It’s a fairly big week in the app store for game releases. Maybe the developers and Apple are teaming up to scare us reviewers (get it, Halloween… I thought it was clever) into working overtime to get all these reviews done. Just to name a few of them, we now have Doom Classic, Command and Conquer, Eliminate, NBA Live (last week), Asphalt 5, and Alice in Bomberland running wild in the app store, most of which are just dying for a review.

Productivity, Lost

I must say that working for an app review website is just about the best thing ever, but there is a major drawback. The reason half of the apps were made was to completely wipe out productivity. Some of the apps that are self proclaimed ‘master time wasters’ are in fact master time wasters. Every once in a while I’ll download something, you know, for work, and it’ll just decimate my productivity. This time, the culprit is ‘Words With Friends’, a Scrabble-like game that takes me back to my days of playing Scrabulous on Facebook. The game is paced however fast you and your opponent choose to play, and you get a handy push notification when it’s your turn.

If you ever want to play, my SN is chris148apps. Let’s make a pact though that if you beat me, you won’t tell too many people… I have a reputation to maintain!

Words With Friends

Our Rating: :: ADDICTING

Category: Games / Word
Released: 2009-07-19
Price: $2.99

There will be a new iPhone… shocker

I love reading Apple rumors, and today I found one that blew me away (brace for it). There may be a new iPhone sometime in 2010. Over at Gizmodo, they have pictures, from a seemingly reputable source, of what they are calling the ‘iPhone 4 Generation Midboard’.

Does anyone else see that Verizon logo in the bottom of the left panel? No? Am I just trying to start something?

My US pride is hurt
ngmoco:), the only company happy enough to put a smiley face in their name, made me quite sad last week. While waiting for Eliminate to grace my iPhone, I discovered that the Canadians… CANADIANS!!!(????)… got the game first. What, first the Winter Olympics, now Eliminate? What’s next… more new games, the iPhone, the next Taco Bell taco?

They can't have it!

Worried about the devs
I’ve talked to quite a few developers in my time, and they all seem to have a similar concern. They are just not sure how they are going to make any money in the app store without breaking into the top 100 apps, and even then are worried that the 99 cent pricing structure ruins their chance to make any money at all. After taking a look at the top grossing apps in the App Store, I can see why they are concerned. Only one app in the top 20 is made by an ‘indie’ dev, and the game, Pocket Devil, is just a knock off of Pocket God. Maybe EA’s $9.99 price scheme is really the way to go, as they have 9 of the 20 top grossing games out there.

This weeks sign of the apocolypse
There are so many fantastic apps in the App Store, but while digging through the list of top grossing apps, I found that the 28th app on the list is ‘Truth or Dare – 18+’. This makes me sad.

Truth or Dare - 18+

Category: Entertainment
Released: 2009-09-25
Price: $1.99

ngmoco:)’s hotly anticipated titles, Touch Pets: Dogs and Eliminate, have finally made their way past Apple’s approval process. For those who don’t know, Touch Pets is a pet sim that focuses on raising and training “the ultimate puppy” and also includes a wide array of social features. Eliminate, meanwhile, is a multiplayer online first person shooter. Both games will be free (yes, you read that right!) but will feature In-App Purchases. Note that IAP’s won’t be necessary to play the game; you’ll just need them to unlock extras. With Eliminate, for example, you get to play a certain number of games per day before your “energy” runs out; you can play without energy but you won’t be able to earn any in-game credits.

While both apps are approved, don’t get too excited: ngmoco is doing a Canada-only release first, to make sure that “all Eliminate systems are online and all puppies are house broken before unleashing upon the world,” according to their tweet. It’s an interesting strategy that will have non-Canadian fans grumbling, but given that ngmoco is releasing two extremely hyped games with heavy online components at once, it makes sense. Once the games make their USA debut, we’ll post our reviews; for now, you can check out our preview coverage from earlier this month.

Update: Eliminate is now out worldwide. Make sure you grab it! It generally takes a few hours for new apps to show up in the App Store, so don’t worry if you can’t see it yet.

Canadians can get Touch Pets here, though the rest of the world is still waiting.

With geoDefense Swarm being my current favorite game in the App Store, I decided that it would be fun to post a complete solutions guide to all of the levels (that can be beat, I omitted the endless levels) on our forum. Two weeks and countless angry moments of defeat later, my guide is finally finished, sitting on the forum for all to enjoy. Here is the link!

Now that it’s done, I feel that my life is an empty void… I need another game to post a walkthrough for. Leave me some ideas in either the comments section or in the forum.

On November 28th 2008 Apple hit a landmark for their iPhone App Store. They reached 10,000 approved applications for their device. Less then a year later, Apple has hit another landmark in approving their 100,000th app. This number is mind boggling when you think about the amount of development man hours that have gone into it.

Recently I’ve read some other saddening numbers in that some developers are seeing piracy rates of upwards of 90% on their applications. I firmly believe that Apple’s recent move to allow developers to sell in game purchases in their free apps is a direct response to the massive pirating we see going on. If developers, publishers, startups and the like are going to make money consistently on the device in a complete sea of pirates and the race to $0.99 they are going to do start thinking and doing things completely differently. A lot of people are starting to expect a lot of game for almost no money. The problem is very few companies can exist by merely selling their app for such a low price, but then you’ll almost never get noticed if you price yourself higher. It is definitely a catch 22 for many devs. What I see happening in this space is that the devs who take the model of giving their game away for free and then convincing me to go farther by spending $0.99 or $1.99 will more likely succeed. The other approach is to lock people out of the game based on a timed events similar to how iMob does it. There may even be a 3rd or 4th solution to this problem that has yet to emerge.

