First there was Deer Hunter, then Deer Hunter for iPad, then Deer Hunter: African Safari and now Deer Hunter: African Safari for iPad. They do say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and that certainly appears to be the case with Glu’s popular hunting series.
If you’ve played any of the series before then you can skip the next few paragraphs as nothing has changed with the fourth in the series, however if you are new to the game read on.
As the name suggests Deer Hunter: African Safari for iPad places you in the heart of Africa with a gun in hand to bag yourself so big trophies and while there are African deer in your sights it’s the glamour animals that really catch the eye.
The main part of the game is the Safari where over three different locations you are challenged to kill a range of animals to achieve a given score. Scoring is based on the size of the animal comparative to it’s breed so going for the elephant is not always the best choice even if your instinct tells you otherwise. Points will be lost should you leave a wounded animaanon the field when the day is over.
Navigating your safari is done via your GPS, touching a location on your map or dragging your finger across the screen will move you to that destination. Should you get within range of a target the animals prints will appear on your map and if you aren’t all ready shown what the animal is you can move towards the animal prints again to see what it is. If you like the type of animal, and its size, you can select to enter the field of action, choose your location and take aim.
Once you are in the field the cross hair of your gun will appear on screen. You can control your aim by dragging your finger across the screen, not only to take aim on any given animal but also to scan the full playing area that goes beyond either side of the iPad’s screen. Once you’ve decided on which animal you are going to take down you can zoom in and use the ‘steady’ button to minimize the amount of shake. With the animal firmly in your sights you can tap the screen anywhere to fire. You can customize the control to enable a dedicated fire button but I found the ability to tap anywhere on the screen to work the best.
You have a full day to bag yourself 5 animals and should your score minus any deductions total the target score then you will unlock the next Safari. There are 12 levels to unlock in total with 4 difficulties spread over 3 locations and they will take you a while to complete thanks to the challeging nature of the scores you’ll need to beat.
As you progress you will unlock access to new weapons, accessories and skills that help you aim, shoot and remain un-detected by the animals. It’s very important as in Deer Hunter: African Safari some animals will charge to devastating effect. If you don’t want to work for your rewards you can purchase up to 3 add-on packs which will enable all the additional features from the start. To be honest though I didn’t find them necessary and got more satisfaction from unlocking the items myself.
The game looks as great as ever, not as good as on the iPhone 4 but still the African plains look great on the iPads screen and for the most part the animals look realistic too. In game menu’s are clear and easy to navigate and the sounds are appropriately authentic sounding throughout the game too.
As hunting games go I know no better, however Glu appear to be taking the easy options with these titles. Considering that the iPhone and iPad games are the same I see no reason why they shouldn’t be a universal app, if not then why not add some additional features that take advantage of the additional real estate that the iPad offers.
If you already have Deer Hunter: African Safari for your iPhone there is minimal reason to buy this version for your iPad, however if you are new to the genre and want to bag yourself some big game then you can’t go far wrong with this excellent hunting game.
$6.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Oct 28, 2010
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0
157 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu Mobile, Inc.
Rated 12+ for the following:
Frequent/Intense Realistic Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later
Paperboy has been around for a long time, I am one of the many who played it years ago on my computer. When it first came out on the iPhone I was really pleased and now with this new version by Glu it has the promise to be just how I remembered it.
Luckily the main game play has not changed. In stead they have worked on the graphics and a few nice little tweaks and features with a story mode added.
The controls are very easy to pick up. Use the forward tilt on your device to speed up and move and to move left or right tap the arrow key in the correct direction. You can if you like change it to a joypad control but I found the tilt controls much easier.
The main feature of the game is the story mode. You work your way through the many levels and each offers a different mission. The more levels you manage to complete the better your abilities become. You are going to turn into one super cool paperboy! Soon you will be throwing multiple papers like you have never done before and gaining yo-yo throwing skills.
The aim of the game is the same, deliver newspapers to your customers. Before you start the level it will show you who needs a delivery. You will score extra points if you manage to get it in to their actual mail box. That though I found quite an achievement to get at times!
As you ride along watch out for the many obstacles in your way. People, dogs, lawnmowers and trash cans. All will knock you off your bike and make you lose valuable game time. The mail boxes and gardens are all different as well so you will have to move around to deliver correctly and without breaking windows. Although in parts of the game you will get to smash some without being penalized.
The classic mode is very much like the original game play. You work your way through the day trying to deliver the papers without losing any customers along the way. The controls again work the same.
The tilt controls are the best option but at times it still felt a bit jerky. Sometimes as well when controlling the bike it didn’t look as if I was in line to hit an obstacle but I was. This only happened occasionally though and didn’t spoil the game play too much.
The updated graphics are much welcomed and it is nice to see they have still left the arcade retro style to it. A great improvement to a popular ‘80s game.
$4.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Nov 04, 2010
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0
11.3 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
Paperboy © 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAPERBOY and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. The WB SHIELD: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. © 2010 Glu Mobile Inc. All Rights Reserved. Glu and the “Gman” Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Glu Mobile Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Glu Mobile is one of, if not the most prolific game developers in the App Store and so it is with no surprise that another Glu game has landed on me to review. This time in the form of Escape from NOM a simple yet fun game where your task is to help a little blob named Alan escape from NOM!
