Gamertell

Facebook has already become a viable gaming platform, filled with all sorts of casual, browser-based games players can add to their profile and account and play as they wish. But what happens when Facebook users become bored of the casual games they’re playing? The casual games on Facebook are quite entertaining and all, but after a while their simplicity can cause their users to become tired of following the same routine to succeed.

That’s where console, handheld and computer games can step up. Many of the Facebook casual games, like YoVille, Mafia Wars or FarmTown, are incredibly similar to existing major releases. Facebook users can easily transition to the game that corresponds to their favorite Facebook applications, and hopefully find something that will hold their interest and perhaps even help them find other games they may enjoy.

Gamertell is taking look at some of the most popular game applications on Facebook today, and pairing them up with comparable major releases, in the hopes of expanding the horizons of casual, Facebook gamers.

FarmTown —> Harvest Moon

Players of FarmTown, or one of the multiple clones like FarmVille, should find a lot to love about Harvest Moon. Granted, Harvest Moon is more complicated, but has all of the elements Facebook users love about FarmTown and more. You can grow crops, buy and upgrade houses and buildings and raise animals. Elements not present in FarmTown, that I’m sure FarmTown players would enjoy, include the ability to make friends with people in the village, raise a family and control the flow of time. (No worrying about whether you can get online in time to harvest your crops!) I’d recommend Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS) or Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii).

Pet Society —> Animal Crossing

Pet Society is somewhat like YoVille, but due to the more cutesy atmosphere I think Pet Society users would enjoy Animal Crossing more than a Sims game. Pet Society is about enjoying mini-games and activity, decorating a home and visiting friends. Animal Crossing may not have the mini-games (unless you go with Animal Crossing: City Folk, which does have hide and seek), but it has activities like fishing and gardening, homes to decorate, clothing to design and a town filled with animal neighbors to make friends with. Plus, if you have other friends who own the game, you can visit them over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) and Animal Crossing: City Folk are immediately available.

YoVille —> The Sims

In YoVille the ultimate goal of most users is to create the most incredible homes filled with all kinds of unique and expensive furniture. The Sims 2 (PC, Mac) or The Sims 3 (PC, Mac) would allow YoVille fans to channel that desire and take even more control of the living situation and their characters’ lives. In YoVille there’s a limited amount of furniture, even more limited if you don’t pay real cash for tickets. Pets even cost real money. There’s also only one place to work, the Widget Factory. If they transfer over to The Sims 2, they can have access to a wider variety of furniture, more jobs, more interaction options for their characters and a nice selection of pets. (The Sims 3 currently has no pets, unless you count fish or captured bugs.) The limit on how often one can work is also abolished, since in-game time doesn’t correspond to real-world time.

(fluff)Friends —> Nintendogs

(fluff)Friends is more of a stationary game, where players update a page for their pet, take part in occasional contests or events and go around petting or racing other pets for munny so you can get new items and decorations for your pet’s habitat. Nintendogs (DS) is the next logical step for (fluff)Friends users. You get the pet simulation, plus you can still customize the animal’s environment, take part in contests and even train your dog. You can also keep multiple dogs as pets, in case you’re having trouble deciding on a breed. The only downside is Nintendogs only offers dogs as optional pets, while (fluff)Friends has a wider assortment of animals to choose from and adopt.

Restaurant City —> Order Up

Restaurant City is another Facebook game where it was initially difficult to think of a corresponding game. Most of the cooking or restaurant related games out there are either similar to Cooking Mama, Diner Dash or Cake Mania. Then, I remembered Order Up! (Wii). It doesn’t have as much of a focus on restaurant customization like Restaurant City, but does offer the ability to customize dishes with spices, unlocking new recipes, hiring cooks and trying to gte high ratings from customers. It also has the cooking game elements found in Cooking Mama, so players can use it to determine if that game would interest them as well.

Mafia Wars —> Godfather the Game

Mafia Wars is one of the most popular Facebook games. Due to the nature of the game, as it’s largely a text-based RPG, finding a console or handheld counterpart is somewhat difficult since there aren’t many major releases that are executed in the same manner. The best thing to do is go with the spirit of the game, and suggest The Godfather. The Godfather game, based on the movie, is available for nearly all major systems (PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii) and while it isn’t exactly like Mafia Wars or it’s clones, it allows players freedom to join a major mafia family, take what jobs and missions they like and eventually wind up at the top.

Minigolf Party—> Pangya: Fantasy Golf

Minigolf Party is basically a toned down golf game that’s had some fantasy elements and silly content added in to make it a more enjoyable and lighthearted experience. A comparable game is Pangya: Fantasy Golf, which is available as a free PC MMO or a PSP game. Pangya: Fantasy Golf is a golf game set in a fantasy world where you can update and change your character’s clothing or equipment. The PC version lets you play online with friends and even join clans. The PSP version has you playing brief golf challenges to save Panya Island from evil forces.

My City —> SimCity

My City is quite similar to the SimCity line of games. You create a city and help manage it and it’s citizens so it will be successful. My City has the game change and evolve based on what kinds of citizens live their and choices the player makes. While SimCity doesn’t have as big a focus on the citizens living in the city, the funding, building and zoning choices made by the player can change how your city grows. SimCity also factors in natural (and unnatural) disasters, to add an extra strategic element. SimCity (DS), SimCity Creator (DS, Wii) and SimCity Societies (PC) are all immediately available.

Knighthood —> Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Knighthood is another Facebook adventure/RPG that is primarily text based, which can make recommending a similar game a little difficult. The closest you can probably get is Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a strategic simulation game set in ancient China. You manage an area of China, and the goal is to successfully run your area while possibly taking over the whole country. Like Knighthood, there are recruiting aspects, as well as building up your country, handling natural disasters and managing foreign relations. Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire (Wii) and Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI (PS2) are the most recent entries available.

Site [FarmTown] Site [Pet Society] Site [YoVille] Site [(fluff)Friends] Site [Mafia Wars] Site [Minigolf Party] Site [Restaurant City] Site [My City] Site [Knighthood]