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Dick Clark stars in Retro World, a social game featuring Elvis, Belushi

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Dick Clark retroJust when you thought it couldn't get any more studded with stars (or weirder), Dick Clark revealed his video game debut in Retro World, Entertainment Games's upcoming Facebook game, according to Hollywood Reporter. You know, the same social game that looks to somehow bring Elvis, John Belushi and classic cars to Facebook, Google+ and smartphones?

Yeah, that one. Now that Entertainment Games's first social endeavor is out in the open, Clark said that his likeness from the '70s and '80s will serve as the game's tutorial. Of course, Retro World is looking to hit the growing 40 plus demographic of social gamers.

"The idea of using past images of myself to guide players through a current online social game is a very innovative approach that I found intriguing," Clark said. "I look forward to serving as your host on this nostalgic and ground-breaking gaming experience."

According to Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Games president Gene Mauro said Clark might even become a playable character in the game along with Elvis, Belushi and more retro celebrities down the line. Because this was made possible through a licensing deal with Dick Clark productions, the company will sell Dick Clark-themed items to players within the game. We've certainly heard of social games centering around a single brand or even a single celebrity, but a project that looks to capture the power of numerous celebs from the '50s, '60s, '70s, and '80s at least gets points for originality on paper.

Would you dig a game that took you back through the years of your youth? With so much nostalgia and star power, could Retro World make a dent in the success of the top social game makers? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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Pioneer Trail Player Conference: Visit Zynga HQ and discuss the game

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Zynga HQSo, you feel gypped that Zynga Unleashed didn't touch on your favorite Facebook game? (Greedy, aren't we?) Well, Zynga fine-tuned its ESP--or perused the forums--and learned that you want to talk more Pioneer Trail. Enter The Pioneer Trail Player Conference, a day-long event on Nov. 11 in which Zynga will host six hours of discussions, lunch and a tour of its shiny new San Francisco office to the most dedicated of fans.

The lucky few who get to hang at Zynga HQ talking Pioneer Trail will be chosen at random by the community team, led by Stumpgrinder. But those willing to travel to contribute to the discussion are certainly dedicated, especially considering Zynga will not cover travel and lodging for the event. (The company is calling primarily for folks situated in the Bay Area.)

The Zynga community team will review applicants that provide the following: forum name, real name, Facebook User ID, Pioneer Trail Level, t-shirt size (you'll get a shirt!) and their like and dislikes regarding the game. We imagine that players' proximity to Zynga headquarters will be a deciding factor, too. But why would Zynga hold such an event all about one of its least popular games?

Since its release earlier this summer, Pioneer Trail has been in decline, according to AppData. That's despite some hefty updates pushed to the game like the massive Ghost Town. Our guess is that Zynga is looking for answers as to why what was once one of its most popular games has lost its luster after what was supposed to be its revival. Check out the forum post here for all the details.

Why do you think Zynga is holding such a Pioneer Trail conference? Do you plan on applying to get a seat? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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With PlayJam, Flash-based social games could hit your HDTV in 2012

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PlayJam Social Game TVGames like Zynga's Adventure World and Vostu's GolMania sure look nice in full screen, but how about in a really full screen? That's what London, England-based PlayJam looks to make possible. The company just announced an agreement with Adobe, the creator of Flash (the most common technology behind social games), to bring Flash-based social games to Internet-connected HDTVs.

PlayJam, which works with social game developers to bring social games to HDTVs from Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony, will bring both 2D and 3D-based Flash games to said flat screens. "Features such as billing, leader-boards, tournaments and integration with third party social networks and TV programming can be seamlessly integrated via PlayJam's SDK," PlayJam said in a release.

The developer tools are said to release in the second quarter of 2012, so between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2012. PlayJam currently has deals with developers like Relentless--the studio behind console quiz game series Buzz--but these tools will be up for grabs from any developer. And the fact that the company just scored another $5 million funding from investors like GameStop Digital Ventures and Adobe Ventures should nudge social game makers along.

With social game makers including Zynga looking to branch off of Facebook and onto new platforms, it's easy to see a day when we could manage our metropolises in CityVille on the old 55-inch plasma. And when you consider the imminent advent of 3D graphics through Flash, thanks to Unreal, (in theory) PlayJam offers an intriguing prospect. Well, at least the potential end of click-and-drag navigation.

