Keita Takahashi, game developer and apparent future playground designer, is best known for Katamari Damacy and its sequel We Love Katamari. Both games are extremely creative and have spawned an incredibly devoted fan following, there's even an iPhone game-- I love Katamari [$4.99 / Free]. Takahashi kicked things up a notch with his next game, Noby Noby Boy which was first revealed at a Sony event in 2007, and didn't make it to the PS3 PlayStationNetwork store until 2009.

In the PS3 game, you take control of a multicolored worm character that the game refers to as "BOY". With the analog sticks you can move BOY around the 3D environment filled with various buildings and animals. You can also stretch BOY, and points are accumulated by making BOY grow as long as possible. As players stretch their respective BOYs, points are collected by an online character called GIRL which causes GIRL to stretch through the various planets of our solar system as more points are submitted by everyone playing Noby Noby Boy.

This surreal sandbox PS3 game saw generally favorable reviews, but there was a clear division between those who absolutely loved the game for how crazy it is and those who hated it. For instance, Eurogamer said the game "inspires creativity, curiosity and simple, careless glee" while ArsTechnica said "Noby Noby Boy has no point, or fun".

In honor of the one year anniversary of Noby Noby Boy's release on PSN comes Noby Noby Boy [$1.99] for the iPhone. So far reactions to the game seem extremely polarized, with people either absolutely loving the game, or not understanding why anyone would waste their time with it. In the iPhone version, you have access to a full toolbar of toys for you to play with. BOY can be stretched across maps utilizing the iPhone's GPS, you can write and store memo's using BOY's body for a notepad, use BOY as a clock, and oodles of other crazy things ending in you submitting your BOY's length to GIRL online.

Here is the first of a twelve part series of movies made showing the various features of Noby Noby Boy:

I'm not sure there's much point in attempting to "review" this game, as Noby Noby Boy is just a collection of toys that you will either love, or not understand at all. If you're among the group of people who were crazy about Noby Noby Boy for the PS3, chances are you will like the similar insane sandboy play of the iPhone game. If you've never heard of Noby Noby Boy, you can attempt to watch the previously mentioned series of videos to try to make some sense of it, but much like the thread on our forums I expect the reaction to this story is going to be similarly split between people who are excited the game exists and people who don't know why we would bother posting about it.

App Store Link: Noby Noby Boy, $1.99

I'm not a big sports fan, in real life or on the consoles. But there is one exception: snowboarding titles. I can't get enough of them. 1080 Snowboarding on the N64, SSX on the PS2, SSX Blur on the Wii -- I just love them. Sadly, none of the snowboarding games available in the App Store have really been able to do it for me. Compared to SSX on Tour for the PSP, they generally just look fairly weak.

Well, I'm happy to report that, at long last, a quality snowboarding title has landed on the iPhone. X2 Snowboarding [App Store] from Exient is a highly enjoyable romp on the slopes that sets itself apart from the crowd in a number of ways.

The first thing you'll notice about X2 Snowboarding is its stylized graphical presentation. The game features particularly detailed cel-shaded graphics reminiscent of the exceptional Jet Grind Radio for the Dreamcast. They give the game something of a cartoony rather than realistic look, but compared to its App Store contemporaries, it looks just great.

You've got a crowd of six boarders to choose from, each of a different nationality and with highly varied skill sets. Six different venues there are, as well, set in as many countries: USA, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, and Chile. Upon each set of slopes there are three different types of competitions: Freestyle, Race, and Trick-Race. The slopes are impressively long and more varied than one might expect, providing a satisfying chunk of gameplay across the available types of competitions.

Another thing that sets X2 Snowboarding apart is the feel of its controls. Oh, there's nothing unexpected about the configuration, with a combination of tilt and touch controls (that can be customized) -- it's more the general feel I'm referring to. Everything just feels a little "looser" than one might expect. But it's not a bad thing, in fact, somehow it feels quite right combined with the game's stylized visuals. And speaking of visuals, a nice instant-replay system lets you see your best moves over and over from various camera angles.

Gameplay is solid and heavy on the tricks. On-screen buttons control jump, speed boost, and "wheelies" which can be used to tie together tricks -- and the trick system works great. Once in the air, you can swipe (or tilt, depending on your settings) in any direction to rotate thus, and tap on the left and right board icons that just appeared to perform various grabs. The more tricks you can tie together, the higher your score, the more speed boosts you can trigger, and the better gear you can grab in the shop to tweak your game.

