Scam Alert: Twilight: Breaking Dawn Facebook game is fake

Believe it or not, FarmVille isn't the only franchise in town that's become the subject of scam artistry. The wildly popular Twilight series has its very own Facebook scam, Mashable reports. News Feed posts are circulating that promote a Facebook game surrounding Twilight: Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book in the series whose feature film is set to release Nov. 18. (I know this information because my girlfriend is a fan ... I swear.)

Clicking the link offered on the post will force you to "Like" the post, thus spreading it. While this is bad enough, do not install the app under any circumstances: It's nothing more than a survey asking for personal information. Always avoid suspicious-looking links on Facebook and remember to tell your friends about this one before their love of all things R-Patz causes them to do stupid things like buy a cardboard cut-out of the guy fall victim to a scam.

[Source and Image Credit: Naked Security]

Have you seen this scam floating around your News Feed yet? What do you do to avoid Facebook scams or spread the word of them?

Kiip rewards mobile gamers' achievements with real-world prizes

Well gii, we never thought we'd see the day when another product successfully used the letters "ii" in its name. Kiip, a new San Francisco-based start up, wants to turn the world of in-game advertising on its head, Mashable reports. Well, at least in mobile games, but is anything stopping this from hitting Facebook someday? Not likely. Kiip is a rewards-based advertising platform for mobile games that rewards players when they reach a milestone like a new high score with real-world prizes. Say you beat a level in Angry Birds with a three-star rating. With Kiip, this otherwise minor achievement turns into a reward for hard work--play, we mean play.

How it works is that when an achievement is reached, a banner ad will rise from the bottom of the screen, offering free stuff just for reaching a new height in Doodle Jump. Clicking on the ad will open a new page that asks you to provide your email information so that you can redeem the reward. The platform has support from several partners on day one including Popchips, Sephora, 1-800-FLOWERS, Carl's Jr., Dr. Pepper, Sony, Vitaminwater, GNC and Homerun.com.

And while Kiip has its lips sealed on what games will take on the new ad platform, you could imagine how Kiip could work in Zynga games like FarmVille or even Words with Friends for iPhone. Finally master that new crop in FarmVille? Here's a coupon for free Dr. Pepper. Reach 600 points in Words with Friends? Enjoy some Popchips. Kiip's success won't be visible for some time, but you can bet that social game developers are already salivating over it.

[Video Credit: Kiip]

Do you think you'd be more likely to click on a banner ad in your game of Words with Friends if it offered (legitimately) free stuff? How long do you think it will be before social games adopt a similar advertising model?

Anna Hazare inspires social gamers for social good in India

If you thought the Facebook-fueled revolutions in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere were impressive, then check this out. Several games on Indian social networks like Ibibo have seen record boosts in player numbers since Indian activist Anna Hazare began his "fast unto death," Economic Times reports. Hazare, India's famous soldier-turned-activist, began another hunger strike earlier this month in his fight for implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill, an anti-corruption bill drafted by leading members of civil society that envisions speedy action in corruption cases, NDTV reports. But what's most interesting is that other activists have responded not by fasting, but playing.

While the networks most popular game is Mumbai Underworld, a game that lets players buy a house in the Adarsh Housing Society by paying off politicians and police. Ironically enough, the more illegitimate money you amass, the more points you earn. Over 800 thousand players chime in on the corruption, helping neighbors in the demolition.

Yes Prime Minister, a game released on Ibibo on April 1, soared from 50 thousand to 150 thousand players in just days thanks to Hazare's apparently inspiring efforts, according to Economic Times. "For us, a game is like an ongoing soap opera," said Ibibo CEO and founder Ashish Kashyap. "We create real events in a game to increase its social graph. Our objective is to make social games so that people can express themselves."

In most of these socially aware games in Ibibo, players ironically assume the role of those in power rather than the revolutionaries. Perhaps they are a reflection on the corruption of power, but logically speaking, why would you want to play as an activist when you could go outside and be one?

[Image Credit: Ibibo]

What do you think of the potential of social games in their effect on social causes? Could Facebook games be used as a revolutionary tool?

Redeem a FarmVille Game Card, score a free Spring Mystery Box

While Spring normally evokes the urge to be, you know, outdoors, FarmVille players will have even more reason to maintain that sunless, pasty sheen this month thanks to a new Zynga promotion. Redeem a Zynga Game Card in FarmVille from now through April 24 and you'll also receive a free Spring Mystery Box in your Gift Box. You'll also receive a free Mystery Game Dart, but what's inside the box is obviously far more important.
Lope Rabbit     Picnic Table     Garden Bar
Each Spring Mystery Box has the chance of holding one of these three items inside: Lope Rabbit, Picnic Table and Garden Bar. While the two decorations are surely cute, we doubt anyone could resist that bunny. Look, if you had to choose between a wooden table and a hippity hoppity bunny rabbit, which would you pick? We thought so.

[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you redeemed a Game Card to get one of these three items yet? We probably shouldn't bother in the face of the Lope Rabbit, but which prize would you like to have more?

CityZen on Facebook struggles to stand outside CityVille's shadow

CityZen in action
Look, Metamoki, we know you felt burned when Zynga took Mob Wars and spun it into Mafia Wars, one of the most successful social games to date. (And rightfully so.) And now they've done it again with CityVille, which released months after CityZen. CityZen is the second and latest game to come from Metamoki, and while it appeared long before CityVille, it cannot be helped but to look at the game from underneath Zynga's shadow. However, CityZen does introduce some interesting features like commute proximity when building homes and businesses, things CityVille would do well to learn from it. Unfortunately, its lack of conveniences and heavy polish that are easily found in CityVille only emphasize the shadow cast.
CityZen building proximity
Aside from the omission of Goods and focus on even distribution of homes and businesses, CityZen doesn't do much else to stand out from its better established ... inspiration. If you've played CityVille, this game will come as second nature. Players must build businesses and homes in conjunction to create a thriving city. However, every business is directly employed by the population that each home provides--a business will generate money automatically after its employees are assigned. Each business covers an area in which, if homes are placed there, employees from those homes will provide a production bonus. This is the most interesting mechanic in CityZen because it adds a thin layer of realism, and it's something Zynga can learn a great deal from. In fact, the company is probably working on an "adaptation" of it as we speak.

Of course, players are governed by Energy and can visit their friends to provide bonuses. You can even build Landmarks inspired by real-life monuments--another feature snagged by CityVille. But instead of requiring players to fill the staff of their buildings with friends, CityZen gives you the option of introducing players into your city through hiring them as managers. This will increase your business's productivity by a whopping 25 percent and score both of you $5 thousand. Yet there is always a catch: If your friend doesn't visit your city every day, they'll be fired immediately. Although it's not as expansive as even the broken Franchise system in CityVille, it is unique and perhaps more user-friendly than constructing buildings in other city-building games.

CityZen upgrading
Despite the few attempts that Metamoki makes to stand CityZen outside of its competitor's shadow, this game can't help but be darkened by it. It's a shame too, because if not for Zynga, CityZen could grow beyond its limitations and become popular. If you're interested in seeing one of CityVille's many "inspirations" on its road to glory, give the game a shot and decide for yourself which is better.


Click here to try CityZen on Facebook Now>

Have you played CityZen yet? What are your thoughts on games that appear to be clones of others?

Earn free FarmVille Farm Cash in promotions with Pepsi, Zumba et al.

Zynga doesn't care if you're too busy crafting Pink Carnation Tea, because there is free Farm Cash to be had. Three more FarmVille Sponsored Links were discovered recently by FarmVille Feed thanks to Pepsi, Zumba and American Express. While not all of them will be available to you at the same time, consider this a primer on all the free Farm Cash that's bound to head your way soon enough.

First, remember that all Sponsored Links are endorsed by Zynga, and they're found underneath the FarmVille game screen. Clicking on each link will open a pop-up window with usually a short survey to complete before you're rewarded the Farm Cash. In most cases, the Farm Cash posts to players' Farm Cash totals within the hour of completing the small task, so sit tight.

Zumba!: 3 Free Farm Cash

This promotion, to generate buzz for the new Zumba game set to release on all major consoles, features a video advertisement and a short series of questions. All in all, this is your standard shot at some free Farm Cash.

FarmVille Pepsi promo
Pepsi Refresh: 2 Free Farm Cash

Pepsi took a slightly different direction in its promotion. While a similar video advertisement will play for you, the company asks an open-ended question: "How would you refresh your world?" Then, you're provided with an open form to type a genuine answer into, and you must share the answer with your friends in order to earn the Cash.

FarmVille American Express promo
American Express: 2 Free Farm Cash

The ubiquitous credit card company also takes the road most traveled with is promotion. After answering some simple questions next to a static advertisement for the company's reward program, you will have completed this task and will soon be 2 Farm Cash richer.

[Image Credits: FarmVille Feed]

Have you seen or completed any of these new Sponsored Links? Are you a fan of Zynga's approach to providing players with free currency?

