Mafia Wars: Build cars extra fast in the new Gone in 60 Hours Event

Mafia Wars' Gone in 60 Hours limited time event has started, and for the next few days, you'll be able to build cars twice as faast and collect double the car parts when completing jobs and fighting. You'll also be able to bild the Future Shock 1985, a nod to the time-traveling DeLorean from 'Back to the Future.' What mafia car collection could be complete without that? Not mine.

This event also comes with extra construction parts that will help level up your Chop Shop faster, including 10 of each: cement blocks, power tools, car lift, acetylene torch and shipping containers. Not a bad deal if you've been wanting to level up your Chop Shop, but haven't been able to yet.

Zynga, Mafia Wars get 'Kush' with Dr. Dre in in-game promotion

`Mafia Wars and Dr. Dre
C'mon, you all knew it was only a matter of time before Zynga tapped yet another wildly successful hip-hop star to pimp their gangster game, Mafia Wars. This time around, Dr. Dre has invaded Mafia Wars with "Hustlin' with Dre," a promotion to spread the word of his new hit single, "Kush." While it seems to be slowly rolling out to us virtual mobsters, players will be able to stream the video for his new jam featuring Zynga's old friend Snoop Dogg and auto tune aficionado Akon right from within the game.

Of course, it doesn't stop there. There are several Dre-inspired items to be purchased like new weapons, a vintage car and headphones, according to Tech Crunch. Collecting all the items will enter you in a contest to win an autographed of Dre's incoming album "Detox" and a set of his new Beats headphones. You can even buy the new single via a handy iTunes link on Dr. Dre's Mafia Wars page. If Snoop Dogg's recent visit to Mafia Wars is any indication--well, aside from nearly blowing it--this will probably make Zynga an approximate bajillion dollars. So, in the words of Zynga: Get to work, homie.

Lunchtime Poll: Are third-party companion apps cheating?

Bonus Checker Cheating
Well, it depends on who you ask, really. Since Facebook games have surged in popularity, small-time developers have created several applications that, when used in conjunction with popular social games like FrontierVille and Mafia Wars, simplify certain aspects of said games. Take the infamous Bonus Checker, for instance. This app (at nearly 180,000 monthly users), which supports dozens of Facebook games but is most commonly known for use with FrontierVille, aggregates all of the bonuses that appear in your News Feed from friends. It then provides a quick link to reap the rewards, which eliminates plenty of time perusing through hours worth of bonus posts. But is that cheating?

One crowd seems to believe that applications like this oversimplify the game and give players who make use of them an unfair advantage over those who don't. Not to mention that many think these apps drain a primary social element from social games. The other group appears to feel that these applications only make the game easier for everyone to enjoy and that, because they're open to everyone, we all should use them liberally. Of course, some players won't care either way and continue their normal modes of play. But we want to hear your thoughts in the issue, which makes this the perfect opportunity for a lunchtime poll:


Are third-party companion apps cheating?
Since when is browsing hours worth of News Feed posts fun? It's not cheating when it lets me focus on the fun.Absolutely! Why should some progress faster than me thanks to some app that kills the "social" in social game?Play the game your way and I'll play it mine. Now, where's that "Free Chicken" post I saw...
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