I've been slowly playing through Dr. Fun Fun's Hi, How Are You [App Store] since it came out nearly two weeks ago now, completely unaware of the phenomenon that is Daniel Johnston. I originally intended on writing about this game because I hadn't seen another cell shaded platformer on the App Store. However, after doing some research on the history of Hi, How Are You's development, I got turned on to the world of Daniel Johnston and quickly became aware that this is Johnston's life of art and music distilled into a iPhone game.

The premise of Hi, How Are You follows the theme of most of Johnston's music in that you're battling the forces of Satan to find love. Playing as Jeremiah the Innocent, you will make your way through over 25 levels to remove the curse of Satan. As the game progresses, you slowly change from a frog, to a block, to a ball, and finally back to human form.

Your movement in the game is controlled using the accelerometer and the two stop signs in both lower corners of the screen instantly stops your character from moving. Initially this seemed like such an odd set of buttons to have cluttering the screen, but it didn't take long for this seemingly strange control element to really grow on me as you never need to worry about finding the exact center of where you calibrated the accelerometer to in order to stay in place.

Instead, you hold the stop button, tilt the direction you want to move, let go, and you're off. This control method allows you to navigate the different obstacles in game with ease. The camera can be panned right of left by pressing either side of the screen, and to zoom out you press both sides at once.

Completing the levels in game involves hopping over every tile, turning them green, then finding the exit. It's not that easy though, as you quickly come across all kinds of obstacles, moving platforms, and other puzzles. The bottom of the screen displays your life, along with the time, the number of tiles left to turn green, and the number of bonus tiles on the level to be turned red. While each level is timed, you can keep playing and complete each level even if you run out of time, you just won't be awarded for beating the clock.

Hi, How Are You has a soundtrack featuring several of Daniel Johnston's songs, and an art style matching Johnston's drawings. The difficulty ramps up nicely, and with each achievement you unlock a unique piece of artwork to view. I had fun playing the game, but after doing some reading on the life of Daniel Johnston, Hi, How Are You has taken on a whole new layer of awesome. Dr. Fun Fun not only created a game with a neat style that's fun to play for people who have never heard of Johnston, but also an amazing piece of fan service for those who have.

If you'd like to know more about the world of Daniel Johnston, he has his own Wikipedia article, and his life is detailed in the 2005 documentary, The Devil and Daniel Johnston which is available on iTunes along with all of his music and several music videos.

Hi, How Are You is a fun platform puzzle game with a unique art style. If you're not a fan of Daniel Johnston, playing through this game might just make you become one.

App Store Link: Hi, How Are You, $2.99

Cyan Worlds recently released a free version of Myst that will allow you to relive some of the 1993 classic adventure game. While technologically rather simple from today's standpoint (mostly static images), the game's graphics and soundtrack were remarkably immersive. The game starts you on a strange island where you must explore your surroundings, solve puzzles and figure out the backstory.

The free version of Myst allows you to explore Myst island while the full has 5 additional ages to explore. Removing that additional content shrinks it down to 124MB, so still a sizable download. Meanwhile, the full version has dropped $1 to $4.99.

If you've never experienced Myst, here's your chance.

App Store Link: Myst Free, Free - Myst, $4.99

It's been well known that Apple has resisted bringing Adobe's Flash plug-in to the iPhone. As a result, there is no way for iPhone users to play Flash content natively on their iPhone. Many games (such as Canabalt) have been written in Flash, and ports of these applications have been big sellers on the App Store.

Today Adobe announced that they begin allowing Flash developers to export applications directly in "ipa" format to run directly on the iPhone. According to Adobe, these applications are compiled into standard native iPhone executables and will be able to be submitted to the App Store for approval.

Flash Professional CS5 will enable developers to build applications for iPhone that are installed as native applications. Users will be able to access the apps after downloading them from Apple’s App Store and installing them on iPhone or iPod touch

The implications for iPhone gamers and developers is pretty significant, as the porting of Flash content to the iPhone will become much easier. Obviously, changes may still need to be made to suit the iPhone's interface.

