E3 2011: Parking Wars 2 offers you a chance to write parking tickets later this month

While we've know that Parking Wars 2 for Facebook existed, little was known about how the game would actually play. Well, at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, I got to put all of that to rest, as we sat down with a completed version of this still unreleased game. In Parking Wars 2, you jump into a world inspired by the A&E television series (which in itself concerns the men and women of the Philadelphia Parking Authority).

You'll need to "monitor and maintain" your street by keeping track of each and every car parked on your street and ticketing them accordingly (certain parking spaces only allow cars of a certain color, for instance), and also by customizing it with new items. You'll be able to customize your street's backgrounds, and choose individual cars to populate it (you unlock more cars the longer you play the game). By adding businesses to your street, you'll also be able to earn more revenue, as each particular business (a car wash, burger joint, etc.) may charge drivers extra money to park in front of them, helping you out in the end.

Of course, as with most social games, you'll be able to visit your friends' streets, but can then personalize and share tickets with them on their profiles. You'll even be able to park your cars on your friends streets, either legally or illegally, and will earn monetary bonuses based on the amount of time you stay parked on their street. In terms of sabotage, you can steal your friends' earnings by activating tickets that they haven't yet written, or you can even do damage to some of their cars by going so far as to throw a virtual rock through one of their windows, negatively affecting that car's value. Speaking of value, you can increase the value of your vehicles by purchasing special bonus items like a new application of car wax, new tires and so on.

Unfortunately, Parking Wars 2 does rely on your to have active neighbors to visit, as a friend who has simply stopped playing the game will turn into a dead street. At that point (as of this writing) that entire street is now useless to you, but you can send a reminder to your Facebook friend for them to jump back into the game, which would reactivate the street for your use.



While Parking Wars 2 was originally slated for release last month, we're now told that the game will launch on Facebook sometime this month. A specific release date wasn't made clear, but you can keep an eye on the game's official fan page for more info as time passes.

What do you think of what you've heard about Parking Wars 2? Does this seem like a game you'd want to play with friends, or would you rather just watch the TV show that inspired it instead?

E3 2011: Hands-on time with Nintendo's Wii U leaves us wanting more

At this year's E3, we had a chance to go hands-on with Nintendo's newly announced console Wii U. This "sequel" to the Wii will allow you to combine the now established WiiMote motion control scheme with the use of the new touch-pad enabled controller. Via our time with the Wii U in Nintendo's booth, we were shown multiple technical demonstrations that each worked to highlight one particular aspect about the Wii U that should make it stand out from a now heavily populated crowd.

A simple touch screen demonstration pitted myself against another player, as we were asked to complete basic tasks using the stylus on the controller's touch screen. Commands such as "Draw a line that is 2.5 inches long," or "Draw a circle with a diameter of 3 inches" suddenly became very tense and difficult to complete. It was in this demo that we learned how to better take in the controller's large screen size.

Other demos showed off working levels in a new Super Mario Brothers Wii U title (that we weren't allowed to photograph or film), and the use of the Wii U controller as a sort of secondary menu in a Legends of Zelda demo. Where we did really dive into the meat of these demos though was in the Chase Mii and HD Graphical demonstrations, which you can learn more about behind the break.

For the Chase Mii demo, we were shown just how the new Wii U controller can work in a multiplayer environment, as other players use traditional Wii Remotes. The demo (not really a game, as it apparently isn't being developed for any release) required five players to work, and saw one player being "it," sort of like in a game of tag. The active player would be given the Wii U controller, which displayed two things: their positioning on a geometric map, and an overhead camera angle view that showed the location of all four pursuers. Here's the catch: those four pursuers could only see a small section of the screen, which was split into four quadrants. They didn't have access to the entire overhead map, introducing teamwork to the mix, as the player that was being hunted would definitely have an advantage otherwise. You can see the demo in action in our video below:


