So, is this the iPad 2 or not?

January 12, 2011 By

Apple is, you may be aware, notoriously secretive about upcoming products. Details of major iterations are usually released at keynote addresses, unless you count the time the iPhone 4 was unveiled by being left in a bar. On the whole, though, little gets out without Apple’s say so.

Which makes the story of an iPad 2 mockup being spotted at CES quite odd. Have a look at this video:

Gadget website, GearZap says this about it:

This video is of a dummy iPad 2 which we believe was given to a Chinese supplier to help build iPad accessories and cases before the official launch by Apple, so it’s a pretty good indication of what the iPad 2 will look like, given the release date is so close.

See, I honestly find that hard to believe. Would a manufacturer really be so foolish as to unveil Apple’s new product before it’s meant to be done? Wouldn’t that run a very high risk of Apple refusing to supply them with future mock-ups and, consequently, they would miss the boat for bringing accessories to market for launch-day? At the other end of the scale, I would assume doing this could land the supplier in legal trouble as Apple would most likely have a non-disclosure agreement in place.

OK, so that’s a “common sense” argument about why I’m unconvinced about this mock-up, but there’s something else. Listen to the crowd noise in the background of the video. Am I imagining it, or does it sound like it’s on a loop?

What do you think about all this? Do you think we’re seeing leaked iPad 2 details, or is it a hoax designed to give the Chinese supplier in question a bit of publicity? I’d love to be proved wrong, but I’m leaning towards hoax at the moment. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

[via GearZap]

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Angry Birds goes Festive [iPhone/iPad]

December 7, 2010 By

It was great to see Angry Birds get a makeover for Halloween, and when I wrote about it I speculated that we may see a Christmas edition too. Well, I’m happy to see it’s happened and, if you bought the Halloween edition, it’s a free upgrade.

Angry Birds Seasons, as the app is now called, includes the Halloween edition and a series of Christmas levels that become available advent calendar style. So if you download today, there will be seven levels available to you. I think the Christmas levels are pretty tough, partly because of the way the snow acts when hit (it doesn’t collapse).

At 59p (on the iPhone) this is well worth taking a punt on, and if they add further seasons as the year progresses it will only become better and better value as time goes on. Angry Birds’ addictive gameplay has led to at least one version being resident on my iPhone at all times, and it’s so easy to pick up and have a quick go of when you have a few moments. It’s a great app to invest in.

Angry Birds Seasons is available on iPhone and iPad.

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Reckless Racing [iPhone Review]

November 30, 2010 By

This post, originally written by me for GamePeople.co.uk, is reproduced here with their kind permission. Don’t forget to check GamePeople for loads more video game reviews.

Reckless Racing’s top-down driving is Micro Machines reborn for the iPhone. Visuals and game modes may be different, but for any returning gamer it’s obvious to spot the same frenzied driving we enjoyed from days gone by.

Forza 3 on the Xbox 360 is pretty much my benchmark for a good racing game. The range of cars, complexity of the simulation and detailed tracks combine to create something quite special. Coming a close second is F1 2010 for many of the same reasons: all the teams, the accuracy, and the joy or driving round tracks I normally just get to see as a spectator on the TV make it well worth a look in my book.

Reckless Racing on iPhone is, to be honest, nothing like Forza or F1. For a start it’s a top-down experience. The in-game physics are simple and there’s nowhere near the range of tracks or cars. But for what it is, Reckless Racing is plenty of fun.

I love how 2D games are being built with 3D technology these days. 3D is often employed to try and provide an immersive experience but Reckless Racing doesn’t bother with that. Instead it uses 3D to provide a good-looking top-down view of the action. It’s kind of like the difference between early episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama. Futurama’s 3D techniques just brought things to life, trust me on this.

When I was a lad I had a large collection of Micro Machines. I don’t know why, but those tiny cars were just fascinating. I would buy a new packet whenever my pocket money had mounted up to a suitable level and swap them with my friends. I loved Micro Machines on my Sega Megadrive too, and Reckless Racing really puts me in mind of that. Whether it’s because the iPhone screen makes it all look so small, or the top-down view – either way Micro Machines just sticks in my mind.

For a retro gaming nut like me, being reminded of one of my favourite Megadrive games isn’t in any way a downside; it kind of endears Reckless Racing to me and makes me look at it quite favourably.

There are various game modes available which offer different challenges. There’s a straight Dirt Rally race against five other opponents, a Hotlap mode where you try to set your best time around the available tracks, or a Delivery mode that has you picking up packages and dropping them off at another point on the map. Most of my time is spent in the Dirt Rally race mode, since it’s straight up racing that I enjoy the most.