Bubble Saga on Facebook brings soothing strategy to a stale genre

First hearing word of Bubble Saga evoked just one thought: "Another bubble bursting game on Facebook, seriously?" Many of you might have had the same exact reaction. Well, stop it. Right now. Bubble Saga, for all of its creepy character art and somewhat limited social features, is one of the most original additions to the pantheon of bubble-bursting games this writer has seen in a long time. Developed by King.com, Bubble Saga introduces a framework of a plot that cuts right to the point: blowin' up some bubbles. (If you're interested, Princess Love is looking to reunite with her Prince who happens to be trapped on a small planet, which can only be reached by ... popping bubbles? Never mind.) At first glance, this is just another adaptation of classics like Bubble Bobble, but after a single shot you'll notice what makes this one in particular so special.

Because the colored bubbles surround a flower, shooting bubbles too far in one direction will cause the entire collection of bubbles to spin in that direction based on how direct your shot was. Spinning the board forces players to adapt to new positions, and make constant use of wall shots to make consecutive matches. Not to mention that, in later levels, a bubble touching either wall as a result of a haphazard spin will end the game immediately. This brilliant combination demands accuracy and strategy, something most Facebook games are devoid of these days.

Gallery: Bubble Saga

Of course, this is all made possible by built-in physics and some pretty impressive graphics for Facebook that surprisingly don't slow the game down one bit. Speaking of graphics, the character art in Bubble Saga, primarily for the princess, is downright frightening. At times, she'll offer you a warm, cartoon smile, but at others she'll look like a bug-eyed princess demon. But back to what really matters: the fun factor. The game rewards players for consecutive matches with a bonus meter that, once full, will reward 50 percent more points for future matches. Though, keeping the streak is key to maintaining a bonus. In later levels, this is almost required to ensure scores that are sufficient to move on to the next planet.

You also have a finite amount of shots per level, though the game's high demand for planning shots will help you avoid this quota. For even more sound bubble-blasting decisions, players can switch between the bubble that's currently inside their cannon and the next bubble in line. This especially comes in handy during the final moments of each level when you're limited between just a few differing bubbles.

Bubble Saga on Facebook
Every social game must have a hook, and Bubble Saga's Heart system is no different, though it's much better than most. Players receive about eight Hearts to start, but only losing a level will remove a Heart from your stash. This means that, for skilled players, your play sessions could go on indefinitely. Players can buy Hearts for Facebook Credits, or they can ask friends for more.

However, friends aren't worth much more than that in Bubble Saga. Well, aside from the ability to taunt those whose scores you beat or pass in overall progress. While this might work to stir friendly competition, some direct multiplayer or even item sharing would have added more depth. Regardless, Bubble Saga is a refreshing take on the tired sub genre of blowing up bubbles, and if its soothing tunes won't calm you down after a stressful day at work, nothing will.

Zynga rewards Level 100 plus FarmVille players with Farm Cash

Don't worry, FarmVille veterans, Zynga still loves you. The company announced on its FarmVille Blog today that it will introduce free Farm Cash for each level that players reach beyond 100 up to Level 250. Players that were below Level 100 would receive free Farm Cash for every level gained, but the rewards seemingly ceased after they reached triple digits.

This change not only solves this problem, but Zynga will retroactively reward players with Farm Cash for each level gained over 100. So, for you Level 250 plus players out there: Enjoy the 150 smackers just for your unfaltering dedication to the farm. This change, like all changes to the game, is slowly rolling out to players.

[Via FarmVille Feed]

Have you received your retroactive Farm Cash yet? Do you think this is enough to reward high-level players?

MyFarm is like FarmVille, but with a real farm (and real cows, too)

After a year or two of mastering crops in FarmVille, the real deal should be a piece of cake, no? While many have joked at the proposition, The National Trust, an independent preservation charity in the UK, has made the joke a reality with MyFarm. This social gaming experiment puts 10 thousand digital farmers in almost complete control over a farm on Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire, U.K., Fast Company reports. For a one-time subscription of $50, you can have a hand in maintaining a 2,500-acre farm from the comfort of your computer chair, but do players really want all that pressure?

Well, at least players won't be alone on this one. The game largely operates in a series of democratic votes on everything from what crops the farm should grow to what investments the farm makes in terms of facilities and machinery. This is as real as it gets, folks. Players are given a series of choices decided upon by the MyFarm team, so players don't opt to grow nothing but Mac 'n' Cheese Trees. But other than that, whether this farm succeeds is entirely in 10 thousand social gamers' hands--most of which more than likely have zero real farming experience.

Players will access MyFarm through its website, not on Facebook, and the MyFarm team will attempt to educate the uninitiated through videos, blog posts and more. The MyFarm website says that the goal of this experiment is to not only show players where their food comes from, but what The National Trust is all about. Players can hop in on MyFarm now to get themselves acquainted, but the first vote isn't happening until May 26. From then on, the website claims that players will come to a vote every month on heavily important decisions.

Of course, the whole thing raises several questions. Why would this organization be willing to put the fate of not only a farm, but its livestock and crops in the hands of a few thousand know-nothings (no offense)? Will social gamers actually enjoy a game with both so much pressure and so little action, all for $50? Are there Mastery Signs?

[Image Credit: MyFarm]

Would you ever play a game like this? How do you think this real farm will fare in the hands of essentially fake farmers?

FrontierVille Granny's Mother's Day Goals: Everything you need to know

With Mother's Day being right around the corner, Zynga has launched a new goal series in FrontierVille dealing with Granny, the new character released via the Ponderosa Lodge a few weeks ago. These three missions see you treating Granny "all special-like" by feeding her a nice dinner, fixing her still, and even giving Granny a brand new kitty (c'mon, who doesn't like fluffy kitties?!).

These goals are on a slow rollout, as usual, so don't be distressed if you don't see them yet. The first mission deals with the dinner, as you'll need to tend to some animals (I suppose that's a friendly way to saying it...) and have some Bacon.

Tend 30 Adult Cows
Tend 40 Pigs on your Homestead of a Neighbor's
Have Two Bacon

Of course, the Bacon is part of the Pig Collection, and will likely be earned while you're tending all 40 Pigs. Or, you can just ask your friends to send you the Bacon you need, if they have any extras. The rewards for this first mission are 250 XP, 500 coins and 1 Lunch. For Part II of III, you'll need to harvest some crops, so if you don't have these missions in your game yet, feel free to plant them now to plan ahead.

Harvest 20 Wheat
Have 10 Copper Pots
Hire 5 Friends

Unfortunately, even if you have your friends send you the Copper Pots within a matter of minutes or hours, and even if you have your friends visit your Homestead and water your crops to count for those 20 harvests, you'll only be able to hire 3 friends at a time (at most), so you will be stalled just a bit while waiting to complete this one. For pushing through and finishing this goal, you'll receive 600 XP, a Whiskey Still decoration, and 750 coins.

Finally, Part III of III introduces a sub-quest of sorts to the game (check out our complete guide to catching Field Mice), and - wait for it - will completely ruin your plan to avoid the Canning Master missions, if you've held off for this long.

Harvest 50 Tomatoes
Ask for 15 Cans of Sardines
Find Nine Field Mice

Again, while not technically related to the Canning Master Goals, if you were trying to avoid spending the 5,000 Food by never harvesting Tomatoes, this mission leaves you with a tough choice. Either remove all Butter from your account and harvest the Tomatoes normally (the riskier of the two options), to leave yourself with the Butters as the lone non-completed step, or pay the 25 Horseshoes to unlock this particular task so you can move on.

Whatever you decide to do, this is one time when I'm definitely upset about being right. We predicted Zynga would release another goal that contained the same 50 Tomatoes requirement (to "force" users to complete the Food mission), but unfortunately, if you choose to skip this Mother's Day mission as well, you'll be missing out on what are some (admittedly) awesome prizes at the end: 1,000 XP, 1 Lynx cat, and 1000 coins.

While the Lynx cat is adorable, I have to question whether or not its worth 5,000 Food (and then 10,000 Food after that, and so on and so forth). Then again, should we really pay Zynga the 25 Horseshoes to skip this step, or would that simply be giving them what they want? If you're as conflicted as me, then I wish you good luck in making the right decision (whatever that decision happens to be for you).

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Have you yet to complete the Canning Master missions? What do you think of this goal's match 50 Tomatoes requirement? Will you pay Horseshoes to skip this step, or will you take the plunge and hand over your Food to Zynga?

E3 2011: Shooters, not social, are still king

At the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, aka E3, thousands of journalists and industry insiders gather to see the latest and greatest in gaming.

Over the past few days, companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have been putting on big-budget events to show off shiny new gaming hardware such as the PlayStation Vita and Wii U consoles, along with a slew of new games with names like Gears of War 3, Halo IV, Call of Duty: modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. These games all have the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster films and promise to put hair on your chest as you take out enemies -- both human and alien -- using an arsenal that would rival that of a medium-size army.
Based on everything that's been pimped and promoted on six-story high screens in the Los Angeles Convention Center this week, it's clear that shooting -- not social -- is still number one when it comes to making video games. This, despite the fact that social games like CityVille and FarmVille have somehow managed to rake in millions of dollars and attract as many, if not more, 'non-gamers' than the Nintendo Wii has done over the past several years.

margaritaville onlineWalk the gigantic halls of the convention, and you see hoards of gawkers struggling to catch a glimpse of the new Batman game from WB Interactive, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any social games in the midst of all the hubbub. For instance, there's no giant Zynga booth with booth babes dressed as farmers or mobsters. After a quick tour of the floor, the only social game getting any major representation was Jimmy Buffet's MargaritaVille (which we covered several weeks ago) at the THQ booth, but not a single person was stopping to take a look at the game, even though it was sitting smack dab in the middle of a festive-looking straw hut. (Maybe they should serve free Margaritas to attract more attention.)

