The guys over at nowgamer.com have group tested a number of top bowling games for the iPhone and iPad, and provided a list of what they believe is 10 of the best. If you want a game that actually manages to recreate the authentic feel of ten-pin bowling, then the I-play 3D Bowling Lite game is probably the perfect application to download.

I-play 3D Bowling Lite comes with a wide variety of features including multiplayer, the ability to customize your bowler and achievements that you can unlock by performing specific tasks. The game also utilizes the Apple iPhone’s accelerator technology. Once your bowler is in position, you simply swing your whole arm to throw the ball towards the pins.

Once you have got your swing perfected, you can even try adding curvature to your rolls by gently tilting your iPhone to the side. If on the other hand you want an unconventional bowling game. Then it might be worth giving Arcade Bowling a go. The aim of this app is to throw balls down the alley, and score points by getting them to land in different zones.

Meanwhile, the 10 Pin Shuffle application is essentially 3 games in 1, which all have origins in the classic Shuffleboard game. The aim of the Shuffleboard game is to use controlled ‘shoves’ to move the object across the board into high scoring zones. Not only does 10 Pin Shuffle come with classic Shuffleboard, it also comes with 10-pin poker and bowling.

Flick Bowling is another good bowling game for iOS devices. However, you actually slide the ball down the lane rather than flick it. Those of you that want a simple bowling game might like the Fantasy Bowling 3D Lite app. Simply click on the ball to aim it left or right, and flick your finger up to throw it. One of the best bowling games however has to be PBA Bowling Spare Challenge.

This game presents players with a series of tricky spares, which they have to attempt to knock down using three different ball weights and a tilt and flick control method. Another interesting bowling game on the list is Downhill Bowling, which delivers a novel twist on conventional bowling, Players have to tilt their phone to guide a ball down a hill.

It’s not as simple as it sounds however, as players must knock down pins and collect tokens along the way. It also adds a little extra into the game with ramps and power-ups. Doodle Bowling is another app that made it onto the list, although it’s definitely not one of the better ones.

The final two games on the list are Midnight Bowling, which features a number of modes that players can progress through in order to unlock bonuses, and Monkey Bowl – Family Bowling Fun in the Jungle, which features jungle-themed aisles and banana pins.

Have you tried any of these bowling games on your iOS device?

Now it appears that a similar situation has developed with mobile game developer Gameloft. According to a recent article by Tim Colwill over on the games.on.net website, Glenn Watson – the former Head Studio Programmer at Gameloft’s New Zealand site – has revealed what he describes as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘dangerous’ working conditions.

Glenn explains how he would sometimes start work at 9:30am, and wouldn’t end up going home until 2:30am the next morning. He then went on to say that he would sometimes end up returning to the office at 8:30am to start work again. According to Glenn, who began his long career in game development at Ratbag Games in Adelaide, he would sometimes work 100 – 120 hours a week.

It was only after he had worked 4 consecutive weeks of 14 hours days (including weekends) that he finally realised that he needed to resign from his job. It’s not just Glenn that’s accusing Gameloft of ‘poor’ working conditions either, as many of his allegations have been confirmed by other ex-employees.

Glenn says that there were poor performances from employees during his time at the studio, performances that he says was directly caused by the unacceptable working conditions enforced by the developer’s senior management. He recalled one particular week when the team was working overtime in order to get a game ready to demonstrate for Gameloft’s French office.

The former Gameloft employee said that even the most reliable programmers were making mistakes. He explained that it was 11:30 at night and all the team had been there since 8:30am. Glenn said that despite paying a visit to management and explaining that the employees needed to go home, they said that they were needed there as deadlines had to be met.

He even discovered that one of the junior programmers had actually worked for 24 hours straight. However, in an email conversation between Watson and senior management at the Auckland office, the company said claimed that no one is forced to stay there if they don’t want to work over their contracted hours. You can read more about this over on the games.on.net website.

What do you think about these allegations and the allegations made against Team Bondi?

