Casual

New Star Wars Galaxies Online Trading Card Games expansion revealed

Posted Nov 26th 2008 9:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Casual, MMO

Last summer Sony Online and LucasArts unveiled the Star Wars Galaxies Online Trading Card game as an extra for current and former subscribers to their Star Wars Galaxies MMO. Today the companies announced the first major expansion to the trading card game, Squadrons over Corellia. The expansion, due out in December, adds over 250 new cards and 22 new loot cards to the game.

The expansion adds starship cards for the first time along with two new species and new character cards including Han Solo himself alongside Jabba the Hut, Emperor Palpatine and others. Current subscribers to Star Wars Galaxies will get five free booster card packs each month.

Gametap adds two (temporary) free games

Posted Nov 25th 2008 6:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Action, Casual, FPS

The Gametap digital download service usually adds new games to their lineup on Thursday but this week that day is also Thanksgiving so Gametap is releasing their new titles early this week. Among the new additions is the latest American McGee's Grimm episode, titled The Golden Goose. For this week only the episode is available to play for free for Tuesday through Friday instead of just 24 hours.

Also added as a temporary free game on Gametap is Hitman: Blood Money. You can play the third person action game from Io Interactive and Eidos until Dec. 3. Gametap has also added People Can Fly's first person shooter Painkiller to their premimum service.

Review: American McGee's Grimm: Cinderella

Posted Nov 20th 2008 1:00PM by David Craddock
Filed under: Features, Hands-on, Casual, Opinion

If you are unfamiliar with the fable of Cinderella, then you have either been deprived of perhaps the most cherished tale of rags-to-riches and foot fetishes ever told, or spared a constantly regurgitated litany of self-pity and wishful thinking. It's all about perspective. This week's episode of American McGee's Grimm finds the disgusting do-badder out to make Cinderella's life that much more difficult rather than send her on her way to happily ever after. Is picking on Cinderella as enjoyable as other entries in the Grimm series? If you enjoy Grimm, then yes. If not, then no. Are you surprised?

Continue reading Review: American McGee's Grimm: Cinderella

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PopCap bitten by zombie game trend

Posted Nov 18th 2008 8:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Casual

Hey we all love zombies here but is this going too far? Maybe. PopCap, the developer and publisher of tons of successful casual games, is apparently following up their launch of the much hyped (and $1 million reported budget) Bejeweled Twist with...a zombie game?

TheBBPS.com site states they spoke with a PopCap PR rep who told them, "It'll be a few months, but our next new game will be worth the wait... "zombie apocalypse," the PopCap way: no blood, no gore, but blood-curdlingly fun and addictive just the same." Um..if there's no gore and blood involved then it's not really a zombie game, is it? All you get is just...people...coming to eat you. Where's the fun in that?

[Via Joystiq]

Download: Call of Atlantis Demo

Posted Nov 13th 2008 4:30PM by Steven Wong
Filed under: Downloads, Demos, Casual, Puzzle

This demo lets you play the puzzle game Call of Atlantis free for one hour. The full version may be purchased through the Playrix website.

"Atlantis is calling out to a true hero to save it from deadly peril in this long-awaited 3rd installment in the hit Atlantis Quest, The Rise of Atlantis series offering a unique blend of 3 popular gameplays. Set out on an exciting new quest in this spectacular mix of Match-3, Hidden Object and Adventure. Embark on a fascinating new journey around the ancient lands of Rome, Greece, Troy, Phoenicia, Babylon, Egypt and Carthage to acquire seven mysterious crystals of power. Appease Poseidon, the patron god of the Atlanteans, and save the legendary continent."

Download the Call of Atlantis Demo (49 MB)

Review: American McGee's Grimm: King Midas

Posted Nov 13th 2008 2:00PM by David Craddock
Filed under: Features, Hands-on, Casual, Opinion

The California Gold Rush of 1848 hasn't got anything on King Midas's gift. After being blessed with the golden touch by the Greek gods, Midas sees the error and foolishness of his ways when everything and everyone he increases in value at his touch -- but perishes as a trade-off. Does that bountiful gift extend to the quality of American McGee's Grimm: King Midas? Somewhat. While the newest installment in American McGee's episodic series doesn't set a gold standard, it's at least worthy of a silver medal.

Continue reading Review: American McGee's Grimm: King Midas

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Crayon Physics Deluxe available for pre-order

Posted Nov 11th 2008 8:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Casual, Puzzle

The winner of this year's grand prize in the Independent Games Festival was called Crayon Physics. Developed by Finnish game designer Petri Purh, the game features a player trying to get a 2D ball on screen to move from one point to another, assisted by the player drawing crayon-like shapes via a mouse or (if you have a Tablet PC) via a stylus. The game showcased some incredible on-the-fly physics animation.

The game was a huge sensation and now the developer is getting ready to release Crayon Physics Deluxe. The commercial version will feature over 70 levels and a level editor, pluse better graphics to more accurately simulate the actual drawing of shapes in the game. The full version doesn't have a release date yet but you can pre-order it now for $14.95, a 25 percent discount from its regualr $20 price tag. If you want to check out a very early prototype you can download this free version at Big Download.

[Via Rock Paper Shotgun]

Valve's weekend sale is for Eets

Posted Nov 8th 2008 9:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Casual

We've already had a game put on sale on Valve's Steam service this week; Audiosurf is still just $2.49 for a few more days. However, Valve has gone ahead and honored its regular weekend sale with another drastic price cut on a game from their service.

