So get this: according to various reports, Eat Sleep Play, the makers up of the upcoming, and highly anticipated Twisted Metal revival, has just laid off eight employees. The series creator, the much beloved David Jaffe (he also created God of War btw, so he’s one of Sony’s best hands for sure) is also gone.

It was reported that he was off to create casual games, but his response to that, as noted by Joystiq was basically: yeah, right. And that makes sense, given that his former home’s new emphasis is going to be iPhone and iPad development, hence the exit.

Well, this all certainly sucks. It’s a situation that’s not all that different from Last Guardian, with yet another creator flying the coop (though at least Jaffe stuck around long enough to see the game to completion as a full-timer). One also has to wonder why such a focus is being made without the game having shipped yet.

Is this a sign that the final product is less than perfect? Perhaps not… Jaffe’s track record is fairly sound, and Twisted Metal‘s return was clearly a labor of love for him. But one can’t help but view things in such a manner either.

But, as with all things, we grow up and put away childish things. Only to get really angry at small children, because they get awesome computer-controlled tiny race cars, and we got a couple of wheels soldered to a pin that broke after five minutes.

Actually, this product is probably aimed equally at adults and children: kids get the standard RC controls that come in the box, adults get the iPhone adapter and thus all the awesome ways to control the car.

And there are plenty of awesome ways to control this tiny little race car. You can control it by tilting your iPhone. You can control it by drawing a path with your finger. You can control it by dragging your finger across the screen, which also sets acceleration. And, of course, you can have a virtual RC controller, if you happen to be incredibly lame and hate fun.

Probably the best part is, unlike most RC toys for the iPhone, this won’t cost you a fortune: it’s only $33. Expensive for a Hot Wheels, but worth it to torment the brats down the street. Now, Hot Wheels, make a monster truck heavy enough to crush other die cast cars, and you’ve got yourself a sale.

Hot Wheels RC iNitro [Engadget]

Fortunately, science has developed a cheap, simple way to keep the electronics you own from killing you. Well, from killing you with fire, anyway.

Here’s the problem, scientifically speaking. Once a battery cell hits a certain temperature in the area where the electrode and the electrolyte meet, it just keeps going until it lights something on fire, kind of like Ozzy in the ’70s. It’s called “thermal runaway”, and just to add to the fun, it can literally happen in seconds, making it hard to detect.

This sensor simply measures the alternating current coming out of the battery: you know, the stuff that your battery is supposed to put out in the first place. As the battery heats up, this current is affected in subtle ways by the temperature. All the sensor has to do is pick up on that difference, and shut down the battery before we get thermal runaway, which we are increasingly convinced needs to be a metal song.

Oh, and this sensor is also dirt cheap. In other words, soon, the idea that your phone can burn you to death will be a thing of the past. Now, the cancer, that’s a separate problem.

Inexpensive sensor can warn of lithium-ion battery failure[The Engineer]

Road warriors know the problem of lugging along a projector, so they’ve welcomed pico projectors with open arms. And now they’ve actually become even more useful: this one recharges your iPhone.

The Sanwa Pico Projector is pretty straightforward, if not earthshaking, as a projector: 640×360 resolution, about the resolution of a YouTube video and it can project up to 65″. If you don’t know projectors, that’s pretty good for something the size of your iPhone.

The useful part comes in because of the battery. The projector, first of all, has its own battery, which is a relief for those of us sick of dead iPhones, although the battery only lasts 2.5 hours before needing a recharge. However, in a pinch, the battery can serve to back up your iPhone, or you can plug the projector into a wall charger and it’ll serve as a replacement iPhone charger.

How much can you expect to pay for this little bundle of convenience? Well, you’ll have to import it as it isn’t for sale in the US yet, but at current exchange rates, $260 should do the trick.

Sanwa Micro Projector [ubergizmo]

Via Cult of Mac comes something for those of us who would like certain iPhone and iPad games a lot more if we could only, you know, control them properly…

Doesn’t look half bad; I’ve certainly seen worse Dual Shock wannabes. And using the audio jack as the control port is kind of ingenious! Though that also means you won’t be able to play games and listen to audio via headphones either. Oh well.

