Hasbro has announced that its next release of Lazer Tag guns will use your iPhone or iPod touch to provide augmented reality and a heads up display. The Lazer Tag guns can accept an iPhone or iPod touch which is slotted into the gun in a purpose made holder. The user can then download an app from the App Store which can keep track of your gear, power levels and also setup multiplayer games with up to 23 other players.

To experience the LAZER TAG game, players download the free LAZER TAG app to their iPhone or iPod touch device, connect their device to their LAZER TAG blaster, and find themselves immersed in a world where video games and real life connect. Using either single or multi-player mode, players can engage in a LAZER TAG match featuring either real life worlds or virtual opponents. Each LAZER TAG blaster equipped with a device has a virtual firing range of over 250 feet and contains a ‘Heads Up Display’, or HUD, which allows players to keep track of their gear and remaining power, while also providing a view of the augmented reality targets and enemies in the area. A virtual leaderboard keeps track of each player’s profile and, with every successful mission, players will gain in-game access to upgradeable attacks, missions and gear. With LAZER TAG blasters, the stakes are high, the game is real. Don’t just play it, live it.

The Lazer Tag blasters will be available in August this year. A single gun will cost around $39.99. The app will be available as a few download.

Source: Engadget

As expected, Reckless Racing 2 is now available in the App Store. It is the sequel to the hugely popular racing game Reckless Racing which brought thrills and spills from the track as you slide you car around corners on dirt and tarmac.

Strap down and prepare for the ride of your life… Reckless Racing is back with more! Including a selection of 18 highly detailed cars, ranging from small dirt buggies to fast supercars, and 24 routes in a variety of flavors make this a racer for all tastes – both dirt and tarmac.Compete in the Career mode to earn money for new cars and car upgrades. Have a quick race in the Arcade mode with 40 pre-defined challenges. Compete against your friends on the leaderboards in Single Event mode – including Race, Hot Lap and Elimination events.Tune your car in the garage to match your driving style with a vast selection of parts and upgrades. Whether you are a reckless power slider or a slick race driver, make your car the way YOU want it.

• Probably the best power slides in the world
• Tune and tweak the performance, handling, tires, rims and colors of your cars
• Shader based game engine with normal maps, reflections, specularity, shadows, particles and more
• Improved and optimized shaders for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S
• Online leaderboards with downloadable ghost cars
• Online multiplayer over the Internet
• 17 characters, including your favorites from Reckless Racing 1
• 5 control layouts with customizable button positions
• Optional assists, such as race lines, mini map, chase camera and more

• App Store link

In an update to his LinkedIn profile, Microsoft Marketing Manager for Xbox UK, Robin Burrowes, let the world know that he’s been hired by Apple to push iPhone and iPad gaming even further.

Burrowes tenure at Microsoft saw him work on Xbox for roughly seven years, where he was most recently responsible for all product, business and marketing management of Xbox LIVE in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. For Apple, he’s the latest in a series of high-profile British gaming recruits, following the hire of Nintendo’s public relation’s chief Robert Saunders last year, as well as Nick Grange — who also at one point ran public relations for Xbox, as well as for gaming heavyweights Activision and Electronics Arts.

Microsoft came out of nowhere with the Xbox to take a significant share of the console gaming market, especially when it comes to hardcore gamers and multiplayer gaming with services like Xbox Live. Apple has seen enormous success in the mobile gaming sector after creating the App Store for iOS 2 and the iPhone 3G in 2008. Now they, along with Google’s Android platform, have overtaken the likes of Sony and Nintendo when it comes to U.S. portable game software by revenue.

With Apple’s last count of 550,000 apps in the App Store, and around 20% of those being games, it’s not hard to see why Apple considers it important enough to hire a key gaming manager like Burrowes.

iPhones and iPads are increasingly this generations’ portable gaming platforms of choice.

Source: Robin Burrowes via 148apps.biz via AppleInsider

Namco Bandai have released Namco Arcade to the iTunes App Store for iOS devices with a free-to-play model in effect. If you’re a fan of retro gaming, this is certainly one you won’t want to miss as Namco has re-created many 1980′s classics and wrapped them all into one app. NAMCO Arcade includes the four titles XEVIOUS, The Tower of Druaga, Motos and Phozon, and more titles are panned for future release.

The pricing structure for the included games is interesting, each day you get one free game to play and if you wish to continue – or play a different game, you can purchase play coins right within the app. Prices for the coins that allow you to play any game start at $.99 for 10 with the outright game purchases pricing starting at $1.99 and going up as high as $4.99.

In addition to the cool games available, Namco has also added Game Center integration and uploadable user data so that you may share your scores across the globe with other playing the games. Just in case you feel like bragging about your high scores. Namco Arcade is available in the iTunes App store now for free.

• App Store Link – Namco Arcade

Microsoft is planning to bring more Xbox Live gaming to Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as Google’s Android platform.

“While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.”

All of Microsoft’s current XBox efforts have done well on iOS and Microsoft isn’t exactly a company to leave to money on the table or avoid recognition, it’s another avenue for both of those things if Microsoft puts the effort into it. No mention was made of when we could expect to see these efforts put into to place but if we had to wager a guess, we’d bet it’s not all that far off.

Given that Microsoft’s Windows Phone is still — as some would say — ‘ramping up’, it only seems logical that Microsoft would target iOS and Android users as well, especially considering the market share Apple and Google have in the mobile space.

Microsoft has already made a small foray on iOS with the release of My XBox Live and Kinectimals, but who knows what could be next. Halo, anyone?

• Source: Forbes

Reckless Racing 2 is expected to have many new features including a full single player campaign, longer and more dangerous tracks, better graphics and new car models. No news on pricing or if this will be a universal app for all platforms. We will let you know as soon as we find out anymore.

Source: Pocket Gamer

Namco Bandai has announced that it will be bringing its weapons based fighting game Soul Calibur to the App Store this week. Soul Calibur was originally launched in arcades back in 1998 and has also been available for the Sega Dreamcast and more recently the Xbox 360.

The iOS port of the classic arcade and Dreamcast fighting game features all 19 fighters and a mode list that includes arcade battle, time attack, survival, extra survival, practice and museum modes. Of these, time attack, survival and extra survival are compatible with Game Center’s Leader Boards.

Source: Andriasang

iCade by Ion, which made the Bluetooth arcade cabinet case for iPad a reality last year, has come back with three new versions for CES 2012, the iCade Core, iCade Mobile, and iCade Jr.

• iCade Core strips away the cabinet to give you just the controls — joystick and buttons — you need to get your iPad game on.
• iCade Mobile turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a full PSP-style handheld gaming console fit for any button masher
• iCade Jr. brings the traditional iCade look and feel — only smaller and cuter — to the iPhone and iPod touch.

Coming this spring, for $89, $79, and $49 respectively.

Ion, the guys who brought us the magnificent iCade iPad arcade gaming cabinet have now announced some new gaming accessories for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. There are three new accessories in total to compliment the original iCade and they all look awesome. The iCade mobile is a handheld gaming system for your iPhone or iPod touch. The iCade Core is similar to the original iCade but doesn’t include the cabinet surround. Finally the iCade Jr is a version of the original iCade designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch.

iCade Mobile

Gamers of all ages will love iCade Mobile’s classic controller configuration, designed to play modern and retro games the way they were meant to be played. iCade Mobile’s four-way directional pad, four front-facing action buttons and four shoulder buttons are designed to withstand even the most fierce button mashing. iCade Mobilegets your fingers out of the way and gives you a full view of the action with a specially designed cradle that ensures safe loading and unloading of your iPhone or iPod touch, while also providing a solid, secure fit even during the most intense game-play sessions.

iCade Core

iCade Core’s specially designed cradle ensures safe loading and unloading of a user’s iPad, while also providing a solid, secure fit for even the most intense gameplay sessions. Beneath the cradle is a custom-designed pass-thru slot, which allows users to charge the iPad with their standard 30-pin cable. The cradle also swivels to allow either portrait or landscape so that orientation is never a problem. iCade Core’s top-quality arcade controls quickly connect to the iPad using Bluetooth wireless technology. Once the iPad is in place, simply launch any compatible app and it’s game-on.

iCade Jr

A sequel to the smash hit ION iCade controller for iPad, iCade Jr. brings the arcade excitment to your iPhone or iPod touch. Game-on with great iPhone and iPod touch games with this pint-sized arcade powerhouse. iCade Jr. gives you a joystick and four front buttons, plus four rear trigger buttons for ultimate control over tons of iPhone and iPod touch games. This mini-arcade cabinet will give you a novelty gaming experience like no other!

Source: Ion

60beat has just launched its GamePad controller which it hopes will make gaming on an iOS device much closer to a dedicated console experience. The game content available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices is now huge however the use of on-screen touch controls remains a major problem for many gamers.

With proprietary technology that uses the headphone jack as the interface, the 60beat GamePad significantly improves the iOS gaming experience by moving the controls from the screen to a fully-featured hand-held game controller. Developed to look, feel and operate like widely-used external controllers, GamePad easily and instantly transforms an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch into a game console. The ergonomic design delivers superior comfort and control. Buttons and joysticks are engineered to deliver precise response and the tactile sensations gamers expect.

The controller which is available to order now will cost $49.99; so it is not a cheap option. The biggest stumbling block with all of these type of accessories, is getting developer support. So far, the 60beat GamePad has only managed to garner support for two games.

Source: 60beat

If you want to become a master of Infinity Blade II, its developers have shared a number of great tips to get you on your way. Infinity Blade II is the sequel to the hugely successful original infinity Blade and it makes full use of the iPhone and iPad’s gaming capabilities to deliver stunning visuals and game play. There are a total of sixteen tips which we have listed below.

• Parry an enemy weapon by either swiping in the same direction as the enemy weapon strike or by swiping in the opposite direction.
• Pay attention to gem modifiers and equip them to get more gems or more gold.
• Save super moves and magic for the battles when you are really going to need them.
• Equip a Gold+ gem to earn more money quickly.
• Use a Health Regen potion before a difficult Titan to constantly heal throughout the battle.
• Keep an eye out for hidden keys. They are small and difficult to see, but they can open great treasures.
• When playing the Heavy class, doing a successful parry will also give you a block charge back.
• A successful parry will open up a Titan to more combo hits than a dodge or block.
• Perfect blocks prevent elemental damage from a Titan attack even if you don’t have the right elemental defense; it also reduces the block damage.
• Perfect parries increase the hit window on a Titan.
• To maximize damage with Heavy weapons make sure you plan to do the combo hit at the natural end of the hit window, as the slash attack always ends the hit window.
• To pull off an ultra combo with dual weapons you need to do left/right/up (or some rotated version) attacks when you are in the combo hit mode.
• Titans will tend to have the same elemental attack as each other during a Rebirth, equipping the right gems/equipment to defend against them is worth it.
• Titans are weak to the opposite elemental of their attack. If a Titan has a fire attack he will take double damage from ice elemental and ice magic.
• Using dual weapons allows you to do multiple combos, one after the other.
• Learn which moves cannot be blocked or parried, then dodge these moves.

• App Store – link

Source: Epic Games

iMame has been taken out of the App Store by Apple as fast and stealthily as it originally appeared. The app first made its official appearance earlier this week and we thought then that it could be leading a bit of a charmed life.

Mame is a hugely popular app on other platforms as it is an emulator for retro arcade cabinet games from the early 1980’s. The App Store version was a more locked down app that came with a number of built in games but no official way to get more games into the app. This we assume is how the developer managed to gain Apple’s approval.

On other platforms, Mame is all about downloading ROM images of old arcade games of which the legality is highly questionable. The iOS version was not advertised as having this ability to accept ROMS from outside sources; but it didn’t take users long to discover how to do just that. We assume that this may well be the reason that Apple has decided to pull the app!

Source: iTunes

iMame has just appeared in the App Store, it is a hugely popular app on other platforms as it is an emulator for retro arcade cabinet games from the early 1980’s. The official version comes with a set of seven games pre-installed with no official way to add any more games.

iMAME is an application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. The intention is to preserve gaming history by preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten.

• Circus
• Crash
• Fire One
• Hard Hat
• Robot Bowl
• Side Track
• Spectar
• Star Fire
• Targ

If it is easy to add other game ROMS without the need to jailbreak, the app will probably have a short life in the App Store. We recommend you grab this one as soon as you can. iMame is a universal app and also includes support for the iCade.

• Free – App Store Link

A couple of experienced industrial designers have come up with a brilliant new Bluetooth speaker for the iPhone that packs a powerful punch. They’re currently looking for funding on Kickstart to begin mass production.

The HiddenRadio & Bluetooth Speaker is based off minimal, timeless design and user intuition. When asleep it hides all its functions, being silent and unanimated. To turn it on you simply twist and lift the cap; the further you lift the cap the more internal volume is created and will amplify to over 80dB of crystal clear sound. This unique design connects and captivates the user through its intuitive functionality.

The project has a goal of $125,000 in order to begin mass production, which they’ve easily passed with current funding of $382,413 just a few days after introduction.

For $99, you can get a Hidden Radio in metallic silver, however the limit for this funding bracket has already been met. If you want to get in the game at this point, you’ll need to pledge a minimum of $119 for the metallic silver unit. The pledges from there range from $229 for two units in either metallic silver or graphite black, all the way up to $659 for 7 units with individual units retailing at $175 after production completes and hits retail shelves.

Source: Kickstarter

The second part to the hugely popular Mac gaming trilogy Marathon is set to hit the App Store on Thursday December 16. The original Marathon title was released back in July to great acclaim and better still it was free. The creators, Bungie, later went on to make Halo for the Xbox.

