Crave

(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)

The real NFL season is about to kick off, and EA has seized the opportunity to finally slide in the release of its much-anticipated port of Madden to the iPhone/iPod Touch format. It represents the meeting of the mobile entertainment industry's unstoppable force, Apple's black slab of wonder, with the gaming industry's immovable object. Available at $7.99 through the kickoff of the Steelers-Titans game tonight and $9.99 afterward, is it worth your hard-earned tailgate dollars? We played it last week here at the CNET offices and played it a lot more on our own iPhone last night, and here's our verdict.

It took EA a few weeks longer to get its iPhone act together than Gameloft did with NFL 2010. Did it pay off? Well, in some ways, yes. The player models and 3D stadiums seem better rendered than Madden's NFL-licensed and similarly-named App Store rival, NFL 2010 by Gameloft, but with a significant drawback: the framerate on our 3GS playthrough was significantly choppier than NFL 2010. A future update will hopefully fix this, but in the meantime it doesn't affect gameplay enough to be a game-killer. The presentation and commentary are impressive, nearing console level but hovering nearer to PSP and DS versions of Madden.

Madden 10 for iPhone/iPod Touch

The biggest fear among those who play any type of hardcore game is whether losing a physical control pad affects gameplay in any significant way. The answer is simple: yes, it does. I've played games on my iPhone for more than a year, and it rarely avoids feeling like a compromise: lose a control pad, but gain a simplified interface and an extremely compact form in a smartphone. As to whether it's worth it, ask yourself if you'd rather tote around a PSP or a Nintendo DS in your pocket in addition to your phone, or just carry an iPhone and lose a few controls, and you'll have your answer.

The solution EA has given is the same many developers have, including Gameloft: add a virtual stick in the lower left corner, and a series of context-sensitive buttons in the lower right. The problem with the virtual stick is that, like other titles, it can be lost in the shuffle on heavy-focus moments of game play. There's no tactile feedback, so it must be looked after, unlike a real analog pad. When playing Madden, that means a lot of the accuracy is lost. But the good news is that this game wasn't really designed for finesse play. We'll explain. ... Read More

Gameloft's successful GTA clone is being followed by the actual GTA.

(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)

Well, it turns out that not everyone hates Apple's App Store. Gameloft, the ever-present publisher of mobile games worldwide, likes the iPhone and iPod Touch quite a bit. In a recent news release, Gameloft announced that, to date, it has sold more than 6 million games in the App Store, making it its biggest platform.

"Our core focus is digitally distributed games," said Sanette Chao, Director of Public Relations for Gameloft. "Apple is our number one customer and the IPhone OS is our number one platform. I think that alone speaks volumes to the importance of iPhone games to our overall strategy."

Amid concerns over Apple's restrictive handling of App Store certifications and the squeeze that other publishers might be feeling in a landscape of ever-decreasing game prices, this report might come as a breath of fresh air. Indeed, from a consumer standpoint, very little is wrong with the App Store--provided you simply don't want something that Apple isn't willing to provide. In the games department in particular, 10 dollars can buy you more than it can for nearly any other device in game console history. And with developers like Rockstar now getting in the Apple game with an upcoming App Store port of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, clearly there's something in Apple's current economic model that's appealing to even the big guys.

That "something" might be seen as a huge built-in audience. With more than 40 million worldwide owners of the iPhone/iPod Touch platform, the consumer base is gigantic. Putting a title at $5 could lead to a larger profit than a $20 DS game, for instance, that might have limited distribution and availability. Gameloft has 35 games in the App Store at the moment, and while its current game best-sellers are UNO, GTA-clone Gangstar, and Madden rival NFL 2010, it also enjoys evergreen success with Asphalt and Real Soccer, said Chao. This is the advantage that any online store has over physical media--infinite shelf space and the chance for a long tail.

