ScribblenautsRemix
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TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for the best iPhone game app
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! TUAW is asking for your vote for the best iPhone game app of 2011. The apps that made it into our final voting have provided hours of fun for millions of iPhone users. The first app on the list is Jetpack Joyride (currently free) from Halfbrick Studios. Barry Steakfries, the protagonist of Jetpack Joyride, would love your vote. This app has a 4.5 star rating out of 5 possible with over 15,500 ratings on the App Store, so it is an incredibly popular iPhone game. Next in the lineup is the popular word game W.E.L.D.E.R. (US$3.99). This app has been a past iPhone Game of the Week on the App Store, and according to Tested.com, it "takes Bejeweled, Boggle, and Scrabble and smelts them into one mining-themed word puzzle." Want a board game in your pocket? Ticket to Ride Pocket ($0.99) has sold over 2 million copies, achieved Apple Game of the Week in Europe, and was #1 in the strategy games category in 32 countries. I'm betting that we'll see a lot of votes for Ticket to Ride. Scribblenauts Remix (currently on sale for $0.99) is another big hit in the App Store, gaining a 4.5 out of 5 rating with over 10,800 total ratings. It's one of the few games out there -- perhaps the only one -- where you can create just about any sort of object. The latest update even supports creating objects using voice dictation on the iPhone 4S. Our last entry in the voting for the best iPhone game app of 2011 is Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing ($1.99). It's an app that made it into an iPod touch ad, and it features Sonic the Hedgehog and a bunch of other SEGA characters racing in cars, monster trucks, bikes, planes and bananas... Be sure to vote for the iPhone game that you think is the top for 2011. The winner will be announced in a few days. %Poll-72086%
Scribblenauts Remix update uses iPhone 4S and Siri to summon items
Scribblenauts Remix has been updated with a new holiday-themed playground and support for 180-degree device rotation. As an iPhone 4S exclusive, the game also now advertises that it has full Siri dictation support, so you can use your voice to create virtually any object within the game. Although the makers of Scribblenauts say this is a new feature, I remember using Siri in the game via its dedicated keyboard button in a previous version, so Siri support isn't necessarily new. I've also noticed that Siri's accuracy when taking dictation seems to be precipitously lower than its accuracy in the "Q & A" interface, so while it might be cool to be able to craft a war between a giant Cthulhu and a laser-rifle-toting Santa Claus using the power of your voice, you may find it's easier to stick with the keyboard until Siri's accuracy improves. Scribblenauts Remix is a great game, and if you haven't picked it up yet I highly recommend it.
Daily iPhone App: Scribblenauts Remix
I remember hearing way, way back that Scribblenauts might be headed to iOS, but when the dust finally settled on the iOS 5 transition yesterday, among the (many -- we'll see more in the next few days) great new releases on the App Store, this one definitely stood out. Warner Brothers and original developers 5th Cell have brought the legendary DS game over to iOS, and the port is just plain excellent. Scribblenauts is a magical game. The idea is that you control Maxwell through a series of challenge levels, and in each one he's got to do whatever's necessary to earn a Starite. You accomplish the goals you're given by using one of the most fascinating mechanics in gaming lately: You simply type in whatever you want to show up in the game, and then it does. If that sounds impossible, then believe the impossible, because that's what Scribblenauts is all about. Just playing around on the title screen can give you hours of enjoyment -- make a "dinosaur," throw a "tiger" into the mix, order up a "hunter" and see how they interact. Maybe you want to create God and the Devil and see what happens, or order up a real working "time machine," or create whatever else you want. As long as it's a noun and not a proper name, Scribblenauts has it. You can even create things with adjectives, so "giant polka-dot emu" works, as does "purple pregnant washing machine." It's incredible. The "Remix" part of this one includes 10 brand new levels, but the best part about it is that Maxwell adventures have been carefully and thoughtfully ported over -- the touch controls work great, the game even offers iOS 5 Cloud integration, and Game Center is fully supported as well. We couldn't have asked for a better version of Scribblenauts on this platform, and if you've never seen this game in action before, you'll be amazed at just what 5th Cell has created here. Scribblenauts Remix is available for $4.99 as a universal version.
