The card is priced at $39, and includes the following in-game items and currency:

• Massive Sultan’s Palace
• Flying Carpet Mount
• Mystical Genie in a Lamp
• Magical Casting Flute
• Snake in a Basket Pet
• 1 Month Membership OR 5000 Crowns

Purchased separately, those would cost $100, so this could be a good gift for the Wizard 101 fan in your life. (Even if that’s you.)

The entire world is built using assets created by the movie’s animators, but you won’t need to install a thing – it’s all browser-based, removing barriers to entry, as you only need a computer with Internet access. You create your own character and explore the town of Dirt, playing minigames and interacting with residents all the while. I was able to give the game a try earlier this week, so this is all supplemented with some personal experience.

Funtactix is all about breaking the fourth wall – making sure you’ve got an experience that lasts long after you leave the movie theatre.

“A stage appears to be surrounded by only three walls, but there is always a fourth – the invisible wall that separates the show from the audience,” said Sam Glassenberg, CEO of Funtactix. “It keeps the performer separated from their fans, and prevents moviegoers from entering the world behind the screen. Funtactix breaks down this fourth wall. We let users jump into the authentic world of the film. Players can explore, follow the extended story through quests, create their own stories and customize their characters and their own rooms within the town of Dirt.”

That sounds like exactly what you’re looking for in a good tie-in game, right?

When I started playing, I made a sweet little lizard gal and named her “Beanies.” No, I had no idea that an actual character is named “Beans,” but I will consider this a sweet coincidence. The entire game is controlled via your mouse or trackpad. Click where you want to go, click the characters you want to interact with – it all works smoothly, except in the instance that you want to go somewhere that is slightly covered by the interface.

The quests I experienced were on the basic side – go to these places, talk to these characters, that sort of thing. Animation was fairly smooth and while it’s not exactly like what the movie has, it’s like what the movie would be like in a cel-shaded, cartoonish environment. (Some characters will even be getting the voiceover treatment, though our host was hesitant to say whether or not the actual actors would be making the jump to the game.)

My favorite quest (which came a little bit after the basic introduction to the game and its features) involved a minigame that should be fairly familiar to anyone who’s seen trailers for the movie. Rango has to run away from a huge bird and jump over a few chasms along the way. It sounds simple, but it was tons of fun – and it certainly helped that our performances were ranked. It brought out the little competitive piece inside me.

There are plenty of customization options available, which should make the FarmVille set very happy. Granted, I’ve never played a -ville title in my life, but the ability to change your character’s clothes and decorate your own room should please the sort of people who would like planting digital crops.

Parents will also be pleased, since the game is moderated 24/7 by experienced GMs and the amount of chat options is pretty limited. In the safest of the safe servers, you pick everything you want to say from a predetermined list (some of which is even in Spanish). The other, less heavily-moderated servers have chat boxes that are still constantly watched and filtered. So you would, in theory, let your kid play and not worry too much about it. (Note: I do not have children, so my opinion may differ from yours if you do.)

The other part that parents would like? The price. A majority of the experience is completely free-to-play. Granted, some “premium” content (some room decorations and clothing items, for instance) will exist, but none of it is essential to playing, and new content will be added all the time. If you are interested in going premium, though, that’s $6.99 a month, with the price going down the more months you buy packaged together.

Luckily, if this all has you interested, it’s easy enough to give the Rango: The World a try – especially since it’s free.

As far as future plans for the game go – right now, it’s sticking to its main website. However, Facebook implementation is definitely in the pipeline – especially nice considering how easy it would be to get your friends in on the fun.

Microsoft has Launched a whole new side of Bing dedicated to entertainment. Part of the new Bing Entertainment experience is the easiest way to play our favorite games, play them online, play them for free, and enjoy the social aspect of challenging our friends on Facebook with one click! This comes in the form of the Play Now option when simply searching for favorite games on Bing (or, of course looking through the catalog under the games tab in the Bing Entertainment section).

Games on Bing offers nearly 100 of the most beloved word, puzzle, action, casino, match 3, time management, and arcade style games for online play. Online playing offers a host of benefits, including quick and easy access, saving space and loading time on your computer, cost effectiveness, and the ability to challenge friends through Facebook.

I was introduced to Games on Bing at Casual Connect. I must say it’s a smart move by Microsoft to encourage gamers to use Bing as their main search engine. But, I love the fact that (as soon as more people catch wind of this and start playing this way) we can turn many games we already play into social games to bring in the competitive aspect that seems to be taking over the industry.

Bing Entertainment also includes everything music, movies, TV, and other video games. Check it out. And let me know if your favorite game is now on Bing!

Today at Casual Connect in Seattle, Women’s Day and Big Fish games announced a partnership that will bring access to the 2500 game strong catalog from BigFish Games to Woman’s Day readers and visitors of WomansDay.com.

“The breadth of our catalog offers Woman’s Day readers and website visitors a vast array of great games,” said Jeremy Lewis, chief executive of Big Fish Games. “Our games are a great fit for Woman’s Day readers, who seek to live well every day. Casual games are relaxing, mentally stimulating, and fun. ”

The partnership also includes a special offer exclusively for Woman’s Day readers int he back-to-school September issue, which hits newsstands in the beginning of next month. There are also special offers every day here.

