Review: Focal XS iPod/computer speaker system

Focal's XS is high-performance audio system that works with both iPods and your computer's digital-audio signal. Although it's expensive, you're paying for that flexibility as well as an attractive, iMac-matching design.

New iPod game: Tamagotchi

This week, Apple added a new game for the iPod nano and iPod classic. Tamagotchi: 'Round the World allows you to take care of a small pet, which you raise from birth. There are four pets to choose from, interactive environmental items, 6 mini games, and three activities to play with your pets. Tamagotchi was created by Namco, which has other iPod games on the iTunes Store. This game is compatible with iPod nano (3rd & 4th Generations), iPod classic, and iPod 5th Generation (with video). It is available from the iTunes store for $4.99; a demo video is available. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!TUAWNew iPod game: Tamagotchi originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Appletell review - Cubis 2 for iPod

Section: iPod + iTunes, iPod, iPod nano, Features, Review Genre: Arcade/puzzle Format: iPod Game Developer: Fresh Games, LLC Minimum Requirements: iPod classic, iPod 5G, iPod nano 3G, iPod Software v1.2 Price: $4.99 ESRB Rating: N/A Availability: Now Here, then, we have a game perfectly suited to the iPod. It’s suited to the controls, and it’s suited to the small screen. What it may not be suited to is your schedule. If you only break out an iPod game when you’re trying to kill time before an appointment or while you’re waiting for your kid’s trombone lesson to end, the addictive nature of Cubis 2 may cause you to be late on more than one occasion. And actually, I hate using the term “addictive,” as it’s never accurate when speaking about games. Do people go into violent shakes when they can’t play Cubis for a few days? Do they sell the Renoir and the TV set to finance a new iPod classic or iPod nano when they’ve worn out the controls of the 5G due to intense Cubis 2 gaming? I imagine not. But if you’re into puzzle/arcade-styled games such as Bejeweled (also available for iPod), you will probably enjoy Cubis 2, and maybe even find it’s the more satisfying gaming experience of the two. The gameplay centers around the traditional task of lining up three or more cubes of matching colors. The cubes then disappear, allowing others to fall into their place. It’s like house cleaning, but with bright, happy colors and music, and no dog getting in your way. The twist here is that the board is laid down flat, and the cubes stack on top of one another. The 3D perspective adds an extra challenge with more possibilities for combo moves, and it requires some unique controls. Rather than just click directly on the cubes you want to match up, you fire a cube onto the game board from either the left or the bottom. This is done by lining up your shot with the click-wheel, then sending it into play by hitting the iPod’s center button. Smooth and intuitive, although sometimes difficult to land directly on the row/column you want. When you shoot a cube onto the board, it either pushes away the cube it hits (provided there’s room to do so) or it causes cubes to disappear if it creates a match of three or more like colors. If the cubes disappear, the cube above it will fall and crack, if there is one. Cracked cubes shatter and disappear if another cube is shot through it. Keep this up until the board is clear, and it’s on to the next. As is always the case with games such as this, the developers keep things interesting by having different cubes behave in different ways. For instance, there’s the Lift Cube which wedges its way underneath the first cube it hits, then becomes a regular cube. Although highly annoying at first, these cubes will help you set up better chain reactions (for more points) once you learn how to use them properly. There’s a Stone Cube that can only be removed with Lasers or a Bomb Cube, so, of course, there are Lasers and Bomb Cubes, amongst other things. You don’t know when you’ll get these various cubes (the three cubes “on deck” are always visible), and learning how to utilize (or, in some cases, deal with) them is what provides the game’s challenge. Oh. And there’s a time limit. Isn’t that always the way? To keep things even more interesting, Cubis 2 contains four slightly different play variations. Arcade Mode is pretty much what I described above, in which you have to clear a certain percentage of blocks from the screen. Puzzle Mode gives you specific tasks, such as clearing all of the star cubes within a certain amount of time. Then, there are Morph Modes of both Arcade and Puzzle Mode which add Ghost Cubes that float around and mess up your strategies, making the game more complex. Depending upon what type of gamer you are, that could be a problem with Cubis 2. It’s more difficult than other games of this sort. The multi-layered action makes for a steeper learning curve than you’d expect, and it’ll be a while before you’re able to develop strategies that...you know...work. As a result, easily discouraged gamers will bail on this early even if they’re succeeding, because they’ll have no idea why they’re succeeding. On the other hand, those that stick with it will be rewarded with a more satisfying gaming experience with a longer shelf life than most other iPod games. To help you along with this, Fresh Games includes a few different screen backdrops from which to chose, as well as different cube styles. The variations aren’t that drastic, but they do give you something else to look at every now and then. Even better, the music does a nice job of drifting into the background when you play. This is what music in games like this should do; if it’s noticeable, it would get annoying very quickly. There are multiple version of Cubis 2 available online for free play, so I very much recommend you check these out to get a good feel for the game. If you enjoy it at all online, you’ll like it even more on the iPod. There are other games you can download from iTunes that you’ll learn and get into more quickly than Cubis 2, but not many you’ll enjoy for longer. Appletell Rating: Buy Cubis 2 See other iPod game reviews. This review was originally published at Applelinks. Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Appletell reviews Ivory Tiles for iPhone, iPod touch

