others disagree their score gets 'hotter'. The more people agree with them, they cooler they get--that is they are labeled as people who's comments appeal to the masses. The more people disagree well, you're a 'hot' commentator. Those who straddle the line are considered neutral--neither fanboy nor crowd favourite (aka community fanboy).
The words 'hot', 'cool', 'neutral', etc. can be called anything to sound appealing. The point is, just as Fallout 3's achievement for being neutral is called 'True Mortal' neutral is where you want to be--you're not ruffling feathers, but you're also not kissing fanboy ass. The 'neutrals' become the coveted position of the community, a poster who can see both sides of the story--a position that can challenge the community to maintain. You can even add awards and 'titles' based the poster's patterns to encourage meaningful participation.
NOTE: Neutral (and other positions) is obtained through an overall ratio (not on just individual posts), that is one post may get 5:1 agrees, another 1:5 disagrees which overall is a 1:1 ratio. These positions would also have a range, that is a 0.9-1.1 agree ratio might still keep you in neutral.
This system can be a good gauge at exactly where the community lies. If most commentators are 'hot' then this place is a battleground. If everyone's 'cool' then no progressive discussion is happening--that is, everyones agreeing with everyone else--hence a 'community' of fanboys.
The blog post is meant to engage the news-reading N4G'ers rather than just the forum go'ers, and to promote a meaningful discussion towards a better commentary system.
TLDR; Get rid of bubbles, it's a form of censorship. Use a simple agree/disagree where trolls/spam can be buried. Also, a possible 'exp-based' reputation system around rewarding users for good comments but not censoring different opinions.
<<What's the point of it anyway?>>
Essentially, the bubble system is an attempt to allow the community to self-moderate. That is to silence trolls, flamers and spammers meanwhile rewarding posters the community deems proper.
<<What does it really do?>>
It effectively strangles commentary through a number of ways:
a) Opinions by their nature are subjective.
Therefore not everyone will agree. Sure, this is an alternative 'agree/disagree' but we all understand how heated console wars are--how often are people hitting 'disagree' and then de-bubbling too? It's a system that builds fanboyism in itself, since the 'community' feels justified in de-bubbling when there are lots of disagrees.
b) 'Community-driven' is inaccurate.
Bubble votes are counted differently based on the person de-bubbling--the more bubbles the more power. This perpetuates *their views* while marginalizing others. If everyone had an equal say in de-bubbles less griefing would occur. Essentially, the 'community' are actually those that the community itself deems worthy. Therefore the 'community' is a self-perpetuating body made up of members who all share the same opinion.
c) Builds superficial reputation.
A posters comment is only as relevant as their bubbles. Posters are pre-judged based on bubbles, making their comments seem false before some even read them. This also communicates to other posters that whatever this commentator says is not what the community as a whole believes--hence their lack of bubbles. A better reputation system is suggested below, which unlike the current one does not vilify it's own users.
d) 'One-hitter' posts
When a user has one bubble, no conversation can be permitted. This provides incentives for users to post 'one-hitters' or rather, single posts that try to communicate one idea while attempting to pre-empt possible replies (since they themselves cannot reply). This often leads to troll-like flame posts rather than anything meaningful, because after all, why post something meaningful if you cannot even continue the conversation? Creating a new account only get you banned, so essentially, if you do not agree with the 'community' you are permanently reduced to sound bites. Sounds like censorship.
<<So far, what are the results?>>
Fanboys. Yes, the system that is meant to keep them at bay only perpetuates it. The gaming news media knows it, hell even developers know it. This site's full of 'em. Look at the news posts we've seen, tons of sensationalist fanboy titles. What comments are really being de-bubbled, even disagreed? If you take a close look, most aren't trolling, offensive or destructive--they're different points of view often being de-bubbled by fanboys. Sure some are often abrasive, but surely discussion can have tension--it's in the very nature of debate.
When opposing views are be-bubbled it simply justifies the 'community's fanboyism'--whatever side that may be. Posters who are punished for their views leave the site, or return to antagonize others--strengthening the opposing 'community fanboys' and adding to flame wars. Ultimately, the point of debate is to not only prove your own argument, but to provide others with different perspectives. The bubble system prevents that, marginalizing any intelligent conversation into carefully worded sound bites which aim to either piss off fanboys, or are too meek to add anything interesting to the conversation (ie. "cool game bro").
<<What can be done?>>
First, N4G needs to swallow it's pride. It's not the first news aggregator with a large community. Many, many other sites have similarly built communities but do it much better. Part of building a site is not only maturing the features and technology in the backend, but also maturing the community by allowing it to grow through it's own commentary (see NeoGAF).
Reddit is a crucial example of how the internet can self-moderate but not censor itself. There are articles for fanboys, agnostic gamers and casuals. Commentary ranges from outright fanboys to casuals and even developers. Why can't N4G be like that too?
<<Solution>>
The bubble system is flawed. Period. No other community site uses a system which marginalizes opposing views, stifles intelligent discussion, and reduces commentary to sound bites. It needs to go.
The best method is to continue with agrees/disagrees, but instead when a comment hits a certain ratio (which the user may be able to customize) the comment is 'hidden'. Hidden does not mean gone--it will still allow others to post and continue the dialog whether it's flamebait or not. This just means the rest of the community doesn't have to be subjected to it if they don't want to be. This still allows conversation to flow meanwhile hiding unpleasant troll-like comments or flame wars. While we're at it, deeper comment nesting would be nice too.
But what about reputation? How about this:
HEATSCORE™
This was a concept developed using other CMS-PHP 'points' systems as way to built reputation. This was based of early CRPG's and their 'karma' system using 'posting EXP', essentially it works like this:
Everyone starts off 'neutral'. Let's say a heatscore of 100. Whenever people 'agree' with their posts their score 'cools down', when others disagree their score gets 'hotter'. The more people agree with them, they cooler they get--that is they are labeled as people who's comments appeal to the masses. The more people disagree well, you're a 'hot' commentator. Those who straddle the line are considered neutral--neither fanboy nor crowd favourite (aka community fanboy).
