Bejeweled benefits from its simplicity offering one constant gameplay element; that of switching tiles to make lines of 3 or more. A tried and tested formula that has worked well for some of the best puzzle games (Puyo Pop, Bust-a-move etc.) . Being in such good company is of course as much a curse as it is a blessing. With a bar this high its difficult to really top it. But Bejeweled has always made a good run for it.

With this latest upgrade Bejeweled 2 has managed to make a large impact on me not just for its sublime replayability and wonderous use of touch screen controls but also as the first game to truly integrate Facebook play. As Bejeweled Blitz, Facebookers have been enjoying competititive puzzling with friends for free and the latest free update for the iPhone version of Bejeweled 2 lets you hook up your Facebook account and take on your friends scores on the move.

This is a huge revolution for the way multiplayer can be enjoyed on iPhones. Those who have tried to hook-up online can attest to some terrible waiting screens and sloppy connections. It may just seem like a leaderboard system but its one that will start updating more and more consistently depending on how many of your friends will take your challenge. As for the game itself. its a simple 1 minute round of Bejeweled that has you hunting for as many points as humanly possible. Literally, twitch gameplay at its best.

The original single player game is a treat to play, working out tactics for the long haul and making sure you always have that next move available may not have the replayability of Blitz! but it certainly makes for a beefier style of game. And with both Classic and Action games being available from the start there is certainly enough to tide you over during those longer train rides.

The lack of any challenge mode is dissapointing as a little complex thought would bring out some of the finer points of Bejeweled. However these additions would probably be better suited to a later console conversion.

The ability to play the game in tall or wide mode makes sure anyones thumbs are accomodated and the gentle learning curve keeps the game consistently fun for everyone. Add to that a tiny price tag and Popcap have managed to create a brilliant iPhone game that just lacks a little polish here and there but makes up for it with diamond-encrusted charm.

7/10

FIFA 10 shows just how far EA are willing to go to regain the footballing top spot. When you first enter the game it looks as though much has remained the same from FIFA 09 its when you start your first match that you realise how different FIFA 10 is. For a start there is awhole new level of control available. The previous 8 directions of controls have gone full 360 degrees meaning the most realistic dribbling of any game, ever. Overall control is unbelievably fluid and players like Rooney, Drogba and Ronaldinho have their own unique flair and style. Basically, the game plays like a dream.

All of last years modes are here. From the new and improved live season to the classic tournaments and cups. A more indepth Virtual Pro mode and a more robust manager mode really add replay value. Online modes are better than ever and the overal community (with replays, screenshots and custom leagues) feels completely fleshed out.

The selection of available teams is staggering. All three English leagues are here as well as the MLS, La Liga, Bundesliga, belgian leagues, swiss, austrian, korean and tons more. Still no support for the J-League however which seems like a glaring omission. What you do gain though is up to date lineups, stats and team reports. On top of this the news bar returns in menus giving you the latest real world football scores, a great addition for the fans.

The game suffers from a few long load times but makes up for it with the renewal of the arena kickabout in between menus. The one major problem with the game is the lack of support for non-default controller configurations after setting up four different controller set-ups the game decided to freeze up on me, a problem which has been well documented on messageboards. However this minor problem is easily avoided and can and therefore should be patched.

More animations, ball skills, arenas and a solid frame-rate make the game feel absolutely complete and where last years title felt like a massive step forward to next gen footballing, FIFA 10 feels like the perfection of next gen footballing. The best football game up to this point.

9/10

The first thing you should know about ngmoco, the creators of Eliminate Pro is that they are not new to the iPhone gaming scene and their previous two titles have been revered as some of the best gaming the platform has to offer. However Rolando and Topple were relatively tame titles by comparison, hardly pushing the hardware to its fullest. But where these games really excelled was in being fun portable time wasters. Eliminate Pro works in a similar way by offering up 3 minute deathmatch scenarios that are perfectly suited to iPhone using situations.

My first experience of the game asked me to log in to the Plus+ network (essesntially an gamertag for ngmoco and other iPhone games). This where my different achievements will be tracked such as kill counts and first place finishes. The intro movie showed a clear move away from previous titles into more hardcore territories. The subtle humour and nice art style grabbed my attention and helped me learn the controls fairly quickly. After a quick tutorial on how credits workand the possibility for customisation I headed for the game lobby. However there were zero players online at the time so I went for the free practice mode to get my thumbs in gear. Eliminate Pro works on the oft-used dual analogue style of play favoured on control pads. I have always found the transition to touchscreen pretty bad and I am sad to say Eliminate Pro is no exception. After a few rounds offline I took it back online and got matched up with some annonymous pranksters who were intent on not letting me get a kill. After a hugely dissapointing first round I managed to get 2nd place in the second round by managing to achieve a whopping 3 kills. 2 rounds later and my energy was dead…

Eliminate Pro is deifinately a game to get excited by. It has its flaws (the controls being almost unusable) but for what it lacks it makes up for in addictive free gameplay and a variety of levels. The visuals and audio are crisp and clear and you feel more like you are playing a PSP than an iPhone. I believe the pay-to-play scheme that ngmoco have developed here will pay off as it is just so darn addictive and hopefully Apple releases some sort of gaming attatchment for the iPhone and this game will be much more playable until then have fun trying to wrap your thumbs arounds this one.

Fans have been skeptical of this move ever since The Beatles: Rock Band didnt allow players to export any of the songs although this was mainly due to liscensing issues and the use of more advanced technologies. XBox 360 owners in the states can export all of the Lego Rock Band tracks into Rock Band or Rock Band 2 for the price of 800MS Points. The PS3 is currently unable to do this but should be able to in a week or so.

