Here are a few of the latest $0.99 price drops that are worth picking up.

• Isotope ($2.99 -> $0.99) - One of our favorite Geometry Wars-like shooters that's a steal at $0.99.

  
  [ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

• Taxiball ($4.99 -> $0.99) - A tilt and roll game with a nice style and gameplay in which you take fares from one location to another.

• Caster - ($2.99 -> $0.99) A nice 3rd person shooter.

Cowboy Rodeo's port of the classic Amiga pinball game Pinball Fantasies [$5.99] arrived in the App Store tonight. Early reader reactions are positive for the game. Cowboy Rodeo previously brought us Pinball Dreams to the iPhone.

Pinball Fantasies features four tables, each with one or more high scoring rounds that are started by achieving certain targets. Each table is vertically taller and generally more complex than those in Pinball Dreams. Level details as described by the game's Wikipedia entry:

• Party Land - a table oriented around an amusement park, where the letters of either PARTY or CRAZY must be lit to start a high-scoring event. This is the easiest table due to several high scoring targets such as the Arcade and the Loop Ramp. This is the table included in the shareware release
• Speed Devils - focused on car racing, and the player must overtake cars to take the lead. This is more difficult due to much fewer high-scoring targets
• Billion Dollar Gameshow - a gameshow-style table where the player attempts to win prizes by achieving certain combinations of ramps. This is the most difficult, as if the player loses the ball before winning the jackpot the prizes are lost
• Stones 'N Bones - based on a haunted house, where the player must go through different modes of play (by hitting targets spelling out "Stone" and "Bone"), with the later modes scoring more points. This is generally considered the highest-scoring table. It is similar in theme to Nightmare in Pinball Dreams.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

App Store Link: Pinball Fantasies, $5.99

Konami, better known for its Metal Gear and Silient Hill series, has just released Power Pros Touch [link] through the App Store, an adaptation of its popular Wii and PS2 baseball title MLB Power Pros, for the iPhone and iPod touch.

MLB Power Pros is a cartoonish take on the sport featuring cute, bobble-headed players in keeping with the style of the heretofore Japanese-only Power Pro series, which made its debut in 1994.

The game is very well reviewed, with Gamespot concluding,

Simply put, get the game for whichever system you play the most. It's a fantastic choice for anyone in the market for a fun-loving alternative to all of the other hardball sims out there, and one that doesn't skimp on statistical and physical realism in its pursuit of goofiness.

Power Pros Touch maintains the cartoonish graphics and delivers much of the home console experience to iPhone gamers.  It features two play modes across three different difficulty levels.  Exhibition Mode is a game against the CPU with a choice of six different teams and a certain degree of customizability.  Pennant Mode allows you to customize your season, selecting 25, 50, or 162 games and choosing between 3, 6, or 9 inning per game.  It's a full season experience.

Our forums readers have reacted very positively to Power Pros Touch, many calling it the best baseball game in the App Store.  MicroByte writes,

I've been playing Power Pros now for a day or so and must say, I'm loving it! I've purchased the other baseball games on the App Store (except the Homerun game) and I'm honestly liking this one the best. I've always liked more arcade like baseball games as opposed to realistic ones so that's probably why I like this one.
...
Overall I would say that it's definitely worth the money for me. I've spent some decent time with the game and it's not perfect, but it's fun and that's what counts. Between this and Baseball Superstars 2009, I prefer this one. To me, the pace of the batting and fielding always seemed too fast on BS2009 whereas this one feels like I can manage things better. I also like the touch screen control better than the virtual d-pad.

The main criticism that we've heard from those who've spent significant time with the title is that the game is much too easy on the default Novice difficulty level; we'd recommend players give the Normal or Expert difficulty setting a try, for a better game experience.

The arrival of a well reviewed, big-studio home console title on the iPhone platform is always a welcome event.  And baseball gaming fans, with or without prior experience with the Power Pros series, will likely find Power Pros Touch to be a title well worth considering.

See this gameplay video for a look at Power Pros Touch in action.

