Sega has launched an online, casual game portal web-site called PlaySega, for Internet users in the United States and Europe.
Like other popular casual game portals such as Pogo and Yahoo Games, PlaySega will offer a variety of free to play web-games, including arcade, word, card, puzzle, quiz, Sonic-themed, and sports titles.
Among reasons to choose this casual game site over others, will be a port of Sega’s “Sonic At The Olympic games” mobile title, several titles in Sega’s “Brain Assist” Brain Age-style title for Nintendo DS that you can play online as well as games created exclusively for PlaySega such as Ice Shuffle and Aquatic Word Burst.
Each title will offer leaderboards and achievements for players to earn. Players will also earn PlaySega Rings (their form of PlaySega money) and can also create a profile that they can customize with decorative items and backgrounds, in addition users can invite friends to view their favorite games, their highest scores and any achievements they have earned.
There will eventually be a Paid VIP area of the site and Sega also plans to give users access to more and more exclusive web games such as Sega classics like Columns, Puyo Pop, Chu Chu Rocket, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Super Monkey Ball Tip N’ Tilt.
“Sega fans and new gamers alike can now come together in one place and enjoy some of our most exciting vintage and new titles,” says Sega of Europe’s network business director Nick Pili.
“There was a story out there recently that we have a locked vault full of retro Sega classics in Japan. Well, it’s true — and we’ve been given full access to a lot of the properties in it.”
PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, announced their new game titled Bejeweled Twist, which has been in development for more than three years and will bring a completely new perspective to the “Match-3” genre of puzzle games that the original Bejeweled pioneered eight years ago. PopCap plans to formally unveil the game at a gala event at Seattle’s Experience Music Project Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame on the evening of Monday, October 27, 2008 – the first such launch event in casual games history. The game will carry a retail price of US$19.95 and will initially be available exclusively via Web download from www.popcap.com.
“As our first and most popular game, we’re particularly dedicated to Bejeweled and wanted to make sure that our next offering in the lineup delivered as much innovation, polish, and sheer pleasure as possible,” explained Jason Kapalka, co-founder and chief creative officer at PopCap. “We spent a long time conceiving and prototyping a totally new direction for Bejeweled Twist. The game will be immediately recognizable to Bejeweled fans, and as accessible as earlier titles in the series, but with far more depth and flexibility. Previous versions of Bejeweled appealed to a pretty broad audience, but we’re confident Bejeweled Twist will offer a compelling experience for everyone, from the novice gamer to the seriously hardcore player.”
From PCs and Macs, PlayStation and Xbox consoles to mobile phones, PDAs, iPods and iPhones, Bejeweled is available for more than a dozen devices and platforms and is the most popular casual game of the 21st century. More than 350 million copies of Bejeweled/Bejeweled 2 have been downloaded from the Web, accounting for nearly a third of the 1 billion-plus downloads of all PopCap titles. Tens of millions of copies of Bejeweled have been installed on mobile phones worldwide, and more than 25 million units of the game have been sold across all platforms, amounting to over $300 million in consumer spending over the history of the game.
All other details of Bejeweled Twist are currently under wraps and will be disclosed at the game’s gala launch event.
Midway announced sequels to two of the company’s top-selling casual games for Wii and Nintendo DS. Game Party 2 for Wii, the sequel to Midway’s top-selling Game Party which has shipped more than one million units worldwide to date, includes returning favorites from the original and five all-new fun filled family games. TouchMaster 2, for the Nintendo DS, offers a collection of 20 new addictively fun and exciting card, action, strategy, puzzle and picture games. Game Party 2 and TouchMaster 2 are both scheduled to be available this Fall.
About Game Party 2:
With 11 games in all, Game Party 2 for the Nintendo Wii includes fun to play games that will provide hours of enjoyment with friends and family. Game Party 2 features new games like Bean Bags, Horseshoes, Lawn Darts, Puck Bowling and more. Each game, including classics like Skill Ball, Darts and Hoop Shoot has exciting new features like four player mode, customizable characters and tournament play, making Game Party 2 the ultimate party game for all ages and skill levels.
About TouchMaster 2:
The wide variety of highly interactive mini-games that made Midway’s TouchMaster a favorite in bars and arcades across the country returns again with TouchMaster 2 for the Nintendo DS. With 20 new games, including exciting twists on some familiar classics, with new spins on Mahki, Poker and Solitaire, TouchMaster 2 offers addictive fun for gamers of all ages. TouchMaster 2’s new collection includes extremely fun and exciting card, action, strategy, puzzle and picture games. Play a quick round to beat your high-score or find some real competition playing head-to-head against other players. TouchMaster 2, the personal arcade that fits snug in the palm of your hands.
