Category: I-phone

It’s Game Week here at iPhone.AppStorm, and all this week we’re going to have tons of reviews, giveaways and other good stuff, all centered around the gaming world!

Infinity Blade II requires no introduction. Its predecessor was — and remains — one of the best looking games on the iPhone. Originally designed for consoles and then brought to iOS at the last minute, Infinity Blade took advantage of the touch screen and Retina Display in a way that few others have managed, combining simple yet addictive gameplay with excellent visuals.

Now Infinity Blade II is here, and I’m sure that many who enjoyed the first game have already downloaded the app and begun their quest. Does this sequel suffer from the laziness that can occur when something is released on the heels of a blockbuster, or is it as good — or better — than the first game? Read on to find out.

An Introduction to Infinity

The concept of the game is simple: you are Siris, a man that is attempting to free the Worker of Secrets from his imprisonment. Along the way you will fight many varied guardians, from nimble swordsman to burly giants and heavily armored immortals. The first game was a fairly linear affair, offering little choice in where the character can travel; essentially, you would tap a point in front of the character and then watch as he moved there, giving the illusion of control.

While that still happens in Infinity Blade II, there are more options so far as diverging from the main path goes. I found that there were more ways to traverse through the beginning part of the game than there was through the entirety of the first game, and I never felt as though I were being unfairly restricted. I enjoy not having the burden of guiding Siris myself; not only does it prevent Chair from having to create suitable controls, but it also allows them to focus on crafting a beautiful game.

Infinity Blade II takes place after the first game, with Siris looking for answers and fighting his way through a Japanese-inspired temple to ask a question of a Deathless. I won’t give too much away, as the story is more fleshed out than that of the first game, but let’s just say that things quickly take some odd turns. While playing the first game could be helpful, all you really need to know is that there is a God-King, he holds the titular Infinity Blade, and the entire first game revolved around killing him.

Swordplay on Rails

Infinity Blade II is easy to pick up and can be hard to master. I’ve watched my younger brother play the game with little difficulty, but I’ve also noticed that there are some small nuances that more experienced players will be able to take advantage of.

Most fights follow the same pattern: you’re facing an enemy that is probably much larger than you, with a huge weapon (or weapons) and a flair for the dramatic. Your job is to figure out the pattern of their attacks and exploit them, dishing out damage while you try to avoid taking any in return. It’s a simple formula with many variations, but it makes for an enjoyable game that can be taken one battle or twenty battles at a time.

Players of the first game know that you didn’t have too many options around how you were going to fight; shield and sword in hand, ring on finger and armor on your chest, you would dodge and block your way through an enemy’s attacks. Most players wound up playing in similar ways, with the little variation between weapons and strategies.

Infinity Blade II offers more options, including the interesting ability to forgo a shield in order to dual-wield weapons. This removes the ability to block, forcing you to dodge and parry your way through your enemy’s attacks. You can also equip larger (and slower) weapons that deal more damage but require more time to learn. This isn’t necessary in the game, as you can play in a fairly default manner, but many people will enjoy the chance to play differently from everybody else.

On Beautiful Scenery and Sacks of Gold

Playing this game on the iPhone 4S almost feels like a requirement. The game takes advantage of the Retina Display and the A5 chip to bring enhanced visuals and smooth graphics. Upon first launch I was forced to take a second to admire the leaves falling from the trees, and the general art style of the game (powered by the Unreal game engine) is gorgeous. We’re reaching the point where iPhone games meet — or exceed — the quality (at least so far as visuals are concerned) of current console systems.

If you’re still on the iPhone 4, fret not. You can still play the game, and it will look gorgeous with that Retina Display; it simply isn’t as powerful. The art direction means that you’ll likely think that the game looks similar to the first installment, which is hardly a damning statement.

The developers clearly wanted you to enjoy the scenery this time around, as they’ve hidden sacks of gold all over the place. I rarely moved my eyes from the screen as Siris moved around the castle, afraid to miss a treasure chest or pile of gold. I enjoy finding this extra money, as it allows you to purchase new weapons and equipment (which, in turn, allows you to level up) but I felt that it was a bit strange for so much gold to be left lying around.

It’s all About the Rhythm

Where the first game allowed you to parry, block, and dodge, Infinity Blade II now grades you on the same things. Instead of simply seeing Parry flash across the screen, now you can get a Great Parry or Perfect Parry. These increase the knockback time (the period where the enemy is vulnerable) accordingly, so you’ll quickly want to hone your reflexes and learn your enemy’s patterns to get the most time possible.

Of special value are Stabs and Combos. Stabs, in my experience, occur the most often after you have succesfully Parry Breaked (broken?) an enemy. These not only deal extra damage, but they also increase the knockback time. Combos are performed by slashing in various directions, so experiment with the way that you drag your finger across an enemy in order to deal as much damage as possible.

