Chick Hunter is not what I thought, see insert

Ever since I bought my iPhone I have been randomly downloading and trying out games to play to pass the time. One game that really caught my attention was Chick Hunter. I bought this game because of the name alone and it wasn’t quite what I expected, but after playing it for a while I found it to be strangely addicting. Perhaps it’s the fact that you get to play a fox and stalk and eat little chickens, as they lay helpless in their nests. Or maybe it’s the fact that when you lose it shows a picture of the starving fox children with a message that says, “Dad never came home”, but I can’t stop playing it. Chick Hunter is a memory game and it seems to be targeted at children but some parts seem a little fiendish so I and other adults can get a laugh out of it. The levels consist of watching where chicks are sitting and tapping the location where they are hidden after the hens leave. It is easy enough at the early levels but it gets more challenging as you progress through the game. It has definite replay appeal. The company that created it is Strikerr Games. They are an indie game company and Chick Hunter seems to be their first and only game, but based on the enjoyment I get out of playing Chick Hunter I can’t wait to see what they come out with next. It was a 99-cent game and I strongly recommend checking it out.

Get Chick Hunter at the iTunes store.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohsknapp/

Sally’s Spa: My Secret Shame!

My seven year old daughter always manages to get her hands on all my new tech. My laptop and even my Blackberry somehow ended up with child-friendly games on them. My new iTouch didn’t stand a chance. I don’t know why it always has to be Mommy’s tech that gets contaminated… My MIT-educated mind was shocked and embarrassed to find that she had loaded up Sally’s Spa on my beautiful new system. And, then she insisted that I play it. In the game, you help Sally manage spas in different locations. The customers tell you where they want to go next (there are many different treatments available) and it’s your objective to maximize the profits and tips for the day. As customers wait, their happiness fades and you can appease them with tea and magazines and scented candles. All the spa-ness aside, it is a really great simulation game. I was taking a graduate course at MIT on queuing theory when I started the game and you really can try out different strategies with this game. You can try letting every one get really angry, but packing more people in the shop. You can try taking one person at a time through the shop and getting the most from each person. The game does not seem to have a dominant “solution” programmed in. I ended up playing it far more than my daughter did. I even created an additional user. I keep starting over and trying again so that I can try to get the perfect score. I really don’t care for most video games. But, the only game I’ve ever played more of in my life is Tetris. Sigh. So girly. It’s my secret shame. Buy Sally’s Spa here

Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoppingdiva/

My favorite mobile game:  Pocket God for iPhone by Bolt Creative. I have downloaded several games for my iPhone but one game stands out. It is very smart and filled with humor and it is a downright funny game where I get to play god. Using the iPhone’s touch screen, I can manipulate the characters anyway I want to. I hate to admit that I am really addicted to this game. The game is simple. Across my screen are cute little natives who are living in a small island in the middle of the ocean. You can command them to fish, walk from side to side or jump into the ocean simply just by pushing them off the island with your mighty finger.

You can also switch from one location to another such as going under the sea where sharks are lurking around or you can instantly go to an Alaskan island where igloos and ice monsters are present to add more entertainment to the game. The most wonderful part of this game is when I use it to channel my bad emotions and distress. If I’m in a bad mood or argumentative, I usually end up sacrificing my natives by throwing them off into the ice cold water or feeding them into the sharks. Apart from that, I send tornadoes and fill the skies with thunder. But when I’m in a blissful state, I take good care of them by pampering. The game does not require you to connect to the internet. This is somewhat similar to Virtual Villagers but such game isn’t as addicting and hilarious as this one since you can’t manipulate the characters as much as you want to. This game is pretty neat for a cheap price of .99 cents because they regularly update. You can visit their website: http://pocketgod.blogspot.com to learn more of their upcoming updates and you might even get the chance to win some goodies that they are giving away. Buy Pocket God at

Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/

Despite having a lion’s share of the US smartphone user base, web browsing on BlackBerry devices has been a rather lackluster experience often compared to root canal surgery, prolonged gastrointestinal distress, and in some extreme case, socializing with your mother-in-law. This is by and large due to their antiquarian web browser which strips down web pages giving them a decidedly 1990’s look and feel. Picture if you would, popping over to Twitter for a quick Tweet only to find it overpopulated with “Work in Progress” construction men animated gifs, and belting out midi renditions of the theme song from Friends at maximum volume. Internet porn sites don’t work very well on it either, according to various anonymous sources.

