We Farm Now Available

The counterpart to the popular iPhone game We Rule has been released in the form of We Farm. Instead of ruling a kingdom filled with peasants and cottages, you run a small farm filled with barnyard animals and crops in We Farm. According to the official We Farm webpage:

We Farm is a new kind of animal. Build a barnyard, raise critters and bring home the blue ribbon.

Invite your friends to take pictures with your prize-winning pig and patron businesses on your farm. Visit theirs for inspiration. And compete for the title of finest acreage this side of the Mississippi.

• Raise horses, pigs, sheep, ducks and even ostriches, then compete for the blue ribbon at the county fair.
• Make your farm your own with over a hundred buildings, animals and decorations
• Plant veggies, fruit and flowers to earn your keep
• Share your farm with your friends to earn extra coin and XP

This is all very exciting and sounds like loads of fun. If you’d like to check out We Farm for yourself, head over to the App Store and download it. Like its kingdom-ruling counterpart, it’s completely free to play.

EA Mobile Releases SimCity Deluxe

We discussed a few weeks ago that EA Mobile was releasing several new iPhone and iPad games this year, and SimCity Deluxe appears to be one of the first to be officially launched as it is now available on the App Store for $6.99. This isn’t considered a sequel, but rather just an enhanced version of the original iPhone version. TouchArcade shared some initial impressions of this new edition, saying “it certainly is an improvement over the original, and works rather well on the iPhone touch screen.” If you hadn’t played the original SimCity for iPhone, that chance appears to have come and gone as the original SimCity is now gone from the App Store seemingly for good.

TouchArcade’s biggest problem with the new version appears to be the lack of an iPad version. Commenting on the lack of  such version: “The larger screen seems to be a natural fit for a game this complex, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that EA eventually realizes this as well.”

Michael Jackson Zombie Removed from Plants vs Zombies

While many players adored the Thriller-esque Michael Jackson zombie in Plants vs Zombies, the estate of the King of Pop was less thrilled with the move. Due to this objection, the dancing zombie has been removed from the iPhone version and presumably the other versions will follow shortly.

PopCap told MTV Multiplayer: “The Estate of Michael Jackson objected to our use of the ‘dancing zombie’ in Plants vs Zombies based on its view that the zombie too closely resembled Michael Jackson. After receiving this objection, PopCap made a business decision to retire the original ‘dancing zombie’ and replace it with a different ‘dancing zombie’ character for future builds of Plants vs Zombies on all platforms. The phase-out and replacement process is underway.”

The Michael Jackson zombie will be replaced by a disco dancing zombie instead.

Related posts:

1. iPhone & iPad Game News: Plants vs. Zombies Sequel, Fruit Ninja HD, Pocket Frogs
2. PopCap Details Plants Vs. Zombies HD for iPad
3. Plants vs. Zombies Becomes Top-Grossing iPhone Launch Ever

New DMCA exception allows you to ‘root’ or hack your phone.

The Library of Congress has added a new anti-circumvention provision to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act that allows people to ‘tweak’ their phones for the purpose of installing legally obtained software. By ‘tweaking’, they mean “jailbreaking” for iDevices and “rooting” for most Android devices. The full statement is below:

Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.

Engadget said it best when they said that this doesn’t mean that Apple suddenly has to open its doors to the jailbreaking world, simply that they can’t sue anyone for doing it. Also, Apple can still go after developer teams that specifically distributes these jailbreaks.

HTC Desire and Nexus One Going Super LCD

HTC has officially announces that they will be swapping out the current AMOLED displays in the HTC Desire and Nexus One to new Super LCD versions. The reason for the change? According to HTC, it has to do with the demand for 3.7 inch display smartphones as well as availability of AMOLED.

“The SLCD displays provide consumers with a comparable visual experience to HTC’s current 3.7 inch displays with some additional benefits including battery performance,” said HTC CEO Peter Chou.

Apple Expands iPhone 4 Launch to 17 More Countries

A statement from Apple indicates that the iPhone 4 will arrive in 17 more countries this Friday, June 30th. The countries set to release this Friday are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. This will join the existing 5 countries to make the iPhone available in a total of 21 countries.

For those countries not mentioned, Apple says: “iPhone 4 will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.”