Boom Blox is a physics-based action-puzzle hybrid game designed to be played by anybody in the family using the unique control set-up of the Wii. It’s also the first collaboration (out of three) between videogames developer Electronic Arts and movie director/producer Steven Spielberg that features a variety of family-friendly game modes.
To quote Steven Spielberg: “I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids. Boom Blox features an enormous amount of fun challenges and cool scenarios for your kids to solve or for you to master together. Boom Blox plays on the enjoyment of building and knocking down blocks, something that can appeal innately to kids and adults of all ages.”
System: Wii Genre: Puzzle, Action Release dates: May 6th 2008 (USA), May 9th 2008 (EUR) Players: 1-4 simultaneous Developer: EA LA Publisher: Electronic Arts Origin: America Rating: E for Everyone with Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief
Boom Blox offers action-packed interactive activities, that are fun for kids and the entire family, and that take Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player gaming as well as co-op and versus battle either simultaneously or turn-based with one Wii controller. Players can explore the visceral gameplay (perfectly suited for the Wii’s interactivity) that keeps them destroying their way through brain-twisting challenges. They can interact with entertaining characters such as the Blox-laying chickens or the baseball throwing monkeys, who bring personality to the Modern World, Medieval, Tiki, Frontier, and Haunted themed environments.
This high-energy game features over three hundred levels, and a cast of over thirty wacky characters. The variety of activities also includes the option for players to remix any level of the game in Create Mode using props, blocks, or characters that have been unlocked during the game. Players can also virtually build anything they can dream up with an easy-to-use in-game editor that allows players to express their creativity. Plus, their designs can then be shared with friends or used to challenge others to solve their newly created puzzle via WiiConnect24.
Watch the Boom Blox launch trailer.
Gameplay is best described with the four main actions.
* Throw: Choose your target and launch your item of choice for maximum destruction.
* Grab: Grab and drag to topple other Blox, move Blox around to solve puzzles, move Blox to clear a path, or try not to knock over the towers.
* Blast: Ready, aim, blast! Don’t just move Blox, destroy them. Zap Blox with lasers and more.
* Build: Use the building tools and toy box to create, change, grab and move Blox around in order to make your own levels.
While playing you’ll be given plenty of items like bowling balls to knock the blocks towers over or use a baseball to hit a Bomb Blox and blow the whole thing up with a loud boom! As mentioned above, you’ll be using the Wii Remote to throw, grab, push, shoot at, and attempt to blow up block structures to cause them to wiggle, topple and finally completely collapse or explode with big fireworks. But the blocks all have different special properties aside from blowing up when struck by you…
There are over 20 kinds of blocks with such special properties. Here are a few examples:
* Normal Blox: The building Blox of the game, you can pile them up, throw them over and let them roll around. Available in natural wood and plenty of other colors.
* Unmovable Blox: These indestructible Blox can withstand the worst possible punishment. They cannot be moved, not even by the most powerful throws and explosions.
* Bomb Blox: Bust one of these booming red Blox and watch nearby Bomb Blox get blasted. They cause chain reactions with Firework Blox too.
* Firework Blox: When hit or near another explosion, these black and red Blox shoot up into the air and burst into sparkling fireworks.
* Vanish Blocks: Hit one of these purple Blox and “poof” it’s gone, leaving a void to be filled by surrounding Blox. Often seen separating volatile Chemical Blox.
* Chemical Blox: When two or more of these green Blox touch each other, they explode. Knock them together to see the reaction for yourself.
* Gem Blox: These sparkling blue Blox are often in high places, just waiting to be knocked down. Watch them sparkle as they smash to the ground.
* Point Blox: How many points will the player gain for knocking one of these golden Blox down? They come in a variety of values including negative, so pay attention.
The three gameplay modes are:
* Play: In single player you play to solve many challenging and entertaining puzzles through five themed worlds.
* Party: Play competitively with up to four players and co-op multiplayer with two players.
* Create: Use your imagination with the level editor to build your own explosive levels for both single player and multiplayer. Jump in to test them out and jump out to edit some more.
Go at it on your own or go multiplayer by: teaming up with a friend to topple Blox or take on an opponent in a Blox showdown. Both choices can be played on one screen or via split-screen.
* Play together: Join forces with a friend in co-op. Achieve more by playing together. Playing as a team is twice the fun.
* Compete: Go head-to-head with up to four players. Out-fire and outsmart your friends and family. Keep your nerve against your opponent.
The five themed worlds you can play in are the:
* Modern World: The introductory world, this is the perfect place to learn your Blox basics, from throwing to blasting and beyond.
* Medieval World: The Bakkks of Woolington live in this world where they guard magical gems that they discovered in ancient ruins.
* Tiki World: This tropical island paradise is home to Gorilda and her children, but they’re under attack by the Tikis. Can you help save Gorilda and her family?
* Frontier World: This dry desert world contained valuable gold nuggets, but beware of bandits who want nothing more than to steal the loot.
