Timeloop is a surprisingly fresh puzzler with a unique twist presented with a fun art style that will keep you playing and wishing for more levels.

Now, the underlying story in Timeloop is a little out there -- after creating a time machine, the scientists have somehow become trapped in a time loop where they are in constant danger of running out of oxygen. Their only hope is Nik, the janitor robot who must open doors to reach the vocal scientists and the occasional meowing cat. To open doors, Nik must repair circuit boxes that open the doors.

Of course, the game is more complex than just repairing circuits. In some cases, doors and levels require two or more robots working together to navigate. That’s where you come in because part of your job is to activate the timeloop that sends Nik back in time. Because you’re traveling back in time, a version of Nik, let’s call him Original Nik, is already there represented as a ghost. So, there will be two or more of you in the same scene. (I won’t bother to go into the theoretical repercussions related to meeting yourself back in time.)

Two ghost/past Niks fix the circuit so present Nik is able to go through the door

At the heart of Timeloop is a game about strategically planning ahead. Depending on how you move Original Nik and what he interacts with, he will repeat those same steps when you go back in time. Literally, it’s a replay of everything Nik performed before the timeloop.

The game has 32 levels and you have the opportunity to earn gold, silver and bronze medals based on how quickly Nik rescues the scientists. The hitch in all this is that the oxygen level is constantly depleting so you’ll need to move quickly. The levels begin relatively easy, but they become more elaborate in terms of doors and tools. Some doors require tools such as a blowtorch to repair or later on, securing and applying a computer code to a cell phone. With the simpler puzzles, only one timeloop is required, but more timeloops become available later as the puzzles increase in difficulty.

The graphics look great with cartoon-like animations along with some quirky sound effects. Visually, Timeloop has a creative art style that should be very eye-catching to most. Moving Nik is straightforward: tap in the desired location where you’d like Nik to go. The controls are more or less responsive, but on a few occasions, Nik wouldn’t respond right away or he would end up kissing the wall or worse.

The game is both fun and frustrating at the same time. The rooms become more complex so in many cases, it’s a matter of trial and error in terms of what works and what doesn’t. You almost certainly won’t be able to solve latter puzzles on the first try or even after several trys. One way to look at it is that each level requires you to solve it several times. With the clock ticking, being able to move quickly and efficiently before the timeloop is activated will determine whether or not you succeed.

Overall, Timeloop is a great puzzler with a unique twist. The visuals are fun and lighthearted, and the concept is innovative. Outside of the occasional quirks with the controls, Timeloop is a must for those who enjoy logic games…or time travel. A Lite version is also available that gives you a good taste of the game with a sampling of the first 5 levels.

App Store Link: Timeloop, $0.99, Timeloop Lite, Free

Red Rocket Games' Mevo & The GrooveRiders [App Store] rhythm platformer is free for the next 24 hours.

This charming rhythm game is presented as a side-scrolling platformer in which your controls consist of two buttons that must be tapped in time with the music. Mevo runs and jumps across the level on his own and your taps must be timed as he runs past the corresponding icons. Miss a note and Mevo will stumble. Miss enough and the game ends.

We really liked it when we first covered it in June, and the game has since seen regular updates with more levels and gameplay modes.

App Store Link: Mevo & The GrooveRiders, Free (1 day)

Originally inspired by the 1981 classic Castle Wolfenstein, id Software's Wolfenstein 3D has seen many sequels, ports, spin-offs, and references in other games over the years since its original release in 1992. In its latest version brought to the App Store, Wolfenstein makes a small genre jump to Wolfenstein RPG [App Store]. I say a small jump because while technically being branded as an RPG, there remain a lot of first person shooter elements despite the removal of twitch-based gameplay in exchange for a much slower paced turn-based system.

Wolfenstein RPG was originally designed for J2ME devices which typically lacked the input methods required to control any kind of fast paced game, much less anything that required any precise aiming. Instead of things happening in real time, each movement or combat action you make counts as one turn. This not only makes Wolfenstein RPG much friendlier to the casual gaming audience, but also is the perfect game to play while you're doing something else as even if you're in the middle of a massive gun fight, the game is essentially on pause until you make your next action.

The controls couldn't be more simple. Changing weapons can be done by tapping the weapon in the status bar along the bottom of the screen, and accessing and using items such as health packs is done through a menu that comes up after tapping your health on the same status bar. Movement is controlled using a large on-screen D-Pad and you can strafe by swiping in that direction on the screen. Tapping the screen attacks with whatever weapon you have equipped, including punching and kicking if you have your firsts or boot selected. Objects in the game such as switches and doors also sometimes can be activated by touching them.

