Knight's Story, developed by Anute, tells two stories at once. First, it's a story of a knight who inherits a castle estate and explores the land he rules. Second, this is a retelling of the classic yarn, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Playing this brand new social game for even a few minutes will reveal that it has been heavily influenced by games like Zynga's Treasure Isle. In Knight's Story, the first Facebook game I've ever seen created using Microsoft's Silverlight (a Flash competitor), players explore various tracks of land through a grid system in which each tile explored costs a point of Energy. Sound familiar?
The similarities don't stop there, though Anute does attempt to expand on this tried and true game style. Upon logging into the game, players can customize their knight and its mighty steed with a variety of options. But it isn't until you receive your deed to the castle estate that Knight's Story begins to brag a little. The only way to complete the deed is to sign it--literally. You must use your mouse to click and drag the feather pen as if you were truly writing your signature. It's certainly nothing new when it comes to what's capable in Flash or Silverlight, but it's possibly a first in social games. Regardless, it's entertaining touches like these that almost set Knight's Story apart from the rest of the treasure-discovery games on Facebook.
Gallery: Knight's Story
Unfortunately, the defining characteristics essentially stop there. The game drudges along, employing tactics and interactions we've already seen before, and not done in a way that is particularly engaging. While you will come across new characters along the way, it seems that their purpose doesn't go beyond a short quest such as, "Kill this boar for me, please?"
Speaking of which, the combat in Knight's Story is almost insultingly simplistic. Of course, conflicts with wildlife are settled through turn-based battles in which you have three options: Strike, Bribe and Run Away. The fact that you can already imagine how battles pan out doesn't exactly spell excitement, does it? (Bribery uses coins to convince a monster to leave, by the way.) You can imagine even the most casual of gamers being bored by pressing the sword icon repeatedly.
Knight's Story combat
At least exploration in Knight's Story has a purpose: to build your castle town into a vast kingdom. The materials you find on your travels (and receive from your friends as gifts) are used to complete the buildings you create. These buildings provide you with coins and other tools daily to help you in your travels, creating a balance of nature hikes and home improvement. Unfortunately, there isn't anything terribly exciting about building your kingdom, which will likely lead you to explore more than build.
Knight's Story doesn't do much to distance itself from games like Treasure Isle aside from its theme, but some of those differentiations are glowing. Take the music, for instance. While it does play on a loop like all social games, the tune to this game sounds fuller and better produced than most Facebook games, something we should see more of across the board. For those who adored Treasure Isle and are looking for something new, this is your bread and butter. But if you're seeking a new experience on Facebook (like myself), you likely won't find it traversing tiles and slaying inanimate boars.
Click here to try Knight's Story on Facebook Now>
Have you played Knight's Story yet? What do you think of Anute's approach to the treasure-hunting genre of Facebook games?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
FrontierVille Bess vs. Fanny Contest: It's decision-makin' time
It's been a month since the heated battle began between FrontierVille's Fanny Wildcat and Bess. Pioneers everywhere submitted their creative cases for either Fanny or Bess, and the Zynga community team has chosen their favorite submissions. The prize? The queendom over homesteads everywhere.
Really though, the winners receive a varying amount of Horseshoes and a FrontierVille t-shirt. And now the time has finally come to decide a finalist. Zynga has posted this survey on the FrontierVille fan page and it's up to you and your fellow pioneers to decide which is best.
Each of the 10 selections has a direct link to the submission itself, in case you forgot so soon. You're able to choose your three most beloved pieces of art or prose defending either Fanny or Bess. It's unknown how much time you have to participate, so you better do it quick if you want your favorite female to (and to make some pioneers very happy.)
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Who do you think should win the contest? Would you decide on the quality of the art, the sway of the submission or both?
Really though, the winners receive a varying amount of Horseshoes and a FrontierVille t-shirt. And now the time has finally come to decide a finalist. Zynga has posted this survey on the FrontierVille fan page and it's up to you and your fellow pioneers to decide which is best.
Each of the 10 selections has a direct link to the submission itself, in case you forgot so soon. You're able to choose your three most beloved pieces of art or prose defending either Fanny or Bess. It's unknown how much time you have to participate, so you better do it quick if you want your favorite female to (and to make some pioneers very happy.)
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Who do you think should win the contest? Would you decide on the quality of the art, the sway of the submission or both?
Mafia Wars: Catch up with triple mastery in Las Vegas and double loot from Fights
If you've fallen out of favor with Mafia Wars, and you aren't one of the "naughty" players that Zynga kicked from the game today, you'll be happy to know that Zynga wants you to catch up to your friends, or even pull ahead if you're a high-level player. They're allowing you to accomplish this over the next two days by offering two bonuses throughout the game. First, if you're a fan of the game's fighting mechanic, you'll earn double the loot from fights throughout this entire weekend.
