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Diligo Slots (87%) ✰✰✰✰✰

kdb — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:15:45 +0000

DiLiGO Slots on facebook

Diligo Slots is a free facebook application, that is way ahead of the competition (even Zynga doesn’t have anything like it)! Casual gamers that like playing games of chance/luck will find the Diligo collection of virtual slot machines to be very realistic.

Diligo Slots is a flash-based application which basically gives players access to a slot machine lobby where players can win prizes for matching symbols under a row of pay-lines on at least two dozen different virtual versions of slot machines.

You enter the lobby, which is the Diligo home page. There you will find a list of all the different slot games you can play. When GameMaster.com gave it a spin there were 25 different versions (Wild West, US Elections, Rock ‘n Roll, Footy Fanatics, a Vampire themes and many more). The free version of Diligo Slots gives you 500 free tokens every day and a (10 USD) monthly subscription will give you a 1000 tokens per day for 31 days in addition all your progressive jackpot wins are doubled as well as the amount of token gifts one can send and receive. Players can also purchase tokens in increments between 500 (1 USD) through 25,000 (38 USD).

Diligo Slots games have good graphics and controllable fairly realistic casino background noise as well as slot machine sound effects. Players also win points which is an additional type of virtual currency. Points can be used to purchase raffle ticket for additional bonus tokens, upgrade and/or unlock new slot machines or abilities. You can compete with friends via their live leader boards.

The Diligo Slots games have proven themselves to be a fun, relaxing escape and great games to play even if you only have 5 minutes of free time to play. It’s not uncommon to see gamemaster.com staff members taking a few spins while holding on the telephone etc here at the office.

DriverVille (37%) ✰✰ Mazda’s Atrocious Attempt at Advertainment

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:24:20 +0000

Mazda's DriverVille facebook game

First and foremost, DriverVille is not really a game by nearly ANY definition of the word “game” and it’s shocking to most of the staff here at GameMaster.com that over 1,500 people have clicked on the “like” button that is associated with this facebook application. That fact has been mainly attributed to bored, twitchy fingers or that superficially the game looks “good” due to fairly high quality graphics and the catchy theme music (which is better than quite a few games currently found on the social networks). Those two plus points (or GameMaster.com game review stars ✰✰) come at the cost of an extensive initial loading time that rivals even the longest loading products by Zynga (the current world leading social network game developer). However, in the case of DriverVille the download time is mostly because of music and artwork and significantly less playable game content when compared to other game applications.

According to Ken Burridge, Editor-in-Chief of GameMaster.com, “Ultimately this type of advertising application might be proving the real power and value of social networking games in general since DriverVille currently has over 12,000 monthly active users on facebook and that alone would qualify as a successful marketing campaign”.

Before getting to play, the first thing the game’s developers ask from “players” is their name, email & postal address. This step can be skipped, but it foreshadows what this application is all about, which is marketing the Mazda2 (one of their entry level cars) and one’s own Mazda inner driver and getting those on facebook to do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to their advertising and marketing.

Your Mazda DriverVille avatar?

The fun doesn’t stop there as “players” are encouraged by the game’s design to also spam their friends and family by sending them DriverVille gift requests, inviting them to play and becoming a fan of the DriverVille “game” not just on facebook but by email as well. There are also plenty of other game spamming opportunities for instance when your avatar completes a race, a mission, or a level.

Mercifully the application is not very intuitive and lacks detailed instructions and so it is not obvious how players are to accomplish various in-game tasks, which can easily lead to frustration and thus limits long-term playability and keeps the application from becoming a full-on popular adware-malware hybrid.

One of the goals in the game is to earn driverbucks, which can be exchanged at shops to customize your avatar, your virtual vehicle, and garage. Driverbucks can be obtained by racing your facebook friends and performing quests such as talking to Mazda Mike (a salesman at the virtual dealership) and watching Mazda commercials. You can also earn trophies and customize your virtual car after performing menial tasks such as acquiring tires and flags and delivering them to specific NPCs.

Players can also earn driverbucks by changing tires in the arcade by loosening and then tightening lug nuts (and not always in the time-tested and safety minded cross or x-pattern method), nothing like teaching bad habits in a virtual world that can then be applied in “real life” with possible dangerous consequences!

Besides the arcade there is an entertainment center in DriverVille where you can watch…wait for it…more Mazda advertisements! At the dealership you can also download brochures for various Mazda models yet not one of them is a hybrid or EV. It kind of makes one wonder what world Mazda management is living in…their first hybrid vehicle isn’t due until 2013 and their first Electric car probably won’t make it to market any earlier than 2020!

