iPhone Article Zone

Street Fighter IV

If Street Fighter IV’s loading time is any indication of how good it is, playing it should summon unicorns, pixies and rainbows to my living room and my wife should exhibit an uncontrollable urge to hand-feed me cocktail sausages while I “labor” through the game’s levels. It took 55 minutes to download the game. Will it live up to the hype?

CAPCOM boasts that Street Fighter 4 is the iPhone/iTouch’s first true fighting game, featuring the same beautiful graphics and visceral game play the series is infamous for. Long-time fans (at the time I downloaded it [a $9.99 game mind you], it already had 73 User Ratings Reviews) can jump right into the action, while casual players can focus on training, using 1 of several settings and tutorials to hone their fighting skills.

Among it’s feature-set, Street Fighter 4 advertises multi-player/head-to-head play via Bluetooth (not WiFi), eight Street Fighter characters in seven different environments, new move sets including Unique Attacks, Special Moves, Focus Attacks, Super Combos and Ultra Combos, a robust “Dojo” boot camp which transforms neophytes into Street Fighter masters in five in-depth lessons, customizable controls for your style of play (players can move the virtual buttons/joystick anywhere they want on the screen and set their level of transparency), the ability to 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 and four levels of difficulty: Beginner, Normal, Hard and Grueling.

Street Fighter IV’s animations, graphics and art-style are simply beautiful. To ensure the game’s performance integrity, CAPCOM reduced the original game’s impressive 3D models to sprites, a transition which is practically impossible to differentiate on the iPhone’s screen. While a tad clunky at times, the animations are visually fluid and the game features the same art style, visual style and character move sets seen in the console and arcade versions. When starting the game, its cinematic intro is extraordinary, inter-weaving gorgeous hues of color and animation against a gorgeous, animated, black-and-white backdrop.

Street Fighter IV’s Title Screen offers Solo Play (Tournament, Free-Sparring, Dojo and Training Room), Versus (Head-to-Head Bluetooth play), Stats (Stats), Invite A Friend (via email), Get More (opens Capcom iPhone webpage in Safari) and Special (Special Movie Footage). There are also Settings and Help icons:

For those of you who have the memory of a gerbil, like me, you can access the (moves) Command List for instructions on how to do moves by pressing “pause” from anywhere within the game.

Game play is fluid, but the “virtual touch” control scheme can take some getting used to, proving tricky to pull off moves/strikes requiring complicated thumb-stick/button-combo motions (CAPCOM claims ten months alone went into the unique virtual control system). After practicing in “Dojo” mode, I was able to navigate the game’s virtual controls problem-free.

As stated earlier, the controls are customizable. Players can move the buttons anywhere they want on the screen and set/adjust their level of transparency, enabling them to adjust the controls in a manner which works best for him/her:

This was a very smart move/feature on CAPCOM’S part, because everyone responds to/uses touch controls differently, especially while engaged in a fast-paced duel to the death, so proper placement and comfort are key issues. While the touch controls may take some getting used to, I was able to navigate, i.e. pwn other fighters in no time, although I was playing on Beginner in the Dojo. Advanced controls will take some practice, especially during high/advanced levels of competition requiring precision. That said, my only concern regarding Street Fighter IV for the iPhone is a major one: its capability of offering the same game play depth as its console counterparts. Players able to master the game’s virtual controls will reap the fruits of their labor, while those unable to will be exposed to restricted game play. There is hope, however, in the form of the Dojo mode, which allows players to practice/train until they gain the skills needed for advanced game play.

Multiplayer support is currently restricted to “Head-to-Head” battle, via Bluetooth. Hopefully, multiplayer via WiFi is on CAPCOM’S future update agenda.

Speaking of “restrictions,” Street Fighter IV’s current line-up consists of only eight fighters: Abel, Blanka, Chun-Li, Ryu, M. Bison, Dhalsim, Guile and Ken, all of whom possess different fighting styles, “special” moves and abilities. Hopefully, future updates will introduce additional fighters, whether as “unlockables,” or in-app purchases (preferably the former).

All aside, I love this game. CAPCOM spent a lot of time developing it and it shows. Street Fighter IV for the iPhone/iTouch is a complete, quality port of its console counterpart that will appeal to both hardcore veterans and newcomers. It features a slew of extra/additional content and although the game currently features only eight fighters, as opposed to its console brethren, these fighters (with the exception of newcomer, Abel) are classic CAPCOM characters who have retained their classic moves/abilities.