The words 'hot', 'cool', 'neutral', etc. can be called anything to sound appealing. The point is, just as Fallout 3's achievement for being neutral is called 'True Mortal' neutral is where you want to be--you're not ruffling feathers, but you're also not kissing fanboy ass. The 'neutrals' become the coveted position of the community, a poster who can see both sides of the story--a position that can challenge the community to maintain. You can even add awards and 'titles' based the poster's patterns to encourage meaningful participation.
NOTE: Neutral (and other positions) is obtained through an overall ratio (not on just individual posts), that is one post may get 5:1 agrees, another 1:5 disagrees which overall is a 1:1 ratio. These positions would also have a range, that is a 0.9-1.1 agree ratio might still keep you in neutral.
This system can be a good gauge at exactly where the community lies. If most commentators are 'hot' then this place is a battleground. If everyone's 'cool' then no progressive discussion is happening--that is, everyones agreeing with everyone else--hence a 'community' of fanboys.
E3 2011 Microsoft Press Conference
Ok just watched it via Gamespot since G4TV's website blocked me access since I'm for Australia. Here's my impressions on the event written as I saw them.
- Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3... whoopty do! More of the same. Once again they get the DLC first.
- Tomb Raider - Quick time events... and it seems to be like Uncharted on first appearance with Resident Evil style quick time events. Looks good so far. No combat though in the demo.
- EA making Kinect supported games.
- Mass Effect 3 to support Kinect with voice recognition for dialog options as well as battle commands.
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier... again whoopty do! Kinect support with motion and voice controls. Intrigued but don't care personally. All future Tom Clancy game will use Kinect controls.
- More fluid Xbox Kinect voice command usage for normal navigation and YouTube will be on XBL. Bing is also on XBL for finding content which is actually a good idea. XBL TV, don't care I use mine for games.
- UFC on XBL... so?
- Gears Of War 3... yeah... more of the same.
- New Crytek game exclusive to Xbox 360. It uses Kinect. It's called Ryse.
- HALO Anniversary! Holy Crap! With 7 classic maps for online multiplayer. See you there!
- Forza 4 looks visually good but I'm not big on racers.
- Fable The Journey. Whoopty do! Uses Kinect controls. Don't care.
- Holy Crap! Minecraft on Xbox 360. It also uses Kinect controls.
- Kinect Disneyland Adventures... ehh... My nephew would love it.
- Kinect Star Wars... I don't care but looks interesting. It's a on rails action game. I'm not fond of the Star Wars license outside of the original trilogy of movies.
- Sesame Street: Once upon a monster for Kinnect... made by Double Fine... confused... really confused. Casual and kids focused game to the extreme.
- Kinect Fun Labs. You get to try new innovations with the Kinect. Kinect Me allows the Kinect to make avatars look more like yourself. Finger tracking with Kinect allows you to draw with it in a 3D space. Googly Eyes finally allows you to scan objects. Kinect Labs is available now.
- Kinect Sports Season 2... still don't care but that's me. Uses new and better full body gestures and voice commands.
- Dance Central 2. All the music from the first one can be imported and it has over 100 songs and a new and improved "Break it down" mode. Still the only Kinect game I'm interested in.
- Halo 4! Start of a new Xbox 360 Halo trilogy!
Well that's my thoughts as the event unfolded. As you can see it's Kinect all the way and a couple of games the fanboys will care heaps about. Personally Halo and Minecraft are the ones I care most about, maybe Tomb Raider once I see gameplay with combat.
- Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3... whoopty do! More of the same. Once again they get the DLC first.
- Tomb Raider - Quick time events... and it seems to be like Uncharted on first appearance with Resident Evil style quick time events. Looks good so far. No combat though in the demo.
- EA making Kinect supported games.
- Mass Effect 3 to support Kinect with voice recognition for dialog options as well as battle commands.
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier... again whoopty do! Kinect support with motion and voice controls. Intrigued but don't care personally. All future Tom Clancy game will use Kinect controls.
- More fluid Xbox Kinect voice command usage for normal navigation and YouTube will be on XBL. Bing is also on XBL for finding content which is actually a good idea. XBL TV, don't care I use mine for games.
- UFC on XBL... so?
- Gears Of War 3... yeah... more of the same.
- New Crytek game exclusive to Xbox 360. It uses Kinect. It's called Ryse.
- HALO Anniversary! Holy Crap! With 7 classic maps for online multiplayer. See you there!
- Forza 4 looks visually good but I'm not big on racers.
- Fable The Journey. Whoopty do! Uses Kinect controls. Don't care.
- Holy Crap! Minecraft on Xbox 360. It also uses Kinect controls.
- Kinect Disneyland Adventures... ehh... My nephew would love it.
- Kinect Star Wars... I don't care but looks interesting. It's a on rails action game. I'm not fond of the Star Wars license outside of the original trilogy of movies.
- Sesame Street: Once upon a monster for Kinnect... made by Double Fine... confused... really confused. Casual and kids focused game to the extreme.
- Kinect Fun Labs. You get to try new innovations with the Kinect. Kinect Me allows the Kinect to make avatars look more like yourself. Finger tracking with Kinect allows you to draw with it in a 3D space. Googly Eyes finally allows you to scan objects. Kinect Labs is available now.
- Kinect Sports Season 2... still don't care but that's me. Uses new and better full body gestures and voice commands.
- Dance Central 2. All the music from the first one can be imported and it has over 100 songs and a new and improved "Break it down" mode. Still the only Kinect game I'm interested in.
- Halo 4! Start of a new Xbox 360 Halo trilogy!
Well that's my thoughts as the event unfolded. As you can see it's Kinect all the way and a couple of games the fanboys will care heaps about. Personally Halo and Minecraft are the ones I care most about, maybe Tomb Raider once I see gameplay with combat.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Google+ Games comes out swinging with Zynga, PopCap, Playdom et al
The gloves are officially off. Google has announced that it's slowly rolling out games to its Google+ social network. Aptly dubbed Google+ Games, the search--and possibly now social games--giant has teamed up with a number of high-profile Facebook game developers and publishers to bring their games to its platform.
According to a blog post announcing the new games movement, Google is focused on providing you with games that "are there when you want them and gone when you don't." Meaning that, instead of being infused with the existing Google+ News Feed, game updates are found by clicking on the new Games button between the search bar and the Circles button.
