iApp-A-Day Application Ratings

Since iApp-A-Day has officially ended today I just wanted to go back and give each application a rating out of 10. These ratings are my personal opinion based on my preferences and the time I spent with the application. Let me know what you think.

1 = Garbage 5 = Average 10 = Amazing

Pumpkin – 5/10
Magic – 5/10
Fall – 5/10
Melt – 6/10
Burp – 7/10
Pumped – 2/10
Poke – 1/10
Graffiti – 8/10
Uncle – 1/10
Whisper – 8/10
Quest – 7/10
Rose – 0/10
Scribble – 4/10
Interval – 6/10
Panic – 3/10
Midterm – 7/10
Elmo – 4/10
Collage – 4/10
Level – 5/10
Hockey – 8/10
Sleigh – 5/10
Mixup – 7/10
Songbird – 7/10
Leftover – 9/10
Bard – 2/10
World – 6/10
Piano – 5/10
Wallpaper – 9/10
Hum – 3/10
Bonk – 2/10
Drum – 5/10

iApp-A-Day (Day 30) "Drum"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is the final app from Sean Heber and it is called “Drum.” Drum isn’t what you would expect for the final app from Sean but I don’t blame him for just wanting to be done with it. Drum is just a basic application in which you place your finger on the drum and shake the iPhone like you are holding a drum stick. It’s a pretty cool idea but nothing special. Check the screen and check back for my score of every single app from iApp-A-Day.

Boom Boom Rocket – 5 Free Songs

On December 16th 5 new songs will be released for Boom Boom Rocket, they will in fact be free for the 16th only, any day thereafter they will be 250 ms points so make sure you mark your calendar to pick up some free songs.

iApp-A-Day (Day 29) "Bonk"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is called “Bonk.” Bonk is a very lame application at this point in the iApp life. You have some colored circles on the screen that make sounds when they hit each other and the sides. I snapped some screenshots of the app and then uninstalled it right after. I’m thinking that Sean has a legitimate excuse for todays crap app and I am hoping that excuse is because he is working on a really great app for “iApp-A-Day November” to go out on a bang with. So with my fingers crossed I am waiting for tomorrows app to bring to the table what Bonk took away.

*Check back in the next few days for my ratings of every single app created by Sean Heber for iApp-A-Day.

Grand Theft Auto IV Box Art Revealed

Revealed yesterday by Rockstar was the official box art for Grand Theft Auto IV. This box art continues with the same style and layout of the previous 3 GTA games. I’ve always liked the art style of the GTA franchise so I am very satisfied with this box art. Rockstar also released a “Box Art” trailer to go along with the revealing of the official box art. Watch the trailer below.

iApp-A-Day (Day 28) "Hum"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is called “Hum.” Hum is a very unique application. I don’t know how I can explain it correctly but I will try. There is 10 sliding adjustment bars that you move to create different “sci-fi” sounds. Not very useful to me but maybe to others. The only way to fully understand this application is to just download it for yourself…or check the screens.

iApp-A-Day (Day 27) "Wallpaper"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is probably one of my favorites. This app shows what other iPhone users have as their background. All you do is turn on the app, click okay to confirm that you know anyone can see your background and then just watch as the different backgrounds come and go. When you see one you like just tap it and choose “Use as Wallpaper.” The picture you chose will then be your wallpaper. For some odd reason the wallpaper will not save so once you change it you will not be able to go back to it. I wish this was possible as there is some really cool wallpapers out there that I would like to add to my collection. Maybe it will be added in a future update. Reading this Sean? Other than that this application is probably in my top 5 favorites from iApp-A-Day.

**Wallpaper has been updated this morning (11/28) and you now have the option to save the wallpapers to your camera roll. The application is officially perfect.

ScummVM for iPhone! (Yes you read that right)

Yes my friends, today is a glorious day. Today is the day that the amazing ScummVM is released for iPhone. This wonderful program which is made to play LucasArts classics is now fully compatible with the iPhone. It works natively and is very easy to install. All you must do is go into Installer, tap Sources, then tap Edit, and then tap Add then type this url in the space provided: http://urbanfanatics.com/scummvm.xml It’s that easy. Then just go into Recent Packages and download it. Now you’re all set to play some great LA classics such as “Day of the Tentacle”, “Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis”, and even “Sam & Max: Hit the Road.” Yes it may seem too good to be true but this is very true. ScummVM works very well on the iPhone and one may even think they were made for each other. So go out and celebrate, download ScummVM and get your LucasArts freak on. I do have a source for some LA games so just email me and I will give you the link. Just make sure you do it legally…blah, blah, blah. If you have any questions, just email me at YNFVGB@gmail.comAlso make sure you go visit the ScummVM iPhone Wiki at http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/IPhone#Installation for a list of games that work and the controls for using the program.

iApp-A-Day (Day 26) "Piano"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is called “Piano.” Piano is a simple app just like the rest and the name says it all, it is a piano. But this piano is special because it plays 8-bit notes. It has 7 white keys and 5 black. It does support multi-touch for the people who will actually try to impress their friends with it. I’m curious if anyone can actually play an 8-bit song on it like Mario Bros. That would be very impressive. This is worth a download. Make sure you check out the screen.

Another Welcomed Addition…

Hello everyone, I just want to introduce our third and final writer for the time being, Jim Anton. I know all of you will enjoy his posts and don’t forget to check back for his outlook on many different things. You never know when and what he may write and that is what makes his posts so interesting. So make sure to welcome Anton to the YNFVGB family.

a $200 bookmark??

With all of the Kindle hubbub about, it may have been easy to miss the latest product release from Amazon…Released as a sister product to the Kindle, the aMark (short for ‘Amazon Bookmark’) is an electronic bookmark which, in addition to other features, allows direct access to Amazon’s online megastore using the same EDVO network as the Kindle. A customized web interface for aMark users is planned for release in May. Like its sister, the aMark includes access to Wikipedia.

iApp-A-Day (Day 25) "World"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is titled “World.” World is a picture app just like Burp, Quest, Collage and so on but this time it adds a little twist. You have the option to take a picture and publish it like all the other apps but when you go to view the pictures it shows a world map and marks with a red dot where the picture came from. I am not sure what kind of “GPS” it uses to locate where you are and I am not sure how accurate it is. Use this app at your own risk just like all the other picture apps. Check the screen.
*After checking Sean Heber’s blog I can confirm that there is no GPS involved all you do is choose where you are in the world by tapping on that location on the map.

