[Platform: Download (Windows)] Kuros is Sandlot Games' first foray into the realm of hidden object adventure games. Taking a page from the Dream Chronicles series, Kuros blends gorgeous environments with a slew of inventory-based puzzles along with clever mini-games that round out the experience. It's a beautiful game from beginning to end, one that you'll be glad you ventured into!

They sure do that for me. Let’s pose a question: after seeing your favorite movie starring your favorite character, do you ever feel like you’d want to play a game and control the character you saw in the movie?

Like, after seeing Lords of The Rings you feel an urge to play as Gandalf (or say “run you fools” to your friends) or something like that. I bet you do. At least sometimes.

Well, I’m like that.

I know that rationally that makes no much sense. I wanna be me. I don’t really care how some long wood creature called Treebeard lives, but after seeing Treebeard in the movie, I start talking to my dogs with that funny voice. When I do that, the dogs look at me as oddly as you think of me now.

Anyway.

It’s kind of strange how seeing things affects on our (well, mine at least) mind to experience things. Logically speaking, even though Battlestar’s Adama is a cool leader in my opinion, it doesn’t really make no sense to why I choose Adama in the board game version. After all, the only Adama in game is depicted in the character card, with some special skills listed. For strategic purposes, I could equally well pick some other character - but I wanna pick Adama.

Choosing Adama as my character, doesn’t make me Adama, but somehow I’ve always felt some sort of cool feeling for roleplaying things. When we played ice hockey as kids, we were roleplaying Teemu Selänne. When we played war outdoors, we were shooting Terminators and stuff.

Maybe it’s not the movies that mess up things. Maybe it’s just our brain that creates us a feeling that brings something more into experiencing games. Something that games cannot provide inside. Something that we must choose to put in to games.

Maybe we just need to give ourselves to act childish sometimes, and really enjoy playing games?

Alawar Entertainment has announced the release of Magic Encyclopedia – Moon Light, a sequel to Magic Encyclopedia. Magic Encyclopedia – Moon Light is a hidden object game for the PC. Players have to help Katrina and her brother rescue their professor from the Werewolf.

Katrina’s professor has been placed under the curse of the wereworlf and it is up to the players to help her and her brother rescue the professor. Players have to find pieces of important items and then reassemble those pieces to solve puzzles using the assembled item.

Kirill Plotnikov, vice president of publishing at Alawar, says “Magic Encyclopedia 2″ is a deeply satisfying game experience with extraordinary artwork. “We worked hard to create an exceptional visual experience for players. Our artists drew each location and object by hand, giving the game a warm and charming feel. After all, true creativity is always an act of magic.”

Magic Encyclopedia – Moon Light sounds like a hidden object game with a bit of a twist. Instead of just finding the hidden items, players have to find and piece together items and then use those items in a puzzle. Alawar seems to have a good idea to make the game different and not just another hidden object game. The game sounds like it would be fun to play.

Press Release Follows:

ALEXANDRIA, July 2 — Alawar Entertainment, one of the world’s leading publishers of casual games, today released “Magic Encyclopedia 2.” The hidden object adventure game is a sequel to “Magic Encyclopedia,” a popular release set in a world of fantasy and enchantment.

Players join Katrina and her brother as they travel across the world and through time to save their professor from the curse of the werewolf. The gameplay involves finding the hidden pieces of important items and reassembling the objects to solve challenging puzzles.

“Magic Encyclopedia 2″ takes players on a captivating and unpredictable journey across four continents. The game features dazzling hand-drawn graphics, 32 challenging levels, 18 mini-games and over 1,500 objects to find.

Kirill Plotnikov, vice president of publishing at Alawar, says “Magic Encyclopedia 2″ is a deeply satisfying game experience with extraordinary artwork. “We worked hard to create an exceptional visual experience for players. Our artists drew each location and object by hand, giving the game a warm and charming feel. After all, true creativity is always an act of magic.”

With the release of “Magic Encyclopedia 2″ also comes the announcement that Alawar has begun production on “Magic Encyclopedia 3.” The third game in the continuing series is on target to be released in 2009.

Read more about the PC version at http://www.alawar.com/game/magic-encyclopedia-first-story/

This week on Link Dump Friday, toast, bouncing balls, pixels, jigsaws, and herds of kittens combine to form... uh... something... really awesome! We got yer puzzles, we got yer platforms, we even got yer action adventure! Don't we take good care of you? Now... what did you get us?

[Platform: Flash] Escape From the Living Room is a solid, entertaining room escape game. Simply point and click your way through an uncluttered yet beautifully rendered living room, packed with challenges. Or you could just kick back on that inviting couch, relax, and watch some DVDs.

After some collaboration between us, we finally got the Aveyond guide up after coming back from the ranch. Get your maps, Magical Mirror Express, Warp Eggs, and Goodies here. We also have a nice spreadsheet to track your progress and a walkthrough for all the side quests.

» Aveyond: Lord of Twilight Cheats & Forum

» Aveyond: Lord of Twilight Free Trial & Related Games

[Platform: Flash] We interrupt your internet viewing to bring you this important news bulletin: Rabbit Wants Cake. That is to say, one little remote-controlled rabbit needs to avoid spikes and furry monsters on the way to get cake. Program the rabbit by recording and tweaking its movements, in this odd little platformer by John Cooney.

[Platform: Flash] Grenades and baddies and physics, oh my! Adjust your angle to lob grenades from a limited supply at waiting targets to get the best scores and achievements you can across thirty levels and three difficulty settings. Why do they look so happy about getting blown up? Who knows! Just remember; pull the pin, then throw it. It's okay. We get that messed up all the time, too. You should see our offices.

