It's unusual for Zynga to launch a new theme in FarmVille right before a major holiday, but apparently, with Halloween being tomorrow, the developer has decided to launch a new theme now, so that it will be available in the time after, between Halloween and Thanksgiving. That theme is Fairy Hollow, and the first batch of items in the theme has launched in the store this evening. There are trees, animals, decorations and even avatar costumes available in this theme - here's a look at what's available.
Trees
Fall Ribbon Flower Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Big Fall Ribbon Flower Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Golden Fairy Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Golden Fairy Tree - 14 Farm Cash
While these pairs of trees are brand new, if they look a bit familiar, it's because they're re-colorings of trees we've seen in the game before. Keep that in mind, the rehashing technique is used throughout this entire theme. As usual, you'll only need to purchase the normal version of each of these two trees, as the Big Fall Ribbon Flower Tree and Giant Golden Fairy Tree can be earned for free from Mystery Seedlings.
Animals
Butterfly Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Butterfly Dog - 12 Farm Cash
Butterfly Rabbit - 12 Farm Cash
Butterfly Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Yellow-Eyed Penguin - 1 million coins
Butterfly Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Here, many of these animals are, without the wings, just basic versions of animals you likely already have on your farm(s). Add the wings and you have these new animals, so ultimately, whether or not you purchase them will depend on how much you like their wings. As for the Yellow-Eyed Penguin, this one looks almost identical to the regular Penguin in the game, so you'll need to look closely at its yellow eye to really tell the difference.
Buildings
Fairy Mill - 20 Farm Cash
Other than the pastel colors, which go along with many of this theme's items, there's nothing really here that scream "fairy" to me, but I won't argue. If you're a building collector, you'll have to make the splurge either way.
Decorations
Wooden Gate - 10,000 coins
Fairy Godmother Gnome - 12 Farm Cash
Wooden Fence - 5,000 coins
The Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence were first sold back in the Fairy Garden event in August, and the Fairy Godmother Gnome was given away for free as a goal reward during that time. If you finished that goal then, you can save the 12 Farm Cash and just pull your old gnome out of storage to decorate for this theme.
Avatar Costumes
Butterfly I - 8 Farm Cash
Butterfly II - 8 Farm Cash
These costumes will allow even your avatar to join in on the butterfly / fairy fun, and could even work as a Halloween costume, if you've yet to choose one, but are willing to do so fast (that is, before Halloween proper passes). Just remember that you can try on these costumes to see if you really like the way your avatar looks with wings before you purchase them.
All of these items will be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. It will be interesting to see if this is a single-release theme or if more items are released in the future. If more items are launched, we'll make sure to let you know.
What do you think of these Fairy Hollow items? Were you hoping the end of October would see even more Halloween items released, or are you ready to move on?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
FarmVille Mystery Game (10/30/11): Halloween items take a final stand
With tonight's FarmVille Mystery Game, it looks like we've seen the last set of Halloween items released in the game (after all, the store has now been taken over by Fairy Hollow / Butterfly items). You'll have a chance to win both decorations and animals in this apparently final Halloween-themed Mystery Game, with a single dart costing 16 Farm Cash. There are two horses available here, so that's a fairly cheap price, all things considered (I would have easily guessed the darts to cost 20 Farm Cash or more).
Here's the list of six items you can win in this week's game by throwing darts:
Eerie Bridge
Fire Skeleton Horse
Headless Horseman
Nightmare Mini Pegasus
Pirate Goat
Vampire Gnome
As usual, there's another Bonus Prize being offered here, if you're willing to spend enough Farm Cash to win all six "normal" prizes. Do that and you'll walk away with the Gnome O Lantern - a garden gnome sticking his head out of a Jack-O-Lantern. Just remember, even if you really want this seventh bonus prize, you're not guaranteed to win all six individual prizes on the first six darts you throw, so you could wind up spending much more Farm Cash just to receive duplicates.
Either way, you've got a week to throw darts at this week's board, before these Halloween-themed items are packed away, potentially to never be seen again (granted, I'm sure a lot of them will come back next year, but there is no true guarantee). Good luck receiving the specific items you want!
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
Which of these six items do you most want to win from this week's Mystery Game? If you went for all seven items, how many darts did you end up throwing?