What I've Been Playing…demos, demos, demos…and Wii

I came home for Thanksgiving Break and over the break I met up with Kurt Roberts, the other author of YNFVGB and long-time close friend. We decided to play as much as possible for the 3 hours we spent together. During those hours we briefly touched on 10 games/demos. I will go through the games and tell you my thoughts. The first game we started with was “Calling All Cars.” I watched Kurt play CAC for about 5 minutes. I love the art style but just by watching couldn’t tell the object of the game. Next was “Everyday Shooter,” the game is pretty cool but he didn’t play it long enough for me to get into it. Next on the list was “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.” I sat down and played the demo for about 15 minutes. I really enjoyed it. I thought the graphics were amazing and all the controls and movements felt very fluid. If I had a PS3 this would be the game that I would pick up first. Next I watched him play a little “Ratchet & Clank” which I thought looked great but I never really got into the previous R&C games so I wasn’t very interested. Next on the plate was the “Heavenly Sword” demo. This game did catch my attention for a while. I loved the playable scene of her sliding down the large ropes. I was very impressed. Then we headed over to Xbox 360 and played some “Undertow.” I came into the game knowing that it had recieved good reviews and because I knew that it compelled me to continue on and find out what was so great about the game. I did enjoy the time I spent with it and will download it when I get home to my Xbox. Next we played the “HL2: Episode 2″ demo. I own the game and personally adore it. Kurt is new to the HL franchise and said while playing the demo that he likes it better than Halo. No arguments there. Next we played the second demo for “Blacksite: Area 51.” In this demo there were two playable levels, one where you are in a helicopter for the whole level and another one where you are in Rachel, NV. I enjoyed both levels and still believe that it might be worth a purchase. After that we decided to bust out the Wii and play some “Resident Evil: Umbrella Chornicles.” This game was interesting. It is a shooter on rails and most of the levels are taken from the previous games. It’s fun in short bursts. Lastly I had Kurt play some “Super Mario Galaxy.” He enjoyed it and said it was growing on him. That was everything we touched on last night. I had a great time and I am glad that I got to try out all the different games. Now I just wish they would release and Assassins Creed demo…are you scared that we might not like it Ubisoft?

iApp-A-Day (Day 24) "Bard"

Todays app from iApp-A-Day is titled “Bard.” Bard is really just “Shakespearean Hangman.” All you have to do is complete the quote from Shakespeare’s work. If you guess a wrong letter he will appear, if you guess too many he will be hanged. If your not a fan of Shakespeare then you will have no need to download this application. The screens below are about as much as you’ll need to see of the app.

iApp-A-Day (Day 23) "Leftover"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is called “Leftover.” Leftover is a very handy application that helps you keep track of your finances. You select a category and then add the amount of money you have available to spend for it. For example: Groceries $200. Then everytime you buy groceries you type in the total amount you spent and it will tell you how much you have left to spend on groceries. You can use it many different ways. Instead of using specifics you can just write “Money Available” and just subtract from the total. I personally will get much use out of this app and would vote this the most useful app so far. Check the screens below.

iApp-A-Day (Day 22) "SongBird"

Todays app from iApp-A-Day is of course Thanksgiving themed and is called “SongBird”. SongBird is a very basic but very funny application. You shake the iPhone to make the Turkey start moving and a random song from your iPod will play while he sings and dances. It actually made me laugh for a while because a song by “The Hives” came up and he looked like he was having fun singing and dancing. Download it for a little laugh and check the screens below. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

ModMyiFone Installer Source

ModMyiFone has finally decided to create an Installer source. I think this is a great idea on their part because they have some many cool themes out there on the forums and downloads section. To make this source available all you have to do is go to Installer, click on the Sources tab and then clikc “Edit” and “Add” and add this link in there. http://modmyifone.com/installer.xml Then you’re all set. All you have to do is go into Install and it will be there as a source now. After I added ModMyiFone as a source I noticed that there were two new folders labeled “MMi Summerboard” and “ModMyiFone.com”. There is one theme in the MMi folder now which is totally lame so don’t bother downloading it. Not such a great theme to set off the new MMi source. Check the screens below.

iApp-A-Day (Day 21) "MixUp"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is titled “MixUp”. MixUp is basically just tiles with letters on them and you have to create the hidden word from them. Very simple, very easy, but addictive none the less. Check the screens, they speak for me.

iSolitaire

iSolitaire is available from Installer as I write this and has been since yesterday. It’s about time someone took the time to make a Solitaire app. I am very satisfied with this app, it’s smooth and it looks and feels good. The cards drag smoothly when you are moving them from place to place and everything works great. Check the screens below.

ScreenShot Update

ScreenShot for iPhone has been updated and now lets you choose the file type (.png, .jpg, etc.) and also the file path of where you want the photos to go. Last but not least the update lets you choose where you want the icons for ScreenShot to be placed. The app was great but now it’s even better. Thanks for the update Robota.

iApp-A-Day (Day 20) "Sleigh"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is named “Sleigh.” Sleigh is a game that is fun and simple. Just tilt the iPhone to move Santa and his sleigh back and forth while trying to dodge the falling icicles. That’s basically it. I would say it’s a little early for Christmas but that’s fine, hopefully we’ll get some Turkey apps before Thursday. Enjoy the screens.

Win a Free Game from YNFVGB!!!

