Mobile

Microsoft released its Surface tablet at the tail end of October 2012, and we now know that it will be joined by its late-to-the-party Surface Pro sibling in January 2013. Microsoft confirmed the upgraded tablet's release window along with pricing details for the two models that will be available at launch.

A 64GB standalone Surface Pro runnings Windows 8 Pro (compared to the vanilla Surface's Windows RT) will set you back $899 while the 128GB model carries a price of $999. For comparison, that's roughly double the $499 cost of the base-level 32GB Surface. Both Pro packages include a packed in Surface pen, though you'll have to pony up a bit more scratch for a Touch Cover or Type Cover.

For more on the Surface Pro, including a breakdown of its rather un-tablet-like specs (Core i5 processor, USB 3.0 port), head over to Microsoft's Official Blog.

Ah, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Still the favorite GTA for many a fan of the series, myself included. There was just something about Tommy Vercetti's journey through the '80 era Miami spin-off that stuck with you. It was also Rockstar's first real crack at wrapping a significant story around one of its open world games, and the first of many subsequent successes. Oh how far we've come.

This trailer for the 10th Anniversary mobile release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City takes a neon-washed stroll down memory lane. Think on all of the Hollywood star power that Rockstar secured for this one as you watch it. The developer's voice has been honed and fine-tuned in the years since, but there's something that continues to be very special even today about this follow-up to the industry-changing Grand Theft Auto 3.

GTA: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition comes to iOS and Android mobile devices on December 6, 2012.

Imperial troops are attacking Echo Base in the latest update for Rovio's Angry Birds Star Wars. The free-to-download content pack adds a series of levels set on the ice planet of Hoth, seen throughout the first third of Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

The new trailer highlights ice skating, pig-commandeered AT-ATs, though there's no gameplay featured. I can tell you what it looks like: Angry Birds in a snowy sci-fi setting. SPOILER!

Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The phone and tablet space is filled with incredible games that will keep you busy for minutes, hours, or even days -- we'll let you know what we're playing and why we're playing it. Here are our five favorite games this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK

DREAM OF PIXELS

iOS ($2.99)

We’re all familiar wtih Tetris, the classic shapes-falling puzzle game that captured gamers’ hearts (and left them with the soundtrack incessantly playing in their heads). Strategically placing tetrominos are back in a big way with Dream of Pixels, an interesting puzzle game inspired by the old classic. This time around, though, you’ll be playing what amounts to “backwards Tetris,” in a way.

A cloud cover descends on your iOS device’s screen, and you’ll be presented with a tetromino to place at the cloud’s edge. Dropping a piece clears that bit of cloud, so instead of making lines, you’ll be clearing them -- and the descent speeds up every 10 lines cleared. There’s more than just one way to play, too: in addition to Classic, other modes include Pro, Nightmare, Shattered Dreams, and Puzzle.

Dream of Pixels is a brilliant twist on classic Tetris, offering an interesting and somewhat relaxing jaunt through the world of tetrominos and stunning visuals, all set to a mellow soundtrack that will keep you calm as you reach higher levels.

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A few weeks ago, Rockstar Games revealed plans to release a mobile version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in celebration of the game's 10th anniversary. We already knew that it would be coming before the end of 2012, but a specific date has now been pinned down: December 6, 2012.

The port is iOS and Android friendly, with the price set at $4.99 for both platforms. There's a lengthy list of supported smartphones and tablets -- particularly on the Android side -- that you can check out at Rockstar's Newswire, but the basic rule of thumb seems to be that the game will work with just about anything released over the past couple years.

King.com wants to crush epilepsy, and they want you to help. Luckily, no one is expecting you to go to medical school and find a cure. All you have to do is play a video game. From November 15, 2012, King.com will be supporting The Epilepsy Foundation of America by donating $1 to the foundation for every mobile download of their hit game Candy Crush Saga.

Here's how: Use you iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch to visit www.crushepilepsy.com. Then download Candy Crush Saga, and a buck will go to help people with epilepsy.

Seriously, in this time of giving thanks, this is a great opportunity to give something back to people less fortunate than you are, and you also get to play a game -- that's what we call a win-win.

Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The phone and tablet space is filled with incredible games that will keep you busy for minutes, hours, or even days -- we'll let you know what we're playing and why we're playing it. Here are our five favorite games this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK

ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS

iOS ($0.99) HD ($2.99) | Android (FREE) HD ($2.99)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Rovio’s newest franchise-joining blockbuster, Star Wars Angry Birds. And as much as we might want to be sick of those birds and pigs... dammit, Angry Birds Star Wars is freaking awesome. It’s a collaboration among the greats of franchise mash-ups, and is easily the best in the franchise.

The birds have been redesigned to mirror your favorite Star Wars heroes: Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, and more all make an appearance. As always, each bird has special abilities; this time, the birds’ specials are specifically Star Wars themed: the “Luke” bird has a lightsaber, “Han” shoots his pistol, and so on. It’s a brilliant way to integrate the Star Wars universe into the world of Angry Birds.

Areas like Tatooine, the Death Star, and Dagobah combine the traditional feel of Angry Birds and the mad genius of Angry Birds Space -- and it’s easy to see why Angry Birds Space is already one of the top paid apps in both the App Store and the Google Play Store. If you’ve ever loved either franchise, don’t hesitate to pick this one up.

