<![CDATA[Gizmodo: iPhone games]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: iPhone games]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/iphone games http://gizmodo.com/tag/iphone games <![CDATA[ iPhone NES Emulator Adds Accelerometer Support, Brings Tilt Control to Mario ]]> The new version of the popular NES emulator for the iPhone and iPod touch now includes accelerometer control for all games. The implementation is very simple: A tilt is equivalent to controlling input in that direction. This means that tilt control can be used in any game loaded into the emulator, but also that some of the controls are pretty much balls. Also, this app does not live in the official app store.

As seen in the video, controlling Mario is fairly natural, though quick turns and exact jumps are difficult to execute (playing Mario with the stock controls is often worse, though). Bomberman sort of works, but in that case—and many others—the old touch control overlay is much easier. Obviously none of these games were designed with tilt control in mind, but a surprising number are at least playable. Add this to the pile of reasons we still want an active app black market. NES.app 2.3.0 with tilt control is available now in Cydia. [NES.app]

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Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:40:00 EDT John Herrman http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5030270&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ iPhone App Store Games Hacked - All Apps Hackable ]]> Apple's Fairplay DRM, which protects all the applications you download from iTunes, has been hacked. The method for hacking this has actually been around for a while, but has been recently applied to Super Monkey Ball and distributed into the wild. To do this, you'll need a jailbroken iPhone and SSH installed (to transfer the game and to fiddle with permissions). The theory is a bit techy and complex, but the execution isn't too insane if you know your way around XCode and the command line.

The next step, of course, is to get some sort of repository for hacked apps going. iPhone developers who are still pissed about the NDA might be receptive to people paying for their app on the iTunes store, but getting TIMELY updates from another source (or direct from themselves). This way users can bypass that week-long waitlist for revisions we're currently seeing in the App Store. [iPhone hacking via haklabs via Macnn]

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Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:44:24 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5030139&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Our Favorite iPhone Apps ]]> After two weeks of using the iPhone 2.0 full-time, each of us here has developed a fondness for a handful of apps that we can't live without. Some of them show up in just about everyone's top five (Yelp, Facebook), and some of them we'll just attribute to the guy being a weirdo (MooCowMusic's Band). Here they are in an order that I deem most appropriate. Basically, the ones I like are up front.

• Remote: Control your iTunes or Apple TV over the network from anywhere inside your house. I've got a great setup for this that basically broadcasts music to every room of my home, which I will detail in a review next week.

• AIM: It's no iChat and it's not multi-service capable, but it is AIM and it does exactly what you think it does. We covered its shortcomings in the App Marathon, it's still quite a good product.

Pageonce: The personal assistant that keeps all your online accounts synced to one place for easy reference.

Twinkle: The Twitter app that we loved on Installer.app makes its way to the iPhone. Why do we like Twitter? Because we're Twitter Shitters.

• Facebook: It's like regular Facebook, but with less functionality! It's fast though, and you can see what that guy who randomly added you is up to.

• Fulpower Motionx-Poker: The realistic dice game gives you something to do when you really, really need to shake things.

• Yelp: Its current location-based search helped us find some good eats when we were down in LA for E3, and should be a good go-to tool if you're visiting a new city.

Midomi: The free song recognition app can tell you what tune that is on the radio or blaring out of the speakers down at A&F. Beats having to call in to ask.

Pandora: It's Pandora (the smart radio station) on the iPhone. Makes up for only having 16GB of your music at once.

• NYTimes: Read the NYTimes from the comfort of your iPhone, because Safari isn't quite good enough.

• EverNote: The note-taking app that makes it super easy to jot down or record random thoughts you want to remember later.

• Zenbe: A to-do list that you can sync to a webapp online or share with others. Great way to make collaborative shopping lists that both you and your wife can check off while in the supermarket. Divide and conquer makes grocery time twice as fast.

• MooCowMusic Band: You can fake play instruments.

• CityTransit: A guide to the NYC subway. Obviously, only useful for some of us.

• UrbanSpoon: Its like Yelp, but has a random slot-machine feature that can pick a restaurant for you to eat at. Pretty neat if you want to vary up your dining experience.

• BoxOffice: Look up show times for movies in theaters that are within X distance of your current location.

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Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5029257&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ <i>Dexter</i> Game Coming to iPhone (Murder Sim?) ]]> Is GTA 4 a murder simulator? Probably not, but any game based on Showtime's Dexter damn well better be. According to a tweet by TV squad, a Dexter game is on its way to the iPhone and will be detailed later tonight at the Dexter Comic-con panel. Will we be able to use the iPhone's accelerometer to bludgeon victims? Or cut up body parts by drawing them (with multiple fingertips) on the screen? Only time will tell—because Dexter himself surely won't. [TVSquad]

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Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:18:45 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5028960&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D ]]> Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is a Mario Kart-like 3D racer with Crash Bandicoot at the wheel instead of the chubby Brooklyn plumber. You unlock new characters as you collect items, but the controls are pretty much standard for iPhone racing games. The one thing we noticed is that the default calibration is off, leading Crash to always veer left at the neutral point even when we started up the game with the phone on a desk. This means we needed to tilt the phone slightly to the right to go straight. For $9.99, we expect better. [iTunes Link and iPhone App Review Marathon]

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Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5026881&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Sega Says the iPhone Is As Powerful As the Dreamcast ]]> Developers are just getting their heads around the concepts introduced by the iPhone, but so far they like what they see. EA said it's more powerful than the DS, and now Sega—the guys who made Super Monkey Ball for the platform—is saying that it's just as powerful as the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast! Do you remember how good that was? Soul Calibur? House of the Dead? Typing of the Dead? Shenmue? Those were some quality games. Who else wants some of that action in the next few years? [Kotaku]

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Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:39:40 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5026065&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ EA iPhone Games Upgrades: Scrabble Getting Multiplayer, Tetris Getting Piece Drawing, Plus New games ]]> The three games we already saw on the iPhone from EA are Scrabble, Tetris and Sudoku. Scrabble is getting Wi-Fi upgrade for multiplayer plus accelerometer action that shakes up the words on your tray. Tetris is getting a feature where you can actually draw the upcoming piece right on your screen. Upcoming games are Need For Speed, Tiger Woods 09, Monopoly and Spore Origins. We'll have hands on with some of these later in the week.

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Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:14:40 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5025135&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ BioShock Plus Accelerometer-Powered FPS Coming to iPhone ]]> We've already seen a demo of Quake 3 Arena running NETWORKED on two iPhones with accelerometers, but news is some more similar games are coming this way. First, there's Re-Volt, made by some Canadian developer, that'll have Quake-ish graphics and feature tilt and touch controls as well. Then, even better, there will be BioShock. Yes, that BioShock. The one with the fantastic mood and storytelling. Who knows how bastardized the iPhone version will be, but we want it. [Pocket Gamer (BioShock) and Pocket Gamer (Re-Volt)]

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Thu, 29 May 2008 14:20:00 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=393996&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Raging Thunder iPhone Racing Game Shows Tons of Potential ]]> If you needed some indication as to how much power the iPhone had for games, this Raging Thunder demo should make you giddy for what's to come. Not only does the game use the accelerometer, which acts as a more-than-adequate wheel, everything's rendered in pretty decent OpenGL 3D graphics as well. It's no GTA4, but you can download it from Installer.app now. If Zune can do multiplayer Wi-Fi games, the iPhone should too. And maybe, just maybe, multiplayer games over the internet? [ModmyiPhone via TUAW]

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Thu, 08 May 2008 21:00:00 EDT Jason Chen http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=388688&view=rss&microfeed=true