While NOM may sound like the name of an alien planet a NOM is in fact another blob only larger than Alan with a tendency to eat him should they come into contact. This could often happen as Alan has to pass numerous NOM’s as he leaps from a ledge at the top of the screen into a pool of goo at the bottom. As well as avoiding the NOM’s Alan must also be the same color as the goo to complete the level.
You can position Alan by simple dragging and dropping him into position before tapping the button at the bottom left of the screen to start his decent. More precise positioning can also be achieved by using the wheel at the bottom of the screen.
To change Alan’s color he can bounce off of color changing discs that are either fixed in position or that can be positioned by you. As Alan falls and bounces down the screen he must avoid the NOM’s other wise you’ll have to restart the level. You only need to avoid the NOM’s that are a different color than you though so his ability to change color is as important as the chameleons if he wants to stay alive!
As you start the first of the 30 levels spread over 3 different worlds the task is completed relatively easily. However as you progress you’ll find Alan’s window of opportunities getting smaller and smaller and you’ll need to be creative in your solutions. However, you are given additional tools as you progress to help you which you can also drag, drop and rotate in to position.
While you can simply complete each level and move on, each level is also scored with a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal waiting for you should you complete the level with enough points. As you complete each level you can also replay the level in slow motion to celebrate your success.
There are a couple of annoyances, one being the continual Ads along the bottom of the screen and the other being the music that is so infectious I find myself continuing to hear hours after switching the game off!
The ads while annoying have allowed the game to be released for the very attractive price of free which is a pretty convincing argument to have them. However should you wish to play more levels after the initial 30 you will have to pay for them via in game purchases.
Also included in the game is a level editor which enables you to simply create new levels. The level editor is a simple drag and drop process and you’ll be creating simple or creatively tricky levels in next to no time.
You can also download levels created by your Facebook freinds using in game credits. You are given 5 credits to start you off so that you can download your first few levels for free. After that you’ll need to buy additional credits.
The simplicity of the game, controls, graphics and sound all combine to be an annoyingly addictive game which is difficult to put down and at a competitive price of free it’s definitely worth a look although the ability to pay to remove the ads would be a nice option.
Reviewed on an iPhone 4
Note: Glu Mobile sent us an update regarding the price change (was $2.99) of Escape from NOM. They said:
Escape from NOM was supposed to launch free, instead of $2.99, and we apologize to the customers that paid for the game. We would like to make it up to them by giving them a promocode to any Glu iPhone/iPod touch game of their choice regardless of price that is currently available on the App Store. Since we cannot contact the people who purchased it directly, we will need them to email us at press@glu.com and have them send us their iTunes receipt in return for a promocode.
Price: Free (App Storea)
Category: Games
Released:Aug 17, 2010
Version:1.0.0
Size: 10.3 MB
Language:English
Seller:Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu Mobile, Inc.
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
I was never a huge fan of time management games when I first played the original Build-A-Lot but it won me over pretty quickly and so when I found out that Glu Mobile were coming out with a sequel I was eager to find out if and how they had taken it to the next level.
If you haven’t played the original Build-A-Lot for iPhone then here’s a quick overview of what’s in store for you. You take the role of a Real Estate Agent and single handedly it’s your task to buy aBuild a nd sell homes to improve 8 unique towns and impress the town mayor.
The mayor is not easily pleased though and in addition to buying and selling homes you’ll also need to turn your hand to renovations of the homes and adding parks and a range of shops to ensure the towns curb appeal is up to standard.
The main two items that you have to balance are money and materials. Money is pretty straight forward, if you don’t have the money to buy a home you can’t buy it and if you don’t have the materials to build a house, which you need money to buy, you aren’t going to be able to build one either!
The curb-appeal factor is one of the changes from the original game while the various building types have also had an upgrade. The graphics, sound and overall game-play while solid and polished are not a million miles away from the original although this is probably more to do with the strength of the original game rather than anything lacking in Build-A-Lot 2.
The game starts with an excellent tutorial that bridges the gap of stating the obvious and leaving you to your own devices perfectly. Even after spending hours playing the original game I found that the tutorial provided a nice refresher rather than teaching me to suck eggs!
As you move through the 8 towns in in campaign mode each mayor will set you a number of challenges that need to be fulfilled before you can move and while theses challenges are relatively structured to begin with you will soon be left to your own devices and that is where the game really comes into it’s own as you are left to make decisions as two whether to build a new Villa, upgrade your parks or add some shops to your town.
As you complete the levels in campaign mode you unlock them to play in casual mode where the goal is simply to fulfill two goals as quickly as possible and those are to reach a certain curb appeal and a given level of money.
While this adds some longevity to the game the lacking of any scoring system or leader boards will limit the urge to come back again and again once you’ve played through the two available modes.
Build-A-Lot 2 – Town of the Year feels more like a 1.5 version rather than a full sequel. However, those who liked the original Build-A-Lot will certainly enjoy this follow-up, just that it’s a little lacking on any major new features that takes it to a whole new level.
