I admit I have a soft spot for Tower Defense style games. They are exceptionally easy to just pick up and play in short bursts, easy to understand, quick to learn but often difficult to master. I tend to use my iPod Touch games to keep from falling asleep while on the bus, and Tower Defense games are ideal for that while being perfectly suited to the iPhone/iPod touch screen.
For those of you who somehow have never played one, Tower Defense games usually require you to defend a specific location from encroaching hordes who, quite considerately, tend to follow a specific path in their assault. You build defenses to repel these attacks, usually consisting of different kinds of towers which can be constructed and upgraded using points earned by defeating enemies. Therefore, the longer you play, the more challenges you face and the more options you have.
There are LOTS of Tower Defense games in the App Store currently, some are witty, action-packed classics like Tap Defense or The Creeps…while others are, quite honestly, trash. However, I am always on the look out for new ones, and one crossed my desk a few days ago that turns the concept a bit on it’s head. In Dungeon Defense, you play the bad guy, using your evil horde of the undead to brutally defend your lair against all those simpering, goody-goody dungeon adventure types. What fun!
The game is just as easy to learn and control as other leading Tower Defense games, allowing you to create skeletal swordsmen, archers or axe wielders, each with their own strengths and weaknesses to teach those heroes a lesson. The skeletons may also be upgraded, but only twice and their abilities remain more or less the same…they just take and deliver more damage. Normally I prefer a wider range of defenders and upgrades, so thatis a bit of a ding against the game. While your defenders may lack a little bit as far as variety, the heroes assaulting you however are a colorful, diverse bunch and there are three distinctly different maps (Crypt Siege, Dungeon King or Blood Orb) to choose from which have profound effects on the strategies you need to use. Also, each map type has three difficulty levels to choose from.
The graphics are first rate, especially as far the environments are concerned, and the gameplay is simple but addictive. I have found myself returning to Dungeon Defense again and again over the last week despite the small lack of variety. If you enjoy casual games, Tower Defense games or skeletons doing painful looking things to do-gooders, then this game is definitely for you. I can strongly recommend it.
Dungeon Defense by InMotion Software is a 37.5 MB download, available from the App Store for $2.99. It requires OS 2.0 or greater and is compatible with 3.0.
Posted by Adam Wyss on 07/1/09 in iPhone General
I don’t think that the iPhone users of the world really realize how easy we have things anymore. Apple has made things so seamless that no matter what computer or operating system you use, as long as you have iTunes installed, you are ready to go. Read on past the break for my very quick venture back into Windows Mobile world and how after tonight’s fiasco, I’m thanking God that Apple gave us the iPhone.
Posted by Mic W. on 07/1/09 in iPhone General
For all of you Facebook addicts out there like myself, there is a new better version coming soon…
Facebook today confirmed that Facebook for iPhone 3.0 is coming “very soon” and it is 98% done. It appears to be a significant upgrade and push notifications are in the works for the 3.1 update later this summer.
- 1. The “new” News Feed
- Like
- Events (including the ability to RSVP)
- Notes
- Pages
- Create new photo albums
- Upload photos to any album
- Zoom into photos
- Easier photo tagging
- Profile Pictures albums
- A new home screen for easy access to all your stuff, search, and notifications
- Add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen
- Better Notifications (they link to the comments so you can reply)
- Quickly call or text people right from the Friends page
- Messages you are typing will be restored if you quit or are interrupted by a phone call
I’m currently using the Categories application on my 3G to keep my apps organized however this app looks to blow Categories out of the water. This version of Stacks is currently in private alpha but this video shows that things look to be making great progress. Steven Troughton-Smith is the developer of this app and his attention to detail will bring a much greater user experience to the table. Stacks will keep all badges and dynamic elements such as the date on the calendar app intact while in the stack. All stack editing is done right within springboard as you can see in the video. When an app is stored in a Categories folder, elements such as badges are unfortunately lost as are the “true icon”. Things look rough in the folder. Most icons do not have the rounded, glossy edges that you see normally when the icon is just sitting there on your device on the home screen. Hopefully this will be finished soon and released because I personally cannot wait. This is a more “Apple-esque” approach than Categories. In the mean time, donators get early access to the private alpha test.