Section: iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone + Communications, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Features, Review Category: Puzzle games Developer: MunkyFun, Inc. Requirements: iPhone 2.1 software Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch File Size: 30.1MB Version Reviewed: 1.0. Price: $1.99 I’m not sure who these MunkyFun people are and why they’re here, but if I ever run into them, I’m going to have two things to say. 1.) Monkeys get too much airtime. I don’t know if it’s because people think they’re cute animals or if the word “monkey” is just fun to say, but can we please start passing some of that love onto the jackalope or the platypus, both of which are equally fun to say? 2.) You’ve created the perfect iPhone game. Now, but let me qualify that. Ivory Tiles is not for everyone. It’s a puzzle game. I know that turns a lot of people off, and that’s fine. But as far as puzzle games go—and when it comes to use of the iPhone/iPod touch’s accelerometer—Ivory Tiles is the best I’ve seen yet. The point of Ivory Tiles is to slide any number of (get this) ivory tiles onto certain squares on the game board. Cleverly placed obstacles will block your path, forcing you to maneuver in certain ways to reach your goal. It starts off quite simple, where the only challenge is reaching the goal in the minimum number of moves. Before long, though, you’re presented with multiple tiles, multiple goals, and even multiple levels to manipulate. Your tiles can get trapped in holes, forcing you to start over. You can get caught in “obstacle hell,“ where it seems no matter what you do, the tiles won’t go where you want them to. There was one puzzle later on that I believe could’ve been completed in less than 30 moves, and it took me nearly 250 (yes, the game keeps track of that). For the most part, though, a quick study of the game board and a lucky start would often have me completing the puzzles in about 5 to 15 moves above the minimum. Sound like the equivalent of every other puzzle game on the iPhone? Maybe, but Ivory Tiles comes together on every level. First of all, the controls are spot on. To move your tile(s), you simply tilt the phone in the direction you want the tile to slide. It’s very responsive, and only occasionally did a tile move when I didn’t want it to. In a way, this makes you feel as if you’re holding and manipulating an actual game board, something you just don’t get by clicking and dragging your mouse in similar games for the Mac or PC. Touch control is also available, but don’t use it. Just don’t. The tilt capabilities are so perfectly implemented that you’d be doing MunkyPhone and the very soul of the iPhone itself a huge disservice by not taking advantage of them. Second, the design is fantastic. Obviously, a game like this is going to have an Asian theme, and it’s very well done. The graphics are very attractive without trying to be anything more than a natural mahogany game board with actual ivory tiles. You’ll feel like you’re looking at a video game trying to be nothing more than what it is, as opposed to screaming out, “Hey, I’m a video game! See my flashing lights! Hear my whistles and bells!“ And speaking of whistles and bells, the music is traditional Chinese; whether that works for you will depend upon your taste. It obviously fits in quite well with the design of the game, but may be a bit much for westerners playing the game for prolonged periods when their only previous exposure to such music is at the local Chinese restaurant. You can turn the music down, but you can’t replace it with your iTunes library. If there’s a third item that makes Ivory Tiles so great, it’s that it’s playable both in short bursts and in longer sessions. The puzzles flow quickly into one another, so it can become quite addictive. “That one was easy enough, let’s see how long this one takes.“ Play it for two minutes, play it for 20 minutes, you’re not messing up the gaming experience either way. Ivory Tiles offers over 80 levels of gameplay. They go by quickly at first, but will become extremely challenging before long. If you’re a perfectionist, you don’t need to quit playing after you’ve completed them all; you can go back to any puzzle to try to beat your previous score. There’s no real reward for doing so, unless playing the game is it’s own reward. With Ivory Tiles, that just may be the case. Appletell Rating: Buy Ivory Tiles Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Appletell reviews Choose Your Own Adventure - Return to Atlantis for iPhone, iPod touch

