This game took me by surprise. The one thing I want from iOS games that it should be fun and this game gave me exactly that, and not only that, Joyride totally destroys my scale here. It’s a fun little game, and as the name suggests, you control a dude who has a jetpack on his back and you can tap or hold the touchscreen to float up in the air and send a barrage of missles below killing any dumb enemies running for their lives.

There is a twist here, however, and just like Temple Run, which is another addictive iOS game, the stage increases in speed and you have to avoid obstacles in less time. This can lead to you committing a mistake and thereby ending your run. This aspect of the game makes it so addictive that you simply cannot put it down easily. It devours you till you try to get a respectable score.

This is what I want from iOS gaming in general, and Jetpack Joyride has brought a smile to my face unlike any other game on the platform. It is an incredible game which is filled with collectibles and unique gameplay mechanics like temporarily giving you overpowered vehicles with which you can cover a lot of distance easily and crush any enemies you see. Of course, if you end up hitting an obstacle, you will lose it and will go back to the jetpack mode until you find another one. To get a high score it’s vital you find a lot of these special vehicles, which are cleverly designed, and not to mention really fun to use.

There are coins here as well, and you need to decide whether to collect them or try to preserve your life. You can easily get hit by a missile or an obstacle if you show too much greed, but the lure of those amazing coins with a perfect jingling sound, makes it hard to resist. There are two main counters in the upper left corner which shows you how much distance you covered and how much coins you collected. The coins are optional, but covering a lot of distance determines your place in the leaderboard.

Comparing scores is so great and makes the game highly competitive, and combined with the addictive nature of the game, you can see why I am so heads over heels in love with this game. It can also get frustrating sometimes when you are almost about to beat your previous score and you die at the wrong time and in the worst way imaginable. I literally screamed when this happened to me, but I kept on going and eventually beat my old score. The game is really popular on the iOS for one main reason – it is free!

Yes, the game is free, so you have no reason not to play it and tell your friends about it. This is the sort of games that this platform needs. Games like Temple Run and Jetpack Joyride show that creativity is possible for touchscreen based games, and you don’t always have to make Angry Birds’ clones to milk a successful formula.

Visually, the game is very pleasant to look at. It reminds me of the old school 2d side shoot ’em ups, that were so amazingly fun to play. The sound effects and music is perfectly done as well. And any action you do, be it collecting coins or dodging missiles, you can be sure that it will leave you satisfying. I think it’s a combination of all factors: the visuals, sound effects, addictive nature of the game, that come together to give you a fulfilling gameplay experience.

Jetpack Joyride is available for free on the iOS, so I can’t really bring down the score by saying it is expensive, and considering the game is pretty old now, rating it makes no sense. So just get this game, guys, you won’t regret it. It shows the potential of iOS games on touch-based devices, and I can easily say that the future is bright.

Fancy Pants is an interesting platformer and is quite a good one as well. It was originally a flash game which is now ported to the iOS, and if you’ve played the flash game before then there’s absolutely nothing here that warrants a purchase. Nothing. In case this is your first time with the game, then by all means continue reading.

The game is quite unique in the sense that the platforming aspects are solid, and for an iOS game there’s very few games out there that resemble it. There are also different ways of finishing a level which is quite a nice surprise. The game isn’t that hard but you will encounter some challenging moments where you have to fight enemies via melee and this is where the game falters.

Early on in the game you have the ability of sliding and disarming your opponents, and this is where the game remains fresh  and intriguing. I would have loved it if there were only platforming mechanics in the game and no melee stuff, because it obviously felt tacked on and added nothing to the game. The controls seem to be poorly implemented as well, and for a platforming game that is incredibly disappointing.

Visually the game looks great. It’s one of the strong points of the game and the art direction is somewhat like LBP but less prominent. The visuals are the strong point and one of the main reasons why the game stands out compared to the other generic iOS games out there. It also runs pretty well considering you have to move pretty fast and maintain a flow. I tried it on the iPad 2 and it was smooth as butter.