Developer Site - Stack
Apple on Tuesday began testing the first maintenance update to its new iPhone 3.0 software, which patches a handful of bugs but also introduces new features tied to video, Voice Control, and the handsets vibration mode. [Updated with info on saving video email attachments and better battery life.]
More specifically, developers testing the release overnight report that iPhone Software 3.1 will allow you to “Save a Copy” of video recordings that have been trimmed, rather than being forced over-write the original copy of the video, as is the case in iPhone Software 3.0. The update will also allow you to save to your photo album videos that have been sent as email attachments.
Another noteworthy enhancement is the ability to issue commands to the iPhone’s new Voice Control feature over Bluetooth headsets. Spoken commands when running iPhone Software 3.0 aren’t picked up by Bluetooth headsets, and are instead channeled through an iPhone’s built-in microphone even when a headset is connected.
Several developers are also reporting that the MMS button has resurfaced in the Messages application, possibly signaling plans by AT&T to begin supporting picture, sound, and video messages around the release of iPhone Software 3.1. Although developers testing yesterday’s beta report being able to insert multimedia into messages, those files are still rejected by the U.S. carrier’s network.
iPhone Software 3.1 also reportedly improves battery life on the iPhone 3G S, updates the “Carrier” profile for U.S. users to “AT&T 4.2,” as opposed to “AT&T 4.0,” and provides vibration feedback when home screen icons jiggle to symbolize their ready to be moved or rearranged.
Other changes include modified iTunes Store icons that rearrange themselves back to default after opening and closing the app, and the previously-reported developer hooks that provide access an iPhone’s video recording and editing functions, as well as a handful of new extensions for the OpenGL ES graphics library that developers can use to improve graphics performance in their apps.
Source : AppleInsider
Posted by Zealot on 07/1/09 in iPhone General
Yes sports fans, iPhone OS v3.1 has already been released to beta and is available to you hardy souls for upgrade.
What has been changed in 3.1?
Beats me. Nobody has much of a clue yet, though some suckers early adopters are already reporting that there is a new option to save copies of video from the editing suite.
Care to take the new shiny for a beta spin? If so, comment and let us know what surprises (or disappointments) you find.
(Screen cap credit: Engadget)
Posted by Zealot on 06/30/09 in iPhone Applications
A new version of the communications workhorse Skype has been released for iPhone and iPod Touch users running OS 2.2 or 3.0.
useful new features in this release include the ability to access Skype voicemail from your iPhone as well as to send low cost SMS messages via your Skype client.
Usability has been improved, with some changes made to the dial pad and additional localization languages have also been added including Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and Traditional Chinese (along with English of course).
Skype is an excellent program and a tremendous value, and is one of the few applications I use every day on multiple platforms.
You can download the free software from the AppStore or from HERE.
Also use Windows Mobile? Check out the new Skype v3.0 release for Windows phones HERE.
Apple continues to position the iPhone/iPod Touch as a game machine to be reckoned with by adding another big franchise name to stable, none other then the game that started the FPS genre, Doom. Doom Resurrection is billed as a totally new chapter in the Doom saga optimized just for the unique features of the iPhone and promises all the thrills, chills and action of it’s PC cousins. Does it succeed? Well, that is a loaded question…
The game definitely has the look and feel of Doom. The zombies look wrong in the right way, and the weapons ring true to the franchise. The storyline is also classic Doom. A somewhat twisted but mysterious science complex overrun by unfed zombie-demon things due to an experiment gone horribly wrong, yadda yadda yadda. You are the last survivor of a military recon team that got surprised, overwhelmed and noshed on by the monsters. Your new mission…get the hell out of there.