* Haunted World: This spooky world features a graveyard and ghostly sights. Help the frightened kittens get safely back home on this dark night.
Once you’ve played through the nearly 400 levels in the game, you can create more and share them. You can customize any level in the game with the level editor, or use it to build your own level, block-by-block, for single player and multiplayer. Then share your creations with friends over WiiConnect24. There’s no online multiplayer, though.
What are the main features in Boom Blox?
* Throw, grab, and blast — Use fun action gestures with the Wii remote to cause strategic destruction in levels like Tiki-Tower-Topple and Medieval Mayhem.
* Over 300 Brain-Busting Challenges.
* Fast-paced Multiplayer Action — Play with or against your friends in co-op, versus, or 4-player games.
* Make It Your Own — Unlock characters, worlds, blocks, and props throughout the game and use to build whatever you can imagine in Create Mode. Remix any level and share what you create with friends via WiiConnect24.
* Over 30 Wacky Blox Characters –Tackle the action and interact with a cast of entertaining characters including animals like a chicken that lays bomb blocks and a beaver that likes to make them explode.
Watch a Boom Blox gameplay video.
As a conclusion let’s rate Boom Blox on its fun-basis.
FUN FACTOR – 9.0
What a treat it is to play the first videogame developed with guidance from the famous movie director Steven Spielberg. It’s been said that Boom Blox is Jenga meets Tetris Blast, but the Wii Remote motion-controlled physics-based action-puzzles make it its own beast of a game. Beastly explosive fun, that is! This fun comes from the ease-of-use and the simplicity at which you can reach the objective of the game: knocking down the block-structures. I know that doesn’t sound so appealing written down, but the moment you’ll start building or tearing down Boom Blox structures you’ll understand why the child-like joy of building a fort out of blocks and then tearing it down (preferably with friends for added chaos) used to be fun and actually still IS fun. Because what are grownups but kids with more ethics and morals? Everyone young and old of age, casual and hardcore gamers, all still like to have a good time despite how we change with time… Whether that’s shooting a watergun at one another on a hot day to cool down or shooting a virtual Halo 3 gun after a long day at work to blow off some steam; whether that’s playing a fun classic boardgame like Mousetrap or playing an addictive new videogame like Boom Blox.
While the creators jokingly refer to Boom Blox as a “summer blockbuster”, that’s exactly what the Wii got with this gem of a game. Steven Spielberg and EA have created a really innovative and smart physics-puzzler here, a game that deserves to be played by many people again and again.
Graphics – 7.0
Highly stylized character design was given to the cartoony charming characters. The game’s simple but cartoony look comes back in the backgrounds that are card-board cut-outs. The themed levels are varied, always colorful, and will rarely show slowdown during busy gameplay. While the graphics look good overall, the textures are clearly low-res. My guess would be this is because the Wii is busy calculating all the real-time physics effects going on during gameplay. Well, I’m no programmer, so all I know is that not once did me or anyone else complain about the graphics.
Audio – 7.0
The music is simple, nothing great, nothing bad. Cheerful characters notwithstanding, the sound effects are pretty standard, but throwing and impact sounds are satisfying.
Ingenuity – 9.0
All you have to do is aim your Wii Remote where you want to go, then press and hold the A-button to lock on and move Blox around and let go when you’re done moving it or want to perform an action, like throwing a ball at a Blox tower with the speed of your throwing movement. Camera movements are done by simply pressing and holding the B-button and then moving around your Wii Remote controller, the Wii Nun-chuck add-on is optional for camera use. Easy does it.
You’ll find yourself getting used to the controls within minutes, it’s so natural — for gamers and non-gamers alike — because the game mechanics react accurately to your Wii Remote controller interactions. You see, there’s a very realistic physics simulator running in the background of the game making everything feel tactile. This quickly becomes apparent as you interact with the Blox by: A) throwing stuff like baseballs and coconuts at them, B) grabbing and pulling at Blox in 3D space, and C) blasting Blox all over the place by shooting them to bits.
Just wait until you’re using the smile-inducing intuitive Create Mode level editor to build explosion-triggered Rube Goldberg-esque domino effect structures. It’s all very fun to play around with thanks to the well balanced gameplay that challenges you with its physics-based puzzles and instantly reacts to your every move. While it’s all setup very simple, you’re getting a lot to play around with.
Replay Value – 9.0
You’ll be playing this for many long hours. Once you play through the game’s single player and unlocked the adventure and explore challenge modes, you’ll find there are almost 400 levels in Boom Blox. Half of those in the challenging single player or co-op story mode that takes you through five themed worlds, and the other half of those levels can be found in the various competitive multiplayer modes. Further extending the replay value is the Create Mode for you to remix existing or create new creative levels (although there is a block-limit) for the game with (think Halo 3’s Forge). Once finished, you can then exchange your own levels with online friends via WiiConnect24. Don’t worry, you won’t have to enter new Boom Blox friend codes, the game uses the Wii system’s friend codes you’ve already got stored on your console.
