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FarmVille Limited Edition 05.20.2013 Mystery Game: Cost: 15 Farm Cash FarmVille Limited Edition 05.20.2013 Mystery Game Prizes: FarmVille Floating Castle FarmVille Flying Dragon FarmVille Bean Stalk Duck FarmVille Paragliding Ewe FarmVille Jetpack Penguin FarmVille Floating Pig FarmVille Cluck Rogers (Bonus Prize) FarmVille Floating Castle FarmVille Flying Dragon FarmVille Bean Stalk Duck FarmVille Paragliding Ewe FarmVille Jetpack Penguin FarmVille Floating Pig FarmVille Cluck Rogers

Few things create a narrative minefield like a prequel. We already know how the story ends, and yet, you’ve still got to keep things fresh. Add in gameplay that’s largely unchanged from 2011, and suddenly, a sure-bet return to a powerhouse franchise might start to look a little shaky. Ben Mattes, senior producer on Batman: Arkham Origins (releasing October 25 on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U), doesn’t see it that way. “The Arkham franchise is one of the richest out there as far as the depth of its core systems,” says Mattes. “We said at the very beginning of development that we’re not interested in adding new features for the sake of adding new features. Where can we move the needle? This is an expression that’s very important to us.” It’s also very important to Batman fans. So I sat down with Mattes to find out exactly where that needle moved to. GamesBeat: This is a new team working on this franchise. How did you depart from where the old team left off? Ben Mattes: We inherited one of the top-rated games of all time as our launching point. We realized very early on that one of the core fantasies of being Batman was this idea of being the world’s greatest detective. Taking the cool scanning and tracking gameplay, placing it in the open world, and doing that technological scrubbing and rewinding, that digital recreation of the crime scenes. That was an area we wanted to push. GamesBeat: Playing the demo, a lot of things were very familiar from the past two games. How do you make it feel new the third time around? Mattes: Our goal wasn’t to throw [the core gameplay] away and say, “No, we can do much better than that.” That would have been a mistake. Our goal was to take that foundation and to help players become the “black belt in Batman.” Taking them through the richness of the system was definitely one of our objectives. On top of that, we wanted to refresh all the content — the enemies, the settings, the stories, the visuals, the aesthetics of some of these gadgets. GamesBeat: Tell me about the new virtual-reality Detective Mode where you digitally recreate a crime scene. Will detective sequences always be like that in Origins? Mattes: We have the standard options to go into Detective Mode. In certain key areas, we have this heightened Detective Mode. Sometimes, it takes place in the open world, and sometimes, it takes place in interior locations. Sometimes, they’re big, spectacular events, like a helicopter crash. Sometimes, they’re smaller, like a guy caught in a hit-and-run. But they’re always tied into the story and tied to key characters. They’re optional, generally speaking. GamesBeat: Are those enhanced Detective Mode sequences mandatory? Mattes: A lot of them are side-story challenges. GamesBeat: One of the things that struck me about the enhanced Detective Mode is that it left the normal POV of the game. I wasn’t Batman anymore — I was in a kind of god mode. What was the thought behind that? Mattes: Simply put, we tried the first-person perspective and the third-person. We thought it felt cooler to be able to do that — the term that we use is “scrubbing” — from the first-person perspective because you can get right into the action. I encourage you to go stand right in front of the helicopter and have it come and crash-land right at your feet. It’s a more spectacular feeling than if you’re in the third-person perspective. Filed under: Games Pages: 1 2

Gamezebo Rating: Willow Ridge isn't doing so well these days. The trees have come to life and are keen on destroying the town and its inhabitants. And with the lighthouse busted, there's no source of cleansing light to keep the monsters at bay. It's time to strap on your Save the World Boots and get to work in Rite of Passage: Child of the Forest, an extremely well-made adventure from Mad Head Games.