App Store Link: Power Pros Touch, $3.99

To followers of our forums, no three letters send a sharper chill up your spine than "MMO". Usually paired with the suffix "RPG", MMO's thus far on the iPhone have largely been fairly bland and focus more on friend code trading, point buying, and recruiting other players instead of actual content. Thankfully, Ironwill Studios is about to change all of that with their soon to be released space MMO Outer Empires.

Outer Empires takes place in a persistent galaxy where players can choose from a variety of different activities as you play in the intergalactic sandbox. There are tons of quests (or "Missions" as they're called in game) to complete that range from simple transport jobs to exploring and bounty hunting. Once you establish yourself in the world, you can set up colonies as well as run or join a guild (or "Factions" in Outer Empires).

Of course you have access to a wide variety of ships and upgrades to those ships which can all be purchased from player-created manufacturing plants. Having only clocked a few hours in to the beta so far, I'm reluctant to compare it to EVE Online, but there's not much else to compare it to.

The cool part about Outer Empires is that the game runs both in a browser on your computer, as well as in the app on your iPhone. Accounts are shared between both versions of the game, and you can literally log out in your browser, log in with your iPhone, and be exactly where you left off with all the same functionality of the desktop client on the go.

Ironwill Studios has an ambitious update cycle planned to patch in additional ships, player races, and other content supported by monthly subscriptions. Talking to Producer and Development Lead Paul Hutson via Skype we were told the monthly subscription fee would be "Around £2.50" which at current exchange rates is in the neighborhood of $4.00 per month. Initially subscriptions will be managed via PayPal, but Hutson has hopes to implement 3.0 in-game purchases for subscriptions soon.

Overall the concept of Outer Empires is really neat, and I've enjoyed playing both the browser and iPhone versions of the game, although once you get used to playing in the browser the iPhone client seems cramped in comparison. It remains to be seen how the community will react to a monthly subscription based game, but don't worry, you can try it for free without any time limits.

Free players can only reach a maximum level of 10, which will allow you to get a good feel for the game to decide if you want to bite on a paid membership or not. If you decide not to, you can still log in, chat, and do anything you want including completing all the missions for players level 10 and under.

If you decide to take the plunge on a subscription, all the experience you gained from doing extra missions after you hit the level 10 cap is applied. This is a unique approach on MMO trials, as they're usually based on a firm time limits before forcing you to pay up. If you play at a leisurely pace, it could take you quite a while to reach level 10 and if you just prefer the social aspect of chatting in Outer Empires you may never have to pay at all.

Outer Empires is currently under development, and according to my chat with Paul Hutson, they hope to submit the game to Apple later this month. If you want to know more, check out the Outer Empires web site which is absolutely packed with all kinds of information.

Firemint has released a major update to their Real Racing game today. Aside from the usual bug fixes, Firemint has added a number of new features:

• 6-player multiplayer over local WiFi network (previously 2 player only).
• New vehicle class with a distinct roar of a V12 engine with "unsurpassed speed and control with 12 new exotic vehicles"
• New game soundtrack with 10 original music tracks
• Career Mode additions: exotic vehicle qualifier and two new championships
• OS 3.0 iTunes Music Library picker
• New Control Method: Touch-Wheel-to-Steer, Manual Accelerate and Manual Brake.

The game originally came out in June and we loved it:

Real Racing sets a new standard for what to expect of racing games on the iPhone. Great graphics combined with a solid framerate make for an action-packed racing experience.

App Store Link: Real Racing, $9.99

News of Taito's upcoming Space Invaders remake to the iPhone seemed to generate a lot of interest. The new game is described as an evolution of the Space Invaders original:

Evolution is the primary concept behind SPACE INVADERS INFINITY GENE. The game evolves as you play it, gradually shifting and transforming from the classic game we're all familiar with to something fresh and new.

As the player progresses through the game, shooting down enemies, collecting points, and passing in-game milestones, he or she will be greeted with [the Evolution screen]. This signals that the game has transformed in some way. A new special ability, weapon, subsystem, etc., has evolved and is available for use.

Taito has just posted the first video of the game being played on the iPhone. The previous video we saw was from the Japanese mobile edition, but the iPhone version is said to be considerably more polished and expanded:

Gamevil's epic action RPG Zenonia [App Store] can now be had for 50% off, knocking the price down to $2.99. We've extensively covered Zenonia in the past between our review, then announcing the update that fixed most of the problems we found initially, and the whole time the thread in our forums has been going crazy.