Here's the list of six items you can win in this week's game by throwing darts:
Eerie Bridge
Fire Skeleton Horse
Headless Horseman
Nightmare Mini Pegasus
Pirate Goat
Vampire Gnome
As usual, there's another Bonus Prize being offered here, if you're willing to spend enough Farm Cash to win all six "normal" prizes. Do that and you'll walk away with the Gnome O Lantern - a garden gnome sticking his head out of a Jack-O-Lantern. Just remember, even if you really want this seventh bonus prize, you're not guaranteed to win all six individual prizes on the first six darts you throw, so you could wind up spending much more Farm Cash just to receive duplicates.
Either way, you've got a week to throw darts at this week's board, before these Halloween-themed items are packed away, potentially to never be seen again (granted, I'm sure a lot of them will come back next year, but there is no true guarantee). Good luck receiving the specific items you want!
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
Which of these six items do you most want to win from this week's Mystery Game? If you went for all seven items, how many darts did you end up throwing?
CityVille Energy Ghosts: Everything you need to know
For one last event before Halloween, Zynga is rewarding users with free energy and coins in CityVille via an event of an appropriate name: Energy Ghosts, that will see you rapidly clicking on ghosts for free items. This event comes in the form of a "goal" on the left-hand side of your screen, and like a goal, it can only be done once. However, you'll be able to start the goal whenever you choose, giving you a chance to rearrange things in your town before starting.
You see, this event will last just 60 seconds, once you start it in your city. You must have at least one piece of road in your city in order to even access this goal, along with being at least level 10. From there, you'll have the 60-second time frame to click on as many ghosts as you possibly can. For each ghost you click on, you'll receive a single energy point and 30 coins. Please note that you will not lose energy by taking part in this event / clicking on the ghosts - you'll only gain energy.
The ghosts themselves can be found wandering around on your roads, so if you have a long stretch of road blocked by larger skyscrapers or other tall buildings, you'll want to either remove the roads from that area, or move the buildings so that you'll have a clear view of the ghosts as they wander around.
There doesn't look to be a limit on how many ghosts you can click on, and therefore how much energy you can earn, and we're also not sure if the energy you earn will go over your energy cap, so you might want to wait until you've already used your energy entirely before starting this one. While it might sound complicated, just keep in mind that you're getting something for nothing here, and you'll be able to enjoy the feature for the very short time it lasts!
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
What do you think of this Energy Ghosts feature? How many ghosts did you end up clicking on in the 60-seconds you had?
You see, this event will last just 60 seconds, once you start it in your city. You must have at least one piece of road in your city in order to even access this goal, along with being at least level 10. From there, you'll have the 60-second time frame to click on as many ghosts as you possibly can. For each ghost you click on, you'll receive a single energy point and 30 coins. Please note that you will not lose energy by taking part in this event / clicking on the ghosts - you'll only gain energy.
The ghosts themselves can be found wandering around on your roads, so if you have a long stretch of road blocked by larger skyscrapers or other tall buildings, you'll want to either remove the roads from that area, or move the buildings so that you'll have a clear view of the ghosts as they wander around.
There doesn't look to be a limit on how many ghosts you can click on, and therefore how much energy you can earn, and we're also not sure if the energy you earn will go over your energy cap, so you might want to wait until you've already used your energy entirely before starting this one. While it might sound complicated, just keep in mind that you're getting something for nothing here, and you'll be able to enjoy the feature for the very short time it lasts!
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
What do you think of this Energy Ghosts feature? How many ghosts did you end up clicking on in the 60-seconds you had?
Mafia Wars Shakedown looks like Jackie Brown gone social [Video]
At least from the looks of the trailer (and probably without the incredible direction). Zynga recently released a trailer for its upcoming mobile version of Mafia Wars, Mafia Wars Shakedown. Of course, like most game trailers from the company, the footage is devoid of any gameplay or a release date. However, at least it sets the scene and tone the developer looks to be going for.
Apparently, the don that runs your crime ring has been assassinated, and now the race has begun to see who will become the new don and take the reins. So, it'll be your job--we guess--to find out who killed the don, fighting back other players and tough bosses like a trollish butcher. Of course, there will be lots of treasure, loot and coin in it for skilled digital criminals.
