Tag: Ipod »

Fruit Ninja has consistently been one of the best-selling and most beloved gaming apps available on the iTunes Store, and now this super-entertaining game has gotten even more addictive with the addition of a brand new mode. The game, both in standard and iPad HD varieties is getting support for a brand-new Arcade mode, which looks to be highly entertaining. Among the new features included are:

Double Points – This banana will award you double points for a short period of time. Criticals and combos count too, so rack up those fruit for some massive scores!

Frenzy – If you’re not content with the amount of fruit on screen, the Frenzy banana will take care of that. A mammoth amount of fruit will begin flying in, but you have to stay focused to slice it all!

Freeze – The entire screen will slow down, allowing for maximum accuracy and combo potential!

Each round in Arcade mode lasts for 60 seconds, and at the end you can post your scores and see how you stack up with other members of the fruit slashing community. It's very similar to other Arcade style games such as Bejeweled Blitz, and we all know how ridiculously addictive and popular such games can be. When you're tired of cutting the rope why not go back to cutting the fruit, but this time with a frenzy?

Now that the mysterious "banana mode" which has haunted players for months has finally been revealed we have to ask, what do you think? Is this the sort of thing you had been dreaming of, or would some other new mode have suited the game better? From where I sit, you should be happy I stopped playing long enough to report this news, there are pineapples that must be frozen and then sliced and I'm wasting precious seconds typing instead!

[via TiPb]

Aspyr and Kaplan have announced that they're teaming up to bring their SAT Prep game, futureU to the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The game was originally launched on PC and the Nintendo DS, and features a number of mini-games which are designed to focus specifically in the reading, writing and math sections of the well-known college admissions test. The core version of the game is available for free on the iTunes Store, and four extended study levels are available for $1.99 each.

“As the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch play an increasing role in how students receive their information, it made sense for us to expand the futureU SAT test prep game to this mobile platform,” said Kaplan’s Executive Director of Pre-College Programs Kristen Campbell “Aspyr’s ability to deliver engaging games to students across multiple-platforms has enabled us to bring futureU to a new audience of SAT preppers.”

So in addition to traditional study books, courses and flashcards students can now cram for the single most stressful exam of their lives on their mobile devices. It's sort of ingenious yet horrifying all at once, as now you truly can take your test prep with you anywhere you go. Just looking at the screenshots of the app is bringing back a wave of sick nostalgia that makes me glad I'm not in high school anymore.

For technology-minded teens though this app may be a godsend, as it gives them a method to study that requires neither book nor sharpened number 2 pencil. Is a high school student more likely to pull out their iPhone to study than they are to text friends or update their Facebook status? Probably not, but at least it's something there to remind them, and maybe even spur them into expanding their vocabulary or working out a couple algebra problems while they're waiting to hear where everyone's meeting up for tonight. You've got to celebrate the small victories, right?

[via FingerGaming]

Epic has officially announced that Infinity Blade, which up until now has been known as Project Sword, will be coming to iOS devices this holiday season. The game is powered by the Unreal Engine, and has been a hot topic of conversation ever since it was teased at Apple's keynote back in September. Some are expecting this to be the most visually impressive game yet for iOS machines.

Epic also dropped some new gameplay details, giving us our first taste of how the game will play. The company is promising that Infinity Blade will showcase "adrenaline-fueled sword battles and epic boss fights set in the realm of a fully 3D castle." There will be at least some RPG element to the proceedings, as players will gain experience, build stats and buy new items as they progress through the story. We also know that the final boss is called the God-King, which is either pure awesome or a shining example of how lazy some people have become.

One down note is that the game won't have multiplayer at launch, but the good news is that it will eventually come as a free update down the road. Since we don't yet have a firm release date for the game proper we also don't know when the multiplayer will show up, but we'd guess it will arrive in early 2011. There's also been no price announced yet for Infinity Blade, but given the production values and development costs it's likely going to retail for more than $0.99.

