Combat

Every Sunday morning, my squire helps me put on a full suit of chain mail before I head into the kitchen to do battle with cranberry muffins and eggs over easy. Now all I need is some Combat Kitchenware to truly force my hash browns into submission.

Combat Kitchenware is the melding of a sword with a pan. It swaps out the pan handle with a pommel, grip, and guard from a sword that could have been plucked off the set of "Game of Thrones." These pans would add a new dimension to Iron Chef battles, especially if the combatants were allowed to fight to the death. … Read more

Tank Hero is a top-down 2D one-player tank combat game with fast-paced levels and three game modes.

The game looks great, and its three control schemes let you choose between swiping, tapping, and virtual directional pads to move and shoot--but we found the two virtual d-pads to be the most precise. On each level, you're trying to eliminate enemy tanks as quickly and accurately as possible while keeping your health intact, and you're awarded a bronze, silver, or gold medal based on your performance.

As you advance through the game's 120 short levels (split across three fairly … Read more

After three tours in Afghanistan as a trauma surgeon for the Canadian Navy, Dr. Dennis Filips was inspired -- by a simple hair clip -- to design a medical clamp that can stop traumatic wound bleeding in a matter of seconds.

Now the device, due to hit the market in multiple countries later this year, has earned Filips the top innovator award at last week's Life Science and Health Care Ventures Summit in New York.

The ITClamp will "level the playing field for everybody," Filips recently told the Edmonton Journal. (His firm, Innovative Trauma Care, is based … Read more

Though many developers were initially tight-lipped about when they would release optimized games for the new iPad--now that the device is here--the news has started rolling in.

Gameloft announced today that four popular games, Order and Chaos Online, Modern Combat: Fallen Nation, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, and Gangstar Rio: City of Saints, are now optimized for Apple's Retina Display and ready for the new iPad.

Coming from four different genres, the four games now updated for the iPad have already seen huge success in the iTunes App Store. Order and Chaos Online is an expansive MMO that strongly resembles Blizzard'… Read more

The flood of iOS apps and games continues at the iTunes App Store and this week has been particularly big for new releases.

While I usually try to incorporate a theme into these iOS app collections, this week I wanted to let you know what I'm playing right now. These games are all high quality, from three different genres, are all new to iOS, and have captured my attention all week.

This week's collection of apps are games I'm playing right now. The first is a one-of-a-kind tennis game that has a unique control style along with a comic book story line. The second is a remade Mac game with an extraordinary amount of content and a beautiful setting. The last is a sequel to a popular FPS franchise and might be the best yet.… Read more

I don't know if a game about pirates and warships can "fly" under the radar, but that's what happened when Crimson: Steam Pirates made its debut a few weeks back. And that's a shame, because it's one of the best iPad games I've played--and definitely worthy of a spot on Scott Stein's best free iPad games list. That's right: Steam Pirates is a freebie.

Well, partially free, and partially freemium. The game starts you off with Chapter 1 of the "Tales of Captain Blood" saga; Chapter 2 will run … Read more

Fighting zombies on the ground is a sucker bet. I mean, they always outnumber you, and there's never enough ammo.

Plus, it's a level playing field, and that's the last thing you want when faced with relentless hordes of flesh-eaters. (Yes, I've thought this through.)

In Zombie Gunship, you take the high road--literally. You're the gunner for an AC-130 ground-attack aircraft. As the heavily armed weapon of undead destruction circles a bunker, you have to--make that get to--gun down the zombies before they reach the entrance.

Of course, humans are trying to get there, too, as it's the only safe place. So you can't just lay down fire willy-nilly; you must aim for the zombies and avoid hitting the humans.… Read more

MetalStorm: Online is a free--and impressively executed--multiplayer flight sim, but with a potentially frustrating in-game economy and erratically balanced matchmaking.

The interface and basic gameplay of MetalStorm are a joy: with smart use of your accelerometer and a few thumb controls on your "HUD" (arrows for brake and afterburner, buttons for guns and missiles), MetalStorm immerses you effectively in a jet cockpit for a tense dogfight experience, with cinematic music and great-looking terrain to complete the effect. You fly a modern jet equipped with an upgradeable cannon and missiles, and you can duke it out with increasing numbers … Read more

When it comes to racing games on the iOS, you have plenty of choices. Whether you want to race cars, motorcycles, ATVs, jet skis, or planes, the iTunes app store has excellent options.

Probably the most recognized racing games would be Firemint's Real Racing, the Need for Speed franchise, or the Asphalt racing games, all of which offer 3D racing action. But we've found that sometimes it's the arcade racing games that can be more fun if you're in the right mood.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about arcade racing games. The first is a recently released 2D top-down racer with unique controls and six-player local multiplayer. The second moves toward combat racing with upgradable cars and tons of levels to conquer. The third is an excellent physics-based racer with a focus on skidding and sliding around corners to get to the finish line.… Read more