Price: $4.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Updated: Jul 16, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.1
1.0.1 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 19.1 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
Copyright © 2010, HipSoft LLC
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later.
One of the best hunting games on the iPhone/iPod touch has now ported its way over to the iPad in the form of Deer Hunter 3D for the iPad and it works even better on the iPad than on it’s smaller predecessor.
The first thing you’ll probably notice is the price tag which is a significant increase on the version for the iPads version. The iPhone/iPod touch versions are currently available for 99 cents while the iPad version will cost you a whopping $9.99.
That’s ok though as surly for that price extra features will have been included to take advantage of the iPads extra real estate. Well, that would be a legitimate thought but unfortunately it’s not the case as the only difference are the slightly enhanced graphics.
For those of you that haven’t played Deer Hunter 3D before the premise is pretty simple, as you’ll find yourself immersed in a realistic hunting sim through different 3D environments across 4 different countries.
The four different environments are beautifully drawn and represent their respective areas perfectly. You’ll start in the American Midwest and successfully completing those hunts will move you onto Northern Europe. From there you’ll move onto Western Russia and finally Northern Mexico.
The animals across the 4 locations a predominately the same with deer, moose, bear and turkey often presenting themselves to be shot by your range of guns. Each level, weapon and difficulty level is unlocked based on your success in the earlier levels but in addition you can also buy various equipment packs in the weapon store via in app purchases.
These additional items include laser sites, skill increases and an elephant gun but while these additional items can make the game easier and add features to the game they are necessary to complete the game.
Playing the game is relatively simple. You are initially provided with a GPS view of the hunting landscape and you can move around the map by dragging and dropping your location marker. As you move around the map you will either stumble across animals or their tracks will and you can head towards them.
When you do find a suitable target you will then be transferred to a 3D view of the location with the cross hairs of your selected weapon in the center of the screen and the sometimes multiple animals wanderering happily arround the scene.
Moving your sights is as simple as dragging your finger across the screen and as the scene extends beyond the iPads screen when you move towards the edge of the screen the view will pan arround accordingly.
With your sights set on your target of choice you can zoom in on your target, presuming that you have unlocked the scope and that you have a weapon that can use it. Clicking the scope button on the edge of the screen will enable it and you can then set your level of zoom by rotating it directly on the scene.
All this is very intuitive which it needs to be as if you take too long the animals will sense your presence and make a run for it, just as the other animals will after you’ve taken your first shot.
To complete each level you have to accumulate a given number of points and these are awarded based on the size of the animal you kill and you accuracy so while you may be excited to shoot a turkey it’s not going to award you many points so it may be worth while moving to a different location for a larger target.
In addition to the main story mode there is a Quick Game mode where you are thrown into a hunting scene with the aim of simple killing as many animals as possible. All of your successes are also tracked via your profile and your best kills are also added to your trophy room where not only can you see the details of the kill but also where the bullet entered and exited the animal!
The only things missing are the ability to compare your best scores online and no multi-player options which would have made an already great game even better!
The attention to detail in Deer Hunter 3D for iPad sets this title a part from other hunting titles and will provide many hours of entertainment. The one down side especially for those that already have the title for the iPhone/iPod Touch is whether or not it’s worth $9.99, that decision is up to you.
Price: $9.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Released: Jul 08, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 113 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu Mobile Inc
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later.
Which Glu game will you buying during this price drop? Let us know in the comments.
]]> https://touchreviews.net/glu-mobile-memorial-day-99-cent-sale-extravaganza/feed/ 0Glu have just released another game to their ever growing list of iPhone / iPod touch titles and it looks to me like they are attempting to take some of Doodle Jumps glory with Jump O’Clock.
The story line of Jump O’Clock is that you take the role of LE0 a tiny robot like daredevil who while working for a young shopkeeper hears a voice calling name from the top of a tall clock tower and using the skills that he has fine tuned at a nearby circus. And that’s where all the fun begins!
While the back story is fun it takes little or no part in the game itself, it’s just clock climbing action all the way.
There are two game modes the main game is a simple race to the top of the clock tower while there is the challenge mode where you can show your jumping prowess over a range of 5 different challenges.
The game is simple to play, LE0 starts at the bottom of the clock tower and a simple touch of the screen will see LE0 leap up the tower. Unlike other similar games where the lead character jumps from platform to platform in Jump O’Clock LE0 jumps from spinning cog to spinning cog meaning that timing is more important than ever.
Cogs are randomly placed across the clock tower making every game different and the cogs range from tiny spinning cogs to larger slowly moving cogs swinging back and fourth. Adding to the challenge are electrical cogs which will spark and shoot you off if you hang around on it too long and sharp toothed cogs which restrict the landing area and will see you falling back down the clock tower should you land on one.
Placed around some of the cogs are bolts and bolts are like sweet nectar to LE0 for when he has collected enough of them he will be able to super jump up the clock tower fast forwarding past everything.
Get LE0 as high as you can and post your high score to the OpenFeint leader boards to see how good you are compared to your friends and other players around the world.
There are also 15 achievements to unlock via OpenFeint and these are like to the challenge mode of the game where there are three levels of challenges across 3 different challenge types.