Would you play your social games on the big screen in the living room? What Facebook game would you want to play on a 55-inch screen the most? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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CityVille Special Delivery Crates offer your friends exactly what they need

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At least, they will in theory. With Special Delivery Crates in CityVille, we've been told that these items will give our friends exactly what they need for buildings and goals, but unfortunately things don't really seem to be working out that way. To be specific, these Special Delivery Crates are available to send to your friends via the game's free gifts page, but upon accepting them, many users are finding that they're not only not receiving the items they wanted, but are actually receiving items that are for buildings or goals that they've already completed.

Over on the game's official forums, we see users reporting that they're receiving building parts for business and community building upgrades that they've long since completed, which is, of course, not the way this feature is supposed to work. These users were then asked whether or not they had actually fully upgraded the businesses they were receiving parts to, to which the answer was still a resounding "yes." The point of all of this? Special Delivery Crates may now be available to send to your friends in CityVIlle, but they (like the special delivery crates, boxes, etc. found in other Zynga games) are apparently bugged.

Let's put it this way: if you know your friend needs a very specific building material, I'd either send that particular item from the game's free gifts page, or (if it's not available), wait for them to manually request it from you instead. At least, that is, until Zynga can fix the issues that are already found with these Special Delivery Crates.

How many items have you received from Special Delivery Crates that you've actually needed? Will you send these items to your friends? Sound off in the comments.

 

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CityVille PSA: Rusty's Odd Day goals are about to expire

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It may not be Spring, but Zynga is doing plenty of cleaning in CityVille, deleting more and more goals all of the time. For instance, the next set of goals on the chopping block will be those in the "Rusty's Odd Day" series. These goals originally launched in July, but if you still haven't finished them, you have around 56 hours to do so, as of this writing. Those 56 hours translate into a little more than two days, so you'll have those two days to finish all four goals, if you've yet to start.

Here's a recap on the goals, and their rewards, if you've got some catching up to do.

Odd Day with Rusty
  • Collect from Aquarium 2 Times
  • Collect from 30 Businesses
  • Get 5 Ice Cream Cones
  • Reward: 300 Goods

Max and the Sea Monster
  • Collect 10 Shanghai Shipments
  • Sent 12 Trains
  • Collect Shipments from 10 Neighbors' Ships
  • Reward: Bessie in a Pool decoration

Ruth's Best Friend
  • Have one Bessie in a Pool in your City
  • Collect from 40 Homes
  • Harvest 35 Cranberries
  • Reward: 18 XP

Gone Missing
  • Collect from Police Station 2 Times
  • Capture 5 Bandits
  • Get 12 Handcuffs
  • Reward: 800 Goods

Luckily, the only prize here that's really noteworthy is the Bessie in a Pool decoration, and you only have to complete two of these four goals to get it. Still, if those free Goods are simply calling out to you, you do have a chance to earn them, so long as you're not starting out completely from scratch. Good luck with finishing all of these goals (or at least the ones you have left) on time! We'll make sure to let you know if other goals join these in leaving the game.

Have you finished the Rusty's Odd Day goals in CityVille? Sound off in the comments.

 

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Pioneer Trail the Bakers Temptation Timed Goal: Everything you need to know

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Another Halloween-themed timed goal has launched in Pioneer Trail this week, with this one being called The Bakers Temptation. In it, you'll need to help Nettie create Temptation Tarts, using an old recipe she found in a book in the Ghost Town library. Only part of the recipe was there, however, so you'll need to help Nettie gather ingredients to finish it off. This timed goal must be accepted before November 14 and you'll have five days to finish it once you manually start the goal in your game.

As a note, if you're not ready to start this goal, just ignore it for now (or click on "Maybe Later" on any pop-ups you see concerning it) and it will be there waiting for you when you're ready for it. Here are the three requirements for this one:

  • Tend 30 Neighbor Goats
  • Collect 20 Ghostly Goat Milk
  • Collect 15 Frankenflour Bags

The Ghostly Goat Milks are earned through specific requests sent to individual friends to help you, while the Frankenflour Bags are earned through general wall posts you'll share on your news feed. For finishing this goal within the first five days of starting it, you'll receive a Ghostly Goat, 400 XP and 400 coins as your prize.

