The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch

Not surprisingly, many players of the Grand Theft Auto series enjoy using cheat codes to gain access to otherwise difficult to acquire weapons, cars, and bonuses.  Since the release of the iPhone app version, which uses a virtual control system much different than the DS or PSP version, players have speculated on the inclusion of cheat codes.  Thanks to Touch Arcade forum members GTA: Chinatown Wars cheat codes are staring to be revealed.  The cheats and method of entry are listed below.

To enter the cheats, visit any cheat house, scroll the screen to the side to find the magnet aboard and arrange the letters to make any of the following combinations.  When the cheat is successfully entered, you’ll hear a beep, the letters will slide back to their original position, and the name of the cheat will flash at the bottom of the screen.

Weapon Arsenal Cheats:

LOADOA – Grenade, nightstick, pistol, minigun, assault rifle, micro SMG, and stubby shotgun.
LOADOB – Molotov, tazer, dual pistols, flamethrower, carbine, SMG, and dual-barrel shotgun.
LOADOC – Mine, chainsaw, revolver, flamethrower, carbine, SMG, and dual-barrel shotgun.
LOADOD – Flashbang, bat, pistol, RPG, carbine, micro SMB and stubby shotgun.

Power-ups & Bonuses:

CASHIN – Grants $10,000 extra cash.
LIFEUP – Refills your life to full.
SHELLY – Refills your armor to full.
TRIPPY – Unknown
COPIN – Raises your wanted level by 1 star.
COPOUT – Lowers your wanted level by 1 star.

Distinctive Development’s addition to Heli Rescue, entitled “Episode 2: Mountain Mayhem,” arrived as free downloadable update this morning. 

The app previously received a strong review from our team, and has now added a number of great additions and improvements including 2 new maps, a new type of helicopter, and the introduction of “no fly zones.”

The full list of additions and improvements include:
•    Two new maps
•    New very fast 'blackwolf' helicopter
•    No fly zones introduced
•    Improved visibility of people
•    Improved visibility of people marker
•    A number of improvements to make drawing paths more intuitive.
•    Change sound effects to be less annoying!
•    Improve stereo panning to be smoother for sounds
•    Added 'Game Over' message explaining why game ended
•    Additional bug fixes

From the time I’ve spent with the update, I’ve definitely noticed the improvements, and the new maps add some extra challenge.  The sounds, though improved, still venture on the side of annoying.  Overall, Heli Rescue is a great way to kill some time and save some lives.

Heli Rescue $0.99

Ynth is a new action puzzle game for iPhone by krabl.com, an indie team of three artists from Switzerland. The player controls the small red bug Kribl on its way through a deadly swamp. An endless rain of spiky fruits and Kribl's lack of swimming and flying skills force Kribl to move through the swamp by tilting chest-like labyrinths left by mysterious former inhabitants.

The rotation of the chests leads to a clever 2d-physics-based game, combining elements of puzzle and platformer games. Ynth's custom OpenGL engine was built to support absolutely smooth physics-based animation and antialiased drawing.

With its cute'n'weird graphics style, Ynth might look harmless initially, but solving all puzzles requires serious amounts of both thinking and dexterity. Therefore is is possible to skip levels that might seem hard initially and come back once the player got more experienced. As one of Ynth's players puts it: "If you enjoy puzzle games that are unique, try your patience and give you that feeling of accomplishment when you finally complete a level, you NEED Ynth."

Ynth features 61 challenging levels, hand-drawn artwork and music performed by the game creators. For a first update in a few weeks, online highscores and additional levels are in the works. Ynth costs USD 2.99 and there is a free trial version called Ynth Lite containing the first nine introduction levels.

Gameplay Video

Click "continue reading" for additional gameplay videos.

Ynth App Store Links: Full / Lite

Gameloft recently released a mysterious trailer for an otherwise unannounced iPhone OS app, entitled Dungeon Hunter. 


The YouTube description labels the game as an “action RPG” and “coming soon.”  The video itself has fun cinematics, an intriguing story, and absolutely no gameplay footage.  Could these be a Diablo-like hack and slash?  Or maybe iPhone’s version of Zelda?  For now, your guess is as good as ours!

We’ll post more info when we get it.

The first trailer of Anders Hejdenberg’s Dark Nebula debuted earlier today.  Dark Nebula, described as “a skill-based action game,” appears to combine accelerometer-based ball rolling controls—one of the many trademarks of iPhone gaming—with many elements of action and platform games.

The game will launch as a series of episodes priced at $0.99, starting with the release of episode one, which will contain ten levels and about an hour of gameplay.  According to the developers, Dark Nebula is sure to "have you bouncing, sliding, spinning and swerving all the way to the finish line."

