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SimCity, the seminal city building and management series, has had a rocky lifespan on the App Store. The original SimCity game for the iPhone was released nearly two full years ago. At that time it was hard not to be impressed that a fully featured version of the game was running on a mobile phone, but the reality is that game had some pretty serious bugs and performance problems, especially when your population grew to a few hundred thousand.

Then last July EA Mobile pulled the old SimCity title in favor of SimCity Deluxe [$2.99] which indeed was an overall better experience but came with some new problems of its own. Both versions of SimCity suffered from a lack of screen real estate on the iPhone and iPod touch, and neither ever felt like that remarkable of an experience.

After checking out SimCity Deluxe for iPad in person, though, it seems that the franchise has finally found a device that can do it justice. SimCity Deluxe for iPad uses the graphical assets from SimCity 4, so it looks gorgeous on the bigger screen. The biggest benefit however is the revamped user interface and extra screen space that allows for simple and intuitive controls. The content is largely the same as the iPhone version of SimCity Deluxe, with 7 starter cities modeled after real world locations, 7 scenarios with specific goals to work out, and of course the ability to start completely from scratch. An EA rep demoed the game for me and this video shows off a ton of the features in the game:

Being a fan of SimCity, I always wanted to like the iPhone versions but they just felt too cramped and frustrating to play. With most of those frustrations alleviated thanks to the bigger screen on the iPad, I can actually picture myself playing this game a lot more. The highly customizable and easy to use interface is friendly to newcomers or casual players, but doesn't sacrifice the ability to dig in to some of the more advanced techniques. The release date is scheduled for this month, and we'll take another look at SimCity Deluxe for iPad when it finally does hit the App Store.

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EA Mobile has already brought two successful versions of the Monopoly franchise to the iPhone/iPod touch, classic Monopoly [$2.99] and The World Edition [$2.99], but now it's the iPad's turn. Obviously the larger screen of the iPad makes for a more enjoyable experience with a virtual board game, but EA has also added a few interesting twists to the game to make it more than just a straight digital conversion.

First of all, the other iOS versions of Monopoly are pretty hard. I've heard more than one player complain that the AI was “cheating” because they would get whooped badly so often. The iPad version looks to remedy this with Teacher Mode where you play a much friendlier AI, not just in difficulty but also in offering helpful hints and tips. The AI in Teacher Mode will pop up with information like which color properties get landed on the most so you can be sure to place hotels there, and in-depth statistics for both of you so you can see that the AI actually isn't pulling a fast one on you by comparing how each other's game unfolds.

The other great addition to Monopoly on iPad is Tabletop Mode where you can play same-device multiplayer with up to 4 people. What's cool about this mode is that you can just lay the iPad down on whatever surface you want to play on, like a table, and the relevant text and UI will reorient itself around the screen towards each player while keeping the game board in the same spot. It basically feels just like playing the actual board game, only there is no money or pieces to manage and everything is automated for you. In fact I'd say this is the definitive way to play Monopoly, and the only people who will bother to bust out the actual board game anymore are the nostalgic types who want to remember what us old people called “tactile feedback”.

Of course Monopoly on the iPad will also contain plain old regular games with a myriad of difficulty settings, game options, and rule sets. You'll also be able to play local multiplayer with up to 4 players using multiple devices over WiFi or Bluetooth, and in a nice touch the local multiplayer with be compatible with the iPhone/iPod touch versions of Monopoly. Board games have already proven to be a great fit for the iPad, and if you're a fan of Monopoly but hate keeping track of all the pieces, or have an unnatural disdain for thin elongated boxes, then you'll definitely want to check out Monopoly Classic for iPad when it releases sometime this month.

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Ever since it was announced that Battlefield Bad Company 2 would be coming to iOS, our forums have run rampant with speculation and anticipation. While the Halos and Call of Dutys of the world get most of the spotlight, the Battlefield franchise has had its own dedicated following of hardcore players for years. This same group of players is very keen on not having their beloved franchise butchered in the transition to iOS. At a recent EA Mobile event, I finally got the chance to actually play Battlefield Bad Company 2. While my overall impression of the game is positive, the good news also comes with some bad.

Let's start with the good. Bad Company 2 will feature a single player campaign comprised of 14 missions spread across the typical environments, such as snow, desert, jungle, etc. The missions can be quite lengthy and are full of a variety of different goals. You'll be able to drive several different vehicles during certain missions, including a tank, a turret-mounted armored truck, and a helicopter. The controls are spot-on, both on foot and while driving vehicles. They utilize the familiar "touch anywhere" virtual analog setup, with icons for throwing grenades, crouching, and aiming down your sights. It's all very minimalist and unobtrusive, letting you get a good view of the action taking place.

