This bit of news is acutally pretty exciting for those who love mobile gaming. It seems that OpenFeint, the popular gaming network which tracks achievements for certain games is introducing a new service called PlayTime. What makes PlayTime very exciting is the fact that it will allow for players of both iOS and Android platforms to play against each other as well as conduct real-time voice chat!

OpenFeint as you know will be competing again Apple's new Game Center service. OpenFeint howeer has a huge lead with new games constantly being added to its service and with the announcement of PlayTime, it only makes OpenFeint seem like a much more appealing service especially since it will be cross platform.

Looks like the iControlPad has finally hit production for all you iPhone gamers out there. This device will allow you to connect your iPhone to a physical control unit. If you have a jailbroken iPhone and are running emulators, this is the perfect companion as I know using touchscreen controls can be a little difficult.

As of now, units are not on sale yet but will be soon.

This may not be gaming news but I know a good amount of people who recently got their hands on the Jesus Phone 4.0 who have been having antenna issues. At a press conference held today at their headquarters in Cupertino, California, Apple has finally responded to all the controversy regarding the iPhone 4 antenna design. If you don't already know, reports have stated that when the phone is held a certain way, you lose connection or even drop calls. Well Apple finally has the answer to this problem: Free Cases For All!

All iPhone 4 owners are now eligible for a free case and folks who buy the phone from here until September 30th will also be eligible for a free case. As for those who already purchased a case, you are able to get a full refund on your purchase.

You will be able to apply for a new case on Apple's official website while in-store options may be available even though nothing has been officially confirmed at this time. Apple will be doing their best to keep their promise in providing free cases to all iPhone 4 users and they know demand will exceed what they have in stock.  They have stated that you will have more options than just the bumper case you have seen in stores. As for specific brands or models that you can choose from, there are no details at this time.

If you don't know, the cases will help with the antenna problem folks have been having with the iPhone 4. Be sure to check the Apple site next week for any new details.  

Well that’s the way Apple put it in its letter to its users. Siting a problem with their own formula for figuring out signal strength, Apple is standing by its claim that the iPhone 4’s hardware is sound. Apple has now defaulted to AT&T’s standard formula for gauging the strength of signal.

Being off by 2 or more bars seems like a big mistake to miss. Kinda makes you wonder if Apple was playing psychological games with iPhone users by inflating their actual reception and making users feel they have a superior product. Similar to what TVs do with their “dynamic” contrast ratio. Just this time it came back to bite Apple’s core. It’s also possible that Apple’s iPhone 4 does indeed have a faulty antenna and Apple figures that this is cheaper way to “fix” the problem rather than have a massive recall.

Chances are we’ll never know. What do you think?
 

I don’t play many games on the iphone mostly because despite its amazing powers of healing I just don’t feel that the controls for most games translate well on the platform.  However here is a game I finally actually want to play and feel that it might work out pretty well on the Iphone.  1942 First Strike from Capcom!  I played the heck out of this game in the arcade back in the day and I am looking forward to putting greasy hands all over it for it the Iphone! 

Venan Entertainment today announced that thir popular iPhone game, Ninjatown: Trees of Doom will see its first free title update soon.

"With Trees of Doom!, our plan has always been to add as much new content as we can, as often as we can," said Brandon Curiel, CEO of Venan Entertainment. "We think this first update will give players a taste of what's to come. Our plan isn't only to add new characters and gameplay features, but to eventually add new environments and gameplay modes as well."

The update adds quite a bit of new features such as being able to play with a new character as well as adding a new save feature. On top of this, Venan Entertainment also added new in game items and redesigned some levels to allow for much higher scores.

The update will come out after this years E3 but you can currently buy the game on sale right now for $0.99 from the Apple App Store.

I'm a huge fangirl when it comes to German board games.  So I'll be the first to say, how much of a geekgasm it was to discover some of my favourite German board games that have made their way to the iPhone.  I've spent many an hour in yon comic shoppes playing Settler's of the Catan and making off coloured jokes involving sheep, but the idea of being able to play my favourite games in the comfort of my bathroom (or you know, where ever you take a quick game of something for your iPhone) is the epitome of awesome.

German board games are a source of much pleasure in my household as well as the largest pain too.  There is something to be said about a game that causes so much conflict and politics.  The games that I will be talking about, are heavily political.  One requires the formation of alliances and back door deals and the other and the other involves trying to figure out what your opponents are doing and how you can capitalize on their efforts and block them from trying to move in on your hard work.  

Clipped from: itunes.apple.com

First game on the roundup is Settler's of the Catan.  This game will run you about $4.99USD and is my introductory game to German board games.  The goal of this game is to build and expand settlements, cities and roads on an island of numbered hexagonal tiles which are laid out randomly each game.  You build by spending resources (brick, lumber, wool, grain and ore) that you gather from their respective land types (excluding the desert, that produces no resource).  You build on these land types in order to gain it's resources every time the die is cast with the corresponding number.  