Section: iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone + Communications, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Features, Review Category: Books Developer: Magnetism Studios Requirements: iPhone 2.0 software Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch File Size: 4.1MB Version Reviewed: 1.0.1 Price: $2.99 Yes, I used to read Choose Your Own Adventure books. Of course I did. I was in grade school when the series launched, so I was there at the right time. And although I used to own quite a few of them, I have no idea where they ended up. The attic at my parents’ house? A garage sale? Donated to a fund raiser? I’d like to have them back, because I think they’d be fun to read to my own kids now. Assuming that’ll never happen, I guess my iPhone will suffice. Magnetism Studios has released the Return to Atlantis Choose Your Own Adventure book for the iPhone, and they’ve done so faithfully. The original cover remains. The illustrations remain. Even the “This book is different from other books” warning remains. Fans of the series will be thrilled, but what about everyone else? If you’ve never chosen your adventure, is this book worthy of your App Store dollars? Well, in the spirt of things, I’ll let you choose. Return to Atlantis doesn’t actually let you choose your adventure, but rather lets you choose your path through the adventure. The story starts out like any other, except you’ll notice it’s told from the rarely used second-person point-of-view. The book often refers to you, the reader, because you’re a character in the story. You’re presented with various situations within the story, then asked to make a decision. “If you…“, turn to page X; “If you…“, turn to page Y. Some decisions will end your story right there (and not always in a pleasant way), others will keep the adventure alive. As a grade school kid, this fascinated me, and I would read through the books countless times to see all the possible outcomes. I suppose this isn’t such a fascinating idea these days, considering many video games provide multiple outcomes based on your actions and decisions, but such features just feel more unique and personal in book form. So, the book itself is a lot of fun, but how does it work on the iPhone? Well, you lose the feel of having the book in your hand, of course, which will turn off everyone outside of the Kindle crowd. But I have to admit the electronic version does make the whole thing work a bit better. Tap your choice, and you’re automatically taken to the page you want. In other words, no cheating. You can’t accidentally skim a better ending and its page number on your way to the page you need, then reverse engineer your way to that ending upon your next read. So, the whole “choosing” bit (kind of important, you know) is a perfect match for the iPhone. The display is nice, with dark grey text set against an off-white background. It creates the feel of an old, slightly yellowed paperback, which I assume was a design decision. You scroll down to read all the text on a page, then tap to either advance to the next page or to make your choice, where appropriate. I’m not sure why they decided to make you tap to turn a page instead of just putting everything on one page until you have to select your path, unless they’re just going for the accurate recreation. Indeed, the choices still say to “... turn to page X” even though pages are pretty much irrelevant in digital form. You can stop reading at any point and your place will be remembered, but you can also choose to start again from the beginning upon returning. A bookmarks button will remember multiple locations (tap the bookmark button at any time, then tap the plus symbol, and your location is saved), and you can skim back and forth through what you’ve read via arrow buttons on the bottom of the screen. My favorite option, though, allows you to reverse the page so you’re reading white text on a dark background (great if you’re reading with the lights out). You can also enlarge the font (two total settings) if the default text is too small. Choose Your Own Adventure fans will greatly enjoy this app, doubly so since the Journey Under the Sea book is thrown in as a bonus. The developers have gone a great job of not only recreating the experience of this series, but also the experience of just reading a book. No, the iPhone cannot replace an actual book, but it works better as an electronic reading device than you may think, and you won’t have to worry about creasing the spine. Appletell Rating: Buy Choose Your Own Adventure - Return to Atlantis   Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Article: iPod Gems: Seven New Click Wheel iPod Games, Reviewed

After a relatively slow 2008 for Click Wheel iPod games, Apple and several third-party developers have ended the year with a flurry of new releases. Today, we’re looking briefly at a collection of seven new games, three of which are from Gameloft, and one each from Electronic Arts, Hudson Soft, Sandlot, and even Apple itself. All of these games except for one sell for the standard fixed Click Wheel iPod game price of $5. Asphalt 4: As Good As…