gaming

Oct 20 2010

VIDEO: The Incident… an awesome game you can play on your iPad with your iPhone

The Incident might sound like Jersey Shore‘s “The Situation‘s” little brother, but it is really an addictive retro-style game for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. In the Big Bucket Software game you play Frank Solway, our hero, as the world comes crashing down all around him. We’re not really sure why, but a multifarious array of clutter starts to fall from the sky and you must work quickly to stay on top of the ever growing pile.

You can’t run away, you can only tilt to dodge, tap to jump and avoid the falling evidence of man’s existence on earth and try to collect power-ups and bonuses along the way. Not everything you can collect will help you, though—there are a few power-downs as well.

No Flash? No problem—click here!»

The Incident hit the iTunes Apps Store earlier this year and I liked it then, but I really like it now that the recent update has allowed me to use my iPhone as a controller while I watch the action on the iPad. Big Bucket also added a new mode called “Endless Nightfall” that I have yet to check out.1 They also added Game Center functionality for you competitive types.

Like most great and fun games, it’s quite simple in concept but rich in fun factor. And at $1.99 US, it’s a great value.

VIDEO: The Incident... an awesome game you can play on your iPad with your iPhone
  1. I’m too busy trying to get out of the Mountains in “The Rise & Fall of Frank Solway” [↩]

By RickMacMerc • apps, Featured, gaming, iOS, iPad, iPhone, iPod, MacMerc.TV, Mini Video, RickMacMerc • Comments Off • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aug 23 2010

EpicWin!

This is new. I don’t mean that in a “it just came out” sort of way…though it basically did. I mean, I have tried a lot of productivity, task management, to do list and GTD1 applications in my time and this is the first time I’ve tried one that actually hides within the disguise of an RPG.2

EpicWin! is an iPhone app that allows you to assign yourself tasks, schedule repeating chores and set priorities like any other task management app, but it does so by rewarding task completion with XP3 and “loot.” Your tasks are categorized as feats of strength, stamina, intellect, social or spirit and you can set the priority by the amount of “Epicness” the task is worth upon completion.

You start EpicWin by creating your character: choose its race, its name and then you send it out on quests…like “Do the laundry”…”Mow the lawn”…or “Pick up the dry cleaning” As you complete those tasks your character levels up and acquires treasures which your friends on Twitter and Facebook can receive announcements about if you wish.

It’s a really imaginative idea and I hope the folks at SuperMono develop it further. I’d like to see them offer an online database for you to store your tasks and your progress like Remember The Milk and the ability to compete and share progress with other EpicWinners. Maybe they could allow multiple players to share a task together as an EpicWin epic quest!

The app sells for $2.99 US for the iPhone. What do you use to get things done?

No Flash? No problem—click here!»

  1. Getting Things Done EpicWin! [↩]
  2. Role Playing Game …get to know your acronyms!! [↩]
  3. Experience Points [↩]

By RickMacMerc • apps, Featured, gaming, iPhone, MacMerc.TV, Mini Video, News, productivity, productivity • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jul 4 2010

Star Wars Cantina HD… Diner Dash with blue milk

Mobile Photo Jul 4 2010 6 28 49 PM 225x300 Star Wars Cantina HD… Diner Dash with blue milkHave you ever wanted to run your own wretched hive of scum and villainy? Have you ever wanted to utter the words, “Hey! Your droids—we don’t serve their kind here.”? If you’re an iPhone or especially an iPad user, your dream has come true with Star Wars: Cantina HD.

Star Wars Cantina HD by THQ Wireless is a Star Wars themed Diner-Dash-style game where you play the beehive hairdo’d Nia Adea and do your best to keep the never ending rush of customers (jawas, moisture farmers… the occasional Hutt) happy. It’s all about speed, accuracy and meeting the daily quota.

As you progress through career mode, you’ll be given the opportunity to make upgrades to the cantina, bringing in more tables and customer-attracting decor.

As I write this, it occurs to me that the game is not particularly Star-Wars-like. Yes, it takes place in the Star Wars Universe and, if you like these kinds of games, it’s fun enough. But when I was running around in my backyard with my friends, beating each other up with brightly painted cardboard tubes from the cores of my Mom’s Christmas wrapping paper rolls, I was Darth Vader or Han Solo, maybe Luke Skywalker. None of us was calling dibs on getting to pretend to be the bartender. This is the kind of stuff that made Luke all whiny and long to join the rebellion.

I must admit, there is a struggle between the forces of good and of evil in the cutscenes of career mode where each day brings a new challenge. It’s just that it’s not the epic struggle that is the Star Wars trademark. I’m not hearing John Williams’ score playing as I imagine Nia Adea gazing whistfully at the twin suns of Tatooine. It’s just not there.

Fun, nice to look at, but not a blockbuster for me.

Still, at $4.99, it’s better than Phantom Menace.

Which Star Wars character did you always pretend to be? Were you the bartender? Leave me a comment below.

By RickMacMerc • Featured, gaming, Geek News, iOS, iPad, iPhone, News • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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