App Reviews

Developer: id software Price: $9.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0.1 Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars Game Controls Rating: 4.55 out of 5 stars Gameplay Rating: 4.45 out of 5 stars User Interface Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.43 out of 5 stars Id software basically invented the modern first person shooter. So why would they create a new DOOM for the iPhone and make it an on-rails shooter, not even a true FPS. Well, it turns out they actually made a pretty good decision. The UAC, the largest defense contractor in the universe, located on Mars, has been authorized to conduct controversial experiments. Then, predictably, something goes horribly wrong. A troop of elite marines is sent in to investigate, when again, something goes horribly wrong and you are left as the only marine alive. What starts off as a simple escape mission evolves into something that holds the fate of the world in balance. The story is decent enough, but a little generic. Throughout the game, the story is advanced by dialogue and cut-scenes. For the most part these are fine, but there is no way to skip the cut-scenes, which gets a bit irritating, especially on the second play through. The game contains eight levels, for a total approximate 2-3 hours (or more, if like me, you stink). This is my main complaint for the game. Making this game a 20 level saga would be a mistake, but two more levels would be a welcome addition. For replayablilty, there are four difficulty levels and a letter-grading system with a full statistical breakdown for each level. In addition, after completing a level in the game, you play that level directly from the main menu. In each level, your character moves automatically, so all you have to do is worry about shooting zombies and other nefarious creatures… which there are plenty of. Besides the “normal” zombies that simply rush at you and attack you, there are a variety a monsters that require special game mechanics. There are fat zombies that will attempt to eat you, making you have to shake your phone to stave them off, and there are both monsters who will shoot machine guns at you and those that will hurl fire balls at you. The machine gun-wielding monsters start off shooting at a low accuracy, then will hone in on you, signified by a shrinking hexagon that will eventually turn red, meaning the zombies are certain to hit you. At that point, you must duck for cover. For the projectile hurling zombies, you must dodge at the right time to avoid the fire balls. Dodge too early or too late, and you’re dead meat. To either take cover or dodge, depending on the situation, you press a button in the lower left of the screen. These mechanics work well enough, though they are annoyingly...

Firemint gotten their hands on an iPhone 3GS and decided to take it for a little test drive. With it’s increased processor speed, better graphics processor, and extra memory, it’s built for killer games. The best way they came up with to test drive the 3GS was to make a special version of their fantastic racing game, Real Racing to stress it. The normal version of Real Racing has 6 cars on the track at once. Their iPhone 3GS test version has not 12, not 20, but 40 cars on the track at the same time! Take a look at the demo video below for the amazing proof — the real fun starts around 30 seconds in. Amazing, just amazing. Looks like they might have even been able to put even more cars on the track! If you haven’t picked up Real Racing yet, what are you waiting for? It’s the best arcade game we’ve seen yet for the iPhone. Real Racing Our Rating: