Today, in an effort to draw attention to its EA SPORTS Active line of fitness titles, EA sent out word of a “scientific study” that claims it “proves [the] efficacy of EA SPORTS Active digital fitness programs.”

The study, which was commissioned by EA, was carried out by University of Wisconsin’s Dr. John Porcari. Dr. Porcari tested sixteen “physically active adults between the ages of 25 and 45 to determine the relative exercise intensity and caloric expenditure of two pre-set EA SPORTS Active workouts: Afterburner and Legs & Lungs.” Read more… »

Well this is a pretty big shocker: the classic Prince of Persia, the one that started it all, is now on sale on the iTunes marketplace for $0.99. I know a heap of retro gaming fans that will want to jump on this one as soon as possible – especially since it’s a universal iPhone and iPad app!

I was able to play a bit of the game, and I’m actually quite impressed. I can see the controls getting a bit sticky later in the game, but as it stands, I was able to beat the first level without dying. Compliments of Touch Arcade, there are actually nine forum pages worth of impressions if you want some insight into the controls. Keep in mind this is the classic version of the game, not the (what some would consider superior) SNES remake.

Buy the game here

It is my life long dream to watch Scarface 50 times. Pacino puts on probably has best performance outside of Dog Day Afternoon, it pushed many violence boundaries for it’s time, and the movie is pretty entertaining from start to finish.

While it’s not as classic as the film, the iPhone game Scarface: Last Stand is available for free all day from the iTunes store. Last Stand basically plays like a Time Crisis on rails shooter, and features dialogue, and locales from the actual movie. It wasn’t worth the regular $6.99 entry price, but for free, I’ll take it!

Okay, I’m going to make this review relatively brief.  Why, you ask?  Well firstly, be thankful for small mercies.  Secondly, because I have to get back to the game… the green pigs are mocking me!

No, reader, I have not finally lost my marbles. You see, Angry Birds reaches Pop Cap levels of digital addiction with its physics-based madness. What Angry Birds boils down to is a portable version of the Wii title Boom Blox.  As anyone who has played Boom Blox will know, it was a great little game that flopped spectacularly.

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Last month LucasArts announced that they were going to produce a Special Edition of the classic adventure title Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. In this announcement, the publisher stated that the special edition would feature in-game commentary from “the game’s creators.” Today LucasArts revealed that the commentary would be coming from three legends of gaming: Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman.

LucasArts released a statement saying, “Ron, Tim, Dave will be lending their trademark wit and humor to select areas in the game. When playing, players will be able to hear the three’s insights into key areas of the game and get insight into making the original game as well as their thoughts on the new Special Edition treatment.” Read more… »

You’ve seen the trailer, drooled over the screenshots, and it’s now finally ready to leech your free time; Square Enix’s much anticipated original IP  ”Chaos Rings” has today made its exclusive debut on the iPhone, iTouch and iPad. The title clocks in at a controversial $12.99, tagged alongside some sweetener discounts on other SE App Store releases, including the ports of Final Fantasy 1 and 2, and tower defense clone Crystal Defenders.

While the slightly higher price point may cause many to pause, don’t be afraid to break the psychological barrier of your iTunes wallet. The game is worth the outlay. Impressive graphics, a well tuned battle and control system along with a great score puts the title leaps and bounds above almost any other title on the system. Stay tuned for an upcoming review, but for now, try and resist giving into the portable pleasure.

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Japanese developer Cave has been making some pretty rad shooters since 1994, but sadly, most of them are exclusive to Japan. Hopefully all of that is about to change, with the US release of Espgaluda II, now available on the iTunes store for iPhones (errors are being encountered for Touch users at the moment). Due to the astronomical amount of bullets that are flying on the screen (this isn’t bullet heaven after all), thankfully there is a small section on the bottom that allows you to move your ship without covering up the battlefield with your thumbs.

Sadly, this isn’t a very good start for Cave considering the game only works on iPhones and iPads at the moment. Bummed out that it still doesn’t work for your Touch? If you are a fan of shooters, while they’re working on a fix, I strongly suggest downloading Siberian Strike Lite.

You may have heard about the whole “get rid of the explicit apps in the iTunes Store” debacle a few weeks back.  Shortly after the apps were pulled, it was rumored that they might be coming back after it was revealed that developers had the option of selecting an “explicit” descriptor during the app submission process.  Then, Apple said no, not going to happen.

Now the rumors that Apple is bringing back the iPorn are flaring up again, with some screenshots of iTunes revealing an Explicit Apps section… and one for the iPad as well.

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A while back, Tommy Refenes (creator of indie gem Super Meat Boy) put a largely pointless app on the iTunes App Store: Zits & Giggles.  You pop zits, and that’s about all; it’s actually kind of gross.  It hit the store at the boring old app price of 99 cents, sold a few copies, and then the sales inevitably dried up.

Instead of dropping the price to free to re-spark interest (as many app devs are wont to do), Refenes tried something different: he raised the price to $15.  Three people bought it anyway.  So he raised the price to $50, and four more bought it.  And so our tale begins…

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The more you have to suffer for something, the more you are able to find pleasure in the consummation. At least, that’s what my old dominatrix used to say. Difficulty is a double-edged sword, and doubly so in the case of the recent iPhone port of XBLIG title Soul, from Kydos Studio.

On the one hand, completing a stage will compel you to sound your barbaric yawp across the rooftops of the world in triumph. On the other hand, getting to that point may compel you to buy a much thicker case to protect your iPhone from your impulse to launch it out the window. Read on to learn more about this cruel portable mistress.

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We all knew the iPhone adaptation of Plants Vs. Zombies was going to be a huge hit with consumers.  For one thing, almost anything PopCap touches turns to gold (Bejeweled, Peggle).  For another, it’s tough for people not to fall in love with PvZ‘s addictive strategic gameplay.

However, results that arrived yesterday add solid statistical fact to our assumptions.  Plants Vs. Zombies for iPhone is an absolute mobile phenomena.  As of yesterday, February 24th, over 300,000 iPhones have downloaded PopCaps latest release for the Apple device, with the number growing everyday.  Added to the fact that the game is now the fastest selling iPhone release in the first 24 hours of availability, and you have yourself a bonafide success. Read more… »