Zenonia Lite [App Store] is also available, and we really recommend giving it a try. The controls still take some time to get used to, but Zenonia remains unrivaled in the action RPG genre on the iPhone.

Chillingo's Defender Chronicles [App Store] is also on sale today for 99¢. The game takes a new spin on tower defense games, and is presented in a sideways view where you defend from creeps that are either climbing up or down a mountain. With extensive voice over work and RPG elements scattered throughout the game, Defender Chronicles is worth a look if you're seeking additional games to add to your tower defense collection.

Our review has more details on the gameplay as well as a brief video.

App Store Link: Zenonia, $2.99 - Defender Chronicles, 99¢

Triazzle [App Store] is a triangular jigsaw-like puzzle game where you must assemble the puzzle based on the patterns printed on each piece instead of the shape of the piece itself.

The concept for Triazzle started in the early 80's when Dan Gilbert and his wife created a product to commemorate the opening of the new poison arrow frog exhibit at The National Aquarium in Baltimore. Originally called Froggle, the theme used for this gift shop prototype eventually evolved into the now iconic theme of the game.

The museum didn't order enough copies of the puzzle to make further development worthwhile, so the project was abandoned until the age of the Macintosh when Apple and Adobe started revolutionizing graphic design which greatly simplified the process of making these games. Froggle was renamed to Triazzle and since then, over 100 different variations have been created that had sold over 5 million units.

The iPhone version of Triazzle is extremely reminiscent of the original computer game, except this time around the game has much better graphics, animations, and sound. Included are four levels of difficulty, and both 9 and 16 piece formats. Each game is randomized, so you will never play the same Triazzle puzzle twice.

I could continue explaining the game, but instead, you'd be much better off just watching this five minute extremely detailed walk through by the creator of Triazzle:

Since you would be spending in the neighborhood of $20 if you went out and bought a physical copy of a Triazzle puzzle, the iPhone game provides a significant value at $2.99.

While there is something about playing with physical puzzle pieces that is just impossible to capture in a video game, you'd never be able to stuff a copy of Triazzle in your pocket any other way. The iPhone version also adds a number of elements that you won't get from the physical version, including animated cues, hints and even full solutions if you completely get stuck. Overall, a beautifully designed game that should be appealing to puzzle gamers.

App Store Link: Triazzle, $2.99

Sega released the 1991 classic Genesis game Streets of Rage [App Store] tonight, adding yet another port to their increasingly disappointing lineup of $4.99 Genesis games.

Sega started churning out ports with Sonic the Hedgehog [App Store], which was playable, but performance problems made the game lose its luster as soon as your sixteen bit nostalgia was quenched. In our first look at the game we liked what we saw, but pleaded with Sega that they do something to optimize the emulator as we realized the full potential of the Genesis catalog on the iPhone.

A while later, Golden Axe [App Store] was released. When we checked out the game we noticed this iteration of the emulator was slightly improved with the addition of an accelerometer-based control method, although, in the end, for many it wasn't very much fun to play after the nostalgia factor wore off due to similar performance levels as Sonic.

Enter Streets of Rage, between these three games you have the makings of a very solid "best of" collection representing some of the true classics of early sixteen bit gaming. Again, the same mediocre emulator, but this time with a performance issue/bug that makes the game unplayable on the 3GS.

I want to appreciate Sega's efforts on the iPhone, I really do. Growing up I was the worst console warrior Sega fanboy on my school bus, and was proud to announce the superiority of blast processing, as well as listing off all the things Sega does that Nintendon't. I was one of the few people to actually own a Sega CD, I even had a 32X. I just can't get behind this continuing trend of releasing unoptimized ports that run at low frame rates (or worse if you're a 3GS owner).

As I said with the release of Sonic, Sega is sitting on a gold mine here. But instead of releasing games that actually stand up to the performance of other similar games on the platform, this is what we get. I really don't know what to do anymore other than shake my head.

App Store Link: Streets of Rage, $4.99

Here in the weeks leading up to Monday's 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a number of lunar themed games have appeared in the App Store.  Some are more interesting than others, but a couple stand out in particular.