Adding to the experience is a great soundtrack with songs that can be purchased through iTunes. Another feature we're glad to see is local, Bluetooth and WiFi multiplayer -- for now -- with online multiplayer to come in the game's first update, which will be in the App Store soon.

All of the aspects of X2 Snowboarding come together to deliver a highly enjoyable game with a surprising sense of speed and immersion. I've spent much time with this one so far, and I don't see that trend changing anytime soon. If you're a gamer that likes to tear up the slopes on occasion, do not let this one pass you by.

App Store Link: X2 Snowboarding, $6.99

We first got word of 100 Rogues late last year. Much like Sword of Fargoal, 100 Rogues seems to be taking the classic roguelike formula and sprucing it up quite a bit with colorful art, animations, and multiple character classes. Of course all the roguelike staples are in place such as randomly generated maps and permadeath as well as modern features like online leaderboards.

Dinofarm Games recently released a new gameplay video highlighting the crusader class with complete narration from the developers detailing the gameplay and interface elements in the game:

I'm a huge fan of the roguelikes, and I really like that developers are taking such an excellent genre and making it approachable to people who likely don't even know what a roguelike is. Getting used to permadeath takes a bit of adjustment, especially with how many video games lately have been trending towards regenerative health systems (Such as nearly every first person shooter released recently.) but few gaming experiences are more rewarding than retrieving whatever magical item you're searching for at the bottom of a treacherous dungeon without dying.

If you're looking for a great roguelike to play while you wait for 100 Rogues, check out both Rogue Touch [$2.99] and/or Sword of Fargoal [$4.99].

It takes a lot to stand out amongst the crowded rhythm game section of the App Store (or any section of the App Store, really) but Big Blue Bubble's Thumpies [App Store] manages to easily set it self apart. Crazy graphics combine with an interesting gameplay mechanic where each level has you tapping out beats that layer on top of each other until you've eventually formed a fairly complex song.

The most immediately noticeable thing about Thumpies is the art style which seems to be this odd combination of Where the Wild Things Are, the Madballs toys from the 80's, and the Fire Gang from the movie Labyrinth. The entire game is dripping in whimsical charm between the sprawling tree that makes up the level select menu, butterflies fluttering around everywhere, and even the backgrounds of each level that pulse with the beat of the music.

After selecting one of the unlocked songs (of which there are 16 in total) and then choosing one of three difficulties, the Thumpies will then fall from the sky to bounce on top of tree stumps and mushrooms and you must tap the screen when and where they land. This is simple enough when there is only one spherical creature bopping around the screen, but as the songs increase in difficulty, even more pads for the Thumpies to land on are introduced along with additional Thumpies you will need to manage at once.

If you're like me and not particularly musically minded, juggling all these Thumpies in the air to the beat of the song (especially when Thumpies are landing on half-beats) can be deceptively difficult. On top of this, there are additional Thumpies that can be unlocked by collecting and saving up differently colored butterflies that will be floating around as you're tapping out your beat. As soon as they appear on screen you need to try to tap them because if one of the Thumpies flies by them they will munch the butterfly right out of the air.

Completing each section of the song requires you to fill the meter at the top of the screen. The meter increases when you successfully tap in time with the beat, and decreases when you miss a beat. When the meter is full, the Thumpies cheer, the portion of the song you just completed where you were tapping out the bass beat merges with the rest background music, and you begin the next section of the song which might have you tapping out some crazy vocals to add. When a song is complete, you're scored on your accuracy, and the next song (or songs) leading up the branches of the level select tree is unlocked.

Thumpies is an amazingly creative game, and thanks to the multiple difficulty levels should be approachable enough for kids and challenging enough for adults. The thread in our forums is filled with people who are leaving absolutely glowing reviews of the game, and I find myself in agreement with all of them. If you enjoy rhythm games at all, you really need to give Thumpies a spin.

App Store Link: Thumpies, 99¢

H.grenade, developers of circuit_strike.one [99¢], apparently have switched teams from Chillingo to Freeverse who just so happen to be collaborating on their upcoming game, Zombie Cannon Carnage-- A delightfully ridiculous game with an even more ridiculous premise.

In Zombie Cannon Carnage, zombies from outer-space have crash landed on Earth. Instead of sticking around to endlessly munch on succulent Earthling brains, they decided to build a makeshift cannon from spare circus parts to fire themselves back in to space. With semi-randomized gameplay, various purchasable power-ups, all kinds of obstacles to run in to, and tons of explosions, Zombie Cannon Carnage is one of the better (and substantially more hectic) cannon firing games I've played recently.