Street Fighter IV’s $9.99 price tag is indicative of its superlative quality and, considering you’ll have Street Fighter IV at your disposal to play anytime, anywhere, it is money well spent. I highly recommend this game to any/all lovers of the Street Fighter franchise or anyone who enjoys a quality 2-D fighter.

Zagat To Go

While the iPhone is an extremely capable game platform, the real reason that it are so handy is because it can perform tasks that most other devices couldn’t dream of. The rest of the mobile competition is just now catching up, but the massive user and developer base makes the iPhone the mobile platform to be a part of.

An extremely early sub-genre on the iPhone was the food and entertainment finding genre, made popular by the wonderful app, Urban Spoon. Urbanspoon definitely isn’t as popular now, but for a long time it used its innovative random place generator to wow many people into buying iPhones. Since then, a slew of other apps have been created, none of which are quite as flashy, but some that are just as useful. My personal presence in the sub-genre is Yelp, primarily because it has a review on just about every place in every city. Instead of expert reviews, Yelp relies heavily on user reviews, and the user base is large enough to have a review on just about every place worth going to.

Sometimes though, you need a quality professional to tell you what is good… and what isn’t. To fill this gap, Zagat made an app called Zagat To Go, which is a collection of all of their reviews, along with some user reviews to spice things up a bit. The Zagat system works on a 31 point scale, and rates multiple categories, all of which are sortable in the app. If you are looking for great food, but don’t care about the decor, just sort by food and not decor. The app rates food, nightlife, and hotels in 70 cities, so if you have an iPhone and live near or are visiting a metropolitan area, you are in luck.

Along with basic reviews, there is a ‘Recommends’ feature that recommends places to you based on what you are doing. Whether you are taking friends out on the town or are going on a first date for cheap, the app recommends a place for you. Unfortunately, this feature only works in selected cities (Phoenix is not one of them… too bad for me), but it does work pretty well. I used the feature last time I was in Vegas, and the experience was a good one. I selected that I was with friends who don’t have trust funds but aren’t cheap, and are more interested in food taste than visual style. We ended up going to Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, and it was quite tasty.

The downside to Zagat To Go is that it only covers things that Zagat reviews. I live in what I would consider to be a food hotspot, and there are only a handful of restaurants listed around me. I’ll admit that the app usually selects the best ones to review, but sometimes there are hole in the wall places that the major review sites like Zagat skip over. The typical restaurant in Zagat is also on the more expensive side, so don’t expect to find a ton of cheap eats. I find that because of this, I tend to use Yelp more at home and Zagat more when I’m on vacation and looking for something unique and tasty.

Overall I’d say that Zagat is a solid app, but doesn’t quite have the extensive location list that some of the other offerings have. If you are looking for an extremely critical review though, Zagat To Go really can’t be beat. Unlike Yelp, where good restaurants all typically have 5 stars, Zagat uses a 31 point scale which really shows why certain places are better than others. The main concern to me though is the price of the app. At $9.99, Zagat costs quite a bit more than most of its primarily free competition and to me, isn’t that much more useful. If a critical review is what you need though, this is the app for you.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

It’s finally here. You may well remember us reporting back in early December, that world renowned console game developers Rockstar Games had finally made their way onto the App Store. Considering the reputation and fan base the studio already had (and still has), we predicted they weren’t just there to sell celeb-endorsed beat machines like their debut app, Beaterator. No, no. Instead, they were out to sell copies of their multi-million dollar, multi-award winning gaming series, Grand Theft Auto. More specifically this time round, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

Released in 2009 for Sony’s PSP and Nintendo DS, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a completely new version of Grand Theft Auto, designed specifically .. (and might I add noticeably) .. for handhelds. You play as Huang Lee, the spoiled son of a recently murdered Triad boss. Seeking revenge, you’ve arrived in Liberty City to live out a life in the notorious criminal underworld.

Unlike previous flavors of the console version, Chinatown Wars has a comic strip feel to it with graphic novel-type visuals. While not as 3D graphic-intensive as the ground-level views used in some of the other versions of the game you may have played in the past, it still seems to hold its own, offering the player most of what the normal console versions do. The camera view in Chinatown Wars is isometric, set at a birds eye level, which automatically follows you and the action from above regardless of where you move. Character movement within the game is controlled by way of an on-screen analogue stick. In the top left you’ll find the usual in-game GPS monitor which tracks your current location and indicates places within Liberty City you need to reach, when you need to reach them. On the left side of this monitor is a green bar. This is a representation of your in-game life and state of your current health.

Need to see a full map of the city? Just tap anywhere on the GPS monitor. You’ll be thrown into a two view mapping system. The main screen displaying the section of the map you’re currently over, and a navigation window to let you know where exactly you are on the map. As you progress through the game you’ll unlock further features within this map view, including: the ability to pull up a list of your current contacts, access points of interest, access your favorites and the ability to toggle your GPS route on or off.

Retuning back to the playing screen though, and there are a few more hidden features. For example, in the top left you’ll find the “desktop” of your mobile notification service. Here at a glance you can see your e-mails, contacts, GPS, briefs, game stats, enable your music player, buy weaponry, view your current inventory of weapons, trade info, save, load. delete and finally – start a new game.

Usual in-game character actions are controlled via a slurry of buttons located on the bottom and right of the screen. These naturally include: Punching, jumping, kicking and ‘that one which hi-jacks the nearest car’. While in a vehicle, the in-game control system changes to become two arrow buttons for steering (left), and two function buttons .. accelerate and brake (right). Alongside these is your action button which reflects which current weapon you have selected from your inventory. need to pick another? Just hit ‘Pause’. I can tell you from extensively testing the game out over these past couple of days that I found these on-screen controls to work pretty perfectly in sync with the iPhone’s touch screen – and for this genre of game in general.

Throughout, you’ll also notice in-game characters send you various messages. Whether it be family members looking to meet up to attempt to kill you, to the often hilariously filled e-mails from your “network provider”. I think what impressed me most about this version of the game was the sheer detail which has gone onto what I call the supporting UI. Sure, the comic-like graphics are great within the main section of the game, but returning to your lot and being able to tap into your laptop’s screen and read e-mails as if you were actually using the laptop? That seemed to enhance things two-fold.

Overall, while Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for iPhone offers a similar experience to its console counterpart, it won’t be the 3D graphic-intensive one you were probably hoping for. That said, the game combines the use of brilliant on-screen controls, immersive objects and environments, comic-like visuals, and supreme attention to detail throughout to bring the first version of the GTA franchise to iPhone.

Instaviz 1.5 Now Available. Adds A Bunch of Features. PLUS We’ve Got 10 COPIES to Giveaway!

We love Instaviz. In fact, we reviewed it in full back in January of this year proclaiming how good it actually was. Imagine a white board .. and then imagine all that creative power, in your pocket. You don’t need to bring anything with you. Simply you, your ideas, your thought-process, and .. your finger. Closely compared to the likes of Microsoft’s Visio, and based off the concept of Graphviz, an existing and open source software package which achieves more or less the same results, Instaviz is dubbed ‘graph creation software’ and it very cleverly uses the iPhone’s mutli-touch interface to harness the manipulation of mind-map environments.

A few weeks back now, Glen of Instaviz gave us the heads up on an update to the software Version 1.5. This new version sees a variety of new features added, some which were needed, and others which are just nice to have. The more noteworthy is this version includes an entirely new display architecture. It sounds fancy, but we’re basically told that this means that the zooming, panning and placement of objects is faster, smoother, and more reliable. Still all part of this new architecture, in 1.5 Pixelglow added animation, meaning now, any and all objects which you create morph into their final shapes, and once an item is deleted – it fades out. The update also adds two-finger panning and zooming in ‘Edit’ mode, Batch file operations in Graphs list, and complete help files and localizations in 10 languages. They’re small changes, but ones which I’m sure will make a difference.

“One of our goals with this update has been to make scrolling and zooming within Instaviz 1.5 so intuitive and smooth that you don’t notice you’re working on a small screen.”

As well as all that, they’ve also rejigged the sharing aspect of Instaviz, meaning you can now carry out features like export, duplicate delete and preview in one tidy interface, at graph level. Finally though, and probably most excitingly, is this verison adds the future foundations for Instaviz 2.0, with this verison introducing the ability to in-line edit, as well as adding CoverFlow-like views for your graphs.

INSTAVIZ 1.5 GIVEAWAY
Instaviz 1.5 is already available on the store, and courtesy of Glen and Instaviz we’ve got a whopping 10 COPIES of the application to giveaway to you creative lot! Being a creative based app, we thought long and hard about what we wanted to base this giveaway around. In the end we came up with this ..