Marathon 2: Durandal will be arriving on December 16 according to touchArcade. Amazingly, it will not only support Retina display devices but it will also come as a universal binary. Throw in Game Center support, enhancements to use with the Fling joystick and an all new menu interface and it all adds up to a really exciting game release.

The app will apparently launch for free but again offer in-app purchases for enhanced graphics, cheat options and custom packs. We will let you know as soon as it appears!

Source: touchArcade

To celebrate Angry Birds’ second birthday, Rovio has updated its ever popular game to version 2.0. Angry Birds was originally released back in December 2009 and has become a huge franchise.

Fans everywhere can enjoy a new “Happy Birdday” update for Angry Birds, which features 15 delectable new birthday cake levels, spiffy new menus and graphics, and special birthday achievements. As a birthday gift to our fans, all episodes are now unlocked!

• iPhone App Store link

• App Store – link iPad

OnLive, the cloud-based videogame streaming company that lets you play console-quality games on devices that would otherwise slow to a crawl under such pressure, has finally introduced the service to the iPad.

OnLive, Inc., the pioneer of cloud gaming, announced that it is bringing console-class gaming to tablets and phones with the revolutionary OnLive app for tablet and mobile platforms. The latest, top-tier, high-performance games-previously limited to only consoles and computers-will be available for instant play via the free OnLive app on over 500 million mobile devices over Wi-Fi or mobile networks in the US and UK.

OnLive will also be bringing the service to Android tablets and other devices like the Kindle Fire so gamers can play in tablet form no matter which platform they prefer. The service is rather groundbreaking and will come with more than 25 titles that support touchscreen-based controls including L.A. Noire from Rockstar, with an additional 150 games to play when paired with their universal wireless controller which sells for $49.99.

With OnLive coming to tablets, this makes gaming much more accessible for those who don’t have consoles like the Playstation 3 or Xbox360 and other high-end computer setups. OnLive launched the OnLive Viewer app for the iPad around this time last year before showing off full gameplay on the iPad at E3. It’s good to see they’ve come through on their promise.

With HD console-quality gaming now available on the iPhone and iPad, it makes you wonder if this will have any direct impact on console sales given the fact that over 250 million iOS devices are currently floating around out there. What do you think?

The App currently works on the iPad, with support for the iPhone said to be coming in the near future. OnLive is expected to hit the App Store shortly and we’ll update with a link once it does!

Source: WSJ

Infinity Blade II has received an update that looks to address the issues that a lot of users have been experiencing. The details are a little scarce on what exactly the update address specifically. We can only assume it will fix the start up crashes that a lot of disappointed gamers have been experiencing.

What’s New in Version 1.0.1, Balance tweaks, optimizations, and bug fixes.

[App Store - link]

Infinity Blade II, the follow up to the Epic Unreal 3-powered original, has just become available in the Australian and New Zealand App Stores and should be hitting the U.S. around midnight, ET.

Infinity Blade II continues to raise the bar for triple-A mobile gaming. Journey into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans. Build skills and upgrade characters… all while delving deeper into this mysterious, timeless adventure.

The game, a universal app, will be compatible with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch 4th and 3rd generation.

US$6.99 – App Store link

Update: Live in the U.S. App Store now!

Source: Epic Games

Apple has removed Big Fish Games subscription based iPad gaming app from the App Store without any explanation. We reported yesterday that the app was the first to allow in-app subscriptions where for a monthly fee users could play a range of Big Fish games. The games were stored and streamed from a data center belonging to Big Fish.

“We were notified that the app was removed,” said Paul Thelen, founder of Big Fish, a game publisher in Seattle. The app had been available since Nov. 18, he said. “We’re trying to follow up with Apple to try to figure out what happened.” Thelen said he was surprised by the move because Big Fish had worked with Apple for several weeks to ensure that it met the requirements for recurring monthly charges made through the App Store.

Source: Bloomberg

The iPhone, iPad and  iPod touch are pretty much the perfect mobile gaming platform and chances are you might be shopping for someone who just loves their iOS gaming. So what to get them? Luckily, there are lots and lots of gifts for gamers to choose from! Here are a few of my favorites, both for the hottest hardware and greatest games!

Don’t need anything for a gamer? Check out the recommendations anyway, something great might still catch your eye. If not, no worries, check out one of our other 2011 holiday gift guides!

iOS device gifts

Does you gamer in your life not have an iPhone, Pod touch or iPad yet? Not sure which one you should get? Not a problem! Start here:

• iOS device gift guide

Accessory gifts

If your gamer already has their device, there are some great accessories out there to help them take their gaming to another level.

iCade

The iCade is a magical gift for the retro gamer. The iCade arcade cabinet is an accessory for your iPad which turns it into a retro arcade machine complete with joystick, six buttons and a glowing coin slot.

More and more games are being released that work with the iCade; including the Atari’s Greatest Hits app. The iCade is designed to work with the iPad and iPad 2.

The iPad slots into the arcade cabinet and the controls are done over Bluetooth. Buying a gamer one of these should keep them happy not just over the holiday period but for the rest of their life too!

• Get iCade at ThinkGeek.com

Fling and Fling Mini

What if you are watching your favorite gamer and they are constantly struggling with their game and can’t achieve even the simplest tasks due to their finger and thumb fumblings on the shiny iPhone or iPad touchscreen? Fear not, there is a solution for that too, Ten One Design have come up with a well designed joystick for the iPad and a mini version for the iPhone and iPod touch too. Called the “Fling”, it sticks to your screen with some small suction cups and claims to offer a console type gaming experience.

As you control a game with Fling, it pushes gently back towards the center position.  This haptic feedback guides and stabilizes your gameplay, making every action more accurate. Any gamer would love to get their hands on one of these, me included!

• Get Fling and Fling mini at Amazon.com

mophie juice pack plus

It is pointless having the latest games and accessories for your iPhone if the battery on your device is not up to the task. Thankfully we have just the thing to buy for the gamer to keep their iPhone fully charged and ready to play.

The mophie juice pack is a hard shell case which fits the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Built into the case is a 2000 mAh capacity battery. mophie claims that the juice pack plus will double your iPhone’s battery life which gives you double the time to play your favorite games.

The mophie juice pack is the ideal gift for the iPhone gamer, it not only protects your iPhone but also doubles its battery life, a perfect gaming combination!

• Get mophie juice pack plus on store.tipb.com

Motorola MOTOROKR S10HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

It’s a classic story, they love to game, you’d dearly love some peace and quiet. Luckily, there’s a gift that can keep on giving to the both of you — stereo headphones! They get deep base and immersive sound, and the freedom of a cable-free experience, and you get blissful, well deserved silence.

While there are a ton of headphones to choose from, wire and unwired alike, the MOTOROKR looks and sounds great, and has just a touch of that futuristic feel to it.

• Get the Motorola MOTOROKR S10HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones on store.tipb.com

App gifts

What better gift for a gamer than more great games to play? The App Store is chock full of them, and iTunes allows you to gift them straight to your special gamer. (If you’re not sure how, here’s quick guide to gifting apps)

First person shooter (FPS) games: Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation is the ultimate First Person Shooter for the iOS platform. If you want to treat the gamer in your life with a great game then this may be the one to go for. You can play a solo mission with over 13 different levels each with fantastic graphics and enemy AI.

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation also offers a highly polished online multiplayer game experience. You can battle up to twelve players in six maps with seven different modes of play. A word of warning, you can accelerate your gaming abilities in this game via in app purchase of weapons and health kits; some find this an unfair advantage!

It is also a universal binary so this particular game will look stunning on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

• $6.99 – App Store link

Also check out:

• Dead Space is a gorgeous, terrifying shooter set in the depth of space. $6.99 – App Store link
• N.O.V.A. 2 is the closest thing to HALO on the iPhone. $6.99 – App Store link
• RAGE HD comes from John Carmack and while it’s on rails, it’s also off the hook. $1.99 – App Store link
• Call of Duty: Zombies is all the undead you can empty a clip at. $4.99 App Store link

Arcade games: Real Racing 2

If the gamer on your gift hit list is into driving games then they don’t get any better than Firemint’s Real Racing 2. Real Racing 2 lets you take the wheel of 30 officially licensed cars and each has its own characteristics too. You can race against 16 other cars all at the same time.

Real Racing 2 also offers 15 locations to race in with over 40 miles of highly detailed race tracks, speedways and city center circuits. You can also choose to race in the daytime, twilight hours or evening.

If you are lucky enough to own an iPhone 4S or iPad 2 and an Apple TV (Black) you can even play wirelessly on your HDTV. Friends can join in too with split screen multiplayer and Party Play.

• $9.99 – App Store link

Also check out:

• Infinity Blade brings the Epic Unreal 3 engine to iOS. ‘Nuff said. $2.99 – App Store link]
• Street Fighter IV Volt puts the classic fighter in the palm of your hands. $0.99 – App Store link
• Extraction: Project Outbreak is a fresh take on the top-down 3D shooter. $0.99 – App Store Link
• Atari’s Greatest Hits brings the oldest of old school to your brand new advice. Free – App Store link

Casual Games: Amazing Breaker

Amazing Breaker is a game for the more casual gamer. It involves ice sculptures; you remember them, popular at high class parties but nowhere else. Anyway, the aim of the game is to destroy the ice sculptures with bombs, and try not to leave any shards of ice behind.

Amazing Breaker is a highly addictive puzzle game with over 80 levels to keep you busy. Designed for the Retina display, it offers high resolution graphics, easy to learn game play and Game Center achievements. The bombs you use to destroy the ice sculptures come in many different flavors too with Spike Bombs, Ghost Bombs, Helicopter Bombs and even Split Bombs. The game is a lot of fun and once you start it, you will struggle to put it down. A great gift for the gamer in your life!

• $0.99 – App Store link]

Also check out:

• Catan is a great version of a great strategy game. $4.99 – App Store link
• Words with Friends isn’t Scrabble but it is an all out, all online spelling war. $0.99 – App Store link
• Carcassone is a beautiful rendition of the medieval strategy game. $9.99 – App Store link
• Poker by Zynga let’s you get your Texus Hold’em on your iPhone. Free – App Store link

More great games for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Every day, TiPb covers the best new games and best new game updates, so if you’re looking for more great game gift ideas, check out our gaming section! Likewise, the iTunes App Store has a games section with lots of great choices.

• TiPb Games
• iTunes App Store games

And if you’re still not sure what to get, consider an iTunes Gift Card, that way the special gamer in your life can pick their very own gift!

• Get iTunes Gift Cards

Your picks?

Remember, you’re part of Team TiPb too, so if you’ve already picked the perfect gift for your iPhone or iPad gamer, or have the perfect idea for one, let us know in comments!

Apple has approved a subscription based iPad gaming service for the first time. Big Fish Games has gained Apple’s approval for its collection of games to be made available to iPad users at a cost of $6.99 a month. Apple introduced its subscription features earlier this year however no other game developer has taken advantage of this business model until now.

When Apple introduced its subscription feature earlier this year, Paul Thelen, the founder of Big Fish, saw it as an opportunity to offer an “all-you-can-eat” service. That lets players jump in and out of different games without having to make a bunch of downloads. While game-subscription services have a mixed record of success, the popularity of the iPad, along with the easy payment method provided by Apple’s App Store, will make the offering attractive, Thelen said.

Initially the service will launch at an introductory price of $4.99 a month. This will increase to $6.99 a month when more game titles are added. Big Fish also plans to offer a free version of its app. This will allow a user to play for a maximum of 30 minutes a day and it will include advertisements too.

Would you use a game subscription model like this?

Source: Bloomberg

Infinity Blade 2 is not set to hit our iOS devices until the beginning of December. The lucky guys over at IGN managed to get their hands on a preview of the game and it looks like it is going to be a really top sequel. According to IGN, Infinity Blade 2 offers far more than just a refresh, it picks up where the first game ended but goes on much further. Infinity Blade 2 is far more story lead and includes more than 40 different combat locations.

Although I liked the original Infinity Blade, I largely agreed with the cadre of critics that cut down the game as being “the same thing” over and over. My time with Infinity Blade 2 has already made me a believer, however. Multiple weapon classes and greater enemy variety keep the combat fresh. A non-linear environment supported by a proper storyline provides the perfect motivation to keep looping through sections of the game multiple times.

Source: IGN

Paul Tassi over at Forbes has written an article taking exception to results tabulated at the London Games Conference, where he feels Apple’s influence on the gaming industry was blown way out of proportion.

Ridiculousness, plain and simple. Sure, Steve Jobs was a great tech pioneer, but giving him credit for shaping the VIDEO GAME industry more than any other figure? Are you kidding ? Though the iPhone debuted some very popular casual titles like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, they hardly invented the cell phone game, and to say that ANY mobile game is more relevant to the industry than years of console and PC titles is absolute insanity. Then to give Jobs the top honors over Gabe Newell (of Valve) and Shigeru Miyamoto (of Nintendo) is blasphemy, plain and simple. Gaming was never Jobs’ primary focus, as Macs can barely play most PC games, and only recently has the iPhone made waves in the casual games market.

iPhone’s influence was pegged at 17% compared to 7% for the Wii and 3% for Xbox live. Steve Jobs at 26% vs. Gabe Newell at 16% and Shigeru Miyamoto at 7%. No doubt a lot of this can be ascribed to the familiarities and feelings of the people being surveyed, and that’s the problem with popularity surveys. I love gaming on my iPhone and iPad and Apple has certainly done a lot for mobile gaming. But a greater influence than some of the other runners up mentioned above? Craziness.