Artist rendition of BlackBerry web browsing experience

Well, those hellish days are over. Or they will be a couple of months or so. Seriously, like three of four months tops. Because the co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (also known as by the provocatively erotic acronym, RIM) has proudly announced plans for a brand new web browser. While the release date for this new software has yet to be announced, it is expected that this near cutting edge technology will firmly plant the BlackBerry user experience into the 21^st century, most likely resembling the Internet experience that desktop computers were capable of in mid to late 2002.

This as yet to be acronymed browser will be based on the Webkit layout engine. Webkit is also the Software Development Kit (or SDK) for the vast majority of the other browsers now in use, probably including Apple’s Safari, and Google’s Chrome, among others [Citation needed]. Sources at Firefox’s development team were unavailable to comment on RIM’s plans, as they were struck speechless and befuddled by the description of BlackBerry’s current Internet capabilities.

Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyturner/

Recently, it seems my iPod touch has become surgically implanted into my hands. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it might as well be true considering I cannot put down “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars“. This is one of the greatest handheld experiences for any platform. I played Chinatown Wars for DS and its incomparable to the iPod experience. There’s nothing like listening to your favorite playlist while running around town making thousands and thousands of dollars selling drugs.

The missions are unique and interesting and will keep you occupied for hours. Overall, it is a great game with smooth gameplay and tons of stuff to do. It is well worth the $10 I spent; I even went to the trouble of un-jailbreaking and losing all of the other games I had. It was so worth it, I love this game and have probably already logged over 15 hours playing it.

The game starts off simply as most games in the GTA series. The ability to flip drugs comes first. I got carried away and made over $50,000 before actually starting more missions. Eventually you are able to buy guns and cars, but for now they are easy enough to steal. The shooting and driving are a little hard to manage but gets easier as time goes on. The missions are detailed and explained. I like how the game features a PDA that you use the submenus through. The realism is unmatched by any other iPod touch game I have seen.

My recommendations for gameplay are put “World GPS” on, put “steering assist” on, and make a playlist called GTA for music. These three little menu modifications make the game much more playable and fun. GTA Chinatown Wars is truly a great game and is well worth the money.

Buy it at

In a widely panned move 24 of the leading mobile international mega-corps have combined their pitiful app marketplace efforts to challenge the inexorable worldwide domination of Apple’s iTunes App Store. Despite holding a minority share of the mobile platform market, Apple accounts for roughly 95% of App sales with something like ten zillion downloads. That’s about 15,000 for every person on Earth, or to put this mind boggling figure in a more comprehensible perspective, that’s about one app download for every US deficit dollar owed by each man, woman and child in America.

The Wholesale Applications Community, or The WAC as they prefer to be known, aim to unite a fragmented marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits everybody — from applications developers and network operators to mobile phone users themselves, and in physical combat, triumph over Apple’s giant robotic simulacrum, the iTunastroyer. This 565.2 foot tall mechanized butchery machine has been demoed by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on numerous occasions and has been proven in it’s ability to completely demolish small to mid-size cities, such as Tulsa OK, and to hypnotically control an undead army of “App Developers” who swarm like uncountable gnats at it’s opponents eyes, nose, mouth, and erogenous zones.

In short the iTunastroyer is sophisticated as hell, but curiously it still does not support Flash.

Artist rendition of iTunastroyer

While complete details of WAC Force 24 are being held under tight secrecy it is known that the CEO’s of each of the corporations committed to the initiative will have a unique super power, and each member CEO is being fitted for a distinctively colored skintight spandex unitard bodysuit. Anonymous sources place Apple CEO Steve Jobs seated at the throne in the control room of his mist shrouded, artificial volcanic isle off the coast of California. Upon hearing the WAC initiative Jobs reportedly stared mysteriously off into the distance, with a vague, menacing smile and said, “Bring it on,” before barking out a extended peal of his trademark maniacal laughter, the iLaugh.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnjoh/ | http://www.flickr.com/photos/gee01/