All of the challenges are height based and either require you to climb a certain distance in a given amount of time or climb a certain height without use the walls or super jumps. They add a nice variety to the game and it’s where I found myself playing most of the time.
It’s a little disappointing that there are no local leader boards or high scores so that you can immediately see how far you are from your highest climb and I would have liked to have seen some form of multi player option too where you can race up the clock over local wi-fi or Bluetooth but maybe we’ll see that in a future update if we’re lucky!
Glu Mobile have added their usual level of quality to and class to Jump O’Clock from the polished in game graphics and menus to the addictive quality of the game play, it’s all here and Glu have another hit on their hands. It doesn’t quite have the natural flair of Doodle Jump but it still oozes quality through and through.
Pros
Cons
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Category: Games
Released: May 20, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Size: 13.4 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu Mobile
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later.
We just received an update from Glu Mobile (GLUU) about another ‘limited time’ price drop of their award winning music-making puzzle game called ‘Beat It!’
Beat It! is a fresh take on music games. Part beat machine, part rhythm (re)creation, totally addictive fun!
Beat It! is now free for limited time, visit iTunes Store and download this addictive free iPhone game.
Don’t forget to follow Glu Mobile on Twitter!
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We recently received an update from Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU) regarding the price drop of one of its most popular and entertaining 3D golf games called Mini Golf Wacky Worlds.
We reviewed this title last year and the game was awarded 4 stars. From the review:
Mini Golf Wacky Worlds is presented in full 3D with multiple camera angles to choose from, the wacky worlds do look great.
The critically acclaimed paid version of Mini Golf Wacky Worlds for iPhone and iPod touch is now available for free.
Get this wacky game today [iTunes Store] and let us know what you think about it in the comments section.
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Glyder 2 for iPad [rating: 5/5]
Glu have produced many great apps but one of their best and most successful franchises has been Glyder. So far there have been 3 incarnations, the original Glyder, Glyder 2 and the Glyder inspired How to Train Your Dragon, all reviewed here on touchreviews.net and all received high scores. Well now hot on the heels on the launch of the iPad Glu have released an enhanced version of Glyder 2 specifically for it.
I already reviewed all the previous version of Glyder and so while I can offer a good comparison of them all the fact that I rated the other three so highly may suggest that it’s a foregone conclusion that Glyder 2 for the iPad may also get a high score regardless of it’s conversion. Well iPad apps that are converted from iPhone/iPod Touch apps will only get high scores if they offer something new and take advantage of the extra real estate and power that the iPad offers. So how does Glyder 2 for the iPad shape up?
The first thing that you’ll notice if you fork out another $5 on this version of Glyder 2 will be the enhanced graphics. The 6 islands sparkle with their new hi-resolution graphics. The depth of each island is great, the textures are smoother and the environments are more detailed enhancing the overall pleasure of gliding around them. While there are no additional worlds to explore in Glyder 2 for iPad but as previously mentioned they do look much better.
An additional control method has been added which means that instead of using the accelerometer you can use you finger on the screen to control Eryn’s position. Now it may be that I’m used to the controls by playing the other three version of the game but I didn’t find the touch controls anywhere near as intuitive as the original method. Players who are new to the game though may like having a choice of controls.
There are also two new features to help you find your way around the islands. Firstly the global map not only show’s you all the islands as it has previously done but now also shows your relative location. While the 3D world viewer shows each island in glorious 3D and high-lights places of interest and crystals making it easier to find those last few elusive items.
If you are a fan of the Glyder series and have upgraded to an iPad then another 5 dollars on Glyder 2 will not be wasted and even if you’ve completed the game before you will still take pleasure in completing it again in it’s updated incarnation.
If you haven’t played Glyder 2 before then this is the perfect opportunity to delve into the beautiful world that Eryn has made it’s own.
As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and with Glyder 2 for the iPad Glu Mobile have done that and more.
The Good
The Not So Good
Price: $4.99 (iTunes Store Preview)
Released: Apr 01, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.0
Size: 96.5 MB
Language: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu Mobile, Inc.
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.
Games with movie tie-ins have not really been massively successful on any platform and the same applies to the iPhone/iPod Touch. If anyone is going to buck that trend though you would expect it to be Glu who have just released How to Train Your Dragon: Flight of the Night Fury from the movie of the same name which will be released on March 26th. If you want to get a jump on the movie read on to find out whether it’s worth your hard earned cash.
You take the role of Hiccup, yes you heard me Hiccup, a Viking warrior in training and after befriending dragon, and in the game your task is to fly your dragon around the 3 worlds collecting everything in your site. If this sounds familiar to you then you’ve probably played either Glyder or Glyder 2 also by Glu as this is pretty much the same title with a new skin. The new skin does look good however and the cut scenes are all pulled directly from the movie itself including the characters and backdrops.
In game though the graphics are very similar just with a new coat of paint and while the islands are relatively simple by design, some may say even boring, they do look good as you fly around them and the simplicity of the design helps you pick out the collectable items as they don’t become blended in with details backdrops.