Kodu Game Lab, the game making software for Xbox Live Community Games, is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The game is located on Community Games blade, and costs 400 Microsoft Points ($5) – it can also be purchased here. As with all Xbox Live Arcade titles, you can download the trial before purchasing.

Kodu is chiefly aimed at children, but adults will find the software intriguing as well. It’s object based – you select or create objects, and assign properties and AI to them. Uploading content to the community is not available yet, but a game may be shared between up to six people on the friends list, both to play together and also to co-operate in developing the game.

Microsoft has high hopes for Kodu, hoping it’ll inspire more Xbox Live Community Games and an increased interest in developing games for the Xbox 360, as well as fostering a love of game development in children.

Sprouts Adventure is a The Settlers-style strategy game in which you must restore the population of an elf-like species of creatures called “Sprouts” using both elbow grease and magic spells. 

In the game, you direct the Sprouts to do work such as build bridges and schools. You may assign as many Sprouts as possible to a task, but they have five status bars that must be maintained or the Sprouts lose the ability to work. They may be too sleepy, or lack enthusiasm, for instance. These bars are refilled by directing them to engage in such activities such as sleeping, playing ball, or finding magic stones and butterflies.

You also help via magic spells. As you play and help Sprouts discover new objects, they earn spell points for you. More spell points unlock additional spells, such as eggs which hatch new Sprouts. Many things in the game rely on spells and the day/night cycle. For example, to grow crops, a Sprout must first work on the harvest field. The player must then have rain wet the field, and then have the sun shine on it – however, the sun can only shine during the day.

The game is quite elemental, but unfortunately, the action becomes repetitive and tedious, especially since the game moves at a glacial pace, with no real way to dialate time. It doesn’t help that the Sprouts themselves have squeaky, nasal voices. While individual Sprouts have unique names, there is no emotional attachment to them.

Sprouts Adventure is a workmanlike debut for the series, and it’ll be interesting to see how a potential sequel will improve the base gameplay. For now, it’s wise to try the demo before commiting to a purchase and see if the game resonates with individual gamers’ tastes. The game can be downloaded for PC and Mac at the official site here.

NinjaBee has announced the support for Avatars in their game Band of Bugs. In addition to the Avatar support, NinjaBee is releasing “game changing” downloadable content for Band of Bugs.

Avatar support will allow players to replace the hero, Maal, with an Avatar of their choosing. The players will be able to play through Story mode using the Avatar they chose. The Avatar change will also work in eight-player Spider Hunter mode. Spider Hunter mode allows players to challenge or work with their friends over Xbox live to battle deadly spiders, mosquitoes, centipedes and more.

The new Downloadable Contentent (DLC), The Tales of Kaloki, is based off the first Xbox Live Game NinjaBee released. Players are transported to space to play the game. The game is still based on Band of Bugs, but adds new tile set, new characters, new story, new skills, new strategy, new attacks and new abilities. Essentially, it is an entirely new game to beat.

“We’re giving you an entirely new game,” said Steve Taylor, president of NinjaBee. “The Tales of Kaloki DLC is Band of Bugs but with long-range combat using lasers, rocket launchers, OO rays and a ton of other sweet weapons to blow attacking space ships to smithereens. It’s all the wackiness from Outpost Kaloki X and tactics from Band of Bugs rolled into one, and we’re stoked to be releasing it.”

The DLC sounds like a great set of content for the game. It is nice to see entirely new game features coming with DLC. It feels like you get more for your money. It is better than just getting a new multi-player map or a few new levels.

Press Release Follows:

OREM, Utah – June 29, 2009 – NinjaBee, the creators of the first fully-enabled Avatar game on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, A Kingdom for Keflings, announced today that beginning July 8, Band of Bugs will include Avatar support. In addition, NinjaBee will be releasing Tales of Kaloki, a new, game-changing DLC for Band of Bugs.

The added Avatar support will allow gamers the option of replacing the original story’s hero, Maal, with their custom Avatar as they play through the main story mode. Players will also be able to engage in hand-to-hand combat and spell casting in eight-player Spider Hunter mode. Spider Hunter, one of several multiplayer modes, allows players to battle with or against their friends over Xbox LIVE to survive an onslaught of deadly spiders, mosquitoes, centipedes and more.

The Tales of Kaloki DLC is based on NinjaBee’s first Xbox LIVE Arcade game, Outpost Kaloki X. The DLC is set in space and uses the basic mechanics of Band of Bugs but adds a new tile set, new characters, new story, new skills, new strategy, new attacks and new abilities.

“We’re giving you an entirely new game,” said Steve Taylor, president of NinjaBee. “The Tales of Kaloki DLC is Band of Bugs but with long-range combat using lasers, rocket launchers, OO rays and a ton of other sweet weapons to blow attacking space ships to smithereens. It’s all the wackiness from Outpost Kaloki X and tactics from Band of Bugs rolled into one, and we’re stoked to be releasing it.”

In addition, NinjaBee will release a Band of Bugs Premium Theme. This theme, which features scenes from the game and concept art, can be downloaded through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points.

The Avatar support will be added to the original game for free and the Tales of Kaloki DLC will be purchasable through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points. Like the extensive collection of DLC already available for Band of Bugs, Tales of Kaloki can be played by downloading the original game, Band of Bugs (800 MS points). The Avatar support, Tales of Kaloki DLC and the Premium Theme will be available Wednesday, July 8. Band of Bugs is rated E for Everyone.

