Hong Kong-based 6 waves has been quietly building an empire of Facebook applications and games, and now it has just raised a $17.5 million round of funding from Insight Venture Partners, marking the latest in a growing string of large investments in social gaming on the Facebook Platform.  6 waves intends to continue expansion not just as a developer but as a full-on publisher, offering distribution and monetization services to social game developers around the world.

The company, founded by former Yahoo employees, is now one of the largest developers on Facebook, with more than 141 applications, more than 44 million monthly active users and more than 9 million daily active users, according to AppData. A year ago, it had more than 60 applications using and 22 million monthly active users; at that point, it had gotten big by creating and launching templatized apps based on what had gotten popular on Facebook. It created a mafia role-playing game called Gangster Wars, for example, then launched versions in Chinese, Spanish, German, French,Turkish, and Italian. Using its far-flung network of in-house apps, the company has spent the past year building its business around helping other apps.

What exactly does 6 Waves do? Increasingly, it is cross-promoting clients’ games by running what is essentially a cross-promotional ad network across its titles. Most large game developers have been increasingly using cross promotion to help grow their own portfolio of apps; although Zynga, SGN and others had launched similar services in 2008, they have since focused on their own games.

> Continue reading on Inside Facebook.

It’s always nice to see new developers step up to create something on Facebook. The latest one to come to our attention is a small, social outfit in Chicago by the name of Toy Studio. Describing themselves as a gaming studio that creates “social interactive toys” rather than games, we felt an obligation to take a look at their first Facebook application, a simple “toy” fighting game by the name of Killer Toon.

It’s simple enough to pick up: Players create an avatar and fight each other. When they first start out, users only have a small selection items in which to customize their character with (shirt, pants, hair, etc.); nothing too out of the ordinary for first starting a new game. As players fight and level up, new items that grant bonuses (like extra health) become available. After initial creation, they have to acquire some energy (i.e. steroids) from the store so they can actually play the game.

Curiously, the energy doesn’t actually work the same way Facebook users are familiar with – the way it is utilized in mafia-style RPGs. Rather than actions taking up a specific amount of energy only, there is also a limited amount of time that the energy lasts. Don’t worry, because the time limit is more than enough for what the player can do in a single sitting.

Players are able to fight three fights (unless you buy an item called “Adrenaline,” which costs the virtual currency, Toon Bucks) before having to wait for X amount of time to do more. As you can see, this is where the game starts to come together, as you need the energy to initiate the fights, but if you do not use up all your fights before time expires, then you have to buy more. In theory, this is a means to either get the player to play for a little bit longer each day (because they will have to buy more energy otherwise), or to drain their virtual wallet a small iota more so it takes just a bit longer to earn new items (a tactic used in most massively multiplayer online games for longevity purposes).

As a game where you fight against other players to work your way up the leaderboards, obviously the biggest items to buy are weapons. As expected, bigger and more expensive weapons also unlock with new levels, but since this game follows a cartoon-like style (hence the name), weapons consist of everything from an icicle sword to a fish.

In regards to the fights themselves, players challenge another person in the leaderboard and watch their, and the opponent’s, avatar run back and forth, whacking each other with whatever weapon that happens to be equipped. If you win, you get a hefty amount of experience and coin, but if you lose, you still get a small consolation amount as well. As players fight, a record is kept of your wins and losses, and if you lose to a particular individual multiple times, they become classified as your nemesis.

Unfortunately, the whole combat system is where the biggest issue with Killer Toon comes into play. The whole running back and forth and whacking each other is done in the same animation every time with the only difference being the weapon they hold. Also, weapons do a random amount of damage (i.e. 10-30 damage) so fights come down to a combination of luck and equipment. The thing is, though, you can’t skip any of this and fights consist of about 30 seconds to a minute of watching the two avatars bounce back and forth, doing the same thing until one of them falls over into the fetal position. This wouldn’t be a bad thing if the fights were more interesting to watch, but with the same handful of stiff animations (attack, run, win, and lose), it does get a bit boring.

Despite these issues, though, Killer Toon does actually do something most interesting with its virtual currency. Normally, games make items available through this method that will give users that purchase it have a bit of a competitive edge. What is very cool here is that Toy Studio really takes this verbatim, selling items that not only recharge energy and how many fights you can do, but even sells items that earn you extra experience from a certain number of fights.

Overall, Killer Toon has all the makings of being a nice little game to entertain players for a few minutes a day. Artistically, it looks good, save some the animations, and its quirky, cartoon style is certainly appreciated. Frankly, all that’s really needed are a few tweaks here and there and maybe some new animations (perhaps even some new outfits), so not a bad start at all. We will look forward to seeing what updates and new titles come out of Toy Studio in the future.

