The Download Blog

Save up to $5 on each game in Konami's impressive iPhone catalog.

I once wrote for an app review site where the guidelines insisted price shouldn't factor into a game's rating. Nuts, right? That's like saying as long as you like the car you're test-driving, forget about the sticker.

For a cheapskate like me, price absolutely matters, which is why I'm happy to see every game in Konami's iPhone catalog temporarily on sale for 99 cents each.

That includes Metal Gear Solid Touch, which is widely regarded as one of the top iPhone shooters. It normally sells for $5.99 (and was $7.99 at launch).

Other 99-cent titles include:

• DanceDanceRevolution S
• DanceDanceRevolution S+
• Field Prowlers Police Rush (a brand-new game)
• Frogger
• Krazy Kart Racing
• Power Pros Touch
• Silent Hill The Escape
• Silent Scope

These prices are good until Saturday (November 21), at which point they'll return to their previous levels: anywhere from $2 to $6.

Most of Konami's games have earned pretty high ratings from users, but there are some--like Frogger and Power Pros--that I just wouldn't buy for $2 or $4 (respectively). (Again: cheapskate.)

But 99 cents? That's my trigger point, the number that pushes me into what-the-hell mode. So I'm stocking up.

How about you? Does price factor into whether you'll buy an iPhone/iPod Touch game? If so, what's your magic number?

You know what's great about zombies? Duh: everything. Lurching, moaning hordes of the undead existing solely to gorge on human flesh and brains--talk about your party monsters!

Whether you love zombies like I do, or just love to mow 'em down, there's an iPhone game for you. First up, a highly celebrated newcomer:

Before the zombies in Call of Duty get their hands on your brains, you'd better splatter theirs.

• Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies The iPhone's first official CoD game is all about zombie-whompin'! This first-person gore-fest comes straight from the eponymous console game mode, and even supports up to four co-op players via Wi-Fi or the Internet. There's only one map to start, but Activision promises to release more. Price: $9.99.
• Alive 4-ever Like a little role-playing mixed in with your machine-gunning? Check out Alive 4-ever ($2.99), which gives you a choice of four characters to play and the chance to increase you capabilities by gaining experience. Jason Parker has more details in his Alive 4-ever review.
• Dead Panic Think: Tower Defense meets "Dawn of the Dead." Position your soldiers, then point them wherever the omnidirectional zombie onslaught draws nearest. Dead Panic ($1.99) can be dull and repetitive, at least until the upgrades kick in, but it should satisfy a little bloodlust.
• Resident Evil Degeneration and Resident Evil 4 Nobody, but nobody, does zombies like Resident Evil does zombies. Priced at $4.99 and $6.99, these two games let you slug it out on rails or in a free-roaming graveyard, respectively. Check out the free Lite versions if you want a taste of the brains--er, games--before you buy.
• Zombieville USA If you like your zombie-whompin' bloody, cartoonish, and downright silly--and, let's be honest, who doesn't?--this is the game for you. Blast the hordes, buy bigger, badder weapons, and see how long you can survive. It's $1.99 very well spent.

OK, it's your turn: What zombie gems did I miss? Hit the comments and discuss your favorite hordes-of-the-undead iPhone games.

(Credit: CNET)

Like I've mentioned here several times before, I'm one of the people who is still using the iPhone 3G. Like many, I'm waiting for my two-year contract to be up so I can get whatever the next-gen iPhone is. It doesn't bother me too much (aside from a few app features that require 3GS), but I do long for the faster processing power and extra features found in the latest iPhone. Especially when it comes to (surprise!) games.

To give you an idea of the difference between the two iPhone processors and how they effect game performance, fellow CNET editor, Josh Lowensohn, put the two iPhone models to the test. In Josh's article, he offers up several side-by-side comparisons of many of the top iPhone games with analysis. If you're an iPhone-gaming fan or just want to see how the processing power matches up between the two models, check out his article.

This week's apps are both games, with the first complete basketball game for the iPhone and a fun sequel to one of the more unique games in the iTunes App Store.

I hope Ellis doesn't pass it to the guy with the green square around him

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

NBA Live ($9.99) is the first fully licensed and complete basketball game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can play as any of the 30 NBA teams featuring the actual players and stats. You can play a quick exhibition game, play through an entire season, or just play through the playoffs up to the NBA Championship. The control system includes an onscreen joystick for movement and two buttons that take care of most basketball action (shooting, passing, etc.), but with a clever system for pulling off more advanced moves. The graphics are not on par with what you'll find in the current basketball games on consoles, but for an iPhone game, it looks fairly good and plays well enough to satisfy basketball game fans.

