Today marks the start of a new age for iPhone gaming following the release today of Rage for iOS. Id Software's hotly-anticipated zombie blasting, first-person shooter is the first iPhone title armed with the Rage engine. It delivers an incredible 60 frames per second on iPhone 4 device, and looks gorgeous on the iPad and even on older iPhone models.

Although I was impressed with Call of Duty: Zombies and NOVA, Rage is the first iOS shooter that has really set my heart racing. The forthcoming PC version will be even better, and could go on to be as big a hit as those other grand id games Quake, Doom and Wolfenstein. Go check out my review of the iPad version of Rage for more.

Corporate Climber is another beautifully put-together 8-bit browser game from Adult Swim, mixing the addictive simplicity of early gaming with tons of  humor. You're an ambitious young man who wants to make it to the top, by starting right at the bottom of the corporate ladder.

This action platformer challenges you to get through each floor of the corporate headquarters, gaining promotions as you go, from janitor to mail boy, and so on. What I really loved about Corporate Climber was the silly inventiveness about the levels. While some of them are really tough, they are so short, so you'll make it eventually, and it's worth completing! To get to the top you'll have to avoid rats,  a fireball spitting boiler, angry employees and much more.

Play Corporate Climber here, requires Flash.

In Avoidal, you use your mouse to move a flying robot around the screen. Your task is to destroy stars, but you have no weapons - instead you must use your enemies to blow them up for you. There are trackers, which follow you when you approach them, and missiles that are set off when you pass in front of them.

With quick reactions, you can use these to your advantage and draw them into the path of stars to get points. Avoid getting hit by anything, and as you blow up stars you'll build combos to multiply your score.

Avoidal is a very one-dimensional game, but it's still pretty hard to put down once you've got the hang of it. Play it over at Kongregate. Requires Flash.

At last month's 'Back to the Mac' event, Steve Jobs highlighted the impressive statistic that one in five computers sold in the US are Macs. OSX is growing in popularity all the time, and yet some big developers treat it like a second class operating system.

Last week’s release of Skype 5 Beta for Mac highlighted this - a late release. Skype 5 for Windows is already out of beta, and that came out months ago! When it comes to small developers, not creating Mac versions is understandable. But Skype is a huge service, with over 500 million users - don't they have resources for simultaneous development?

Meanwhile, Google has never released a Mac version of its hugely popular Google Chat client. While you can of course chat in your browser with Gmail, it's surprising that such a big company would fail to support OSX.

Gaming is improving, with this year's release of the Steam platform for Mac, but progress has been remarkably slow. Big releases like this week's Call of Duty: Black Ops are still usually released on every platform except Mac. Perhaps games haven't always been a big part of Apple's image but it's not only hipsters and designers who buy Macs anymore, so surely developers are missing out.

Then of course there's that program that's constantly in our Mac top ten downloads despite being dormant for five years: Internet Explorer. Sure, Microsoft and Apple aren't always best of friends, but IE is the only major browser that's not cross platform, and that's pretty incredible. Lack of IE for Mac support makes life difficult for Mac using web designers, although I think you'd struggle to find many other Mac owners who really miss it!

With OSX gaining market share, can developers continue to leave their Mac development as an afterthought?

Call of Duty: Black Ops is out on PC and consoles today, you can check out the official  launch trailer for the game below.

Last year's Modern Warfare 2 was the biggest launch ever, but can this release beat it? Many people think the last game's story was too convoluted, although it certainly delivered on cinematic thrills.

Black Ops takes us back into the Cold War, for some over-the-top historical action. Word has it the gore animation is now 'too good', so expect some pretty gruesome scenes amongst all the Jerry Bruckheimer-esque action. We'll be taking a look at it later today.

Closed beta testing has today opened for the hotly anticipated Battlestar Galactica Online game. If you're a fan of Battlestar Galactica and you also love massively multiplayer online gaming then it's worth signing up to be a beta tester. Registration is open to a limited number of testers in Europe and the US, and you need to complete a profiling survey to see if you'll be accepted.

