What I like about the Hector: Badge of Carnage games is how comparatively different from one another they are. The gap between We Negotiate With Terrorists and its follow-up Senseless Acts of Justice [$4.99 / $6.99] highlights not only the breadth and scope of the adventure genre, but also Straandlooper’s willingness to use episodic content as an avenue for experimentation and iteration.
There are some technical improvements to note -- Straandlooper have added helpful on-screen cues to show players precisely where they’re tapping, and Senseless Acts of Justice is significantly longer than its predecessor -- but Hector’s cirrhotic core remains largely unchanged: it's still a competent adventure, smartly written and well-designed.
I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do with EA's Madden 12 [$6.99 / HD]. I mean, a game like Madden we sort of need to review, but I've spent a considerable amount of time with the game and honestly couldn't even say what's different between Madden 11 and Madden 12 aside from adding one more to the numerical suffix, redesigning some menus, and updating the roster. So, I've just updated our Madden 11 review:
The Madden series hardly needs an introduction, as football player turned coach turned commentator John Madden has had his name on football games for the better part of 20 years now. On home consoles, it has become tradition for EA to release a new Madden game each year with updated rosters, a few new features, and other various tweaks. As of tonight, the second third yearly installment of the Madden series has arrived for the iPhone.
Last year Two years ago we took a close look at Madden NFL 10 and thought it was a really great football game for the iPhone. Madden '10 came loaded with all the licensed players, stadiums, logos, and everything else you'd expect of a Madden game along with game modes ranging from single exhibition games to full seasons. The two hip new features of Madden NFL 10 for the iPhone were hot routes allowing players to draw on the screen to control players, and "action control time" which switched the game to slow motion mode allowing for precise maneuvers with the virtual controls.
If you’re an avid sports gamer and an NFL football fan, then chances are pretty good that you know that today, August 30th, is the release of Madden NFL 12 on consoles. Also coinciding with those console releases are the iOS versions of Madden NFL 12 [$6.99/HD], which are now available in the App Store.
Following the formula of most sports titles, Madden NFL 12 appears to be just an incremental upgrade to the Madden released last year. The game description boast new features like expanded rosters (though, some players have noted in the iPad version thread in our forums that they’re not totally up to date, showing Donovan McNabb still on the Redskins rather than his new team the Vikings). Also, collisions are said to have been improved along with the graphics and an expanded playbook.
One thing about Shift 2: Unleashed [$5.99/HD], just real quick: Don't bother. If I had to summarize EA's latest Need for Speed sim, it certainly wouldn't involve the word "unleashed." This is about as misleading a subtitle you could attach to something so tame and afraid to do anything outside its comfort zone.
I'm still high off the faster, crazier NFS: Hot Pursuitand the dialed back Real Racing 2, I think. Shift 2 exists in a limbo-like spot somewhere in between those titles, with a slightly heavier weight toward the realistic racing, which is something the franchise has only recently started dabbling in. We loved the first Need for Speed: Shift because it nailed what we wanted from a console approximation and it was a convincing, competitive iOS sim-racer. This sequel hits those same notes, but the standard, and thus what I expect, has raised since.
Last September Namco released Time Crisis 2nd Strike [$6.99/HD], a game that offered a technically competent experience akin to their classic arcade light gun game series, but also one that lost most of what made it fun in the transition to the touch screen. Light gun games just aren’t as good without the, well, light gun. Time Crisis, along with most every other gallery shooter on a touch screen, isn't quite as satisfying when all you have to do is tap directly on a target to shoot it.
A few weeks back though, Namco released the iGunCon [Free], an interesting app that tries to replicate the experience of using a physical controller in Time Crisis 2nd Strike using a second iOS device. At a time when peripherals like theJoypad Game Controller [Free], the iCade, and the iControlpad are offering cool new ways to play iOS games, the idea of a clever option for a light gun really interests me. In practice, the iGunCon certainly works, just not well enough to offer the type of solid experience that you would want. But, it’s still a neat novelty to play around with, and if the tech improves it could turn into a real alternative for Wii-like motion controls in iOS games sometime in the future.
