This Week:

Seth “Chorazin” Dodson
Ryan “DigitalisticGmr” Schaefer
Mike “jdarksun” Berard
Cassadi “noajayne” Thomas

We have a packed house in this episode, all of us squeezed into the podcast box and powered out yet another EPIC episode of GO US!

We enjoyed a lot of stuff this week, such as Unify, Majesty 2, Aion, Final Fantasy III, Secret of Monkey Island SE, Scribblenauts, the Office, Glee, Fringe, and a lot more!

We also talk news about video games, mainly because Ben “TheFid” Fidler wasn’t here to talk about TV this week!

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However, it is hard to translate that same experience to the iPhone/iPod Touch. The controls just aren’t right for a traditional puzzle game. What’s needed then is a game that eschews the traditional control format and really utilizes the options provided on an iPhone/iPod Touch.

This is that game, the 99 cent wonder Unify.

I am smitten with Unify in a way that no other puzzle game on the iPhone has managed to do. It’s simple to learn, difficult to master, and really makes you think on the fly. This is made more impressive by the game being programed by one man, Zach Gage, and audio by Carlos Hernandez.

Unify requires that you use both sides of the screen at the same time, to move and rotate two block groups to make four (or more) blocks touch and remove them from the field. You slide them around using your fingers, and tap the screen to rotate the peices. Much like Nintendo Puzzle League, when you tap to rotate the axial block is highlighted with a bigger white box, so you know how to rotate it properly. It’s like you’re playing two games of Tetris that effect each other at the same time.

The higher in levels you get, the faster and more varying the colors become that you need to match. Manipulating both fields leads to quick decisions. Move one block set faster than another and try and set up a combo? Just get rid of a group of four blocks quickly that have been slowing your combos down? It’s up to you, but think quick!

Having the main focus of the game in the center is a really smart choice, as you won’t be blocking it with your thumbs while manipulating the pieces on either side. The center blocks are always there to view, so you can think ahead about what you want to do, or to avoid a catastrophe.

When either side has a length that reaches the edge of the screen, it’d game over. The imperiled side will begin to flash red, and the caution! warning will flash in the upper right corner. Clear that out quick or it’s all over!

There are not a lot of modes available, but for the price of the game, that’s not something to hold against it. The game modes allow you to play from level 1 through 40 in Normal mode, or start from the difficulty you want and just keep going in the Endless modes. You unlock the Endless modes by playing through Normal and reaching higher and higher levels.

The graphics, as you can see, are simplistic and straight to the point, which is nice in a puzzle game. No muss, no fuss. The music is really fun and 8-bit, which is perfect for the look and feel this game is trying to put across.

The game supports OpenFeint, which is an PSN/Xbox Live-esque service which shows what your friends (pulled from Twitter and Facebook) are playing (or last played if they are offline), how you compare to them, how you compare to the world, and so on. There is no multiplayer in Unify the game, but this is a nice feature to support, and the service does have a few good games, like Radio Flare (reviewed previously), PocketGod, geoDefence, and more.

Why You Should Buy Unify: The game is 99 cents and, in my opinion, the best puzzle experience on the iPhone to this date.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Unify: You don’t have 99 cents, hate fun, hate puzzles

Buy it on the App Store here!

Made my Studio Radiolaris, this game mixes a R-Type-like ship you control with your left thumb, and a cursor you control with your right thumb Rez style.

The object of the game is to chain as many ships together in one swipe as you can (max of 4 in one swipe) to collect points. Ships you destroy also leave behind red pellets you pick up, which advance you through the levels. In later levels you do run into massive swarms of enemies, and you’ll need to be pretty quick about getting them all to survive. It gets hectic, but not overwhelmingly so.

The same bills itself as a music game, but I did not notice much of an impact on the soundtrack as I would in a game like Rez. The soundtrack is good, although the confirmation sound when you swipe across enemies does sound suspiciously like the sound effect from Rez, as does the destruction of enemies sound.

I like that you can continue from where you left off when you leave the game, and that if you die you can start on any of the arcade levels you wish to. Bomb Run, honestly, I had no idea what was the difference between that and Arcade was. Flow is a mode where you take no damage, so it’s just a chillout mode. The game does connect to the Steam/PSN/XBL-esque Feint network, which is pretty cool. It can also connect to Facebook and Twitter to send out acheivement notices, which is sort of neat.

