Zylomm my friend (zylom.co.uk)

Member Name: coco_pixie101

Product:	zylom.co.uk
Date:	07/08/09 (150 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free addictive gaming

Disadvantages: Restrictive access to levels when playing free (can become very annoying)

I do love my free online gaming and I generally find myself drifting towards a certain website every now and again to fulfil my gaming needs and just recently it's been Zylom.com. I don't quite remember how I came across the site but there it was sitting in my bookmarked favourite gaming sites which I refer to for those 'I have 20 mins or so to kill' moments so I gave it a go.

ABOUT
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Zylom is just one of the many online gaming sites out there nowadays but it really does have its charm. There are 8 different types of gaming options:

-3 in a row
These games obviously entail you matching things 3 in a row in order to complete the levels or game. To any normal person it seems that there are so many games you can play that would entertain you merely through matching 3 in a row right? Wrong... well apparently anyway. Zylom games have 56 games under this category alone which are designed to keep you happily matching 3 in a row in some fashion for many many hours. The 2 most popular games are Zuma by which you control a stone frog idol of the ancient Zuma in 'this thrilling action puzzle'. The other is Bejewelled 2 in which you swap adjacent gems to create rows of 3 or more identical gems in awe-inspiring planetary backdrops.

-Action (My favourite)
You complete missions or carry out tasks to complete and progress through levels. All games have very different themes, one minute you're a gold digger and the next you own your own boutique its all very exciting really! These are the games that keep me on this site for hours at a time. Just as any game progression through the levels becomes a near obsession and even though the online games have fewer levels that the online games (more on this later) they still seem to go on forever in a good way. You get to take on personas and earn cash to swap to better yourself/environment The top two games in this category at the mo are Fairy Rush where you must remove matching groups and rescue fairies from the clutches of pirates in Fairy Island and Gold Rush - Treasure Hunt where you mines and search for gold nuggets and other treasure.

-Mahjong
Various Mahjong games with an undoubted Zylom twist are given here. I will say if you like strict Mahjong games that exercise those brain muscles and require concentrated skill and great strategy then Hotel Mahjong may not be your cup of tea. The top two games in this category are Mahjong Fortuna where 'speed and intellectual skills are your most important weapons' hmm maybe not and funnily enough Mahjong Fortuna 2!

-Word
Word games that generally consist of matching up letters or finding/creating hidden words. So nothing too hard there either. The top game in this category is Bookworm where you have link letters to feed the Bookworm where longer words are worth more points so you may want to brush up on your vocab if you want to make the leader board.

-Puzzle
Here we have the beloved 'original' puzzle games such as sudoku and even jigsaw puzzles! If you wish to get back to your gaming roots.

-Card
All the card games we know and love and then then some of the most random games I have ever seen chucked in the mix too. Have a look at SKIP-BO Castaway Caper (the most popular game??)

-Board
The least 'fruitful' gaming category containing only 5 games 'aww'. Also 4 out of 5 games are some kind of slant on trivial pursuit...

-Hidden Object
The name of the game is to reveal! Reveal! Reveal! Sorry trying to make it sound fun and exciting but to me this is just boring as hell! The 'reveals' are anti-climactic and actual make you feel like you've wasted your time after 5 mins of gaming! (Though ill spend a couple of hours happily playing an action game such as 'farm frenzy' what does that say!!!) The most popular game in this category is Mortimer Beckett and the Time Paradox.


REGISTRATION
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Registering on the site is quick and easy; it only takes a few minutes but is essential for free game play! As you only get to play a game 5 times as a guest before they ask you to pay for games you input a username, email address, your age and gender and that's it. Once you register you can play any game for 30-60 mins before getting 'cut out', basically before they ask you to go deluxe a.k.a. 'you're gonna have to pay for the rest of the game mate'.

GAMING
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Fun pass, online v download, help pages most popular games change, claims 15million visitors, loading time, high scores, not aces to all levels
There are quite a few gaming options on this site, playing for free, downloading games or using a zylom fun pass.

-Playing Free
You never really get to see the whole game as you only have access to a portion of it which can get very annoying though you can play games for a good hour or more on this option so unless you are somebody that really likes to start what they finish it isn't too bad. With this option you also get advertisements while the game loads though this is only for a few seconds.

-Downloads
The good news is some games are free to download but this isn't the case for all games. Some games are around and in excess of £15 *cough* just a bit steep me thinks.

-Paying for a Funpass
Benefits =
*you can play any game you want
*there are over 300 downloadable games to choose from
*games will not stop after 60 minutes
*you can play all games full-screen, with no ads

One month subscription = £19.95 per month
Three-month subscription = £13.25 per month
One-year subscription = £6.95 per month
Two-year subscription = £6.65 per month

If you want towards those high scores I suggest getting a fun pass because you have little to no chance if you can't complete the game. The high scores are outrageous!!

VERDICT
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Only use this site if you're partial to their specific games I say. Many other sites provide you with an 'easier' way to pass your time and none of the frustration at not ever being able to complete a game (well if you don't want to download it). Altogether though a good gaming site, a variety of gaming options and good quality games.

Summary: Another gaming site to add to your favourites