This flood of apps will not stop, and some analysts are saying that we’ll see 250,000 applications by this time next year and that number may even be low if we look at the growth pattern over the last year and half. Crazy as it sounds, I think this is just the tip of the iceberg that will be the app store. Everyone will be developing stuff for the iPhone. At some point, Apple will be changing it’s slogan to “There are 100 apps for that” as extreme over saturation hits in all areas. Even Adobe is releasing a Flash game converter that allows you to make your Flash game into an app and with that every Flash game will get converted in no time.

It’s going to be interesting where the store goes from here. I don’t think Apple, even in their wildest dreams, expected such a large community surrounding their store to grow so quickly. I really hope we’ll see a revamp for the store soon. The sea of apps is expanding at an insane pace, and it’s current form doesn’t really do the enormity of it justice.

It’s an interesting community to watch grow, and right now the growing pains are there but in the end I think all this innovation is amazing and reminds me of some of the early days of the internet. We’ll be watching all of this closely at 148apps, and will keep you up to do date on the trends and changing atmosphere of the store as best we can.

EA is looking to release three classic board games in time for the holiday season: Battleship, Connect 4, Monopoly Classic.

Battleship

EA will bring a few twists to the classic game of skillful coordinate guessing. You’ll use touchscreen controls to battle your enemies in three different modes – classic, salvo, and super weapons. Not wanting to miss out on the social aspect of the game, EA has included local multiplayer (both bluetooth and Wifi).

Connect 4

While EA couldn’t quite recreate the joy of pulling the lever at the bottom of the board and watching all of the pieces crash to the ground, Connect 4 will nonetheless be a faithful recreation of the timeless game. Connect 4 will contain single player and multiplayer (local Wifi, bluetooth, and one device sharing). Single player includes classic, challenge, and advanced modes with Powerchips, Max Score, and PopOut. In addition, EA has included 25 unlockable achievements and some fancy visual effects.

Monopoly Classic

While EA has already released Monopoly: Here & Now onto the App Store, they will provide a more traditional experience with Monopoly Classic. Because the cutthroat intensity of property management doesn’t quite transfer over to single player mode, you’ll be able to play your friends on the go with local Wifi, bluetooth, and single device “pass and play” multiplayer. EA is also including some nice iPhone features such as progressive save, an accelerometer shake to role the dice, and the ability access your iPod library in-game.

Check the jump for more screenshots.

Following on from the immersive RPG that was Return to Mysterious Island, iPhone publisher Chillingo have announced they’re bringing a sequel to the store, announcing Jules Verne’s Secrets of The Mysterious Island is coming to both iPhone (and iPod touch), shortly. The first of the series hit App Store shelves in May of this year, and like most adventure based titles seemed to go down in a storm with the iPhone crowd. Recently I seem to be saying that a little too often about various titles, but having actually owned (and played) this title myself, I can say quite honestly say the adventure was thoroughly enjoyable to play through.

Based on a graphic novel by Jules Verne’s, and carrying on from titles such as 1112 and Cassandra’s Journey, the game sees you take the role of Mina, a sailor who becomes stranded on an island, somewhere in the Pacific ocean. As you trail and tap your way around the island, trying your up-most to survive, and finding objects and (more importantly) food along the way, you try to unlock the mysteries hidden within.

Described by Chillingo as an experience which will mirror that of Robinson Crusoe, this new release will carry on from where you left off. The game will start off with a helicopter crash, and continuing the theme of being stranded, you will have to guide Mina to safety. This time will also see you visit new locations including: Captain Nemo’s base and scouring the ruins of an unknown civilization. Eventually, you will realize the cause of the threat to the island, and will aim to prevent it.

For approximately 700 Mb, the player will find out the end of the adventure of Mina. Jules Verne’s “Secrets of The Mysterious Island” contains stunning 3D graphics, many ambient sounds, music designed to enhance the mysterious atmosphere and feel.

The real big news though is this sequel will see the addition of special feature only available to OS 3.0 and 3GS users. In Jules Verne’s Secrets of The Mysterious Island, you the player will have the ability to navigate the entire island via not only placing fingers on the screen (nothing new there then – but wait!) 3GS users will be able to further enhance this experience by harnessing the true power of the built in compass, and therefore bringing full 360° compass direction navigation to the title. I don’t know about you, but I’m quite excited about this, especially for an adventure game like this one. While touch and drag navigation is cool, doing it by physically moving your phone around – I’m sure you’ll agree – is even cooler! Although, do be careful – I wouldn’t want you to knock out the person sitting next to you while searching for melon!

All in all, with the title said to offer even more mini games and puzzles to complete, Jules Verne’s Secrets of The Mysterious Island is at first looks looking to paint a great sequel to the original Jules Verne adventure. My previous experience with both this genre of game, (and the Jules Verne saga inparticular), has me on the edge of my seat for this one!