Throughout the game you’ll be able to unlock awards, bonus stacks, bonus tools, bonus characters, and bonus movies. The competitive multiplayer modes (for throwing, grabbing & shooting) and the level builder are all sure to add many weeks to an already fun single player and co-op experience that we’ve been enjoying all week. As you’d expect it’s even more fun and addictive in multiplayer with up to four players taking turns trying to beat the others. But hey (as indicated at the fun factor conclusion) we’re probably just a group of kids in grown up disguises… And guess what, when a game like this lights up the room the way it does when the Wii is on, then we like it that way! This is what casual gaming is all about, being for everyone.
One of a series of projects Electronic Arts is making with famed director Steven Spielberg. This particular project called Boom Blox is a physics-based puzzler that is designed to be played by anybody in the family using the unique control set-up of the Wii. Boom Blox will be released in America on May 6th, and in Europe on May 9th, 2008.
Boom Blox offers action-packed interactive activities that takes Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player gaming as well as co-op and versus battle either simultaneously or turn-based with one Wii controller. Players can explore the gameplay perfectly suited for the Wii’s interactivity, that keeps them destroying their way through brain-twisting challenges. They can interact with entertaining characters such as the Blox-laying chickens or the baseball throwing monkeys, who bring personality to the Tiki, Medieval, Frontier, and Haunted themed environments.
Additionally, players can remix any level of the game in Create Mode using props, blocks, or characters that have been unlocked during the game. Players can also virtually build anything they can dream up. Plus, their designs can then be shared with friends or used to challenge others to solve their newly created puzzle via WiiConnect24.
The Game Factory will debut a new gaming experience targeting the growing number of female casual gamers. The two Zenses games will be released exclusively on the Nintendo DS in October 2008 in America at a price of $30 each. Zenses Ocean and Zenses Rainforest will allow players to escape from the stress of daily life while challenging the mind, body and spirit through relaxing puzzle games, soothing ambient sounds and authentic rainforest and oceanic visuals.
In Zenses Ocean, players relax themselves playing puzzle games inspired by the movements of the tide, rippling water, riffs and corals, beach vegetation and sea life. An indulgent, soothing experience, Zenses Ocean includes high quality visuals and ambient sounds inspired by the natural sounds of the sea. Subliminal addictive puzzles such as Hot Spot, Shell Twirl, Turtle Turn, Pearl Diver and Wave Breaker were created to give players an escape from the stress of every day life.
In Zenses Rainforest allows players to explore the Amazon while playing games infused with rain drops, exotic flowers, waterfalls and giant trees. This refreshing experience encourages players to recharge their batteries while playing puzzle games such as Sapphire Wheel, Mirror Maze, Stack Jack and Bumble Breaker.
Relax and breath. Get your Zen on in this DS relaxation title. Watch the Zenses debut trailer:
EA’s Casual Entertainment Label today revealed Boom Blox (previously known as PQRS), the first game developed in collaboration between EA and director and producer, Steven Spielberg. This game features over 300 levels, a variety of activities, a cast of over thirty wacky characters, and an easy-to-use in-game editor that allows players to express their creativity. Boom Blox will be available in May 2008 for the Wii.
“I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids,” said Steven Spielberg. “Boom Blox features an enormous amount of fun challenges and cool scenarios for your kids to solve or for you to master together.”
Fun for kids and the entire family, Boom Blox offers action-packed interactive activities that takes Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player, co-op, and versus gameplay. Players can explore the visceral gameplay-perfectly suited for the Wii’s interactivity-that keeps them destroying their way through brain-twisting challenges. They can interact with entertaining characters such as the Blox-laying chickens or the baseball throwing monkeys, who bring personality to the Tiki, Medieval, Frontier, and Haunted themed environments. Additionally, players can remix any level of the game in Create Mode using props, blocks, or characters that have been unlocked during the game. Players can also virtually build anything they can dream up. Plus, their designs can then be shared with friends or used to challenge others to solve their newly created puzzle via WiiConnect24.
Throw, grab & blast your way to victory! Watch the Boom Blox debut trailer:
“We developed Boom Blox with endless combinations of gameplay in mind,” explains Louis Castle, Executive Producer. “With over three hundred levels, built upon a full real-time physics model, your experience can be as easy or difficult as you want it to be-there really is something for everyone to enjoy.”
“My inspiration for this game came while I was playing the Wii for the first time,” added Spielberg. “From the initial concept to what the game is today, it’s always been built around the innovations the Wii brings to playing games. Boom Blox plays on the enjoyment of building and knocking down blocks, something that can appeal innately to kids and adults of all ages.”
PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, announced their new game titled 