According to reviewers, the BackStab game – which is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad – resembles Assassin’s Creed, but mixed in with elements of other games. For example, Andrew Koziara from appolicious.com says that the game not only combines the crime aspects of a GTA game with the parkour style of AC, it also sets it in what may as well be the environment of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Andrew notes that although the story of the BackStab game is nothing spectacular, it is still pretty well done. The best part of this game in Andrew’s opinion is the assassinations, while the downside is the fact that the game is full of bugs and glitches. Meanwhile, Dan Morgan from theappera.com says that the game looks amazing on the iOS platform, and the settings fit well with the game’s story.

The only downside according to Dan is that the cinematics can be fairly glitchy at times. Other than that, Dan says that the BackStab game has great visuals, active gameplay and an engaging story. Anthony Gallegos from IGN on the other hand gave the game a score of 4.5 out of 10, describing it as a disappointment. Anthony says that although the game does look impressive, its flaws do let it down.

Meanwhile Jim H from thesixthaxis.com gave the game an overall rating of 5/10. Among the good points in Jim’s opinion are huge open world environments, a refreshing choice of setting / character and satisfying / fun to play linear sections. However, the downsides include frame rate issues that spoil the visuals, bland melee combat and incredibly repetitive side missions.

Finally, Jason Wadsworth from 148apps.com gave the game a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5. Jason also noted BackStab’s resemblance to the Assassin’s Creed game, and even goes as far as saying that BackStab is what Assassin’s Creed would have been had it been set in an 18th century English colony. Jason says that although the lack of fidelity in the controls can be frustrating, the game does have a fairly entertaining story.

You can read the full reviews via the links provided. Have you downloaded the BackStab game onto your iOS device yet?

As Chris Schilling over on the pocketgamer.co.uk website recently noted, the new downloadable map pack provides gamers with three brand new multiplayer maps, as well as a number of bug fixes. The three new maps include Floating Rock, Icy Bridge and Aquarius Beach.

The Aquarius Beach map is more suited to mid-range combat and features sniper nests and organic cover positions, while the Floating Rock map comes with a number of low-orbit platforms for short-range skirmishes. The Icy Bridge map on the other hand favors larger groups.

Icy Bridge comes with a large energy field that is solid enough to walk across, but is permeable by any weapon as well. The new N.O.V.A. 2 map pack is available to purchase now for just $1.99 on the US store and £1.19 on the UK store. Once downloaded, players receive 10 free XP levels.

You can view a number of screenshots over on the pocketgamer.co.uk website, and view a trailer of the new maps below this post. Are you a fan of the N.O.V.A. 2 game?

According to a recent article by George Wong at ubergizmo.com, the video game developer’s popular 3D first-person shooter series has gone from the small screen to the big screen. The N.O.V.A. Elite game incorporates the gameplay of the original title, but adds in social networking features.

For example, gamers will have the ability to create friends lists, and share both their progress and rewards with friends. The N.O.V.A. Elite game will of course be free to play, but players will have the option to spend money (Facebook Credits) on upgrading their online characters.

As Andrew Webster at gamezebo.com recently noted, the N.O.V.A. Elite game comes with some pretty impressive 3D visuals, which of course means that there are system requirements. Players must have 1GB RAM, 1GB or more of hard drive space and the Unity web player installed.

The game supports both Mac OS X systems and Microsoft Windows (dating as far back as Windows XP). You can view a trailer for the new game below this post. Do you have a Facebook account? If so, will you be playing the N.O.V.A. Elite game?

As Michael over on the iphonedownloadblog.com website recently noted, the gameplay and mechanics in the StarFront: Collision game are similar to that of any other real-time strategy title. Players have the option of three races to choose from: the Consortium, the Myriad and the Warden.

Once players have chosen their preferred race, they will then fight to gain control of the Xenodium crystals. Just like with any other RTS title, players will be tasked with building structures, mining resources, training battle units and defending/swarming their enemy until they complete their objective.