In the game, you can trade resources and make alliances or even break alliances in order to get what you need done.  The iPhone gameplay of this is actually pretty decent, with some draw backs though.  One of the main drawbacks is that you need to have your friends in the same room with you rather than over internet play.  I'd rather play the actual board game on a table instead of passing around my iPhone.

However!  If you're looking to get some practice in for yon comic shoppe tournaments or just beating down people's asses, then this is the app for you.  It gives you some time to practice and the AI is absolutely relentless.  You'll certainly be in for a challenged.  

Clipped from: itunes.apple.com 

 The last game is Carcassonne.  This game will also cost you $4.99USD in the app store, and has been the cause of many an argument between friends and I.  This is one of the games that can be played with only two people.  The purpose of this game is to build up farms, cities and roads in order to score the highest in the game.  Each round you draw a tile which is a type of land piece. On each turn a player draws a new terrain tile and places it adjacent to tiles that are already face up. The new tile must be placed in a way that extends features on the tiles it abuts: roads must connect to roads, fields to fields, and cities to cities.

There is no love in Carcassonne, you play for brutal control of the country side.  When I play with friends, it turns into a heartless game of stealing your loved one's cities or roads that they've spent a long time building.  It's a truly vicious game.  It's a ton of fun though and I couldn't more heavily recommend this game.  

One of the beauties of this game which wins it great points over the Settler's game is that you can EASILY play over internet with strangers or a local game with some one near you (or even via bluetooth).  The touch controls are intuitive enough and the AI is great to play with.

I was up until 4am playing this game against an AI. It's just that good.  If you haven't played any german board games before, I'd suggest giving Carcassonne a download, the tutorial is really helpful and you'll thank me for suggesting it!

That's that!  I'm sure there are other german board game gems on the iTunes app store, so if you have any suggestions or anything you'd like to add about these two games, give me a holla on twitter: @tia_marie

Any game that features zombies in it is an automatic hit. That's why Freeverse, Inc's latest game, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" will become the best selling game of all time. Well, maybe not, but it is based on the New York Times best seller novel of the same name, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."

The game, which is now available on the iPhone, take the classic story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with an added dose of zombie in Freeverse's 2D sidescrolling action beat 'em up. With 12 levels of beautiful graphics and all the classic romance only a slew of gory unmentionables could enhance, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies offers everyone from gamers to literary enthusiasts the most fun any Classic could offer!

Features:

• Amazing environments and gorgeous art
• Intuitive gesture-based controls for executing awesome attacks
• Upgrade your battle prowess to survive the onslaught of undead
• 12 levels of the best-selling novel
• Plus+ integration for awards and leaderboards
• Adapted for on-the-go gaming
• Easy to pick up and play, but the challenge will have you coming back for more
• Beautiful music and cool sound effects bring the action to life

You can buy it on iTunes here for $2.99.

So if you haven't already figured it out by now, the iPad has made its debut and has surpassed 300,000 units sold. iPad reviews are coming in little by little and they have all been positive so far. For a giant iPod Touch, it really isn't doing too bad. Supposedly by the end of the week the number of units sold could increase over 700,000 but we shall wait till the end of the week to see.

On the heels of the iPad release though, Apple has announced this morning that this Friday April 8th there will be a press conference that will bring us a "sneak peek" into the future of the iPhone OS. In other words, iPhone OS 4 is being announced and we will get to find out what kind of changes it will bring to our phone. Does this mean another version of the iPhone is coming soon? Probably. As long as your able to use the new OS on the iPhone 3g or 3gS as well; I will be happy.

The press event will be at 1pm this Friday. Apple fans mark your iPhone calendar and get ready for the future! So out of all the things the iPhone doesn't, what do you want the new OS 4 to do? Leave a comment! Share your thoughts! Do you have an iPad? How is it?

Capcom announced that Resident Evil 4 is now avaialble for the Apple iPad.Previously already available on the iPhone and iPod Touch, Capcom has updated the game with new high-resolution graphics as well as numerous platform specific enhancements in order to make the iPad version the best version. Resident Evil 4: iPad Edition uses an enhanced Visual Pad control system that makes gameplay a more fluid and intuitive experience. Players can engage in running gun fights against crowds of enemies, climb ladders, equip binoculars and jump out windows.

Resident Evil 4: iPad Edition is available now in Apple's App Store for $12.99.

Story:
It has been six years since the destruction of Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy, formerly Raccoon City Police Department’s idealistic rookie cop, is now a U.S. agent with a top-secret mission to rescue Ashley Graham, the President’s daughter. Leon begins his investigation in an undisclosed Spanish-speaking village in Europe, where he encounters a horde of unruly villagers who pledge their lives to Los Illuminados, the cult that perpetrated Ashley’s kidnapping. As Leon encounters unimaginable horrors, he must find out who or what is behind everything.