Whether or not you consider the Iphone to be a gaming device, It is definitely doing big numbers as far as games, which benefits developers. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo definitely need to start looking at Apple as a contender.

Let us not forget the dozens of original titles that get added to the store each and every day, highlights include 2D platformers Castle of Magic & SpyBot Chronicles, isometric shooters iDracular & Mini-Gore, Side-scrolling brawler Hero Of Sparta, the Loco-Roco inspired Rolando, rhythm game Tap Tap Revenge, arcade racer Asphalt 4 and of course the recently reviewed Gangstar: West Coast Hustle. What makes these games even more special is that they are released incredibly cheap and often go on sale within weeks, which begs the question ‘Why spend $30 on a title like Assassins Creed on the DS when you can get almost the exact same thing on the App Store for under a fiver?’

The PSP is taking a step in the right direction by adopting Apple’s mould in the form of “PSP Mini’s” and hopefully Nintendo will follow suite to breathe life in to their frankly pathetic DSi Store. Ironically though what propels the iPod Touch above the DS and PSP is the things it does outside of gaming. In addition to its gaming abilities the iTouch is also world class MP3 player, a high quality video player, it has YouTube integration, emailing capabilities, an exceptional web browser and best of all a built-in iTunes store, which allows for direct downloading of music, movies, TV shows and podcasts. The App Store also provides much more than just games, anyone who takes time out to browse the store is more than likely to find several applications (most of which are free) to assist them in their daily lives and for all you social networkers out there the store has you covered with free Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Skype, AIM, MSN and Yahoo! Messenger apps all available to download right now.

The iPhone is slowly taking over the world but for those of you who don’t want to change you’re current network providers or simply can’t afford the iPhones hefty price tag, I wholeheartedly recommend you look into picking up an iPod Touch. And with Apple expected to announce the 3rd generation iPod Touch tomorrow, now is the perfect time to jump onboard and support gaming’s forgotten handheld.

The game places you in to the sneakers of Pedro, a prison escapee who is hiding out in LA. Instead of trying to make a new life for himself Pedro decides to spend his time outside of the big house doing things that’s bound to land him right back in it, smart. Alongside Pedro for the ride is fellow fugitive (and friend) Juanito who annoyingly is present during cut-scenes but disappears as soon gameplay kicks. Lets get down to business though, from start to finish everything in Gangstar (including it’s awful title) is completely generic. For a game trying to portray the LA crime life and drug culture Gangstar seriously lacks authenticity. The dialog in particular is cringe worthy and it’s evident that middle aged white men rather than true gangbangers wrote the script. The mission structure is equally as poor, most missions involve driving to a spot on your map, hammering the fire button to kill a few brain-dead, identical looking enemies then driving to another spot on your map, rinse and repeat. There are optional racing missions for you to partake in and you just might want to because driving in Gangstar can be very fun. Gameloft has included 3 control methods to insure that players have a great time behind the wheel. “Motion” as the name suggests has you tilting your iPhone side to side, “Wheel” places a virtual steering wheel on the screen which you control with your thumb and my favorite method “Stick” has you sliding your thumb across a horizontal bar to move your vehicle left or right. You also have the option to use a vertical stick instead of on-screen gas and break pedals, which feels really responsive. Similar to GTA entering specific vehicles such as Ambulances and Taxis open up appropriate side missions, which add to the games longevity and earn you some extra cash.

As good as Gangstar’s graphics are, I can’t help but think of them as glossy paint, over a weak foundation. Environments look good but they feel baron with only 2 or 3 moving pedestrians/vehicles on-screen at the same time. Also objects like trees and street lights may as well not exist as your character can plough straight through them as if they’re made of air. Police chases are also a missed opportunity as they are often resolved by collecting badges scattered across the game world rather than out-running the law. However for all its faults and shortcomings, there’s no denying that Gangstar: West Coast Hustle is a formidable effort and Gameloft should be commended for squeezing such an advanced title on to the iPhone at such a low price point (under $7). Hopefully this is just the start of sandbox games appearing on the app store and provided that Gameloft can iron out some of the kinks I hope to see a sequel sometime in the near future. They better be on their A-Game though because GTA: Chinatown Wars is just around the corner selling drugs by the liquor store.

