Mystery PI - The Vegas Heist is the latest game from SpinTop games and published by PopCap Games. The Vegas Heist is a sequel to last years Mystery PI - The Lottery Ticket and this time throws you in a Las Vegas themed story.

The Vegas Heist challenges players to solve the crime of the century by exploring dozens of “crime scenes” and other locations for hidden “clues.”

“There’s no better place than Las Vegas to solve a multibillion-dollar theft via hidden object puzzles – from deep inside a casino’s vault, to the Vegas Strip, hotels, limousines and exclusive country clubs, the locations were all created to transport players to this amazing city,” stated Duncan Magee, co-director and co-founder of SpinTop. “Our entire team rallied behind bringing the visual excitement of Vegas to a casual game. In addition to creating more than two dozen intriguing locations, we focused our efforts on making Mystery PI Vegas a game for all those arm chair detectives out there – players must spot clues and solve riddles to find the money!”

The Press Release follows and you can either purchase or try out the game here.

Read the rest of this entry

The East Carolina University has very recently published their findings into a 6-month randomized study into casual gaming. PopCap games such as Bejeweled 2 and Peggle were used in the study.

The study revealed that Bejeweled 2 reduced stress levels by 54% compared to that of the control group. Peggle and Bookworm Adventures did not actively reduce stress levels, but did have a positive impact of other mood aspects of those people involved in the study.

The full press release from PopCap can be read after the jump. The results of the study are very interesting as it reveals that casual games are very benficial in reducing stress levels and in helping the gamer get in a better mood.

Perhaps it is these psychological benefits that are a reason behind the ever expanding numbers of casual gamers? It is very possible in my mind.

Read the rest of this entry