Best Of FingerGaming: From Guitar Games To Backyard Sports

Author: by Matt Burris

[Every week, Gamasutra sums up sister iPhone site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent -- and increasingly exciting -- portable games platform, as written by editor Matt Burris.] This week's notable items in the iPhone gaming space include Gameloft's Guitar Rock game for the iPhone, Atari's new backyard sports titles, and the second entry of Equilibrio's developer diary. Here are the top stories: Guitar Rock Tour - Guitar Hero for iPhone "The game weighs in at a hefty 167MB, which includes 17 rock songs performed by cover bands, such as [Nirvana and The Police]." Atari Release Backyard Sport Games "Atari has a couple of new sport games available in the App Store; Backyard Soccer ($0.99) and Backyard Baseball ($0.99). As you might suspect from the name, both games sport a cutesy, casual theme that takes place in a backyard with little kids." Developer Diary 2: Compile, Run and Share? "Two weeks ago, I did a small presentation of the company, myself and the project we’re making on the iPhone/iPod Touch which is called Equilibrio. Today I want to talk a little bit more about what’s going on with the project, and it’s current status." Finger Gaming Review: Blackbeard’s Assault "Blackbeard’s Assault features a light-hearted and, at times, silly story about the infamous pirate, Blackbeard, which continues after you clear each level. Even ninjas are involved, and we all know that there’s nothing cooler than pirates and ninjas." Dope Lords, Dope Wars for the iPhone "Dope Lords is a homage to the very popular turn-based strategy game, Dope Wars, and may be coming to the iPhone/iPod Touch... I say “may” because it will have to get past the strict Apple vetting process and be approved before it shows up in the App Store. Don’t hold your breath though." Finger Gaming Review: Zombie Invasion "If the developers updated the game with a more exciting pace, and add more variety to the gameplay and different modes, then Zombie Invasion will be well worth getting. At this time, though, it’s more of an alpha version of a game that was rushed out too soon." BusinessWeek on iPhone/iPod Touch Gaming "BusinessWeek has posted an article about gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch, and why both Sony and Nintendo should watch out. The article mentions games such as Gameloft’s Real Soccer 2009 ($9.99) and EA Mobile’s upcoming SimCity." Finger Gaming Review: Smiles "The game can be enjoyed by both casual and hardcore gamers, both young and old alike. Add to it that the game looks great, plays smoothly, and has a cutesy vibe to it easily makes Smiles one of the most well-rounded and lovingly developed puzzle game available in the App Store."