Developers of Ravensword bringing 'Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants' - A 3D Platformer

Crescent Moon Games (developers of Ravensword) have just revealed their upcoming platformer, 'Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants.' Inspired by several other platformers including Super Mario Galaxy and Megaman, this 2.5D/3D platformer seems to have some of the greatest graphics on the iPhone to date.

Not many details have been released yet, however, as you can see from the screenshots, there will be many interesting environments to explore.

You can view the screenshots here:

You can expect a full review here once it is released in the upcoming weeks.

UPDATE- Electronic Art's '2010 World Cup South Africa' Available in the US April 27th

UPDATE: As you can see, '2010 World Cup South Africa' is still unavailbale. According to my source, the game will be available Friday, April 28th!

Are you ready to play soccer/football? Well, if not, get ready! According to EA's website, '2010 World Cup South Africa' is coming out in the US tomorrow, April 27th.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) will also be available on the Wii(TM), PSP(R) (PlayStation(R) Portable) and iPhone(R) on April 27, 2010 in North America and April 30, 2010 in Europe and Asia. 

In the meantime, you can view these screenshots and this gameplay video.







Here is the Gameplay Video on YouTube

Gameloft's Recently Announced 'Iron Man 2' Now Available In New Zealand

The much anticipated and recently announced 'Iron Man 2' just released in New Zealand app stores for $9.99. This should translate to $6.99 once it is released in US stores on May 3rd. 'Iron Man 2' will be out in UK stores at approximately 12:00 AM.



As you can see from the screenshot above, graphics look impressive in this game. We'll have a full review for this game soon.

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/iron-man-2/id360179681?mt=8

Gameloft Releases Podcast #5 confirming 'Prince of Persia: Warrior Within' and More

Today, Gameloft released their 5th podcast. Gameloft releases a podcast each month and provides information on their recent game releases, upcoming games, and other Apple related news.

Here are some of the things they covered:

• The launch of the iPad
• Upcoming and Recent iPad Games ('Hero of Sparta', 'Shrek Kart',  'Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front', and 'James Cameron's Avatar'
• How gaming has been improved on the iPad
• Their new iPhone/iPod Touch release: 'Blokus'
• 'Iron Man 2' Gameplay footage
• 'Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction' information and gameplay footage
• Confirming 'Prince of Persia: Warrior Within' and revealing an interesting trailer
• Free game Friday (every Friday, Gameloft has a contest where you Retweet a specific message on their twitter account for a chance to win a Gameloft game of your choice)
• Talking about Hero of Sparta 2

You can view the full Podcast here

'Sword & Poker 2' Coming to iPhone

Following 'Sword & Poker', a very successful game on the App Store, developer GAIA will soon be releasing 'Sword & Poker 2.' This will be a Poker game combined with RPG elements.

Game Features

• Experience a new game style in the form of a fusion between poker and RPG.
  
• With the help of the tutorial function, you will find the game easy to play even if you are not a big fan of RPG games or don’t know how to play poker.
  
• Pause anytime and play again from where you last stopped using the resume function.
• The save slots allows you to save up to 3 data on one iPhone.
• Play against another player using only one iPhone/ iPod Touch device.
  
• Listen to your favorite music while playing the game.

More information on the game can be found here, on the developer's page.

Screenshots:

Square Enix Confirms 'Chaos Rings HD' for iPad

Square Enix just doesn't stop. After porting 2 Final Fantasy games, developing their new exclusive iPhone game (Chaos Rings), and developing their upcoming exclusive Final Fantasy game for iPhone, they're developing Chaos Rings HD for the iPad!

Following the success of the iPhone version, Square Enix will be bringing Chaos Rings to the iPads. No details as far as what's new in the game have been announced, but it should be out soon.

Controls will most likely be similar. With the larger screen, playing the game and reading the menus will be easier. The higher resolution will greatly improve graphics. We'll have more on this when details emerge.

Iron Man 2 (from Gameloft) Coming Soon

Looks like Gameloft never gets any rest! Several Gameloft titles have been announced including Gangstar: Sin City, Splinter Cell: Conviction, N.O.V.A 2, Hero of Sparta 2, Zombie Infection, and now Iron Man 2.

Iron Man 2 is set to release in US theaters Friday May 7th. Movie games for the iPhone have been released in the past and very few of them (including Gameloft's Terminator Salvation and Avatar) been successful. This one looks like it'll be a hit

Gameloft is offering 9 levels developed in full 3D. As you fight your enemies Ultimo, Firepower, and Whiplash, Gameloft is giving you a choice of different characters including Iron Man and War Machine. Weapons and powers can be upgraded in Iron Man 2. Weapons include Repulsors and the Unibeam.