Said to give a respectable 15 hours and gameplay, and priced at $6.99, the sequel to this hit adventure game should be with us “within weeks”. International readers will be glad to know that the written in-game dialog of this initial release will be translated in: English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Jules Verne's Return To Mysterious Island

Our Rating: :: ADVENTUROUS

Category: Games / Strategy
Released: 2009-05-29
Price: $2.99

Remember .™? If you don’t, the title was the debut of London-based iPhone development studio ustwo™. The game was 2D and involved the user guiding a white dot around a playing field, trying to avoid red matter (triangular), and collecting blue matter (circular). It hit the mainstream for a number of reasons, firstly for its design ethics, but secondly and most importantly being that it was the first ever application to have hit the App Store, whilst having been designed from concept to final within a 48 hour period.

This had never been done before. The thought of developing a polished title such as .™ within such a short period of time, to most other developers I imagine may have started their worst nightmare. There are going to be 6 titles within this ‘exclusive’ set of apps – sorta a “collect em’ all” diddy. The first was .™ which we profiled a few weeks back, and the next is supposedly Inkstrumental™ CRAZO™ (although as we mentioned in our previous first look, the studio themselves isn’t sure if that’ll ever see the light of day, yet.)

In the meantime the studio isn’t standing still, today announcing the sequel to their debut hit title. Calling it ..™. Having not seen the game yet myself, or had chance to play with it, I can only go off this visually stunning teaser trailer which the company has just released above, which to me seems to convey we might just be in store for some 3D goodness – (well .. I hope so)! While it’s not clear if this sequel will follow the 48 hour development method ustwo™ are now famous for, you have to admit that ..™ trailer is pretty damn trippy.

Having played .™, it’s addictive nature tends to bring with it high replay value, and as with any title, high replay usually means value for money. With no word on price yet, it’s hard to judge if ..™ will live up to it’s original – but according to ustwo™ we won’t have to wait long to find out. The title is expected to hit very, very soon.

Update: In a stark move, the studio has created a fully interactive online version of the upcoming game. Part of their new ‘48App’ section, you can now play both .™ and ..™ flash versions – here. Looks like ..™ will be 3D after all! Although, it’s still unclear whether the game will use touch and drag gesture controls, or take advantage of the accelerometer. We’ll see!

.™

Category: Games / Kids
Released: 2009-09-17
Price: $0.99

The famous children’s song “he’s got the whole world, in his hands” has been taken to a whole new level, thanks to Apple’s iPhone and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Now you have the entire universe at the flick of a finger.

The application “makes extensive use of built-in iPhone features and usability to offer compelling yet concise information in a clear and intuitive way. Receive and share dynamic NASA mission updates, out-of-this-world images, and intriguing video links. Follow the path and progress of space exploration in real time while tracking the global orbits of your favourite spacecraft, all in the palm on your hand.”

We’re holding off on the review in light of a new version somewhere on the horizon, which should bring the much-awaited NASA TV (live) right to the iPhone as well as a plethora of minor upgrades and new features. Until then, just photos:

Note: NASA app uses a data connection download photos and videos.

StoneLoops! of Jurassica is fantastic marble-shooter that Bonnie proclaimed “sets a new standard for Zuma-style match-3s” in her initial review. Have you rushing off to the App Store? Well, don’t bother. Recently, StoneLoops was removed from the App Store by Apple and is no longer available for download. As it turns out, this act was perpetrated by MumboJumbo, the developers of the main genre competitor, Luxor.

According to the developer of StoneLoops, Code Minion (full blog post here), MumboJumbo’s reason for doing this was StoneLoops’s success. In fact, this assertion seems to be largely substantiated. When they both existed as PC games, Luxor far overshadowed the little-known StoneLoops. However, when it came to the iPhone, the tables turned. Code Minion beat MumboJumbo in the race to the App Store, and StoneLoops enjoyed a sustained high rank in the top paid apps list while Luxor languished.

The full story goes like this: a few weeks ago, Apple relayed Code Minion a formal complaint and request to remove StoneLoops from the App Store, originally filed by MumboJumbo. According to Code Minion, the complaint involved “infringing Luxor copyright, confusing customers, stealing Luxor’s look & feel and even stealing their source code!” Most of these claims are simply outrageous, and if you’ve ever played the two games, the differences are apparent. Code Minion replied to Apple, refuting the claims that they found erroneous and even offering to change a few things on StoneLoops’s app description. Code Minion assumed Apple ruled in their favor when weeks passed without any reply, but discovered otherwise when they learned StoneLoops was no longer available in the App Store.

There are several reasons why MumboJumbo’s actions are repulsive and hypocritical. First, of course, Luxor is not an original game. All marble shooters are derived from the 1998 Japanese game Puzz Loop, and most established iteration on the formula is Popcap’s 2003 game Zuma. In addition, there are multiple other Zuma-like games on the App Store, though MumboJumbo only chose to attack their closest competitor. Ironically, when Code Minion was deciding on a publisher for StoneLoops, they talked with MumboJumbo before settling on Playcreek. MumboJumbo was shown the game, and never expressed any doubts about possible copyright infringement. This incident sets a dangerous precedent in the App Store that could be easily exploited by other developers.

Please note that MumboJumbo has not yet commented on the incident with their side of the story.

Alive 4-Ever
Sure, it may not the scariest thing ever, but it’s really really dark, and your chances of beating it are really really bleak. The story is your typical Resident Evil style experience with a pharmaceutical company creating a drug that unintentionally turns everyone into a zombie. Keeping to script, you are in charge of zombie destruction, and can either play as one of the two government agents or one of the two survivors of the zombie infection. The game is a top-down shooter, like iDracula and MiniGore, but with some RPG character building elements built in. Expect a ton of blood and some intensely awesome gun fights.