Props to the Woo

With that being said, this week I wish to discuss the emotional impact and the characters within the Metal Gear franchise. These two go hand in hand; as once you begin to determine a characters true thoughts, intentions and feelings, the game has a way of making you yourself emotionally attached to a certain character.

So let me begin by exploring the emotional side of the Metal Gear Solid story.

—————————————

THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT

The storyline in all Metal Gear Solid games start out very sketchy, with you always seem to be knowing way too less than you really should, considering your going balls deep into a mission all alone. Each game then picks up the pace easily within the first 20 minutes, and sweeps you into a roller coaster of emotions. Even the most mentally strong gamers out there are likely to feel, sadness, pity, anger, happiness or laughter of some sort through out the game. The fact that the storytelling in each game arouses so many different emotions (whether felt by the gamers themselves, or just the characters in the game) just makes it nothing less than an outstanding display of humanity.

Every die hard fan of the series that has followed Snakes story from the beginning (and I’m talking about even the MSX2 Metal Gear games), felt a shit load of sorrow at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4 when Otacon spoke the words “Snake had a hard life” to young Sonny. Just for the simple fact that those words alone sum up Snakes whole journey. Snake was manufactured to do nothing but fight and anybody who has played through the whole series will know of all those scenes that bring up the harsh reality that Snake can never fit into real society. It may sound very sad to those who lack the ability to comprehend what I am trying to say, but at the end of the day Snake is the main character of the series (even though he doesn’t even appear in one of the games, and a couple of the spin offs) and at the closing parts of the Metal Gear Solid 4 story, you can not help but feel a little uneasy about the course your main character has taken throughout the years.

The combination of the characters, and the plot twists which constantly take them by storm just continue to thrill the gamer, and there is no denying that. Many people get put off the first time they play a Metal Gear Solid game; simply because they’re not used to that kind of pace in a video game (I know you all just want to grab a gun and go crazy), but I can bet you that those who decided to stick it out for an hour at the least got sucked into the story. There is no denying that the constant emotional ride in this series is one of the biggest causes of the addiction to the storyline.

—————————————

THE CHARACTERS

Metal Gear Solid has a whole ton of interesting characters that Hollywood would love to get their money hungry paws on. The great thing about them is that every single character you come across in the game has some kind of ulterior motive, whether it’s clear at first or not. Even though certain characters may seem to be siding with others, it’s made clear throughout the series that every one of them has their own independent thoughts, ideas and motives. After all, everyone you come across in the battlefield has their own tale of how they got swooped up into the storm right? Well Metal Gear Solid prides itself on not leaving anyones tale out.

The constant character development in this game is just absolutely incredible, and many of the great characters always seem to have some sort of mystique about them, or something to suggest that they will play a huge part in the story’s conclusion later on. I mean damn, who in their right mind playing Metal Gear Solid 4 in the early stages would have thought Major Zero would become the huge significant piece of the puzzle he turned out to be? You never know what your in for when your introduced to somebody in this franchise, and that sense of mystery urges you to move on and on until you get to the bottom of it.

Also the fact that characters from early games you probably forgot about, can come back and make you say “wow I remember him/her now”. For example, who even considered that Johnny (in Metal Gear Solid 4) was the same guy back in Metal Gear Solid 1 who had constant diarrhea and had his costume jacked by Meryl. Hideo Kojima’s emphasis on character development in this series just makes the game that more rewarding to play, and those who actually stuck with the franchise all the way through are thrown a lot of gems, which also help to tie the whole story together.