If you’ve played Glyder or Glyder 2 before you will be perfectly at home with both the controls and the game play of How to Train Your Dragon. The aim of the game is to fly your dragon around the 3 islands collecting items. You do this via the use of the accelerometer, tilting left and right will steer your dragon in those directions while tilting back or toward you will control your dragons height. This is one major difference between How to Train Your Dragon and the Glyder games in that you don’t have to be worried about thermals to gain height or worry about stalling and therefore makes this game more accessible to younger players.
At first I found that controlling the dragons flight was a little tricky and he was not as responsive as I’d hoped. However on completion of the first task, flying from point a to point b through a variety of hoop check-points all was to be revealed as you can enhance your ride by collecting different artefacts around the island. That being said the controls are simple enough that you can even fly your beast single handedly if required.
Before setting off any of your flights you can survey the island by dragging your finger across the screen, this is helpful in planning your journey and should prevent too much pointless flying around as you search for any of the 190 Collectables that are situated across the 3 worlds.
While there is still a need to fly around looking for the various collectables the game offers including Blaze Beetles and Fire Moths there is also a storyline to follow to that will take you all around the islands helping you build your dragon into the ultimate flying & fighting machine. Although it has to be said that if you are expecting battles as in the movie you will be disappointed.
How to Train Your Dragon is a sedate game, easy to control and somewhat relaxing too. If you are looking for a challenge with lots of action and adventure you’ve come to the wrong place but that’s no bad thing. As you travel seamlessly between the 3 islands completing your challenges and unlocking the 27 achievements you’ll we be surprised as to where the time goes.
You’ll find plenty to do across the three islands and while the game comprises of flying to check points or collecting various objects I found that it never became boring and was a nice distractions from the frantic action of some of the other games I’ve been playing recently.
If you’re looking for something a little bit different then How to Train Your Dragon may be just the game for you and if you liked Glyder and Glyder 2 the additional features in How to Train Your Dragon should keep you going until Glyder 3 comes out!
The Good
The Not So Good
Gameplay
Price: $2.99 (iTunes Store Preview)
Released: Mar 10, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Size: 21.9 MB
Languages: English
Seller: Glu Games Inc
© 2010 Glu mobile.
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later.
Earlier this week we reported that Palm had announced a public beta version of the Palm® webOS™ Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) as available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). This enhancement to the current SDK allows developers to target high-performance 3D graphics and native ARM code. Something that I and many other developers had pointed out to Palm was sorely missing from their development system.
Palm is demonstrating a fairly healthy batch of new games at it’s booth at GDC this week. I’ll be checking the SDK out in coming weeks and will report back on my findings.
At CES in January, Palm introduced 12 games built by four leading developers with early access to the PDK:
• “Asphalt 5” (Gameloft)
• “Brain Challenge®” (Gameloft)
• “Glyder 2” (Glu Mobile)
• “Let’s Golf!” (Gameloft)
• “MONOPOLY” (EA Mobile™)
• “Need for Speed™ Undercover” (EA Mobile)
• “SCRABBLE” (EA Mobile)
• “Sudoku” (EA Mobile)
• “Tetris®” (EA Mobile)
• “The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)
• “The Sims™ 3” (EA Mobile)
• “X-Plane” (Laminar Research)
Since then, more than 20 exciting webOS titles have been launched by these early-access developers:
• “Apollo” (Laminar Research)
• “Assassin’s Creed™ – Altair’s Chronicles” (Gameloft)
• “Brothers In Arms®: Hour of Heroes” (Gameloft)
• “Castle of Magic” (Gameloft)
• “Deer Hunter 3D” (Glu Mobile)
• “Dungeon Hunter” (Gameloft)
• “Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)
• “Gangstar: West Coast Hustle” (Gameloft)
• “Giant Fighting Robots” (Laminar Research)
• “Guitar Hero 5 Mobile” (Glu Mobile)
• “Hero of Sparta” (Gameloft)
• “Real Soccer 2010” (Gameloft)
• “Real Tennis” (Gameloft)
• “World Series of Poker: Hold’em Legend” (Glu Mobile)
• “X-Plane Airliner” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Carrier” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Extreme” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Glider” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Helicopter” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Racing” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Space Shuttle” (Laminar Research)
This batch of titles far outstrips anything that Microsoft have been able to pull together for it’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series. We reported on their rather lacklustre and frighteningly small list of titles in development this week. The number of titles Palm already has bears out the advantage I mentioned of going with an API in OpenGL ES which is already being used by thousands of developers world-wide.
There is little doubt that Microsoft will catch up, or that quite a few of those titles above are being made by developers who are already working with Microsoft, most likely on ports. And there is also little doubt that Apple and the iPhone will still lead the way in terms of diversity of entertainment titles. But this is heartening news from Palm. I think for some time we’ll see titles appearing on iPhones, Android and Palm before they do on Windows 7.
]]> https://touchreviews.net/palm-announces-20-new-game-titles-at-gdc-2010/feed/ 0Roll out with the TRANSFORMERS and battle the DECEPTICONS in the classic 1st Generation TV series universe!
TRANSFORMERS G1 Awakening iPhone/iPod Touch – Preview Trailer
]]> https://touchreviews.net/transformers-g1-awakening-iphone-preview/feed/ 0Bookmark this page for more info as we find out more about this title!