Taxes are okay - they keep things rolling. Nothing wrong with taxes. I just hate filling any papers related to taxes. Anyone else agree with this?

I guess that’s why god invented accountants, but still…

Mindemia has announced the release of Room Boom: Suburbia for the PC. The game challenges players to gain control over a neighborhood by building and selling homes. This isn’t your average buy and sell game. Players can hire corrupt demonstrators or even level their opponents houses. Anything goes on the way to conquering suburbia.

Room Boom: Suburbia combines multi-player board games and puzzle games into one game. The game is suitable for multi-player action or for single player action against a computer controlled opponent.

The game sounds like an interesting mix of a game play. It is hard to imagine the type of game that combines a board game and puzzle games into one game. Even though it is hard to imagine, it is nice to see different types of casual games.

Press Release Follows:

“Mindemia today released its family friendly board- and puzzle game,
Room Boom: Suburbia. In Room Boom: Suburbia, players try to gain control
over a suburban neighborhood by building and selling houses. Anything
from hiring corrupt demonstrators to leveling opponents houses to the
ground is allowed in the way to victory!

Room Boom: Suburbia blends puzzle action with a multiplayer board game in a unique way, suitable both for a gathering of friends or family, as well as single player sessions against computer
controlled opponents. The game is currently available for Windows, with more languages and Mac and Linux support coming soon.”

[Platform: Flash] Run and jump with one hand, warp reality with the other. Ian Snyder's Push is a platform game with an exciting and inventive twist that lets you reshape levels in real-time with an omnipotent force bubble. Plus you can make your own levels for others to tear asunder.

[Platform: Flash] When alien slugs start invading, giant birds are having a territory war, and the giant beast chained in your cave is more teeth than cuddles, who're ya gonna call?... what? No! Not the Ghostbusters! Reemus and Liam are back to save the day, eventually, in the third chapter of this point and click saga from Ringmaster of Weirdness, Zeebarf. "Ghostbusters". Honestly.

Handmark has updated their Handmark Fireworks just in time for the 4th of July. The 4th of July, in the United States, is celebrated with fireworks. The United States celebrates their independence on the 4th of July and now anyone can celebrate virtually with the Handmark Firework App.

The application does not cost any money. In other words it is Free and is available for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and of course the iPhone/iPod Touch. The Windows Mobile versions and Blackberry versions can be downloaded from Handmark.com or Astraware.com. Of course, the iPhone/iPod Touch version can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.

Handmark Fireworks is an application that depicts fireworks exploding over patriotic backgrounds. On the iPhone or iPod Touch users can load their own photos and choose their own music to set the explosions to. The program comes with Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Stars and Stripes as choices of backgrounds and offers a choice of stirring tunes including the Star Spangled Banner and Stars and Stripes Forever!

If you like firework displays, download Handmark Fireworks for your mobile phone and get to see fireworks whenever you want, 4th of July or not.

This was kind of fun. Sort of.

Okay, I actually don’t think whining about whining goes nowhere but you gotta have humor every now and then. Just remember that those who say bad things about your game are actually one of your most precious assets: some of them are whiners that you really need to ignore, but there’s many people who simply would want your game to be better but don’t know how to argument. Listening to “bad feedback” is actually one of best ways to improve your offering.

But I’m sure you already knew that.

[Platform: Flash] The first part of a trilogy, The Freewill Cycle: Volume 1 is in essence a simple point-and-click escape game created in classic adventure game style. You awake in a room. Could be in a spaceship, could be in a space station, could be just a strange building in East Podunk, Michigan. As you explore the story unfolds, giving, in a few short clues, a vivid account of what may have happened and the personalities of the people involved. Who, by the way, are mysteriously missing.

[Platform: Flash] In our inaugural entry for a brand new feature, You Are Games, we are highlighting the latest from Grubby Games: Incredibots 2! Now in open beta, we are leveraging the community and level sharing aspect of the game with a mini-competition instead of a review. Announcing the Jay is Games Incredibots 2 Mini-Brawl!

[Platform: Flash] It has been much longer than 8 days (more like 3 years) since Anode & Cathode had us sleuthing the case of The Poison Coffee, adventuring around The Casino, or meandering through The Museum. Today they send us on another adventure in a similar style, The Fun Fair (Part 1 of what looks to be another episodic game like their last game, 8 Days).

Realore has announced the release of Jane’s Zoo, a time management game for the PC. Realore has done other time management games such as Jane’s Hotel. Now Jane is taking on the zoo and has to care for the extinct wild animals in said zoo.

Jane has traveled the world and has seen the toll all of the big factories have on the world. The smog and pollution are killing the animals. Jane decides she has seen enough and wants to start doing something about it. Players will help Jane rescue the wild animals from three different places, Africa, Europe and Asia. Each location has a different climate and a different set of animals to take care for. Players get to take care of the animals and watch them thrive in a healthy environment.

If you like time management games, check out Jane’s Zoo.

Press Release Follows:

Realore, a developer of such hits as Farm Mania and Jane’s Hotel, announced the release of its brand-new time managment game Jane’s Zoo.
Jane is back again! This time well-known lady decides to save the extinct wild animals. You have a chance to help her in organizing asylums for the animals all over the world and taking care of them.
Now Jane’s Zoo available exclusively on Realore web site http://www.realore.com/games/janeszoo

At the very beginning Jane pays attention on a great disaster on our planet. While her traveling around the world she sees a lot of factories and plants that cause water and air pollution. Pour wild animals die in such a horrible living conditions. Jane can’t stand it and she will do anything to stop destroying our planet! And you have a unique chance to help her in this fine business!
Jane’s Zoo game is divided into 3 main parts so you will travel to Europe, Asia and Africa. Each place has its own climate, animals and traditions so you’ll have to be careful! Jane won’t let you down and help in any situation. By the way, helping animals is not as boring as you may think: unique wild animals, baby animals (watch them growing!), different weather conditions, fascinating mini-games etc.