With characters such as Vamp existing in the game, how can you ever loose interest. Once you see a shocking scene from the likes of Vamp, it just forces you even more to try and get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding him. “How the hell is it possible for him to run up walls, and re heal his wounds?” you ask yourself; and the fact that you know it will all be explained, and it will even make logical sense is what makes sticking with the game all the more satisfying.
—————————————

I could go on and on, but then who would even keep reading? Look out for the third and final part of this editorial soon, in which I discuss the emphasis of no right or wrong, and the morals in the story. Until then, try not to make any explanation marks appear over your heads.

Now on to the rest of you who have already played completed RE4, you’re probably skeptical as to how Capcom could competently port one of the best game of the last generation on to a mobile device that doesn’t have any physical buttons but RE4: Mobile Edition is surprisingly better than one might assume. In order to make the game mobile friendly Capcom has wisely removed all puzzle elements seen in the console versions and significantly shortened the level structure to accommodate for quick 5 minute play sessions. The game is broken up into 12 missions and aside from a brief cinematic intro all the story is told via still images and on-screen text.

Graphically RE4 out-does every other game on the iPhone just like it did on the Gamecube and it perfectly shows off the iPhones graphical capabilities. The game also runs smoothly on the 3GS and the audio is as atmospheric and bone chilling as ever. But this is an action game on the iPhone so you already know I’m going to have severe complaints about the controls. The first RE game on the iPhone (Resident Evil Degenerations also starring Leon Kennedy) controlled painfully slow, thankfully RE4 plays much faster and feels noticeably more fluid. It’s far from perfect though, lining up head shots can be extremely difficult and takes far longer than it should. This coupled with the fact that you can’t aim and shoot at the same time can lead to severe frustration particularly during quiet lengthy boss fights. With a bit of practice you’ll eventually get the hang of the controls and Resident Evil: Mobile Edition will present you an action filled experience unlike anything else currently available on the App Store, the controls may not be ideal but until physical buttons and an analog stick is released for the  device this is the best we can hope for.

Resident Evil 4: Mobile Edition is available on the App Store now for $7.99/£4.99

Now I’m far from a technology buff and I hate to be judgmental but I’m pretty sure only a developer who doesn’t know the first thing about actually “developing” would make such a foolish statement. The Wii is admittedly underpowered and the iPhone does have pretty impressive graphic capabilities but the difference in power between the two platforms is night and day. Thankfully the thread on the TellTale forum is now locked and here’s to hoping we’ll receive an official comment from them before Nintendo fanboys spontaneously combust with rage.

iPhone vs. Wii: Can You Tell Which Is Which? Apparently TellTale Can't.

Konami will slash the price of its iPhone games by more than half this week.

Starting tomorrow and ending Saturday, Silent Hill: The Escape, DanceDanceRevolution S, Silent Scope and Frogger will go down in price by 60 per cent to 59 pence.

The more expensive Metal Gear Solid: Touch will drop to £1.79.

They’re not the best of games, but it’s a sale, and no one misses sales. If you haven’t bought yourself a PlayStation 3 just for Metal Gear Solid 4, you can always take comfort in knowing that you have a poor man’s simpleton of a game in MGS: Touch. We’re feeling generous, why not have a screenshot of said game below. Happy hunting.

I admit to being a Point & Click virgin and I was looking forward to popping my cherry with the XBLA version but the iPhone seems like a more natural fit for Money Island series so I think I’ll be playing it on my handset instead.

The Secret Of Money Island: Special Edition can be downloaded right now from the Apple App Store for $7.99 (£4.99), expect a full review soon.

You can expect a full review from TheKoalition as soon as the patch is released but until then read this press release over and over again and just pretend you’re playing…

San Francisco, CA., – July 17, 2009– SEGA® of America Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced Streets of Rage is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch. Streets of Rage is based on a SEGA Genesis classic title. Players can choose to play as one of three determined police officers – Axel Stone, Adam Hunter or Blaze Fielding – and select from over 40 different attacks to fight through 8 fist-pounding levels in this city gone bad.