We want you to tell us the most creative way you can think of, of how you (personally) would use Instaviz 1.5 in your day to day life.

Whether it be for business purposes, personal purposes or down right off the wall purposes, we want to know! Leave a comment on this post with your answer, and a prize for the most creative! Your answer can be as long or as short as you want it to be, and we’ll judge on creativity of your answer alone. Be quick though, we’re giving you up until December 9th @ 11am EST to get your entries in! All winners will receive one valid iTunes App Store promotional code for Instaviz 1.5, will be picked randomly, and announced here shortly afterward.

Good luck!

Instaviz (diagram sketching, mindmapping, flowcharting, brai

Our Rating: :: ABOVE AVERAGE

Category: Business
Released: 2008-12-06
Price: $9.99

Super Monkey Ball 2

Super Monkey Ball is undoubtedly one of Sega’s most loved franchises. Originally showcased at Apple’s March 15th media event, the title hit the App Store back in August 2008, and to many, showed off the iPhone’s first ‘real’ 3D based gaming experience. Racking up a staggering 300,000 downloads in the space of a month, and priced at $9.99, it’s estimated the game bought in roughly $3 Million, for Sega. For the most part the game was a winner. Great 3D graphics, tilt controlled gameplay and a large range of levels to play through – But it didn’t come without it’s problems.

The main issue was due that due to the games size, it crashed… a lot. We never really found out if this was an issue with iPhone OS 3.0 (new at the time), or the app itself. Sega issued an update, and that seemed to fix things. It’s second major flaw though was its controls. Because they were tilt-based, Sega quickly learned they had to implement options to allow the user to adjust sensitivity. They were very sensitive it start off with, and this led to bad reviews simply aimed at the fact of un-playability.

This week, Sega released it’s mobile sequel, Super Monkey Ball 2, and I have to say – it has come a long way. Just as before, you can play as one of four characters, including: Aiai, MeeMee, GonGon and Baby. Tilt based, you control character movement by physically tilting your iPhone back and forth, and what I particularly liked about this version is they’ve added a ‘Tilt Monitor’ in the bottom left corner. Signified by a red dot, this meter actually depicts how level your iPhone is, and when and how much you need to tilt it to ensure you have it flat. The game consists of 115 colour-splattered levels, spread out over 5 different worlds. Super Monkey Ball 2 can be played in three modes, including: Practice, Single Player and Multiplayer, with the option to play through a short tutorial if you’re completely new to the franchise. This release sees an addition I’ve been hoping for for a while, and that’s Wi-Fi Multiplayer! Now, you can face up to three other opponents across any of the 115 included levels. A nice addition! As default, 4 of these worlds are locked, and unlockable by completing in-game achievements (and of course – levels).

For now, each of these levels are based on ‘Monkey-Bowling’. This involves you tilting your character round a maze like platform, trying to collect all the bananas you can along the way, all the while not trying to fall off. I say for now, because Sega has announced that they are bringing not one, but two new game-types. According to Sega, early next year we’ll see both Monkey Golf, and Monkey Target introduced as mini games! Whether these will become in-app purchases is another story, But – Can’t wait! In-game, and up top you’ve got your level clock on the left. Following this, you’ve then got your overall score you’ve totaled from banana collecting in the top right, alongside how many lives you currently have left. Bottom left, as mentioned earlier, and you’ll see the tilt monitor – Perfect for judging where you need to tilt your device, and when. After completing each level, the game will give you an instant replay, meaning you can go boast at how well you monkeyed around that time!

Summing up, Super Monkey Ball 2 is a huge step from it’s original self. While some isolated reports have come in of problems with the game crashing on the second generation iPod touch, in my experience of playing on an iPhone 3GS, gameplay was both smooth and fluent. Within superb in-game graphics, and an upbeat infamous sega-esque soundtrack to boot, Super Monkey Ball 2 is just one of those games you can pick up and play. I highly recommend it!

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies

It’s very apparent to me that the Call of Duty team has a thing for zombies. The Zombie levels in the console version of the game are quite fantastic, with each of them chasing after you with 28 Days Late-like vigor. Because the mini game is so popular on the console, I guess that it just seems obvious to put it on the iPhone. iD Software, along with a few others, have made it very apparent that the FPS genre works on the system, so all it really would take is some solid implementation.