Two years into his crusade, everyone still thinks the Batman’s just a myth. Nobody’s gotten a good look at him. Only crime lord Black Mask takes him seriously … seriously enough to put a $50 million bounty on his head. And eight top assassins have come to collect it on Christmas Eve. Batman: Arkham Origins (due October 25 on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U) takes the familiar beat-’em-up/stealth gameplay from the Arkham series and backs it up to an earlier time in the Dark Knight’s career. “We wanted to bring Batman back to a place where he was scary, where people who saw Batman wished they hadn’t,” says senior producer Ben Mattes of Warner Bros. Montreal (the studio replacing original developer Rocksteady). “There’s a certain familiarity that Batman has later on in his career. He becomes part of the establishment. That’s not the Batman story we wanted to tell.” That’s not the Batman you get in Origins, either. Bruce Wayne’s in a very different place here, his anger still raw and on the surface. As Batman, he’s bestial, unshaven, and snarling at his victims. That’s the main thing keeping a creeping sense of over-familiarity at bay. And this time, the Dark Knight patrols the entire city, not a walled-off prison, though the demo limited me to a fairly small area and didn’t let me access the map overview. Gotham City’s covered in snow and decked out for the holidays, a scene creative director Eric Holmes describes as, “a party hat on top of a corpse.” The streets look oddly deserted, though you won’t find any shortage of violent criminals hanging out on rooftops. Holmes put the absence of civilian life down to a combination of the holidays and bad weather. Put another way, the franchise is rapidly running out of excuses for keeping Gotham uninhabited. In terms of combat, Warner Bros. Montreal mainly hit the “repeat” button, though a few new enemies mix things up a bit. The hulking Armored Lieutenant echoes past franchise heavies, this time requiring you to rip their armor off before administering a few rapid, multi-punch combos. They’re big, slow, and not much to worry about if you pay attention. Then you get the new Martial Artists, and going up against trained fighters throws a much better curveball. They block and counter just like Batman does, forcing me to engage in a nice, fist-to-face chess match. They also came at me with karate attacks that required repeated blocking — the standard “incoming attack” warning icons get big and angry just before a Martial Artist launches a multi-hit combo. Squaring off against a few of them pressed me in ways the series hasn’t in a while, forcing me to change up my tactics whenever I saw one on approach. Good stuff. Less good? Some familiar hiccups return from Arkham City. Booting thugs off a rooftop results in some magical physics to keep them from plummeting to their death. Using the glide boost — a handy way to go from grapple line to flight — can still launch you off into unexpected directions. Outside of bad guys, I counted exactly two new additions to the series, and they both come with caveats. Filed under: Games Pages: 1 2