Because there isn't really any way to tell if whatever you're standing in front of is interactive or not, I found that it's usually best to have your boot equipped most of the time to save ammo since tapping on screen will always fire unless there is something else that can be activated. Other than that one issue, the controls work great. Turning right or left always turns 90 degrees, and moving any direction always moves the same amount. The game as a whole plays very similar to those ancient "3D" dungeon crawling games, which isn't a bad thing at all as long as you're not going into Wolfenstein RPG expecting the same fast-paced action as Wolfenstein 3D.

As expected, the game takes place in Castle Wolfenstein and you play as B.J. Blazkowicz just like in Wolfenstein 3D. Instead of the serious setting found in the original where you eventually take on Hitler himself after fighting your way through countless Nazis, Wolfenstein RPG comes with a much more tongue in cheek storyline where you slowly discover the wacky experiments taking place with soldiers, mutants, and even chickens. After escaping your cell, you make your way through the Castle Wolfenstein to put a stop to the weapons program that is creating all of these monsters. In the process, you uncover clues along the way through interrogating various scientists and reading clipboards on the wall. Wolfenstein RPG likely won't be winning any awards for the plot, but it's by far entertaining enough to keep you playing, especially if you appreciate games with a silly tone to them.

Wolfenstein purists should also be aware that all traces of the original Nazis and Hitler have been removed, and instead you're fighting against the generic "Axis" army. I didn't feel this detracted from the game at all, but it has been a point of contention among people in our forums.

Part of porting Wolfenstein RPG to the iPhone was a substantial upgrade to the sprites that are pasted on top of the 3D game world. Where the original game had vague brown blocky looking sprites for soldiers, the iPhone version has high resolution sprites which really stick out from the comparatively low resolution and polygon count 3D background, adding to the silly charm of the game.

Original J2ME game on the left, iPhone on the right, click for full resolution.

For a game with "RPG" in the title, Wolfenstein RPG is actually fairly light on the RPG elements. You do slowly level up as you play, but you have no control over any kind of character customization. Again, much like the goofy story, this doesn't really detract from the game though you should just be aware that you're not going to be getting the intense customization and role playing experience that you would usually expect with a game that has "RPG" in its name. Aside from the main quest, also included are two mini-games, Kick the Chicken and War. War is a guessing game of sorts, and it doesn't take much imagination to guess what you do in Kick the Chicken.

The only two problems I've come across that I felt need to be addressed are the lack of multiple game saves, and some minor graphical issues. While a single slot for saving your game may have been acceptable in a J2ME device, I find myself passing my iPhone around quite a bit with other iPhone owners as we check out each other's games, and only having the options to continue an existing game or start a new one doesn't work for me. In the graphical department, I've noticed a few bugs with the floor in Castle Wolfenstein and have experienced some texture tearing. Nothing game-stopping by any means but still worth mentioning as it did happen quite a few times.

The iTunes description claims that Wolfenstein RPG has 8+ hours of gamplay, but people on our forums largely seem to be finishing it in significantly less time than that. Regardless, Wolfenstein RPG is a fun re-imagining of the Wolfenstein universe that will likely really appeal to both retrophiles and casual gamers.

I've enjoyed myself playing through Wolfenstein RPG, and as long you're not expecting something that the game is not, I believe most people will not only enjoy this game, but also anxiously await the arrival of Doom RPG. While the gameplay is fairly basic coming from its J2ME roots, you'll find it to be a whole lot of fun.

App Store Link: Wolfenstein RPG, $4.99, Wolfenstein RPG (international version)

I-play released an official Red Bull X-Fighters freestyle motocross game into the App Store overnight. The $4.99 game offers motocross fans a nice new iPhone game to test out their tricks and skills.

The game is 3D rendered and offers 8 different locations with over 60 levels. Each level is a short track that requires you to perform certain tasks to advance. These goals can be either a certain number trick points or coming in under a specific time and you need to get at least a bronze in order to unlock further levels.

The game is controlled like many other physics games with left/right tilt controls (touch buttons also an option) to keep your bike in balance. Tilting left adds more pressure on your back tire and will speed you up, and you'll need to level out in order to land jumps properly. Your bike auto-accelerates but there is also an on screen brake button.

