Astraware has announced the release of Astraware Casino for mobile phones that run Android. The game is a collection of Casino games from around the world. Some of the games include Texas Hold ‘Em Poker (Limit and No Limit versions), Roulette, Slots, Blackjack and Craps.

Players have 11 games total to test their skills out on. The players will start out with $1000 of virtual money and try to grow that $1000. If luck is not on their side and they end up losing all their money, there is a bank in the game that is more than willing to loan the player more money to gamble with. The other use for the bank is a place for players to stash their mad cash they get from winning big.

“We’re thrilled to be releasing Astraware Casino for Android devices today,” said David Oakley, Astraware’s Chief Technology Officer. “We’ve designed the game to make the most of each Android phone’s capabilities, from the HTC Tattoo up to the Motorola Droid or Google Nexus One.”

Astraware Casino can be purchased from the Android Market.

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HeroCraft and Alawar Entertainment have announced they are developing Farm Frenzy for mobile phones. Farm Frenzy is a business simulation game where players have to take a struggling farm and turn the farm into a thriving agricultural business.

Players encounter challenges as they take care of the animals and attempt to make enough money to survive and build a bigger and better farm. Farm Frenzy has already been ported over to the iPhone and has done quite well, so they have decided to port the game over to more mobile phones. Developers really can’t lose when they put their games out on multiple platforms. Multiple platforms allows gamers of all types, mobile gamers, pc gamers, to enjoy the game.

“We plan to continue making games for several platforms at once, including mobile phones, to give gamers freedom of choice,” said Kirill Plotnikov, Alawar’s vice-president of publishing. “The success of the Apple iPhone version of Farm Frenzy encouraged us to move in this direction. Multiplatform games are both the wave of the future and the future of Alawar.”

There are also plans to release the game on the Nintendo DS.

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PlayFirst has announced the achievement of 5 million game downloads for mobile devices. This announcement is made even more impressive by the lack of iPhone downloads included in that number. PlayFirst was able to achieve 5 million downloads without the help of Apple and the iTunes Store that is pretty impressive.

It is no surprise that the Dash game series, which includes, Diner Dash, Wedding Dash and Doggie Dash, is largely responsible for the 5 million downloads, but it is not entirely responsible as there were new mobile IPs that have done really well too. To achieve this milestone, PlayFirst has had to adapt their games to a mobile handset or device and partner with mobile distributors. One of the mobile distributor partners, Glu, has been their biggest distributor.

“Glu has seen tremendous success from the Diner Dash franchise on mobile handsets, as casual games are a natural fit for the mobile platform”, said Jill Braff, senior vice president of global publishing, Glu Mobile. “With over 5 million downloads, it is clear that fans are excited to be playing their favorite PlayFirst games on-the-go.”

Congratulations to PlayFirst for achieving a huge milestone. Keep up the good work and I am sure we will see an announcement for reaching the 10 million download milestone.

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Handmark has updated their Handmark Fireworks just in time for the 4th of July. The 4th of July, in the United States, is celebrated with fireworks. The United States celebrates their independence on the 4th of July and now anyone can celebrate virtually with the Handmark Firework App.

The application does not cost any money. In other words it is Free and is available for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and of course the iPhone/iPod Touch. The Windows Mobile versions and Blackberry versions can be downloaded from Handmark.com or Astraware.com. Of course, the iPhone/iPod Touch version can be downloaded from the Apple App Store.

Handmark Fireworks is an application that depicts fireworks exploding over patriotic backgrounds. On the iPhone or iPod Touch users can load their own photos and choose their own music to set the explosions to. The program comes with Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Stars and Stripes as choices of backgrounds and offers a choice of stirring tunes including the Star Spangled Banner and Stars and Stripes Forever!

If you like firework displays, download Handmark Fireworks for your mobile phone and get to see fireworks whenever you want, 4th of July or not.

Handmark and Sandlot Games have announced the release of Tradewinds 2 on the iPhone/ iPod Touch. Tradewinds 2 was, originally, a trading adventure game for PC, but has been adapted for Apple’s iPhone/ iPod Touch.

Players find themselves on an adventure through pirate infested waters in the Caribbean. The goal is to defeat the pirates and get your hands on their vast booty. If you are a player that likes to stay on the up and up, you have the option of trading goods and amassing wealth legally. Players can choose from five different pre-built characters or create one of their own characters. Tradewinds 2 offers hours of game play and has a tutorial for those new to the adventure series.

“Once again Handmark has done an excellent job bringing another Sandlot Game to millions of iPhone and iPod touch users,” said Daniel Bernstein, CEO Sandlot Games. “We’re very proud of Tradewinds 2 for the Apple App Store and we believe that users worldwide will once again get swept away in the unique gameplay and story that unites the Tradewinds series.”

Tradewinds 2 sounds like a fun game for the iPhone/ iPod Touch. If you are an adventure game fan, head over to the Apple App Store and check out Tradewinds 2.

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