Several apps have already been released for the iPhone using an early private version of Adobe's software, but a public beta of Flash Professional CS5 will begin later this year. These early Flash/App Store examples include Chroma Circuit [$0.99], Fickleblox [$0.99] and more.

We normally don't get too excited over teaser trailers, but Italian software house KF lab's video for their upcoming game A Skeleton Story is really quite engrossing. The game is centered around a main character named Will Musil, a detective:

Will plays in a world of the dead and completely alone. He jumps from buildings to buildings all over town trying to kill the thugs who work for the Old Lady (The Death) and avoiding the various obstacles.

The game is said to be structured as part side scrolling platformer and part comicbook with a heavy emphasis on the art and storyline.

According to iSpazio, the game will be delivered in 4 episodes, with the first due in November.

Independent developer Polytron recently released details of their first iPhone game that's in the works. Polytron is best known for their work on the innovative, and as yet unreleased game, Fez, a 2d/3d platformer (video). Well, no, Fez is not coming to the iPhone (as far as we know), but Polytron is working on an iPhone-specific multi-touch game called Power Pill.

At Pecha Kucha, Phil Fish presented the idea behind Power Pill which places you in control of a super medicine that is working its way through a human body. The medicine is so powerful that it can't touch the sides of the body without causing damage. Your job is to squeeze, pull and morph the pill into different sizes and shapes in order to properly navigate the levels.

The size control will use two-finger multi touch to perform the rotation, stretching and squeezing. Fish discussed that portions of the game may require you to be larger to sweep up "goop" or battle bacteria.

Different levels represent different parts of the body that may be afflicted by different ailments.

Fish also reports that they have been working on an iPhone-based level editor that will eventually be bundled with the game. Unfortunately, however, the scope of the level editor has been so time consuming that they haven't yet been able to focus much development time on the game, itself.

Here's Fish talking about the game:

No real time frame for game release was provided, but this certainly sounds like an interesting one to follow.

[ via CreativeApplications ]

In what may be a warning shot across the bow of the U.S.S. Plus+ (and the other iPhone social networks), OpenFeint announced today that Digital Chocolate is integrating OpenFeint in select games of theirs. Pretty soon games like Tower Bloxx Deluxe [99¢ / Free] and 3D Rollercoaster Rush $4.99 / Free] are going to be packed with online scoreboards and other OpenFeint achievements along with a few other other Digital Chocolate games.

Readers may remember that Trip Hawkins previously claimed they are the #1 game company in the App Store. While there may be some debate about that particular claim, Digital Chocolate's library does represent a huge base of iPhone users.

Even after this substantial acquisition of new games on OpenFeint, there still is a fair amount of fragmentation in iPhone gaming social networks. Each service offers something slightly different for both iPhone developers and gamers, and different people all prefer the various services for different reasons, but this remains a huge win for OpenFeint.

Here are some games that have come out recently that are worth a look, but with all the excitement this week between the Eliminate and TouchPets Dogs previews and the 360iDev Game Jam they sort of fell between the cracks of front page coverage.

Bloons Tower Defense

Last month we posted an early trailer for Bloons Tower Defense [$2.99], an iPhone port of the Bloons spinoff tower defense flash games, all playable on the Ninja Kiwi site. Bloons [99¢ / Free] was a wildly popular game on the App Store, and if the positive reactions in our forums are any indication, Bloons Tower Defense may be another hit.

Bloons Tower Defense comes with 50 levels over 15 different tracks with multiple difficulty levels and unlockable medals for each. The game has the same touch controls of other tower defense games on the platform, along with oodles of different towers, upgrades, and tons of balloons for your monkeys to pop.

Mr. Mahjong Touch

FDG Entertainment, most famously known for Parachute Panic [99¢ / Free] and Bobby Carrot [$3.99] recently released Mr. Mahjong Touch [$4.99] based on the popular Mr. Mahjong series of mobile games.

Mr. Mahjong Touch features 100 layouts, 4 tilesets, tons of unlockables, and even a shop system where you can buy power ups. Big Albie posted a review of the game on our forums, and according to him, the game is "easily one of the best mahjong games on the platform."

