FarmVille Romantic Carriage: Everything you need to know

While a few Valentine's Day items in the store is one thing, FarmVille has really jumped into the theme of romance this week with the launch of the Romantic Cottage on our farms. This Romantic Cottage serves as a precursor to the main holiday event, the Cupid's Garden item, that will be coming to the game "soon."

As it stands, the Romantic Cottage is an upgradeable item that has six levels of completion. What starts as a plain, brown pile of rubble soon turns into a beautiful carriage that can be harvested daily to earn Love Arrows. These Love Arrows can be thought of as Holiday Presents, and the Romantic Carriage as Santa's Sleigh, if you were around during the Christmas event at the end of 2011. The Cupid's Garden item will allow you to receive limited edition items, but those are unknown as of this writing.

What we do know, however, is how to upgrade that Romantic Carriage to produce more and more Arrows. The very first upgrade requires 12 each of Love, Flower Trims and Carriage Lamps. These items are earned by asking your friends to send them to you directly, or by purchasing them with Farm Cash. As you continue to upgrade the Carriage, you'll need more building materials to get the job done at each level, and eventually, you'll need other ingredients altogether (Cozy Blankets, Horse Treats and Fancy Chocolates).

If you're in more of a giving mood, also make sure to check out the game's free gifts page, as you can send all six of these Valentine's Day themed ingredients to your friends daily. We'll make sure to let you know when the Cupid's Garden collection event officially launches in FarmVille, so keep checking back with us!

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2012 coverage here.

What do you think of this Romantic Carriage? Are you glad to see a Valentine's Day event that doesn't revolve around a Mailbox as in previous years?

Adventure World: Donate to Water.org for free Baby Seal

xSay it with me now: Awwww! Baby Seals - you can't get much cuter than that! If you agree, you can now have one of your very own on your Base Camp in Adventure World, by simply donating to Water.org via a new in-game charity promotion. You'll find this promotion on the far right side of your screen, and can click on a button to learn more about Water.org through the company's website.

If you choose to donate, you'll need to spend $5 (apparently $25 is enough to bring one person clean water for life) and will receive Oscar the Baby Seal as your special gift. It's likely that this promotion will only be available for a few weeks at most, so you'll want to donate fast if you're at all interested in doing so.

This isn't the first time that Zynga has partnered with Water.org (most recently, CastleVille donated to Water.org for reaching 5 million Fan Page Likes), and we doubt it will be the last. Should another opportunity like this arise in Adventure World, we'll make sure to let you know.

So, what do you think? Will you donate $5 to Water.org to receive Oscar the Baby Seal in your game?

Adventure World Emily's Zoology Tent: Everything you need to know

In keeping with the other character-themed buildings released previously in Adventure World, bookworm Emily has now been given her very own Tent. Of course, you'll need to build it first.

Emily's Zoology Tent is unlike the other tents in the game (like Zoey's Tent, for instance), in that you'll be able to use it to collect wild animals from Expeditions, rather than using it to create gadgets that can be used to overcome obstacles. To build it, you'll need to collect 60 materials, all of which can be earned by asking your friends to send them to you:

    15 Food Bowls
    15 Cuddlebugs
    15 Chew Toys
    15 Pooper Scoopers


In addition to asking your friends or purchasing these ingredients with Adventure Cash, you can also play a special map called the "Scientific Survey" to collect these parts. The Scientific Survey is a new Expedition found immediately after Cave of Montezuma on the list. It requires just 100 Supplies, and two each of Food, Fuel and Water to start. You'll have five days to complete it once you begin, and we'll have a complete guide for you on how to finish the expedition just as soon as we can you can find our complete guide to completing this Expedition right here.

Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.

Are you excited to see another building project added to Adventure World, especially if it gives you a chance at new animals?

Adventure World Scientific Study Expedition: Everything you need to know

While most Expeditions in Adventure World deal only with completing quests within themselves, or perhaps even over-arching storylines across multiple Expeditions, the new Scientific Study Expedition is a bit more important, as it will help you build Emily's Zoology Tent back on your Base Camp. As we've told you, Emily's Zoology Tent allows you to earn some of the animals that you'll interact with on Expeditions, but you'll need to collect ingredients for it first. Those ingredients can be earned by asking friends or completing this Scientific Survey Expedition.

To start this Expedition, you'll need 100 Supplies, along with two each of Food, Fuel and Water. You'll have five days to finish it off, so let's get started.

