2XL Games released their much anticipated offroad motorcycle racing game tonight: 2XL Supercross [App Store].

The $7.99 game offers a truly remarkable package from the creative team who also developed Motocross Madness, ATV Offroad Fury, and MX Unleashed for other platforms. This iPhone game offers a laundry list of features:

• Tracks designed by Motocross champion Stephane Roncada
• 3 Modes of Play: Time Trials, Practice and Racing
• 4 Camera views
• 8 preset control schemes
• 12 different tracks
• 15 different bikes with 15 different skins
• "Secret jump combinations"

The original developer gameplay video shows off a race with accelerometer controls:

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When playing the actual game, the first thing that you notice is the high production quality of the entire game. 2XL Games offers a number of calibration options as well as 8 different control schemes. This includes accelerometer, slider or joypad steering as well as left/right handed combinations.

The game comes with 12 tracks (many locked) that can be played in Practice, Time Trial or Race modes. Locked tracks can be unlocked when placing 1st or 2nd in a race. Whips and backflips can be performed and a reference to "secret jump combinations" is mentioned in the app store description.

We recorded this video to show off the control schemes, track choices and a bit of the gameplay:

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Early reactions to the game have been very positive, though some have voiced concern about a lack of "career" mode in the game. We'll offer a more in-depth look at the game after we've had more time with it.

App Store Link: 2XL Supercross, $7.99

Starscene Software has released their previously announced Realmaze 3D [App Store] game tonight.

The $0.99 game throws you into a randomly generated three dimensional maze (with ladders) and your job is simply to get out as quickly as possible. You are optionally allowed to use a compass and breadcrumbs to mark your way, but these speed up the timer. Your best times required to escape each maze is kept in a high score table.

The developer describes the game as having "fantastic lighting effects, beautiful graphics, and a sublime soundscape combine to create a mysterious atmosphere". And it's true. The atmosphere of the game adds a lot to the overall experience.

The game allows you to pick from 5 different sizes of maps from "Tiny" to "Insane". "Tiny" and "Small" are relatively easy but once you try "Normal", a distinct sense of claustrophobia sets in as you unsuccessfully attempt to navigate the maze.

This gameplay video is me trying to make my way out of a "Normal" maze.

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At its core, the game is quite simple: it's just a maze game. And if you think that's a boring prospect, you probably shouldn't get this game. That said, Realmaze 3D is surprisingly well implemented and for only $0.99 delivers a great version of a simple concept.

App Store Link: Realmaze 3D, $0.99

Hermitworks long-awaited Space Trader is now available [App Store] for a very reasonable $0.99.

While the game is set in first-person perspective view based on the Quake 3 engine, it is not a shooter. The core game resembles a much enhanced version of Dope Wars where you buy and sell items from individuals between locations in an effort to make a profit. The values of these commodities can change from place to place and over time based on market events. Opportunities also present themselves in the form of missions as you interact with individuals you run across in your trading.

The goal of the game is to make as much money within a given amount of time ("180 days"). Traveling to the different planets (there are 3 in the initial version) can take anywhere from 8 to 25 days, so you need to plan ahead to maximize your profits.

The game's offers dual control pads for navigation: left side controls movement, right side controls view. Space Trader has the advantage of not having to deal with combat situations (yet) so these controls seem to work quite well for exploration.

Hermitworks is considering future expansion of the game, including additional missions, achievement system and combat.

Given the high quality of production and novel use of the Quake 3 engine, it seems Space Trader is an easy pick-up at $0.99 if you have any interest in this commodity-trading genre.

App Store Link: Space Trader: Moon Madness, $0.99

Here are a few $0.99-$1.99 games that we thought were worth a look.

Qbix - $0.99 [link]

Vega Mobile's Qbix is basically Q*Bert in the forest.  Gone are Coily, Ugg, and Wrong-Way, replaced by various enemy plants and woodland creatures that strive to do in our hopping, hero squirrel.

The game is played using touch control (directional swipes) and features 32 levels.  And although we've heard that an official Q*Bert game is coming, Qbix is a good option for those needing an 80s retro isometric fix.

Though more nature than Day-Glo, Qbix delivers something close to the feel of the original.