Feel the atmosphere of the wild nature and spirit of freedom with Jane’s Zoo! Now Jane decides to save the extinct wild animals. You have a chance to help her in organizing asylums for the animals all over the world and taking care of them.

I have such a huge sweet tooth. It is so hard for me to go through the day without eating something sweet....sometimes several. So when I saw the new time management game, Jessica's Cupcake Cafe, I knew I needed to give it a try. The storyline of Jessica's Cupcake Cafe is that Jessica is helping her aunt transform her old fashioned bakeries into more hip and modern cupcake cafes. You must prepare a variety of cupcake recipes for the many customers that come to your cafe, and sometimes an occasional custom order. Keeping up with the customers' demands can be difficult and especially as the game progresses and the recipes become more complicated, but it is definitely an entertaining challenge. Every now and then you get to take it easy and sell the leftover cupcakes in the park for some extra cash. There are also some great upgrades and power ups available to help make your task a little easier. So if you are on the search for a new time management game, definitely give Jessica's Cupcake Cafe and try! But I must warn you. If you are like me and my sweet tooth, you'll come away craving a cupcake.

» Jessica's Cupcake Cafe Cheats & Forum

» Jessica's Cupcake Cafe Free Trial & Related Games

Digital delivery has been getting more and more popular in the past years. I have recently bought 2 games: Assassin’s Creed (digitally via Steam) and Kane & Lynch (physical copy). There is something strangely nice to actually have the Kane & Lynch DVD box here… but it kind of feels like stone age to actually put the DVD inside the computer.

In Steam, I cannot sell my old games, and the 8 gigabytes load times are bit long for my 2 meg connection, but since I really don’t buy nor play games so often it’s okay for me (I’m more interested in how certain stuff works in the game, and then I usually move on… to make my own game).

To me, I kind of feel that the time of physical copies is coming to the final end. I’m ready to get only digital copies from a reliable distributor. I know there can be some issues with digital distribution, but to me it feels like that’s the way how games will be delivered in the future (if they even are delivered, rather played using some master server…).

This is of course just me thinking, and don’t know what will happen - and when. But I prefer digital ones over physical copies.

How about you, how you like your games delivered: digitally or physically?

[Platform: Flash] Bubble Cannon 2 is what the original game should have been, with tighter goals and more thoughtful gameplay. Eliminate balls by colliding them with their similarly-colored mates, but take your time, because each ball is important! Engaging and very addicting!

This is one of the best games I have played in awhile. This isn't just another physics-based puzzler re-purposed from Junior High days gone by. The Independent developers over at 2D Boy have created an ingenious game that is somehow both relaxing and addictive. It is visually stunning and infused with lots of comedy. If you like games like Lemmings or even Tetris, you'll probably really enjoy this game. Highly recommended.

» World of Goo Cheats & Forum

» World of Goo Free Trial & Related Games

This week I am getting ready for a big yard sale going on in the neighborhood. Everyone is going through their closets and garages to get rid of the stuff they just had to have and haven't used in the last three years. Me included. I am always amazed at the junk I collect. Some of it bought at other people's yard sales or thrift stores. I love Thrift stores. All those bargains are just too good to pass up. My house is full of bargains and no more room to put one more thing. So I need to get rid of the stuff I just had to have to make room for more stuff I will just have to have and then get rid of 2 or 3 years later. It is a vicious circle that never ends. Anyway it is too hot to do much outdoors except walk the dog so I have been looking for new games. It is called Mystic Brother: Lost Diary. I had high hopes for this game and it is fun to play, but it is not very challenging. Still it is a great game to play when you are tired and just want to relax and not have to work your mind too hard. There is not really any hints I can give you other than to tell you to watch the top of the screen for dialog on certain objects. Everything else is explained to you as you go along. There is a special magnifying glass for magic spells and mini puzzles and games along the way. You have to be pretty exact with your curser on some of the objects. Also some objects don't come up the first time you click on them but will come up later on your screen. There is a hint button to help you out but you don't need to use it much in this game, although there are a few tricky ones. This is a good game to just relax with after a hard day. Well, I must get back to my yard sale chores. We are also selling bake goods so need to put a cake in the oven. See you soon and have fun with Mystic Brother.

» Mystic Diary: Lost Brother Cheats & Forum

» Mystic Diary: Lost Brother Free Trial & Related Games

OK... I pride myself on being pretty darn good at time management games. I played a bunch and I rarely had to repeat a level... so when I saw Lovely Kitchen on here I figured no sweat, right? Boy was I wrong. For all you gamers out there who are like me and think that you are a wiz at time management games, try to play Lovely Kitchen on simulation mode. I still can't beat level 8! That is so sad I know! I'm an Italian from Jersey, and I can't even come close to getting past the first few levels of this game! You think I would know my way around a kitchen! But that's just it! Not only do you have to run around and wait on tables, but you also have to make all the dishes by picking out ingredient after ingredient and then you have to cook it. One dish is fine, two ok... but when you have five dishes to make and these people are starving, it's stinking hard! Not to mention if you mess up like one time, you have to start over because you have to have a certain amount of happy customers to move on to the next level. Don't get me wrong though, I LOVE that it's challenging. I thought I was going to breeze my way through this one. I foresee a lot of long nights ahead of me. I wonder if I can convince my boss at the deli to consider this as training? LOL! As far as tips go, maybe you guys can give ME some tips. Playing in the normal casual mode is fine. You don't have to do the cooking, just waiting on tables. And I played that for a little bit, just to make myself feel better about my gaming skills, but I'm ready to go back to trying to beat level 8. Ugggg how embarrassing...