“The original SEGA titles like Streets of Rage are classic games that people still talk about today,” said Sean Ratcliffe, vice president of Marketing, SEGA of America Inc.. “We’ve used the accelerometer and innovative Multi-Touch user interface of the iPhone and iPod touch to create what we believe is exactly the type of fan favorite application that users will enjoy playing anywhere, anytime.”

Streets of Rage is available for $4.99 USD from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

Hopefully this means we’ll also see the superior sequels hit the App Store some time in the near future.

Despite their unmatched track record of being a dick, their latest move to rip-off UK consumers takes their arrogance and unfairness to a whole new level. Activision has recently raised the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of Modern Warfare 2 in the UK to a wallet busting £55 ($90). To put this in to prospective a typical PS3/360 game usually costs £40 ($65) but most can be pre-ordered for around £35 ($57) so Activision charging a £15/£20 premium because they assume gamer are clamoring for it and will likely cough up the extra cash is despicable. Thankfully many retailers are well aware that charging £55 for a regular edition of a game won’t go over too well so they have reduced the pre-order price to (a still high, but more reasonable) £45.

Earlier today I spoke to an employee of Gamestation (the UK’s equivalent of Gamestop) and I was told “[Gamestation] normally sells the regular version of a highly anticipated title like Modern Warfare for £35 to £45 depending on local competition, so I can’t see any way we can justify selling a title that doesn’t come with some sort of peripheral for £55″, when asked if there is any chance Gamestation will sell the game at it’s heavy RRP the employee said “We might have to sell it for at least £50 but if we do, I for one won’t be buying it at launch and I’m sure most people will just wait and pick up a pre-owned copy”.

Some may argue that Modern Warfare 2 will have a lasting appeal of over 2 years just like its predecessors, thus making it worth the £55 asking price, but since when has the price of games been based on their length? When Activision inevitably releases another 4 hour Spyro game will they sell it for £20? No, they will still charge full price for that bitch so why is it they see fit to inexcusably up-sell Modern Warfare 2? Activision you are officially the most greediest, relentless publisher in the world, and for you deserve nothing but failure.

The opinions expressed during “TheKoalition vs…” are solely the opinions of the author and they do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and/or opinions of the entire Koalition staff.

Not much is currently known about the game, apart from the obvious glaring fact that it looks to capture the essence of the Grand Theft Auto series. Apparently it’s set in the City of Angels, with multiple radio stations to accompany you as you unleash havoc on the civilians in L.A. Reportedly, the game also boasts a progression system where you’re actually required to conjure up your own gang and build a meagre posse to a full-fledged empire. We like the idea, let’s see if they can pull it off. Check out the screenshots below, courtesy of Toucharcade.com.

Yes, believe it or not Mr. Mathers actually has his own game on the Apple App Store, and use the term “game” extremely loosely. The word “game” implies fun and maybe even a hint of challenge, Eminem’s Relapse game is severely lacking in both those aspects. This is literally the worst game I have ever been subjected to in my entire life, I have had more fun and excitement navigating the Xbox 360 dashboard than I have playing this game in its entirety. In this god-forsakenly-awful title you play as Eminem punching and shooting his way through an Insane Asylum filled with zombie-fied inmates who attack you for seemingly no reason, and by “attack” I mean walk into you, sometimes them walking into will cause damage, sometimes it won’t, it doesn’t really matter anyway because anyone who manages to get themselves killed in this “game” must be as brain-dead as the idiots who created it. Attacking enemies isn’t handled any better, for the first 3-quarters of the game your only weapon is your fists but punching enemies in the face is completely unsatisfying as they don’t react at all to any of your hits, so its often unclear whether your attacks are even causing any damage. Eventually you’ll pick up a hand-gun which does nothing but slow you down and in the last 5 seconds of the game you’re “rewarded” with an automatic riffle.