And just as quickly, these updates will be removed from your view when you press any other button next to the search bar. Your accomplishments in games on Google+ are only shown to those who also play games on Google+. And boy, has Google come armed to the teeth against Facebook. Google+ Games launches with games from PopCap, Playdom, Kabam, Wooga, GameHouse, EA, Funzio and Digital Chocolate. (And, of course, Rovio.)
Google+ Games
Wait a second, is that a Zynga game down there? But, doesn't that violate its terms with Facebook? (Surely, there's a loophole there we're not aware of.) Check out all of the launch games below, and join us in the waiting game for when that Games button appears on your Google+:
Games on Google+
[Image Credit: Google]
Would you ever play games on Google+? Do you think Facebook may have met its match in Google+ Games? Sound off in the comments. 4 Comments
According to a blog post announcing the new games movement, Google is focused on providing you with games that "are there when you want them and gone when you don't." Meaning that, instead of being infused with the existing Google+ News Feed, game updates are found by clicking on the new Games button between the search bar and the Circles button.
And just as quickly, these updates will be removed from your view when you press any other button next to the search bar. Your accomplishments in games on Google+ are only shown to those who also play games on Google+. And boy, has Google come armed to the teeth against Facebook. Google+ Games launches with games from PopCap, Playdom, Kabam, Wooga, GameHouse, EA, Funzio and Digital Chocolate. (And, of course, Rovio.)
Google+ Games
Wait a second, is that a Zynga game down there? But, doesn't that violate its terms with Facebook? (Surely, there's a loophole there we're not aware of.) Check out all of the launch games below, and join us in the waiting game for when that Games button appears on your Google+:
Games on Google+
[Image Credit: Google]
Would you ever play games on Google+? Do you think Facebook may have met its match in Google+ Games? Sound off in the comments. 4 Comments
Major UK broadcaster funds Facebook fashion game for insights into women
Originally packaged and delivered as some pro bono, social good project, Beauty Town - Fashion, Friends & Fun is a game that's supposed to promote healthy body image among its players "by stealth".
It does this by giving players the option to choose among 6 body types, 3 heights, tons of customizable heads, and unlockable fashion tips for every kind of female figure you can cobble together. Players will learn how to dress themselves and other people by the fashion tips the game provides. They'll also learn to be more open about such things by participating in the game's official forum.
But none of this sounds very stealthy to me.
Instead, what's really stealthy is how Channel 4 -- a big UK broadcaster of such shows as How to Look Good Naked and Embarrassing Bodies -- plans to use the game to gather knowledge on its female players. Knowledge which the broadcaster hopes will help them service their television audience, so they can expect to do cross-promotions and the like. Currently, the UK has a television ratings system called the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), which functions like the US Nielsen ratings.
Ian MacKenzie, Channel 4 media project manager, says: "We still work on BARB data [to understand who our audience is], which is based on a small sample of homes. Projects like this help us realise our potential audiences, how they behave and their needs."
You know social games are big when even TV networks are turning to them along with their national ratings system to design their programming. So, if you love Beauty Town, play on. Just remember, Channel 4 is watching you. You'll probably be reminded of that every time you see the game's loading screen, where that display of Polaroids have taken on a new meaning.
Channel 4 HQ
[Source: Marketing Week]
[Bottom Image Credit: Coloribus]
It does this by giving players the option to choose among 6 body types, 3 heights, tons of customizable heads, and unlockable fashion tips for every kind of female figure you can cobble together. Players will learn how to dress themselves and other people by the fashion tips the game provides. They'll also learn to be more open about such things by participating in the game's official forum.
But none of this sounds very stealthy to me.
Instead, what's really stealthy is how Channel 4 -- a big UK broadcaster of such shows as How to Look Good Naked and Embarrassing Bodies -- plans to use the game to gather knowledge on its female players. Knowledge which the broadcaster hopes will help them service their television audience, so they can expect to do cross-promotions and the like. Currently, the UK has a television ratings system called the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), which functions like the US Nielsen ratings.
Ian MacKenzie, Channel 4 media project manager, says: "We still work on BARB data [to understand who our audience is], which is based on a small sample of homes. Projects like this help us realise our potential audiences, how they behave and their needs."
You know social games are big when even TV networks are turning to them along with their national ratings system to design their programming. So, if you love Beauty Town, play on. Just remember, Channel 4 is watching you. You'll probably be reminded of that every time you see the game's loading screen, where that display of Polaroids have taken on a new meaning.
Channel 4 HQ
[Source: Marketing Week]
[Bottom Image Credit: Coloribus]
Facebook slaps back at Google+ Games with new game features
What a cowinkydink! Just as Google announced that it will now offer social games through Google+, Facebook announced a number of new changes to games on its platform. Announced in a blog post last night (much like Google+ Games was), the most notable of the changes is the new game ticker feature. This provides players with a smaller News Feed off to the right side of their games that will automatically update with game-related updates as they play.
What's important about this change is that players can see what their friends are up to in other games without having to leave the game they're currently playing. (We should mention that these changes, like all changes to almost everything on the Internet, are rolling out to users slowly.) For instance, if a friend smacks you with a triple-word score in Words with Friends while you're busy playing GnomeTown, you will see that almost immediately and be able to jump into that game straight from GnomeTown.
Facebook has also given gamers more control over who sees their game-related News Feed posts down to each individual app. This is now done in the Privacy Settings under Account Settings on the home page--just like how you remove apps or alter permissions. Finally, with what might come across sounding like the Ode to Joy for Facebook gamers with 13-inch screens (like myself), Facebook is working with developers to increase the screen size of games to make more use of your screens' width.
Facebook Games changes
While I've yet to have these changes make it to my own Facebook, they already sound impressive. However, we can't help but see some glaring similarities between these changes and Google+ Games. Namely, the (100 percent) separate News Feed for games from your standard News Feed sounds quite a lot like how Google is handling how game news is fed to players. However, we'll reserve any more comparisons until we see both Google+ Games and these Facebook changes in the digital, um, flesh. With two major competitors in the social games space now, there can only be one winner: the players.
