Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012

Kingdom Saga on Facebook: FrontierVille meets a true city-builder in ancient times

With the load of similar titles being released after FrontierVille landed on the Facebook gaming scene earlier this year, it's no surprise that yet another "clone" title would be released. This time around, we see Koramgame hoping to latch onto the success found by titles like FrontierVille, and more recently Ravenwood Fair, by offering a new game called Kingdom Saga, that incorporates major gameplay elements from both of these games, but offers them in a setting that's 40,000 years in the past.

As the cave man or cave woman or your own design, you'll be able to build various structures in your kingdom, but only after you clear the land of debris (grasses, rocks and the like) first. From there, it's a bit of a city-building game, mixed in with basic quests, as items must be connected with roads in order to function.

For more information about Kingdom Saga, meet us behind the break.

Kingdom Saga resembles FrontierVille in the way that Bonus Pop-ups appear after collecting from buildings (which earn profits over time), and in the overall quest set-up that sees you purchasing certain items, completing the building of Wigwams and other buildings, and so on. Of course, an energy bar is also present here, so you'll need to wait for your energy to recharge once it empties to continue participating in most in-game actions.

For those that prefer Ravenwood Fair, there are elements of that game here as well, as you can only clear out debris that is closest to you. That is, you'll have to work your way outwards from the middle of your kingdom when you clear the land - you can't walk over one piece of grass to get to another.

As the game combines these elements with those from a city-building game, there is a bit of refreshing uniqueness here. When you build a home, for example, you'll be able to invite one of your real-world Facebook friends to live in that home. Oddly, they'll be given the standard avatar to represent them as they walk around the town, so boys in the real world could be presented as girls in the game, and vice versa. If you can get the friend to actually start playing the game, however, you can customize their appearance.

When not completing quests, the majority of your time early on will be spent clearing the land. This uses your energy, but also earns you experience points. As you level up using these points, you'll be able to unlock the ability to purchase more homes for your village, and therefore add more friends to your town. You'll also be able to add numerous decorative items to your town, including a slew of Christmas-themed items, if you choose to start playing the game before the holiday season ends.

Once you reach level 5, you'll be able to build Resource Buildings, allowing you to earn wood and stone which are gathered just like wood or food would be in something like FrontierVille. In addition to these structures, you can purchase actual businesses, like wineries and clothing markets that will earn "taxes," that need to be collected once full (think of collecting from an attraction in Tiki Resort or Happy Island, as examples, and you have the system here).

In terms of social elements, you can visit your neighbors' towns at will, and in doing so, will be given the opportunity to "Help Out" at a handful of businesses or shops, earning you additional coins and "Love," or reputation points (this is an exact replica of the system in FrontierVille). You can also choose from a number of free gift items to send to your friends if you'd like.

As with other "ancient" city-building games, Kingdom Saga will soon be given Wonders, presumably allowing you to build real historical items in your town.

All told, Kingdom Saga looks to be a solid offering in both the city-building genre, and in those games that can be respectfully called FarmVille clones. It seems to offer enough unique features to keep one interested over time, and with the mass amount of Facebook games anyone can choose to play, you can't really ask for anything more than that.

Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Ford Focus promotion

On the lookout for some free Farm Cash in FarmVille? Why not take part in Zynga's newest cross-promotion with Ford that offers 2 free Farm Cash just for doing so?

Interested? You'll be able to start this simple activity by looking for the "Sponsored Link" picture as seen at the right side of this post. This newest promotion is for the "Ford Focus Global Test Drive" contest that, of course, is being run by Ford (yes, the car company). This activity loads in a new window, and is comprised of you listening to a fairly lengthly trailer for Ford's Global Test Drive contest, which is also being held on Facebook. Note: Here is the link for the activity, but note that it might not work on your account.

