iPhone development company Bulkypix is coming up with some promising games for the iPhone and iPod touch.  Twin Blades is an addictive zombie shooting game in which your main object is to survive through different levels by either slashing or shooting zombies. The App Store has a ton of zombie shooting games but, Twin Blades offers an engaging and fast paced gameplay which gives it a fresh look.

Every kill earns you one heart and these can be used to buy weapon and character upgrades. Weapon upgrades feature different types of guns while character upgrades can be used to improve slash damage, amount of life, life storage and more.

The game supports local highscores and Open Feint, allowing you to share your highscores, unlock achievements and compare your performance with your friends.

Twin Blades is a fun, challenging and engrossing game that will keep you wanting for more!

I love this game.  Skee-Ball has always been a favorite for my kids when we go to any arcade and this game brings all of the excitement to the palm of your hand with 3D graphics, great physics, and awesome prizes. A true American classic.  Everyone loves Skee-Ball! 

With a quick flick, roll the ball up the ramp and into one of the numbered holes for points, tickets, and unlockable achievements.

Win enough tickets and go on a shopping-spree for fun prizes like a set of vampire teeth, a Peruvian Flute Band CD, or even a custom ball to use in-game. Over 80 prizes in all.

Skee-Ball is easy to learn and easier to love: Play by simply flicking your finger across the screen or making a bowling motion. Tilt the iPhone/iPod touch to add spin. Simple to play, almost impossible to stop playing!

The NVIDIA PhysX engine delivers console-quality physics so the ball rolls and bounces hyper-realistically. Worldwide hi-scores let you see how your hoard of tickets compares to everyone else’s. The Plus+ Network lets you challenge friends with score tracking, achievements and leader-boards.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skee-Ball is celebrating its 100th birthday, but has never felt more modern!

Rockband for iPhone has been released and I must say EA Games has done an awesome job with the graphics on this game.  With the initial release there are only 20 songs that can be played but others are available for purchase for .99 cents.  The game does offer multiplayer over bluetooth which is a bonus.

JAM ALONE OR WITH FRIENDS
Play solo, or push it to the limit with LIVE BLUETOOTH MULTIPLAYER. Play with 2-4 bandmates, earn unison bonuses, and save friends that drop out by activating overdrive.

Enjoy the first full band multiplayer experience on the iPhone or iPod touch.

ALL 4 WAYS TO PLAY, ANY DIFFICULTY
Rock out on guitar, bass, drums or vocals to MP3-quality songs on easy, medium or difficult. Play solo, or start a band with friends from around the world. Jump into Quickplay for casual sessions or take it on the road in Tour Mode.

TURN IT UP ONLINE
If you can’t get your band together over Bluetooth, sync up via Facebook on your own time.

Use the in-game message center to check your band’s status and get Push Notifications when friends invite you to rock out.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC
Play along with 20 legendary songs from great bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, The Beastie Boys, and more!

TAKE IT TO THE TOP & EARN THE PERKS
Start out playing in grungy dives and work all the way up to stadium-rock stardom. Collect rewards and achievements that provide replay value and depth to even the most experienced Rock Band veterans.

Attack-30 Seconds To Mars
Girls Not Grey – AFI
Move Along – All American Rejects
Sabotage – Beastie Boys
All The Small Things – Blink-182
Hanging on the Telephone – Blondie
Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters
Everlong – Foo Fighters
Bad to The Bone – George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Hymn 43 – Jethro Tull
Bad Reputation – Joan Jett
Simple Man – Lynard Skynard
Ace of Spades ’08 – Motorhead
Debaser – Pixies
Ladybug – Presidents of The United States of America
Give It All – Rise Against
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pick Ups
Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins
Take The Money and Run – Steve Miller Band
We Got The Beat – The Go Go’s

The gameplay is simple enough as you can see from the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Overall the game is not as awesome as it is on the PS3 or the Xbox 360 but it does offer the option to play multiplayer with up to 3 other people, making for some sweet 4 player action.

DS games on the DSi shouldn’t be much different, but Nintendo says compelling DSi-specific software is on the way. The company claims those titles will fully capture the functionality of the new handheld. I haven’t played any of those titles, so I can’t make a judgment on whether they will. Right now, the DSi, from a gaming perspective, is a new, more expensive, DS Lite.