First off, the iGunCon can only work with devices equipped with a gyroscope and a digital compass. So basically, just an iPhone 4 or iPad 2, for now. It uses these parts of the hardware to track the movement of an onscreen cursor when aiming by pointing and moving your device. The setup is extremely easy, just involving selecting the iGunCon from the options screen when both devices are on the same local WiFi network or connecting over Bluetooth. The iGunCon can be used to play Time Crisis 2nd Strike on an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or in the Mac App Store version of the game.
While the setup is really simple, actually using the iGunCon to play the game isn't quite as successful. You can recalibrate the aiming reticule at any time right from the same screen you use to play, which is great, but the cursor movement is pretty choppy and doesn’t always feel totally accurate. It’s easy to adapt to with a few minutes of practice, but don’t expect the same precision you would have with a real light gun or even the default tap-to-shoot option. But, if you can accept that things aren’t totally perfect, it can actually be pretty fun to use the iGunCon.
Besides being used as a light gun controller, the iGunCon app itself can also be used as a toy gun, similar to something like the iGun [99¢] and its many derivatives, and makes the different firing sound effects that are used for the weapons in the game. There are also options to use different graphics based on the various GunCon peripherals from the arcade and console versions of Time Crisis games over the years, which is actually a pretty cool nostalgic touch.
While it doesn’t work completely perfectly, the iGunCon app is a neat peripheral that gives you a different way to experience Time Crisis 2nd Strike, and it’s actually pretty fun, too. Best of all it’s free, so there’s no reason to not at least give it a try to see what it’s all about. With some refinement, the tech could lead to some interesting gameplay experiences in the future. For now it remains mostly just a novelty, but definitely one that's worth checking out.
Gameloft has had a recent track record of enjoyable titles (9mm [$6.99] and BackStab [$6.99] come to mind). Silent Ops [$6.99], the latest part-stealth, part-third-person shooter looked to extend Gameloft’s streak of decent titles that provide a good iOS alternative to a variety of genres usually reserved for console and PC gamers. Unfortunately, Silent Ops, with its generic story, poor presentation, and lacking gameplay definitely takes the genre back quite a few steps and should be avoided in lieu of other, much more deserving titles.
At first glance, Silent Ops looks to take a lot of its inspiration from the popular Splinter Cell series --there’s a lot of sneaking into buildings, a lot of silenced weapons, and a lot of double-crossing. Take a closer look, however, and you’ll quickly see that any comparison to an actual stealth title is only skin deep. While you may be doing quite a bit of sneaking, your cover is almost always blown every time you take a shot at the opposition, silenced weapon or not. In addition, the whole ‘sneaking’ mechanic is just poorly done, as not only is the cover system poorly implemented, but once you’re spotted, you’re basically in guns blazing mode for the rest of the level.
Not that getting spotted makes the game any harder. The AI in Silent Ops is atrocious. I lost count how many times I’ve seen several enemies just stare at me for seconds on end while I took my time reloading in front of them and then proceeding to empty my clip. In fact, the only threat I ever encountered was running out of bullets. Not to worry, however, as when that happened I would simply just run up to a group of enemies and they would immediately put their guns away and face me in hand-to-hand combat, each taking their turn in an organized, civilized fashion.
The whole combat system is just bizarre and not done very well. Other gameplay elements include simplistic quick time events as well as a few sniping sections that worked as well as they could within the context of the rest of the game. Overall Silent Ops' gameplay, like its aged graphics system, just seems to be lackluster.
In addition to the single-player mode, which takes place across seven different levels (coupled with three separate difficulty levels), Silent Ops also features a barebones multiplayer mode. Players can create or join servers with up to 12 total combatants. Stat tracking does exist, but is restricted to games played, total deaths, and total kills. Admittedly, multiplayer was a much more enjoyable experience than the single player mode, but that’s mostly due to the fact that you’re playing against other live players and has nothing to do with anything that the game actually offers.
