In just two day’s time “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” will hit theaters.  It’s sure to be one of many blockbusters this summer, despite the fact that it’s the third installment of the series, which often proves to be the worst.  Along side it, EA will launch an accompanying iOS game of the same name, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon“.  It utilizes a 3/4 view and over head shot depending on the action at hand.  You’ll be able to play as OPTIMUS PRIME, or fan-favorite BUMBLEBEE, while you try to defeat those nasty Decepticons through 13 heart pounding (we doubt it) levels.  Throughout the game you’ll be able to unlock 13 upgradeable weapons ranging from the Ion Blaster to the Nucleon Shock Cannon and face off against 5 bosses in addition to the movie famous Megatron and Shockwave.

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” for iOS is expected to release June 28th and cost $6.99 for the iPad and $4.99 for the iPhone.

If the prospect of spending $200+ on a racing wheel elicits a nauseating feeling in your stomach, well, we’re right there with you.  But if you happen to own an iPhone 4 you can perhaps have a taste of that opulent gaming experience using the iPhone 4G Steering Wheel with Speakers.

Mechanically it’s not more than a case with a set of speakers.  Nonetheless, it should bring another level of engagement, however small, to your iPhone’s racing games.

The speakers are powered by its own rechargeable battery and connect via a 3.5mm headphone jack.  We would have preferred a version with an extended battery that can power both the speakers and the iPhone, but maybe that’s still under R&D.  And besides, the some what limited feature set means a low price of $22.20 before shipping.  Not bad, but good luck whipping this badboy in public, unless your 10.

Via: Ohgizmo

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Update: Checkout our Fight Night Champion review.

Put up your dukes because EA’s boxing game, Fight Night Champion, has made its way to iOS devices.

This ain’t just another boxing arcade game.  You’ll have the opportunity to train your boxer and hone your skills in something called Legacy mode.  You’ll start in local tournaments and develop your skills with training and amateur bouts.  As you proceed you’ll work your way through the ranks and witness your boxer pique and then grow old, where upon you’ll have to retire.  No joke.

We’re not sure if the Legacy Mode incorporates real world heavy weights, but you’ll be able to face off against up to 20 champions, such as David Haye, as well as heavyweight legends like Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, Manny Pacquiao, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins and “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya.

But the fun don’t stop there.  Utilizing WiFi or Bluetooth you can face off against friends, provided of course you’re both sporting 3GS or later iPhones.  While we haven’t had a chance to get a complete hands on (review coming soon), we’re told that the game uses fluid touch controls and gestures that keep your boxer ducking, weaving, jabbing, and moving around the ring.  There is even full audio commentary from Joe Tessitore, boxer damage graphics and dynamic lighting effects.

Fight Night Champion is available in the iTunes store now for $4.99.

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We’ve got our winners for the Dead Space iPhone Game contest!  Click to find out who won…

It’s…drumroll…

1. suelee1998
2. CM
3. James Martinez
4. Arahal888
5. Jason

Thank you to everyone else who is following us on our Facebook fan page and entered to win.

Unfortunately, we still haven’t been able to announce the winner of the 2nd Amazon Kindle giveaway, but I swear it will happen.

And if you didn’t know, you can subscribe to our Contest Feed and get all the latests contests, and contests only, directly in your reader.

Again, thanks for entering and look out for our next contest!

UPDATE.  GadgetReview is giving away a free copy (review codes) of “Dead Space” for the iPhone (works on the iPod Touch as well) to 5 lucky winners!

Update: Be sure to checkout our Dead Space iPhone Review.

Dead Space iOS launched yesterday and looks kick ass.  In fact, by this time tomorrow we should have a Dead Space iOS review live and awaiting your drooling eyes.  This version delves deep into ALL-NEW DEAD SPACE STORY that sets the stage for the action-horror storyline of Dead Space 2.  Sweet, so you can grab this, play it for a few hours, win it and then load up the console version.

We’re giving away 5 of these. To enter:

1. LIKE our Facebook Fan Page
2. Then tell us what video game devices you own in the comments below.  You must register (don’t put your email directly in the comment unless you want the world to see) your comment with an email address so we can contact you. Comments are moderated so please be patient and enter only one.

Will pick one winner at random from the comments, but in order to WIN you’ll have to Like Us on Facebook. If you’d like a double entry, follow us on Twitter and tweet “follow @gadgetreview for free stuff and cool #reviews like #deadspace #ea”.

This contest ends 2/1/2011 at 11:59 PST

It’s open to US residents in the continental US of A only.

Good news.  Tomorrow Epic Games will issue a free update to the massively popular iPad/iPhone game Infinity Blade.  The new content will include five new weapons, five new shields, five new helmets and a new armor set.  Apparently, this new weapon set will allow gamers to increase the level cap to 45.  And that’s not all.  You can also expect a new area to explore (dungeons), a new enemy (“Marrow Fiend” – pictured) and some additional info about what the God King is up to.