As for the final demo of note, it was more of a technical demonstration than anything truly interactive, as it was set to show off the console's new HD graphics. The demo was split into two sections: a bird would fly around a beautiful landscape as the seasons changed. Leaves or flowers would fall into water, the bird would become covered with snow or the snow would simply fall through the air, and the whole while the Wii U controller is displaying a different area of the landscape for your to take in visually. As you move the controller from left to right, the image on the controller changes in real time, just as if you were actually standing outside and moving to take in all of your surroundings at once. Again, we have a video of this demo for you to check out here:


All told, our time with the Nintendo Wii U may have been lengthy, but it also left us wanting more. Of all of the demos we saw / got our hands-on, the Chase Mii demo was definitely the most fun, but the fact that most of the work was done with original WiiMotes was a bit concerning. Still, the ability to play full games on the Wii U's screen, rather than on your TV screen is an impressive sight considering this new high definition graphical fidelity. There's still plenty of time for Nintendo to wow us with more before the Wii U's unannounced release date, and you can believe we'll be there every step of the way as we learn more.

What do you think of these first images and videos of the Wii U console in action? Were you impressed by Nintendo's showing at this year's E3, or do you think they've missed the mark entirely for the direction their new console should be taking?

Pig Up! on Facebook: Flapping about is fundamentally flippin' fun

You know, EA has good reason to celebrate buying PopCap for a potential $1.3 billion. For one, it has made some of the most recognizable casual games ever created. But for two, when it crafts new IP (intellectual property), you can bet that brand will be around for a long time.

The very same goes for Pig Up!, the studio's first original IP since Plants vs Zombies. It's as simple as it gets when it comes to casual gaming (Note the absence of social gaming.), but equally as addictive.

From the adorable pig that you keep in the air with Flaps, or finite clicks of the mouse, to the twangy banjos and roar of "Hoooogg Wiiiiiiilld" as you crush evil bees beneath you, everything about Pig Up! is memorable. The game tasks players with launching a brave little piglet into the air with a shoddy cannon strapped to a pickup truck, and keeping it in the air for as long as possible. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Gallery: Pig Up! on Facebook

First of all, you're only given so many Flaps to start, because the piglet can only fly by flapping its arms, strapped to wooden planks--can you tell Pig Up! is oozing with southern backwoods flair? Luckily, the game knows for how long you hold the mouse button pressed, as the longer you do, the higher your piglet will reach with a flap of its makeshift wooden wings. This comes in handy when directing your piglet into Flapples, or green (Granny Smith?) apples that restore your number of Flaps by one or two.

As you flap higher and higher, you'll reach new levels that increase your score multiplier (you start at 2X), but the position of the Flapples and bees on screen will remain the same. Speaking of bees, these buggers will hover for a moment and come charging toward your piglet in a straight line. Being hit by one consumes one of your Flapples, but closely dodging bees applies hefty bonuses to your score. Dodge enough bees in succession, and your Hog Wild meter will fill. Once the meter fills, your piglet will become invincible to what sounds like a war cry the dudes from Deliverance would let out, and will gain Flapples from bashing enemy bees. But only for a few moments, so be mindful of when your meter runs out.

pig up! in action
As you continue besting your own high score--and your friends', which appear as Flapples to eat in-game--you'll unlock powers to enhance your piggy-piloting abilities a' la Zuma Blitz. Powers like extra Flaps to begin each round with or better yet, rocket packs! (Seriously, could anyone resis a piglet on a jet pack?) These power-ups cost Pig Pence, the game's one and only currency, that players accumulate through playing more rounds or buy outright for Facebook Credits.

The game has little to no social features to speak of (at the moment) other than leader boards, weekly tournaments and posting scores to your Facebook News Feed. Though, that might not be where PopCap is looking with not only Pig Up!, but Facebook gaming in general. Players who thrive on sending gifts to and visiting friends daily won't find much in this new PopCap game. For the rest of you, the game's anime-esque art style, simplistic if addictive gameplay hook and charming humor will certainly keep you coming back for one more flap.

Click here to play Pig Up! on Facebook Now >

Have you tried Pig Up! on Facebook yet? What do you think of PopCap releasing another IP before bringing another of its iconic brands to the social network?