I Want my Apple TV to Become: a Gaming Console!

The $99 Apple TV is a subversive little device, it sits there playing your music, slideshows, and movies while quietly plotting world domination as a GAME CONSOLE? Yes, I said it. Just think about it. Apple TV is reportedly still flying off the shelves, and despite being labeled “just a hobby” by none other than Steve Jobs himself, it seems to be taken quite seriously by throngs of adoring fans.

 So what does it need to get there? It's already won a  coveted spot in the living room: beef up the processor a  little bit (maybe use the new dual – core A5 chip, just  used in the iPad 2) beef up the GPU, add a little more  flash storage for saved games (or make use of that  brand  spanking new data center Steve just built in  North  Carolina) and add an Apple designed controller  - create  a sleek, fast new one, or use your iTouch, or  iPhone  instead. 

 What do you think? Do you believe its possible for  our  favorite fruit company to morph the studious Apple  TV  into a next-gen game console? To take on the big  boys  like the PS3, Nintendo Wii, or Xbox 360? leave a comment below.

Oh, and Steve, if you're reading this: ill take mine in white - It'll match the new iPad.

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Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition

Borderlands the addictive FPS from Gearbox Software, is now available on the Mac. Published by Feral Interactive, This game is all set to make your trigger-finger happy. Full review HERE

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Airport Mania : First Flight

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

One of the little time management gaming apps you can buy.

Like thousands of other users I hope that Reflexive Entertainment are working on a sequel.

OK it's cute graphics may seem like this is a game for little kids. Nothing of the sort. Yes it is cute, but that is part of the charm. The sound effects are a real delight, the graphics are lovely and just for once even the backing track is not ittitating if you wish to have it playing.

Your task? You progress through 8 different airports. You need to manage landing flights, unloading, refueling, repairing and reloading them back into the air as quickly as possible.

A paper plane mode can be unlocked too.

Achieving a perfect score on every level will require a fast finger and a good eye. Difficulty I feel has been set just right and everybody should be capable of completing the 48 levels at the minimum score which is needed to unlock each level.

Points combos can be obtained by doing a fast turaround and for trying to keep same coloured planes loading and unloading at the same coloured gate.

Airports can be upgraded using your earnings. Additional runways, a fan to blow away fof, a hairdryer to thaw out frozen runways, executive waiting areas and much more is there to be unlocked to assist you in getting that perfect score.

For me the purchase of Airport Mania : First Flight is a 'no brainer'. I just hope that Second Flight is in the making.

10/10

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Pocket Ants

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

Irritating little buggers ants aren't they?

This is the app that lets you take vengeance on red and black ants using a huge variety of different tools.

Blow them away, blast them, drop rocks on them, burn them, freeze them. Use these and a load of other weapons to wipe out as many as you can.

You can even race against the clock to see how many you can destroy in a minute.

Achievements are available as you use all the tools you have to eradicate your virtual insects.

A slider tool lets you customize your own preferred balance of red and black ants.

Graphically it's bright, colourful and effective. The tools are easy to use and the sounds are great.

But I would class this as less of a game and more of a therapeutic way of spending a few spare minutes. There may be exceptions but I don't think that pocket ants, for most, is going to be played for hours on end.

But if you're in a bit of a mood and feel like taking your temper out on virtual pests this may be right up your street. For the price you can't complain about pocket ants.

8/10

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Whirly Word

Price at time of writing £1.19 (approx $2)

Whirly word is not the best word game ever, nor is it the most graphically impressive. It also has the most irritating repetitive music that will drive you nuts in due course (turn it off in options before you go mad).

So how the heck does it make the Best Apps grade?

Because it is my low battery lifesaver app. If I am dow to 20% battery and I am still hours away from a charge I resort to this because it is so undemanding by way of resources.

If you turn that music off the battery will last even longer.

Whirly Word is a simple find-the-words game. You have a circle of 6 letters and all you need to do is find all words that can be made from them. A simple target bar shows you how much progress you need to make on each level to go to the next one. It's called whirly word because you have a 'whirl' button to shuffle the letters if you wish (it may or may not help you).

To add to your low battery enjoyment each game will last a long time as you have as long as you like to perform each level. I prefer to make the game more of a challenge by trying to get all words on each level rather than progressing after immediately after the target score is hit.