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Capcom Comic-Con iPhone Game Sale

In celebration of Comic-Con, Capcom has decided to put several games on sale, with many being dropped to 99¢. Fortunately, we have the full list below just for you:

• Street Fighter IV, $9.99 → $6.99
• Resident Evil Degeneration, $4.99 → $2.99
• Resident Evil 4, $4.99 → $2.99
• Resident Evil 4 iPad Edition (iPad), $6.99 → $2.99
• Phoenix Wright, $4.99 → $2.99
• 1942: First Strike, $2.99 → 99¢
• Mega Man II, $2.99 → 99¢
• Dark Void Zero, $2.99 → 99¢
• Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? 2010, $1.99 → 99¢
• Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2010, $1.99 → 99¢

Gameloft Titles on Sale

On top of Capcom’s iPhone Games sale, Gameloft has put many of their games on sale for 99¢. The full list of those titles is below:

• Fishing Kings, $2.99 → 99¢
• Modern Combat: Sandstorm, $4.99 → 99¢
• Dungeon Hunter, $4.99 → 99¢
• Skater Nation, $4.99 → 99¢

These two sales are excellent for anyone who was hesitating on these games, as they are all excellent titles for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

SEGA Announces Space Harrier II and Ecco the Dolphin for iPhone and iPod Touch

This morning, Sega announced the availability of two new classic Sega titles in the iTunes App Store, those being Space Harrier II and Ecco the Dolphin. According to the press release, these two titles mark the first of the “SEGA Genesis Series of apps releasing this summer for the iPhone and iPod Touch”.

Space Harrier II is available for 99¢ and Ecco the Dolphine is $2.99.

Related posts:

1. Sega Announces Line of Genesis Games Coming to Steam
2. Gameloft iPhone Sales Reach $25 Million
3. iPhone Game News: EA Mobile Announces 11 Games, We Farm Released in Canada

Wheel of Fortune Platinum for iPhone

Playing just like its TV counterpart is Wheel of Fortune Platinum for iPhone. Sporting a cool character creator and somewhat difficult puzzles, the game really appears to capture the original game show pretty well. However, Slidetoplay found that the iPhone version “feels like it came directly from a standard-issue cell phone. It’s clunky, has super-pixelated graphics, and tries to nickel-and-dime you to no end.” But can the addition of online play save this port? According to the review, “The matches are usually quite fun, although it always seemed our opponents would either time out or quit the game before it ended.” Rating: 2 out of 4. Price: 99¢.

Spider: Bryce Manor HD for iPad

An upgraded version of the original Spider: Bryce Manor always seemed welcome in player’s eyes, and this updated edition does just that with much improved visuals and a larger play area. TheAppEra calls it a “must have for every iPad owner” simply because the iPad version is easier to control, contains additional modes and content, and has visuals that are truly worth the upgrade. In their conclusion, they could not stress the greatness enough: “Buy it NOW. I cannot stress this enough. I loved the iPhone version and the iPad version is only better. This truly is a must have for all iPad owners.” Price: $4.99.

Doodle Fishing for iPhone

Yet another Doodle game is out in the wild with Doodle Fishing. With its charming graphics and simple controls, it seems to be another hit on the developers’ hands. GameZebo says that the game appears to be nothing more than a re-skin of the established game ‘iFishing’ and were disappointed with the effort overall. Rating: 3 out of 5. Price: 99¢.

Related posts:

1. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Osmos, Build-a-Lot 2, Reiner Knizia’s High Society
2. iPhone Review Round-Up: StarDunk, Castlevania Puzzle, Doodle God
3. Doodle Find Now On iPad, Updated for iOS4

Modern Conflict HD for iPad

Similar to the long-gone game Judgement Day War, Modern Conflict HD is a strategy game in which you take control of helicopters and tanks in order to defeat your enemy on the board. Being almost exactly the same game as Judgement Day War, SlideToPlay says that “Apparently buyers aren’t interested in a history lesson and just want to blow up tanks and helicopters.” and that “we’re (Slidetoplay) glad to see this excellent casual strategy game back, even if it has lost much of its real-world influence.” Rating: 3 out of 4. Price: $1.99.