Do you like free games? I know I do. Well, we are giving a free Xbox 360 game away to one lucky winner. To have a chance to win this game all you have to do is sign up for the Call of Duty 4 Death Match that will be happening December 1st at 9PM EST. To sign up you must send me an email at YNFVGB@gmail.com with your name, gamertag, and a comment about what you like about the site. Then be on COD 4 at 9PM EST and we will play a Death Match (match length and rules to be determined), the winner of that Death Match will receive his/her choice of a free game. You may choose between Blue Dragon, Crackdown, Forza 2, Gears of War, Shadowrun, Tenchu Z, or Viva Pinata. So mark your calendars to get a chance to play with CrownOfThornz and Kurt Roberts and also win a free game. We will have more opportunities to win free games so if you can’t participate in this one don’t worry. Email me with any questions.

iApp-A-Day (Day 19) "Hockey"

Todays app from iApp-A-Day is named “Hockey.” Hockey is probably one of my favorite apps from Sean Heber. It is an air hockey game for 2 players. You set the iPhone down on a flat surface and both put your fingers on the screen. Then you move the “paddle” with your finger. The only problem is that it might feel a little cramped with both players huddling over the iPhone and also the “paddles” sometimes move slower than your finger. Lastly a “warning” screen pops up every time you take your finger off of the iPhone. All faults aside this is a great application, it’s easy to see past the things that aren’t perfect. If you are a fan of air hockey, which I am, then you will love this app. So grab a friend and play some hockey.

iPhone Mini?!

Alex Westerh sent me some pictures of the iPhone car that he made in Forza 2. He picked a great car to work with, my personal favorite. Minis and iPhones, what a great mix. It’s pretty sweet. Check it out…

iApp-A-Day (Day 18) "Level"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is called “Level.” Level is just what the name implies, a “leveler.” Set it on a surface to see if that surface is truly level or not. Probably not so handy for most people, but may be very handy for others. Go around your house and see what stuff is level and what is not, it’s loads of fun! Check the screens.

iApp-A-Day (Day 17) "Collage"

Today’s iPhone application from iApp-A-Day is “Collage.” Collage is similar to “Midterm” but it lets you take a picture or write a note right through the application by tapping on the screen and then it posts them in a collage. So basically it’s real-time picture and text posting to a black screen in which you can scroll to view all of it. I couldn’t get a decent picture of the application at work because of people posting vulgar things. So use at your own risk.

Spider-man Trilogy on Blu-Ray

Greetings!
I had the chance to sit down and check out the Spider-man Trilogy on Blu-Ray.
Spider-man 1: Unfortunately for a big studio release, of a movie that was high profile and not that old, this transfer is kinda weak. Oddly enough it was filmed in a different aspect ratio than 2 and 3, which is kinda odd and seems to have a veil of grain. Anyway, it still looks good, better than regular dvd, but not nearly as impressive as it should. For whatever reason, the first few waves of Blu-Ray movies are not the big upgrades that they should be. The Fifth Element was so bad that Sony quietly re-released it with a much improved transfer. (Hd-dvd has been more consistent) Anyways:
Spider-man 2: A much bigger improvement, almost as good as 3. The daylight action scenes in these movies are amazingly clear.

Spider-man 3: Simply Amazing, to the point of looking 3-D. Great transfer, on par with Transformers on HD-Dvd. Not a single speck of dust, grain, or distortion. This is one to show off your system, even if the movie itself isn’t as good as the others. Below is an example of just how much more detailed HD is over normal DVD: Click for bigger versions.

2 for 1 @ Amazon

Head on over to amazon.com and purchase Bioshock, one of the years best games, and get the Darkness for free! ($49.99 Total Purchase, no tax, no shipping) On amazon, scroll down to “Best Value” and click the “Buy Both and Save” button. -Not sure when this deal runs out.

iRadio Update

Today iRadio was given a nice new face lift. It looks very similar to the new Installer layout. I am liking it a lot. It also has a new Genre selection page in which you can pick the Genre of your choosing and then it brings you to the stations that specialize in that Genre. I suggest you go and download this application as it is such a great thing to have the radio on your iPhone. Feast your eyes on the screens below.

iApp-A-Day (Day 16) "Elmo"

Today’s app from iApp-A-Day is called “Elmo.” This app is based on “Tickle Me Elmo.” All you do is rub your finger across Elmo and the phone vibrates and he laughs. It’s simple, but for some reason I like it. There is something addictive about it. I find myself saying “Hey, maybe I should take a break from work and go tickle Elmo.” As long as my boss doesn’t find out I should be good. Check out the screens below.

Technical Difficulties

Sorry, I am having problems sending screen shots to my email so I am not going to be able to give you the latest iApp-A-Day app rundown…but as soon as I get things working I will post. Hopefully that will be sometime soon.

Assassins Creed causing much controversy…

I was browsing through Joystiq when I came upon a very interesting post that is along the lines of what I have been posting here. The question that everyone is wondering…”Is Assassins Creed worth my money?” I’ve read mostly negative reviews but we do still have many people sticking up for it. One of those people is Gabe from Penny Arcade. To read the original Joystiq post click here and then click here to read Gabe’s opinion on his Penny Arcade blog.

*Reader discretion is advised

Deep Discount

WARNING: The following deal has the ability to deplete your bank account, and has done so for me for the past couple years. Every June and November deepdiscount.com has a special 20% off sale. What’s the big deal? They have the best prices to begin with and no shipping; and that’s BEFORE the 20% off. So go shopping, setup an account, add things to your cart or start a ‘wishlist.’ The site carries Movies, Music, Books, and Games, but the 20% only applies to DVDs, Posters, Fun Stuff, and Storage Accessories. (No pre-orders)
When checking out there will be a coupon text bank to enter one of the following codes to get the 20%: (1 time use each) DVDTALK,USATODAY,NYTIMES,SUPERSALE
Sale ends on the 25th of Nov. Like I warned you before, this sale is addictive!
Great deals to be had on some new releases like Shrek 3, Spiderman Trilogy on Blu-Ray, TV Show Box Sets, you name it!

SeaMonkey Specialist

Greetings Folks!
This is Kurt and I’m honored to be asked by Pat to contribute to the awesomeness of this here blog. Since I was younger I have been passionate about cinema, gaming and music. I credit Pat with getting me back into gaming for the past 2 generations of consoles; many nights spent playing Mario Kart, Halo, Splinter Cell, and XIII on the cube.

