Mafia Wars Android
Right now if you're a user of an Android phone, your only option is to use the built-in browser to play Mafia Wars (which is slow and clunky) or play by SMS. However, by the end of the month you will be able to get the full Mafia Wars experience in an application made for Android phones.
At LeWeb '10, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Zynga David Ko has announced that Mafia Wars will be coming to mobile this month. Currently, the only Zynga game available in the Android Market is Zynga Poker. In addition, Ko let it slip that FarmVille will also be coming to Android in the future as well. This is pretty big news, although we were pretty certain this was going to happen. Having confirmation is always a good thing though!
At this point, we do not have a release date for Mafia Wars on Android. We're looking forward to giving it a try when it happens though!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monster Galaxy on Facebook: It's basically Pokemon, but with the zodiac
Ever wanted to play Pokemon on Facebook but were disappointed when you found out that you couldn't? Gaia Online solves this problem by releasing the Zodiac-inspired, pet filled game Monster Galaxy on Facebook. To give you an idea of just how much the game resembles Pokemon, the game's Facebook page advertises the title as: "Catch Them All! Collect wild monsters and battle to tame the zodiac and save the world!"
To see if this game stands up to the likes of such an established franchise, meet us behind the break.
You'll start the game by picking your first Moga, or monster. This is done by choosing the Zodiac symbol that you'd like your Moga to have, and then choosing from the three options that appear for each. Each zodiac symbol corresponds to different Attack, Defense, and overall Zodiac stats. Moga, like Pokemon, tend to look like customized forms of everyday animals, along with some completely new creatures. You can adopt red and yellow tigers, a dark red pig, a bright pink sheep, and so on.
Your first Moga chosen, you are then shown an introduction to the game's story. The world has fallen into chaos since it has been rocked by earthquakes. The stars begin falling from the sky, and your first Moga appears as one such falling star. You feel an instant connection to this creature (you should, since you just picked him/her), but you aren't given time to really grasp the situation, as a wild Moga attacks from the nearby bushes.
Battles play out as you would expect, if you've spent any amount of time with turn-based gameplay, regardless of whether it was Pokemon or not. Each Moga can choose an attack from two different types - a physical attack or a magical zodiac attack. You, as the Moga tamer, will be able to tell your Moga which attack to use, from a list of four. As all Mogas have zodiac signs, these attacks come into play as the "elemental" portion of gameplay. Certain signs are weaker or stronger against other signs, and you'll need to quickly learn which signs your pet is stronger against to make the most of your time in battle (that is, to be able to win quicker, or at least easier). For those that don't wish to memorize the chart of weaknesses and strengths, once you've entered into battle, a simple hover over the Elemental Attack will show you how well that attack will do against the current sign.
Through the game's tutorial, you'll learn how to add to your Moga collection, which is done by weakening the enemy Moga and then tossing a Starseed out to capture it. In future battles, if you simply defeat the enemy Moga(s), your battling Moga will earn experience points that work to level them up. A higher level Moga has more health and stronger attacks, as you might expect. Once you gain some experience with the game, you'll be able to take up to three Moga into battle at a time, and you can store an apparently unlimited supply of Moga for future use.
In order to give the game some progression, you're given a personal assistant named Tobi, who will keep track of your quests. You'll travel throughout the expansive game world completing these quests, with each location being represented on the overall map by a black dot. You get a preview of the location you're about to enter, which tells you how difficult the area's wild Moga will be to defeat, which is nice for lower level players that wouldn't has as much strength as a Master Tamer.
All told, you'll continue to unlock new areas on the map as you travel there, where you'll continue to complete quests, add to your Moga library, defeat enemies and unravel the story of why the Moga have suddenly turned violent. Yes, the gameplay is repetitive, but so is Pokemon, which, again, Monster Galaxy mimics in more ways than not.
Coming from Gaia Online, the game has some fantastic production values. The graphics are lovely, with most Moga being downright adorable. The game's soundtrack changes from and epic score during battle to a hard rock track when you've successfully captured a new Moga, and the entire game displays a real attention to detail and polish.
