Space Monkey for the iPhone, iTouch is free for a limited time
Tonight I was browsing the top free downloads and noticed Space Monkey in second place. This was originally a $9.99 game, but right now it is temporarily free from the Glu developers (Update: Space Monkey is no longer free, but it looks like it’s now 99 cents, still a great price). This is why it’s always a good idea to check out the top free apps every few days, because a lot of apps start out free and then cost money later on. Sometimes they will also go on sale or as in the case of Space Monkey go completely free.
Spore Origins for the iPhone/iTouch, a beautiful game
It’s nice to see the list of big name games growing for the iPhone/iTouch, not that the independent games aren’t sometimes just as good. Game industry leaders like John Carmack have already said that the device is a very powerful hand held device for gaming.
Today I caved and bought Spore for my iPhone. I almost didn’t want to, given the outrage over the PC version of Spore and it’s draconian DRM protection, it’s just unacceptable and that’s no way to treat your paying customers. Again the legitimate users lose and the pirates get a DRM free version. Anyway, back to Spore for the iPhone.
Google Chrome – first impressions are the most important
Google Chrome was officially released today and of course being the Geek that I am I had to download it at work and at home and yes I am writing this blog entry from Chrome. Although I have not spent a long time with it, so far I like it, and for a first beta launch it is remarkably polished. This of course is nothing new for Google — they have a reputation of releasing extremely polished beta products. I also fully expect Chrome to be in beta for at least two years, but by then everyone will long since forgotten that it is a beta.
Star Wars: Clone Wars a dud?
So I did something I rarely do, I ran out and saw a movie from a franchise I love without looking at any reviews and saw it on the second day. Usually I hold out for a week or even several weeks, but with Star Wars I figured how could I lose? Yes the newest Star Wars movies don’t come close to the originals, but they were all entertaining in their own right. Below is a list of how I would personally rank every Star Wars movie to date.
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Yoda in Star Wars: Clone Wars
The wait is over, decision made, a shiney new iPhone
So my long debate over what phone to get is finally over. Yesterday morning I picked up an iPhone at the Fido store. I had already played with the first iPhone and the second iPhone along with the iPod Touch so I knew what it was all about. Even though I had played with them, I was still blown away at the ease of use and so far I’m extremely pleased with my iPhone.
My first iPhone street car ride home was spent catching up on my Google Reader feeds. People have asked me why I need to be connected all the time, so I tell them it’s really not much different than reading a newspaper in the morning only my preferred method is digital and the content I want to read for the most part won’t show up in the morning newspaper. Couple that with the fact that I hate how a newspaper feels, lets face it, they have a horrible user interface.
New search engine Cuil is underwhelming
I have been reading about this new search engine Cuil that is supposedly the biggest search engine on the web, even bigger than Google. It has been billed by some as a “Google Killer”. I think one of the reasons it’s getting so much publicity is because it is run by a team of former Google employees.
The first thing you will notice about Cuil is its unorthodox appearance. The main page is black and the search is centred in the middle.
The Zombie Survival Guide
The Zombie Survival Guide is the first zombie book by author and screenwriter Max Brooks. A lot of zombie fiction is either done poorly or in a silly way. That is the key difference between the way Max Brooks does zombies; you never feel like you are dealing with silly fictional monsters, with Max Brooks zombies are a serious issue and a matter not to be taken lightly. I recently finished reading the The Zombie Survival Guide and have to say that it is another fantastic Max Brooks novel. His second book titled World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War was also fantastic. I really hope he writes more in the future.
MeeMix Internet radio – a social music site that learns
Last night I saw an ad for MeeMix while on Facebook. The ad was engaging enough to get me to click it, but that’s usually where the engagement stops. Not so in the case of MeeMix, an online social radio site. You are immediately thrown into the application. It asks you to enter a song name (I must admit, it almost lost me here as it was not finding any of my first songs) and then either starts playing it or suggests a list of possibilities.
WALL-E, a movie I felt good about after leaving the theater
I don’t go to the theater very often. The main reason is that for the past few years not many movies have really done it for me. I walk away thinking it either sucked or was just okay, couple that with the high cost of admittance and you are left with a steaming pile of… well you get my drift.
I am a huge Pixar fan and WALL-E, Pixar’s newest movie totally caught me by surprise. I am not a movie buff by any stretch of the imagination, so it’s no surprise that I was out of the loop when I stumbled across the movie trailers one evening on the web. As soon as I saw the trailers I knew I had to see this movie.
GTA IV – Does it live up to the hype?
GTA IV was released yesterday, and I managed to put in several hours last night. I played the single player for about 30 minutes and then went straight into the multi player free mode. I haven’t played it long enough to write up a review, but at first glance does it live up to the hype? Definitely, definitely definitely! That means yes.
The polish on this game is stunning. The AI is great, the graphics are fantastic, the fun level is through the roof, what more could you ask for. The attention to detail is what blows me away the most. Things they didn’t need to add, but did anyway, like dripping water when you come out of a lake, or mud tracks on the beach. Hilarious politically charged commentators on the TV and radios. The sound track should have something for everyone too. Let’s not forget the helicopters, bikes, mopeds, buses, trucks, boats, and who knows what else awaits.
If you are still on the fence about this game, GameTrailers has a fairly in depth review.