Source: Forbes

Gameloft has released a new trailer for its upcoming Gangstar Rio: City of Saints game. The trailer offers slightly more than the usual run of the mill marketing promo. This one offers full in game footage and it looks really nice. Well nice in the graphics department anyway, beyond that, it’s all fast cars, guns, helicopters, tanks, rocket propelled grenades and explosions.

Gameloft hasn’t announced when this one will be available; except that it will be “Very Soon”. Hopefully it will be released as part of its holiday line up. It will be available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.  A word of warning, the trailer contains a bit of strong language!

Source: touchArcade

New tests conducted over at AnandTech reveal that Apple has chosen to underclock the A5 system-on-a-chip nestled inside the iPhone 4S to ~800MHz, just slightly slower than the iPad 2‘s 1GHz, but still far better than the iPhone 4‘s A4 SoC — by margins as high as 73%.

Using some of the integer and fp tests of published Geekbench scores we can already conclude that Apple is shipping a lower clocked A5 in the iPhone 4S than it does in the iPad 2 [...] Based on the Geekbench results it looks like the iPad 2 is clocked around 25% higher than the iPhone 4S, pegging the latter’s clock speed at 800MHz.

They go on to speculate that the reduction in processor speed is attributed to power-saving methods used by Apple, just as they did with the A4 chip in the iPhone 4 when compared to the original iPad.

The tests also reveal a slightly lower-clocked SGX 543MP2 GPU chip, but it’s safe to say that the iPhone 4S is easily the fastest smartphone on the planet — we just can’t wait to see how games like Infinity Blade 2 perform on this thing!

Source: AnandTech

If you are a fan of the original Fruit Ninja game then you are in for a bit of a treat with the newly announced Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots. Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots is a game with a tie in to a movie, this time it is DreamWorks Puss in Boots movie.

Before you go off and assume that this will be the same game with a few cat references, it looks to be much more than that. It is actually a good upgrade to the original game, with more blades and backgrounds, new magic bean powered Desperado Mode and much more.

Even better is the price, it will only be $0.99 for the iPhone and iPod touch version but you will still need to pay extra for the iPad version; which comes in at $1.99. Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots should arrive in the App Store on October 20^th. Take a look at the trailer below!

Source: touchArcade

Well known children’s toy company LEGO is bringing its toys into the digital age with the upcoming release of “Life of George”. The game consists of three main parts, a pile of LEGO blocks, a play mat and most importantly an iPhone app.

The idea of the game is to build the models shown on the iPhone with the actual Lego blocks. When a player thinks they have completed the model they need to take a picture with the iPhone or iPod touch. The app will then calculate a score based on the speed and accuracy of the finished model.

The game has twelve levels all based around a character called George, a software engineer. Each of the twelve levels has ten models to build; so plenty to keep your little ones entertained. There is also a “My Life” mode which allows players to create their own designs.

The game will be available in October, exclusively in the U.S for around $23.

Source: Macworld

FIFA 12 has landed on the iPad and it looks like an awesome soccer game with loads of features to keep fans of the FIFA franchise entertained for a long time. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch as well as an iPad, you can use it as a controller too.

LOVE FOOTBALL. PLAY FOOTBALL. Experience the action of your favorite sport like never before! Watch matches come to life with vibrant graphics, ultra realistic animations, and the most responsive controls ever delivered on iPad. Now for the first time on iPad, take your club to the top of the league table with Manager Mode.

• Trade players, upgrade staff, and scout for talent. Develop players and choose the best tactics to make your squad the team to beat!
• Featuring over 22 officially licensed leagues, 500 licensed teams and more than 15,000 players. Take to the pitch with superstars like Kaka, Wayne Rooney, Gerard Piqué, Karim Benzema and more. From the English Premiership and La Liga, to the German Bundesliga and beyond – dominate your league and march toward glory in 32 authentic stadiums.
• Capture the passion and power of the world’s most popular sport with unprecedented authenticity. This is the deepest, most visually striking football title ever. Feel every thrill on the pitch with your heroes, anytime, anywhere.
• New control schemes let you handle the ball with greater precision than ever before. Master free kicks and penalty shots with full touch control. Get in the game with realistic 360° player movement and gesture-driven skill moves. Pull off defense-splitting passes, rifling shots, penalty kicks, and pro-style tricks.
• Check out the FREE EA SPORTS ™ Gamepad App. Turn your iPhone into a wireless controller for the ultimate head-to-head experience on your iPad.

[App Store link iPad] [App Store link iPhone]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Table Foosball has to be one of the best games to play with your friends especially after a couple of beers. Unfortunately, you don’t see these awesome football tables around very often. Well, some good news, you can now play it in all its glory on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch thanks to Stinger Foosball League.

Stinger Foosball League takes the handheld foosball game to a whole new, dynamic level. Pass and strike your way to foosball victory in this dynamic app. Combining realistic physics and AI, with fantastic 3D graphics, it’s all about fun with this app. Adding hours more of gameplay, the game also features multiplayer modes, a full season and tournament mode, as well as four mini-games to build your foos skills and compete against others in online leaderboards.

• Fully customizable game to suite your desires.
• Several different ways to play.
• Single Player
• Multiplayer
• Tournament
• Four Mini-Games
• Real 3D physics powered by The Foosics Engine.
• Lively ball that rolls, flies, bounces, and deflects.
• Detailed right down to the ball scuffs on the pitch.
• Realistic AI that mimics the way real players play.
• Simulates real human reaction times for a more natural game.
• Tuned and tweaked with an emphasis on fun.
• Universal App that will work on all iOS devices: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
• Foosball anytime, anywhere.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Konami has released its latest version of the ever popular Frogger game. This time it is called Frogger Decades. Why decades? Well it is thirty years or three decades since the original Frogger games was released, I remember it, I feel old!

Celebrating Frogger’s 30th birthday with an all new adventure! Frogger Decades is an exciting new chapter in the Frogger family of award-winning games, featuring breathtaking animation with an original musical soundtrack and cast of new characters to experience the Frogger world in a whole new way.

• Brilliantly designed levels, and features with high definition textures and graphics!
• Touch screen controls let you help Frogger do what he does best!
• The world of Frogger comes to you with many of his friends joining up for Frogger’s greatest adventure yet!
• Creative new never before seen abilities for Frogger and his friends!
• Collect achievements and see how your scores stack up on the worldwide leader boards via Game Center!
• Challenge your friends across the world wide Open Feint network!

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

The soccer — or football to those of us on the proper side of the pond — season is starting again, so what better time to look at the best soccer apps for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. With these apps you can get all the latest transfer news, big stories, results, match highlights and even live games.

Sky Sports Live Football Score Centre

Sky Sports Live Football Score Centre is a great app that covers all the action from the main European leagues. It has all the scores updated as they happen as well as offering a host of other features.

There is live game commentary, league tables, match stats, results, video highlights and even team line ups prior to kick-off. Backed up by the fantastic Sky Sports team, this app is one of the best for soccer fans. You can even personalize the app by selecting your favorite teams. News and results are then brought to you on a dedicated my teams page.

Unfortunately this app is only available in the UK due to the link up with the televised games.

[Free - App Store link]

Fox Soccer

Fox Soccer lets you watch live Premier League and UEFA Champions League games on your iPhone or iPod touch. The app will allow you to follow every English Premier League game as well as provide the latest breaking news, in-match video clips, highlights and more.

The app starts off as a free version which offers news, fixtures, live scores and team line ups. In order to view the live games, you will need to subscribe. Access to the premium section is currently priced at $7.99 for a single month’s access, $22.90 for 3 months access and $79.90 for 12 months access. You then will get access to live video streams of the games.

[Free – App Store link]

LiveScore

LiveScore is a fantastic free app that provides real time scores from many sporting events around the world; with a particular emphasis on soccer scores.

Every match in the UK league is covered along with most other countries. With this app you will know about goals, yellow cards, red cards, substitutions, you name it, seconds after they happen.

There are no push notifications, which is a shame however the app does auto-refresh when open. The application comes directly from LiveScore Ltd., the inventors of real-time delivery of live sport data and owners of the no.1 ranked football / soccer web site globally. No country restrictions either! Fast access and my app of choice!

[Free - App Store link]

Eurosport

Eurosport has put together a very smart app for keeping an eye on all things sporting. Soccer is covered all across Europe with the results and latest scores from all the major leagues.

The app also covers other major sports including Tennis, Formula One, Basketball, Cycling to name a few. The layout and design is very clear and can be customized to match your interests. Eurosport also has a seperate app specifically for the iPad. Not sure why it can’t just make a universal app!

[Free - App Store link iPhone]

[Free - App Store link iPad]

Football Manager Handheld 2011

The final app is not a news app but to finish off we have chosen a game. With this game, you can pretend that you are the manager of your club and guide them to the top of the league to wipe out the disappointment of your real teams underachievement.

Football Manager Handheld is a highly detailed management style game where you take control of your team, including transfers, tactics and training. The app covers 34 leagues across 11 countries. The game is highly addictive; so make sure you have plenty of free time before picking this one up.

[$9.99 – App Store link]

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 best Soccer apps to get you going. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites, leave them in the comments below!

Shift 2 Unleashed has just been launched on the App Store and it is a sequel to Electronic Arts original Need For Speed Shift Game. The Shift series of games are more for the driving purists than arcade race ups. More skill is needed to keep your wheels on the road in this series!

FEED YOUR NEED FOR THE ULTIMATE SPEED! Experience the high-velocity action and eye-popping visuals of the most awesome Need For Speed ever

• Burn rubber as you shift your way to the top of the leaderboards – only on Origin. Register to unlock exclusive cups, leaderboards and free NFS cash!
• Now whip through the trees of The Black Forest, the deserts of Abu Dhabi, and the waterfronts of Rio as you fight to the finish line. Feel every scrape, bump, and burn out with vividly rendered visuals.
• You’re in the cockpit with the helmet cam: push it to the limit with realistic racing controls that simulate the visceral velocity of being behind the wheel at 200mph.
• Test your skills on more than 20 Quick Race Trials featuring 40 of the hottest cars, including the exclusive Pagani Huayra! Run the Circuit with multiple game modes and over 40 events.
• Earn credits and upgrade your car’s acceleration, tires, and suspension. Power up with nitrous boosts, and personalize your car with spoilers, rims, specialized paint jobs, and body kits.
• Experience racing evolved and unleash your inner driver with SHIFT 2 Unleashed!

Shift 2 Unleashed is available for the iPhone and iPod touch at a cost of $4.99 and a separate version called Shift 2 Unleashed for iPad at a cost of $6.99. Screenshots after the break.

[iPhone iTunes link]

[iPad iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Mike Caps, president of Unreal Engine-powered, Infinity Blade swinging Epic Games, thinks that rather than next generation consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, people should be keeping their eyes peeled on iPhone 8 gaming, circa 2015:

“So I think that’s the real challenge for us now, rather than worrying about the difference between a couple consoles and some order of magnitude, whether 3X or 4X. It’s about how do we deal with iPhone 8… if you watch where the gamers are going that’s where they are. Your iPhone 8 will probably plug into your TV, or better yet, wirelessly connect to your television set to give you that big screen gaming experience with good sound. So really, what’s the point of those next-gen consoles? It’s a very interesting situation to be looking at. That’s what we’re starting to think about more… not how do we scale from some Nintendo platform to some other future console,” he concluded.

In a clarification, Epic walked that back a bit, saying mobile won’t be replacing consoles any time soon — nor should they, in our opinion, following the same logic Steve Jobs used to describe mobile as the cars to traditional platform trucks.

But given how much better iPhone 4 is compared to the original iPhone 2G, it’s fair to ask what kind of games and experiences will be able to run on an iPhone 8 in a few years, and wonder if, and for how much of the market, that might just be no only enough, but preferable.

[IndustryGamer via AllThingsD]

Infinity Blade by Epic Games is on sale today for 50% of its original cost. The game was one of the first to use the Unreal Graphics Engine to produce stunning visuals and game play. There is no telling how long the offer will last for, so if you are on the fence about picking up this stunning game, now could be the time to do it.

Currently it has received over 10,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of five. We have done our own review of it too, so check that out if you want to see what it is all about.

Infinity Blade is a universal binary; so looks awesome on the iPhone and iPad and is currently on sale for just $2.99.

[iTunes link]

Tap Tap Glee is now available in the App Store. It is basically a themed version of the hugely popular Tap Tap game which involves tapping on buttons in time with music. It is a lot of fun to play and for fans of Glee, this is a must have app.

It’s time to tap and shake to your favorite music from Glee! See EXCLUSIVE behind the scenes footage from Glee: The 3D Concert Movie!

• Over 50 tracks available including three FREE tracks: “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “My Cup” and “Hell To The No”
• Promo Track of the Day: Tap to a NEW promo track every day!
• Connect to Facebook and represent as a GLEEK or JOCK.
• Slushy your friends on their Facebook wall.
• Check out info on your favorite Glee characters in the Yearbook section.
• Try your hand at Glee Trivia for a chance to top the GleeK of the Week leaderboard.
• Additional tracks for purchase include “Bad Romance,” “Poker Face,” “Teenage Dream,” “Baby One More Time,” “Marry You,” “Just The Way You Are,” and “Baby!”

[iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is now finally available in the App Store. If you’re into role playing games, this is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year!

Released as the Final Fantasy series’ first tactical RPG in 1997, Final Fantasy Tactics on Playstation went on to sell over 2.4 million copies worldwide. The game grew in popularity upon its re-release in 2007 as Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions for the PSP with added features such as new movies, scenarios and Jobs.Now, in 2011 the game has finally arrived for the iPhone/iPod touch! You can enjoy the game whose story gave life to the world of Ivalice, and whose high strategy battles bring tactical games to a whole new level.