The only big social gaming announcement at the show came from Electronic Arts, which debuted The Sims Social at its big press conference with a slightly awkward video trailer. The other big social gaming announcement of the week -- Zynga's new iOS game Hanging with Friends -- didn't even happen in the hallowed halls of E3. Last year, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all bandied about the term 'social' in their press conferences, which were mostly lip-service to one of the year's hottest buzzwords, but this year, that has been replaced with extensive chatter about 3D and catchphrases like, "You are the controller."

Does this bode well for the social gaming scene? It's clear the video game world is still not quite sure what to make of social games, and whether these so-called 'disruptors' will be able to hold on to their explosive popularity for the long term. Maybe social games will go the way of casual games like Bejeweled, which have an equally passionate fanbase as a Gears of War or Halo but have been shoved off into their own little gaming ghetto, labeled as something that your Mom likes to play, or maybe in future editions of E3, smart game companies chasing profits will find a little space for farmers and frontier pioneers along the marines and superheroes.

The Amazing Spider-Man's Emma Stone was hooked on FarmVille

You know, that hottie from Superbad? As it turns out, Emma Stone was addicted to FarmVille as much as we are now--back in the day. In an interview with ELLE, Stone candidly admitted that she was addicted to Zynga's iconic Facebook farming sim for some time.

"I got to level 42, and I wasn't doing anything else anymore, so I had to stop," Stone told ELLE. Emma, trust us, we know you feel. (It's just the stopping part we haven't got down pat just yet.) And something tells us Zynga will blow up her agent's phone any day now.

[Via and Image Credit: MTV Hollywood Crush]

Did Emma Stone just give you a reason to keep playing FarmVille? What other celebs do you think are playing the game right now?

FarmVille 2nd Birthday Guide

Ladies and gentlemen, in just a few days FarmVille will be two years old! It's crazy to think that many of us have been planting and harvesting crops since 2009. But whether you're a new farmer or a grizzled veteran, FarmVille's birthday is a reason to celebrate. New items, animals, and other goodies are being released for the big birthday on Saturday June 18th. We can only hope FarmVille doesn't go through a "terrible twos" phase. But before moving on to the celebration, take a moment to remember the good ol' days of FarmVille; looking back at the past helps us appreciate the present (especially in FarmVille's case).

Check out the posts below to see what the FarmVille Second Birthday celebration has in store.

farmville second birthday unwither ringFarmVille Second Birthday:
Unwither Ring     farmville second birthday gnomesFarmVille Second Birthday:
Mystery Crate Gnomes
farmville second birthday party eggFarmVille Second Birthday:
Party Egg Mystery Prizes     farmville second birthday itemsFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Items
farmville second birthday mystery crateFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Mystery Crate     farmville second birthday goalsFarmVille Second Birthday:
FarmVille Turns Two Goals
farmville second birthday animalsFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Decorations     farmville second birthday decorationsFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Animals
farmville second birthday treesFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Trees     farmville second birthday contestsFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Contests
farmville birthday treesFarmVille Birthday:
Birthday Trees     farmville birthday cupcake cropFarmVille Second Birthday:
Cupcake Crop
farmville birthday itemsFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Items     farmville birthday cake cropFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Cake Crop
farmville birthday countdown collectionFarmVille Second Birthday:
Birthday Countdown Collectibles     farmville birthday candy treesFarmVille Second Birthday:
Cupcake Trees Sneak Peak

Are you looking forward to FarmVille's Second Birthday? What is your favorite birthday update? Post in the comments below.

FrontierVille Oregon Trail becomes 'Pioneer Trail' after community vote

And that's the power of the law, kids. Zynga just announced on Facebook that it's first FrontierVille expansion, Oregon Trail, will now be known as "Pioneer Trail." The Learning Company, which created the classic adventure game of the same name (and helped with the new Facebook game) sans the "FrontierVille," smacked Zynga with a lawsuit over the use of the term. In response, the company decided to change the name to avoid legal consequences, and put the new title up to a vote by us, the players.

Now that the results are in, the company already drew up a new logo. Well, it changed the lettering, really, but it's new nonetheless. Zynga didn't announce a launch, but simply wrote, "FrontierVille's Pioneer Trail is coming to your homestead soon! Get ready for a new grand adventure for you and your friends!" At this point, the expansion can't be too far away, so keep your eyes glued right here for when the big day arrives.

What do you think of the new name for FrontierVille's first expansion? Are you still psyched for the new content?

Building the CityVille Bridge: Everything you need to know

Finally the time has come for CityVille's first expansion ... across the river. Zynga finally released a new building of sorts to the game today, the Bridge. (However, what we all hoped was going to be a trip to the beach turns out to be just more green space to expand on.) Once you've reached 5 thousand population or higher, you will receive a new Goal upon entering the game titled "Over the River." And it has just one requirement: Place Bridge. It gets even better: if you've yet to expand to to the edge of the river, placing the Bridge will expand your city to that point for free. And yes, it gets even better than that, as you'll receive a free expansion once you reach the other side of the river, too. However, you're gonna' have to work for it.
Over the River
Once you receive the new Goal, just click on the "Place" button and you'll be whisked into placement mode. Plop that Bridge on the designated area, give it a click and take a gander at all the materials you'll need to build this marvel of civil engineering.

Start your Platform Bridge
At this point, the Platform Bridge becomes just like any other community building, requiring you to ask your friends for several new materials. In total, there are 75 items you will need, but luckily you can put them on your Wish List, which increases the chance of those items to appear in Mystery Boxes as well. Some of the parts are on the Free Gifts page as well, so you could try sending them in hope of your friends returning the favor.

CityVille Bridge
Once you gather all 75 materials is when you'll begin clicking on the Bridge to build it. Every click will likely cost Energy and certainly reward you with XP. Then, it's time to expand even further, though you can't expand to the beach like we guessed before. It's no English Countryside or Pioneer Trail, but at least it's another place to put our stuff.

[Source and Image Credit: CityVille Forums]

Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of the new Bridge feature? What do you think this will lead to further into CityVille's future?

FarmVille Summer theme sees return of former 7-Eleven promotional item

Along with the small selection of new Parisian items added to the FarmVille marketplace this evening comes the release of three summer-themed items in the Summer theme.

First is the Kiddie Pool, costing 12 Farm Cash, which comes complete with a cute, animated duck that splashes around in the water while wearing shades. The cute factor keeps going with the Turtle Pond, even though it costs more at 16 Farm Cash. For this price, you have a fairly realistic pond, with three cute (yet small) turtles floating in the water. If you're looking for a water feature to add to any larger garden areas on your farms, this is actually a really great option as it looks manicured enough with surrounding plants to really fit in.

The most interesting item here though is the Fun Slide, which costs 30 Farm Cash. If you were playing FarmVille last summer during the 7-Eleven cross-promotional event, and you purchased Slurpees, you were able to earn redemption codes that would give you these items "for free" (ok, save for the money that you spent on the Slurpee in the first place). Since 7-Elevens aren't available in all areas, I really don't know what to think about this re-release. For one, I'm excited for farmers, like myself, that weren't able to receive one during the promotional event, but on the other hand, it is quite expensive. I suppose this will be one case where I really put the two-week time limit in the store to good use, as it will likely take me that long to determine whether or not the purchase is really worth it.

What do you think? If you didn't receive a Fun Slide last year, will you spend the Farm Cash to have one now? What if you did receive one for free; are you mad that your formerly exclusive item is now available to the entire gameplay community?

Facebook pulls app directory, makes finding new games that much harder

Apparently, I'm one of the only people that actively used the App Directory on Facebook. Back in December, we brought you an in-depth look at discovering new Facebook games by using the directory, as you could browse applications based on popularity, or even date added. Now, though, the entire App Directory has been removed from the service, and with it goes your ability to use it to find new games.

AllFacebook noticed the removal as well, as they have pointed out a new blog post on the Facebook Developers Blog that explains a bit as to why the directory was ditched.

"Many developers have been confused about what it means to submit to the App Directory and frustrated by the length of time it took to get approved. As we have looked into this issue, we found that the App Directory drove less than 0.5% of all app installs while a significant number of app installs came as a result of Facebook search. Until now, to be visible in search, you had to submit your app to the App Directory.

Today, we are announcing two updates to decouple the search submission from the directory to make it easier for you to get your app into the Facebook search index:

1. We are removing the App Directory (in its current form) since it does not drive a significant amount of traffic to your apps.
2. We are creating a new, simplified way to get your app into the Facebook search index."

In short, this means that for now, the search bar has been given much more prominence in the app discovery process. Sure, sidebar ads will still likely trigger many more app installs, but now, app developers can submit their apps to the Facebook search index without approval, allowing users to get to them faster. Sounds great, right? Well, it would be, if search currently functioned properly.