Red Bull X-Fighters also offers a number of in-air tricks that can be performed in order to boost your scores. New tricks are introduced with the early levels and are invoked by on screen gestures. Once you catch air, pressing on the screen slows the action down to allow you to draw your trick shape. All tricks you've learned are shown on screen so you don't have to memorize them all right off. Combine tricks in one jump and you get bonus points. Gesture recognition, however, was a bit spotty for me at times. Different outfits and bikes with differing capabilities are unlocked as you play.

Our gameplay video shows a couple of the tracks:

In our time with the game, the levels stay rather short with very specific goals per level. As you do progress, you do build up your repertoire of tricks and bikes. While the gameplay remains essentially the same throughout, there appears to be plenty of content and replay value in improving your score.

While I've never been a huge fan of the use of this sort of gesture mechanic for iPhone games, as it always feels a bit gimmicky, I suppose it does allow for a large number (20) of possible tricks. If that isn't an issue for you, Red Bull X-Fighters seems to offer a lot of fun and challenging gameplay for physics-game fans.

App Store Link: Red Bull X-Fighers, $4.99

Blacksmith games has released the first gameplay video of their upcoming iPhone platformer Plushed. We first posted screenshots of the game back in June and it received a lot of interest due to its beautiful art style.

The provided video shows some of the special interactions in the game. In one example, the player uses a Pizza that's been collected to lure creatures to different parts of the scene. In one example, a Pizza Eater is moved so the player's character can use it to reach the coins. The character will be able to interact with other objects in later levels including mirrors, keys and more.

The developer is working on tilt, d-pad and touch controls, and the game is expected to be released in September or October 2009.

The developers are also continuing their "decide the price" contest by reducing the price of the game based on how many Twitter followers they have by August 29th. The current introductory price is $3.99 but could go as low as $0.99.

Here are a collection of games that have generated positive reviews in our forums, and are worth considering.

Aqua Globs

Another game with a path tracing mechanic, but this time you are combining like globs with each other in order to eliminate them from the screen. Blue globs can only combine with Blue globs and Orange with Orange. Meanwhile Green globs can combine with either Orange or Blue. If a Blue and Orange collide, you lose a life and get only 3 lives per game.

Forum: Discussion,User Review
App Store Link: Aqua Globs, $0.99

Fling!

A puzzle game the likes of which we've seen before, but this one has gained a bit of traction with our readers. From the developers of Fuzzle, Fling! offers a simple puzzler in which you must eliminate all the furballs off the screen through a series of swipes. When a furball gets flung into another one, it will knock it off screen. The video shows it off well:

Forum: Discussion, User Review
App Store Link: Fling!, $1.99

Funky Hoops

Described as one of the better basketball games for the iPhone, FunkyHoops offers a lighthearted full court experience. The game uses a virtual d-pad and buttons for controls which take some getting used to. Both QuickPlay and League play is offered. A Lite version is available to try it out, and the full version recently went on sale for $0.99.

Forum: Discussion, User Review
App Store Link: FunkyHoops, $0.99, Funky Hoops Lite, Free

Medieval

Medieval is another in the Castle Defense genre of games where you must defend against the coming onslaught of invaders. Medieval makes it more interesting by adding an actual firing and aiming mechanic, requiring you to do more than just tap on your enemies. The game has been described as a clone of Flash game Bowmaster. You can upgrade to various advanced weapons as you earn money by killing the oncoming invaders.

Forum: Discussion
App Store Link: Medieval, $2.99

Josh Presseisen from Crescent Moon Games emailed us a heads up this morning of their 3D action RPG set for release sometime in September. Ravensword: The Fallen King has been designed with the iPhone 3GS in mind because of the high polygon count, but will be tuned to also run on previous-generation devices at lower frame rates and without as much graphical eye candy. Reluctant to give too much away, Presseisen compared the game to both Oblivion and Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii.

Ravensword is said to have an open environment with a main quest line that will take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to complete, along with a hefty amount of side quests to also keep you occupied. What I'll be interested in seeing is how extensive the side quests in Ravensword are, because I had much more fun just fooling around in the open game world of Oblivion than playing the comparatively short main quest line.

Take a look at these screen shots and concept art, also the developers are collecting ideas for the game in their thread on our forums. If you'd like to see something added or have other suggestions, don't hesitate to post them.

