Google+ Games Review

by jose martinez

Google+ has launched it's games tab with a pretty small but impressive starting line up, including Rovio's Angry Birds, EA/Popcap's Bejeweled Blitz and EA/Bioware's Dragon Age Legends.  It's a small line up which is sure to grow quickly as Google is promising developers a 90% take on downloads.  So, how does this game environment fare against Facebook's long standing Farmville and Mafia Wars empire?

the full Google+ lineup at launch

The HTML5 games load quickly and play smoothly.  They also offer some nice visuals, especially in games like Dragon Age.  the sound is crisp and satisfying, but best of all is that Google+ keeps your gaming away from your socializing.  You will not be forced to look at neighbor requests or any other gibberish on your streams or circles.  It's all kept neatly on the Google+ games tab with in your face leader boards to spark a spirit of friendly competition anytime you lose your number one spot.  If you don't see your tab yet, keep an eye out for it as Google is rolling this out at different times to all users.  

This is a satisfying start so far, and with games like Bejeweled Blitz being offered for free, it's a great pastime while you navigate all your other Google actions.

ANGRY BIRDS INVADE GOOGLE+

by jose martinez

By now, Google+ social gaming strategy is no secret, and now to further confirm the talk, Rovio has officially announced that Angry Birds will be landing on this platform as a HTML5 game.  What does this mean for fans of the mobile gaming hit series?  By bringing the game into the social space, new features are naturally being added that have not been possible before.  This new version of the game will now offer leader boards, co-op pig slaying, and new levels that will become available by inviting friends to play.  With already over 300 million downloads of the game on the mobile space, Rovio looks to expand on that success by tapping into Google+ 10 million strong community.  This is an impressive first blow to Facebook's popular social gaming space, and looks to make Google+ a fierce competitors.

For more info check out Rovio's blog