Internet-based multiplayer expands your horizons too, as you get to race against any number of online opponents. I usually find online gaming to have a common flaw, though. It’s the same when I play online matches in Halo: Reach. There’s always someone who’s much, much better than I am!

Reckless Racing’s limited range of vehicles sort of levels the playing field, though. You’ll never go up against someone with a vastly upgraded car that leaves you standing still. Instead, the difference is in my skill at taking corners and, well, just getting round the track quickly! The nice thing is that you can watch how your opponent does it and try that out to see if it’ll improve your game at all.

My father in law took me to Cowdenbeath football ground the other week. Not to watch the football, but to watch the stock cars in action. I was impressed at how they came round the corners sideways. This might sound like a completely random comment, but when I drive in Reckless Racing I seem to spend much more time going sideways than straight – drifting round the corners seems to be a given.

I’m convinced this isn’t the most effective technique, though, as I’m really struggling on the hardest difficulty. I’m experimenting with taking the corners more slowly but just don’t seem to be able to get it yet. Still, coming round sideways is plenty of fun so I might just keep trying that for now.

Reckless Racing is not a complex game, but its simple mechanics make it quick to pick up and play when you have a few moments, while the 2.5D graphics ensure it looks good. There are more involved racing games out there, but Reckless Racing is perfect for a quick blast around the track. It’s just good, clean, honest fun and well worth downloading.

Reckless Racing is available from the app store for the iPhone, and the iPad. Once you’ve downloaded the game, don’t forget to check GamePeople out for anecdotal game reviews.

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Angry Birds gets a spooky makeover [iPhone/iPad]

October 26, 2010 By

Most games on my iPhone only live there for a short period of time – I either complete them or get bored of them. One that’s been on there for ages, though is Angry Birds… the ongoing battle between a flock of birds and the pigs who’ve stolen their eggs.

The premise is simple – the pigs are hiding behind various obstacles and you have to catapult birds towards them to dislodge them. There are several types of birds… some that boomerang around, some that split into three, some that explode, and so on. You just need to dislodge every pig on the level to proceed, and some are devilishly difficult.

Well Rovio, the publishers of Angry Birds, have released a new version with a spooky halloween theme… new backgrounds and music… but, most importantly, 45 new levels.

On the one hand, I know this is a seasonal way of extracting more money from people who like Angry Birds. On the other hand, it’s such a good game that I don’t have a problem paying a pittence (it’s 59p in the UK) to get more levels. If even 59p seems too much for you, check out Angry Birds Lite and then make your decision… I think you’ll want to play more once you get started.

I don’t know what this means for the franchise as a whole, but it would be nice to think we’ll see future themed versions as well – maybe a winter theme in time for Christmas?

Angry Birds Halloween is available on iPhone and iPad.

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Sim City Deluxe for iPhone/iPod Touch [Review]

September 27, 2010 By

Last week I mentioned a new Wii Table Tennis bat controller that had been reviewed on GamePeople. Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to contribute to GamePeople myself too, and recently reviewed SimCity Deluxe for the iPhone and iPod Touch. That review is reproduced here with GamePeople’s permission.

Sim City Deluxe enhances the iPhone and iPod Touch city building. Smoother, faster play than the original and at a price that makes it irresistible.

Sim City holds a special place in my heart because it was my first PC game. Those heady days of building a huge city, so much more involved than anything I’d played before. I even ended up printing my city out on our dot matrix (seriously) printer and putting it together as a big poster on my wall.

Looking back now, the original version of Sim City seems so basic and lacking, but the underlying principle was rock solid – a fun simulation of a city with you as the mayor.

After several updates, innovations and a platform shift, we arrive at Sim City Deluxe on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I bought Sim City International for the iPhone and never really got into it. It was so long ago that I can’t really remember what was up with it, but I can’t find it on the app store now and assume others failed to bond with it too. I was hopeful that Sim City Deluxe would be an improvement on what had come before and, I have to say, I’m not disappointed.

The game setup is familiar territory – choose a city name (mine is always ‘New Cardassia’), a name for the mayor, and a difficulty level which, as far as I can tell, only affects how much cash you have at the start of the game. I’m terrible at budgeting, both in real life and in Sim City, so I invariably choose the easiest level and the highest amount of money.

Once you’re into the game it looks very like Sim City 4. You can see how the styling has been influenced by games like The Sims which hangs together really nicely in my mind. I can almost imagine The Sims inhabiting Sim City. Now that I think of it, that was actually an option in Sim City 4, but not in Sim City Deluxe. It’s not a huge omission or anything, but being able to plonk your Sim into the city you built for them was a cool idea.