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Two smartphones seem to be on everyone's holiday wishlist this year: the Apple iPhone 5 and the  Samsung Galaxy S3. In the video below, Matt Mira and John Barrowman go through the pros and cons of each device and break down the features that will help you determine which one you should go for.

Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The phone and tablet space is filled with incredible games that will keep you busy for minutes, hours, or even days -- we'll let you know what we're playing and why we're playing it. Here are our five favorite games this week (and before you go nuts, don’t worry -- Angry Birds Star Wars will be on the list next week after we’ve had a little more time with it!):

GAME OF THE WEEK

ARC SQUADRON

iOS (FREE) ($0.99)

A gorgeous, responsive, fun space shooter is a game a lot of people have waited for on iOS, and now, their patience has finally paid off in spades via Arc Squadron. Inspired by the super awesome Starfox franchise, Arc Squadron pulls together all the pieces of a sometimes-difficult puzzle when it comes to shooters.

The story’s pretty standard: a dastardly race of entities called the Guardians are running about, pillaging planets and ruining stuff for the universe, and you’re an ace pilot in the elite Arc Squadron unit who seems to be humanity’s last hope. What makes Arc Squadron so masterful is a combination of masterful one-touch controls, gorgeous environments, and an expansive level offering.

With over 60 levels and 20+ locations, the ever-evolving landscape your pilot traverses is always jaw-dropping and dynamic, with that Starfox-esque look and feel that we’ve so desperately missed on iOS. Without question, Arc Squadron is one of the best space shooters we’ve ever played on iOS. Barrel roll!

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Rovio and Lucasfilm's love child, Angry Birds Star Wars, is now available for download. You can find Angry Birds Star Wars in the iTunes App Store for .99 cents for iPhone and iPod Touch. If you want to play it on your iPad or Kindle Fire it will cost $2.99. A free and $2.99 version of Angry Birds Star Wars is available in the Android Marketplace. It will take up 28.3 MB.

Angry Birds Star Wars has over 80 Star Wars inspired levels. It begins, as it often does, on Tattooine. Other familiar environments will include the Deathstar, and levels detected to C3-PO and R2-D2.

Peter Molyneux's new game/social experiment is available now on the iTunes store. Curiosity – What’s Inside the Cube is available on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad, and requires a lot of tapping.

The "game" lets anyone who cares to tap on and remove bricks from a massive virtual cube. Eventually, the many layers of the cube will be stripped away like flesh from a Yak that falls in a piranha infested river, revealing... something. No one really knows what's at the center of the cube, and it will only be revealed to the person who clears away the final brick, so it's more of a social experiment with game elements than a game. 

Anyway, the faster you download it and start clicking, the faster we all get to the bottom of the mystery. Here's the link! Get clicking!

Angry Birds Star Wars is coming to various mobile platforms later this week on November 8, 2012 and Rovio gets you set today with its most revealing gameplay trailer yet. Take a peek at birdy versions of Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3P0, Obi-Wan Kenobi and more in our latest look at the upcoming mobile game.

Sure, it's basically Angry Birds Space with Star Wars-y locales and a new cast of familiar characters, but isn't that sort of the point? Angry Birds Space is a solid game, sure, but it'll be so much sweeter to slingshot those destructive, egg-shaped avians into low-gravity environments when they can also shoot blasters and Force push the crap out of things.

Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The phone and tablet space is filled with incredible games that will keep you busy for minutes, hours, or even days -- we'll let you know what we're playing and why we're playing it. Here are our five favorite games this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK

PUNCH QUEST

iOS (FREE)

No lie, Punch Quest is one of the best damn games we’ve played this year on any mobile device. This arcade-style action game is rocking us like a hurricane this week, and handily snags the Game of the Week title this time around. It might seem like a run-of-the-mill runner, but trust us, the second you punch open an egg and a raptor with lasers shooting out of its mouth pops out, you know this game is more than meets the eye.

The game’s concept is simple: run through levels, punch bad things/chests/environments, and collect in-game currency to buy upgrades. There’s something decidedly Double Dragon about Punch Quest’s art style, and we mean that in the most awesome way possible. Levels are fun to navigate, and (we’ll admit it) sometimes it’s just fun to punch the crap out of stuff.

While playing, you’ll realize that the more time you spend with it, the deeper it gets; indeed, from special moves to costumes, customizing your character is a huge part of Punch Quest’s appeal. And for a free game, you’ll never feel pressured to participate in the IAP, though we happily parted with our cash, just to support the developers at Rocketcat Games!

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The clock counting down to the launch of the Android-powered Wikipad gaming tablet may have ticked down to zero, but the actual release is now the victim of a zero-hour delay. The device's dev team is holding back the launch for an undisclosed amount of time in order to "enhance the Wikipad bundle" and make "a minor refinement needed to ensure our first customers are completely satisfied."

There's no revised launch date revealed at this time, but the Wikipad team will be working with GameStop to ensure that pre-order customers receive "refined and upgraded bundles as well as a special bonus gift." The gift applies to pre-orders placed on or before the October 31, 2012 launch, so no, you can't nab yourself the promised gift now. 

The media announcement promises that a new date will be announced "soon," so stay tuned for more details as they emerge.

Borderlands Legends brings treasure hunters Mordecai, Lilith, Roland, and Brick from Borderlands to your iOS device. You'll be able to level them up and use 36 powers and abilities over randomized missions to unlock the best loot possible for each situation. Check out the game in action in the launch trailer below.

Borderlands Legends is now available for $4.99.