If I were to break this game down into one element, it’s rhythm. You need to monitor your enemy’s rhythm before you can attack them (or survive their attacks, anyway) and you’ll need to find your own rhythm in order to strike back. If you swing blindly you may end up winning a few battles, but it’s more rewarding, both in-game and emotionally, to place a few well-timed and coordinated blows.

Clashmob

Every once in a while, I find myself thinking: “You know what would be really fun? Attacking an enemy with at least a million HP that’s the size of a football field.” Luckily, Infinity Blade II is set to fulfill that wish with Clashmob, an as-yet unreleased feature of the game.

In the Clashmob, you will join up with players worldwide to take down a single huge enemy. These enemies will often have ridiculously high amounts of HP and Defense, requiring the combined effort of many Infinity Blade players to take down. This adds a social aspect to the game that not only provides the satisfaction of taking down a huge beast, but also gives you that sense of togetherness as stoop over your iPhone, hand clenched and finger at the ready.

Conclusion

This is no sophomore slump. Chair managed to follow up one of the first iOS games to be recognized for more than its bird-flinging rage or adorable gameplay. Infinity Blade paved the way, but Infinity Blade II feels like a much more complete game.

Whether or not this game is for you depends on your outlook. While there are more options this time around, Siris is still essentially going along pre-determined paths fighting battle after battle. If you want more freedom, or get sick of fighting similar enemies, this isn’t the game for you.

It also tends to make your iPhone run hot, with all of the processing power that it’s using. This will also affect your battery, but not in a way that is more noticeable than other comparable games. If you really want to play the game this won’t be a deal-breaker, but it does go to show that Infinity Blade II pushes even the 4S to its limits.

All-in-all, it’s a fun game with excellent visuals. Many grievances players had with the first game are gone, and what’s left is an entertaining package perfect for bus-stop byte sized sessions or glued-to-the-couch marathons.

The world is vast, laid out as a landscape filled with the hard, straight edges of digital grass, stones, sand and trees. I continue my climb to the nearest mountain peak. This will be a good place for it. The land spreads out far below — the ocean in the distance, the hills to the left and the white fog that shows the limits of my visibility. This will be a good place to build my castle.

I start with a single, narrow path that heads straight out from the mountain — a bridge to the sky. Next, I build out a wider platform on top of which I will create the foundation of stone and wood. Arched doorways, long halls, wide sitting rooms, flickering torches, hidden passageways, deep tunnels — a spectacular monument is formed.

It’s called Minecraft, and if you haven’t heard about it yet, you’re about to.

The Story

In May of 2009, Markus Persson, a Swedish game developer, began working on Minecraft. Almost two-and-a-half years later in November of 2011, the finished game was released to the fanfare of the first ever Minecon in Las Vegas.

In those few years, the simple sandboxing game of blocks and monsters grew a massive user base — over 3 million. The only thing it apparently lacked was a way for these dedicated (addicted?) fans to continue their world-creating on their mobile devices. The solution was Minecraft: Pocket Edition, which was released on various platforms in August 2011, and finally reached iOS in November during Minecon.

Starting Out

Minecraft: Pocket Edition (or simply Minecraft PE) is available in the app store as either a free “lite” version or a paid “full” version. The lite version will get you into the basic gameplay, but limits your palette to only 18 of the 36 blocks. Also, the paid version will allow you to save your maps, while the lite version does not.

When you open the game, you will see the title menu with three options: Join Game, Start Game or Options. Join Game will let you play with others over a local Wi-Fi network. Start Game will either build you your randomly generated world, or, if you purchased the full version, will give you a menu with your saved worlds and the option to create a new world. And I’ll talk more about the Settings page towards the end of this review.

The Gameplay

When you select Start Game, you’ll end up in a digital landscape that is yours for the shaping. With the paid version, you will have the option to create a new world, or to open an existing saved game. With the lite version, you will be taken straight to a random terrain (If you have never played Minecraft before, you can skip the next paragraph and just get into the gameplay principles below).

For those already familiar with the desktop or online versions of Minecraft, you will be comfortable right away with the touch version of the game, but you may be disappointed to see a lack of the complete features that you are used to such as mobs, items and crafting. Do not fear however, as these are planned for future versions.

For those new to the game, the principles of gameplay are basically to form a world by either removing or placing stones, ladders, torches, flowers, vines, and more. Walk around to explore and shape the environment around you. At first, that may sound limited, but the possibilities are surprisingly great with the 36-block palette, the randomly generated terrain and an active imagination and the game quickly and surprisingly becomes very addicting.

