Scrabble Update: Notifications? Um, sure.

For a long time now, I’ve been using the Lexulous app exclusively for my online Scrabble games. Why? Well, even if it had less features, Lexulous was just easier to use.

With Scrabble’s newest update, I decided to give the official EA app another shot. The menus are vastly improved: though some things still don’t make sense, it’s a lot easier to jump into a game. The game’s speed has apparently been given a small jolt, too, and you can now use your own music. But what had me most excited was the promise of “push notifications.”

Okay, EA, for the love of god: are you trying to torment me? These so-called “notifications” don’t exist, as far as I can tell. They certainly aren’t push notifications. And yet, despite this, I receive occasional “tips” telling me to turn Push Notifications on in the Settings app. I’ve checked. There’s no option to do so. I don’t think I’m the only one, either: the current version is being bombarded with angry 1-star reviews in the App Store. I’ve tried restarting my iPod and reinstalling the app; nothing changes in my Settings menu.

I’m not sure if EA submitted the wrong app version or if maybe there’s a bug on certain devices. (I’m running a 2G iPod Touch with 8GB of storage.) But either way, this is strange. Shame on you, EA. I got excited over nothing at all.

LIFE is an old classic, and if you like the board game, you’ll be delighted with EA’s port. It’s colorful, smooth, and just like the original. It’s nice to see such a good port!

Pandemonium is a port of an old PSone game, and it shows. It’s fun at first, but there’s nothing special in this 2.5-D platformer.

Scrabble’s most recent update—the full-fledged integration of Facebook Connect—adds some competition to what was already a great word game. While the port does have plenty of flaws, it’s still the same amazing game of strategy, luck, and knowledge that’s been an incredible success for decades.

Tetris is a game with a strong following of dedicated fans and casual players alike. While EA Games has made a decent attempt at porting it to the iPhone, it falls short of its potential thanks to clunky controls and somewhat limited gameplay, which is a shame.