The APPera

Rate My Professors, Flaboo: FREE Apps Today

James Isabel — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:00:22 +0000

I figured you’re exhausted with previews already so why not get a head start on this freebies weekend and start posting them?!

Flaboo (Free App A Day)

Tap, tilt and shake the screen to help Fat Chick bounce his considerable bulk off clouds and ever higher in this unique rhythm-action game. On his journey through the weird world of Flaboo, Fat Chick will encounter magical coffee, his own spaceship, lightbulbs and full plate-mail armour.

Rate My Professors

Need help choosing your classes this semester? Want to give feedback on a professor you’ve had before? With more than 10 million comments on over 1 million professors at 6,000+ schools across the United States, Rate My Professors is the leading source of professor ratings based on feedback straight from students.

I thought Flaboo is cute and Rate My Professors is pretty much a life saver for me or for ANY college student out there. If I were you, I’d download the RMP iPhone app ASAP and start checking your professors out!

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 iPhone: Finally 99% Official [BREAKING!]

James Isabel — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:02:11 +0000

**UPDATED: Looks like an official Activision port! See after the jump!**

While GDC festivities are almost about to die down, Tony Hawk and what he calls “going rogue” PR just hit us with the BIGGEST news so far. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 iPhone is finally official… considering Tony Hawk tweeted about it HIMSELF:

If you may remember, an unofficial build of the game circled on the interwebs and last year’s GDC and E3 as well. The company who ported the game said they hope to make it official and today, it looks like it finally is.

More Info

We’re still waiting for an official-official announcement BUT this is about 99% done deal. It doesn’t look like Tony Hawk’s Twitter account got hacked either so this is pretty reliable stuff. Check out the control mechanism:

We’ll update you as soon as we hear more info from Tony Hawk himself OR other people

Update:

Hi guys, Danny here. The Tony Hawk games are one of my favorites, when I saw the original video of this I contacted the people who made it. I found out then this would not happen. Immediately after I saw this I contacted Daniel (president at Lti Gray Matter) to see if this is what we’ve been waiting for. I got a interesting reply:

If so, it won’t be from us but from one of Activision’s internal studios. I got wind that they were in development on their own iPhone Games in January which meant they couldn’t use ours. That was the reason for passing on it last year. Hopefully it will be as good.

So it won’t be the one we originally thought, which brings down the excitement a bit for me, but hopefully it’s as good. Now we just have to wait and see when it’s released.

Fishing Kings: Casts and Reels Us In Soon, Gameloft [GDC 2010]

James Isabel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:30:02 +0000

Because Gameloft just needs to absolutely have their own version of almost ALL iPhone gaming genres, check out their own take on the fishing games genre in Fishing Kings:

“Experience realistic fishing with a wide range of options and abilities. Even if you don’t know a thing about fishing, the accessible gameplay will allow you to enjoy this fun and intense experience! Grab your rod and your best lures and join the most intense fishing game.”

Features

15 beautiful 3D fishing spots from around the world, including saltwater fishing in the Bahamas.
Catch over 30 species of fish depending on your location, including bass, piranha and marlin
For the first time the underwater camera puts you in the heart of the action as you struggle to reel in the big one!

Gameplay provides a true-to-life fishing experience with plenty of real fishing options and tactics
Open up your tackle box to access a wide range of gear to catch the right fish in the right location
Unlock achievements in your Gameloft LIVE! profile, show off your best scores on the dedicated website and vie for the title of Best Fisher

We don’t have any hands on video but from what we’ve played so far, the game’s graphics and gameplay are probably the deepest we’ve seen on this genre so far. The game is said to release late March so watch out for it!

Crazy Penguin Party Review: Who Knew Penguins Are Party Animals?

Eric Pankoke — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:00:26 +0000

While I liked the artwork, I wasn’t a real big fan of Crazy Penguin Catapult, and I never tried the sequel. Crazy Penguin Party looked like it might be different, though….

Crazy Penguin Party ($0.99; FREE)

Sure it was in the same “universe”, but it was a collection of party games featuring everyone’s favorite cartoon penguins. As it turns out, the game is actually pretty fun. I think it would be a lot more enjoyable as a true party game played against friends you love to taunt, but since I have to suffice with my own presence (and I’m not about to sit and taunt myself) I still managed to find it rather enjoyable. Now if only the computer would stop cheating…

Presentation

If you’ve played more than a couple Digital Chocolate games then you know what to expect here. The graphics are bright, colorful and cartoony. During the Blowfish Rodeo it’s hilarious to watch the fish’s eyes get big as it inflates and then its whole body go flat as all the air fizzles out. As you crawl into the hot tub at the end of the sky dive game the lady penguins that are waiting blow you kisses. Even the nasty old octopus on the diving level looks cool, especially when it’s eating you up. Everything looks good and little details abound, so there’s no disappointment there.