Sigma for iPhone

Unlike most puzzle games of these kinds, Sigma moves in a horizontal direction. TheAppEra calls the change from the norm “something really unique and fun.” The game’s graphics look like they come straight from the hit Lumines series, but with a slight unique twist. To play the game, you simply ‘twist’ the two wheels on either side of the iPhone screen in order to make the shapes come out just how you want in order to match 3 of the same color.

Overall, TheAppEra said that “Even if you THINK you’re tired of match-3 games, I still suggest you give Sigma a go. It’s the most fun match-3 game for iPhone I’ve played in a while, and trust me, there are a LOT of them.” Price: 99¢.

The Weathered Underground for iPhone

More-so an interactive film than a game, The Weathered Underground tells the story of a man named Eric and his girlfriend Liz. Early on, Eric breaks it off with Liz for unknown reasons. From there, the story takes every possible twist and turn. GameZebo reviewed the game and was rather disappointed with the acting, dialogue and story. “The Weathered Underground is only around 20 minutes, but that still feels far too long.” stated GameZebo. Overall, they said that “While the interactive portion is relatively well done, giving you plenty of choices for how the story unfolds, it’s the film part that the creators neglected. And a bad film, interactive or not, is a bad film.” Yikes. Rating: 2 out of 5. Price: 99¢.

Related posts:

1. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Osmos, Build-a-Lot 2, Reiner Knizia’s High Society
2. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Wheel of Fortune, Spider: Bryce Manor HD, Doodle Fishing
3. iPhone Review Round-Up: AirAttack, Chopper 2, The Screetch

Osmos for iPad

Osmos was a great PC/Mac title that looks to inject some fun into osmosis by having you play as a single organism that absorbs smaller organisms. TheAppEra reviewed the game and said that it plays better on the iPad than any other platform just simply because of its multitouch control. They also claimed that the graphics were a treat and shined on the iPad. Overall, TheAppEra said it is “likely the best game on the iPad so far at half the price of the PC version.” Price: $4.99.

Build-a-Lot 2: Town of the Year for iPhone

Build-a-Lot 2 is all about managing neighborhoods by buying, selling, building and collecting rent from tenants. Materials for building must be managed as well as contractors, and pleasing the mayor is a priority as well. SlideToPlay said that the biggest change between this version and the first was the “curb appeal” which means that your houses and neighborhood are mainly judged on the exterior, rather than the exterior as in the first game.

Overall, SlideToPlay was most impressed about “its ability to keep us sweating over decisions while the timer counts down. It has quite a few challenging elements to juggle, and after the first few towns, the expert rating for efficient success becomes very difficult to achieve.” but was not impressed by the lack of differences from the first game, with no new modes or online capabilities. Rating: 3 out of 4. Price: $4.99.

Reiner Knizia’s High Society for iPhone

Based on a card game where you bid on luxury items, Reinter Knizia’s High Society is more about picking and choosing which items to bid on than anything else. Each item is assigned a certain point value and whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.

Whoever is left with the least amount of money at the end of the game is an automatic loser, with everyone else deciding the winner by the amount of points they have tallied. GameZebo says that the iPhone version is completely true to its source but has certain presentation issues that need to be addressed. The game is single player only, and “Pass and play (or even better, a network option) would’ve added a lot here, especially given the subject matter” and overall they felt the game was “unfinished” with no sound and plain graphics. Rating: 3 out of 5. Price: $2.99.

Related posts:

1. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Wheel of Fortune, Spider: Bryce Manor HD, Doodle Fishing
2. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Modern Conflict HD, Sigma, The Weathered Underground
3. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Alicia Darkstone, Brain Challenge HD, Helsing’s Fire

iPad Updated to iOS 3.2.1

While it is not the iOS 4 update many have been waiting for, Apple has updated the iPad to 3.2.1 in order to fix a few common issues. Most importantly, the WiFi issue has finally been fixed with this update which had been reported by many users since the iPad launched back in April. Along with that much needed fix, other issues fixed include: A copy/paste PDF glitch in the Mail app, Video playback freezing, and Video out issues. Bing was also added to the list of possible search engines in the Safari settings.

If you have an iPad, I would strongly recommend plugging it in and updating as soon as you can, these fixes all sound like they could improve the iPad significantly. Hopefully iOS 4 isn’t too far off, eh?