» Lovely Kitchen Cheats & Forum

» Lovely Kitchen Free Trial & Related Games

[Platform: Flash] In Kidnapped by Aliens, previously unsung developer Selfdefiant tells the story of a human protagonist who has been kidnapped, and awaits who-knows-what from his captors. By the use of a little ingenuity, our hero manages to escape his cell and explore more areas of the UFO that contains him, with the ultimate goal of returning to Earth... perhaps. The surreal but perfect background sound and puzzles that make sense without being too obvious turn this game into an enjoyable experience.

Guinness World Records: The Video Game is a collection of 36 mini-games that challenge players to beat the Guinness World Record holder. Players can attempt to beat their state world record holder or the regional record holder, which makes attaining the records a bit more manageable.  Players can also try and beat their own records because the top three scores on any event are saved.

Guinness World Records: The Video Game puts players in a 3D world and has them run around the globe to each event. Each event center has three competitions to choose from. The first competition is always the free competition and the next two competitions cost money to play. Players attain money by competing in the free record challenges. Players will win money just for playing, so you do not have to beat the record to attain money. The more records you attempt to break the more money you can make.

The games are all different and the controls can be different. One of the challenges is to beat the video game world record. Players have to play a game similar to Astroids. Players are in a ship and shoot other ships by taping on the enemy ship. Double tapping the screen will cause your ship to move around the screen and away from enemies. The touch controls make the game a bit more challenging if you are a person that likes to “button mash”. If you “button mash” on the touch screen, you end up flying all over the place and usually into the enemy. The enemies are moving towards you and if you are randomly clicking the screen chances are you will miss the enemy and double click on open space causing your ship to move.

Another challenge requires you to throw a refrigerator as far as you can. This game requires a few different touching techniques to control. Players have to rub there fingers back and forth to get the character to run. Players need to stop running before the throw line and tap the screen to bring up the angle meter. Once the angle meter is on the screen, players tap the angle meter when it reaches the desired angle. This doesn’t seem too difficult, but all this is happening in a mater of seconds.

All of the mini-games are very different. Players will not get bored of playing the same type of event over and over with different graphics. Some of the challenges took a little time to load on the iPod Touch and one of the games was too difficult to play on the iPod Touch because it was not keeping up. There weren’t many games that had this issue, though.

Over all the game is fun to play and adds the addictive nature of trying to beat records. Some of the records seemed impossible to attain, but they are not. It just takes a little effort and practice and players will be able to attain the state or even regional record. If you are driven by competition or like mini-games, check out Guinness World Records: The Video Game for the iPhone or iPod Touch.

[Platform: Mobile (iPhone, iPod Touch)] A big bunch o' arcade games have been assembled for this week's Mobile Monday. It was actually really easy to gather them, too. All I had to do was put out a bit of arcade bait and they came a-runnin'...

I visited a local hamburger hut (got myself a chicken burger meal, cost 7.10 EUR) and spotted a leaflet about their bonus program. The leaflet was 6 pages long. The text was written with a small font. They tried to hint me, that if I buy loads of stuff from their place (but so that a one-time purchase is big enough), I might get some free food at some point. Maybe. It depends.

The reward program was a pretty complex. There were all sort of rules and systems which would get you to certain level, where you could reach platinum something to get 0.37 eur on something when you bought something somewhere sometimes. And, only if you buy certain amount of stuff.

Or something.

I know that eventually it means that I might get some sort of discount, but I didn’t have a calculator at hand and I’ve only studied Math up until the University so I couldn’t solve the puzzle. Maybe the day when we all carry tiny supercomputers inside our DNA I might figure it out.

Anyway, compare this system with another reward system in a nearby pizza store: “buy 9 pizzas, get 10th for free”.

That’s really simple. No any complex mess. Just simple thing: buy 9 pizzas and the 10th pizza will be free. Simple, and clear. And rewarding.

So, in the case we want to reward some people (whether it’s giving them discounts or rewarding them in game), it’s a pretty good idea to tell them how the reward system works (or at least have some sense in it).

Just think of it: would you play a game where the aim is to get points, but you wouldn’t know how to score points, and the game would just give you a bloody long book that would explain how to get points?

Me neither.

I don’t suggest that you should reveal the player everything in your game… but if the player is clueless (or needs to read a several pages of text to realize how some simple thing should work) about how the basic rewards, then something is wrong. Or maybe it’s just me.

[Platform: Download (Windows)] Time Gentlemen, Please!, a direct sequel to Zombie Cow's Ben There, Dan That, is a playground for just about every type of humor that is likely to get you ousted from civil society. It's old school adventuring at its best and manages to both parody and canonize classic Lucasarts games while providing a stiff set of puzzles to solve.

[Platform: Download (Windows)] Enlightenus is a story-driven hidden object adventure game made backwards. Instead of looking for and collecting a list of items in cluttered rooms, your job is to find where items belong and put them back. Compare your inventory with the objects on the screen and decipher which items go in which location. It's a simple gameplay switcheroo that shoves Enlightenus away from the pack and into the spotlight.