Imangi Studios' Harbor Master [App Store], a game with a large fan following on our forums and massive international appeal (currently #3 in UK App Store) saw its first content update yesterday.

From our review of the game when it was initially released:

Like Flight Control [App Store] the game involves the use of the swipe gesture to safely guide your boats (planes) into their docks (landing strips). Imangi's version does do justice to the gameplay mechanic and adds a number of nice twists to make it interesting.

Besides successfully docking your boats, you must also wait until they unload their cargo and then safely guide them out — all while avoiding hitting other boats. The situation can get relatively manic quickly requiring you to move some ships into holding patterns while waiting for a dock to free up. Larger boats move slower and also have more cargo to unload.

Three different maps were initially included in the game with slightly different layouts and even a cyclone in one of the maps (seen below) which sends your ships off track. In this latest update, Imangi added a fourth map, Cannon Beach.

The unique spin on Cannon Beach is the inclusion of pirate attackers that go after the cargo ships you're attempting to bring in to port. Pirates chase after your ships and eventually steal cargo one piece at a time. Once they've stolen all the cargo the ship sinks which ends the game.

To defend against pirates, you use a cannon at the bottom of the screen. To fire you draw a line originating from the cannon aiming in whatever direction you want to shoot. Pirate ships are rather resilient though, so they will take two shots to sink. Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) your cannon balls will only damage enemy ships, so you don't need to worry about accidentally sinking a ship with friendly fire.

Below is a brief gameplay video of the new map:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

While the pace of the game shown in the video is rather slow, once you start playing for a few minutes things get amazingly hectic between docking ships, sending them off, and protecting them from the pirates. This new map was largely based on community feedback, and Imangi plans to continue releasing content updates like this on a bi-weekly basis pending no issues with the App Store.

If you have ideas for what you would like to see in Harbor Master's future, stop by the thread in our forums and leave a suggestion.

App Store Link: Harbor Master, 99¢

Puzzle gamers (especially those with hoarding/collecting tendencies) will be pleased to hear that Bight Games' Puzzlings [App Store] has been released. We had a sneak peek at the game back at WWDC where it was described as a console-quality puzzle adventure.

At its core, Puzzlings is a Match-3 but offers both swapping and rotating mechanisms to achieve matches. Instead of just swapping adjacent tiles, however, you are able to reverse entire lines by simply dragging your finger across. Draw a square and that entire field will rotate. The controls for the game work very well with the iPhone's touch screen interface and the game does exude a console level of quality. The game adds difficulty by introducing larger shapes (2x1 and 2x2) that can only be moved in specific ways.

The entire game is centered around a campaign mode in which you travel across Wardrobia unlocking new clothing, accessories and even body parts for your Puzzling avatar. The unlockables come quickly (too quickly?) and you can choose to equip your puzzling right away with the new item or save it for later.

Each of the 8 provinces contains a number of levels of different types: arcade, puzzle house, and arcade challenge stages. The goal of the arcade stages is to match quickly enough to fill the combometer which continuously drains. Meanwhile, puzzle house stages offer a different type of challenge in which you must clear the board within a set number of moves. The fewer the better.

Overall, the game offers such a causal matching experience that it may actually be a turn-off for more experienced gamers. The early provinces in the game are quite easy and it isn't until about half-way through that the levels start to become more challenging. And while high-score and speed stats are recorded for each level, they are recorded entirely separately from the levels themselves -- so you don't know if you just beaten a previous score unless you keep close tabs on the stats screen yourself. Meanwhile, a lack of endless mode in this initial release will also leave you replaying the harder levels over and over for a bit of a challenge. Rather than score, the driving force in the game is to play to completion in order to collect all the unlockables, which requires the completion of all arcade, challenge and puzzle levels within the designated time limits (or number of moves for puzzle).

It does occur to me that all this fits quite well with a target of a younger or non-gamer crowd. And, certainly, for those looking for a fun and casual distraction with a ton of collectibles, this is easily the game to get. The controls and overall gaming experience are incredibly well executed. But, if you're looking for ongoing challenges and motivated by high score achievements (rather than collectables), this game may not satisfy you in its current form.