• The complex tactical game can be effortlessly and intuitively controlled by simply tapping units and menus. Gone is the old method of switching fixed map views – you can now rotate, move and change the size of maps as you please by sliding and pinching.
• Loading times have been improved to get you into the action quicker than ever. What’s more, you can even skip certain cut scenes.
• Graphics have been adapted for optimal performance on iPhone/iPod touch screens.
• Upcoming scheduled updates: Facility to fast-forward battle scenes and skip cut scenes.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions is available on the iPhone for $15.99. Screenshots after the break.

[iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Speaking with IndustryGamers, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello puts the previous Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony-led console market into post-iPad perspective:

Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have?

We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago.

So consoles are down by half, and iPad has come out of basically nowhere to become the hottest thing in gaming? Hard core gamers would argue you can’t play Call of Duty or World Of Warcraft on an iPad, just like hard core geeks would argue you can’t run Xcode/Visual Studio and otherwise use an iPad as a “real computer”.

That’s true. It just turns out the hard core base is much smaller than the mainstream, and Apple — and Angry Birds and a host of other, casual titles — is democratizing the gaming platform just as much as the computer.

And iOS 5 AirPlay mirroring, where you can play your iPad games on the big screen via Apple TV, hasn’t even launched yet.

[IndustryGame]

It looks like Chillingo may have another hit on its hands with Blobster. Blobster is a new platform game that is highly addictive and beautifully presented.

Blobster is an awesome platforming adventure with a twist! Flick the flubbery fella across incredible levels; avoid pitfalls, water hazards, squish pesky bad guys and collect amazing power-ups on your way to cleaning up Blobtopia and defeating Blobzilla!

• Forty unique levels like you’ve never seen before, with more to come.
• Amazing level design will have players in awe as they fling their way through the engrossing campaign.
• Super easy to pick up and play, flick Blobster around using the intuitive control scheme.
• Collect game-changing power ups, including the ability to rocket through the sky, float like an angel or transform into a giant.
• A variety of pesky enemies to squash, each with their own special ability Blobster must overcome.
• Twelve Special Bonus levels—gift them to your buddies.

[$0.99 – iPhone iTunes link]

[$1.99 - iPad iTunes link]

Sid Meier’s Pirates! has just been released for the iPad and it is one of the games from that past that should bring a smile to the face of anyone over 30. Originally released in 1987, this was the first game to feature Sid Meier’s name in its title to attract fans of Sid’s other games; which were mostly flight simulators at that time. The iPad version released today has updated graphics but still has the great game play of the original.

All hands on Deck! Sid Meier’s Pirates! is an exciting high-seas adventure that allows buccaneers to helm one of 27 fully customizable ships as they descend upon unsuspecting ports of call to amass a motley crew of seafaring bandits. As a fearless Pirate Captain you will collect hidden treasure maps, undertake daring missions and courageous rescues, and swiftly hand out pirate-style justice to local braggarts at every port. The wild call of the ocean will lure you back to sea where they’ll encounter enemy pirates and engage in mind-blowing open sea battles unlike any other game before on the iPad.

• Take the helm of 27 ships and customize them with assorted ammo, cannons and other upgrades
• The classic adventure by renowned creator Sid Meier, re-imagined for the iPad to take full advantage of touch controls
• Use the iPad’s touch controls to parry, counter and effectively out duel your opponents into submission with lightning quick moves onboard ships, in taverns, and even in the exclusive Governor’s mansion
• Challenge and pursue the most famous pirates in history, including Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and Henry Morgan

[$3.99 – iTunes link]

A nine year old boy has developed his own iPhone game and it is now available in the App Store. Owain Weinert has pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and one of his wishes was to develop his own iPhone game. He asked the Make-a-Wish Foundation, who did what they do best and made his dream a reality.

The game he developed with 4^th & Battery is called Allied Star Police. It was released yesterday and already has a few 5 star ratings. You take command of the Allied Star Police and it is your responsibility to blast your enemies in the side scrolling all action shooter!

“My brother can’t stop playing it, my dad can’t stop playing it, and neither can I,” Owain said. “This started off as a dream of mine and now my friends and people all over the world can play my creation.”

[Free – iTunes link via Cult of Mac]

Deadlock has just been released in the US App Store and if you are into online multiplayer shooter games you really should check this one out. Deadlock is a dual-stick shooter game designed for online play with up to eight other players via Game Center.

Features:

• Gorgeous 3d Graphics
• Up to 8 player online multiplayer action.
• Over 30 weapons including assault rifles, sub machine guns, grenades and more.
• Robust loadout system including multiple weapon attachments, and armor.
• 3 Gameplay modes at launch including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture & Hold
• 30 ranks to earn with rewards for each rank you earn.
• Asynchronous Online Tournaments – automatically be entered into new tournaments running every day and every week to win unlock points which can be used to unlock new weapons and items.
• Gamecenter integration for tournaments and achievements, character stat tracking.
• Character synchronization between multiple devices (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch)
• 5 Maps at launch with more on the way!

The game is a universal binary so compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. We have the game trailer after the break, take a look if you are still unsure what it is all about. I think it looks extremely fast but a lot of fun!

[Free – iTunes link]

Flick Golf HD has been a massive hit for developer Full Fat and it has now brought out a new game based on the same winning formula. Flick Golf Extreme! HD has even more weird and wonderful places to flick your golf ball at and more stunningly beautiful graphics to look at while you do.

The most addictive golf game to blaze its way onto the App Store. Incredibly simple to play, just flick the ball and hit the hole. Our trademark spin control, combined with insanely fun gameplay brings you the world’s first truly extreme golf game. There are no rules, no clubs and no laws in Flick Golf Extreme! Play across skyscrapers, an oil rig, aircraft carrier and more in the most insane conditions you’ve ever seen!

• Shoot for an insane score in classic Quickshot mode.
• Play World Tour across the most extreme courses in the world.
• Try out the challenging Five Ball mode!
• Gorgeous 3D environments.
• See your ball set ablaze with amazing hole-in-one special effects!
• Incredibly accurate in-air spin control.
• Full GameCenter and Openfient leaderboards.
• Over 30 in-game achievements.
• Stunning high resolution graphics for iPad 2.
• Listen to your own music while you play!

Flick Golf Extreme! HD is available in the App Store today for $4.99. It certainly looks great and the reviews all seem to be very positive!

[$4.99 – iTunes link]

Marathon 1 is now available free in the App Store. Originally released for the Mac in 1994, Marathon is a classic first person shooter game by Bungie (who were later acquired by Microsoft and responsible for the Halo series). It started its iPad journey as a personal project by a developer called Daniel Blezek. Bungie got wind of the project and it has now been officially sanctioned. Marathon 1 is the first part of a trilogy.

STORY - defend the UESC Marathon colony ship against the aggressive Pfhor - play the role of the cyborg security officer - witness the rampancy of Durandal, the ship-board A.I. - uncover the surprising secrets of the Pfhor and the UESC Marathon

FEATURES

• 27 levels divided into six chapters
• missions include exploration, puzzles and extermination
• smooth game play experience
• “Carnage is as easy as point and shoot.” from the Marathon Manual
• 7 unique weapons

While it’s not really my cup of tea (I have never even heard of this game until today — don’t judge me!) — it does remind me a little of Doom or the first release of Quake, and classic Mac gamers and Halo fans will no doubt love it.

[Free - iTunes link]

Classics – Arcade Buttons is another accessory aimed at improving the gaming experience on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The Classics – Arcade Buttons enables you to use real hardware buttons on the screen of your device. We already have a couple of alternatives to replace the on-screen joystick, namely the Fling and Joystick-IT; now we can address the buttons too.

The Classics bring tactile feel to gaming on the iPhone, iPad, Android, and all other capacitive touch screen phones and tablets. The Classics use a special micro-suction cup material that sticks onto the screen of your device and holds on tight, but is easily removed. No adhesive and no unsightly, large suction cups to get in your way of pure pwnage.

[Joystickers]

Gameloft has just announced a list of games that it is currently working and all of them will be available for the iPhone. There are twelve new titles in total; all set to be released between July and December this year. Some of the titles include Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Lego Batman: The Mobile Game, Real Football 2012 and Driver San Francisco.

The full list of games and descriptions is after the break. Let us know which games you are most looking forward to playing!

[Gameloft]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 :Experience an exciting, magical adventure with the official mobile game of the final film in this series, eagerly anticipated by millions of viewers around the world.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations :This sequel to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood lands Ezio and Altaïr in a brand new setting: Constantinople. Let the magical locations enchant you as you discover startling revelations in the final chapter of Ezio’s saga.

Lego Batman : The Mobile Game : The official adaption of the hit video game combining two legendary franchises is coming soon to mobile. The game follows the action-packed adventures of Batman as he faces an array of classic villains, in a LEGO world full of fun and surprise.

Immortals :The game is based on the highly- anticipated Immortals movie, a stylish and visually spectacular 3D action-adventure from visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall), releasing in theaters 11/11/11. In it, you play as Theseus, the young heroic villager chosen by the Gods to battle the brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion and his Heraklion army before he finds the Bow of Epirus, and takes over the world.

Wild West Guns : The first open-world western action game on mobile offers total freedom in varied environments (great plains, deserts, mountains, ghost towns, etc.) with over 30 missions and a surprising plot.

Gangstar Rio : City of Saints :The final chapter in the successful Gangstar saga gets a new look and a move to Brazil. For the first time in a game of this genre, you can explore the streets of Rio de Janeiro, access a huge collection of cars and weapons and rule the city.

Real Football 2012 :The standard for football games from Gameloft returns on mobile for the 2011-2012 season in an edition with even more content, featuring new animations, new graphics and new functions.

Asphalt 6: Adrenaline :The famous Asphalt series is back on the starting line with 22 new vehicles from 16 of the most prestigious manufacturers. Get ready to race on 10 different tracks around the world in classic challenges like Drift mode or helicopter chases, as well as the new Adrenaline mode for even more amazing races.

Midnight Pool 3 :After the success of the previous versions selling in the millions of copies around the world, Midnight Pool makes its return to mobile. This new edition features a new career mode, great atmosphere, and plenty of improvements.

Driver San Francisco :This game marks the return of the saga that invented the action racing game. In this new opus, you become detective John Tanner and throw yourself into a relentless manhunt across San Francisco.

Sid Meier’s Civilization® V: The Mobile Game : The worldwide strategy game phenomenon is coming to feature phones! Based on the award-winning and best-selling franchise from 2K Games and Firaxis Games, become ruler of the world by establishing and leading a civilization from the dawn of man into the space age. Wage war, conduct diplomacy, discover new technologies, go head-to-head with some of history’s greatest leaders and build the most powerful empire the world has ever known.

Where’s Wally? : Travel through space and time to search for the iconic striped globetrotter and all his friends in this challenging and fun search-and-find mobile game!

If you can’t get enough of your Angry Birds, a new update will soon be now available for the Angry Birds Seasons game. The summer update is called Summer Pignic! and is available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Get Ready for Angry Birds Seasons – Summer Pignic! The pesky pigs never break for holidays, and it’s up to you to save the Angry Birds’ eggs! Follow the RovioMobile channel for a special summer surprise coming soon!

Take a look at the short video after the break. Is Angry Birds still as popular as ever or is it beginning to wear a bit thin? Let us know in the comments!

UPDATE: It’s out!

It’s available now in the App Store. If you grab it, let us know what you think. How does this update compare to previous ones?

[$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link] [$1.99 for iPad - iTunes link]

[YouTube]

Gameloft has announced that BackStab will be arriving for the iPhone and iPad this Thursday. Previously only available on one particular Android device, it will now be available for iPhone and iPad users too. Gameloft announced via twitter that the game would be available on Thursday June 23^rd.

BackStab is set on an 18th century Caribbean island and weaves an epic tale of revenge. Hero Henry Blake has been falsely accused of treason and will go to all means to seek vengeance on his British jailers. With a game play mixing action and adventure, BackStab incorporates an open 3D environment for free roaming, dynamic combat and counter-attacks.

[Gameloft]

One of the most exciting features of iOS 5 is the ability to mirror the iPad 2 screen on a high definition TV via an Apple TV. When it is enabled, you can see everything that you see on your iPad 2 on the TV, including videos, games, documents etc, all in real time.

Apple ‘n’ Apps has put together an excellent video walkthrough showing how it all works. The video demonstrates the speed at which the data is transferred between the iPad 2 and the Apple TV. It is very very impressive.

Gaming on the iPad 2 will gain a huge boost with the release of iOS 5 and AirPlay mirroring. It will no doubt enable new innovative ways to play games on your TV and iPad 2, at the same time! Take a look at the video after the break. Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Apple'n'Apps]

Air Guitar Move is an accessory that plugs into the dock connector of your iPhone or iPod touch and allows you to play air guitar — for real. You know when that superb guitar solo hits your ears and you can’t stop yourself from half closing your eyes, leaning back and pretending it’s you pumping out the notes? Well, with this accessory that may soon become a little bit closer to reality.

The unique Air Guitar Move motion sensing guitar pick allows you to strum in the air, and your iPhone becomes a guitar. Imagine how much fun it is to really move instead of just tapping and shaking. Air Guitar Move for iPhone is a rhythm action game (think Guitar Hero) with new game play features specially designed for mobile and allows you to rock to your favorite music.

Air Guitar Move needs funding pledges of $25000 or more to start production. It currently has over $4,300 with 21 days remaining.

Take a look at the video of it in action after the break; unfortunately its a Flash video, not our fault! Then head back here and let us know what you think, is it a hit or a miss?