The worst (or best, I’m not really sure) thing about Relapse is the entire game can be completed quicker than it takes to download and boot up. Simply hold the appropriate walk button (whether Left or Right) and the attack button for about 2 minutes and the game is finished, all the enemies will either die or allow you to walk past them. There is a “To Be Continued” message at the end, but even the thought of playing more of this piece of shit makes me nauseous. The graphics are ugly, the animation is some of the worst I’ve ever seen, the gameplay is broken and the music is bland and dreary. There is literally nothing positive I can say regarding this game, It is a cheap, poorly-developed cash-in that has no redeeming qualities what-so-ever. At the moment it is on sale for $1 but I would honestly rather pay $2 not to play it. This is by far the worst thing Eminem has ever been associated with, including allowing Bruno to plummet ass first on his face. Do NOT buy or ever play this game, even if they release it for free or it mysteriously appears on your iPhone without your consent, trust me this is bad enough to ruin your appreciation for gaming AND music.

Considering the fact that Mass Effect is one of, if not my favourite game of all time, I don’t know if I should be purchasing this in the App Store or stay away from the bitter disappointment it supposedly is. On the flipside, many have also praised its narrative, stylized artwork and top-tiered presentation that’s usually found in all EA-published games. And if you’re a collector of all things Mass Effect, ME: Galaxy is one for the fans. And yes, ME: Galaxy also comes with a ME2 unlockable award at the end of the adventure. Once you complete the iPhone iteration of the franchise, you’ll be presented with a screen stating that your reward will be able to be claimed in Mass Effect 2. Yeah, that’s a while away. But whatever it is, I doubt it’d be worth checking out. Not everyone has an iPhone/iPod touch and may feel left out if a significant part of ME2 is not available to them equally. Well, for those who do, by all means check it out if you must. But just remember that this may not be the Mass Effect you remembered back in 2007.

Despite all the improvement if you’re an owner of the original 3G and aren’t entitled to an early upgrade from AT&T, upgrading to the 3G S is moronic as they are charging an upgrade fee of up to $499. However if you own the original 2007 model or have yet to experience the magic of Apple’s iPhone the 3G S may just change your life. The first thing you’ll notice when holding the 3G S is just how beautiful the damn thing looks, it is by far the sexiest, most stylish handset ever created. However the iPhone is extremely slippery and prone to smudgy fingerprints so you might want to put your beautiful phone in a not so beautiful case for its own protection. The lack of physical buttons on the phone may turn some people off but the 3.5″ touch screen is extremely responsive and with the help of auto-correct, texting and emailing is a breeze. After a few days getting used to it I actually find it much easier to use than a standard mobile phones keypad. Even web-browsing is a smooth and simple, typical websites load fast (and will load even faster once AT&T upgrades their network to HDSA later this year) and with the touch screen you can almost navigate pages as fast as using a mouse. In my speed test I managed to unlock the phone, open Safari, go to Google, search for TheKoaliton.com and load a story about Left4Dead 2 in under a minute. Of course with hundreds of thousands of Apps available on the App Store you could easily just download a free RSS Reader and load the latest stories from us (and unfortunately our competitors) in around 5 seconds.

The array of Apps available on the App Store is what truly transcends the iPhone billions of miles ahead of the competition, as TV ads says there really is an App for anything. Whether you’re in to Games (from the likes of EA, Capcom, Konami, Sega, Popcap etc.), Social Networking (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Skype, AIM etc.), News, Weather Updates, Travel Information, Musical Instruments, Megan Fox Pictures, Comedic Soundboards, Optical Illusions, Anything! you name it and more than likely there’s an App for it. If listening to music and/or podcasts is your thing then simply head over to the phones built-in iTunes Store. There you can easily download millions of songs from thousands of artists or download/stream your favorite podcasts (audio or video) directly from your phone and being an Apple product you can expect amazing sound quality and other neat little features like the Genius Player. Without a doubt the iPhone is the best portable music player ever created, the only MP3 player that comes close to matching it is Apple’s own iPod Touch.