App Store Link: Puzzlings, $2.99 (intro price)

As any retro gamer can tell you, Taito's 1978 arcade classic Space Invaders is the mother of all top-down shooters.  It created a genre and revolutionized the video game industry when it made its arcade debut.  It was so popular, in fact, that shortly after its release it caused a national shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan.  Named, in 2007, the top-rated arcade game of all time by Guinness World Records, Space Invaders is a true classic.

And, happily, the franchise has seen some dusting off in recent years.  Space Invaders Extreme, released early last year on the DS and PSP, breathed new life into the original formula with frantic on-screen action and psychedelic background effects, while the WiiWare release Space Invaders Get Even put the player in control of the invaders, for a change, wreaking havoc across various 3D cityscapes.  The iPhone even saw a bit of the action with Taito's official App Store release of Space Invaders [link], a faithful port of the original game.

But, for iPhone gamers, the story doesn't end there. We're happy to report that Taito has informed us that a forthcoming iPhone release will deliver a jolt of modern Space Invaders goodness to fans who crave a bit more action than the port of the original can offer.  Get ready for Space Invaders Infinity Gene.

Originally released in the Japanese mobile handset market, Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a fast-paced action shooter with evolution as the core game driver.

Evolution is the primary concept behind SPACE INVADERS INFINITY GENE. The game evolves as you play it, gradually shifting and transforming from the classic game we're all familiar with to something fresh and new.

As the player progresses through the game, shooting down enemies, collecting points, and passing in-game milestones, he or she will be greeted with [the Evolution screen]. This signals that the game has transformed in some way. A new special ability, weapon, subsystem, etc., has evolved and is available for use.

For example, at first only left / right motion is permitted (like the arcade original), but during gameplay the player can evolve and gain the ability to move with full freedom of motion.  Advanced weapons systems and various other abilities are also achieved via evolution through gameplay, which is a lucky thing, as many stages end with massive boss motherships that spawn hordes of Invaders.

One of the standout features of earlier Space Invaders Extreme is its well-chosen electronica soundtrack that wonderfully compliments the frantic gameplay.  In this regard, Taito informs us, Space Invaders Infinity Gene will follow in Extreme's footsteps, continuing the studio's collaboration with veteran sound team Zuntata to provide audio tracks that mesh well with the game's techno music "look", as the studio describes it.

We're very anxious to share with readers our reaction to this excellent looking shooter.  Stay tuned for a full report when the game goes live in the App Store.

See a video of the Japanese mobile handset version for an idea of what's to come.

Sure, you might still have your full tier 1 set in your bank from Molten Core, and you may be lucky enough to wield [Val'anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings] but in leaving the comfort of your basement, all of your phat loot and sick achievements are left behind. Or rather, they were left behind, before Blizzard released the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory [App Store] for the iPhone.

That's right citizens of the Horde and defenders of the Alliance, Blizzard's recently released app allows you to keep track of all your World of Warcraft characters, along with their stats, equipment, achievements and more. You can access your guild's stats and calendar, as well as other informational and planning tools. Experiment with talent trees or search for items, the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory can do it all.

Blizzard released this fairly impressive trailer walking users through the various functions of the app:

The World of Warcraft Mobile Armory is available as a free download, but requires a World of Warcraft or Battle.net account to use.

App Store Link: World of Warcraft Mobile Armory, Free

Pompom Games' Poppi [App Store] is a game that couldn't really exist on any other platform but the iPhone without losing quite a bit of the experience.

The goal of Poppi is touching the screen to juggle the various shapes that fall from the top, bouncing them off other shapes and off the sides of the screen before finally colliding with matching shapes and popping off the screen with a fun star explosion particle effect. As the objects bounce they make different sounds, and eventually strange melodies emerge out of the juggling chaos of Poppi.

The simple gameplay is set on a colorful and slowly changing background, and the entire package creates a very soothing experience similar to games like Zen Bound [App Store] on the iPhone and Electroplankton on the Nintendo DS.

The white rings in the video show where the finger taps would be occuring, and also shown in the video are red spiked objects and bombs which are to be avoided. Poppi is a fun game, and because the sound is such a vital part of the feel of the game, we recommend playing with headphones.

App Store Link: Poppi, 99¢