I’ll admit, once I got my hands on Crescent Moon Games‘ upcoming ball rolling game, Gears, I couldn’t put it down until my iPod Touch had finally died, which lasted for about 2 hours. I’m an addict. The game is simply amazing, fun, super simple, and very beautiful, I can’t think of another game like it for the iOS to sum it all up in a sentence. However that’s not exactly what I am here for as of now, but for a massive preview of Gears! So, what do you say? Let’s get started!!
When you first launch Gears, you’re greeted with a nice, yet simple screen that gives you access to everything you need. As you can tell from the screenshot above, you can choose to play Gears, choose what world or level you’d like to play, change the options, or tap on “Help” if you need any help. If you’re not a fan of a touch-based control system and would like an added challenge, you can stitch to a tilt-based control system under the options if you would like too. As an added bonus to the tilt-based control system, you earn extra points for the added difficulty which is pretty nifty if you want to boost your highscores. Gears also comes with 4 different difficulty modes ranging from Easy, Normal, Hard, and “Brutal!” to give you the best gameplay experience.

Along with the stunning graphics, Gears comes with 27 levels spread across 3 very unique worlds that each pose a new challenge and a stunning view. There are various barriers in the game that you must conquer so you may finish the level such as going down a flight of stairs, hopping to and from gears, rolling on thin bridges, and more. With all of those factors combined, Gears poses a fun, simple, yet challenging gameplay that will keep you going for hours.

Along with that, Gears also boasts online leaderboards and achievements thanks to GameCenter integration which is pretty sweet. At the time of the writing, GameCenter showed no achievements because Gears has not “officially” been released, I think. So, when Gears is officially released on the 28th (next week), it’s safe to say that you will be able to earn achievements to boost your GameCenter ego.

Like I’ve said before, the graphics are absolutely stunning, even if it’s on an older device that doesn’t have the Retina Display. Gears comes with Retina Display support for the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G and will be compatible with the iPad 1 and iPad 2 as well, I believe. With the vast number of challenges, difficulty levels, and more, it’s safe to say that Gears will keep you playing for hours upon hours. Crescent Moon Games has told me that Gears will launch on April 28th which is next week, and at only a mere special launch price of $0.99. After the special launch price, Gears will go up to $2.99, so pick it up fast!

Rating:

I could say a lot more about Gears and go on for hours, however, I’ll let the 200+ screenshots do the work for me…And as they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, well, I think these pictures are worth 2,000 a piece…

Getting sick and tired of your iPhone 4′s current case and want to spice it up or just got a brand new iPhone 4 and want to get a really nice case for it? Well, look no further, because Auzentech has sent me their i.Fuzen HP-1 Dual Audio, Backup Power, and Hard Shell Case for iPhone 4 (we’ll just go with i.Fuzen HP-1) for an exclusive hands on and preview — and let me tell you, this case pretty sweet. So, continue on below for our exclusive hands-on, preview, giveaway (later on in the year!), and review of the i.Fuzen HP-1.

Right off the bat when I started take the case out of the packaging and get a feel for the it, I was immediately impressed with the way it looked in person and how it fit very well in my hand. While I was impressed with how well it fit in my hand, the case also felt very sturdy and reliable as well. One of the nicest features about this case, is that it’s a plastic hard shell case which will protect your iPhone 4 from any drops and such. The case also elevates the iPhone a little, so if you happen to spill some water, soda, beer, or whatever you may be drinking it won’t get on your iPhone and make it short-circuit (basically won’t get to the internal parts of the iPhone, thus keeping it from now frying) which is really nice is your prone to spilling liquids.

Not only is the i.Fuzen HP-1 a hard shell case to protect your iPhone from drops, it also doubles as a backup power source. Yes, that’s right, it also doubles as a backup power source. Pretty amazing, right? According to the website, the i.Fuzen HP-1 will practically double your iPhone 4′s battery life. On the subject of this, the i.Fuzen HP-1 has four battery level indicators so you can now how much juice is in the backup battery. If you’re into the technical side of things, the battery runs at 1650mAh and is a lithium polymer battery. So, if you’re on the go a lot or going on vacation this case will come in handy for those long plane flights or if you’re not near a outlet to charge your iPhone 4.

