There’s been considerable online buzz for Gangstar online the past few days and if you haven’t heard it’s the iPhone’s GTA 3+ equivalent.  (Link to Gangstar developer here and review here.)

I NEVER buy applications EVER but decided to purchase this one as a treat due to my love of GTA.  As Murphy’s Law would have it, the first thing I ever buy from App Store goes tits up on me.

The thing about the game is that it is stalls alot.  You turn a corner, it stalls.  You get into a car, it stalls. Well, at least for my beautiful, jailbreakless iPhone and judging by iTunes reviews, Twitter and general internet buzz, it’s stalling for others too.  It was very frustrating and I got no feedback from Gamesloft at all.

Solution to the problem:

• Before you play, restart your iPhone.  This frees up memory and makes it easier for the game to run.  I tried force quitting all applications with no luck.  Restarting your iPhone is a fairly obvious solution I know, but who turns off their iPhone? I don’t think it’s every been off since I got it, just a few restarts.

If that doesn’t work solely, (and it didn’t for me) then I recommend using the iPhone flight mode feature which will turn off all mobile services and WiFi, thus allowing more free memory space for Gangstar to run.  Make sure you turn it back on though when you’re finished or you won’t receive calls, sms etc.

The game is a lot less challenging than GTA in terms of missions and they storyline is a bit drab.  Also, after about 5 minutes into it, you realise that it’s like you’ve taken a step back in time and not in a good Marty McFly way. Gangstar has nothing new to offer except chronic pins and needles.

http://fireglo.eu/2009/08/08/emoji-on-iphone/ is my earlier post about it.

Looks like Stephen Fry has found out how to be even cooler.

One of my favourite bands at the moment, as proved by my last.fm profile are ‘The Cribs.’  It’s kind of hard to describe their music or fit it into a specific genre but whatever magic they created in the past, they’re adding to it by introducing Sir Johnny Marr to the line-up.

I’ve deliberately stayed away from their new music because I want to be able to enjoy it when I have the free time.  I’ll link ye anyways in case ye can’t wait.  There is the first single, Cheat On Me (youtube)  & We Were Aborted (youtube).  The new album is titled ‘Ignore the Ignorant’ and set to be released on September 7th 2009.  The Cribs also play Dublin on September 21st and I really hope to be able to go as I want to see Marr before I die (I saw the other good Smith last year.)  More information on the gig at ticketmaster here.  See other tour dates on The Cribs homepage here.

Enter Buzzword; enter everyone jumping on the bandwagon,  Enter Twitter. The Maccabees don’t really get it (sorry, too commercial), Calvin Harris is a tad annoying and the Futureheads absolutely rock at it (all members of the band post and not focused on selling their music.)  The Cribs could also be a bit less commerical but I’m not bothered ‘cos I love them so much. >.<

The Cribs seem to have really grasped the concept of user generated media/content, or else some smart person at iLike (their software developer) convinced them this was the way to go.  Either way The Cribs loyal fan base are doing alot of promotional work for them (and alot of them probably don’t know they are.)

Like Skittles before them, this application features a “Twitter and Fan Wall” which displays:

• All of the band’s tweets from their official Twitter account.
• A Twitter search going for the string “The Cribs” which shows all mentions of the band in the Twittoverse.
• A fan wall which displays photos that their fans have taken and messages from them.

Imagine a non Cribs fan stumbling upon this application and seeing what a dedicated fan base they have and after taking a look at some of their videos.  What are the chances they’ll click the little banner  at the bottom to download the song from iTunes? Well, alot higher than if the application weren’t there.  This handy little application is building up a nice little fan network for the group.

And what about being indie?

Well… there’s no major record label here chucking money into music videos and 100ft statues of The Cribs floating down the Thames.  Also, since iTunes killed the record shop star, it’s only apt that The Cribs provide a link to iTunes.  If Twitter had been around in the time of The Smiths, I’m sure this is a route they would have chosen.  Be Safe.

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