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'The Hunger Games' come to life (virtual life, that is)

A Farmville-like game based on Suzanne Collins' 'Hunger Games' trilogy will be debuting on Facebook March 23

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Murray Close/HONS/Lionsgate/AP
'Hunger Games Adventures' players will take instructions from two of the series' main characters, Katniss (played in the films by Jennifer Lawrence, l.) and Peeta (portrayed by Josh Hutcherson, r.).
  • By Molly Driscoll

Soon it will be possible to immerse yourself in the world of “The Hunger Games” -- without actually being required to fight to the death as are so many of the characters in in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy.

A new game titled “The Hunger Games Adventures” – created by the gaming company Funtactix, Collins, and the team responsible for the movie adaptation of the book – will be coming to Facebook on March 23, which is also the release date for the movie adaptation of the first book.

The game will include the first map of Panem, the country where the “Hunger Games”trilogy takes place. The game will be playable on Facebook on laptops and netbooks, according to information given by Funtactix to The Huffington Post, but because the game uses Flash software, “Games” fans won’t be able to play the game on smartphones or iPads.

Players, who will participate in the game as themselves rather than as a character in the books, will accept assignments from Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, two of the trilogy’s main characters. The game may sometimes involve fights between two characters, but unlike the ultraviolent world of Collins’ series, players who are on the losing end of a fight will merely lose power rather than their lives. According to The Huffington Post, the game will include an area where players can go to recharge without being attacked.

According to information given to The Huffington Post by Funtactix, players will be able to use their own cash to buy items within the game that will make winning easier, but Funtactix representatives said “Games” fans would still be able to have a full in-game experience without spending money. The world of the game will be expanded as the other “Games” movies come out, but in the first version of the game, players will only be able to explore District 12, the home of Katniss and Peeta, Funtactix told The Huffington Post.

Funtactix has previously created online games for the animated movie “Rango” and for the action classic “Mission Impossible.”

Fans can currently sign up to be a beta tester for the game through the “Adventures” homepage.

Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.

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