Top 5 iPhone/iTouch Games

Over the last few months we have seen an influx of quality games on the iPhone/iTouch. Developers are embracing the iphone/itouch as a legitimate gaming platform and with games such as Rolando and Fieldrunners you can definitely see why.

Here are my picks for the 5 best iphone/itouch games available at the moment.

1. Rolando (ngmoco) - Rocoloco type game with great visuals
2. Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) - Addictive tower defense type game, very well made.
3. Bejeweled 2 (Pop Cap) - The classic gem puzzle game, perfected on the iphone/itouch
4. Dropship (ngmoco) - addictive choplifter type game built from the ground up for iphone/itouch
5. Dr. Awesome (ngmoco) - brilliant use of your personal contact list, save them while you can

It is fair to say that developers ngmoco are leading the way with iphone game development and purchasing any of their 5 games is a safe bet. Check out their web site for further information - http://www.ngmoco.com/games.php

Our Best and Worst for 2008

Below are our best and worst games of 2008.

DAZXER
I have been very selective on what I put into my console, so this is list is based on what I have actually played.

Best
1. Fallout 3 (60+ hours, wow factor)
2. Gears of War 2 (Great Story and Excellent Action)
3. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Niko Balic, that all I have to say)
4. Burnout Paradise (Best driving game)
5. Mirrors Edge (Just edged out Prince of Persia)

Worst
1. Lost (Bad Very Bad)
2. Midnight Club (Draw Distance), Berva and I are in a debate on this one.
3. Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise
4. Crash Mind over Mutant (constant back tracking)
5. The Incredible Hulk (Smashing things gets boring quickly)

BERVA

Best
1. Grand Theft Auto 4 (A blast to play from start to finish)
2. Gears of War 2 (wow)
3. Fallout 3 (Fantastic game, attention to detail)
4. Burnout Paradise (Best driving game ever, in my opinion)
5. Prince of Persia (Eye candy with great platforming, loved it)

Worst
1. Turning Point – Fall Of Liberty (haha, this game is totally unplayable)
2. Army Of Two (pathetic, very frustrating)
3. Don King Presents Prizefighter (time to hang up the gloves I say)
4. Facebreaker (EA have canned this franchise and for good reason, its crap)
5. Rise Of The Argonauts (zzz, wake me up when I get to kill stuff)

Spike TV Video Game Award Winners

* Best Shooter: Gears of War 2 (Epic Games)
* Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 2 (Epic Games)
* Best Indie Game Voted by the Fans: World of Goo (2D Boy)
* Big Name in a Game: Kiefer Sutherland (Call of Duty: World at War)
* Gamer God Inductee: Will Wright (Sim City, Spore)
* Best RPG: Fallout 3 (Bethesda)
* Best Music Game: Rock Band 2 (Harmonix)
* Best Soundtrack in a Game: Rock Band 2 (Harmonix)
* Studio of the Year: Media Molecule (Little Big Planet)
* Best PS3 Game: Little Big Planet (Media Molecule)
* Best Driving: Burnout Paradise (Criterion)
* Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show: Lego Indy (Traveller's Tales)
* Best Fighting: Soul Calibur 4 (Project Soul)
* Best Multiplayer: Left 4 Dead (Valve)
* Best PC: Left 4 Dead (Valve)
* Best Portable: Professor Layton (Level 5)
* Best Wii: Boom Blox (EA Casual)
* Best Individual Sports: Shaun White Snowboarding (Ubi Montreal)
* Best Graphics: Metal Gear Solid 4 (Kojima Productions)
* Best Original Score: Metal Gear Solid 4 (Kojima Productions)
* Best Action-Adventure Game: Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games)
* Best Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games)

Prince Of Persia - Review

When I heard that Prince Of Persia was coming to next gen gaming consoles, I was thrilled. It brought back memories of the many fun filled hours spent playing Sands of Time on the original xbox. You can rest easy, the new Prince Of Persia is a return to form.

The game is built on a refined Assassin's creed engine and is a joy to play from start to finish. From the stunning visuals to a very unique art style, you will be impressed with how the game looks and plays.

The story involves you the prince along with a princess named Elika on a mission to save the world from the apocalypse. It may seem far fetched but it isn't and the relationship between the 2 main characters of the game is very interesting. Elika is one of the most memorable AI companion character in a video game in recent memory.