Screenshot
Glyder 2 [rating: 5/5]
Back in April this year we reviewed Glyder and rated it 4.5/5 sure fire hit and ever since then it’s been a regular on this reviewers iPod touch so when I heard that glu mobile were working on a follow-up, imaginatively titled Glyder 2, I was eager to see how they have made a great game even better.
For those of you that haven’t played the original, Glyder is a relaxing game where your task is to fly the female lead character around the various environments collecting crystals and completing tasks. In summary Glyder 2 does more of the same just bigger and better.
There are 7 worlds/islands to complete in this new release and all of them appear bigger and more polished than it’s earlier counterpart. The controls are the same also and this means for the thousands of players that are already familiar with the original will be able to pick up and play with immediate results. Even those of you checking the game out for the first time will find picking up the controls relatively easily and before long will find themselves gliding, diving, swooping and sailing around the islands.
When starting the game you’ll only have access to the first island named Arctasia, which as the name suggests is an icy landscape of high peaks and cold, cold tunnels. The other 6 islands are opened up by completing tasks within the previous islands. The main method for this is by collecting the differently colored jewels from around island. The jewels are easily located and can be simply reached by using a combination of your flying skills and good utilization of the thermals that will take you from a potential close shave with the ground or sea to the high reaches of the island and the tree top jewels found at the top of the stratosphere.
The final few jewels on each level are usually cleverly located making reaching them trickier than the rest, a tight crevice or narrow tunnel can see the early demise of even the most talented pilot. However, the game is so enjoyable to play even the frustrations of those few hard to get jewels will keep you coming back for more.
Also making a return from the original are the point to point races. Throughout the levels platforms are located and landing on an A platform will start you off with the opportunity to race against the clock to point B. Finding your way to point B is simply achieved by following the brightly colored rings that act as checkpoints along the route, changing from blue to yellow to signify the next ring to go through. This makes for a great challenge and helps you to see parts of the islands that you may not have even been to before.
Whether you are simply looking to collect jewels or are competing in one of the point to point races you also get the opportunity to to unlock customizations to your Eryn’s wings and clothes that not only change the way your character appears but also how they fly with the ability to change your characters speed, lift, power, turn stall and dive. This is a nice addition to the game both from an graphical aspect and to a lesser point the changes it makes to the flight of your character.
The changes to your character will also open different areas for you to access meaning that you have reason to return to previously completed levels to access areas not previously open to you and your character Eryn.
The music as you glide around the island is effortlessly beautifully and is a wonderful accompaniment to the game-play with the the sound effects of Eryn’s wings as you fly about adding to the overall feel of the game.
Even after you’ve unlocked all of the islands there will still be much more for you to do and Glyder 2 should keep you entertained and coming back for more for months to come. In the words of the 4 Non-Blondes, Glyder 2 is Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
Price: $3.99 (iTunes Link)
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed by: @CraigWillis
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Taxi Fight [rating: 3.5/5]
It seems that most iPhone/iPod touch application developers these days must travel to work by taxi as it appears that there is a plethora of taxi based games out there. Both Taxi Jam and Fare City have received high praise over recent months and now Glu Mobile are jumping on the band wagon with their taxi related game Taxi Fight.
The premise in Taxi Flight is similar to the other previously mentioned titles where the aim of the game is to complete as many fares as you can. The difference this time is that you are in control of the passengers not the taxi’s.
The playing area is a top down view of a couple of blocks of city and immediately there will be passengers waiting to be directed to the many taxis that are roaming the city. There are three passengers types for you to control, businessman, old man and lazy tourist and directing them to a cab is a simple task of dragging them to an available taxi.
You start with just the businessmen who will run towards the cabs when instructed and in order for them to jump into the taxi you simply need to direct them to stand in front of them, however the taxi’s won’t stop and wait so placing your passengers strategically in the path of the available taxi’s is the key to this game and taking notice of the traffic lights. The indicators on each cab will help you place your passengers accordingly.
Placing your passengers randomly in the street will not be a usable solution to racking up big points though as while empty taxis, signified by a glowing blue light, will pick up a passenger that is standing in their way a taxi which is already carrying a passenger to his destination will simply run over your passenger and kill him!
Taxi Flight is not a forgiving game and one dead passenger will mean game over.
As you progress and more of you passengers get ferried to their destinations the number of taxi’s will increase along with the difficulty level of trying to maintain a safe environment for your passengers. To add to this the other passengers begin to be introduced to the game and both the old man and lazy tourist aren’t as fluid in their movement as the businessman. This means that you will need to keep an even more keen eye on their proximity to those occupied cab’s with a death wish.
That’s as simple as it gets, last for as long as you can before any passenger gets killed and try to beat your previous score. Talking of scores Taxi Fight is only a single player game and the high score table is local.
The environment looks nice, as you would expect from Glu, however the controls can be a little frustrating as the passengers will sometimes get caught behind a traffic light and while you may drag a passenger directly to a cab he will stop mid-way and unless you notice it and drag him again he will stay where he is missing his taxi and potentially taking a head on shot from another taxi.