Wolfenstein RPG [App Store] for the iPhone is a strange conglomeration of the efforts of three App Store giants. Based on a J2ME game developed by Id Software, the game was ported to the iPhone by Firemint and finally published to the App Store by EA today. While the game had been ready since at least May it was held due to concerns about confusion with Wolfenstein 3D Classic.

In John Carmack's own words, "Firemint did a really good job on making [Wolfenstein RPG] up to iPhone quality levels," and so far I agree. Wolfenstein RPG is a turn based game, which makes it a lot more friendly for casual players, and a lot easier to play on devices like the iPhone where the inherent lack of precision from touch controls make twitch based games difficult.

Nine levels are included through various 3D environments with 2D sprites very similar to the original Wolfenstein. Along the way you will pick up different weapons, gold, powerups, and even encounter minigames with different interactive items. Initial impressions seem positive in our forums so far, and we'll post a full review once we have more time to spend with the game.

App Store Link: Wolfenstein RPG, $4.99

Tiger Style's first entry into the iPhone market kicks off with this very interesting game description:

You are a spider. One afternoon, you discover an abandoned mansion. Where is the family who lived here? What happened, and why did they leave? Search for clues as you adventure from room to room on the hunt for your next meal.

And the game is as unique as it sounds. Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor is a beautifully created action (adventure?) game that places you in the role of a spider who must spin webs in order capture enough food to make it to the next level. Use up too much silk between meals and you won't survive.

Gameplay screenshot from MidianGTX

As a spider, you are able to crawl across objects, jump great lengths and lay down silk to weave your web. Spinning a web simply requires you to create closed geometric shapes using your silk. Tapping on the spider toggles silk production while swiping on the spider causes it to jump. Finally, crawling is invoked by simply tapping on the screen. All in all, the controls work incredibly well and makes it feel like a natural iPhone game.

The game comes with 28 beautifully hand drawn levels that walk you through Bryce Manor. Secret areas can be discovered and an underlying mystery ties the game together. The storyline, however, is simply a bonus to an immersive puzzle/action game, and I'll admit I haven't myself discovered the secret of Bryce Manor. The gameplay, itself, will keep you occupied as you strategically manage your silk to capture your next meals.

Different bugs require different strategies to capture and the 28 levels in story mode should keep you occupied for some time. Beyond Story mode, there are 3 additional modes: Feeding Frenzy (race against time), Precision (less Silk to work with), and Hunger Mode (Keep eating or die).

Here's our gameplay video:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Our forum members are loving this game and so are we. Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor is a lovely original iPhone game that we highly recommend.

App Store Link: Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, $2.99

Candystand.com was launched all the way back in 1997 as the very first advertisement-oriented flash gaming portal on the internet and since then they've been consistently pumping out high quality free browser-based games. Their current #1 flash game, Electric Box [App Store] recently made the jump from the browser to the iPhone and provides a nearly identical gameplay experience to the original.

The premise of the game couldn't be more simple, all you have to do is get the power from the source to the target and included is a vast array of different objects that make up the pieces of the puzzle for each level. For instance, to bridge the gap between the source and the target in the first level you need to place a light bulb on the wire coming off the source, and solar panel on the wire coming from the target. The difficulty of the game rapidly ramps up, and pretty soon you need to be managing different solar, laser, steam, and wind power transmitters and receivers.

The one thing that would be really nice to have in Electric Box is some kind of hint system. The solutions for each level are available online, but I'd rather just get a nudge in the right direction instead of having the whole puzzle spoiled. I enjoy difficult puzzle games, and a few of the higher levels have left me stumped for quite some time before having some massive epiphany as I realize how it all goes together, but I'm not sure everyone has this same preference.

While there is no lite version, the game is fully playable in a browser on Candystand.com featuring the first 15 levels (compared to the 50 found in the iPhone game) and the ability to create, share, and play user-created levels.

I've been having a great time with Electric Box, and could easily see myself playing through all the included levels, provided I don't hit some massive brick wall and find myself eternally baffled with a puzzle. I recommend trying the flash game if nothing else, if you find yourself enjoying it, pick up Electric Box for the iPhone to play the same great game on the go.

It would be really cool in the future to be able to have the same user-created level functionality in the iPhone version, but either way, for a buck, you can't really go wrong.

App Store Link: Electric Box, 99¢

Duke Nukem 3D [link], which jumped on our radar early last month, has finally appeared in the App Store.  3D Realms' highly popular 1996 first-person shooter has been ported to the iPhone by MachineWorks Northwest.