The whole goal of CoD: Zombies is, as with every zombie thriller, to survive. Unfortunately for you, you can’t, as the whole goal is to last as long as you can. There is only one level, called Nacht der Untoten, that calls for you to kill wave after wave of zombies until you die. The concept is quite simple, but is fairly fun. You start off in a room that is being attacked by zombies, and eventually work your way around the house, killing all the zombies before they kill you first. Some of the zombies are fast, and some are slow, but they all want you quite dead. Throughout the level you buy random guns that are sold through chalk outlines on the wall while boarding up the windows to keep the zombies from getting through. Everything you do, level-wise (opening doors, buying guns, boarding up windows) costs money that is collected by shooting zombies, so use your money wisely.

The main fear of spending money on an iPhone FPS, especially one that costs $9.99, is having unplayable controls. Ever since Duke Nukem, I’ve been a bit weary of the whole genre… who knows when you’ll spend $10 and have movement “pills” all over the screen. Fortunately, CoD: Zombies is an entirely playable game, although there are a few flaws. The base control method, which to me is the obvious best, works with a hybrid two joystick layout. The left joystick is the standard ‘look around’ joystick, while the “right joystick” is is wherever you put your thumb. Having an invisible right joystick lets you put your finger wherever you want, which is fantastic for intense battles where you really can’t afford to miss a ‘real’ joystick with your thumb. The problem with these sticks is the lack of space that they provide. The left stick, although traditional, is too small, and makes you hit almost directly on it to make you do anything. The right ‘joystick’, although useable anywhere on the screen, is definitely most comfortable in the lower right, where your hand traditionally lies. Unfortunately for me, my thumb lays right where the ’shoot’ and ‘aim’ buttons are, making me use the ‘right stick’ much further down on the screen than I would like. Make the left stick larger and make the right buttons a bit higher and I’d absolutely love the controls. Hopefully an update will fix this, as it really wouldn’t be too hard to do… I don’t think.

The graphics and sound in CoD: Zombies is top notch, which is to be expected for an app by a company such as Activision. The zombies move fluidly and the gunfire shoots appropriately, without any clipping or lag on my iPhone 3G. I’m sure that a 3GS would be a bit faster, but the game is entirely playable on a 3G. If you are a sound guy/girl, be sure to play the game with some good headphones on. Every once in a while you’ll get a zombie that sneaks behind you, and it will scare you.

With only one level in the game, replay value is a concern. A single player game could last you quite a long time, but you really just do the same stuff over and over again. Run, shoot zombies, run some more. Once you realize that you’ve unlocked the whole house, there really isn’t all that much to do anymore. Word on the street is that Activision will be adding more levels soon, but as of now, your only replay option is multiplayer, and the multiplayer is quite cool, but doesn’t always work (at least it didn’t on my device). You have the option of playing with a local network, but the fun is all in the online option. Online pairs you with 4 people in a quest to, you guessed it, defend the house from zombies. In three tries I got a game running (one may not count, my phone locked itself, killing the game), and it went fairly well. With some tweaks, and some more levels, I could see the online multiplayer work quite well.

All in all, CoD: Zombies is an extremely well put together, although short experience. The controls are on the cusp of being perfect for the genre, the graphics and sound are top notch, and the online gameplay is definitely a glimpse into what iPhone FPS multiplayer will be like. It’s not perfect though, and once again, it is extremely short, particularly for a game at its current $10 price point. I’d personally wait until the price comes down a bit before I pick this one up, but if you either love zombies or Call of Duty, you won’t be too disappointed.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert

Command and Conquer: Red Alert is the latest blockbuster game to be ported to the App Store, landing in the somewhat lacking RTS genre. But does it transfer well?

One of the best parts about Red Alert is the great story line that is likely familiar to many. The game is set in an alternate reality in which Einstein has invented a time machine and gone back in time to kill Hitler, thus preventing the rise of Nazi Germany. However, without the Nazis to keep them in check, the Soviets begin taking over the entire continent and escalating a huge war between Soviets and Allies. The implementation of the story into the game is sub-par, however. Cut-scenes are noticeably absent and the dialogue in campaign mode hardly advances the story. As for the gameplay, Red Alert is a classic RTS through and through. There is construction of buildings such as factories and radars, all of which you can place anywhere, and construction of units, which vary depending on which faction you’re playing with and can be moved individually or in a group. The goal of the game is to strategically build up units and resources and infiltrate the opponent’s headquarters. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many elements as say, the PC version, and there are a limited number of units and special abilities. I fear this game will fall in between being a casual RTS like Robocalypse and something that hardcore players crave. That’s not to say that it’s not a fun game, but will likely be either too easy or too frustrating for the majority of players.