I know I can't be the only person who types something like "FrontierVille" into the search bar to find a specific Zynga-run fan page, only to be greeted by user-created or even spam apps/fan pages that may have absolutely no relevance to what I'm searching for. If apps no longer have to go through an approval process to be added to search (and everything really is as open as it seems), doesn't this open the door for so much more clutter? Hopefully, this will all just be a temporary solution to some much larger feature being added to the site that will make finding new apps an enjoyable process, rather than a chore.

Did you ever use the App Directory to find new games to play? Would you like to see a one-stop-shop of sorts for applications on Facebook, where you could browse apps by genre, look at screenshots and the like before playing?

Indie social game creators team with RockYou Studio Partners to get noticed

Fans of indie social games, this might be the next place to look for new games that your friends probably never heard of. RockYou announced the launch of Studio Partners, a new initiative to take indie Facebook game creators under its wing and give their games the exposure they deserve by leveraging its "advertising solutions, analytics tools, and broader marketing support," RockYou said in a statement.

Studio Partners is an open platform for developers to submit their games and potentially increase their reach through publisher RockYou's resources. Following the company's relationship with John Romero's indie--can you say that about the guy who co-created Doom?--social game studio Loot Drop (whose first game, Cloudforest Expedition, is due out this summer), RockYou looks to maintain developers' creative freedom while hopefully increasing their audience.

"We're inspired by the originality and imagination of social game developers around the world," said Josh Grant, SVP and GM of Studio Partners and formerly RockYou's SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development. "Studio Partners gets to the heart of what RockYou believes in-delivering the very best, most innovative games to our players." If innovation is truly the way to beat the monolithic competition in the social games space, RockYou (and its upcoming stable of indie creators) might have the leg up.

[Image Credit: TellMeBaby]

Do you think the competition for the big league Facebook game developers will come from indie creators? What types of innovation do you hope to see from RockYou and Studio Partners?

Working for Gameloft is far from fun and games, whistleblower says

It takes quite a lot of work to become one of the top mobile game developers, but Glenn Watson, former Head Studio Programmer at Gameloft's New Zealand studio, says it's taken too much work. The former Gameloft employee told all to Games On Net in a feature that described the company's working conditions as "dangerous."

"Starting at 9:30 AM, going home at 2:30 AM, and then com­ing back into the office at 8:30 AM to start work again was not unusual ," Watson described. "There were other times when I would be called back into the office at 11:30 PM by the studio producer, only to head home again at 2:30 AM. It was after I worked four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days - including weekends - that I realized I needed to resign."

According to Games On Net, other anonymous former Gameloft employees have confirmed Watson's allegations. Watson went on to reveal that Gameloft had falsified deadlines to create a constant sense of crunch time. It was internally known as "golding," or constantly telling employees to keep going in order to reach gold status on time with a given product. Games On Net reports that, according to leaked internal emails, this process persists. For more on what may be going on inside French publisher Gameloft's many offices, read the feature in full here.

This is far from the first time a game studio has been accused of less-than-respectable work conditions. Most recently, the creators of Rockstar's L.A. Noire, Australia-based Team Bondi, was the target of whistleblowers for unsavory work conditions. Regardless, it's important to know that, sometimes, the idiom "blood, sweat and tears" may not be too far from reality. We've contacted Gameloft for comment.

[Via Kotaku]

Do you think Watson was right in reaching out to the public about Gameloft's supposed work conditions? How do you think the company will respond to such allegations?

Ravenwood Fair creator Lolapps joins 6waves to combat big leaguers

In another case of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," social game developer Lolapps has merged with publisher 6waves. While financial details were not disclosed, TechCrunch reports that the marriage of the Ravenwood Fair creator and the Hong Kong-based publisher makes for a collective 39 million monthly players worldwide. The company will be re-branded as 6waves Lolapps, though each company will continue to act independently.

6 waves CEO Rex Ng will lead the newly formed company, and Lolapps CEO Arjun Sethi will report to him. After leading the creation of the 25 million-strong Ravenwood Fair, veteran designer John Romero left the company to create his own studio, Loot Drop. This move will likely help Lolapps' future games reach a wider audience, which now will use the recently-acquired Fliso engine for creating Flash games that run faster.

And if you count the two companies' collectively player base, the duo is larger than Diamond Dash creator Wooga, which enjoys just under 35 million monthly players, according to AppData. Now that EA has acquired PopCap, and Zynga has bought, well, everyone else almost, the big players in the social game space are starting to emerge. The rest of this year will show whether 6waves Lolapps can hang in the Facebook game major leagues.

Do you think Lolapps, with the help of 6waves, can compete with the likes of EA and Zynga in the future? Are you still a fan of Ravenwood Fair, and what do you hope to see come from the game next?

Game of the Day: Bomboozle 2

Match like-colored blobs together in groups of three or more to frantically collect oodles of points. If match you match five or more blobs, you'll receive a bomb to unleash carnage on a massive scale. But if you only match 3, a pesky skull will drop into play that can only be destroyed by one of those devastating bombs. Run out of possible moves though, and the fun's all over.

As you progress, you discover new blobs that make Bomboozle 2 even trickier. Fortunately, as you keep bursting blob chains, you'll fill up your power up meters located at the bottom of the boards. As you'll soon discover, these can be invaluable in a tight spot. So be sure to flip, rearrange, and explode your way out of trouble. There are a bunch of different ways to play Bomboozle, so choose a mode and have fun!

Click here to play Bomboozle 2!
bomboozle 2 game of the day     bomboozle 2 game of the day
Pro Tips:

    Sure the bomb explosions are awesome, but don't over use them. If you ever see a combo of 4 or more, make that your next move rather than a bomb.
    Try to save your bombs for when they are all within range of each other. That way when you do detonate a bomb, it will set off a chain reaction and clear the board.
    Like bombs, don't use your power ups (located at the bottom of the board) too often. Save them up for when you really need them. For example, if you have a ton of skulls at the bottom of the board and a couple treasure chests at the top, that would be a great time to use the board flip power up.

Building the Pioneer Trail Potting Shed: Everything you need to know

For releasing a brand new game complete with four massive maps worth of content, Zynga sure is focusing quite a lot of effort on our homesteads in Pioneer Trail. But rather than speculate on that, how's about we tell you just how to build this brand new feature to the game, the Potting Shed?

This new building, available to players Level 15 and higher, allows players to unlock two brand new crops and create a new item that's said to make planting crops far easier. The new feature is introduced through three new Goals that will slowly guide you through the Potting Shed's many features and eventually reward you with Cranberries and Pineapples to plant. Here's everything you need to know about the Potting Shed:

When you first log into the game, you will be greeted by a pop-up that explains that Granny has come down with the collywobbles (which is a real thing, mind you). Click on the "Let's Build" button to get started on creating your very own Potting Shed and this series of Goals.

A Cure For The Collywobbles

    Place The Potting Shed
    Clear 5 Rocks On Your Homestead
    Collect 15 Ginger Ale


After placing the Potting Shed from that introductory pop-up, just click on five rocks to clear them. Then, the 15 Ginger Ale look like they're requested for through your friends. Once this simple Goal is complete, you'll score 250 XP and 250 Coins.

A Symbol Of Welcome

    Craft 1 Multi-Planter
    Clobber 5 Groundhogs
    Collect 10 Pineapple Cuttings


The fastest way to clobbering five Groundhogs is to plant lots of Potatoes, which cost 90 coins and take four hours to harvest. The 10 Pineapple Cuttings seem to also come from friend requests, too. At this point, the Goals assume you've already built the Potting Shed, which, once placed, requires the following items to complete:
The top three items in the above image--10 Clay Pots, Bean Poles and Sittin' Stools--look to be sourced through general News Feed Posts, while the latter three seem to be found by asking friends for them directly. Once you've finished begging asking for the 75 items in total, click on the complete Potting Shed to open a brand new Crafting Bench.
Potting Shed Crafting 1     Potting Shed Crafting 2
Click on the images to make them larger.

This Multi-Planter requires several crafted items that are made through asking for the items above. For instance, you must ask for 15 Springs and 15 Pipes to make one Hinge Arm, which is required to make the Seed-O-Matic (along with one other item that's made in a similar fashion).

Then, that Seed-O-Matic and 15 Whirelygigs (found through asking even more friends) are used to craft the finished product, the Multi-Planter (pictured below). Once you finally finish this long and arduous Goal, 500 XP, 500 Coins and the Pineapples crop are yours.

Multi-PlanterCranberries

    Harvest 30 Pineapples
    Clear 15 Debris On Your Homestead
    Collect 15 Buckets Of Bog Water


Now, this final is somewhat simpler. Simply plant and harvest 30 Pineapples, though information on the exact stats of this new crop are unavailable to us as of this writing. Then, simply click around on 15 Debris. The 15 Buckets of Bog Water most likely come from asking your friends, as per usual.

This final Goal, once completed, will reward you with 750 XP, 750 Coins and the Cranberries crop. Now, enjoy your new crops and the ability to plant eight crops at once with the Multi-Planter.

[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >

Have you already started on your Potting Shed? What tips do you have for completing these Goals, the new building and the Multi-Planter even more quickly?