Some might ague the fact that the game is too easy, I found that the gameplay was as natural and as beautiful as the world itself. The game is not short, it will take most gamers just on 12 hours to complete. Let me also state that this game has a brilliant ending and overall I put this in my top 5 games of 2008.

I am a big fan of the platforming genre and am pleased that the new Prince of Persia oozes platforming. Grab this over the xmas period, you will not regret it.

Gameplay = 7.8
Visuals = 9.2
Sound = 7.7
Game Now Score = 8.2/10

Fallout 3 - Review

I have 1 word, "Depth", Bethesda, had done it again, allowing you to play over 30 hours, and still have lots to do and explore. I enjoyed playing Fallout Tactics, but this game has taken gaming to another level.
Once I entered the large world of Fallout, I just stood with amazement, to see the level of detail to the horizon.

The gameplay is wonderful, the exploration allows you to travel where you want to go. When I first heard about the concept of a first person shooter allowing which can switch to a turn based system, with action points, I wondered how are they going to pull this off. Bethesda have nailed the combat system, to suit 2 styles, I lived in my VATS system (action points). The quests are exciting, even down to collecting bottles. You can choose to be on the side of good or evil, or dip your toes into both pools.
Stats are a plenty here, you can customize yourself in many different ways.

Visuals are excellent, the night and day cycles are wonderful, be wary during night time wanderings. There has been allot of effort placed into the interiors of buildings. Enemies and weapon affects look polished, exploding cars are my favorite. I have to say something about the physics of the games, sorry for being graphic here, lets just say a bad guys head just fell off, this head rolled and rolled down a hill, bouncing of rocks all the way to the bottom. I was very impressed.

Sound is very detailed, it has great atmosphere, the voice acting is excellent, and the dialog has been well written.

To summarize this game, I would like to say "GAME OF THE YEAR". Fallout 3 is going back into my console. I would recommend this game, not only for its 30+ hours of gameplay but it's is brilliant

Gameplay = 9.5
Visuals = 10
Sound = 9.5
Game Now Score = 9.6/10

Mirror's Edge - Review

It is pretty safe to say that you haven't played a game like Mirror's Edge. Game developers Dice have been in the game for quite some time now with some classics such as Pinball Dreams, Ralisport Challange and most recently battlefield: Bad Company.

Mirror's Edge is a very ambitious game that takes platforming to a whole new level. You need to give credit to Dice for going out and making a game such as this. Is it a revolution in platform gaming or does it fall flat on its face?

You play as "Faith" a futuristic courier in a world were freedom of speach, no longer exists. People such as yourself are used to pass on information in a world surrounded by corruption. It sounds good in writing however the poor execution in the story will have you skipping over the cut scenes to get back into the action.

The actual free running and platforming gameplay is brilliant. There has never been a platforming game that has been this immersing. Running and jumping to and from high rise buildings is fantastic. At it's core Mirror's Edge is a celebration of pure programming brilliance.

As good as the free running and platforming is, the combat is pretty bad. When you actually have to face an enemy with a gun or try disarm him/her you will find yourself cursing at the screen. It's just sloppy and it does take away from the overall experience unfortunately. I wish they had made a game that did not involve any combat at all.

The Graphics and art direction in Mirror's Edge is great with some beautiful bright environments for a change. Sound is also very good with ambient noise and in particular wind sounding fantastic, a very good job overall.

At the end of the day I highly recommend people jumping into Mirror's Edge for very unique gaming experience and hope that other developers take on this type of gameplay and expand on it.

Gameplay = 7
Visuals = 8
Sound = 8
Game Now Score = 7.6/10

Fable 2 - Review

Fable 2 takes you on an adventure like no other game has done before, is it enough to win the hearts of gamers this holiday season?

Coming off the success of the original game, Fable 2 is a realization of everything Fable 1 was trying to be. It has a beautiful story of redemption as you are hit hard early in the game with the death of your sister. The game then quickly shifts to a story about revenge and more importantly how much you are willing to sacrifice along the way. The constant battle between good and evil is evident throughout the entire campaign.

The world of Fable 2 is large, however you never really understand how everything fits in. The shocking map system and menu in general is pretty bad, leaving you to fast travel to all your quests, never really knowing where exactly in the world you are currently at, pretty bad.

Visually Fable 2 looks great, with excellent lighting and a very beautiful world overall. There are problems though. The frame rate in general is pretty bad with some pretty ordinary slow downs in many situations. What really has me upset is that the menu system is terrible, it takes you totally out of the experience and is also very slow, seems to be running at 15 frames a second, unacceptable.

