iPhone Reviews 2.0

Madden 10 is the upcoming NFL game from Electronic Arts. Here are some of the key features about what to look forward to. This looks like a game not to miss when it is released, hopefully in early September.

Product Description
THE #1 SELLING FOOTBALL GAME OF ALL TIME IS ABOUT TO HIT THE APP STORESM. GAME ON.
ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS ─ only EA SPORTS™ delivers the most authentic, hard-hitting experience in football, and we’ve got the history to back it up.
Combining the realistic action that Madden NFL fans expect with the mobile gameplay that allows anyone to pick-up and play – Madden NFL 10 brings the ultimate football experience to the App Store.

Key Features
• TAKE IT TO THE GRIDIRON ─ Dominate the field with packed rosters of your favorite NFL players from all 32 licensed teams.

• THE REAL DEAL ─ From Lambeau to Heinz, you’ll be impressed by the detail throughout this game. Play in authentic stadiums against life-like players on real NFL teams.

• CREATE YOUR OWN PLAY ─ Use touch controls to draw hot routes for passing plays, exclusive to Madden NFL 10.

• ACTION CONTROL TIME ─ This cool feature lets you adjust the speed of your game whenever you want, giving you time to pick the best moves for each play.

• SEASON MODE ─ Play a quick one-off game, or try the robust season mode, which features in-depth trades, stats and individual player rewards.

• ASSEMBLE YOUR OWN TEAMS ─ Detailed roster management gives you full control over depth charts, cross-team trading, and access to huge free agent pools.

• BROADCAST COMMENTARY ─ Hear the unmistakable voice of John Madden himself along with legendary announcers Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth.

iTunes Link

Minigore is a survival shooter by Chillingo. $0.99

Minigore is the latest survival shooter game from the publishers who brought the the hit iDracula. This time everything has been given a cute touch over with a brilliant cartoon world to frolic and play in, or is it? Minigore probably isn't as in depth at this stage as iDracula, but great graphics and alleged future updates bringing more amazing characters like Enviro-Bear and Lizzie from Sway should improve the game. What makes this game good though is the brilliant graphics and sound effects coupled with the easy pick up and play nature of this game. But is it worth it at its current price? Keep reading to find out if I think it does the game justice.

Minigore has, as I said above, great graphics that really make this game feel like it is a feel good game with bunny wabbits and love hearts. This is certainly proved wrong when you find yourself, a 3D human, running around beautifully created trees and bushes escaping and shooting various sized black blobs of evil. This game is almost all in 3D, with some bushes etc. being in 2D, but it looks absolutely amazing. There are no dodgy points in the game with everything from the smallest evil blob to the raging animal version of John Gore being beautifully hand crafted for the iDevice. I found this better graphically than iDracula, with that not as clear and colorful as Minigore.

Minigore has some brilliant sound effects that don't seem to fit the shooter genre but work so well. Basically you have small popping noises everytime you fire your gun and the random roar when you kill the bigger black blobs. John Gore also has some input with a witty comment about that game that can give you a bit of a giggle and make you lose concentration. One example I found of this is, "Oh come on, how many of these are there? I've already killed 100 of them!"

This game is pretty easy to get the hang of straight away. The controls are as simple as it gets, yet the game is really challenging. The only controls in this game are two D-Pads which are located on the bottom of the screen. One lets you control where John Gore moves around and the other lets you choose where and when to shoot. The controls are similar to iDracula but are slightly different in the way the D-Pads work.

What I felt disappointed by the most in Minigore is the lack of content. Even in iDracula's first version the ranks and multiple game modes kept me coming back for more. Minigore only has one game mode with two difficulty levels. This is a bit disappointing and even though it is quite fun, doesn't give me much game time. I am now finding myself after a few weeks with limited play hoping for more game modes, basically hoping they deliver with good updates to the game. The aim of Minigore is go around the landscape and kill as many blobs as possible without dieing. This is quite hard as you only have two lives as such. The first time you are touched by a blob you lose some of your clothes and get some cool cuts and such. The second time you keel over and die while the blobs seem to swarm around your body. This is an entertaining game that will last you a good five minutes on both easy or hard and the willingness to improve will keep bringing you back to this game.

Minigore is a fun and hilarious pick up and play shooter which will be a joy to play for all those many fans of iDracula. While the amount of gameplay of Minigore isn't where I think it should be as of yet, the future updates should hopefully bring this game up to scratch and be a amazing, not just great, shooter. Once again Chillingo have picked a great title to publish and hopefully this success can bring Mountain Sheep to create many more great titles with the same level of love and care put into the life of John Gore.

iTunes Link

Guitar Rock Tour 2 is a music game by Gameloft. $4.99

[A modified post from TheAppEra]

This sequel certainly isn't as good as the original, its way better!

