We're introducing a pre-new year discount: you can get 20% off the games if you buy them before the 1st of 2008. Buy now or you'll be late. We wish you have really great holidays!

Chicken Chase
So one of my favorite new games is Chicken Chase. I honestly didn't think I would like it at first, but after I downloaded Chicken Chase and actually tried it out I really enjoyed myself.

It reminds me of nsaniquarium, which isn't a bad thing. You spend a lot of time frantically clicking on things. In fact, the only thing I don't like about the Chicken Chase game is that my mouse finger really starts to hurt after awhile. I'm serious, it does. Maybe I should learn to use the mouse with my left hand.

I don't think it's available many places yet, but I found a copy of Chicken Chase game to buy here. Enjoy! I sure did.
Chicken Chase are a great gift for your friends.


Peggle Deluxe

Peggle is a sweet new game by PopCap. They haven't had too many game releases in awhile, but I get a sense that this year is going to be big for them. As a game Peggle is all about chaos. It's basically pachinko--you fire balls and they bounce to the bottom. It's really fun to watch, though, and even more fun to play. You can download Peggle game over at YourGamesWorld.

I played all the way through the game--after you beat the Adventure mode you can unlock a bunch of "Master" challenges. They seemed kind of boring, but if you just can't enough Peggle game action then it's probably a good idea. Me, I just started up a new profile and played through Adventure mode again. Whee!

Buy Peggle Deluxe

Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile
Sorry I haven't written in awhile, gentle readers! The weather has improved, so I've been out and about tending my garden and things. We need more gardening games! I'd love to see a gardening game that was a little more accurate in simulating a real experience.

Anyway, speaking of games: Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile is out! A game set in the tone of Lady Mallowan herself! I'm pretty sure she didn't work on the game, herself, considering she died in 1976, but for fans of her murder, crime, and mystery writing this is a must-play game. It's a hidden object game, which makes perfect sense for the mystery genre, but it's loaded with mini-games to keep things fresh. Personally I'm glad to see this--I think hidden object games get a little tiresome unless there's something else to do to break up the pacing. One can only stare at a screen for so many hours trying to find that darned fish before the mind wanders.

So make sure you check this out! I'm hoping that the popularity of Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile will spur others to actually go out and read her books. I know that sounds a little absurd--books? In the age of computers? But people forget how compelling a good book can be! Of course, a good game is awfully fun too!

Buy Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile are a great gift for your friends.


Big City Adventure: San Francisco
Hello gentle readers! It's been awhile since I've written here. I've been busy trying to enjoy the mild weather before the crushing heat of summer is upon us. One thing I like to do this time of year is travel! And Big City Adventure: San Francisco is all about travel! It's a great hidden object game set in the city of San Francisco. Each screen is a different famous tourist location, which is such a great concept.

It's pretty obvious that they'll be making more of these Big City Adventures with different famous cities as the theme. San Francisco is a good start, but it's pretty accessible to anyone who lives in the states. I've been there dozens of times myself. How about Big City Adventure: Rome? Or Paris? Something a little more fantastic.

Still, Big City Adventure: San Francisco is a fantastic game and I highly recommend the download.

Buy Big City Adventure: San Francisco
Big City Adventure: San Francisco are a great gift for your friends.

Nanny Mania Game
I've always wondered what it would be like to be a nanny. Now, thanks for the new game Nanny Mania, I can find out! If being a real Nanny is anything like playing the game Nanny, count me out. This family is a real slob! The husband makes a mess of his dresser each and every time he goes out to play golf. I mean, sure, I guess they're paying you as a nanny, but boy--talk about manners!

Also, I think somebody needs to introduce this family to birth control. I played for a bit and they just kept popping out children. I can clearly see how many "family" slots there are on the starting screen, too. The Nanny Mania game better end with a kind old grandparent moving in, or I'll be in real trouble. I don't think I'll be able to manage three or four children. I can't decide if this game is trying to appeal to would-be Nannies or people who want a Nanny. Either way, it's a lot of fun!

Buy Nanny Mania
Nanny Mania are a great gift for your friends.

Azada Game
The new game by Big Fish Studios Europe is out: Azada. Their European studio used to be known as FunPause before they got bought by BFG. It's easy to see why they bought them, too--they produce some fantastic games. The new Azada game is a brilliant adventure game with puzzle elements. It has dozens of different puzzles, and some great adventure layered on top to keep the player interested.