Playing Sim City Deluxe has brought out the same old flaws in my playing style. I’ve already mentioned that I really struggle to budget, and that’s partly because when the demand indicators tell me there’s requirement for more residential, commercial or industrial space, I have an uncontrollable urge to go ahead and build it. Sim City is more of a ‘slowly slowly’ game but I end up rushing in and spending more than I should have.

Then there’s the visual element. I loved my home-printed poster when I was younger, and I want my city to look good today. I love exploring a bustling metropolis from above but sometimes forget the city has to work as well as look good. There’s little point in separating all the industrial zones from the residential areas if there’s not a good road system in between.

That’s the element of Sim City that’s both so engaging and so difficult to master. It really is a complex simulation and, while it’s loads of fun, it’s got lots for you to think about. I’ve been fairly happy with the Sim family over the years. Well, Sim Earth and Sim Ant were pants, but let’s not dwell on those.

The iPhone’s touch interface works well with Sim City Deluxe. Zooming in and out is the standard ‘pinching’ affair, and moving round the city is just a case of swiping with your finger. Roads, railways, pipes and so on are laid by dragging a finger across the screen, although I always found that I had to adjust where they were going to be placed. I guess that’s just fat fingers on my part (ed: surely not).

Of course, the real attraction is that you can take your city with you wherever you go – so you can be battling with fires while you’re on the bus, or opening a new city zoo during lunch.

Sim City Deluxe is, on the whole, a very capable addition to the Sim franchise. It plays much like the desktop version of Sim City 4, and is easily picked up by players with previous experience of a Sim City game while a tutorial helps Sim newcomers.

If you’ve already been hooked by Sim City you’ll definitely want to give this version a go. If you’re new to the whole area of city management, well with a free version to give you a taster what have you got to lose? Try it out and see what you’ve been missing.

Once you’ve downloaded the game, don’t forget to check GamePeople out for anecdotal game reviews.

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The Secret of Monkey Island SE [iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad]

July 28, 2010 By

There’s one style of game I remember with great fondness. Well, actually there are a few, but there’s one that really stands out: point and click adventures. Games like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Beneath a Steel Sky, The Adventures of Sam and Max, and particularly The Secret of Monkey Island. So imagine my joy when I found that The Secret of Monkey Island (can I shorten that to TSoMI? Do you mind? It’s quicker to type) had been given a makeover and released on the Apple app store.

You play aspiring pirate Guybrush Threepwood, who has arrived on Melee Island to seek fame and fortune. Unfortunately, all the local pirates are sitting in dock, scared to venture out because of the ghost pirate Le Chuck. This is a tale of love, adventure, swashbuckling sword fights, and a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle.

Controls

The original game was played with the mouse (hence the term “point and click”). You selected various items on the screen, moved around with clicks, and combined items and environment objects to solve puzzles. The iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad version treats the screen a bit like a laptop’s trackpad. Rather than just touching where the pointer should go, you move it around by swiping your finger across the screen. At first that seemed like a ludicrous way of doing things, but it actually makes sense. If you just had to tap some of the puzzles wouldn’t work and you’d be changing the playing experience by a large amount. This way the game still retains the point and click feel, and it starts to feel natural quite quickly.

I did run into a bit of difficulty with telling TSoMI whether I wanted Guybrush to open and close doors or walk through them. It can be done by manually selecting “open” or “walk” but the quicker way is to double click to open and close, and single click to walk through. It seems simple enough now that I write it down, but I kept forgetting it in the game and closing doors I wanted to go through.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics have been updated to make TSoMI look a bit more respectable to today’s game connoisseur and the characters are now fully voice acted and backed by music recorded on real instruments. At the time the original came out, we were still in the days of picking a sound card based on whether you wanted good music or digital sound… not both. So TSoMI (original) just had music on the map screens and subtitles for the dialogue. The voice acting is actually pretty good, and fits the characters well. And the music? It’s unobtrusive (as it should be) but when you pay attention to it you realise it’s scrubbed up a treat as well.

A really nice touch is that you can swipe across the screen and switch to the original version… blocky graphics and hardly any sound. Retro geekiness ahoy!

But is it fun?

What!? You’re asking if Monkey Island is fun!? Well, it takes a certain sense of humour to enjoy it. It helps if you’re a bit unhinged ;) If you enjoy puns, silliness, and good puzzles, then I think this is one for you. There are times when it’s devilishly difficult, times when it’s brilliantly funny, and there are more than a few “aha!” moments as you finally understand what that odd item in your inventory is for.

The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition is available from the Apple app store, and if you want to try before you buy, a lite version is also available. I wholeheartedly recommend that you download it today and enjoy a bit of old skool gaming.

