The $5.99 platformer certainly looks very impressive. The developers describe it as an original game dedicated to mobile only. It comes with 26 levels with "simple and addictive gameplay for everyone."
Edge puts the player in control of a colorful cube that moves about a series of 3D, isometric maze environments (26 in all) full of puzzles to solve and hazards to avoid.
Edge won the Milthon award for Best Mobile Game of 2008 at the Festival du Jeu Video, Paris and is nominated for the Excellence in Gameplay award at the International Mobile Gaming Award competition. Some early opinions have been posted in our forums.
Back in September we posted a preview of Secret Exit's upcoming surreal 3D puzzle game Zen Bound.
It is something to be enjoyed at a slow pace: a game where a high score is not the goal. Zen Bound is designed to challenge in a subtle way, it does not attack or force the player. There is also an element of self-reflection, for each of the sculptures is a representation of a state of mind or a human emotion.
We've been anxiously awaiting the release of this unique title and are happy to report that the developer has just sent us word that they are aiming for a late January App Store release. They indicate that no solid date has been set, as they are prioritizing polish over schedule on this release.
Secret Exit has also provided us a series of screenshots from the latest iPhone build of the Zen Bound.
We're most anxious to spend some time with this promising title. Readers can expect a full review when Zen Bound hits the App Store.
See the developer's demo video, provided back in September, for a better feel of the gameplay.
Zen Bound is an iPhone adaptation of the previously released PC game Zen Bondage. Secret Exit is the developer behind 3D rotational puzzle game SPiN for the iPhone.
Apex Designs has written in to let us know that their Grand Theft Auto-like top-down title Payback will be making its way to the iTunes App Store early this month.
As you have probably guessed, the game is inspired by Grand Theft Auto, but every effort has been made to ensure that Payback beats that game in every way. The game engine supports texture mapping, environment mapping (reflections), distortion mapping, realistic shadows, alpha-channelling (lens flares, explosions and shockwaves), multi-channel 3D sound and spectacular physics. The game has also been translated into many languages.
Payback has been released for the Mac, Game Boy Advanced, Amiga, and GP2X mobile platform. The game is extremely similar to the original Grand Theft Auto, aside from a new camera angle and additional weapons.
Critics have found Payback to be worthy of some modest praise. As IGN tells it,
... it's clear that Rockstar should simply halt development of the official Grand Theft Auto for the handheld ... a graphically impressive, as well as enormously fun Grand Theft Auto-styled game.
Have a look at a video of the GP2X mobile version of Payback.
We'll take a closer look at Payback when it makes its App Store debut. Stay tuned.
Finnish developer Secret Exit has just released SPiN Lite [App Store], a free version of their 3D puzzle matching game SPiN [$4.99, App Store], that features only the 60-second Minute Rush challenge mode from the original.
SPiN is a shape matching puzzle game that makes good use of the iPhone’s multi-touch interface to spin 3D objects around in order to match it up with the silhouette shown. 3D rotation is accomplished using left/right and two-finger rotation gestures.
SPiN Lite features as listed by Secret Exit:
Multi-touch rotation controls
10 difficulty levels with 100 stages
11th difficulty level for the insane
Unlockable trophy objects
4 different game modes
Chain Combos and Bonus Multipliers!
100 different 3D objects
Streaks, stars and flashy stuff!
Unique and stylized visual design
The original SPiN is the winner of the IGN Editors' Choice award, the GDC Most Innovative Mobile Game award, and the Forum Nokia Pro Best Mobile Game award. And with good reason. We found SPiN to be a highly innovative title that's very well suited to the iPhone and worthy of more attention than it's getting in the App Store.
As FingerGaming reports, Mobigame CEO David Papazian has announced that the company's debut iPhone game, a highly-unique 3D maze game, will be available through the App Store next week.
Edge puts the player in control of a colorful cube that moves about a series of 3D, isometric maze environments (26 in all) full of puzzles to solve and hazards to avoid. The game utilizes touch control (default) or accelerometer for control of the cube and, as the developer's gameplay video demonstrates, requires some quick thinking to successfully negotiate the various moving parts of the mazes.
As you can see, Edge looks to be a most challenging iPhone offering. We're quite anxious to spend some time with this one and share our reactions with readers.
Edge won the Milthon award for Best Mobile Game of 2008 at the Festival du Jeu Video, Paris and is nominated for the Excellence in Gameplay award at the International Mobile Gaming Award competition.
Yose Widjaja's -- dare I say? -- "unique" Space Ninja [App Store] game has appeared in the App Store.
The game is set up like a traditional vertical shooter in which you control the flight of a spaceship. Instead of shooting the enemies, however, the objective is to dodge enemy fire and make it to the end of each level. There are 40 progressively difficult levels and 5 challenge levels.
Before I played, I found myself drawn to the premise of the game since by-the-skin-of-your-teeth dodging is one of the best parts of traditional shoot-em-ups. The problem with iPhone shoot-em-ups, however, has been the control issue.
Existing iPhone titles that have tried to deliver vertical or horizontal shooters have just not been good enough. Accelerometer controls always seem too clumsy and touch-screen controls too intrusive. Surprisingly enough, developer Yose Widjaja has hit upon a remarkably good control system for this particular game.
The ship itself is controlled using the accelerometer -- which is nothing new -- but also provided is an unlimited "bullet time" (slow motion) mode where by simply tapping down and holding your finger to the screen, the action slows down and the view slowly zooms in so you can perform more exact movements with the accelerometer. This method is shown well in the gameplay video embedded below.
While you might think that would result in the game becoming too easy, it certainly isn't. The momentum of your ship and the momentum of the enemy fire make it surprisingly difficult to survive. The addition of 7 possible power-ups offer some inventive ways to help you survive, including some that allow you to fight back. Beyond simply beating a level, additional level accomplishments are awarded for not using "bullet time" or not using any power ups.
The game features music from Jake Kaufman (virt) and Samuel Ascher-Weiss (shnabubula) which suits the tone well.
There are a few minor issues with the game, including the lack of more than one save game. It should also be noted that the overall game remains relatively simple as it is a dodging game throughout. Still, this game represents a unique iPhone experience that certainly seems worth the $3.99 asking price. Early adopters in our forums have been raving about the game. And with 40 increasingly difficult levels and 5 super-hard challenge levels, there's plenty of gameplay to keep you busy.
Developer provided video below. The game was originally played with the accelerometer but saved and played-back for this video. So actual gameplay, but you don't see the accelerometer usage or the touching of the screen.
Hudson's Crayon Physics Deluxe [App Store] has been released for $4.99.
This puzzle game allows users to draw objects on the screen which are then affected by physics. The goal of each level is to get the ball to the star. The game features 50 levels which can be played out of order and also includes a level editor that allows you to create your own levels and save them locally.
First impressions show a highly polished game with progressive difficulty that should appeal to fans of Line Rider and Touch Physics. A discussion thread about this release is ongoing.
Edge has arrived [App Store].
Apex Designs has written in to let us know that their Grand Theft Auto-like top-down title 
Finnish developer 
As 
