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Weekly App Store Picks: July 4, 2009

Written on July 04, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 7 people have commented

It’s that time of the week — when we welcome you to the weekend with a selection of the freshest picks for the iPhone from the App Store.
Hold your horses, though, because before we dive headfirst into a glorious ocean of iPhone apps, I’ve got a roundup of notable Apple news from the past seven [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: June 27, 2009

Written on June 27, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 4 people have commented

It’s the weekend, people, so prime your downloading finger and get ready to make good use of it as I guide you through the latest picks from the App Store.
Thanks to the release of OS 3.0 and the iPhone 3GS, there’s been a constant stream of Apple happenings. Before we get to the apps, let’s [...]

App Review: circuit_strike.one — Asteroids On Steroids

Written on June 25, 2009 by Charles Jade and No one has commented

Mixing neon visuals and techno music with top-down shooting action and inertia-based movement, circuit_strike.one pushes the limits of Apple hardware, and possibly the patience of the casual gamer.
Setting
The player is pilot of a virtual ship that hacks network nodes, in a stylized metaphor for a computer network. A mission is completed by destroying a shield [...]

NIMF Backs ESA on iPhone Game Ratings; ESRB Says Bring It on

Written on June 15, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 1 person has commented

Support is growing for some kind of ratings system for the games found in Apple’s App Store for its iPhone and iPod touch platform. Adding its voice to those already calling for ratings implementation, including the ESA and the ESRB, is the National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to [...]

ESRB Wants App Store Games to Be Rated

Written on June 11, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 13 people have commented

You may or may not have noticed that among the new features coming in iPhone OS 3.0, due June 17, are parental control settings that prevent users from downloading audio and video material from the iPhone store that comes in above a certain rating, determined by whomever sets the iPhone’s content filtering password. My money’s [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: May 30, 2009

Written on May 30, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 7 people have commented

Just when you thought the weekend couldn’t get any better, along comes a selection of the freshest picks from the App Store.
This week I’ve selected four playful picks for you to toy with over the weekend. It’s not all fun and games, though, as before we get to the apps, I’ve got a roundup of [...]

Japanese Game Maker Survey Finds Strong Appetite for iPhone Development

Written on May 22, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 2 people have commented

The real core of the video game industry has long been Japan, where it enjoys a pop culture status that Western studios can only hope to one day achieve. It stands to reason, then, that a good barometer for the iPhone’s success as a gaming platform would be Japanese industry interest in the device. A [...]

Enjoy Physics-Based Fun With Ragdoll Blaster for iPhone

Written on May 21, 2009 by Liam Cassidy and 2 people have commented

What happens when you bring together four engineers and one über-artist, all sharing a rich background in both game design and development experience on a “very popular 3D earth-rendering application,” lock them all in a studio in Boulder, Colo., and let them loose on the iPhone SDK?
Well, you get Backflip Studios. Pretty obvious really, if [...]

Save the World with Terminator Salvation on the iPhone

Written on May 13, 2009 by David Appleyard and 4 people have commented

As a fan of the Terminator trilogy, I’m fascinated to see how the new movie will fare. I was equally intrigued to take a look at the iPhone game released to accompany the fourth installment in the movie series. Gameloft announced the release last week, and Terminator Salvation is now available to download (iTunes link) [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: May 9, 2009

Written on May 09, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 6 people have commented

You can’t have pizza without cheese, socks without shoes, a sandwich without bread, or a complete week without hearing about the freshest iPhone apps.
Before I present you with a hand-picked selection of the latest iPhone releases to hit the App Store, as is tradition, we’ll take a moment to review notable news and take stock [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: May 2, 2009

Written on May 02, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 5 people have commented

Who’s that knockin’ at your door? Why it’s none other than the freshest pickings from the App Store, joined by a smattering of Apple news.
Before we get stuck in to this week’s iPhone picks and recommendations from the App Store, let’s shift our focus for a moment and have a quick recap on what went [...]

Weekly App Store Pick: April 25, 2009

Written on April 25, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 6 people have commented

What’s that on the horizon? Why it’s none other than the latest picks fresh from the App Store, coming to brighten up your weekend!
Though before I run you through my latest selection of newly released apps, it’s time to indulge in a quick refresher of some of this week’s Apple news.
We started the week not [...]

Baby Shaker App Fiasco Underscores Need for Change from Apple

Written on April 23, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 20 people have commented

Only a little while ago, we published a story about Apple’s inconsistent review process for the App Store. In that case, the question was one of imagery, and focused on some icons that Apple seemed to be of two minds about. Well, inconsistency is one thing, but their latest gaffe represents an entirely different kind [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: April 18, 2009

Written on April 18, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 9 people have commented

Put your iPhone in the air and shake it like you just don’t care, because it’s time for my pick from the week’s freshest apps.
Before you start waving your iPhone with a blatant disregard for those around you due to the sheer excitement you feel from reading about the latest apps, I’ve got a brief [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: April 4, 2009

Written on April 04, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 2 people have commented

It’s the weekend and this is TheAppleBlog…so that means only one thing: the latest picks fresh from the App Store.
This week, Apple news seems to have been predominantly iPhone-centric so, before jumping in to the latest apps, it’s time for a quick refresher of Apple news from the past seven days.
Sony started the week by [...]

Sony Pictures Details Lineup for iPhone Games

Written on March 31, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 2 people have commented

Movie-based titles have not enjoyed a favorable reputation in gaming on the whole. There have been exceptions, of course, like Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64, and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games for the Nintendo and Super Nintendo. The Watchmen MMO for the iPhone and iPod Touch? Definitely not among the greats. Iron Man: [...]

Game Developers Hit Paydirt With iPhone Apps

Written on March 16, 2009 by Lisa Hoover and 3 people have commented

Gaming on a mobile phone is a relatively new phenomenon when compared to the decades that games like Pacman and Tetris have been around. However, the mobile gaming industry is exploding, and developers who have spent years creating games for the Mac are now jumping ship to create them for the iPhone instead.
Brian Greenstone, creator [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: March 14, 2009

Written on March 14, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 4 people have commented

Place your iPhone on the floor and prepare to dance a merry jig, it’s the weekend and that means I’ve prepared a selection of fresh picks from the App Store.
As ever, before we get stuck in to a hand-picked selection of the latest releases from the App Store, I’ve delved in to the week’s Apple [...]

13 iPhone Games Based On Movies

Written on March 09, 2009 by Omar McFarlane and 10 people have commented

Movie/game tie-ins are as old as the original NES and, as a booming gaming platform, the iPhone/iPod touch are no less susceptible to this continuing trend. To that end, here’s a listing of games for your touch device that are based on a movie (Note: All links go to the App Store).
The Dark Knight: Batmobile [...]

5 Fingers Bundle Turns 5 Apps in to One for the App Store

Written on March 09, 2009 by Nick Santilli and No one has commented

For the first time in the App Store (at least as far as games are concerned) competing developers are joining forces to release their wares as one in the 5 Fingers Bundle ($5 in the App Store). Similar in concept to MacUpdate, these five developers are offering their great games as one, for almost a [...]