[Via CNet]
[Image Credits: Facebook, Scitechie.com]
Are you excited by these new games features headed to Facebook? Do you think this will be enough to compete with Google+ Games, or is there even a competition to be had? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
What's important about this change is that players can see what their friends are up to in other games without having to leave the game they're currently playing. (We should mention that these changes, like all changes to almost everything on the Internet, are rolling out to users slowly.) For instance, if a friend smacks you with a triple-word score in Words with Friends while you're busy playing GnomeTown, you will see that almost immediately and be able to jump into that game straight from GnomeTown.
Facebook has also given gamers more control over who sees their game-related News Feed posts down to each individual app. This is now done in the Privacy Settings under Account Settings on the home page--just like how you remove apps or alter permissions. Finally, with what might come across sounding like the Ode to Joy for Facebook gamers with 13-inch screens (like myself), Facebook is working with developers to increase the screen size of games to make more use of your screens' width.
Facebook Games changes
While I've yet to have these changes make it to my own Facebook, they already sound impressive. However, we can't help but see some glaring similarities between these changes and Google+ Games. Namely, the (100 percent) separate News Feed for games from your standard News Feed sounds quite a lot like how Google is handling how game news is fed to players. However, we'll reserve any more comparisons until we see both Google+ Games and these Facebook changes in the digital, um, flesh. With two major competitors in the social games space now, there can only be one winner: the players.
[Via CNet]
[Image Credits: Facebook, Scitechie.com]
Are you excited by these new games features headed to Facebook? Do you think this will be enough to compete with Google+ Games, or is there even a competition to be had? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Zynga vs Vostu Part 5: U.S. judge calls off Brazilian Vostu shut-down
Honestly, we're almost as bewildered as you might be on this one. TechCrunch reports that a U.S. judge has filed a TRO (temporary restraining order) against the Brazilian court that granted Zynga a preliminary injunction against developer Vostu, demanding that it take down four of its games that allegedly copy Zynga games directly in the face of a massive daily fine. Basically, a San Jose court is telling a Brazilian court that it cannot go through with its ruling in Zynga's favor.
Some brief background: Zynga filed suit in a U.S. court against Brazilian developer Vostu in June for copying its games. Vostu then retorted publicly, pointing fingers at Zynga for doing the very same thing, and filed a lawsuit of its own with the same allegations in July. Most recently, Zynga filed a second lawsuit against Vostu in Brazilian court for the very same allegations, this time bringing Google down with it as Orkut, a Google-owned company, hosts Vostu's games.
"Brazil has an important interest in enforcing its copyright laws," says U.S. District Judge Davila in the recently-issued TRO. "Zynga-which chose the U.S. forum first-now seeks to enforce an injunction it obtained abroad that would paralyze this Court's ability to decide this case."
Zynga copy Vostu
I guess this is what happens when you file lawsuits in two courts (internationally, mind you) regarding the same allegations. Now, we have two courts from across both sides of the equator that will duke it out over who can make what ruling. In essence, as TechCrunch's Michael Arrington puts it, this U.S. judge is saying that his court's desire to retain decision on this case outweighs the Brazilian court's rights to enforce its copyright laws.
This battle of the copycats just got incredibly nasty (and somewhat confusing), but speaks volumes to one of the most pressing issues the social games industry faces today. As Sean Ryan, director of games partnerships at Facebook, put it recently (in Inside Social Games's words): "The days of monetizing by making a clone of a clone are over." The sooner social games companies stop "borrowing" each others' ideas, the sooner we'll move on from insane international legal battles like so. And social games on the whole will be better for it.
Do you think this legal battle has gotten out of hand? Which do you think is in the right in this case? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Some brief background: Zynga filed suit in a U.S. court against Brazilian developer Vostu in June for copying its games. Vostu then retorted publicly, pointing fingers at Zynga for doing the very same thing, and filed a lawsuit of its own with the same allegations in July. Most recently, Zynga filed a second lawsuit against Vostu in Brazilian court for the very same allegations, this time bringing Google down with it as Orkut, a Google-owned company, hosts Vostu's games.
"Brazil has an important interest in enforcing its copyright laws," says U.S. District Judge Davila in the recently-issued TRO. "Zynga-which chose the U.S. forum first-now seeks to enforce an injunction it obtained abroad that would paralyze this Court's ability to decide this case."
Zynga copy Vostu
I guess this is what happens when you file lawsuits in two courts (internationally, mind you) regarding the same allegations. Now, we have two courts from across both sides of the equator that will duke it out over who can make what ruling. In essence, as TechCrunch's Michael Arrington puts it, this U.S. judge is saying that his court's desire to retain decision on this case outweighs the Brazilian court's rights to enforce its copyright laws.
This battle of the copycats just got incredibly nasty (and somewhat confusing), but speaks volumes to one of the most pressing issues the social games industry faces today. As Sean Ryan, director of games partnerships at Facebook, put it recently (in Inside Social Games's words): "The days of monetizing by making a clone of a clone are over." The sooner social games companies stop "borrowing" each others' ideas, the sooner we'll move on from insane international legal battles like so. And social games on the whole will be better for it.
Do you think this legal battle has gotten out of hand? Which do you think is in the right in this case? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Kabam trades dragons for desert planets in Edgeworld for Facebook
Prepare to activate your "Check Your Edgeworld Base!" phone alarms. Kabam, creator of strategy Facebook hits like Dragons of Atlantis and Kingdoms of Camelot, has launched Edgeworld on Facebook and Google+ Games. (Kabam is also the first Facebook developer to launch a game on Google+ Games.) Edgeworld takes a visibly different approach to strategy games than its predecessors, with a focus on real-time combat between players.
The game also focuses heavily on mood, with rallying, futuristic music and a story that unfolds as you play. You've been enlisted as commander of a rogue faction of The Union, a collection of nations who landed on the planet Cerulea to harvest the resources and technology of an advanced, ancient alien race known as The Ceruleans.
You know, standard sci-fi fare. Like most real-time strategy games on Facebook (and elsewhere, really), you must gather resources to build an efficient base, muster defenses for that base and execute strategic attacks against both other players and the storyline factions.
