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Hands on Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner

A couple weeks ago, I showed you a sneak preview of one of the most surprising iPhone games ever, Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner, which combines seemingly traditional space combat with augmented reality (AR) for a decidedly unique "Star Wars" experience.

As I said then, "It's like the PC classic 'TIE Fighter' mixed with the ingenious UFO on Tape mixed with the Layar Reality Browser."

But would the AR gimmick work? Or would the entire game feel like some weird novelty? Well, Falcon Gunner just hit the App Store, so I'm ready to give … Read more

Sling Media 'very close' to launching iPad app

Yes, folks, the much-anticipated SlingMobile Player for iPad app is almost here. We can't tell you exactly when this baby will appear in the App Store--or how much it will cost--but a company rep sent us an e-mail saying the company was "this close" to releasing the app and pointed us to a YouTube Video demo.

For now, have a look and feel free to comment (it looks pretty sweet to us). We'll let you know as soon as it goes live and what price tag Sling puts on it. Hopefully, it won't be exorbitant. … Read more

Apple improves iPhone 3G performance with iOS 4.2

In tests performed by TiPb using the iOS 4.2 Gold Master release of Apple's forthcoming mobile operating system, iPhone 3G performance has taken another positive step, one that may help customers forget some of the early issues with iOS 4 on iPhone 3G units.

Appeasing its older customers may have jumped up the priority list a bit after a California class action lawsuit was filed against Apple citing its alleged "unsavory, dishonest, and deceptive business practices" while launching iOS 4, an update many felt disabled their iPhone 3G this summer.

The video of the test is … Read more

ChaseCam HD: More resolution, smaller package

When racing teams want to record their vehicle's performance, they usually don't grab a GoPro Hero or ContourHD off of the shelf (although they surely could). Instead they use a system like ChaseCam's DIVA (Data Integrated Video Acquisition), which not only captures video from multiple cameras, but also records from an internal accelerometer, a GPS receiver, and a direct connection to the vehicle's brain via OBD-II/CAN bus. However, up until now and in spite of all of that functionality, the lipstick-size cameras in the ChaseCam system captured only SD video content. This year at the … Read more

Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner: TIE Fighter combat meets augmented reality

Think "Star Wars" games have been done to death? I guarantee you've never seen anything like Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner. It's like the PC classic "TIE Fighter" mixed with the ingenious UFO on Tape mixed with the Layar Reality Browser.

Confused? This video might help:

Millennium Falcon AR Test from Josh Shabtai on Vimeo.

As you can see, the game overlays itself on whatever appears in your iPhone camera lens. Point it at the night sky and, presto, you're blasting TIE fighters in outer space. Point it at the dog and, um, … Read more

Kill all humans!

Super Mega Worm Lite is a free, five-level preview of Super Mega Worm, a retro-looking arcade game in which you control a giant bloodthirsty worm that's out to wreak some (cartoonishly) gory eco-vengeance.

Thanks to the addition of new directional-pad controls and the option to continue your game, Super Mega Worm has gotten much better (and easier) in recent updates--although the game also has a Hard difficulty setting (in addition to Normal) and the original tilt and touch slider controls for more hardcore gamers. You control your mega worm ("Wojira," in classic mega-monster-movie style), navigating back and … Read more

Draw lines to kill enemy invaders

Axe in Face--Defense of the Daffodils is a silly, yet challenging game that borrows elements from many classic iPhone games in the iTunes App Store to make for a fun time-waster. The object of the game is to defend a garden of daffodils from an approaching onslaught of baddies (think Plants vs. Zombies) by drawing a path from your viking warrior across the screen to throw your ax.

The ax will return to you like a boomerang, which comes in handy for hitting foes as the ax circles back around, but be careful not to draw complex paths because you … Read more

Get 13 Star Wars games (PC) for $49.99

Over the years, LucasArts has produced some truly memorable "Star Wars" games--and, let's face it, a few clunkers.

Thankfully, most of the titles in Steam's Star Wars Collection (PC) are in the former category. And the whole bundle's on sale for just $49.99.

That's half the regular price, and less than a third of what you'd pay if you purchased each game separately. Here's the playlist, in no particular order:

Star Wars Battlefront IIStar Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online AdventuresStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces … Read more

Are action video gamers better decision makers?

We've already reported on findings that playing action video games may improve vision, and some studies indicate that video gamers even make better surgeons.

Now, researchers at the University of Rochester have found that first-person shooter players excel at probabilistic inference--that is, making fast, accurate decisions based on evidence extracted from their surroundings.

What's more, even those who don't normally play action video games improved their inference skills after being forced to play just 50 hours over those who don't play at all.

So are action video gamers better decision makers? The short answer appears … Read more