This week’s list of the top growing games on Facebook by daily active users, sourced from our sister site AppData, is mostly free of larger games bouncing back in traffic following the holiday slump — Farmville, for instance, stayed on the list for two weeks running after Christmas. But there are still post-holiday effects to be seen.

Most noticeable is the lack of many new up-and-comers. Before the holidays, quite a few new games were released; for now, developers seem to be resting and recouping, if not waiting for Facebook roll out major and long-planned changes to communication channels. The list below is mostly a rehash of last week, with some games swapping positions and very few dropping off the list entirely.

Top Gainers This Week – Games

	Name	DAU	Gain	Gain, %
1.	Birthday Cards	2,287,296	+1,020,440	+44.61
2.	Zoo World	2,109,118	+604,447	+28.66
3.	Happy Island	2,688,890	+412,644	+15.35
4.	Café World	10,216,904	+363,662	+3.56
5.	PetVille	4,579,399	+347,112	+7.58
6.	Texas HoldEm Poker	5,555,997	+157,423	+2.83
7.	Wild Ones	244,020	+148,684	+60.93
8.	Pet Society	4,023,533	+138,554	+3.44
9.	Country Life	2,388,200	+127,931	+5.36
10.	MindJolt Games	2,451,551	+123,901	+5.05
11.	Tiki Farm	1,115,421	+104,852	+9.40
12.	Mafia Wars	6,068,705	+104,711	+1.73
13.	My Town	293,058	+103,021	+35.15
14.	開心寶貝	242,200	+101,793	+42.03
15.	Happy Aquarium	6,499,476	+94,319	+1.45
16.	Country Story	1,273,043	+87,457	+6.87
17.	Happy Pets	2,514,658	+79,910	+3.18
18.	Island Paradise	2,118,491	+59,655	+2.82
19.	Sorority Life	1,026,199	+59,269	+5.78
20.	Band of Heroes	132,204	+56,088	+42.43

The list is topped by Birthday Cards, which isn’t really a game, as we’ve noted in past weeks. The folks at RockYou! released a feature where activity on Cards is now rewarded with points on Zoo World, another RockYou! game that you’ll notice hit the number two spot this week. Zoo World is also accessible within Cards without installing the game, so it’s easier for new users to get started.

Cards has far more monthly users than Zoo World, but they’re about even on daily active users, so it’s not clear how far the promotion will take Zoo World. Still, the “Birthday Zoo” is a pretty clever idea.

Our other roundups have also seen a lot lately of the island trio: Happy Island, Tiki Farm and Island Paradise, coming in at number three, 11 and 18 this week. Aside from the fact that Tiki Farm is suddenly growing far faster than the larger Island Paradise there’s not much more to report than that all three seem to continue picking up steam.

Petville, from Zynga, has risen from last week’s number 12 to five with what might be significant new growth. Also take note, though, of Pet Society, a near competitor by Zynga’s own arch-rival Playfish, which has appeared at a slightly lower position. Along with Happy Pets, they form a trio of games that may be feeding off the popularity of the genre, like the island games.

Wild Ones continues its onslaught at number seven with 60 percent growth, about the same as last week, to 244,020 DAU. Finally, scan down at bit to 開心寶貝 (Happy Baby); it holds the distinction of being the only Chinese-language game to reach this list this week (it recently invaded our list of top emerging applications, along with several brethren).

[Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Dan Taylor of social game monetization services company Fatfoogoo. He examines the different kinds of services currently available to game developers.]

With the dramatic rise of free-to-play and social gaming over the past year, a range of services companies to help developers and operators of these games monetize their product. And while many of these providers offer a range of services, it’s easy to forget that each one has its own unique way of providing the right solution for the right game. Which brings us to the most pressing question – which solution is right for which game? Obviously, this is something that must be decided by the developers themselves, and no one single product will deliver the be-all-end-all solution for each and every product on the market. With this in mind, it’s important to evaluate where decisions might be coming from, and how a game developer arrives at this situation.

The value chain of many social/free-to-play games can be summarized in 5 unique phases:

• Idea
• Balance
• Goods/Currency
• Payments
• Commissions

Idea: At the very top of this chain is the game idea itself. This is the fundamental building block of everything else that will follow. Developers with a game idea will first evaluate the revenue potential of the game. Can it gain stickiness? Does it serve a niche audience? Does this audience already have something meeting it’s needs (i.e. competition)? If so, what can we do to improve on this want? And perhaps most importantly – can we monetize it?

Balance: Once a game idea itself has been fleshed out, the next phase of the value chain is game balancing. This is where developers will begin defining crucial monetization factors. Virtual economies function just like real world economies, with factors such as supply and demand, inflation, etc. must be factored in to equate a pricing structure that will both remain balanced and fair within the game, provide developers with a decent return for their efforts, and remain attractive to the end user, i.e. cost vs. value. In addition to these variables, developers must also factor in limited offers and promotions that will incentivize users to either play or purchase more, while at the same time, maintaining the delicate balance of their virtual economy.