The most basic action is to place new blocks. You have an immediate selection of three different block types available at the bottom of your screen from which you can choose a block and then just touch the surface of any existing block to add a new one.

The second action is to remove existing blocks. This is done by pressing and holding on the block that you want to remove. Denser elements such as stone require a longer press to delete, while torches or ladders take only a brief moment before they disappear.

Of course, you don’t just want to add and remove the blocks in your immediate surroundings, so there is a directional pad on the lower left-hand corner of the screen that you can use to move your character around and explore the world. You can also rotate the camera view by dragging and pulling your other hand around anywhere else on the screen.

To change the block types that are accessible in your action menu, choose the button with the “…” on it. This will bring up a screen with the palette of blocks. Choose one, and it will take the first position in your bottom bar. Then, tap Done in the upper right-hand corner and you will be taken back to the game.

Tips and Tricks

There are two different viewing modes in Minecraft: a first-person and a third-person view. Each mode comes in handy in different situations, and it’s simple to switch between them. During gameplay, choose the button with the “…” and above the palette of blocks, you can choose the Menu button from the left-hand corner. The main game menu is listed in the center of the page, and there are two small buttons in the upper left-hand corner. The first button will mute or activate the sound. The second button will toggle between first-person and third-person viewing modes.

It is possible to create “floating” structures that are not attached to any other surfaces and appear to be hanging in the sky. To do this, build out from some high location, create the floating structure and then remove all of the surrounding blocks. The structure will then stay in place and you’ll only be able to get back to it by building either a tower or a bridge.

Ladders can be used to make a quick ascent to the top of one of your structures. Be careful though, because if you go off the side of the ladder, you’ll fall back to where you started.

Torches can be helpful for illuminating dark spaces such as hallways or tunnels, but they are also useful for making certain areas of your structures stand out from the rest.

Options

From the main title menu, you can access the Options page. Here you can set up your multiplayer settings, adjust the quality of the graphics, and modify the sensitivity and dominant hand.

Conclusion

From simple square huts to towering castles, Minecraft PE allows you to explore the possibilities of digital creation. Also, due to the nature of the gameplay, Minecraft is a great way to spend a few minutes of downtime, or an entire evening of gaming.

Also, if you enjoy Minecraft PE and haven’t tried it out on the desktop, head over to minecraft.com to buy it and expand your block-building possibilities!

It’s Game Week here at iPhone.AppStorm, and all this week we’re going to have tons of reviews, giveaways and other good stuff, all centered around the gaming world!

To kick off Game Week, let’s just hit this one right with the obvious: Are you a gamer? Do you find yourself furiously tapping the screen trying to get the next level, or just casually playing solitaire while you wait for your doctor’s appointment?

We want to know, so answer the question in the poll to the right!

Have you ever build something with your own hands? As a kid, have you build castles and houses out of sand, wood or lego pieces? And as an adult, have you aspired to take your craftsmanship to new heights?

Who says you can’t? With Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D you can build towers into the sky and beyond, start against your friends and if you’re really ambitious, build your own city — if you have what it takes.

Build Up Up Up

The basic idea behind Tower Bloxx is building towers; building them perfectly and building them as high as it goes.

Each tower consists of separate building blocks which have to be dropped on top of each other. Your task is to make sure the blocks align perfectly and time the drop correctly as well.

What may sound easy will get more challenging quite fast. Every time a block is not aligned properly, the tower begins to sway. It may not matter when you have only ten levels, but once you breach 50 stories or more, dropping blocks will become an art.

Every ten stories you’ll get a building block with a balcony. Drop this one perfectly and the population within the tower will increase. You can also start combos with perfectly aligned drops, resulting in faster rising population.

Quick Game

As the name implies, the goal of the game is to build a tower as high as possible in the shortest amount of time. You have one type of tower to build and you can miss three times; after the fourth miss the construction will stop and the game is over.

On the bottom left you can see how many levels your tower already has and how many misses you can still afford. If you started a combo, the remaining time will be displayed across the top of the screen.

What’s really outstanding about Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D is the level of detail which has gone into game. For example, when you drop blocks perfectly, you not only get a really encouraging sound but also beautifully rendered tiny clouds when the blocks hit each other. Also, while your tower rises the background changes. First you can see the cityscape, then the sky filled with moving planes and blinking satellites and eventually you even end up in space.

Build a City

Once you’ve mastered how to build towers, progress to create your own city. Of course, you’ll need the skills you’ve just acquired, but there’s more to it. The city consists of several districts which are unlocked one after the other. Each district has a population goal to fulfill — it’s displayed on the top of the screen.

In the first district there are three types of towers that can be built: blue residential towers, red commerce towers and green office towers.