Heres the tracklist:

• The All-American Rejects – Swing, Swing
• The Automatic – Monster
• Blink-182 – Aliens Exist
• Blur – Song 2
• Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name
• Boys Like Girls – Thunder
• Bryan Adams – Summer of 69
• Carl Douglas – Kung-Fu Fighting
• The Coral – Dreaming of You
• Counting Crows – Accidentally In Love
• David Bowie – Lets Dance
• Elton John – Crocodile Rock
• Europe – The Final Countdown
• Everlife – Real Wild Child
• Foo Fighters – Breakout
• Good Charlotte – Girls
• The Hives – Tick, Tick, Boom!
• Iggy Pop – The Passenger
• Incubus – Dig
• Jackson 5 – I want you back
• Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby
• Katrina & The Waves – Walking on Sunshine
• The Kooks – Naieve
• Korn – Word Up
• KT Tunstall – Suddenly I See
• Lostprophets – Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)
• Pink – So What
• The Police – Every Little Thing she Does is Magic
• The Primitives – Crash
• Queen – We are the Champions
• Queen – We Will Rock You
• Rascal Flatts – Life is a Highway
• Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters
• Razorlight – Stumble & Fall
• Spin Doctors – Two Princes
• Spinal Tap – Short & Sweet
• Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – Make Me Smile (Come Up and See me)
• Sum 41 – In To Deep
• Supergrass – Grace
• T. Rex – Ride a White Swan
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Fire
• Tom Petty – Free Fallin’
• Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
• The Zutons – Valerie

Phew, thats a long list not too shabby either. Admittedly most are party classics (i.e. Ghostbusters, Kung-Fu Fighting, We Are The Champions) but theres a couple I wont mind playing on my own in particular Blur, Vampire Weekend and Iggy Pop.

The game is still scheduled for an XBox 360 & Playstation 3 release this december in Europe while American and Japanese gamers get to button bash to their hearts content. I was lucky enough to try out the game in a recent trip to Japan and let me tell you, its confusing as hell. However as a lover of fighting games, I kept with it and the pay off was huge. So much so that I would go as far to say its the best original fighter since Tekken. BOOM!

The PSP version was confirmed today by the developers who also promised all 12 original fighters available for Ad Hoc brawls. All this combined with a new Legion Mode, a territory control game where you fight to win different areas of the map. The game comes out in Japan on Feburary 25th in Japan so if you were clever and didnt upgrade your PSP it might be worth getting a copy from eBay as the delay for a European release is likely to be loooooonnnnnnngggg.

Look how beautiful though:

In other Braid related news the protagonist of Jonathon Blow’s masterpiece will be playable in upcoming WiiWare and Pc game Super Meat Boy thanks to developer; Edmund McMillen who was responsible for the original designs of the characters in Braid and helped create awesome indie game Gish.

Still no more news on The Witness though….

Expect a review of Braid PSN when its released.

More deets after the jump…

The Last Resort, Muzzled! and The Bogey Man will each be priced at 800 MS Points when they hit the store on this wednesday (holy crap, thats today!). The date coincides with the 20th Anniversary of Wallace & Gromit (which Google have lovingly crafted into their front page today). This will signal the end of this particular run of Wallace & Gromit games but I am sure we will see more from the quintessentially British pair in months to come.

Rock Band shows us exactly how to do an iPhone game right from its crisp and clear menus to the solid gameplay and multiplayer options, Rock Band nearly ticks all boxes. The most substantial mode is as per the console versions, World Tour mode which makes you play varying tracks in different locations in a variety of setlists. You play these setlists either alone using one of the four different game modes (Guitar, Bass,Vocals and Drums) or with friends using the iPhone’s bluetooth connection. When you have selected band members you head around the world playing songs from Rock Band’s main setlist as well as any purchased tracks you may have downloaded. Doining this earns you money and fans as well as unlocking new venues to play in.

The tracklisting itself has to be applauded using a variety of tracks from previous incarnations including songs by Blondie, Blink-182, Motorhead, Foo Fighters, Joan Jett, The Smashing Pumkins among others. The downloadable side of things is also impressive with each two track download costing just £0.59 from the itunes store as well as a few free downloadable songs already in the library. Harmonix has also said that it plans to periodically update the Rock Band Store for iPhone the same way it does for the other consoles. This should have people making their own unique playlists of songs they want to play in no time.

The songs all sound very clear and its easy to distinguish between instruments which helps you recognise harmonix’s spot-on beat matching. All songs have different difficulty ratings and can be played at various levels from easy through to hard letting new players enjoy the experience as much as Rock band veterans.

Facebook integration, a direct link to the music store and claims to fame (Rock Band achievements/trophies) all add to the feel of this being one of the first complete iPhone games and the £5.99 price tag makes it hard to resist but you should also be warned that this is definately not a perfect game.

For a start there is the Vocal mode which works in exactly the same way as Drums, Guitar or Bass. You simply tap coloured notes in time to the music. Its a shame there is no option to y’know actually sing which is possible and has been achieved in all other versions. Secondly the gameplay is very nice and smooth but occasionally lags a second which can be devastating when you are half-way through getting an 100% rating on a song. And finally the game is lacking any customisation options which have been included in Harmonix’s games since the original Guitar Hero games.

Overall I would say that rock band is worth your itunes credit and it is definately worth a few goes on the train or late at night when you cant sleep. Just dont expect an exact port from the console versions.

7/10

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