Goods/Currency: Now that the developer has set pricing points, they’ve now to find a way for users to make purchases within the game. It’s at this point in the value chain that virtual currencies make their appearance. It seems as though each game has its own nomenclature, whether coinz, tokenz, gcash, etc., they’re all doing the same thing in providing end users with a currency that can be then used to purchase items. This phase of the chain also includes the introduction of specific purchase prices of the various virtual goods/items to be sold within the game.

Payments: At this phase of the value chain, developers are essentially done with the ‘virtual’ part of the business, and now have to build the bridge to the ‘real world’ money. It’s during this phase where payments factor in. Payments to the developer can either come from a separate company providing an offer service (see below), or directly from the end user themselves. When developers choose to receive payment directly, there are a number of ‘real world’ financial considerations to be factored in, including credit card fraud, charge backs, taxation, and much more. Developers must manage how they’ll be aggregating these payments. If they have chosen a service provider to handle this for them so that they may continue development on their product and not get hung up in economic red-tape, do they want a branded or white label payment service?

Commissions: Finally, based on the success of the above 4 factors, game developers might find themselves in the position to renegotiate deals that have been in effect since the games’ launch. Again, this is highly dependent upon the title’s success and associated volume, not only of active users, but also profits derived from sales of virtual goods.

Three Unique Service Providers

Now that developers have a clear picture as to how a game will come to life, and how it will be monetized, it’s time to move on to choosing a specific partner. In the social/free-to-play gaming field, there are three unique forms of monetization: offer companies, payment service providers, and technology firms. Each has its own area of specialization, and game developers can mix and match from each provider, some offering only a niche option, while others can provide everything but the kitchen sink.

Offer Companies

Offer companies could be seen as the ‘bare bones’ solution, in so much as they only offer one form of monetization – that which arrives via a third party. Examples of offer companies would include Offerpal, SuperRewards, Boomerang Networks, Gratispay or Sponsorpay. This form of monetization focuses only on offering special offers, say an online survey to be filled out in exchange for some form of virtual currency. Offers are an important revenue factor as it helps monetize the portion of users that are not willing to spend real money on their virtual goods and currency purchases. One side effect of employing offers as a form of monetization is that game developers will be sending players out to a third party, and thereby losing the game branded experience. Offer companies clearly brand themselves, and it’s here where the actual interaction between player and the monetization business model takes place. This type of monetization for developers only fills one part of the value chain.

Payment Service Providers

Payment service providers offer game developers different pieces of the value chain, but due to their nature do not completely fulfill it. Examples of payment service providers include Chase PaymentTech, NetGiro, and Global Collect. These firms offer developers a direct integration of payment methods, i.e. there’s no sending players out to a separate location to make the transaction, and then re-routing them back into the game. By using a payment service provider, game developers can keep players in-house and thereby potentially increase game stickiness as well as ‘time on site’ or ‘time in-game’. While offer companies build their brand by maintaining their own identity throughout the transaction, payment service providers can offer developers a white label solution, making the technology appear as their own, or remain self branded. While payment service providers are specialized financial transaction experts, as with offer companies, they are strong in the ad-broker business, and offer game developers are only a part of the value chain but do not complete it.

Technology Providers

Some developers also choose to work with technology providers, such as Playspan, Live Gamer and fatfoogoo. While each one of these providers have their own unique set of solutions, essentially, they allow game developers to do what they do best – develop games. Technology companies provide developers with a service that addresses each piece of the value chain. Many of these companies have deals with selected payment service providers, thereby ensuring financial excellence, as well as offering solutions for game balancing, virtual goods/items store management, virtual currency wallets, detailed analytics and reporting features, and user management. These providers free up developers to focus on game development, marketing, and how to balance their game as it grows with the provided tools.

Dan Taylor currently authors the industry news column at fatfoogoo, and works on a wide variety of projects both in and outside of the gaming industry. Fatfoogoo is the leading provider of digital commerce ecosystems for online games, social networks and virtual worlds. Offering both pre-configured and fully customizable solutions, fatfoogoo’s technology provides for both publisher-to-player and player-to-player financial interactions.

Boku has emerged as one of the main mobile payment service providers for social games in the last year, and today it is capitalizing on its growth, announcing a third round of $25 million. DAG Ventures led the funding, previous investors Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures participated.

The company is also rebranding itself to consumers as Paymo, the name of one of the mobile payment companies that had been rolled up to create Boku earlier this year.

The service is live in nearly 60 countries and on 190 carriers today, marketing head Ron Hirson tells us, and the company is seeing new revenue coming in from South America, Asia and other parts of the world. Clients now include large social game developers like Playdom (screenshot from its game, Sorority Life, below), Playfish and Hong Kong-based 6 Waves, along with long-time ones like Zynga.