[Kickstarter]

JOYSTICK-IT is a joystick for your iPad that aims to replace the clumsy on-screen virtual joysticks found in lots of iPad games. If you struggle with on-screen joysticks (I certainly do), this could be another option to consider. The JOYSTICK-IT is made from lightweight solid milled aluminium and certainly looks the part.

All you need to do is load your game of choice and place the JOYSTICK-IT over the virtual joystick and it will stick to the glass. You can then use it in place of the on-screen joystick and hopefully rack up some new high scores and achievements!

The JOYSTICK-IT is available now at a cost of $24.99 for one or as a twin pack at $39.99. As with all of these type of accessories, it would be best to check that it will work correctly with the games you intend to use it with before parting with your money!

Take a look at the video after the break; any of you fancy picking one of these up?

[ThinkGeek]

Sonic and Sega Allstars Racing is, to be frank, Mario Kart with the Sega characters that we know and love replacing the Nintendo ones that we know and love but can’t get! Unless hell freezes over, we are not going to see any Nintendo Mario titles coming to iOS devices. Now it looks like we may have a viable alternative. The game follows the same lines as Mario Kart; offering power ups, drifting, 12 different tracks,multiple characters and multiplayer gaming over Bluetooth, WiFi and online via Game Center.

The game is coming later this month for $4.99 and will be a universal binary; running on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Take a look at the video after the break and let us know if you plan on picking this one up when it hits the App Store!

[touchArcade]

TouchArcade was able to sit down with OnLive at E3 for a brief presentation of their cloud gaming service, which promises to bring full HD console quality gaming to the iPad.

When OnLive started up in 2009 it was speculated that the service would eventually come to the iPhone, but this was long before the iPad was available. They’ve since discovered the iPad is a far better use case for exploring this type of gaming service on an iOS device, and they’ve fully committed to get this out the door as soon as everything is solid enough for consumers.

OnLive even has a bluetooth controller they’ll make available, which should bring a more console-like experience for iPad users instead of having to use the touchscreen. Imagine pairing this with up with your HDTV via HDMI using the bluetooth controller, and you begin get a real sense of how truly awesome this could be.

Although they haven’t set an official release date, OnLive representatives have stated the service is “coming soon” to the iPad and the bluetooth controller will be available at a reasonable price.

Check out the video demonstration after the jump — will you be using OnLive on your iPad?

[TouchArcade]

Ten One Design has announced a version of its popular iPad Fling joystick for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new product will come in a pack of two and will be called the Fling mini.

iPhone gaming is all about precision maneuvering, and Fling mini gives you this crucial advantage. As you control a game with Fling mini, it pushes gently back towards the center position.  This haptic feedback guides and stabilizes your gameplay, making every action more accurate.

The Fling mini is available to pre-order at a cost of $24.95. This includes two Fling minis to enable maximum game compatibility.

Are any of our readers planning on picking one of these up? Let us know in the comments!

[Ten One Design]

We heard that Dream:scape had been submitted to the App Store way back in April; but why hasn’t it appeared for our download pleasure? Well it seems that after submitting the game to Apple, it hit a snag. The game would only run well on the latest iOS hardware; namely the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

This caused a rethink by the developer (Speedbump) and it pulled the game for some recoding work, to enable it to run on more devices. Today, Speedbump decided to share the good news that the app has been resubmitted and will be released next week; June 9^th to be precise. The newly coded version should work on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, 4^th generation iPod touch, iPad and iPad 2. Speedbump describe the game as an interactive narrative experience, an immersive exploratory environment, a haunting journey that will become your world.

Take on the role of Wilson, a coma patient relearning his past by exploring the dreamscape of his memories. Only there, in the lucid light of the subconscious, buried secrets are revealed, unraveling a decades-old mystery of tragedy, betrayal, and ultimately, revenge.

[Speedbump via touchArcade]

The review is very positive right from the build quality down to the actual game play. The iCade is designed predominately for use with Atari’s recent Greatest Hits app and it wasn’t found wanting!

I found tearing through these classic games on the iCade to be everything I’d hoped it to be. On the whole, it’s just an awesome experience. Holding the stick in your hand, hearing the switches click open and shut, and mashing the fire buttons is absolutely the way these classic games were meant to be played. A proper stick in your hand beats a virtual D-pad every time.

The device is designed for gaming in portrait mode. If any game needs to be in landscape you do have to take the iPad out of the iCade. It does have a place to sit externally so it is still usable in this way. There is also an API on the way to allow other game developers to use the iCade; developer Manomio has already confirmed support will be coming for its C64 emulator app. Getting other developers onboard is critical for this accessory to really succeed.

The iCade is still available for pre-order at a price of $99. Shipping is currently quoted as June 9. Take a look at the video after the break. Are any of our readers planning on picking one of these up? Let us know in the comments!

[touchArcade, Think Geek]

If you find gaming on the iPad with a virtual joystick hard work, the Fling joystick may be just the solution. Apple seems to agree as it is now stocking Fling in Apple Stores nationwide.

The Fling joystick made by Ten One Design is a conductive joystick nub surrounded by an inner and outer plastic spiral; these allow the joystick to move within the rings which creates the feel of an analog stick. The Fling attaches to the iPad screen via the age old method of two tiny suction cups and allows you to replace the virtual joystick used in many iOS games.

This is interesting news as Apple doesn’t usually stock third party add-ons like this. It demonstrates that the touch screen is not the be all and end all for gaming interaction; which Apple would like us to believe. In this case, Apple acknowledge that some games are just better suited to a more physical interface.

I am picking one of these up as soon as I can, as it is definitely an area that I struggle with. My thumb is constantly slipping off the virtual stick when gaming and I know this will dramatically improve the experience!

Do any of our readers already have a Fling or plan on picking one up from an Apple Store? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Ten One Design via Touch Arcade]

Epic Games has announced that the long awaited update for its Infinity Blade title will be available this Thursday. The free update will be known as Infinity Blade: Arena and brings online multi-player to the table via Apple’s Game Center as well as many more new features for the single player game.

• Enter the Arena:  Assuming the role of Titan or Knight, Infinity Blade fans can now challenge their friends to multiplayer matches online via Game Center!
• Survivor Mode: Players face off against a legion of Titans to see how far they can go!
• New Holiday Helms!  A new helm for every season, ready to be played and mastered!
• More than two dozen new magic rings, swords, shields, and helmets for players to collect and master.
• New Facebook integration allows fans to view their character on their profile and take a screen grab to share with friends.

[Epic Games]

Developer Codenrama has released a free tech demo which again shows off the free wandering, graphically stunning Unreal Engine for iOS devices. The demo which is very similar to Epic Citadel, takes you on a stroll through a beautifully detailed and accurately lit 3D setting based on the Italian town of Assisi.

So far we have seen a few tech demos but very few games using the Unreal Engine. Codenrama shed a bit of light on what the problem may be.

While developing Castlerama, we had to face the fact that newer devices such as iPhone4s and iPad2s are very different from their predecessors, iPhone3GSs and iPads, in that the former have twice as much memory. In order to have the app run on all devices, we had to compromise quite a bit, pushing the old devices to their limits (risking crash if other applications are left running) while keeping the new devices well behind their capabilities. In the future we believe we will have to develop two versions for each application.

Take a look at the video after the break then pop back and let us know what you think in the comments!

[iTunes–Link via Touch Arcade]

Apple’s iPhone 4 and App Store have both received entries into the Guinness World Records. The iPhone takes the record for the fastest selling portable gaming system and the App Store for the most popular application market.

The iPhone 4 award has been based on analyst estimates of first day sales of 1.5 million units which easily topped the Playstation Portable which managed a meagre 200,000 units. The App Store has achieved three records, grabbing the “most popular application marketplace”, “largest downloadable video game store” and the “largest launch line-up of any gaming system.”

Guinness has also recognised certain iOS game titles; obviously Angry Birds is in there with the “top paid for App Store game in most countries.” Plants vs. Zombies took the record for the “fastest selling iPhone/iPod strategy game.”

This is the clearest sign yet, that iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are major players in handheld gaming market. Do any of our readers still use a Playstation Portable or Nintendo handheld device in addition to their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch for gaming? Do you still need a separate gaming device or are iOS devices good enough for your needs? Let us know in the comments!

[Guinness World Records via cnet]

9to5Mac has heard that Apple is allowing select, high level gaming companies to get a head start developing for the next-generation iPhone 5 via a special A5-chipset powered iPhone 4.

The person who chose to share this information with us calls it the ‘iPhone 4S’, though the device itself only has typical Apple prototype nomenclature. He also shared that the device spends its evenings in a safe in the company’s offices.

Apparently it’s otherwise identical to current iPhone 4, albeit with a special version of iOS 4 to support the dual core Apple A5 chipset and it’s 2x processor and 9x graphics performance boost.

Whether or not iPhone 5, expected to launch this fall, keeps the iPhone 4 form factor (like the iPhone 3GS kept the iPhone 3G form factor) remains unknown. An A5 version of the iPod touch should theoretically launch at the same time.

Given how Infinity Blade, Dead Space, and Real Racing 2 HD look on the A5-equipped iPad, Nintendo and Sony should be very, very afraid.

[9to5Mac]

Gameloft has released a teaser video of its soon to be released N.O.V.A. Elite first person shooter game. The video concentrates solely on the multiplayer part of the game; rumors do suggest that this game may be multiplayer only.

Rumors also point to the game being available for free with in-app purchases of weapons and power ups. This would encourage more customers to get online initially to build up momentum and create a vibrant online player base, which is critical for a multiplayer game to succeed.

We will have to wait and see what the final release will bring; it shouldn’t be too much longer! In the mean time, take a look at the video after the break and let us know if you plan on picking this one up when its released!

[touch Arcade]

The iCade arcade cabinet, an accessory for your iPad, which turns it into a retro arcade machine, has just received clearance from the FCC and is now available to pre-order. The iCade features an old style joystick, six numbered buttons and two enter buttons. The iPad slots inside the casing and connects to the control system via Bluetooth, hence the need for FCC clearance.

Flashback to the glory days of gaming with iCADE! iCADE brings arcade gaming to life by integrating your iPad into an authentic, arcade-style cabinet complete with joystick and buttons! Impress your friends, family and co-workers with iCADE’s great-looking retro design, and then challenge them for high-scores on the most entertaining iPad accessory imaginable! iCADE’s specially designed cradle ensures safe loading and unloading of your iPad, while also providing a solid, secure fit even during the most intense game-play sessions.

The iCade comes with Atari’s Asteroids and nine other arcade games; more importantly, it works with the recently released Atari Greatest Hits.  Put these two together and you can have an awesome arcade type experience matched with retro styling.

The iCade is available to pre-order from GameStop for $99 and will be released on May 31. There is a video after the break showing the iCade in action.

Any of our readers planning on picking one of these up? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[wireless goodness]

Um. Okay. Wow. Sony Ericsson, makers of the Xperia Play (aka PSP Phone) went out and got Kristen Schaal from the Daily Show to go all NSFW on iPhone gaming in a new series of YouTube videos (these can’t air on primetime TV, right?). You’ve got your Killing It, Pwnage, Kittenlicious, Kristennetsirk, and Kristen within Kristen, and no kidding — there’s adult language, sexual situations, violence, and numerous potshots taken at our precious iPhone.

(Interestingly, the videos are actually light on real PSP game play. It would have been nice to see them show off their games vs. Infinity Blade, Real Racing 2, Dead Space, and other top tier iPhone games… Right?)

Check out the videos after the break and let us know what you think, full of win or marketing #fail?

[9to5Mac]

Gameloft has announced that they’ll be bringing Epic’s pixel-popping 3D rendering engine, Epic Unreal 3, to four iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad titles:

Gameloft penned a long-term, multi-platform licensing agreement with Epic Games, Inc. Whew! This agreement enables Gameloft to incorporate Unreal Engine 3 in four new games, two to be released in 2011 and two in 2012.

You can currently see the Epic Unreal 3 Engine in the free Epic Citadel demo and the Infinity Blade game. So which Gameloft games do you want to see get the Unreal treatment? NOVA, Asphalt, Modern Combat, Dungeon Hunter… or something new?

[Gameloft]

FIFA 11 has received a major update and now offers multiplayer gaming over Bluetooth and WiFi. FIFA 11 is a highly successful football (soccer) console game, spanning many years and the release for iOS devices was a fantastic port but always lacked multiplayer.

This latest update, as well as offering a few bug fixes, addresses this missing feature and you can now challenge your friends to games or play with them in a co-op format. The games can only be played when you are in the same vicinity as your friends, as the multi-player is Bluetooth based or on the same local WiFi connection. No facility for over the internet games at this stage, which is a little disappointing!

The game is available right now from the App Store and is available for iPhone and iPod Touch. A separate HD version is available for the iPad; this has not received the multi-player update yet.

[iTunes-Link]

The next update to Angry Birds Seasons will be a Valentine’s Day special. Rovio has announced that the update will be coming in the next week.

The update will include 15 new levels, bonus content, surprises and fun, all in the spirit of Valentine’s Day! So expect loved up birds and pigs, fluffy hearts and cupid arrows flying around your screen.

The app will be arriving for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, so keep your eyes peeled. Don’t forget you can check our daily post, New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for more news on all your favorites.

[iTunes Link, thanks Gregory]

The PlayStation official app is now available in the App Store. Before you get too excited though, the app does not let you play any games and seems to be available just in Europe.

The PlayStation app does let you view your gaming trophies and those of your friends when you are signed into the app with your PlayStation Network ID and password. You can also access information on the complete catalogue of games available on the PSN, PS3, PS2 and PSP. A short write up is available for each game and you can share the information via Twitter, Facebook and email if you are so inclined. There are also links to news from PlayStation.com and the PlayStation.Blog and that is about it.

