(Disclaimer: As you'll read below, I'm serving as a judge in this competition, though I'm not getting paid or compensated for any time I'm contributing to it.) Atari has been betting big on iOS lately. It recently released a Greatest Hits app with its own controller, as well as remakes like Breakout: Boost (our review) and Asteroids: Gunner. Now the original Atari classic, Pong, is being re-imagined and the company wants help from iOS developers. Atari is offering up to US$100,000 to indie developers who can put together an "original take" on Pong for iOS devices. The contest is essentially a publishing deal. Developers can make an iOS game and submit it to the judging panel, which includes Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Pocket God creator Dave Castelnuovo and me, TUAW's Mike Schramm. The winner of the contest will be published by Atari on the App Store. In addition, community-based voting will Read More

By Jennifer Allen on February 9th, 2012 Break up blocks to get in the romantic mood. Love is in the air and so is block-busting retro fun thanks to ‘s Valentine’s Day level pack that’s just been released. Priced at $0.99, the Valentine’s Day pack adds 50 new romance-themed levels to the existing package, along with candy heart sayings and cute pictures to add that sweet touch. Alongside that is the addition of a Cupid’s Arrow power up. This sets out to make breaking up bricks much quicker. For the competitive gamer, new leaderboards and an original set of achievements continues the romantic theme. Here at 148apps, we rated and quite highly at launch so this themed pack is bound to extend the fun for fans. After all, what better way to celebrate the time of romance than through this arcade classic? Couples can compete via the leaderboards and singletons can Read More

Breakout: Boost is a free app for the iPhone and iPad from Atari that brings back the classic game of breakout to your iOS device. The free version of the app has only 5 levels that you can play however. To play further levels you have purchase one of 3 different booster packs via in-app purchases for $0.99 each. Graphics and design in the Breakout: Boost game are colorful although not too exciting to look at. If you’re looking for modern polished design with 3D gameplay you won’t find it here. If you want the classic arcade breakout game on your iPod touch or iPhone, then this will do the trick. The sound effects in the game are pretty basic. The gameplay is quite smooth and doesn’t suffer from any lag issues. In the 5 free levels you get multi-ball, fire balls, and acid balls. You can also speed up or Read More

A little while back, Atari continued its releases of updated classic games for iOS with Breakout Boost, a freemium version of the classic brickbreaking game that offers updated graphics and a few new mechanics to go with them. This week Atari announced another title called Breakout: Boost+, and while the general trend on the App Store recently is to go more towards freemium, Atari has actually made a move away from it. Breakout: Boost+ is a paid title, currently available for 99 cents. The "plus" version includes 100 levels that aren't available in the free version, and it doesn't appear to have any in-app purchases. Other than that, the gameplay appears to be about the same, adding in power-ups and those improved graphics to the standard Breakout gameplay. It's an interesting choice; during a time when most games are dropping their price down to free to get the largest possible audience, Read More

...@Applewd: إلعب لعبة Breakout\u00AE: Boost م\u062Cانا\u064B على الآ\u064Aفون والآ\u064Aبا\u062F ا\u062D\u062Aفالا\u06... Read More

...your quarters. @Atari celebrates its 40th anniversary with an arcade classic, Breakout: Boost for #iPhone. http://t.co/XgaaQeNB... Read More

...@Applewd: إلعب لعبة Breakout\u00AE: Boost م\u062Cانا\u064B على الآ\u064Aفون والآ\u064Aبا\u062F ا\u062D\u062Aفالا\u06... Read More

Looking for a new app this weekend?  Here are ten great new apps for the iPhone and iPad that you may want to check out! Available as a free version, or as a full version through an in-app purchase, this Microsoft product allows users to take extensive notes, edit them and sync them with SkyDrive.  The free version has a 500 note limit.  Free. The mobile version of the Xbox virtual pet game.  By playing on your iPhone, there’s the chance to unlock five additional pets on the console version.  It’s also universal for the iPhone and iPad.  $2.99/£1.99. Sega’s classic Sonic game has had a loving conversion over to iOS, complete with both US and Japanese soundtracks and the chance to unlock Tails as a playable character.  It’s also universal for the iPhone and iPad.  $1.99/£1.49. Create amazing stop motion films using your iPad, plus the free iStopMotion Remote Camera Read More

By Rob LeFebvre on December 16th, 2011 Free games? Who doesn't like Free games? The GRINCH, that's who. Holy heck this was a great week for the free games. Free! Games! Right? OK, OK, I’ll stop crowing and just get to the games. Fine. Geeze. Breakout Boost – “Atari’s been reviving their classic franchises on iOS; first was the dual-stick shooter reinvention of Asteroids as Asteroids Gunner. While that took a lot of liberties with the Asteroids formula, their latest reinvention, Breakout Boost, is a bit more traditional. The classic Arkanoid-esque gameplay is here: break all the bricks by bouncing a ball off of a paddle at the bottom of the screen.” FREE! Released: 2011-12-15 :: Category: Games FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Released: 2011-12-15 :: Category: Games FREE! Released: 2011-12-15 :: Category: Games FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Released: 2011-12-15 Read More

Unfortunately, this one isn't quite as successful. It certainly is Breakout, as you control a little paddle across the screen, bouncing balls up to hit bricks, earn powerups, and score points. The controls are well designed for touch, too. There's a virtual handle underneath the paddle, and there's an added element of a slider that will make ball go faster (and earn more points) or go slower (and earn fewer). That's a fun mechanic, but otherwise, there's no real innovation. In fact, I've seen better Breakout clones on other platforms (including iOS). That said, Atari sidesteps most of those issues by offering up the app for free, so if you like the Breakout style of gameplay at all, you might as well download it and test it out. I'm not so sure you'll be convinced to buy any of the level packs as in-app purchases, but that's up to you -- Read More

+ Universal App FREE! Our Review By Carter Dotson on December 15th, 2011 Rating: :: NEEDS A BOOST Breakout Boost is a freemium version of the classic arcade game. Developer: Price: Free with in-app purchases Version Reviewed: 1.1 Device Reviewed On: iPad 2 Graphics / Sound Rating: Gameplay Rating: Playtime: Rating: Replay Value Rating: Overall Rating: Atari’s been reviving their classic franchises on iOS; first was the dual-stick shooter reinvention of Asteroids as Asteroids Gunner. While that took a lot of liberties with the Asteroids formula, their latest reinvention, Breakout Boost, is a bit more traditional. The classic Arkanoid-esque gameplay is here: break all the bricks by bouncing a ball off of a paddle at the bottom of the screen. The ‘Boost’ part of the title comes from the adjustable speed mid-game; faster speeds increase point multipliers, though at the cost of more likely failure, of course. Changing speeds mid-game becomes Read More