NBA Live packs a lot of features into the game using only a couple of buttons. Advanced moves like cross-over dribbles and hardcore dunks require you touch a button then flick in a direction. Holding down on the pass button brings up icons you can touch to pass to specific players. If you want to go deeper than just running and gunning, you can touch the clipboard icon to call a play and set up an open man for an easy shot. While I'm happy with NBA Live as an iPhone basketball game, I may be spoiled by the smooth experience on console versions. The graphics are pretty good, but not great and the movement can be a bit jerky. Overall, I think it's a pretty good basketball game, but it might be worth waiting a little while to see if it goes on sale. Hardcore fans should get this game.

The simple, hand-drawn graphics are part of what makes this game charming.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

JellyCar 2 is the sequel to the unique squishy driving-puzzle game, JellyCar. JellyCar 2 expands on the hand-drawn, cartoon puzzle game with several more levels, new game types, and the capability to customize your car and create your own levels. The controls involve touching the screen on either side to go forward and backward and you can tilt your iPhone to right your car when it flips over. Play the game in the Classic Mode to navigate your car through a level to the goal in the least amount of time. You have three skill levels in classic mode with a number of tracks for each level. Long Jump mode lets you drive down a long ramp and use obstacles in the level to project your car the longest distance. The third mode adds a new game entirely, requiring you to direct Tetris-like puzzle pieces to their associated bins--strange sounding, but it's pretty fun with the JellyCar physics in play. Adding to your options for solving puzzles, you can touch the car to "go big" like the original JellyCar. You also get two extra skills you can grab while driving: a balloon that lets you take to the air and one that makes your wheels sticky--each of which you will use at different times to pass levels.

JellyCar 2 also adds a few other features to play with and will amount to a lot of replay value. You can customize your vehicle and wheels with different colors, but you can also choose different vehicles, each with their own physical properties to change how you attack various levels. A new editing mode even lets you create and save your own levels from the ground up. Overall, I think JellyCar 2 is in a class by itself, with a fun, stylistic feel to the game and plenty of challenging levels that are very enjoyable to play.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Do you think NBA Live is worth the price to play? Is JellyCar 2 a worthy sequel to JellyCar? Let me know in the comments!

(Credit: CNET)

Is the iPhone finally coming to Verizon? According to an article over at Apple Insider, sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain say Apple has contracted to produce a UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone, making it compatible with more networks worldwide. The sources say the move indicates that Apple is specifically targeting Verizon and that we may see Verizon iPhones by the end of next year.

Whenever I talk to anyone about the iPhone, they always say the same thing; they love the device, but wish that AT&T had better coverage. I happen to agree, because even where I work in San Francisco (a supposedly "hot" AT&T zone), I get really bad coverage at my desk and often need to walk to another part of the building to get decent reception. I even have to walk over to a window to send text messages! Maybe these new Verizon rumors will light a fire under AT&T to improve its coverage, because you can bet a lot of people will be jumping ship if Verizon gets the iPhone next year (including me!).

This week's apps include a free app to explore the latest NASA info and a game where you race at high speeds on a cushion of air.

View tons of images from several NASA missions including classic Space Shuttle shots

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

The NASA app (free) gives you all the latest news, images, and video of current space missions from NASA. Get up-to-the minute updates of current missions with this official NASA app and follow the path of your favorite spacecraft. The interface is extremely easy to navigate, with buttons across the bottom for current missions, images, videos, and news updates. The missions screen lets you sort by your particular interest with info and multimedia about the International Space Station; NASA's recently unveiled ship, the Constellation; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; and several others.

The NASA app is perfect for those interested in science and space exploration with plenty of images and video to get a window into projects NASA is currently working on. The ability to follow current and future missions is particularly interesting because if you hear about a launch, you'll be able to track a ship's progress and follow along with the latest news from the mission. Anyone with an interest in science, space exploration, and current NASA missions should definitely grab this free app. When the next mission comes, you'll have a free tool on your iPhone to follow along as astronauts trace their path across the sky.

Use the pedal on the right to boost when the outer (yellow) meter is filled up

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Ground Effect ($3.99) is a hovercraft racing game with beautiful 3D graphics and challenging gameplay. Tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to steer your hover craft and use onscreen controls to accelerate and break. The game is set up with tracks laid out across a ring of islands in a tropical setting. Choose from 10 different styles of hovercraft and race through check points around 14 different tracks you will unlock as you progress. You can race to unlock new tracks or choose Ghost Race to try to go for your best time against a ghost of your previous best lap.

Ground Effect has excellent 3D graphics and a control system that's easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. Your hovercraft automatically accelerates to it's cruising speed, but you'll need to use the gas pedal to get a momentary boost to push you past opponents. Once the boost meter goes down, you'll need to wait some time before you can initiate another burst. As the game progresses and you race on harder tracks, you'll need to use the brakes at just the right time to quickly navigate sharper turns. Anyone who likes racing games and wants something a little different than the usual auto-racing type of game should check out Ground Effect. Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer option at this time, but a solid Wi-Fi multiplayer might be the thing to make this game truly great.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Are you excited that the iPhone may soon become available on Verizon? What other good science apps have you tried? What do you think of Ground Effect? Let me know in the comments!