That being said at $99 it’s another quality little app from Glu and with the potential of additional content being released in the future you could be picking up a bargain.
Price: $.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: @CraigWillis
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World Series of Poker Hold em Legend Mobile Game
World Series of Poker – Hold ‘Em [rating: 4.5/5]
Texas Hold ‘Em Poker is the most popular of the poker varieties across America, Europe and of course online. It’s easy to pick up but as in all classic games it is difficult to master. However now you can learn to play or feed your addiction via this latest addition to the iPhone/iPod touch App Store, World Series of Poker – Hold ‘Em.
There are two huge poker tournaments that use this form of the game, World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the World Poker Tour (WPT) and it is from the former that this title takes its name.
Knowing that the game is from Glu mobile, the makers of Deer Hunter 3D, Glyder, Super KO Boxing 2 and Build-a-lot to name but a few, it’s no surprise that first moment you launch the game the app oozes quality and class. The game starts with a video to set the scene of the poker tournament, all glitz and glamor around the poker tables of Las Vegas and this quality continues through-out the application from the in game menu’s to the game itself.
The game play itself is the same whether you are playing a quick cash game, career mode or multi-player over the internet or via Bluetooth and you’ll find yourself looking down on the poker table with 8 opponents. Depending on which mode you have chosen the opponents will either be computer opponents or live people.
If you know the rules of poker, and specifically Texas Hold ‘Em, the game is easy to play. You can drag and drop you cards and click directly on your pile of chips to raise the steaks when you feel you have a good hand. When you are initially dealt your hand a guide will show you how strong your cards are helping you decide how much to bet or if you should fold.
As the subsequent cards are dealt this guide will update accordingly, keeping you up to date on the strength of your hand at all times. The computer controlled players will also give ‘tells’ that will suggest to you whether or not they are holding a strong or weak hand. These ‘tells’ must be used with caution as just like in the real world the ‘tells’ aren’t always as they seem.
The single player options will keep you going for hours especially the career mode where you aim to earn/win as much money as possible moving from city too city while unlocking achievements. But it’s the online multi-player mode that could lose you many hours as you attempt to climb the global leaderboards and test you guile against real people.
The real people that you get to play against are selected randomly and there is no option to select who you wish to play against. The online mode is time based so you’ll only have 30 seconds to make your move which ensures the game keeps moving and in my playing there has never been a shortage of players to make the numbers at the table. It would be nice also if it was possible to boast about your wins via Twitter or Facebook but that’s not possible either.
At $6.99 World Series of Poker – Hold ‘Em is at the high end of app price market, however the quality that Glu have put into this application makes it worth it. If you are looking for a high quality poker app that will keep you entertained (or addicted) then this is the one for you.
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
]]> https://touchreviews.net/world-series-of-poker-hold-em-legend-iphone-game/feed/ 1Glyder 2 will add customization options and new open environments to explore.
Enjoy the first screenshots!
Glyder 2 iPhone_4
Glyder 2 iPhone_3
Glyder 2 iPhone_2
Glyder 2 iPhone Customization
Glyder 2 iPhone
Super KO Boxing 2 iPhone
Super KO Boxing 2 [rating: 4.5/5]
Some things stand out more than others in certain games and in Super KO Boxing 2 that is no different. The specific item that stands out in SKOB2 (Super KO Boxing 2) are the bright, bold, colorful graphics that explode off the screen with such power you would have thought that you’d been punched in the face! Having said that, though there are many, many titles that look great but fall down in other areas and make them nothing more than eye-candy, so is SKOB2 all glamour and no substance?
SKOB2 takes the queensbury rules of boxing and provides you with 12 opponents to test them against. You play as the K.O. Kidd a young, good looking boxer who attempts to keep his good looks by boxing his way through 17 bouts to become the world champion.
The game is played from the perspective of the K.O. Kidd as he faces his opponents. His opponents range from the sublime to the ridiculous and includes characters such as the Big Gip, El Bulli and 15 cent and all 12 opponents have distinct look, style and skills. Your opponents personalities fill the screen and you’ll need to study the tactics of each one if you are going to make it to be the World Champion.
Opponents can be beaten simply by button bashing but as you progress you need to learn which combination of punches will be the key to defeating them. Controls are relatively simple and you’ll soon be a master of the combinations if not the World Champion! The buttons on the left of the screen control movement and defense while the right hand buttons control the punches. The controls are simple, effective and very responsive which in a game of fast reactions is very important. The punches hit with real force, so much so that you can feel it with some Kapow, Bash, Boom style graphics, a la the original Batman T.V. show.
You have 3 rounds of two minutes to defeat your opponents and while you should be able to beat the first few without being knocked out yourself it’s inevitable that you will be at some point and it’s nice that you have control over your recovery too. As the 10 count is made you have to time touching the screen, get it right and you’ll recover to climb off of the canvas to continue your assault.
As you move through the opponents they become unlocked for Versus and Challenge mode. Challenge mode specifically adds more content to the game by setting certain requirement on 16 fights such as winning in a certain number of rounds or that you must win by a TKO and this can be particularly challenging and will require a few attempts before you are successful.