There is one further minor irritation I have with this game and that is the fact you have to hit the centre-of-circle enter button after each word. So many word games these days allow you to double-click the final letter to make the entry that I would like this option.

Display colours can be changed in options and there is a good local high scores record.

But there is no on-line connectivety and as a result no global high scores.

So Whirly Word is not the best word game in the world but equally it isn't the worst either. It will certainly leave you with something of a brain testing challenge when your gadget's battery edges towards depletion and that's exactly why it remains installed on mine!

8/10 A battery lifesaver from

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Coin Dozer

Price at time of writing FREE

Let's face it not all free apps are actually worth downloading. In fact the vast majority aren't. If they are not overladen with advertising they are graphically poor or just downright rubbish.

Coin Dozer is a pleasant exception to the norm.

It follows the traditional arcade machines where you drop your pennies in hoping that the machine will push a bigger number of coins off the edge to you rather than down the gutters at the side into the coffers of Mr Arcade owner.

Graphically this app is really nice and the coin pushing physics are actually very impressive. I wouldn't say the physics are perfect as larger gaps than I would expect to see sometimes appear between the coins. However it's pretty darned close to perfect and it is great to see coins that are teetering on the edge of a ledge gradually fall off.

You start off with 40 coins and this is your initial starting coin limit. Coins will be accrued at 5 per hour whilst offline. Whilst playing you accrue one per 30 seconds.

Bonus coins appear from time to time. If won these may result in a huge coin which thumps to the "coin bed" thumping lots of coins to your "win tray"  but equally creating lots of gaps. When this big coin is won you get extra coins. There are other special coins such as one that awards extra coins and one that raises walls at the sides to temporarily stop gutter losses.

Large prizes also fall to the coin bed. Dice, Bears,  Gems, Hearts, Whistles and Yo-Yos. When you collect a set of all 4 colours of each of these you unlock power ups such as an increased coin limit and winning prizes that fall in the gutter. If you collect more than one identical prize (type and colour) you can sell the extra prize for a few vital coins. Note if you have a full set selling your last remaining prize of one colour will relock any power up you have unlocked. So only sell prizes when you have 2 or more.

It will take many, many hours of gameplay to unlock all the bonuses. Indeed after a week I have a yellow yo-yo that still escapes me. I have had to watch 2 fall into the side gutters during the week, much to my disgust.

The advertising is not over the top. A banner runs towards the bottom of the screen - that's fine. However the app was initially spoiled by a continuous advert for Broken Bottle 2 another app from this developer. Spoiled because Broken Bottle 2 is probably one of the most controversial apps available. It has received scathing feedback to Apple and iTunes for promoting crime and violence. This is in stark contrast to the great feedback Coin Dozer is receiving.

Leftover Studios have now fixed the advert so it it a changing banner but it doesn't make the other app any easier to appreciate.

The developer has also showed commitment to Coin Dozer by fixing a memory problem so that the coins stayed in the same place if you quit out. This has resulted in a little graphical lag from time to time but it is not excessive.

Some of those who have given feedback have said that once you've unlocked all the power ups there is nothing left to do. This is factually true. But it will take you a long time to get to that stage and it is quite fun doing so.

Perhaps the developer has plans to take improve Coin Dozer more to improve its longevity? Obviously as a free app the developer is looking for the advertising to work. Perhaps this is why they have one 'nice' and one 'nasty' app? Both will gain customers for different reasons.

I however hope the developer makes the most of the success of Coin Dozer and show it does have some respect for the victims and families of those who have had a broken glass shoved in their face by pulling the Broken Bottle 2 app from iTunes. It does not appear Apple are going to make the family friendly decision to do so.

Edit. 3rd April 2011. The developer has continued to add to the features on this app and others in the dozer series. They all represent excellent value and with ad-free versions available for a small charge I am pleased to change my rating

10/10 (as a free app) available here

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Angry Birds App Review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

Quite simply a finger-flicking masterpiece.

So often the simplest concept makes the best games.

Each level (and there are now 105 and it's still rising!) features a limited number of angry birds and a catapult. Different birds have different abilities which can be activated with a simple swipe of the finger.

For example some are flying bombs, detonating on landing or with a flick if you need an earlier explosion. Some split into several mini birds on flicking, others speed up on impact causing more damage and others..... well that would spoil it just buy the game.