Alawar Entertainment announces the release of Hotel Mogul for the PC. The goal of the game is to help Lynette get her hotel back from her husband. Things did not go well with her husband and now he has control of her Hotel. Things get interesting in this time management simultion/economic simulation game.

Gamers play through thirty different levels as they build up their hotel management skills. Players learn the ins and outs of hotel business management, renovating buildings and handling realestate transactions. Players learn all of these skills through four different locations in very different climates that carry their own challenges. If you are looking for a fast paced time management game that offers a little more, check out Hotel Mogul.

Press Release Follows:

– Alawar Entertainment, one of the world’s leading publishers of casual games, has released Hotel Mogul, an exciting new casual business sim. The addictive time management game combines the best qualities of an action-packed arcade title with intelligent economic strategy.

In Hotel Mogul, the player takes the role of the business savvy Lynette, who sets out to reclaim her family business from her conniving husband.  In order to earn enough money to accomplish her goal, she must learn to manage a global business empire.  In the beginning, the player is given only a few campsites and cafés to run.  In time, he or she is tasked with managing a worldwide network of luxury hotels, restaurants and amusement parks.

Experience comes gradually in Hotel Mogul.  Advancing from level to level, the player learns the nuts and bolts of business management, constructs and renovates buildings, handles real estate transactions and develops lightning-quick reflexes.  Good multitasking skills and reaction times are essential, as the player must complete each level within a limited amount of time.

Hotel Mogul features over 30 challenging levels, 12 trophies, five massive locations in different climates and four hidden object mini-games.  The player can also purchase nine types of buildings, some of which appear only in special bonus levels.

“More and more people are becoming addicted to business sims,” says Kirill Plotnikov, vice president of publishing at Alawar.  “We wanted to give casual gamers a chance to become successful entrepreneurs by building their own hotel network in different parts of the world — from arid deserts to a winter wonderland. Now everyone can become a Donald Trump!”

[Platform: Flash] If you were to ask us, "What is Bango?" we could say a lot of things. "A board game! A breakfast cereal! The newest pop music superstar!" But of course, since Bango! is actually a puzzle platformer, we would be dirty rotten liars. Race across blocks that plummet behind you, trying to clear the screen of them without falling yourself. It's harder than it sounds, and with an extra five levels each of "extra-hard" and "frustrating" difficulty, it's a challenge for everyone!

[Platform: Download (Windows)] Finally! It's about time a resource management/casual tycoon game came along that's more than a fresh coat of paint and a few new tricks! Hollywood Tycoon puts you in charge of a movie studio, giving you the power to buy scripts, hire actors, build sets and much more. As you earn cash you get to upgrade everything from your sets to actor trailers, prop studios, script centers, distribution buildings and more, allowing you to make bigger, better movies that rake in millions of dollars of profit. And it's fun for hours upon hours, too!

[Platform: Download (Mac, Linux, Windows)] It's the weekend!!! That means you have a little extra time on your hands. That means I get to take away some of that time with a handful of free games. That means you get to have fun on your weekend. Don't forget to mow the lawn, though.

DinerTown Detective Agency is a different type of hidden object game. The goal of each level is to uncover who has been committing the crime. Players search an area for a list of clues. The casese are not serious cases, though and many of the cases are silly, such as the case were someone was replacing diet meals with full fat meals and the person was gaining weight. Another case requires players to determine who broke all of the hard candy machines at the movie theatre. The reasons behind the cases are as entertaining as the cases.

The entire detective agency was made when Bernie sent away for a detective kit in the mail. Of course, when you get a new toy in the mail you want to use it. Bernie teamed up with Flo to track down the people committing all the crimes.

The hidden object game itself is a bit different than other games in the genre. Players are finding items on a list, but there are three phases to a level to determine who committed the crime. Players track down the clues from a list of items. Sometimes the list of items are pictures of an item that have been hidden around the scene in pieces. In this type of level, one item that needs to be found may be a computer mouse and the mouse is broken into three parts and players have to find all three parts of the computer mouse. On the levels where players are finding pieces of items those pieces are used through out the level. For instance, once the computer mouse is found and completed, it needs to be place back on the computer that is missing the mouse. Another piece to an item or a clue to the mystery will be given when a missing item is replaced.

After all of the items have been located, through normal search or the pieces search, players move on to the next stage. Players have to narrow down the culprits by using the clues. Narrowing down the suspects requires players to play a mini-game of sorts. Sometimes players have to solve jigsaw puzzles and other times players have to match fingerprints of the suspects to the suspects.

After the suspects have been narrowed down, it is off to a question and answer session. The friends of the suspects are asked a set of questions and each one gives an answer when clicked on. From the answers given, player have to determine which suspect is guilty or innocent. There are always three suspects and one of them is always guilty. The theory on who is guilty is determined from the clues found earlier in the level. There are three questions that have three yes or no answers. The guilty party will have the same yes or no answers as the theory questions.

The graphics in DinerTown Detective Agency are nice looking. The levels are all different place around DinerTown. It was neat to see some places around DinerTown that haven’t been in other games and it made it seem more like a real community.

Over all, DinerTown Detective Agency is a great hidden object game that offers a different spin from other hidden object games. The added mini-games to the hidden object game break up the constant search for hidden objects. The cases are all light hearted and keep the game more on the funny side than serious. The entire game is a nice take on the hidden object genre. If you are a hidden object fan, you can’t go wrong with DinerTown Detective Agency.

