Games Cheats and Reviews

Large publishers continue to snap up social game developers, with Disney being the latest. The media conglomerate has reportedly purchased Social City developer Playdom for at least 563 million (via Reuters).

Disney sees social gaming as a “high-growth business,” and CEO Bob Iger believes that the genre from benefit from “our many characters, stories and brands.”

Playdom is the fourth-largest competitor on Facebook, boasting an estimated 42 million active players each month. They are known for games such as Mobsters.

Ratchet & Clank and Resistance developer Insomniac Games has entered into a multi-platform publishing partnership with EA Partners, breaking a 16-year streak of PlayStation exclusivity.

While terms of the agreement were not disclosed, it was revealed that the deal covers an entirely new franchise created by the company, which will be published on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.

GamingUnion.net: "Nowadays, developer Sting is most known for their complicated, but extremely immersive RPGs such as Riviera: The Promised Land, Yggdra Union, and Knights in the Nightmare. But long-time fans know that the developer has also worked on old-fashioned RPGs, such as their Evolution series of games. Hexyz Force, their latest PSP title, follows this pattern, replacing complex and intricate game mechanics with something that RPG fans are more used to, but still keeping the charm and secrets that Sting games are known for. Will new fans of the developer find Hexyz Force an enjoyable deviation from the developer’s latest games, or should the company stick with what they’ve become known for?"

Indie Developer, Straw Dog Studios just released a video for the upcoming (Spring 2010) XBLA Arcade Peggle-esque Space Ark. Bounce that penguin up into the fruits, and score yourself a healthy snack! Following are the features the developers are boasting about:

• Trigger a ‘Fruit Frenzy’. Collecting same-colour combos of three or more DNA blocks forms the falling fruit to be gathered by your Arkonaut or Bounce Pad.
• Max your score with ‘Level Up’. Fruit fuels your Power Meter and each Level Up increases your score multiplier.
• You want seriously huge scores? Longer combos yield better fruit to fill the Power Meter even quicker and reach the higher score-multiplying Level Ups. There’s 21 different fruit to gather, ranging from the modest cherry created by a 3 block combo to the magnificent melon created by the ultimate 15 block combo which fills your Power Meter by a whopping 33%.
• You want even more? Grab B O N U S to unlock the ‘Bonus Stage’ and feast on falling fruit to boost your score.

PR-speak aside, it sounds like it could be a sweet addition to the Peggle-lover’s arsenal. Keep an eye here for more details, as they arrive.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

Front Line writes "Just when you thought gamers couldn’t get any more zany, along comes GameJizz "Delivering Loads of Fresh Gaming News". The developer is hoping GameJizz will be able to compete with the likes of N4G as the next big gaming news aggregator."

Indie Developer, Straw Dog Studios just released a video for the upcoming (Spring 2010) XBLA Arcade Peggle-esque Space Ark. Bounce that penguin up into the fruits, and score yourself a healthy snack! Following are the features the developers are boasting about:

• Trigger a ‘Fruit Frenzy’. Collecting same-colour combos of three or more DNA blocks forms the falling fruit to be gathered by your Arkonaut or Bounce Pad.
• Max your score with ‘Level Up’. Fruit fuels your Power Meter and each Level Up increases your score multiplier.
• You want seriously huge scores? Longer combos yield better fruit to fill the Power Meter even quicker and reach the higher score-multiplying Level Ups. There’s 21 different fruit to gather, ranging from the modest cherry created by a 3 block combo to the magnificent melon created by the ultimate 15 block combo which fills your Power Meter by a whopping 33%.
• You want even more? Grab B O N U S to unlock the ‘Bonus Stage’ and feast on falling fruit to boost your score.

PR-speak aside, it sounds like it could be a sweet addition to the Peggle-lover’s arsenal. Keep an eye here for more details, as they arrive. For now, enjoy the trailer and screenshots.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

IncGamers’ Tim McDonald serves up another round-up of the news surrounding Infinity Ward since studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella left, marinated in sarcasm and seasoned with a hint of speculation.

From the article: "Back at the start of March, we ran a column with the rather self-explanatory title ‘What We Know About The Infinity Ward Debacle’ which covered the departures of Jason West and Vince Zampella, the studio heads of the Modern Warfare developer, from the company. We collated the facts and the speculation, weighed up the possibilities, and told you not just What We Know but What We Think. We’re good to you like that.

"These past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity from the beleaguered developer and now seems as good a time as any to head back and try to make sense of things."

Lead designers Zied Reike and Steve Fukuda, as well as programmer Rayme Vinson, have left ailing Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward, according to "sources close to the studio" speaking with Kotaku.

A recent job listing has revealed that Resistance developer Insomniac Games is developing a "fun AAA title with great characters"

Sony Santa Monica’s Bruno Velazquez has said the developer hasn’t reached full potential, when it comes to utilising the PlayStation 3’s power.