App Review: Mike Tyson – Main Event

For anyone that owned the classic on NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), the Mike Tyson: Main Event app is a must have and the fact that it’s FREE for a limited time makes it that much more sweet. Now for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, you can relive the memories of gaming on the TV as your trainer, Doc, would coach you through all the levels until you were strong enough to face Mike Tyson himself.

Almost, while this app has a look and (sorta) feel to the NES classic, it lacks in terms of longevity. I got bored after about 5 minutes. The sound was annoying and the controls weren’t as responsive as I would have liked them to have been. There are a lot of levels to choose from, so you don’t have to worry about it not holding up on fighters, but it’s definitely not as smooth as it was in the classic version.

You pay for what you get, when it comes to this one, but it is great since you can jump straight into the main event and fight Mike Tyson right away. (You’re likely not going to beat him) but at least you don’t have to waste your time fighting a bunch of no-names. Enjoy some of the screen captures below to see what’s in store.

The Title Screen (with the Hangover 2 credit)

In-Game Action which resembles the style and layout of the NES classic

In between rounds there’s dialoque between the opponents (Not spoke, just read)

In the menu selection screen you can skip straight through and face the champ

My rating: 2/5

App Review: Angry Birds Rio

If you’re like me and love wasting hours upon hours playing a game on your iPhone and/or iPad, then this one is for you. This past Tuesday Rovio, makers of the Angry Birds series release Angry Birds Rio available for download in the App Store for 99 cents ($2.99 for iPad)

For anyone that’s not sure what the hype is all about consider that I recommend this as THE first game any iOS owner should jump into. It’s a physics-based slingshot style game that allows you to launch ‘angry’ birds into piles of cleverly-placed debris with the ultimate goal of eliminating as many of the enemies as possible with the least amount of flying birds. The controls are simple enough that a 3 years old could do it.

You can earn achievements for getting the highest score and now that the game is available through the Game Centre you can challenge friends.

A simple yet addictive game that’s well worth every penny. This recent release titled “Rio” adds 60 new levels that has twists adapted from the feature film with the same title.

If you’re not sure about buying the full game, you can search for the FREE version and get access to limited levels. Try before you buy. Rovio even had a feature trailer in anticipation of this game’s worldwide release. Check it out…

I’m rating this a perfect 5/5.

Pre-Valentine’s Day App Sales

Look’s like the App Store has some Valentine’s Day sales lined up for the next few days. Today, Capcom dropped the price of some of their apps for a limited time. Search “Sega” in the App Store to get hits on other titles – I’ve highlighted some of my top picks:

Street Fighter IV (iPhone)
Regular Price: $9.99
On Sale: $0.99

Bringing Capcom’s all-time classic from the console to your iPhone is a great way to relive your childhood (I did). SF4 uses on-screen virtual controls and visually stunning graphics that had me hooked for hours. Each character has a full set of special moves along with devastating combos. You can read a longer review here.

Resident Evil 4: Platinum (iPhone, iPad)
Regular Price: $4.99
On Sale: $0.99

From the Nintendo GameCube to your iPhone/iPad, Resident Evil 4 from Capcom is solid and reliable, emulating the tense action and survival-horror feel of the classic console original. The controls oren’t the greatest, but they’re not bad. You’ll get a story mode, time-based arcade-styled ‘mercenaries’ mode that can be unlocked when you’ve successfully completed the story campaign. Great value for the price.

Sonic the Hedgehog (iPhone)
Regular Price: $4.99
On Sale: $2.99

Sega’s 2D classic platform speedy side-scroller features all seven of the game’s original zones and all it’s original gameplay. You won’t find much differences in content from the console ancestor – but it’s a great duplicate! Sonic was such a good game originally that any type of changes or updates to the gameplay wouldn’t do the game justice. Great price for gaming nostalgia.

App Review: Street Fighter IV

Probably one of the nicest looking games on the iPhone screen has to go to Capcom’s Street Fighter 4 available for a limited time for 99 cents through the App Store. The game includes 14 fighters to choose for battle – Ryu, Ken, Guile and more. It’s not long before you pick your favourite and start kicking ass in no time!

Simplified controls and responsive button mapping makes it one of the only playable fighting games on iOS. Since it’s release in the App store in March 2010, there’s been weekly updates from Capcom either adding new fighters to the roster or tightening up the gameplay.

Plus, the game includes Bluetooth multiplayer battles, allowing you to challenge your friends simulating the arcade experience without the quarters.

Regular price for this game before the price drop was $9.99. Just based on price for what you’re getting it makes the purchase worth it. The awesome controls and beautiful graphics is just bonus. I’m rating this 5/5