What are you aiming at..... pigs......but not any old pigs.... no green pigs who stole the birds eggs. each level has a certain number of green pigs of various sizes and defence level. You must destroy all of them before proceeding to the next level. In addition to their own defences (helmets) the pigs will be protected by wooden structures, concrete blocks and more.

Between one and 3 stars are awarded for each level with the ultimate aim being to unlock your 'Crystal' achievements of getting 3 stars in all levels. There are also golden egg levels to be unlocked throughout your journey.

Getting 3 stars on each level is far from easy. On many levels it will require wiping out all the pigs with your first bird. It requires thought, concentration and an element of luck.

A tip here...... if you have cleared all your pigs and nothing is happening.... look carefully and wait, it's probably not a hanging app! The level will not move on until all physical activity has stopped on the level. A rock may still be rolling, a concrete block moving slightly (and you may even have missed one of the tiniest pigs!)... just wait a few more seconds and all will be well.

Cheats and walkthrough apps are also available at the same price as the app. But get a life rather than do this . The game itself is hardly difficult to progress through. Yes 3 stars needs a little more attention. But why not use the brain rather than cheat?

I downloaded Angry Birds with a bit of scepticism - I thought surely this app can't be that good? And no it isn't it's better!

Thousands of people have now rated Angry Birds the majority awarding 5/5. In comparison only a handful have awarded 3 or less. Those people have probably rated low just to be annoying.

The price of this app is amazing and I have to wonder if at some stage the developers will either increase the price of the app rather than add more levels (there are still more 100% confirmed  in the pipeline for the current app) or resort to releasing Angry Birds 2 instead. It will be an interesting marketing decision.

For me Angry Birds is the most innovative gaming app yet!

10/10 and available right here

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iFish Pond app review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

Let's get one thing straight with this app. It eats the power of your device for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do not play this simulation if you have something more important to do later because you may find yourself literally powerless.

Battery drainage is the price you pay for a beautiful pond simulation though. The developer reckons he currently has the best water simulation in this type of app and he's probably right.

The fish, the pond, the pond backgrounds - they are all beautiful. The fish animation is lovely and realistic.

You can fish in your pond too. Cast with a simple flick of the device and tap the scren to add a little food in the area of your float. Then wait..................................... the good thing here is that unlike some fishing simulations you really will have to wait. Like in real fishing the fish don't literally throw themselves at you and they may refuse your juicy bait for quite a while.

When you do get a bite the "reeling in" is really well done and yes they can "get away". The number of catches are recorded together with your record weight., Catch enough fish and there's some surprises to unlock. Several "pond bottoms" are available at the outset all beautifully presented.

It's early days for this app at the time of writing and there is little room for improvement. I would like to see integrated on line high scores (Open Feint perhaps?) and perhaps a "brag to your friends option"? If anything could be done about the battery drainage it would be nice but I think the quality of the presentation would be compromised somewhere. Therefore it is perhaps an app best played either when you are attached to a charging source or saved for a time when running the battery flat doesn't matter.

Downloading this was a very pleasant surprise - iFish Pond looks gorgeous and I'd be surprised if it doesn't hit iTunes hot list in a very short time.

9/10 Download from

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Arcade Solitaire Tri Towers App Review

Price at time of writing £1.19 (approx $2)

If you love solitaire the ITunes store leaves you spoilt for choice and it's hard to knwo where to start looking.

Arcade Solitaire Tri Towers is a good app, in fact the wife loves it.

I do have to say, however, that the price tag mentioned above seems to be a little steep for what is essentially a single solitaire game.Yes there are 3 different 'modes' you can play: Arcade Mode - normal mode with extra lives, Survival - no lives and Chill mode no time limit and extra lives but for me this isn't enough for a 10/10 rating when looking at the current price tag.

It's colourful, it has different 'skins' and card backs available, the sounds are great and it is an addictive little game for a solitaire addict but there is better available for less cash.

I feel the developer would do better with this being marketed at the lowest price tag in the app store.

And there is one final annoying thing that bugs my wife no end. You can earn all the extra lives you like but they are only valid if you already don't have a couple of lives in storage. That is not a true extra life

To its credit the game is Open Feint enabled allowing for a nice string of achievements to aim for together with high score leaderboards.

A good app? Yes. But with a lot of competition in the solitaire app market I could see Arcade Solitaire Tri Towers being substituted for something with a bit more content in the event that somebody's iPhone or iPod Touch becomes a little app-bloated.