Before starting this goal, keep in mind that you must be at least level 17 to access it, and remember that you don't even have to start the goal until after Halloween proper has passed, so if you're still trying to work on things in the game's other Halloween events, you can get those out of the way first before tackling this. Good luck!

Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.

What do you think of this Bakers Temptation timed goal? Will you work on it right away, or will you wait until later on, when you may have less on your plate? Sound off in the comments.

 

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Pioneer Trail: Help name the upcoming winter holiday expansion

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With the holiday season quickly approaching, we've learned that Zynga will be launching yet another "expansion" into the Pioneer Trail to celebrate. It's likely that this expansion will be something along the lines of the Halloween Ghost Town event, but before they announce anything specific, the Pioneer Trail team would like you to help pick out a name for this future feature.

The team has launched a survey on the official Pioneer Trail forums, asking you one simple question: "The FrontierVille team is working on a giant holiday feature *just for you* and we need your help picking out a name. Which of the following names sounds most appealing to you?" Here are the options available to you:

Christmas Grove
Christmas Town
Holiday Haven
Holiday Hollow
Holiday Village
Winter Wonderland

Opinions aside (I personally wouldn't be able to go through something called "Christmas Town" without singing this in my head each and every day), it's actually pretty surprising to see the word "Christmas" displayed here in any of the choices. As so many games try to stay impartial when it comes to holidays (or religious beliefs therein), it will be interesting to see if a Christmas-centric name will actually be the one chosen, if fans vote that one in.

We haven't been told when the survey will end, or when this holiday feature will launch, but we can expect it will happen pretty quickly after Thanksgiving. And, regardless of its final name, you can be sure we'll be there every step of the way to guide you through.

Which of the names did you choose in this survey about Pioneer Trail's newest expansion? Sound off in the comments!

 

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Pioneer Trail Crafting Workshop Collection hints at future building?

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If you're feeling bogged down in Halloween content in Pioneer Trail, rest assured that Zynga hasn't abandoned thoughts of other things, as it's clear new items are definitely in the works. How do we know? A new Crafting Workshop collection has shown up in the game's Collections menu, and we're told specifically that these collectible items come from a Crafting Workshop Building.

To be specific, the folks at CEGamers have found a picture of the Crafting Workshop in its final form. Whether or not the building has already started a slow rollout, or if this was just a preview of things to come, however, remains to be seen. For what it's worth, the game's official forums has made no official claim about the Crafting Workshop event existing, let alone anything about when the building will launch for all users.

Either way, we do know further details about this collection, which requires the following five items:

Saw Dust
Bent Nails
Framing Squares
Measuring Sticks
Bird Houses

All five of these items can be earned either at random while actually building the frame of the Crafting Workshop, or by collecting the building's Daily Bonus everyday after it's finished. For completing the collection, you'll receive 100 XP, 1,000 coins and a Motion Components item. This could just be a collection item, or it could be something used within the Crafting Workshop itself, but again, details are pretty slim at this point. Either way, we'll make sure to let you know when we know more about the Crafting Workshop so keep checking back.

[Top Image Credit: CEGamers]

Have you received the Crafting Workshop in your game, or are you in a "wait and see" pattern too? Sound off in the comments.

 

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Pioneer Trail Sneak Peek: Crafting Workshop building requirements

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Earlier this evening, we brought you a look at a new collection that has already gone live in the Pioneer Trail - the Crafting Workshop collection - but doesn't have a building to go along with it... yet. According to the folks at CEGamers, this new building will be constructed like basically all others, via an item collection process that we've seen time and time again.

If these details end up being accurate (that is, when the building starts rolling out in full to all pioneers), you'll be expected to gather the following:

  • 10 Metal Clamps
  • 10 Large Nails
  • 10 Metal Brackets
  • 15 Hacksaws
  • 15 Crafting Gloves
  • 15 Crafting Goggles

From the looks of things, the Metal Clamps, Large Nails and Metal Brackets will be earned through general news items posted on your wall / feed, while the other three items - the Hacksaws, Crafting Gloves and Crafting Goggles - will be earned through individual gift requests sent to those neighbors that you think will be most likely to help you.