The sound effects are pretty well par for the course. Whether your penguin is piloting a jet pack, splashing in water or landing on the back of a bird, everything sounds good and pretty much just like you’d expect the actions to sound. The music is decent, but it gets repetitive quickly, and it sounds like there are only a few seconds of unique measures to each tune. Still, it’s all lighthearted and fun and suits the atmosphere of the game well.

Controls

Crazy Penguin Party really takes advantage of most everything depending on which game you’re playing. For the Free Fall mini-game you basically tilt the device left and right to guide your penguin. In the skating game you swipe in the direction you want your penguin to skate. Cliff Hanger sees you tilting your device back and forth as well, with the addition of pushing a button for an extra boost when a meter gets full.

In Blowfish Rodeo you simply tap the screen when you want to inflate the blowfish. Rocket Science requires you to rock your device to accelerate and decelerate, and Diving has you press the screen to reverse the direction of your penguin. For the most part all the controls work just fine and seem pretty responsive. The only one I have any trouble with is Diving, but that could very well be me and not the controls.

Game Play

As you might have already guessed, Crazy Penguin Party is a series of mini-games. In fact, there are six mini-games to be played in this game. Free Fall has you jumping from an airplane and trying to dive into a hot tub. Along the way there are birds you can bounce off of (they will send you back up a bit), rings you can fall through that will speed your decent, and stars to collect. Next comes Cliff Hanger, where you must bounce off sleeping polar bears to climb as high as you can. Sometimes there are springs you can bounce off of the give you a slightly better boost, and after so many bounces you have a boost button you can use to get you even higher. And, there are stars to collect.

In Blowfish Rodeo you’re riding a blowfish, and you must inflate it in order to bounce off the ground and get as far as you can along the path. Did I mention there were stars to collect? You can explore the other mini-games on your own. None of them had an overwhelming “wow” factor, but the three I mentioned were my favorites.

There are three modes you can play: Survival, Tournament and Racing. In survival mode the object of any of the games is to last as long as you can. So in Free Fall, for example, you’ll actually want to bounce on the birds and avoid the rings to maximize the amount of time you spend in the air. Plus, in survival mode any stars you collect will be added to your time at the end of the game, so stars are good to collect. In racing mode the objective is to beat the games as fast as you can. You’ll always be playing against the last best time you got, and they’ll even encourage you by having a ghost penguin follow you, recreating your last journey through that particular game. In this mode stars will actually subtract from your time at the end.

Finally you have tournament mode. This mode is for 2 to 4 players, at least one of which has to be human. The rest can be either human or computer, though you might want to actually have some humans sitting around if you choose that option, or it could kind of drag on a bit too long. In this mode you are presented with a board containing several blocks of ice with question marks on them. Each block represents a mini-game that can be played. If you select one that has not been played yet, you will automatically win that square as long as you complete the game. If the square has been taken by an opponent, you must score lower than them in order to win the square. The overall winner is the first player to have four different squares at the same time. Even playing by yourself with computer opponents this mode is pretty fun, but I can imagine it would be a blast with three other people that you can tease and taunt while you’re playing. I would suggest you play against three computer opponents if you’re playing on your own, though. It’s a little bit easier that way.

Suggestions

My main suggestion would be to add a couple more mini-games. The variety isn’t bad, but there’s always room for more, and it might even the odds a bit in Tournament mode for someone who might struggle with some of the current mini-games. The other thing that would be great is if there were something they could do about the loading times, but that might not be an easy thing to deal with. It just seems like you’re always waiting around except if you just keep playing the same mini-game over and over again.

Conclusion

Most would argue that Popcap is king of the causal game market on the iPhone, but if that’s the case I’d say Digital Chocolate is the prince. With games like Crazy Penguin Party I think they’ve demonstrated that they know how to make quick, fun games that won’t tax your brain but also won’t make you feel like you’ve wasted your time. The atmosphere is wonderful, the mini-games can be mildly addictive, and the different modes give you plenty to keep coming back for. I would just suggest that if at all possible, round up some friends before playing Tournament mode. You won’t regret it.

iPad Preorders Now Taken: Reserve And Guarantee Your God Tablet!

James Isabel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:57:25 +0000

We reported about a week ago that the iPads will be available for preorders and today, that day has come. Though the iPads won’t release until April 3, the Apple Store has began taking TWO types of preorders:

The first one is here and is for at home delivery OR you can click here for in-store reservation of these devices so you can pick it up release day.

The 3G models won’t be available until Late April so this site will be preordering the mid pricepoint WiFi only model. Oh wait! Scratch that, I just preordered. I can haz teh God Tablet, will YOU?