The Jungle Provides

    Ask friends for 12 Tough Vines
    Build 6 Vine Bridges
    Recover 6 Zoology Caches


The Tough Vines come from a general news post you'll place on your wall. You can also find some at random by whacking bushes. You'll need two vines for each bridge you'd like to construct, with the caches themselves being found at the top left-hand corner of the map.


Flower Power

    Collect 5 Pink Flower Pollen
    Collect 5 Blue Flower Pollen
    Collect 5 Orange Flower Pollen
    Use Medicine Table to Make Mixtures


Don't worry about actually collecting pollen - just picking the flowers off of the map will add them to their respective tallies. The table can be found to the right of a large blue push block, but you'll need to collect at least three flower pollen before actually using the table (that is, you'll end up using it five times).


Frontiers of Science

    Collect 9 Outpost Materials
    Use 8 Tent Sites to Build Outpost
    Use Generator to Power Outpost


The Outpost Materials come in standard wooden crates that can simply be "used" with a single click to open them. The Generator is near the Medicine Table in the quest above, right beside a Well. It requires three energy to "use" completely. Finally, the Tent Sites are right next to the Generator, represented by piles of wood on the map. You will need to use Outpost Materials to construct the tents, so you'll want to look out for those wooden crates first.

When you complete this Expedition, you will likely have gathered all of the parts necessary to complete Emily's Zoology Tent back on your Base Camp, and can begin to use the structure to gather animals from the game's various Expeditions. It's a neat new feature, but whether or not it's worth the trouble of actually building it will be up to you.

Check out the rest of our Adventure World Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of Emily's Zoology Tent and this Scientific Survey Expedition? Will you complete the tent without playing through this Expedition, or do you need all of the help you can get in earning its building materials?

Hero Academy: Battle for domination against friends and strangers alike on iOS

Robot Entertainment's Hero Academy has launched on iPhone and iPad this week, bringing with it turn-based battles against other players in a fantasy setting. This free-to-play title allows you to engage in asynchronous multiplayer against both friends and strangers alike using Facebook Connect, specific username search and more.

Each battle takes place on a grid, with color-coded crystals representing each army's health. As you place units on designated tiles on the board, you'll be able to move them into position to attack your enemy's crystal, all the while defending your own crystal from the enemy onslaught. On each turn, you'll be allowed to make five moves in total, whether those moves be placing new units onto the board, healing wounded soldiers, attacking other units and more. You can undo and redo moves as many times as you'd like on each turn, and must finally submit your choices to the server before your turn actually ends.

In each game, you'll have a limited number of troops, potions, etc. accessible to you, so if a battle goes on long enough, you can find yourself scraping the bottom of the barrel, if you will, in terms of troop quality (you'll have access to both ranged and melee fighters, as well as mages). At any one time, you'll have access to six different items in your tray, with units, potions, armor and weapons all taking up those precious slots. It then becomes a strategy-filled balancing act, as you'll have to determine exactly when to put a certain troop into battle, which troops to heal or upgrade and so on, all while keeping your five-action limit in mind.

Gallery: Hero Academy on iOS


With Twitter and Facebook integration, Hero Academy doesn't suffer from being a solely multiplayer game. Even if you don't have active friends within the game, you can also fight random strangers to practice your skills. While the game is supported with ads, you can remove these by purchasing the Dark Elf army with real cash (otherwise, you'll only have the human army available to you). Other premium options allow you to change the colors of your armies' uniforms, or purchase packs of avatars to make your individual armies stronger.

With Hero Academy, each individual battle can take quite a while once you get your bearings. Unless one player decides to abandon their crystal altogether, it can be a real fight for dominance as troops fill the board and attacks come from every direction. Still, the game is free to play, so if you're looking for another option in the strategy / turn-based combat genre on your iOS device, it's worth downloading just to try it out.

Download Hero Academy on iTunes --->

Have you tried Hero Academy or other similar strategy / combat games on iOS? How do you think the genre handles on the mobile platform?

Poll: What do you think of the new Daily Bonus in The Sims Social?

Remember when you were all freaking over the Daily Bonus in The Sims Social? Well, hopefully those days are over, since Playfish has changed the feature to update with world time, rather than individual time. It's based on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), but at least we don't have to remember the exact time we last logged in anymore. Confused? Allow Playfish to explain:

    The Daily Bonus will now reset at midnight GMT. This means that if a player logs in at roughly the same time everyday, they will now see the daily bonus popup. Previously, this may have not been the case, because you had to wait a full 24 hours from your previous login. Players will no longer have to remember when they logged in last. Logging in at a similar time each day will be fine. If a player is playing the game during the midnight GMT reset time, they may need to reload in order to receive the subsequent daily bonus.