Edgeworld in action
That said, players can choose to focus on either the sprawling campaign, much like Empires & Allies, or to go to war with other players. Regardless, your "safe status" will eventually disappear as you progress in the game, so you'll have to fight opposing players eventually. (Within three days of starting the game, to be exact.) While players can purchase protection from other players, the easiest way to ensure your survival in this game is to form alliances with fellow commanders for mutually-assured protection.
The game seems to have been heavily influenced by traditional strategy franchises like Starcraft and Command and Conquer. However, competing Facebook strategy game maker Kixeye claims that Kabam copied its Backyard Monsters in Edgeworld's creation. Regardless of where Kabam sourced its inspiration from, Edgeworld looks to be a blast, and already enjoys over 400 thousand players. With strategy games looking (and sounding) like this, it's no wonder that nearly 80 million Facebook gamers are playing strategy games on the platform. Just remember to sleep, kay?
Click here to play Edgeworld on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Edgeworld out yet, and if so, what do you think so far? Do you think this is the start of a growing trend in social games? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
The game also focuses heavily on mood, with rallying, futuristic music and a story that unfolds as you play. You've been enlisted as commander of a rogue faction of The Union, a collection of nations who landed on the planet Cerulea to harvest the resources and technology of an advanced, ancient alien race known as The Ceruleans.
You know, standard sci-fi fare. Like most real-time strategy games on Facebook (and elsewhere, really), you must gather resources to build an efficient base, muster defenses for that base and execute strategic attacks against both other players and the storyline factions.
Edgeworld in action
That said, players can choose to focus on either the sprawling campaign, much like Empires & Allies, or to go to war with other players. Regardless, your "safe status" will eventually disappear as you progress in the game, so you'll have to fight opposing players eventually. (Within three days of starting the game, to be exact.) While players can purchase protection from other players, the easiest way to ensure your survival in this game is to form alliances with fellow commanders for mutually-assured protection.
The game seems to have been heavily influenced by traditional strategy franchises like Starcraft and Command and Conquer. However, competing Facebook strategy game maker Kixeye claims that Kabam copied its Backyard Monsters in Edgeworld's creation. Regardless of where Kabam sourced its inspiration from, Edgeworld looks to be a blast, and already enjoys over 400 thousand players. With strategy games looking (and sounding) like this, it's no wonder that nearly 80 million Facebook gamers are playing strategy games on the platform. Just remember to sleep, kay?
Click here to play Edgeworld on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Edgeworld out yet, and if so, what do you think so far? Do you think this is the start of a growing trend in social games? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Thursday, October 6, 2011
FarmVille: Limited edition Cows come back to the barnyard (again)
No, you're not experiencing deja vu farmers, Zynga has yet again re-released a set of cows into FarmVille, giving you guys a chance to fill your collections in anticipation of what looks to be a Cow-centric breeding habitat coming to the farm. We last saw some of these Cows back in August, when Animal Mastery hit the farm, but there are some different options for your shopping pleasure this time around.
As usual, you'll only have a week to do any shopping associated with this re-release of Cows, so here's a complete look at those that have been re-released:
Autumn Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Blue Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Robot Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Western Longhorn - 20 Farm Cash
Devon Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Mohawk Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Fairy Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Hereford Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Highland Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Chrome Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, there aren't any coin-only Cows in this update, so you'll have to spend some of your hard-earned Farm Cash to stock up on any of these animals. Unlike previous animal habitats, the upcoming Cow building will allow you to breed Calves, rather that duplicates of these Cows, so if you don't want to waste time waiting for those Calves to grow inside your Nursery Barn, you might want to buy these Cows as is.
We'll make sure to let you know when the next animal habitat launches in the game, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you the news very, very soon.
Will you purchase any of these Cows for your farms, even if you don't place them in a storage building? Which ones are your favorites? Sound off in the comments.
As usual, you'll only have a week to do any shopping associated with this re-release of Cows, so here's a complete look at those that have been re-released:
Autumn Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Blue Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Robot Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Western Longhorn - 20 Farm Cash
Devon Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Mohawk Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Fairy Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Hereford Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Highland Cow - 22 Farm Cash
Chrome Cow - 24 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, there aren't any coin-only Cows in this update, so you'll have to spend some of your hard-earned Farm Cash to stock up on any of these animals. Unlike previous animal habitats, the upcoming Cow building will allow you to breed Calves, rather that duplicates of these Cows, so if you don't want to waste time waiting for those Calves to grow inside your Nursery Barn, you might want to buy these Cows as is.
We'll make sure to let you know when the next animal habitat launches in the game, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you the news very, very soon.
Will you purchase any of these Cows for your farms, even if you don't place them in a storage building? Which ones are your favorites? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Cow Pasture: Everything you need to know
A fifth breeding building has started rolling out in FarmVille, and this newest animal habitat comes in the form of the Cow Pasture. Yes, I know we all probably have plenty of Dairy Farms on our farms to store cows (note: with the launch of this feature, Dairy Farms are no longer available for purchase in the market), but with these new buildings, we'll have a chance to store and breed cows even without bulls, by simply having one of a particular animal inside it. Of course, you'll need to first build your Cow Pasture before you can use it, so let's get straight into the guide.
The Cow Pasture requires 30 ingredients: 10 each of Hay Bundles, Stones and Tin Sheets. Unfortunately, these Stones are the same items you'll need to continue to repair the cove in Lighthouse Cove, so you'll need to once again decide which item is more important at the time: building this Cow Pasture, or repairing the Cove. Once the Cow Pasture is built, you'll be able to store 20 different Cows inside (perhaps you'd like to fill it with some cows that were re-released this evening). You'll also receive a free Irish Moiled Cow for completing it.
What makes this Cow Pasture different than other animal habitats is that you'll breed calves, rather than duplicate animals of those placed inside your Cow Pasture. With this comes the announcement that Calf and Foal mastery is "coming soon," so you'll want to have as many of these calves appear on your land as possible to prepare for that. While that may not give you a chance to easily stock up on fully grown Cows, I suppose you could place these extra calves in your Nursery Barn in the hopes that they eventually grow up.
Alternatively, you can click on the "Grow Up" button on your new Calves to grow them manually into adults by paying Farm Cash. Yes, this feature only costs Farm Cash and is currently unavailable for coins. The only positive that comes with this is that you won't need to collect Animal Feed, and can then use your excess Feed on the many, many babies you probably already have on your land.
