Tower defense games — titles that have you defend 
a position against a seemingly never-ending stream of enemies — have been around for a while and they’re often very similar. Medieval HD adds a few new bells and whistles to the genre. The addition of ground troops is a welcome one, but they’re not particularly well integrated into the game. It’s easier and cheaper to buy powerful, infinite weapons and deal with the marauders from atop the castle. There are also a variety of ways to earn bonuses, ranging from the method you choose to shoot your weapon (i.e. pull the bow back vs. simply tapping the screen). Ultimately, this is a fun game, but one that’s best played in short doses.
Tag Archives: iphone
App review: Flashcards Puzzles – ABC & Numbers
Flashcards Puzzles – ABC & Numbers makes learning 
fun for toddlers and has remedied the biggest flaw in the app’s initial release. (The first version didn’t read the letters aloud, so kids playing alone didn’t get the full educational effect of the game.) With that corrected, it’s a terrific learning tool that blends problem-solving with an introduction to letters and numbers that’s fun for kids to use themselves — or with a parent. On the easy level, kids rearrange 3-4 rectangular pieces to complete the flashcard, and on the harder level, they work with 5-6 pieces.
App review: Jaws
As a film, Jaws was a masterpiece of its time. As an app, it’s a bit 
toothless and, frankly, boring. Playing Roy Scheider’s character of Chief Brody is not particularly exciting — and it’s hard to work up any sympathy for the dozens of swimmers who stay in the water after the shark attacks. Less than perfect onscreen controls make the game even more exasperating.
The fun of Jaws is Bruce the shark. And you never get to play as him. While there is plenty of diversity in the levels, none are particularly engaging. The developers did do one thing perfectly, though: They made certain that the classic Jaws music plays heavily into the game — acting as an audible clue for players.
App review: InCrowd
InCrowd is a useful social media tool that hopes to make use of 
Facebook’s new Places functionality, but it faces an uphill climb. Foursquare is the reigning king of the location-based app hill and users of that platform don’t have a lot of reason to make a change. On its own merits, though, InCrowd is a different enough take that it will likely find a substantial audience. Its clever use of rewarding players who constantly check in and penalizing people who don’t (you lose popularity points if you don’t check in at least once per day) makes it a compelling game. Also, users can have fun customizing their avatars. Figuring out how to post your location is incredibly easy and user reviews and comments about those venues can act as a good filter. For example, if you’re unsure about a restaurant, you can quickly access the thoughts and experiences of people who have been there — both friends and strangers (though there are more established ways to do that, as well).
Apple Declares War on Nintendo, Sony Over Video Games
Apple might have shined its spotlight 
Wednesday on Apple TV and the new iPods, but at the same time, it had a clear message for the video game industry: We’re coming for you—and it’s going to be an ugly fight.
Over the course of the past three years, Apple has stumbled into a powerful position in the gaming world. The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad were never designed as gaming platforms, but the app explosion that followed opened up the world of mobile gaming —and now the Cupertino-based company seems ready to capitalize on that.
App review: Diner Dash: Grilling Green
The Diner Dash franchise has been a hit among casual gamers 
for years – and for good reason. It’s an upbeat, enjoyable strategy game that makes you smile. Diner Dash: Grilling Green follows in those footsteps, keeping you on your toes, but never overwhelming you completely. The game, which was developed specifically for the iPad, takes advantage of the hardware’s capabilities, with a real focus on multitouch. As you enter the middle and later stages of the game, you’ll need to use both hands to keep up with demanding customers and help cook the food. A multiplayer mode lets you share the workload with a friend, though — one seating the customers and handling orders, while the other assists with food preparation. It’s something that wouldn’t be possible on the iPhone, but that works wonderfully on the iPad. The only disappointment is the game’s length — 20 levels instead of the 50 that came with Diner Dash on the iPhone — but they’re all masterfully done.
Read more at Common Sense Media
Apple TV moves from download to streaming
Apple is wading into the stream. The company’s 
much-anticipated overhaul of its Apple TV service eschews the download-to-own model in favor of an HD Web streaming rental biz.
Apple’s plan to make movies available day and date with DVD for a $4.99 rental is in keeping with the film biz’s piracy-combatting push to make titles available for easy legal downloads through a host of platforms, from Apple’s iTunes to Netflix (which Apple TV will support); Amazon, Hulu and Blockbuster; the major videogame consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo; and, soon, YouTube.
Apple revamps Apple TV, iPod and a whole lot more
Apple certainly wasn’t lacking for news at its press 
event today. We’ve got a story up on the front page of Variety, focusing on Apple TV, right now – and an analysis piece will be in tomorrow’s daily edition.
One thing that has seemingly been lost in the shuffle is Apple made it clearer than ever that it was gunning for Nintendo and Sony – and it’s not afraid of either company’s gaming legacy. In the meantime, here’s a recap of some of the other news that Jobs & Co. unveiled.
Apple enters rental biz
Apple has made it official: It will soon offer 99 cent TV 
show rentals as part of the launch of an extensive revision of its Apple TV service.
Apple said it would offer streaming rentals of skeins from Fox, ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel and BBC America on a rental basis. Users are able to watch the show for 30 days from the moment the episode is rented, and once it starts playing users have 48 hours to finish watching it.
Nintendo cuts DS prices
With a new handheld gaming system 
on the way, Nintendo is giving its current device one last hurrah at retail.
The company announced plans Monday to shave $20 off the price of the two most recent versions of its Nintendo DS — the industry’s best-selling hardware.
Chris Morris: Journalist 