For 99 cents, it’s really hard to go wrong with the game. It’s pretty fun, and even if you only get an hour or two our of it, that’s pretty damn good for the price.

Why You Should Buy Radio Flare: 99 cents, fun, good soundtrack

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Radio Flare: You don’t have 99 cents, hate fun, don’t like music

Mass Effect Galaxy

Taking place between the events of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, Galaxy is incredibly casual and horribly disappointing top down action game. The dialog system is similar to what is used on the console versions, just watered down and uninspired. The choice you pick does not seem to affect the game at all. Unfortunately the combat system is not any better. You are only given three different powers with all of them being on a recharge system. Targeting on an enemy toggles auto-fire and return fire can easily be avoided. The game itself is another thing that should be avoided. I can’t even recommend this to diehard Mass Effect fans, at least not at the current price.

Rolando 2 Coming July 1st, Rolando 1 Waves Goodbye

Rolando is everything I wish LocoRoco would have been, and is still on the top of my list of must own iPhone games. If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch and still have yet to check this game out, you better hurry up. Rolando is getting pulled from the App Store on July 1st to make room for Rolando 2, which releases the same day. The reasoning for such a bizarre move is that Ngmoco wants the spotlight to be on the sequel. They will not be discontinuing support for the original, and it might turn up again on the App Store in the future.

Great Games Currently on Sale

Sales have really started to take off thanks to PopCap’s sale on Peggle two weeks ago. Let’s Golf is now $1.99 and should be an instant buy for fans of the Hot Shots Golf series. Knights Onrush, which in my opinion the best of the castle defense games, is currently $0.99 until Monday. Hero of Sparta is now only $0.99, slashed down from its $9.99 original price. It was one of the few $10 games that were worth the price, and it’s a steal at $1. You will not find a more polished and entertaining action game on the App Store for that price.

First and foremost, I am highly impressed with how accurate the application is. I was skeptical at first if the iPhone could provide a true GPS navigation experience. Thankfully the AT&T navigator has put my mind at ease. Every location I searched for was found quickly, as were the directions that were provided. The text to speech support is flawless and correctly pronounced everything that was thrown at it. Voice prompts were done in a timely fashion, giving me plenty of notice of upcoming turns. My favorite feature is how well it works while music is playing in the background. The Navigator program will pause the music during voice prompts and quickly resume when it’s finished. The only downside is the inability to control the music while the application is running.

Searching for a store or business is easily accomplished using a category based menu system similar to what’s found on GPS devices, which also includes the ability to find local gas prices. A regular search option is provided if your location is not included with the other Points of Interest. Searching can also be done mid-route using a button on the bottom of the screen. After the application first calculates your route, it will search for traffic data every 5 minutes. This has already helped me a great deal by letting me know of an accident on the interstate which gave me the option to use another route. Voice recognition support is handled by hitting the call button when prompted. The application calls a number where you can say the street address or business name instead of typing it. After doing so, the application will automatically reopen and the address will be in your recent places. Routes can also be planned by visiting navpreplan.com from any computer.

AT&T Navigator does have some disadvantages, with the biggest one being the price. The application itself is free, however you will get a monthly charge of $9.99 the moment after activation is completed. This has raised some concern as iPhone users feel it should be included in the data plan as they are already paying at least $70 a month. The fee is a standard affair on other AT&T phones, as well as most carries who provide similar services. And while service will cost $120 a year to use, you do not have to pay anything extra to keep the maps up to date. The other positive to this is that you can cancel anytime you want by going to att.com/directbill. AT&T claims the application has a 30 day free trial, but I was told this does not include the iPhone after contacting AT&T. However, some users are reporting getting a refund after canceling. The other big downside is that maps are not stored on the phone. Everything is done on remote servers which stream the data to the iPhone. This will make the application impossible to use unless you always have cellular reception. Maps can take up to 2GB of data, so this frees up a lot of space on the phone. The other downside for some users is the lack of landscape mode. This might not be a deal breaker for all, but it would have been nice to be given the option.

AT&T Navigator does not offer all of the features of a high end GPS device, but what it does provide is an excellent navigation service. If a monthly fee or lack of landscape mode turns you off, you should wait for the TomTom application due out later this summer. AT&T Navigator does provide a great alternative until other GPS applications get released, and you can always easily cancel the service when that happens. However if the monthly fee is not a problem, and you have good reception in the areas you travel, AT&T Navigator is a terrific program which further turns the iPhone into an all-in-one device.