Battlestar Galactica Online allows you to choose to play human or cylon, as you aim to take command of the Universe. The game combines elements of Space combat, exploration, mining and mission play. Assets from the popular sci-fi show have been used in the game, so fans should really feel like they are immersed in the Battlestar Galatica universe.

Rolling Fall is a zombie-themed free puzzle game you can play in your browser. Heard of iPhone phenomenon Cut The Rope? Rolling Fall uses much the same mechanic, but instead of feeding a cute critter, you have to squish zombies!

Each level starts off in stillness, and you have to literally get the ball rolling by cutting chains that suspend heavy balls. Using timing and momentum, you'll hopefully end up with a screen full of squashed zombies, and move on to the next puzzle.

Rolling Fall doesn't win any marks for originality, but it's fun anyway. If the music gets annoying or the sound effects gross you out, you can thankfully turn them off! Play Rolling Fall here. Requires Flash.

[via Jay is Games]

Still rocking a Java phone? Stop getting depressed about being the only person on the bus not fiddling about with colored bricks, solving riddles, or puzzling over number conundrums. Instead, go download these great Java puzzle games and join in with the antisocial fun on the daily commute.

Bomber - If you ever played Bomberman on the Nintendo you're going to love this. In fact, even if you didn't you still will. Plant bombs next to the rocks so you can pass through them. Make sure you get of the way though, or you'll get a nasty. Oh, and watch out for the aliens who lurk behind the rocks!

Plop Art Sudoku - Sudoku puzzles are an addictive challenge, but they're a bit dull to look at. Plop Art Sudoku replaces the traditional numbers on a grid system with a series of cute creatures and symbols. The graphics and sound in the game are very cheery and with four difficulty levels available, this is one you won't want to put down.

Mine Hunter - The inclusion of Minesweeper in Microsoft Windows has resulted in billions of hours of lost productivity over the years. Now you can get this classic puzzler on your phone too, by installing Mine Hunter. The object of the game is the same as always - find the hidden mines on the grid without getting blown up.

SameGame - SameGame is one of those wonderfully simple puzzle games which isn't much to look at but will keep you drawn in for hours. The principle of SameGame is to eliminate the colored balls by clicking on any with one or more conjoining balls of the same color. These then disappear and you must keep forming new conjunctions until you can do no more.

BattleBrain - If you're sat around bereft of mental stimulation, then install BattleBrain on your phone and give your cerebral muscles a workout. Essentially, it's just a matching pairs game, but it's very well presented and comes with three different game modes, including a multiplayer game. Again, it's a game that's simple to play but hard to put down.

Get Home is a funny little platform game that manages to play with our preconceptions about what we are expected to do in video games! With simple controls and a really nice song to accompany it, you must guide your player home before the music stops. You'll find power-ups along the way that help you reach those hard to get to platforms and speed you along your way.

Unusually, Get Home really needs to be completed twice to get the full experience. Don't worry though, it should only take you a few minutes, making it a great coffee break game that might make you think! Play Get Home in your browser here. Requires Flash.

A quick look at iTunes is enough to tell that we’re just a few days away from Halloween: pumpkins, bats, witches and ghosts wander around the App Store in a bunch of Halloween-themed apps of all sorts. You get countdown clocks, photo editors, costume creators and creepy sound generators, among others.

But there’s also another type of Halloween apps on iTunes – those that are released as special Halloween editions instead of having been created from scratch just for the holiday. They’re usually very popular apps already, and having a special Halloween edition makes them even more enjoyable. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Angry Birds Halloween HD – One of the most downloaded games of all times on the App Store, Angry Birds, has released a Halloween special edition for iPad with spooky night backgrounds, smashable pumpkins and grizzly sound effects. The game won't scare the hell out of you but is as fun and addictive as the original edition.

Mosaic Photo Halloween - While the original Mpsaid Photo app enables you to create original image mosaics with your photos, the Halloween version will boost your creativity with new Halloween-themed pictures. Like in the standard version, you can also import photos and share your creations on Facebook and Flickr.