The big news here though is the fact that until sometime next week (six days from now, to be exact), you'll be able to earn triple - yes, I said triple - the mastery points for completing a single mission in the Las Vegas portion of the game. Whether you've yet to step foot inside this virtual version of Sin City, or if you're just trying to finish off your last few missions, this triple mastery will have you doing so three times faster, meaning that you'll save tons of energy in the process! Who can argue with that?!
Have you already finished everything there is to accomplish in Mafia Wars: Las Vegas, or have you been waiting for such an event to catch up to your friends?
The big news here though is the fact that until sometime next week (six days from now, to be exact), you'll be able to earn triple - yes, I said triple - the mastery points for completing a single mission in the Las Vegas portion of the game. Whether you've yet to step foot inside this virtual version of Sin City, or if you're just trying to finish off your last few missions, this triple mastery will have you doing so three times faster, meaning that you'll save tons of energy in the process! Who can argue with that?!
Have you already finished everything there is to accomplish in Mafia Wars: Las Vegas, or have you been waiting for such an event to catch up to your friends?
FrontierVille Pee Collection: Don't eat the yellow snow
With the addition of a whole pack of puppies in FrontierVille, your land might start to become a bit cluttered with the... uh... wastes of those puppies. It seems Zynga is looking to celebrate this, however, rather than shun it, as they have quietly released the Pee Collection into the game.
This rather disgusting collection is full of five items that can be earned at random each time one of your puppies or dogs "makes wee-wee" on your land. In other words, you'll need to hurriedly finish the Pet Shop, and the accompanying Pet Shop goals to earn the right to have puppies on your land and then watch where you step! Here's what to keep an eye out for:
Yellow Snow
Damp Tree Trunk
Damp Bush
Damp Mailbox
Damp Leg
If we were still close enough to April Fool's Day, I would think that Zynga was playing a joke on us with this collection, but it seems entirely legit. For finding all five items, you'll earn a Yellow Snow Sign (a decoration made available at first last winter) and 50 XP. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go clean up after my puppies before their "business" stinks up the joint.
This rather disgusting collection is full of five items that can be earned at random each time one of your puppies or dogs "makes wee-wee" on your land. In other words, you'll need to hurriedly finish the Pet Shop, and the accompanying Pet Shop goals to earn the right to have puppies on your land and then watch where you step! Here's what to keep an eye out for:
Yellow Snow
Damp Tree Trunk
Damp Bush
Damp Mailbox
Damp Leg
If we were still close enough to April Fool's Day, I would think that Zynga was playing a joke on us with this collection, but it seems entirely legit. For finding all five items, you'll earn a Yellow Snow Sign (a decoration made available at first last winter) and 50 XP. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go clean up after my puppies before their "business" stinks up the joint.
Zynga launches Bingo on RewardVille: Play games for extra zPoints
While accepting my RewardVille gifts from Facebook just moments ago, I came across the RewardVille home page, where an interesting new development has launched in the form of RewardVille Bingo. When logging in, you'll see a miniaturized Bingo card of sorts at the top of the screen, where some of the participating Zynga games have been given their own squares. The point is to play a certain set of games within a 24 hour period to create a three-in-a-row pattern on your board, with the default RewardVille square acting as your "free space."
In the image above, I would need to play games like CityVille and Zynga Poker to create a vertical line, or play PetVille and FarmVille for a horizontal line. I suppose in that way, the game really resembles tic-tac-toe, rather than Bingo, but I digress. Once you earn a three-in-a-row line, you'll be rewarded with free zPoints. The first day, you'll earn 30 zPoints, the second day 40 and so on, until the end of the counter. Playing all five days in a row grants you a "Super Bingo Bonus" of 100 zPoints, making playing all of those days in a row definitely worth it.
To be clear, you won't have to login to RewardVille each time you play a new game, and for most players, you won't even need to try and complete a line on your card, as you might play enough games on your own to finish it automatically. In those cases, you can simply go about your business each day, and then add one last step of logging into RewardVille before signing off for the night. Your board updates with everything you've done that day and voila! Free zPoints are likely coming your way.
We'll make sure to keep an eye on this Bingo system, to ensure that other (non zPoint) prizes aren't added in the future.
In the image above, I would need to play games like CityVille and Zynga Poker to create a vertical line, or play PetVille and FarmVille for a horizontal line. I suppose in that way, the game really resembles tic-tac-toe, rather than Bingo, but I digress. Once you earn a three-in-a-row line, you'll be rewarded with free zPoints. The first day, you'll earn 30 zPoints, the second day 40 and so on, until the end of the counter. Playing all five days in a row grants you a "Super Bingo Bonus" of 100 zPoints, making playing all of those days in a row definitely worth it.
To be clear, you won't have to login to RewardVille each time you play a new game, and for most players, you won't even need to try and complete a line on your card, as you might play enough games on your own to finish it automatically. In those cases, you can simply go about your business each day, and then add one last step of logging into RewardVille before signing off for the night. Your board updates with everything you've done that day and voila! Free zPoints are likely coming your way.