Hejdenberg, the lead designer of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat had this to say about the iPhone as a new platform:

“The iPhone has always intrigued me as a gaming platform, both in terms of how you can interact with it as well as what it is capable of technically. So I felt quite compelled to try it out and see what we could do with it. It was a lot of fun to come up with a new game concept with a control mechanic that feels great on the device.”

“I was really impressed to see just how much the iPhone and iPod Touch are actually capable of. I think we’ve only seen the beginning here because as developers learn how to work with the platform they’ll be able to create some truly remarkable things compared to what we’ve seen so far.”

Dark Nebula looks to have a lot of potential based on the trailer and the info provide from the app’s development team.  The app is still in development and expected to hit the App Store around the end of September.

Chillingo recently released a free and fully featured promo game for their Knights Onrush app entitled A Quest of Knights Onrush.  The app uses the same graphic set as Knights Onrush, with side scrolling, survival-based gameplay rather than castle defense.

The app uses a RGP-like level-up system that allows players to select their own ability paths.  Abilities include faster health recovery, higher jumps, and special attacks.

Overall, the game handles very well and seems to offer some decent replay value; the app keeps track of how many feet into the foray your knight managed to travel for each attempt.

Personally, I’ve found this game to be fast, fun and addictive.  I’d call this app a must download or at least worth a try, because you can’t go wrong at the price of free.

The developers have asked players to let them know if they enjoy the app.  If so, they’ll make a highly improved premium version.  Also included with this promo app is the lite version of Knights Onrush.

Fans of the popular Wolfenstein series got their first chance to gun down the Nazi regime on the iPhone OS back in March when id software brought Wolftenstein 3D Classic to the App Store.

Since then, we've heard rumors about several other titles in development (one of which we've since seen, DOOM Resurrection).  The others, including DOOM Classic, are still in the works.  One title, however, is rumored to have been completed for months now, Wolfenstein RPG.  This title, which id choose to publish through EA, was rumored to be intentionally delayed by the company to avoid confusion with Wolfenstein 3D Classic.  It seems the delay is finally over.

Wolfenstein RPG recently arrived on the App Store boasting great graphics and exciting gameplay.

Here's a snippet from the App Store description:

GET READY FOR ACTION IN WOLFENSTEIN RPG...

KILLER CONTROLS
Use your iPhone and iPod touch to activate an arsenal of 16 weapons including Spiked Brass Knuckles, a Submachine Gun, and Dynamite. Tap and swipe to punch, kick, and shoot. Use the accelerometer to take down the Axis Agents from a distance with a powerful sniper rifle.

UNCOVER SECRETS
Tap your screen to search for hidden secrets that reveal stolen treasures and more.

A TASTE OF THE ORIGINAL
Fight your way through 9 levels and 8+ hours of Wolfenstein action!

YOUR WORST ENEMIES
Face 32 enemies you’ll love to vanquish! Battle elite soldiers, zombies flaming skeletons, and other bizarre Id creations.

CHEMICAL REACTION
Sneak your way into the Mixing Stations and dip into their performance enhancing concoctions for your OWN benefit!

A KILLER LOOK
High-res graphics suspended in a 3D world immerse you in the mayhem.

App Store Link: Wolfenstein RPG [4.99]

We'll be back with a full review later.

Star Hogs, the phenomenal turn-based strategy game is on a 99¢ mega sale.

If you've ever been a fan of WORMS, download this app now!  If you're skeptical, check out our video review or try the free lite version, but don't let yourself miss out on this opportunity.

Star Hogs $4.99 --> 99¢

In a sudden but not completely unexpected move, Capcom has released a mobile version of Resident Evil 4 for iPhone.  The jury's still out to see if this game can live up to it's platform-based counterparts, but we'll keep you posted.

in early July, the game appeared briefly on the Japanese App Store before it was quickly pulled by Capcom, being dubbed by many "an accidental early release."  This lead many to believe that the US App Store might eventually see the title, too.

The title appeared for the first time in the US App Store early this morning around midnight.  Perhaps the most shocking part of this news is the near non-existant publicity Capcom has given the title.  Here's a gameplay trailer to wet your appetite.   We'll give you more feedback after we've spend more time with the title

Earlier today, TouchArcade.com posted a "Hands-On Preview and Video of Ganstar: West Coast Hustle," which is essentially gameloft's take on the popular Grand Theft Auto Series.

Gameloft is becoming well-known for producing successful iPhone OS counterparts to popular console videogames, such as Brothers in Arms (Medal of Honor), Hero of Sparta (God of War), and Guitar Rock Tour (Guitar Hero), just to name a few.   Gangstar: West Coast Hustle would be the first major fully 3D GTA-style game to arrive in the App Store, and from the looks of the gameplay video below, it'll be a welcome addition to the lineup.