Doodle Jump Halloween -The latest version of this popular game is entirely devoted to Halloween. A new haunted game theme and lots of creepy creatures such as vampires, witches and zombies are the most outstanding new elements in this special version, where the main character has evolved from being just Doodle to becoming a scary Doodlestein.

Indie favorite Minecraft has been unavailable due to a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack. These types of attacks have often been aimed at corporations and companies as a form of protest, so Minecraft's one-man development team was a little confused as to why he was suffering.

It seems as if Minecraft has been attacked by a group of unhappy Minecraft fans, who demanded more updates to the game! A message was posted on the notorious 4Chan site claiming responsibility, and while it's hard to verify, it seems likely to be true.

How long the attack will go on is not clear, but it certainly won't help Minecraft get updated! What's incredible about the timing of this is that there is a huge update planned for Halloween, which will introduce a new realm - Hell - along with more monsters and other developments. We can only hope the protesters get bored soon, so the rest of use can get back to mining and crafting!

The NBA season tips off again in earnest on Tuesday, so it's time to stock up on basketball apps for your iPhone. The App store is packed with NBA applications and choosing the best ones to install can be a bit of a hassle. I've picked out some of my favorites here, so you don't have to trawl the store yourself.

Oh, and keep an eye out for EA's new NBA Elite 11 game, which is due out this month. From the looks of it, it's gonna become the best mobile basketball game out there. We'll update you when we have more news.

ESPN ScoreCenter - ESPN can always be depended on for unbiased NBA news and its scores and results app is no different. ESPN ScoreCenter keeps you right up to date with what’s happening in all the NBA games, providing comprehensive play-by-play updates, stats and roster information. You have the ability to ‘favorite’ your team so its news appears on the front page.

FOX Sports Mobile - This impressive app keeps you posted on everything that’s happening in the world of NBA basketball. The amount of content included in FOX Sports Mobile is incredible. As well as reading the latest news for your team, or for the leagues as a whole, the app provides stats, schedules, rosters, information about injuries, and video reports.

Pro Basketball Scores - A handy, well designed NBA season companion, Pro Basketball Scores offers live information about all the games taking place. Besides the usual scores, schedules, standings and news, this app allows you to chat with other fans, and to cheer and boo teams.  Pro Basketball Scores also lets you set your favorite team for one-touch access to its scores.

Yahoo! Sportacular - Yahoo!'s sports app provides a more interactive way of following your favorite NBA team on your iPhone. It lets you customize alerts and get push reminders for events such as the game tip-off, scores, and game status. There's also a geo-location game called Fan check-in, a game prediction section, and the ability to track players or fantasy teams.

ESPN Fantasy Basketball 2011 - If you want a competitive edge in your fantasy basketball league, this app is well worth installing. ESPN Fantasy Basketball 2011 allows you to manage multiple teams and leagues, keep tabs on match-ups in real time, and make trades via the app. Thanks to the app's exclusive analysis and expert columns, you can turn your team into winners!

Fanball.com Fantasy Basketball Annual Guide Magazine 2011 - Another essential download for your draft, Fanball.com's guidebook is rammed with information to help you make the right choices. There are almost 250 well-researched player profiles and projections, along with cheat sheets, mock drafts and the lowdown on all of the NBA teams.

The NBA season starts on Tuesday and basketball fans will be looking forward to another mouth watering season featuring Bryant, Gasol and LeBron. Whether you want to follow the action, monitor performance stats, shoot some hoops or just decorate your desktop, here is a selection of top basketball and NBA related downloads for your Mac.

If you want to impress your buddies with in-depth knowledge of NBA rules and regulations, then look no further than NBAPod. NBAPod is simply a series of text files of the official NBA rules. You can download them onto your Mac for reading in any text editor or transfer them to your iPod or iPhone for reading on the move.

If you want to impress them even more with your in depth knowledge of team and player performance stats, then Statbook is your answer. Statbook is ideal for both fans or even players that want to monitor their performance. You can create a category for just about anything and as you build your stats, you can share them in HTML format via e-mail or export them to your iPhone.

