Category: Video

Kroll Is Released In App Store

Digital Legend’s Kroll has finally been released to the App Store. The developer provides this feature list:

  • KROLL will immerse gamers in amazing 3-D action with its groundbreaking technology built explicitly for the iPhone touch screen with its full graphics capabilities.
  • Epic environments enhance the iPhone gameplay experience with hectic fighting at the mountainside, inside molten magma mines, and high above active volcano in magical floating prison. To learn the secrets behind the legend of KROLL, gamers must conquer mythic enemies and creatures.
  • Bash’n’Crush your way through nine hectic levels destroying ever increasing amount of enemy hordes and play through awesome cinematic boss battles.
  • Extend your experience through 3 difficulty level (Normal, Hard and Insane) for more and more crushing action. Scoring system keeps track of your progress.
  • iPhone and iPod touch special features: Use the accelerometer of your device to activate special attacks and the touch screen for controlling your character.

The game looks gorgeous but one of the problems I am having with it, in regards to my decision on to buy it or not, is that I haven’t seen anyone talking about gameplay. It seems everyone is spending all their time talking about how this game is the best looking game for the iPhone but I haven’t seen anyone talking about how fun it is to actually play. If this game is fun then that is one thing but I’m not going to spend $7.99 on a game thats only purpose is to show off your device.

Kroll ($7.99)
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Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Ad Airs (The Ones Without Seinfeld)

The second phase of Microsoft’s new ad campaign has begun with a few new ads seemingly focused on the diversity of PC users. The ad depicted a series of people saying “I’m a PC,” very simple, but gets the point across that everyone uses PCs.

The new ads are a direct response to the Get a Mac ads starring Justin Long and John Hodgman.

The ads are also trying to break the stereotype that the Get a Mac ads are placing on PC users by truly showing the vast diversity in PC users.

I don’t really have much to say about the ads other than that I miss Jerry Seinfeld (those ads were actually entertaining).

Two more versions of the ad after the jump.

Continue reading Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Ad Airs (The Ones Without Seinfeld)

Second Bill Gates, Seinfeld Ad Airs

No one seemed to like the first ad and it seems that most people don’t “get” the second ad either. But, as someone (I can’t remember who) said about the ad, if you smile even once, Microsoft wins. All Microsoft has to day is make you think of Microsoft in a more posative light, and if it takes release an ad that has almost no relevance to Microsoft but makes you laugh than that is what it takes.

Apple Let’s Rock Event, Results Are In

So the Apple event was a little underwhelming (not to me, but to most) but I’ll just take a little bit of time to shortly recap what happened at the event.

  • NBC back in iTunes.
  • iTunes adding HD TV shows for $2.99 per episode.
  • iTunes 8 with Genius playlists and the Genius sidebar (suggests songs similar to a chosen song)
  • 120GB iPod Classic for $249 (supports new iPod Earphones).
  • iPod Nano, 8GB $149, 16GB $199. curved aluminum design, thinnest iPod ever, accelerometer. Available in 9 colors.
  • New in-ear headphones for $79 and earbuds for $29. Has, squeeze button, mic, and volume up/down buttons.
  • iPod Touch, 8GB $229, 16GB $299, 32GB $399. Hardware volume controls, and built in speaker. Built in Nike + iPod support.
  • iPod Touch firmware 2.1 with iPhone firmware 2.1 coming Friday.

“Real Racing” For the iPhone

There have been several racing games for the iPhone, from Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D to GTS World Racing, but Firemints crack at the genre might be the most realistic and possibly the best yet.

Firemint is an Australian developer that has developed this game with accelerometer steering and multiplayer modes over Wifi. The game also allows you to upload your best racing times to a central website that will let you compete with others.

What I find very interesting is that the lap data can be converted into replay videos that are sent to YouTube. The game will be out shortly before Christmas of this year, but there is no word yet on pricing.

TouchArcade
Replay footage after the jump.

Continue reading “Real Racing” For the iPhone

Review of GTS World Racing For the iPhone

Yesterday GTS World Racing was released in the app store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game costs $7.99 and is actually pretty fun.

I haven’t had that much time to spend with it but it is both challenging and fun. The game is pretty simple, it’s a straight up racing game but you tilt the device forward to accelerate, backwards to brake or go in reverse, left to steer left, and right to steer right… like i said, very simple.

The game lets you choose from 3 different car types, 16 locations, 64 tracks, 4 different play modes, and 4 difficulty levels, so if you like racing games you’re going to spend a lot of time playing it.

The game was a lot easier to play than Moto Racer was but (unlike in Moto Racer) GTS World Racing doesn’t give that feeling of speed that other racing games do. I also disliked the animation of the game itself, I rarely got the feeling that I was actually turning, because the car doesn’t really move, it seems to stay centered on the screen as if the ground below it was moving but the car wasn’t (not that big of a deal really but something that I thought was worth mentioning).