As iOS has matured as a gaming platform, games in the style of the typical first or third person shooter have become readily available. In this day and age, there’s no reason to flock to a new one just because it fits in this mold, but that’s the impression I get with Silent Ops. There are far more better titles than this one, some even published by Gameloft itself. I’d suggest you stick with one of those other alternatives, and stay away from this game.
Street Fighter IV Volt [$6.99] launched back in June and although it played strikingly similar to Capcom's original Street Fighter IV [$4.99] on iOS, it did contain a few significant upgrades. Namely, it featured every character from the original as well as 3 new fighters and competitive online play via Game Center. We really loved the first Street Fighter IV so it wasn’t surprising that we enjoyed the enhanced Street Fighter IV Volt even more in our review.
Capcom fed a pretty steady stream of new characters and features to the original Street Fighter IV, and their new iteration is gearing up to start off on that same foot. According to Andriasang and 4Gamer.net, the first set of new characters for Street Fighter IV Volt will be a pair of female fighters, Sakura and Makoto. Sakura is a long time favorite from back in the Alpha series, and Makoto first appeared in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and made a triumphant return in last year’s Super Street Fighter IV on consoles.
There are plenty more screens of both Sakura and Makoto over at Andriasang.com, and as for what may be coming in future updates some enterprising members in our forums may have a lead on that as well. After digging around through some of the game files in Street Fighter IV Volt, they have come across a character list that includes every character already in the game plus Sakura and Makoto, and has spots for Evil Ryu and Fei Long too. This doesn’t necessarily confirm those characters are coming, but it sure is a strong possibility.
There is also another character in Street Fighter IV Volt that was conspicuously absent from the original game, the long time fan favorite Akuma. You fight Akuma as a second boss character after M. Bison in arcade mode, assuming you don’t lose a single round along the way. You can unlock Akuma as a playable character by playing and beating him with every character in Arcade mode or by playing 100 matches online, both potentially time consuming endeavors.
If you want to bypass all that, then there is a very easy way to unlock Akuma if you already have the original Street Fighter IV installed on your device. Simply fire up Arcade mode in Street Fighter IV Volt and at the character select screen tap on the characters in the following order: starting at Ryu, select Abel, Guile, Cammy, then end back on Ryu. Pause for about a second at each character, and when you return back to Ryu tap on him again to reveal Akuma, who will stay unlocked permanently at the character select screen from now on.
Unfortunately, my dodgy Google translating of the articles didn’t divulge a release date for the Sakura and Makoto update, but we’ll keep our eye out for it and let you know when it hits.
The latest third person shooter from Gameloft is named 9mm [$6.99] and comes with an age restriction (17+) on the App Store for containing sexual content, realistic violence, frequent alcohol and drug use references, profanity and suggestive themes. It's gritty and naughty, with drug-dealers, crooked cops, guns, strippers and narrated dialog sprinkled generously with the F-bomb. That's probably enough reasons for some of you to buy it immediately. Sometimes it's fun to play something with dark themes, but if you object to swear-words or prefer pretty rainbows and ponies, this is not the game for you.
In the single player campaign, you control John "Loose" Kannon (*groan*), a corrupt narcotics detective, who kills a drug lord's brother and steals millions in cash. This sparks a bullet-fueled rampage as you take down gang members, while trying to avoid being capped yourself. At first glance this game resembles Grand Theft Auto [$9.99], or Gameloft's earlier title, Gangstar [$4.99], with a similar over-the-shoulder camera perspective, but it's actually more like Max Payne, with a linear storyline.
Rather than an open-world to roam with missions, there's set-pieces to complete as the story unfolds. Markers on the screen tell you where to go next and if you try to go elsewhere objects conveniently block your path, or a message suggests you remain on track. The single player campaign is split into 12 levels, which take roughly 3 hours to complete on easy mode for an average player. But don't worry, once the campaign's completed, you can either attempt a harder difficulty (easy, normal, hard and hardcore), or jump into the multi-player modes.
