For those familiar with Farmville, this game uses the same technique for many things and so instead of giving all of the details I’ll highlight the differences.  First of all unlike Farmville, you must level up to plant more crop plots.  For example I am on level 14 which is fairly high and I can only plant 10 plots right now.  While this may seem frustrating it is actually nice because it puts more emphasis on the other aspects of the game.  Just like Farmville planting a crop and waiting for harvest can take as long as a day according to what I’ve unlocked so far, but can also last as short as 45 seconds for the first crop.  The money is then used to purchase buildings for your farm such as a mining camp and a butcher shop.  Friends can place orders in these shops which can give just as much or more experience than harvesting crops.  Unlike Farmville, there are no animals which I found extremely disappointing but I can live without them.  The final aspect of gameplay that I want to cover is Mojo.  Mojo is awarded whenever you level up and is used to speed up the process of the game.  Using 1 mojo can instantly build a butcher shop that would normally take 12 hours to complete.  Mojo can only be used to purchase one thing in the game, but I haven’t leveled up enough to buy it yet.

Similar to the most of Ngmoco’s newer lineup of games, We Rule uses a freemium gaming style.  For those who don’t know what that is, it is a game that can be downloaded and played for free but you can also pay in order to speed up game advancement.  This is where the mojo comes in.  At the beginning of the game I received 5 for every level but in higher levels I now get 8.  You can purchase 5 mojo for a dollar, 800 mojo for 50 dollars or any number of increments in between those two.  I was a fan of Farmville, but I always had two gripes with it.  First was that it wasn’t playable on my iPhone which made it frustrating to constantly have to go to my computer.  Secondly, it was always a chore to have to click the hundreds of plots on my farm to harvest, but on the iPhone it just feels much more natural.  Definitely one to watch and I’ll try to post once it’s available in the US.  For those who get it, my plus username is rossisd, feel free to add me.  No link for obvious reasons but pictures up top.

The game is a variation of a Tower Defense but it has much more to offer than meets the eye.  The storyline is straightforward.  You are protecting your house from brain hungry zombies with plants as your weapons.  Plant defenses range from the simple pea shooter to a cabbage catapult.  All in all there are over 50 types of plants that each have their own abilities.  Once unlocked, plants can be used whenever you want throughout the game but in any given level you must choose either 7, 8, or 9 types of plants to defend your house depending on how many slots you have unlocked.  Plants have recharge times that vary based on the plant.  For instance a puff shroom takes only seconds to recharge while a cherry bomb takes a large chunk of time.

The zombies in the game vary just as much as the plants do.  There are the regular run of the mill zombies which are seen on every level, but every once in a while we run into a pop sensation(Michael Jackson) zombie who will break out into a thriller dance and summon four back up dancing zombies to help or even a zomboni who of course lays down the ice so that the zombie bobsled team can attempt to penetrate your stronghold.

Instead of the usual currency of dollars in tower defense games, Plants versus Zombies uses a unique method of sunlight to purchase plants.  Plants can range from 25 to 325 sun.  Sun isn’t gained from killing zombies like most other games.  Instead during daytime levels sun will spontaneously fall from the sky, or sunflowers can be purchased and they will produce sunlight over time.  During nighttime levels you must plant sun producing plants otherwise you won’t receive any sun.  Money is also given every once in a while but is used to purchase bonus plants and defenses.

Zombies travel in a straight line, of which there are five or six depending on the environment and won’t veer off of their path(unless off course they run into a piece of garlic).  There are three environments in Plants versus Zombies.  The first is the front yard.  Very straightforward, five paths for zombies day time then night time and that’s it.  Then comes the backyard.  In the backyard there are four lines of land for the zombies to travel on and also two lines of pool area.  In the pool you have to use the select few water plants, or else you have to first plant a lily pad which allows you to plant normal plants on top of it.  The final frontier is the roof of your house.  Because of the slanted roof, regular straight shooters won’t do you any good and this forces you to use the three catapult plants instead.  This offers new challenges in itself.

