iPhone Guru

Earth vs Moon for iPhone is a modern spin on the Atari classic Missile Command with a twist of Space Invaders. You control the onboard missile targeting systems of three geostationary satellites hovering above Earth armed with missiles to defend our homeworld from the menacing Moon Fleet. The gameplay involves tapping in the playing field of orbital space and hoping your missile warhead will detonate near the incoming ICBMs or enemy craft, causing a lethal atomic chain reaction. The sparks will fly as you ignite an entire squadron of alien spacecraft with a well placed salvo of rockets to defend our planet. Your progress is saved as you obliterate the relentless onslaught of Moon Fleet aliens, so putting the game down and coming back to continue later makes this a casual favorite. Earth vs Moon is available now from the App Store from Low Five Games.

The Battle of Pirate Bay is a naval defense game where you have 3 indestructable ships protecting your fort from menacing pirates within the harbor of Pirate Bay. You manuver your fleet around the screen by tracing lines with your finger and your armada fires cannons at the incoming pirate ships. You only have limited ammo so the strategy lies in where you place your ships and how you control them once the action begins. If you deplete your ammunition before the wave of pirates is blown to smithereens then your fort will be left vunerable by the attacking pirates. This is a fun game with a quick learning curve that anyone can pick up and get right into. The Battle of Pirate Bay is available now from the App Store.

Siberian Strike from Gameloft is a scrolling shoot-em-up designed similar to the classic 1942 arcade game. The controls are wonderfully intuitive. You just point and touch the screen and you automatically unleash rapid fire against swarms of enemy fighters as you pilot your aircraft through several well-rendered levels. There are anime/role playing elements in the game as you can choose from several different pilots who fly different types of fighters. This app is worth the price and I discovered it via the staff favorites in the iTunes app store on my mac… I highly recommend this game to anyone interested in classic arcade button-mashers like 1942 and 1943. Siberian Strike is available now from the app store.

F.A.S.T (Fleet Air Superiority Training) is a fun, quick-paced flight simulator that let’s you dive right into supersonic dogfighting air combat. You can play single player missions or dogfight other pilots online. The controls are tilt based and there are onscreen buttons to fire cannons and missiles at your foe. You can unlock other planes by completing missions. This game is a good value considering the replay options of playing online. There is even a top pilots leaderboard. The controls are fairly intuitive and can also be adjusted for sensitivity and you can also invert the y-axis for more realistic flying. I would recommend this game to anyone interested in air combat flight simulators. F.A.S.T. is available now from the app store.

Looking to record voice notes or memos with your iPhone but want the recordings to be made in high quality and easily understood when playing them back? iTalk recorder by Griffin Technologies for iPhone has superior recording quality than any other recording app that I have tested. The sound quality at the medium quality setting had great clarity. For professionals seeking a serious minded recording solution for iPhone then iTrip Recorder is for you. iTrip does let you sync your recordings back to your Mac or PC but that process necissitates that you install another third-party app called iTalkSync onto your computer. ITalk Recorder for iPhone is free for a limited time and is available now from the App Store.

iKoto for iPhone emulates a traditional Japanese harp and it sounds suprisingly true to it’s real life counterpart, the Koto. The Koto was introduced to Japan in the 7th century from China. iKoto brings 13 pitch-adjusted strings to your fingertips and is played by plucking the strings. It reminds me of an oriental style autoharp. iKoto for iPhone is available now for only 99 cents on the app store and delivers a great musical instrument in your pocket.

The Theramin was invented in 1919 by Leon Theramin and was the first musical instrument which could be played without being touched. The Theramin is played by waving ones hand over it and the end result sounds like a martian invasion. Theraminator for iPhone recreates the spooky sounds that helped to set the mood for classic soundtracks in sci-fi horror films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still. Features include adjusting pitch and delay and double and triple finger gestures also adjust the frequency. Theraminator is available now from the App Store for $2.99.

Koi pond is a lovely app brought to the masses by the Blimp Pilots. This app is well worth the 99 cents. You can shake the iPhone to feed your koi fish! If you put your finger in the middle of the pond and leave it there the koi fish will come nibbling your fingertip. Tap the lower right hand corner to reveal customization options such as different water colors and times of day. You can even customize the ambient noises. Give it a shot! Available now from the App Store.