According to Gameloft, the formula for success lies in listening to user feedback, creating low-priced titles, and creating mass-appeal, intuitive games. "Our strategy from the onset has been twofold. First we deliver an aggressive line-up of high quality games and then we adapt in real time to consumer needs," said CEO Michel Guillemot in Gameloft's Tuesday announcement.

The App Store market was recently estimated at $2.5 billion a year, as compared with $60 million for the Android app market. It's no surprise, then, that Rockstar would get in on this action. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS sold 680,000 copies worldwide, and at $35 retail, that amounts to $23.8 million. Assuming a $10 retail price on iTunes, Chinatown Wars would have to sell 2.38 million copies to equal the Nintendo DS performance--a large number, but completely achievable considering the large global base and adult-skewed audience of the iPhone and iPod Touch.

While many things may be askew with the App Store, it's good to remember that a lot of things are still going very well for it.

Or is this still only mostly true for games?

There are certain things one expects from a Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game. Sure, there's the obvious: Violence, fast cars, and more violence, but what many GTA laymen don't know, is that GTA fans also expect (since Vice City at least) a rich, compelling story, with likable and (intentionally) unlikable characters. All told in a way only the best video games can.

After spending about two hours with Gameloft's GangStar I can safely say, they got the obvious right. Not so much the other stuff.

Gangstar is a GTA clone for the iPhone and iPod Touch where you play an ex-con named...honestly does it matter what his name is? Seriously, the main character and your sidekick are so similar in appearance I hardly ever know which is talking at any given time.

This is pretty much as sophisticated as it gets...at least in the first hour or two.

(Credit: Screenshot by Eric Franklin/CNET)

The game plays very close to GTA. Specifically GTA3. You run around, steal cars, mistakenly--thanks to the default and difficult to control accelerometer controls--run over pedestrians, and shoot and beat innocents to death.

There are also missions you can take by going to certain waypoints designated on your minimap. So far the missions have ranged from chauffeuring your boss around to following and killing groups of gang members.

Episode 46 of the Digital City, where we debate the merits of the PS3 Slim, show how to get your free Windows 7 upgrade, and discuss new games from Batman: Arkham Asylum to GangStar for the iPhone.

Related links:
>>Skip the PS3 Slim and get one of these Blu-ray laptops
>>Should I buy a new laptop now, or wait for Windows 7?
>>Are gaming handhelds too expensive?

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The last Madden-rival standing: Gameloft's NFL 2010

(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)

NFL game fans, we feel your pain. Ever since EA locked up video game-publishing rights to consoles and PCs, Madden has become the only game in town--a monopoly on NFL gaming that eliminates free choice and, some say, removes a competitive need for change. We played the new Madden 10, and we happen to like it. Still, we miss the days when competitors such as NFL 2K5 actually existed.

But, in fact, one still does, and it's made by Gameloft. NFL 2010 (App Store link) hit the iPhone last week with relative quiet. Not only is it an NFL-licensed game, but it's a full-3D game with playbooks and complete league-accurate rosters. In case you're wondering how this happened, EA Sports doesn't own exclusive rights to NFL mobile games. In the mobile arena, competition still exists. Gameloft currently has a license to make NFL games as well, although only on phones and not for DS/PSP hardware.

EA is reportedly preparing an iPhone version of Madden, but for now, Gameloft's title is the only real-deal gridiron action on Apple's App Store. Of course, we were extremely curious as to how it would play, especially with no physical control pad. Read on for our impressions, and check out the gallery below.

NFL 2010 for iPhone/iPod Touch (Gameloft)

The iPhone 3GS is already wooing game developers with its faster, more powerful platform, but don't expect a ton of games fully taking advantage of it to flood the App Store--yet.

Though 1 million iPhone 3GSs sold in one weekend, the latest Apple mobile device is essentially still a niche product, compared to the 40 million original iPhones, iPhone 3Gs, and both iPod Touch models already sold. And those won't be able to run games with the same efficiency and speed as the new iPhone 3GS.