The free app is available today and has been released with English, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish language support. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as long as you are running iOS 4.0 and greater.

[iTunes-Link]

Ten 1 design branching out from the Pogo stylus and at CES 2011 we got to see their new Fling thumbstick attachments for iPad in full on gaming action. Simple but genius, they stick to your iPad via suction cups and once you orient them on top of the virtual thumb pads for arcade or first-person shooters, they become a capacitive conduit to give you tactile feedback and full control. They’re even engineered to return to the center whenever you relax the pressure, just like a real thumbstick.

Check out the video above and let us know if you’d consider getting these thumbsticks for your iPad!

[Ten 1 Design]

If you’re into gaming on the iPad then you’ll definitely want to take a look at the Fling joystick controller for the iPad, from Ten One Design. The suctioned joystick is applied to your iPad screen for instant hardware control and acts as a physical directional pad for games like first-person shooters, side-scrollers and space shooters. Take a look at the video after the break.

Along with the addition of a hardware D-pad, the Fling provides some level of resistance simulating a force-feedback experience. You can order a Fling controller from Ten One Design for only $24.95. Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Ten One Design via Engadget]

Everyone has been eagerly awaiting Infinity Blade’s introduction to the App Store, and with it, a promised new era of iOS gaming. Listening to the hype around this game, one would think you would stop playing other games altogether. Does Infinity Blade live up to the hype? Let’s take a look at this game a little more in-depth to find out.

Infinity Blade is the first game for iOS that used the Unreal Engine 3 to bring to life the story of a lonesome hero bent on destroying the God King (for reason’s unknown other than, presumably, the God King is a bad dude); alas, your story begins.

You start off the game as our hero and his approach to the castle where the God King resides. To reach the God King, you will need to destroy many of his minions. They range in shape and size. After you defeat several minions, you reach the God King. If you defeat him, you have won. If you fail, you die and the journey or “bloodline” begins again with your son, avenging your death.

The time of this game is set in a castle with magic and knight folklore which will appeal to many people. The story for this game is not very deep, but with this game it is all about the gameplay and overall mechanics that make the title shine. Before you enter a battle you have an opportunity to scope the environment. This is a good thing as often you will find health, chests (they may contain an item) and bags of money. You can also see the properties of an enemy before you face them. This is useful because some enemies, especially once you get further in the game, are immune to certain attacks. So, prior to battle you can adjust your armor and weapons to the maximum benefit.

Once the battle begins, you have essentially three things you can do: block an attack, dodge an enemy attack by tapping the left or right corners of the screen or you can parry an attack by swiping in the same direction on screen as an incoming attack with your preferred weapon (sword, mace, axe, etc.) You can also use a special skill such as magic to perform a special attack. That’s it folks (well, occasionally you get an opening where you can stab your enemy).

So, though this may not seem incredibly deep on the surface, the controls are very satisfying; it is not simple to just arbitrarily parry and block, there is some skill and technique involved. If you block attacks, your shield becomes weaker and will eventually break, adding even more challenge since you can’t just block every incoming attack. There is a fair amount of variety in enemies too. They attack from different angles and are not standardized. Using magic strategically helps as well (heal your self, add additional hits to your shield, use an elemental attack against a weaker enemy) adding even more depth to the game. Some items even have magical endowments, a fire branded sword or a shield immune to ice attacks.

Overall, I enjoyed this game. Is it the most amazing game ever? Of course not, but it does offer a fun diversion and foretells the possibilities of gaming on iOS. There is currently enough content to keep you coming back for more. Dozens of weapons, helmets, shields, armor,etc. all have different attributes and is worth your time to master them. The most recent update added a max level for the player, a new enemy and additional items to buy and collect. Future updates will unlock even more of the castle, new monsters, multiplayer and more. If you have not downloaded this game yet, go do it now.

[$5.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Beautiful graphics
• Challenging gameplay with each new bloodline
• Game Center support
• Plenty of planned updates for the future (including Multiplayer)
• Universal App

Cons

• Framerate can be a little jerky- even on iPhone 4 and iPad
• Battles can get repetitive after a while (parry, parry, block, dodge, repeat)

Infinity Blade, powered by Epic’s Unreal 3 engine, was only released on December 9th, but it will receive a substantial update next week. The update will include five new weapons, shields and helmets as well as a new armor set; enough apparently to increase the level cap to 45. A new enemy will also be thrown into the mix; known as Marrow Fiend.

Another update is also in the works thought to be coming in early 2011. This should reveal new areas to explore and a more evolving story and challenging fight sequences.

“We really do listen to the gamer feedback, reading through the various forums,” co-founder Geremy Mustard said. “There are some things we agree with and some things we don’t, but the things we do agree with we’re going to be putting into the game and making it better.”

We also know that another future update will bring multi-player to Infinity Blade; unfortunately no date has been put on this apart from coming soon. It will not be included in next week’s update.

This has to be one of the great strengths of gaming on iOS devices — regular free updates to games, new levels and added functionality. When was the last time a game on another handheld platform received a free expansion update?

[Joystiq]

Epic Games has announced that the long awaited iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad game, Infinity Blade, will be in the App Store on December 9. The game will be available for the iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, as well as third- and fourth-generation iPod touch devices at a cost of $5.99.

Infinity Blade will be the first full game to utilize Epic’s Unreal Engine 3. Epic Citadel, already available in the App Store, is a short demonstration level showing  the power of the Unreal Engine on iOS devices. If you haven’t seen it, it is free and definitely worth a look. [Free - iTunes Link]

Infinity Blade is an RPG (Role Playing Game). You are a Knight in a giant 3D Castle environment, in search of a God-King, battling various enemies to gain new weapons and powers in your quest.

So mark your calendar, this is one great looking game, my iPad is twitching with anticipation, who’s getting this one when it hits?

[Joystiq]

Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner is now available in the app store for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4. A first person action game, it puts players in the well known “Millennium Falcon” gun turret where you advance through 20 levels of action. Relive some of the most exciting missions like the Death Star escape, asteroid field pursuit over Hoth and infamous Kessel Run.

SPECIAL MODIFICATIONS: As you blast your way through waves of TIE fighters, Star Destroyers, and a few other special surprises, you’ll earn credits that can be used to make special modifications to the Falcon’s offensive and defensive capabilities, including concussion missiles and a low-level tractor beam… perfect for grabbing TIE interceptors and launching them back at their black-helmeted buddies. For iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G users, an optional augmented reality mode lets players use a device’s camera to overlay enemy fighters on top of their natural surroundings and the device’s compass or gyroscope to enable 360-degree, full body motion control movement.

Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Runner is fully compatible with the Retina Display, Game Center and also includes Facebook integration too. The game is only recommended for use on  iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 4; THQ state that older devices will experience memory issues. It is not currently available for the iPad, but will be come December (we do not know if the app will be updated to a universal binary or if there will be a specific version for the iPad at an additional cost).

Star Wars fans, go and grab it now, let us know what you think of it in the comments!

[$4.99 -  iTunes Link]

From the creator of the classic first person shooters Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake comes RAGE for iPhone and iPad. John Carmack and id Software have just released their first game designed solely for iOS. This gory FPS has all the blood, mayhem, and edge-of-your seat action that fans have come to expect from Carmack. The game has been designed with jaw dropping graphics and has a special HD version specifically made for the iPhone 4′s retina display.

RAGE comes to your mobile device with the hit of the wastelands, Mutant Bash TV! This intense first-person rail shooter casts you in the starring role of a post-apocalyptic game show where you’ll be stalked by hungry mutants while you scour pulse-pounding levels for ammo and cash pick-ups. Make a deal with J.K Stiles, the show’s menacing host, and see if you have what it takes to survive this carnage-filled carnival of death!

A universal binary for the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad, RAGE can be had in SD (standard definition) for $0.99 or HD (high definition) for only $1.99!! Will this be the killer iOS game of 2010? Check out the pictures and let us know what you think after the break!

[$0.99 - RAGE SD iTunes link | $1.99 - RAGE HD iTunes link]

Developer Tom Cool has successfully brought Wiimote functionality to the Apple TV by activating a custom BT stack that uses Apple TV’s built in Bluetooth. So far the demo only shows a virtual representation on screen which perfectly mirrors the movement of the Wiimote, however it shouldn’t be too long before full Wiimote or even iPhone/iPod touch controlled gaming is brought to the Apple TV.

Are you excited for some Apple TV jailbreak gaming? Check out the video below and if you’re curious about it, find out more in our Jailbreak Forum.

YouTube link

Are you ready for the ultimate in iPhone first-person shooter games? If so, then sit back and enjoy Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus. Gameloft has really, really, really shown it is in this to win and take advantage of the hardware on iPhone. This game is gorgeous, especially on the retina display. Ah, but let’s not dwell on the graphics for now, let’s jump into the game itself.

Black Pegasus is a sequel to Modern Combat. This game was good for its day, but Black Pegasus sets a new standard. The game starts off after the old one where you are part of a squad sent to take out the bad guys, protect civilians, etc. There really isn’t anything new there, so let’s talk about what is new. As I mentioned earlier, the graphics are awesome. I don’t mean just because they are retina display graphics, they are awesome because the new character models look very realistic and body movement is very smooth as characters move about the screen. You also have a blinding white screen when you are caught with a flash bang grenade and if you “bust” in a door you have slow motion for a few seconds to take out the bad guys, creating a sense of stunned enemies.

To control the game you have the standard fanfare of d-pad on the left and your attack, grenades, etc on the right. You have the crouch button on the bottom left and the zoom scope on the bottom right. When maneuvering your character it is quite responsive and when you zoom to scope view, the controls turn very sluggish. This is done on purpose, because if not, everyone would spend the whole game in zoom mode! The controls are solid, but still suffer for Gameloft’s persistent issue of keeping on the d-pad on the left as the control point and if your thumb moves off of it, you inadvertently end up controlling your view. Though not a game-stopper, it does happen on occasion- I will be in the middle of combat and all of a sudden be looking up at the sky or down at the ground. If Gameloft would simply change the whole left of the screen for movement, the problem would be solved.

There are lots of single player missions with great difficulty on the hard levels, but where this game really shines is in multiplayer. 10 players online and 4 types of games tend to keep me very busy. You have typical “deathmatch” where everyone is out for each other. Team deathmatch where two sides go after each other. Next is capture the flag where you capture the enemy flag and take it back to your base and last is bomb defuse where you have to protect a bomb from the other guys defusing it.

These multiplayer matches are crazy awesome. Fluid, look beautiful, solid Internet connections, etc., what could make it better? Points. That’s right, there is a ranking system. Every kill, headshot, assist, you name gets points. Typically every level unlocks something from a kill signature (it’s like a taunt) to new weapons or a skill like -20% on gun recoil and more. The only chink in the armor is that the online multiplayer is Wi-Fi only, so no 3G regretfully. Still, I can live with that as the single player missions are still a blast to play.

If you like first-person shooters, this is an absolute no-brainer purchase; it must be bought and it must be bought now. It is without a doubt the BEST game of this type on the App Store and I guarantee you will waste many hours fraggin’ your peeps online. Not sure? Watch my video up top and you will be convinced.

[$6.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Amazing graphics
• Great controls
• Very challenging single player campaign on the hard levels
• The absolute best multiplayer FPS experience on the App Store

Cons

• No Game Center support, uses Gameloft Live! )but it works really well!
• No 3G Multiplayer

After over three years of the iPhone being on the market, there’s still not a great “have to have it” gaming controller accessory. The iPhone, iPod touch, and now the iPad have become serious competitors in the gaming arena and while touch gesture games are awesome in their own right, there’s several games that would benefit from having an actual controller.

Apple loathes buttons, we already know this, but hardcore gamers don’t. If Apple wants gamers to consider iOS devices as competitive gaming platforms, there needs to be a market for it. That’s where Controller or Bust comes in. They’re setting out to develop the perfect gaming controller for the iPhone (and I’d assume other iOS devices as well). They’re looking for input from the iCommunity and going through the motions of what it will take to get one into production and eventually, to the market.

Benjamin Morisse, who’s heading the blog and project is already working towards the biggest challenge – getting into the “Made for iPhone/iPod” program. For those of you unfamiliar, all peripherals that will physically connect to an iDevice have to be approved before going to market. That’s why you see the “Made for iPhone/iPod” sticker on some products that you buy. Apple approves of it and doesn’t foresee it causing any compatibility issues (or damaging your device when it comes to cases and battery packs).

I remember playing Ravensword quite a bit when it first came out. One thing I really would have liked was an external peripheral that allowed me to utilize the whole screen instead of using the corners of the screen to control my character.

Any of you desperately waiting for an awesome gaming controller? What games do you guys use that you think would be a much better experience with a physical controller? Head over to Controller or Bust and give your input!

You’re Microsoft and today you’re launching the brand new Windows Phone 7 platform and what better game to showcase that launch but iOS hit Angry Birds… unless of course the developer, Rovio, isn’t making Angry Birds for Windows Phone 7 and didn’t give Microsoft permission to use it. Whoops.

Whether or not Angry Birds will make it to Windows Phone 7 down the road is debatable, but a lot of developers have been contacted and asked to make apps for the Windows Phone 7 marketplace.  In some cases, they’ve even been offered cash incentives. Hit the jump to see the letter some developers have been receiving from Microsoft asking them to develop for Windows phone 7.

And for complete Windows Phone 7 launch coverage, check out our newly renamed sibling site, WPCentral.