So anyway, Pat has asked me to contribute items relating to the following: Deals in relation to Gaming, Movies, and Home Theatre. As a Christian you won’t see me posting any deals that require methods that are shady or ‘abusing the system’, like you see on other sites- only legit deals and sales. I’ll also be doing reviews and release date updates for DVD, HD-dvd, Blu-Ray, PS3, 360, Wii, and maybe a few albums here and there. (I have posted some links on the sidebar including my movie collection and my personal blog)

Pat keeps this place rolling along with tons of info, and it’s going to get even more fast paced- so hold on and enjoy! Feel free to comment or send me a message - PEACE

A Welcomed Addition…

I would like to “pre-introduce” one of my good friends that will be joining me in giving you guys the latest news and thoughts on everything from video games to seamonkeys. His name is Kurt Roberts, he is a long time friend and one that I have counted on to give me fresh info about things that I believe you guys would really appreciate. That is why I asked him to join in posting for YNFVGB. He will be blogging about anything and everything but will be specializing in subjects such as the Playstation 3, Movies, Electronics, and the one thing that matters…good deals. He will make sure to keep you up-to-date with the latest deals for movies, music, and video games. So check back often to make sure you don’t miss out on anything good.

Wii Zapper!

The Wii Zapper…who knew that people would be so opinionated about such a cheap plastic white gun shaped thing that connects the two things to each other and stuff like that. No but lets be serious here, in all honesty I’m not sure why some people are so uptight about it. In my opinion Link’s Crossbow Training is probably going to be worth the $20 that the Zapper cost. In addition to that you can use it to enjoy games such as MOH: Heroes 2, RE: Umbrella Chronicles, and Ghost Squad. It’ll give those games a good arcade feel. The Zapper will be released Monday November 19th with Link’s Crossbow Training for $20. So I would say to everyone out there, go pick the Zapper up, I think it will be worth it.

iApp-A-Day (Day 15) "MidTerm"

Today’s app available from iApp-A-Day is named “MidTerm.” MidTerm is a very unique application that combines Whisper, Quest, and Graffiti all in one app. It is only for viewing but it is a great application. Random posts from Whisper, Quest and Graffiti will show up and refresh at different rates so that you can see and hear some pretty random things together. Check out the pictures below to get a better understanding.

The XCast Community

I just want to let you guys know that the guys over at The XCast Community were kind enough to let me start blogging for them. They have a podcast on iTunes which you should go check out as soon as you get a chance. I will be blogging for The XCast Community at www.theman661.com. Make sure you check it out! But don’t forget about YNFVGB as I will still be posting as much as possible here. So Please support both the sites and spread the word to everyone you know and we really appreciate all of you guys who do read our blogs. Everyone who has read about YNFVGB through XCast, welcome to the site and I hope you enjoy it enough to come back daily. Thanks everyone!

*My email at XCast is patrick@theman661.com feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or ideas for the site.

Assassins Creed…7.0 or 10?

So I am looking through an email I received from Ubisoft. Basically it was an advertisement for Assassins Creed. I noticed in the advertisement that GamesRadar gave Assasins Creed a 10 out of 10. GamePro gave it a 5 out of 5 and we have Game Informer that gave it a 9.5 out of 10. So that poses the question…who do you trust? I would like to believe that Game Informer and GamePro are viable sources for trustworthy information. GamesRadar hasn’t been in the mix too long so just count them out. So what do you do in a situation like this. As you can see from my previous post we have two very different sides here. Do you think some people just score games good to get in the advertisement? That may be the case. I would think that would be a good way to get your name out there, even if you are wrong. I guess if you really want the game then you trust the sources that gave it a good score. Any opinions?

iApp-A-Day (Day 14)

Today’s app is probably what the man behind iApp-A-Day is is going through right now. In fact, his mugshot is even in the app. Today’s app is called “Panic.” You push the panic button and it shows a mugshot of Sean while he screams and the iPhone shakes. Thats it.

Assassins Creed, Blacksite: Area 51, and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Reviews

I’ve always been skeptical of Assassins Creed from the start. IGN finally posted a review of the game which got a 7.7 which in this time of the holiday season with all the new great games coming out that score is really bad. But I hear that Game Informer gave it a 9.5 so I guess we’ll have to see what thats all about. Also I just read now that 1Up is giving it a 7.0 and TeamXbox gives it a 7.9. I’m glad I waited. I guess maybe they might pull me in a little if the release a demo but I’m staying away from it for now even though it might be hard because it looks like such a beautiful game. You can read the full review from IGN here or you can just watch the video review below. Also Blacksite:Area 51 recieved it’s first review from 1Up which they gave it a 6.0 which is horrible and IGN gave it a 6.4…oh man. What will I buy now?? I am a little sad about that one because I have been looking forward to Blacksite for a while now. I haven’t made up my mind though…maybe I’ll still pick it up, or maybe I should just get Assassins Creed instead seeing that it got better reviews. Last but not least we have Kane and Lynch: Dead Men which received a 7.0 from IGN and a 7.5 from 1UP. All very disappointing scores from three games that looked like they could really do good.

Turok Demo

I picked up my Turok demo today along with Super Mario Galaxy. Now let me tell you a little bit about Turok. I’ve never played a Turok game in my life but I always thought it was a very interesting concept. I love the Jurassic Park movies so hey, this game should be great right? Not the case for this demo. I really really want it to work but the demo just doesn’t cut it for me. Unless they really pick up the pace and it ends up being a surprisingly good game then I will not be buying this game. Yes, I preordered it but only for the demo and T-Shirt which I can use for sleeping in. Anyways, I started the demo in a dark cave that very much reminded me of King Kong which I didn’t enjoy either. The whole time I was killing annoying raptors my artificially unintelligent colleague wouldn’t shut up about how bad he hates the dark and crawling in the dark and also was very selfish when the bridge collapsed on me and I had to find a new way out. He said he wasn’t going to wait for me if I took too long. I couldn’t wait to get out of the cave and see some beautiful Far Cry type jungle. Well, the jungle just reminded me of King Kong again, nothing snazzy, sort of boring. I only saw one human during my time with the demo, maybe I just didn’t get far enough. I sort of lost interest quickly. I’m also curious to see if there will be big changes in the areas you play in throughout the game or if it’s all just jungle. All in all the demo changed my mind about giving Turok a try. Maybe they can pull something off but I can already see it not getting that great of a score. I guess time will tell.