The graphics in Bad Company 2 have been largely criticized in our forums ever since EA released screenshots of the game. After seeing the game in person though, the criticism is unwarranted. Bad Company 2 looks great and runs smoothly, and while it doesn't quite approach the visuals of something like Modern Combat 2 [$6.99], it's certainly far from a bad looking game. It runs in high resolution with detailed weapon models and environments. It won't blow your mind, but it exceeded my expectations.

So, are you ready for the bad news? First of all, the trademark destructible environments that Battlefield is known for will not be making it to this portable outing. That's not entirely surprising given that this is game running on a mobile device and the technology to offer something like that would be quite taxing. Still, I did have my fingers crossed that they would find a way to pull it off, but it just wasn't meant to be. At least not in this release. You'll come across vehicles that can be blown up and explosive barrels and the like, but the majority of structures and objects will not be affected by the carnage.

The other somewhat disappointing aspect to Bad Company 2 is the multiplayer. It's online over WiFi or 3G, or local over Bluetooth, but will only support 2-4 players in regular deathmatch and team deathmatch game types. Again, this is a far cry from the competition, but that doesn't mean it won't end up being fun. Also, as of this writing vehicles will not be a part of the multiplayer, which is another trademark of the Battlefield franchise. I'm told that it's something that is under consideration and could change in the future, but the game will most likely ship without this feature. Another thing that was unclear during the preview was whether there is any sort of class structure to choose from, but my gut feeling is that there isn't.

A rep from EA was kind enough to let me film her as she demonstrated a bit of the single player campaign in Battlefield. While a noisy, dimly lit bar isn't the ideal recording location this video should give you and idea of some of the game mechanics:

Even with these negative points there is a saving grace with Battlefield Bad Company 2, and that is that the game is a blast to play. It's easy to get wrapped up in bullet points and feature sets when talking about a game, and it would be hard for anything to measure up to the current high-water mark in iOS FPS games that is Modern Combat 2. But the bottom line is that even in the short amount of time I spent with Bad Company 2 it was a lot of fun. The multiplayer seems a bit basic, but I'm really looking forward to the single player campaign. Plus this is EA's first attempt at an FPS for the iPhone, so there's the possibility that the experience will be improved over time with updates or in future releases.

Bad Company 2 is slated for release sometime this month, so it won't be long before we can put the final version through the wringer. Until then you can join in on the active discussion in our forums, and we'll bring you more of Battlefield Bad Company 2 when it hits in the coming weeks.

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Earlier this week Zynga sent out some curious invitations to a conference call to various members of the media, including TouchArcade. That left us scratching our heads to see what exactly it was that Zynga was up to that could possibly interest us. I was half expecting them to reveal plans to bring more games to iOS following the success of Farmville [Free] on the App Store, but this took me completely by surprise.

Zynga has acquired NewToy, the developers behind both Words with Friends [$2.99 / Free] and Chess with Friends [$2.99 / Free]. Where things really get interesting is when you consider that NewToy collaborated with ngmoco to release We Rule [Free] back in March, which has since been reskinned several times in various themes. Ngmoco has since been bought by Japanese social gaming conglomerate DeNA, which currently is one of Zynga's biggest competitors in the social gaming realm.

While many of our readers are (understandably) getting tired of freemium time sinks, it is incredibly interesting watching the international business battle unfold between all of these companies making untold millions on microtransactions and ad impressions. We're not sure yet what this will mean for NewToy other than a shiny new titles for the higher-ups at NewToy as well as the rebranding of NewToy to "Zynga With Friends." Like all these previous high-dollar dealings, it will be fun to see what happens once the dust of the acquisition settles.

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Activision Blizzard's often controversial CEO Bobby Kotick recently told Reuters at the Global Media Summit this tuesday, "We don't view the App Store as a really big opportunity for dedicated games." Kotick believes that the best path for growth in Activision's future is utilizing the community of franchises they currently control. World of Warcraft, the Call of Duty games, and other series have been massive cash cows for the company, likely making Call of Duty: Zombies [$4.99 / HD] seem like small potatoes in comparison. While the game has been near the top of the iTunes highest grossing lists since release, it's hard to imagine that's even comparable to the amount of money Activision rakes in on a daily basis from WoW subscriptions and console titles.

Kotick's stance is somewhat understandable, and predictable given the direction the company has taken lately, prioritizing sequels and expansions of reliable series over exploring new territory. It's still disappointing given the success that their current titles have seen on the App Store, as well as the success that similar large publishers such as EA and Gameloft have enjoyed. The up side to all this is that according to Bobby Kotick, the iPad may be an attractive platform for Activision in the future, but not quite yet. Given the sky-high adoption rates the iPad has seen, hopefully serious Activision iPad titles will be coming sooner rather than later.

