Inside Social Games

Kick Ups is an action arcade Flash game on Facebook developed by David Livingston Kirby, Davy Campano and Robby Campano. The game essentially calls for you to juggle a soccer ball with your mouse before it drops to the ground. For anyone who has ever played soccer/football/futbol in their lives, they know the concept of the game and how freaking hard it is. This game is equally challenging, which is a good step to making the game memorable and addictive.

However, game play isn’t varied (just click the ball before it hits the ground) and staring at a ball bouncing around your screen isn’t the best way to pass your time. That is to say, unless you’re a huge soccer nerd, I’m not sure how much “fun” this game can be. Sure, you can upgrade the ball to a football, a banana, or your friend’s picture (a nice touch), but its essentially the same point-and-click game forever. Put the body of a Mercedes on a donkey, and its still a donkey. And probably a horribly uncomfortable one at that.

On the viral side, they do an admirable job of marketing their product and helping it grow. You can challenge your friends, and you can view both your friends’ scores and worldwide leaders (and grow frustrated as you realize you can barely juggle in the single digits while the pros seemingly can juggle for hours).

Inviting friends will get you new ball types, but you aren’t inviting them to play this great game you’ve found; instead, you’re inviting them with the slim hopes that a better ball will make this game more enjoyable. The animations are solid, the four ball types are fine, and the developers know the social network game enough to insist on friend invitations and cross-promotions with other games.

That said, this is one of those ideas that doesn’t translate to a long-lasting and addictive gaming experience. I’m reminded of the old “Ren and Stimpy” fake commercial “It’s log!” The entire commercial is about a new toy which is literally just a log of wood. The kids seem engrossed, however, in this very simple object. It’s a poignant satire on kids’ imaginations and the ability for adults to try to cash in on that creativity. Similarly, this is a simple idea that people enjoy and take for granted but is being used to make adults money. Kicking a little soccer ball round the screen is like doing the digital dishes. Yes its well animated, but really, what’s the point?

Gameplay: 3

Developers: 5

How much of my childhood died while playing: 6

This is one of those times, as a reviewer, where I wonder if the developer thought his/her Facebook application would be seriously reviewed as something worthy of critical analysis. While many social games have a long way to transcend their mere utility to become something like “art,” there are definitely some games out there that can be considered sublime. This application has some of those games within it, although the application’s name is anything but sublime.

Old School Retro Games, despite its overly casual title, is a solid little Facebook application. Essentially, it packages many old early 90s and late 80s arcade games like Contro, Mario, and Pac Man, into a single Facebook app. It gives some basic directions on how to play and has links to other applications, but that’s essentially it. I don’t even know if I can give the developers credit for converting most of these games to their current medium, as a number of programmers likely contributed to the sum total.

So this is a tough review - I want to applaud the meal that’s been presented for me but I have to question the means by which it has been prepared. That is to say, most of this is stuff taken out of the freezer and the developer is getting credit for creating it. Kung Fu, Bobble Bobble, Donkey Kong- all of the old classics are here. Any serious gamer would love this application and this is probably my favorite Facebook application, easily. That said, there may be some legal issues.

Without taking into account how the material got here, the gameplay is what you’d expect from such varied and classic titles. Some of the games take a while to load and some of the controls are sluggish, but that’s probably pretty true to the source. On the developer side, the presentation of the games menu could be better and they need to better take advantage of the social platform. Why not add a score feature, or a chat feature, or unlockable elements? Overall, while its content is excellent, Old School Retro Games’ presentation is lacking.

Gameplay: 9

Developers Score: 4

How much fun this really is: 11

There is something to be said for name recognition. If people recognize your brand, you’re more likely to get customers. That said, cashing in on the name of a superior product is the saddest form of imitation.

CrazyTaxi, the Facebook game, is just such an imitation. The game is a cheap knock-off of the popular Crazy Taxi series of video games while possessing none of the charms, humor, or graphics of the original. The gameplay is essentially limited to steering your taxi cab left, right, forward, or up (as in jumping). You must guide your taxi to the checkpoint before time runs out, and must maneuver through a never-ending traffic jam worse than anything you’ve ever witnessed on the 405.

The graphics are hokey, the gameplay gets tedious, and though it’s challenging, there isn’t enough here to keep people coming back. You can invite your friends and see the top scores of the global world and your friends, but the only way to unlock the extra features (limited to the “collection” tab), is to invite people.

The game includes sponsors and ads, so the developers have done a good job on that front. But gameplay itself doesn’t open up new features, leaving the game far behind much of its competition. You can’t achieve the customization of other games and the game isn’t fun enough by itself to warrant continued investment. Leave this one by the curb.

Gameplay: 4

Developers: 6

Boredom Sets in: 5 (minutes)

Poppit! Stress Buster is a puzzle arcade game on Facebook developed by Pogo Games and Electronic Arts. You can play a sample of the game for free or go to the PogoGames website to access the full game (warning: may require purchasing).

The gameplay is similar to Dr. Mario or Snood in that you need to line up like-colored objects to clear them from the board. In this case, they are balloons, and thus the “stress buster” moniker. But the game is hard, really hard, so the “stress busting” name is a bit ironic.

The game also has an interesting twist on the puzzle genre. You don’t need to clear all of the balloons, but rather, only the ones with the prizes in them. So you must think before you pop that row of four balloons. In five moves, that could prove fatal. Luckily, the game provides you with an “undo” button. It’s a fun and well-conceived game, well animated and adorned with cute little prizes, balloons, and an anthropomorphic cactus - what more could you need?

On the social side, there’s not much to be said. The application only allows for invites or playing the one stage repeatedly. Other than that, you are directed to the Pogo games website to try other downloadable games or perhaps buy something high-end at EA. The developers don’t try to integrate the game into the social network other than using Facebook as an interactive advertisement ala those Orbitz mini-putt games. You need another application to even share statistics with your friends.

Still, the game is a challenging strategy game that is worth adding, but don’t look for this to be your gateway to a new addictive franchise.

Gameplay: 7

Developers: 4

Difficulty: 7

Bubble Town is an arcade puzzle game developed by I-Play, the object of which is to launch little “borbs” that look like smiling people into a cluster above you. By matching up three or more similar borbs, you not only clear them from the board, but also gain points. Clearing the board of borbs will advance you to the next board/level. Try saying that five times fast.

The game has several menus to invite friends, a mobile option, and the ability to see scores on a global scale. However, the game’s selling point, and why it continues to thrive, is completely tied to its gameplay.

On the consumer side, the game is plenty addictive and extremely fun, with strong attention paid to graphics and variety. The game gets more difficult with each level, and players are rewarded with powerup “borbs” and combo points for particularly effective matches.

The interface and instruction menu are some of the best I’ve seen. The developers even created an instruction animation sequence to show how to play the game, making it much easier for beginners. Despite the impressive animations, quirky icons, and challenging gameplay, I can’t give the game a perfect score knowing full well that I’ve seen this game before.

There is room for improvement, however. There are no attempts to build a community around the program, something that many competing applications have begun to do.

Like many other Facebook games, Bubble Town owes much of its success to being a Facebook adaptation of a formerly popular game, Snood. The developers should be commended for their brilliant adaptation, and we can only hope their creativity will lead to new and original projects as well.

Gameplay: 9/10

Developers: 6/10

Feelings of Déjà vu: 8/10