Words with Friends headed to an Android device near you (Thanks, Zynga!)

When FarmVille-maker Zynga bought NewToy, the creator of the Scrabble-like game Words with Friends last year -- it seemed like quite a coup. Not only had one of the biggest social gaming companies bought one of the coolest (IMHO) mobile games, but it also gave social gamers hope that other Zynga games on Facebook would soon be getting better mobile counterparts.

While we have yet to see Zynga Facebook gaming hits like FrontierVille roll out on mobile, word junkies will be happy to learn that Words with Friends will be headed to Android phones and tablets later this month. The game will also work across platforms, so you will be able to play the game with friends who have the game on iPhones (or other iOS devices) and vice versa.

Zynga says it plans to offer a premium version of the game (i.e. meaning you that will be ad-free later on this year. As for more Zynga games going mobile, we'll just have to wait and see.


Gallery: Words with Friends on Android


Image courtesy of the Word with Friends Facebook fan page

E3 2011: Pet Society Vacation on iPhone takes your Facebook pet on a tropical trip

Before this year's E3, we were given nothing more than a name to go on for EA Interactive and Playfish's newest iOS game, but what a name it was: Pet Society Vacation. Today, we may not have been able to go hands-on with Pet Society Vacation, or even see it in action (due to a temporary wi-fi issue), but we did learn more about what makes this expansion of the established Facebook game tick.

First and foremost, Pet Society Vacation isn't so much a new game as it is a way for you to earn exclusive items back in your Facebook game. Your pet's appearance and level from Facebook will be brought over to this tropical expansion and island, where you'll be given a house boat. The house boat has a single room, but over time can be expanded just like your normal home. These rooms, of course, will be empty, so a set of tropical item shops will be available in the game to allow you to outfit both your new rooms and your pet in tropical gear. Unfortunately, if you have any themed items currently in your Facebook inventory, you can't access these from Vacation, so you really are starting from scratch in that respect.

As for earning coins in Vacation, you'll be able to visit friends and care for your friends' pets as you'd expect, but you can also play a new Scuba-diving mini-game to dig for not only coins under the water, but also new decorative items for your house boat.

Even if you have a lot of Pet Society friends in the original game on Facebook, you won't be able to send free gifts to all of them via the app; only the ones that also play Vacation on iPhone. Additionally, due to the fact that both games on are different platforms, you'll have to accept not being able to use your saved premium currency on Facebook over in Vacation and vice versa.

Pet Society Vacation will launch on iPhone and iPod Touch later this summer and will be free to download. Get ready to connect your Facebook account once more to start new adventures with your pets on the go!

Burnout Crash comes to iOS this fall with help from David Hasselhoff [Interview]

Earlier this year, Criterion Games and Electronic Arts released Burnout Crash for XBLA on Xbox 360 and PSN on PlayStation 3. The game takes auto destruction to a new level with plenty of gameplay modes and speed. The game allows you to send cars crashing into one another, detonating massive explosions with the press of a button. Boss vehicles like limos, pizza trucks and ice cream trucks are thrown into the works, with the game still looks to retain a fast-paced environment. While console gamers have already been able to get their fill of this arcade title, mobile gamers will finally be able to do so this holiday season.

Burnout Crash will be launching on iOS this fall, for iPad and iPhone 4. The game has 18 traffic junctions (settings), three different gameplay modes and an '80s inspired soundtrack featuring songs by Vanilla Ice and Gloria Estefan. The game will feature Autolog technology, bringing a major social edge to the experience, as users will be able to connect with others and compare their stats across the game's different modes. You'll also be able to challenge friends directly via "Autolog Challenges," for some head-to-head fun.

While the mobile version of the game has just now been officially announced, the console versions of the game already come with some pretty heavy backing and publicity, thanks to a partnership with the Knight Rider himself–David Hasselhoff. David has been featured in three commercials for the game, each one funnier and crazier than the last, and we were lucky enough to get to speak to David about his experience creating them, and his thoughts on Burnout Crash in general.