Sheep Abduction - $1.99 [link]

Sticky Studios' Sheep Abduction is a lot more coherent (and fun) than the game's bizarre premise.

Planet Zurq 340 is dying! They need a single drop of water to save their planet. Luckily, they've found a planet with lots of water: Earth!  Since Zurqs are very polite they need to ask permission from the local inhabitants: humans. In order to establish contact with Earth, crop circles need to be created. Sheep seem to be the ideal candidate to chew crops.  So...In order to save the planet, you will need to move around sheep to their destination!

Premise aside, Sheep Abduction is quite a polished game that's both enjoyable and challenging.  The alien craft can only pick up sheep of a particular color at a time, after having grabbed a floating, color-specific "beam enhancer."  Grab the enhancer, grab the sheep, and get them to the target area before the timer runs out.  Chaotic, goofy, and enjoyable.  And while the game's price has danced about quite a bit since launch, it's currently well priced at $1.99.

Mini Golf Ace - $1.99 [link]

Mini Golf Ace from three-2-one GmbH is an 18 hole mini golf game that's rather sparse on scenery but solid on gameplay.  You and up to four friends have six tries each to negotiate the course obstacles and get the ball into the hole.  The game features touch / drag controls for aiming and swinging and accelerometer controls for setting camera angle.

While the visuals are nothing close to realistic, the game is a fun, pick-up session of mini golf.

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Konami announced today that they will be bringing Silent Scope to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Based on the popular arcade game originally released in 1999, players take on the role of the world's top sniper and must defeat terrorists to save the American First Family, including the President of the United States, who have been abducted by terrorists in Chicago.

The game is said to be designed to take "full advantage" of the iPhone's multi-touch user interface and feature tap-to shoot controls.

Here is a video of the Playstation 2 version of Silent Scope for those unfamiliar with the game:

The game is a rail shooter and can be played in Arcade Mode and Training Mode. The Arcade Mode features up to three stages of gameplay: Story, Shooting Range, and Time Attack. The game is "coming soon" to the App Store.

Konami's Metal Gear Solid Touch received some criticism about the iPhone-simplified gameplay, though Silent Scope sniper mechanic already seems well suited to the iPhone.

Yesterday we reported that a lite version of Namco's Galaga REMIX appeared in the App Store [link], ahead of the full, paid release.  Early this morning the full Galaga REMIX [link] joined the lite version in the App Store.

"Galaga Remix" offers play of both the original 1980’s arcade game, and an enhanced remix version with extra features including intense boss battles, 9 power-ups types, and a variety of background images illustrating your fighter’s journey from Earth to the Galaga system.

Namco's preview video shows the REMIX side of the game.

Last week we spoke with Namco's mobile group who shared details of the iPhone version.

App Store Link: Galaga REMIX, $5.99, Galaga REMIX Lite, Free

Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Cega there was a princess called Abigale.  Not only did she possess a beautiful appearance, she also had the kindest heart.  As heiress to the King, at age 19 she was sent to a far-away island preparatory school and during her absence the evil Pope of Cega brought siege and overtook the kingdom.  Abigale was sent to the Dark Forest for her protection from the Pope, who sought to destroy her.  Wanting to avenge her people, Abigale made a pact with the Dark God and traded all her "love" for the holy weapon Mosa which absorbs enemy fire.

Such is the backstory of Japanese mobile developer Meridian's Abigale [App Store], a 2D side-scrolling shooter for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Abigale features attractive, parallax scrolling forest backdrops and very smooth onscreen animation across 15 levels.  It's an accelerometer-based game (lacking a calibration feature, unfortunately) with tight controls that delivers a challenging shooter experience.  Abigale is reminsicent of a number of Japanese shooters where dodging (and in this case, also absorbing) enemy fire is the main task at hand.

Abigale's enchanted Mosa is connected to her craft by a spring and spins freely, driven by the tilt motion of the iPhone.  When the Mosa contacts enemy fire, it absorbs it, becomes empowered and, with a tap to the screen, begins spinning violently.  A second tap sends the Mosa flying to the tap location, inflicting far more damage to enemies than does Abigale's craft's auto-fire, often destroying the enemy in one strike and releasing the precious crystal shards that Abigale so desperately seeks.

