Don’t Make These Birds Angry, Mr. McGee – Angry Birds For iPhone

(written by guest author Tim Giron. follow Tim on Twitter @timgiron)

It’s a war between the birds and the pigs in the action-puzzle game Angry Birds [iTunes $0.99] by Chillingo / Rovio. See, the pigs got all greedy and stole some eggs, then retreated to their fortified shelters. The birds, not ones to take such things lightly, have mobilized an impressive avian army to retaliate.

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Utilizing a challenging two-screen view, the player must fire a series of birds from a slingshot with the goal of eliminating all of the pigs before advancing to the next level. The pigs are dispatched by either hitting them directly with a bird, by causing them to fall or by causing a rock to fall on them. Each bird, knowing this is a one way trip, has also loaded up on black powder causing them to explode after a set amount of time. This can be used to advantage in combination with elements on some of the screens – rest a bird against some explosives and they can cause further damage.

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As you progress through the levels, you pick up new bird types too. You start off with the hard-headed red birds, capable of knocking down any obstacle the pigs can put up. Next up is the smaller blue bird which has the added ability to split like a MIRV while in the air. Time it just right and this terrible trio can take out multiple targets with the same shot. I just cleared level 12 (while grabbing screenshots) and can’t wait to find out what other specialized birds are yet to come.

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Some of the levels are easy and some are dastardly difficult. The smug grunts of the pigs are easily enough to make me want to re-try until I’ve conquered them! The game play is ultra smooth and the projectile physics are very well implemented. Each bird has different flight characteristics which have to be accounted for; luckily they leave a trail so you can make minor adjustments on subsequent shots if necessary. Since you get bonus points for finishing the level before running out of birds, it’s important not to waste too many shots (even though I ultimately cleared level 12 with birds to spare, I probably played it a dozen times before that where I left a single pig alive).

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An online leaderboard and achievement posting to Facebook/Twitter is provided via Chillingo’s own Crystal system. If you have an iPad (this post was written the day before the big launch), there is a new release of this app specifically for the new device. I, for one, can’t wait to see how it looks.

 

April 4, 2010 | Filed Under anti-KRAPPS, Games, Guest Authors | 1 Comment 

Steve Wozniak Waiting Overnight In Line For An iPad [includes pictures]

woz-karina-F Ever since appearing on Dancing With The Stars, we have a new found respect for Steve Wozniak. Screw the co-founded Apple thing … or the US Festival … or contributing to the personal computer revolution … The Woz danced the Tango in competition with a pulled hamstring and a fracture in his foot – that shit is IMPRESSIVE!

Aside from having the balls to compete in something totally out of his element on national television, what we also really love about Steve Woz is that he’s totally cool, likeable and approachable – which is very refreshing since so many peeps of fame these days are arrogant pricks. Take for instance the present moment … Friday night – April 2, 2010 … Where’s Woz? He’s camped outside the Apple Store inside the Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara, CA. Woz will be there all night … just like the other hardcore MacHeads … waiting to become a day one proud owner of the iPad when they go on sale Saturday at 9:00AM PST.

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We’re sure Woz could’ve used his “in the biz” connections to secure his iPad … but dude doesn’t roll like that. In a recent Newsweek interview, Woz stated that he pre-ordered a few iPads and will be waiting in line overnight to pick them up … just for fun. LOL … that is sick. A technology industry rock star, just chillin’ in line with the general public, waiting to become an early adopter … gotta love it!

The Woz showed up to wait in line around 6:00PM PST … greeting his fans, signing autographs, showcasing his $2 bills and playing his favorite video game, Tetris, on a Nintendo Game Boy (what, no Tetris iPhone app?).

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Wearing his special necklace which reminds him that he follows all laws of physics, Woz is comfortably seated #4 in line, after Jason and Annette Slack-Moehrle and Parth Dhebar (who runs an iPhone/iPad app review site, Simple-Reviews.com, be sure to check it out).

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Woz claims he will be pulling an all-nighter and skip any type of shut-eye (see, told you he was a badass). Since sleep is overrated when waiting in an overnight iPad line … help will be arriving at 4:00AM PST. Mr. Dhebar has arranged for coffee and doughnuts to be delivered to all the folks waiting in line … atta boy Parth, save us a maple bar!