Games are suppose to be fun and entertaining and DriverVille at best qualifies as a fairly unique vehicle for getting more people to watch Mazda advertisements, by wrapping them up and serving them in a game wrapper. Some people might also consider DriverVille to be a gross waste of resources, when the funds used to create the game (part of Mazda’s annual media spending of $155,000,000 USD per year according to Nielsen ratings) could have been used to develop electric & hybrid cars in a more timely manner. Only time will tell if Mazda’s great advertainment marketing experiment back-fires on them once their potential customers realize that DriverVille isn’t much more than a cheesy viral advertising attempt masquerading as a facebook game.

The internet is pretty much controlled by large companies already and these corporate entities should act more responsibly as far as their advertising practices are concerned. In the case of Mazda’s DriverVille the advertising company that developed the game (Doner) should take it’s cue from the Hollywood film industry with respect to product placement. Product placement should only comprise a very small percentage of the entertainment and should only be given brief cameo appearances at most.

Mazda2 5-door hatchback

In fairness and firmly within the plus category: Mazda’s DriverVille Sweepstakes is giving away a custom iPod Touch (those are sweet) every week and one lucky person (in December) is suppose to drive away in a new 2011 Mazda2 (and Mazda does make quality cars), but they might want to tread a little lighter and softer instead of using such forms of gorilla marketing as DriverVille in the future.

gamescom: August 18-22, 2010 Cologne, Germany

guest — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:10:04 +0000

gamescon

August 16-18, 2010 Cologne, Germany at the Cologne Congress Center East.

gamescom is the largest trade fair and event highlight for interactive games and entertainment. It is held annually since 2009 in the media and event city Cologne, Germany. The conceptual fundaments of gamescom consist of an efficient and comfortable business area, an entertainment area for the ultimate gaming and fun experience and the gamescom festival in the centre of Cologne to attract new target groups. As the only event of its kind, gamescom links the entire value-added chain, from developers, publishers and the trade all the way down to consumers, while stimulating discussion forums at every level.

The entire games world will present itself to the public at gamescom, the leading B2B entertainment trade fair in Europe and beyond. In 2010 plenty of innovations in games software and important hardware news are expected, as well as hundreds of world, European or German premieres.

Attending gamescon last year were: 458 exhibitors from 31 countries, more than 245,000 visitors, approximately 17,000 trade visitors (45% international) 4,100 journalists from 49 countries

GDC Europe (Game Developers Conference) August 16-18, 2010

guest — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:49:20 +0000

GDC Europe

GDC Europe (Game Developers Conference) August 16-18, 2010 Cologne, Germany at the Cologne Congress Center East.

Game Developers Conference™ Europe (GDC Europe) is the largest professionals-only game industry event in Europe. The GDC Europe will be held in conjunction with gamescom, the leading European consumer and industry show. This allows the conference to address the development community at a central location in the heart of Europe and command the critical mass of the European games sector. GDC Europe is the essential platform for learning, inspiration and networking for the creators of computer, console, handheld, mobile and online games in Europe.

Some of the Exhibitors include:

Autodesk Inc., Crisp Thinking Ltd., Epic Games Inc., Guerrilla Games, Hansoft, Howest University/DAE, InnoGames Gmbh, Intel Corporation, Level 3 Communications, Mobile First Inc, and Nintendo.

GDC Europe is hosted by the UBM TechWeb Game Network.

NY Games Conference (September 21), New York, NY

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:37:43 +0000

NY Games Conference 2010

The 3rd annual NY Games Conference brings together influential decision-makers in the digital media industry and hosts various debates and speakers on timely cutting-edge digital media business topics. Executives from publishers, developers, advertising, investment firms, social networks, technology providers and content companies mingle together at this top industry event with a focus on games.

Speakers include: THQ, Mattel, ngmoco, MocoSpace, InComm, Zynga, Hi5, WildTangent, Sony Playstation Network, IGN, EA Online, MySpace, Large Animal Game, Arkadium and many more leading game companies.

The conference will be held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280

Tokyo Game Show (Sept 16-19) Chiba, Japan

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:01:49 +0000

Tokyo Game Show 2010

Tokyo Game Show also known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is hosted by the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. It is used by many international video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware, though in previous years the main focus has typically been on the Japanese market, but things are slowly changing as more international companies have joined the event. The first two days are business game trade days and the last two days are open to the general public.

Being showcased this year will not only be next-generation mobile game devices, but also new interface models for home consoles as well as smartphones and game PCs. According to those promoting the event “various attractions have been planned to entertain game fans, especially those from other Asian countries, such as a new program for “cosplayers”. And the “Tougeki – Super Battle Opera” international fighting video game tournament.”

Currently there are 138 companies that have signed up to be exhibitors reserving over 1400 booth partitions and that’s an increase over previous years, with new participants coming from other Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan and China.

Some of the exhibitors are: Alchemist, Capcom, Enzyme, Gamegoo Technology, Konami, Microsoft, Sega, Sony, Razer, Level-5, and Square Enix

Eurogamer Expo (October 1-3) London, England

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:05:53 +0000

Eurogamer Expo 2010

Eurogamer Expo is the UK’s biggest dedicated video games event. It is host to assorted tournments, prizes and gaming arcades and gives those attending the chance to hear from some of the world’s best game developers. This year there will also be a Game industry career fair.