Though the real issue is how, at the moment, only two games support the device. And you just saw them, and no, they aren’t anything special. Basically, game makers will need to get their hands on the appropriate software to add such functionality into their titles, either right off the back or via updates.

So will Rockstar give these little guys the time of day by adding 60beat drivers into their iOS port of Grand Theft Auto 3? Unless the controller sells an ass load, I doubt it. Plus, much time is put towards creating those virtual buttons, and I can see a few not wanting to concede that actual buttons are indeed better.

But you never know. Though also, at $50? That’s another issue right there.

With a name like Battle Duty: Modern Field 3, such a thing can’t possibly exist, right? Well, then welcome to the world of iOS gaming, in which countless well known game franchises are shamelessly ripped off, with the key word being “shameless”. Granted, at least Gameloft tries somewhat to come up with a goofy new name for brainless copycats, but Imba Entertainment is apparently bravery and stupider…

Imba Entertainment claims that the game is parody and satire. Nice try, but that’s a pretty flimsy excuse when it comes to shamelessly re-using assets from someone else. But then again, it’s hard to say if it’ll be pulled from the App Store or not. Even though it look absolutely no time at all for iMAME to be pulled, there’s still plenty of goofy iPhone games and what not out there that uses Super Mario sprites and the such.

But hey, even if Battle Duty: Modern Field 3 gets yanked, there’s still the Android Marketplace!

It’s been a rough year for Mega Man fans all year, with the obvious low point being the aforementioned cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3. You’d think, the last few weeks of 2011, that they’d have it a little easy, right? Nope. Because the following has everyone all fire and brimstone once again…

Not only are fans of the original game all pissed, but so are members of the press, like Kotaku and Destructoid. Is the vitriol warranted? Yes and no.

The first issue is how it supposedly looks like ass, at least when compared to the SNES original. Which is rather perplexing since plenty of Super Nintendo games have been ported to the iPhone and iPad with no loss of graphical fidelity.

And yeah, it’s not as pretty, but it’s not that ugly either. The last time we had a portable port of the game was for the PSP, which looks far worse IMHO…

Sorry, I’ll take low rent 2D over low rent 3D any day of the week. Though another point of contention is how content that’s normally accessed by unlocking them through the course of the game can be immediately enjoyed, for the lazy and/or unskilled folks out there that are willing to pay additional monies.

Granted, Mega Man X is awfully hard, and I can’t imagine it playing very well, sans buttons. But that’s pretty obnoxious nonetheless. And like I said, the reaction has been harsh…

“Are you f*cking kidding me?”

“This looks freaking terrible. And this is honestly why I can never see the iOS as a legit gaming medium. Maybe for casual time killers, sure. But not for anything truly serious.”

… lol at that last comment. Whatever kid. But anyway, you get the point. And guess what? The best part: a good deal of those complaining will still buy the same game. Capcom knows this, because as everyone is well aware: fanboys are gluttons for punishment.

Though another somewhat cheesy sentiment that does have some shred of truth is how the fan community has been putting together some awfully impressive homebrew takes on Mega Man X. Like this one…

BTW, for those who want an actually faithful iOS port of a SNES game, easily one the best ever for that system, should get the recently picked up Chrono Trigger. The asking price is $10, but it’s SO worth it…

The iPhone Carabiner is actually hilarious as a gadget in a lot of ways. First of all, this isn’t a case: this is something that you actually install into the case of the iPhone by removing two screws, and then basically bolting it to the thing’s case.

Yes, they want you to pay $30 for the privilege of voiding your warranty and probably destroying your $600 phone. Anyway, once you have the screws secure, and probably buy a new case since any case that covers the screws won’t fit over the carabiner’s strap, you can now clip your iPhone to your messenger bag or your belt and look like either a complete hipster douchebag, or a nerd that other nerds view with pity and contempt.