I’ve been testing Twitter for some time now, and have been wondering how to use it for business purposes. Here’s one idea I got.

I took a bit of time and programmed a small experimental system to promote games. The service is located at http://gamestweet.net/. The simple idea of this site is to pull any game tweets from Twitter that contain the link http://gamestweet.net/ in the tweet.

Developers can Tweet about their games. These game tweets are shown at http://gamestweet.net/. More people will go check out the site. People will get totally excited about new cool games and will go download and buy them. Spending tons of money.

The system works so that you just need a Twitter account (like I do) and tweet something game related (possibly with your game link or something) that contains link to http://gamestweet.net/.

Go check it out and tell your friends, m’kay?

[Platform: Download (Windows)] Avalon is a beautifully illustrated casual simulation game that focuses on gathering resources and exploring a magical forest. It ditches the traditional top-down point of view in favor of a sidescrolling 2D perspective which, surprisingly, diminishes that cerebral simulation feeling. As with any casual sim, it's easy to see the influence Virtual Villagers has had, but Avalon strays well off the rails with its setting, graphical style, and the ability to inspire you to explore the world around you.

[Platform: Flash] As the head of Castle Corp, you're watching all your business go across the hillock to Happy Family Shields and Accessories Incorporated. So what does a failing business do to get itself back on its feet? Why, employ a crew of knights with rocket packs to blast your rivals to medieval smithereens, of course!

There’s a nationwide game discount campaign going on at the Finland (peliale.fi). It’s pretty cool, but there’s one thing somebody messed up.

When you are having a huge discount campaign, it would make sense to actually supply the items…

(This was taken from the konsolinet.fi - neat Finnish store by the way - and the red text after these games says “temporarily unavailable - more coming in 5-10 days”)

Of course with digital distribution things are better (as long as the servers are online).

Namco Networks has announced the release of BurgerTime Deluxe for the PC. BurgerTime Deluxe is the sequel in the BurgerTime franchise and will be available for the Mac later this summer.

The game challenges players to assemble burgers through 60 different levels as Peter Pepper and Sally Salt help their uncle beat Vinnie Vinegar. The game keeps throwing challenges at Peter and Sally as they try and defeat their nemeses Mr. Hotdog, Mr. Egg and Mr. Pickle. Players can defeat their nemeses by squashing them with falling ingredients, stunning them with a pepper cloud or burning them with hot sauce. A few different options to deter their foes.

“This brand new reboot of the popular ’80s classic is packed with addictive game play and a full immersive story that casual gamers of all ages will enjoy,” said David Schwartz, general manager for PC games at Namco Networks. “Fans of the franchise will find the classic platform action they love, but they will also find some enhancements designed specifically for the casual game audience including mini-games, updated graphics and story mode.”

BurgerTime Deluxe sounds like an interesting game. Namco seems to have remade the popular game into a game a little more enticing for a casual gamer. It is nice to see different types of games expanding into the casual market. If you would like to give BurgerTime Deluxe a try, head over to Namco’s game portal.

Press Release Follows:

SAN JOSE, Calif.-June 25, 2009-Namco’s been busy in the kitchen-cooking up a new twist on an old classic with BurgerTime Deluxe. Available today for PCs, Namco Networks, a leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, announced the availability of BurgerTime Deluxe, a sequel in the highly successful BurgerTime franchise. A version for Mac users will be available later this summer.

Available at the PC games portal on NamcoGames.com (www.namcogames.com/pc_games), BurgerTime Deluxe challenges players to join Chefs Peter Pepper and Sally Salt as they help their uncle thwart the dastardly Vinnie Vinegar. Players scale platforms and assemble the burgers to clear more than 60 levels and speed through mini-games along the way. Each level introduces a variety of challenges for Peter and Sally including being chased by their food nemeses Mr. Hotdog, Mr. Egg and Mr. Pickle. Players can squash these foes with falling ingredients, stun them with pepper from a collected peppershaker or burn them with hot sauce.

“This brand new reboot of the popular ’80s classic is packed with addictive game play and a full immersive story that casual gamers of all ages will enjoy,” said David Schwartz, general manager for PC games at Namco Networks. “Fans of the franchise will find the classic platform action they love, but they will also find some enhancements designed specifically for the casual game audience including mini-games, updated graphics and story mode.”

In addition to a cast of culinary characters, BurgerTime Deluxe’s menu features:
*    A full course in Story Mode or just a snack in Quick Mode!
*    More than 60 levels and mini-games.
*    The ability to daze baddies with a handy pepper shaker and use special items to freeze, cook, or salt them to your tastes.

A free-60 minute trial of BurgerTime Deluxe can be downloaded at namcogames.com/pc_games. Once purchased for $19.95, players can access all 60 levels and can enjoy the game at anytime. In addition to download games, in the coming months, namcogames.com will also offer free flash games and a variety of new and classic games.

Let’s see if figures match… what’s the biggest amount of money you’ve ever paid for a game? (Either by monthly subscription or lump sum or something).

I know this isn’t exactly scientific thing, but pretty interesting anyway.

This week in Link Dump Friday: the arcade! Bastion of fun and hope for young and old alike in an urban wasteland? Or secret lair of an ancient race of mole people from deep within the earth's crust? Unless you tune in this week for plants, turrets, swords, and more, you may never know. And Jay will get all the high scores to himself. We can't have that, now, can we?