Galcon Labs

Galcon Labs [99¢] is an evolution on the original Galcon [$2.99 / Free], providing the same basic gameplay with four new game modes not found in the original.

• Billiards - The the planets that make up the battlefield are in constant motion.
• Stealth - Enemy ships are only briefly visible after launching from a planet.
• Crash - Ships collide with each other, so instead of just going after planets you can run in to the enemy to win.
• Assassin - Players start with assigned planetary targets, the first player to capture their targets wins.

Reactions on our forums have been mixed as some people feel there hasn't been enough change to justify an entirely new game, while fans of the original are greatly enjoying Galcon Labs. If you haven't played a Galcon game, I recommend trying Galcon Lite.

Toy Bot Mini Missions

IUGO seems to be pumping out additions to the Toy Bot series like crazy lately. Toy Bot Mini Missions [$3.99] is based in the Toy Bot universe and comes packed with 100 mini games and 12 unlockable playable characters. These ultrashort levels are a bit of a departure from the other Toy Bot games which feature an extended level structure.

Fans of the Toy Bot series may want to consider Mini Missions, but if you're new to the Toy Bot world, you might want to try some of the other games or even the free version first. Take your pick of the seven different Toy Bot games on the IUGO App Store listing.

While we don't often post about hidden object or time management games, both genres have been quite popular on the App Store, perhaps because they perfectly target the highly coveted casual gamer demographic. There are hidden object games that will have you searching for things in every locale imaginable, and time management games that will leave the fate of hair salons, sandwich shops, and even factory farms in your hands.

Alawar's Gourmania [App Store] bridges both the time management and hidden object genres with a culinary themed Frankenstein monster scientifically engineered to be the ideal casual game.

In Gourmania you play as a small-time chef with aspirations for greatness as you make your way through 8 different restaurants that make up the 60 levels in the game. Like most time management games, the goal is to keep your customers happy while turning a profit.

The gameplay twist in Gourmania is that the different items required to meet the time management goals aren't clearly laid out. Instead, you must search for them. This is easier said than done as the kitchens you work with in Gourmania consist of food haphazardly strewn about all over shelves, counters, and even on the floor.

While you're working in the kitchen, orders will come in along the top of the screen that list certain ingredients that must be located. Once you've found all the ingredients of the order, you tap the order card at the top of the screen to prepare the food and collect your money. If you can't find an item you're looking for, the standard pinching and swiping gestures work to zoom in as well as pan around. If you're really stuck, there's a hint button that will lead you in the right direction.

The money you earn can be used to upgrade appliances which will increase your cooking performance. There are also various bonuses in game such as having all three orders cooking at once, or completing order combos. Once you've made it out of the early levels of the game, you experience the same time crunches found in other time management games. This is fun, but can be a little frustrating at first especially as you initially try to find objects that aren't as obvious as red tomato or bright green lettuce. Thankfully, the hint system helps out a ton and it doesn't take long to learn what the more ambiguous items look like.

The orders in Gourmania appear to be completely random, and sometime result in some pretty ridiculous combinations such as hot dogs with mayo or pizzas with lettuce. Despite the odd tastes of the diners in Gourmania, I've had a great time playing the game. Alawar seems to have succeeded in bringing out the strengths of both the time management and hidden object genres, and there's even a lite version available to try.

App Store Links: Gourmania, 99¢ - Gourmania Lite, Free

Empty Clip Studios' rhythm puzzle game Groovin' Blocks, which debuted a year ago as a WiiWare download title and has recently seen retail release on the Wii, will soon be available for download in the App Store.  The iPhone version is a conversion of the larger, Wii retail release.

Groovin' Blocks, which GameSpot calls "a music-based game like no other" (in reference to the Wii release), is, at it's core, a match-three puzzle game.  Now, there's no shortage of match-three puzzlers in the App Store -- there are too many to count, really -- but what sets Groovin' Blocks apart is its musical / rhythm component.