Doom Classic brings the ancient, pixelated first-person shooter to the iPhone.

Welcome to today's episode of Recycling Old PC Games for Fun and Profit. Our first contestant: Doom Classic, the first-person shooter that spawned a thousand imitators, several hundred ports, and one horrendous movie.

Next up: Command & Conquer Red Alert, the real-time strategy classic responsible for a massive drop in global productivity.

In my youth I was a tremendous fan of both games, so it stands to reason that I'd welcome them to my iPhone. However, neither is getting a permanent home.

Let's start with Doom. While id Software's official port offers a pixel-perfect recreation, the game is 16 years old--and it shows.

Indeed, juxtaposed with Doom Resurrection, a made-for-iPhone game with 21st century graphics, Doom Classic looks positively ancient. It plays that way, too: You can't even jump.

Part of this is personal bias: I don't think FPS games work well on small screens, especially when touch controls are involved. For me, Doom Classic feels cramped, confined, and seriously out of date.

(Credit: CNET)

Popular iPhone gaming developer Ngmoco released Eliminate Pro yesterday, its much-anticipated, online, first-person shooter. This well-polished "free" game features smooth looking graphics, onscreen controls that are fairly effective (no match for a controller or keyboard/mouse setup, but that's to be expected), a number of power ups to improve your weapons and armor, and five playable maps. In-game kills and winning matches earn you credits you can use to buy new weapons and armor. There are eight armor types, five weapon types, and items to buy like armor designs (skins) to give you a new look. The best part is that you get to play an online FPS from wherever you are on 3G or Wi-Fi against your friends or against players from around the world. The game uses the Plus+ network, so you'll need to register your character before you start playing online. Sounds pretty great, right? Not so fast.

The graphics are smooth--even more so on the iPhone 3GS or the newer iPod Touch.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Once you've played a few online games you will quickly see how the revenue model for Eliminate Pro is somewhat less than ideal. Here's the rub: in order to earn credits (for all the great purchases) in online matches, your 12-node energy bar must be charged. Each online game uses up four nodes, so you get three games before you run out of energy (about 15 minutes). So if you want to use the game for free, once you're out of energy, Eliminate Pro displays the time remaining until the next recharge in minutes, which comes out to about four hours. At the end of four hours, it only gives you four nodes of energy back, so you'll only be able to play one credit-accruing game every four hours. This is where the in-app purchase model comes in.

There's plenty of cool stuff to buy once you earn credits in the game.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

While you can play the Eliminate Pro online and against bots with an empty energy bar, you will not accrue credits. To recharge your energy bar, you'll need to buy one of four packages of power cells via an in-app purchase. The price scheme goes like this: 99 cents for 20 power cells, $1.99 for 45, $9.99 for 280, and $29.99 for 975 power cells. But the real kicker is that each power cell only fills up one node, meaning you will use 12 power cells to fill up your energy bar (notice how a 99 cent pack of 20 lets you fill up one 12-node bar, but not enough to fill another). In other words, if you want to keep earning credits and buying fancy items, you'll be paying roughly 60 cents per 15-minute game session.

Though this game is highly polished, with just about everything a gamer could want in an iPhone online FPS, the in-app purchase system seems too steep to me. Those who are excited about the game and want to continue to play for free will be playing a highly crippled game needing to wait 4 hours before they can earn a few more credits. Those willing to spend the money will quickly realize the game is eating up their cash quickly.

When you run out of energy, you'll either need to wait or buy more from iTunes.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

I'm very interested in what people think about this particular pricing model. I think the game itself is pretty great--not as good as Modern: Combat Sandstorm for gameplay, but the best for online first-person shooters. I suppose the casual gamer will have no trouble playing for 15 minutes a day on this game and slowly earning credits over time to buy items. But the people who want to spend time playing the "complete" game will need to pay--and quite a lot if they really like the game and want to get powerful quickly. Finally, I wonder what this means for other iPhone apps in the future and whether we're going to see more pricing models like this one. Will everything become pay-to-play?

What do you think? Is the free version good enough for the amount you would actually play? How much are you willing to spend to continue playing the complete game of Eliminate Pro? Is this pricing model fair? Is this a preview of pricing models of other future apps? Let me know in the comments!

There's a reason you always see coin-op racing games lined up two, four, or even eight in a row: It's a lot more fun to race against live humans than AI opponents.

Unfortunately, only a handful of otherwise excellent iPhone racing games offer multiplayer modes. And most of those limit you to local competition via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi--only a couple offer online multiplayer.