There are no difficulty spikes here and mistiming a jump won’t cost you a lot in terms of lives, but it is definitely annoying considering the entire game is dependent on the momentum of the character. Once you setup a decent flow you can have a lot of fun with this, but the pacing comes to a halt during combat and as I said, it’s one of the most disappointing things about this game that drags it down from great to average.

Fancy Pants is a great game provided you haven’t played the flash version, and buying the iOS version is very much recommended if its your first time. The platforming elements are solid, the visuals are great and although there are a few niggles here and there it doesn’t seem to hamper the game in a big way.

The game was reviewed on the iPad 2.

Harry the Fairy is about a fairy named Harry… ha! Go on repeat that fast, it’s a tongue twister indeed. So it’s about this fairy who needs to rescue his friends by travelling to unique looking locations, avoiding obstacles and then its upto you to score well by collecting all the stars and clearing the level fast. Why? Because its a Chillingo game, that’s why.

Visually, the game looks great, but it is also depressing in a way when you look at some of the environments and Harry’s facial expressions. As you can see in these images, he sort of makes a cute face. Most of these environments are located underground, so sometimes it can seem a little repetitive but the general art design is quite good.

Now, when it comes to controls and that’s where I tend to dislike most of these iOS games, I have to say it’s pretty good. You have two options to control Harry – either by using the tilt function or by using the virtual buttons on your iOS device. I’d gladly take the tilt controls. After playing Temple Run for so many times, I feel that is the best way to play most iOS games.

The obstacles are provided in the game to give you some sort of a challenge, but it is pretty easy and you will clear most levels in no time. Toxicity and Drills can make short work of you, so you need to be careful. I absolutely hate the lava levels though. You can also interact with the environment and can also pull levers or push around barrels to achieve your goal.

There are only four unique areas in the game, but you have the option of playing through 28 stages, which makes the game quite lengthy indeed. I would have expected this game to push the envelope a lot higher considering it was such an interesting concept, compared to the other iOS games we usually receive, but the game is quite meek and unchallenging.

Harry the Fairy is an interesting game, although, it doesn’t really ooze creativity and is quite repetitive from time to time. There are a lot of stages but the four locations is quite disappointing; I would have preferred more, but for the price charged I think its a bit decent. I can see this game being fun on occasions, but its not really something I would recommend to play for a long time.

This game was reviewed on the iPad 2.

Earlier I reviewed Street Bike: Full Blast for the iOS and while it was specifically for the iPhone and not optimized for the iPad, it looked pretty bad on the device. But now, we have a HD version of the same game that was released a few months ago, and if you have an iPad 2 or the new iPad, it is undoubtedly the perfect way to play the game.

I had mentioned in my earlier review how much I love bike games, and my love for it started since the Road Rash days. The main problem with this release now is that the game is old and most people must have already completed most of what it has to offer. So basically, you are just paying for the HD visuals to run it optimally on the iPad.

So what’s different in this version? What does this version give you except better visuals to invest in it, or upgrade for people who already own it for the iPhone? This is the main area where the game falters. The gameplay mechanics are quite similar, i.e., you can control the bikes using the tilt function which is also the most preferred way to play the game.

There are a bunch of tracks here and also some bikes, which is quite unremarkable mostly. The game is mostly intended to be played as a pick-up-and-play in your leisure time, and there are no solid gameplay mechanics or varied content here that will make you come back for more. The visuals look great, and it is one of the reasons why this game can be appealing to people who are craving for a decent bike racing game.

Now, when it comes to the controls. I normally didn’t have any issue with it, because the tilt function is pretty responsive and does the game justice. I mostly have a lot of issues when it comes to controls for iOS games, but the one in this game was pretty smooth. I could see this game being a lot of fun to certain people, but its definitely not something you should buy if you are looking a comprehensive experience.

I kind of expected the game to be $2.00 in the App store, but to my surprise it was priced the same as its iPhone counterpart. Street Bike: Full Blast HD isn’t something that would provide you a lot of content and a complete bike racing package on the iOS. It is fun only when you want to spend some time waiting for a bus, train or something.

This game was reviewed on the iPad 2.

Apple sent invitations last year on March, and it turned out to be the iPad 2, and the rumours are that, iPad 3 will be revealed this year the same way as well.