“Woman’s Day Magazine speaks to the CEO of the household, the woman,” says Carlos Lamadrid, senior VP and chief brand officer of Woman’s Day Brand Group. “Our readers – and women everywhere – are now driving the online gaming market. Through this partnership with Big Fish Games, our readers can now access unique content and special offers for fun, family-friendly games.”

Nvinium Games Inc has released the first trailer for the latest chapter in the Strategy First’s Space Empires saga, Space Empires: Battle for Supremacy. Battle for Supremacy introduces a new audience to the popular series, sending social gamers forth on a journey for peace and discovery in the midst of interstellar war on Facebook beginning July 27th.

“We’re all big fans of the Space Empires franchise, which has provided rich game play and beautiful visuals that we’ve fully utilized when creating this game,” said Matt Abrams, CEO, Nvinium Games. “This is the perfect project for us to begin delivering on our goal of integrating well-known IPs with our social game development experience and success in building online communities to create games that players will enjoy.”

Space Empires: Battle for Supremacy Features:

Unique real time combat system

Large galaxies with over 100 solar systems and countless planets to explore

Advanced technology for ships and structures

Beautiful, detailed planets, stars and starships

Competitive leaderboards based on military strength, empire dominance, racial superiority and resource management

Alliance formations with players’ friends and other races to better defend territories and conquer other planets

I’d like to know from anyone who has played this series: how you think it will translate into the Facebook format?

Facebook

Facebook announced the news this week that it is integrating Rixty as a way for users to pay for Facebook credits to get enhanced content in Facebook games and send virtual gifts.

As many more Facebook games are including the universal Facebook Credit as a way for players to get more out of their games by offering more content and more continuous play – for a price, Rixty is becoming an exclusive way to pay that price without a credit card (and without completing offers… which also often requires a credit card). I recently had the opportunity to char with Joel Andren, Marketing Director for Rixty about the exciting news…

Rixty & Facebook

GA – Why don’t you start off by telling me a little bit more about Rixty?
Joel – Rixty provides an easy way for people who pay for online content – especially games – using cash and coins. Traditionally there is a large segment of the population who does not have credit cards or access to debit cards, so they are essentially locked out of online gaming or paying for other online entertainment. What Rixty does is it enables people to pay for online entertainment with either a prepaid card or what a lot of our users like to do is use cash and coins at a Coinstar. So the way we are different from other prepaid options is we provide users the flexibility to play across a number of gaming platforms and to even divvy up their payments from one card between multiple games and multiple entertainment options… This is an opportunity for people to pay online for over hundreds of games online and spend their money how they please.

GA – Okay, and can players use it for just anywhere users would buy content online, or I see on the Rixty website that it says hundreds of locations, are there specific locations where the card is good?
Joel – Well, we do have to be integrated with the game publisher. So that’s part of what are major efforts are is getting in to as many publishers as possible. At this point, it’s hundreds of games and over 50 publishers. And we were out there with many of the top games that people like to play and part of why we are announcing this news is that people are going to be able to buy Facebook credits using Rixty. And we’re going to be the first, exclusive cash based payment option for FB credits. And Facebook credits, as we know are in the beginning stages of becoming the defacto currency for Facebook games and also virtual items within Facebook. So we are very excited. This is just one more step to bring a lot more games and a lot more online entertainment opportunities to people who want to pay with cash or coins.

GA – How does it differ from just buying a prepaid Visa or American Express card?
Joel – I think big thing is that you’re able to use Coinstar. The average American household has $90 in change sitting around their house. That little jar of coins you have really adds up to quite a bit. So for many families, they don’t think they have money to play these games, but they do and it’s just sitting right next to them on the couch. So it’s an opportunity for them to go out and play with money they already have and enable them to do that. The greatest thing about Coinstar and Rixty is that there are no fees associated with it. So you put $75 in coins in and you get a $75 code back from Rixty, which is different than if you want just pure cash back in which they take a little surcharge there. It’s a way to get maximum value from money that basically you have sitting around.

GA – What does Rixty’s integration with Facebook mean to users?
Joel – This is an opportunity for the 25% of the US population who lacks a credit card to be able to buy credits for these Facebook games. As we know the economy has changed a lot and credit card markets have changed a lot and a lot of people are wary of paying with a credit card or don’t have a credit card. So this allows them the opportunity to play these games or send people virtual gifts in a way they haven’t had before… And it really opens up a whole new world of gaming and virtual goods to people who didn’t have this opportunity. And if you look at this compared to the other alternative payment options – sometimes you can send charges over to mobile phone – it’s much more expensive to do it that way. This is a much more cost-effective way of going in and playing these games.

GA – It sounds like it’s basically going to help increase the base of people playing these games of Facebook, too.
Joel – We certainly think so, and I would imagine that that’s why they’re interested in having us be able to provide this service. One of the wonderful things about it is that it provides flexibility – especially with Facebook – because now we’re seeing things with Facebook that obviously (and this happened a while ago) they’ve expanded beyond college students and now there are families on facebook. So this is an opportunity for US family to go in and purchase Facebook credits and Mom can play Farmville and the son can send a virtual gift. Even if someone in the family wants to buy Facebook credits and another wants to go play an MMORPPG, they can do that as well. So it really is a very flexible payment solution.