So Long Oregon Trailer Released

According to TouchArcade, Justin Smith, the developer behind Enviro Bear 2010, has recently sent out a tweet showcasing his newest game “So Long Oregon” for iPhone. The new iPhone game is a port of the PC game “Let’s Go Find El Dorado.” Much like the Oregon Trail, the game is a scrolling wagon combat racing game which takes nods at the original Oregon Trail. Instead of heading to Oregon however, you take a sharp turn south to Northern California to take advantage of the gold rush.

The So Long Oregon website explains:

Drive a wagon across the American west, then veer south in search of the legendary ancient lost city of GOLD known as “El Dorado”. Oregon only has dirt! Wouldn’t you rather be rich?

Experience physically accurate terrain collision rendering. So much more than just going left!

Test your conestoga wagon driving skills in 4 Challenges, including the Historical Oregon Trail for those of you who don’t want gold.

Compete for high scores and achieve achievements on the OpenFeint power-up system.

Although, nothing explains it better than this hilarious trailer:

Armada: Galactic War Receives Massive Update, New Lite App

Armada: Galactic War just received its 1.3 update, which introduces player divisions, including newbie rooms and the such.  The full feature list of the new update is below:

Interface and Gameplay improvements
• newly created units are automatically selected if mothership is selected
• mech placement is easier to collect minerals
• improved selection/deselection of units
• Destroying a mothership will top up your resources
• Each mothership destroyed counts as a win

Player matching improvements
• three rooms – newbie, intermediate, extreme
• only newbies can enter the newbie room
• extreme room gives 2x credits
• a second leaderboard for extreme battles

ARMS item improvements
• lowered cost of items
• items increase stats as well as decrease other stats
• simplified the number of items

Along with this update, the developers have also released a “free” version of Armada that requires the use of ‘fuel cells’ to play. These fuel cells deplete as you play, and only recharge every few hours. You can however, purchase additional fuel cells as an in-app purchase if you don’t want to wait.

If you’re not sure exactly how Armada is played, this trailer explains it best:

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Alicia Darkstone: The Mysterious Abduction for iPhone

Another notch on the hidden object game pole, Alica Darkstone covers the story of a woman who goes to see her friend only to find out he’s been abducted sometime that evening. Alicia must solve the mystery using clues strewn throughout the game in order to solve the puzzles and find her lost friend. GameZebo says that “We’ve yet to see an iPhone game of this nature to be amazing, but Alicia Darkstone: The Mysterious Abductioncertainly has enough going for it to be considered “pretty good.” The only real annoyance the reviewer found in the game was the addition of ads on the free version, as they occasionally obstructed gameplay a bit. Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Price: Free (with ads) or 99¢ (no ads).

Brain Challenge HD for iPad

A game ported over from the PC and Xbox Live Arcade is Brain Challenge HD for the iPad. Much like the DS hit titles Brain Age or Big Brain Academy, it’s a collection of brain “training exercises” that are intended to keep you sharp as a tack. While the legitimacy of these exercises is unknown, SlideToPlay says the game is still quite fun. The ‘test’ is intended to be played once a day at 90 second intervals and will consist of either logic, math, memory, visual or focus. SlideToPlay said the game is “not something you’ll play for hours, but is fun to pick up and play for 10 minutes each day” and that “improving your performance is very fulfilling, even if you don’t actually get a mental boost from it.” Price: $2.99.

Helsing’s Fire for iPhone

What Angry Birds did for birds, Helsing’s Fire is looking to do the same for shadows. A unique catapult physics game, Helsing’s Fire has you launching various colors at enemies on the screen. If an enemy is the same color as the light ray, they will be eliminated. The controls and gameplay are simple at first, but get much more complicated later on. In TheAppEra’s review, they said the game has the potential to oust Angry Birds for the top spot as it’s “EXTREMELY fun.” Price: 99¢

Related posts:

1. Brain Challenge HD Ousts Angry Birds For Top iPad App Spot
2. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Osmos, Build-a-Lot 2, Reiner Knizia’s High Society
3. iPhone & iPad Review Round-Up: Wheel of Fortune, Spider: Bryce Manor HD, Doodle Fishing

Oceanhouse Media Releases Three New eBooks in Dr. Seuss Series

What started with the release of The Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss’ ABC in February, the first two installments in the Dr. Seuss eBook series on iPhone, has expanded over the past few months with new offerings like The Lorax, and Oh, the Places You’ll Go. This series of books continues to expand this week, with the release of a new trio of eBooks – Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, and Gertrude McFuzz.