Surely, you remember the old Daily Bonus, in which players had to log in just after the 24 hours previous in order to receive the bonus. Now that the new Daily Bonus has been around for a few days, we were curious as to what you thought of the change. So, without further delay...

How's The Sims Social's new Daily Bonus?
This is much, much better. Love it!Wait, since when did it change? I didn't notice.I don't log in daily either way, so I don't care.I still can't seem to figure it out. This stinks!
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com

Have something unique to add to the conversation?

Game of the Day: Ninja Quest Online

ninja quest online game of the day
In today's Game of the Day, you're put in a familiar situation. In Ninja Quest, it's up to you to rescue the princess who has been captured by the enemy. However, on this adventure, you aren't exactly a mustachioed, Italian plumber. Instead, you're the most ruthless killing machine in the ancient world: a ninja.

Using all sorts of devastating weapons, it's up to you to take the fight to the Bad Ninja Clan. These enemies have no fear and will show you no mercy as they try to cut you down. But failure is not an option, the princess's life is in your hands. So take up arms, and set out on your very own Ninja Quest below.

Click here to play Ninja Quest Online!
ninja quest online game of the day     ninja quest online game of the day
Did you manage to rescue the princess? What do you think of Ninja Quest?

PyramidVille Adventure buries itself into iPhone, iPad Jan. 26

Ah, trailers. The number one tool to build hype for an upcoming, well, anything. In this case, of course, it's games, and French social game developer Kobojo looks to build buzz with the launch trailer for PyramidVille Adventure. The game is set to hit both iPhone and iPad this Jan. 26, and while not much has changed since it Facebook, the developer has thrown in a few twists.

Namely, PyramidVille Adventure employs a number of mini games for players to master, which will undoubtedly serve to break up the monotony of running an Egyptian kingdom. Players will get to race ancient Egyptian boats, fend off attackers to defend an Egyptian boat as it crosses the Nile and load supplies into an Egyptian boat. We smell a theme here.

Aside from the nautical mini games, not much seems to have changed. The 'Ville-inspired play hooks are all still present, and will likely be the meat of PyramidVille Adventure. (Nearly 25 percent of the Facebook game's 730,000 monthly players play daily, so it looks like players dig it.) But for zero dollars, it's worth at least a shot when the game lands on Jan. 26. Until then, check the trailer:


Are you excited to try this game on your iPhone or iPad? How well do you think games like these translate on mobile devices?

Amazon's social games push is no joke, hiring more at A2Z studio

It's no secret that Amazon, digital retailer extraordinaire and creator of the Kindle, wants in on that social game joint. But 2012 could be the year we see the fruits of the Seattle, Wash.-based company's labor. Xconomy found that Amazon has opened a game creation division within A2Z, the company's research and development arm, in Orange County, Calif.

Next to nothing is known about Amazon's big plans for social gaming. However, it's clear that the online seller doesn't want just a platform, but to make its own social games for "Android, iPhone, Kindle, and casual market places," according to the A2Z website. In fact, A2Z just called out for a game development engineer, a level game designer and a 3D animator. But Collapse! Blast maker GameHouse's president, Matt Hulett, doubts that Amazon would try to make its own hit games.

"Remember 'Minesweeper' on Microsoft Windows? Sometimes you need a couple of reference apps that are bundled in so that people know what to do," Hulett told Xconomy. "I just seriously doubt that Amazon would try to build its own hit games." But we seriously doubt Amazon would be interested in 3D animators if it didn't intend on creating its very own social games.

There's no doubt that, when Amazon's social game efforts go public, its new Kindle Fire tablet will be central to the movement. The digital retail giant thinks big, so you can bet Amazon has its cross hairs on Zynga, EA and perhaps even Google+ and Facebook. If that's the case, expect 2012 to heat up real quick.

Would you play Amazon-made social games? Does Amazon have a shot at competing with the likes of Zynga and EA?

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Your wildest dream come true: Money Trees

Zynga is about to bust the oldest saying in the book wide open. Money Trees are headed to FarmVille. We'll repeat that, just in case you're still in shock: Farm Cash Trees are in the works for FarmVille. FarmVille Freak has found a few images, including the above loading screen image, that all but confirm the insane new feature.

This isn't an official confirmation, but how much more official can you get than a statement directly from Zynga? The loading screen promises that, with the Money Tree, you will be able to "Double your money in one year!" Whatever that means. What's known at this point is that Money Trees, complete with Mastery Signs, ripe with Farm Cash are at least being considered at Zynga HQ.