When it comes to content, $9.99 doesn’t get you a lot. There are five campaign levels for each faction (Allied or Soviet) and two skirmish maps. Tragically, there is no semblance of online multiplayer. There is one DLC expansion pack in the initial release that gives you six skirmish maps for $.99, essentially half the content of the main game for 1/10 of the price.

The controls work surprisingly well. Building units and the like is handled through touch-enabled menus, and moving is as easy as selecting a unit and then tapping a spot. To select multiple units, you touch the box icon and then drag a box around your desired units. I had doubts about this system, but it works surprisingly well. You can additionally zoom in and out using the standard iPhone pinch gestures. The interface is a bit overly-bulky, as it is situated on either side of the screen, though it gets the job done.

The graphics are high quality and fully 3D, and though they are blocky in some places, overall they’re pretty impressive. I do have a bone to pick with the animations however. First, they are frequently choppy. In addition, the movement of units’ legs is oddly disjointed and makes it look like you are moving action figures around. Be warned that the app crashes regularly, though progressive saving somewhat alleviates this. The music is great, as is to be expected, and the voice acting is pretty good.

If you were to strip the “Command and Conquer” label off of this game, it’d just be a good, but excessively priced RTS. I’d still recommend it to fans of the genre, but be wary. There are only a few games that earn their $9.99 price tag, and Red Alert is not one of them.

NBA Live by EA Sports

Developers, up to now, have had an interesting time making sports games on the iPhone. We’ve seen all sorts of attempts at a true genre showcase, but people just can’t seem to figure out what consumers actually want. Companies like Freeverse have the Flick series that takes games to their most basic components, providing people with stripped down, but addictive time wasters. Other companies like Gameloft have found their niche creating seemingly realistic games that have some arcade elements to speed up gameplay. Being the grandaddy of all video game sports, EA has decided that they will just port their hit console titles directly to the iPhone, cramming in as many features and do-dads that they can get onto the small screen.

What I’ve noticed about EA’s other games (Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods) is that they provide what seems to be the most complete simulation available, but the games lack heart. Part of the difficulty with these games, and especially reviewing these games, is that while they are all fairly impressive, I stop playing them shortly after reviewing them. Thus far, there just hasn’t been enough in any of them to grab me… to make me just want to play another game like I would on their console alternative.

Cool replay, but what is the defense looking at?

Now comes NBA Live, one of EA Sports’ most storied franchises. The brand has lost a bit of its luster on the console side with some uninspiring versions after the ‘05 season (I personally think it went downhill after ‘03), but being the first on the iPhone, I had high expectations. To me, my biggest fear with something like NBA Live is that it would try to do too much. The graphics don’t have to be great, but they need to be fluid. Same with the gameplay and the controls. Well, much like Madden before it, after firing up NBA Live, everyone around me said, “Wow”, and I said, “Meh”.

After starting the game up, I quickly started an exhibition game. I figured that a good Rockets vs Lakers rematch would be good, even if my team would be Yao and T-Mac-less. To my surprise, standing in the center of the court was Yao, and he tipped it directly to T-Mac! Oh geeze. Apparently the game just uses the rosters and disregards player injuries that have completely devastated teams. Don’t get me wrong, I like playing with Yao, but little details like this bring up red flags. After the tip, I noticed that the game was rather choppy, but I’ll attribute that to my ownership of an old 3G. With that said, I would definitely think twice before picking this up on anything less than a 3GS.

Von Wafer isn't even in the NBA anymore! Come on EA!

My first drive resulted in a rather acrobatic T-Mac dunk… shocking after that micro-fracture surgery. The next drive ended with a similarly acrobatic Trevor Ariza dunk. Then a Yao dunk, then a Battier dunk… and so on. I pulled up for a 3 eventually and it fell right in. On defense, I didn’t even bother trying to steal the ball. I found that if you just stand near the other player the computer will either get a 24 second violation or miss the shot. (On a side note, trying to get the ball faster will stop Marv Albert from saying, “he sets the pick” every 5 seconds) The bots will score occasionally, but with the newly revamped dunkfest Rockets, I had no problem winning by 15. The final score was a whopping 52-37. After convincingly beating the best team by 15, I figured that I would up the difficulty or see if I could slide some sliders… something. Well, after jacking up the difficulty a bit, my next game started a little tougher. The computer made its first two shots, but really just couldn’t compete with the beast man that is T-Mac. I think I put down 15 windmill dunks (the exact same windmill dunk) in a row, which made an LA comeback pretty improbable. For a while, I thought that passing would be a good idea, but then the ball landed in the hands of T-Mac, which again resulted in the same windmill dunk. For the record, there were no crossovers or pump fakes that got me a free pass to the basket, all I had to do was sprint to the hoop and hit the shoot button. If you do this, you’ll win, I promise.