The title, '9mm', is a obvious reference to the caliber of bullet, so it's unsurprising that guns, bullets and killing play a central role. There's plenty of weapons in your arsenal, including hand-guns, shotguns, submachine guns, powerful assault rifles, and more. And if you miss with all of those, just get up close and personal with a head-butt. It's always satisfying to shoot two enemies with a single bullet and you can carry some weapons in both hands.
Completing levels, kills and achievements earns cash, which can be used to buy body armor, ammo or special weapons at the shop, including explosive ammo, for more impact. Game cash can be optionally brought with real money, as an in-app purchase, but isn't required. At the end of each level, statistics are shown, including number of bullets fired, enemies killed, head-shots achieved and trophies gained (achievements).
The graphics and cut-scene animations are great. There's a few graphical glitches, such as the odd floating body or enemy disappearing into a wall and a couple of characters aren't rendered as well as others, but this happens rarely, so it's more amusing than annoying. The iTunes description mentions "destructible environments" , however although you can shoot the bottles and boxes or shoot speakers to stop music playing, most items are not destructible. Trust me, I shot plenty of stuff.
The controls in 9mm are straightforward, and will be instantly familiar if you've played other similar Gameloft titles. Like Max Payne, you can enter slow-mo "bullet-time" , to pin-point shots and wipe out groups of gangsters, which is often a life-saver. If you swipe across the slo-mo button you'll dive in that direction, while firing in slow motion, providing your slow-mo meter is charged up by passing time and/or completing kills. Tilt controls can be used for aiming if you prefer. And auto-aiming can be disabled, if you enjoy handling your own weapons.
Big tappable icons appear on-screen to pickup weapons, kick down doors, climb out windows, talk to other characters or interact with objects. Simply tap the weapon icon to reload, or swipe to switch weapons. To interrogate gang members or informants, you tap quickly on words and icons which appear on the screen, but the interrogations are certainly not by-the-book and typically involve a bashing. Even the cut-scenes are sometimes interactive, requiring you to quickly tap or swipe to advance, such as swiping to dodge in a particular direction, at the right moment. I did notice the virtual stick could have been used for sprinting, removing the need for that button.
The soundtrack consists of actual licensed tracks from Freeway & Jake One, Beanie Sigel and Apathy, with the first two musicians making an in-game cameo appearance, in a strip-club scene. Be sure to play with headphones, as the game even has bits of 3D audio. On a few occasions, muffled music becomes clear once you kick a door down and you can hear the murmuring of people talking and moving around in the adjoining room, which creates a nice atmosphere and builds up tension prior to attacking.
Gameloft have historically been criticized for poor voice-overs, but 9mm does a reasonable job. The dialog and voice-overs are funny, with many cheesey-yet-entertaining cop lines like "It's raining bacon" as Detective Kannon jumps through a ceiling window to surprise the criminals below. Although, of course, I omitted the naughty curse words at the end of that quote.
The inclusion of two multiplayer modes was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. There's death-match and team death-match modes, which support up to 12 players (Wi-Fi or online) or two players via bluetooth. You choose the time limit, frag limit and number of players. Online play requires a free Gameloft Live account and all online progress is stored on Gameloft's servers, so it's not lost if you delete the game.
Some forum members have complained of lag when many players are involved, however jerkiness is evident even when playing alone on WiFi Multiplayer mode. Others have mentioned that spawn deaths occur too frequently, as other players shoot you when you re-appear. And with leveled up players having better weapons, there's an incentive to quickly upgrade your arsenal, so you can do the same thing to other players. Despite these potential drawbacks, the players in the thread seem to be enjoying the multi-player mode, with positive comments about the large size of the four multiplayer maps.
9mm is a universal game, so you can install it on your iPad and iPhone, without paying twice, which is always appreciated. The installed file size is just over 1.3 GB, so it's a bigger game than most, but is totally worth clearing out space on your iOS device for-- Especially if you're a fan of Max Payne.