It looks a bit like Dream Chronicles. You walk around in gorgeous environments, interacting with various objects. It differs in that many of the interactions are with puzzles, including some classic pen-and-paper style puzzles. Azada looks like a great game!

Buy Azada
Azada are a great gift for your friends.

Miss Management
The designers behind Diner Dash just launched their new "time management" game, Miss Management. The core premise is much the same--instead of serving tables, now you're managing an office of modern workers. And by "modern" I guess they mean "young". These kids look lazy!

GameLab is based in New York, and I'm sure their offices look awfully trendy. But most of America slaves away in faceless cubicles. Maybe that's why Miss Management is so appealing--the open floor plan, hip clothing, and stylish decor make it seem like a fun place to work. And work should be fun, and the Buy Miss Management game seems to keep this is mind. Bravo!
Miss Management are a great gift for your friends.


Plant Tycoon Game
Last Day of Work is back with another sure-fire simulation hit: Plant Tycoon! They've taken their real-time gameplay from and combined it with a gardening aesthetic. In this case, "real-time" means that the game clock is synchronized with the real-world clock. First, the obvious--if you play for 10 minutes, 10 minutes will pass the game. But, if you don't play for 24 hours, the time will still pass in the game. Make sure you play often enough to keep your plants fed!

Artificial life was a big thing industry-wide in the 90s. Interesting, it seems as if the game industry has moved away from pursuing more academic concepts and fallen into a rut with just a few genres. It's good to see that games like Plant Tycoon can be produced by imaginative, innovative indies like . Try it out!

Plant Tycoon Info
Plant Tycoon are a great gift for your friends.


Build-a-lot Game
Here's a timely game, considering all of the buzz around the real estate and flipping house. Build-a-lot is a great-looking Realtor game. You buy cheap houses, fix them up a bit, and try to play off changes in the market for your own profitability. Sound familiar?

I'm not sure yet if Build-a-lot incorporates bankruptcy-inducing real estate bubbles caused by years of government mismanagement. Maybe that feature didn't quite make it into 1.0 ;) Still, it looks like a fantastic game for people who like tycoon-style simulations. Give it a try!

Build-a-lot Game
Build-a-lot are a great gift for your friends.


Forgotten Riddles
Here's a game that introduces some innovation in the hidden object genre. Forgotten Riddles is essentially a seek and find game, but instead of telling you the objects to find it gives you a riddle. For instance:

I appear in the sky when through mist does light bend; a colorful arc with gold stashed at its end.

So not only do you have the solve the riddle, you need to look for that item in classic hidden object style. Sounds like quite the challenge! Personally I find even basic games in the genre to be amazingly difficult. I can't think of any other game type where I've spent 20 minutes trying to find an umbrella. If that's your thing, then give Forgotten Riddles: The Mayan Princess a try!

Buy Forgotten Riddles Game
Forgotten Riddles are a great gift for your friends.


Hidden Relics Game
Hidden object games just keep coming and coming. And, almost scarily, they keep getting better too. I can't imagine how many hours of development time it takes to crank out art like this. Hidden Relics is a gorgeous entry into the genre, based around a plot of recovering stolen antiques throughout Europe.

It features a lot of museum scenes, complete with dinosaurs and statues and relics from the ancient world. The plot is simple: Adrianna, a brilliant student, has been tapped to help recover mysteriously stolen artifacts. She travels around, finding artifacts and clues hidden amongst objects from the past, until she discovers the thief. But who is it?

Hidden Relics Game
Hidden Relics are a great gift for your friends.


Little Shop of Treasures 2 Game
The parade of sequels for hidden object games continues with Little Shop of Treasures 2. At this point it seems like a fair bet that any successful seek and find will see a sequel sometime in the next 12 months. Player just can't get enough!

This sequel continues with the same theme as the first game. Help various shopkeepers in town find their valuables amongst their messy, garage sale-style shops. If you can find all of the hidden objects and sell them, you'll be able to save the shops from going out of business. Great graphics and cleverly hidden objects make Little Shop of Treasures 2 a good time for any fans of the genre.

