Games

App Store News: iTunes Plus Improved; Premium Gaming Coming?

Upgrading to iTunes Plus Improved

Apple's decision to limit DRM-to-iTunes Plus conversion to an all-or-nothing methodology spawned some upset among the iPhone user ranks. Luckily, the company has seen the light and now offers one-off conversion. According to the iTunes FAQ: "Can I upgrade previously purchased music to iTunes Plus? Yes. Any available upgrades will be shown on the Upgrade to iTunes Plus page. You can upgrade all of your items at once by using the Buy All button. This replaces all eligible purchases with iTunes Plus versions of the same items. You can also choose to make … Read more

iPhone apps of the week

I've been on the phone with several iPhone application developers this week and the common thread has been that all are excited about the success of the iPhone App Store. But one of the developers wanted to point out that one of his applications that's been around since the beginning, but hadn't seen much exposure yet. After checking it out, I decided to include it in this weeks post.

This week's applications include a free photo-driven social-networking application and a game that plays like a classic stand-up arcade game from the past.

PhotoShare (free) from Big … Read more

Six must-have iPhone freebies

How do I love thee, iPhone (and iPod Touch)? Let me count the ways. Hmmm. Well, space doesn't permit me to list all 12,503, so I'll settle for six. As in, six free apps you absolutely positively gotta get. (Note: as with my previous batch of iPhone freebies, all links go straight to iTunes.)

Mancala FS5 I love the Mancala board game, and this iPhone edition is even better. It teaches beginners the basics, automatically moves your beads, and supports Internet multiplayer! (You can even play against your AIM buddies.) Consider splurging on the $1.99 full version to enjoy ad-free play. NPR Mobile Though not an official NPR app, it lets you browse broadcasts by topic, series, and even commentator, then stream to your heart's content. It can also do a location search, great for when you're traveling and want to tune the car radio to the nearest NPR station. Slacker Radio Best. Streaming music app. Ever. I know some folks prefer Pandora, but I've always loved the Web-based Slacker and its robust custom-station building. The new iPhone app (pictured) is just plain fantastic. Read my full review here. Sportacular At the risk of ruining my geek cred, I do follow (and even play) some sports. Sportacular gives you scores, standings, schedules, stats, and more. It also lets you designate favorite teams so you can track them more easily.… Read more

Candy Coating leads to App Store acceptance

The iTunes App Store has been full of twists and turns, but now things are a little bit sweeter for at least one application developer. Catamount Software's remake of the cult classic game DopeWars, called Prohibition 2: The Dope Wars, was rejected by Apple for inclusion into the App Store until the developer gave the application a major face-lift. According to a post on the company's Web site:

"Apple's rejection of DopeWars was frustrating because we thought we had a big hit on our hands. We decided to rename it, gave the police and player pixie … Read more

'Mew Mew Tower': iPhone gets greatest cat game ever

Build a tower of Japanese cats of varying sizes, while using the iPhone's accelerometer to ensure they don't topple to their demise. Game concepts don't come much simpler, more cute, or more addictive.

Mew Mew Tower (iTunes link) from B3 United is the latest cat-themed game to hit the iTunes App Store, and for $1.70 it might well be the best money you'll spend in January. We've been playing it for the last 24 hours, gleefully cheering as the ever-growing tower of cats meow in delight as another chubby puss is piled on to … Read more

iPhone apps of the week

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Coming back after the break has been a whirlwind for all of us at CNET. With the one-two punch of Macworld here in San Francisco and the simultaneous Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we've been working around the clock to bring you the latest news and announcements from both trade shows.

I was lucky enough to walk the show floor at Macworld and although it wasn't as exciting as previous years, there was still plenty of excitement. Some highlights include software launches, third-party hardware, and--of course--Mac, iPod, and iPhone accessories. … Read more

Opera's new SDK: Better browsing on consumer electronics?

Article updated 1/9/08 at 1:45 p.m. PST with details on set-top boxes and a correction about the relationship with Wii. Article updated at 3:41 p.m. PST with more details on how to acquire the SDK. Correction, 10:55 a.m. PST: This story misstated the day the Opera announcement was made. It was Wednesday.

Opera has thrown a little more love at device developers by announcing an updated version of its software development kit on Wednesday at CES.

In a broad sense, the SDK will be available to all developers of consumer electronics that … Read more

Best in iPhone entertainment 2008

If you've read my iPhone Apps of the Week posts, you know that I mostly download games and entertainment applications. I also like to check out music apps, because I play a few instruments and am continually interested in what developers are able to come up with musically for the iPhone. Since my coworker, Jessica Dolcourt, wrote the iPhone Starter Kit based around must-have apps of the practical variety, I can really get down to business--the business of fun iPhone apps!

So, what makes a great game or music app? Certainly graphics and sound are important for games, but with a platform as unique as the iPhone or iPod Touch, it's important to consider how it utilizes the accelerometer, touch screen, and other aspects of the device. For musical instruments and drum machines, it's important to note whether the sounds are realistic and how intuitive it is to play the instrument. Finally, it's important to note whether a game or instrument is a good fit for the medium. You probably wouldn't want to spend hours playing an MMO on a tiny device that needs recharging, and, similarly, you're probably not going to be writing concertos on your iPhone. The point is that it should be a good app by itself in addition to being a good app for the iPhone.

Some of the apps I'm including for this end-of-the-year roundup have been in previous posts, but several are new apps to my iPhone. I'm including both free apps and apps for purchase, and sometimes I have a good free version of a genre you can try if you don't want to spend the money. Without further ado, read on to see my favorite fun apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch.… Read more

'I Love Katamari' for the iPhone and iPod Touch

Last Monday, I Love Katamari for the iPhone and iPod Touch was released, and iPhone/iPod Touch owners everywhere rejoiced. OK, only Katamari Damacy fans would rejoice, but c'mon, who isn't a fan of a game where you can roll up pretty much anything and everything into a giant ball?

When I heard the news, I immediately went to the App Store and plunked down $7.99 of my own money for the game. I absolutely loved playing Katamari Damacy as well as its sequel, We Love Katamari on the PlayStation 2, and looked forward to see how the iPhone/iPod Touch version would fare.

As I expected, it's absolutely stunning, and the music is as addictive as ever ("NA-NAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA The Katamari Damacy" is stuck in my head at the moment). The story part of Katamari is usually a fun little quirk of the game, and it's no different here. It starts out with the King of All Cosmos losing his memory of Earthly objects, and wants the Prince to roll them up so he can remember them. And as always, you're asked to roll the katamari ball over all sorts of objects of varying sizes, and as you roll up more things, your ball grows in size, making it possible to roll up larger objects--even animals and people.… Read more