iPhone

The best mobile video games can be hard to find, simply because of the sheer amount of titles out there. But, worry not! Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The mobile 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's our top five games this week.

GAME OF THE WEEK

SCRIBBLENAUTS REMIX (iOS)
iOS: $4.99

On its surface, the Scribblenauts series of games looks innocuous enough: a child’s game requiring some imagination and creativity. When you peel back that layer of first impressions, though, the Scribblenauts franchise blooms in ways you never thought possible. A combination of Scribblenauts and Super Scribblenauts (with some added levels thrown in), Scribblenauts Remix is some of the most fun available on iOS right now.

If you’re unfamiliar with how it works, you’re a boy named Max who must come up with items to spawn (sometimes with specific adjectives) in order to complete tasks like populating a schoolroom, completing police training, and wiping out the dinosaurs. Sure, you can play the game straight and only type in “books” or “police uniform” -- but where’s the fun in that? I preferred to learn the hard way that spawning a Kraken on top of my unsuspecting friends looking for a beach party did not, in fact, complete the level. There are over 10,000 words Remix knows; combined with adjectives, the possibilities are nearly limitless.

In addition to the gameplay, Remix also has iCloud support and is a universal app, meaning you can pick up right where you left off across all of your iOS 5 devices. If you’re jam packed with imagination and need an outlet, Scribblenauts Remix is what you’ve been looking for.

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We get many, many emails and announcements regarding iOS games. There's a bit of a gold rush going on in the iOS space: Cheap development costs plus success stories like Rovio's Angry Birds means a lot of folks are trying to jump onto the iPhone game bandwagon -- it's like a slot machine. It's a bit overwhelming, honestly. But sometimes, a game comes along that's so unique, I have to tell you about it. That game, today, is Skinvaders, a augmented reality game in which tiny monsters attack your face.  Not only that, they lay eggs in your skin.

It is just as creepy as it sounds You stare at your own mug being attacked by horrible bugs, aliens and other creeps, while tiny maggots (I guess) hatch from your abused skin. Judging from the above art and the below video, Skinvaders perfectly mimics a cocaine overdose, and the delusional "cocaine bugs" that druggies try to dig out of their flesh.

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Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 3 is 10 years old, ladies and gentlemen, and it still looks impressive. It's time for you to relive a decade of gaming memories with this fond look back at the granddaddy of all open-world game, Grand Theft Auto 3!

Earlier this week, we brought you guys a Grand Theft Auto 3 for mobile preview. The game is so new that no official videos have been released. But that doesn't mean you can't see it in action. Some sneaky person played the game at New York Comic-Con and seems to have surreptitiously recorded his/her experience and posted it to the internet. Tsk, Tsk.

The video is not the best quality, but it has that illicit feeling you get from seeing something you're not supposed to be seeing, no? Check it out, while it's still up:

Inspired by the best-selling mobile game, Rovio's Angry Birds, "The Birds of Anger" harkens back to Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic “The Birds,” and gives gamers a glimpse into a world where birds not only target pigs, but people as well. “The Birds of Anger” is directed by Gregg Bishop, director of the “Dance of the Dead," and stars the great Jaimie Alexander, star of Thor. 

If you missed yesterday's selection, "Kart Driver," check it out here. Monday's film of the day, "The Hunt," is available for viewing as well.

Want some great games for your iPhone 4S? That A5 microprocessor of the iPhone 4S is the same chip that’s used to power the iPad 2. At twice the speed and with seven times the graphics power compared to the iPhone 4’s A4, there’s a lot of resource room. Developers can now make games - real games - to compete with the likes of the Nintendo 3DS and Sony’s upcoming PlayStation Vita.

The A5’s horsepower and the iOS’ increasingly always-in-your-pocket presence compared to these rival portable game devices is only going to give developers more incentive to create lifelike environments for you to get lost in. In time, expect to see more than Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja populating best-selling lists in the App Store Here's our list of the ten best games for your iPhone 4S.

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That annual indecision of whether or not we should upgrade our iPhones is upon us. Carriers strong-arm you into new contracts, the feature-rich iOS 5 blunts the allure of some of iPhone 4S’ capabilities and there’s always the threat that an iPhone 5 is right around the corner (for real this time). Worst of all, you can’t let someone else determine your iPhone fate for you; asking for an one as a gift is impossible. The carriers have you personally tied down to that two-year contract so well that you end up getting a gift card from a loved one. Kind of a lame present to open. So, your only solution is to weigh your options carefully.

Luckily for gamers, iPhone 4S has the hardware to back up its hype.

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Has it really been that long? Next week marks the 10th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto III, one of the landmark games that literally changed everything for gamers. At the New York Comic Con, Rockstar tried hard to ensure that you’ll want to indulge in the open world mayhem of GTA 3 all over again – on iOS devices like the iPad2 and the iPhone 4S.
 