But we really take away from the trailer is style. If the game is going to follow the '70s crime and blaxploitation style, complete with funky car chase tunes, then we're so in. More importantly, it tells us that this version of mobile Mafia Wars is going to be more than a companion game like Atlantic City was, but we're sure those elements will fit in one way or another. Check out the trailer below, and tell us what you think in the comments.
Have you been following the release of Mafia Wars Shakedown at all? What do you think so far of the game, based on early images, details and this trailer?
Apparently, the don that runs your crime ring has been assassinated, and now the race has begun to see who will become the new don and take the reins. So, it'll be your job--we guess--to find out who killed the don, fighting back other players and tough bosses like a trollish butcher. Of course, there will be lots of treasure, loot and coin in it for skilled digital criminals.
But we really take away from the trailer is style. If the game is going to follow the '70s crime and blaxploitation style, complete with funky car chase tunes, then we're so in. More importantly, it tells us that this version of mobile Mafia Wars is going to be more than a companion game like Atlantic City was, but we're sure those elements will fit in one way or another. Check out the trailer below, and tell us what you think in the comments.
Have you been following the release of Mafia Wars Shakedown at all? What do you think so far of the game, based on early images, details and this trailer?
No More Heroes Royal maker starts social games company with DeNA
Will No More Heroes bring the blood and gore to mobile phones for good? That much we doubt. The Japanese creator of what is said to be "the social game with the most blood," Grasshopper Manufacture, has inked a deal with social game giant DeNA. The partnership has created a new company called Grasshopper Social Network Service, and company CEO Goichi Suda--aka Suda 51--sounds psyched.
"Our new venture with DeNA will allow us to explore creative ways to bring Grasshopper Manufacture's universe to a new world of players," Suda said, according to Gamasutra. "Mobage's world-class entertainment network and the power of social mobile games will unlock new types of experiences for our fans."
The deal will result in a number of mobile social games created (in addition to the three already in the making) solely for DeNA and now ngmoco's Mobage platform for smartphones. Grasshopper Social Network Service will begin operations in Japan this November, and will bring a number of new mobile social games to Japanese mobile smartphones and abroad.
No More Heroes Royal, Frog Minutes, Humans vs Zombies and Alien Busters--Grasshopper Manufacture's existing projects for Mobage--will all shift to this new joint venture once set up. DeNA has some big names on its side in this battle for mobile social dominance. Just last week, the company announced the first Final Fantasy social game with Square Enix. Look, if this means we get to see the social action fest that much sooner, then go at it, Suda.
Do you think Grasshopper Manufacture is making a good move getting this deep into mobile social games? Which of the companies announced social games are you most psyched for?
"Our new venture with DeNA will allow us to explore creative ways to bring Grasshopper Manufacture's universe to a new world of players," Suda said, according to Gamasutra. "Mobage's world-class entertainment network and the power of social mobile games will unlock new types of experiences for our fans."
The deal will result in a number of mobile social games created (in addition to the three already in the making) solely for DeNA and now ngmoco's Mobage platform for smartphones. Grasshopper Social Network Service will begin operations in Japan this November, and will bring a number of new mobile social games to Japanese mobile smartphones and abroad.
No More Heroes Royal, Frog Minutes, Humans vs Zombies and Alien Busters--Grasshopper Manufacture's existing projects for Mobage--will all shift to this new joint venture once set up. DeNA has some big names on its side in this battle for mobile social dominance. Just last week, the company announced the first Final Fantasy social game with Square Enix. Look, if this means we get to see the social action fest that much sooner, then go at it, Suda.
Do you think Grasshopper Manufacture is making a good move getting this deep into mobile social games? Which of the companies announced social games are you most psyched for?
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Colors run wild on Aubbreezey's Halloween farm
You should stop and smell the pumpkins to enjoy this one, because Aubbreezey's FarmVille Halloween farm might just usurp Chubby Butterbean's PumpkinVille as the most Halloween "working farm" ever. You see, Aubbreezey had collected several years' worth of items to make this farm. And aside from being massive, Aubbreezy's farm is also divided into various sections, each with its own focus, just like PumpkinVille.
Click the image to make it larger.