Turok and Super Mario Galaxy….what?

I picked up Super Mario Galaxy tonight and while I was at it I preordered Turok for 360 so that I could take the demo for a spin. I haven’t gotten to play either of them yet because I’m posting about…them…I’m out…

iApp-A-Day (Day 13) – Interval

Todays app from iApp-A-Day is named “Interval.” Interval is a countdown program that tells you exactly how long until the date of your choosing. It’s a great app but for some reason you can’t save your countdown. After you close the app it starts back at zero next time you open it. So it’s a one shot deal. I would say it’s worth the download. Check out the pics.

private/var/root/Media/DCIM/100APPLE

So I was checking a million forums and came up with the destination path to the photos. The destination path is private/var/root/Media/DCIM/100APPLE. So if you want to take screenshots of your iPhone then download “ScreenShot” via Installer.app. Set the “destination path” to the path that I found. Then once you take a screen shot it will go to this folder. For some reason it will not show up when you go to Photos. So, I used MobileFinder which is available via Installer.app also and I just find the folder of the photo and use the send command to send it to my email. It isn’t too complicated, but Dock might still be simpler. I just don’t know. Also, “ScreenShot” is a little buggy and might freeze every once in a while. But I can’t say that’s a fact because my iPhone has be crashing and freezing a lot lately.

Super Mario Galaxy…

I stopped at GameStop yesterday after work and there were no more SMG’s. So I “preordered” it and he said I would be guaranteed one for tomorrow (which is today). So I will make sure I pick it up and devour it when I get home. Initial thoughts on it tomorrow. Anyone else?

Lunch Break .9

I am having some technical difficulties with my iPhone. I usually use “Dock” to take snap shots of my screen but a new program was released today called ScreenShot. It is a very nifty program to me because the only reason I was using Dock was for the snap shot feature. Now I have this ScreenShot program so I don’t need Dock. Well, this ScreenShot program is being a little stubborn. I can’t email the photos. I can manually go on and take them off but that takes time and I just want to be able to email them in a snap. Also, they do not save to the photos folder. They are located in \tmp. Which I can’t even find. There is an option to change the “Destination Path” but I can’t figure out what to change it to. I tried everything and it won’t let me. Does anyone know the exact path to the photos folder? If so please let me know. I want to fix this so I can continue to post iPhone pics. Or I could just redownload Dock but I want to make this work. Please help if you know something more. As for the iApp-A-Day app post….it’s coming soon.

Lunch Break .8

Super Mario Galaxy releases today. I’ll make sure to pick it up after work although I’m paranoid because I didn’t preorder it. That might not matter though. I finished Half-Life 2: Episode 1 which I will post my thoughts on in a later post. I started HL2: Ep 2 right after. Also I have been playing COD4. The single player campaign was a little tricky at times for me and I am playing it on normal difficulty. I’m only past the second level so we will see. Also I think it has to do with going right from HL2 to COD4. Two very differently paced games. I also enjoyed some Halo 3 “King of the Hill” with a friend and my wife. My wife won 5 out of 6 times. She is that good. If anyone wants to join us in a game of “King of the Hill” or anything else then just send us a request. If you didn’t know my wife’s GT is CrownzWifey.

iApp-A-Day (Day 12)

Todays app from iApp-A-Day is called “Scribble.” This application is similar to the “Sketches” application and is a little lacking. Sean Heber, the guy behind the stated in the iApp-A-Day forum that he didn’t exactly have the amount of time that he wanted to be able to make this app cooler. What the app does is draws a line and you direct where you want it to draw depending on where you tilt the iPhone. The faster and steeper you tilt it, the more spread apart the “dots” are. The slower you tilt it the more close the “dots” are. You can see what I mean in the picture below. You can also change colors or email the drawing to someone.

My Current iPhone Layout

Today I want to rep my current iPhone layout. I have a wallpaper from thememyiphone.com and the layout and icons are designed my Louie Mantia. Props to Louie for releasing some pretty sweet icons. If you guys think you have a better layout then why don’t you email me a screenshot of it to ynfvgb@gmail.com I’ll post the best layout on the blog.

iApp-A-Day (Day 11)

Today’s application from iApp-A-Day is probably the most lame of them all. I’m not sure I even see the point of it. This applications name is “Rose.” There isn’t really much to say about it as the picture below speaks for it. This application is supposed to represent a rose in some way and it moves. There is no interaction the rose just moves. It’s hard to explain but don’t bother downloading it to find out what I mean, take my word for it.

iApp-A-Day (Day 10)

Today’s application available from iApp-A-Day is called “Quest.” Quest is basically like the “Burp” application with a little twist. Instead of taking pictures of food you are taking pictures of what the iPhone tells you to. For instance, I chose to accept a mission and it asked me to take a picture of something at work. Very simple. If it turns out like the”Burp” app did then people will be posting vulgar pictures on it from day one. I personally will steer clear of this app. But for all else, use at your own risk.

The Weekend.

As you may see over there on the side, I posted two new polls. For the previous poll Microsoft was voted “Most Likely to Release Their Next-Gen Console Before the Other Two.” The next polls are “Which would you rather see done with the Portal Gun” and “What game do you think deserves Game of the Year.” I understand that some of the games in the game of the year poll are not yet released that’s why I gave you a full month to vote. But if you’ve made up your mind and nothing can change it then go ahead and vote. Last but not least, for all those Portal lovers out there who just can’t get their fill make sure you check out the wonderful flash version of Portal by clicking here. And for all you people who haven’t played it yet, I suggest you check it out because it’s fun none-the-less. Enjoy.