You may also want to invest in a convenient charging solution for your iPhone or iPad, as Infinity Blade will most surely be a battery hog. Enjoy playing the game in five minute spurts; that's likely about all you're going to manage to get out of something so resource taxing. Let's just hope your device doesn't die in the middle of the final fight with the God-King, because that would just be tragic.

[via TouchArcade]

Classic adventure gamers will soon get to open up their inventories and combine excitement with anticipation in order to create pure joy, as Trilobyte Games has announced that they will be porting The 7th Guest to iOS devices. No specifics have been revealed, but the game's teaser trailer is touting a Christmas 2010 release. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any additional details.

Adventure gamers fondly remember The 7th Guest as a pioneering CD-ROM title that helped popularize the medium. The horror title moved over 2 million units in its lifetime, qualifying it as a smash success both for PC gaming in general and CD-ROMs in particular. There is some question as to how well the game will work on iOS devices, but given that the original was very puzzle-centric, the translation to touchscreens should be relatively smooth and painless.

Oh, and as if this news weren't good enough, Trilobyte is also hoping to release the game's sequel, The 11th Hour, as well. Right now the studio is claiming that they'll use 7th Guest proceeds to fund 11th Hour development, so if you want to see the sequel relatively quickly then you and all your friends had best buy up tons of copies of The 7th Guest.

While many casual gamers - or those who aren't intimately familiar with old-school PC gaming - likely won't find much to be excited about here, it's big news for fans of nostalgia gaming. The 7th Guest often stands alongside Myst as one of the twin pillars that built and supported PC-ROM gaming, so the title's return is a big deal if for no other reason as an homage to the games that brought us to where we are right now.

The other great news to come out of this is that we're seeing the resurrection of a studio, as Trilobyte shut down over a decade ago, but is now coming on strong to lead the charge on this port. We'd hate to see anyone else taking over the reins of such a venerated and beloved franchise, so it's great to see the original studio back in the saddle once more. Launch day of The 7th Guest is one we'll all remember, unless of course we come down with a crippling case of amnesia and have to solve a series of demented puzzles in order to remember. Man I sure hope that doesn't happen.

[via TouchArcade]

A new report from MeFeedia suggests that HTML5 is gaining ground on Flash, with 54 percent of all videos online supporting the format. This is substantial growth from even January of this year when only 10 percent of videos were compatible with HTML5. This announcement is great news for the iOS community seeing as how HTML5 is the format of choice for iDevices.

When the iPhone first debuted one of the major knocks against it was the fact that it didn't support Flash, the standard format for almost all online video. Detractors wondered how a separate format could ever hope to make inroads against a larger, more-established and entrenched rival, akin to Betamax taking on VHS. Then again, technology is filled with stories of new devices driving one format over another, and it appears this may be yet another example.

The survey claims that mobile phones are indeed the primary driver in the growth of HTML5, and that while Flash remains the dominant format in desktop environments, it's on the cusp of being overtaken in the mobile space. Just like how Sony's PS3 basically drove the sale of Blu-Rays until the format established a foothold, the iPhone has blazed a trail for HTML5 to create demand and help provide for more widespread adoption. As if iPhone users aren't smug enough already, here's another feather in their cap (we kid).

Really this is good news all around. Flash isn't going anywhere, and this is just a way for more videos to be easily available for more people. One of the terms used in the survey is that video is becoming "device agnostic," which is truly a welcome trend. Feel free to celebrate the news by watching videos for the rest of the day, your boss won't mind, after all you're just celebrating a happy period in human history.

[via MeFeedia]

Last week's release of Rock Band 3 pushed the platform's total number of songs well above 2,000. And with the company pushing to get 5,000 songs into the setlist over the coming years, trying to keep that many tracks straight can be quite a challenge. Thankfully, much like everything else in the world, there's an app for that with third-party developers Three Brothers creating a sortable list of Rock Band music.