My absolute favorite game to play on my iPhone, believe it or not, is one of the more simpler games. It’s called Fall Down created by Hannes Jensen. It is so basic in terms of graphics and game play, but it is one of the most addicting games I have ever played. Best of all it’s free! You can’t really beat free right? Although it doesn’t make use of connecting to the Internet, it still is way better than most games that actually do! It just proves all you need is a fun, simple idea and you can have an amazing app. All it is, is a ball that you need to fit through various moving lines. As the lines move up the screen, they can squish your ball at the top ending your game. You need tilt the iPhone so that the ball its through openings in the lines. It’s sort of like and opposite doodle jump if you’ve ever played that game. I am completely addicted to it. Although, I often find my phone missing and in the hands of my girlfriend who plays it even more than I do and has the top 5 scores on my game. I can’t seem to beat her records. She’s that good and it frustrates me beyond belief that I can’t beat her!!! Oh well, looks like I need to practice some more. So I’m going to end this review and get to playing Fall Down. Hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to beat her scores!

Download Fall Down for free here

In a League of Justice-like pile driver maneuver, corporate do-gooder Google hammered the capitalistic forces of darkness and boldly slashed it’s Nexus One mobile phone termination fees from $350 to a mere $150. The mind boggling awesome strike illustrates the search giant’s core values as embodied in their former corporate motto “Don’t be Evil.”

When the heroic Google launched the Nexus One phone the fine print of the user agreement revealed a cancellation fee that would cost customers $550. That included the courageous $350 equipment recovery which boldly matches the highest in the industry. While Google was well within the bounds of non-evilness for these minor fees because of the expense of there excellent and carefully planned customer service, the corporate overlords dictated that the fees be reduced.

Analysts speculate that this move was to counter the shadowy and nefarious group known only as “The FCC.” Two weeks before Google’s decisive blow The FCC issued a manifesto which claimed they were gathering “information about whether customers are adequately informed about Google’s Equipment Recovery Fee in connection with its offering of the Nexus One to customers who agree to a two-year contract.”

Although The FCC has been foiled again by our heroes, they escaped complete destruction and were heard to cursing our benefactor and vowing to destroy them and all other things good before disappearing into the night with a cackle of manically laughter.

Google’s stock, GOOG, traded at $532.75 a share at the time of writing this article.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfyoshi/

5ud0ku is an entertaining little game that can be played on any mobile phone that supports the J2ME standard. One of the main reasons I like it so much is you can quickly turn it on when you’re waiting for 2 or 3 minutes and just as quickly minimize it when what you’re waiting for is done. To minimize applications on my Sony Ericsson K800 phone, I press the “Back” button for 3 seconds and a menu with “End application” and “Minimize” will pop up. To re-activate the game I just press the red operator button and another menu will pop up listing all running apps on the phone.

The game itself is free with a LGPL license. You can get it at: http://www.getjar.com/mobile/4320/5ud0ku—a-sudoku-midlet-for-sony-ericsson-k800/ You have an option of downloading it using your phone’s internet connection but the game itself is stand-alone and doesn’t require an internet connection. 5ud0ku is very addictive, especially when you challenge your friends to beat your time. It is also great exercise for your brain. If you play frequently enough you will find that the time it takes to complete puzzles will reduce and your ability to concentrate in noisy places will also improve. Besides, they say that idle minds are the devil’s workshop and by playing this, your mind is anything but idle. In conclusion, it’s a pretty simple and free way to avoid boredom and keep your mind sharp.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/artysmokes/

A new survey from Pew, titled “Social Media and Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults,” reports that teens and that over the hill demographic known as “twenty-somethings” are on Mobile Internet “like white on rice.” 27 percent of 12-17 year-olds access the Internet from mobile phones and other mobile devices. In a pathetic attempt to look “cool” and keep up with these trend setting teens, 55 percent of posers aged 18-29 years also use their mobiles for web browsing. The report also mentioned something or other about old people’s Internet usage as well.

The survey also highlights a surprising decline in blogging and Twitter use among cool kids and an increase of social networking through with approximately 73 percent of online teens and young adults use social-networking sites. The terrific tumble in tweets from tweens, teens, and twenty-somethings is a tantalizing tact in the twisty trends to come in Twenty Ten,  Year of The Mobile.

In a separate report from GroundTruth, a new mobile metrics company,  stated that 61 percent of mobile online page views are to social networking sites. The report does not say what the remaining 39 percent was used for, so we are forced to assume it was mostly looking at Internet porn.

photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/leo_nghinphu/