Gameplay is similar to other cannon firing games in that you aim your cannon, fire, and see how much stuff you can hit. Each zombie is equipped with a jet pack that has a limited amount of fuel which is capable of sending you flying forward for a brief period of time. When you finally crash in to the ground, you can self destruct for even more points.

Bonus points are awarded for doing crazy things like taking down helicopters, crashing in to ice cream trucks, and other things I haven't discovered yet. The game does seem to have a sizable learning curve to it, as there's a delicate balance between shooting your zombie high enough to fly far, but if you soar too high you'll get shot down by the fighter jets patrolling the cityscape.

Here's a video of me doing poorly:

Zombie Cannon Carnage is scheduled for release on February 23rd, and is really worth checking out if you've enjoyed playing other cannon shooting games on the iPhone. Like all Freeverse games these days, Zombie Cannon Carnage comes loaded with full Plus+ support including online leaderboards which I'm sure will be absolutely dominated with scores I will never be able to beat shortly after the game is launched.

The original Ragdoll Blaster [$1.99 / Free] was released last year and eventually peaked at the #3 in the best selling apps listing, as well as #2 overall in games. Its longevity on the charts since then isn't much of a surprise when you consider the game's uncanny ability to suck in everyone who plays it to the point that we still randomly get comments on our original review from people looking for tips to clear some levels in the game.

Naturally, Ragdoll Blaster is a tough act to follow, but Ragdoll Blaster 2 seems to be even more of the same with an updated graphics and some new puzzle elements that should spice up gameplay quite a bit. Here are the first few minutes of the game, including the tutorial and some of the earlier levels:

Backflip Studios has also released two other videos worth checking out, a teaser trailer and a gameplay video that shows several brief clips of some of the more advanced levels in Ragdoll Blaster 2. We'll have a full review of the game when it's ready to roll on March 1st.

Traplight Games has released a second teaser video for their upcoming super hero game The Hero. We first covered the game back in November when it was called Superhero.

The game has since gotten picked up by publisher Chillingo and is coming soon.

An amusing trailer that keeps with the theme of an interview with a retired superhero as well as a nod to another famous iPhone game.

If like me you've found yourself following all the events and drama surrounding this year's Winter Olympics, you really need something to keep you busy during those pesky commercial breaks. RealArcade's Vancouver 2010 [App Store] does the trick, and being the official game of the Olympic Winter Games, it's even loaded with all the olympic logos, mascots, and five events: Cross country skiing, speed skating, snowboard cross, biathlon, and freestyle moguls.

Each event is able to be played individually, or all together in the "Olympic Games" mode which has you doing one event after the other competing against a team of opponents. There's also a single device multiplayer mode that can support up to 6 people competing against each other by passing the device around.

Each of the five included games are controlled a little differently, some with on-screen buttons you need to tap and others that require tilting. For instance, when cross country skiing, you tap the buttons that appear randomly on either side of the screen to go faster, and in snowboard cross your board is controlled by tilting your device. Racing in the speed skating event involves holding and releasing on-screen buttons with precise timing. Three difficulty modes are included, an easy mode which comes unlocked, as well as hard and survival modes which are sequentially unlocked as you complete each difficulty level.

Vancouver 2010 looks and plays very similar to Playman Track & Field [99¢ / Free], RealArcade's other sports game that came out early last year featuring a set of summer events. There isn't a lite version of Vancouver 2010, but the free version of Playman Track & Field will give you a very good idea of what you're getting in to. There's also a video of the J2ME version which looks nearly identical to the iPhone game aside from the differences in aspect ratio.

I liked Playman a lot, and Vancouver 2010 is even more timing, tilting, and reaction-based mini games. Each of the events are fun, although I've found myself preferring the Snowboard Cross and Biathlon both in-game and in real life.

App Store Link: Vancouver 2010, $2.99

Free games are almost as awesome as free samples at the grocery store, or maybe more awesome depending on how you look at it. Three cool games are free today, and like most price changes, they will only be free for a short period of time so it's best not to wait before downloading these games.

Alchemize, $2.99 → FREE

Alchemize looks to be a simple match 3, but the gameplay is actually quite complex with all kinds of things to unlock, different game modes, and other surprises. We liked the game in our review, and it's really worth checking out to see how they managed to mix up the match 3 formula.