Each tower has a specific height to be reached and as explained in the instructions, towers have to be placed according to certain rules (blue everywhere, red only next to blue and green next to both other colors).

You’ll need to plan ahead to make sure you can fulfill the population goal and still leave your district with enough commerce and office space (which will also add to your population).

Once you progress to the other districts, a fourth kind of tower will be added to the selection, a yellow kind. That one is really hard to place, but it’s quite rewarding to get them.

Also, once you get better, you can unlock “trophy roofs.” Those are really eccentric roofs for your buildings which will increase your score.

Party Game

Challenge your friends! This is very cool if you’ve already had the chance to accustom yourself with the game and the others haven’t.

Before the game you can set the height which has to be reached, the maximum being fifty stories. In the game mode itself, the rotation changes to landscape mode and the screen is split.

It would have been better if the orientation for the second player would have been rotated by 180 degrees so the players could sit across each other and not squeeze next to each other, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Time Attack

You start with 44 seconds on the clock. As soon as you’ve dropped the first building block, the countdown starts.

The basic game principles are the same as in the Quick Play mode, only that you’re fighting the clock. There are checkpoints every ten levels where you get awarded extra seconds depending on how good you placed the blocks and how quick you ascend.

The little indicator on the bottom tells you how many more levels to go until the next checkpoint. Another benefit of the time trial mode is that you can miss as many blocks as you like. That comes in very handy if the tower and the block are swinging into opposite directions and you have no time to waste. Simply drop the block and get into a better position with the next one.

Just don’t misjudge this game mode. It might be a good “Just a quick game before I go to bed” in the beginning, but once you get better, be prepared to actually survive 5 to 10 minutes there.

Verdict

Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D might not look like the most exciting game next to blockbusters like Infinity Blade II or some racing game, but it doesn’t have to. And even though it hasn’t been updated in a year, it still runs without a glitch on an iPhone 4S with iOS 5 installed.

For those of us who just want to put their brains on standby and enjoy a thoroughly non-violent puzzle game with some relaxing background music and lovingly designed graphics, Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D is a wonderful distraction and quite enjoyable.

A few months back, we took one week and celebrated everything in the productivity universe; all the apps for your iPhone that would help you get things done and be more productive. We called it, shockingly enough, Productivity Week, and it was a pretty big hit.

Today, we’re introducing a new week to the mix: Game Week. For the next 6 days, we’re going to talk about games and nothing else. We’ve got solid reviews of some of the hottest games out there, interviews with developers and even a few giveaways to help spice things up a bit.

So get ready to swipe your way into the next level — it’s Game Week here on iPhone.AppStorm.net!

Gmail is one of the best web mail apps around and I have been using it for a few years now. When the iPhone came out, there was a lot of talk about a native Gmail application; but, because of Apple’s stringent rules, that talk was pretty much quieted as soon as it was spoken. Apple was completely satisfied with the way that Mail on the iPhone worked and wanted you to use that instead.

Well, being patient and letting things play out, we finally have ourselves a native Gmail application for the iPhone. Since I mainly use it as my main email client, I figured I would give it a test drive and see how it actually works and whether or not it would take the place of Mail.

Functionality

The core functions of Gmail are all available within this app and that makes it very easy to use. First, you have full control over your email by being able to use one of the great features of Gmail, which is the ability to organize your mail. You can access all of it from your inbox all the way down to putting them in different folders, or as Google calls them “labels.” Email can also be starred and labeled so that you can move them into the proper place.

Writing is a very intuitive and seamless experience that makes it easy to fire quick emails on the iPhone. When you want to compose a message you can start typing in the contact’s email address, and if it is one that you have previously written or have saved in Gmail, it will bring it up and you can select it. You can also select a contact from your iPhone address book if you don’t already have their email saved in your Google contacts. For attachments, you are limited to only attaching a picture or video that you have on your iPhone, no documents or anything else.

Some of the other features include search and push notifications. With search it can comb through all of your email to find what you are looking for, similar to how Gmail does it on the web. Notifications, overall, seem to work very well; in fact, as soon as I get one on my computer, within seconds I get one on my iPhone as well. The only caveat is that you cannot take advantage of the new iOS 5 notifications, and are stuck getting notified with a beep or a buzz of your iPhone and the number of emails above the Gmail icon.

Look and Feel

When you first start to get into the app, you find that a lot of what you can do in it is very similar to the mobile web version and to some degree, the actual web version that you would use on your computer. A lot of the functionality of Gmail is in this native app and so it makes it feel like you are actually using it and not getting a watered down version.