Alive 4-ever

Our Rating: :: FANTASTIC

Category: Games / Action
Released: 2009-08-26
Price: $2.99

Hysteria Project
Hysteria Project was an interesting app to play through. It’s not the newest app in the store, but it is one of the first, and best, attempts to create a super creepy movie-like horror experience on the iPhone. You start the game tied up on the ground, and without an idea of what’s going on, you must frantically run from a creepy guy with a hatchet that, for whatever reason, wants you dead. As I said in the review, “There is always a driving sense of urgency, even at the beginning of the game when the axe murderer has yet to be revealed. You just know that, at all times, the axe murderer is right behind you and ready to strike.”

Hysteria Project isn’t the longest app in the app store, but the high quality video along with the intense sound effects might just provide the scariest experience in the app store.

Hysteria Project

Our Rating: :: CAUTIOUSLY RECOMMENDED

Category: Games / Adventure
Released: 2009-04-08
Price: $1.99

Doom: Resurrection
Sure, maybe it’s not a typical horror game, and it may not be indie enough for some, but Doom: Resurrection provides some of the most intense horror/action sequences in the app store. Unlike any other game in the series, Doom: Resurrection is an on-rails shooter that makes sure to put you in the worst situations possible to kill the monsters around you. The controls are tight, the graphics are quite impressive, and the sound effects are just the right amount of creepy. Make sure you play this one with headphones, because the sensation of hearing something growl behind you but not being able to turn around right away is surprisingly creepy.

DOOM Resurrection

Our Rating: :: PLATFORM SHOWCASE

Category: Games / Action
Released: 2009-08-05
Price: $6.99

Resident Evil: Degeneration
I just had to do it. What list of horror games is complete without Resident Evil? Being the most successful horror series in video gaming, we were quite excited to play Resident Evil on the iPhone. Fortunately, we weren’t disappointed by the experience. Expect your typical fare of creepy zombies and even creepier sound effects, along with a ‘made-for-iPhone’ experience. One thing that was disappointing though was the lack of blood. If I shoot something in the head, it should explode in a shower of red, not a whole lot of nothing.

Besides the blood, RE: Resurrection provides one of the creepiest experiences on the small screen. It’s definitely worth the price of admission.

Resident Evil: Degeneration

Our Rating: :: AMAZING

Category: Games / Adventure
Released: 2009-05-12
Price: $4.99

Hope you enjoyed the list! Join the discussion about the definitive scariest iPhone app ever on our forum. I’m never wrong, but I do like others opinions. Ha. Happy Halloween!

Following the announcement from O2 UK that the two-year exclusive contract agreement between both them and Apple over the iPhone handset is indeed about to end, Orange is believed to be gearing to start selling the iPhone 3GS (and iPhone 3G) just one day after Apple and O2’s exclusivity agreement ends – November 10th, adding to the 27 countries and territories the company already sells the devices in.

While O2 had originally believed it had the rights to sell the handset until 2012, the agreement originally signed in 2007 actually only secured O2 exclusivity of the handset for a two year period.

I know what you’re thinking; Everyone has an iPhone now, so what’s the big news here? Right? .. Wrong. According to SlashGear, Orange has already had over 200,000 people register their interest for the new handsets. The really big news here however, is that Orange is about to get feisty with their offerings. With the end of this exclusivity agreement between Apple and O2 UK, this opens the floor to other companies selling the handset. Yes – companies. More than one – and for the first time ever, this means one thing; competition.

As previously reported, Vodaphone UK also recently showed their hand, stating they too will be offering the handset. With the holiday season fast approaching, this launch will see both Orange and Vodaphone fighting to secure iPhone customers. Orange however, has a plan. Still speculation, Orange are said to be re-thinking the way they are going to offer the handset, with one UK columnist saying the telecoms company could offer customers bundled accessories or even pre-installed applications.

With no handset pricing or tariffs announced, we’re yet to see if the jump from O2 to Orange for existing customers is a viable or more importantly – affordable – option. What is certain though is it’s going to be a fight for customers, and a tough one. At this point, I can’t help but think that Orange has the upper hand.

In fact, according to one source, Orange has teamed up with T-Mobile over the summer, and are both allegedly already selling the device in other areas of the world – and, although Vodaphone UK has managed signed a deal with Apple to sell the devices, it now comes to light the company won’t get it’s hands on the handset(s) until early next year (2010).

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how all this plays out, and what the benefits will be for both new (and existing customers) – if any.

iShoot developer reveals screenshots of second game

Ethan Nicholas, the developer of the Worms-like game iShoot, was one of the early App Store success stories. After making reportedly over $800,000 in five months, Nicholas quit his day job to devote himself full-time to developing games. Nicholas will hope to avoid becoming a one-hit-wonder with his follow-up game. Recently, he tweeted pictures of the upcoming game, and though no other information is known, it appears to be a free-roaming hunting game. Good luck Ethan!

My newest addiction
Every once and a while, a simple game in the vein of Doodle Jump will grab me and inexplicably become a new addiction. Right now, that game is Canabalt. Canabalt is a super stylish game in which to escape from aliens, your hero runs along rooftops. All you control, with simple taps, is when your character jumps. Though it lacks online leaderboards, there is twitter bragging and it’s definitely got that “just one more try” appeal. There’s also a free online flash version.