FarmVille Pic of the Day: Hemi 426's zoo takes animal collecting to the next level

With recent FarmVille releases such as the Aviary Habitat, Zoo Habitat, Pet Run, and Wildlife Habitat, it was only a matter of time before awesome zoo farms came flooding in. But, after browsing through a few, there was no question that Hemi 426's zoo was the most impressive of them all. Folks, prepare yourselves, because this farm will blow you away.

Hemi 426's zoo spares no expense; there is a ridiculous amount of content for just one farm. The most impressive part is, the farm is all so well organized. Usually, this type of farm would look like a total mess, with animals, and buildings thrown all over the place. On the other hand, Hemi 426's zoo farm is beautifully designed, with areas for each exhibit. It even incorporates hay bale walkways and staircases to the petting zoo and lower levels. And of course, you have to respect the ridiculous amount of mastery signs Hemi 426 has accumulated. But words can't possibly do this epic creation justice, so take a look at the close up pictures below:
Click the images to see them larger.
farmville zoo Hemi 426 Trapped Area
    farmville zoo Hemi 426 Petting Zoo
farmville zoo Hemi 426 Masteries     farmville zoo Hemi 426 Foals
farmville zoo Hemi 426 Exotic Creatures
    farmville zoo Hemi 426 Sheep
farmville zoo Hemi 426 Zoo Area
    farmville zoo Hemi 426 Atrium
What do you think of Hemi 426's zoo farm? Which is your favorite exhibit?

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!

The Sims Social: Grab free fan gifts with our links roundup

Where else will the Angry Birds crash land into and dominate? Nintendo 3DS? Xbox 360? Your scientific calculator? Who knows, but according to All Things Digital, Rovio SVP of brand advertising and analytics Wibe Wagemans said yesterday at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Wash. that Angry Birds is the number on game on Google+ Games.

Granted, that's out of all 16 games on the platform right now, but some of those games were put there by the likes of major social game creators like Zynga, Wooga, EA and Playdom. Wagemans, formerly an executive on Microsoft's Bing team, went on to say that Rovio has grown faster in the past two years than companies like MySpace, YouTube, Amazon and Skype. He also said, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history," ATD reports.

When you think about it, though: Not only is the Angry Birds game on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, but the little wingless cartoons and their amorphous green piglet enemies have been transformed into plush toys, t-shirts, board games, cook books, a feature film--need I go on?

During his talk in Seattle, Wageman revealed that Rovio welcomes over 120 million monthly Angry Birds players across the myriad of platforms the game is available on. Simply put, the western world is hooked on Angry Birds (it's science, remember?) and soon so will the East, if Rovio has any say in it. Sure, that's less than half of the 273 million or so monthly players Zynga caters to on Facebook alone, to which Wageman said, "We haven't even launched on Facebook yet." Oh ... oh, no.

[Image Credit: FuckYeahAlbuquerque]

Are you one of the 120 million or more devoted Angry Birds fans? Do you think Rovio could compete directly with Zynga when Angry Birds launches on Facebook?

Angry Birds is the top game on Google+ Games, Rovio exec says

Where else will the Angry Birds crash land into and dominate? Nintendo 3DS? Xbox 360? Your scientific calculator? Who knows, but according to All Things Digital, Rovio SVP of brand advertising and analytics Wibe Wagemans said yesterday at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Wash. that Angry Birds is the number on game on Google+ Games.

Granted, that's out of all 16 games on the platform right now, but some of those games were put there by the likes of major social game creators like Zynga, Wooga, EA and Playdom. Wagemans, formerly an executive on Microsoft's Bing team, went on to say that Rovio has grown faster in the past two years than companies like MySpace, YouTube, Amazon and Skype. He also said, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history," ATD reports.

When you think about it, though: Not only is the Angry Birds game on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, but the little wingless cartoons and their amorphous green piglet enemies have been transformed into plush toys, t-shirts, board games, cook books, a feature film--need I go on?

During his talk in Seattle, Wageman revealed that Rovio welcomes over 120 million monthly Angry Birds players across the myriad of platforms the game is available on. Simply put, the western world is hooked on Angry Birds (it's science, remember?) and soon so will the East, if Rovio has any say in it. Sure, that's less than half of the 273 million or so monthly players Zynga caters to on Facebook alone, to which Wageman said, "We haven't even launched on Facebook yet." Oh ... oh, no.

[Image Credit: FuckYeahAlbuquerque]

Are you one of the 120 million or more devoted Angry Birds fans? Do you think Rovio could compete directly with Zynga when Angry Birds launches on Facebook?

Survey: Bejeweled Blitz could sharpen old noggin in baby boomers

For the young, and now the old, it looks like PopCap games are good for everyone. In a survey of over 10,000 U.S. residents conducted by researcher Susan K. Whitbourne, Ph.D., 47 percent of older adults who play Bejeweled Blitz regularly reported feeling sharper while performing tasks.

Whitbourne, a psychology researcher at University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented her findings at this year's American Psychological Association's (APA) convention in Washington D.C. According to PopCap, Whitbourne believes that Bejeweled Blitz could be a viable platform for improving cognitive skills in older adults because it involves several of the skills that have been shown the be improved after playing video games.

Designed to see whether Whitbourne's inklings checked out, the survey found that 22.4 percent of participants aged 65 and over found their ability to see patterns improved. A small 23.9 percent of the same group reported that they could perform timed tasks more quickly after playing the game regularly. While the survey consisted of 10,331 adults aged 18 to 80-years-old, 41 percent of those were 50-years-old and over (and 83 percent total were women). And it's worth nothing that over 78 percent of participants reported to have a college degree.

Nearly half (47.5 percent) of adults aged 50 and older said that they paid no attention to the 60-second countdown timer in Bejeweled Blitz, and 52.9 percent of those 65-years-old and over reported the same reaction. Both groups of older folks were less likely than those 18 to 24-years-old to report feeling anxious because of the timer. Overall, a whopping 66.4 percent said that the game's multiplier gems were positively motivating.

Whitbourne's findings were well-received by some at the convention, like Dr. Walter Boot, director of the Attention and Training Lab of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University. "I believe the work Dr. Whitbourne and her colleagues are doing, using Bejeweled Blitz, is both critical and exciting, and that more research like this needs to be done exploring not only the types of games that bring about cognitive benefits, but also the types of games older adults are willing to play and why," Boot said. "The best cognitive aging intervention in the world is useless if older adults aren't willing and able to engage in it."

Of course, PopCap has a vested interested in the various applications of its hit games. But these findings are interesting, nevertheless. Well, there you have it: It looks like PopCap games like Bejeweled have become the proverbial Coca-Cola of the games industry--not only are they delicious fun, but they're good for you, too!

Do you believe that games like Bejeweled could be good for your cognitive health? What games do you or older folks in your life play to keep the brain in tip-top shape?

Adult Swim Games Arcade brings some shock and awe to Facebook

Robot Unicorn Attack -- the most magical game of all time -- and its darker twin, Heavy Metal, now have company as their developer, Adult Swim Games, has finally decided to launch a stable of their games on Facebook yesterday.

Adult Swim, a cable network (on the same channel as the Cartoon Network) known for dozens of high-quality absurdist and shock comedy shows, runs a games portal that houses over a hundred absurdist and shock comedy online games. (However, there's no overlap between the two in terms of content. That is, you're not going to get a Robot Unicorn Attack show, or a Venture Bros. game, no matter how badly you want one.) Now a fraction of that portal is accessible via Facebook.

To give you an idea of what you'll be walking into, they've got titles like "Five Minutes to Kill Yourself Wedding Day", "Amateur Surgeon", "Pole Dance Party", "Death Row Diner", and "Radioactive Teddy Bear Zombies". Of course, Robot Unicorn Attack is also there, but it's only linked there, since it was released last September as a separate app.
Adult Swim Games Arcade view all games
This new arcade app currently contains 21 games categorized along 6 genres: Action, Adventure, Twitchy, Shooter, Puzzle, and Classic. If you're wondering what "Twitchy" means, it describes games where reaction time is of utmost importance.
Adult Swim Games arcade
Unlike your usual new Facebook game launch, all of these games have stood the test of time on the Adult Swim Games website. However, the arcade app itself is currently in beta, so if something breaks or you've got a kerfuffle, shoot them an email at games@adultswim.com.

Click here to play Adult Swim Games Arcade on Facebook now >

Do you find Adult Swim Games disturbing or awesome? Have you ever seen an Adult Swim show?

Cafe World Cook for the Crafts Show Catering Order: Everything you need to know

A new catering order has launched in Cafe World this afternoon, asking you to create some "artistic" dishes to feed the folks at the local Crafts Show. To be specific, this catering order is called "Cook for the Crafts Show," and you'll have three days to finish these five tasks in order to earn the three star rating (and a new recipe).

For the cooking tasks, you'll need to serve Fish N Chips (a two-hour dish) 200 times, Pita and Dolmas (a four-hour dish) 60 times, and Pumpkin Pie (a 12-hour dish) 60 times. Ok, so maybe those dishes aren't incredibly artistic, but I guess we can't expect much. With the longest cooking time dish being just 12 hours, this one doesn't look to be too terribly difficult, especially if you have some neighbors that can help you cook these short-timed dishes frequently throughout the day. Speaking of which, you'll have the chance to add up to 13 of your friends to this order to help you, so keep that in mind.