Other new feature exclusive to the 3G S includes a built in Compass *Insert tumbleweed here*, Improved battery life, neat voice control features and internet tethering for your PC, MAC or Laptop. My only real issue with the iPhone 3G S is the awful default ringtones and the inability for non-US consumers to add their own custom ringtones, but hey there’s an App which gets you around that! I could easily go on for another several paragraphs detailing the Excellent Youtube Player, Email Push Functionality, Video Editor, Built-In GPS and dozens of other features which makes the iPhone 3G S a revolutionary product but the fact it there’s simply too much stuff to talk about. The only barrier to entry is signing up with a Network Provider who you might not necessarily want to join and if that’s the case I recommend you pick up an iPod Touch as it shares most of the iPhone’s features but it’s much cheaper, thinner and has a vastly superior battery life. The iPhone 3G S is without question the best mobile phone available today and will probably remain the best until Apple inevitably releases the forth generation of iPhone’s next year. If you have to means to pick one up please do and trust me, you will not regret it!

Australian developers Firemint have announced that they’ll be ushering a few new updates to their critically acclaimed racing sim title Real Racing. Submitted last week for approval, the 1.1 update adds a few new features while including bug fixes relating to app crashes.

The rest of the release notes are listed below:

- Added dynamic environment shadows to all vehicles on screen
- Added Flight Control sponsorship to some of the unbranded vehicles
- Accelerometer is now turned off during menu screens to save power
- Device fades to power saving mode after 1 minute of inactivity
- Updated league splits are now based on best times through any given sector of a race
- Various improvements and bug fixes

For those who still haven’t clicked the Buy App button in the App Store, you probably should do it now. The acclaimed developers of Flight Control have crafted a racing experience like no other for your iDevice. Boasting sim-like driving physics and graphics that utilize the graphical prowess of Apple’s devices to an impressive extent, we’ve had a bit of hands on time with Real Racing even prior to its release. We’ll have a review out soon, for now, check out the initial production description and some of these screenshots from the game.

Firemint Real Racing™ immerses you in all the excitement, competition and glory of championship racing. This is handheld racing like you’ve never experienced before!

• 36 cars in three classes, a dozen unique tracks, five game modes
• Three divisions to play through
• Massive career mode with 57 events to complete
• Ten licensed music tracks from indy artists
• Six cars on screen
• Touch or tilt to steer
• Manual or automatic acceleration and braking
• In-car cockpit view or external camera
• Local multiplayer over WiFi
• Online league play
• Online leaderboards
• Video replays on YouTube
• Create personal leaderboards at realracing.cloudcell.com

Apple proudly calls the iPhone 3G S ” the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet” and claims it  will be up to twice as fast and have an improved battery life which is a god send.  The iPhone will be avaiable on June 17th with 16GB and 32GB variations for $199 and $299 respectively (not including monthly fees ofcourse). Check out the guided tour below for more information.

Anyway here is a screen-cap of the app description taken directly from iTunes;

Click Here To Download The App Now

Apparently, the game lasts from 5-15 minutes, with only 5 levels being included in the game. Well, take it for what it’s worth, but I doubt I’ll be rushing to the App Store for this one. Pity, because I was actually looking forward to playing it. Is it just my asian-eyes or are those delinquent foes low-res-type-blurry? Well, at least the album was worth the wait..right?

Check out what a forum poster at TouchArcade said:

Man – I REALLY wanted this one to be good. Woke up this morning ansd was pretty happy to see it in the store – looked at the screenshots – WHAT IS THAT!! They look nothing like the promotional shot that was put out a few weeks back!! Everything is a blurry, low-detailed mess, AND $2.99!!! Needless to say, after all the waiting, I just passed on this one totally. BUMMER – had some great potential. You would have thought that a big name like this would have made sure that this app was freakin’ awesome.