Canabalt

Category: Games / Arcade
Released: 2009-10-01
Price: $2.99

Groovin' Blocks

Category: Games / Music
Released: 2009-10-24
Price: $1.99

Groovin' Blocks Lite

Category: Games / Music
Released: 2009-10-24
Price: FREE

Rally Master Pro is one of the best-known and most impressive mobile games of all time, and now it’s being adapted for the iPhone by Fishlabs. Expect Rally Master Pro sometime in November. Until then, enjoy the official trailer:

Tony Romo successfully completed an entire NFL game without a single turnover. This is UNHEARD of.

App of the Week

Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim is a classic game that most have heard of, with great action-platforming gameplay and humor in spades. Gameloft has lovingly adapted it to the iPhone with superb graphics remastering. While the controls aren’t great, Gameloft did the best they could, and the controls aren’t a deal breaker. Grooooovy!

Earthworm Jim

Our Rating: :: GROOVY!

Category: Games / Adventure
Released: 2009-10-15
Price: $6.99 ON SALE: $4.99

I’ve had a few days now to play through a preview version of Garters & Ghouls, the first original IP that Namco have created for the iPhone. It’s great to see one the the giants of the video game industry developing new games on such a new platform as the iPhone.

The story of Garters & Ghouls is very fitting for the Halloween season. You have been brought back from the dead to fight the Thrum (think multi-species zombies). The game is a dual stick shooter with various weapons and enemies to hunt down. Your goal is to clear each level by destroying the portals and the evil creatures that come from them. You do this through 25 different levels set in many different scenes including graveyards, churches, and various carnival-like areas. There are of course power-ups that can be bought with gold collected from the dead Thurm.

The game itself, while a little rough around the edges still, has done something that most games of this genre haven’t, it’s held my attention. I’m not sure what that says about the game or me, but it has interested me. Could be the garter belts.

Garters & Ghouls is expected to launch right around Halloween. We’ll let you know as soon as it has launched.

Hit the jump for more screen shots.

Game developer IUGO aren’t exactly new to the store. Creators of both the Toy Bot Diaries series, and the hugely popular A.D.D Lite (which was unfortunately pulled from the store due to the full version being delayed in it’s release), the studio has today announced the upcoming release of Implode!, a physics-based title they’ve been working on for quite some time.

Implode! is a physics based title with your aim being to create the biggest explosion for a building demolition, possible. Operating via touch and drag controls, you’ll placing sticks of dynamite throughout a ‘chalk-like’ sketch of a building, aiming to impress. Using two different types of bombs (traditional bombs and blast bombs), you’ll face all shapes and size of buildings and structures. The game will play out in 3 difficulties settings. Including: Casual, Veteran, and Expert, with each one adding varying structure shapes, for greater challenge.

The game is also said to have a online submission system in which you can submit any score online. IUGO says that online scores will be totaled from the sum of all your high scores you achieve within each level played. Each time you gain a score, you’ll also ‘graded’ on how ‘good’ the demolition was, adding more re-playability for each of the levels.

While no official release date has been set for the game, IUGO says it’s coming down the pipe as we speak and should be available “very soon” ..

Firemint have developed a special version of their racing game, Real Racing, to help promote the 2010 VW GTI. You could even win a GTI by playing the game. Details on the contest will be posted soon.

VW tapped Firemint to create a special version of their Real Racing, sort of a lite version, with tie-ins to the marketing campaign promoting the 2010 GTI. The app was released late last night at the conclusion of a special premier event in New York hosted by G4’s Olivia Munn. Sorry to say, I couldn’t be there.

Real Racing GTI

Category: Games / Racing
Released: 2009-10-22
Price: FREE

The game itself is a slimmed down one based on the engine of the five star racing game we love so much. The main focus of the game, of course, is to push the new 2010 GTI. So, that’s the only car you have to drive in the game and you only have 1 course to drive. What this will give you is a good sense of the realism and amazing console-level quality of the full game, Real Racing.

Try out the 2010 GTI version of the game and if you like it, I highly recommend that you pick up the full version, Real Racing. I really can’t say enough good things about it.

Real Racing

Our Rating: :: Best Racer Ever

Category: Games / Racing
Released: 2009-06-08
Price: $6.99

Some of you probably know that I’m a word game fanatic. Sadly, sorting through the App Store can often be quite the hassle. I’ve been fortunate to discover quite a few gems, though, and I thought that I’d share my six favorite word games for the iPod Touch/iPhone. You probably have favorites of your own; feel free to share them in the comments! (I’m not doing any of that start-with-the-last-one nonsense, either; the first game on my list is really the one I love the most!)

1. Scrabble
This one was pretty much a given. Mother of all word games, Scrabble is still going strong. I have a few bones to pick with EA’s app (see the mysterious Push notifications), but it’s still an excellent one. Facebook Connect provides online games, but Pass ‘n’ Play gives you local multiplayer and there’s a built-in AI for solo games as well. There’s something about this classic game that just takes the cake.

SCRABBLE

Our Rating: :: RECOMMENDED

Category: Games / Word
Released: 2008-07-11
Price: $4.99

As an alternative, you can always consider Lexulous, my favorite Scrabble clone. It lacks single-player modes or even local multi-player, but the online community is sometimes more active. It also features eight-tile racks with bingo bonuses available for both 7- and 8-letter words. It’s also much more lightweight than the Scrabble app, which is a boon if you’re trying to save your battery.