The main area that this game falls down is in the environment. Oh, it looks great with lots of spooky looking shadows and mysterious doors and boxes, zombies or power ups could be lurking anywhere….the only problem is you can’t explore them to find out. You are on rails, the game moves you along to the next place you should be and you can’t free roam the map. What in other Doom games are areas to interact with, easter eggs to find and stuff to break in Doom Resurrection is just set dressing. That was VERY disappointing to me. There really isn’t much to do in Doom Resurrection except to blow the crap out of whatever the game points you at….but it does that one thing very very well.
The game mechanics, specially designed for the iPhone, work well, with fire/reload/change weapon controls in the four corners of the screen. You don’t have control over movement, but you aim the gun sight using the accelerometer, which you can recalibrate at any time. One nice touch is that to break loose from clinches with snacking zombies, you have to shake the iPhone. This system works quite admirably, but I usually prefer to have the option of using an on screen virtual D-pad rather than accelerometer to avoid stares on the bus…or at least more stares than normal
Doom Resurrection is available for 10 dollars from the AppStore. It is a very competent shooter for the iPhone, but is it worth that price? If you are into zombie blasting and shooting games or are a big Doom fan, then I would say yes, definitely. More casual gamers however might be better off using that same money for several games which may hold their interest longer.
(Screen cap credit: IGN)
First off, I would like to open by thanking Matthew Gould again for his time in helping me with this. I just got off the phone with him and he is the VP of Corporate Communications for MLB.com. One thing that he made very clear was that their goal here is to bring live baseball to as many fans as possible. This may mean live video, live audio, MLB GameDay which shows the live pitch data, box scores, etc. They really want the fans to be able to follow their favorite teams anywhere and via any device that has a plug or a battery be it a PC or Mac, iPhone or Blackberry. However, a few weeks ago I had mentioned the new streaming video features of the new At Bat updates and vented some frustration at the blackout rules.
Thanks to Matthew’s help, he has really clarified how things work and how it relates to the fans. The blackout rules, while they can be frustrating are actually there to help the fan. They are there because it ensures that baseball fans will get to see the game. I’m going to use the Cubs as an example and try to make things as simple as possible so that everybody can understand this.
The networks that have the rights to the Chicago Cubs games on TV are WGN, Comcast SportsNet, and Fox and ESPN have rights for Saturday Afternoon baseball and Sunday, Monday and Wednesday Night Baseball respectively. Those networks have signed contracts to carry the video of the games. This guarantees that the fans will see the game on TV assuming their cable/satellite company carries that network. Since the At Bat application uses Core Location to check your geographic location if you are located in an area claimed by the Cubs as part of their home market, then you cannot watch the game on your iPhone. For fans to get the Chicago Cubs games on their iPhones with the live video, all those media companies in addition to MLB, MLB.com, and WGN Radio would all have to sit down and negotiate “in market” video streaming.
2 days ago, MLB sent out a press release that announced in market streaming for New York Yankees fans. Cablevision subscribers (and ONLY Cablevision subscribers) can access live streams of the Yankees games airing on YES Network via Yankees.com, YESNetwork.com, and Optimum.net. This will not allow for in market iPhone streaming but it is small steps like this that are getting baseball in the hands of fans how and where they want it.
Getting the in game “nearly live” video highlights and the Condensed Games in the iPhone application all required MLB and MLB.com to acquire the rights to be able to get this video to the iPhone users. This is again the evolution of online baseball and they are working to help the fans as best they can.
If anybody has any questions in regards to the MLB’s rules in regards to online audio/video or any of the home market broadcasting rules please leave a comment here or find me on twitter: wyssaj01. I’ll be more than happy to pass your questions/concerns on to Matthew and get back with you.
Although it may have no wires, it is not exactly wireless…
WildCharge, manufacturer of the WildCharger Pad, is launching today its WildCharge Skins for iPhone and iPodTouch. The pad has to be plugged to a power outlet and your mobile phone equipped with the corresponding skin, the device is charged by placing it on the pad. Wildcharge recently launched its Universal Adapter that acts as a Skin and is compatible with over 150 cell phones.
The iPod Touch Skin is available now and the iPhone one will be released July 7th, both for $34.99.
Source: ubergizmo