Click here to receive the Morning Social Media Newsfeed via email. Report: Yahoo Will Announce Acquisition of Tumblr Today (SocialTimes) Yahoo’s board met Sunday and agreed to acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, according to AllThingsD. The company was quickly targeted by incoming CEO Marissa Mayer as a larger acquisition target, according to AllThingsD reports. AllThingsD It’s not clear when the official vote was taken, but sources close to the board said the acquisition was a foregone conclusion and was unanimously approved by the directors of Silicon Valley Internet giant. The deal will likely be announced this morning, said numerous sources. The Wall Street Journal Tumblr’s board also has approved the deal, one of the people said. The transaction would add Yahoo to the list of established Internet companies, including Google and Facebook, that have spent $1 billion or more apiece to buy startup companies in hopes of gaining an edge in growth. The New York Times The deal, the seventh since Mayer defected from Google last summer to take over the company, would be her biggest yet. It is meant to give her company more appeal to young people, and to make up for years of missing out on the revolutions in social networking and mobile devices. Tumblr has over 108 million blogs, with many highly active users. Adweek While it remains to be seen how the two companies will mesh and what lies in store for the Tumblr brand and its management team, the pair do seem to present a good fit. Yahoo needs Tumblr’s cachet among both engineers and advertisers, while Tumblr needs big help taking monetization to the next level. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Signs Crackdown on Social Media ‘Flash Mob’ Attacks (Chicago Sun-Times) Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation on Saturday that doubles the maximum prison term — to six years — for anyone who uses social media and text messaging to organize violent “flash mobs.” The legislation was in response to recent incidents in Chicago that left business owners fearful that tourists and others would be scared off. WGN “We don’t want flash mobs harming anyone, anywhere, but especially where many people come from other states, other countries,” Quinn said. “We want to make sure we protect other people.” The Guardian Express Chicago police report that several hundred people – mostly teenagers – used Facebook, Twitter and text messages to organize a flash mob on Michigan Avenue in March. They ran through the fashionable shopping district bumping into people and yelling as they ran back and forth. Facebook Launches Offers for Android (AllFacebook) Facebook announced Friday that it is making Offers available to Android users. Facebook pointed out that these offers posts will have a simplified layout with larger images and clear call-to-action buttons (Get Offer/Shop Now). Twitter Will Damn Your Soul, Saudi Cleric Says (CNET) As the BBC reports, Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh mused that anyone who uses Twitter “has lost this world and his afterlife.” It may well be that the Sheikh’s biggest concern is that so many of his people are now enthusiastically posting uncensored thoughts on Twitter. YouTube Reveals Users Now Upload More Than 100 Hours of Video Per Minute, as the Site Turns Eight (The Next Web) These days there are few things bigger than Facebook on the internet, but Google-owned YouTube is one of them, and the world’s top online video service marked its eight-year anniversary by revealing that it is now seeing more than 100 hours of video uploaded every minute. That’s right, every minute. 12 Percent of Americans Commit ‘Netflix Adultery’ [Infographic] (LostRemote) Netflix, the streaming giant that’s about to release a new season of Arrested Development just launched a genius marketing and PR campaign that hilariously explains the binge-watching internet culture they’ve defined and invigorated. New York Magazine’s The Cut coined the term “Netflix Adulte

FarmVille Beat Australia Loading Screen FarmVille Beat Australia Task 1 Requirements: Build Australian Vineyard to Level 10 Rewards: 3 Pack of Turbo FarmVille Beat Australia Task 2 Requirements: Get 3 Star Mastery for Each of the Australian Crops (Canola, Field Peas, Sweet Corn, Muntires Semillon Grape, Shiraz Grape, Lillipilli, Kutjera Tomato, Fava Beans, Australian Sugar Cane, Yellow Myrtle Flower, Kangaroo Paws) Rewards: 4,000 Aussie Points FarmVille Beat Australia Task 3 Requirements: Build Daydream Island to Level 10 Rewards: 2,000 Aussie Points FarmVille Beat Australia Task 4 Requirements: Upgrade Aussie Winery to Level 5 Rewards: Instagrow FarmVille Beat Australia Task 5 Requirements: Complete All of the Above Tasks Rewards: Beat Australia Trophy & Australian Shipping License FarmVille Beat Australia Task Preview FarmVille Beat Australia Gift Preview FarmVille Beat Australia Shipping License Preview

FarmVille 4th Birthday Notice FarmVille 4th Birthday Prizes: FarmVille Birthday Day 1: 4th Birthday Cupcake Cow FarmVille Birthday Day 2: 4th Birthday Candle Tree FarmVille Birthday Day 3: 10 Fuel Refills FarmVille Birthday Day 4: Atlantis Buildable Part Package FarmVille Birthday Day 5: Fertilize All Package FarmVille Birthday Day 6: 4th Birthday Bush FarmVille Birthday Day 7: 2 Mystery Game Darts FarmVille Birthday Day 8: 4th Birthday Party Tree FarmVille Birthday Day 9: 20 Watering Cans FarmVille Birthday Day 10: 3 Unwithers