2. Moxie
Moxie is a sort of word-solitaire, and by that I don’t just mean that it’s a solo game. The board is composed of three rows of five spaces each, and you can place letters anywhere on the board; points are given for forming a word, and lost if you “break” a word. It rewards strategic thinking and pondering instead of lightning-quick actions. Moxie’s gameplay is hard to describe in full, but let’s just say that it’s refreshing, unique, and by far the most original word game I’ve played in years. This is definitely a gem worth seeing.

Moxie

Our Rating: :: PHENOMENAL

Category: Games / Word
Released: 2009-07-01
Price: $0.99

3. WordFu
For a more action-packed word game, Word Fu from ngmoco is definitely great. This fast-paced game has you forming words from the letters you roll. The kung-fu theme (complete with cheesy sound effects) will bring a smile to anyone’s face. Just be warned…addiction is a very serious danger. Better still: it’s free, and comes with ngmoco:)’s Plus+ network! Go ahead: challenge me! My Plus+ username is bonniee. (Our review is linked to the paid version of the app without the Plus+ network, but it’s the same game regardless.)

WordFu Plus+

Category: Games / Word
Released: 2009-10-17
Price: FREE

4. Word Ace
Mash an anagram game with Texas Hold’em, and you have Word Ace. It’s intuitive and easy to pick up, but make sure that you don’t go broke: you only get 1,000 free chips per day! However, the game is centered around online multiplayer, so you’ll need an internet connection to really enjoy this one. On the bright side, it’s multi-platform (for both the Palm Pre and iPhone OS) so there are usually enough players for you to compete with.

Word Ace

Our Rating: :: FREE & FANTASTIC

Category: Games / Card
Released: 2009-09-02
Price: FREE

5. Textropolis
From Nimblebit, Textropolis is a play-as-you-feel-like-it anagram game. There are no time limits, no stress. Given the letters in a city name, you must use them to form words. As you form more words, additional cities are unlocked. While it’s simple and doesn’t come close to Moxie’s originality, it’s still worth a look. Plus, Textropolis is perfect for sneaking some fun during class or at the office (just don’t tell my teachers).

Textropolis

Category: Games / Word
Released: 2009-01-12
Price: $1.99

6. Word Flow
Describing word flow is hard. On the surface, it’s a typical word-finding game, but there’s an almost Rubik’s Cube-like element to the way the letters move. You see, the columns and the rows both slide. This introduces a novel element that is easy to understand, but extremely difficult to master; the twist should entertain fans of the regular word-hunt genre.

Word Flow

Our Rating: :: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Category: Games / Word
Released: 2008-11-26
Price: $1.99

That’s it for now, folks! These six games should be more than enough to keep any word fan hooked for endless hours, but I certainly haven’t tried every game in the store…so suggest some more!

With the announcement last week that Apple would allow In-App Purchasing (IAP) for free apps, we wondered what will really change in the App Store. Obviously right now this is a theoretical exercise as, so far, very little has changed. We’ve seen a couple apps that were previously paid switch to free, and at least one high profile app released as free with IAP.

We talked to a few users and a few developers to get their take on what this could mean for the future of the iPhone App Store.

This new app type, free but with In-App Purchasing has quickly been nicknamed free+. There are some really great things about it, and some really bad things about it. Let’s break this down into what’s good and what’s bad for developers and consumers.

Good for Developers

There are lots of really good things to like about this decision for developers and they are almost uniformly happy with the decision. We asked Kyu Lee of Gamevil for his thoughts, “In-app purchasing for free apps is a huge step for Apple, and it really shows how much they are willing to adjust to the developers/publishers needs. Apple was first to adopt in-app purchases, and now first to adopt in-app purchases for free games. We strongly believe the next steps would be introducing microtransactions that are lower than 99c or the ability to use an intermediate currency within the game. We believe that Apple should provide as many options available to the developer/publisher as possible as long as it enhances the customer’s experience, and we’re very excited about what the tracks they’ve been following so far.”

For some types of apps it makes the developers job a lot easier and potentially more profitable. Then there’s the added bonus of making piracy much harder with apps that include in-app purchasing.

More Income Options

With in-app purchasing there are many more income possibilities for developers. Not only can they sell expansions to their app from within the app, but they can also sell subscriptions, upgrades, and virtual goods (think MMO apps). Doing in-app purchasing allows for the impulse buy. For example, the recently detailed Eliminate from ngmoco:) will feature a certain amount of time you can play per day while advancing your stats. If you are really getting into the game and you run out of time you are pretty likely to drop a buck and buy more time. Maybe just once, maybe a few times. Depends on how compelling the app is. Think of this as the candy racks at the grocery store checkout. You are standing there looking at it, a certain number of people will decide to buy.

In addition to more options, income opportunity is spread out for a much longer time. The way it is now most apps that make it to the top 100 do so quickly, then fall off quickly. This little spike represents a very high percentage of their sales. Sales after that are usually tied to an upgrade, press, or other such promotion. IAP allows for longer term income opportunities for developers as they can add content to the app and charge for it over a longer period of time. In addition, you can continue to get money from the dedicated users more than just once like most current apps.

Get Rid of Lite Versions

One thing is for sure, developers have been asking for a way to do upgradeable lite versions, this solves that issue and works out to be a pretty good solution.