Although if you call yourself an “iPhoneographer” like the marketing copy on this gadget encourages you to do, you are probably already beyond help in this aspect anyway. Especially if you take the repeated Batman references in the copy seriously, too.

The iPhone Carabiner [PhotoJojo]

Fortunately, there’s a gizmo that has your back.

xPrintServer is actually a fairly ingenious solution to the iPad’s printing problem. It’s simply a dongle that’s plugged into any network, from a professionally laid out IT system to your router at home. Plug it in and…you’re done. That’s it. It does everything else: scan the network for compatible printers, configure itself to send data to those printers, finds your iOS devices in order to interface with them, and also makes your coffee for you. OK, so we made that last part up, but this thing is incredibly painless.

The best part about this device is that it interacts with anything running iOS. Say for example you’ve got a contract to print up, but the only place you have it is your iPhone. Click Print, xPrintServer does the rest, and you’re done.

Even better, it interfaces with 4,000 different printers, and doesn’t require any driver installations. You can even set it up to accept any iOS device in range, so if a client has forgotten his documents, he can just pull them up on his phone and run them off, no problem.

How much will this convenience set you back? Approximately $150; the manufacturer, Lantronix, starts shipping them in January.

xPrintserver offers up wireless printing for iOS devices [Engadget]

Guess what? Turns out that you do!

AT&T has starting pinging the “top 5%” of data users, by which they mean “people who do more than check their email”, and telling them that their data speed will be reduced to 2G speeds, since they hog so much of AT&T’s precious…um…electromagnetic radiation? There’s no really good reason to this, unless you happen to be, what’s the word we’re looking for here, oh yeah, CHEAP.

AT&T claims this will only apply to a very specific subset of users: people who have an unlimited data plan who jailbroke their phone. Of course, what AT&T fails to realize is that most people who jailbreak their iPhones are doing it to get as far away from AT&T as possible.

We wonder if they’re aware that people can just get an iPhone from Sprint now, and Sprint’s pretty serious about this whole “unlimited data plan” thing?

AT&T Starts Throttling Heavy iPhone Data Users [Cult of Mac]

Yesterday we were all reminded that, despite being relatively benign when compared to wacky his siblings, Alec Baldwin is still a Baldwin, when he was kicked off an American Airlines flight in LA. Reason? He wouldn’t turn off his iPhone because he was far too into Words With Friends. To be fair, he could have been playing the Android version.

Baldwin then tried sneaking into the bathroom, to continue his game. But that didn’t work, so he became agitated, and began yelling at the flight crew. As you’ll see in the following footage; for whatever reason, Oscar De La Hoya was on the same flight with him…

Baldwin responded by, what else, Tweeting about it: “Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt” Unfortunately, he has since suspended his account.

CBS News has numerous other tweets, from fellow passengers that witnessed the B- celeb getting booted from their flight. Wait a minute; they didn’t have their cell phones turned off either! It’s clear that Baldwin was unfairly singled out.

The following is a breath of fresh air, since I’ve long since tired of dopey, trustafarians telling me how awesome the Mario Bros are in their stabs at become viral superstars. Tapping into iOS offerings make much more sense, since they’re the ones using Instagram and Oink to death.

And naturally, a cat is inserted into the proceedings for no other reason than cats are also awesome (a plain truth that hipsters love to repeat ad nauseam, cuz as already noted, they have little else to do with themselves)…

Of the games I recognize, and actually care about, they seem to hit it on the money in terms of recreations. BTW, at least they had the decency to also insert some behind the scenes footage instead of creating a separate clip video.

Seems like I’m grasping at straws here, in terms of stuff to bitch about, but they’ve always driven me nuts. I know you’re proud of all the crap you had to do to make your video look amazing, but it’s a bit too transparent when it comes to patting one’s self on the back.

On a semi-related note, on a couple of levels is these PS3 commercials…

I’ve heard some say it’s very Michel Gondry-esque, which to be honest, is a bit of an insult. Because he created wild and whimsical set-ups that stretched one’s imagination, not because of what you saw but how it left you wondering how he did what he did. That’s, honestly, the magic of filmmaking, which kids today have completely missed.