This contest asks users to create a video submission for a chance to win a trip to Spain and a $10,000 donation to a charity of your choosing, but if you're just interested in the free Farm Cash, you can skip the video by clicking on the "Get Started Now" button and "faking" your way through creating a video. The video you "create" can be a second long, and can be downloaded and deleted in a matter of seconds. After the video has been "completed," you'll earn your free Farm Cash notification, and can close the activity window.

Head back to your game of FarmVille and you'll see your Farm Cash total rise by two. Sure, this may be an activity that's a bit more involved, but if you follow our simple steps, you'll be able to finish it as quickly as possible and get to spending your free Farm Cash. Of course, you can always take the time to create a real video for the contest as well - whatever works for you.

Earn 100 free FarmVille Farm Cash through ProFlowers promotion

Back again for another holiday is the ProFlowers promotion in FarmVille. If you weren't around for the Mother's Day or Thanksgiving flower promotions in Zynga's games like FarmVille or Cafe World, then here are all of the details surrounding this new offer.

This cross-promotion is one of the more profitable ones we've seen. For all users that click on the ProFlowers "Sponsored Link" window found at the bottom of the FarmVille gameplay area, they'll activate the ability to earn 100 free Farm Cash by making any purchase at ProFlowers.com. By clicking on the Sponsored Link, you'll load a new window, where you'll find all of the official rules (it must be a valid purchase, your farm cash can take upwards of 30 minutes to arrive on your account, and so on).

In addition, users that order through this offer will receive 50% on holiday flowers and gifts, so if you've been looking for something for that special someone in your life, or just someone who is incredibly difficult to shop for otherwise, this might be worth looking into. After all, why not receive something for yourself in the process of buying something fabulous for a loved one? No one will blame you, most certainly not me.

Shop fast, as we're assuming that this offer will disappear just as quickly as the holidays after this week.

What do you think of this new promotion? Will you purchase from ProFlowers to earn 100 free Farm Cash? Have you ordered from ProFlowers through a FarmVille promotion in the past?

CityVille Let it Snow Goals blanket your town in frosty flakes

Let it Snow!
While you were prepping the town's Holiday Tree, Zynga added another Goal to CityVille to turn your city into an even more wonderful winter wonderland. In "Let it Snow!" Sam asks players to ask their friends for 10 Snow Flakes and 10 Snowballs. Each requirement can also be met using 20 City Cash and doing either will allow you to buy one new Decoration item from the Build menu, Snow Cover.

For just 500 coins, Snow Cover will blanket your city's streets in snow. Interestingly enough, this change is irreversible, but the snow will automatically melt come March 20, 2011. As for the second part of this Goal series, players will have to collect 15 Winter Lights from their friends. Doing so will open up Snow Top in the Decorations tab of the Build menu. For another 500 coins, this will blanket your buildings and decorations in snow, which also will not disappear until March. Start asking away for those items now if you want your town to celebrate a white Christmas like some of us on the East Coast might enjoy.

Find the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.

Have you started the Let it Snow Goals yet? Will you be completing them knowing that the change is semi-permanent?

Age of Champions on Facebook doesn't cry over spilled blood

Fantasy social games are almost dime a dozen, but what are they missing? Why, half naked men spilling the blood of goblins and other beasts, of course. In Age of Champions on Facebook, players take the role of one of three races: a human, an elf or a minotaur as they vie for the throne of an emperor who recently kicked the can. As it turns out, so is everyone else. After choosing which of the three warring factions that you'll be siding with in this sprawling conflict, you'll be launched into battle with a band of goblins, your warriors sprinting across a green, war-torn field, bronze daggers flailing. After witnessing the green, gooey bloodshed as your avatar guts the goblin leader, you realize that this is not standard fantasy fare on Facebook.

Find out more about Age of Champions and our impressions after the break.

Defeating the Orge
If you hadn't noticed by now, this game isn't necessarily for the little ones. There will be blood in Age of Champions, lots of it. Developed by Sacramento, CA-based studio KlickNation, this game's primary focus is on two important things: story and gameplay. Absolutely filled to the brim with quest text designed to give purpose to otherwise mundane tasks, Age of Champions contains a plot that weaves throughout the game's primary mode of spending Energy--a social game staple--quests.