The game has an adventure mode and a quick play mode which is unlocked by beating adventure mode.  I am currently on the second to last of the 50 adventure mode levels and so unfortunately I can’t tell you what quick play mode looks like.  At $2.99 this game is a steal and provides hours of replay value.  Simply stated, go get this and you won’t regret it.

App Store Link

The game, Canabalt, costs $2.99 and was originally a free flash game developed by Adam Atomic.  It was later ported to the app store under the developer name Semi Secret Software.  It’s appeal, similar to last week’s, is that you can play it in one or two minute spurts depending on how well you play.  The premise of the game puts the player in a post apocalyptic 2-d world where your sole mission is to survive.

To survive you must run atop buildings and billboards without falling down.  The player auto runs and the only control is tapping to jump.  The runner starts of running slowly, but gains speed as he runs further.  There are a plethora of obstacles that slow you down or end the game which I’ll highlight quickly.  The first and most common are boxes which when hit, slow down the runner.  Although it is important to maintain a comfortable speed by hitting these every once in a while, you have to make sure that you have enough speed to make the jump to the next building.  Every once in a while a rectangular object will fall down on the building from the sky and it takes a quick reaction to be able to hop these.  Unlike the boxes, these unforgiving obstacles will “turn you into a fine mist” according to the game.  Also there are crumbling buildings, cranes, and giant billboards that cross your path when running and must be jumped on but left quickly.

Although the game has an extremely simple concept, combined with the rapid music and grey only color scheme, it keeps me coming back for more and trying to see how many meters I can run before falling to my death.  At $2.99, this is an easy pick up so go ahead and download it already!

App Store Link

I am sure anyone reading this now has read or heard about Apple’s new iPad, either through Ross’s great review or by some other means. So I am not going to just write another review.  I am going to discuss another part of the new iPad—its name.

To be honest with all of you, when I first saw the name of the iPad (while reading Engadget’s and Gizmodo’s live blogs simultaneously), my heart sank a little bit.

Maybe we didn’t start out on the right foot.  The device? It looks great.  Now I have my pro’s and con’s, but that is for another time.  I just can’t bring myself to accept the name “iPad.”

You could be thinking, oh GadgetGuy (James) do you actually have a reason for not liking the name or are you just rambling?  Answer: I do have my reasons. Here they are:

1.  Cool Factor.  Over the years, Apple’s product names have become less creative and more blunt.  For example, the last tablet-like device created (almost 2 decades ago) by Apple was called “Newton.”  Now that’s cool! I want something mysterious, something interesting.  I want someone to ask me what I am using and I want my response to sound cool.

2.  Clarity/Accuracy.  This brings me to my second reason.  If the blunt names must continue, the name should be something a little more….clear.  For example, the iPhone. Simple name. Apple’s signature “i” followed by what the device is supposed to be a “Phone.”  So let’s try this method with the iPad. Signature “i”?  Check. But here is where we run into trouble.  “Pad”?  Really?  This is definitely not a pad.   Another rumored name was the iSlate.  Even “Slate” I understand more that “Pad.”  The actual object is a Slate. So that is fitting.  The iPad, however, is in no shape or form a Pad. (Besides, doesn’t “Slate” sound so much cooler than “Pad”?  I guess that brings us back to reason 1.)

3.  It could be much better.  I won’t lie, these people at Apple are among the most creative people I have ever read about.  The things they come up with and create are beyond me.  So why couldn’t they take about 2 hours out of one day, sit together in a boardroom, and come up with a name that is not only fitting but also sounds really really cool?

Other rumored named included, Tablet, iTablet, Apple Tablet, Slate, and iSlate.

