Games for the iPhone have been growing and growing…in number that is. However, the quality of the apps is appalling. It’s sad when Apple has sold over 1.5 billion apps right? It’s sad that I can only think of 5 apps (notice I said apps not games) in total that I actually use on a daily/weekly basis. RampChamp has just made it’s way to the top 5.

RampChamp is the best application on the appstore (period).

The guys at the guys over at IconFactory and DS Media Labs have truly outdone themselves and I only hope that they make many more applications in the future.

Hey guys, just to let you know. If you were having troubles with the source code below, you may want to give it another go. The url for the API had changed and I hadn’t noticed it until now. Please copy and paste the code below into a new php file and give it a whir. Please let me know if you have any other problems. I am currently working on a very cool project that I think many of you will use in the future. Let’s just say that it will be the envy of all your xbox friends who don’t use Wordpress. Enjoy.

Sure you can login to xbox.com or possibly use your iPhone friends list application, but what about a way to display your Online Status anywhere on the web. Well here is your answer. After about of day of research and development I have come up with a solid solution that can be styled anyway you choose.

It turns out that one of the Xbox developers, Duncan Mackenzie has written a very valuable script that gathers a ton of information about Xbox Live users including: their online status, what games they have played recently and their achievement scores in each game. The problem is, he doesn’t explain in detail how to use his “Gamertag API” feed.

After understanding what all cURL was all about and how to parse through XML files using SimpleXML, I finally came up with my solution.

I advise you to take a look at my code and try it for yourself. I have also listed a few small requirements below the source code.

Also, be sure to install the PHP widget if you would like to run this code inside a widget on your sidebar.

<?php

$ch = curl_init("http://xboxapi.duncanmackenzie.net/gamertag.ashx?GamerTag=YOURGAMERTAG");

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 4);

$data = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$xml = new SimpleXmlElement($data, LIBXML_NOCDATA);

foreach ($xml->PresenceInfo as $mystatus) 
{
print  '<div id="xboxlivestatus"><a href="' . $xml->ProfileUrl . '">' . $xml->Gamertag . '</a> is ' . $mystatus->StatusText . ' : ' . $mystatus->Info . '</div>';
}

?>

Requirements:

• You must be running PHP 5
• You must have cURL enabled
• Change YOURGAMERTAG to your personal gamertag

There is a minor update to the Xbox Arcade Hit Castle Crashers available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

To learn more about the DLC King pack, check out The Behemoth blog.

Original Post:

The Xbox 360 is my favorite game system. Obviously I enjoy a good online Halo 3 match or Gears of War 2 battle as much as the next gamer, however I have found myself extremely excited about the Xbox LIVE Arcade/Community game scene lately.

The New Xbox Experience has brought around a lot of cool advancements in home/online gaming: Friend Parties | Extensive Avatar System | Intuitive Interface | Netflix Integration and lots more. One of the more notable features is the availability of more “Arcade” style games ready for download in the Game Marketplace.

I say “Arcade” because the games sold in the Arcade section are not only old arcade games updated to run on the Xbox 360, they also include classic games from systems like the NES and the Nintendo64. Built more for the casual gamer, Arcade games have really pique my interest because they take me back to a time when games were more linear. Meaning rather than having a huge story line and enormous back stories, you can simply download and start having fun with these retro games, jumping right into the action. The arcade section of the Xbox LIVE Marketplace boast classic titles such as: (Xbox LIVE Marketplace Links) Banjo-Kazooie | Metal Slug 3 | TMNT 1989 | Sonic the Hedgehog | Pac-Man and Defender.

However, the titles I have been most excited about are the new ones! Don’t get me wrong classic games have their spot in my heart, but developers have really taken hold of this new outlet for creating/distributing games over Xbox LIVE and have made some really stellar games. My favorites include:

(Xbox LIVE Marketplace Links)
• Braid
• Geometry Wars 2
• N+

Click to enlarge

So why not give them a quick play and let me know what you think. Come on, I know you still have some Microsoft Points left over from Christmas! If that isn’t the case however FREE DEMOS are available for all of the games mentioned above. Have fun!

Also noteworthy, Castle Crashers by Behemoth another amazing Xbox LIVE Arcade game, has some awesome figurines in their store.

Aren’t these little guys awesome! (Click the image to enlarge.)

A free version of the app, Tangram Puzzle Pro Lite (App Store Link) is also available with 6 puzzles that you can try and get a feel for the game.

(click images to view fullsize)

If you like Tangram Puzzle Pro, leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I hope to be reviewing more iPhone apps soon so stay tuned and grab my rss feed.

Rolando – Launching December 18th for iPhone and iPod touch from ngmoco:) on Vimeo.

Rolando is by far my most anticipated iPhone games to date. It has been in the works since the AppStore was created but has yet to see the light of day. I think the developers really took their time to make sure the game is fluid and polished. Rumors are that the game will see for $9.99 when it is released tomorrow Thursday, December 18.

Also, my new favorite iPhone App/Game is Touch Grind by Illusion Labs. This game takes the idea of the old finger boards and created a very polished iPhone app. There is a bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of a few simple finger gestures you will be tricking around the park with style. Individual tricks are fairly simple, but I have had some trouble pulling off combos. 

I stumbled upon this game last week when I was surfing around the popular Mac design forum Macthemes2.net. I found a thread that teased being able to create your own skateboard designs and applying them to the game. What a cool addition. However I soon realized that you must have a Jailbroken iPhone/iTouch to do so. This is a feature that has already been suggested to the developers and hopefully will be integrated in a update down the road. Touch Grind (App Store Link) is also currently $4.99 so you may want to hold off for a bit.

There is a lot of good things to be said about this game. Not only are the sound effects/music complementary to the gameplay but they give the game an extremely professional feel. Each effect is timed very well to give you instant feedback during your game.

I also throughly enjoy the simple user interface. Each menu screen you are presented with has a purpose which ask for a single user interaction. You are presented with an option and you make a choice. The transitions are very smooth and I have not yet found any glitches in the navigation.

One of my favorite features is the option to have multiple saved games. There are 3 slots that allow for multiple people to have saved games on one device. These can also be erased separately.

At $2.99 I think this app is well worth it. A fun simple game that can help you pass the time if your in a waiting room or perhaps your in the hallway waiting for your English 300 class to start.