While I wasn't really crazy about this naval tower defense game when it was first released, it has since been updated a ton with all kinds new content, gameplay tweaks, achievements, and OpenFeint integration with online leaderboards.

Where most word finding games have you frantically searching for words to beat a timer, Textropolis has much more laid back gameplay that allows players to search for words made from the letters found in the names of 30 different included cities at their own pace. If you like Textropolis, check out the sequel, Fishtropolis [$1.99] as well.

Last week was absolutely loaded with sneak previews of games, and thanks to the wonderfully fast App Store approval turnaround time so far this year, B-Boy Beats, Robot Rampage, and Drift Sumi-e are all available for download.

B-Boy Beats, $2.99

From our preview:

The gameplay of B-Boy Beats amounts to keeping your index and middle fingers on the screen of your iPhone and moving them in time with the red and green circles to dance to the songs. This actually seems to take quite a bit of getting used to, as instead of most rhythm games where you're just tapping things along with a beat, you often need to keep one finger down while you move the other one around. Doing well takes an awful lot of brain power as when the songs speed up you almost instinctively just try to go back to quickly tapping like you do in Tap Tap Revenge and other games.

Despite quite a few naysayers in both the comments of our preview article, YouTube comments, and the forum thread, this game is one of the better rhythm games I've played on the iPhone largely because of how different it feels playing it compared to the typical tap to the beat rhythm game. B-Boy Beats comes loaded with nerdcore and once you get in to the gameplay, dancing with your fingers is a lot of fun. (And even more fun if you draw some Nike Dunks on your finger tips.) This is a game that badly needs a lite version, as you really need to get a feel for the game to fully appreciate it.

From our preview:

Robot Rampage is a seemingly endless survival game where you play as a gigantic robot armed with a super laser. Your massive robot is controlled with a variety of touch gestures. Tapping on the side of the screen causes the robot to move in that direction, holding a finger down on the screen fires the laster in that direction. The robot can also punch and stomp by tapping on either side of the robot's torso to punch, and tapping its legs to stomp. As you destroy your surroundings, a gauge in the top left corner fills up. Once full, you can tap and hold the robot to charge up a massive attack that clears the screen.

If you like giant robots, cheesy Sci-Fi B-movies, and destroying cities with huge lasers and robot fists of fury, it's safe to say you'll enjoy this quirky survival game. Gameplay is a little on the simple side, as all you do is rampage through a seemingly endless and random cityscape destroying buildings, soldiers, tanks, and other meager human defenses. OpenFeint integration should provide quite a bit of replay value if you enjoy competing in online leaderboards.

From our preview:

The game involves drawing a single stroke along the racetrack as the path for your car. You must try to hit and connect all the red clipping zones and try to make it through the course as fast as possible. After you draw your single stroke, you sit back and watch the playback in 3D as your car drifts around the corners. Multiple camera angles are provided along with drifting smoke effects. Your ultimate score is based on the smoothness of the line and speed of your run.

Drift Sumi-e is an interesting blend of gameplay reminiscent of Draw Race with a really cool looking sumi-e art style. Gameplay is simple, although it seems to take a back seat to the extremely elegant graphics as most of the game is spent watching your car drift around corners and taking snapshots with the unlockable in-game camera.

Arcade fighter fans should probably sit down for this news. As IGN reports, Capcom has just announced that the latest installment of what is perhaps the most popular fighting series ever created will shortly be landing on the iPhone and iPod touch. That's right, Street Fighter IV is on the way.

Set to arrive in the App Store sometime next month, Street Fighter IV is no quick port, hastily tossed at the iPhone in the name of getting a mobile version out on the streets. Capcom has apparently taken the iPhone conversion of their brawler quite seriously. They've spent months perfecting the on-screen virtual control systems, alone, realizing that the game demands highly precise controls for true mastery. And, despite the iPhone's diminutive screen, visual assets have been taken directly from the existing, high-resolution games. The character models are reportedly the same as in the other versions, only slightly scaled down, and with little color or detail loss, to speak of.

While Capcom has not listed the full roster of fighters to be included in the iPhone version, they have confirmed that Ryu and Ken will be aboard. The studio indicates that the iPhone version will include both classic characters from past installments, as well as new characters from existing versions of Street Fighter IV. Each character will include their complete move set, as well as their highly-animated Ultra Combos.

Friends who want to tear the virtual stuffing out of each other are in luck, as the iPhone version fully supports Bluetooth multiplayer for head-to-head brawls, in addition to the standard tournament matches.