Gameloft is even featuring a rock metal soundtrack in the game. Gameloft LIVE! and 25 achievements are available.

Based on the screenshots, the game will have on screen controls. Controlling your character will be done by moving around a virtual joystick on the bottom left of the screen and several action buttons are available on the right of the screen.

Screenshots:

UK and Switzerland seem to get an early release as it will arrive on April 26th for them for $6.99. Iron Man 2 will be released in US, Austria, and Germany on May 3rd for $6.99.

We'll have a full review soon when the game has been released.

Prince of Persia coming to iPhone from Gameloft?

UPDATE: It is in fact Prince of Persia. After taking a closer look at the video and comparing the sword in the video to the sword in this Prince of Persia screenshot, I can confirm the two swords are alike. Therefore, because the swords are alike, Gameloft's next iPhone hit is Prince of Persia.

Take a look at the Prince of Persia sword HERE

If you look closely in the video and the picture, you can see the letters are very similar and seem to be written in Arabic.

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Prince of Persia? Dungeon Hunter 2? God of War 3?

As much as we all wish it was God of War, it's probably not. This seems to be more of a Prince of Persia type game. Take a look at this mysterious teaser trailer yourself:

N.Y. Zombies Review

Prepare to enter New York city. Filled with hundreds of peop- zombies, it's up to you to fight your way and find safety! This isn't one of those walk... shoot the zombies, walk... shoot the zombies, walk... shoot the zombies type games. Instead, it's a unique game that offers a ton more fun. Featuring a number of weapons (upgradeable), over 20 highly detailed levels, and a detailed story line, N.Y. Zombies is one of the greatest zombie games on the App Store!

Starting off in your apartment, your character has to travel throughout New York until he finds safety. Levels include your apartment, a lobby, Central Park, a subway, and lots more! A unique story mode is featured in this game. After each level has been completed, you read a journal entry (which gives you the entire story), and then you can buy, upgrade, and equip different weapons. However, choose wisely, as there is a limit to how many weapons you can equip. The story mode in this game is one that actually interests me. Most games I play, I read the story, yet I don't enjoy it. This story is actually fun to pay attention to.

As I mentioned previously, you don't simply walk and shoot zombies. Instead, you are placed in a certain position and you tap to shoot zombies as they walk, crawl, and even run towards you from everywhere. To look around, you drag your finger around the screen. To assist you, a radar is available which displays the location of the zombies. When a zombie comes towards you, you choose any weapons and simply tap anywhere on the zombie to shoot it. You can zoom in which causes more damage. Pinching your fingers out will do the trick. On the bottom of the screen you can view and select your different weapons (ranging from a machete to grenades to M16s.) Weapons can be purchased after completing a level and there are over 20 weapons to purchase. Originally, I found this new system a bit disappointing. However, I realized this was a great method. It adds a ton more intensity to the game and you can't just run away. It really is an amazing experience. There's even an endless mode in this game!

Graphics in this game are decent. They aren't the best I've seen on iPhone, but they're not terrible. One thing I feared was the lack of different zombies. However, Foursaken Media added different zombies (not just their appearances.) Some zombies slowly walk towards you, some run towards you, some even crawl towards you. Other zombies have abilities to throw things at you from a distance and another type of zombies (the ugliest and my least favorite) have enormous heads that let zombies that have previously fallen down to get back up.

Therefore, N.Y. Zombies is an incredible zombie experience on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Playing on my 1st gen iPod Touch works just fine and I've yet to experience a lag/crash. Of course this isn't Left 4 Dead 2 on your iPhone, but it definitely is one of the greatest zombie killing games available on the app store. It's difficult to find negative things about this game. The only thing I can actually say is bad is the difficulty. The game starts out pretty easy, but as you progress it becomes very difficult. It took me almost 4 days to beat a specific level.

Pros

Excellent Controls
Lengthily
Several types of Zombies

Interesting Story

Cons

Difficult

Scores:

Graphics: 4/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Controls: 4.5/5
Sound/Music: 5/5
Replay Value: 5/5


Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Bottom Line: If you're looking for an intense and fun zombie game on the App Store, N.Y. Zombies is perfect for you. Even though your character can't physically move, he can still look around. This adds more excitement to the game. However, if you're looking for Left 4 Dead 2 on your iPhone, buy an XBOX.