Boku’s service lets you bill your mobile phone for online payments. You enter your number and the amount of points you want to buy, then Boku sends a text message to your phone confirming the bill. Once you confirm, the company charges your phone and you’ll see the charge on your monthly bill. Although it can be used in a variety of purchasing contexts, this method of payment has proven most popular with users looking to buy small amounts of virtual currency so they can buy goods in a game. Typically, 10% to 15% of in-game payments go through mobile services like this. Boku’s rivals, in one form or another, include Zong, Surfpin and Obopay.

The main rival, Zong, is also live with many of the same game developers, meaning that game companies are trying to offer payment options through whichever mobile payment service users happen to prefer.

The new money will go towards more global expansion, Hirson says, with the company continuing to build out its technology, business relationships and customer support. He notes that as the company has expanded, it has also done well against local mobile payments competitors, especially in Asia. Boku could see especially significant revenue growth in the region, given the popularity of social games across much of Asia, as well as the established popularity of virtual good in some Asian countries.

2009 will be remembered as the year that casual gaming stormed social platforms and changed the way millions of people socialized with friends online. With an up-to-$400 million acquisition of Playfish by Electronic Arts, hundreds of millions of dollars in venture investments, and some of the highest engagement numbers that online entertainment has ever seen, social games are now impacting businesses across the media landscape. It’s become clear that there are substantial opportunities for social game developers with virtual goods revenue models, but the market is still evolving rapidly.

Get the Annual Membership Get Annual Membership (Includes Report + 3 Additional Quarterly Issues): $2,495 $1,995 USD* OR Buy Single Report: $995 $795 USD* * Pre-order discount ends January 25, 2010. All pre-ordered reports will be delivered on January 26, 2010.

That’s why we’re excited to announce a new exclusive original research report with co-author Charles Hudson in our Inside Virtual Goods series that is exclusively focused on the future of the social gaming market, entitled Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2010. It will be released on Tuesday, January 26, but is available for discount pre-order for the next 7 days.

How big is the market, and where will social gaming go in 2010? How will existing players fare as Facebook shifts the social gaming landscape, and larger and more sophisticated players enter the market? Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2010 provides deeper insight into social game monetization, development, customer acquisition, and the key questions facing the space in 2010 than you’ll find anywhere else.

About the Report

Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2010 gives you an inside view of the future at this critical juncture in the intersection of social networking and online games.

We have compiled months of original research from dozens of top executives and entrepreneurs from all parts of the social gaming ecosystem to produce eye-opening source data and analysis that is not available anywhere else. At over 80 pages, Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2010 takes the closest look at the present state of social games and the future of what’s shaping up to be a very fundamentally strong and profitable industry.

What We Cover

1. Emerging Social Game Development and Studio Models – There is an emerging consensus around how social game developers are choosing to organize themselves for game development. How do small, medium, and large developers organize their teams? What do development cycle times for original titles and “expansion packs” look like? What is the role of testing and metrics in the development process?
2. Social Game Design and Mechanics – The emergence of a few key game genres with proven mechanics and monetization have spawned dozens of fast followers. Understand how publishers are continuing to innovate as we head into 2010.
3. Monetization Data and Payment Trends – Now that developers have proven the virtual goods model, what are ARPUs really like for different game genres? What is the lifetime value of users, and how long do players stick around? We take an in depth look at monetization methods and rates, and shed light on where payments are headed in the coming quarters. One more note on monetization – you may be wondering about everything you’ve heard about offers and alternative payments for virtual goods. We cover:
   • The offers ‘scandal’ and what will it mean going into 2010
   • Changes that advertisers and payments companies have – and haven’t – made
   • How both direct and alternate payment methods are most likely to grow or contract in the coming year.
4. Customer Acquisition and Marketing Trends – As the social gaming landscape has evolved over the past two and a half years, so have the ways that developers acquire and retain new users. How have user acquisition costs changed, and what do Facebook’s changes spell for the future of the marketing funnel? We take an in depth look at data and trends.
5. Facebook’s Platform Changes, Credits, and What’s In Store for the Future – Just when social game developers were settling in, Facebook announced major adjustments that will dramatically alter the way social games reach users through Facebook. Continued change is likely – what will it be, and how will it impact the industry? In addition, as Facebook rolls out its much-discussed Credits currency, how will monetization and the payments landscape be affected? Finally, will we see another dominant platform emerge? Our overview covers these developments, their impact on the industry, and what else is in store.

What you get

In addition to our deep dive into key aspects of the social gaming ecosystem, the report also offers extended coverage on:

• A brief history on the evolution and growth of this space in the US, including a description of all key players and how they rose to the top.
• Total social gaming market size estimates for 2010, including estimates on the “big three” developers.
• Our take on the key issues facing the growth of social gaming, including our outlook and projections for 2010.