I'm happy to report that Asphalt 5--sequel to the mega-popular Asphalt 4: Elite Racing--has joined the ranks of online-multiplayer racing games.

It's a good thing, too, because the Asphalt series suffers from a problem I have with many racing games: once you fall behind the AI drivers, it's nearly impossible to catch up.

But human opponents are just as error-prone as you are, so the competition feels fair and, most importantly, real.

After signing up for a free Gameloft account (which you can do in-game), I hopped into an online race and was quickly matched up with five other drivers. One dropped out mid-race (jerk), but the game didn't skip a beat.

And it was a blast. Asphalt 5 really is arcade racing at its finest, with jaw-dropping graphics, 30-plus glamorous real-world cars to drive, a dozen globe-spanning tracks, and eight different game modes.

Basically, if you liked Asphalt 4, you'll love Asphalt 5. And if you find that most racing games get old in a hurry, I think you'll agree that Internet multiplayer adds significantly more replay value.

While we're on the subject, check out these five awesome online-multiplayer games for the iPhone.

Good news, PC gamers: today's the day to score some solid deals on three popular titles, all of them available via download for (near) instant delivery. Here's the rundown:

• Direct2Drive has Ghostbusters: The Video Game for $9.95. It lacks the multiplayer modes of its console counterparts, but the single-player stuff is a blast. It's a must-have for any fans of the franchise.
• Today only, EA is offering The Sims 3 for $29.95--a savings of $20 off the list price. If you don't mind taking a drive or waiting on delivery, Best Buy has it for $19.99--with an exclusive game guide.
• This weekend only, Steam is offering Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Game of the Year Edition for $23.99. It's one of the top-rated first-person shooters of all time, and it normally sells for $40.

(Credit: CNET)

As announced a few months ago, the iPhone has officially made landfall in China. But even with such an enormous potential market, Apple may still have some problems selling the device. Apparently, due to issues with Chinese carriers, iPhones in China have no support for Wi-Fi. To add insult to injury among Chinese users, the price of the iPhone comes in at 4,999 yuan, or $730. If you buy the smartphone without a contract it comes in at a whopping $1,024, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fortunately, a ban on Wi-Fi by one Chinese carrier has been softened recently so iPhone 3GS users may get the faster connection speeds soon. Still, at that high price, I have to wonder just how many people will want to buy the iPhone in China. Only time will tell.

This week's apps include a feature-rich police scanner and a boxing game that reminds me of old stand-up arcade games from long ago.

Hit record to capture a particularly exciting event on the scanner

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Scanner 911 (99 cents) lets you listen to streaming audio of police, fire, and EMS radio channels in the U.S. and Canada. The interface is clean and easy to navigate with buttons across the bottom including available stations by location, a button to get stations near you (via GPS), a favorites section, a list of recent stations, and a recordings section. I've reviewed a police scanner app here before called Emergency Radio, that still holds up well, but the addition of recording capabilities to Scanner 911 adds a new angle that scanner afficianados will appreciate.

Though not all cities and locations are available, the developers of Scanner 911 promise that more channels are coming soon. They even have a place to vote for locations at the developer's Web site if you want to add your city to the list. Overall, if you want a solid emergency scanner on your iPhone with the ability to record that harrowing car chase or bank robbery (as examples, of course), Scanner 911 is the app to have.

My tip is to aim for the generous gut on this particular opponent

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Super KO Boxing 2 brings fun and challenging cartoon-like boxing to the iPhone--a lot like the old classic stand-up arcade game (and later the console game) Punch Out. This game is not about realism in any way, but instead challenges you to find the weakness of each comically-designed fighter as you rise through the ranks. There are three different game types including Circuits, Versus, and Challenge, with the Circuits option being the place you'll probably spend most of your time, fighting through progressively harder fighters. On-screen controls include buttons for dodging and blocking on the left side of the screen and high, low, and super attacks on the right side.

Just like the old classic Punch Out arcade game, the trick to Super KO Boxing 2 is figuring out the weaknesses of each opponent. Some will be vulnerable to aggressive body blows while others will only take damage by hitting with a hook at just the right time. You'll need to fight some opponents several times before you figure out their weakness, but the comically drawn boxing caricatures and funny animations make the game enjoyable even when played again and again. Entertaining feature additions like the ability to "dizzy" opponents by unleashing furious combos require that you figure out strategies to beat each opponent. To go for the super punch, you'll need to build up your energy meter through chained combos and taunts, both of which are hard to pull off without taking hits. Overall, if you're looking for a less serious boxing arcade type of game, Super KO Boxing has a lot to offer and often leaves you chuckling as you challenge each opponent.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Have you recorded any exciting emergencies in Scanner 911? Have you become the champion of the world in Super KO Boxing 2? Let me know in the comments!