While Pokemon may have come first, Monster Galaxy looks to be a worthy alternative for those that like sticking close to the Facebook gaming world. To try your hand at Moga Taming, heading into the world of Monster Galaxy for yourself.
To see if this game stands up to the likes of such an established franchise, meet us behind the break.
You'll start the game by picking your first Moga, or monster. This is done by choosing the Zodiac symbol that you'd like your Moga to have, and then choosing from the three options that appear for each. Each zodiac symbol corresponds to different Attack, Defense, and overall Zodiac stats. Moga, like Pokemon, tend to look like customized forms of everyday animals, along with some completely new creatures. You can adopt red and yellow tigers, a dark red pig, a bright pink sheep, and so on.
Your first Moga chosen, you are then shown an introduction to the game's story. The world has fallen into chaos since it has been rocked by earthquakes. The stars begin falling from the sky, and your first Moga appears as one such falling star. You feel an instant connection to this creature (you should, since you just picked him/her), but you aren't given time to really grasp the situation, as a wild Moga attacks from the nearby bushes.
Battles play out as you would expect, if you've spent any amount of time with turn-based gameplay, regardless of whether it was Pokemon or not. Each Moga can choose an attack from two different types - a physical attack or a magical zodiac attack. You, as the Moga tamer, will be able to tell your Moga which attack to use, from a list of four. As all Mogas have zodiac signs, these attacks come into play as the "elemental" portion of gameplay. Certain signs are weaker or stronger against other signs, and you'll need to quickly learn which signs your pet is stronger against to make the most of your time in battle (that is, to be able to win quicker, or at least easier). For those that don't wish to memorize the chart of weaknesses and strengths, once you've entered into battle, a simple hover over the Elemental Attack will show you how well that attack will do against the current sign.
Through the game's tutorial, you'll learn how to add to your Moga collection, which is done by weakening the enemy Moga and then tossing a Starseed out to capture it. In future battles, if you simply defeat the enemy Moga(s), your battling Moga will earn experience points that work to level them up. A higher level Moga has more health and stronger attacks, as you might expect. Once you gain some experience with the game, you'll be able to take up to three Moga into battle at a time, and you can store an apparently unlimited supply of Moga for future use.
In order to give the game some progression, you're given a personal assistant named Tobi, who will keep track of your quests. You'll travel throughout the expansive game world completing these quests, with each location being represented on the overall map by a black dot. You get a preview of the location you're about to enter, which tells you how difficult the area's wild Moga will be to defeat, which is nice for lower level players that wouldn't has as much strength as a Master Tamer.
All told, you'll continue to unlock new areas on the map as you travel there, where you'll continue to complete quests, add to your Moga library, defeat enemies and unravel the story of why the Moga have suddenly turned violent. Yes, the gameplay is repetitive, but so is Pokemon, which, again, Monster Galaxy mimics in more ways than not.
Coming from Gaia Online, the game has some fantastic production values. The graphics are lovely, with most Moga being downright adorable. The game's soundtrack changes from and epic score during battle to a hard rock track when you've successfully captured a new Moga, and the entire game displays a real attention to detail and polish.
While Pokemon may have come first, Monster Galaxy looks to be a worthy alternative for those that like sticking close to the Facebook gaming world. To try your hand at Moga Taming, heading into the world of Monster Galaxy for yourself.
FarmVille isn't a chore for stay-at-home parents
It's a commonly known fact that the most popular demographic for FarmVille players is middle aged women. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're all stay-at-home parents, but there is a good chance that a large percentage of FarmVille players enjoy the game while their kids are taking a nap. A blogger and stay-at-home mom, Cynthia Gregory, wrote a cute post about why she enjoys playing FarmVille.
Not many accomplishments are measurable in real life when you are a stay-at-home mother. I get no awards or stars or extra cash for successfully cleaning toilets or washing dishes every day. If they had toilet cleaning and dish washing in Farmville, I would get points, coins and maybe a cute sign to display on my property.