Why you should buy: True turn by turn navigation with full text to speech support; all data stored remotely saving a lot of storage space on the phone; monthly fee comes out cheaper than buying a GPS and keeping it up to date yearly; ability to listen to music while using the application; can cancel the service at any time.

Why you shouldn’t buy: Weak or no reception will make this application useless; you would rather pay a one-time fee; you have a first gen iphone

Baseball Slugger

Fans of Baseball sims might want to look the other way for a moment, this is baseball in its most casual form. Baseball Sluggers is essentially a homerun derby game pitting you against a computer controlled pitcher. Tilting the iPhone will change the location of your swing and tapping anywhere on the screen at the right moment will send the ball flying. The big draw here is the shockingly addicting online multiplayer matchup mode.

Baseball Sluggers will randomly match you with another player, or you can use the included friend’s list if you rather play against someone you know. The goal of matchup mode is to fill your score bar before the other player. Each player bats at the same time and every successful hit will score points. You can see your opponent’s game in a picture-in-picture window while you play. Powerups will appear randomly in the form of balls, hitting a homerun with that ball will give you different abilities as well as the chance to blur the other person’s vision. Containing 114 different upgradable items which can enhance your character, Baseball Sluggers is a fun and very addicting casual experience.

Golden Axe (Developer: Sega, Price: $4.99)

Like the Sonic the Hedgehog release from last month, Golden Axe is the Genesis version of the game running on an emulator. Golden Axe can be played in either full screen mode, or in original mode which runs the game in a 320×240 window. Movement is accomplished either by using a virtual d-pad, or using the accelerometer to tilt your way around the screen. Both control methods work well and it comes strictly down to user preference. Fans of the original will find themselves right at home here.

3.0 Firmware Update Brings New Features

A couple of games were updated this week shortly after the release of the 3.0 firmware. I’m sure we can expect more games to follow in the coming weeks. Here is a brief run down on some of the updates that have recently occurred.

Star Defense ($5.99): Ngmogo has updated Star Defense making the first game to use their new Plus+ service. Plus+ is essentially an Xbox Live for the iPhone, only free. It lets you create a profile, have a friend’s list, game histories, keeps records, and can be used to issue challenges across multiple games. Ngmoco also plans to add support for Facebook and Twitter as well. Ngmoco has also added a new planet for challenge mode, as well as push notification support when someone sends you a challenge.

Tap Tap Revenge 2 (Free): Tapulous released support for push notifications

TouchGrind ($4.99): Illusion Labs released an update which includes the ability to access your own music in-game.

Vans SK8: Pool Service ($2.99): Support was added to access music library from in-game.

Topple 2 ($2.99): Added ability to select music from your ipod playlists.

Enigmo ($2.99): Support for in-app purchasing of level packs. Two level packs are currently featured, both aimed at kids.

Leaf Trombone ($0.99): A new duet mode was added using the new peer-to-peer over Bluetooth multiplayer feature. Achievement alerts is now possible using push notification.

Flick Fishing ($0.99): DLC support added with “Private Beach Pack” being the first in-game item that can be purchased which adds a new location and 4 brand new fish. Peer-to-peer multiplayer has been included as well.

All of the transformations perform brilliantly and none of them feel like a gimmicky add-on. You are not defenseless in the character’s default state. Using your wand you can turn enemies into blocks, which can be useful to reach higher platforms or by kicking them into breakable pieces of the environment. The health and life system is greatly inspired by the 16-bit sonic games. Collecting gems grants you more lives and a higher score, and they also keep you alive. All of your gems are dropped the moment an enemy makes contact. If you don’t pick at least one of them up before they vanish, you will die the next time you get attacked. However if you are currently under a transformation, you will go back into the normal state the first time you are injured without losing gems.

Combat performs just as it does in the older Mario games. You can jump on monsters as well as use your power-ups to defeat them. Boss battles are similar to Sonic games where you square off against a larger adversary using platforms to attack their weakness. Each of the 6 bosses uses unique attacks, and all of them provide an exciting experience.

