Google+ Games shows its colors with new game discovery features

The seemingly endless tit for tat battle between Google+ and Facebook may finally be over. Well, at least where games are concerned. The search giant of the same name (minus the "+") issued an update to Google+ Games that includes three new ways for players to discover which games to play next. The lists are "Top Games"," "New Games" and "Staff Picks."

They're pretty much self-explanatory, but the key takeaway here is that features like these take full advantage of the fact that Google+ Games is its own tucked-away section of the social network. Therefore, Google has opted to take more of an app store approach that you'd find at Apple's App Store or the Android Market than Facebook's highly ad-driven and social approach.

Each list appears on the left hand sidebar of the Google+ Games home page, and clicking on each opens a new page. While the way each list is populated is entirely different, they each look identical. Each page features a number of game icons in a grid layout, and mousing over each reveals a description of the game and the option to play. If a player wants to find the newest games on Google+, the guy or gal can simply click on "New Games" and instantly find brand new games to play.

Well, brand new in theory: The majority of social games on Google+ are already available on Facebook, save for exclusive releases like The Godfather: Five Families and GT Racing: Motor Academy. As the platform matures, game discovery features like these could be the selling point for Google+ Games. Your move, Facebook.

Do you think these features could pique your interest in gaming on Google+ once it brings in more games? How do you think Facebook will respond ? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.