The campaign mode is packed with a total of 17 missions, with players taking a role of each of the three previously mentioned races. Players begin the game as the Consortium, but will soon move on to the Myriad race and then eventually onto the advanced-robotic race of the Warden.

As noted on the itunes.apple.com website, the StarFront: Collision app – which is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch (3rd and 4th generation) and iPad running iOS 3.1.3 or above – also features a 4-player multiplayer mode, which can be played local or online.

You can view a trailer of the new StarFront: Collision game via the YouTube link here. What do you think of the game? Have you downloaded it yet?

The Freebox Revolution v6 will let you watch Blu Rays, use the web and now, play HD games. This is the first ISP to offer such a service. It seems the technological world is moving towards a one box for everything style. This is being looked upon as ‘smart TV’. If you want to learn more about smart TV then head to the bottom of our article where you can find a video to explain.

As a Free subscriber you will gain access games in HD. Some of the titles that will be available from day 1 are, Asphalt 5, Real Football 2011, Uno, Let’s Golf! 2 and finally N.O.V.A. It’s good to see that they have a good genre range of games to start with, sports, action and even a card game. The games will cost between €4.99 and €6.99 and there are some other planned titles for release very soon.

According to Faisal Alani over at computerweekly.com, Gameloft, who are a game developing and publishing company have worked with Free on the project. Apparently Gameloft described the gaming experience as “somewhere between the Wii and PS3 due to the controller and motion-sensing remote.”

If you want to learn more about smart TV then you can keep up with them on Facebook by clicking here and then hitting the “Like” button. If you are in France and this is something that interests you then head over to Free’s homepage here.

What do you think of this revolutionary one box solution? Let us know in the comments below.

Modern Combat: Domination is a brand new online multiplayer FPS game, which is currently being developed by Gameloft. According to a recent article by David Hinkle over at joystiq.com, the game will be released onto the PlayStation Network sometime in January 2011.

I found a little more information about the upcoming game over on the US PS Blog (written by Jen Kye), for those who want to know more. The game’s producer Arnaud said fans can look forward to maps that feature Western metropolitan and Middle Eastern cities.

Gamers can expect the maps in Modern Combat: Domination to be all about opportunity spots and cover, according to Arnaud. Rushing into objectives isn’t a good idea in this game, as it will only lead to mission failure so progressing with care is the best option.

Does Modern Combat: Domination sound like a game you would buy?

As Jennifer Allan reports over at electricpig.co.uk, besides announcing a release date for the new game, Gameloft has also released a trailer. There have been some pretty awesome games released on the iPhone recently, and this looks like it could be one of them.

N.O.V.A. (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance) 2 features a larger range of powers and weapons than the original, as well as an improved AI and more diversified gameplay. Another welcome change to N.O.V.A. 2 is that the multiplayer maps now have space for up to 10 players.

Rik Henderson of pocket-lint.com has written a hands-on article about the N.O.V.A. 2 game recently, and notes that the sequel isn’t as claustrophobic as the original. Another noticeable change that is mentioned in the article is that the enemies appear more intelligent than before.

You can view the trailer below this post, and view the full hands-on and screenshots via pocket-lint.com. Will you be downloading this game when it arrives on the 16th?

If puzzle games are your thing you should check out Blokus, this game has received strong reviews and even won awards. Blokus is a strategy game in which you you must attempt to block your opponents from adding blocks on the board, you can find out more here.

If you prefer fighting games check out Blades of Fury, this single or multiplayer game has the look and feel of an arcade-fighter, you can find out more here.

If you enjoyed the Terminator films and TV series you should check out Terminator Salvation, this game utilizes a third-person perspective and is packed with a wide-range of missions and gameplay, There should be hours of fun whilst hacking computers, destroying targets, shooting enemies and much much more, find out further info here.

Finally we will talk about Fishing Kings, this fishing simulation game allows you to fish at five different locations, I have not played this game, however I am told that even people who have never fished before can enjoy this game, check out this link for more info.

Source: IntoMobile