Each level -- and there are over 50 in all -- is played to a pumping techno soundtrack with scrolling beat-indicators on either side of the screen.  Block clusters slide onto the playfield in a Tetris-like fashion, and will ultimately come to rest at the bottom of the screen.  A tap on the 'drop' button will quickly drop the piece into place -- but if you "hit a beat" (tapping the drop button during a beat of the soundtrack) the blocks will be bigger, brighter, and worth more points.  Hitting consecutive beats without a miss increases your score multiplier -- but miss a beat and it drops back to zero.  Hitting the occasional Superbeat, shown brighter in the scrolling beat display, will double your current score multiplier.

Certain blocks contain power-ups that can be collected only if you hit a beat when placing said block.  Power-ups are unleashed when the successfully placed block is destroyed by a match-three scenario.

Empty Clip Studios was kind enough to give us an exclusive preview of the upcoming iPhone title.  We've spent some time with it and find it to be one of the most enjoyable match-three puzzlers in the App Store.  And there's really more to playing the game than screenshots reveal.  iPhone gamers who enjoy a solid puzzle and/or rhythm game should keep an eye on this one.

Have a look at our very brief gameplay video showing action early-on in the game.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Groovin' Blocks for the iPhone should arrive in the App Store very shortly.

Screenshot from the original Radio Flare

Studio Radiolaris has dropped the price of their musical shooter Radio Flare [App Store] to free for this weekend only (from $2.99). The game is a solid side scrolling shooter for the iPhone with a musical component to it that we enjoyed when it first came out. The developers have since added a number of new features and levels to the game since its original release and is certainly worth downloading for free.

The reason for the price drop is in celebration of the announcement of their follow-up title Radio Flare Redux. This time, Studio Radiolaris is teaming up with Chillingo as a publisher for their new title. Radio Flare Redux is said to bring a whole new experience with a fresh new style.

"It will be great to have multiple licensed music tracks in Radio Flare Redux. This way each level will be a unique experience." says Fares Kayali, Sound Designer at studio radiolaris. Adds Martin Pichlmair, Lead Designer for Radio Flare Redux, "Everything is driven by rhythm and beat – from the enemies’ paths to their actions and even the background graphics!"

The following teaser video has been released:

Redux is due for release in "Winter 2009".

App Store Link: Radio Flare, Free (This weekend only)

A couple weeks back we posted a sneak peek of the v1.1 update to Meridian's zombie shooter with RPG elements Alive 4 Ever [App Store].   Late last night the update went live, brining a new level of carnage to iPhone gamers looking for action and gore.

The developer lists the following features in this update:

• Survival Battle (Single and Multiplayer) -- Try to stay alive for as long as you can. You will be rewared a new weapon - Golden Desert Eagle - if you can stay alive for 10 minutes or more.
• Horde Battle (Single and Multiplayer) -- Slaughter wave after wave of zombies. You will be rewared a P90, M4 Super 90 and Golden AK-47 if you can clear wave 8, 16 and 24 respectively.
• Powerful New Weapons -- Altogether 5 new weapons, 4 can be unlocked in the Survival and Horde Battle; 1 can be bought in weapon shop.
• Bonus Indicator -- Bonus indicator has been added for scenes with challenge completed.
• Dual-Stick Transparency Setting -- Player can choose from 3 levels of transparency - None, Half and Full.
• New ranking for Survival and Horde Battle
• Profile name length increased to 8 characters
• Reduced the detection area of Briefing Button
• Bug fixes

Meridian provided us with the following trailer showing gameplay in the v1.1 release.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

A planned v1.2 update will add Wi-Fi multiplayer gaming to the mix.  See our review of the initial release, posted in late August.

App Store Link: Alive 4 Ever, $1.99

Gameloft has provided screenshots of its upcoming iPhone sports title Derek Jeter Real Baseball, along with an indication that the game will be available in the App Store very shortly.

Details of the forthcoming title, as listed by the studio.