(One odd thing of note… If the ball goes for a long bounce off of the rim and clearly goes out of bounds, don’t think that it could be blown dead. I was caught off guard multiple times by computer players landing whole body lengths out of bounds and then taking shots over the back of the rim. They don’t typically go in, but it would certainly be nice to know what out of bounds is.)

Yeah, that stat line seems pretty correct.

I thought about starting a whole season of this, but thought that a season long T-Mac dunk fest would get old pretty fast. There is just no challenge in running to the hoop and hitting shoot. No tough shots, no amazing crossovers, no crazy passes… just run and dunk. Maybe I should’ve been the Suns!

Aside from the gameplay, the rest of the game was fairly well put together. The opening menu looks quite nice and has the traditional big name NBA Live rap tracks backing it. The options are fairly light, with the only play options being season, playoffs, and exhibition. There are no online features as of now, but with defense being as pointless as it is, I don’t really think watching a back and forth windmill dunkfest would be too exciting.

Well, NBA Live unfortunately turned out to be exactly what I thought it would be. It’s basketball, but it certainly won’t make you want to come back for more. There’s only so much that Marv Alberts voice and EA’s logo can do to make you want to keep playing. I know that this is fairly impressive for a cell phone, but just because the concept is cool doesn’t make the game fun. Someday, developers will learn that they need to start with the basics. Maybe a little NBA Jam is all the iPhone gamer wants. Just give me some 2 on 2 and let me do somersault dunks. Let me get on fire and run around with my glowing red ball. BOOMSHAKALAKA!

Please come to the iPhone!

Rock Band

I have to look deep within my soul to really, truly grasp why I can fire up my PS3 and play Rock Band at all hours of the night and have fun every time. Part of the joy has to be in the fact that I am actually holding something, whether it be a guitar, a microphone, or some drum sticks. The volume is really loud, the bass is pumping, and it is up to you not to screw up so bad that the whole band fails. Nobody wants to be that guy. Toss in a few bottles of Shiner Black and you have yourself quite the get together. People of all ages, all genders, and sizes (I couldn’t think of a third) can play together, laughing the night away.

The moral of the story is that the thing that makes Rock Band so successful on the console is the fact that it is a hands on experience. Unlike any other game (minus Guitar Hero), Rock Band makes you feel like you are really fully submersed into the game… really in a band. I could swear to you up and down that I could actually pick up a guitar, drum, or microphone and play along with the likes of Weezer and The Police. It’s rather empowering to master a song to a point that you can play it without even looking at the screen (acoustic Guitar Hero anyone?). So why, why, oh why do you, and I for that matter, want to play Rock Band on the iPhone? Well, because it’s something to do right?

For better or worse, the iPhone version of Rock Band is exactly what you would expect it to be. The graphics mimic the console to a ‘t’, right down to the visuals from hitting the buttons at the right time. There’s none of this ‘press down and hope’ nonsense that you get from other iPhone tap games… this one is dead on. The game also includes all four instruments from the console version, but more on that later. The sound is perfect, with a decent selection, and you can even play with your friends, much like you can on the console, but something is just missing. As the great Peter Gibbons once said, ” It’s a problem of motivation, all right?”.

How is this singing?

Aside from the lack of awesome Rock Band induced euphoria, the iPhone version of the app is also missing the ability to customize your rocker. Want to name your band ‘Kitten Katastophe” and dress your guitarist like Slash? Too bad… play the console. This one is just about the songs… and the bond you can share with your tiny, glass screened instrument.

Ok, enough whining. I must admit that the second I turned the game on, I thought to myself, “this is the most polished iPhone game ever”. It looks and sounds perfect, and on the 3GS, the loading is kept to an absolute minimum, making navigation a breeze (Expect some loading screens, along with loading screen death, on the 3G. So it goes.). The multiplayer also works quite well over bluetooth and over the internet, just don’t expect a 4 player game to finish glitch free, because there are usually some kind of issue with the connection (phone call, text, 20% battery life message). The replay value is even upped a bit with the ability to purchase new songs from directly in the app, and with the MTV license, I imagine that the in app purchasing pool will become quite large over the coming months.