Of course, as goes with all unreleased content, any and all information in these images are subject to change. But if this feature comes to fruition, it could be the most popular feature to hit FarmVille yet. There's nothing like (hopefully) free money to reel those players back in.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Are you psyched for the possibility for Money Trees in FarmVille? How likely is it that this will actually make it to the live game?

King's Bounty: Legions trailer asks, 'Will you be a king or pawn' [Video]

We hope you'll go with the former, or this will be one terribly boring game for you. Nival, the Russian developer of the hit strategy franchise King's Bounty, has released the first trailer for King's Bounty: Legions, its Facebook adaptation of the series.

The company has started the invite-only beta test of the game through Gamesradar. Members of the video game news website will have instant access to the King's Bounty beta on Facebook, and can invite anyone they please. So, at least everyone will get a crack at the hexagonal madness eventually.

The trailer poses an important if rhetorical question to players: "Will you be a king or a pawn?" Then, it dives right into some flashy gameplay footage filled with spells, swords and spiders--you know, what you expect from a fantasy game these days. We first got a look at the game at this year's E3, but now we know a bit more about King's Bounty: Legions. Namely, it uses the Unity Player to display its arguably beautiful 3D graphics and sparkly spells, which means an extra download.


The turn-based strategy game is being developed by KranX Productions, another Russian developer. King's Bounty on Facebook is most definitely going after the hardcore crowd, which is more familiar with tools like the Unity Player and likely has more of an affinity for the franchise. Players will be able to manage their armies through a card system across the Kingdom (humans and general good guys), Chaos (orcs, beasts with several eyes, you name it), Beasts (wild animals) and The Ancients (unicorns and other mythical creatures) factions. Covering all of these factions is the class system:

    Archer - This range class offers players the chance to deal damage while keeping a safe distance from the fray.
    Defender - The best offense is a good defense, as demonstrated with their ability to withstand heavy attacks from enemies.
    Mage - Unleash magical powers to conquer foes from afar with these masters of the mystic arts.
    Support - Everybody needs somebody to watch their back and this class is the go-to back-up in battle.
    Warrior - Whether it's swinging a big sword, showing off some big fangs or just being a frontline trooper, this class will get up close and personal with foes.


The game will also have an asynchronous feature that allows players to do battle even when away, according to King's Bounty: Legions North American producer David D. Christensen. If you want an invite into the beta, you'll either have to sign up for a Gamesradar account or wait for a friend to invite you. And after watching that explosive trailer, we're sure you're patience for an invite will be tested.

Are you excited to see this seasoned strategy franchise come to Facebook? How do you think the Facebook game audience will receive the game?

Nintendo president apologizes for 'unprecedented' 3DS price drop

Isn't cutting your own salary in half enough? Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has issued a public apology to early adopters of the brand new 3DS handheld console. Giant Bomb has translated Iwata's public apology letter, which was issued on the company's Japanese website recently.

The letter is expectantly formal, but terribly honest. "... never before has Nintendo chosen to issue such a dramatic price drop less than 6 months after a system release," Iwata wrote. "This unprecedented timing for a price cut is because the situation has changed greatly since we originally launched the 3DS."

That situation Iwata refers to is that the 3DS has not sold to Nintendo's expectations, and after the company's drastic reduction in its annual earnings forecast, it was time to try something equally as drastic. You know, like cut nearly a third off of its original $250 asking price to $170? (This is effective Aug. 12.)

"If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the Nintendo 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad (user) base, it will be impossible for the 3DS to gain popularity, acquire a wide range of software, and eventually create the product cycle necessary for everyone to be satisfied with the system," Iwata admitted. He then went on to remind fans of the 20 free games the company will offer early adopters as consolation.

This letter comes after Iwata addressed investors with the news that he will take a 50 percent cut to his salary as a result of the poor 3DS launch, and other Nintendo executives will take less severe pay cuts. However, the Nintendo president mentions in the letter that there's nothing the company can do to completely make up for cheated feeling many fans might be experiencing. And while that's true, it might take more than just free games to make players feel like their purchase was worthwhile.

Nintendo announced recently that the 3DS and upcoming Wii U will embrace digital item transactions. It's the first step of many that the company should make if it wants to compete with consoles and mobile devices whose game offerings become more and more "connected." After witnessing the 3DS stumble out of the gate, we can't to see how Nintendo debuts the Wii U next year.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Do you think a public apology was enough from Iwata? Do you think the 3DS can save some face with this price cut?