The game starts out in  21st century Los Angeles.  You control Duke, who is on a mission to thwart the efforts of an evil alien race bent on stealing all of Earth's women.  Later missions are set in military installations, moon bases, deserts, space stations, flooded cities, and Japanese villas.  The PC original was very highly rated, but controversial, due to the claims that it promotes pornography and murder.  GameSpot, who gave Duke Nukem 3D an 8.8 ("Great") out of 10, wrote:

Based on the hackneyed first-person Doom formula, Duke Nukem 3D is the first 3D shoot-em-up to offer the player more. There are more diverse environments, more devastating weapons, and greatly improved playability. Unlike the fantastical dungeons and lava pits found in Doom and its kindred, the atmosphere in Duke Nukem is more tangible. The story revolves loosely around a "Mars needs women" theme, involving aliens and their abduction of scantily-clad women. As Duke, you explore everything from an alien mothership to metropolitan underbellies, including smut shops, skin flicks, strip bars, and the horror of horrors: karaoke bars. The levels are massive and, even on the easiest difficulty setting, provide a formidable challenge.

As an avid PC gamer at the time of its release, I recall a distinct rivalry between the DOOM vs. Duke 3D faithful.  It's a game that definitely made its mark and started off the chaotic effort that is (or was) Duke Nukem Forever.

In our limited time with the game so far, the iPhone version appears to be a rather full implementation of the the PC original, and runs quite smoothly on our 2G iPod touch test unit.  But not all is well in the world of Duke 3D on the iPhone...

The game features both analog and digital on-screen control sticks, modeled after those from Prey.  Unfortunately, in this initial release, the analog controls are not working correctly.  (See video.)  The (left) movement stick cannot be used as as stick (by dragging), but must be used by tapping to allow any sort of coherent control.  The digital sticks (pictured above) work as they do in Prey, but feel fairly awkward to us, though if you're comfortable with Prey's digital controls, then you should be fine here.

Happily, George Broussard, co-author of the original game, addressed the situation in our forums and indicates that an update will soon be released that sets things right with the controls.

Until the control update arrives, iPhone gamers may want to consider the current release to be a bit of a trial.  Controls are key and while there are some workarounds (see update below), the default control for Duke Nukem 3D on the iPhone just isn't there yet.  The game is currently available at a launch-day special price of $2.99 [App Store].

See our gameplay video for a first look (using the virtual stick as a tap-pad and not a stick)

App Store Link: Duke Nukem 3D, $2.99 (launch-day sale)

Update: Another workaround that works pretty well for the analog controls was posted to our forums: Choose Analog Controls, Disable Strafe. Then use the left Analog Pad for forward and backward movement only (again, you must tap, not drag your finger). And use the right Analog Pad for direction.

Line drawing is on the short list of control methods that always seem to work really well for the iPhone. The latest in this parade of line drawing games is Lion Pride [App Store], a strange mixture of gameplay mechanics found in Draw Race, The Battle of Pirate Bay, and even a little Coastguard.

The premise of the game is simple, you control a pack of lions and need to gather food for the rest of your pride. Thankfully, in this corner of the African savanna there seems to be a constant stream of warthogs, gazelles, and other beasts to munch on. Similar to Draw Race, you control the speed of the lions by how fast you draw lines from them on screen. Sneaking up on animals is important to keep them from running off, so you start by moving your lions slowly, then quickly go in for the kill. If something starts to get away, tapping twice on them will briefly stun them.

As you get further in to the game, you get more lions to control and tougher prey which needs to be attacked by multiple lions in order to be brought down. Lions need to be positioned to work as a team to all strike at once, and if any wandering hyenas come on screen they need to be scared off to prevent them from disrupting your food supply.

This gameplay video by Blue Fang Games better illustrates the controls and game concept:

I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I'm enjoying Lion Pride, line drawing games are much like tower defense games in that they're all fairly similar to each other but the good ones come with gameplay elements that make them stand out from the pack. Lion Pride has colorful graphics, a musical track that fits the game perfectly, and different enough gameplay that it's still worth having even if you already own all the other big-name line drawers out there.

App Store Link: Lion Pride, 99¢

Paul Farley from Tag Games, creators of Car Jack Streets [App Store] unveiled the first screenshots of their upcoming game Astro Ranch this morning. With a launch date currently set for early winter of 2009, Astro Ranch is said to have a 1950's sci-fi asthetic with the characterization of Animal Crossing and the farm management game-play of Harvest Moon.