[WMExperts, via 9to5mac]

Exclusive, limited Time Offer from Microsoft to Help You Develop Application on the Windows Phone 7 Platform

Dear Beacon Hill Apps,

Beacon Hill Apps mobile applications have been identified as some of the key applications Microsoft would like to offer on the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace is the official site for developers to market their mobile applications to a broad range of Windows Phone 7 users.  The Marketplace provides end users with an easy way, to discover, purchase and download mobile applications, games and other content with confidence and payment convenience.

Microsoft is offering an exclusive and limited time opportunity for you to join, publish and distribute your applications on Windows Phone 7 Marketplace while receiving several benefits. The benefits for registering on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace by December 31st, 2010 during this offer include:

• Rebate of US$99 dollars on the application registration (after having at least one compatible application included on the marketplace by December 31, 2010)

• Application name reservation on the Marketplace

• Technical & application submission support
• Local events to assist with your development efforts
• One free copy of Windows 7
• To apply for this offer please email me back with your contact information or call me at the number below to help you complete the marketplace registration and reserve your application names.  See additional helpful resources below.

Should you have any questions about this email feel free to call me or send an email to v-mafl@microsoft.com. N(3) is a third party vendor hired by Microsoft to assist and make mobile application developers aware of an exclusive offer.

Unreal development kit (UDK) is coming to iOS according to an announcement made by Epic Games at the Korean Games Conference.

What this means is that any iOS developer can download the free UDK and potentially start making worlds as breathtaking as Epic Citadel for iPhone and iPad. Once they’ve gotten accomplished at it, it sounds like it’s a short jump — and business decision — to becoming an Unreal Engine 3 licensee and exploding across our iOS devices.

Jobs of War, Cupertino Vice, what Unreal Engine games would you like to see?

[Joystick via TUAW]

I have seen Final Freeway in the App Store for a while and just glanced by. When looking at apps to review this week I felt a little nostalgic and thought I would give this little gem a spin. The result? Well, if you enjoy old-school arcade racing, if you remember when Out Run was the arcade game, then Final Freeway is for you!

Off the bat, the game is dead simple. Start off by going to Options and you can change your control type from accelerometer to to touch steering. I really prefer the accelerometer steering and once you turn on horizon tilt it gets a lot better.

Jumping into a game starts with two choices: Normal or Expert. Be warned, this game gets tough as more traffic and the time limit starts to hinder your progress. Next you have three choices for music. Unfortunately you can’t select iPod music at this time (the developer says they are working hard on a substantial update, we shall see what this brings). From here, the race begins!

Controls are precise and responsive as you fly really fast around the tracks. You have a few different control layouts in options for gas, break, etc. From here it is time to beat the clock and avoid the traffic. When you reach a check point, the game continues, but you do not have any branching paths, you continue through six total levels for the high score.

I had a lot of fun with this game. Since the levels are relatively short and with fast task switching, it makes for an excellent pick up and play game when you have the time. Sure there is a big “Cons” list below, but for $.99 this is a must have app for any classic racing fan; no regrets.

[$.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Classic racing action
• Similar to the arcade classic “Out Run”
• Fast frame rate- almost too fast!
• Retina display support for iPhone 4
• Universal app for iPhone and iPad
• Pick back up and play with iOS4

Cons

• No “tree” to show level progression
• Only three music tracks
• No iPod music option
• Only one car to choose from
• No Internet scoring fro global high scores (Plus+ or OpenFeint for example)

Yesterday during Apple’s annual Special Music Event Steve Jobs announced that the iPod touch was more popular than both Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP… combined. Jobs also said more than 1.5 billion games and entertainment apps have been downloaded by iPod touch devices to date.

However, as every gadget and gaming blog has since pointed out, while iPod touch has sold in the mid tens of millions of units (Apple doesn’t often break them out), Nintendo’s DS series has sold 132 million all on its lonesome, so take this with a “biggest mobile company” type grain of salt.

[Engadget, thanks also to Freaknasty]

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Verizon rumors explode, would you switch? Could the iPhone replace your wallet? Sony and Android teaming up to take on iOS. Apple reviewers making fart apps? And what’s the deal with iAds? Line up for your podcasts now, folks, this is iPhone live!

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

Sony has released a new ad for their PSP gaming system and it takes aim squarely at Apple’s iPhone and iOS gaming.

“That [iPhone] ain’t built for big boy games”, the latest PSP spokeskid, Marcus Rivers, says to a goofy looking guy playing “Lame Castle”. “That’s built for texting your grandma and calling your girl.”

Rivers then shows off a few older, $9.99 catalog titles, and calls the goofy guy to drive home the $9.99 price point before hitting the tag line: “step your game up.”

Obviously this acknowledges the growing competition from iPhone, especially the low price point of iOS games.

And since goofy guy can text grandma, call his girl, and play great new games without having to lug around a second, gigantic device — one that’s still bound to physical media and hasn’t seen a real hardware update since before Marcus was born — it might not be a winning strategy for Sony. (That Android PSP phone, however…)

Video after the break. Does it make any of you want to carry around an iPhone and a PSP?

[Ars Technica]

With this weeks sale of Square-Enix games in honor of Chaos Rings release, I thought it fit to review Crystal Defenders for iPad. This is a very fun strategy/tower defense game: hardcore players apply only.

Crystal Defenders has you assume the role of master strategist as you place your units on a map to destroy the oncoming 30 waves of monsters trying to steal your crystals. Before you begin a game, you have to choose which game style you want. There are three to choose from: W1, W2 and W3. W1 is the easiest and simplest. The maps are not difficult and you do not have any power crystals (more on that later). W2 brings in the use of power crystals during gameplay and more challenging levels. W3 is the ultimate challenge. New monsters, units and very challenging maps.

The game revolves around Gil, which is your money/source for everything in the game. You use Gil to place units on the board and to upgrade them. The waves of monsters are cued up on the left of your screen and your units on the right. Before each wave of enemy monster you can place as many units as you would like onscreen till you use all of your Gil. Then, with the tap of the screen the oncoming horde commences towards the level exit and you have to cross your fingers that your units can defend your crystals. The good news; even during a wave you can still place and upgrade your units and if needed pause the action in the middle of a wave. If you become impatient, you can speedup the action 4X so waves complete very quickly.

You have a wide variety of units and monsters. There is the standard solider fanfare as well as archers, mages, thieves, hunters, etc. All of these types of units are necessary as monsters have varying levels of HP, resistance to physical, magical or air attacks and movement.

Once you progress past the W1 levels, the W2 levels give the add strategy of power crystals. There are three crystals in your arsenal: red to increase damage, blue to increase distance and yellow to increase speed. It is imperative to place these crystals next to your most important units to give them an edge. Just like other units, the power crystals can be upgraded, but at a much higher Gil cost than your units. You also have the ability to cast what are called Espers. Espers are creatures that can cast a spell for a wave, like increase all unit damage for that wave; Espers come in really handy.

If you think you have what it takes, then this is the ultimate in Tower Defense games. Three levels of varying difficulty and challenges, deep strategy (it’s the only way to win) and creatures and characters from the Final Fantasy universe make this a must have game for the enthusiast.

[$3.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Great fun!
• Bright, colorful graphics
• Familiar characters from the Final Fantasy universe

Cons

• Very difficult
• Simple graphics might shy players away

Engadget has it from a reliable source that there’s a device being prepared by Sony Ericsson that will look like a cross between a Samsung Captivate and PSP Go, run Android 3.0 “Gingerbread” and, enjoy PS titles like God of War.

If it pans out, if they nail the hardware and software, it will be a serious competitor to iPhone and iOS in the mobile gaming space. If Sony can work a little Apple-style magic and get it integrated with the PS3, it could be flat out awesome.

So what do you think, combine this with Windows Phone 7 getting Xbox live features, will Apple, the App Store, and their upcoming Game Center be enough to hold on to the mobile gaming market?

[Engadget via Android Central]

Like Star Wars? Like tower defense games? Then you might want to take a look at THQs recent release Star Wars: Battle for Hoth for iPhone. 

The game premise is that of all tower defense games; prevent your enemy (in this case the Imperial Empire) from reaching the other said of the map. As you play the game you get a fairly diverse set of units to deploy in defending Hoth. But, before I get into that, let’s look at play mechanics first. 

You start Battle for Hoth with some simple ground troop units and a shovel. The shovel allows you to alter the landscape of the level and force units to move a certain route. This is a great tool in later levels as you can really funnel the Empire to their doom. When you place your units and they destroy a wave of Imperials, you are rewarded with a green wrench icon you have to touch to collect. This gives you points to build or upgrade units. You have to be fast though if you wait too long the wrench will change color to orange then red, decreasing the point value. Wait too long, and your points are gone forever.

As you play through the 15 levels you unlock more types of units including; seated blaster units, radar lasers, turrets, snow speeders, x-wings, shield generators and ion cannons. Some of the more complex units like the ion cannon, shield generators and turrets require an energy generator placed next to them. The energy generator is required to power those units. If you upgrade a unit (say the shield generator) without upgrading the energy unit, you run the risk of losing power to that unit so you always have to keep it in check. 

You can upgrade your existing units to make them more powerful and sell them as needed. I found the most fun in the game building up units under the safety of the shield generator and then taking out AT-ATs with relative ease once my units were upgraded to the maximum.

When writing this review, I have to admit I had some distaste for this game. Simple and not a lot of variety in what appeared to be a shameless use of an awesome gaming license. However, after I made my video review above, I am having a bit of a change of heart. I think I am trying to make Battle of Hoth more than it is;  a simple Star Wars-themed tower defense game to kill a view minutes in your day while standing in line to get groceries. Should you get it? If you are a Star Wars fan I think you will enjoy. If not, I would pass. 

[$2.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Fast gameplay
• Fun in small chunks
• Fast forward the game action
• Familiar Star Wars universe
• Units behave as they should

Cons

• Original game music is not the Star Wars music we love
• Easy is too easy
• Lacking variety of Star Wars units and ships

I was excited to see that Let’s Golf 2 just appeared in the App Store! I am not a golfer in real life, but I enjoy a good golf game every once in a while. Let’s jump right in and see what this new version has to offer.

Let’s Golf 2 is not meant as a real golf simulation like a Tiger Woods Golf. Instead, you are greeted with cute, often funny characters in outlandish environments that are beautiful and colorful. This does not mean that the levels are easy, in fact they become quite challenging later in the game (how can that be a par 4, impossible!)

There are several new characters to select. But in the beginning of the game, you one have two to choose from; Vincent and Jane. As you progress through the levels, you unlock a lot of customizations including clothes, hair, golf balls and clubs. A fun addition is the new Skill for each character. I am using Jade for example and her power is “Power of Charm”. This move is useful when putting as no matter how hard you hit the ball when putting, you can use her power to stop it anywhere on the green. The character powers, once used, have to replenish over time and can’t be used again and again without replenishing; use your characters power wisely.

Single Player has a few different modes to choose from; Instant Play where you play across three random holes from a variety of courses. Career where you complete against other virtual players for the trophy. Challenge where you play a series of “challenges” and score the highest points. Free Hole where you can setup the course you would like to play. As you play courses you earn points and medals that go towards unlocking courses and character customizations as well as increasing your character’s abilities.

Multiplayer uses Gameloft Live for online play, but you can also play locally with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Once online you can create or join a room and view the leaderboard. The game is a blast online as you complete in matches against a competitor from around the world.

Gameplay in Let’s Golf 2 is really straight forward. You can tap on the course map on the left of the screen to view where the ball is going and tap left or right on the screen to adjust or use the zoom controls to pan away form the action for a big picture of the course. You have the option of changing your clubs as well, but I have found for the most part the AI does a good enough job that I don’t have to change clubs too often, I can typically control the outcome of my swing by adjusting the strength I am swinging. Swinging your club is accomplished by tapping the golf ball on the right to start swinging and then tapping it again to center the swing for angle and strength. One feature that is missing is some sort of advanced club swinging mechanic. These swinging moves are typically accomplished by swiping your finger in a direction and letting go at the strength you want. Alas, this feature is not available that I have been able to find it.

I really enjoy Let’s Golf 2, but there is one issue that really bugs me. The framerate/accuracy of your club swings is not spot on. Depending on the course I often find that I have to touch the swinging meter ahead of when I plan to swing in order to assure accuracy. This is really frustrating sometimes as golf is a game that focuses on the smaller number of strokes in a game and I often find that through no mistake of my own, I miss a swing or calculate the incorrect swinging strength because of this flaw.

Don’t let my previous statement sway you from getting this game. Granted, the timing of some swings can be frustrating but the online play coupled with many characters and unlockables makes for a fantastic golf game.

[$4.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Colorful graphics
• Diverse courses
• Unlockable characters
• Unlockable character customizations
• Online and local wireless play
• Many different types of golf games to play

Cons

• Framerate can be slow at times
• Easy to miscalculate swing due to input latency

Can Gameloft deliver with their sequel to Hero of Sparta? I think the answer is a resounding yes. Though not perfect, Hero of Sparta II (HOS2) delivers pure action and colorful graphics on Apple’s noble iPhone and iPod Touch.

HOS2 is an action game spun in the Greek mythological era of the Gods and Goddesses. You play the warrior Argos. I won’t get into his story here, but in this game you are sent on a path of redemption. You return to Earth after spending some buddy time with Hades and immediately the action starts. The controls are different than its predecessor. The main diffidence is that Argos can now jump. This adds a much needed play mechanic to HOS2. In the weapon department, you start off with the basic shield and sword. After every level or so, you start to collect a variety of different and useful weapons including: wings that can be used to glide and attack, a helmet that give Argos the ability hurls fireballs, and my favorite the claws which give you God of War like attacks against your enemies.

