The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch

For all those fans of the Moron Test, You might want to check out The Idiot Test 3 while it's still free.  The giveaway ends September 26.

On September 9, Apple announced a refresh to its iPod line, including the next gen iPod Touch.   Because a lot of info comes out of these media events, we wanted to take a moment and distill the day’s announcements for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

iPhone & iPod Touch Related info:

• iPhone OS 3.1 officially released and available for download (see below for a list of changes and new features).
• OS 3.1 will be available for free to iPod Touch owner currently running OS 3.1 & to all iPhone owners.
• iPod Touch Users not running 3.0 will have to pay $4.99 (a $5 price drop).
• iTunes 9 released and adds enhanced syncing options and Genius option for Apps.
• iTunes 9 allows users to edit & organize device home screens in iTunes.
• The 8 GB iPod Touch price dropped to $199 (with no hardware upgrades).
• The 16 & 32 GB models have doubled in storage space to 32 & 64 GB respectively, and have been upgraded with a faster processer.
• EA released Madden 2010 for iPhone OS.
• Ubisoft announced Assassin’s Creed II for iPhone OS.
• Gameloft announced Nova—a Halo-like FPS—for iPhone OS.
• Tapulous announced Riddim Ribbon

• Gameloft announced Nova—a Halo-like FPS—for iPhone OS.

• Tapulous announced Riddim Ribbon

It’s becoming somewhat of a tradition to see apps go on holiday sales.  The list is organized by sale price for lack of a better method.  There are lots of great sales this weekend so be sure to check the entire list!  Updates will be periodically posted. Be sure to double check prices on the App Store before purchasing!

[UPDATE]

Free
Sheep Abduction $0.99 → Free
Cornhole All-Stars $0.99 → Free

[Original]

Free
World Defender $0.99 → Free
Nano Fighter 2.1 $0.99 → Free

$0.99
Ynth $2.99 → $0.99
Fruit Juice Tycoon $1.99 → $0.99
Kenken $4.99 → $0.99
Silent Hill: The Escape $7.99 → $0.99
Dirt Moto Racing $4.99 → $0.99
Boulder Dash Rocks $4.99 → $0.99
Airport Mania $2.99 → $0.99
Wacky Worlds Mini Golf $2.99 → $0.99
Luxor $2.99 → $0.99
FaceFighter $1.99 → $0.99 (Review)
Ancient Tribes $1.99 → $0.99
Lost Empires $4.99 → $0.99 (Review)
Castle of Magic  $4.99 → $0.99 (Review)
iMech $2.99 → $0.99

$1.99
Yahtzee Adventures $2.99 → $1.99
The Kings $4.99 → $1.99
Creepytown $2.99 → $1.99

$2.99
SimCity $4.99 → $2.99
Townrs Defender $4.99→ $2.99
Trivial Pursuit $4.99 → $2.99
Clue $4.99 → $2.99
Civilization Revolution $9.99 → $2.99
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D $4.99 → $2.99
Mega Man II $4.99 → $2.99 (Review)
Rolando $5.99 → $2.99
Resident Evil 4 $7.99 → $2.99 (Review)

$3.99 +
Super Monkey Ball $5.99 → $3.99
Real Racing $9.99 → $6.99

Check Back for Updates!

Fans of the Civilization franchise who’ve been putting off the purchase of Civilization Revolution because of the $9.99 price tag might want to strongly consider the purchase now at the $2.99 reduced price point. You can always try the free lite version first.

There will likely be lots of great holiday sales this weekend.  There are already some great sales going on.  We’ll get those posted in a bit.  Check back for updates!

Gameloft, the ambitious iPhone development company, released two new trailers today.

The first elaborates on the mysterious Dungeon Hunter cinematic released last week, including gameplay screens.  The game looks impressive and seems to resemble the popular Diablo franchise by Blizzard Entertainment.

Blades of Glory, the second trailer, looks to be a fighting game influenced by the popular Soul Calibur series.

Apple’s iTunes App Store has brought a lot of benefits to mobile gaming over the past year.  Of course, as the old saying goes, there are two sides to every coin, because the App Store also seems to have created its fair share of problems and controversies.  One of the more unfortunate phenomena created by the App Store’s open developer policy seems to be the occasional stealing of other developer’s work in the form of unchecked copyright infringement. 

One of the more recent cases involves the classic action/adventure game Abuse.  A few weeks ago we received notification from the original production team that an app we reviewed several months back, Alien Abuse, which claimed to be a port of the original, was actually an unlicensed knock-off. 

As fans of the original 1996 version, we at TheAppShelf.com were deeply disturbed and disheartened by this news.  The producer of the original Abuse had this to say about the knock-off:

“We have not seen a penny from the sales of Alien Abuse so far, and this has been very distressing to me and to the other original authors.”

And rightfully so.  Since then, the knock-off, Alien Abuse, has been removed from the U.S. App Store and been replaced with Abuse Classic, published by the original authors.  I downloaded the new app as soon as I received the news and am happy to say that the Abuse Classic team has done a wonderful job porting their classic title to iPhone.

Abuse Classic’s gameplay and controls are definitely more polished than the knock-off, allowing for a near perfect transition to the iPhone OS.  Abuse Classic is a fast-action, side scrolling shooter with a fun retro feel that will make you reminiscent of the “good ol’ days of gaming,” and is an app I’d gladly recommend to any fans of the genre.

Image from Abuse Classic:

According to a recent post on Rockstar Games’ news blog, the Grand Theft Auto series will bring its first official title to the iPhone and iPod Touch this fall in the form of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, a critically acclaimed GTA mobile title already available for the Nintendo DS and soon for the PSP.

While not much additional information was given, the announcement of an iPhone OS port doesn’t come as that much of surprise considering the success of similar copycat apps, such as Paypack, Car Jack Streets, and most recently, Gameloft’s GangStar: West Coast Hustle.

While the aforementioned apps have done a more than reasonable job of temporarily satisfying cravings for senseless theft and violence for some, it seems safe to say that GTA fans will be more than pleased to welcome the popular franchise to the iPhone.

The developers of Snake XT, a popular re-imagination of the classic game Snake, have announced their global competition that will take place from Saturday, August 29 through Sunday, September 6, 12:00 P.M. E.S.T..

“On Saturday August 29th, Snake XT is going to reset the Global High Scoreboard, and invite people all over the world to participate in the “SNAKE XTREME WORLD COMPETITION”. The first place winners of each version, Arcade & Challenge, will win an Apple ITOUCH & the title of “Snake Xtreme World Champion”. The Competition will last a week & end on Sunday September 6th at 12:00 p.m. E.S.T.”

According to the developers:

“Snake XT is unique from other Snake games because it offers TWO great versions of the game. The CHALLENGE version is the classic version of Snake. Eat as many pellets as you can, collect the bonuses along the way, and set the highest score with the longest snake. The ARCADE version gives you 28 levels with 7 different worlds. As you master each level, the snake’s speed increases, graphics get more intense, and the game gets a lot harder!”

I have personally spent some time with Snake XT and found it to be very fun and enjoyable.  The app currently retails for $0.99 on iTunes.  You can also try the free lite version of the app before purchasing.  Good luck everyone!

Snake XT [iTunes Link]
Snake XT Lite [iTunes Link]

UPDATE: We've been informed that the deadline for the contest has been extended until September 13.

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.

If you've been holding off on Doom Resurrection or Wolfensten 3d Classic because of the price, then now's the time to buy!

• Doom Resurrection $9.99 --> $2.99
• Wolfenstein 3d Classic $2.99 --> 99¢

Both titles come highly recommended.