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Oh … and thank you Woz for the too cool autograph! We’ll be framing that puppy and hanging it over the mantel at Casa de KRAPPS. We owe you big time, so if you ever want to upgrade your wardrobe, drop us a line and we’ll hook you up with da kine KRAPPS T-Shirt.

Good luck to all you crazy overnighting, early-adopting, iPad-waiting MacHeads … come 10:00AM PST, put the damn iPad down and GET SOME SLEEP!

April 3, 2010 | Filed Under News | 5 Comments 

7-Piece LEGO iPhone Stand – Even Appeals To Mechanically Challenged

chris-harrison Meet Chris Harrison. He’s a husband and a father … dreams in XHTML 1.1 + CSS and is a fan of comics, Apple, graphic design and web development. He loves WordPress, bacon and  typography … watches Lost, attends SXSWi … and is addicted to caffeine and his iPhone. Chris is pretty much your typical geek … with one exception that gives him uber-geek status … dude is a LEGO ninja.

Chris was the guy who made the epic Star Wars LEGO iPhone AT-Dock … an insane display of creativity, mechanical ability and ninja LEGO building skills. Some of his other LEGO iPhone works include a Little Green Army Men dock, a self-supporting horizontal dock and numerous other killer iPhone docks and stands.    

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Although we’re fans of Chris’ work with colorful interlocking plastic bricks … we always felt he was mocking us. It’s like … “Ha, Ha – look at me – I’m a badass LEGO ninja – I have a Star Wars iPhone dock – you can’t have it cuz you suck and can’t build one” … seriously the world of LEGO can get pretty complicated and to replicate any of Chris’ work is virtually impossible for us common non-LEGO geek folk.

UNTIL TODAY …

For whatever reason, Chris has been in touch with his minimalism side and recently introduced an iPhone stand built out of … count ‘em … SEVEN LEGO PIECES! Since we are not mechanically inclined and pretty much suck at building stuff (don’t laugh – we can hit a curve ball – can you?)  … we HEART this delicious 7-Piece McNugget.

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Since we live by the “Keep It Simple, Stupid” principle, the 7-Piece is right in our wheelhouse and preferred over Chris’ other gaudy work. Sure seven yellow pieces of LEGOs might not exactly be eye candy … but it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And when you consider price, time and effort … what’s not to love about this seven piece LEGO goodness?

To create your own 7-piece LEGO iPhone stand, click here building instructions.

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April 2, 2010 | Filed Under News | 11 Comments 

iCade Turns Your iPad Into A Retrogaming Arcade Cabinet – For “Reals”

Ok, so Steve Job’s love child … the iPad … is launching in two days. We’ll admit, we’re getting pretty excited and will be doing the “overnight camping out in line” thing to ensure we are iPad owners from Day 1. However, it wasn’t until today that we got fully pumped for the iPad … reason why … the folks at ThinkGeek have just announced a new iPad accessory and application that will become available April 3 (iPad launch day) …

iCade – The iPad Arcade Cabinet

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How freaking brilliant is this? For only $149.99 (cost of the cabinet – app is free), you can turn your iPad into a mini arcade cabinet … or as ThinkGeek puts it …  

How cool would it be to slide your iPad into a desktop-sized arcade cabinet and rock it old school with some Pac-Man or Space Invaders?

More arousing details from ThinkGeek …

To use the iCade, gently slide the iPad into the docking cradle. The docking cradle uses a standard 30 pin connector to link the iPad to the professional-grade arcade controls. Once the iPad is in place, launch the iCade App (available free in the App Store April 3rd) and it’s game on!

Screw eBooks and HD videogames … iCade is the real only reason to buy an iPad. Simply put … it doesn’t get any more awesome than this!

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For more details, including product specifications, and to order your very own iCade, visit the iCade page at ThinkGeek.

Hey … just keeping it “REAL”. Don’t shoot the messenger. If you need to FFFFUUUU someone, then FFFFUUUU ThinkGeek.

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April 1, 2010 | Filed Under Games, News | 8 Comments 

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