We’ve known for about a week or so that Firemint was working on an update to Real Racing 2 [$6.99] and Real Racing 2 HD [$2.99]. That update is now available on the App Store for the generous price of $0. As you’d imagine considering this studio’s track record of solid releases and post-release support, this update is meatier than the traditional fare. A few bug fixes and performance tweaks are present and accounted for, but so are new, solid game-changing features. Firemint has expanded on the campaign in Real Racing 2, as well as introduced a tighter online offering for the HD version.
To get the hardcore specifics, visit the game’s official blog. You’ll see that Firemint has added several latency-squashing features such as visual indicators as well as a “new method” to quash high-latency drivers. IAP cars and upgrades are also now a thing, as well as in-game notifications to alert you when new stuff is available. For Real Racing 2 owners, seven new career events have been added, too.
That’s a lot of new stuff for an aging game, right? If you haven’t seen or read about Real Racing 2 aside from this, definitely give our review a read. Spoiler: it’s really good.
Ticket to Ride [$6.99] is a tremendous board game-to-digital game translation. It looks and feels authentic and boasts a wide range of features. It’s a sharp title through and through, but it was missing a couple of things at launch, namely a pass-and-play option. That has since been added. Developer Days of Wonder hit us up about the game’s most recent patch, which adds the aforementioned mode for up to four friends or a mix of friends and AI. It even hides your cards when you pass the device, which is a super-smart design decision.
More was added in this update, though all take a backseat to pass-and-play. You can now mute voices if you don’t want to hear them, as well as skip some animations. The buttons in the game’s silly “Central Station” now have names so you know what you’re clicking on, and hey, if you’re colorbind, “better support” has been added in. Finally, there’s been an update to the netcode for people with crappier connections. Most notably, if you drop out of a match, there’s now an option to do a quick recovery and jump back into action.
That’s a lot stuff addressed and there’s still more. If you’re interested in learning all, hit up the game’s full patch notes at this iTunes link.
Ticket To Ride is easily one of the better board games turned digital, and this update only strengthens its position. If you’d like a more critical dissection of the title look no futher than our review. Spoiler: it’s glowing.
Some of the App Store’s best simulation racing games have received a price slashing as the US prepares to celebrate its independence with drink, food, and things that blow up and make pretty colors. For the third or fourth time only, the Real Racing series is up on the sale block, each title receiving an 80 percent to a 30 percent cut from standard price.
You’ll not be wanting for a Grand Turismo-like experience on your little touch devices if you decide to grab one of these, as we’ve written in our respectivereviews for these two outstanding iOS racing jams.
If you’ve somehow missed Flight Control HD, well, that’s on sale, too. Firemint dropped the price from $4.99 to $.99 for the next 48 hours alongside the Real Racing series. The PC and Mac version of the title on Steam is also on sale, if you’re interested in that.
Sales are kind of a big deal right now. If you're in the market for an EA, a Com2Us, an Adult Swim Games, or a Gameloft game, hit up our posts for each. EA is blowing everyone out of the water by having its entire catalogue up for 99 cents, but there's other attractive deals out there from these aforementioned publishers.
Are you the kind of person who wears a Optimus Prime trucker hat and a full Transformers-themed wardrobe to accompany your various Transformers tattoos? Well, I've got some good news for you. To accompany the release of the movie this week, EA is launching the cleverly titled iOS game Transformers 3 [$4.99 / HD]. We got a quick look at it at E3, and it seems like EA has invented some kind of new compression algorithm to pack never-before-seen levels of fan service into the game. You can play as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, and the game cleverly switches between a dual stick shooter and a driving game as you transform between forms. There's all kinds of weaponry to be unlocked and upgraded too.
Check out the trailer:
The way EA releases games is a little strange, so if you want to get this the second the game is available in your market, here's what you're going to have to do-- If you're in New Zealand and Australia, the game will already be available through the links below. Otherwise, similar to how games are released on Wednesday nights, it should be available in your region as soon as it's the 28th in your corner of the world.
For Americans, Transformers 3 should be released at 11:00 PM Eastern, but will be available through a different iTunes link. We'll find that link and get this post updated as close to its US release as we can. Also, needless to say, a review is on the way.
