Perfect Getaway Facebook Game

Basics: Build up your cruise ship making it the hottest place to sail in Perfect Getaway. You’ll sail to varied locations across the globe, adding different attractions for the tourists sailing with you.

Neighbors: Yes, visiting and gifting.
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes but they don’t give anything worthwhile and the posts all look the same whether you level up or complete a quest.
Crop Withering: No crops.
Energy Based: Yes.

Pros: Graphics are sharp and crisp, cruise ship is a nice variation from other typical Facebook games, good character customization options, full-screen option.

Cons: Very slow gameplay, quests force the player to buy or do certain things rather than offering the player a little bit of freedom, energy runs out very fast, not enough things to do during gameplay, can’t scroll the screen in or out using a mouse scroller (you have to use the zoom arrows on the screen instead), travelling to different locations mostly look the same as other locations.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: High Gifts: Low Storyline: Low Uniqueness: Medium

Official Page: Perfect Getaway on Facebook

BRAAAINS Facebook Game

Basics: In BRAAAINS you take control of a horde of zombies to conquer the world. You get to recruit zombies with different personalities, name them (Beetle Juice is my leader), train them to increase their stats, outfit them with weapons and armor, and attack anyone, whether they’re on your friends’ list or not. It’s great mindless fun.

Neighbors: Yes for helping/attacking (helping is a mini-game) and for sending gifts.
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes but the posts have nice graphics and aren’t intrusive (no collecting needed).
Crop Withering: No crops!
Energy Based: No but you’ll need to wait for your health to go up after most attacks. Health regenerates fairly quickly.

Pros: Continued developer support/releases, great customization options, fun mini-games, animated battles, large list of achievements to strive for.

Cons: No full-screen option, players who pay have a much greater advantage in battle.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: High Gifts: Low Storyline: Low Uniqueness: High

Official Page: BRAAAINS Facebook Page

MiraMagia Browser Game

MiraMagia is a new browser game from the makers of the popular game Travian. In MiraMagia you start out in a new village with your land and dragon focusing on progressing your own character while at the same time trying to help build your village up with your fellow villagers.

Is it worth your time though? The game is a bit slow paced, but also has some nice elements, for complete info see this review: MiraMagia Game Review.

PetVille Facebook Game

Basics: Take care of your very own customized pet in PetVille feeding it, expanding and decorating its house and outfitting it in the newest clothes.

Neighbors: Yes for visiting, gifting, and for expanding your house.
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes but not much.
Crop Withering: No, but your pet may run away if you don’t feed it often enough (you can call it back).
Energy Based: No

Pros: Lots of non-premium items to buy, lots of customization, continued developer support, good sound, lots of room in your house.

Cons: Lacks full-screen option, not many mini-games or things to do with your pet besides shopping and visiting neighbors.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: Medium Gifts: Low Storyline: Low Uniqueness: Low

Official Page: PetVille on Facebook

Illyriad Facebook Game

Basics: Illyriad is a resource management game set in a fantasy world. You take control of a small settlement collecting resources, researching new technologies, building defenses, conscripting soldiers of various ranks to fight for you, attacking other players’ settlements, forming alliances and trading with other players, and much more. Every player is on a world-wide map and players get to choose between four races. Players create a name upon starting the game, rather then being connected by your real name or Facebook picture.

Neighbors: No but there are player formed alliances.
Posts to Facebook wall: No
Crop Withering: N/A
Energy Based: No

Pros: Different type of game, chat within the game, good tutorial to get new players started, lots of different paths you can take for your settlement (diplomatic, offensive, defensive, magical prowess, etc), active community within the game.

Cons: Slow progression, not a whole lot to do when first starting out, outdated graphics, barely any animation.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: Low Gifts: N/A Storyline: Low Uniqueness: High

Official Page: Illyriad on Facebook

Green Farm Facebook Game

Basics: Green Farm is another farming game on Facebook that tries to set itself apart from the rest by the use of robot helpers that help with various farm tasks and with organic crops in addition to regular crops. Organic crops give increased yields when harvested.

Neighbors: Yes, for visiting, gifting, and you also need a set amount of neighbors to buy some items.
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes, but not obtrusively.
Crop Withering: Yes
Energy Based: No but energy is used for vehicles (similar to FarmVille’s fuel).

Pros:  Continued developer support and releases, top-notch graphics, not energy based, animals are extra cute, can name your animals,

Cons: Non-premium animals will die if you don’t feed them enough (such as a clump of feathers left behind from a chicken), a lot of premium items that are expensive, slow progression

Overall Quality:
Graphics: High Gifts: Low Storyline: Low Uniqueness: Low

FrontierVille Facebook Game

Basics: Grow crops, raise animals, start a family, and build a thriving wild west town in FrontierVille.

Neighbors: Yes and they’re needed for just about everything in the game. You won’t get far without ‘em!
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes, a lot.
Crop Withering: Yes
Energy Based: Yes

Pros: Good graphics, lots of varied regular and premium items, many quests to keep you busy.

Cons: Slow loading, constant freezing, practical begging of your neighbors to get anything done, loads of quests may overwhelm newcomers, some people don’t appreciate the crude humor in many of the wall posts.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: High Gifts: High Storyline: High Uniqueness: Medium

Official Page: FrontierVille on Facebook

Gardens of Time Facebook Game

Basics: Gardens of Time is a hidden object game on Facebook with an intriguing storyline (for a Facebook game) and fun gameplay. You have your own “garden” for displaying historical artifacts and buildings rather than any kind of actual farming or gardening, which is a nice change from the usual Facebook fare.