When I plant a crop or place a building in Farmville, it stays there. No one walks behind me trampling my work or breaking stuff.
My little avatar doesn't talk back.
My puppy doesn't puke or poop on my pretend farm.
I can shop as much as I like, because I am rich in Farmville.
My avatar hair is exceptional and quickly changeable, there is no need for a baseball cap. She never needs a face wax either.
I can get more help from people on my pretend farm than I could ever get in real life.
When you help someone on Farmville, you are rewarded. Rewarded with pretend useable stuff, not just a sense of accomplishment.
There is so much truth in her statements. People might make fun of the 'pretend' rewards and sense of accomplishment, but they can be very fun and motivating for people. There is nothing wrong with enjoying playing FarmVille, and for someone who stays at home and has constant distractions - social games can be the perfect way to pass the time in short chunks.
Not many accomplishments are measurable in real life when you are a stay-at-home mother. I get no awards or stars or extra cash for successfully cleaning toilets or washing dishes every day. If they had toilet cleaning and dish washing in Farmville, I would get points, coins and maybe a cute sign to display on my property.
When I plant a crop or place a building in Farmville, it stays there. No one walks behind me trampling my work or breaking stuff.
My little avatar doesn't talk back.
My puppy doesn't puke or poop on my pretend farm.
I can shop as much as I like, because I am rich in Farmville.
My avatar hair is exceptional and quickly changeable, there is no need for a baseball cap. She never needs a face wax either.
I can get more help from people on my pretend farm than I could ever get in real life.
When you help someone on Farmville, you are rewarded. Rewarded with pretend useable stuff, not just a sense of accomplishment.
There is so much truth in her statements. People might make fun of the 'pretend' rewards and sense of accomplishment, but they can be very fun and motivating for people. There is nothing wrong with enjoying playing FarmVille, and for someone who stays at home and has constant distractions - social games can be the perfect way to pass the time in short chunks.
Like Zynga? Prove it and receive a free Holiday Cow in FarmVille
The Zynga Inc. Facebook fan page sits at just over 933,000 "Likes," as of this writing. With 1 million "likes" being the next big milestone, the folks at Facebook's biggest developer have decided to give the gaming community a little push, or incentive, if you will, that will hopefully cause that number to grow to 1 million and beyond in a short time frame.
The incentive comes to us as news from the FarmVille Sheep fan page, which tonight writes that if Zynga Inc.'s fan page on Facebook reaches over 1 million Likes, we will receive a "special present... for this holiday season." The present is a lovely Holiday Cow in FarmVille, and who doesn't love cows?
This free cow (we're calling it the Holiday Cow, but the final name has yet to be revealed) is a brown and white bovine with a lovely green wreath hanging around it's neck. It's presumed that once (if) the Zynga Inc. fan page breaks the 1 million Like mark, that the developer would simply post a link for all interested users to claim their free cow, as that seems to be the method employed by most other games in such "giveaway" circumstances, but it may very well turn out to be a more complicated system than that.
Email delivery? Redeemable codes? All of that remains to be seen, but we'd be willing to place a wager on Zynga reaching their 1 million Like goal, mostly because, hey, who doesn't like free things? Besides, in just the time it's taken us to put this post together, the Like count has risen by over 1,000 - we'd say the Holiday Cow is in the bag for the lot of us.
If you'd like to help make sure that the cow is indeed handed out to users, make sure to like the Zynga Inc. fan page on Facebook. Remember, you can always "Un-Like" the page after the promotion is over - we won't tattle.
The incentive comes to us as news from the FarmVille Sheep fan page, which tonight writes that if Zynga Inc.'s fan page on Facebook reaches over 1 million Likes, we will receive a "special present... for this holiday season." The present is a lovely Holiday Cow in FarmVille, and who doesn't love cows?
This free cow (we're calling it the Holiday Cow, but the final name has yet to be revealed) is a brown and white bovine with a lovely green wreath hanging around it's neck. It's presumed that once (if) the Zynga Inc. fan page breaks the 1 million Like mark, that the developer would simply post a link for all interested users to claim their free cow, as that seems to be the method employed by most other games in such "giveaway" circumstances, but it may very well turn out to be a more complicated system than that.