As we’ve already seen one example of this with the release of Rolando 2 Chapter 1 last week. This was previously slated to be a $0.99 app with in-app purchase to upgrade to other chapters in the app. This basically is a lite version that you can expand, through in-app purchase, to the whole apps. In this case it’s done in chapter forms, a gamble. I think we’ll see more examples of a single upgrade for greater income for the developers. But either will work, it will be interesting to see how each method works out.

Slow Down App Piracy

It’s a sad fact that piracy of iPhone apps is rather rampant. Some developers report 50-90% of their users are using pirated versions of their apps.

We spoke with Neil Young, CEO of ngmoco:), and like most developers he is excited about the possibilities. “[This decision] is great for the iPhone and will help take it to the next level” said Mr. Young. And particularly about the piracy aspect. While he concedes that this won’t eliminate piracy, it will most likely slow it down a bit. “I have no problem with jailbreaking, I do have a problem with people stealing software from the people who develop it like the great people that I see every day here at ngmoco:)” remarked Mr. Young.

While moving apps to a free+ model won’t eliminate piracy, it will at least slow it down. The truth is crackers are very smart people, they will figure eventually figure out something to work around IAP. But it doesn’t appear as though there will be a quick, easy way to crack in-app purchases, at least not yet. So it will require special work on each individual application to crack it.

Good for Consumers

This new application marketing method isn’t good just for developers, there are some things that make it very compelling for consumers.

Upgrade With Losing Progress

When you have a lite version and do something, then upgrade to the paid version, it’s a different app. That means that you lose anything you’ve done in the app. For example you’d lose your progress in a game, your preferences, etc. With an integrated lite / paid version using in-app purchasing, you get to keep your data.

In addition, it’s just easier to upgrade, when and if you need it, by clicking a couple buttons in the app.

Try Before You Buy

I’m also guessing we’ll see more try before you buy apps as this is truly the greatest advantage to consumers. They will obviously be limited to certain features (number of records, few levels in a game, etc.), but will allow convenient and quick unlock of full app with In-App Purchasing.

Longer Commitment From Developers

With the increased income opportunities we’ll hopefully see greater commitment from developers. Currently, most app developers stop updating their apps when the sales drop off. But with the opportunity of income over a much longer timeframe, many more should choose to continue to update their app. This will mean that we’ll see some apps remain fresh for longer and if you really like the app it may be an even greater value for you after a few updates than it is currently.

Bad for Developers

While in general this policy change will be great for developers, there are some downsides.

Decreased Exposure on Top Paid List

One of the reasons this is bad for developers is that they will no longer appear in the Top 100 paid apps. While I use that as my main area for finding new applications, I’m not the usual user. Most users seem to start with the top free apps. Apple knows this. Neil Young from ngmoco:) told us that he believes that free apps are downloaded 10-20x more than paid apps.

So, in reality this might be a good thing for developers. If the top free list is the most popular place to discover new apps, being on that list might be a good thing. Though you’ll be stuck in a list with a bunch of fart apps and MMO apps.

Greater Support Expense

Using the most flexible system for processing IAP, the downside is that Apple has pushed a lot of the processing to the developers. There is a fairly significant bit that the developer needs to develop and support on their end. Apple has some strict rules about how IAP needs to be recorded and restored. The developers need to keep all of that information indefinitely.

Consumer Confusion

There is already a great deal of consumer confusion for In-App Purchasing. Most have still never utilized it. Adoption could be very slow due to this. Good communication will be needed.

Reviews From Free-Rats

It’s well known that free apps get the worst reviews and seem to attract the least intelligent consumers in the App Store (and I’m being kind). This will now open up a whole new class of apps to these reviewers. It’s not going to be pretty.

Bad for Consumers

While there are some good features for consumers, really this doesn’t work out all that great for users. There are some really nasty issues.

Purchase Depends On Developer Uptime

There are two ways that a developer can set up in-app purchases. One of the ways requires the developer maintain a service on their own web server to return data on what is purchased. If an app that you do a purchase in utilizes this method, and the developer closes up shop and shuts down their server, you are out of luck. You won’t be able to restore those purchases. Depending on how they are implemented, you may not even be able to use the purchases you have already made.

In the current system, if you buy an app, you can use it forever. If the developer decided to stop supporting it, close up shop, or the app is pulled from the App Store, you still have it and can use it. There are many examples of apps that have been available in the App Store but were pulled for various reasons. People who have downloaded those apps can still use them as long as OS changes don’t make the app incompatible. Not so with in-app purchases. And in all honesty, this is a problem with any app that uses IAP and is not just reserved for free+ apps. The different is that free+ apps would basically revert to demo versions if the developer shut down their server.

Hard To Tell What You Get

It will, initially, be hard to tell what you are getting and if it’s worth the expense. At least the way most apps are now you know you are getting the whole app when you pay for it. With in-app purchasing, you never really know what you are getting, or if you will need to pay more to get what you want.

In the end, you could end up paying more for a full experience than you currently are.

Requires iPhone OS 3.0

Most iPod Touch users don’t have iPhone OS 3.0 yet — that will be required to use any of these apps.

Some Free+ Apps Already Available

We’ve already seen a couple apps switch to free that were previously paid apps. TweetPush and Boxcar, both Twitter push applications that went free the day of the announcement.