But wait, it still gets even better, which is pretty unbelievable — I know. So, let’s say you just downloaded some new Justin Bieber song (just kidding, don’t do that, it may brick your iPhone 4), or Rebecca Black’s “Friday” song (just kidding, don’t do that either, it’ll make your ears bleed uncontrollably), or actually something good like The Beetles or Pink Floyd and wanted to show your friend while you’re listening to the song through your ear buds? Well, there’s no need to worry about that. The i.Fuzen HP-1 features dual audio jack ports that allows you to share music with your friends. Not only does it feature dual audio jack ports, it also has a few other goodies hidden along with the dual audio jack ports. Here’s some more details listed below.

• Proprietary Auzentech Headphone Amplifier.
• ZX-Driver provides Ultra-Low Distortion and Max 180mW output power.
• J-FET OP-AMP to provide Vacuum Tube like sound output.
• Proprietary Auzentech Balanced Power Supply.
• Sound Mode, Selector button & Status Indicator.
• Touch panel volume control.

i.Fuzen HP-1 also allows to sync your iPhone 4 to iTunes, along with recharged the backup battery as well as your iPhone 4′s battery too all without needing to take off the case. How is this so? Well, Auzentech has included a mini USB cable that you can plug into your i.Fuzen HP-1 that allows you to do all that. Pretty cool right? Also, let’s say the backup battery short circuits, or there’s a manufacturing defect, or something else of that sort. Well, you’re covered. The i.Fuzen HP-1 comes with one year manufacturer warranty which is pretty sweet as well — so there’s no need to worry about anything of that sort.

As you can tell by the title of this article it says “Preview”, so that obviously says that we’re talking about something before it has been officially released. So what you’ve all been waiting for is for us to tell you the release date. i.Fuzen HP-1 is slated to be released to the public sometime early next month. Yes, that’s right, sometime early next month. Now, onto the price which is a different story to say the least….

With features like these comes one helluva price — and this is exactly what the i.Fuzen HP-1 does. Pre-orders start at $129.99 per case, which is one helluva price and biggest downside to the case. While I do understand that with awesome and great features comes a huge price tag, however, you want to be able to make it affordable to everyone or at least a good percentage of your potential customers. To me, a better price would be anywhere from $90 to $100 if that it is possible for the company. I also understand the company needs to make a profit as well, so, this is a tough call in the end.

Final Score and Comments – 4/5 Stars

All in all, the i.Fuzen HP-1 packs a lot of features, however, the price is astronomical. But even though the price is astronomical, the features still make up for it. Now $129.99 is a lot of money to spend on a case, however, if you can afford it, go and pack up your i.Fuzen HP-1 as soon as you can, it won’t let you down at all. The backup battery is really helpful if you’re traveling long distances, the hard shell case is great plus very protective, and the dual audio jacks are amazing. While I’d love to give the i.Fuzen HP-1 case a nice 5/5 stars, I simply can’t because of the price — so the i.Fuzen HP-1 comes in at 4/5 stars. The bottom line: the i.Fuzen HP-1 is the best case for the iPhone 4, it won’t ever let you down, and is simply great.

i.Fuzen HP-1 is slated to be released early next month AND we’ll have a giveaway!

iPhone dock

Well folks, the developers of Squid Kid which we showed to you late last month, have updated us with some exclusive screenshots and even a gameplay video as well. This time around also, as you can tell in the gameplay video below, the release date for Squid Kid is March 10th, only 4 days away. other than that we have no new information, however, you can check out the earlier post here.

Just dying for another platform game and can’t get enough? Well, no need to worry about that, because brand new developers to the App Store, Evil Twin Artworks, has sent me some info and screenshots for their very first game called “Squid Kid“. First off, Squid Kid will feature 20 innovative levels across 4 worlds, so that means there will be 5 levels per world. While that’s only a little bit of the information we have as of now, here’s all that we have on hand as of now.

Squid Kid is a new kind of platform game that allows the player to move in any direction and freely swing around levels.

Spend hours swinging and catching baddies, with 20 innovative levels this game gives you plenty of bang for your buck!

Squid Kid is a new aquatic super hero, who hunts down evil fishy crime lords in an attempt to clean up his town.

He has the ability to swing gracefully across great distances, use your initiative and plan your swings to avoid danger and throw bombs. Use pipes that shrink you down to fit through small gaps and avoid the baddies! All against the clock!

Each world has it’s own super villain that you must hunt down and capture. With 4 worlds Squid Kid has his work cut out!

Look out for updates as well as another villain whose name is only spoken in hushed whispers…….

Want a quick glimpse at Opera Mini for the iPad? Well, look no further.

[Daily iPhone Blog]