Email delivery? Redeemable codes? All of that remains to be seen, but we'd be willing to place a wager on Zynga reaching their 1 million Like goal, mostly because, hey, who doesn't like free things? Besides, in just the time it's taken us to put this post together, the Like count has risen by over 1,000 - we'd say the Holiday Cow is in the bag for the lot of us.
If you'd like to help make sure that the cow is indeed handed out to users, make sure to like the Zynga Inc. fan page on Facebook. Remember, you can always "Un-Like" the page after the promotion is over - we won't tattle.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Winter Bridge, Frozen Pond, Stocking Arch, Holiday Trees & More
A new batch of unreleased images have leaked from the world of FarmVille, and we've gotten our hands on the lot of them, allowing us to bring you another edition of the FarmVille Sneak Peek, where we show off these images, along with our thoughts on these unreleased new items, which may or may not be launching in the game in the near future.
This time, we have five new decorative items to show off, all of which fit in the current Winter Holiday theme of limited edition items. They are the Winter Bridge, Winter Fireplace (this looks an awful lot like the Fireplace just released in Cafe World as part of their holiday theme), a Winter Home, Frozen Pond, and Stocking Arch.
For those familiar with the Holly Arch, which was first released in the game for last year's holiday celebration, and was then re-released in this year's Winter Wonderland quest set, the Stocking Arch looks to be an exact replica of that item, except this one has brick columns and a few stockings attached to the front and sides. Meanwhile, for those that like the look of running water on their farms, the Winter Bridge unfortunately looks to offer a self-contained pool of water, so if you have a group of blue Hay Bales that you're waiting to connect to this item to continue an imaginary stream or river, there will be some continuity issues to be aware of.
In addition to these decorations, there are also two new holiday trees that will apparently be coming to the game, in the form of a Sugar Plum Tree and a Peppermint Tree. The Sugar Plum tree is a very pretty lavender and pink tree that looks like it came right out of a Dr. Seuss story, while the Peppermint Tree resembles the Bubble Gum Tree, except the bubblegums have been replaced with red and green striped peppermint candies. Both of these trees will apparently be masterable, as you can see the signs associated with each tree in the image above.
We can't wait for these items to release in the game, but remember, there is no actual guarantee that we'll see these items in the game, so keep that in mind.
This time, we have five new decorative items to show off, all of which fit in the current Winter Holiday theme of limited edition items. They are the Winter Bridge, Winter Fireplace (this looks an awful lot like the Fireplace just released in Cafe World as part of their holiday theme), a Winter Home, Frozen Pond, and Stocking Arch.
For those familiar with the Holly Arch, which was first released in the game for last year's holiday celebration, and was then re-released in this year's Winter Wonderland quest set, the Stocking Arch looks to be an exact replica of that item, except this one has brick columns and a few stockings attached to the front and sides. Meanwhile, for those that like the look of running water on their farms, the Winter Bridge unfortunately looks to offer a self-contained pool of water, so if you have a group of blue Hay Bales that you're waiting to connect to this item to continue an imaginary stream or river, there will be some continuity issues to be aware of.
In addition to these decorations, there are also two new holiday trees that will apparently be coming to the game, in the form of a Sugar Plum Tree and a Peppermint Tree. The Sugar Plum tree is a very pretty lavender and pink tree that looks like it came right out of a Dr. Seuss story, while the Peppermint Tree resembles the Bubble Gum Tree, except the bubblegums have been replaced with red and green striped peppermint candies. Both of these trees will apparently be masterable, as you can see the signs associated with each tree in the image above.
We can't wait for these items to release in the game, but remember, there is no actual guarantee that we'll see these items in the game, so keep that in mind.
Wishful Features: Automatic neighbor additions in FarmVille
I've been playing FarmVille since around the time of the Halloween celebration in 2009. During that time, I've accumulated around 80 neighbors, which is a respectable number, but nowhere near the mass amounts of some of my friends. Regardless, one of the biggest technical issues concerning FarmVille neighbors, in my mind, is simply what a hassle it is to add those neighbors to your in-game account in the first place.
