iPhone Daily News Digest

Overview

Raging Thunder 2 is an arcade racer developed by Pixelbite Games and published by Polarbit, and is the sequel to Polarbit’s first foray into the racing genre, Raging Thunder. Raging Thunder wasn’t very popular and only mediocre in terms of polish and gameplay, but it seems that Polarbit has learned much from their first experience since much has been improved from the original, including graphics, controls, and content.

Features

The graphics are the first thing that caught my eye when I was browsing iTunes. Crisp, clean, beautiful visuals are always a plus in any game, and they’re definitely present here.

Raging Thunder 2 also features online and local cross-platform multiplayer, which is another big feature. Many people like to play against real human beings instead of artificial computer controlled opponents, and they’ll get their competitive racing fix with this game. In addition, there are five different game modes, and they provide the game with more play time and replayability.

The Good

Raging Thunder 2 does an astounding number of things well. Given the arcade nature of its gameplay, one would expect it to give a great sense of speed and have purchasable items to beef up your vehicle. Raging Thunder 2 has that, and more. You’ll be racing across a multitude of scenic tracks, and quite a few of them have “hidden” shortcuts, harmful obstacles, and nitro and repair powerups. The gameplay never gets monotonous and always has a compelling urge for “just one more race.”

The sound effects and background music are phenomenal. The rumble of the engine, screeching tires, nitro boost, crashes, and explosions all contribute to the realism and polish of the game. Unfortunately, I did have sound hiccups here and there where the nitro boost sound didn’t take effect due to other sound effects also starting at the same time. Though this happens very rarely, it breaks you off from the experience when it does.

Also, Raging Thunder 2’s graphics are almost out of this world. I have barely seen any that match up to the standard that Raging Thunder 2 sets, and frantic driving across snow-covered mountains, tropical beaches, and even the Great Wall of China is a fantastic experience.

The controls are accelerometer-based, and I personally don’t enjoy using the accelerometer to control anything. However, Raging Thunder 2 has proved to me that accelerometer controls can be great and extremely easy to use and adjust to. After a few quick races, I had the controls spot on.

Replayability is almost as high as it can get. Online multiplayer is flawless, there are five different game modes, and multiple cars and car parts to purchase. Raging Thunder 2 is one of the only games that has a permanent spot on my iPod Touch, and I think it’ll stay that way for quite a while.

Lastly, I have to praise Polarbit and Pixelbite Games for the game size and loading times. At an unbelievable mere 15.1 megabytes, Raging Thunder 2 packs all of its content into a 3G downloadable package. In addition, it only took me about 15 seconds on my 2nd generation iPod Touch to start up the game and get through the loading screens and into a race. That’s the fastest I’ve ever experienced for a graphics-intensive game, and it’s quite impressive.

The Bad

Honestly, Raging Thunder 2 is one of the most polished products I’ve ever seen to date. All that needs to be added are touch controls since almost all racing games have them, and the rare sound hiccup should also be looked into, though it’s probably just my device.

The Verdict

If you have the slightest interest in high-speed, action-driven, nerve-racking arcade racers, I suggest you pick up Raging Thunder 2 right now at the more than worthy price point of $4.99. If you don’t, you’ll be extremely sorry for missing out on one of the App Store’s finest gaming experiences.

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There has been a lot of chatter lately around Apple’s suppliers and the working conditions in which our dear iDevices are built. Indeed, the secrecy surrounding Apple’s products begins in these Asian factories and who knows at what cost are we really getting all these goodies.

Well, to answer those preoccupations, Apple has published on its main website this week its 2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, presenting the result of audits conducted internally across its suppliers in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Philippines and the U.S.

So what did we learn? A lot actually. Apple admits for example that they discovered in these factories many irregularities concerning work hours, wages, hazardous material and so on. There is even a case of underage employment, where three employees were only 15 while the law in the concerned country stated 16 as a minimum (page 17).

These situations have however been now taken care of and Apple assures that it’s doing all the necessary to make our iDevices as socially responsible as possible.

PR or reality you might ask? Well, I believe Apple is very conscious of its image and its margins definitely allow them to play fair. With all the media attention they’re getting, it’s in their outmost interest not to shoot themself in the foot.

The complete report can be found directly on Apple’s website.

This might sound cynical, but would social concerns really make you give up on your iPhone anyway?

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