While we're discussing the Transformers movies, how do you guys think it will stack up against Harry Potter this summer? A friend of mine who closely tracks these kind of things is sureTransformers 3 will beat out the final Potter movie. I'm no expert, but I just don't know how Transformers could ever rack up more cash compared the last installment to the worldwide Harry Potter phenomenon!
The wait for Tales of Monkey Island HD episodes is over. In one of the craziest App Store maneuvers I’ve ever seen, Telltale Games pushed out the remaining four episodes of the five-episode arc in a single afternoon. Each title is available at an agreeable $6.99, which a few dollars shy of what they continue to cost on other downloadable services.
In the interest of drumming up interest, Telltale has also slashed the price of the first game to $0 for a limited time. It’s a good game at a great price, and like the rest of the titles in the series, it’s faithful to the vision of Monkey Island while also still exhibiting its own charm and takes on the universe.
I've been there and back again with the series, so allow me to give you a little look at each app:
Monkey Island Tales 1 HD, $6.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Talk about opening with a bang. Within the first minutes of the Tales series, Guybrush defeats his arch-nemesis the evil pirate LeChuck. Unfortunately, in the process, Guybrush loses his wife, his ship, and... unleashes a deadly pox into the world. Most of this episode centers on Guybrush getting a ship in order to find Elaine.
Monkey Island Tales 2 HD, $6.99 - Things don't easier even though a few minor goals were met in the previous episode. In this adventure specifically, Guybrush re-unites with his wife and meets the Mer-people in his search for La Esponja Grande, which is otherwise known as the cure for the misanthropic pox infesting the world.
Monkey Island Tales 3 HD, $6.99 - You'd roast me if I revealed the setting for this episode, but I do want to note that it's something COMPLETELY different than the previous episodes. In this place, Guybrush meets two new characters to the series, one of which becomes a key driver in the rest of the story arc.
Monkey Island Tales 4 HD, $6.99 - Guybrush goes on trial in the place where it all started. How does he defend himself against the accusations thrown at him? If only it was as simple as "Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!"
Monkey Island Tales 5 HD, $6.99 - Now, the task is to save the world against a threat. How Monkey Island of Telltale. Oh, and if it wasn't plain, this is indeed the last episode of the series. But what a conclusion, let me tell you.
As a whole, this is a fantastic series. Sure, there are spots where the story drags and, yeah, there are definitely some horrible puzzles, but this series is easily some of Telltale Games sharpest work. The writing in particular is impressive. If you dig the first episode -- don't forget, it's free -- definitely start diving into the rest of these. They're worth your time.
Gameloft's BackStab [$6.99] was released for Xperia Play a few months back as a timed exclusive, but now that it has finally arrived on iOS as a universal app, we get to take a look at the studios take of Assassin's Creed via Pirates of the Carribbean. Which is to say, it's an open world action adventure game with lots of jumping around and stabbing things.
The core of the game relies on the same parkour and action mechanics of the Assassin's Creed games on consoles. That means the bulk of the game requires you to run around a somewhat open world and jump from object to object. Control wise, you'll get a virtual thumbstick and some buttons to control sword swipes and jumping. Combat is a button mashing affair and while you get some counter moves, you don't get a block, so most battles can be won by hitting the attack button repeatedly. Touching and scrolling anywhere on the screen moves the camera around. It's tolerable, but there will be plenty of instances where you miss jumps, balk stealth sequences or attack thin air because you can't quite get the camera settled properly.
The same goes for free-running, which only works in certain contextual situations. Occasionally you have to push the jump button and sometimes the game does it for you. It's confusing at best, unpredictable and annoying at its worst and you'll die a lot if you don't get the hang of it.
You'll be doing all of this dying, running, jumping and stabbing across several locales in what can only be described as one of the most insane, brain-melting stories I've played through in a long time. From the outset, you play as Henry Blake, an officer in England's Royal Navy who ends up with a faux-hawk and a badass biker jacket after being double-crossed by a man who was apparently an old friend. This puts you into shackles, gives excuse for a daring escape and eventually provides the reasoning for the crux of the story, your revenge. To get your revenge, you'll kill chickens and rabbits to make food for a buxom lady, run errands for random people and explore a few different Caribbean Islands in a series of missions only slightly related to the main story arc.