Byu Little Shop of Treasures 2
Little Shop of Treasures 2 are a great gift for your friends.

Flat-out freaking awesome! There are few Indie games that I can honestly
preview and say: "You should be waiting with credit card in hand for the moment
that this game is released," but this is one of those games. If you've
played Kudos and
Democracy you have some idea of what the sim games from
Positech are like. However, nothing will prepare you for just how fun
Kudos: Rock Legend is. For anyone wanting to feel the thrill of trying to
create your own rock-band and rise from garage great to stadium filling
sensation, Rock Legend is a game you won't want to miss.



Now, before we get too carried away, let's not say that the game is perfect.
The game build that we played is not complete and there are some things that
aren't quite finished. For example,
Positechis working on adding music
from Indie bands as the background music of the game. Also, some of the
game play could use some tweaking. I found myself wanting to move forward
at a much faster rate than the game seemed to allow me to go. Band mates
who seem to suddenly lose interest and quit the band are another example of
something that didn't feel quite right, but I'm sure over time, as has been done
with both Kudos and Democracy, all of the little kinks will be worked out.



So let's get back to the good. I think just about everyone at some point has
dreamed of being in a band. Doing auditions for each part, getting the
group together to practice and working your way up through ever larger
gigs seems like it would be really cool.




Rock
Legend takes you through each of the different aspects of putting a band
together, giving you control each step of the way and making things interesting
while doing it. For example, when you go to practice with your band, the game
plays a series of notes and then has you repeat the musical phrase back.
While it is perhaps really just a simple game of Simon says, it makes practicing
feel more like you are learning how to play music instead of a simple
button-clicking exercise.



Song-writing also employs the hands-on technique as players take musical phrases
and put them together on the sheet, matching notes at the beginning and ending
of each phrase to maximize the new song's quality. While you won't really
get to hear your newly created masterpiece, it adds tremendously to the feel of
the game to be able to arrange the music for the song yourself.




One
of the keys to a great Sim game is having a lot of depth in the options and Rock
Legend certainly delivers. While the game seems fairly simple as you
begin, you will soon find out that you have a lot more to keep track of than you
first thought. Keeping the band's music repertoire fresh and the T-shirts
in stock are complimented by maintaining balance in the group as you record CDs,
decide who gets the new instrument (or cow bell) and plan out your gig schedule.





As all the stresses of daily band-life carry on, players must also keep an eye
on the meters that show each band member's motivation and energy. Life
takes balance, even in a Rock Band.



If you play your cards right you'll be getting the adoration of millions and
playing sold-out stadiums with everyone clamoring for more. Rock Legend is
shaping up as one of the best games of the year, and is a game you should
certainly start saving your money for, it'll be worth the price of admission.</p>
Play Kudos Rock Legend Game

Paradise Pet Salon Game

I caught wind of a great new caretaking/diner game: Paradise Pet Salon. If you liked games like Carrie the Caretaker or Daycare Nightmare you'll be sure to enjoy this one. It's a spa of delight for delightful pets! There really are pet spas in the world, too. I find it somewhat sad that there are dogs in the world that get better treatment than I do. Well, perhaps jealous is the better word.

Paradise Pet Salon isn't quite out in wide distribution yet, but you can register your email at the link below to get notified as soon as it's available. I'm looking forward to this one!

Paradise Pet Salon Info

The site is on reconstruction now. If you have any suggestions you can write them here. When new games will come in, we will add them as soon as pissible.

Plant Tycoon is a gardening sim where you nurture your plants, within a budget, and make them grow and increase in value. You start with a couple of dollars, a handful of seeds, some soil and water. Grow plants, organize and harvest seeds. Monitor the plants health, age and maturity and be careful of dehydration and infestations. Sell some of your creations to fund your research and to buy better supplies to use in your Nursery. Discover the 4 magic plants and GET RICH!

* REAL-TIME! Keeps going even when your PC is off!
* New surprises every time you turn on your computer!
* Genetic Puzzle: discover which breeding combinations will create the 6 Magic Plants!
* Strategy- Adventure- Puzzle all combined in one unique game!
* Tycoon Game: test your business skills and aquarium skills at the same time (multiple approaches to solving the game)

Sick of all those 3-in-a-row clones? Restaurant management sims? Seek-and-find mystery games?