When you compare it to the mobile version, it feels more like Gmail should. For example, you can’t get notifications if you were to use the mobile web which, to me, is a big reason to use this instead. To a lesser extent, using a native app versus going into Safari is just simpler to navigate, and less steps to take to get to my destination. With the mobile version, depending on how long I have been away, I need to open Safari, then re-log back into my account, and finally, I am back in Gmail. With a native app, I just open it and there is my email; no need to worry about anything else.

The Good and the Bad?

When the app first came out, it was met with a lot of criticism. As I read through my Twitter stream, most people were turned off by it because of lack of features and that it really didn’t serve a better purpose than either the web or using Mail on the iPhone. In my opinion, I see potential in this application as Google did well in their first iteration. You get a solid app that works well and does the majority of what you could do as a normal Gmail user. I know I felt that after using it for a while, I wasn’t limited in any way by the fact that I was using this and not iOS 5 Mail.

But, that is not to say it doesn’t have its shortcomings. For example, you can only use it for one account and you also cannot check your Google Apps email. For most people this is fine, but if you want to check more than one account, you are out of luck. Two, I noticed that because this isn’t connected to your iPhone like the Mail app, if I wanted to share a picture over email, I have to make sure that I have Gmail set up on iOS 5 Mail. Granted, I could go into the app and send it as an attachment, but it would be nice to have it integrated with the iPhone. Lastly, it would be nice to have the ability to send attachments other than photos and video; maybe have it connect to Dropbox so I can send documents.

Conclusion

Overall, the Gmail app is out to a solid start and Google promises more features are to come. It works well and gets the job done for email and I think if it could integrate more with the iPhone, then I would use this as my full time mail app. You can also get it for the iPad and it has the same functionality and look as the iPhone version, but just on a bigger screen. Get it free on the App Store and let us know what you think about it and if it is going to replace the Mail app for you.

I’m just going to come out and say it: I’m a big Batman fan. I always have been really, ever since I started picking up the comics when I was a kid. And although I don’t read the comics much anymore, I do still appreciate the games and movies that come out based on this iconic hero.

When Batman: Arkham Asylum came out for the consoles, I bought it and I was hooked. The sequel is on my Christmas list, but until then I’ve got a stripped down version that I can play anytime I want: Batman Arkham City Lockdown. It’s definitely not as deep as the console versions, but is it worth the purchase anyways? Let’s figure it out after the break.

The Concept

Batman Arkham City Lockdown is based on the popular console game, but really, only in concept. The story goes that all of the inmates in Arkham Asylum (the jail where all the nutsos go) were released into a special part of the city that’s been walled off from the general population. Batman goes in to kick butt and take names.

From a graphics standpoint, this game is beautiful. Although it’s built on the same Unreal platform as Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade II, it’s not quite as perfectly rendered. That’s a little bit of splitting hairs, but once you get into the game you realize that you see the same environments over and over again, whereas with Infinity Blade, you’ve got a new level with every bad guy. But more on that later.

How the Levels Work

In the console game, you’ve got a freewheeling sandbox environment where you can go pretty much anywhere you please. Navigation in Batman Arkham City Lockdown is done by a map, then you touch the place you want to go to see what kind of level and bad guys you’re going to find. Once you pick your poison, you’re dropped into the environment and each bad guy approaches you, so there really is nothing to do but fight.

Now that’s not to say that just fighting is a bad thing. Essentially, the game is very similar to Infinity Blade: swipe to move, attack, dodge, etc. I prefer this method of controls to virtual joysticks, because my finger always slides away from the controls, making me miss hits and get frustrated. By just swiping away, I can perform combos just like in Infinity Blade, and dodge moves in the same way. But with Batman Arkham City Lockdown, combos are a big thing that not only get you extra points but also make the game more stylish. If you do it right, you can knock someone down and break their arm.

Each zone has a few different levels, then a boss character. The problem here is that the individual levels all have the same landscape, with no variations other than the way the bad guys look or are dressed. So really, working your way through a level can seem pretty repetitive. I’m not sure if it’s my love of the Batman character that kept me pushing through or not, but even though it was a bit like Groundhog’s Day, I still enjoyed it.

Boss Fights

I played up into the third zone, and that means I faced Two Face and Solomon Grundy to move onward. With Two Face, a new dynamic was introduced: The Batarang. The game would prompt me to tilt the iPhone to guide the Batarang to its final destination — Two Face’s chest — and that’s exactly what I did. With Grundy, well that was a different story.

For those of you who aren’t giant nerds, Solomon Grundy is a huge zombie that has tremendous strength. His backstory is actually kind of sad, but that doesn’t really matter for the purposes of this game, anyways.

Grundy chases you down like a madman, and you have to avoid him. To do so, a pop up will appear telling you which direction to swipe. Do so — and quickly — or Grundy is going to eat your lunch. Once you’re actually there to fight, you have to dodge again, then attack and then occasionally you’ll get grabbed. To get out, you have to furiously tap the screen and break his grip. It’s a welcome change from the rest of the game.

