side-scrolling

Funny and fun, this stunt bike game is worth your money

Bike Baron is a stunt bike game for both iPhone and iPad that might be the best we've seen yet for iOS. Made by an all-star developer team with folks from the groups that made Minigore, Death Rally, and Aqua Globs, this well-designed game really shines. Even the musical score is from the same person that made the music for Angry Birds. In other words, there's a lot of talent behind this game.

Unlike many of the games in this genre, you get just one set of controls for Bike Baron: arrows for tilting on the left and … Read more

Stunt bike racer with one big glitch

Xtreme Wheels is a stunt bike racing game that offers nice-looking graphics (with one extremely notable exception), but it's still somewhat lacking. You get a few options for controls, but like most games of this type, gas and brake will always be on the right. On the left, you get the option to use a slider, arrow buttons, or you can use the accelerometer to tilt. The controls feel solid mostly, making you feel in control as you navigate past obstacles.

The graphics in Xtreme Wheels look great mostly, with one very noticeable problem (at least in our testing). … Read more

Stunt bike racer is fun, but needs work

MotoTrialz is a side-scrolling stunt bike game that's a fairly good remake of the game Trials, but it's not the best in the genre. Like other games of this type, you're challenged with riding a motorcycle over several obstacles in the least amount of time possible. You have a couple of different options for controlling your bike in MotoTrialz: you have gas and braking buttons on the right and you can choose between a slider on the left or the accelerometer for tilting your bike. You'll need to pick one and get comfortable quickly; these stunt … Read more

Classic shoot-'em-up R-Type is back for Android

R-Type for Android takes you way back to the '80s with its classic humans-versus-aliens storyline and retro shoot-'em-up style of game play. Because it's more or less unchanged from its arcade predecessor, R-Type is sure to keep you hooked for hours at a time, just as it did when you were younger.

While there is a rich plot that drives R-Type, its details are relatively inconsequential. All you need to know is that you are piloting a futuristic star ship, and your primary objective is to kill aliens...lots and lots of aliens.

To begin, your ship is … Read more

Share text files and kill all humans: iPhone apps of the week

When Josh Lowensohn bought and wrote about the TyPad--the Bluetooth keyboard and iPad case combo--I knew that I had to have it. Though it's a bit expensive for a case ($129), the included black keyboard and fold-over leather case just seemed too convenient and classy to pass up.

I just received mine today, and I'm already glad I bought it, but it does have some minor annoyances. There is no right-Shift key, for example, which will be tough for formally trained typists to get used to. It also makes it difficult to play a lot of games because with the added keyboard it can be pretty unwieldy. Still, the ability to quickly convert my iPad into a laptoplike experience will be better for working than using the onscreen keyboard, and the controls for music, cursor arrows, and tactile typing make the case worth it to me.

What do you think? Does the TyPad seem like a good deal to you or should I have just bought a laptop if that's what I wanted? Is there a better case/keyboard combo you know about? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps include an iPhone/iPad text editor that automatically syncs up with your desktop, and a game in which you control a man-eating giant worm.… Read more

Go in for a bombing run, soldier

StealthBomber is a free, 2D arcade game in which you pilot a "stealth bomber" dropping bombs on a steady stream of tanks, trucks, and other vehicles.

You hold your device vertically (portrait, not landscape), with your bomber moving back and forth at the top of the screen and your enemies moving left to right on the bottom of the screen. You move horizontally using a touch-screen slider at the base of the screen (or just touch and drag anywhere to move), and you drop bombs with an adjacent button. A set number of enemies, all with varying speeds … Read more

Simple adventure game

Bud Redhead-The Time Chase is a video game adventure through time and space. While the story is fun, the graphics and game play didn't leave us with a great deal of confidence.

This program's interface is incredibly simple. Gameplay is achieved using the arrow and CTRL keys. Maneuvering through the options is a point-and-click matter. There is a Help file, but anyone who has played video games before will not need to consult it. Playing the game was very simple and most people will be able to jump directly into the action after reading the onscreen backstory and … Read more

2D zombies are still scary

Zombieville USA is a 2D, side-scrolling arcade game in which you use a variety of firearms to kill an endless supply of zombies across a series of increasingly treacherous levels. The running, zombie-killing part of gameplay is very straightforward: you tap on arrows on the right and left side of the screen to move, and you tap the bottom of the screen to shoot, occasionally ducking into houses to avoid zombies and collect money and ammo. Even with its cool, cartoony graphics (including some whimsical gore, of the flying-eyeball and bits-of-brain variety), Zombieville USA can get a little repetitive--especially playing … Read more

Tank blast-o-rama

HeavyMach Lite is a free preview of the first four stages in HeavyMach, a side-scrolling tank game in which you blast through enemy gun emplacements and trucks, helicopters, and other vehicles on your way to battle big bosses. This is a fun, pick-up-and-play game with solid graphics and sound effects, tons of different weapons, straightforward gameplay, and very intuitive controls: you tilt your device to roll left or right, and you tap to shoot--and where you tap controls the angle of your gun. You can also tap a "booster" lever to jump, to overcome obstacles and avoid enemy … Read more