This weekend only Steam users can download and purchase the indie developed tilte Eets for just $2.49. Like Audiosurf's sale, that a 75 percent reduction in its usual price of $9.99. Developed by Klei Entertainment, the 2006 puzzle-platformer has already received tons of acclaim and now the price on Steam makes it (almost) a steal.

Free Realms beta test sign-ups begin

Posted Nov 7th 2008 7:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Betas, Casual, MMO

It's been a long time in coming, but Sony Online has finally begun accepting sign-ups for people to beta test Free Realms. This fantasy MMO is being made for a more mainstream and casual audience and as the name implies the game will be free to play.

Sign-ups are being taken at the game's official web site which also has more info on what Free Realms is all about. While it takes place in a fantasy world the look of the game is definitely more cartoony than the more realistic looking Everquest series. Mini-games like soccer and golf and pet raising are available in the game but there is combat against creatures as well. There's no word yet on when Free Realms will officially launch.

Virtual Bargain Bin: Valve Complete Pack

Posted Nov 7th 2008 5:00PM by David Craddock
Filed under: Features, Action, Casual, FPS, Multiplayer, Puzzle, Opinion, Team Fortress 2

Big Download's Virtual Bargain Bin

Congratulations, soldier: you survived another week. It's Friday afternoon, and instead of going out partying with your friends, you're anxious to get home, sit down at your computer, and play some new games. Sounds fun! Too bad you're broke. Lucky for you, PC gaming has an impressive library of classic games that are available online for cheap. Hang out with us every Friday so we can take you on a guided tour of some of the greatest bargains available throughout the many tubes of the Internet.

Welcome Big Download's Virtual Bargain Bin, the cure for your weekend gaming woes. This week's pick: Valve Complete Pack.

Continue reading Virtual Bargain Bin: Valve Complete Pack

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Review: American McGee's Grimm: The Singing Bone

Posted Nov 6th 2008 7:00PM by David Craddock
Filed under: Features, Hands-on, Casual, Opinion

After the impressive start to the second season of American McGee's Grimm, I began to worry that the refined gameplay mechanics featured in The Master Thief were a collective one-trick pony. Would season two continue to expand its horizons by following in Thief's footsteps, or would the initially entertaining but ultimately repetitive aspects of season one slink back onto the scene? Episode two of the same season, The Singing Bone, offers a combination of both, but one that unfortunately doesn't lean toward the impressive level of fun changes seen in Master Thief.

Continue reading Review: American McGee's Grimm: The Singing Bone

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Review: American McGee's Grimm: The Master Thief

Posted Oct 30th 2008 2:00PM by David Craddock
Filed under: Features, Hands-on, Casual, Opinion

In video games, episodic content is often weighed down by its own parameters. Each episode is in fact an episode, a separate installment that is not precisely a new game, but an extension of one that came before; in essence, it carries the same definition as an expansion pack. Because of this definition, most gamers who play episodic content do not expect completely new settings or gameplay mechanics, but instead much of what has come before, which may or may not have been dolled up with a fresh coat of paint.

The Master Thief, the first episode of the second season of American McGee's Grimm, adheres to this definition to a degree, but largely extends its boundaries. These extensions have resulted in a subtle re-imagining of the series that is worthy of the hardcore gamer's attention, as well as that of the casual gamer for whom Grimm was originally created.

Continue reading Review: American McGee's Grimm: The Master Thief

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Review: Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands

Posted Oct 27th 2008 9:00AM by David Craddock
Filed under: Features, Hands-on, Adventure, Casual, Opinion

Any Xbox 360 owners who have experienced the inevitable three red lights can sympathize with Strong Bad's plight at the beginning of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands. After spending a few minutes with his Fun Machine in the intro cinematic, the console glitches and dies a painful death. Your first task is to take the Fun Machine to Bubs for a repair, but the versatile vendor informs you that you'll need a "sack of cash" in order to pay for the repairs. Thus begins Strong Bad's quest to arrange a battle of the bands requiring a stiff entry fee, and then to sabotage said bands so that he's declared the winner.

The result of your quest is a solid entry in the series, but Baddest of the Bands suffers from adventure genre-related shortcomings that prevent it from being as enjoyable as the first two installments, especially the second.

Continue reading Review: Strong Bad Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands

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Amazon.com buys game developer Reflexive

Posted Oct 22nd 2008 10:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Biz, Downloads, Casual

Once again we are amazed that even in this economic situation the games industry is still considered to be a major "recession-proof" business. A big example is this week's reveal that online retailer Amazon.com has purchased casual game developer Reflexive Inc. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.

According to the official announcement from Reflexive CEO Lars Brubaker, it seems the Amazon.com purchase was more about Reflexive's casual game online distribution business than its game development studio. Yet Reflexive has released quite a few of its own games in its time. Those games included the popular Richochet series of games, the award winning indie title Wik: The Fable of Souls and even some major retail titles (Star Trek: Away Team for Activision and Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader for Interplay). It's currently unknown if the new Amazon.com purchase will affect Reflexive's development plans.

EA launches new Popo casual game studio in Austin

Posted Oct 16th 2008 2:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Biz, Downloads, Casual

Austin, Texas continues to be a mecca for game development and the latest evidence of that is in a new Electronic Arts press release. The mega-publisher has just announced a new game development studio in the city which will create casual games for the PC and other platforms.

The new Austin studio will be under EA's Pogo family and will at first have 12 people working in the offices. Their first game will be the PICTUREKA! MUSEUM MAYHEM title that's based on the Hasbro game. EA used to run the Origin team in Austin (the creators of the Ultima and Ultima Online titles) before shutting that studio down a few years ago. When EA bought BioWare earlier this year it also acquired their MMO office in Austin.