1 million iPhone 3GSs sold the first weekend, but it's still considered a niche device for many iPhone game developers.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

In short, it's still too early to declare the era of iPhone 3GS games officially arrived. Some game makers are waiting, or not creating games to take advantage of the device at all. Some say it's "not wise" to play specifically to what is still a small slice of the audience combing Apple's App Store for the latest downloads. For example, Pop Cap, the company behind Peggle and Bejeweled for the iPhone, said its games are benefiting from the faster load times the 3GS offers, but it has no plans to create games that are iPhone 3GS-specific.

This wait-and-see approach may be contrary to what some expected. The iPhone 3GS was essentially an update to the iPhone 3G. The "S," we were told, stands for "speed." Indeed, there's a faster processor, a PowerVR SGX graphics chip that can handle 3D rendering, and support for OpenGL ES 2.0, a standard use for creating 2D and 3D graphics. It also has a magnetometer and a video camera, unlike other Apple mobile devices.

... Read More

Let's Golf is a new game for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users play 63 holes in four distinct locations that have been remodeled in 3D. Those locations are referred to as Fiji Beach, the American Mountains, the English Countryside, and Scottish Lochs. You can choose to play as one of four customizable characters, and you can compete with friends via a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode. Let's Golf boasts scalable game modes ranging from Advanced, which allows you to add spin to the ball, to Causal, which is easier and lets just about anyone experience a Tiger Woods-like moment.

The player control scheme is fairly simple: using the touch screen to hit the ball, you just bring your finger back in a semicircular motion and then forward again. To turn the golfer, you just tap your finger on the side of the screen you want the player to face.

Let's Golf is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch (version 2.2.1) and can be downloaded from the App Store for $5.99. Maybe I'll see you on the green.

The Oregon Trail, an Apple II classic, is coming to the iPhone and iTouch. The original Oregon Trail computer game was developed in 1971 by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger. The game taught school children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life. The player assumed the role of a wagon leader guiding his party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley along the Oregon Trail via a Conestoga wagon in 1848.

This old-school, side-scrolling voyage was entirely remade to take advantage of the multitouch display on the iPhone or the iPod Touch. The game incorporates the iPhone/iPod Touch accelerometer into some of the minigames and combines that with updated graphics and sounds, with the end result being a nostalgic, fun, and educational journey. Priced at $5.99, it would make a great gift, or an inexpensive self indulgence.

All of the decision-making and problem-solving fun of the original game, plus additional features, take the Oregon Trail experience even further than before. It has eight skill-based minigames like hunting, fishing, wagon repairing, river crossing, rafting, telegraphing, gold panning, and berry picking. Random events, such as disease, bandits, and hitchhikers, that the real pioneers faced increases the challenge. Side missions add more depth to your journey and affect your westward trek. The game has been completely updated with colorful and animated graphics. To prepare for your departure, you select the members of your party, choose your departure date, and purchase supplies.

Maintaining its western motif, Wild West Guns is another Gameloft release, and unlike The Oregon Trail, this game requires quick hand-eye coordination to remain alive in this shooter. Do you think you have the fastest thumbs in the west? If so, put up or shut up with 18 challenges featuring typical western environments like saloons, deserts, and trains, plus diverse targets and enemies including cowboys, sheriffs, and vultures. The game also has interactive backgrounds that allow you to shoot elements to earn more points. This app is selling for $4.99 in the iTunes App Store.

This week brings us a classic action platformer from the NES era.

WiiWare

• Midnight Pool (Gameloft, 800 Wii points): Travel across America and compete in tournaments with a variety of different characters and locations. The game comes with three different play modes and adjusts to players of all skill levels.
  

• Mega Man (1987, NES, 500 Wii points): The classic platformer is now available for the Virtual Console. What many regard as the worst box art for a game ever is also the first game in a legendary generation that still continues today. If you've never completed the original we highly recommend it.
  
• Neo Turf Masters (1996, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Neo Turf Masters is a classic golf game released in 1996. Choose between six golfers and courses from around the planet.
  

What games do you think are missing from the Wii Virtual Console? Sound off here!