For the record, it doesn't look like this Cow Pasture will do anything to your existing Dairy Farms, so feel free to keep those on your farm for easy storage of existing Cows on your farm(s).
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Cow Pasture feature? Are you looking forward to calf and foal mastery? Sound off in the comments.
The Cow Pasture requires 30 ingredients: 10 each of Hay Bundles, Stones and Tin Sheets. Unfortunately, these Stones are the same items you'll need to continue to repair the cove in Lighthouse Cove, so you'll need to once again decide which item is more important at the time: building this Cow Pasture, or repairing the Cove. Once the Cow Pasture is built, you'll be able to store 20 different Cows inside (perhaps you'd like to fill it with some cows that were re-released this evening). You'll also receive a free Irish Moiled Cow for completing it.
What makes this Cow Pasture different than other animal habitats is that you'll breed calves, rather than duplicate animals of those placed inside your Cow Pasture. With this comes the announcement that Calf and Foal mastery is "coming soon," so you'll want to have as many of these calves appear on your land as possible to prepare for that. While that may not give you a chance to easily stock up on fully grown Cows, I suppose you could place these extra calves in your Nursery Barn in the hopes that they eventually grow up.
Alternatively, you can click on the "Grow Up" button on your new Calves to grow them manually into adults by paying Farm Cash. Yes, this feature only costs Farm Cash and is currently unavailable for coins. The only positive that comes with this is that you won't need to collect Animal Feed, and can then use your excess Feed on the many, many babies you probably already have on your land.
For the record, it doesn't look like this Cow Pasture will do anything to your existing Dairy Farms, so feel free to keep those on your farm for easy storage of existing Cows on your farm(s).
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Cow Pasture feature? Are you looking forward to calf and foal mastery? Sound off in the comments.
Kabam study suggests hardcore gamers are flocking to Facebook
Have the tables finally turned? Not quite just yet, but slowly and surely they are, a study released by Kabam suggests. The Redwood City-Calif.-based creator of Facebook games like Dragons of Atlantis and Edgeworld recently commissioned a survey of 1,412 "hardcore" gamers to find just how their behavior has changed since the dawn of Facebook games.
Dubbed the "Social Gamer Study," Kabam found that the demographics of the average social game fan are slowly changing--more young to middle-aged men are playing Facebook games. And a whopping 82 percent of them come from the console game space, which is terribly important. This is because 27 percent of those surveyed report playing console games less often.
And perhaps more importantly to those looking to make cash from hardcore games, those surveyed reported spending 50 percent less on console games. Of course, Kabam threw in that players of its games are even more dedicated to Facebook games than console games: 55 percent reported playing console games less and spending 65 percent on the games.
Social Gamer Study findings
According to the study conducted by Information Solutions Group, 72 percent of these hardcore social gamers are playing two or more games at once, and 47 percent are playing three or more. If you've ever played a game like Kingdoms of Camelot or Kixeye's Backyard Monsters, you know that this is quite a lot to keep up with--much more so than, say, FarmVille.
Not to mention that this growing sub culture of Facebook gamers plays far longer game sessions than the 30 minutes or so your average Bejeweled Blitz player sits down for on lunch break. A massive 68 percent reported playing social strategy games for three hours or longer a day, and 30 percent said they play for longer than an hour per session.
Of course, it's important to keep in mind who commissioned this study: a developer and publisher of hardcore Facebook games. Vested interests aside, it's undeniable that a new breed of Facebook game fan is emerging, and fast. And you have to assume, with advances like download-free 3D gaming on the horizon, these numbers will only grow. Check out the study in full here.
Are you part of this growing portion of Facebook gamers? Do you think social game creators like Zynga, EA and wooga have anything to worry about? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Dubbed the "Social Gamer Study," Kabam found that the demographics of the average social game fan are slowly changing--more young to middle-aged men are playing Facebook games. And a whopping 82 percent of them come from the console game space, which is terribly important. This is because 27 percent of those surveyed report playing console games less often.
And perhaps more importantly to those looking to make cash from hardcore games, those surveyed reported spending 50 percent less on console games. Of course, Kabam threw in that players of its games are even more dedicated to Facebook games than console games: 55 percent reported playing console games less and spending 65 percent on the games.
Social Gamer Study findings
According to the study conducted by Information Solutions Group, 72 percent of these hardcore social gamers are playing two or more games at once, and 47 percent are playing three or more. If you've ever played a game like Kingdoms of Camelot or Kixeye's Backyard Monsters, you know that this is quite a lot to keep up with--much more so than, say, FarmVille.
Not to mention that this growing sub culture of Facebook gamers plays far longer game sessions than the 30 minutes or so your average Bejeweled Blitz player sits down for on lunch break. A massive 68 percent reported playing social strategy games for three hours or longer a day, and 30 percent said they play for longer than an hour per session.
Of course, it's important to keep in mind who commissioned this study: a developer and publisher of hardcore Facebook games. Vested interests aside, it's undeniable that a new breed of Facebook game fan is emerging, and fast. And you have to assume, with advances like download-free 3D gaming on the horizon, these numbers will only grow. Check out the study in full here.
Are you part of this growing portion of Facebook gamers? Do you think social game creators like Zynga, EA and wooga have anything to worry about? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
GameHouse hopes to build buzz on Facebook with Bayou Blast
This might be the first and last time you see these words from me: I cannot wait to hit the bayou. GameHouse just announced that its next Facebook game, Bayou Blast, is scheduled to hit the platform this October. Keeping with the recurring "Blast" theme started with Collapse! Blast, this game tasks players with matching gems to make them explode. Sound familiar?
Of course it does, but judging from an early look at the game courtesy of GameHouse CEO Matt Hulett, Bayou Blast brings a fresh twist to the sub genre. You are Bayou, the last remaining firefly of the swamp who must save his friends from a voodoo frog that has captured them in various gems. But rather than simply matching them à la Bejeweled Blitz, you must draw lines of lightning through as many identical gems as you can to destroy them.
Bayou Blast takes this hook and crams it into 60-second game sessions in a race for the high score. Much like its competitors and previous offerings from GameHouse on Facebook, Bayou Blast features weekly tournaments between friends and power-ups that unlock over time and can be bought using either in-game currency or Facebook Credits. These include staples like time extensions, exploding gems and score multipliers.