You're not alone.

Thankfully, there are fresh new games like Azada to keep the casual game genre from imploding.

In this adventure game, you awaken in a locked room to find a trapped spirit, Titus, who was magically imprisoned by his great uncle. By solving series of mind-bending puzzles you can break this spell and uncover the secret written in the missing pages of an enchanted book. The start of this game feels a bit like the classic point-and-click adventure, Myst, but in Azada the puzzles are all contained within the same room you find them (rather than walking around a larger world -- and time traveling, too).

Like a dangling carrot, more of the story is revealed as you work your way through five increasingly challenging stages (Chapters), each with eight levels (Pages) or so.

The puzzles vary greatly from location to location, but here are some examples:

You'll be asked to find four items in an environment -- such as tape, flashlight, batteries and a hammer - so you must begin to open drawers and cupboards to find the items, or use the ones you already found to locate the rest. For example, you could use the flashlight to hunt in the dark for the hammer, and then use the hammer to break open a vase, which has a key inside to open a locked drawer, which has the batteries in it. The batteries can then be used inside the TV remote but until you open up the floorboard and use the tape to fix the wires, the television can't be turned on. Turn on the TV and you'll be rewarded with a page towards the book. These types of puzzles are the most common in this game.

Sliding tile puzzles and jigsaw puzzles, where you need to manipulate the shapes - and sometimes by rotating them - to complete a picture, giving you a new page to the book. In a Car Jam-like game, you have to move pieces in a grid horizontally or vertically so that the main piece can exit the grid.
A Mastermind-like game of logic by matching color patterns (deducing which color is in what order), and a Simon-like game, where you must mimic colors shown in a mirror by pressing the colored buttons in the correct sequence.
Concentration-like games that challenge you to remember what's behind overturned tiles, and a matching game where you must find and match two identical butterflies from a screen full of them. A 3-in-a-row game has you clicking on adjoined tile pieces of the same color to remove them from the board.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, we've seen many of these types of puzzles before, but they're all nicely tied to the story and players will love collecting every new piece of paper, which brings them closer to the next chapter in the book. The graphics are quite beautiful and atmoshperic, and the music and sound effects also fit nicely into this mystical mystery.

For the savvy player, hidden clues on the screen will unlock additional levels, while more novice players can opt for a hint when stuck. Speaking of which, I got stumped in Chapter 2 with a colored runes puzzle, which drove me crazy, so I had to request the help.

One nice thing about the game is you can play any completed puzzle whenever you like, and in some cases may be a bit different which adds to the game's replayability. For example, one puzzle has you filling in a silhouette with wooden pieces, which you must rotate to fit, and when I returned later to play it again it was a different silhouette shape altogether.

While I drew some analogies between Azada and Myst, be aware this isn't really an adventure game, per se - it's more of a collection of puzzle games tied together by a story. Most adventure games let the player roam around an environment talk with characters, store items in their inventory and solve puzzles to advance through the game.
Also, while it doesn't bother me, some gamers may prefer just one type of game-play - such as Sudoku, Breakout-style games or 3-in-a-row puzzlers, as examples -- rather than a smorgasbord of game types, so those who fall in the former camp may not like the variety offered in Azada.

Azada is one of those games you need to discover for yourself, instead of a Gamezebo writer spoiling it all for you. If you've a fan of puzzle games or want a casual game with a story, you'll no doubt have fun with this clever and refreshingly unique mystery.




Download this Game

Undoubtedly, in the world of hidden-object games, the Travelogue 360 series stands out by nature of its more immersive, 360-degree interface featuring a patent-pending mechanic that employs photos of historical locales to create a more authentic environment. In essence, it places you at the center of the experience.

Where did it start? First came Travelogue 360: Paris, a panoramic object hunt for baguettes and baggage in the City of Love. The second installment, Travelogue 360: Rome - The Curse of the Necklace, transports players to exciting landmarks that only Rome has to offer.

Truly, the Travelogue 360 games need to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Their high-resolution, 360-degree environments and photorealistic imagery make for a unique seek-and-find encounter. While every other game in the genre presents a single, screen-size snapshot on its world, Travelogue 360 ups the ante by allowing you to view each location in its entirety - up, down, left and right. Plus, you can even zoom in for a closer look.