It's interesting to think of what this building (after construction) might actually be able to do. Perhaps it can craft new decorations or even craft building materials that you commonly need around the Homestead? Or, maybe it will have some other, completely new function in the game. Whatever the case, we'll stay on top of things, and will let you know when Zynga officially announces the launch of the Crafting Workshop, along with whether or not any goals come with it.

[Image Credit: CEGamers]

Have you received the Crafting Workshop on your Homestead yet? What do you think the building will be able to do once finished on your Homestead? Speculate with us in the comments!

 

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King.com hits top 10 Facebook developers, 1B games played per month

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Bubble Witch SagaBut wait, there's more: the company has also opened offices in San Francisco and Romania. King.com, London, England-based creator of hit Facebook games like Bubble Saga, announced it is now a top 10 Facebook app developer, according to AppData. The social game maker and games portal chalks the accomplishment up to reaching 1 billion games played monthly.

While that measure is across all King.com game platforms, the developer welcomes 17.6 million monthly and 4.2 million daily players on Facebook. Of course, the top performing King.com game is Bubble Saga. The company's Romania office will handle its mobile efforts, while North American business development will be led by former Gamelab president Jong Woo, King.com's new senior business development director in San Francisco.

"We are ecstatic to have not only reached a billion monthly gameplays, but to also become a top 10 Facebook developer. It's rewarding to see our games gain so much interest and excitement among our players-across all platforms," King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are taking this recent momentum and expanding our reach through North America by adding an office in San Francisco and new employees to that region so we can more closely connect with our partners and gamers there."

Most recently, King.com released Bubble Witch Saga to Facebook, which boasts more daily players than the company's top game at 1.7 million. Perhaps most importantly, this news confirms King.com's plans to strengthen its mobile presence, as social game makers are so wont to do these days. And something tells us those bubble-loving witches might get the treatment next.

Have you played either of the Bubble Saga games on Facebook yet? Which King.com game do you hope gets a mobile version next? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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Free Team Fortress 2 turns 20 to 30 percent of players into payers

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Team Fortress 2 free-to-playShow me the mon--wait, scratch that. Valve has already seen it, and co-founder Gabe Newell is interested. During a conference in Seattle, the overseer of hit hardcore game franchises like Portal said that Team Fortress 2--its popular multilplayer shooter that recently went free-to-play--has seen incredible results in how many paying customers it has created.

"And then the conversion rate, when we talk to partners who do free-to-play, a lot of people see about a 2 to 3 percent conversion rate of the people in their audience who actually buy something, and then with Team Fortress 2, which looks more like Arkham Asylum in terms of the user profile and the content, we see about a 20 to 30 percent conversion rate of people who are playing those games who buy something," Newell revealed, according to Geekwire.

Newell alluded to the average number of social gamers that pay for in-game items and boosts. Calling it a fairly recent statistic, the Valve CEO said that's far larger than games like, say, FarmVille experience. "We don't understand what's going on," Newell said. "All we know is we're going to keep running these experiments to try and understand better what it is that our customers are telling us."

So, expect more of Valve's game franchises to go free-to-play for its 35 million plus Steam (its popular games distribution service) users. But consider the ripple effect Newell's words might have on other traditional game companies. Other than Valve's games, more hardcore games will undoubtedly go free-to-play. And they'll all have those blasted social games to thank.

[Via Develop]

Will Newell's words inspire even more traditional game companies to go free-to-play? Is this where gaming is headed across the board? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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Planet Cazmo: Monster Battles enters MocoSpace's orbit on HTML5

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Planet Cazmo: Monster Battles
HTML5 gaming is about to (hopefully) nail yet another landing. Boston, Mass.-based social game platform MocoSpace announced that developer Planet Cazmo will release its first HTML5-based social game, Monster Battles, this December. The game will debut to the 22 million gamers on the MocoSpace games platform with a bevy of unique creatures to enter the ring.

In Planet Cazmo: Monster Battles, players will capture, collect, trade and, most importantly, pit different creatures against one another in brutal (but probably adorable) combat with flashy powers. "We are thrilled to be working with MocoSpace and creating a new HTML5 mobile game title especially for their users," Planet Cazmo CEO Michael Levine said in a release."We believe that HTML5 is a great way to reach large numbers of gamers."