Other games, from other developers, seem to have figured out that users who are adding a game probably want to play that game with friends, and have since incorporated an automatic neighbor addition tool that will show you each and every friend that has installed the game on your neighbor bar, even if they stopped playing the game months ago. Why can't FarmVille do the same?
One could argue that Zynga refrains from adding such a feature because it would throw off the items in the store that require you to add a certain amount of neighbors to unlock access to purchase them, but this just doesn't seem fair.
As I look at my in-game neighbors page, I see seven people that actively play FarmVille, but technically aren't my neighbors. I can send them gifts via Facebook news feed items, and we can send free gifts between one another, but I can't visit their farm. The most basic of social interactions in FarmVille and I have to go through special steps to activate it. Sure, it doesn't take much for a neighbor request to be sent or accepted, as it is done through a basic "gift request" scenario, but the fact that we have to do it in the first place just seems a bit silly.
For now, though, I guess I'm stuck with trying to remind myself to frequently check on my Neighbors page to find those farmers that I've left out in the cold. Hopefully that won't be the case for much longer.
Do you regularly check your Neighbors page to find those neighbors that you may have forgotten to add? Which other Facebook games would you like to see automatic neighbor addition added to?
Other games, from other developers, seem to have figured out that users who are adding a game probably want to play that game with friends, and have since incorporated an automatic neighbor addition tool that will show you each and every friend that has installed the game on your neighbor bar, even if they stopped playing the game months ago. Why can't FarmVille do the same?
One could argue that Zynga refrains from adding such a feature because it would throw off the items in the store that require you to add a certain amount of neighbors to unlock access to purchase them, but this just doesn't seem fair.
As I look at my in-game neighbors page, I see seven people that actively play FarmVille, but technically aren't my neighbors. I can send them gifts via Facebook news feed items, and we can send free gifts between one another, but I can't visit their farm. The most basic of social interactions in FarmVille and I have to go through special steps to activate it. Sure, it doesn't take much for a neighbor request to be sent or accepted, as it is done through a basic "gift request" scenario, but the fact that we have to do it in the first place just seems a bit silly.
For now, though, I guess I'm stuck with trying to remind myself to frequently check on my Neighbors page to find those farmers that I've left out in the cold. Hopefully that won't be the case for much longer.
Do you regularly check your Neighbors page to find those neighbors that you may have forgotten to add? Which other Facebook games would you like to see automatic neighbor addition added to?
Friday, January 13, 2012
Zynga releases Chinese FarmVille with surprisingly few changes
It was only a matter of time before Zynga introduced China to the farm. It was reported recently that a Chinese FarmVille has appeared on Facebook, already roping in over 300 thousand players, according to Inside Social. While previous Zynga localizations like Zynga Texas Poker, a Chinese version of Zynga Poker, were mere translations, this rendition of FarmVille was built from the ground up for its audience.
However, not much has changed aside from the language, if images like this are any indication. Animals and farmers generally look the same, but the FarmVille interface has received some changes to its color palette and the plots of farmland appear to be much larger than in the U.S. version. If anything, this is a sure sign that Zynga's focus has gone global. Especially considering a Japanese version of FarmVille, known as Farm Village, is on the way. And don't forget that CityVille launched in five languages earlier this month. As CityVille inches closer to FarmVille's former peak with 69.8 million monthly players, it might not be long before the city reaches across the Pacific.
However, not much has changed aside from the language, if images like this are any indication. Animals and farmers generally look the same, but the FarmVille interface has received some changes to its color palette and the plots of farmland appear to be much larger than in the U.S. version. If anything, this is a sure sign that Zynga's focus has gone global. Especially considering a Japanese version of FarmVille, known as Farm Village, is on the way. And don't forget that CityVille launched in five languages earlier this month. As CityVille inches closer to FarmVille's former peak with 69.8 million monthly players, it might not be long before the city reaches across the Pacific.
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