Though I know the real reason why we have to be let in on the behind the scenes stuff: cuz the final product is hardly that interesting to begin with. Nice try folks.

Jew Or Not A Jew was pretty simple: it displayed pictures of various celebrities, and you had to guess if they were Jewish or not. Long-time fans of Saturday Night Live might recall a parody game show that was built around the same premise, as does Kotaku. Though I believe the concept may have originated on the Howard Stern Show, back during his K-Rock days.

Consider it satire, consider it racist. If you fall in the later category, there’s a good chance that you’re a French lawmaker. Apparently if they find something racist, they go after you legally. It was pulled from the French iTunes App Store back in September, but was still available in other parts of the word, like here in North America. But that wasn’t good enough, so avoid legal persecution, its created decided to pull it from across the board.

So, is the game actually racist? Maybe? Though the man who made it is a Jew, Johann Levy, and he certainly didn’t think so: “As a Jew myself I know that in our community we often ask whether a such-and-such celebrity is Jewish or not.” I think now might be a good time to mention how my South Korean mother used to refer to other Asians as Orientals, as did many from her generation, for the longest time. It was no big deal, until you white people somehow decided it was an offense term.

This sorta reminds me of Smuggle Truck, which faced similar ire by those who felt the premise, in which you try to help get Mexicans cross the border, was also insensitive…

This one is slightly harder to defend, since the guys who made it are clearly white dudes, yet it’s also clearly satire. Something that Apple didn’t get, hence why the game was never even accepted into the App Store in the first place. Which led the creators to re-work the title into Snuggle Truck and the Mexicans replaced with teddy bears. This time, Apple gave it a pass. Hilarious, I know. If one is interested, they can purchase the PC and Mac version, which includes both. All interested parities should head on over to here.

Well, what was once a $2 a pop app is now totally free, which caused the game’s popularity to completely explode. To the tune of 1.3 million downloads in just 9 days after it adopted its freemium model, according to Joystiq. Not bad at all! Still, I’d rather pick up the un-tampered version. Which, btw, has a “Legal Immigration” mode to direct the critics…

Also nice: it can be synced with up to six different devices, meaning you won’t need to go through some tedious menu to get this thing up and running on your iPhone after using it on your iPad. It’s also fully compatible with all OSes. It even comes with its own case.

You might be asking “what’s the drawback?” Well, it’s two-fold: first of all, it’s powered by, ick, AAA batteries, which you’ll need to provide, and there’s no option for drawing off your phone’s power source. Secondly, although it includes a little non-connective dock for your smartphone, said dock can’t handle tablets, so you’ll need to prop up your tablet on your own.

On the other hand, it’s leaps and bounds ahead of any other Bluetooth keyboard on the market, especially those aimed at smartphones. So, if you need a keyboard, or just want to ditch your laptop and stay smartphone only for a while, this will be a good solution.

Verbatim updates portable keyboard [Gizmag]

First, download an iPhone backup tool, like iBackupBot, and get your phone backed up. Really, this is something you should be doing in the first place, so consider this just catching up. Find your backup, and save a separate copy. In that copy, open the file “Library/Preferences/com.apple.keyboard.plist”, and add this code: KeyboardAutocorrectionListsYES

Load the revised backup to your phone, and you should have an improved keyboard. If it doesn’t work, or something goes wrong, upload the original backup and you should be OK.

So why do we have to go through all this rigamarole just to get a feature that’s standard in Android? In a word, patents. Apple, Google, and a bunch of other people are currently in the process of suing each other blind over various software patents, and Apple probably shut this off to avoid yet another patent fight.

Of course, now that it’s revealed that this was in there, they’re probably getting another one anyway, but hey, at least your iPhone is just that little bit more awesome.

iOS hides an Android-like autocorrect keyboard [9to5Mac]

Want one? Just go to Sanchez’s Kickstarter for the project; he’s already gotten twice the amount of funding that he needs, so he’ll be delivering the mounts anyway. Just pay $25 into the Kickstarter fund and you’ve bought one. Well, $30 if you want a white one, but hey, style costs. Here’s Sanchez laying out the benefits and why you should give him twenty-five bucks.