Eurogamer Expo has expanded their capacity for the presentations to 500 and have a fantastic (and still secret) line-up of developers that will be present to reveal and preview some highly anticipated titles.

On the Expo Show floor will quite a few games to play:

Sony Playstation Move: The Shoot, The Fight, Sports Champions, SOCOM: Special Forces and Heavy Rain Move Edition

Sony 3D: Gran Turismo, Killzone 3, and MotorStorm Apocalypse

Konami: Saw II: Flesh & Blood, Def Jam Rapstar and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

In addition there will be Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Namco Bandai) and inFAMOUS 2 & LittleBigPlanet 2 from Sony and many more.

There will also be developer sessions for: Guerrilla Games (Killzone 3), Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet 2) and Evolution Studios (MotorStorm Apocalypse)

This year’s expo will be held at: The Brompton Hall, Earls Court, Warwick Road, London, SW5 9TA

EIG 2010 (October 19-21) Bella Center, Copenhagen

kdb — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:02:56 +0000

EIG 2010 (October 19-21) Bella Center, Copenhagen

EIG 2010: 9th annual European iGaming Congress and Expo is the conference to attend if your a professional in the online gaming industry.

EIG 2010 offers the chance to meet every important iGaming professional in the industry. EIG 2009 was attended by 1500 of the key stakeholders from over 60 countries and hosted 35+ sessions, 110+ speakers and 70+ exhibition stands.

This years 90+ speakers include:
Senator Roderick Wright, State of California
Mark Blandford, Chairman, Valhalla Investments
Andrew Burnett, Executive Director, Panmure Gordon & Co.
Oliver Zugel, Founder and CEO, Spring City Finance
Melissa Blau, Director, iGaming Capital
Evan Hoff, Director, Capricorn Capital Consulting
H.C. Madsen, CEO, Danske Spil
Jim Ryan, CEO, PartyGaming
Nicolas Beraud, CEO, Mangas Gaming
Petter Nylander, CEO, Unibet
Mor Weizer, CEO, Playtech
Gigi Levy, CEO, 888 Holdings
Pontus Lindwall, CEO, Betsson
Simon Burridge, CEO, Virgin Games
Richard Flint, MD, Sky Betting and Gaming
Olivier Ou Ramdane, General Director, EurosportBet
Andreas Ternstrom, MD, Bonnier Gaming
and others

Some of the topics included this year will be about: When and how iGaming will be regulated in the USA – starting with intrastate internet poker in California and panel discussions: on how gaming the Gaming worlds (casual, skill, computer, fantasy, MMORPG) are converging with online gambling.

Titan Poker (92%) ✰✰✰✰✰

kdb — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 11:42:23 +0000

Titan Poker

Titan Poker offers free (play for fun) and pay to play (with real money) options and is considered by many to be the premier poker room of the iPoker Network. Titan Poker has been around since 2005, and does a fairly good job of being true to their name by trying to do everything in a “big” way by often offering bigger than average: bonuses, promotions and tournaments. Titan Poker is pretty popular, when GameMaster.com checked them out they had over 6500 players online.

Titan Poker regularly stages tournaments, including satellites which award entry to major international events, as well as a monthly prize pool of $16,000,000 and Progressive Sit ‘N’ Go Jackpots. Currently every Sunday $200,000 in prizes are given away.

Titan Poker offers a variety of games including: Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, and a 146 different Casino games such as: Blackjack, Slots, Video Poker, Craps, Roulette.

Titan Poker offers a 100% sign-up bonus up to $500 and additional bonuses including Top Hand, Bad Beat, Reloads and Freerolls. Bringing a friend to play can earn you $100.

Titan Poker uses playtech software and is available in PC downloadable and Flash versions, in addition to 19 languages.

Poker Ocean (89%) ✰✰✰✰✰

kdb — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 11:34:32 +0000

Poker Ocean

Poker Ocean is part of the iPoker Network and is powered by downloadable playtech software. Poker Ocean offers free tournaments and tables for beginners so that you can learn the game and improve your online poker skills.

Poker Ocean offers players the option of playing Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, Blackjack, Slots, Video Poker, Craps and Roulette. The iPoker network affiliation of Poker Ocean allows players to participate in large tournaments and Progressive Sit ‘N’ Go Jackpots.

Player bonuses include a 50% sign-up bonus up to $200 and additional bonuses including Top Hand, Bad Beat, Reloads and Freerolls. Bringing a friend earns you $75 and they receive $25.
Those players participating in ring and tournament games are eligible to earn “Poker Ocean Points”, which can be exchanged for special tournaments, prizes and cash bonuses.

Poker Ocean is accessible by a PC software download.