We’ve also seen ngmoco:) release Rolando 2: Chapter 1 as a free app with in-app purchasing options for the remaining chapters. This app was approved the day of the announcement and waiting to go live on the App Store when Apple made the announcement allowing free apps to have in-app purchasing. ngmoco:) quickly decided to switch the app to free and were the first new app to take advantage of this new app purchasing method.

Future?

Where will this lead? We asked for an opinion on this from David Barnard from App Cubby, “Well, I definitely think we’re gonna see a LOT more free apps! I definitely don’t think that everyone, or even a majority of apps, will shift to this model, but there are quite a few apps that will benefit from a “try before you buy” model and/or a freemium model where additional content can be purchased. The bottom line is that Apple is giving developers more control of our businesses and more options for monetization, and that’s a very good thing.” remarked Mr. Barnard.

David Frampton from Majic Jungle remarked “My biggest fear is that developers will abuse it, flooding the store with ‘free’ apps, that are really just store fronts for their downloadable content. This in turn would quickly make users wary of downloading such apps, effectively putting a giant ‘Don’t Bother Downloading’ sign on any free app with downloadable content. This in itself is enough to make me wait before I make any changes to my current apps or plans.

“I also expect some consumer backlash. Reviews will definitely be worse overall for a free + downloads app than a paid app, if anything just due to the lower barrier to entry. Add to this a certain proportion of people who expected they would get more for free than they did, and you have a recipe for low ratings.”

At this point there are lots of really interesting possibilities and more than a few potential pitfalls. But, we really don’t know how this will all shake out. Apple has given developers more leighway to operate, something they have clambored for, and it’s up to them to make it work or sink it.

Admittedly, this has nothing directly to do with iDevices, apps, or developers… but Apple just released a 27″ iMac that every warm blooded human should want in their house. “Oh, my desk isn’t big enough!” Ma’am, buy a new desk.

Just think about how many apps you could view in iTunes, or how easy it would be to use the SDK on such a ginormous screen! Look, I’m reaching for relevance here.

Cast your mind back to August 5th 2008. The sun was shining, and the birds where singing. That was until the (now iconic) ‘I Am Rich’ app rocked the App Store sideways. Officially becoming the most expensive application to of hit the App Store ever, and priced at $999.99, the app hit the mainstream for being controversial to the highest level. Offering nothing more than a ’souvenir’ of personal wealth, the app was designed to show how ‘rich’ you were. The premise being, if you owned it, you were rich.

On August 6th 2008, following it’s release, and in response to the huge amount of media coverage and bad press the title had garnered, Apple pulled the application completely, from all 72 countries iTunes operated in. Now fast forward.

Just when we thought it couldn’t happen again, it has. October 16th 2009. Developed by 15 year-old Mark Gurman, You Are Rich hit the App Store. Designed to be a complete copy of the original, You Are Rich is the absolutely bare bones of iPhone development. After you get past the shock of spending $99.99 on a picture of a glowing red gem-like fire-ball thingamajig, maybe the ‘Secret Mantra’ will make you feel a tad better? Then again, maybe not ..

I was lucky enough to grab a review copy from Mark, making me – not really that rich. However, if this is your type of app, you’ll be glad to know this version will cost you ten times less than the previous, at just $99.99, and has a slightly different ’secret’ mantra than the original. For those of you who can’t afford this app, or simply can’t afford to throw your credibility out the window with this app, the new mantra is below for your viewing pleasure:

“If you see this: You are Brave, You are a Success, You are Bold, You are Flashy, You are Amazing, You are Rich.”

On the mantra screen you’ll find a button which states ‘Play Mantras’. Doing so throws up three options, including: Mantra, You Are Rich and I Am Rich. Tapping each one seeing the app play a different sound, with the first reading out the already written ‘mantra’ aloud, in this kinda eery hypnotic voice.

The fact is, I’d get this app while you still can! No really – Since being exposed to the app’s mantra, my personal wealth has grown hugely. In fact, I’m typing this here now from a small yacht on the Caribbean, while sipping a Margareta. While I’m here I might actually start a new business – “You Are Rich” branded handkerchiefs. Think it’ll take off?

While I don’t think any of the US users if the iPhone are too happy with AT&T, there haven’t been any other options if you wanted to stick with an iPhone. And while I think many of us had placed our hopes on a Verizon iPhone in 2010 when the AT&T exclusivity runs out, I think the latest advertising campaign by Verizon signals that we won’t see an iPhone on their network anytime soon.

The iDon’t ad campaign we’re talking about is for Verizon’s first Android phone, built by Motorola, called the Droid. They campaign has a web site at DroisDoes.com, the phone is to be released next month. The campaign is focused on pointing out the things that the Android phone does that the iPhone doesn’t such as multitasking, physical keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, customization, widgets, and open development. But the troubling part is how derogatory it is to the iPhone.

The concern I have is that if we were to see a Verizon iPhone in 2010, negotiations would already be underway. And if you are negotiating with a company for products that you want to carry, you don’t publicly denigrate them like Verizon has done with their iDon’t campaign. Verizon is publicly ripping into the iPhone. They wouldn’t do so if they were any chance of them selling that product anytime soon.

So when, or if, the AT&T exclusivity expires next year, what options will we have. The only other two networks in the US are Sprint and T-Mobile. And both are even worse than AT&T in most parts of the US. So that basically means, yes, we’re stuck with being treated like second class citizens with AT&T.