MobileMount Strength Test/Twist-to-Lock Explanation from JR Sanchez on Vimeo.

MobileMount sticks it to any tablet or smartphone [Gizmag]

Familiar with Jetpack Joyride? It’s similar to what I was talking about yesterday, about iOS games that don’t break new ground, and are hardly a contender to one of the better offerings you’ll find on a DS or the like, yet are still fun little distractions, great for short bursts, when you need something to keep you occupied while waiting for the subway, or while on the can.

Anyhow, here’s what the game looks like…

Again, it’s nothing mind-blowing, but it’s oddly addictive nonetheless. Oh also, it’s totally free! Granted, the usual asking price of a dollar was hardly anything, but times are also tough, I know.

Though all you have to do is like Apple’s App Store page. And then you’ll get a code (haven’t done so myself, since I already own the game). Not sure how long this offer will last… I get the impression that there’ll be a new free game on a rolling basis, so act fast. Or simply wait till something else comes up that might be more your cup of tea?

As much as I love my traditional consoles and handhelds, I also dig stuff on the iPhone a whole lot as well… the thorn to the side of many hardcore gamers. Many claim that iOS games are hardly comparable to offerings on “real” game machines. Guess what? They’re totally right.

For the most part, their scope are comparative primitive, as is the actual act of interacting with said game. Granted, there are exceptions to the rule. Sword & Sworcery being perhaps the best one, even to this day. But it’s not like everything you find on the PS3 or DS is necessarily “sophisticated.”

Many iOS games are deceptively complex. But not all, which try to offer something a tad bit less ambitious. Which is totally fine. In those cases, I don’t mind mindlessly swiping and tapping the screen, for just a two subway stops, so long as the presentation is top notch. Take rock, paper, scissors for example: why would ANYONE bother with an iPhone version of such a game? Why not? So long as it looks like this…

The best part is that it’s technically free! Well, I say technically, cuz to enjoy most of the cast, you’ll have to fork over a buck or two, per the popular freemium business model. But considering how awesome everyone looks and animates, there’s little doubt that Age of Monsters will make money. Though the lack of a single player component is the real deal killer. At least you can mess around in training mode. Yes, there’s a training mode for a rock, paper, scissors game.

Another iOS title worth checking out, especially since Halloween is right around the corner is Dark Meadow. It’s basically Infinity Blade, which means its visuals are top notch, rivaling some console offerings in fact. Which is great, since it helps to offset the fact that the level of involvement is fairly on the light side. Though there appears to be a bit more interactivity, plus I’d much prefer chasing a naked girl ghost than some huge oaf in armor…

To nab your copy, simply click here.

Behold GLaDOSiri. Note: if one is upset by fat jokes, do not proceed further…

… Once again, I generally can’t stand fat jokes, I find them super lazy among other things. That being said, here’s an example of it being used well.

Also, just making fun of someone’s weight is one thing, making fun of someone’s weight that also happens to be blind? Now that’s comedy!

“Apple + Aperture Science = GLaDOSiri, a Mash-Up Triumph” [Kotaku]

And to illustrate this fact, a trailer for a new game was shown at Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event. And here it is…

… There’s no question that Infinity Blade 2 sports the most visually impressive graphics ever, not just for a cell phone title, but perhaps portable games in general. Unfortunately, if it plays anything like part one, it’ll also be one of the most boring cell phone/portable games you’ll ever experience as well.

Granted, Infinity Blade 1 does have its fans, but I personally couldn’t get into the purely gesture/finger swiping “gameplay”. I’d much rather mess around with some full motion video title, like Dragon’s Lair. At least those have a built in reason why things can’t be more interactive.

Though I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ll be downloading the game, once I get the 4S, if only to put the phone through its paces.