It’s Day 14 of the FarmVille Mother’s Day countdown! Today’s daily prize is the Mama’s Girl Bunny and you will need to collect twelve stamps to make it yours. Collect stamps for each daily prize by posting a Facebook News Feed share. When one of your friends clicks on your share, you will get one item per friend that clicks. Remember, when you click on a neighbor’s share, you will also get one item for yourself. Help a friend, help yourself! You can request help every 6 hours. After fulfilling the collection requirements, you can find the the Daily Prize in your FarmVille Gift Box. Once you complete each of the countdown’s Daily Prizes, you also get a bonus prize. There are 16 days of prizes and one exclusive  bonus prize, the Supermom Pegacorn when you collect all 16 daily prizes. FarmVille Mama’s Girl Bunny FarmVille Mother’s Day Countdown Day 13 Daily Prize: FarmVille Mama’s Girl Bunny Requirements: Collect 12 stamps Sneak peek of all the daily prizes and bonus prize below! FarmVille Mother’s Day Countdown Prizes: FarmVille Mother Duck FarmVille Mother Hen FarmVille Mama’s Boy Pig FarmVille Flower Burst Tree FarmVille Spilling Love Fountain FarmVille Breakfast Cow FarmVille New Mom Gnome FarmVille Baby Carriage Tree FarmVille Mother Dragon FarmVille Cat with Crate of Kittens FarmVille Arts & Crafts Tree FarmVille Mammy Goat FarmVille Papillon & Puppies FarmVille Mama’s Girl Bunny FarmVille Career Mom Horse FarmVille 50′s Mom Unicorn FarmVille Supermom Pegacorn

Sneak peek for upcoming FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest Guide! FarmVille Chapter 5 Australia quests will arrive on Monday, May 20th, 2013 and ends May 27th, 2013. Use this guide to speed through your questing and be sure to share the news with your farmin’ friends! Please note, the information in this guide is accurate at time of publishing, but is subject to change without prior notice by Zynga. See an error? Kindly report any findings to farmgoddess@farmvillefreak.com or leave a comment on this post. FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Master Guide FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest 1: Give it a Burl Requirements: Get 7 Tied Boot Strings, Harvest 30 Muntires & Harvest Daydream Island 2 Times Rewards: Tripping Tiger FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest 2: Beware of Rats Requirements: Get 8 Rodent Notices, Harvest 40 Lilli Pilli & Harvest Tripping Tiger 1 Time Rewards: Rat House Tree FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest 3: Beware the Drop Bear! Requirements: Get 9 Beware of Drop Bear Sign, Harvest 50 Aussie Purple Pepper & Craft Muntrie Chutney 1-Time Rewards: Drop Bear FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest 4: Waiter, There’s a Fly In My… Requirements: Get 10 Fake Insect Ice Cubes, Harvest 60 Kutjera Tomato & Master Tripping Tiger to 1-Star Rewards: Duck Cube FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest 5: Hot Sauce Requirements: Get 12 Super Hot Sauce, Harvest 70 Fava Beans & harvest Duck Cube Twice Rewards: Hot Sauce Tree FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quest 6: Get Out! Requirements: Get 14 Fake Eviction Notices, Harvest 85 Semillon Grape & Harvest Drop Bear 2 Times Rewards: Aussie Dragicorn What do you think about the FarmVille Australia Chapter 5 Quests?  Will you be paying for early access or skipping these quests?

FarmVille Tie Dye Unicorn FarmVille Syrah Pegacorn FarmVille Footbag Hog FarmVille Cabernet Grape Sheep FarmVille Sommelier Goat FarmVille Limited Edition Northern California Animals: FarmVille Tie Dye Unicorn – 30 Farm Cash FarmVille Syrah Pegacorn – 25 Farm Cash FarmVille Footbag Hog – 16 Farm Cash FarmVille Cabernet Grape Sheep – 16 Farm Cash FarmVille Sommelier Goat – 14 Farm Cash FarmVille Hipster City Gnome FarmVille Toasting Ducks FarmVille Seagull Deco FarmVille Haight & Ashbury Sign FarmVille Limited Edition Northern California Decorations: FarmVille Hipster City Gnome – 12 Farm Cash FarmVille Toasting Ducks – 12 Farm Cash FarmVille Seagull Deco – 4 Farm Cash FarmVille Haight & Ashbury Sign – 50,000 Farm Coins