And if you're on the fence, you're more than welcome to give the lite version a shot for free

Buy it HERE

Rayman 2 Review

Rayman 2. Ah. Where to begin? It brings back tons of memories from the past. However, don’t let the impressive and glossy graphics fool you. Controlling the game is fairly difficult. Playing the game is hard, not because the actual game is hard, but because the controls are translated poorly.

Rayman 2 on the iPhone is a 3D, cartoonish platformer. You can jump and shoot your way through a number of interesting levels. The character you play, Rayman, shoots out balls of energy. As you are progressing through levels, you will need to jump very carefully to stay alive. However the camera movement is poor and sometimes it’s impossible to keep Rayman alive. This is not just because the game is hard, it’s the fact that controlling your character is extremely hard (like I mentioned previously).

To control your character, you drag a virtual D-Pad depending on where you want to go. Similar to several other Gameloft titles, you have action buttons located on the bottom right of the screen. You can jump and shoot using those action buttons. Looking around can be done by swiping the screen. There’s a good amount of combat in Rayman 2. You fight against several different monsters.

Another thing that draws me away from the game is the lack of auto save. For instance, if you receive a phone call or need to quit the game for any reason, you will have to start the level again. This should definitely be fixed in an update. Many times I’ve needed to exit the game, I was in the middle of a level and I was forced to start the level over. This is very annoying.

However, graphics in this game (just like almost every other Gameloft game) are absolutely fantastic. The game looks beautiful and runs without any hiccups. Gameloft has definitely added polish to Rayman 2. Tweaking the controls or adding more control schemes would make this game the perfect platformer. Lastly, the lack of auto save should definitely be addressed in an update.

Pros

Fantastic Graphics
Lengthily
Good Amount of Combat

Cons

Fidgety Controls
No Auto Save

Scores:

Graphics: 5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Controls: 2.5/5
Sound/Music: 4/5
Replay Value: 3/5


Overall: 6/10 (not an average)

GT Racing Motor Academy Review

Are you ready for the ultimate racing experience? If so, enter the best racing academy out there by playing Gameloft’s one and only GT Racing Motor Academy. With over 100 cars from 24 different manufacturers, you can race in 14 different environments. Play online multiplayer and compete against several different players. The game offers fantastic graphics. But is it really the BEST racing game in the app store? Well, keep reading and you’ll soon find out!

In GT Racing Motor Academy you start out by getting licenses. There are different licenses and different tests. From there, you can move on to buying your car and finally racing. This definitely resembles the Gran Turismo series. There are plenty of events to keep you busy in the game, and once you have completed the game, compete against the world in online multiplayer. Making all this possible (huge career mode, over 100 cars, 14 tracks, online multiplayer, and decent graphics) was impossible in my eyes, until Gameloft released this incredible racing title. Also, there isn't much options for customizing your cars. You can't change a lot of things, which would be a nice addition.

GT Racing Motor Academy features several different control types and points of views. You can view your car in third person point of view or get the feel of the car by entering cockpit view. Controlling the game can be done by either holding an accelerator/brake or choosing the option for automated acceleration. To move your car, you can either tilt your iPhone and feel like you’re moving a steering wheel, tap left and right depending on where you want to go, or touching and moving a virtual steering wheel depending on where you want to go. The amount of detail Gameloft adds to the controls surprises me.

Graphics in this game are definitely not the best on the platform, but they’re still pretty impressive. Cars are realistic; however the environments aren’t so eye catching. My only major complaint is the fact that the draw distance isn’t too great. When you drive, things start to pop in such as trees, buildings, and even cars. It isn’t so annoying but it’s definitely noticeable. However, the excellent gameplay and sense of speed makes you forget all the pop ins.

Hence, GT Racing Motor Academy takes iPod Touches and iPhones to the next level when it comes to racing games. Tons of replay value is available in this game and there are many racing events. You earn money and can buy different cars. This game surpasses almost every racing game on the platform, including the Asphalt series and Fast & Furious. Is it better then Need for Speed: Shift? In some ways (realism, amount of cars, different environments) yes. In others (graphics and car customization) no. Therefore, you should definitely consider checking this out for the low price of $6.99.

Pros

Online Multiplayer

Over 100 Cars

14 Different Tracks

Realistic

Great Controls

Cons

Draw Distance is Short

Not a lot of Options for Car Customization

Scores:

Graphics: 4/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Controls: 5/5

Sound/Music: 4/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)