Of course, Planet Cazmo is far from alone. Zynga just made a big bet on HTML5-based social games with mobile web versions of FarmVille, Words With Friends and Zynga Poker. CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan made clear his goal of launching the first game to reach 1 billion players through the mobile web, and Wooga released an HTML5 version of its new Magic Land.

Mobile gaming is undoubtedly huge, but HTML5 games in mobile browsers have yet to reach the caliber of native mobile games. MocoSpace's confidence in Planet Cazmo's ability to put out a graphically-rich HTML5 is promising. But really, we just want to see the flashy powers in action.

What do you think of HTML5 social games in the mobile browser so far? Will HTML5 social games catch up with their superior native game counterparts? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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The Top 10 Most Influential People in Facebook and Social Games

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Top 10Facebook games have attracted some of the most popular figures in the game industry since their dawn about four years ago. The past two years alone saw more video game veterans than we care to count leave the world of shooters and strategy games behind for Facebook. That said, we decided it was about time to see how these game design and business juggernauts sized up against one another after PeekYou approached us with a way to do so.

PeekYou, a search company focused on indexing the web around people, also runs PeekScore. This service ranks people on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their influence across the Internet. The score takes active and passive content creation into account, the former being social media use and blogging, and the latter being mentions in online news outlets, archives and databases.

However, we had to populate the list with 10 names. In an attempt at fairness, we took to AppData's developer leaderboard, but also peppered the list with industry transplants of note. We're certain we've glossed over some video game veterans, but did you really want a list of 30 people? So, feel free to give us your two cents in the comments. (We've put on our flame-retardant suits already.) Here are the top 10 most influential people in Facebook and social games:

Rank

Picture

Name

Bio

PeekScore

1


http://images.peekyou.com/3846/9153/john_romero_384691539.jpg

John Romero

Co-founder, Loot Drop

8.06 / 10.00

2


http://images.peekyou.com/3473/8872/richard_garriott_347388725.JPG

Richard Garriott

Co-founder, Portalarium

8.05 / 10.00

3


http://images.peekyou.com/3730/0019/mark_pincus_373000198.png

Mark Pincus

CEO, Zynga

8.04 / 10.00

4


http://images.peekyou.com/3846/8347/brian_reynolds_384683471.jpeg

Brian Reynolds

Game Designer, Zynga

8.03 / 10.00

5


http://images.peekyou.com/3846/9023/ralph_koster_384690232.jpg

Raph Koster

VP of Creative Design, Playdom

8.02 / 10.00

6


http://images.peekyou.com/3746/5125/kristian_segerstrale_374651257.jpg

Kristian Segerstrale

Co-founder, Playfish

8.01 / 10.00

7


http://images.peekyou.com/3846/8839/trip_hawkins_384688398.jpg

Trip Hawkins

Founder, Digital Chocolate

8.01 / 10.00

8


http://images.peekyou.com/3846/8567/john_pleasants_384685675.jpg

John Pleasants

CEO, Playdom

8.00 / 10.00

9


http://images.peekyou.com/7072/john_vechey_70725707.jpg

John Vechey

Co-founder, PopCap Games

7.83 / 10.00

10


http://images.peekyou.com/3737/2014/jens_begemann_373720145.jpg

Jens Begemann

CEO, Wooga

7.45 / 10.00



Do you have any social game designers or executives that you would have put on the list? Share with us in the comments, but be nice about it, won't ya? Add Comment.

 

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Game of the Day: Moonyland

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Moonyland Game of the dayThe good people of Moonyland have called upon you to come to their aid! As Tamus, a dragon with a cute blue belly, it's up to you to collect the pieces of the broken moon that were scattered across the land. You must restore order to Moonyland!

Moonyland isn't the most sophisticated or difficult game, but it's fun for a quick play. See how far you can get in this colorful platforming adventure. Remember to use the arrow keys and spacebar to move. And be patient, there is no time limit, so rushing through a level is a good way to get you killed!

Click here to play Moonyland!
Moonyland Game of the day Moonyland Game of the day
What level were you able to get to in Moonyland?