Guitar Rock Tour was Gameloft's answer to the might of Tapulous and the Tap Tap Revenge series. However, what Guitar Rock Tour actually brought to the table was multiple big name songs ala Guitar Hero. I thoroughly enjoyed the game with hits from some of my favorite bands like Blink-182 and Good Charlotte, but the sequel smashes all of this out of the ballpark. Wanna find out why?

Guitar Rock Tour 2 is basically the original + more tracks + a better career mode + better graphics + Downloadable Content + Wolfmother. Yes, GRT 2 basically outdoes the original in all possible ways meaning its not just the same game with some new songs so Gameloft can make a quick $100k. After a somewhat letdown in DJ Mix Tour Gameloft has redeemed themselves with this game.

Guitar Rock Tour 2 smashes the sequel in all standards of graphics and sound. While you wouldn't expect the sound to be much different apart from the songs there is quite a bit. In the original game quite a few tracks was the proper song but it wasn't sung by the actual band who produced it. This game seems to have quite a large number of tracks that ARE the original tracks. Having this makes it alot better because the songs are better interpreted and perceived by its original artists.

The graphics in this game have been stepped up a notch from the previous version. The graphics are spectacular with a great live performance environment in the background coupled with the smooth gameplay below. The background consists of various band members rocking their stuff in a kind of music video with special effects and locations for each city you travel to.

There are many choices as to who is playing in your band as well as the guitar/drums that you play. The actual game itself has been improved with flasher buttons and special skills that have been given that graphical edge. The performance of the game has also been greatly improved with less likelihood of lag in the game.

As you can guess the controls are pretty simple and stay the same from the original. To play you must tap and sometimes hold the beats as they come down the screen. When you get so many fire power beats in a row you get the option of flicking one of two switches. One of these activates double score and lets you rock hard for so many seconds. The other one lets you regain your fans if you have been missing some notes recently. The drums are slightly different in that you must hit the drums as the notes hit the required area and the double points option comes on automatically so you don't have to worry about it.

The game has been ramped up to have a better career mode to play around with. Previously, the games have only featured a set list before moving onto the next location. Now this time there are also optional assignments to complete that involve tasks like getting a certain % accuracy or not missing any of the solo beats. This greatly adds to the experience and puts a bit more of a challenge.

There are 18 famous songs to rock out to ranging from Sweet Home Alabama to Nine in the Afternoon. These can be played at any time in quick play as long as you have played it once in career mode. Once played in career mode for either drums or guitar, it is unlocked for free play in all difficulties on both instruments. This is good for practice if you are stuck getting an assignment completed or if you just want to rock out to your favourite track.

A new part of the game is the 'solo' section of the track where you are the only guitarist playing the song. In here you get double points (And if you already have the double points mode on can get up to 16x multiplier), and if you get 100% of the notes a nice bonus will be added onto your score after completing the solo. This is crucial to getting higher scores for each of the songs as you keep the double points until you miss a beat, even after the solo is finished.

Finally the other new part of the game is coming soon, but its going to be downloadable song packs which I assume will have an extended career mode and be priced for $1 or $2. These will be great for those wanting to play a bit more of Guitar Rock Tour.

Guitar Rock Tour 2 is matched what the original was, with some hefty bonuses on the side. While my personal preferences to song choice lie with original artist tracks, they are not too shabby. With the added DLC coming soon, this will hopefully diversify what I'm looking for with a more Punk/Rock style of music to tap along to.

This game is amazing and should be picked up by any fan of the Tap Tap Revenge or similar games. Fans of the sequel and DJ Mix Tour will crave this game and won't be able to stop rockin' with the music!

iTunes Link

Baseball Slugger is a baseball game by Com2Us. $0.99

And here I was, thinking that baseball couldn't get any more addictive. After Gamevil brought out Baseball Superstars and forced me to play season after season of the game I basically gave up on finding another game better. It has come however, in the form of an arcade home run derby type game from a previous baseball developer. Com2Us previously brought out 9 Innings Baseball, which I found wasn't up to Superstars in terms of the easy arcade style of it. Baseball Sluggers was basically venturing into an unexplored region and could control it with a half hearted attempt at a game. Com2Us has delivered with this game with not only an addictive game and brilliant graphics, but a great online mode that really keeps you coming back for more. This is a real winner in my books and is the reason why it continues to do strong in the charts.