This free app allows users to organize songs based on artist, song, version or even difficulty. So if you remember there's that one bluegrass song that's ridiculously hard in Rock Band but can't think of its name then this little wonder will handily tell you that it's "Green Grass and High Tides" which completely wrecked your fingers. Of course there's a big fear that the app will quickly grow outdated due to the ever-expanding musical lineup, but the developers are promising monthly updates to keep the library totally up to date.

Perhaps the most devious inclusion of all is the ability to preview or purchase songs with a single click, allowing you to play a song in Rock Band and then immediately head over to your iPhone or iPod and add the track to your musical library. Just remember that just because you feel nostalgic and hip playing Smashmouth's "Walkin' on the Sun" right now doesn't mean you'll still want to hear it in a month. Just ask the late '90s about that.

The app iss available right now and, as mentioned before, it's totally free. If you're a Rock Band fan who's tired of scrolling through the menus trying to find a particular song then try out this handy little solution. And we already apologize for how your bank account will soon be emptied from buying all this music.

[via Joystiq]

Just in case you either don't like browsing the App Store or just prefer doing all your shopping via Google, the search provider has added a nifty feature which allows users to hunt for iPhone apps right in their browser. The process is fairly simple, with users needing but to click the "More" tab on a search results and then tap on "iPhone Apps" in the resulting drop-down menu. A similar service is available for Android users.

This likely goes without saying, but you will need to be using an iOS device in order to to see the extra options. Just don't go trying to Google Angry Birds on your home PC and then wondering why you don't get the option to go directly to the app. Again, we trust that you're smarter than that, but the last thing we want to do is create confusion and chaos.

At any rate this is a truly handy feature for iOS users, as now you don't need to jump back and forth from Google to the App Store when looking up something you may want to download. Granted, you're only really saving a few seconds, but everyone loves convenience and this is just one more way to make your life a little bit easier. If anything this will hopefully speed up searches a bit, allowing you access to the content you want without waiting quite so long.

One other note, we're hearing that this is a feature which has been around for a while, but this is honestly the first we've heard of it and the first time we've seen it reported. So before you light up the comment section with "old!" keep in mind that this isn't a feature Google ever really advertised and it's one of those things that you don't know is there if you don't look for it. We're just trying to be helpful here, so enjoy the added functionality of Google on your iOS devices.

[via Gizmodo]

What do kids want Santa to bring them this year? According to battery-maker Duracell, iOS machines sit atop the list. Fourteen percent of tykes want an iPhone 4, while 13 percent are wishing for an iPod Touch and 12 percent opine for an iPad. As a point of comparison, Microsoft's Kinect, the new "controller free" controller, comes in at only six percent.

The survey was conducted with over 2,000 children ages 5-16, and we're hoping that it was the upper tier of ages which tilted the numbers in favor of the iOS devices. While there's plenty of reason for a 16 year-old who wishes nothing more than to be cool to want an iPhone or iPad, the machines should really hold little sway over a kindergartner. Then again, Apple's ubiquitous iOS ads may have made demand transcend age, in which case we can only say kudos to the evil-yet-effective marketing team. Here's the full top-ten list for those who are curious:

01) iPhone 4 (14%)
02) iPod touch (13%)
03) iPad (12%)
04) Kinect (6%)
05) Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters (5%)
06) Flip Video Camera (4%)
07) Toy Story 3 Jet Pack Buzz Lightyear (4%)
08) PlayStation Move (4%)
09) Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4: The Video Game (3%)
10) Barbie Video Girl (3%)

For those of our readers with kids, how closely does this list align with what your youngsters have been asking for? More importantly, how many of you are thinking about getting your children an iOS machine and how many believe that these are devices really more aimed at adults and should be kept out of the hands of kids? Maybe instead you buy yourself the iPad and let your kids play with it when you put it down -- which is never.

[via CVG]

Fans of the Worms franchise have reason to rejoice today as Worms 2: Armageddon has made its App Store debut. The new entry into the franchise boasts local multiplayer with up to 4 players or 2 player battles online, as well as an increased arsenal of weaponry and 30 single-player missions spread across five locales. The cost of all this new content? $4.99.