 

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FarmVille Pic of the Day: Iloveamberjade brings Halloween to Lighthouse Cove

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farrmvile iloveamberjade halloween lighthouse coveClick the image to make it larger.

Folks, I'm loving the surge of Lighthouse Cove farm art. It seems the FarmVille expansion has been out now just long enough for people to get serious about creating Lighthouse Cove designs. Last week we saw our first ever Lighthouse Cove featured farm and today I have yet another great design for you kind farmers.

This farm was posted over on the FarmVille Forums by iloveamberjade just in time for Halloween this weekend. The farm features a great collection of Halloween items and decorations. In addition, some very nice hay bale art spices up an otherwise fairly ordinary farm. While this farm is more simple than others we've seen, it's a great example of different ways to spruce up a design.
farrmvile iloveamberjade halloween lighthouse cove farrmvile iloveamberjade halloween lighthouse cove
What do you think of this festive Lighthouse Cove design?

If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!

 

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Q-Games to tower over Facebook with PixelJunk Monsters Online

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PixelJunk Monsters OnlineWhenever traditional console developers announce Facebook games, they're normally completely different experiences. (Alright, we were just being nice--they're usually nothing more than buzz-builders.) But GameZebo reports that developer Q-Games will launch its hit PS3 tower defense game, PixelJunk Monsters, on Facebook with "Online" following its title.

While its title certainly isn't original, this social version of PixelJunk Monsters is anything but a buzz-builder. According to an early look by GameZebo, the game is in "an early alpha state," and is scheduled to launch in full on Facebook this year. However, it appears that PixelJunk Monsters Online is available to all at the moment, and has about 2,000 monthly players.

Despite that, the game is far from feature-complete, and thankfully the in-game item shop has yet to be open for business. As far as we know, PixelJunk Monsters Online is under development by Q-Games. The basic gameplay of PixelJunk Monsters remains intact: Players create armed towers on top of existing trees to automatically fend off encroaching if adorable enemies.

However, there aren't many types of towers or enemies in the game yet. Q-Games was apparently more worried about laying on the old PixelJunk charm with impressive pseudo-3D visuals with a Candy Land style and a lovely tune. While the game has yet to officially launch on Facebook, you can play it right here to get a taste of what's to come. And what great timing you have, Q-Games: There aren't many tower defense games on Facebook, and yours is one of the best around, we hear.

[Via GamePro]

Are you excited to see PixelJunk Monsters hit Facebook? What other console game franchises do you think would be a fit on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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PapayaMobile's mobile social game network gets friendly with iOS

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PapayasOpenFeint and Mobage might want to watch out ... or get a delicious fruit in their logo somehow. Beijing-based PapayaMobile announced that it has expanded its mobile social game network from Android to iOS devices. iPhone and iPad game developers can now incorporate PapayaMobile into their game much like they would OpenFeint or Apple's Game Center.

But not only that, developers can create their own social games from scratch through PapayaMobile's Social Game Engine, and launch said games across both iOS and Android devices at once. PapayaMobile's social game network works across both iOS and Android. This means that if a mobile game uses PapayaMobile on both its iOS and Android versions, players can issue challenges, send game invitations, view leaderboards and more between both versions of the game.

PapayaMobile's main goal is to connect both Android and iOS gamers through a single network, something that can't be said for most mobile social game networks (well, aside from OpenFeint). Surely PapayaMobile hopes this cross-platform move will boost its player base of over 30 million. It looks like the mobile social games arena just met a new challenger.

Well, make that a few new challengers. The first games to hit iOS with PapayaMobile include X-City by Aidi Game, Contagion by 2Clams, and Burger Joint by Arctic Empire. Something tells us Facebook missed a golden opportunity with Connect.

Do you think there's room for another mobile social games network? Which network do you prefer using right now with your mobile games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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Nexon's next social game, Zombie Misfits, looks for brains on Facebook

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Zombie MisfitsAlright, we thought it too: "Another zombie game?" But hold on just a second there, naysayers. Nexon's new Facebook game, Zombie Misfits, takes the whole zombie craze in a decidedly different direction. Co-developed by Canadian studio Antic Entertainment, this social take on what's quickly becoming a tired trend turns is a side-scrolling tower defense game.