Green Eggs and Ham (iTunes Link) and Hop on Pop (iTunes Link) are now both available on the App Store for $3.99 each, while Gertrude McFuzz (iTunes Link) is only $1.99. These apps show an advancement in the series, as all three contain high-resolution graphics for the new iPhone 4 Retina display.

As usual, these apps are designed to help children learn how to read, and contain features like words that highlight and are read aloud when a child touches them (another option aside from having the professional narration play automatically), and the ability for word and picture association, in that when a picture in the book is touched, words describing the image appear and are spoken.

All three apps are universal, meaning that if you purchase them once, you can use them on either the iPhone, iPod Touch, or even the iPad in full screen. Check out the screens for the apps below.

Rock Hippo Releases New MicroVolts Trailer

At the beginning of the month, we introduced you to the world of Rock Hippo’s MicroVolts, an upcoming Free-to-Play online third person shooter. As we explained before, you need not be afraid of the term “third person shooter,” as the game is ready, willing, and able to provide gameplay to the casual consumer.

Where the most recent trailer showed us a look at some of the game’s weapons and offered a look at general gameplay, this newest trailer is a tutorial of sorts, showing you what it will take to survive in the game’s “toy-eat-toy” world, via a basic overview of the control layout. MicroVolts will be coming to Closed Beta sometime in the near future – for more information, check out not only the trailer below, but also the game’s official website.

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Plants vs. Zombies 2 on the Way?

PopCap Games has been very vague in this supposed upcoming announcement of a Plants vs. Zombies sequel. All we really have to go off of is the image you see to the left of this text. It reads “Save the Date August 2, 2010″ and shows a badly drawn image of the Golden Gate Bridge with the abbreviation “S.F.” implying that they will announce the new game in San Francisco on August 2nd. Of course, the hand holding the note is of a creature clearly coming forth from the ground, implying a zombie of some sort.

Whether this means this new Plants vs. Zombies game comes to the iPhone immediately or not, it’s still very exciting news simply because the original title was so well loved by critics and gamers alike. We’ll keep you posted on August 2nd.

Fruit Ninja HD for iPad Trailer

We’ve already told you about how Fruit Ninja on the iPhone has sold one million copies and how it’s been updated for the iPhone 4′s display and passingly mentioned an iPad version along the way. However, we neglected to show you the trailer that was released a few days ago showcasing how the new iPad version will play on the much larger display.

The shining feature in the iPad version appears to be the multiplayer mode. You can send bombs to your opponent’s side which will definitely make for an intense experience with your friends. The full trailer is below:

If all goes well, we should be seeing Fruit Ninja HD released by the end of the week.

Pocket Frogs: Collect, Play, Trade

NimbleBit’s previous iPhone title, Dizzypad, showcased some fun jumping gameplay on the iPhone and was just recently updated to support the iPhone 4′s display. Now, the developer is looking to a different direction with Pocket Frogs.

The draw with Pocket Frogs is the ability to unlock different frogs by unlocking various awards using the Plus+ system and Dizzypad. Each of the frogs in Pocket Frogs will have three genetic traits that they inherit from their parent frogs and will result in (according to NimbleBit) “many thousand possible emergent species.” You can customize the the habitat your frogs live in, and you will also be responsible for keeping your frogs, healthy, happy and fed.

According to Touch Arcade: “Aside from breeding frogs, players will be able to get new frogs by ordering them in-game as well as trading frogs with friends via Plus+. There are also plans to have various challenges to breed certain frogs which rotate on a weekly and monthly basis and the frog store will rotate on a daily with new frogs to buy with in-game currency.”

The game reminds me a lot of Pokemon, but with frogs and a lot more activities to complete along the way. Pocket Frogs releases later this summer. We’ll keep you posted when it releases.

Related posts:

1. PopCap Details Plants Vs. Zombies HD for iPad
2. iPhone Game News: We Farm & SimCity Deluxe Released, MJ Zombie Removed from Plants vs Zombies
3. iPhone Hit Fruit Ninja Sells 1 Million Copies