In addition to these cooking tasks, you'll need to collect five Yarn and five Painting Easels by asking your friends to send you these items. If you can finish all of these tasks within the first three days, you'll receive the three-star rating, 15 Catering Points, 7,500 Cafe Points, 200,000 coins and the Crafty 3-Bean Salad recipe.

While you may not receive the recipe for the two or one-star ratings, here are the details for those.

Two-Star Rating (finish within two to five days)

    10 Catering Points
    5,000 Cafe Points
    125,000 coins


One Star Rating (finish after the first five days)

    5 Catering Points
    3,000 Catering Points
    75,000 coins


As usual, you can start this order at any point in the future, so don't feel rushed to start it right away. Still, if you have a lot of friends that are hardcore players, you might want to try to finish this one sooner, rather than later, so you can "guarantee" that you'll receive their help.

What do you think of the requirements for this new catering order?

CityVille Ferris Wheel Attraction: Everything you need to know

A third attraction has launched in CityVille this afternoon, being available to users level 25 and above, and this one is one of the classics: the Ferris Wheel. The Ferris Wheel base is available to purchase from the store (click on Businesses and then on the Attractions tab) for 7,500 coins.

Once you place the base, you'll need to whack it seven times to finish its frame. From there, it's a fairly standard item collection process, requiring the following ingredients:

    4 Carriages
    4 Light Bulbs
    4 Cement
    4 Turnstiles
    4 Control Boxes

The Carriages, Light Bulbs and Control Boxes are earned through general news posts that you'll post on your wall, while the Cement and Turnstiles are earned through individual requests sent to friends.

After the Ferris Wheel has been completed, you'll be able to start it into motion. It will stay running for eight minutes at a time, and can earn anywhere from 1500 to 6000 coins per operating cycle. Of course, after it runs, you'll need to either wait a substantial amount of time for maintenance to complete automatically, or ask your friends to send you wrenches to speed up the process.

Keep in mind that building this new structure is voluntary, and it is rather large, if you're lacking a lot of extra space on your land. Still, if you're looking to retain some of that summer fun all year round, make sure to build this one! I'm sure your virtual citizens will enjoy it!

Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Will you build the Ferris Wheel in your town in CityVille? Which attraction would you like to see released next?

Adventure World Mountain Pass Expedition: Everything you need to know

As you make your way through Adventure World, you'll eventually unlock the Mountain Pass Expedition. To be specific, this Expedition is the fourth you'll unlock, immediately after Jungle Run, and it requires quite a few items to begin. You'll need 250 Supplies, and two units each of Food, Fuel and Water. You can either collect these items from buildings in your own Base Camp, or by visiting your friends' camps and collecting them there. The maximum rewards for this Expedition are 1,050 coins and 1 Water (of course, in addition to all of the XP and coins you'll earn by simply playing through it). You have one day to finish the Expedition off, so let's take a look at what you'll need to do to do just that.

Once you start this particular Expedition, you'll find yourself on the top of a mountain, on a path that was destroyed by a landslide. You'll need to find a safer route through the area, along with completing some quests along the way.

Survey the Pass

Plant the First Trail Marker
Plant the Second Trail Marker
Plant the Third Trail Marker
Plant the Fourth Trail Marker

This is the main quest for this Expedition, and it sees you planting survey flags in flag stands scattered throughout this map. Remember, you can click on the "Show Me" button to have the camera automatically zoom to that particular stand, giving you a general idea of the direction you need to travel, but not showing you the exact path. To make matters more complicated, there are plenty of traps and clouds blocking your path / view of the land, so you'll need to take this one slowly to not miss anything along the way.

Clear the Pass

Disarm 2 Spear Traps
Clear 4 Bushes
Clear 4 Mountain Shrubs

This Expedition introduces us to a new kind of trap - the Spear Trap. These traps are identified by the gray square grates on the ground, which have spears shoot up from them periodically. The switch to then them off is a stone tablet that you'll find somewhere on the map. These tablets can be out in the open, as seen in the image below, or they can be covered up with vines, forcing you to click on any matching rock until you uncover the switch.

Make the Pass Safe

Defeat 4 Bushmaster Snakes

You won't earn this particular quest until you've already passed a few traps and placed a Trail Marker. Once you eventually find a snake, you'll be told to clear out any that you find, or enough to reach four and complete this quest. They appear freely on the map, and don't look to be those that "hide" in Bushes, so you'll know when you should be ready for a fight.

Once you finish this Expedition, you may or may not earn a mastery star, depending on how thoroughly you completed all of your tasks or cleared the map. Remember, if you repeat these Expeditions to earn more mastery points, your rewards will go up. You can learn more about Expedition mastery in our guide.

Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.

Have you reached the Mountain Pass Expedition yet? What do you think of the new gameplay elements introduced via this Expedition?

Toyota's Social Network Racer flaunts flashy concept car [Video]

Sure, branded games are huge on Facebook, but Toyota is just plain showing off. The global car manufacturer announced its first branded Facebook game, Social Network Racer. (Wow, original, huh?) The game, which launches Oct. 19 at 11 p.m. PST right here, is designed to promote the company's brand new product model car that will be officially unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show this December.

Social Network Racer is said to run from Oct. 19 right up until Dec. 31, or the very day the Tokyo Motor Show opens to the public. If you hadn't guessed already from the game's brilliant title, players will race the concept car around a predetermined track in full 3D, thanks to Flash Player 11. Come to think of it, Toyota may be one of the first to use the new Flash Player's 3D capabilities commercially.

The track is only predetermined to a point: The track's surroundings will incorporate information from your Facebook profile like photos and News Feed updates as if they were billboards and video advertisements. According to a release, players will get to create and host their own races with their friends, and compete in events hosted by Toyota.

A special event known as the Toyota Championship will pit racers against each other for the ultimate prize: a trip to Tokyo, Japan to see Toyota's mysterious concept car in the flesh--err, metal, rubber and chrome. Oh, and if you win, you'll also receive "a secret prize," a Toyota representative tells us.

Gearheads, it's OK to nerd squeal now. Based on the preview trailer below, the concept car looks to be a variation of the FT-86 II unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show. Also, we doubt that the driving displayed in this preview is indicative of what Toyota's concept car is capable of. Well, we sure hope not.

(Editor's Note: This post was edited for clarity regarding the prize in store for players and the car to be featured at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.)


Click here to play Social Network Racer starting Oct. 19, 11 p.m. PST >

Are you psyched to get behind the virtual wheel of Toyota's next major sports car? Do you think a full-blown 3D racing game could work on Facebook?

Atari's Heroes of Neverwinter gets ghoulish and ghastly for Halloween

For a game that's all about slaying the undead and green-skinned beasts in dank dungeons, Halloween comes pretty easy. Atari has updated its flagship Facebook RPG (role-playing game), 1 Comment, with a bevy of Halloween content in celebration of being the third-fastest growing social game on AppData last week.

Namely, the update brings three brand new encounters for players of multiple levels. But Atari threw in a list of new items and bonuses. Oh, and the developer did some redecorating around town to get the feeling right. Here's a look at all the new Halloween content in Heroes of Neverwinter:

    Gobble up a free Underdark Cookie, added to each player's Chest of Wonders, which permanently increases one character's maximum hit points!
    Find and acquire other potently powerful potables and treats, including Zombie Juice, Potions of Black Cat's Grace, Glyphs of Terror, and more!
    Delve into new dungeons to claim rare and wondrous items, including wearable masks (who doesn't want to be a kobold or an ogre for Halloween?), a Skeletal Crossbow, and high level rings!
    Thwart a sinister Thayan plot in a new three-part adventure series!
    Level 1: Bones, Thugs and Sorcery can be found in Neverwinter
    Level 5: Trick or Trap can be found in the Ruins of Illefarn
    Level 10: Monster Mash can be found in the Neverwinter Woods
    Enjoy the sights and sounds of a seasonally revamped town hub, along with a variety of other game updates and improvements!

Atari fixed a litany of bugs found in Heroes of Neverwinter since its launch and released some new features, including clearer visuals while in fullscreen and improvements to the game's interface. Heroes of Neverwinter currently hosts 320,000 monthly players, but is on the up and up with 10,000 players added today, according to AppData. And we bet at least a few hundred of them are dressing up as elves for Halloween. What? Look, this is D&D--it's just deductive reasoning at that point.

Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook yet? What do you think of RPGs on Facebook so far?

PopCap chills out, brings the zen to Xbox Live Arcade in Bejeweled 3

Say it with me, people: "Om". PopCap has announced that Bejeweled 3 is now available for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) , Zen Mode and all. The Seattle, Wash.-based developer's hit puzzler is ready for download now for 1,200 Microsoft Points, or $15. Sure, that might sound a little steep compared to how much it costs on iPhone, not to mention that it's (kind of) playable for free online.

But hey, it's definitely cheaper than when the game first released to PC and Mac last year, and consider what you're getting in that (digital) package. Bejeweled 3 sports twice the game modes as Bejeweled 2, and comes packed with "leaderboards for Classic, Lightning, Poker, Butterflies, Ice Storm and Diamond Mine, plus four special gems, five elite badges, and 15 achievements," according to PopCap.

