Vampire Wars gets fierce with Hyena Familiars, fancy with Wedding Avatar sets

Vampire Wars Hyena Familiars
While the lot of you blood suckers were gallivanting around Paris, Zynga updated Vampire Wars with brand new familiars and avatar sets. Firstly, the new Hyena familiars go for quite a lot of Favor Points each, which isn't helped by the fact that you must buy them in succession to have all three.

    Zombie Hyena: Costs 40 Favor Points, grants 25 maximum Energy
    Spotted Hyena: Cost Unknown*, grants 40 Energy
    Fire Hyena: Cost Unknown*, grants 55 Energy



*Because the Spotted and Fire Hyenas are locked for purchase until the Zombie Hyena is paid for, it's unknown what these two familiars will cost. But if past pricing on familiars is any indication, expect the Spotted and Fire Hyenas to cost around 60 and 80 Favor Points respectively. For 180 Favor Points, or about $25, these three Hyenas and an extra 120 Energy can be yours, but how do they stack up to the Wedding Avatar sets?

Check behind the cut for a closer look at the Avatar sets and which set of items is a better deal.
Vampire Wars Avatar Wedding sets
The new Bride and Groom Avatar sets are fitting with the theme of the Paris Missions currently underway and are a steal compared to the Hyena familiars. Both sets go for 35 Favor Points, or around $4, and carry different stats. The Bride set comes with a bonus of 7 Attack, 6 Defense and 10 Energy, while the Groom set is equipped with 5 Attack, 4 Defense and 14 Energy. It's odd that these sets aren't balanced as surely some vampire ladies would want more Energy while vampire lords would enjoy more fighting stats.

For what it's worth, each Hyena does provide quite a lot of Energy, but at $25 total--compared to similar items in other games like Happy Pets' Experience Idol--is asking a bit much no matter how you slice it (they'll sell like hotcakes either way). But, for less cash and a better variety of stats, either one of the new Avatar sets is a much better deal.

Could Adobe Flash 11 make 3D the norm in Facebook games? [Video]

Well, it's certainly a possibility. VentureBeat reports that Adobe Flash, the software used by developers to create most of the Facebook games you play right now, will be updated to Version 11 this October. The new version of Flash will include something gamers, critics and industry folk alike have clamored for: 3D graphics. Namely, 3D graphics with no downloads.

San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe's goal is to get 3D gaming in front of 1 billion online gamers. Adobe evangelist Andrew Trice said that this new version of Flash can easily integrate with Facebook's social features. This could help bring (in theory) Adobe's vision of "the game console on the web" to life.

"With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences," said Adobe VP and GM of Platform Danny Winokur. Adobe should reworded that statement to say "Facebook" rather than "PC," because that's exactly where the company seems to be looking.

Another part of Adobe's announcement worth noting is that through its Adobe Air software, developers will be able to create games that are cross-platform--even on Apple's iOS, which is notorious for omitting Flash support from its iOS devices. This means that (again, in theory) you could enjoy social games that look and play no different on Facebook than on your iPhone.

And they'll both be directly connected, because (for a third time, in theory) they would be the same exact game. In fact, the company looks to have Adobe Air-powered games on over 1 billion mobile devices by 2015. But whether 3D gaming will become the norm on Facebook is ultimately up to the developers, some of which have turned to software like Unity to make it happen.

However, Unity requires a download from the user to work, something not many Facebook gamers are down with. This is especially considering how wary users like FarmVille fans are already of developers potentially encroaching on their privacy. The fact that 3D gaming in Flash will require no download is certainly a boon against its 3D competitors.

If developers take full advantage of this brand spankin' new Flash, it has the potential to push Facebook gaming into the same arena as console gaming. You know, if HTML5 doesn't take off first. The video below shows what your Facebook games could be like in the not-so-distant future with Adobe Flash 11.


[Image Credit: MacLife]

Are you excited that 3D gaming could hit Facebook in a big way? Do you think 3D games could become the norm on Facebook like they have on consoles? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments