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I spent many an hour in my local video game arcade as a teen plugging quarters into Pole Position. I even remember buying the game for my ColecoVision console at some point around 1984 or so. So when Namco released Pole Position Remix for the iPod on the iTunes Store, I was momentarily elated. Then I tried it, and had my hopes dashed.
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After my poor experience with the iPod version of Sonic the Hedgehog, I wasn't holding out a lot of hope for Hudson Soft's introduction of its intrepid character Bomberman on the iPod. But as it turns out, the developer has done a fine conversion, bringing this classic video game character to a new platform-specifically, fifth-generation iPods, third-generation iPod nanos and iPod classics.
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Few games have had the enduring popularity and genre-defining quality of Sonic the Hedgehog. A mascot for Sega ever since his debut in the early 1990s, Sonic has spawned a legion of spinoffs and sequels, and remains a popular choice for console gamers to this day. Now he's back in his original glory on the iPod.
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PopCap Games has struck casual gaming gold with Peggle. It's a fun arcade-style game that borrows a bit from pinball, a bit from the Japanese game pachinko, and a bit from Breakout. The combination is an incredibly addictive concept lets you wile away hours.
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I've found my new favorite iPod game, and it's called Phase. It's the first game for the iPod created by Harmonix, the same company that graced the world with the Guitar Hero franchise. And Phase shares more than a casual resemblance to Guitar Hero-or other music games Harmonix has made in the past like Amplitude and FreQuency.
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Headphones with active noise-canceling circuitry are nothing new; Bose's QuietComfort line have been the stock and trade of frequent airline passengers (typically the well-heeled folks in business and first class) for years. Now the technology is making its way into more consumer-oriented products, like Able Planet's LoSt-CaUzE Gaming Headphones, which retail for $150.
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Namco's second entry into the iPod game market comes in the form of Ms. Pac-Man, the sequel to the legendary game Pac-Man. The concept is basically the same, as is the execution, although Namco's made a few nice embellishments for the iPod crowd.
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When Apple released the second-generation iPod mini, it also tweaked the iPod photo line. It did so not by updating the interface or adding new capabilities to the colorful music and picture player, but rather by slashing $150 off of the price of the 60GB model and replacing the 40GB version with a 30GB iPod photo. This new, smaller-capacity iPod photo costs $349 and holds approximately 7,500 songs or 25,000 photos.
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When Apple released the iPod mini (Second Generation) to great fanfare, it also, with less flourish, rejiggered the iPod photo line. It did so not by updating the interface or adding new capabilities to the colorful music and picture player, but rather by slashing the price of the 60GB model and replacing the 40GB version with a 30GB iPod photo priced at $349 that holds approximately 7,500 songs or 25,000 photos.
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In the computer world, when a new version of an existing computer arrives that offers modest improvements in processor speed, greater hard-drive capacity, more built-in RAM, and, perhaps, a more robust graphics card, the update is referred to as a "speed bump." The machine is enhanced in ways to make it more desirable, but there's nothing earthshakingly different under the hood.
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