BFG's Treasure Quest walks the plank (Facebook)

post from Gamezebo: Casual Game Reviews, Previews, Cheats, Tips, Forums, Free Games, and More on 15 February 2011 11:29:12 PM. © Gamezebo: Casual Game Reviews, Previews, Cheats, Tips, Forums, Free Games, and More

Last year Big Fish Games made a splash in the social games world with the release of Treasure Quest on Facebook. It was a unique blend of a game and a portal, and we certainly liked it when we reviewed it back in April. Sadly, it looks like the game wasn't making enough money to support development, so starting March 15 it will cease to exist.

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OXM teases reboot for Xbox 360 that isn't Halo:
CE

post from Destructoid on 15 February 2011 11:05:45 PM. © Destructoid

OXM teases reboot for Xbox 360 that isn't Halo: CE screenshot

It's not Halo: Combat Evolved. You got that? Good.

Sorry, but I had to get that out of the way. OXM is -- or should I say was -- primed to reveal "one of the best games ever made" getting a reboot for Xbox 360 in its next issue. The publisher has since pushed the announcement back, so we won't find out "for the foreseeable future," according to OXM editor Jon Hicks.

Bummer. But it's not a total loss. Apparently, the game in question is not an Xbox exclusive necessarily, and one of the comments on the original post by CVG, linked below, contains the correct answer. Well, let's give them a look.

Secret Xbox blockbuster reboot teased - but what is it? [CVG]

Here's a list of names mentioned in the comments section.*

Shenmue 1 & 2
Rainbow Six
S.W.A.T.
Jade Empire
MSX version of Metal Gear
Final Fantasy VII
Q*Bert HD Revolution
Counter-Strike
Blinx
X-COM
Theme Hospital
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Syndicate
Beyond Good and Evil 2
Perfect Dark
Goldeneye
Road Rash
Star Raiders
Knights of the Old Republic
GTA: San Andreas
Jet Set Radio
Star Wars Battlefront I & II
Halo 2
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine HD
Elite
Sim City
Hitman
MechWarrior
Conker's Bad Fur Day

_{*Yes, I realize this list is completely insane. Yet, somehow, one of these is on the money.}

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Anomaly: Warzone Earth gets a gameplay trailer

post from Destructoid on 15 February 2011 11:05:45 PM. © Destructoid

Anomaly: Warzone Earth gets a gameplay trailer screenshot

For some of you, this will be your first introduction to 11 Bit Studios' Anomaly: Warzone Earth. The action is admittedly hectic here (as it probably should be), so if you're not getting the bigger picture, no worries.

The one-line summary for Anomaly goes something like "reverse tower defense," where you are the oncoming forces rather than the one plopping down defenses and generally just sitting around, waiting eagerly for excitement to happen. It's a premise ripe for the taking.

Look for this on Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad -- and possibly elsewhere? Maybe? We'll have to wait and see.

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Fire Hose breaks Slam Bolt Scrappers down, step
by step

post from Destructoid on 15 February 2011 10:06:42 PM. © Destructoid

Fire Hose breaks Slam Bolt Scrappers down, step by step screenshot

Slam Bolt Scrappers is one of those games that's hard to briefly -- and eloquently -- describe without cheapening the overall package. And what a glorious package it is.

Today, we're given a video overview by Fire Hose Games' own Alec Shobin, which should help to get the point across better than any of my ramblings ever could. The wait for SBS on PlayStation Network won't be much longer (March), and rest assured, there's plenty more for us to talk about in the near future.

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NVIDIA sends out Kal-El

post from Gaming Nexus on 15 February 2011 09:46:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: John Yan
NEWS - One of the more interesting stories to come out of the Mobile World Conference is the announcement from NVIDIA on Project Kal-El. Yes, you're reading that right. It's the code name for their next generation Tegra chip. We're talking quad-core CPU goodness with a 12 core GeForce GPU.

NVIDIA demoed the chip in action streaming 1440P video. War Drum Studios has been working on it for 24 hours and got 3X performance out of it over a Tegra 2 setup. That's just playing around with the chip for a day.

So when can you expect products using this chip? NVIDIA's saying August, but we'll see if that truly happens. Samples are in the hands of companies now, so let's see if someone can come out with a tablet to use the chip by the end of this year. Qualcomm did announce their quad-core mobile chip as well, but they're looking into products being released next year. NVIDIA, if they can deliver, would be really ahead of the game.

NVIDIA also outlined their roadmap containing codenames such as Stark, Logan, and Wayne. Yeah, I think I like their codenames better than Google's dessert themed ones. Next year we should see Wayne, followed by Logan the year after, and Stark the year after that.

I'm in the market for some mobile products this year in both tablets and phones so seeing what NVIDIA has in store has me pretty excited. I just hope the tablet hardware comes out this year, but I don't know if I can wait until next year for Project Kal-El to be in a phone.

Exciting times for mobile gadget fans, that's for sure.