GA – So then are Rixty credits giftable?
Joel – Not at this time, but the PIN is giftable. You can give somebody a PIN number and it’s a quick 2-step process to redeem those into Facebook credits. So maybe in the future, much in the way your Grandmother gave you a $20 bill slipped in an envelope, she can do the same with a Rixty code. That would be a 16-year-old kid’s dream come true, right? Because if your Grandma is picking out the games for you to play, she’s probably not going to get the right games, but giving you a Rixty code and letting you play the games you want is idea. We also stress a lot about online security. We are COPA compliant, so that we don’t market to children below a certain age. We also assure that this content is proper gaming sites. There’s no other alternative way to spend this money, this is money safely spent on games.

GA – So, going in that direction, as a company is Rixty a little bit selective about the sites that they integrate or associate with.
Joel – Generally we focus on gaming. I think sometimes people think, “Oh you’re secure, you’re an anonymous way to pay online, are you going beyond that into more risqué areas.” And no, we focus on gaming, we focus on entertainment. Eventually, there might be other types of things you purchase online, but we always want to keep it in the family realm.

GA –Do you play?
Joel – I play a lot of games. And what I am trying to do is – we have over 50 publishers – and I am starting to play all of the games that we play, and it’s really a little bit of a challenge because there’s such diversity out there. We’re in games from mass market games from Farmville to the new Frontierville to the fantasy role-playing games – Steampunk role-playing and also turn based games. I learned about a new game yesterday that we’re now working with called Kingdom of Loathing, which is fascinating game that’s basically stick figures and really creative inventive copy. It’s really something that I’m getting involved with and understanding the full diversity of the gamers out there.

GA – Awesome. That’s all of the questions that I really have. It seems like the Facebook news is very exciting.
Joel – Our mission is to be able to provide as many gaming opportunities for people without credit cards. And I think this is a huge step forward in terms of being able to provide Facebook credits. I think we’re known with the serious gamers and the gamers who are playing maybe 20 – 30 hours a week and are very involved and I think now we’re going to be able to provide a service to a much more casual and social gamer. I think a lot of these gamers are pretty excited about the opportunity to pay with cash and coin.

GA – Thank you for your time in talking with us today!
Joel – Thank you it was nice meeting you.

For more information regarding Rixty, or to purchase Facebook credits using Rixty, visit Rixty.com!

PCH Games today has kicked off March Mayhem this week! From now through the end of the month, each time you play a different game at PCH Games, you will be entered into the grand prize drawing for $500. You can choose from any type of games from puzzle to card to word to strategy, and each one you try will automatically give you another entry. Check out Spider solitaire and Wheel of Fortune. Happy playing and Good Luck!

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Today Gravity Bear unveiled their debut social gaming title, Battle Punks. Battle Punks gives players a totally new experience in the world of social gaming, with 3D combat game play, customizable avatars, and fantasy backgrounds.

Start by building a unique avatar using their character creation tool, and then win weapons, spells, experience points, and treasure by showing other community members who’s boss. Choose from an array of battle gear and any weapons already won before each bout, all in specially designed 3D environments

“Our goal with Battle Punks is to help people have fun and deeply memorable experiences with their friends through games”, said Phil Shenk, Co-Founder and CEO of Gravity Bear, “This is the primary mission of Gravity Bear, so our first title is designed from the ground up to be a shining example of that philosophy of community and fun. We can’t wait to build a new community of people who simply love games as much as we do.”

Developed by Gravity Bear, Battle Punks is currently scheduled to enter open beta during the 2009 holiday season on the Facebook Platform. Visit the Gravity Bear Facebook page here!

Also, look for an exclusive interview with the president of Gravity Bear Coming Up on GamingAngels.com!

THQ

THQ has announced that they will be undergoing a business reorganization of the management team and business unit. THQ has formed three business units : 1) Core Games; 2) Kids, Family and Casual Games; and 3) Online, and has promoted key executives to manage each of these units.

“The new structure specifically aligns our primary business units with our product strategy, enabling each team to focus on planning and execution in highly defined product areas with full profit and loss responsibility,” said Brian Farrell, president and CEO, THQ. “I look forward to working directly with Danny, Doug, Steve and Ian to execute on our focused strategic plan.”

The Core gaming strategy will include action, shooter, strategy, racing and fighting games.

Kid Games are PC and wireless games targeted to mass market and family gamers.

In the online space Steve Dauterman explains what they will support,”We view the online gaming space worldwide as an important driver of THQ’s long-term growth. Our strategy is to leverage our established brands such as Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000 and WWE into the dedicated online space. We will also be exploring new game concepts and new business models in emerging regions,” said Steve Dauterman, senior vice president, THQ Online. “My team will also work with our Core and Kids, Family and Casual gaming units to help make connectivity a part of their gaming experiences.”