The levels are mostly linear, but on occasion you can find a hidden area that has extra gems. You can collect red balls that can be used to increase the attack and magical attack of each weapon. Blue gems to replenish magic and green gems to gain back health. You can also collect additional gems that can be added to your weapon of choice to gain attack/magic bonuses like a +2 to attack, for example.

Pulling off attacks is fun. You have an attack button that when pressed successively, gives you a combo attack on your enemy. However, you can add a modifier to your attack by swiping up, down, left and right. If you use the down motion it will typically cause a “shield break” maneuver with your selected weapon to destroy a shield or some other object. Using the up swipe will launch your enemy in the air for you to unless even more combos.

I am very pleased with the variety of levels in HOS2. You have a lot of different interactive events from running acorss a crumbling bridge to swinging with the claw weapon like a vine to climbing towers. The enemies in HOS2 are not as great. I found that I was constantly fighting the same 3-4 enemies every time with an occasional 5th monster added just for variety. A new enemy feature which is enjoyable is “taking control” of the enemy. For example, the Minator can be controlled by following a series of button presses on screen. You can then control the Minator and attack the baddies. Regretfully, there is not much of a boss battle. There is a boss at the end of every level in HOS2, but you rarely actually attack them. Instead, you typically dodge their attacks or dodge environmental variables. This is somewhat disappointing, but there is plenty of action when fighting during the levels.

The graphics have really be stepped up in this release. There is an insane amount of detail close up with a wide variety of color and textures; make no doubt, HOS2 is very pretty and impressive. However, all of this comes at a controversial cost in this reviewers opinion; framerate. HOS2 moves nicely if you are in a relatively enclosed area with a couple of enemies, but this is rarely the case. You are typically fighting 5 or more bad guys at once in an open area and this is where the framrate begins to suffer. I estimate this game runs at an average of 15-20 frames per second. This can become frustrating when trying to string combos together,etc. I can only hope that Gameloft will update this app soon. Gameloft did an awesome update to GT Motoracing Academy to the pleasure of many fans and I hope that they do the same here.

Overall, HOS2 is a must buy for any action fan. If you are looking for the silky smooth framerate of say, N.O.V.A, look elsewhere. If you want a solid, fun action game that pays homage to God of War, then this is the game for you.

[$6.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

Cons

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is speaking up about his thoughts on Apple and their potential impact on Nintendo, calling Apple their “enemy of the future”.

Anyone who’s ever visited the App Store is already aware of the plethora of games available for iPhone/iPod touch and now, iPad.  Up until now, the big guys in the physical console business had stayed pretty quiet.  But it appears Nintendo is changing their tune.  Iwata is believed to have told his senior executives to consider the battle with Sony a victory already won and to switch their focus to something different.  That something different would be Apple.

No one can deny Apple’s impact on the gaming industry.  As of right now, there are over 180,000 apps in the iTunes app store.  Around 30,000 of those apps are games.  With the addition of the iPad, we can only assume that number will continue to climb upward.  As consumers decide on handheld gaming devices, an iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad is just as worthy of a contender as a DS or PSP these days.  Nintendo had intended for the DS to capture audiences other than the typical male gamer stereotype, but as Times Online states,

The company’s recent strategy has centred on creating devices aimed not just at children and dedicated — generally male — gamers, but at the whole family. Two years ago, the company claimed to have permanently altered the demographics of video games by raising the average age and the gender mix of gamers. Unfortunately, the very people it claimed to have converted — high-school girls and men aged between 30 and 40 — reported that they would rather have an iPhone than a DS in their pockets or handbags.

Developers are really what make the app store so successful at the end of the day.  From a development standpoint, the startup costs aren’t insane and most development companies are seeing a large return on those investments.  Many larger gaming companies have also developed iPhone OS versions of their games that have done extremely well, such as Gameloft.  And for the end consumer, when the average price of an iPhone app is $3 while a console game costs above $20, most people may opt for having more games at a cheaper price.

At this point, it’s only wise for Nintendo to consider Apple a valid competitor.

[MacRumors, via Times Online]

Matt Casamassina, an editor at gaming website IGN known for his knowledge and coverage of Nintendo, has announced on his blog that he’s left the media world to join Apple as their new global editorial games director for the iTunes App Store:

Anybody who has read my work through the years will know that I’ve long been a huge Nintendo fan, but if there is one company that could entice me away from covering Mario and Zelda it’s the one owned by Steve Jobs. Beginning early May, I will join Apple as global editorial games manager, App Store. In a nutshell, I will be leading the charge for games on the App Store, so whether you browse through iTunes, iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, the games content you see will be handpicked and organized by me and my team. I couldn’t be happier.

Given the massive and growing amount of games for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and ongoing concerns about quality and discoverability, its nice to see Apple (who haven’t always taken gaming seriously) filling a position like this.

Is Casamassina leading the charge to better sort and display games inside the App Store enough to help? And what, if anything, does his background in Nintendo coverage tell us about the direction Apple wants to go?

[Mouth on Fire, thanks everyone who sent this in]

I already mentioned I’m on my way to GDC 2010 to cover the iPhone panel, and that iPhone gaming is getting big, so it’s interesting to see CNET reenforce just how big it’s getting:

strikingly absent among those 18 [Mobile Gaming] panels are any that deal with game development specifically for the iPhone. And why? Because for the first time, the GDC advisory board decided that Apple’s smartphone is an important enough platform to warrant its own summit. And it filled quickly.

Simon Jeffrey, vice president of social applications for leading iPhone game developer Ngmoco says:

“The iPhone is now recognized as a leading platform that’s independent from the mobile. People are specifically naming the iPhone as a threat to their businesses. Nintendo said the iPhone is taking customers away from [its popular] DS handhelds.”

The cost of entry is lower than Microsoft or Nintendo, and it’s getting more and more popular while still maintaining its cool factor.

While Android and Windows Phone 7 Series will bring the competition (and perhaps Palm as well), right now the iPhone is riding high on its head start.

It seems like Palm’s new webOS PDK (plug-in development kit) can be used to port over iPhone games in a matter of days — or even hours. Given how fast some iPhone games have turned up on the Palm Pre we’ve kind of suspect there was a little something something going on behind the screen, and our sibling site PreCentral.net confirmed it by way of Digital Daily‘s pre-GDC coverage.

As just mentioned, I’ll be at GDC to have a look at what they’re doing. If it’s really just that easy to get your iPhone games onto webOS, then Palm has once again made their platform as frictionless as possible for developers (on top of the web technology SDK and Classic PalmOS emulation). Smart.

Windows Phone 7 Series looks to be packing Xbox Live gaming muscle, so they likely won’t go the same route as Palm… but could Android and BlackBerry? And if developers can keep making great iPhone games and get webOS (and maybe others) as a bonus, is that ultimately better for iPhone gamers, or does it weaken the uniqueness of the platform? If it does, will there eventually be “exclusives” like there are on Xbox and Playstation, or will Apple do more first-party games like the console makers — especially Nintendo — do?

According to Game Developers Research, their new study shows the iPhone platform is more popular with game developers than either the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP. Electronista sums up:

Demand for the iPhone has surged to where about 19 percent of all game developers are writing for the iPhone and iPod touch. The figure is more than twice as high as for the DS and PSP and results in three quarters of all mobile game developers writing for Apple’s handhelds.

While no reasons were cited for the level of developer interest in the iPhone and iPod touch, they figure the high visibility of the Apple brand combined with robust developer tools and centralized App Store model makes for a compelling package. 75 million devices on the market probably doesn’t hurt either…

Good news for iPhone, iPod touch, and eventually iPad gamers — with developers come great games.

TheFlashBlog‘s Lee Brimelow, Platform Evangelist at Adobe “focusing on the Flash, Flex, and AIR developer communities” has put up a series of iPad mockups highlighting a wide range of web sites all showing the blue lego brick of Flash plugin fail — and they feature the range of games like Farmville, news sites like CNN, TV sites like Hulu, and online porn like… well, you get the idea.

In all fairness porn is underplayed compared to the rest, but that it’s played at all by someone from Adobe is — forgive us — a ballsy move. Of course easy to access, free, online porn is a major reason a certain segment is upset there’s no Flash on the iPhone or iPad. Regardless of your personal feelings one way or another about it, porn is historically a huge early adapter of technology, including VHS, DVD, online video — now increasingly Flash-based — and even the iPhone via Jailbreak and web apps.

Brimelow is using the visuals, mainstream and adult alike, to point out how ubiquitous Flash is on the ‘net, and how Apple shouldn’t be calling the iPad (and previously the iPhone), the ultimate browsing experience” when it doesn’t include Flash.

That’s a valid point, and one Adobe’s Photoshop Product Manager John Nack addresses candidly and, in our opinion more convincingly, on his own blog. He made me rethink some preconceptions, so it’s well worth a read.

But Apple isn’t aiming the iPhone or iPad at the web, or computing, as it is today. They’re attempting to reframe their mobile devices as appliances for tomorrow. Yesterday’s web was all about Internet Explorer 6 and Microsoft’s proprietary ActiveX platform. Today is about Flash. We’ve moved passed IE6 and ActiveX, and Apple is betting we’re moving past Flash as well.

The porn industry, interestingly, will likely be one of the early indicators on whether that ends up being true or not. Along with sites like Hulu, Brimelow’s post might just end up being less an inditement of Apple today, but a checkbox for HTML5 conversion tomorrow.

As to gaming, Gruber’s right. How would Flash games written for a mouse and keyboard on an iPad — or iPhone — anyway? They’d need to convert them for multitouch and fingers anyway, and then why not make an app that fully leverages the hardware?

[Via Daring Fireball]

Going all Mentalist on Apple’s Jan. 27 “Come see our latest creation” invitee list has led to conjecture that gaming will be shown off for the iTablet/iSlate, but that perhaps the hardware itself will be US-only at launch.

Gizmodo says that, since Apple invited their gaming-focused sibling site, Kotaku to the party, they may have graphics on the card:

Because the tablet’s not a phone, both in terms of computing capability and input mechanics, people are going to be expecting more from its performance. Especially in the gaming realm, which Apple has been pushing hard in their ads for the iPod Touch and iPhone. If the guess that Apple will include iPhone App Store support on the tablet is true, it’ll at least enough graphical capability to run those games.

9to5mac, meanwhile, speculates that Apple is not holding a simultaneous European media event because, just like the iPod and iPhone before it, the iTablet might be US-only on launch day:

If content and carrier deals form some kind of road block here, then global launch could take time – consider the speed of multiplication of content-selling iTunes Stores as an intimation of such possibility (though Apple now has content connections in most key territories, so the wait might not be so extended).

They hedge by saying some European media are being flown to the US event, but getting e-book deals in the US will be one thing, getting them signed and sealed across even a small group of countries by launch — given the disgusting and disgraceful mess that’s international media licensing — could be beyond even Apple.

And hey, TiPb hasn’t gotten an invite (yet!) but we’re betting that’s just because we’re us, and Apple will indeed give iPhone 4.0 some love on Jan. 27.

But why should all this conjecture be theirs and ours alone — what do you think?

For those of use that have been patiently waiting for the arrival of Gameloft’s NOVA, the day has arrived! This game looks to be the ultimate FPS for the iPhone with an unrivaled multiplayer experience. I have only had time to quickly run through the tutorial level, but so far, so good; I am hooked.

The game borrows heavily from Microsoft’s Halo franchise to create a world where the space marines fight against an alien invasion. With a solid single player campaign, online and local multiplayer (the YouTube video above shows some of the awesome multiplayer action)and leaderboards, this is a game I will be playing for a while; and just in time for the weekend! What do you think of the game? [$6.99 - iTunes link]

Apple’s job listings just got interesting again, with positions open for a Video Game Artist and a Software Engineer for the iPhone Gaming Group. That’s right, “iPhone Gaming Group”. It looks like that Game/Media Software Engineer position from last month wasn’t a one off, and Apple is finally, seriously, getting into the game… game. (Sorry, but you saw that coming!)

For the artist:

The interactive media group is looking for a skilled artist who wants to work as part of a small highly motivated team to work on interactive multimedia experiences on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The position on the team is to help design, visualize, enable and implement interface, 3D characters/environments, animation, texturing as well as original concept artwork.

For the engineer:

The iPhone Games Group is looking for a proactive, highly motivated engineer with 5 + years experience, to share their expertise in application and framework development.

So, how about it? Sounds like a lot of firepower for “Texas Holdem’ 2″, doesn’t it? Think we’ll finally see some Sony or Nintendo caliber 1st party gaming coming out of Apple? And if so, what would they be?

[via MacRumors]

Could Apple be ending the old-school clickwheel iPod games? Perhaps, according to a comment by developer Square Enix:

the iPhone Song Summoner contains both Song Summoner and Song Summoner 2, which was never released due to Apple ending support for click wheel games.

No doubt iPhone and iPod touch gaming has become a juggernaut, and the traditional iPod nano and iPod classic are slowly winding down in popularity. But is this the first portent of Apple going all-in with the iPhone OS platform?

[Joystiq via 9to5mac]

We saw a preview of Gameloft’s N.O.V.A back at WWDC 2009 for iPhone/iPod Touch. Even then it looked suspiciously like Halo. But now, there can be no doubt in saying that Halo “unofficially” makes its way to iPhone. This teaser trailer shows a lot of video reminiscent of Microsoft’s Halo franchise. The last 50-seconds of the trailer shows actual gameplay, let’s just say that the players involved look a lot like Master Chief a military soldier and The Covenant some aliens in an intergalactic battle.

Microsoft has to take critical eye to this game as the similarities are TOO close for comfort. But, at the end of the day, I am just excited to get a Halo-like experience on my iPhone; I’m not complaining. Thank you Gameloft.