The third numbered release of Bejeweled will hit retail shelves for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS on Nov. 15, but this is far from the first time a console has seen the exploding gems, lightning bolts and trippy level transitions. PopCap released an Xbox Live-optimized version of Bejeweled Blitz, called Bejeweled Blitz LIVE, to XBLA earlier this year.

According to the company, about 9 billion hours have been spent collectively playing Bejeweled. Aside from the numbers, PopCap has been on a roll lately. The casual game creator just announced Popcorn Dragon for iPhone, its first mobile game surrounding a new property since the company was acquired by EA earlier this year. Soon, we expect to see PopCap's take on the growing casino genre on Facebook, but not before Zynga tries to beat it to the punch. Until then, let's wait and see if the studio can finally chill out the trigger-happy Call of Duty fans.

Do you plan on picking up Bejeweled 3 on your Xbox 360? What do you hope or expect PopCap to do next with the Bejeweled franchise?

PS Vita to usher the 'social gaming revolution' stateside next February

Prepare to be revolutionized ... or something like that. Sony's American CEO Jack Tretton announced at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday that the PlayStation Vita will hit the U.S. on Feb. 22. Sony's third handheld gaming console will go for $249, and Tretton wrote in a blog post yesterday, "I can't wait for you to experience this revolutionary handheld system."

Of course, the PS Vita will launch in Canada, Latin America, and Europe on the same day. Games that are in development for the "revolutionary" console include Sony properties like Resistance: Burning Skies and Uncharted Golden Abyss. Those are joined by Capcom's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, EA Sports' FIFA, Activision's Call of Duty and more, Tretton wrote.

Sony has played up the console's social features more than its powerful hardware, which, of course, has piqued our interest. The company seems to consider the PS Vita's social gaming features "revolutionary". While some of us may not buy it, the most notable of which is Near, a feature that allows the system to communicate with nearby PS Vita consoles. Through this, players can compete in local multiplayer matches, share in-game gifts (like on Facebook?) and compare players statistics.

We'll see just how revolutionary the PS Vita turns out to be for social gaming this coming February. (You know, just after everyone and their mother dropped serious green on Christmas?) Considering Nintendo was all but forced to slash the price of its brand new 3DS from $250 to coax consumers, we wonder how gamers will react to the $250 price tag.

[Via Mashable]

Do you plan on buying a PlayStation Vita when it launches next year? Do you think Sony could fall into the same trap Nintendo did with its 3DS?

Order & Chaos Online accounts hacked on both Facebook and mobile

Update: Gameloft has provided us with the following statement:

"The Gameloft Live web version has suffered from a security issue, and about 100 users saw their accounts impacted by this problem. Among those were players of Order & Chaos Online, whose accounts have been affected. All users who have contacted us have seen their account situation restored."

"As less than 1 % of Gameloft Live users access Gameloft Live through the web version, we have decided to close the web version of Gameloft Live. We are taking this situation very seriously, and it is a priority for us to keep players' data protected."

Here we go again. Pocket Gamer reports that French mobile and social game company Gameloft has confirmed that a number of Order & Chaos Online players on both Facebook and mobile devices have had their accounts hacked. Gameloft digital marketing and community manager Callum Rowley told Pocket Gamer that Gameloft is investigating the breach.

The exact number of compromised accounts is unknown as of this writing, but the Gameloft forums are filled with player complaints that urge the company to shut down the game entirely while it resolves the situation. According to Pocket Gamer, the most popular theory for how the hack--which appears to be exclusive to Order & Chaos Online--was possible is that someone used a "sniffer", or a snippet of code that intercepts data sent to a device or network between players.

This way, the hacker can easily read the log-in information of the player with whom he or she chatted or traded with, the direct communications necessary to "sniff out" the personal data. However, this has yet to be confirmed by Gameloft, and is merely a popular theory spreading on the game's forums. As far as we know, up to 50,000 Order & Chaos player accounts could have been compromised on Facebook, as that's what AppData reports is the game's monthly active player base. We've contacted Gameloft for comment.

Are you an Order & Chaos Online player, and has your account been compromised? How do you think Gameloft should handle such a situation?

If DeNA's Kaito Royale got a TV series, could a FarmVille movie work?

Maybe a straight-to-DVD flick? DeNA's 10 million player-strong Kaito Royale on its Mobage network will be brought to life in an upcoming television series, Kotaku reports. The game focuses around "gentlemanly thieves," which is what "kaito" translates to roughly, that act as vigilantes to rid the evils of society. Think of Mafia Wars-meets-Robin Hood, and you're about there.

Throughout the game, players must battle each other for supremacy in a rock, paper, scissors-style combat system and steal goods from the competition. More importantly, players will face the bosses of the criminal underworld, one of which is known as Sister Snake. Japanese fashion model Nozomi Sasaki (pictured) will star in the Kaito Royale series as Sister Snake, complete with habit and machine gun, according to Oricon.

Of course, we can't help but wonder what this means for future films and TV shows based on casual or social game products. The Angry Birds movie is very real, and set to land in 2014, while a FarmVille flick is at least in talks right now. But because of how early the supposed FarmVille movie is in its creation, that could go either way at this point.

As much as we hate to admit it, if a mobile social game with 10 million players can get a TV series, then a social game with 28 million players can probably seal a film deal. Then again, there are a lot of places that a TV show based on righteous thieves can go, and that's not really the case for FarmVille. Unless, of course, it goes the parody route.

Would you watch a TV series based on your favorite social game? Do you think mobile and social game developers are onto something with this, or should they stay away?

Nordeus passes Top Eleven's stat-crunching soccer to Android devices

Before you get into a tizzy, it was for the sake of the headline--we all know it's known as "football" everywhere else in the world. Serbian social game creator Nordeus announced that its hit football simulator game Top Eleven has launched for Android phones. Of course, the game is 100 percent free to download right here. But more importantly, the game allows for cross-platform play.

This means that, if you started something with Top Eleven on Facebook, you can easily pick it back up on Top Eleven for your Android phone later. For all intents and purposes, the game is essentially the same as it is on Facebook, which currently caters to 3.1 million monthly players, according to AppData. However, there are certain advantages that Android users might have over the non-mobile competition.

Top Eleven for Android takes advantage of push notifications, "reminding [players] to bid on the best strikers and hiring medics to overcome player injuries," according to a release. This way, Android players have no excuse to miss lucrative player transfers or training timers that keep their teams in tip-top shape.

This new version of the game comes just after Nordeus updated Top Eleven on Facebook to Version 2.0. Top Eleven for Android marks Nordeus's new motto: "Unifying gaming experiences throughout devices and platforms," as company CEO Branko Milutinović told us recently.


"Top Eleven on Android allows you to never miss the big match and discreetly access and manage your team at critical moments, so that you can win the league even if in real life you're stuck in a boring business meeting," Milutinović said in a release. Aha! We think your staff might be onto you, Branko.

Click here to download Top Eleven for Android Now >

Are you a Top Eleven fan on Facebook? Do you think a mobile version of the game will help your game?

Facebook mobile social games will grow industry at once, CTO expects

When Facebook launched its mobile apps and games platform on iPhone and iPad, we were admittedly confused. But after Facebook CTO Bret Taylor (pictured) spoke with mocoNews, we have a better idea of what Facebook is getting at with "Project Spartan." According to Taylor, Facebook hopes to go 100 percent cross platform with Facebook Mobile through the mobile web, but its master plan goes deeper still.

"It really addresses some of the areas I've heard a lot of concerns about from mobile developers, and it plays to our strengths," Taylor told mocoNews. "For startups, it's very difficult to get their apps discovered. They have a honeymoon period in the app stores where they might be in a top 10 list and get a lot of downloads, but once that honeymoon period is over, discovery is very difficult. By integrating with these social channels in mobile, they can get discovered in really organic ways."

Facebook looks to bring the discoverability of Facbook games and apps to mobile. Sure, Facebook has the support of some major game creators with HTML5-based versions of Words with Friends, FarmVille and even wooga's new Magic Land. But at the moment, users have to search for these apps through Facebook's iOS app or mobile web presence--not exactly an ideal method for discovery.

It sounds like Taylor and Facebook look to grow the mobile and social games industries all at once across all platforms including Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry. To do that, Facebook is encouraging more developers to create HTML5 or native mobile app versions of their social games that Facebook Mobile can redirect to, which is about the only way we see this method working. However, with game shares (at least for non-gamers to see) almost entirely in the Ticker--which doesn't exist on mobile--where do the new social gamers come in?

[Via PocketGamer.biz]

Have you tried the current lot of HTML5 Facebook games yet? Do you think Facebook's mobile gaming strategy will work in the long run?

It Girl maker CrowdStar looks beyond Facebook for 1 billion players

At last month's HTML5 Dev Conference in San Francisco, CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan (pictured) said, "We want to create the game that reaches a billion people." The company has announced just how it plans to make that happen: Project Trident. CrowdStar revealed its plans to create a global, mobile platform and recognizable gaming franchises. Of course, CrowdStar will still hang out with Facebook--let's just say "it's complicated."