We'll make sure to keep an eye on this Bingo system, to ensure that other (non zPoint) prizes aren't added in the future.
FarmVille: Crafting of Love Potions, Wooden Boards, Nails, and Bricks is here
Just today, we told you that there would soon be a way to craft Love Potions in FarmVille, allowing users to have more control over their Sheep and Pig Breeding. Apparently "soon" meant "this evening," as we've seen the release of not only a new Love Potion crafting recipe to the game, but also recipes that will let you craft Wooden Boards, Nails, and Bricks out of Bushels.
Sure, the idea of receiving wooden, or even metal items from crops is a bit outlandish, but if this is the only way Zynga could get it done, then we'll let go of reality. For the Potions, all users will be able to craft them inside the Pub in the English Countryside. A single Potion requires four Field Beans Bushels, 3 Pink Asters Bushels, and 5 English Peas Bushels. That's a heck of a lot of planting and farming for a single Love Potion, but I suppose if you're desperate to breed as many Sheep or Pigs as you can, it's something we'll have to accept.
As for the Wooden Board, Nail, and Brick recipes, these three are split between the three different kinds of general crafting buildings. That is, each type of building only has access to one recipe, so you'll only be able to craft one of the three items unless you shell out the Farm Cash to buy the other crafting buildings as well. The Spa, for instance, has access to crafting the Wooden Board, as you can see below. The Wooden Board takes four Morning Glory Bushels, five Lilac Bushels and three Sunflower Bushels.
If you have a Bakery, you'll be able to create Bricks, which require five Coffee Bushels, three Pepper Bushels, and four Ginger Bushels.
Finally, while we don't have an image of the Nail being crafted inside the Winery, we can tell you that it requires five White Grape Bushels, four Rice Bushels and three Grapes Bushels. We're working on bringing you an image of that recipe as soon as we can, but in the meantime, you can also spend your time stocking up on Love Potions, if you plan on breeding Sheep or Pigs in the near future.
What do you think of these interesting crafting recipes? Sure, it's great to be able to have access to these items, but does the fact that they're made out of crop Bushels bother you? What would you rather use instead?
Sure, the idea of receiving wooden, or even metal items from crops is a bit outlandish, but if this is the only way Zynga could get it done, then we'll let go of reality. For the Potions, all users will be able to craft them inside the Pub in the English Countryside. A single Potion requires four Field Beans Bushels, 3 Pink Asters Bushels, and 5 English Peas Bushels. That's a heck of a lot of planting and farming for a single Love Potion, but I suppose if you're desperate to breed as many Sheep or Pigs as you can, it's something we'll have to accept.
As for the Wooden Board, Nail, and Brick recipes, these three are split between the three different kinds of general crafting buildings. That is, each type of building only has access to one recipe, so you'll only be able to craft one of the three items unless you shell out the Farm Cash to buy the other crafting buildings as well. The Spa, for instance, has access to crafting the Wooden Board, as you can see below. The Wooden Board takes four Morning Glory Bushels, five Lilac Bushels and three Sunflower Bushels.
If you have a Bakery, you'll be able to create Bricks, which require five Coffee Bushels, three Pepper Bushels, and four Ginger Bushels.
Finally, while we don't have an image of the Nail being crafted inside the Winery, we can tell you that it requires five White Grape Bushels, four Rice Bushels and three Grapes Bushels. We're working on bringing you an image of that recipe as soon as we can, but in the meantime, you can also spend your time stocking up on Love Potions, if you plan on breeding Sheep or Pigs in the near future.
What do you think of these interesting crafting recipes? Sure, it's great to be able to have access to these items, but does the fact that they're made out of crop Bushels bother you? What would you rather use instead?
FarmVille: Giant Wedding Tree appearing from Mystery Seedlings
While I never seem to be lucky enough to receive one of these level 2 seedlings before they're released in the FarmVille marketplace, FVNation now has the news that a new tree is randomly appearing from Mystery Seedlings. The tree is the Giant Wedding Tree, which we first saw a glimpse of under a different name - the Crystal Trees - in a recent FarmVille Sneak Peek.
As usual, we expect that this Giant Wedding Tree will launch in the game's store officially in a matter of days - likely Sunday evening, when the entire store should receive an item update. For now though, be sure to be on the lookout for posts from your friends who've come across these trees and grown them, or for any Mystery Seedlings that they may share along the way.
[Image Credit: FVNation]
Have you received a Giant Wedding Tree from a Mystery Seedling? Let us know in the comments.
As usual, we expect that this Giant Wedding Tree will launch in the game's store officially in a matter of days - likely Sunday evening, when the entire store should receive an item update. For now though, be sure to be on the lookout for posts from your friends who've come across these trees and grown them, or for any Mystery Seedlings that they may share along the way.
[Image Credit: FVNation]
Have you received a Giant Wedding Tree from a Mystery Seedling? Let us know in the comments.
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