Hands-on Preview: Magic Life, New Freemium Game from Glu

Glu has started down the freemium path. They've seen good returns from their current games released as ad-based and with in-app purchase upgrades. So we can expect to see more from them in this area. So far they have announced two of the five freemium games they plan on releasing this year, Magic Life and Gun Bros. The next three games will be announced in early October as Gun Bros. kicks off.

Magic Life is a game similar to many of the other free to play games we've seen released -- well, the more popular ones anyway. They require lots of time in the game doing simple tasks and quests to level up your player. They also include lots of social interaction with other virtual players.

In Magic Life you play a new wizard learning the ropes in a magical world. You do this by gathering items (fruits, rocks, etc.) that then go into magic spells (that you have to mix yourself in the game's cauldrons), which then allow you to complete quests. It's that mix of multi-part complex, yet very simple and easy to complete tasks that typifies a freemium game like this. And Magic Life hits all the right points for that.

Will Magic Life become the popular hit social game for Glu? Time will tell. Personally, I don't really like freemium games that depend on marginal game play elements and are mainly task focused. We Rule, Farmville, etc., are all similar in that aspect. But there are lots of players that really love them and spend lots of time playing them. And that's why they make money. Expect to see Magic Life at the beginning of October.