• Best graphics of any baseball simulation on the App Store with all 3D players and stadiums
• Lifelike animations when batting, pitching or catching and also features an innovative gauge to use for batting so swings can be even more accurate and powerful
• iTunes Music Library access
• Delivers intense realism thanks to audio commentary, sound effects and spectator reactions to your plays

Celebrating the release of the game, Gameloft is running a video contest where the top 10 winners can take home (depending upon ranking) an iPod touch, an official MLB jersey, or an official MLB cap.  All 10 winners will be featured in Derek Jeter Real Baseball as players in a special team.

The rules of the contest are explained in this video, and are as follows:

1. Print the official target of the contest
2. Record a video showing a spectacular and accurate pitch at the target
3. Upload the video on the contest website
4. Users can then vote for their favorite videos.

The contest, which is limited to the US and Canada, began Friday, October 2nd and runs until November 15th.

See a bit of the upcoming game in action in the following gameplay video.

iPhone developer Eurocenter has applied their expertise in online gaming to a new Kart racer called Cocoto Kart Online. Eurocenter is a 20 year old company that has had decades of experience with multiplayer games and since 2008 has been working on the iPhone. Their previous online games have included Ace Tennis, Adrenaline Pool and the frantic deathmatch game DinoSmash.

This time Eurocenter teamed up with Neko Entertainment to port their Wii/DS title Cocoto Kart Racer to the iPhone. This Mario Kart-alike features 10 tracks with 12 unique animated drivers. Most notable, however, is the addition of online multiplayer with both racing and battle modes.

Neko Entertainment and Eurocenter teamed up to bring the most console-quality like kart racer to the iPhone and iPod touch. Drive in volcano worlds, in the sky, up in the trees, slide on ice, use turbos, take shortcuts by jumping over platforms. 12 unique drivers are fully animated. The online mode includes multiplayer races and battle mode where you try to shoot the opponents 3 times.

The developer shows the game in action:

The game has generated quite a following in our forums and our brief time with the game has demonstrated a really great online experience. Our matches tended to find other players quickly, and even when it didn't, it allowed me to play single player while it kept looking. Game controls offer both touch and tilt steering with auto-acceleration optional. Collected power-ups are triggered by shaking the device. While this sounds unappealing at first, only a slight jiggle is really required as shown in the video.

Predictably, reviews of the Wii/DS version were handicapped with unavoidable comparisons to Mario Kart which is also available natively on those platforms. But for the iPhone platform, online multi-player Kart racing for $0.99? Seems hard to go wrong.

App Store Link: Cocoto Kart Online, $0.99 (Launch price)

The Iconfactory has released two new DLC packs available for their nostalgic ball rolling game, Ramp Champ [App Store]. We had a great time with the game in our review, and these two new packs provide even more of the same great gameplay.

Each of the packs will get you two new ramps, along with eighteen new prizes matching the themes of the ramps, six new challenges, and new trophies. Like the other Ramp Champ DLC, both of these packs are 99¢, and extend the original game content with new things to aim for, more great Iconfactory style art, and matching music.

The first DLC is the Voyage Pack, which includes Star Struck, a space themed ramp and Plunderin' Pirates, which obviously (eventually) has pirates as targets.

The other DLC pack has a Halloween theme. Trick or Treat will have you rolling balls at kids in costumes and candy. Grave Danger takes place in a grave yard, and hitting the tombstones make ghosts and zombie hands appear.

It's always great seeing continued support for games on the App Store, either with fresh content delivered via DLC or through free updates. If you enjoyed Ramp Champ, picking up these two DLC packs is a must. If you don't own Ramp Champ yet, it's worth a look. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a more traditional skee-ball type game, Freeverse's recently released Skee-Ball [99¢] offers similar game play utilizing a officially licensed virtual Skee-Ball machine.

App Store Link: Ramp Champ, $1.99

EA's FIFA franchise carries a 16 year history of creating a sim-like soccer experience on various console and computer systems. This, of course, has led to somewhat lofty expectations for the iPhone/iPod Touch version which is a bit of a mixed bag.

