Zynga's Empires & Allies: It's Risk meets CityVille -- and it works

When we first about Empire & Allies, Zynga's newest Facebook game since CityVille, we were admittedly expecting a "hardcore" strategy Facebook game knock-off. (Come on, the company's track record doesn't fail our expectations.) So, consider us pleasantly surprised by what the company intends with Empires & Allies, slated for a June 1 release in 12 languages, a first for any social game. Thanks to a demo event with executive producer Amer Ajami, the new game looks "hardcore," it may even feel as such. But Zynga has cleverly made it so anyone--even your mother--should be able to jump in and start blowing up their (friends and) enemies.