Performance problems aside, there is a lot to love about Fable 2, from the interesting story to the visual style of combat, combat which is easy to pick up and play and very satisfying.

Sound is great although there were many times were characters would talk over each other making it hard to concentrate. Fable 2 is full with atmospheric audio which is its strong point.

The campaign is unfortunately short in length, although you can continue your questing once the main quest line is done.

There are lots of things to do in Fable 2, from getting married and having children to having multiple wives and even having sex with multiple people at the same time.

I just wished that it ran a little smother and was a little harder in parts. Overall a worthy sequel, just not as good as I was expecting from Peter and the boys down at Lionhead.

Gameplay = 8
Visuals = 8
Sound = 8
Game Now Score = 8/10

Gears Of War 2 - Review

It has been a few years since Epic stunned the gaming world with one of the most exhilarating shooters gamers had ever seen. Microsoft had banked on Cliffy B and the boys down at Epic to produce a new IP (Intellectual Property) that delivered, and delivered is exactly what they did.

Fast forward to November 2008 and Gears of War 2 is finally hitting the shelves, sending fan boys into a frenzy. How does it compare to the first? Is it just Gears 1.5?

In short, Gears of War 2 is breathtaking and a benchmark on how to make an action shooter, period.

Cliffy B was right in saying that Gears 2 would be bigger, better and more badass. From the moment you pop this one into your console, you’re in for something special.

The story is much more satisfying than the first with Dom playing a bigger part in Gears 2, his struggle to handle the fact that his wife is missing is fantastic. There are a few new characters you meet along the way, each have a purpose and overall the story is very satisfying.

Visually Gears 2 is flawless, with some of the most impressive visuals you have seen in a video game to date. Player models look great, environments and shadowing are outstanding, Epic are showing other developers how the Unreal Engine 3 should be used. Gone are the poor frame rate problems during cutscenes that were evident in Gears 1. There is basically no loading in Gears of War 2, you can effectively play the game from start to finish without a loading screen at all (unless you die) .

Sound is also of the highest quality, there is nothing better than pulling off a headshot with your sniper gun and hearing that “pop” sound as the enemy’s head blows up into a million pieces. Atmospheric sound and voice acting is brilliant, much love has been put into every aspect of this game.

When it comes to gameplay, Gears 2 is very much like Gears 1, extremely tight and a blast to play. Multiplayer is back with 10 all new maps and will no doubt be very popular online.

Epic have delivered an amazing experience with Gears 2, a must own game for all 360 gamers.

Gameplay = 9.5
Visuals = 10
Sound = 9.5
Game Now Score = 9.6/10

Fallout 3 - Initial Impressions

The year is 2277, the planet is all but destroyed. Only those that escaped to the underground bunkers have survived. You are born into one of these bunkers, this is your story!

Oh yes, it’s that time of the year were all the big boys come out to play and it doesn't get much bigger than Fallout.

The opening cinematic shows you actually being born into the world and initial gameplay has you crawling/walking around the bunker listening to your dad as he encourages you to take your first steps. The idea is smart and the implementation is brilliant.

The game then progresses through your early years in a series of interesting events within the bunker until something drastic happens. Not going to tell you much as it’s a bit of a spoiler but let me assure you it’s awesome.

The graphics and sound and voice acting are AAA, Fallout 3 is putting its cards on the table and could possibly knock off GTA 4 for game of the year – a must own for all 360 owners!!! Review to follow over the next week or so.

Lego Batman - Review

Here we go, the third installment in the Lego series, and I have to say this is the best one yet.
I have play both Star Wars and Indy with my 6 Yr old son, and he agree's with me, that this is"cool to play"

The gameplay is simple and addictive, I was so excited when I was able to play the alternative version on the story as the villians in the game. This adds so much depth to the game. A nice addition is the use of super suits, gliding, heat resistant, etc. Driving the different vehicles adds to the excitment of this impressive game.

The sound and visuals, have been polished compared to Indy. The liquids in the game are very impressive.

Batman Lego is very entertaining for all ages, my 4 yr old girl keeps bugging me to play with her. I am looking forward to playing the Joker.

Enjoy many hours of fun!!

Gameplay = 9
Visuals = 9
Sound = 9
Game Now Score = 9/10