Neighbors: Yes, visiting and neighbors are needed to help you finish the construction of ancient wonders.
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes, posting your game bonuses, quest completions, and level ups will all net your friends some extra coins.
Crop Withering: There aren’t any crops.
Energy Based: Yes

Pros: A lot to do with the energy you have each time you play, varied scenes from varied time periods, items to find in each scene are random offering more variety, only a few premium items.

Cons: Quests force you to buy specific items you may not want for decoration, cannot move or delete items once they’ve been placed.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: Medium Gifts: Medium Storyline: High Uniqueness: High

Official Page: Gardens of Time on Facebook

Paradise Life Facebook Game

Basics: Paradise Life is a farming simulation game set on a beautiful deserted island. The game is energy based so you can only do as many actions as you have energy. It’s a highly quest-based game.

Neighbors: Yes, visiting and gifting.
Posts to Facebook wall: Yes, sharing rewards, mostly coins or experience.
Crop Withering: Yes
Energy Based: Yes

Pros: Beautiful graphics, lots of items to purchase, fast loading, refreshing setting for a farm/village type of game, active developer support and updates.

Cons: Core gameplay very similar to FrontierVille, wild animals show up too often when chopping down trees, energy based gameplay.

Overall Quality:
Graphics: High Gifts: Low Storyline: Low Uniqueness: Medium

Official Page: Paradise Life on Facebook

When Final Fantasy Xiv Releases on PS3 Will Gamers Even Care?

Final Fantasy xiv Online released on September 22, 2010 on PC and has been a major flop for Square Enix. The game recieved horrible reviews everywhere and the player base plummeted even during an extended free subscription plan. If the game is struggling to keep PC players playing while cutting out the subscription for the time being, will Square be able to make Final Fantasy xiv successful on the PlayStation 3 which doesn't have as much competition in the MMORPG genre as the PC does?

Square recently announced a list of changes that are being implemented to Final Fantasy xiv in the coming months. These range from short term fixes to the existing game such as combat and additional quests to long term changes that would drastically alter the game such as the addition of an auction house. But is this enough for the tough PlayStation 3 crowd?

The Hard Target of Console Gamers

Console gamers aren't used to monthly payments for a game like PC gamers are. That alone turns off a lot of potential customers that don't understand why a game may be pay-to-play. But Final Fanatsy xi performed well on PS2 and Xbox 360, so the chance for success still looms in the distance for Square. That is, if they can make enough changes to satisfy gamers.

Console gamers are also typically more action oriented. While slower paced single player games do generally do well, fast paced shooters and action games tend to have the most success. Final Fantasy xiv is a slow game, there's no denying that. Even with the addition of an auction house (a must if the game stands a chance to survive on the console), the gameplay is still slow. Battles are slow-paced, travel is slow, and leveling is a tedious grind.

I have full confidence that Square doesn't want to risk losing PS3 gamers, and so they won't release the console version until they have made as many tweaks and additions to the gameplay as possible. They may be going against a ticking clock if they can't hold their current PC player base though.

Competition for Final Fantasy xiv Online

Although consoles typically don't have many MMORPG options, DC Universe Online by Sony Online Entertainment recently released in January 2011 to high success. DC Universe is a high paced, action oriented combat MMORPG seeing success on both the PC and PS3 versions. DC Universe is also the complete opposite of Final Fantasy xiv gameplay-wise. But with the astounding success DC Universe has seen, does that spell trouble for Final Fanasy xiv? Square now has to deal with strong competition on consoles as well as PC.

DC Universe Online may be the new kid in town, but its making a huge commotion. Square needs to be able to compete with it on the PS3. To do so they need to make Final Fantasy faster paced. Not just with travel and battles, but with grouping up and soloing. The grind for leveling needs to be halved. The ingredients for crafting need to be streamlined. And there needs to be loads of quests inviting the player into Eorzea and making them care about their character and the world if they intend to keep the PS3 gamers' attention- and money.

Has Bad PC Reviews and Gamers' Word-of-Mouth Hurt Square's Potential for Success on PS3?

The answer is yes, most likely. For any gamer who wanted to play Final Fantasy on the PS3 they probably looked around at forums and gaming sites when the game released on PC to see what they were missing out on. They would have seen at least some of the many complaints all throughout the internet and the myraid of terrible reviews. But is that enough to deter them from buying it when it comes out on PS3 months later with numerous fixes having been implemented? Some gamers may have forgot about the game already if they were only mildly interested, others might be optimistic and pick the game up anyways, while others will probably be caustious and wait to see the reviews of the PS3 version before they commit to buying the game. Either way, Square has lost potential customers by all the negativity surrounding the PC version and they need a strong advertising campaign to help the PS3 verrsion sell well.

If the game can really improve before it releases on PS3, and if it can hold enough of the current PC player base, there's still hope for it.

The bottom line is if Square doesn't pull out all the stops and have the most spectacular PS3 release ever, then Final Fantasy xiv is doomed to a life of a mediocre game with dwindling numbers in its first year leading to desolate servers over time.