Tradewinds 2 is a great strategy game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. The game was originally made for the PC, but Handmark and Sandlot games teamed up to adapt the game to the iPhone/iPod Touch. The goal of the game is to amass as much money as possible. Money is everything in the game and there are two ways to get money. The trading way and the killing way. Players can buy items at one port and attempt to sell those items for more money at another port. The other way to gain money is by killing pirates.

Players can choose from five different characters to play. The characters each have their own strengths and weaknesses. If players do not like any of the pre-built characters, they can build their own character. Essentially, there are five different games to be played. The goal of the game is always the same, but the way the game is played is a bit different for each character.

There are two different game modes, story mode and free trade mode. In story mode, players try to amass their fortune by trading items from port to port. Each port sells items for different prices. Players can gain money by buying cheap items in one port and selling them for a higher price in another port. Trading items to gain money makes for a lot of sailing. While sailing, players can randomly encounter pirates.

The pirate battles start out fairly simple, but your ship is not that strong either. The battles can be challenging, but players have the option of fleeing if they feel they are not going to win the battle. If players can defeat the pirates, they will gain the booty on the pirate ship. The booty is normally money, but can be gems and other items.

The random pirate battles are not the only battles players will encounter. Occasionally, pirates will take over the ports. If this happens, the ports need to be freed. The port battles are fairly challenging. The buildings have huge guns on them that really hurt your ship. The port battles are bigger, but so is the booty if players can win the battle.

The random battles pop up as players are sailing around completing tasks for the governors. Each port has a governor and some will talk to you and give you tasks to do. Others don’t want anything to do with you, until a certain point. Of course, the tasks are not performed for free. Each task will give you an item or money.

All of the money is used to fix the ship after fights and buy more ammunition for the ship. The ships can be upgraded too. It is not cheap to upgrade the ships and players will have to save for a while as they start buying bigger and better ships. The ships can hold more cargo, which also means guns because guns take up cargo space. The new ships are also stronger, which means they can take more damage.

The graphics in Tradewinds 2 are great. I was impressed with the graphics. The game is made for a mobile device, but the graphics look as good as the PC graphics. The great graphics don’t slow down the iPod Touch in anyway either. Not sure about the iPhone as I don’t own one, but I am sure it runs just as well on the iPhone.

Over all, Tradewinds 2 is a fantastic adventure game for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Initially, I was not that impressed with the game, but once I got the hang of it, I was addicted. The game is full of strategy and can be challenging to balance upgrading the ships, fixing the ship and completing the tasks from the governors of the ports. If you like adventure/strategy games, you need to get Tradewinds 2.

[Platform: Flash] How do you raise a dragon? As you progress through this unique interactive story adventure from Gregory Weir and Armor Games, you'll find it's more complicated than strapping on a pair of fireproof gloves and stocking up on cattle. The choices you make can have unexpected consequences, and multiple endings based on the path you take will have you coming back to this one again and again.

[Platform: Flash] In this tribute to vector arcade classics, you must make it through 10 levels containing deluge after deluge of asteroids without letting them knock you all the way to the bottom of the screen. Crash into as many asteroids as possible for bonus points!

After seeing 99 votes to the poll about game pricing, I must say that I’m pretty amazed about the results. Out of 99 voters, 5 would pay nothing, but 4 would pay more than $200 for a game (that’s pretty amazing if you think of this a bit).

83 out of 99 would pay $20 or more for a solid fun game.

Pretty darn interesting.

Does this affect on how you are pricing your game?

International Athletics is a sports game for the iPhone/ iPod Touch. Players can compete in a wide array of sporting events from sprinting to discus and even the pole vault. The games are broken down into categories making them easy to find in the quick play mode.

International Athletics offers three playing modes, Quick Event, Decathlon and Tournament. The Quick Event is a great mode to for two reasons. Players can practice all of the different events and players can play short bursts of the game as their time permits. Some of the events took a good amount of practice to get the hang of them. Basically, anything that involved throwing took me a while to get use to. The item being thrown would land foul most of the time, until I got the hang of the controls. All of the modes have difficulty levels as well. Players can play as a rookie, pro or advanced.

The Decathlon lets players compete in ten randomly chosen events. The events are mixed from the track and field events, the throwing events and the jumping events. The difficulty comes down to the evnts that are chosen for you. Some events are a bit easier to compete in than other events. The running events are the easiest and the throwing events are the most difficult.

The Tournament mode has players competing in randomly chosen events, but this time you are competing for a country and not for yourself. The events are still a mix of jumping, running and throwing.Players can choose from three different countries to represent, Spain, Canada and China.

The control mechanisms are all touch based. Some events are easier to get the hang of the controls than other events. The running is the easiest event to control. Players simply rub their finger back and forth on the screen to get their character to run. The throwing and jumping events can take a bit to get use to. Players have to touch the screen multiple times at different points to get all of the actions complete. For instance, if the player is doing a long jump, they rub their finger back and forth to get the character to run and then before the white line, touch and hold your finger on the screen to get the angle meter to appear and then tap the screen again at the desired angle. It doesn’t sound too difficult, but it is hard to get it all right when the character is in the middle of the long jump. It takes some practice, but most games do.

International Athletics offers many hours of game play and has a ton of different events. There are enough different types of events to keep the biggest sports fan entertained for quite some time. The other nice thing is there is a mode for the amount of time you have available. If you are waiting around and have a bunch of time on your hands, you can start up a Decathlon, but if you only have about 5 to 10 minutes to spare then you can play a quick event. If you are a sports fan, you can’t go wrong with International Athletics. Head over to the Apple App Store and check it out.