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.

For the FACEBOOK or iPhone App!

App: Bejeweled 2 (iPhone) & Bejeweled Blitz (facebook)
Dates: Tues., Nov. 17 – Mon., Nov. 23
Challenge: Earn a score of 100,000 or higher in Bejeweled Blitz
Prize: $10 iTunes Gift Certificate

To enter:
• Earn a score of 100,000 or higher in Bejeweled Blitz
• Take a screenshot as proof (see below for the how to)
• Email the screenshot along with your name to
• The winner will be notified via email the following week

To take a screenshot on your iPhone or iPod Touch: Press and hold the lock button (on top of the device) and then press the Home button while continuing to hold the lock button.  Your screen will flash and a screenshot will be saved to your photo library.

To take a screen shot on your Mac: Simultaneously press Shift + Command + 3  (On older macs: Shift + Apple +3)

To take a screen shot on a PC: Checkout this web guide: http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Screenshot-in-Microsoft-Windows

The screenshot should look something like this:

(Screenshots from facebook app may look a little different. Be sure they include name and score)

Feel free to discuss strategy in the comments section below!

Click this link to view our full sweepstakes rules.

App: MASH
Dates: Tues., Nov. 17 – Mon., Nov. 23
Challenge: End up in a “Mansion”
Prize: $10 iTunes Gift Certificate

To enter:
• Play MASH until you “live in a Mansion.”
• Take a screenshot as proof (see below for the how to guide)
• Email the screenshot along with your name to
• The winner will be notified via email the following week

To take a screenshot on your device: Press and hold the lock button (on top of the device) and then press the Home button while continuing to hold the lock button.  Your screen will flash and a screenshot will be saved to your photo library.

The screenshot should look something like this:



Feel free to discuss strategy in the comments section below!

Click this link to view our full sweepstakes rules.

To help kick off our Holiday Challenge Blitz, we’ve decided to extend the Quest of Knights Onrush App Challenge for an additional week until Monday, Nov. 23!

For details on how to enter for your chance to win a $10 iTunes gift Certificate, check out the full info.

We'll choose one winner for each week! (Non-winning entries will automatically carry over to the extended week)

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

To celebrate its addition to the Plus+ network, Ngmoco's award winning app, Topple 2, is now free on the App Store.  While it appears this might be a permanent price drop, anyone interested should download this full featured app ASAP and not take the chance.

Topple 2 is a fun and enjoyable iPhone OS specific stacking and balancing game with a sense of humor; for those not familiar, it's definitely worth the download.

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.

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

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!

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. 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: