For the past few days I’ve been lucky enough to kick the tires of Real Racing 2, the successor to the multiple award winning racing game. Real Racing for iOS really pushed the boundaries of what a mobile device can do rivaling the best that the PSP can offer. Real Racing 2 takes the core of it’s predecessor and amps it up in pretty much every way. Better display, more races, real licensed cars, and an amazing 16 player online multiplayer racing mode. 16 players! On a mobile phone! And it’s way more than what a PSP can offer.
So, how is it? Well you’ll have to wait for our full review next week. For now, enjoy this teaser video showing the game in action.
Real Racing 2 will be available on December 16th for $9.99. Here’s a full list of features straight from Firemint:
Real Racing 2 features include:
- 30 officially licensed cars
- 16 car grid against AI, and 16 player online racing – an iOS first
- Career mode with well over 10 hours gameplay and a range of event types
- Earn in-game currency to buy and sell cars, and buy upgrades
- 5 game modes: Career Mode, Quick Race, Time Trial, Local Multiplayer (8 players), Online Multiplayer (16 players)
- 15 locations with 40 miles of highly detailed race track
- Vehicle damage
- Online Save Game
- Game Center and Cloudcell integration, multiple profiles
- Wide range of control options
- HUD with minimap that can be turned on or off
- 5 camera angles including fully 3D cockpit view, and TV style replays
- Powered by Firemint’s exclusive Mint3D™ engine
Developer: Barnstorm Games
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4
Graphics / Sound Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.38 out of 5 stars
Supposedly I have quite a high IQ. I say supposedly as it was a while ago that I took the test and I’m convinced my laziness gets in the way of any actual intelligence. Still, I like taking tests like the ones offered by Mensa which makes Mensa Brain Test an ideal app to give a whirl.
Mensa Brain Test offers two modes – a training mode and the actual test. Training mode offers you five multiple choice questions to answer so as to get your brain in the right mood for answering the full tests. The full tests are true mind benders. You can choose to complete a short, medium or long test. The long tests are indeed rather long with 60 questions to answer across 60 minutes. Even the short test can take up to 20 minutes to complete. Mensa Brain Test is clearly a title that demands some time spent on it. The questions also require you to fully concentrate because as you’d expect, they’re challenging to say the least.
The questions are all genuine Mensa questions that are used in various test papers so if you gain a good score here, you’re clearly rather bright. Questions range from mathematical in nature to logical. Some are visual with you having to determine which is the odd one out from a set of images which is frequently much harder than it sounds. Others require you to answer analogies, e.g., something along the lines of ‘River is to Bank as Sea is to…’ All the questions are multiple choice, but this rarely makes it feel any easier.
A results screen enables you to compare and contrast your scores, checking to see whether you’re improving or not with time. There’s also Game Center support meaning you can compare yourself to others. Perhaps fortunately, you can choose whether to upload your scores to the global leaderboard or not – potentially saving yourself any embarrassment.
Mensa Brain Test is a rather satisfying quiz game to play through, although annoyingly it’s not long before questions are repeated. In the case of some, though, that doesn’t strictly mean you’ll remember the right answer though!
It’s not relaxing by any means and it’ll certainly tax your brain more so than any other quiz that I’ve played before. I did find with practice that I started to adjust my thinking appropriately and subsequently started to improve my scores. It’s more of a time commitment than most App Store titles, but Mensa Brain Test is definitely worth a look if you fancy something more cerebral than average quiz offerings.
Dungeon Hunter 2: Role-playing games are a great way to lose all track of time in a fantasy world. What makes that time even more enjoyable is when you can team up with friends to squash foes. Dungeon Hunter 2 brings four-player co-op into this mix of classic RPG gaming on iOS. This sequel is five times as large as its predecessor is. You will explore this vast word with your choice of three character classes and two specializations equating to a vast amount of character combinations. Dungeon diving just got a bit more interesting!
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-12-09 :: Category: Games / Adventure
Pirates vs. Ninjas vs. Zombies vs. Pandas: That age-old question of who is more badass, Pirates or Ninjas just got a bit more complicated. While this debate may rage on for centuries, this physics puzzle game will only consume what little life you have left. You will be trashing worlds Angry Birds style and sacrificing your brave warriors all in the name of war and honor. Four campaigns, 45 levels, and eight unique characters will give you plenty to do as you take a break from reality.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-12-03 :: Category: Games / Arcade
Eternal Legacy: Role-playing games have just had the ante upped with Eternal Legacy. Not only is this a superb, rich, colorful, and jaw dropping gorgeous 3D world, but it blends sci-fi and fantasy together for an engrossing story. Freely explore regions that are rendered in 3D real-time. The combat takes queues from turn-based systems and includes up to three characters for you to control. Full voice acting, interactive environments, and you might be fighting to get your free time back. If RPGs are your calling, then jump all over this game.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-12-08 :: Category: Games / Adventure
Car Maintenance 101: Basic car repair is more than just taking your vehicle to the oil change place down the street for that 3,000-mile oil refresh. This app will not only show you the correct way to jump start a car, but also gives you info on how to do more complicated tasks like putting chains on your tires so you can make it over those snow laden mountain passes. This app just may save you while you are battling an overheated car on the side of the road. Basic vehicle maintenance does not need to be as baffling as subatomic math anymore.
+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-12-08 :: Category: Lifestyle
On Air Pro: Teleprompters are useful for more people than just those gracing your television screen. If you record any kind of video or audio and share that to the world, a teleprompter can be a huge time and lifesaver. This simple teleprompter app does one thing – give you an easy way to see your script for reading. Choose from various font sizes, background colors, and scroll speeds to keep things flowing at a pace perfect for you. Why fight through long drawn out text documents during your recording anymore?
EA has announced that it’s bringing the Pogo brand to the App Store and, to celebrate, some of the community’s favorite Pogo games are going to be available for free. Those who download the free version of the app will receive Poppit!, Word Whomp, Turbo 21, Mahjong Safari and Sweet Tooth 2. The games will be ad-supported, but the commercials can be cut out by upgrading to the $2.99 version of the app. Those who are members of EA’s Club Pogo will also be able to play an ad-free version of the titles.
“We’ve been entertaining audiences for more than 10 years, and that experience has given us a deep understanding of the types of games that engage people and keep them coming back for more,” said Michael Marchetti, GM of Pogo for Electronic Arts.
“With the move to iPhone and iPod touch, we’re giving people new ways to play, share and compete-now any moment can turn into a fun moment.”
EA hasn’t detailed any future plans for the app, but we’re obviously hoping the future updates add more games to the fold and provide a continually growing catalog of challenges. The app will also support all the various Pogo community features, including the ability to earn tokens and increase your player rank. EA is also offering weekly badge challenges for a limited time, so there’s another opportunity to prove that you’re better than all your virtual friends.
While Pogo may not be an absolutely mainstream social gaming network, it’s still a fairly big deal and its inclusion on iOS will likely be welcomed by many. Most Pogo games tend to skew towards the casual crowd, but there’s nothing at all wrong with that and those who enjoy playing the games on Pogo.com will definitely love being able to take those same titles wherever they go and playing on the road. So if you’re already into Pogo or just wonder what it’s all about this is as good a time as any to check it out.
As if it weren’t hard enough to walk away from the adorable Om Nom and his insatiable desire for candy, we’ve just learned that Cut the Rope will have its hooks into us a bit longer as Chillingo prepares for the release of Cut the Rope: Holiday Edition. Tis the season to fall in love with the game all over again.
The new title will be a standalone game available free of charge and should show up in the App Store any day now. The game features 25 new stages as well as a new “Christmas Sock” mechanic. Apparently the magical stocking will allow you to teleport candy from one place to another, putting a whole new wrinkle in the experience. All of this will be bundled with new music and achievements, not to mention a generous helping of holiday cheer.
It’s nice to see high-profile games getting in on the holiday spirit, and it seems that games published under the Chillingo banner are leading the way. First we got Angry Birds Halloween, which has now morphed into Angry Birds Seasons and is providing a new level every day throughout the holidays. The only difference was that while that update went for $0.99, the new Cut the Rope content is free, which is an even sweeter deal.
More than current Cut the Rope owners, this promotion seems aimed at the folks who will be getting an iOS device for the holidays and are looking for fun new apps to add. If Chillingo can hook them with a free tinsel-strewn version of an already addictive game, then the odds are very high that those same consumers will go pick up the full version of the standard game practically immediately. It’s a smart strategy indeed, and one from which all us current Cut the Rope owners will also stand to benefit.
For the past few days I’ve been lucky enough to kick the tires of Real Racing 2, the successor to the multiple award winning racing game. Real Racing for iOS really pushed the boundaries of what a mobile device can do rivaling the best that the PSP can offer. Real Racing 2 takes the core of it’s predecessor and amps it up in pretty much every way. Better display, more races, real licensed cars, and an amazing 16 player online multiplayer racing mode. 16 players! On a mobile phone! And it’s way more than what a PSP can offer.
Mensa Brain Test offers two modes – a training mode and the actual test. Training mode offers you five multiple choice questions to answer so as to get your brain in the right mood for answering the full tests. The full tests are true mind benders. You can choose to complete a short, medium or long test. The long tests are indeed rather long with 60 questions to answer across 60 minutes. Even the short test can take up to 20 minutes to complete. Mensa Brain Test is clearly a title that demands some time spent on it. The questions also require you to fully concentrate because as you’d expect, they’re challenging to say the least.
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