Heck, it’s almost confirmed, and the tablet is expected to sport a massive resolution and a lot of upgrades.

GDC takes place on the same day where Epic Games will reveal Unreal Engine 4. The venue for the Apple conference will be held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.

The invitations says, “We have something you really have to see. And touch.” What could it be? Tsk. Tsk.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Bethesda have announced that RAGE HD for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch is now available for free and will remain so until August 25^th.

RAGE comes to your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch with the hit of the wastelands, Mutant Bash TV! This intense first-person shooter casts you in the starring role of a post-apocalyptic game show where you’ll be stalked by hungry mutants while you scour pulse-pounding levels for ammo and cash pick-ups. Make a deal with J.K Stiles, the show’s menacing host, and see if you have what it takes to survive this carnage-filled carnival of death

RAGE HD is available for download on the Apple iTunes store over here.

Namco Bandai have announced that Antiques Roadshow: Discovering America’s Hidden Treasures is now available on the iPad.

Based on the popular PBS television series, the hidden object game includes 30 visually stunning locations with hundreds of antique items.  The player guides Julia, a history teacher hired at an antiques shop, through an adventure of lost items and photos as she pieces together the story behind the shop and its owner, Mr. Hinton.  As Julia finds the objects, a backstory unfolds revealing their historical significance.

“Having released previously on PC and now available on iPad, Antiques Roadshow: Discovering America’s Hidden Treasures is an example of how we’re making interactive experiences accessible across multiple platforms so you can play whether you’re at home or on the move,” said Carlson Choi, vice president of marketing Namco Bandai Games America.  “There is a unique and surprisingly exhilarating thrill to discovering the unexpected value of different items, as seen on the show.”

The game  is available now for $4.99 on the Apple App Store.

Namco Bandai have released iGunCon, a free app that lets players use their iPhone 4 or iPad 2 as a controller for shooting titles Time Crisis 2nd Strike for iPhone and iPod touch, Time Crisis 2nd Strike HD for iPad and Time Crisis 2nd Strike on the Mac App Store.

Players can download iGunCon on their iPhone 4 or iPad 2 for free, then link it with another iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Mac that is running Time Crisis 2nd Strike and they will sync up, allowing them to play the game the way it was meant to be played.  The device running iGunCon will display a Trigger, Action and Reload areas, while the device running the game will show crosshairs. Players can line the crosshairs up with enemies and tap the Trigger area to shoot your way through the game as it was originally intended.

In addition to Controller Mode, the app has a standalone feature called Toy Mode that allows gamers to recreate the shooting sounds from the Time Crisis series, including the three classic types of GunCon usable in Controller Mode as well as international models. Players can pick their favorite version, and tap the on-screen buttons to play the sounds of the in-game handgun, machine gun, shotgun and grenade launcher.

Sounds like a fun and free way to kill some time.

With all the rage going on for 3D with glasses and without glasses, today we present to you a mind blowing video of iPad 2 and iPhone 4 rendering 3D without any glasses. Jeremie Francone and Laurence Nigay are responsible for for this feat, coincidentally they were also behind the Head Tracking Display using the WiiRemote. They are using a technology known as Head-Coupled Perspective (HCP) for achieving this.

HDCP can be explained as follows:

“Head-Coupled Perspective (HCP) on mobile devices allows one to create a glasses-free monocular 3D display. It is based on an efficient head-tracker that uses the front-facing camera of the device. We use an off-axis projection in order to adapt the perspective of the 3D scene according to the head’s position of the user. Such spatially-aware mobile display enables one to improve the possibilities of interaction”.

“We track the head of the user with the front facing camera in order to create a glasses-free monocular 3D display. It does not use the accelerometers and relies only on the front camera”.

Now we wonder if this tech can come to consoles. Stay tuned with us for more news and updates.

Quotes from Techniglee.

The recent sequel to Apple’s iPad has completely sold out in the UK after a mere 24 hours on the shelves.

Across the country stockists have been unable to meet the high demand for the tablet, according to the Daily Mail. Whilst some may be dissapointed by the lack of iPads, did you really expect any less?