The sound and animations add to the overall quality and feel of the game, although while each boxers unique posturing before each round looks great it does get a little tiresome when all you want to do is to lay some smack down on them.
The major downfall for the app, especially considering that it’s a sports app that is between two participants is the lack of a multi player mode of any type. That being said Glu mobile does promise additional opponents and a game mode in future free updates so perhaps the multi-player option will be covered then.
SKOB2 is another release from Glu mobile who seem to produce winners every time and this is no different. Even with the lack of a multi-player mode this is a quality boxing game and will be a welcome addition to anyones iPhone/iPod touch.
Price: $4.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
Super K.O. Boxing 2: The Hood, The Mad, And The Fugly
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[rating: 4/5]
Picking up the Transformers Cybertoy is going to be an automatic purchase for all Transformers fans.
ACTION FIGURE MODE:
Play sounds, execute poses, and fire weapons by tapping virtual buttons in robot or vehicle formPUZZLE MODE:
Transform from robot to vehicle and back as quickly as possible through a series of taps, touches, drags, and swipesVIEW TECH SPECS of each mighty Transformer and their history.
MORE TRANSFORMERS! Watch for OPTIMUS PRIME, MEGATRON, and STARSCREAM coming soon.
After launching the cybertoy, (it can’t truly be called a game), you are presented with Bumblebee, the first and more importantly only Transformer available. More are going to be released as updates. Bumblebee stands tall and impressive taking up the whole of the screen. Touch the interactive parts of Bumbleebee will enable individual parts of him to transform including the ability to fire his weapons. The animation and sounds are nicely done and you get a real sense of the power beneath the metal.
There are a range of 4 poses that you can choose from and in any of the poses you can rotate Bumblebee to get a full 360 view. The final view is the car to which Bumblebee transforms into and clicking on it allows you to view the transformation and then allow you to interact with the car, all be it only the ability to turn on and off the cars lights and beep the horn.
Returning to the main menu you have the option of Puzzle Mode. This is where the game element of the Cybertoy comes in and it can be quite fun and challenging after the first few levels at least. The aim of the puzzle to to transform Bumblebee from robot to car and from car to robot in the quickest time possible by touching the screen in the appropriate places. The touches can range from simple combo touches and touch and drag to the more complex puzzle combos. The variety and difficulty level increases with each level and although I was able to complete all five levels in less than 30 minutes it was a fun and challenging 30 minutes.
Technical specs of Bumblebee are also included and also a link to a trailer, however that link only takes you to a broken YouTube link which is a little sloppy.
All in all fans of Transformers will enjoy this app.
Price $.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: CraigWillis
TRANSFORMERS™ CyberToy Screenshots
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glu mobile is giving away 4 promotional codes to download the TRANSFORMERS CyberToy application for free!
How to enter?
Enter the trivia contest by posting your answers on glu mobile’s Facebook wall. There will be one different trivia question posted each day, starting Monday, June 22 and ending Thursday, June 25. At the end of each day, all the respondents with the correct answer will be tallied and tracked and then entered into a random drawing. The winners of each day’s drawing will be notified by Friday, June 26 and emailed their promotional code.
Check glu mobile’s Facebook wall to find out who Won!
Question of the Day!
(Post your answers on glu mobile’s Facebook wall)
(June 25)
Which original 1984 Autobot action figure was the only figure still being shipped in 1986?
(June 24)
In the Generation 1 cartoon, Soundwave was the Decepticon communications TRANSFORMER and also had the ability to hold several small allies (cassette tapes). Name 4 of his small allies and what they transformed into.
(June 23)
In the TRANSFORMERS Generation 1 cartoon, what was the origin of Optimus Prime? (be as specific as possible)
(June 22)
In the TRANSFORMERS Generation 1 cartoon, before becoming leader of the Autobots, what was Optimus Prime’s original name?
TRANSFORMERS™ CyberToy
The first TRANSFORMERS digital action figure is here. Touch, swipe and drag BUMBLEBEE to change him from vehicle mode to robot and back again. View stats and history or position him into several action poses. Bumblebee is the first figure included in this entertainment application and future updates will include more AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS to add to the collection. All characters are taken from the upcoming feature film TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, due out June 24th.
ACTION FIGURE MODE Play sounds, execute poses, and fire weapons by tapping virtual buttons in robot or vehicle form
PUZZLE MODE: Transform from robot to vehicle and back as quickly as possible through a series of taps, touches, drags, and swipes
VIEW TECH SPECS of each mighty Transformer and their history.
MORE TRANSFORMERS! Watch for OPTIMUS PRIME, MEGATRON, and STARSCREAM coming soon.
Price $.99
TRANSFORMERS™ CyberToy Screenshots
This contest is now Closed.
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Build-a-lot
Build-a-lot is an exceptionally well built game for all who love real estate development simulation games!
Glyder
With stunning visuals and fantastic gameplay, you cannot go wrong with Glyder!
Promo Codes Giveaway
We have 5 Promo Codes for Build-a-lot and 5 for Glyder. You must complete 1. and 2. to qualify for giveaway. Leave your Facebook & twitter username in the comments.
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