Leveling Up

At the end of each level, you get XP and Waynetech points, which you can use to buy additional items. These all are designed to level up the character, giving you a faster response time, better health and all that stuff. I found that the difficulty picked up quite a bit the further along I went, so I really needed all that Waynetech gear to continue. Without it, you just don’t survive.

Additional Features

There are a few other nice touches included, such as free iPhone wallpaper, a built-in comic viewer and bios of the characters, but there’s also some in-app purchasing that I’m not a big fan of. Why? Well the game itself is $6, so spending more on something seems a bit excessive. What you get though, are additional character skins, including the animated version of Batman from the 1990s, Batman Beyond and more. It’s cool, and I could see how that would help revitalize the game later once you beat it, but it’s still a bit icky to me.

Final Thoughts

I love Batman, but I’m not quite sure how I feel about this game. I always felt that Infinity Blade was a great game but repetitive, and they seemed to have fixed that to a certain extent with Infinity Blade II. But with the original Infinity Blade, at least we had different environments to see with each fight, and that’s not the case with Batman Arkham City Lockdown. I love the fighting because it gets more and more challenging, but I really wish the environments would change at least a little bit. I would gladly give up the comic viewer for a few more backgrounds.

Also, I’m not sure about the depth of the entire thing. The game has been out only 24 hours, and as I write this, I’ve spent quite a bit playing it on my own. I’m already on the third boss fight, and there’s only one unlocked level left. Are there more after that? I hope so, because if not, then it’s kinda crappy.

On the other hand, this is the perfect iPhone game of sorts. Sure, you can sit down like I did and play a marathon session, but you can also just pick it up and play whenever you want. Kicking butt is fun no matter how long you do it, so playing in the waiting room of your doctor’s office is just fine. So in a way, it’s just about right.

And I do feel that this is a huge step forward in the genre. Now developers other than Epic are using the Unreal engine on the iPhone, and that means we’re just going to get better and better games. Maybe Batman Arkham City Lockdown isn’t perfect, but it is a lot of fun. And if it’s the first step in a series of excellent games on the platform, then I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Get your thumbs and fingertips warmed up, folks, because it’s Game Friday once again! It’s never nice to end the week on a dull note, so as always we’re here to help you out with our recommendations for the coolest new titles to hit the App Store.

Jump in and have a look at this week’s lineup …

What Have You Been Playing?

We hope you find something to play with up there, and look forward to your comments — especially if you think we missed something amazing. Drop us a line, have a terrific weekend, and see you next time!

That’s right! AppStorm has now landed on Google+ and will be delivering you app related goodness right to your Stream! We’re excited to let you know that now, in addition to Twitter and Facebook, you can get involved with iPhone.AppStorm over at Google+! We’ll be using Google+ to let you know about the latest app news, reviews, how-tos, and roundups. Read on to find out more…

AppStorm on Google+

Through Google+, we’ll be publishing links to our new reviews, how-tos, roundups, and lots more! It’s going to be an extension of the AppStorm site and community, in the same way we treat Twitter and Facebook.

Don’t have a Google+ account? You can head over and create one here, or find out a little more about how it works.

Head to the overall AppStorm page for easy access to all of your favourite AppStorm sites, or click here to check out iPhone.AppStorm – add us to your circles and get involved!

I bought an iPad on release day, and since then I’ve seen my parents follow suit and get an iPad and an iPad 2 in the following years. Although I use my iPad every day, it’s not for writing, drawing or creating, it’s basically an e-reader. And my main app for that is Flipboard.

Had you asked me months ago if Flipboard would work on the iPhone, I would’ve told you that it was a stupid idea. Flipboard is so effective on the iPad because of the added real estate; it lets the app breathe, and the stories come to life. There’s no way it would work on the iPhone. No way.

Boy was I wrong.

The Concept

To understand why Flipboard is such a revolutionary concept, let’s take a moment to break it all down. The idea is that Flipboard is a magazine that is entirely curated by you. The table of contents is made up of subjects that you choose, and they’re updated on the spot so that you’re always in the know. And once you get into each subject, the individual posts or articles are rendered so beautifully that you wonder if there’s a designer hammering away at the speed of light to deliver your content to you personally. It’s just that pretty.

Each subject comes from a feed. You can include popular social networking services such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, but then there are other options such as a feed from a website such as All Things D or Fast Company. And if that wasn’t enough, Flipboard has their own series of channels, including FlipSports and FlipNews, so you’re pretty much covered, no matter what you’re looking for.