With all the stunning new games being offered every week, why would gamers want to revisit the old game? Aren’t those graphics ancient now, so much so that the game should be nothing more than a wonderful, salient memory of a time gone by? That kind of thinking makes sense. But if you saw what I saw, you’ll probably be psyched to play those classic courier missions all over again.

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Apple has always publicly distanced its products from the video games market, preferring to offer a platform where developers can thrive on their own rather than competing head-on with established giants. The runaway success of the company's various iThings put it right at the center of one of the fast-growing sectors of the gaming industry today, however. I think the launch of Game Center last year is a direct result of that, as are some newly discovered patents which suggest that avatars are coming as well.

Two separate patents filed by Apple in April point to an interface that will allows users to create customer avatars in Game Center (via AppleInsider). The demo images included with the patents show distinctly Mii-looking avatars, though that's not necessarily indicative of what a final version of the feature might look like. The patents allow for these avatars to be linked with and used in Game Center profiles and titles, much like what you see with the Xbox 360 and Wii.

Source: AppleInsider, Patent 1, Patent 2

Grand Theft Auto fans are getting some seriously sweet news today. Grand Theft Auto 3's 10th anniversary falls next week, on October 22, and Rockstar Games is celebrating that fact with an iOS and Android port of the landmark open-world action game.

The news is confirmed on Rockstar's own Newswire, along with word that fans will also be able to pick up a Claude action figure --Claude being GTA 3's mute protagonist -- for $149.99. Pre-orders are already open for the toy, which includes an array of familiar weapon accessories, everything from a baseball bat to a sniper rifle.

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Back in early August, a domain registration by Warner Bros. for something called "Scribblenauts Remix" got fans of 5th Cell's wordy puzzle series excited for something new. Nothing's been heard about that title since then... until now. Scribblenauts Remix is officially here and, in a relatively unsurprising twist, it's an iOS game.

The $4.99 universal app collects content from Scribblenauts and Super Scribblenauts, pulling in 40 of the challenges from those two games plus an additional 10 that are exclusive to the new platform. In addition to Game Center support and iCloud save syncing, Remix also adds in an ability to clear out created items by giving your phone or tablet a good shake. This series is great, and Remix is totally worth your $4.99, especially if you never got around to playing either of the Nintendo DS originals.

Source: Apple

The best mobile video games can be hard to find, simply because of the sheer amount of titles out there. But, worry not! Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The mobile 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's our top five games this week.

KATAMARI AMORE (iOS)
iOS: FREE

I go nuts when a new Katamari game is released. I don’t care what platform it’s on, there’s a general sense of elation for the Prince and his rolling ball of fun. Katamari Amore is a followup to I Love Katamari on iOS, and it doesn’t disappoint. If you’ve never played a Katamari game before, the concept is simple: roll a sticky ball around and pick up increasingly large things (start small with stuff like paper clips and work your way up to skyscrapers). It’s patently awesome in all the right ways: joyful, funny, silly, and weird.

This time around, instead of shelling out cash up front, you’re able to get Katamari Amore for free; however, the only thing available in the free version is one stage’s “Time Attack Mode.” If you want all the story modes, you’ll have to grab them via in-app purchase. While the camera can sometimes be annoying when you’re backed up against a wall, it doesn’t hamper your overall enjoyment of the game, and you can also customize the controls to your liking.

There’s nothing quite like the Katamari franchise, and Katamari Amore is another win for the series.

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Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey dedicate a special Around the Net to commemorate the late Steve Jobs with his best Apple commercials and inspirational speeches.

Find the direct video links from Around the Net on Attack of the Show after the jump.

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Steve Jobs was one of the most influential people in the history of gaming, and he never even tried. Jobs was clearly not a gamer, a fact that becomes obvious to any serious player who ever owned a Macintosh computer--gaming for the Mac is at best an afterthought. In a 2002 interview, Jobs himself named Nanosaur, a junky Mac-only FPS, as his favorite game.  Although he "only" set out to revolutionize the music industry, the personal computing industry and the film industry,  along the way, Steve Jobs changed the face of gaming history too.

In spite of Jobs' seeming indifference, Apple and gaming have become inextricably linked. Apple-designed computers and phones that are so accessible, so easy to understand and use, that millions of non-gamers have been introduced to digital fun through their iPhones and iPads, and the iTunes store provides a platform for game developers to easily distribute games and profit from them. Apple’s gaming market has grown so quickly that, in a recent product launch presentation, Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook, announced that the iPod Touch is the “the most popular game player in the world.”  Total stealth takeover.

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According to the Associated Press, Apple Co-Founder and technological giant Steve Jobs has died. He was 56. According to a statement issued by his relatives, "Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family."

Jobs, who founded Apple Computing with Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others in the late 1970s, is responsible directly and indirectly for the iPhone, the iPad, The Apple Macintosh line of computers and a number of other innovations that have revolutionized the way we work, play, and interact. Jobs had been battling a rare and painful form of pancreatic cancer since 2004, and resigned from his position as head of Apple on August 24 of this year, writing that he could "no longer meet his duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO." Since then, Jobs had served as the chairman of Apple's board of directors.

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