See the full table of contents below:

Table of Contents

Section I: Overview

1. The Evolution of Social Gaming

• What is Social Gaming?
• Why do Social Games Work?
• A Brief History of the Major Eras in Social Gaming
  • Era I – The Virality Era
  • Era II – The Emergence of Paid Distribution
  • Era III – Rise of the Big 3 and the Network Model

2. Social Game Development and Design Processes

• Studio Composition
  • Small Developers
  • Medium and Large Developers
• Platform Services
• Development Cycle Time
  • Expansion Packs
  • True Serial
• Developing Franchise Titles
• Role of Testing and Metrics
• Multi-platform Development

3. Social Game Design and Game Mechanics

• Emergence of Key Genres
• Fast Followers vs Innovators
• Templates / Engines
• Intellectual Property
• Barriers to Entry

4. Monetization

1. How do social games monetize?
   • Virtual Goods
     1. Functional Virtual Goods
     2. Decorative Virtual Goods
     3. Consumables
   • Advertising
     1. Sponsorships
     2. White Label Games
     3. Branded Virtual Goods
2. Monetization Rates
   • How do social game developers manage their businesses?
     1. Social RPGs
     2. Farm Games
     3. Pet Games
     4. Aquarium Games
     5. Poker Games
     6. Flirting Games
     7. Arcade Games
   • Monetization rates of key social game genres
   • How has monetization changed over the last year?
3. Consumer Demographics
4. Payments Breakdown
   • Understanding Offers and the Offer Controversy
     1. The Offer Controversy
     2. Offers in Social Games
     3. Increased Competition
   • Mobile and Alternative Direct Payments
     1. Large Payment Platforms
     2. Direct Payments vs Offers
     3. Direct Payments Breakdown in Social Games
   • Direct Payments
     1. Mobile Payments
     2. Pre-Paid Cards
     3. New Payment Providers
5. Lifetime Value of Social Game Players (LTV) – What do we know?
   • How long do players stick around?
   • When in their lifecycle do users monetize best?
   • Seasonality and monetization lifecycles in social games
   • Banner advertising’s role

5. Customer Acquisition and Marketing

• The Rise, Fall, and Re-rise of Viral Acquisition
• Cross Promotion
• Paid Acquisition
  • Facebook Ads
  • Third-party Facebook Platform Ad Networks
• Network Strategy and Economies of Scale

6. 2010 Market Size and Top Developers Revenue Estimates

• 2010 Social Gaming Market Size
• Top Developer Revenue Estimates
  • Zynga
  • Playfish
  • Playdom
  • Crowdstar

Section II: The Future

1. Facebook Platform Changes and the Relationship Between Facebook and Application Developers

• Impact of Platform Changes
• Developers and Advertising Spend

2. What does the emergence of the big 3 mean for small and medium sized developers?

• Marketing and Customer Acquisition
• The CrowdStar Example
• Can an independent developer dominate a category?

3. Facebook Credits, Offers, and the Changing Monetization Landscape

• Impact of Facebook Credits
• Offers and Performance Advertising
• Role of Alternative Payment Systems

4. Off-Network Games with Facebook Connect

• Intersection of Social and Mobile
• Open Internet – Farmville.com and Facebook Connect

5. Will Another Platform Other Than Facebook Emerge?

• MySpace
• Twitter
• Global Social Networks
• Global Portals
• Search Engine Application Platforms

6. Investment Landscape

• Venture Capital
• M&A and IPO Landscape

7. Competitive Response in the Broader Media and Games Industry

• Casual game developers
• Console Games Companies
• Casual MMOs and Virtual Worlds
• Diversified Media Companies

More Data, More Actionable Insights

In 2009, social games began to show what kind of value can be created on top of social networks. 2010 will be an even more important year.

Social gaming, powered by virtual goods, is this year’s industry to watch. If you’re involved, or are considering jumping in, Inside Virtual Goods will be one of your most important tools.

One year of original data and exclusive in-depth reports delivered on a quarterly basis is $2,495 and contains:

• A detailed overview of the current state of the industry
• Specific estimates on market size by segment
• Diagnosis of key opportunities and issues by segment

Get The Annual Membership

Get Annual Membership (Includes Report + 3 Additional Quarterly Issues): $2,495 $1,995 USD*

OR Buy Single Report: $995 $795 USD*

* Pre-order discount ends January 25, 2010. All pre-ordered reports will be delivered on January 26, 2010.

Although the report will not be released until next Tuesday, January 26, we are offering a special pre-order discount for those who purchase now. A one year subscription is $1,995 until January 26, at which point the price will go to US $2,495. The one year subscription includes three quarterly updates on key developments in the space.