Castle of Magic uses a virtual d-pad as the main form of controls, as well as “buttons” for attacking and jumping. The d-pad can sometimes be inaccurate, however it performed fine the majority of the time. Rarely did I miss a jump or an attack because of the controls, but it did occur a few times. The jump button contains multiple functions. Pressing it once will cause a regular jump, and pressing it a second time will perform a double jump. Holding the button down will transform your hat into a parachute, allowing you to glide to another platform. Nothing can kill a platformer faster than abysmal controls, thankfully this is not a problem here.

Castle of Magic is not a long game. Finishing it only took me around 3 hours and felt perfect for a mobile game of this nature. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy every minute of it. Gameloft has done a spectacular job bringing a polished and true platforming experience to the iPhone. If you were to place the 8-bit and 16-bit versions of Mario and Sonic in a blender and combine them with some various other platformers you would get Castle of Magic.  Gameloft has combined gameplay mechanics from some of the classics and created one of the best platformers the iPhone has to offer. Between the 16-bit inspired gameplay to the beautiful art style I can honestly recommend Castle of Magic to any fan of the platforming genre.

Why you should play: Fantastic 16-bit style platformer with beautiful graphics and fun gameplay.

Why you shouldn’t play: If you feel $5.99 is not worth 3 hours for an enjoyable gameplay experience. That’s the only reason, seriously.

TweetDeck, the Popular Desktop Twitter Client, Now Available for iPhone

TweetDeck’s primary draw for the twitter addict is organization. The iPhone app carries on this tradition by allowing users to organize tweets into user defined columns that you can switch through with the swipe. If you’re the type that follows your real-life friends, internet gaming buddies, coworkers, websites, news feeds and the odd celebrity or artist, this organization is essential for not letting any tweets get left behind.

TweetDeck is especially useful for not allowing your close friends to get lost in the din

Columns are easy to create, and if your a desktop TweetDeck user, you can easily download your columns from the TweetDeck Servers, letting you get an on-the-go version of your Twitter Organization in minutes.

For the unacquainted, there are a few basic types of columns you can create.

• User Group, a subset of your total follow list
• Twitter Search, where you can search for a term amonst all twitter users
• All Friends, your entire follow list
• Mentions, your @replies
• Direct Messages
• Favorites

Organization is easy in TweetDeck

All Friends, Mentions and Direct Messages come enabled by default, which is pretty standard for this kind of an app.

You can also have multiple twitter accounts on TweetDeck, allowing you to quickly view tweets from multiple accounts, each organized as meticulously as you see fit.

One of other major differences is the “Updates” button, which lets you know which columns have new things for you to look at. As it makes background calls to the twitter server, it will also inform you of new tweets with pop-up notifications. All this can get a little annoying, but it can be useful if your trying to manage a lot of tweets.

Notificaitons keep you updated, but can get annoying quickly

Rounding out the features list is an API Call count at the top of the page, letting you know how many additional calls to twitter you can make in a given hour.

It isn’t without it’s downsides, however. It doesn’t have many of the features that make Tweetie so great, like built in full-screen viewing of twitpic and yfrog images or quick reply/favorite feature using the swipe. It also crashed several times just today, so there seem to be a few stability issues as well.

For those spoiled by Tweetie, some things just seem lame

You should use TweetDeck: If you are following a large number of people, or merely a modest amount of people that you’d like organized better, you want to quickly view more than one twitter account, or if anything but “Free” is too much for a Twitter Client.

You shouldn’t use TweetDeck: If you view a lot of images via twitter, only follow a couple friends, or are too used to the simplicity and awesome of Tweetie to consider anything less.

Real Racing

Some of the key features in Real Racing are the cockpit view, some of the best graphics the iPhone has to offer, plus really impressive AI opponents.   So impressive in fact you might mistake them for human players.  Three different car options are available with each having their own career events.  While the game does not offer any customization, what it does offer is one of the most fluid racing experiences on the iPhone.  Also included is the ability to upload replay videos to YouTube.

Circuit_Strike.One (Developer: h.grenade, Price: $0.99)

At first glance Circuit_Strike.One might appear to be a Geometry Wars clone.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Even though the game is a twin stick shooter, the gameplay mechanics is what makes Circuit_Strike.One a completely different game.  Taking place in a zero gravity environment, pressing down on the throttle will send you flying past your objective.  The trick in this game is using short bursts to fly around more accurately around the playing field.  This is a score based game where the object is to expose and destroy the core on each level by destroying the shield generators, while avoiding enemies firing at you.  Fun gameplay, excellent use of music and a low price makes this one to check out.