However, Energy is plentiful in Age of Champions' early levels as opposed to other social games. You'll frequently level up through questing, restoring your Energy each time. (However, the game does offer Blue Crystals, a paid currency, to replenish Energy and Stamina.) Quests are completed through the Travel menu, which opens up the game's story in a book-shaped menu, offering the plot in chapters that almost always contain at least one session on the battlefield and one boss monster to defeat. Rewards from quests are normally the standard gold coins, which are used to hire more soldiers and outfit your army with weapons and armor, and experience points. Leveling up also rewards players with points to enhance their primary character's Energy, Attack strength, Stamina (used to battle other players) and Health. While Energy and Stamina will allow you to play the game for longer sessions without having to pay up for more, Attack and Health are extremely important in combat.

Questing Book
Ah, yes, the meat and potatoes of Age of Champions. Combat scenarios are somewhat rare treats, but are most definitely not to be underestimated. These special quests are marked with an icon shaped like a shield adorned with two swords. Clicking on "Go to Battle" will open up the battlefield. While battles play out automatically based on the size of your army compared to the enemy's, it all happens in real time and takes equipment statistics into account as well. It's not until all of your units fall that your main avatar will rush into the fray, duking it out with the opposing commander. In the early stages of the game, your army will almost always be wiped out, but that doesn't mean you lose them forever. However, improving their equipment by buying quantities of armor and weapons that match your squad's numbers will increase their lasting power. There is the option to skip each battle sequence, but why would you want to do that?

While combat and questing are plenty entertaining, Age of Champions does include some fairly deep social elements. Throughout the game, players can attempt to craft items that are more powerful than what can be bought in the store, but some of the ingredients can only be found through Gifting. Thankfully, social interaction goes deeper than that with Raids, or massive enemies that require cooperation from friends to defeat. Furthermore, players can join Guilds, which are groups of friends within the game that can collaborate without the need of being Facebook friends. In other words, you won't find too many request-athons here, but more teamwork through the game's Raid bosses and Battle system.

Raid on the Ice Dragon
With an interesting albeit violent approach to combat, an engaging story for those who take the time to read it and social features similar to other, more current social games like Knights of the Crystals and Legacy of a Thousand Suns, Age of Champions delivers on nearly all fronts aside from a few annoying bugs such as losing access to the top of game screen at times. Just ignore the fact that your avatar will be without pants for quite a while and you should have a grand time.

Thứ Tư, 11 tháng 1, 2012

Corrie Nation on hold: First-ever soap opera Facebook game breaks for makeover

Last year, after roughly four decades on television, ABC canceled TV soaps "All My Children" and "One Life to Live". Commentators were quick to point to Facebook games as the culprit, spear-headed by an April AdWeek report, with even earlier speculation supplied by GamaSutra a month prior. Then, "As the World Turns" ended in September, and it no longer felt like speculation. Everyone was running with it.

In this climate stepped "Corrie Nation", a social game on Facebook to mark the 50th anniversary of the U.K soap opera, "Coronation Street". Because obviously, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" seemed like a good call.
Corrie Nation Coronation Street characters actors
But for a show that brings in millions of viewers, the Facebook game only managed an all-time high of 88K monthly average users. Players have been falling since the launch, leading ITV to announce their taking down the game by the end of this coming July. But ITV hasn't given up on the concept. They want a major rehaul over the summer, so they're dropping their contract with Enteraction and will soon be in the market for a new games developer.

Anyone who's interested in checking out "Corrie Nation" within the next two months, can play it on Facebook. There's already a surge of activity due to news of the (hopefully) temporary shutdown.

Games.com Weekly Roundup: Spotlighting social games at E3 2011

Couldn't get your daily Games.com news fix and want to know what you've missed? Whether it's a major FarmVille guide or the launch of a new Facebook game, the Roundup will bring you up to speed on the most important or popular or just plain out amazing and weird social gaming stories of the week.