Rock Band on the iPhone really is one of those games that will make people on other phones jealous. It looks and feels so much like the console version that I wondered if I was looking at a screenshot or not. As cool as it is having the game is, I just don’t see myself playing it for very long. If good music on the phone is what I’m really looking for, I can just play any of my games that can use my iPod music as the sound. I mean, just think about it, do I want to spend $10 on Rock Band where I tap on some dots running down the screen or play the phenomenal Space Invaders – Infinity Gene while jamming out to a Carlos Santana solo? I, for one, will take that latin guitar any day. If this one comes down in price, which I’m sure it will over time due to in app purchasing, I’d pick this one up so fast, but in the meantime I’d hit up Taco Bell and grab 12.645 crispy tacos. The taco memories will never end, but your enjoyment of this game definitely will.

For the record #1: I know that some people will read this review in outrage. I’m sure I’ll hear things like, “it’s the most perfect game ever” and “the multiplayer works so well” and “hey idiot, the game is #2 in the app store, you’re so wrong about that review”, but give it a month or two and tell me how many times you still play Rock Band a week. My guess is that some bug app will come out for the Christmas season that will make you forget that Rock Band even exists.

For the record #2: If EA somehow adds real singing to the vocals part of the game, I fully retract all statements about longevity and will be playing the game along with you online. I may even be bragging about my vocal chords via Facebook Connect while enjoying that same Shiner Black that I had reserved for the console version. Here’s to hoping.

P.S. If you’re wondering what I meant by Gary Cherone-esque, it was a reference to the Gary Cherone era of Van Halen. Sure, they were still Van Halen, but boy did they rock just a little bit less. Would you have really bought Van Halen III if the band was renamed something else? Alternatively, would you really consider buying Rock Band if it weren’t for the brand name recognition?

FIFA 10 by EA SPORTS

When it comes to sports games on the iPhone, soccer has faired perhaps best of all. Real Soccer 2010 and X2 Football 09 are certainly worthy contenders, but FIFA delivers tentatively the best soccer experience yet with an impressive amount of content of good gameplay.

FIFA has an absolute bevy of content. There are 30 leagues, 570 teams, 20 tournaments, and 12,620 players, all licensed, though some of the player stats are questionable. There is Manager Mode, where you take the role of an executive with full control over your roster, tournament mode where you enter a tournament, Be a Pro mode, where you can create your own player from scratch, upgrading his stats RPG-style as you go along, and more. All of these game modes do create an impressive amount of replay value, but unfortunately the multiplayer is local only, somewhat dampening the appeal.

Surprisingly, FIFA only uses two action buttons. A is pass and B is shoot, but you can do an impressive multitude of things by either double tapping or sliding your finger from one button to the other. Unfortunately, combinations such as A-B-A are extremely difficult to execute. The controls require some practice, but after that, they become easy with the exception of the three button combos. For movement, there are two choices. First, there’s a joystick, that frustratingly only moves in eight-directions, but is good nonetheless. Sprinting is accomplished by moving the joystick very far away from center. Then there’s the accelerometer option. I’m not sure why anyone would ever think it was a good idea, because the accelerometer movement, with a button to sprint, is just unusable. The gameplay is certainly among the best for soccer games thus far. Physics are solid, AI is fairly good, and goals don’t come easily or cheaply. In addition, the pitch is actually correctly sized, as opposed to Real Soccer’s mini-field. Overall, the gameplay is fast, fun, and rewarding, while never feeling cheap.

Graphics are slightly above average. While the field is good and animations are mostly smooth, the player models are fairly basic and lack enough distinction or accuracy. The interface, though, is simply baffling. In order to manage your roster, you need to drag up and down a selection box (rather than simply tapping on a player), but more often than not you’ll simply scroll down. The process is arduous and frustrating while requiring a learning curve, which is simply inexcusable. This is complemented by a strange interface bug that jumbles all your players to different positions. Sound effects are good, however, and while the lone commentator has a severely limited repertoire, the commentary is always accurate.

Even with its flaws, FIFA 10 stands as the best soccer game on the App Store; though at $9.99, it’s tough to say if its worth the additional money over its competition.