Coming Soon…

Hey guys, make sure you check back later tonight for two new polls and also a look at the new iApp-A-Day application and maybe even some other cool stuff…stay tuned.

Lunch Break .7

Random Notes:

- Switchball recieved an overall score of 8.4 from IGN.com
- Assassins Creed recieved a 10 from GamesRadar.com*
- MOH: Heroes 2 for Wii supports 32 players online
- iPhone update 1.1.2 is available now. Not Installer safe yet. Jailbreak is almost ready.
- My wife owned me 20-4 in COD4 death match last night, I’m not kidding.

*Not confirmed

iRadio

I was looking through the “Recent Packages” section of Installer and came upon “iRadio.” What it is is Internet Radio for the iPhone. I’ve yet to fully experience it becuase once I clicked on a station I couldn’t hear anything. I am currently running over the Edge network so either it doesn’t work over it or it is really slow. I didn’t have the patience to find out. I’ll try it when I get home but if anyone knows more about it feel free to let know how it works.

iApp-A-Day (Day 9)

Today’s app is a very unique application. I think it’s a clever idea. The name of the application is “Whisper.” The point of this app is to whisper a 4 second secret into the phone and random people can hear it anywhere. I listened to a few secrets but most were either in other languages or just random talking. No secrets really. All ina ll this app is really cool and I suggest downloading it just to see for yourself. I can’t wait to see what iApp-A-Day has for the rest of the month.

BlackSite: Area 51

I know I’m a little video happy tonight but here is one more amazing trailer for you guys to eat up. It’s a trailer for BlackSite: Area 51. I have to be honest, I wasn’t really interested in this game until I played the demo. I was immediately hooked. I’ve seen other Area 51 type games but this one is fresh and looks amazing. If you don’t know too much about it make sure you check out the demo that has been up on Xbox Live for a while now and also watch the trailer below. BlackSite will be shipping next week for Xbox 360 so go and pick it up if your impressed.

Super Mario Galaxy Review from the 1UP Show

Below is a clip of this weeks 1UP Show which included a Super Mario Galaxy review. Check it out in the video below. If you haven’t watched the 1UP Show before I highly suggest it. Its on iTunes and there is a new episode every Friday.

Medal of Honor Heroes 2

I was following this game from a while back and it turns out it got a pretty good review from IGN (8.4). If I’m not mistaken you can play the game with the Wii Zapper. Check out the clip from the “City” level below…

Lunch Break .6

Some random facts and opinions:

-Lost could air only 8 of 16 episodes this season. Executive Producer Damon Lindelof says he would rather just not air any until a later date. I agree with him. Do you?

-Mutant Storm Empire is a great XBLA game. It is very hard even on “White Belt” difficulty. But still well worth it.

-Super Mario Galaxy is looking more amazing everyday. That countdown is going oftly slow.

-PS3 Firmware 2.0 being released soon.

-iPhone Firmware update 1.1.2 could be out as soon as tomorrow.

IApp-A-Day (Day 8)

Todays app from IApp-A-Day is called “Uncle.” It is a bobble-head of Apple CEO Steve Jobs. I personally thought it was poorly made as it doesn’t really look like a bobble-head it looks more like a normal picture and his head is cut off and moving back and forth. He also talks every once in a while. That’s about it for that app.

Half Life 1 and Half-Life 2 in 60 Seconds

Lunch Break .5 (COD4)

I played through the first level of Call of Duty 4 last night and I am very excited to play the rest. I kept asking myself “is this really the Call of Duty franchise??” This game is good and I am liking what the change as I knew I would. As for the opening cinema I feel like this game could be a movie. The music and opening scene is so well put together that it’s like your watching a movie. It’s great and I can’t wait for more. Thank you Infinity Ward.

iApp-A-Day (Day 7)

Todays iApp-A-Day present is a new app called “Graffiti.” This app is very cool in my opinion. You just write something and it goes onto a brick wall that has what other people have written. It seems that it refreshes automatically and rotates through posts automatically too so that it isn’t piled high with words that you can’t even read. Someone stated on the brick wall that the app is actually like an “artistic chat room.” This is basically what it is. I would suggest you check it out as its pretty interesting.

Thoughts on Half-Life 2

Last night I triumphantly finished Half-Life 2. What a great game. I know I’m a little late as the game hs been out for a while now but listen to what I have to say. Times that I was playing HL2 I would start to think about the game F.E.A.R. Now F.E.A.R. is a great game, but I started to get bored of it because all the levels were similar if not exactly the same. But here we have HL2 which is so much diversity and not just for each level but inside each level you will experience so many things. In HL2 there is no such thing as the “sewer level” or the “desert level.” Yes you visit the sewers and desert at some point but its not the whole level. Get where I’m coming from? Maybe that was just a minor observation but I also want to state the game is very scary. For me the level in which you are traveling through Ravenholm was pretty scary. I beat the level with only the grav gun which made it a lot harder and probably added to the scariness. Another reason I thought the level was so scary is because the “zombies” were very believable. A head crab attaches to there head and takes over from there. For me this seems like a very believable zombie. That realism gave it the extra touch. I was so happy to see human life after playing that level.

HL2 is the first of the HL series that I played. I feel like I missed a lot of story line and I am very curious what is the deal with some of the people in HL2 but even after missing so much I was still very into the story. This story was so interesting that I actually want to read into HL1 just so I can catch up and I am not one of those people who really cares about game storyline but this was great. I’ve never experienced this kind of captivation in a game other than BioShock. I must say I am glad that I waited this long to enjoy HL2 and I think I picked a really good time to start my HL journey. There are so many great moments in the game that I would love to share with you guys so please feel free to share your favorite moments of HL2 in the comments section of this post. Thank you.

*I started Episode 1 as soon as I beat HL2. You can read my thoughts on it in future posts.