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Mini-Review: Zombies Ala Mode

post from Gaming Nexus on 15 February 2011 09:25:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Bengi Selcukoglu
NEWS - Title - Zombies Ala Mode
Developer - Crawl Space Games
Price - $0.99, Lite version for free
Other Platforms - iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

In Zombies Ala Mode, you're a teenage zombie working as an assistant in an ice cream shop. Your boss, also a zombie--a rather cranky one at that--insists on tough love and on-the-job training, and puts you right to work. He scoops ice cream from behind the counter at the top of the screen and throws the scoops down to you at the bottom. Using the tilt feature on the device, you can slide right and left catching the scoops. Customers hold their hands out to your right and left with requests for specific flavors and numbers of scoops. The faster you fulfill each request, the higher your tip will be, but make the customer wait too long and they get angry and your pay gets docked. Meanwhile, zombie obstacles are thrown at you, impeding your progress and docking your pay again if you get hit. If you catch the wrong scoop by accident, you can tap the cone to get rid of it. To help you out, there is a store that unlocks after the first couple levels where you can purchase items from your tips: some will offer protection from the thrown obstacles while others help in getting you bigger tips.

This game is very intuitive and easy to pick up game with straightforward controls. Instructions are direct, and the levels in Career mode progressively walk you through the different tasks being asked of you. And hey, who doesn't love zombies? It has simple but cute graphics reminiscent of Plants vs Zombies but without the animation. The game does support OpenFeint for leaderboards and achievements.

There are three different play modes: Career, Survival, and Bug Attack! You must play all the way through the Career mode first, however, before it unlocks the other two modes. There's no way to go back through the levels you played, so if you get stuck on a level (hello falling objects!), you're stuck replaying it over and over again until you actually make money. The difficulty ramps up quickly, so unless you're a whiz with the tilt, the chances of you getting stuck on a level are high. The items in the store can help, but are rather expensive based on the amount of money you earn, and after an initial purchase or two, quickly become unattainable. Adding to the difficulty is a lack of sensitivity of the touch on the handoff of the orders and the recovery from a wrong catch--misses that quickly to angry customers and loss of tips. All of these factors can lead to a bit of a frustrating experience.

I think Zombies Ala Mode is a decent game for the $0.99 pricetag, and kept me happily entertained until I hit my nemesis level. The free, Lite version gives a nice taste if you want to try your hand at it first, though seems a bit easier that the paid version.

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Escaping From Aqua

post from Escape Games 24 on 15 February 2011 09:06:43 PM. © Escape Games 24

Escaping From AQUA is a new point and click type escape game from Wild Harmony Studio. AQUA is a magic world where things are in harmony... where the sky is shining and the magic creatures are happy... but some days ago an evil ogre brought chaos to the land... Help the creatures of this place to restore the harmony to AQUA and find the way to get back to your home! Enjoy it!Play This Game

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/escapegames24/~3/j4IUJfxXjjk/escaping-from-aqua-wa
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Relic's latest RTS to debut in August

post from Destructoid on 15 February 2011 09:06:35 PM. © Destructoid

Relic's latest RTS to debut in August screenshot

When THQ Core Games VP Danny Bilson isn't gushing about the company's latest in-the-works games, he's dropping details on when Relic Entertainment's next title will be announced. According to him, they're shooting for an August reveal and the project is suitably in the real-time strategy genre.

With Company of Heroes Online being discontinued, it'd make sense for Relic to take a step back to the more traditional approach of releasing a full retail product. Or, maybe those guys are working away at a new IP up there in Vancouver.

Personally, I'm too distracted by the almost-here Dawn of War II: Retribution to give much thought on this yet. Can you blame me?

New Relic RTS To Be Revealed In August [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

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Live show: Mash Tactics,Paul Crik analyzes
Trenchcoat Ken

Live show: Mash Tactics,Paul Crik analyzes Trenchcoat Ken screenshot

It is well known that Mash Tactics has some of the most, let's say, "interesting" fans. While our love for the Chill Bros is limitless, we can't help but note that some of them are, well, creepers. Today we are offering professional help for those individuals. Live via Skype we will have one of the most inspirational motivational speakers this side of the Internet, Paul Crik.

Hang out with Destructoid Chill Bros on Justin.tv/Destructoid every weekday at 4PM Pacific and 12PM Pacific on weekends. Check out Venom, Carnage, and Pico's wild videos that happen live everyday from the Destructoid headquarters in San Francisco, CA.

Do you want a chance to win a Nintendo 3DS? Just follow us here and we will be giving away a Nintendo 3DS in March, along with many other prizes daily.

Possible creepers special guests:

Trenchcoat Ken (part 1) (part 2)
Zoeker
Jamal

Watch live video from Destructoid on Justin.tv

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Is Zynga really worth $7 10 billion (Facebook)

post from Gamezebo: Casual Game Reviews, Previews, Cheats, Tips, Forums, Free Games, and More on 15 February 2011 08:40:05 PM. © Gamezebo: Casual Game Reviews, Previews, Cheats, Tips, Forums, Free Games, and More

The answer is yes, as defined on Wall Street. According to the Wall Street Journal and Techcrunch, Zynga is in talks to raise a new round of $250 million, valuing the company at $7 ? 10 billion.

That would make Zynga valued more than Electronic Arts (better ship some more Madden, boys). The valuation is less than Facebook ($52 billion) and Groupon ($15 billion, you can mock a lot of good causes on national TV with that money), but on the same level as Twitter ($8 ? 10 billion).

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