Cameras
The DSi sports two low-resolution (0.3-megapixel) cameras. The quality was just fine for a handheld device that’s designed for gaming.

But you can also have fun outside of games. Once you snap a picture, you’re brought to an editing screen where you can change the color of the image and otherwise modify its look. The DSi doesn’t give you Photoshop-quality editing, but it’s good enough for a mobile device of this type. I was able to make the pictures look much better with the help of some simple editing tools, like the color utility, which converts the entire picture to black-and-white and lets you add color to certain areas in the image. It’s a great way to add some flair to a picture.

The DSi gives you the option to create distorted pictures. Whether you want to “swirl” the picture, create a mirror image, or produce a kaleidoscope, you can do it in just a few seconds. You can even choose where to “swirl” your image by running the stylus over the picture at the desired point. It’s a lot of fun.

DSi Sound
The DSi’s new feature, DSi Sound, which allows you to play AAC audio tracks on the device, is not all that great. While the sound quality is outstanding and it was nice to be able to play some music, the software doesn’t support MP3 files, which is a big disappointment. And the DSi’s voice-recording function only grabs 10-second clips, which certainly isn’t enough for those who want to keep audio notes. DSi Sound is a nice idea, but it’s not implemented as well as it could have been.

DSi Shop
Similar to the Wii Virtual Console, the DSi Shop allows you to buy games in the online DSiWare store. Those games (and other utilities like a Web browser) are available for a certain number of Nintendo Points, depending on the quality of the title.

Right now, the store has just a handful of games available. Most of the games are casual titles that you might never want to play. It does have Brain Age Express: Math available, though.

While it was disappointing to see just a few DSiWare titles, the service has promise. If Nintendo can add great handheld classics to the store, like any of the Zelda titles and most of the Mario games, the store will be a winner. But until then, it’s is not of much use.

Design
Personally, I think the DS Lite looks better than the DSi. But that doesn’t mean the DSi is ugly or that it’s not well-built. Quite the contrary, I was impressed with the DSi’s design.

Though the DSi isn’t winning the beauty contest, it makes up for it in size. Its screens are larger, but the device itself is thinner. It’s easier to slip into a pocket.

The DSi also has more refined interface elements. The outside camera is where it should be, at the top right of the top panel, and the L and R buttons are placed at the top of the bottom panel. You still have easy access to the stylus to the right of the bottom panel. The power button moved from the side (where it was on the DS Lite) to the inside of the device–much more convenient. The volume control is now two buttons, not the slider that the DS Lite had.

One thing that’s missing from the DSi, though, is the Game Boy Advance slot you’ll find at the bottom of the DS Lite. It was a controversial decision for Nintendo to remove that slot, but the company claims the DSi is a complement to the DS Lite, not a replacement, so it felt no need to have the DSi support GBA titles. I’m not so quick to agree. The DS (or DSi for that matter) is designed to tag along with you on trips. Since I have a variety of GBA titles, I’ll need to bring both to play my games. That stinks.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dungeon Hunter is an awesome action-packed role-playing game for iPhone with gorgeous graphics and intuitive gameplay. What it doesn’t wield in originality, it makes up for in sheer fun.

The fantasy realm of Gothicus has fallen to the forces of darkness and it’s your calling as the kingdom’s royal heir to restore peace. After an untimely death, you take the role of a resurrected prince charged with defeating his former lover who has infected the land with evil.

There are three classes – Warrior, Rogue, or Mage (curiously, no ranged class) – you make your way from rural catacombs to the malevolent queen’s castle beating her demonic minions along the way. You don’t quest alone, though, as fairies accompany you on the quest as sidekicks that can be summoned for devastating magical attacks.

Dungeon Hunter is available now on iTunes.

Trekking across the expanse of Gothicus means hacking enemies patrolling the cities, forests, and mountainsides. There’s wonderful variety in the environments, complemented by an equally diverse bestiary. In pursuit of experience points, you face an array of interesting creatures from poisonous green slimes to rock monsters with magma flowing through their veins to skeleton knights.

Defeating these enemies can be challenging, though proper balancing avoids the need for level grinding. Creatures are strong enough to present a threat, though seldom overwhelming.

It helps that experience goes far in pumping up your character to confront even stronger foes waiting in the next dungeon. With each new level you’re able to boost any of four core attributes, as well as unlock new abilities and upgrade existing ones using skill points.