Baseball Sluggers has brilliant 3D graphics that look absolutely amazing. What makes this game stand out from other baseball games is that the game is all in 3D and has a high polygon count (How good the game looks basically). All of Com2Us' games are spectacular but Baseball Slugger takes it to another level. The whole game just screams colorful, crisp and a heap of fun. There are also amazing slow motion cut scenes that happen when you perform the perfect home run and add to how good this game is.

Baseball Slugger is such an easy game to pick up and play, but managing to master it is the real hard part. To play Baseball Slugger you have to tilt you iDevice until the transparent section on the screen is where you believe the baseball is/will be and press the hit button. Timing is everything in the game and you will find yourself fouling and missing the ball quite alot to start off with. This is a great step up from the D-Pad style hitting we have come to play, and more like the batting experience found in MLB World Series 2009.

Before I start lets make one thing clear. Baseball Slugger has absolutely nothing to do with playing Baseball matches as its more of a Home Run Derby event. There are three game modes to play in which are Match-Up, Arcade and Classic as well as a training mode.

Match-Up is where all the excitement happens as you must battle your way through fierce competitors to become the best of the best in the all out slug fest. This mode is extremely slick with only the slightest bit of delay between what you see your opponent doing and their actual score. There are four different levels as such to compete in for Match-Up, each with harder pitchers, generally harder opponents and longer and more excruciating matches. This mode makes the game what it is and you will be playing the bulk of your time in this mode.

Arcade mode is slightly different to Match-Up. The aim of this game is to get as many points as possible with ten lives as such. So for example every strike or foul is a life lost. Points are earned by basically hitting the ball. You get extra points for getting multiple homeruns in a row, hitting poles and scoreboards, hitting the ball over 500ft and hitting the ball in all different sectors of the ball park. There are many special balls which make your job either harder or easier, with ghost balls that disappear then reappear or balls that multiple your score for that hit. This mode lets you earn quite a few gold balls, which can be used to buy new equipment that improves your ability. This customization part of the game is also another reason why its so addictive.

Finally Classic mode takes a kind of customization on actual Baseball rules. Again you have ten lives but this time you have to see how many home runs you can hit, with almost like baseball if you hit it in the air and it doesn't go for a homer you will be caught out. This is good practice to get your eye in and also can be used to earn some decent gold balls.

Baseball Slugger: Home Run Race 3D is a spectacular game that manages to secure your time day after day, hour after hour. The match-up mode is an amazing concept that was pulled off spectacularly. Fun gameplay and brilliant graphics are found in the game that will have you bashing and crashing your way up the global Slugger charts in no time. Any baseball or online fans will crave this game but it will really appeal to anyone. I have friends in the UK and Australia who have never watched a Baseball game in their life, yet they absolutely adore this game. Seriously don't be the odd one out, just buy this game now!

Gameloft have recently announced another big title that seems to be coming out at the end of this month along with Guitar Rock Tour 2 and Gan$tar: West Coast Hustle.

Here is Gameloft's answer to the also upcoming Madden 10 by Electronic Arts, NFL 2010

Features:

• It’s the first FULL football simulation game on the App Store
• Features full team rosters so players can pick their favorite NFL team to play with
• Price is still TBD
  
• Gameloft hope to see it on the App Store by the end of the month

There isn't much more information about this game at this time, but more is expected in the coming weeks. We can expect this to be one classy game though following what we got in Real Soccer 2009 and Let's Golf

To keep you hungry for more here are a few released screens from the game

iTunes Link

MLB World Series 2009 is a baseball game by MLB.com. $2.99

The Los Angeles Dodgers are totally dominating this series in the big league, thanks to big hitter Manny Ramirez. Since this is my team, my love for Dodger Dogs has brought me to review this great game by MLB.com.

MLB World Series 2009 is the first baseball game on the App Store to have a more simulation type gameplay instead of the popular arcade games like Baseball Superstars, 9 Innings Baseball, Power Pros Touch and Baseball Sluggers. Does the World Series pull off this different style of play? It certainly does!

Arcade style Baseball games have done extremely well on the App Store. Both Baseball Superstars and Baseball Slugger are long time servers on the top 50 games. MLB World Series 2009 hasn't capitalized on how good the game is, with a price far higher than the arcade style games. Also the way the game looks and plays, it isn't the perfect game to provide great happy snaps to make amazing screenshots.

The higher than average price coupled with average looking screenshots has hurt this game badly, just like what happened to the PSP port Internation Athletics by Ghostlight.