FIFA 10 has a ton of content consisting of 30 leagues, 570 teams and 12,620 players as well as 20 tournaments. While some may take issue with specific team omissions, let’s not forget the depth of content that is included. FIFA offers 4 levels of difficulty: Amateur, Semi-Pro, Professional, and World Class, and 5 modes of play: Tournament, Manager, Penalty, Training and Be A Pro. There is also a local Wi-Fi mode in which you can play against your friends.

Tournament mode allows you to play in any of 20 tournaments and is where most will spend their time. The presentation of the different groupings and post-games scores are well designed and part of the enjoyment is the simplicity in which you can easily scroll through the results of the daily matches. Manager mode allows you to manage your own team and provides a set of season objectives that must be met to succeed and continue to the next season. These can be as straightforward as securing a winning to season to more difficult objectives such as winning the finals. Be A Pro is a rather interesting mode where you guide a player through a full career. You can either use an existing player from the 12,000+ included in the game or create your own. When creating your own, you can customize player attributes including speed, shooting and tackling among others as well as play a specific position (e.g. goal keeper, defender, etc.). Finally, Penalty mode pits your team against others in penalty shooting contests, where success will lead to additional contests.

FIFA 10 also provides plenty of customization options depending on the mode of play including minutes in a half, camera angles, HUD layouts, weather conditions, time of day, commentary on/off and more. The replay system and camera angles are among the best you’ll find on the iPhone. Replays can be viewed from multiple angles, zoomed in/out, and played at various speeds.

FIFA 10 is billed as a visual extravaganza amongst soccer games, but the reality is that it could be better. While it does deliver decently designed stadiums and lush playing fields, the players themselves lack any basic facial characteristics, which is disappointing. Often, I find that the commentary audio used in sports games don't match up well with the gameplay, but, fortunately for FIFA fans, the commentary in FIFA 10 is relatively good and some of the more accurate you’ll hear. The actual sound quality of the announcers, however, seem particularly muddled, presumably due to excess data compression to reduce the game's size.

The biggest hurdle for many, however, will be the controls found in FIFA 10, especially compared to the other App Store offerings. Moving the player can be done by either a virtual d-pad or the accelerometer. Unlike Real Soccer 10 and X2 Football, however, the control pad is fixed in place rather than floating. As a result, there is the frustrating tendency for your thumb to slide off the edge of the screen especially during sprints. Meanwhile, even with sensitivity tweaks, the accelerometer's accuracy left much to be desired.

In addition, two key action buttons—A and B (a C button is also provided when using accelerometer controls)—are provided. Through a combination of taps of these buttons, specific commands are carried out. The basic offense commands are relatively simple for passing (A), shooting (B), and sprinting (C when using accelerometer controls). However, when attempting other commands such as lobbing or attempting a 1-2 pass, the learning curve can be quite high. For example, a lobbed through ball requires sliding from B to A to B, while a 1-2 pass involves sliding from A to B to A. Even crossing a ball isn’t as easy as it sounds.

On defense, tapping on the B button will switch control from player to player, or you can simply tap on a specific player. Again, specific actions such as tackling and slide tackles require a certain combination of taps. A to B for slide tackles and while a standing tackle only involves tapping A. I understand that EA is attempting to provide a variety of moves, and the controls overall are solid after overcoming the learning curve. But at the same time, they don’t feel as accurate as they could be, especially compared to other App Store soccer games.

Once you overcome the controls, the gameplay itself is rather enjoyable with a balanced AI. Even on the Amateur setting, FIFA 10 can be challenging. The game does an admirable job creating an immersive experience from the better than average commentary to the intense gameplay. Like most soccer games, teammates can sometimes react poorly, but seems to be less of a problem with FIFA 10. Depending on your success, you also unlock rewards that provide additional training, home stadium upgrades, and even unlock an additional teams. These all contribute to a well-balanced game.

FIFA 10 is not perfect by any means, although it does offer a good deal of depth and is well-balanced in AI gameplay, with mostly top-notch graphics. EA has delivered a well-presented and well-packaged soccer experience in FIFA 10, but then again, it’s up to you to figure out all the intricacies.

App Store Links: FIFA 10 (U.S.), $9.99, FIFA 10 (International)