Tag Games' artist Laura Whyte explains the design direction behing Astro Ranch:

We are really excited at how well Astro Ranch is coming together. It is rare to have the opportunity to create an entirely new alien environment from scratch and whilst Astro Ranch pays visual homage to some of our favourite cartoons, movies and games it has a style that is all its own. The iPhone version is looking great but we’re also excited by the opportunity to implement Astro Ranch on consoles as well. Once iPhone gamers have taken the game and characters to heart I’m sure console gamers will demand nothing less!

Details are limited right now between the Astro Ranch web site (which also has a few more images on it) and the thread in our upcoming games forum.

Here's what we know right now:

Astro Ranch is set on an unidentified alien planet which our intrepid galactic explorer Sindy Starlight has accidentally discovered after crash landing. This may or may not have been caused due to checking her hair in the rear view mirror - mission control is still running the data on that particular question! Sindy must start from scratch to build a ranch and earn the cash needed to buy enough spare parts to fix her rocket and return home. It won’t be easy. The locals range from obsessively friendly to outright hostile plus the planet is host to all manner of hazards, natural disasters and weird goings on.

If you ever wondered what would happen if Erie Indiana met Animal Crossing whilst playing Harvest Moon – now you know… Astro Ranch!

Needless to say, we'll be keeping a close eye on this. If Tag Games manages to pull off a successful hybrid between Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, I think there will be a lot of happy iPhone gamers out there.

We first got a look at what appeared to be a very well done port of Civilization Revolution [App Store] for the iPhone in a clandestine conference room meeting with several other members of the iPhone gaming media at this year's WWDC. 2K Games explained that the great thing about Civilization Revolution was that it was built from the ground up with everything that takes place under the hood completely abstracted from the game's graphics and interface. This allowed for remarkably similar experiences across the 360, PS3, DS, and now the iPhone.

Civilization Revolution is the latest iteration of Sid Meier's dynasty of games where the player is simply tasked with the goal of building an empire to stand the test of time. Like previous Civilization games, Revolution is a turn-based strategy game where you take command of a primitive civilization from their meager beginnings to complete world domination. Civilization Revolution was originally released in 2008 to strongly positive reviews.

While all of the gameplay, scenarios, and sixteen civilizations to choose from are packed into the iPhone game, multiplayer is notably absent. Each civilization has slightly different bonuses to them, which will aid in satisfying one of the four distinct victory conditions. For instance, if you want to play Civilization Revolution as an economic game, civilizations like the Aztecs start the game with more gold, and get a bonus to gold production. If you prefer to brute force your way to victory, civilizations like the Germans have veteran warriors by default. Other ways to win are by obtaining a cultural victory through producing great people and wonders, or a technological victory by advancing your society all the way in to the space age.

Early reactions on our forums have been mixed, with some complaining about the game's performance on previous-generation devices. Our own testing did reveal erratic and poor performance on our iPhone 3G, and good performance on our iPhone 3GS. However, others have reported solid performance even on older generation devices. Thankfully, 2K Games released a surprisingly full-featured free version of the game to test the game out yourself. Civilization Revolution Lite [App Store] walks you through the entire tutorial and allows you to play on your own in the two lowest difficulty levels.

If you enjoy turn-based strategy games, Civilization Revolution has gameplay depth that is seldom seen on the iPhone. With enough difficulty levels to provide everyone from casual to hardcore players a good time, enough content to keep you busy for quite a while, and at a significantly reduced price point compared to the game on other platforms, Civilization Revolution will be hard to pass up. With that said, the game is lacking multiplayer, and the iPhone-specific interface seems a little cramped and clunky. Still, I highly recommend giving the Lite version a try.

App Store Links: Civilization Revolution, $4.99 - Civilization Revolution Lite, Free

Carbonated.tv was able to get this hands on video of Gameloft's upcoming first person shooter Modern Combat: Sandstorm. The game is described as an early "alpha" build of the unfinished game, though this conflicts with reports we'd heard that it had already been submitted.

The player walks through the controls which provide the following components:

• Left side virtual d-pad allowing forward/backward/left/right movement
• Tap-and-drag on screen for free look
• Contextual fire button (marked by an 'X') that appears in the right side of the screen to fire
• Other contextual buttons that appear - such as crouch/stand.
• Weapon switch button on top right. Sniper zoom on bottom right.

Video removed