Or, you can download just this report. The pre-order price is $795 until January 26, at which point the price will go to US $995.

Sometimes iPhone developers like to clone a popular arcade game and sometimes take a more creative spin on the matter, and the latter is what Raptured Line did with its brand new, socially enabled title, 3D Noid. The game is actually a rendition of breakout games – the ones where you hit a ball with a paddle and destroy all the blocks – but here’s the catch: Like the name suggests, this breakout app is entirely in 3D.

Using a mix of nostalgia and new technology, this $0.99 application puts the player in the perspective of the paddle as the screen moves down an elevator shaft type of environment. Periodically, multi-colored boxes fill up the room horizontally and vertically, with the objective to keep them from reaching the paddle by breaking them with a the typical white, bouncing ball.

As far as standards go, it has all the basic breakout elements: The ball bounces about with decent physics, players can hit multiple blocks for combos, pick up power ups (i.e. multiple balls at once), and so on. The trick, and the fun part, is that the game’s 3D environment is completely controlled by the iPhone’s tilt sensors. It’s a little jarring at first as the player adjusts to the new controls, but it quickly becomes very intuitive and entertaining.

Unfortunately, the game does have one big flaw in its design and that is the concept of depth perception. It is exceedingly difficult to tell how far away boxes or the ball are vertically as all the shades and hues are of roughly the same value. Multiple times, we lost extra balls because it was too hard to tell which blocks were closer. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to see behind blocks due to the perspective, so while in a 2D breakout game you could angle the ball into gaps so it bounces around a bit before coming down, these are now very hard to see, thus removing high scoring strategies used in the traditional versions. Perhaps that just means that new strategies need to be formulated. However, what did make up for it, at least a bit, was it’s OpenFeint capability.

Likely, users will spend a lot of time making use of the social capabilities that come with the platform. A personal favorite is the challenges which allow users to submit their high score to a friend directly, leading to some competitive longevity. Seeing as how this is a remake of a classic arcade game, and high scores were what really made these games addictive back then, it really is a perfect fit. Moreover, the game also has built in leaderboards that can be sorted by your OpenFeint friends, or globally, as well as a handful of achievements that can be earned and displayed to other users.

Unfortunately, there are only seven that can be earned at this time, but Raptured Line did put in a interesting “Secret” achievement that will not be revealed until it is unlocked. This will likely lure at least some players into the draw of figuring out just what it is, and with any game that has any sort of social implication, there is something to be said about being the first to do something.

Of course, in the end, the game is still just a breakout game, so the secret isn’t going to be anything earth shattering. Furthermore, despite its use of new technology, 3D Noid is not much more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane. It is fun the first couple times you play it, but even with OpenFeint, unless you are a diehard breakout fan, you probably won’t play it much after a while. The good news though, is that as an iPhone app, updates are often frequent and significant, so this average game is likely to get much better in the future.

Playfish has always produced creative, high quality social games, but if the truth were to be told, some of its recent titles such as Poker Rivals and Quiztastic just didn’t feel as strong as previous creations. Having been purchased by Electronic Arts, expectations of the company have gone up even further. Enter Gangster City. Discovered just today, this Flash powered rendition of the classic mafia-style game takes Facebook role-playing games to an uncanny new level of quality and detail.

To be blunt, after about ten seconds, we were blown away by this game’s level of polish as this mafia tale was told in voice acted, noire/comic book fashion. Granted, it’s no high definition CG rendered Avatar, but for Facebook… it was more than impressive.

Players start off as a mere grunt whose father got involved with the mob and, like all good revenge stories, got himself killed. Now, it’s up to the player to have his or her vengeance. To this end, the game is a disguised version of the mafia basics. Players are immediately presented with a surly looking character by the name of Mickey, who also greets you with voice acting, that starts giving you missions to start you on your way.

Missions appear in a list format with a difficulty (based on your current level) posted on the right. Like with most Facebook RPGs, the mission consists of equipping the proper items, an energy cost, and an automatic outcome. After completion, players gain experience towards a new level, some cash, and potential items for later use. However, unlike other role playing titles, the mission isn’t a mere text blurb and refresh of the browser window, but an actual Flash cut-scene. If you have to fight someone, it’s some simple sound effects and flashing images simulating a shoot out, but if it’s something like stealing a car, you actually see yourself hotwiring the ignition.

This brings a level of detail to the game that has yet to be seen in any major Facebook RPG, and while the car cinematic does get old after a while (since you can repeat quests multiple times to “master” them and earn extra bonuses like cash or extra stats), it is still very impressive and the effort is most appreciated.

As players complete missions and level up, new ones (some from new characters) become available and they are able to unlock and buy new pieces of equipment to strengthen a character. Expectantly, with new levels, players can allocate a handful of points to their stats of attack, defense, and energy. This is where another godsend comes into play.

