Zynga cutting Mafia Wars, other titles from MySpace

By Molly McHugh April 12, 2011

As MySpace’s imminent sale or spinoff continues, things are bound to get worse before they get better. According to TechCrunch, Zynga has trimmed a number of games formerly offered on the site, most notably the extremely addictive Mafia Wars. Users are now being greeted by this memo:

“Thank you for playing Mafia Wars on MySpace! Zynga is discontinuing Mafia Wars on MySpace beginning April 18, 2011, however we encourage you to continue playing Mafia Wars at MafiaWars.com, which includes: New destinations to conquer like Brazil, Italy, and Vegas; Improved and additional properties to build; More ways to fight rivals, including robbing properties.”

At least Zynga didn’t redirect users with something “Thanks for playing Mafia Wars on MySpace! Now get yourself over to Facebook like a normal person and keep up with your social gaming addictions!” The increasingly influential developer has also pulled Fashion Wars and YoVille, both of which are still listed on its site under MySpace games, but curiously link to Mob Wars. MySpace still includes Zynga titles Pirates, Special Forces, Vampire Wars, and Zynga Poker.

It’s a little sad, but completely unsurprising. MySpace’s demise is no secret, and with plummeting numbers of users and ever-rising expenses – oh, and its continuing sale process – the site isn’t a terrible popular platform for app developers.

But just to throw a twist in the whole thing is former MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe’s latest series of acquisitions; the co-founder of MySpace, who is said to be mulling a bid on his brainchild, bought online game developer MindJolt last month. The New York Times reports that MindJolt itself has picked up two new game companies in the last week: Social Gaming Network and Hallpass Media. These acquisitions will add millions of users to MindJolt’s consumer base, users which could possibly transfer to a new, game-centric MySpace headed by its former CEO? Time will tell. Of course, even if DeWolfe manages to scoop of the remnants of MySpace and outfit it with MindJolt gaming apps, competing with the likes of Zynga’s and EA’s user base could prove impossible.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…

Gaming

The best weapons in Lies of P

Lies of P boss fight

This interpretation of the classic Pinocchio is nothing like the friendly (if a little creepy) original. Your puppet brought to life is sent out into a world of dangers around every corner, and only your weapons and reflexes will see you through. Lies of P is a Soulslike, after all, so finding and testing out new weapons is all part of the experience. That and dying, of course. Still, if you want to avoid doing the latter as much as possible, a strong weapon will come in handy. This game uses a system where you can customize your arsenal by swapping out the blades and handles, giving you tons of possibilities, but we'll focus on which weapons are the best out of the box in Lies of P and let you do the tweaking from there.
The best weapons in Lies of P

Puppet Saber
Because you can get the Puppet Saber right at the start of Lies of P, you might write it off as something that's only viable in the early game and should be dumped ASAP. That's not the case, as this fast-hitting sword can stay competitive at least until the midgame. It has a good range, is fast, and has a great charge attack you can use to zone enemies with. It scales at rank C in both Motivity and Technique, and comes with the fable art of Storm Slash, which unleashes a flurry of strikes on a target ahead of you. The other art it packs is Concentrate, which gives you a temporary attack buff.
Salamander Dagger
If you are going for a build focused on doing a lot of quick hits rather than long, heavy strikes, daggers like the Salamander Dagger are your best friend. This dagger's real advantage is that it deals fire damage, which many enemies are weak against. It scales at a B in Advance, C in Technique, and D in Motivity. It also has the Ignite ability to give it even more firepower (literally), and the guard ability of doing a fast stab before automatically retreating.
Booster Glaive
There aren't a ton of area-control weapons in Lies of P, which makes the Booster Glaive stand out as a unique pick. You get good range, and the arc on each swing is perfect for crowd control. In tighter, more linear spaces, you can use the charge attack for a forward thrust. This is a Technique weapon, scaling at B, but it also has D scaling in Motivity. It shares the Storm Slash skill with the Puppet Saber, but also has the Patient Slash, which lets you charge up one large, powerful strikes.
Acidic Crystal Spear
Despite the word "Spear" being in the weapon's name, the Acidic Crystal Spear technically falls under the Dagger category of weapons. Regardless, this has the looks, range, and feel of a spear. It can do fast, poking attacks, and will deal acid damage on each strike as well. You get great A-level scaling with Advance, as well as D level in Technique and Motivity. The Radiate art is just like the Salamander Dagger's Ignite, only for acid, and Single Stab is a more powerful forward lunge attack.
Two Dragons Sword
With a name like the Two Dragons Sword, who could resist at least trying this katana out? This boss weapon gives you all the flair and speed of a katana, but it unfortunately cannot be disassembled or modified. Still, with A scaling in Technique and D in Motivity, you won't be wanting for much with this blade. Your two skills are Link Emergency Dodge, which has you dodge forward and gives you the option to use a Fable slot to do two follow-up attacks, and Wind of Swords, which unleashes a torrent of swords in an area of effect.