TechCrunch reports that, as part of its plan to diversify beyond Facebook, CrowdStar will launch It Girl (and Top Girl for iOS) franchise in Asia across Japan, Korea and China. Starting with NHN Japan, the company plans to introduce both It Girl and Top Girl to five Asian social networks in Q4 (October through December) alone. According to TechCrunch, Top Girl has already been downloaded from the App Store 4 million times.

In addition to launching It Girl on five Asian social networks before Dec. 31, CrowdStar reportedly plans to release another three games before year's end across Facebook, mobile and global networks. That amounts to more games released in the end of 2011 than CrowdStar put out in all of 2010.

It looks like the maker of hits like Happy Aquarium seeks to make a comeback, and according to TechCrunch, one of those eight games will hit this weekend. (We'll have more details on that soon enough.) But this comes just as competitor Zynga announces its own pseudo-independent social game platform and a ton of games. Anyone else feeling a bit ... claustrophobic?

What do you think of CrowdStar's plans to gain financial independence from Facebook? How do you plan on finding the time to play all of these new games that are likely to hit before the holidays?

G5 builds a free download of Virtual City Playground on iPhone, Android

CityVille Hometown is the only definitive CityVille experience on iPhone, but some mobile gamers might dream bigger. That's where Swedish developer G5 hopes to come in with Virtual City Playground for iPhone and Android. The game was just released to both devices for absolutely free, which allows players to enjoy its Sandbox Mode, building and maintain their own city.

Recently released to the iPad in August, the game appears to take numerous factors into consideration as players develop their cities like mass transit, recycling and general eco-friendliness. Players get to launch community events in their cities to keep citizens happy, which contribute to the balance players must keep between Time, Income, Environment, Population, and Happiness for a successful city.

G5 will provide free updates to the game regularly, but Virtual City Playground contains 87 quests that you must pay up to access through in-app purchases. And just like its city-builder competition, the game sports Game Center and Facebook integration as well as 95 achievements to earn.

And when you keep Virtual City Playground in the background, it's said that your citizens will continue to work for you by transporting goods. Not much seems to have changed since the game hit iPad, but that doesn't seem to be the point. If you've yet to get a look at what Virtual City Playground is all about, check out this trailer. (Hint: It looks a lot ... like, way similar to most city-builders.)


Click here to download Virtual City Playground on iPhone and here to download on Android Now >

Are you interested in taking on another city-builder on your mobile phone? What do you think of G5's approach to the crowded city-builder genre on both Facebook and mobile?

Since Lady Gaga v. Lady Goo Goo, Mind Candy CEO remains defiant

Alright, so the case wasn't really "Lady Gaga v. Lady Goo Goo," but that sounds way cooler than "Lady Gaga v. Mind Candy." Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Mind Candy CEO Michael Acton Smith said, "I'm always up for a good battle if anyone else wants to do this." He was referring to Lady Gaga's lawyers' recent injunction against the Moshi Monsters creator for "The Moshi Dance," a YouTube music video starring Lady Goo Goo, one of its many annoying if adorable parody characters.

"I think a lot of people have been surprised by the judgment," Acton Smith said. "I personally think the law in this area is too strict and there are people looking at it for review at the moment. I think it would have been fine in the US where parody is much more acceptable. And it's not detracting from her sales or damaging her in my opinion, and so I think it was a bit frustrating."

The decision was reached last week in a London courthouse, but oddly enough the ruling only prevents Mind Candy from creating musical material with Lady Goo Goo--she can still exist within the game. Just as the developer readied to release the video as a single on iTunes, the lawyers swooped in. But Acton Smith told GamesIndustry.biz that he plans to press onward with an album of Moshi Monsters music and a live tour featuring the critters.

"We're having discussions around that at the moment," Acton Smith told GamesIndustry.biz. "But obviously we do need to be a little bit careful, because the high court must be respected when they injunct something." The Mind Candy CEO said this in response to questions about Dustbin Beaver, the plain-as-day parody of Justin Bieber in Moshi Monsters, which boasts 50 million players these days. We hear Bieber's lawyers' have equally helmet-like hair that's impervious to defense arguments. God speed, Moshlings.

Do you think Lady Gaga and her lawyers were right in getting an injunction against the use of Lady Goo Goo? How do you think Bieber and his lawyers might respond to Dustbin Beaver?

Beat down wizards for sweet deals with Wizardia on Facebook and mobile

Wizardia, an upcoming sword-and-sorcery Facebook game by Lithuanian developer Yummi Apps, seems to promise everything cool these days. Wizardia is both an Android and iOS game with Google Maps integration for location-based gameplay and sponsored real world prizes.

Taken separately, none of these features are particularly novel, since Parallel Kingdom is another fantasy mobile title that's already well-known for its use of Google Maps. Games And Prizes is entirely devoted to the namesake. But Yummi Apps, which just recently remodeled itself from a commercial apps producer into a social games developer, plans to bring all these elements into one package. And they plan to pull it off sometime this fall, too.

As far as what playing Wizardia would be like, Yummi Apps hopes to combine city building with turn-based strategy. According to a release, Yummi Apps specifically cites CityVille as an inspiration, and gives a nod to the PC stalwart, Heroes of Might and Magic.


Though billing itself as "the first social game in the world to integrate real life into online gaming" would be a lie, Wizardia does enough to take the concept farther than most. Not to jinx Wizardia, which looks more polished than anything we've seen before (just watch the above trailer), but we've also known of similarly ambitious projects that never took off. Yet if everything works out, one day this brand-integrated Facebook game will have you battling in a Barnes & Noble for a book discount. Or perhaps, like Rovio's caffeinated plans for Angry Birds, you could get your game on in Starbucks for free cups of coffee.

Do you play games on Facebook as well as through a smartphone? Does Wizardia sound exciting enough for you?

Angry Birds Seasons Halloween update means a new bird is in town

Oh, and let's not forget about the 30 "bone-chilling" new levels and the bunch of new Game Center achievements to earn. Rovio unleashed a new update to Angry Birds Seasons today, and confirmed our suspicions that a new bird was in the works.

We're not sure of the new avian's name, but at least we know what it does. This orange little bugger isn't much of anything when first launched, but tap the screen while it's in midair and the bird will balloon several times its size.

Of course, this means it'll gain an enormous amount of weight, so the bird might be ideally used once inside a pig structure. The list of Game Center achivements to earn includes defeating 300 skeletons, finishing all 30 new stages, earning three stars on every level and more. And, like all Angry Birds updates, this one is absolutely free.
Angry Birds Seasons update
Well, given that you've already purchased Angry Birds Seasons for the buck. Look, we may be sick of Angry Birds around here, but not even we can help getting just a little giddy over a newly announced bird. This must be the power Rovio has over everyone else--must ... fight it ... but, I need that bird. And I just bought it. Now we have a better idea as to how Angry Birds might be worth more than $1 billion.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.

You've already downloaded the update, too, haven't you? For how much longer do you think Rovio can keep up the Angry Birds planet-like gravitational pull?

Capcom veteran Inafune doesn't rely on social game metrics 'slavishly'

Since his 23-year stint with Capcom abruptly ended nearly a year ago, Japanese game designer Keiji Inafune (pictured) is already at work making new games, namely social games. With two games in the works for both DeNA and Gree--J.J. Rockets and Island of Dr. Momo, respectively--Inafune looks to do things a little differently in the mobile social games space, according to a talk with Gamasutra.

"So I don't rely on metrics slavishly; I give them quick looks, absorbing them and reflecting them against my own thoughts to analyze what they mean," Inafune told Gamasutra." Game creators have to be really good at that internal sort of analysis; otherwise you're just looking toward marketing data for your game ideas, and a computer can do that."

Inafune went on to say, "If you rely on those, then basically what you've got is a set of numbers that don't necessarily tell you anything. Just because you know what someone's favorite food doesn't mean you really know the person." Compelling, huh? The creator of storied franchises like Mega Man thinks social games might herald of the future of video games. Period.

"I think that eventually, we're see a new kind of game which is neither console nor social, one that overcomes the obstacles that both current game styles have to deal with," Inafune said to Gamasutra. "I don't know what that's going to be yet, though, so that's why I'm trying to learn more about this market."

The designer went on to say that the persistent "me-too" trend in social game creation needs to stop if we're to see this happen. And Keiji, we couldn't agree more. In pursuit of this fresh new form of social game, Inafune recently opened his own studio, Comcept. Now, how do we make such games profitable enough for more designers to bite?

What do you think of Inafune's approach and expectations from social games? Are you waiting for something totally new in the social games space, too?

BBCW launches CBeebies games app

Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.

CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.

Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.

Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.

She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”

More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.

Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says

Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.

Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.

Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.

Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.

Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.

It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.

Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63

New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb

Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.

The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!

Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!

Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!

Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!

Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!

Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!

Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!

Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games

A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.

According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games.  A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son.  Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.

In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession.  They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after.  The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.

Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.

They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.

When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”

Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.

Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones

The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.

Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.

According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.

Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.

Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.

A release outside of Japan has not been announced.

Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia

Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.

Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.

Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.

TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.

The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.

Disney XD Games

Disney Friends for Change Games

To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.


Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney

In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities.  Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz


Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney

Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.


Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change

Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.

- Disney XD gets its game on

Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.

The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.

On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.