Lunch Break .4 (Rainy Day)

I was scouring the depths of the deep ocean called the internet trying to find something interesting for todays lunch break. On this rainy day in November it was pretty hard, it seems like nothing too exciting is going on other than one very important news article I was reading. I first heard about it a few days ago on IGN.com and have continued to follow it since then. This news is about the writer’s strike that is in full affect which is affecting many TV shows. Some examples include Heroes, LOST, and 24. I think it’s better for you to go and visit this link here and read the full story for yourself. I really hope all goes well and that a good solution will arise through this before anything else gets out of hand.

iApp-A-Day (Day 6)

Today iApp-A-Day released “Poke.” Poke is basically a picture of George W. Bush in which you “poke” to hear him say something. Some of the responses are pretty funny, but after about 5 or so pokes you start to hear the same responses. It is a short lived app but I could see some people really getting a kick out of it. As for me, it’s already off my phone.

GRAW 2 DLC

The last post was going to be it for the night but I decided to do some research on some news I had heard several days ago about new DLC for GRAW 2. I am a big fan of GRAW and was very happy to hear this even through the midst of all the other FPS goodness. To make the story short there will be 5 new Co-op modes, 9 new maps, and 250 more achievement points. They say it will be released soon which should be very soon seeing that they said end of October or early November. It is not confirmed yet if it will be free or not. You can read more about the new maps and modes here. While I was doing my research I also found out about another DLC pack for GRAW 2 which is appropriately named “more guns pack.” Which is of course, more guns. This pack is indeed free and includes 7 more guns that can only be used in the Single Player Quick Mission mode. You can read more about it here. Hopefully we will see these new packs arrive sometime this week. Goodnight.

What I've Been Playing..with my wife.

What I’ve been playing…of course you can see it on my gamertag on the side of the site but it feels better to tell you for myself. I’ve been playing Half-Life 2 every chance I get. I usually come home from work and spend time with my wife and then enjoy on average about 2 hours of HL2 a night. Also today I picked up the long awaited Call of Duty 4. I didn’t play much of it just about 10 minutes. That 10 minutes was a death match with my wife. She beat me 8 to 5. That was a true beating too, alright maybe I was a little easy on her. Afterwards we played Mutant Storm Empire. We got through the first world. It is a pretty difficult game. I will give you the full run down of it once we finish it. Lastly we have been playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass a little bit every night. Other than that I play some Halo 3 every once in a while and I still have Stranglehold in queue just waiting for the “Class A” titles to pass. Plus there is still at least 3 more games that I am looking forward to in the next week.

Thoughts on Portal

When I first got The Orange Box I decided that I would play Portal first to get it out of the way because I knew it was going to be a long run through Half-Life 2, Ep.1, and Ep.2 and I knew that I didn’t want to play it in between. So I started Portal first. I had little expectations, only a few things I heard on 1UP Yours where Mark MacDonald said the game was amazing and the writing should be nominated for some kind of award or something. Other than that I wasn’t quit sure what to expect. Well, I was definitely blown away. The game is amazing. It’s so short but so sweet. I didn’t really think the difficulty level progressed at a constant pace but that was fine. Especially when you get to the 19th stage. This stage is mind-boggling. I really couldn’t believe that I knew what to do. The previous levels definitely prepare you for stage 19. If you haven’t played the game then you will see what I mean when you get there. For all you who have beat the game, you probably understand where I am coming from. Looking back at the 19th stage I really couldn’t believe that the creators went so far as to really make you work for the “cake.” I’m not saying that the last level is extremely hard, nor is it really hard, you’re prepared none the less, but after finishing it I really couldn’t believe that I got through it, there are times when you are in that level wondering, what the hell do I do next?!? But then there is some barely noticeable thing that gets you to the next area. Maybe I’m letting my thoughts out with no filter, but I really enjoyed this game.

As for the future of Portal. This game has a future in any direction. They can do a sequel to Portal with no second thoughts and everyone would love it. I was surprised that the game was only 19 stages. I even double-checked to make sure that was correct. I’m actually happy because it was a preview of what could come. I would pay $60 for a 100-level “Portal 2.” They could also go another direction and just implement the portal gun into the next Half-Life. This is a great idea but I would only be content with this if they made a sequel to Portal also. But if it’s either or, then I choose Portal 2. Sorry Half-Life. All-in-all the game is great and I highly suggest it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet. So the question here is…What would you rather have…the Portal gun implemented into the next Half-Life or a true lengthy $60 sequel to Portal?

100 Visitors

Thanks to everyone for making this blog 100 visitors strong. It may be a small feat but I am proud and can’t wait till we reach 1,000. Thank you and…keep ‘em coming!!

Lunch Break .3

Not too much going on in the iPhone world. I hear that Firmware 1.1.2 will be haunting us any day now. The only thing that I know is that it fixes the TIFF exploit so please…don’t update! Learn from the other people who update spontaneously and then whine on the forums (I was one of them at one point).

As for the Xbox news, I’m a little confused about the release of Call of Duty 4. Traditionally games are released on Tuesdays. But all the sites say it will be released today. I also got a call from GameStop saying my pre-order would be available today. So I might just have to confirm that after I finish this post. This Wednesday Switchball and Word Puzzle will be released on XBLA. Switchball definitely caught my eye when I saw the screen shots so I hope that it will turn out to be a great game. The game Mutant Storm Empire that I recently downloaded has not been played yet. I am so wrapped up in finishing Half-Life 2 that I haven’t had time to get with my wife and play MSE. I understand that it is a short game and that is disappointing because I am very siked for it after playing the first few levels. I’m interested in what you guys have to say. Tell me which is your favorite XBLA game in your collection. I will start with the obvious…Assault Heroes. Need I say more?