Is this game for you? From what I can tell it will be for more serious baseball fans, not those who are new to the genre. It may appeal to you though so keep reading and find out.

Before starting on the actual Gameplay in MLB WS09, let me tell you about one of the biggest selling points of this game, especially for baseball addicts. This is the first game that actually lets you play as your favourite baseball team, therefore meaning I can played as my beloved Dodgers. MLB.com has also incorporated four of the stadiums by the actual teams, meaning those wanting to play at some of their favourite venues can. There are planning updates to release more actual stadiums. There is however, one large bit lacking to this game. I was disappointed to see that they haven't included actual player names, as they are just Starting Pitcher, Outfielder etc. This is a bit disappointing and is lacking from making this a perfect MLB brand game.

With the game being called 'World Series' I was expecting it to just include the one game mode that lets you try and win a World Series. It is far from that, with multiple modes, but the World Series is certainly the main selling point. The three game modes available to play are World Series, Exhibition and Season mode.

World Series is what this game is all about. The aim of this game is to win the elimination process that is the MLB World Series (Funnily enough only the USA MLB teams can compete). After choosing what teams will compete in the World Series, the seeds of the teams and the team you will compete with, you are thrust into your first round. This first round is called the Division Series and you must win a best of five series against a fellow divison team. The next round is called the League Championship Series and pits you against the other winning division of your league. This is also a best of five series. Finally you must play the American or National League winner in the World Series to become World Champions in a five game series. For those with Baseball Superstars it is kind of similar to the finals mode encountered in that game.

Season mode lets you play a 16, 29, 82 or 162 game season with the team of your choice. This mode features an All-Star Game that is vital to win, as it will give you a home-field advantage in the World Series mode, which is the exact same mode as above. The season mode isn't really suited to a simulation game like this, with it being more time consuming and not as easy to play as an arcade game, like Baseball Superstars.

Exhibition mode is all about creating the perfect game. You choose what team you are playing with, your opposition, the length of the game and where you play the game. It's all about choice but unless you are feeling very picky you are best off continuing on with either the World Series or Season mode.

MLB World Series lets you both bat, pitch and field during a game, but fielding is set to automatic when you first launch the game. The game plays just like an ordinary game, with you taking it in turns batting and an innings ending when both teams have had three outs. What makes this game a standout from the rest however is the controls and the graphics for the game.

All the baseball games I have played prior to the release of MLB World Series have featured a virtual D-Pad to pitch and bat. MLB WS 2009 has made Baseball more interactive and has later on the batting has I believe been improved by Com2Us' Baseball Slugger. The pitching involves deciding what type of pitch to make then sliding your finger up a bar to choose speed and accuracy. You then have to tilt your device to a wanted position.

Batting is very similar to pitching, except I found it quite a bit more challenging. You are from the eyes of the batter and you watch the pitcher pitch the ball. You then must quickly and efficiently tilt you device until the circle on your screen is over where the ball is and press the swing button. If you do it too late or early then you will get a strike. I found it incredibly hard, somewhat more after the recent update. While it may be more challenging the process is still more exciting than the arcade style shot.

MLB World Series has changed the 2D graphics found in most baseball games on the App Store. The game has taken Baseball to the 3D level with great graphics and characters. The teams are made up of 3D people who while not looking super realistic, are up to the quality of other amazing sport games such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour and International Athletics. The screenshots do not do this game justice as when you are actually playing the it looks a lot better.

The stadiums and fields easily defined between each one and look absolutely superb. While the graphics aren't as smooth as the arcade games they are more realistic. The only better looking graphics would be in the Home Run fest at Baseball Sluggers. The animation in the game generally works well, with not much lag featured in the game. The only problem I have is when you are trying to see the ball when its pitched. It looks the same size the whole way and it really hard to know when to hit it.

MLB World Series 2009 is a strong baseball game that gives a realistic feel that I felt was lacking to games such as Baseball Superstars and 9 Innings Baseball. There are a few points to this game that let it down, such as the lack of player names and number of real stadiums. What makes this game not as fun as the arcade style games is that the games generally take a lot longer as you must pitch and bat your way through everything. The addictiveness of playing multiple matches on Baseball Superstars isn't felt in MLB WS 2009, and one or two matches at a time is generally enough.

The graphics and great use of the accelerometer for MLB World Series 2009 is a welcome change to the boring on screen buttons. I would recommend this game more to someone who is an avid Baseball fan compared to someone who likes the games. Only the more serious fan will get the complete experience of this but don't let that deter you, its an excellent game. While its at a discounted price of $2.99 I would pick it up now if I was you.