In my limited time with the game, I found the early levels somewhat repetitive, but the presentation and overall game performance are impressive. It's worth noting that the game seems particularly well suited to the iPhone's control system, which can be rare in shooters. At its $0.99 introductory price (it will increase to $2.99 shortly), Abigale is really a no-brainer for the scrolling shooter fan.

See our gameplay video for a better idea of what Abigale is all about.

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App Store Link: Abigale, $0.99 (introductory price)

Bulky Pix has released their interactive movie adventure Hysteria Project [App Store Link] that we previewed in February.

The game begins with the premise that you find yourself tied up by a strange cabin, and your job is to escape and stay alive. The game is a series of video clips tied together with multiple choice decision points and plays like a choose-your-own-adventure. The developer's video shows the gameplay in action:

The initial "pilot" episode is said to offer 30-40 minutes of play and is available for $1.99 and the rest of the story will arrive in subsequent episodes.

Fortunately, players can continue at the last decision branch before their demise. This avoids the need to restart from the beginning of the story to make a different choice. Early impressions have been rolling-in in a discussion thread.

The video/audio production is of high quality, but some of the early criticisms of the game is understandably related to the simple multiple-choice gameplay.

App Store Link: Hysteria Project, $1.99

Some may have noticed that we have added a new reviewer over the past few weeks. Eli Hodapp has joined TouchArcade to write in-depth reviews for the site. We asked Eli to introduce himself:

Eli Hodapp:: As the new guy around here, I suppose I should probably introduce myself! I’m Eli; I live in the Chicago area and have been obsessed with mobile gaming my entire life. Originally starting with Tiger Electronics handhelds, graduating to the original Game Boy, and upgrading to nearly every handheld platform leading up to modern day portables, I’m right at home on Touch Arcade.

Like most of us, I’ve been completely blown away with what the developers of the App Store have been producing and we’re still in year one. Look forward to seeing even more reviews from me as we keep our fingers on the pulse of the iPhone gaming scene. If you aren’t already, come post with me on our forums, follow me on Twitter, or leave a comment on one of my reviews.

Eli joins Blake and myself as a regular on the TouchArcade team. Welcome Eli!

Mobile publisher Chillingo announced this evening that they will be working with Two Tribes to bring Toki Tori to the iPhone platform.

We previewed an early build of Toki Tori back in February.

The game is a platform puzzler in which you (Toki Tori) must navigate levels in order to rescue all the eggs. Special tools are provided that can (and must) be used to solve each level. Tools can help Toki Tori move around obstacles (telewarp, bridge) or weapons to thwart enemies. The tools only have a limited number of uses so you must use them wisely.

This video is from a preview build:

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The developers have indicated they are still tweaking the control systems for the game. The game was originally set for a 1st Quarter 2009 release.

Last week Glu released Build-a-Lot [App Store], a port of a PC casual strategy game that takes place in the high stakes world of real estate development. The iPhone version comes packed with improved graphics and animations, as well as an interface optimized for touch input.  The game features 35 challenges in Career Mode and 8 different neighborhoods to build up in Casual Mode, which should keep most people busy for quite a while.

The meat of Build-a-Lot is in Career Mode and the challenges that the local mayor issues to you at the start of each level. The first few objectives seamlessly serve as a tutorial for how to play the game where you learn about buying and selling property as well as building and upgrading houses. Moving on, the game introduces the player to the various special buildings like banks and workshops. These different buildings offer small sets of perks -- banks allow you to earn interest on your money while the workshop allows you to train workers at a reduced price. These different building tools all go together to meet timed objectives such as “Reach $25,000 Monthly Income”, “Own 4 Tudor Houses”, etc. Casual Mode takes the same game play mechanics and removes objectives and timers in favor of a simple target dollar amount to accumulate.

The strategy of Build-a-lot comes in how you manage your time and resources while meeting the goals in either Career or Casual Mode. Houses and buildings are constructed with workers and materials with each structure requiring a different amount of each. The Rambler, for instance, is the least expensive house to build and requires the time of 1 worker and 75 building materials. When completed, a Rambler will earn you $750 a month in rent and be worth $50,000 when resold. To maximize your monthly profits, houses need to be upgraded.

