Looks like we didn’t have to wait very long! Over the week-end SoccerGuide was released. It looks to be pretty much the same as the preview screenshots. The application opens to a screen where you can pick from two leagues (Germany; Bundesliga and England; Premier League). Once you have selected a league you get the options to view Live Scores, New, Table, Results, Fixtures, Clubs, Credits and the ability to go back to the League screen. It looks as if the scores are brought to you via ScoresPro. They do not fit correctly in portrait mode but if you tip your iPhone to landscape mode it fits fine.


You can choose to view News via Premiershiplatest.com or BBC Sport. I do like that you can view the full news right in the application. The Table option will give you the overall team rakes based on total points. Results will give you match results. Fixtures will give you a list of matches and start times (I think) based on Month. The last option Clubs brings up a list of clubs and if you select one, you will get information such as when it was founded, it’s nickname, capacity, manager, general info and league history.

The application seems to run smoothly though, it did crash once or twice on me. Other than that, like their other applications, a very informative app if you are a soccer lover!

I was out shopping tonight and I was gonna buy Spore for the computer. It was $50 so I decided not to. I probably would waste lots of time playing it so that’s a good thing. I looked and looked all day yesterday in the App Store for Spore for the iPhone but never came out. Well, now it’s here! Right now I’m waiting…. It takes a while to install. If you don’t remember, this is one of the original games that Apple showed us when the iPhone apps were first announced. Here’s the video:

Now that the app is installed, I’ll try to write as I play. It starts off at a main menu. I’m gonna just start by tapping “Play”. First you need to name your creature. I chose ahhyeah. The keyboard was running pretty laggy during this step. You can also tap random to have it chose a name for you.

Next is a little intro video and then the game begins with some quick tips. They explain how to use the accelerometer to move. Then it says to fill the DNA bar by eating some smaller creature. You can double tap the screen at anytime to pause the game and see a mini menu. The first level was pretty easy. You can get combos which are eating multiple creatures in a row. This gives you a higher score. At the end of the level I can now edit my creature. The editing feature is intense, so intense you can take a picture right from the iPhone and make it the color design. I took a picture of my kitchen table to use as the design. It wasn’t such a great idea because it locked up my iPhone.

After restarting my iPhone I was able to get the photo to work with my creature although the process was still slow. Now here’s what’s sweet, you can rotate and drag the image around to make it even more precise. There is also an undo button in the bottom right corner. Once you’re happy, just check the check mark in the top right corner.

Now, make sure that you don’t hit the dice or it will randomize your creature and lose your settings. Once you’re done editing you’re on to level two…

I’m already noticing larger creatures and there was a warning right away that you will be damaged if they attack you. So for now, avoid them and go on eating up the little guys. Another tip I saw was to use an extreme tilt toward other creatures you’re eating during the eating process. This will increase your combo scores. After level two there wasn’t anything different I could do in the edit mode so on to level three…

Level three gets better with shields and poisons you can collect. This helps defend agains the larger creatures. During level three I just noticed something really annoying. I have Intellescreen, a jailbroke app from cydia installed. When it gives me a reminder of a missed call, it kills the sound from Spore. Now kewl. I’m going to just put my iPhone into airplane mode to get around this for now. Don’t try calling or texting for a little while

After level 3 I am able to add a part to my creature from either Offense, Defense, Movement or Perception. I went for a tail to move faster. You could also add an eye, shield or spike. Now on to level 4.

As level 4 loads, I can see we are getting closer to land. I’m already noticing more precise movements with my new tail, but I’m also seeing new, larger creatures So far on this level I’m not seeing any more tiny creatures to eat, so I’m gonna go after some bigger stuff…. OK, not a good idea! That knocked me down a lot… so off to find some little guys… ok, here’s some Much better! Ahh, now I see, there is a big guy you wanna go for, not the long squid type, but the round with little spikes, gotta hit ‘em where there’s no spikes, then it turns into lots of little guys. It helps to gather up some shields and poison before moving in.

No upgrades this time so on to level 5. Level 5 is called primordial ooze. It has some land to navigate through. The tip says to follow the current so here we go… but don’t be afraid to go upstream in some places, sometimes there are little pockets of little guys to chomp.

Ok, I’m gonna stop here so I don’t ruin it for you. So far I’m loving it and I’m off to play some more. This is definitely a suggested purchase.

Click here to download Spore via the App Store.