**After calling GameStop it is confirmed that Call of Duty 4 will be released today. My local GS said specifically that it would be available after 5 or 6 pm.

iApp-A-Day (Day 5)

Pumped, it’s the name of the 5th app available from iApp-A-Day. To tell you the truth i’m not sure what the purpose is. It asks you to fill in information and then displays the information but i’m not sure how this helps you. If anyone knows how this app is helpful let me know. I’m not really interested in it so I haven’t taken the time to look into it. But check out the screenshot people.

iApp-A-Day (Day 4)

The app from iApp-A-Day for today Sunday November 4th is weirdly named “Burp.” Burp is a pretty cool application in which you take a picture of whatever food you are eating. Then other people around the iPhone world can look and see what you are eating. You can also go to the iApp-A-Day site and see some of the foods people are eating. Supposedly this is to help with world hunger. Take a look at the pics and see for yourself.

iApp-A-Day (Day3)

Todays new iPhone app available from iApp-A-Day is named “Melt.” Basically it is just a picture of some ice cubes on the screen and it says to make them melt as fast as possible. At first I wasn’t really sure what to do. Was I supposed to shake it? I wasn’t sure. After a minute or so I realized that you have to rub your finger on the ice cubes back and forth as fast as you can. The longer and faster you do it the faster the ice cubes melt. The first time I did it it took me a while. I think it took me about 80 seconds. The average for everyone is about 50 seconds. After you are done melting the ice cubes a screen pops-up showing “Global Stats.” Its just displays some interesting but random information. This app is pretty cool as there is more to it then just shaking it forever until it snows. I like the fact that they include a timer so that you can try to beat your time. It’s little things like this that make the apps interesting.

Super Mario Galaxy

1up.com has posted their review of Super Mario Galaxy which you can read here. Make sure you go check it out. It received a 9.5 so that confirms that I will in fact have to bust out the Wii that’s been collecting dust under my TV for a couple months now. Thanks Nintendo.

AA: True Soldiers

I downloaded AA: True Soldiers just out of curiosity. I loaded it up and from that point on wished I hadn’t even taken the time to download it. It was pretty bad. I hate to compare it to such a good game but it reminded me of a really, I mean really, bad version of GRAW. And to boot, Ubisoft is publishing it. I think they should really stop wasting time with this game. Unless they plan on selling it for $20 from the start then I don’t think anyone is going to be investing in it.Stay away from this box…

Skate. Reel

I was looking through my videos that I uploaded to the Skate website named “Skate Reel” and I came across one that I uploaded a few weeks ago that really made me laugh. Check it out by clicking here. I think you might get a kick out of it, you can rate it too if you like it. Also if you want to see the other videos I uploaded you can click “CrownOfThornz” on the same site as the video. Let me know what you think.

Lunch Break .2

I woke up this morning and totally forgot about the HD-DVD Player deal at Walmart. After making a few phone calls about 15 minutes ago it was looking pretty bad. The first 4 Walmarts I called were sold out. So I called the friend who told me about it and asked him to call some Walmarts in PA. One place said there were about 4 left and the other said about 9. He’s going to pick me one up from there and I’ll get it when I go home for the Thanksgiving. So if you haven’t jumped on the deal I would suggest you check the Walmarts that are located in lower populated cities or towns. As for iApp-a-Day, today the application called “fall” was released. Another “gag app.” This one shows a picture of a tree with leaves on it and you have to shake the iPhone vigorously to get the leaves to fall off, once they fall off it starts snowing. I wanted to leave it on to see how much it would snow but had to get back to work. If shaking leaves off of trees is one of your favorite childhood past times then this app might be the dream app you’ve been waiting for, otherwise you’ll be uninstalling it 2 minutes after you’ve downloaded it.

Skate.

I know it’s a little late but I just finished my review for Skate for the Xbox 360. You can check this review out by clicking on the link in the sidebar that says “My Video Game Reviews (IGN)”. If you agree with me on the review then make sure you give me a thumbs up. If you don’t agree then do the opposite. There is also a review for BioShock and Super Paper Mario. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Technorati

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Lunch Break

I want to call this post “Lunch Break” as it will happen hopefully everyday during my lunch break. It will include the latest info that I have gathered during my lunch break. So today I got word from a friend that Toshiba will be releasing and HD-DVD player for $99 at Wal-Mart this weekend only. I also hear that it will include the 5 free HDDVDs deal that you send away for. The DVD’s themselves would pay for the cost of the player. I’ve been waiting for something like this so I will make sure to stop by my local Wal-Mart before work tomorrow.

iApp-a-Day

Today around 9:00am iApp-a-Day kicked off their “1 app a day for the whole month of November” deal. I find myself checking installer frequently anyways so this is just another legitimate reason. It seems as the apps will only be mediocre novelty apps. I can tell by the app they released before November which was called “Pumpkin” and was just the face of a pumpkin that moved as you turned your iPhone. It was humorous none the less. But today they released a “Magic 8 Ball” in which you shake to get your answer to life’s questions. Another novelty idea but nothing amazing. I do hope to see some really killer apps pop up sometime this month though. My fingers are crossed.

Halloween

Next week two of my highly anticipated pre-orders will be available for pick up, Call of Duty 4 and Blacksite: Area 51. I have been a loyal fan of Call of Duty ever since PC and was really excited when they put the games on consoles. I think the move to Modern day was a smart move. I know COD4 will be a great game. As for Blacksite, I knew very little about the game until the demo was released on Xbox Live. After about 30 seconds I knew that this was a game that I want to pick up. I really like the style of it, especially the demo level. I really hope the rest of the game is similar. I’ll tell you demos are a great thing. I would have never bought skate if it wasn’t for the demo. I was just hooked once I started playing it. It turned out to be well worth the money too. Another game that might be worth piking up is Assassins Creed. I will wait for the reviews to see if that is really worth my time. It looks awesome I just want to make sure before I buy it. The past few days I’ve been playing Half-Life 2 within The Orange Box. I started with Portal, beat it and now I am about half way through HL2. It’s my first time playing it and I am very satisfied with it. Hopefully I can push through it and complete it before I pick up COD and BS next Tuesday. I’ve also been playing alot of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass which even after hearing people say it is “just another zelda game” I am hooked. I think it is a lot of fun. It feels fresh to me. Then in two weeks I will be picking up Super Mario Galaxy which also looks great. The last game I played on Wii was Super Paper Mario and I wasn’t happy with that game. You can read my review over at IGN through the IGN link on the side of this blog. Last but not least I will make sure to grab some MS Points so I can purchase Mutant Storm Empire which I hope to play through with my wife.