[via Joystiq]

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Mom? Dad? When did you guys get in a game?

It's hard to drop an RTS on iOS devices like the iPod Touch, iPad, and the iPhone, but that's not discouraging Gameloft. The studio has announced Star Front Collision, a classical three-race, top-down strategy affair that will feature a deep, 20-mission Campaign mode and an up-to-four person competitive online mode. This is in addition to a Skirmish mode, unique tech trees for each race, and a cinematic flair.

Gameloft is promising solid controls — a very important thing considering the platform. But what it's neglecting to mention where Star Front is drawing its inspiration. That game is, of course, is Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft, a worldwide success that has kept many a nerd locked in his bedroom cave for days and days on end. Diamond League is only a few billion CPMs away, right nerds-in-hiding? Right.

Star Front will launch on the App Store in January 2011. You can get your first eyes-on the cinematic portion of the game by watching the trailer Gameloft has just released. Come play spot the likeness with us. Oh, found one! Those bugs look like the Zerg! What did I just win? Nothing? Jeesh. What kind of website is this?

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Back in October, Master Eli told you that Halfbrick Studios' Age of Zombies [$2.99] was a solid dual stick shooter, definitely worth its asking price. Eli doesn't lie; His words are worth their weight in Silver Dragoons. Now, we wouldn't normally throw disbelievers of Eli's Gospel bones, but today is as good of a day as any. Age of Zombies now has a Lite version on the App Store, which will allow you to play the game and evaluate it for free, if that review didn't do it for you for whatever reason.

Take note that this Lite version only showcases the first full chapter in the game, a prehistoric-themed romp. In it, you'll meet the "legendary" zombie T-Rex and even be able to unlock a level of the game's "Survival Mode," in addition to being able to upload your scores and earn Achievements.

In celebration of this release, creator Halfbrick Studios is handing out a little something special to owners of the actual game. Upon downloading the Lite version, you'll receive a bonus unlock code that, when used in the full version of the game, unlocks a "Hoverboard" similar to that one in those popular movies.

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Word that Rovio Mobile was stuffing its yuletide Angry Birds update into its Halloween version of the game [$.99, HD] struck us as odd. Sure, Halloween is a "seasonal" offering, but these two holidays are complete opposites.

This thought must have occurred to Rovio as well because the update, which does indeed add several new snow-laden levels to the game, adds more than just Christmas cheer: It also rebrands the Halloween to "Angry Birds: Seasons," killing the current confusion and thereby nipping all future hullabaloo in the bud.

The Christmas-themed episodes are packed within the App under the heading "Season's Greetings," while the Halloween stuff has been moved to another episode called "Trick Or Treat." Angry Birds Halloween is still $.99 for the iPhone and iPod, while the HD version for the iPad remains at $1.99.

Having spent a few mind numbing minutes with "Season's Greetings," we can say that we fully endorse Rovio Mobile's attempt to get us in the seasonal mood. Plus, it's free, so complaining would be a bit silly. Download this update as soon as you can.

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What's taking the guys behind Carcassonne [$4.99] so long to update the app with universal support? Creating and then implementing new UI ain't easy. But rest assured, the update will hit in 2010 as planned. In fact, it'll hit later this month.

In a new blog post, the crew lightly details some of the work that has been done and even shares some exciting new screenshots of the new, bigger, and enhanced UI elements we'll be fiddling with in the coming days. (And fiddle we will; this game flat-out rocks.)

"After being busy working out details, new designs and user interfaces, we are ready to commit to a release of the iPad update in December," the post reads. "So in a short while you’ll be able to enjoy Carcassonne on the big screen and we will start working on expansions and adding Game Center support."

Here's a sampling of what's being shown:

As you may have caught in the above, after this update is complete and available, the studio will be turning its eyes to updates and Game Center support. Add-on content is something even board-based fans of the title have been receiving for years, so there's a deep pool of content to pick from. Bring it on!

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Zero Punctuation is a weekly comedic minimalist animated review show that got its starts all the way back in mid-2007 as a pair of YouTube videos on The Darkness and Fable. Like all good YouTube videos, it quickly went viral and not long after that Escapist Magazine started publishing the videos and has ever since. In the console and PC gaming world, Zero Punctuation is wildly popular, with Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw usually targeting whatever happens to be the popular new release that week. This week, he set his sights on iPhone gaming. Specifically, Angry Birds [99¢ / HD], Cut the Rope [99¢], Fruit Ninja [99¢ / HD] and Doodle God [99¢].

Fair warning, the video does have some cursing in it, which may or may not be work safe depending on how strict your office environment is.

If you liked this one, there are tons of other Zero Punctuation videos worth checking out. I'd list some personal favorites, but honestly, there are just too many.

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