Naturally, available skills vary among the three classes with Warriors focusing on abilities central to direct combat, Rogues on agility, and Mages magic. Not only does this ensure each classes feels distinct, it also provides incentive to run through the adventure a second or third time.

Admittedly basic, character development surprisingly never feels constrained. There’s always something new to earn or interesting to unlock, which makes every level rewarding.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tons of loot also only furthers customisation, enabling you to outfit your hero with nine different pieces of equipment. Special pieces come with attribute-boosting enchantments, though these are found or purchased like regular equipment. It would have been great to see an optional item crafting system for added depth.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More compulsory is the need for improvement to the controls. While Dungeon Hunter wisely offers options, control over movement is an issue. The game provides virtual analogue stick or tap to move schemes, the former preferable though imperfect. You’re regularly moved an extra step or positioned at a slightly off angle that puts your hero at a disadvantage in combat. It’s not a game killer because you’re able to adjust, but any undue impact on your ability to move precisely during battle is undesirable.

Also of concern is the save system. Automatic back-up ensures that your character’s progress is preserved, although you’re unable to save manually within a dungeon. Exiting the game in the middle of a level means later resuming play at the dungeon’s entrance. This makes Dungeon Hunter difficult to play in short sessions since you’re unable to really stop playing and pick up where you left off.

To a degree, it’s not much of a problem because Dungeon Hunter is fun enough that you won’t want to set it down. Great graphics, satisfying character customisation, and loads of variety – this is as good as hack ‘n’ slash role-playing gets.

It has been 4 years since Sony introduced the PSP and now as of  last Thursday Sony launched the new PSP Go, and judging by the early reviews, opinions are mixed. In one hand, you have a slick, more portable device with a crisp screen and new game formats. But legacy PSP owners will be dogged with some crossover issues, and most Sony PSP Go content is available through only one retail source.

PSP Go

The PSP Go is a sleek-looking device, which is 16 percent lighter and 35 percent smaller than its predecessor, the PSP 3000. The screen has shrunk to 3.8 inches from 4.3 inches. The Go supports Bluetooth but, most importantly, the UMD drive is gone. That means all content, including games, must be saved to the device’s 16GB internal memory or a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card. The Go retails for $250, and it looks like a 16GB Memory Stick Micro card will set you back somewhere between $60 and $80.

All About Sony

If you own a big collection of UMD games or movies for the PSP, they’ll be worthless on the new PSP Go.  All of those games and videos are now stuck on your old PSP. Sony has not created a way for the old games to be read and transferred to the new UMDless PSP Go, according to Ars Technica.

On the one hand, that’s to be expected when a new system comes along. But really, the PSP Go is just a refreshed system; nothing is very new about it. It has no jump ahead in graphics, no new gaming capabilities, and no substantial new features other than Bluetooth connectivity. So why not create a mechanism to transfer games?

Games aren’t the only legacy problem, either. The PSP Go now has a proprietary mini-USB cable, which means any old cable just won’t do. The new cable is included with the device, of course, but if you lose or break that cable a new one will set you back at least fifteen bucks. That may not be the biggest deal in the world, but it’s just one more hassle that doesn’t need to be there. Then there’s the memory stick. The Pro duo format is gone, so transferring your old data from a legacy PSP to the new Go has to be done through a PC or PS3. Again not a big deal, but it is another hassle.

Go Games

Instead of buying games from your local video game shop, all PSP Go games must be purchased online from Sony’s PlayStation Store. Early reviews are complaining about the download speeds when you buy a new game from Sony. The average time seems to be at least an hour if not two to download a title directly to the Go. The problem may be the fact that the PSP Go’s wireless connectivity is 802.11b. Why Sony didn’t go with faster choices like 802.11g or the newly approved 802.11n connectivity is puzzling. Another downside: no background downloads. If you’re downloading a game to the Go, the device will be busy for a few hours. The alternative is to download games to your PC or PS3 and then transfer them later on.

PSP Go Feel

Reviews are mixed about how the PSP Go feels in your hands. Most of the reviews floating around are complaining about the positioning of the controls, but there are a few of the reviewers say that they love the new placement. The new analog stick is reportedly more accurate, but it is smaller and early impressions say it takes some time to get used to.

Overall, people like the new device, but some significant problems like slow download times and a closed system could be problematic for the new system. What do you say? Are you picking up a new PSP Go to call your very own?