I'm wary to "spoil" the strangeness the game takes on around its mid-point, but let's just say it pulls an Uncharted and goes off the rails of reality and spills into something totally different. This wouldn't be a big deal if it made a lick of sense, but the game seems to push you to want revenge, not to run around caves searching out different artifacts to reverse an infection. The world simply doesn't justify the twist, but it's a point only a few will likely quibble with.
As far as the open-world is concerned, it's a mix between Assassin's Creed and Red Dead Redemption, in that you'll be running around and taking on missions from random people, saving people from being killed by the Spanish and picking flowers. The kitchen sink approach is admirable, but the game is so buggy it's difficult to really dig into. If you can deal with it, there is tons of content to explore, even if it's all a bit familiar. You can play through the main storyline in about four or five hours, but if you explore the extra missions and side stuff, there is plenty of gameplay to be had.
The engine is likely the place to put the blame for the bugs. Characters will fall through the ground, get stuck in jumping loops or disappear altogether. Design wise, several of the NPCs seem pulled directly from Assassins Creed II, but the low polygon count and often humorous animation means you'll never really mistake this for anything but a mobile game. While those are minor annoyances and are mostly expected in open world games, they happen far more than they should and even worse, happen to your own character sometimes. The game does a decent job of magically pulling you out of stuck corners, but I had to restart a few times after getting trapped on a ledge or in a wall.
That said, BackStab runs well on the iPad and only occasionally chugs on an iPhone 3GS. Control-wise, it's far better suited for the iPad's bigger screen and you'll likely be accidently touching buttons far more often on an iPhone. The world looks great on all of the devices, even if the characters don't.
The characters are fully voiced, but the dialogue isn't particularly noteworthy and the voice acting, while an admirable inclusion, doesn't really add to the experience. For their part, the sound effects and music do a good job of sounding like what they're supposed to, but don't plan on being blown away by the sound design or the acting. It's better than previous Gameloft titles, but still has a lot of room to grow.
If you've been desperately craving an Assassin's Creed game set in an 18th Century pirate wonderland to play on the go, this will do the trick, but don't expect too much from it. If you can deal with all the bugs, you'll certainly be taken on a bizarre ride and you'll have a ton of stuff to do in the world.
If you happen to be one of those people that has yet to check out the phenomenal Real Racing series on iOS, Firemint is going to temporarily make it a lot cheaper for you to do so. From now through the weekend, every Real Racing title is now on sale in some capacity. Here’s a quick breakdown of the price drops for each one:
If you maybe aren’t a big racing fan but have always been intrigued by the Real Racing series because of its technical merits, then picking up the first Real Racing for just 99¢ or the iPad version for $1.99 is basically a no brainer. Neither of these games have ever been this cheap before. While the sequel Real Racing 2 is definitely a step forward over the first game, Real Racing still has plenty of legs with a ton of races to play through and online multiplayer.
If you are a racing fan then chances are you have already picked up at least one of these titles, but if for some reason you have not then this weekend’s sale is a great time to check out the Real Racing series.
What I like about the Hector: Badge of Carnage games is how comparatively different from one another they are. The gap between We Negotiate With Terrorists and its follow-up Senseless Acts of Justice [$4.99 / $6.99] highlights not only the breadth and scope of the adventure genre, but also Straandlooper’s willingness to use episodic content as an avenue for experimentation and iteration.
The Madden series hardly needs an introduction, as football player turned coach turned commentator John Madden has had his name on football games for the better part of 20 years now. On home consoles, it has become tradition for EA to release a new Madden game each year with updated rosters, 
One thing about Shift 2: Unleashed [
The latest third person shooter from Gameloft is named 9mm [
We’ve known for about a week or so that Firemint was working on an update to Real Racing 2 [$
Ticket to Ride [$
Gameloft's BackStab [