Expect the multiplayer update to roll out sometime next year.

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4 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Fun and easy to get into
• Polished presentation and gameplay
• Decent sound

Cons:

• Non-Working multiplayer
• Battery killer
• Landscape mode can hinder speaker port

When Apps first became available on the iPhone, Tap Tap Revenge was the first “touch” music game to hit the App Store.  Fast forward to now and we have the console heavy hitter Rock Band Reloaded in our grips.  Beautifully designed and dripping with lacquered polish is Rock Band Reloaded, a $7 dollar music game available now.  Besides a couple of minor gripes, this is a great buy for anyone looking to satisfy their hand-eye coordination itch over the holiday season.

Graphics And Presentation:

While there’s not a whole lot going on graphically, Rock Band Reloaded does its best to flavor up the screens with as much as they could given the nature of the game.  The set pieces are fun and keep the background moving but aren’t so busy that they distract you from the business at hand (hehe).  The menues are clean, clear and easy to navigate and all of the touch functions feel smooth and reactive.  Additionally, your touch stroke also feels really natural during play which is really imperative for this type of game.

Sound:

Despite the speaker port being partially obstructed by your right or left hand while playing RBR, the sound is still ever present and clear.  MTV Games and Harmonix did an excellent job picking out the tracks used in the game as most if not all of them have clear cut patterns for the user to latch on to. For example, I generally suck at these type of games, but found it easy to match the onscreen patterns with what was happening musically even on the medium setting. You’ll obviously have a better audio experience using a pair of headphones or earbuds, but it may stifle your playing style and subsequently your score.

Gameplay and Multiplayer:

As mentioned earlier, the touch response during gameplay is excellent and really sells the Rock Band experience on the iPhone.  Whereas Tap Tap Revenge and the first Rock Band was played vertically, RBR utilizes landscape mode and separates the buttons accordingly, therefore making the game extremely playable.  On a negative note my hand did get tired after a couple songs and RBR is a huge battery killer.  If you’re an achievement whore then RBR has you covered – there are various medals and pins being awarded for accomplishing feats and progressing through the world tour.  As far as multiplayer is concerned I can only give it a negative score due to the fact that I couldn’t connect to any gigs and I tried several times.

Replay Value:

With World Tour, Quick Play, and Multiplayer, RBR has packed a lot of value into a $7 game.  Most avid Rock Band players gauge their prowess by points and scores – there’s plenty of that to be had with the Reloaded version.  If you wanna prolong the journey past the included 20 songs, you can log onto the EA store and buy additional song packs.  This is clearly indicated by an alert next to the App icon addressing all the unbought packs.  I’m not sure if all of these tracks can be implemented into World Tour or not so make sure you double check before you buy.

Final Endings:

If you have a fervent penchant for all things Rock Band and have an iPhone, I highly suggest picking up Rock Band Reloaded this holiday season for killing time spent traveling or by the fire with your family.  It addresses the majority of qualms found in the first iteration and is a great overall package in terms of gameplay and presentation.  Chop off a couple points for a non-working multiplayer and short song list and you have yourself a very quality music game that should easily garner $7 from your credit card.

Star Wars gear never ceases to amaze us.  Adding to the ever growing list is “Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner” for the iPhone.  The game, which pits you against an onslaught of tie fighters – just like in the movie – uses the iPhone’s camera to superimpose your surroundings directly into the game’s background (otherwise known as Augmented Reality).  There will also apparently be rendered screens as well.  So if you’re like the guy or gal in the video below, you’ll be taking on the imperial fleet on top of your New York City apartment building.  

The game will be available sometime later this month for a yet to be disclosed price.

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Mirror’s Edge, which originally appeared on console systems a few years ago, just hit the iPhone.   When the game first arrived it was hotly anticipated since it was an FPS, but focused on free running more than shooting.  The concept was great but in the end the execution, or should we say gameplay was lacking.  Nonetheless, EA has seen fit to bring it to Apple’s handheld devices and it looks to be essentially the same game.

Despite the game’s lacklusterness (is that a real word) on the console, it might actually be a fun play when you’re killing time.  To entice you a bit further EA says the game has been designed to take advantage of the iPhone 4′s Retina display.

Note: A version for the iPad has been available since April.

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Pinball games on the iPhone are hardly new, but one that includes its own controller, well now we’re talking.  The Pinball Magic game is available for free from the iTunes store, but if you want the real pinball experience (and want to play the game) you’ll need to drop $30, which affords you a mini pinball controller that connects to your iPhone via the 30-pin dock. It’s complete with flipper buttons, animated LED display and a set of foldable legs.

Bestbuy carries it for $30.

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Tower Defense games are massive in the US, at least according to a friend who is a gaming expert.  So I guess it’s no surprise to see a tower defense game in the form of Star Wars.  You’ll need to defend your base from the Emperial Army, which attacks using AT-AT Walkers and pretty much what ever is at their disposal.  Your task is to place gun turrets, infantry soldiers and Snowspeeders to prevent their assault.