Another vital part of the game is buying houses and lots which periodically go up for sale to then decide to either upgrade the existing house or demolish it and build a higher-level structure. Properties only stay on the market for a brief period of time, so if you’re trying to earn a gold star for a level you may be forced in to buying and demolishing an expensive house instead of waiting for a Rambler or open lot to go on the market.  Also, building materials are cheaper when bought in bulk which adds yet another complexity to the mix in deciding to hold out to get more for your money or just building now to start collecting rent.

In Career Mode, balancing your work force and materials stockpile, along with deciding whether to build cheaper houses early to get a revenue stream started or to just hold out for houses which yield higher rent income can get surprisingly frantic for such a simple game. Each level comes with a time limit and a secondary time goal which you can meet to earn a gold star, a task easier said than done once you get beyond the tutorial levels.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this game. When I was first read about it, I admit I wasn’t that interested since managing only two types of resources seemed rather simple compared to many other simulation games. (And really, Career Mode is pretty easy if you’re not going for gold stars.) Trying to meet the secondary time goals, however, will have you replaying levels, refining your strategy, crossing your fingers that something cheap goes up for sale, and hoping you can get your houses in need of repair fixed before rent gets collected.

I never would have expected a simple game based around renting and flipping houses could be as hectic as a good tower defense game, and although Build-a-Lot has questionable replay value once you beat the 35 included levels, it’s great fun the first time through. If you’re looking for a unique time management simulation game, we recommend giving Build-a-Lot a try.

There’s no lite version currently, however there are demos available for both the PC and Mac versions of the game that will give you an idea of what you’re getting yourself into.

This gameplay video shows some of the mechanics of the game, and this discussion thread shows a positive reaction to the game by our forum members.

Releases seem to come in cycles in the App Store, and this week, a number of Lite versions have been released. Here are a few games we've covered in the past. If you passed on them before, here's your chance to try them out. (Titles link directly to App Store)

Lights Off (Free) - This game is a simple (yet potentially frustrating) puzzler in which a tap on the screen will toggle the surrounding lights. The goal for each level is to turn off all the lights. There are 212 levels in the full version.

Rasta Monkey Lite - The game is a 2D platformer in which you play a Rastafarian monkey. Your job is to swing through the branches to collect fruit and navigate obstacles. The Lite version contains the first 3 levels of the game.

Big Fun Racing Lite - a stunt racer that requires you to collect coins while navigating ramps and obstacles. The lite version appears to contain 8 tracks, while the full version has 50. Controls take some getting used to.

If you weren't convinced by our glowing review, or the fact that it it won an award for "Best iPhone Game", here's your chance to try out Zen Bound for free with the new Lite version [App Store].

Zen Bound is a meditative game involving wrapping objects of wood and stone with rope. It has an appeal that's hard to describe and is the perfect demonstration of what iPhone gaming can be.

The Lite version offers two levels from the award-winning game and is a "must try" for all iPhone and iPod Touch owners. The full version of the game is priced at $4.99.

App Store Links: Zen Bound Lite, free; Zen Bound, $4.99

Namco Networks has released the Lite version [App Store] of the iPhone version of Galaga REMIX to the App Store last night.

"Galaga Remix" offers play of both the original 1980’s arcade game, and an enhanced remix version with extra features including intense boss battles, 9 power-ups types, and a variety of background images illustrating your fighter’s journey from Earth to the Galaga system.

The free version of the game should give you a taste of the gameplay. The full version should be coming shortly.

App Store Link: Galaga REMIX Lite, Free

While this technically doesn't fall in the category of iPhone gaming, we couldn't resist posting this demo video from Illusion Labs showing off TouchGrind [App Store] and Sway [App Store] on a large multi-touch table.

Both games are, of course, available for the iPhone, but this video shows what might be possible if we had access to larger multi-touch devices.

In a world first, Illusion Labs shows off their commercial games running on a big screen multi-touch table. In this video we show our games on a platform by Touchtech in cooperation with Crowd.