Monday:

    The Sims creator Will Wright is making a Facebook game, and it's not SimCity
    Instead, Wright is basing his new game on Bruce Sterling's short story "Maneki Neko".
    Want to work for Marriott Hotels? Play the Facebook game first
    "We had no idea there was such a demand for hotel employees, but alas, here we are, recruiting them through ... Facebook games."
    Zynga hangs on iPhone in Hanging with Friends: Fuhgettabout pen and paper
    "Developed by Texas-based Zynga subsidiary Zynga with Friends, Hanging with Friends is a mobile multiplayer take on the classic two-player puzzle game Hangman."
    Playdom's City of Wonder on iPhone: Conquer the world wherever
    "Playdom has released City of Wonder, it's Civilization-like empire-building Facebook game, to iOS devices. And better yet, it's absolutely free."
    The Sims Social: Yup, The Sims is finally coming to Facebook
    Were you as creeped out by the debut trailer as we were? Nonetheless, it's hard not to get excited.



Tuesday:

    Apple Game Center in iOS 5 mirrors Facebook gaming, coming this fall
    "Social gaming has effectively become mobile gaming in many a developer's eye, and Apple is poised to strike the competition this fall with the new Facebook games-inspired Game Center."
    'Arookoo: World Explorers' steps up social gaming, but stumbles on Facebook
    Reader's Digest Association and Vivity Labs' create a Facebook game to complement a free iPhone app that nabs you virtual perks for real world strolls.
    E3 2011: Prime World mixes free-to-play MMO with Facebook friend interaction
    "You'll be able to invite your Facebook friends to play the game with you . . . There's even a Zuma-inspired marble game for those that would prefer to match marbles than enter combat (at least temporarily)."
    E3 2011: Yoostar Playground puts you in the movies on Facebook
    "With Yoostar Playground, you're really given the opportunity for your 15 minutes of fame, as the company routinely holds contests over the best videos uploaded to the service."



Wednesday:

    Zynga celebrates FarmVille's 2nd Birthday with an explosion of items
    For the full scoop, check out our FarmVille 2nd Birthday Guide.
    E3 2011: Walking Dead game gets a Facebook tie-in
    "A few months ago, we learned that The Walking Dead, a hit TV series on AMC as well as a comic book series with a serious cult following, is getting the game treatment."
    Casino City, Bar World and Slot City get the axe
    "[A]s a result of Zynga's recent acquisition of DNA Games (its 14th purchase in just a year!), all three of the studio's games will shut down come July 8."



Thursday:


    E3 2011: Fruit Ninja Frenzy takes a slice out of Facebook this summer
    "In Fruit Ninja Frenzy, the same basic gameplay from the mobile version has been retained, but has been chopped (no pun intended) into 60-seconds of bite sized fruity goodness."
    E3 2011: Pet Society Vacation on iPhone takes your Facebook pet on a tropical trip
    Playfish fans are definitely excited, but the catch is this iOS game won't crossover with the one on Facebook except when it comes to porting over your pet.
    John Carmack: Facebook offers the 'Walmart experience of gaming' [Interview]
    "[Social games are] not a connoisseur experience, but it's important to recognize that most of what people consume in the world is not a connoisseur experience."
    E3 2011: Shooters, not social, are still king
    So how's E3 treating the social games scene? Our EIC, Libe Goad, spent the week over there and left us this thoughtful piece.
    The Amazing Spider-Man's Emma Stone was hooked on FarmVille
    "I got to level 42, and I wasn't doing anything else anymore, so I had to stop," Stone told ELLE.
    FrontierVille Oregon Trail becomes 'Pioneer Trail' after community vote
    Not that we thought anyone could confuse the official Oregon Trail with Zynga's FrontierVille expansion on Facebook, but that's lawsuits for ya.
    Scam Alert: 'Zynga Promotions' is not RewardVille, but another scam
    Dastardly!