We asked David what it was about Burnout Crash that made him want to partner up with EA, and he could answer in a single word: "Explosions." Going into more detail, the Hoff told us that he "love[s] to blow things up," and that even as a child, he was all about the stunts and explosions. He told us of a go-kart he had as a child that he would send off of makeshift ramps, and that his role as Michael Knight in Knight Rider, it was fitting because "Knight Rider had tons of explosions" as well, so these explosions really "drew him" into the game.

But aside from explosions, what else makes Burnout Crash great? According to David, the game is simply "fun and funny," and that it makes you "use your brain to figure things out." With each level in some of the game's modes (both on iPhone and console) allowing you to earn higher and higher scores so long as you keep the explosions going, we suppose he's right.

While the ideas for the three commercials weren't David's, he says that he did ad-lib in the phrases of his "Chicken Man" and "Cheerleader" personas. "I said the things like 'Eat my pom poms' and 'Time to get plucked.'" At first, EA wanted him to dress as a female cheerleader for the second video in the series, but after dressing as a woman in The Producers on stage, he said he would rather stick to the male outfit this time around, "especially after putting on the wig." This isn't to say that David doesn't know how to have a good time. He says he loves "self-effacing humor that the kids will love or relate to." "If you can stay relevant with the kids, then you'll last forever," Hasselhoff tells us.

We asked David what he thought about Burnout Crash coming to iPhone, and he instantly unleashed his excitement. Apparently, the Hoff has become quite the mobile gamer. He says people are often shocked when he tells them "I'm going on a 21 hour flight around the world." They wonder how he can remain sane while being isolated for so long, but he says he thrives on it. "I love it. It lets me catch up with television shows." He also spends some of that time gaming on his iPhone.

"I wasn't always a big mobile gamer," he says, but that a happy accident got him into it. "I needed a roadie, so my 25-year old nephew has started traveling with me. He accidentally loaded all of his games onto my iPhone." He says that it's funny when he's surrounded by people on a plane, and here are these "two grown men are playing with rollercoasters, going ooh!"

We here at Games.com love what the united front of Hasselhoff and EA have been able to put together, so make sure to check out one of David's commercials below, and keep checking back with us as we bring you more details about Burnout Crash on iPhone in the future.


Are you excited about Burnout Crash on iPhone / iPad? Have you already tried the game on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? What do you think of the trio of commercials filmed with David Hasselhoff?

Burnout Crash comes to iOS this fall with help from David Hasselhoff [Interview]

Burnout Crash will be launching on iOS this fall, for iPad and iPhone 4. The game has 18 traffic junctions (settings), three different gameplay modes and an '80s inspired soundtrack featuring songs by Vanilla Ice and Gloria Estefan. The game will feature Autolog technology, bringing a major social edge to the experience, as users will be able to connect with others and compare their stats across the game's different modes. You'll also be able to challenge friends directly via "Autolog Challenges," for some head-to-head fun.

Diner Dash serves up good eats on iOS for free

Were you sad to see Diner Dash close its doors on Facebook? If you have an Apple mobile device, you can now fill in a bit of the hole left behind with the game's closure, as the original Diner Dash is now absolutely free to download via iTunes. Technically, the free version is only for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but you can download it on your iPad as well (the graphics will be much poorer in that case).

Before this sale, Diner Dash could be purchased for $2.99, which makes this a pretty good deal. Add to this the fact that the game is frequently updated with new content (new themed restaurants and levels, for one) and the deal becomes even better!

Sure, downloading an iPhone game won't bring back the joy of playing as Flo on Facebook, but we certainly won't turn down a free game. The only thing to keep in mind here, folks, is that this free price will only be around for a limited time. How limited? Unfortunately, PlayFirst doesn't say, but that just gives you all the more incentive to download it now, even if you don't plan on playing it until later!

Do you already own Diner Dash on iOS, or will you download it now for the first time since it's free? Does this freebie giveaway help heal the wound of losing Diner Dash on Facebook? Let us know in the comments!