Of course, many folks are going to be wary of this game after the less than stellar reception the original Worms received. Though the franchise has been remade and ported many times over, the original iPhone edition of the game was an utter mess, turning off most who played it after only a couple sessions. Over the course of the app's lifespan, Team17 did add a number of updates which improved performance and functionality, but by then it was basically too little too late.

The hope with Worms 2 is that players will be presented with a polished, finished product right from the start, and we won't have to wait six months or longer after launch to get a game that's actually worth the flash drive space. From the looks of things, the game is promising, but you'll forgive us if we're just a little gun-shy after last time. An added bonus is that the app is apparently Universal, allowing iPad owners a chance to play on a larger screen.

Therein lies the major issue Worms 2 has to overcome. How will Team17 lure back jilted gamers who feel betrayed by the franchise? How much demand is left for a franchise that had a sub-par debut on the iPhone when Worms can be played on the PC, Xbox or any number of other outlets? Is the Worms brand strong enough to overcome these hurdles? We'll just have to wait and see.

[via TouchArcade]

Thus far video game retailer GameStop has stayed out of the Apple market in general and iOS sales in particular. That appears to be changing, though, as a picture of the store's inventory system shows a new entry for iPod trade-ins. As of right now there are no listed prices for the devices, but it seems that GameStop will soon be set to accept everything from Shuffles to Touches for cash or store credit.

If true, then this will be quite a surprising development seeing as how the chain doesn't currently deal in Apple products. While GameStop once accepted PC games and DVD movies for trades, the company slimmed down its policy a few years ago to only focus on console games. This would indeed be a strange reversal of fortune.

There is some speculation that GameStop may begin selling iPod Touches, marketed as handheld gaming systems, but that seems unlikely. The store derives most of its profits from used game sales and another big chunk from new software. Selling a piece of hardware where all content is delivered digitally and directly to the consumer seems like a bad business move for GameStop, which thrives on being the middle-man between publishers and consumers. The store hates the very idea of digital distribution, so why would it want to take a small cut of hardware sales with no future earnings potential?

The more likely scenario is that the chain is prepping for some sort of holiday promotion which will give customers hard up for cash another opportunity to earn a bit more credit toward the season's hottest games. We're expecting a trial run for the holidays, with performance dictating whether or not the company makes accepting iPods a standing policy.

So far neither GameStop nor Apple has commented on the rumors, so we're forced to wait and wonder. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Would you trade your iPod in at GameStop, or are you worried that given the chain's questionable pricing of used games that you'd only get ripped off?

[via Kotaku]

In an effort to automate check-ins at Apple Stores and provide customers with yet another reason to pull out their iDevices and wave them around, Apple is developing a new Concierge app. According to reports, the app will allow customers to wirelessly report in when they enter the store and direct them to available associates. On the flip side, Concierge will also send push notifications to store staff, letting them know when customers with appointments are in-store and awaiting assistance.

For customers, Concierge will activate when they enter the store and ask if they have an appointment. If so, the user may check in, see approximate waiting time and even be sent a photo of the store associate they'll be meeting with that day. Apple is also releasing a companion app called Scout which store managers can use to keep track of room-by-room locations so they know exactly where checked-in customers are browsing.

While the app seems very useful it's kind of funny that even when you're in a position to talk to someone face-to-face Apple would prefer you communicate via your iDevice. How hard is it to walk into an Apple Store and check-in for an appointment? Apparently too hard, as now you'll be able to do it digitally rather than walking 20 feet and taking care of it in person. How long before all Genius Bar requests are handled via text message even as you sit across the desk from the associate? Maybe they're right and modern tools such as text messages, emails and IMs are eroding our communication skills.

There's no specific timeline for when Concierge will roll out but it will likely be soon. The service went live yesterday for Apple Store employees so it should be available in at least a select number of stores over the coming weeks. We fully expect the service to be nationwide in time for the holiday rush, so if you're heading to an Apple Store to do some shopping don't worry, you won't have to talk to an actual person unless you want to.

[via Mac Stories]