Peggle (Developer: PopCap Games, Price: $0.99)

Yes, Peggle was not released this week.  However starting today, and lasting until June 14^th, it’s now only $0.99 making it an incredible buy.  Not much needs else needs to be said about Peggle.  I highly recommend anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch who doesn’t already own this game to get it before the 14^th.

If there is one genre of games the iPhone App Store doesn’t lack, it would be in the tower defense category.   We have seen countless versions of tower defense games ever since the App Store first launched in June of last year.   Ngmoco’s Star Defense mixes the genre up by putting a spin on things, in more ways than one.  Combat no longer takes place on the accustomed flat playing fields, but instead on fully rotatable 3D planets.  Paths from the attack point to the defense point are wrapped around the entire planet, causing you to have to constantly rotate them to keep up with the action.  Thanks to the support of multi-touch controls, you can also zoom in and out with relative ease.

There are currently seven different planets and five different towers, with each tower having the ability to be upgraded up to three times.  Every tower has a specific type of damage ability with some examples being fire, regular bullets, and electric.  Some enemies will be immune to certain types of damage as you progress in the waves, which are kindly indicated above the enemy portraits.  The game gives you a few moments between each wave, which is great when you have to add different towers for the enemy type next in the queue.  You are also given the option to start the next wave as soon as you are ready.

However, once the combat gets started it’s a pretty standard affair.  Like most tower defense games on the iPhone, the enemies follow a path from the point of attack to the point of defense.  There is no option to make your own path, or to change the path in any way.  Placing the towers is done, just like in any other tower defense game, by tapping on the tower and dragging it into place.  Once the tower is placed, it can be upgraded to a better version by tapping on it once you have the money to do so.  If you have ever played a tower defense game, not much will seem new here.

The one thing that really differs is the 3D playing field.  This adds a bit of challenge once the combat really gets moving, since you have to keep spinning the planet around which can get kind of hectic.  However, I found this design choice to give the genre a bit of new life.  While it plays like a standard TD game, it does an exemplary job on even the basics.  The towers feel unique from each other, and the enemies differ in both look and abilities.  Ngmoco did a fantastic job making the planets look marvelous, though the same cannot be said about the enemies and towers.  However I didn’t pay much attention to it after a level or two into the game.  The entire game runs smooth, and I couldn’t find a single fault in the controls.

Besides changing a traditional tower defense gameplay mechanic, Ngmoco has also included something which is bound to be immensely popular in the near feature.  That something is social networking interrogation.  By linking your twitter or facebook accounts in the game, you can post challenges to your friends.  The game will make a post with the amount of waves you finished and provide a link.  Clicking the link on the iPhone will start Star Defense and setup a game for you automatically.  While true multiplayer is not included, this support still adds extra value to the game for people with a competitive nature.  In addition, if you’re one of those people who like achievements, a medal system is included as well.

Star Defense is not without its controversy.  It’s going to be one of the first games to support in-game DLC once the 3.0 firmware hits later this month.  Ngmoco has already announced plans to provide expansion packs using this new system.  While many are at unease that DLC is making its way to iPhone gaming, ngmoco has stated they will still be supporting Star Defense with free content.  Exact details of the paid expansions have not been announced yet.

Now for the most important question, is this game worth $5.99?  It mostly depends on how interested you are in tower defense games.  Gameplay wise, the only significant change is that combat takes place on a 3D field.  Other than that, it’s a pretty standard TD game.  Star Defense does contain three difficulty modes, and will be challenging on even the medium setting.  If you are burnt out on tower defense games, you won’t miss much by passing this up.  However if you want a really solid and entertaining TD game, which also contains social networking features, you really should give this a try.  It doesn’t completely reinvent the wheel, but what it does do is make the wheel fun to use again.  It will be interesting to see what kind of content ngmoco adds in the future.

Why you should play: Clever gameplay mechanic that adds new life to the genre, challenging gameplay, and social network integration to compete with friends.

Why you shouldn’t play: Might seem like a standard tower defense game to a lot of people.  Not much included to set this apart from other games in the genre.