Bayou Blast gameplay
The game takes on a charming, cartoonish art style, and rewards players for blowing up gems with greater speed. In fact, match fast enough and the game board will burst into flame, which we assume means much more points. "We've really focused on the quality of the game," Hulett tells us. "I've got people outside my office who are constantly looking at different art effects. Like, 'Is the lightning looking the right way when [players] drag the mouse cursor?' The amount of detail they're putting into this game is really great."
According to Hulett, games like Collapse! Blast and soon Bayou Blast mark a significant shift in where the company is headed. About 50 percent of the GameHouse staff is now focused on creating social games for Facebook and mobile devices. (GameHouse was originally focused on downloadable casual games.) Speaking of which, both of these games will receive Facebook-connected versions for the iPhone and iPad early next year. And Hulett is confident that GameHouse's new direction will pay off.
"We have a good shot of being in the Top 10," Hulett gushes. "I think we've gotten really good at Facebook games over the past three to five months. Maybe Bayou Blast will be our first game [with 1 million daily players]." We'll see if Bayou Blast lives up to Hulett's ambitions this October. Until then, check out the trailer below.
Are you psyched to play Bayou Blast on Facebook? What do you think of GameHouse's approach the world of Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Of course it does, but judging from an early look at the game courtesy of GameHouse CEO Matt Hulett, Bayou Blast brings a fresh twist to the sub genre. You are Bayou, the last remaining firefly of the swamp who must save his friends from a voodoo frog that has captured them in various gems. But rather than simply matching them à la Bejeweled Blitz, you must draw lines of lightning through as many identical gems as you can to destroy them.
Bayou Blast takes this hook and crams it into 60-second game sessions in a race for the high score. Much like its competitors and previous offerings from GameHouse on Facebook, Bayou Blast features weekly tournaments between friends and power-ups that unlock over time and can be bought using either in-game currency or Facebook Credits. These include staples like time extensions, exploding gems and score multipliers.
Bayou Blast gameplay
The game takes on a charming, cartoonish art style, and rewards players for blowing up gems with greater speed. In fact, match fast enough and the game board will burst into flame, which we assume means much more points. "We've really focused on the quality of the game," Hulett tells us. "I've got people outside my office who are constantly looking at different art effects. Like, 'Is the lightning looking the right way when [players] drag the mouse cursor?' The amount of detail they're putting into this game is really great."
According to Hulett, games like Collapse! Blast and soon Bayou Blast mark a significant shift in where the company is headed. About 50 percent of the GameHouse staff is now focused on creating social games for Facebook and mobile devices. (GameHouse was originally focused on downloadable casual games.) Speaking of which, both of these games will receive Facebook-connected versions for the iPhone and iPad early next year. And Hulett is confident that GameHouse's new direction will pay off.
"We have a good shot of being in the Top 10," Hulett gushes. "I think we've gotten really good at Facebook games over the past three to five months. Maybe Bayou Blast will be our first game [with 1 million daily players]." We'll see if Bayou Blast lives up to Hulett's ambitions this October. Until then, check out the trailer below.
Are you psyched to play Bayou Blast on Facebook? What do you think of GameHouse's approach the world of Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
FarmVille iOS Update: Sail to Lighthouse Cove on iPhone, iPad
FarmVille for iOS is keeping up with the Joneses. Zynga just released Version 2.3 of FarmVille for iPhone and iPad, a major update that grants access to the brand new Lighthouse Cove expansion. Now, you can take your coastal farming village with you on your iPhone and iPad. The update doesn't contain much else, but let's not look too ungrateful--these updates are rare.
The update also includes "a barn-full of bug fixes and crash fixes," but what's more important is now we can finally hit up Lighthouse Cove on our tiny, touchy screens. To access the new content, just touch options button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and then "Travel to..." and Lighthouse Cove. The transition is surprisingly smooth.
However, you need to have already visited Lighthouse Cove on FarmVille for Facebook before you can check it out on your iOS device of choice. The mobile version of Lighthouse Cove even comes with a brand new theme song that sounds decidedly western, oddly enough.
FarmVille iPhone Lighthouse Cove
While you can access all the new crops, animals and trees the expansion has to offer, you won't be able to fix the place up while playing from your iPhone or iPad. Hey, at least you can keep up with things while in line at the grocery store, you know, buying real fruits and vegetables.
Click here to download FarmVille for iOS Version 2.3 Now >
Have you visited Lighthouse Cove through your iPhone or iPad yet? What do you think of how Zynga handles the mobile version of FarmVille? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
The update also includes "a barn-full of bug fixes and crash fixes," but what's more important is now we can finally hit up Lighthouse Cove on our tiny, touchy screens. To access the new content, just touch options button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and then "Travel to..." and Lighthouse Cove. The transition is surprisingly smooth.
However, you need to have already visited Lighthouse Cove on FarmVille for Facebook before you can check it out on your iOS device of choice. The mobile version of Lighthouse Cove even comes with a brand new theme song that sounds decidedly western, oddly enough.
FarmVille iPhone Lighthouse Cove
While you can access all the new crops, animals and trees the expansion has to offer, you won't be able to fix the place up while playing from your iPhone or iPad. Hey, at least you can keep up with things while in line at the grocery store, you know, buying real fruits and vegetables.
Click here to download FarmVille for iOS Version 2.3 Now >
Have you visited Lighthouse Cove through your iPhone or iPad yet? What do you think of how Zynga handles the mobile version of FarmVille? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Yahoo promotion
It looks like we're seeing a change for the better in terms of free Farm Cash promotions in FarmVille, as there's another available this afternoon, from Yahoo. Technically, this promotion is encouraging users to add Yahoo! as their browser homepage, but as usual, there's a way around that (that still allows you your free Farm Cash)!
To start, you'll need to click on the sponsored link window displaying the Yahoo "Y" and then wait for the window to load (it might take a bit longer than normal, as the promotion has to decide which browser you're using to access it). From there, you're given instructions on how to make Yahoo! your homepage on that particular browser, but at the bottom of the window sits a countdown timer that starts at 30 seconds and slowly counts down (much more slowly than 30 seconds, that is). When it finally does run out, you can click on the "Finish" button to end the promotion and receive your two Farm Cash.