Since none of these names really fit for me, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. Here are a few examples of some decent names:

1.  TheMagicMaker

2.  The MagicTouch

3.  the iMagicTouch

4.  iEvenIfYouDon’tLikeItYouWillBuyItBecauseAppleMakesIt

5.  iBlock

6.  AppleBlock

7 . iBrick

8 . The iPhone on Steriods

9.  The iTouch (oh wait…)

10.  The Big Sexy Touch Computer

And that’s it for my suggestions.  Vote in the poll below and be sure to comment with your thoughts. In closing, though, not matter the name, I will be getting an iPad.  (It pains me even to type the name.)

The software is also pretty impressive. It runs a beefed up version of the iPhone OS that is capable of running any current iPhone apps in addition to soon to be released tablet only apps. It comes with the standard iPhone house applications with some exceptions, but it adds a new one–iBooks. iBooks is an e-reader app that has its own store and a plethora of new book titles for purchase.

Apple is releasing three new accessories as well. Two docks and one case. One dock props it up and makes it look suspiciously like a digital picture frame. The other dock is identical but has a KEYBOARD attached to it. I’m sure more third party accessories will rush in soon.

Pricing and availability. It costs $499, $599, and $699 without 3G chips and an extra $120 each with 3G. 3G data from AT&T costs 14.99 for 250mb per month or 30 for unlimited data. The non 3G model will ship in 60 days and the 3G models will ship 30 days later.

I’ll do a full review once I can get my hands on one in April.

Ross Isdaner

When my friends first told me to download the Iphone app “Nova,” I searched the app store and saw the $6.99 price tag and said, “no way am I spending $7 dollars on an Iphone app.  After much convincing by my friends, I decided to risk it and spend the seven dollars….

I proceeded to play the game, at first the multiplayer with said friends and later the campaign during my downtime.  After playing for a bit I realized that Nova is basically Halo but for the Iphone.  With 5 multiplayer maps, in which you can battle your friends or random strangers online, and a couple hours of campaign (I’m sorry I can’t be more accurate because it deletes game play times after you complete the campaign).

I was hooked.  I played with my friends before school, during frees, the occasional class time (shhh…don’t tell my teachers), and on the bus ride home.   Nova allowed me to fill all those times when I would be sitting around doing nothing with the first Iphone game that I’ve played that didn’t leave me bored after 5 minutes.  I definitely recommend buying and playing nova for all Iphone users. I posted the trailer to the game below, and be sure to leave all your questions, comments, and/or thoughts below.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2010. That is the date of Apple’s next event.

They are using the tag line “Come See Our Latest Creation.”  So what could the “Creation” be? A tablet? New software? Judging by the picture they are using (above), maybe an iPaintBall Gun?

One thing that is very possible is that the new creation’s name will begin with “i” (or “Apple” or “Mac).

Unfortunately, we were not invited to the event and we wouldn’t miss school to go to it anyway. (We only say that because we weren’t invited…thanks Apple.)

Be sure to tune into your favorite liveblog (some include Gizmodo, Engadget, and TUAW) during class to catch up on all the news.

Let’s hope for something good!

Questions, comments, or thoughts below!

First of all the look of the game, everything is neon colored which has an appealing aspect to many of us I’m sure.  As evidenced by the name the object of the game is simply to make your ball fall down but then the plot thickens.  There are lines that prevent us from falling and so we have to go around them!  Now this may seem easy, the whole time the screen is moving down and it moves progressively faster every fifty points.  Points are awarded one every second or by power up.  There are three times of power ups in the game which can’t be told apart until they are picked up.  The first as mentioned before is a pack of five points.  While this is a nice bonus it isn’t a power up that helps if you are in trouble.  The second is a speed power up that lets you roll your ball at a much higher pace which can help a lot if you are near the top.  The final power up completely stops the screen from moving for a few seconds allowing you plenty of time to get to the bottom.  Every fifty points not only does the screen get faster but the lines change into a new color.  As far as I know it goes green, pink, blue, yellow etc. So far my highest score is 154 and so I have just barely touched the yellow lines.  For free this game is a great time waster when you have a few minutes to spare and everyone that I’ve showed it too has had a great time playing it so what are you waiting for go pick it up.

App Store Link