Going Into the Magazine

Select a subject and immediately you’re transported to a page with your content, organized blog style with the newest stuff up top. How many posts per page varies greatly depending on how Flipboard pulls it up. For example, you could have two posts top and bottom of the page, just one or sometimes even three if they’re short. Each post may have a dividing line between it, or it could just be on its own in a thought bubble. There are tons of options.

When it really gets pretty though is when a picture is posted. Sometimes it will come up as an image at the top of the screen, other times it’s the background for the entire page, which just looks beautiful. Don’t believe me? Well look:

Each image fades to black on the top and bottom, making it look like it’s a bent picture you’re holding in your hands. Of course, you can also touch the image to see it without the fade, another nice addition.

Navigating

Moving from post to post is part of the appeal of Flipboard on the iPad, because navigation is a cross between a traditional magazine and an old-school flip clock going from side to side. Flipboard on the iPhone is different though, because instead of flipping side to side, you go up and down with your thumb. The iPhone edition seems much more natural to use on the smaller screen, as flicking up and down with your thumb is just easy and quick to do with just one hand.

The animation used between screens is nice as well. The page folds in half and then moves up and down, depending on which way you go, and then reveals the page behind it. It’s similar to the page curl feature in iBooks, but with a bit more panache.

Beyond the Surface

Each post on a page displays either the post itself or the link from the post, be it an image or video. If you want to find out more or see the original post, just touch it and you’ll either get a pop up or you’ll go to a new screen with just the post. And if there’s a link in there somewhere, just touch that and it’ll go to an in-app browser that works very well.

Another nice thing integrated into the iPhone version is the new Cover Stories feature. On the iPad, the cover of your Flipboard is just a cool image, and that’s all you get. With the iPhone version, you see a few select posts that Flipboard picks at random and then you can just skim through them quickly. Flipboard says this is the option you’ll use when you’re in line at the grocery store, and I couldn’t agree more — it’s exactly what I did today, as a matter of fact.

What Makes It So Special?

Flipboard is probably used 80% more than any other app on my iPad, because it’s an easy way to go through all of my social networks, get my news fix, find out what’s going on in the world of sports and call it a day. It’s quick and easy, but beautiful to look at, so I just enjoy it.

Moving it to the iPhone means that you could potentially get rid of both the Facebook and Twitter apps, or just shove them into a folder somewhere. You don’t need those individual apps anymore if all you do is check the feed, you just need Flipboard. In the short time that it’s been out, it’s already replaced those two apps for me, and I can’t see going back.

Final Thoughts

The app is barely 24 hours old at this point, and as such, there are still a few little hiccups. The system was down almost immediately after I downloaded the app because of too many people signing in, and as was the case with the iPad version, occasionally it takes a bit longer than you’d like to load up a section. It’s not the end of the world, but it can be frustrating.

Otherwise, this has become my new favorite app. I mean, it was my favorite on the iPad anyways, but now for the iPhone, it’s really just … awesome.

I’ve found myself at a loss for words numerous times while reviewing this one (which is odd for me), mostly because it’s hard to quantify exactly how much Flipboard as a whole has made my life easier. But to sum it up, you know those apps that you get that just change the way you do things? Flipboard is one of those apps. And if you don’t give it a try, the only person that suffers is you.

Everyone here at iPhone.AppStorm would like to send out a huge thanks to this month’s iPhone.AppStorm sponsors, for all of the great work that they do. If you would like to advertise on the site, you can purchase a space through BuySellAds.

Slide Soccer — Have a ball playing soccer on your mobile device with Slide Soccer. You can play the game online with your friends, or with anyone in the world with the multiplayer option! Available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Zack Splat — Apprentice magician Zack animated some creatures to help him out, but anything the creatures touch gets splatted. Zack doesn’t know how to stop them – help him run away and avoid getting splatted!

CreTouch — Looking for a new case for your iPhone? CreTouch has a wide variety of cases for the iPhone 4, 3GS and 4S, including perimeter cases as well as fronts and backs. These cases not only look fantastic, but also give a luxurious look to your iPhone.

iGearUSA — iGearUSA.com is a leading online retailer and manufacturer of iPhone accessories that offers a large selection of products ranging from iPhone Car Kits, Cases, Chargers & Cables, Cradles & Docks, Headphones, Headsets, Screen Protectors, Touch Pen and more. We’re based in City of Industry in beautiful southern California. We offer the latest Apple iPhone accessories with rapid fulfillment, expert support and excellent customer service.

Clear Tones — You don’t want to look like everybody else, why would your iPhone/Android phone sound like everybody else’s? Cleartones offers a set of 50 quality “hand made” minimalist ringtones for the serious user. Like yourself.