As usual, your Farm Cash should automatically update into your account upon closing this activity window, but if it doesn't, a simple refresh of the game should do the trick. Either way, make sure to complete this activity the very first time you see it appear under your FarmVille gameplay area, as these cross-promotions tend to be incredibly fast-moving, and may disappear even after refreshing the page.
Were you able to earn your free Farm Cash from Yahoo, or has the promotion not appeared for you yet? Sound off in the comments.
To start, you'll need to click on the sponsored link window displaying the Yahoo "Y" and then wait for the window to load (it might take a bit longer than normal, as the promotion has to decide which browser you're using to access it). From there, you're given instructions on how to make Yahoo! your homepage on that particular browser, but at the bottom of the window sits a countdown timer that starts at 30 seconds and slowly counts down (much more slowly than 30 seconds, that is). When it finally does run out, you can click on the "Finish" button to end the promotion and receive your two Farm Cash.
As usual, your Farm Cash should automatically update into your account upon closing this activity window, but if it doesn't, a simple refresh of the game should do the trick. Either way, make sure to complete this activity the very first time you see it appear under your FarmVille gameplay area, as these cross-promotions tend to be incredibly fast-moving, and may disappear even after refreshing the page.
Were you able to earn your free Farm Cash from Yahoo, or has the promotion not appeared for you yet? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Capital One Free Gift: What's inside?
If you've played FarmVille at all in the last 24 hours, you're likely aware that a Capital One cross-promotional farm has appeared in the game, giving you a chance to earn a free Capital One Goat and some "Capital One" instant grow. What you might have missed, however, is the release of a Capital One Gift on the game's free gifts page. This box can be thought of as a mystery box, as you'll never know which item you'll receive when opening one.
There are quite a few items that can be found inside each Capital One Gift, but unfortunately only a few are really "exciting." Here's a list of items that we've received from those boxes so far:
Pygmy Goat
Animal Feed
Passion Fruit Tree
Flower Sheep
Farmhand
While the Pygmy Goat and Farm Sheep are cute little animals, we've easily received an overwhelming amount of Passion Fruit Trees, and little of everything else. Whether that means those are the most common prizes, or we're just "unlucky" remains to be seen. This Capital One gift will only be available to send for the next nine days, so make sure to send some now while you still can (and ask for some in return!).
Have you received any other items from your Capital One Gifts? Let us know and we'll add them here! Sound off in the comments.
There are quite a few items that can be found inside each Capital One Gift, but unfortunately only a few are really "exciting." Here's a list of items that we've received from those boxes so far:
Pygmy Goat
Animal Feed
Passion Fruit Tree
Flower Sheep
Farmhand
While the Pygmy Goat and Farm Sheep are cute little animals, we've easily received an overwhelming amount of Passion Fruit Trees, and little of everything else. Whether that means those are the most common prizes, or we're just "unlucky" remains to be seen. This Capital One gift will only be available to send for the next nine days, so make sure to send some now while you still can (and ask for some in return!).
Have you received any other items from your Capital One Gifts? Let us know and we'll add them here! Sound off in the comments.
Facebook game lets you solve anagrams to save Canada's forests
True to its name, in order to play Donate2Play Media's first new game, Wordraiser, you're going to have to pony up some change. Wordraiser is an anagram game that has players make as many words as possible out of one word.
If you manage to guess the key word, you get to level up. After leveling up a few times, you'll be asked to buy "Karma Points" that enable you to play more games.
Donation packages range from $1 to $20 USD, where $1 USD equals 10 Karma Points, which is good for buying one game. But right now, it seems that there's nothing stopping you from playing as much as you want. We're not sure if this is a bug, as the game just launched during the previous weekend.
While Wordraiser is supposedly free-to-play, it's also the offspring of Donate2Play's partnership with The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a Canadian grassroots organization devoted to finding the balance between forestry jobs and preserving British Columbia's ancient woodlands (defined as tree populations that are over 120 years old). So half of the money given to Wordraiser will be split between AFA and Donate2Play.
Gallery: Wordraiser
Lastly, there's a top ten high scores leaderboard that displays players' names followed by their levels, and two of AFA's founders, TJ Watts and Ken Wu, are currently on the board in ninth and third place, respectively. According to its Facebook page, Wordraiser currently has 202 monthly users.
Keep in mind, though, that Donate2Play is doing all the heavy lifting here, with no risk or prior investment from AFA. Outreach for the game is done via automatic Facebook wall posts. Players will also receive facts about British Columbian forests during load screens and photos of these forests by TJ Watt.
[Hat-tip: Times Colonist]
Click here to play Wordraiser on Facebook now >
Would you rather donate to a charity directly than through a Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you manage to guess the key word, you get to level up. After leveling up a few times, you'll be asked to buy "Karma Points" that enable you to play more games.
Donation packages range from $1 to $20 USD, where $1 USD equals 10 Karma Points, which is good for buying one game. But right now, it seems that there's nothing stopping you from playing as much as you want. We're not sure if this is a bug, as the game just launched during the previous weekend.
While Wordraiser is supposedly free-to-play, it's also the offspring of Donate2Play's partnership with The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a Canadian grassroots organization devoted to finding the balance between forestry jobs and preserving British Columbia's ancient woodlands (defined as tree populations that are over 120 years old). So half of the money given to Wordraiser will be split between AFA and Donate2Play.
Gallery: Wordraiser
Lastly, there's a top ten high scores leaderboard that displays players' names followed by their levels, and two of AFA's founders, TJ Watts and Ken Wu, are currently on the board in ninth and third place, respectively. According to its Facebook page, Wordraiser currently has 202 monthly users.
Keep in mind, though, that Donate2Play is doing all the heavy lifting here, with no risk or prior investment from AFA. Outreach for the game is done via automatic Facebook wall posts. Players will also receive facts about British Columbian forests during load screens and photos of these forests by TJ Watt.
[Hat-tip: Times Colonist]
Click here to play Wordraiser on Facebook now >
Would you rather donate to a charity directly than through a Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Adventure World: Redeem a Zynga Game Card for 15 free energy packs
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
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