8/10 Available here

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Game of Life app review

Price at time of writing £1.79 (approx $3)

Distributed by Electronic Arts, Game Of Life faithfully recreates the board game of the same name

Single Player or up to 4 player multiplayer  is also available (pass the unit play - not wi-fi or Bluetooth which is a bit of a shame given the price) .

Let's be honest though Game of Life is a game you would sit down and play with the kids or the kids would play by themselves.

And that is exactly how you should treat this app. Kids will probably love the spinning of the wheel, the bright colourful graphics and watching their chosen "token" venturing round the board.

On iTunes you will notice that the star ratings are all over the place - a relatively even spread between 1 and 5. In this case that's probably a fair verdict. It's great if you want a faithful recreation of a board game that you enjoy or if you want to shut the kids up for a while.

If, as an adult, you'd prefer something to test more than a single brain cell buy something else.

Based on the fact it's great for kids 8/10

Available here

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Texas Hold Em App Review

Price at time of writing £2.99 (approx $5)

I am no poker expert but do know how to play the game and what a great game this is too in fact with it's great graphics I would descibe it more as a poker simulation.

Multiplayer is available from the main menu but single player against the various AI opponents is just as entertaining.

If you play holding your iPhone or iPod Touch in landscape mode you can play a faster game as you just have the overhead table top view.

If you want to view the excellent photorealistic animation in gameplay and are happy with a slower, but more true to life game, simply turn your gadget to portrait mode at any point.

Despite a few moans and groans thst I have read in the iTunes review the vast majority of users agree that this is a superb simulation.

For the price I mention above I think the game is excellent value.

Like Texas Hold Em in real life making money is not easy, easy to learn, but not easy to win big.

You start off your career playing in the Garage but your ability to play in the Cruise Liner, Aquarium, Vegas and other amazing venues you will have to perform well in each successive venue. This success is hard to earn and that gives it superb replay value. Believe me I've spent so much time in the garage I feel at home there now - I have progressed out briefly to higher venues briefly only to be outplayed by the AI players.

I love the beautiful animation in portrait mode of both the dealer and players. The facial expressions are great. If I have any critisism at all it's that I wish a few more animations had been taken of the players as they are somewhat limited.

Controls have been well though out and are simple to exectute. Everything from folding by throwing your cards in to "checking" by a double tap on the poker table is so easy.

Texas Hold Em is a superb application by Apple Inc. at a very fair price. I will be exploring other poker apps in due course but this will be hard to equal let alone beat.

10/10 and downloadable from here

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Wild West Guns App Review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

It doesn't matter if you pay the price above for this app or 4 times that if it has increased by the time you read this. It's worth the money!

This game demonstrates why Gameloft has become one of the most popular developers of gaming apps.

We're in the Wild West with the simple "tap to shoot" mode of operation. Take part in superb arcade type gunfights against multiple bandits aiming to accrue enough points to unlock the next level. Stop bandits from taking over a train or a saloon. Stop vultures from flying off with cute little bunnies. Shoot sombreros, before they land, as they fly like clay pigeons through the air whilst fending off bandits coming at you. You have to avoid shooting innocent people and other objects you are told will reduce your score.

It would spoil the game if I gave any more examples of gameplay action so I won't.

The graphics? Outstanding - a real pleasure to look at. Bright, colouful and beautiful. A real credit to the developers.

The sound is excellent too - it never gets irritating.

But what makes it great for me is that just-one-more-go "pick up and play" factor.

It really does have that arcade game satisfaction feel.

The accuracy on the "shooting" is just right and despite the fact your finger is all over the screen chasing bandits you never feel your finger is obstructing gameplay

I am one of those people who finds Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars overhyped, nasty to control and really bad value for money (note it does not come in my recommendations). This app can currently be bought for around 1/10 the price of that app yet I enjoy this 10x more.

Progress through all the 6 levels containing 18 challenges in Wild West Guns at your chosen level of difficulty and if you complete the game you will open other gameplay modes. There are 5 different gameplay modes to unlock giving the game plenty of extra life. However I have been quite happy to play even the normal level many times trying to beat my previous highest score. I find the game that good.

Many giving feeedback on this game on iTunes have said it's worth more than its current price and I agree with them fully. It is way above the quality of many a more expensive game.

10/10

Why not check out this extraordinarily great shooter here?

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