We'll keep readers updated with additional details on this exciting upcoming release as we get them. See a gallery of iPhone Street Fighter IV screenshots over at IGN.

Like Wolfenstein RPG before it, id Software’s latest venture into the world of Doom has more in common with turn-based dungeon hacks of the 80’s than with the shooter genre from whence it sprang. Don’t get me wrong – there are guns aplenty here – but instead of relying on twitch-fingered accuracy and eagle-eyed precision, Doom II RPG [App Store] shifts the series focus to strategy and exploration. It’s a strange direction for the franchise to explore, but it works.

In each of the 9 levels presented here your goal will be the same; explore your surroundings until you’ve managed to uncover the exit. How you’ll go about that, however, can really differ from level to level. In some instances you’ll need to find hidden keycards. In others you’ll need to power up doorways or use a robot to explore gas-filled rooms. Level design offers up enough variety that things never really begin to feel stale.

The bulk of the gameplay offers up what you’ve come to expect from the Doom franchise – killing demons with big ass guns. Unlike the rest of the series though, you’ll really need to think about which guns to use in which situations and how best to approach your opponents. Sure you could go in guns blazing, but in a turn-based situation with no ability to gain cover you’re just asking to get yourself killed. Little tricks like hiding around a corner after you’ve been spotted to coax an enemy in front of you, or sending in a robot helper to get a good look at a situation before you walk into it, can make all the difference in the world.

Controls are fairly simple and will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played Wolfenstein RPG. You’ll be able to rotate your character 90 degrees in any direction with the aid of an on screen D-pad and sidestep by swiping your finger in the direction you want to move. Weapons can be cycled through by tapping your weapon icon, and shooting is done by tapping the screen. If you want to activate your inventory to restore some health or apply some armor, just tap on the health indicator. Everything is kept incredibly approachable, with every action requiring only a single touch.

Like all Doom games before it, the story here is essentially Aliens meets The Gate. Hell has once again opened up in space – this time on the moon – and you’re part of the team sent to investigate. There’s a good deal of sophomoric humor in the writing, yet I was surprised at the effort that was actually put into making the story interesting and providing the world with some depth. You’ll encounter different survivors that provide key information on what you’ll need to do to advance through a level. Computer terminals are found around the complex with emails open that give insight into the events that unfolded before you arrived. They’ve really done a bang up job of framing the story in a way that will keep you more engaged than you might suspect.

I was also taken aback by how well they managed to keep me on the edge of my seat with anxiety and occasionally jumpy with fear. When you remove the real-time components of a game like this and opt to keep the visuals campy and old school, your expectations in terms of nail-biting excitement are set relatively low. Yet time and time again, the level design would lead me into a situation where I was surrounded by demons with seemingly no way to get out.

The game also managed to have a few cheap carnival-ride thrills. In one instance I walked into an empty bathroom to refill my holy water gun in the toilet. Let me stress again -- the room was totally empty. But when I looked in a large mirror on my way to the exit there was a zombie standing right behind me! Sure these are cheap carnie thrills here, but it made me jump nonetheless.

Silliness also manages to sneak its way into the game more often than I’d expect. Shooting a demon with holy water, for example, will make his eyes bug out like a Looney Tunes animation. Searching the corpses of demons will occasionally turn up useless items like human fingers and pocket lint. It’s the sort of stuff that would have made me laugh when I was 12, and for some reason it still manages to illicit a chuckle out of me. This is a game where you can throw toilets at hellspawn -- who wouldn’t crack a smile at that?

As you can probably gather from the bulk of this review, Doom II RPG is a game that left me tickled pink from beginning to end. Still, we’d be remiss to not mention the few questionable design decisions that popped up from time to time.

I loved that enemy sprites were cut and paste from 1994, but they looked a little too fuzzy when you got up close. Couldn’t they have been cleaned up just a little for their 2010 re-introduction? Doom II RPG is also in desperate need of an auto-save feature. Each level would take a minimum of 30 minutes to complete, and on more than a few occasions I forgot to save and ended up having to replay huge chunks of the adventure. Also, for a Doom title, the game world is seriously lacking in the satanic scenery found in previous games of the franchise.

Still - with so few complaints, Doom II RPG is a game I enjoyed from beginning to end.

App Store Link: Doom II RPG, $3.99

Venan Entertainment is the creator of the recently released Space Miner: Space Ore Bust, which we absolutely loved in our review. Space Miner is the first game from Venan, but we liked it so much that we decided to feature them in this week's developer profile.