Wait, according to a release, it's a "cartoon-style apocalyptic tower defense game with an RPG flare." Does that sound different enough for you? And if you ask us, the game's art style looks like something you'd easily find on Cartoon Network.

Ever since Nexon struck gold with MapleStory Adventures, the company has been bullish on Facebook games, but has taken its sweet time. (The publisher likely could have thrown its name on a number of Facebook games this year, but didn't.)

But back to the brain bustin'. Zombie Misfits has players defend survivors of the zombie apocalypse in two-dimensional zones against wave after wave of walking cadavers. To do so, you must place Defenders in key, predefined points in each level to kill off the walkers (thanks, The Walking Dead) before they reach the hovel of "breathers", as tutorial character Slim calls them.


The game features a number of different defenders like the Biker, a club-wielding badass type, and the pistol-toting Trooper--all of which can be modified and upgraded. Of course, you'll need to strategize which Defenders to place as you unlock them to fight the numerous types of zombies. And players can enlist the help of their friends, as per usual. But really, nothing beats the feeling of taking a giant chain saw to a morose mob of undead mouth-breathers.

Click here to play Zombie Misfits on Facebook Now >

Do you think there's room for another zombie game on Facebook? What do you think of the zombie craze overall--is it just a fad? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

 

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Pioneer Trail Ghost Town: Purchase limited edition items for a free Ghostly Horse

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If you'd like to get more out of the Pioneer Trail Halloween event, and don't mind spending some (ok, a lot of) Horseshoes to do just that, you can now purchase a series of five limited edition items in lovely shades of pink and purple in a special event. To be especially clear, this option hasn't rolled out to all users just yet, but once you receive it, you'll see a list of five items, along with their prices and a time limit for how long you have to purchase them.

The five items are those that you'd normally see around Ghost Town while playing:

  • Cursed Chicken - 5 Horseshoes
  • Ghostly Grave - 35 Horseshoes
  • Cursed Sheep - 40 Horseshoes
  • Cursed Cow - 45 Horseshoes
  • Haunted Dog - 45 Horseshoes

For the full set, it will set you back 175 Horseshoes. That might sound like a lot (ok, it is a lot), but you'll have incentive to go for the whole lot. If you do end up purchasing one of everything, you'll receive a free, exclusive limited edition Ghostly Horse. This one is bright purple, and will apparently only be made available through this event. Of course, this horse is one of the many "rideable" ones released in the game, so if you want your avatar to be able to ride in style the whole year through, make sure to give this event a look.

Unfortunately, if you don't have enough Horseshoes on hand by default, you'll only have a matter of days to either earn some extras, or purchase them - six days, to be exact (or less, depending on when this finally rolls out to you). Again, these items will likely only be available via this particular event (or, at the very earliest, might be released next Halloween), so do any shopping sooner, rather than later to make sure you won't miss out entirely!

[Image Credit: Zynga]

Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.

Will you purchase any of these items for your own Homestead in Pioneer Trail? Will you purchase them all to receive the free horse? Sound off in the comments.

 

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Adventure World Sneak Peek: Halloween Volcano coming soon

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While Halloween may be nearly upon us, Adventure World has yet to receive any in-game celebration. Don't worry though, adventurers, as something big is apparently coming - and soon! Over on the game's official Facebook fan page, we've been given a couple of images that serve as sneak peeks to a Halloween event that will take place in the game.

Specifically, we're told that we'll be traveling into an active volcano, although the reasoning as to why has yet to be explained in detail. If we can assume anything from the picture posted just today, it looks like zombies might be that reason! Here's what we're told:

"Coming soon - An Adventure World Halloween - Are you ready to encounter zombie spiders, explore ancient crypts, meet ancient warriors and journey into the heart of an active volcano?"

From other images (seen below) on the game's fan page, it looks like something has happened with an ancient Jade Skeleton, to cause it to lose its skull. Whether raiders or bandits came and stole it, or it was just separated over the years is anyone's guess, but we'll likely be left to reconnect the two.


Of course, we'll be sure to bring you a complete look at Adventure World's Halloween event just as soon as it launches, so keep checking back with us!

Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.

Are you looking forward to Halloween events in Adventure World? What do you think of the Jade Skeleton and its missing skull? Sound off in the comments.

 

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