Bomb Master Physics Puzzler: Similar To Implode!, FREE Today!

James Isabel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:52 +0000

Implode! is one of mine and I know a couple of our staffers’ favorite iPhone games. The design and overall feel of the game is too engaging for you to put it down. Free Game of the Day’s featured app is similar to that: Bomb Master Physics Puzzler and is obviously FREE today:

Let’s destroy! Bomb master is a classic “easy to learn, hard to handle” casual game that will pull you in and won’t let go. This is a new game for iPhone and iPod touch where all you have to do is destroying!

Which of the two games you prefer is probably a matter of personal choice. Regardless of whether you have Implode! or not, make sure to download the game before day’s end!

ESCAPE: Norm’s World: Fantastic Puzzler, IUGO [GDC 2010]

James Isabel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:04 +0000

IUGO is known for their bright graphics and highly controversial games including Daisy Mae’s Alien Buffet and A.D.D. so when we saw a mostly black and white game with almost a zen like feel, we were STUNNED (in a good way). Check out ESCAPE: Norm’s World:

The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the game was Totemo with the main difference being the contrast in game difficulty. Totemo introduces 3 or more at a time block clearouts while Norm’s World moves one by one block.

If you looked at the video above, you’ll see that though the game is black and white, the animations for when you complete and fail at a level are pretty awesome. Birds fly out of your head for completion and a dark cloud is cast above Norm when you fail.

ESCAPE: Norm’s World into different difficulty modes going from easy to super difficult just like the one with many circles/blocks Phil demod in the video. The level itself scared the bejesus out of me but I lost it when Phil actually figured out the correct solution.

Expect a follow up from us next week regarding release date specifics, some screenshots and maybe even a full info sheet. For now, I want to hear your thoughts about the game especially after watching that video (hopefully!).

Street Fighter 4 iPhone: Awesome Game! [Hands-On]

James Isabel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:42:59 +0000

We were fortunate enough to attend a super secret Street Fighter 4 iPhone party earlier this week and upon seeing the game, we thought it was FANTASTIC! However, you guys are equally fortunate as the game has been released for $9.99:

Check out the hands on video our handy Media Editor Phil recorded just for you! In it, you can see completely fluid graphics and animations, and best of all: dpad controls that work perfect for this iPhone version of the game!

Features

- Fight as eight Street Fighter characters in seven different environments.
- Full move sets including Unique Attacks, Special Moves, Focus Attacks, Super Combos and Ultra Combos.
- For a true arcade experience, battle head-to-head on Bluetooth against friends and foes alike.
- Robust “Dojo” boot camp transforms neophytes into Street Fighter masters in five in-depth lessons.
- Customize the controls for your style of play. Move the buttons anywhere you want on the screen and set the level of transparency.
- Unleash super moves with a tap of the “SP” button, or toggle it off from the “Options” menu if you want to enter the button combo manually.
- Four levels of difficulty.

We will be reviewing the game as soon as we recover from the GDC hoopla, but for now, enjoy the video!

Alexia, PUZZERO: Cool Puzzle Games FREE Today Only

James Isabel — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:00:52 +0000

Who doesn’t love a good case of irony? We all know both Free App A Day and Free Game of the Day are two of the most popular “free game a day” sites. Today, their featured games are both puzzle games: one’s a word and one’s numbers.

Alexia Premium | Free App A Day

Alexia is an addictive and fun word puzzle game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. If you are a fan of games like Boggle and Scrabble you will love the unique challenge of Alexia. Train your brain, build your vocabulary and show your friends who is the real verbalist.

PUZZERO | Free Game of the Day

PUZZERO is a fun and addictive mathematical puzzle game! There are 25 panels all together, where 12 of them are random NUMBERS, 9 of them are PLUS signs, and 4 are MINUS signs. Slide through the screen to connect the NUMBERS, PLUS, and the MINUS panels to make the total come out as ZERO.

Download both games today OR miss out!

Lieutenant Fly: Puzzle With Purpose, Namco [GDC 2010]

James Isabel — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:30:12 +0000

Co-Written By: Phil Synowiec

Namco has already showed they can port retro titles to the iPhone (see: Pacman) and develop in house games like the just released Pool Pro Online 3. Check out Lieutenant Fly, a puzzle game mix they’re publishing soon:

On one side of the screen your trying to match up as many of the same blocks to gain more ammo. On the other side, you have to destroy spiders while they randomly fall and impact your health.

You can switch between a few weapons (all displayed in the video below) to kill the spiders falling down. Once you run out of ammo, you better match those blocks up fast and break the ammo blocks to gain more.

The game is being finished up soon and ready to be on the App Store. You should really check this out!