When you level up, or have to buy a weapon for a mission, for that matter, you are prompted to do so directly in the mission window. No changing screens. No browser refreshing. No waiting. Because the game is done in Flash, everything the player does is instant and fluid. There isn’t that disconnect that loading causes that screams “you are playing a free Facebook game.” Instead, it actually feels like something you might play on a console.

There are also other various nuances Playfish pays attention to that furthers the game’s quality. The various regions, for example, while separated by level are actually viewed as an overhead, Grand Theft Auto-type of map. From here, players can pan around the city and see all the locations where new missions can be found, as well as all the locations that they own.

Yes, as expected of a mafia game, you can own property, and it earns you income over periods of time. However, in Gangster City, it is infinitely more gratifying because you can physically see your owned locales on the city map rather than just a compilation of images. Unfortunately, since they take up physical space, players can’t buy multiple instances of the same location (i.e. owning 30 towers in, say, Castle Age), but purchasing more of the same local is justified as “investing” into further into it.

Now, this wouldn’t be a mob game if you didn’t have a mafia family. This means you can, in fact, invite friends to join your mob as Associates and as Family Members. Adding friends to the latter grants the player more power in the form of stats. Once added, they can perform special missions called “Family Jobs” that take a long time to do (hours in some cases) but earn special rewards. Currently, we have tasked our editor with an extortion job (in the game, mind you); Playfish’s attention to detail makes it very gratifying by placing not only the time left for completion, but their Facebook profile image with a word bubble stating “Boss, I’m getting it done.” Oh, how the tables have turned.

As for Associates, these are mob members that improve your effectiveness in the player-versus-player aspect of Gangster City. This is called “Robbing” and using a small amount of energy (not Stamina like in other RPGs), you can fight other players to earn some extra experience and cash. Furthermore, the game allows you to purchase lists of players based on how much wealth they have (with a cost that directly correlates to said wealth). This, of course, has the most potential reward, but also the most risk as these are usually the better and more equipped gangsters out there.

If there is any one potential problem with Gangster City, it may lay hidden in this robbing mechanic as we haven’t found anything like the Mafia Wars hit list, or come across a bank to safely stash our money at yet. The concern is explotation along the lines of continually robbing the same person over and over again. However, as new as the game is, and as few players as it currently has, it’s far to early to tell.

In the end, Gangster City is easily one the most impressive RPGs on Facebook. Having everything integrated into Flash makes some of the annoyances associated with traditional apps – namely constant loading – disappear and the polished visuals and sound effects, coupled with extraordinary attention to detail, make this a very addictive and very fun social game. Since it is new, there is no significant application data for it yet, but this game could explode in the near future?

High scores are all well and good, but sometimes it is nice to have something a little bit more to a game. While leaderboards might be good way to garner competition with other players, what about the concept of working together rather than against? This is sort of the idea Montreal, Canada-based developer ODD1 had in mind with it’s latest iPhone title Catch Me! If You Can.

Based on the classic arcade game, this app has players taking on the roll of a thief as they run through a maze of city streets collecting gold, jewels, and other riches as they avoid a trio of very persistent guards. The idea, is to collect as much loot as possible before the time limit expires and without being caught.

Should the player be captured, the level brings forth an pleasant surprise. Rather than losing, the user is placed in the role of one of the three guards. The same time limit continues to tick down, and they will not go back to being the thief until they have caught, well, the thief. Since the objective of each level is to acquire as much coin as possible, it is prudent to capture the deviant as quickly as possible.

To make things more interesting, each character type also has special abilities they can use to make their respective jobs easier. As the thief, the player can see the entire map and leap over objects. If they are one of the guards, then they only see a limited area around them and can either reveal the entire map, lay traps, or sprint, but frankly, the guy that can reveal the map seems to have gotten the short end of the stick.

The game is presented in a warm, quirky style coupled with light-hearted music, but despite how good it looks, the controls were aggravating. The movement of characters is actually controlled using a digital directional pad (like the one on a Nintendo). This hurts the game on two counts: First, since it is just a digital version of a directional pad, there is no tactile feedback when a direction is pressed, so it is more difficult to steer without looking at where you are pressing. You can’t “feel” which direction you are pressing, leading to slow reactions and frustration when trying to flee guards or catch thieves.

While this might seem like a minor point, when people have grown up accustomed to something being a certain way, that’s what they expect, and changing that just comes off as irritating. A digital directional pad is not the same thing as an analog one, and with the iPhone, there are a myriad of other control methods that could be employed (touching where you want to go, path drawing, or even tilt controls). Moreover, the emulation is backwards with the pad on the right and the buttons on the left; another key detail.