To keep up to date with the latest fixtures, scores and league placing, try Basketball Widget. This desktop widget displays NBA, WNBA and Men's NCAA College games in local time according to your location and includes league tables. Despite the name, Basketball Widget also supports other sports including Baseball (MLB and minor leagues down to Class A), Football (NFL and NCAA College), and Hockey (NHL).

If you can't be bothered taking to the court to shoot some hoops yourself, then you can always do it on your desktop thanks to Basketball. This simple but addictive widget challenges you to score as many points as possible from as many angles as you can. To aim and shoot the ball, simply extend the black line going from your mouse cursor to the basket. The further you stretch it, the further the ball travels.

Of course, the team to watch this year will be yet again the all conquering LA Lakers who won back-to-back titles with victory in the 2009-10 playoffs. If you're a Lakers fan, then use this official LA Lakers 2010-11 Schedule Widescreen Wallpaper to keep track of all their up-coming fixtures for the 2010/11 season from October until April. The wallpaper is in widescreen 1920x1200 resolution so it looks great on big screen displays.

The start of the domestic soccer seasons in Europe has spawned three new versions of the iPhone's premier association football games, namely: FIFA 11, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and Real Soccer 2011. All of the new versions are a marked improvement on last season's offerings, and all offer a decent mobile simulation of the real thing.

I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to soccer games, and have spent the best years of my life locked in my bedroom playing everything from Super Kick Off to Actua Soccer. However, I'm having real difficulty deciding which of these three iOS games I prefer. All of them are fun to play, all of them look pretty good, but all have their own unique flaws.

In terms of the visuals, here's an idea of how FIFA, PES and Real Soccer square up. Again, I'd say it's hard to pick an overall winner in the aesthetic stakes. Personally, I love the menus in Pro Evo, but I think the player likenesses are more realistic in FIFA, and the in-game graphics are smoother in Real Soccer. I'd be very interested to hear which you prefer.

Game menus

FIFA 11

PES 2011

Real Soccer 2011

If you've just splashed out on the wonderful new Nokia N8 phone you might be wondering what apps you should get for it. Thankfully, there's plenty of great software already available for the Symbian ^3 operating system, which the device runs. Many popular apps from other platforms such as iOS, Android, and previous versions of Symbian are now available for free from the Ovi Store. Here's my list of recommendations to get you started.

Angry Birds (Game)

Undoubtedly the mobile game of the year, Angry Birds has already soared to the top of the charts in the Apple App Store, the Android Marketplace and the Ovi Store. It's a ridiculously addictive game in which you need to catapult your feathered friends into walls of blocks in order to destroy the critters trapped inside. The perfect companion to any long journey.

eBuddy (Instant Messenger)

Using eBuddy Mobile Messenger, you can chat to your buddies on Windows Live Messenger (MSN), Yahoo!, Facebook, Google Talk and more. You add your user account details for the various networks that you belong to, then all of your online contacts from these will be displayed on screen. Simply tap on a contact and you can start tapping live messages to them.

fring (VOIP Software)

fring allows you to make cheap - even free - national and international phone calls from your N8. You can make free voice and video calls to anyone in your fring buddy list of contacts; or call any phone from just 1 cent per minute, using the fringOut service. Just like eBuddy, fring allows you to send instant messages to people on other social accounts, including Facebook and AIM.

FourSquare (Social Network)

Try FourSquare and you'll never look at the world around you in the same way again. FourSquare is a social network linked to the real world. It allows you to see exactly where all your friends are based on their mobile GPS data. You can also use the app to discover more information about places around you, reading what others who have been there before have said.

Opera Mobile (Web Browser)

If you're getting frustrated with the N8's built-in web browser then give Opera Mobile a try. This easy-to-use app comes with a selection of useful time-saving features such as speed dial, tabbed browsing, and a password manager. Opera Mobile also promises a faster mobile internet experience, thanks to its famed server-side compression technology.

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