The game offers a total of 15 levels, two gameplay modes and all the Star Wars sound effects you’ve come to know and love.

You can buy Star Wars: Battle for Hoth for $3.

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Hot on the heels of EA, Gameloft is having their own sale in the iTunes store.  The list of $0.99 iPhone games isn’t nearly as long, but hey, they’re just $1.  No word on when the sale ends, but since it’s in celebration of the new iPhone we’re thinking at least 48 hours, right?

• UNO
• Real Soccer 2010
• NOVA – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
• Assassin’s Creed Altair’s Chronicles
• Brother In Arms 2: Global Front
• Shrek Kart
• Gangstar: West Coast Hustle
• GT Racing: Motor Academy

Ready to get your battle cry on?  Street Fighter IV for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available in the iTunes store for $9.99.  The majority of the ratings are 5 star, with only a handful of 3 or less.

Sorry, still no word on when and if Tekken 6 will get ported over to the handset.

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Word on the street is that Namco is working on Tekken 6 for the iPhone.  This news comes on the heals of Capcom’s announcement of Street Fighter IV for the iPhone.  Right now nothing is confirmed, but a source close to the developer says that the game is nearing completion and supposedly plays “rather nicely”.  What is unknown is whether or not the game will contain multiplayer, but it’s more likely than not.

Would you play a fighting game on the iPhone or iPod Touch?

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When ‘COD: World At War‘ hit the scene last year everyone and their little brother was ultra psyched for the Zombie board. After all, who doesn’t like slaying zombies, let alone Nazi Zombies. Now their first board, ‘Nacht der Untoten’ (German for ‘night of the dead’) has been transposed to the iPhone where you can engage in up to 4 player coop game play over WiFi (2 if Bluetooth).

At $9.99 it’s a bit steep, especially when you consider it’s just one board and the same board found on the console version. They’ve also got plans to roll out additional Nazi levels which will no doubt cost you.

More screenshots after the ‘leap’

[via CVG]

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‘Grand Theft Auto: ChinaTown Wars’ is set to be released this October for the PSP Go and it now looks like Rockstar will launch an iPhone version around the same time.  Despite Apple’s strict and rather stringent app store policies, Rockstar says the game will go unedited and include all the phallic language and sexual content Grand Theft Auto players have come to expect and love.

Control of the game will come by way of an onscreen analog stick.  Based on my experience it takes sometime to get use to, and although it’s a viable way to control the onscreen action, it’s still is a far cry from having a set of physical buttons.  So if anything, this version will appeal to the casual gamer who wants to try their hand at Rockstar’s most popular game.

There’s no word on a launch date or price, but Rockstar says they also plan to release Beaterator, an app that lets you make “world-class beats and songs.”

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Diogo from Spawn Studios has been kind enough to give us redemption codes for 10 free copies of the iPhone game MagnetRox.  That’s a $1.99 value, and to make things super simple I’m posting the codes on a ‘hidden’ page on GadgetReview.  Just go here to grab the code and leave a comment on the post when you’ve used it.

Paid version here

If the codes run out, you can grab a free version here

Also, checkout Jeff’s ‘impression‘ of the game if you want more info.

Is Grand Theft Auto coming to the iPhone?  There is no way to know for sure, but coming-on-iphone.com has a teaser video that indicates just that.  Of course, this could just be a knock off GTA game and by adding a dash of anonymity they figured they could leverage the GTA brand equitity.  Or some kids on summer break had nothing better to do with their time than get our blogosphere panties in a ball.  Nonetheless, the video says it’s coming this summer, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Of note: Reghardware said they reached out to Rockstar UK and they wouldn’t confirm or deny the game.  And of course the URL registration info is set to private, but the domain was just registered on May 25th.

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While I was one of the only people who severely disliked Mass Effect for its texture load in problems, bland progress approach, crappy fighting, and totally boring planet exploration, I was mildly intrigued by the rumor of a prequel game coming to the iPhone. Don’t get me wrong, I want it to be good, it’s just I was so hyped on the first one and was hugely let down.  Anyway, totally unofficialized as of now, the prequel which also has a totally unrelated novel, places you in the boots of Jacob (not from Lost) who according to an EA survey is: “a biotic-powered super-soldier who stumbles across a plot to terrorize civilization’s greatest beacon of hope.”  Hmmm…sounds familiar.  The game should last around two hours and will be priced at $2.99, but there is no street date as of yet.  With a graphic novel style presentation, EA and Bioware hope to bring more ME short stories to the iPhone if this game is successful.  Check out the screens.

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According to CVG, Metal Gear Solid Touch will cost about $6 or 4.99 EUR.  I checked the official site, and although the game is due out by Thursday of this week, there is still no official mention of the price.

[CVG]