The races seem extremely long, for a device in which spending 1-2 minutes in a game is very commonplace having to spend 3-5 minutes on  a single race is just too much. The tracks do end up seeming a little repetative though since you are spending so much time on them, by the time your finished with a race you don’t really want to be on that track ever again, and that’s where 64 different tracks come in handy. I also wish you could at least change the color of your vehicle, there are other cars in the game that you race against that have different colors, why can’t I?

Some more things about it do bother me, the fact that their is a blinking arrow at the top of the screen practically non-stop is a little annoying and I seem to always find myself in the grass, which apparently makes you slow down nearly as fast as if you ran into the back of another racer. I also hate the fact that if you try to accelerate and tilt the screen too far forward you get this screen:

Overall the game is good, but with its downsides I don’t think I could tell anyone to buy it at its current price ($7.99) if the price was dropped to maybe $4.99 I would change my tune but I would have to tell you to pass unless you really like racing games.

GTS World Racing – $7.99
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Gameplay video and more screenshots after the jump

Continue reading Review of GTS World Racing For the iPhone

MagicPad’s Copy and Paste Demoed on Video UPDATE

MagicPad is still awaiting approval to be in the App Store but what’s interesting about this application is that it includes the ability to copy and paste. You can also change the font, font size, color, apply text affects as well.

This is an interesting idea but I don’t like how you select text because if you are trying to input text in a spot within a body of text sometimes you have to drag your finger around to get the cursor in the right spot, but, with this app doing that would select the text instead of moving the cursor around, assuming that selecting text works the same way as on a computer when you input text it would remove the selected text and add the typed in text.

(Update: I was wrong about how you select text, you double-tap and drag to select text, which wasn’t very evident from the video. But, if Apple does end up adding the ability to select text and copy/paste double tapping zooms in for most applications so this interface will be incredibly inconsistent if Apple adds it in the future.)

This is a great looking application and I have been waiting for a good text editor for the iPhone but what I see missing is a white text on black background option, and the ability to sync the text files to my desktop.

Apple iPhone Apps

Gameplay Video of StarSmasher for the iPhone UPDATE

John Bowers of EsperssoSoft is the developer behind an upcoming game for the iPhone called StarSmasher. The game is a 3D space shooter that let’s you fly through space shooting up rocks and (seemingly) other space ships.

The game is modeled after Star Fox and uses the accelerometer for controlling flight with tap controls for firing.

This looks like a great game and but it starts to make me wonder whatever happened to that 3D space shooter that Apple was building for the iPhone as sample code? (update below regarding this) (by the way it had almost the exact same control scheme as this game). I’m really excited about this game and even more excited about the price, the game will go for $2.99 when it is released in the App Store.

TouchArcade

Update: The developer of StarSmasher contacted me regarding the similarities of this game to Apple’s game (which was called TouchFighter). Here is a section of the email:

“I’m the developer of StarSmasher. I wanted to address the TouchFighter issue since I’ve noticed it crop up several times. I don’t think TouchFighter’s controls are the same as StarSmashers or even that similar (aside from the fact that they both use the accelerometer and are 3rd person). I haven’t played it personally, but from the videos that I’ve seen of TF the gameplay is essentially turret based. You aren’t actually changing the position of the ship on screen just the direction it is aiming. The feeling of moving forward is an illusion produced by the stars moving by.

StarSmasher gives you more control over the position of your ship (hence the dodging asteroids bit). I decided to write it because I really like rails games and I wanted one for my iTouch.

I hope people will like the game. I do. I wrote it for myself first and setting it out in the App Store is just a perk.”

Netflix Streaming on Xbox 360 Demoed on Video

After watching this video I compared the experience on the Xbox 360 compared to the experience on the Roku player and it seems that the Xbox 360 is much nicer.

The Roku player isn’t as nice looking as the Xbox 360 in terms of UI and although the Xbox 360 is loud it is mostly due to the disc drive and since Netflix streaming won’t be hitting the disc it should make for a great experience.

I have no need for the ability to watch a movie or TV show at the same time as a friend with a Netflix account and a Live Gold account, it seems pretty useless to me.


Xbox 360 Fanboy

Star Wars: Force Unleashed for the iPhone Video

CrunchGear had a chance to take a look at an upcoming game for the iPhone that I’m sure many of you will be very excited for, Star Wars: Force Unleashed.

The game allows you to play in either landscape or portrait mode and has some pretty amazing graphics.  You use different kinds of swipes to attack enemies with your light saber and “the force.” You can also deflect enemy attacks with swipes.

It looks like the game is mostly on rails not really letting you control the movement of your character so it seems like you spend most of your time just swiping your finger across the screen that could or could not get incredibly repetitive.

CrunchGear

God of War 3 For the Playstation 3 Trailer

God of War 3 may be the game that makes everyone change their mind about the Playstation 3 (I know I’ve said it before and I will probably say it again).

The game will run at full 1080p HD resolution and support full Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions.

God of War has been a pretty successful game in the past and hopefully they will continue with this next one. (I openly admit to being a little bit of a Playstation fanboy but only because I hate the Xbox controller).