You're gonna' get a free mobile social game, Charlie Brown!

Perhaps Charlie Brown isn't hopeless after all. Snoopy and the gang are going social, thanks to a partnership between Capcom and Peanuts Worldwide. More specifically, Capcom's new mobile division, Beeline Interactive, will develop a new "freemium" game for smartphones and tablets. However, all we know about the game at this point is that it's slated for a fall release and will include Peanuts staples like Charlie Brown, Lucy and, of course, Snoopy.

This move comes hot off the heels of the (perhaps too) wild success of Smurfs Village for iOS devices and Zombie Cafe, both developed by Capcom. Now, the Japanese developer will hand off the duties to Beeline as it pursues its ... manlier franchises like Street Fighter and Resident Evil. According to Pocket Gamer, Beeline plans to release three other mobile games in around the same time frame: Smurfs' Grabber, Dream Park and Monster Pet Shop.

However, it's also important to note that Iconix Brand Group, which now owns the Peanuts brand, is taking the iconic cartoons-turned-traditional holiday specials way farther than just mobile social games. The Peanuts theme park rides are now featured in Amazement Park, a Facebook game created by Cedar Fair Amusement Parks, owner of 11 theme parks nationwide. Certainly more Facebook adventures for Snoopy aren't out the realm of possibility. All we hope is that they involve at least one epic battle between Snoopy and The Red Baron--at least one.

Are you excited for a Snoopy mobile social game by Capcom? How do you hope Beeline will handle the Peanuts in their very own mobile game?

Play CityVille, Army Attack on your iPad with GameBox for Facebook

That is, of course, if you're willing to let go of three bucks. For $2.99, GameBox for Facebook--which, to dispel any confusion, is the name of the iPad app--will allow CityVille and Army Attack players to get their city building (and destroying) fix on the go.

What the app does is take Flash-based games (i.e. almost every Facebook game ever), which Apple devices cannot support, and makes them available for play on the iPad. However, there are several caveats to GameBox.

First of all, CityVille already exists on the iPad, though in a version far different from what's available on Facebook. Second, the app already has a competitor in iSwifter for iPad and Android, which offers a stable of games from not just Facebook, but several other Flash game portals like Kongregate (and the games we host on Games.com). Though, the app is a bit pricier at $4.99.

GameBox for iPad
Of course, GameBox developer Mobi2SNS plans to make more games available through the app in the future, according to Mobile Entertainment. Regardless of how many games either app makes available, there are two issues that face them. For one, getting players to pay to play games on their iPad that they've never paid to play before will be a challenge. More importantly, Facebook's rumored Project Spartan--an initiative to bring the platform along with several apps and games (including Zynga games) to mobile browsers through HTML5--could render both GameBox and iSwifter moot.

Click here to download GameBox for Facebook ... for iPad Now >

[Image Credit: Mobi2SNS, iTunes]

Would you ever pay real cash to play your favorite social games on your mobile device? How do you think Facebook's Project Spartan will affect these apps?

Ragnarok Online creator's new Facebook game is your Eternal Destiny

Well, it looks like you have no choice but to play it. Gravity Interactive, creator of the mega hit MMO (massively mutliplayer online game) Ragnarok Online, will bring Eternal Destiny to Facebook this Aug. 11. The game, which looks terribly similar to the Calif.-based developer's flagship game, throws players into an epic battle to restore the realms' connections that the God of Chaos has shattered. (It's almost as if these storylines are ad-libbed, no?)

The game, which looks to be inspired by Chinese folklore and themes, tasks players with slaying monsters, grabbing loot and aiding hapless citizens of various cities. In that regard, it's not a far cry from what you've come to expect from an RPG (role-playing game). Once players reach Level 30 in this 3D fantasy land, they can choose their favorite realm and fight in the name of said realm in player vs player battles. Of course, it helps to be in a guild of fellow adventurers, which players can join or create.

Eternal Destiny Facebook
Players will connect to WarpPortal, which hosts Gravity Interactive's games, through Facebook. However, no particularly social features have been mentioned by Gravity Interactive, which has us slightly worried whether Eternal Destiny will take advantage of the platform. Regardless, if you've been hankering for a new, free world to romp around in and fight baddies, Eternal Destiny sounds like a promising start based on the Ragnarok pedigree alone.

[Image Credit: Gravity Interactive]

Are you excited for another full-blown RPG to come to Facebook? How do you think or hope the game will take advantage of Facebook's social features?