Travelogue 360: Rome, set during the nineteenth century, centers on a long-fabled noble family who disappeared over 200 years ago, their destiny drastically altered by a diamond necklace possessing mystic powers. The mystery leads you from one historic landmark to another as you travel from the Coliseum to St. Peter's Square to an Etruscan village and other destinations collecting clues en route via letters, postcards, newspaper clippings and photos.

Two modes of play greet the would-be adventurer, Explorer and Tourist. In Explorer Mode, you race the clock across more than two dozen Roman locales, while Tourist offers the same excursion at a relaxed, timer-free pace. However, most players will find the clock less than menacing in the former mode, easily completing each location with time to spare.

The Travelogue, a scrapbook of sorts, is your source of information and clues - a repository for the letters, cards, clippings and pictures you acquire. This includes Fun Facts, too, interesting bits about each landmark. The Travelogue is also your means of returning to landmarks you've already visited and replaying mini-games previously encountered (described below). Upon completion of the game, it provides the full text of the mystery.

Your ticket to navigation, though, is the City Map. Click any active location and you'll be whisked there immediately. Employing a chapter mechanism, several locales are available at any given time and the goal for each is identical - collect the items on a Word List. Unique to the Travelogue 360 games, however, as you peruse the environment, names of objects on the list highlight when they become visible in the current view.

As for changing perspective, it's accomplished via a 360-degree compass, by using on-screen arrows or with the keyboard's arrow keys. Zooming is handled with an on-screen slider or scroll wheel (if your mouse is so equipped). Most objects are of the generic variety - household items, produce, toys, animals and other everyday things. However, each scene includes a special Collectable, too, one that can be traded for clues at the Old Emporium.

Once you've collected all objects in a chapter, you're presented with a mini game. These include Spot the Differences, Jigsaw, Word Search, Scopa and Camera Bag. In Spot the Differences, two scenes are presented side-by-side with subtle differences you must identify. Jigsaw is exactly what the name implies, a puzzle to be assembled. Word Search challenges your ability to locate words that match items pictured. Scopa is a traditional Italian card game of matching values (a tutorial is provided). And, finally, Camera Bag is a Pack-Your-Suitcase style game where you match items with their silhouettes.

From a design standpoint, Travelogue 360: Rome offers great visuals, wonderful music and a solid hidden-object implementation. Each location is expertly rendered with a collection of items that look much less "out of place" than other genre favorites. Indeed, they appear more a part of the environment than pasted images. The artists and developers deserve a hearty round of applause for a job well done.

Honestly, finding nits to pick is a tough job, but a few exist. Longer Word Lists wrap. So, you have to scroll to see all the objects listed. Displaying the whole list at once makes more sense, especially given the game's highlighting system. Moreover, you can't increase the challenge of finding objects by disabling highlights. As such, veteran hidden-object fans will breeze through the game much too quickly (you can easily see Rome in a day...or less). Last, the Word Search mini game is a bit enigmatic. It's sometimes difficult to know what word to look for based on an object alone (is it a statue, sculpture or torso?).

Still, Travelogue 360: Rome - The Curse of the Necklace is a sumptuous feast for genre aficionados. Say, "Hello, Rome!" and "Arrivederci, $20!" It's an enjoyable romp and travel well booked.



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Ricochet Infinity Overview

Ricochet around the Galaxy in this dynamically brilliant breakout action game! Trek across 215 awesome levels, with thousands more online, earning new ranks in the Galactic Tournament, by yourself or with a friend. Play the re-energized Ring Game, winning new balls and ships with unique specialties to give you the edge! Control your ball with the wildly innovative Recall feature...once you’ve tried it, you can’t go back! Travel to the stars and beyond in your glorious quest to become the Ringmaster Grand Champion!


Ricochet Infinity Features

* Bust Your Way Across The Galaxy!
* Over 200 Levels Of Sheer Excitement!
* 10 Unique Environments To Explore!
* Unlock New Ships, Balls and Ranks!
* Awesome Multiplayer Mouse-Party Modes!
* Download Thousands Of Levels Online!
* Re-energized Ring Game And Trophies To Earn!
* Innovative Recall Feature Makes YOU The Master!
* 14 Planets To Test Your Reflexes Against!
* Travel To The Stars…And Beyond!