Despite the control complaints, Catch Me! If You Can did come with another saving grace. While players can play through subsequent levels in a “Story” mode, or play quick games with a “Challenge” mode, it was a feature called the “Band of Thieves” that was the most interesting. Rather than compete with other players, users actually work together. After each level, acquired gold can actually be sent to what is called the Treasure Vault; a community collective of every player’s submitted winnings. On the screen, users can see a progression bar that shows how much has been turned in, in total, as well as a percentage of their contribution.

The benefit is two-fold: Not only does the player get the social gratification of seeing how much they are doing, but when the progression bar is full, ODD1 actually releases new content. According to the developer, new content will generally be free and will consist of new levels and challenges. As it stands, it doesn’t look like users can see what others have contributed specifically, but such an added leaderboard-like feature would be very nice wish list item. Not only would you get the benefit of seeing yourself “score” higher than your friends, but the you would also get the gratification of viewing how much more you did, or did not, help the community; something that can eventually evolve into pseudo-celebrity status in more in depth online communities. Vain, it’s true, but vanity can be a powerful tool.

Of course, such status levels are highly unlikely in Catch Me! If You Can. This is generally more reserved for complex social role-playing or massively multiplayer online games. Nonetheless, the employed social technique should still prove effective, and this app does still make for an okay of a classic title – if you can get over the tough controls. Frankly, an update in this regard is desperately needed, but perhaps younger gamers will be more forgiving. Currently, the full version, costs $1.99, but a free rendition with the first three story levels and the Band of Thieves feature is also available.

Pop quiz: Name two major social gaming genres on Facebook. That’s right, virtual farming and virtual aquariums. They are everywhere, because, well, people enjoy them, but what about combining them? That’s just what the folks over at Meteor Games have done with an alpha version app we happened upon called Little Rock Pool. It takes all the elements that come with virtual aquariums, but as the name says, it’s not a fish tank, it’s a rock pool.

As a pool, this miniature virtual world takes place in the “wild” so-to-speak. There’s no algae to clean and no glass to tap, but there are fish. As was noted before, the game is just an alpha version, so there is a lot that has to be figured out via trial and error, but the basics of the game should be fairly familiar. Players buy fish, they grow to maturity and you sell them. However, based on what the game allows you to do with the initial fish it starts you with, they merely sparkle and clicking on them earns you some coin.

The fish are never removed, but there is a limited number of fish that can be at the pool at any time. For example, at level three there can only be six. Basically, think of them like trees in FarmVille; only they swim around and are more interesting to look at.

That said, the other element of the game could be best described as “underwater farming.” Aside from the fish, players are also able to buy crops such as Red Grass, Bananemones, or Sea Biscuits. This works just like planting seeds in a farming game, only you do not have to plow land, water (obviously), fertilize, and they don’t die. However, these too are limited based on level, so at level three, only four are allowed. Luckily, the rate at which plants are harvestable range from only a few minutes to a few hours, so that limit is rarely an issue.

Beyond fish and plants, Little Rock Pool also has the caretaking and decorative elements seen in aquarium games. As expected, fish need to be fed or they will die (though they can be revived) — if they haven’t eaten for an extended period of time, they have to “recover from starvation” before they start growing again (though a simple refresh on Internet Explorer made that go away). Furthermore, the pool can be decorated with objects such as rocks, coral, sea leaves, and other underwater goodies that do not affect the fish or plant limitations and allow for a little personalization.

Socially, the game comes with most of the standards, such as sending gifts to your friends and leaderboards. While seen all the time, these features still lose none of their effectiveness when it comes to sharing and competition. In addition to these, having friends become in-game neighbors also allows you to help each other out by collecting trash goods, unlock larger Rock Pools, and in a more underhanded mechanic, steal up to three items a day from each other, coaxing users to keep a close eye on their aquatic homestead. This last feature is huge with many users in Asia but we haven’t seen it become as big in other parts of the world.

Frankly, our look today is more of a preview than a review, so there isn’t too much that can be reasonably complained about. As it stands, the game is a very well done combination of two genres that have both proven most successful. Currently, the only real issue is that things don’t always save properly when you refresh the game, and it doesn’t look like plants and fish grow while the app is actually running. Of course, these are just alpha bugs, so they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Beyond this, nothing really uses the game’s virtual currency yet, Meteor Credits, save for one Jellyfish, and the overall selection of purchasable items feels a bit small. However, the currency does appear to be shared across both Little Rock Pool and Meteor Game’s other title, the tropical farming app, Island Paradise.

Nonetheless, Little Rock Pool does look like it is going to be pretty good once it’s finalized: The graphics and game play look nice, the concept is fun, and it combines strong elements of popular genres. What’s not to like? Also, despite it being so under the radar, the title accumulated a little over 400,000 monthly active users in about a week, and with a steady flow of cross-promoted users coming from, Island Paradise (roughly 6.8 million MAUs), it is possible that this app may do even better.