iPhone

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

WALKING DEAD: THE GAME

iOS ($4.99 for Episode 1; Episodes 2-5 via IAP)

The Walking Dead is one of the best shows on TV right now, and Telltale Games brings the horror, the personal relationships, and the consequences that come with both themes in Walking Dead: The Game. It's been out for a while now, but we've held off on including it here so that we could play through the entire five episode story arc -- and what a story it is. Protagonist Lee's journey takes us through a parallel timeline to the show's, offering a glimpse at a new band of survivors dealing with the walker infection.

You'll meet up with some familiar faces throughout your journey, but the greatest part of Walking Dead: The Game is that it focuses on the same thing the graphic novel and TV show does: how the hero's choices affect everything and everyone around him. You'll often have to decide who lives and dies, who eats, and who learns (or doesn't learn) your past, and those choices will change how folks in your group feel about you or someone else.

The writing is spectacular, presenting us with dynamic characters who simply feel real. There aren't any pure heroes or villains in Walking Dead: The Game, and by the end of all five episodes, you'll feel closure. You'll also feel emotionally exhausted, as you become truly invested in the survival of the little girl Lee promises to protect soon after the game's start, and yourself. If you love the comic, if you love the show -- hell, even if you just love zombies and contextual gameplay -- do not miss Walking Dead: The Game. It's a masterpiece. 

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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!

Sometimes watching a movie just isn't enough. That's where the mobile games come in. Attack of the Show checks out three of their favorite apps based on their favorite movies, like Wreck-It Ralph, Army of Darkness and The Hobbit.

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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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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The fifth and final episode of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead is set to hit all platforms next week, with the PlayStation Network version arriving on November 20, 2012 and all other platforms (Xbox Live, PC/Mac, iOS) on November 21. The final episode is titled "No Time Left," which should make sense to anyone who made it through the heartbreaking events of the previous episode.

Telltale is currently on pace to deliver a Game of the Year-caliber refresh of the adventure game genre with its heavily character-driven focus and emphasis on building relationships with the rest of your fellow survivors. I can't speak highly enough about what has been accomplished so far, and I've little doubt that the close of this first season of content will deliver as it needs to.

For those who have held off on picking up individual episodes to wait for the inevitable disc-based collection, you'll finally get your chance to see what all the fuss is about when The Walking Dead is released in stores on December 4, 2012.

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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Microsoft released Xbox SmartGlass alongside Windows 8 on October 26, 2012 for Win 8 platforms only, but now iOS users can get in on the fun as well. The App Store's Xbox Companion app has been replaced with Xbox SmartGlass, though it's essentially just a title change and feature update that expands the level of control that your iOS device can have over your Xbox 360 console.

All of the Xbox Companion features remain, but now you can also make use of a newly-enhanced touch-based remote that makes dashboard navigation much easier. The remote will also automatically switch over to keyboard mode when you're presented with a text prompt, making Bing searches and Internet Explorer use a much less aggravating experience. Xbox SmartGlass also brings second-screen functionality to a handful of games, including Forza Horizon and Dance Central 3.

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!

Belkin is the first company to put out docks and accessories with lightning connectors for the current generation of Apple products. Belkin will launch two new accessories designed for Apple's Lightning connector, a hardwired car charger and Charge + Sync dock. These are the first of several new Lightning accessories from Belkin that will launch this year.

While many of the Apple-faithful seem to regard the lightning ports on their new devices as a technological leap forward, the more cynical among us see them as a semi-transparent money-grab. Sure, they might be "better" than the old docks in some way, but that doesn't even come close to making up for the price of the now-useless accessories I've purchased over the last 7 or so years. So for me, buying non-Apple docks is a good thing.

After the break you'll find the details on Belkin's first accessories for Apple's new devices.

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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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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.

Nerdsourcing finds you the best crowd sourcing projects from Kickstater, Indiegogo, and other such sites, and brings them straight to your wallet. Give, help spread the word, or just find out what’s going to be the hot new thing in the future; nerdsourcing is there to help support the dreamers out there looking to make the impossible a reality or those looking for the next big thing. Time is limited to fund these projects so don’t wait to long.

Distance

Distance is best described as a survival racing game, which might sounds a bit weird, but when you see it in action, it totally works. It takes the fast-paced racing action of arcade titles like Rush and Cruzin’ USA and puts them inside unique environments that look like they’re straight out of Tron. This all takes place behind the wheel of a vehicle that looks like a mix between the BMW supercar from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and future hovercars from any science-fiction film.

If that hasn’t already sold you on the title, its slick and beautiful look sure will. It’s hard to believe that this is coming from a group of students who just graduated from DigiPen. It even has LAN and online multiplayer, modding tools, and controller support. It’s the full package.

Reward: Access to the early beta and the full game when finished will set you back a $15 pledge.

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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

DON’T LOOK BACK

iOS (FREE) | Android (FREE)

The brilliant Terry Cavanagh (Super Hexagon, VVVVVV) returns with Don’t Look Back, a crazy good 8-bit game that’s atmospheric, challenging, and fun as hell. There’s no fluff here -- Cavanagh’s created a game that’s stripped to its core -- but even without all the bells and whistles a “cutting edge” mobile game might possess, Don’t Look Back does a stellar job of sucking you in and refusing to let you go.

There’s no story. You’re an 8-bit dude that appears on the screen next to a tombstone. Simple left-right controls dictate your movement and quickly add jumping and shooting to your repertoire. That’s it, though. No spells, no health bars, no silly IAP; in fact, the game’s environments are mostly crafted in shades of red, with generous portions of black/total darkness complimenting it.

There’s nothing truly easy about Don’t Look Back. Just like Super Hexagon, sometimes you’ll find yourself yelling at the screen as you try to shoot down a fast-approaching snake or jump off a platform before it disappears. But that’s really part of the fun of Don’t Look Back -- at least to us -- and it’s a solid (and completely free) game that anyone who loves old Colecovision games should grab.

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