Gaming

The best Wishstones in Lies of P

lies of p preview gamescom 2022 statue

Whether it is a FromSoftware game or a title from another developer, like Lies of P, each entry in the Soulslike genre adds a few new mechanics to stand out and bring a new flavor to the formula. On the surface, you might expect the whole Pinocchio thing to be enough for this game to stand out, but the team took things a few steps further. Aside from a unique take on the weapons system and lore, Lies of P has special items called Wishstones that can grant you powerful buffs. These stones can only be obtained by trading Golden Coin Fruits with a specific NPC, and are consumed upon use. To make sure you're able to maximize the benefits, here are the best Wishstones you should be using in Lies of P.
The best Wishstones in Lies of P

There are a total of 13 possible Wishstones to get, but not all are immediately available. If you see some you can't get quite yet, keep playing until you beat the Black Rabbit Brotherhood. Once that's done, all Wishstones will be available for sale.Here are thebest ones:
Recovery Wishstone
This is the first Wishstone you can get and is one you will probably want to keep at all times. The function here is simple: to passively restore your health for a short amount of time. Since Pulse Charges are so valuable, and you will run out very fast while exploring new areas or fighting bosses, this is a fantastic backup healing option. You do still need to play carefully, and time it right to make the most of it, but more healing is always needed in Lies of P.
Friendship Wishstone
While Lies of P doesn't allow for co-op like some other soulslike games, it does still have a summoning system where you can bring in NPCs to help you take down the cast of challenging bosses. These summons are called Specters, who will do their best to help, but they typically don't last all that long in a fight. If you're willing to use a Wishstone slot, the Friendship Wishstone can keep your loyal companion in the fight longer by giving them a bit of healing.
Courage Wishstone
Fable Arts are your more powerful, weapon-specific moves that consume a part of your Fable Bar to use. This makes it so you can't simply spam your most powerful attacks all the time, but sometimes you need that extra damage output to ekeout a victory. The Courage Wishstone makes that Fable Bar recharge much faster, allowing you to unleash those powerful moves more often.
Frenzy Wishstone
Back on the Specter side of things, these helpers are lacking when it comes to survivability, so you might as well make them pack a stronger punch to pull their weight before getting crushed. This Frenzy Wishstone fires them up to deal more damage. They won't be able to solo a boss for you or anything, but in a game like this, every single point of damage can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Provocation Wishstone
What if you're feeling a little more ... cruel toward your Specter? There's no shame in it since they're only there to serve you, after all. With the Provocation Wishstone, you can put all the aggro onto your Specter, giving you some breathing room to heal, restore some Fable Arts, or just catch your breath. It also gives them a little defense buff so you don't have to feel too bad about it.
Explosive Wishstone
You might feel a little worse about using the Explosive Wishstone, however. Once activated, any time your unsuspecting Specter gets hit, they will explode and deal a nice chunk of damage to anything caught in the blast. If you're unsatisfied with what Specters can do for you normally, why not just turn them into a bomb?
Advance Wishstone
This Wishstone is the equivalent to the Courage Wishstone, only instead of boosting to your Fable bar, this one will help restore your Legion meter. Your various Legion arms are perhaps your greatest tool in Lies of P outside of your standard weaponry, but there's also a material cost. Unlike Fable, Legion does not replenish itself over time naturally and only comes back when you reach a Stargazer or use another consumable. You can bypass this limitation to get a few extra uses out of it with the Advance Wishstone, which gives you a little chunk back free of charge. This is best for builds that utilize Legion Arms more often, so it won't be a top pick for everyone.

Gaming

Best Xbox One deals: How to buy the discontinued console

Xbox One S bundle deals

The Xbox One has been officially discontinued, but that doesn't mean it's unattainable. If you prefer the console over the new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, you can still buy refurbished units from retailers like Amazon. With its expansive library of games that will keep both casual and hardcore players busy for a long time, the Xbox One remains a meaningful purchase, despite Microsoft's rollout of its new generation of consoles. While it struggled against Sony's PlayStation 4 due to a rocky launch in 2013 because of a limited selection of titles and a higher price tag, the Xbox One gracefully recovered. Helping it bounce back were console exclusives from the Halo, Forza, and Gears of War series. If you're planning to buy the Xbox One to enjoy video game deals on these exclusive titles, as well as popular cross-platform games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Red Dead Redemption 2, we've gathered the best Xbox One deals available online to help you in your search.

Another important characteristic of the Xbox One is its fantastic multimedia capabilities, with the Xbox One S being one of the most affordable 4K media players available on the market. The Xbox One S and the more powerful Xbox One X both boast a 4K Blu-ray player, a feature that isn't found in the PlayStation 4 Pro. For gamers who also want the option to watch their favorite movies and TV shows in crisp 4K from their console, the Xbox One is the machine for you.
Xbox One deals