In contrast to Chubby Butterbean's muted autumnal color scheme, Aubbreezey has a much more eye-popping setup. Even when zoomed out, you can locate various parts of the farm by the colors alone. To the southwest, there's a long hay bale blue river that leads up to a pirate theme, accompanied by last Halloween's Pirate Goats, Pirate Pumpkin, and a sunken pirate ship. To the south is a long yellow row of corn crops surrounding several farm buildings such as chicken coops and dairy barns. Northside, there's a bunch of Fire Peach Trees just waiting to go into fiery bloom. Underneath that is a row of blue buildings, which includes the Haunted Castle, Haunted House, and Haunted Tower. And south of those major Halloween edifices is a nicely detailed cemetery. But the most noticeable part of the farm is the bright orange and yellow in the bottom center that Aubbreezey has dubbed "In the Spirit of Orange" (shown above).
Click the image to make it larger.
Another colorful attraction is the area Aubbreezey called "Tricky Hansel House of Candy Corns" (shown above). And there's also the ingenious inclusion of mutated black sheep to the east, by the Swiss Alps. Oh, it's so hard to choose, you should just head on over to this farm's Zynga forum post for more.
Which farm do you love more, Aubbreezey's Halloween farm or Chubby Butterbean's PumpkinVille? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Click the image to make it larger.
In contrast to Chubby Butterbean's muted autumnal color scheme, Aubbreezey has a much more eye-popping setup. Even when zoomed out, you can locate various parts of the farm by the colors alone. To the southwest, there's a long hay bale blue river that leads up to a pirate theme, accompanied by last Halloween's Pirate Goats, Pirate Pumpkin, and a sunken pirate ship. To the south is a long yellow row of corn crops surrounding several farm buildings such as chicken coops and dairy barns. Northside, there's a bunch of Fire Peach Trees just waiting to go into fiery bloom. Underneath that is a row of blue buildings, which includes the Haunted Castle, Haunted House, and Haunted Tower. And south of those major Halloween edifices is a nicely detailed cemetery. But the most noticeable part of the farm is the bright orange and yellow in the bottom center that Aubbreezey has dubbed "In the Spirit of Orange" (shown above).
Click the image to make it larger.
Another colorful attraction is the area Aubbreezey called "Tricky Hansel House of Candy Corns" (shown above). And there's also the ingenious inclusion of mutated black sheep to the east, by the Swiss Alps. Oh, it's so hard to choose, you should just head on over to this farm's Zynga forum post for more.
Which farm do you love more, Aubbreezey's Halloween farm or Chubby Butterbean's PumpkinVille? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday eSports: Attitude
The last fortnight has been an examination of the wheres and the whys that form the basis of professional gaming. Of course, every now and again, it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves that what actually underpins the basis of eSports is the tournaments themselves.
It’s not the prize pool posted at Major League Gaming’s tournaments, or the winnings gamers take home from Electronic Sports World Cup or World Cyber Games events, but the mentality that players take on the bus, train, in their cars or the airplane on their way to their matches.
Put simply, eSports isn’t just professional gaming. It’s the attitude that flows among the hundreds of people sitting in bitterly uncomfortable seats, annoying their girlfriends who are growing callouses on their rear because their partner wants to watch IdrA or Roy dominate the competition. It’s the chill people get down their spine when the last man defending the bomb gets fragged through three walls on the back of de_train.
It’s also the vigour people get when they get out of bed and think about build orders, or the excitement a gamer feels when all he can think about on the train home is a long night of smashing people in FIFA.
It’s not the prize pool posted at Major League Gaming’s tournaments, or the winnings gamers take home from Electronic Sports World Cup or World Cyber Games events, but the mentality that players take on the bus, train, in their cars or the airplane on their way to their matches.
Put simply, eSports isn’t just professional gaming. It’s the attitude that flows among the hundreds of people sitting in bitterly uncomfortable seats, annoying their girlfriends who are growing callouses on their rear because their partner wants to watch IdrA or Roy dominate the competition. It’s the chill people get down their spine when the last man defending the bomb gets fragged through three walls on the back of de_train.
It’s also the vigour people get when they get out of bed and think about build orders, or the excitement a gamer feels when all he can think about on the train home is a long night of smashing people in FIFA.
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