CopyTrans Tune Swift — Changing PCs or switching to Mac without losing your iTunes library? CopyTrans TuneSwift is the easiest and safest way to move iTunes data to a Mac or any PC. Backup the entire iTunes library including iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone backups. Save the latest changes of your iTunes library by using the incremental backup feature. Import the iTunes library from an external hard drive and restore it from previous backups. Anytime & anywhere your iTunes library just a flap away!

CopyTrans Manager — Sick of iTunes? Is it too complex and slow for your needs? Looking for a faster, lighter and free alternative iPod manager? CopyTrans Manager is the perfect iTunes replacement for your iPhone or iPod. Add music & videos to iPod, edit song tags and artworks, create and organize iPhone playlists, preview tracks with the integrated music player. It has never been this simple!

Hotspot Shield VPN —Hotspot Shield for iOS provides the same great features as our popular desktop version (trusted by 10 million users) plus data compression that stretches your cell phone data plan and saves you money.

Affix — ?ffix aims to be the central hub for all of your life inputs. Awesome task manager with gestures. Create templates for frequently sent emails. Post a tweet within the app.

Ideas to Apps — If you want to design your own iPhone app, this is a great place to start. It’s a step-by-step guide to designing your own app, then finding someone to develop it for you

Yes, Christmas isn’t until next week, but around here, a free app is always welcome. Here’s some apps that have gone free for this holiday season.

• The excellent match-3 Call of Atlantis is free this weekend.
• Chillingo’s puzzle platformer NyxQuest is also free.
• Babo Crash is another match-3 title that’s gone free.
• Pro Zombie Soccer, where you use a soccer ball to kill zombies, is free.
• Bejeweled is usually 99 cents, but you can get it for free thanks to a promotion on Apple’s Facebook page.
• Gameloft’s Asphalt 6 racer has gone free.
• And the great RPG Fara is now completely free as well.

And there’s some solid sales going on as well:

• Com2Us has most of its catalog on sale for 99 cents.
• Peggle and the HD version are down to just a buck each.
• Just in case you missed it on our Twitter account, Edge Extended is on sale for just 99 cents, while the original Edge is free.
• And EA is continuing its daily deals through the holidays with lots of free and discounted games inside their catalog.

Lots of great games for cheap or free this weekend! Enjoy.

Lots of free and discounted apps this pre-holiday weekend originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson spoke recently at a meeting hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California, and said that he very likely will add an addendum to the already 630-page biography of Apple’s co-founder. “This is the first or second draft” of the book, he reportedly said. “It’s not the final draft.”

One obvious place the book could expand, according to Isaacson, is on the period after Jobs’ death earlier this year, and the response around the country and the world from nearly everyone associated with Apple. Isaacson also says he’s thinking about doing a more annotated version, including more details on the life Jobs shared with Isaacson over the last few years.

Isaacson also talked a little bit about Jobs’ input on the book — he specifically asked to help design the cover, and Isaacson was happy to oblige. And Isaacson says that during all of his research and their talks, the one thing Jobs really wanted him never to speak about was philanthropy; Jobs obviously wanted that part of his life to remain out of the public eye. But that didn’t stop him, Isaacson remembers, from poking a little fun at Bill Gates’ famous giving: “Bill Gates was better at philanthropy because he didn’t care about making great products,” Isaacson quotes Jobs as saying to him.

Walter Isaacson reportedly to expand Jobs biography originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electronista reports the iPhone has launched in 20 additional countries, including Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

With the sole exception of China, Apple has now launched its newest iPhone in all of its major markets. Electronista also points out that, as usual, many nations are paying incredible markups for Apple’s products. Brazil is perhaps the worst example; the cheapest iPhone 4S, the 16 GB model, costs over US$1400 compared to $849 for the most expensive 64 GB model in the States. Electronista speculates the higher prices are a result of Brazil’s high import duties, in which case it may well be cheaper for Brazilians to travel to another nation and buy the iPhone 4S elsewhere.

Russian prices are also quite high, starting at nearly US$1200 for a 16 GB iPhone 4S. I paid just a hair over US$1000 for a 64 GB iPhone 4S in New Zealand — far more than I paid for the 64 GB iPad 2 I imported from the US — but after seeing how much Russians and Brazilians are being asked to pay, I don’t think I’ll complain about my local pricing anymore.

iPhone 4S launches in over 20 countries originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has seeded another build of OS X Lion 10.7.3 to testers. According to 9to5Mac, this third build of 10.7.3 addresses issues with Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight, and Safari.

Apple lists no known issues with this build of 10.7.3, and it may be the last developer build issued before the 10.7.3 update goes public with the usual bug fixes and enhancements to OS X.

Apple seeds OS X Lion 10.7.3 to testers originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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