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An iPad review in 140 chars or less?

May 6, 2010 By

Twitter’s a great thing, isn’t it? It was through Twitter that I got my first car to review, and I’ve made some brilliant contacts (and friends) there. Well today Barry Snedden, one of the DJs at our local radio station, tweeted that he’d just had a go of an iPad. I replied telling him I was jealous, and tried to blag a review from him.

Here’s his reply:

@cdhinton In 140 or less? I took to it like the proverbial duck! It was a little smaller (but heavier) than I thought it would be! Amazing!Thu May 06 20:44:59 via TweetDeckBarry Snedden
barrysnedden

OK, so I admit this might be an excuse to try out embedding a tweet, but I also want to take the opportunity to ask anyone else who might have had a go of the iPad, “What do you think of it?”

I haven’t tried one yet, and I’ve read many mixed reviews but I think my mind is made up: I want one :)

I am also on Twitter at, as you might have guessed from Barry’s tweet, @cdhinton – feel free to follow me and drop me a line to say hello!

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Turn your iPhone into a wireless mouse with Touch Mouse

March 4, 2010 By

More often than not I’m sitting right in front of my computer when I want to control it, so the normal keyboard and mouse are just fine for my needs. I’ll occasionally use LogMeIn to control my home computer from work over the Internet, but there again I’m using a standard mouse and keyboard.

My friend showed me a nifty app for the iPhone and iPod Touch the other day, though, that allows him to control his computer from the other end of the room: Touch Mouse (iTunes link).

Touch Mouse is built by well-known tech company Logitech who, now that I check, actually make most of the peripherals I use on my desktop machine. It works by connecting to a helper application on your computer via the WiFi network. That means that both your computer and iPhone or iPod Touch have to be on the same network, so no long-distance controls here! Once you’re connected, though, it’s like having a wireless laptop trackpad in the palm of your hand!

What would you use this for then? Other than showing people and saying, “Isn’t that cool?” the main reason I would use this is to control a multimedia presentation like PowerPoint or MediaShout. It’s especially nice that the application is a free download, so I don’t have to buy any extra equipment like a USB clicker… I just have to make sure that I’m in an area with a decent WiFi signal that both my computer and iPhone can connect to.

As well as working as a mouse, Touch Mouse features a remote keyboard. I’m never going to use this for typing significant amounts of text, as the iPhone’s virtual keyboard just isn’t up to that, but perhaps when the iPad comes out this function will become more useful. As it is I’ve used it to enter website addresses, but that’s pretty much it.

Touch Mouse is a great little application, connects to Windows and Mac OS X and, if you’re presenting, could very well turn out to be just what you’re looking for. Download it for free and give it a whirl.

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iPad Post Roundup

January 28, 2010 By

Well, there’s been plenty of reaction to yesterday’s iPad announcement – both enthusiastically positive and critical. Rather than rehashing what others have said I thought I’d point you to some of the many articles online!

Come back after you’ve read/watched them and let us know what you think of the iPad in the comments!

Oh, and finally finally… a cartoon :)

cartoon from www.weblogcartoons.com

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

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Apple unveils the iPad

January 27, 2010 By

Rumours have been rife on the Net about what Apple is working on, and now the speculation’s over. Apple unveiled their new tablet computer today, called (perhaps a bit cheesily) the iPad.

First impressions are that it’s like a larger, more powerful iPhone. It’s 9.56 inches tall, 7.47 inches wide and just half an inch deep.

iPad users will apparently be able to sync their existing iPhone applications with the device, although an enhanced SDK is being made available to allow programmers to take advantage of the iPad’s specific features. Presumably that means the larger screen. From a consumer point of view it’s nice to think that any apps you’ve already bought for the iPhone will be usable on the iPad. From a developer point of view it’s also great to think that iPhone apps will have a wider audience now, and that there are further opportunities to design for a multitouch device.

There will be two main variants of the iPad – the WiFi only version starting at $499 and the slightly more expensive WiFi and 3G version that starts at $629.

Let me come straight out and say that I think the iPhone is a revolutionary device and, if the iPad follows suit it will be similarly revolutionary. I’m not quite sure where it will fit in the whole Netbook/Laptop scheme of things… not quite a laptop, not quite a PDA. The iWork office suite was demonstrated at the launch announcement though, so there’s obviously the intention that it’ll be used for serious work. Whatever the target audience, you can be sure there will be plenty of people queuing up to buy one.

The WiFi iPad will be available in the US in 60 days time. For more information check out Apple’s iPad microsite.

There’s not much more on the iPad yet, but for more on the iPhone have a look at some of our most popular iPhone posts.

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