Brandon Curiel, the CEO of Venan, was kind enough to agree to be interviewed by us, and I got the chance to find out a little bit more about him, his company, and his games.

Touch Arcade: Could you give us a brief history of the company? How did you start off?

Brandon Curiel: Venan started in the summer of 2002 in my spare bedroom. We had just left a dot com bust, and having worked in games prior to that, the five of us we decided we wanted to get back into that market. Our initial target was the Xbox, and we spent a year working on a game demo and shopping it around, but didn’t have much luck. So with our savings getting low, we decided to switch gears and aim for something more modest – mobile development. Our first game, Super Putt Classic, got sold into Sprint by Mforma (now Hands On Mobile) and from there they started offering us contracts to do new games. One game led to another, and to another, and eventually we built up our business being a third party mobile developer.

We got started on the iPhone pretty early with a contract from EA to bring Monopoly over, which we had done on mobile and the regular iPod. It was like a breath of fresh air after having to deal with the fragmented Java/Native landscape for so long. Since then we’ve done four iPhone games, three for EA and one for Sega, but Space Miner is the first one we’ve developed as an internal title. We’re hoping to be able to dedicate more resources to internal titles going forward.

The Venan Entertainment crew

Touch Arcade: What was the inspiration for Space Miner?

Brandon Curiel: Space Miner is an interesting story, because there was no direct inspiration for it. Initially we were just trying to prototype a control scheme. The idea was to use the accelerometer to determine the device orientation such that when the user turned the device, we’d take the world and pivot it around the player. Seeing some of the success smaller developers were having, we thought we’d knock out a quick game with this nifty control scheme idea, so we brainstormed for some ideas that might work. Eventually we settled on a classic asteroids style game.

Since we’re not talking about the game I just described, something obviously didn’t work. To be blunt, the whole idea was a colossal mess. I can say that, since it was my idea! There were so many problems, like not having anywhere to put a UI, getting tangled up in headphone cords, and the undeniable fact that flipping the device around like that was just not fun and liable to get it dropped. So, having developed an asteroids “engine”, we had to rethink what exactly we were going to do with it.

Having to start over again I think made us take a deeper look at the App Store to figure out what exactly was out there and where we could be different. What we found was that there were a lot of “snack” type games, but not a whole lot of the type of deeper games like those you’d find on the DS or a PSP. So, we decided to be different. Instead of going in the same direction as everyone else on the App Store, we decided to do back to our roots and just blow out the whole asteroids concept into something we’d want to play. And that meant narrative, RPG elements, and all the things that you see in Space Miner now.

Space Miner, the first game from Venan

Touch Arcade: What's a game that you'd love to make in the future?

Brandon Curiel: Dark Blossom. It’s a name that means nothing to anyone (it shouldn’t at least), but it’s a classic fantasy RPG we’ve had kicking in the background in one form or another for at least five years. Prior to Space Miner, we had been working on it as an original DS title, but gave up because the market there is very tough if you aren’t Nintendo. I’ve personally always wanted to make an epic fantasy RPG, so hopefully we’ll get the chance someday to port it over to the iPhone and try reviving it once more.

Also, Space Miner II. First since that will mean the first Space Miner was successful. But really we always have had a plan for a sequel and have tons of ideas we couldn’t get in the first one.

The Venan Entertainment offices

Touch Arcade: Who wrote the dialog for Space Miner? Can you tell me a little bit about the decision to make the game humorous in nature?

Brandon Curiel: The story was primarily a collaborative effort between me and Alex Kain, an associate designer here. I dealt more with the story elements and the arc, and Alex handled the actual writing (and re-writing) but we both did some of the other as well. We also brought in an extremely funny writer we worked with on Ninjatown, Robbie Telfer, to help “funny it up.”

As for humorous, well, I think that was a natural fit. Once we hit on the mining angle, it took all of 1.5 seconds for Uncle Jeb to be created in our minds, and that character is just funny out of the box. We wanted this to be fun, light, and accessible. We were just so sick and tired of all the dark, gritty stories you see in these games that have just been done to death. So the tone was very conscious, from the UI, to the plot, to the dialog, to even doing the space station as a bobbing 2D billboard.

Here's a gameplay trailer for Space Miner:

Touch Arcade: What's an interesting fact about your company?

Brandon Curiel: There’s an ongoing agreement with the employees that if we sell 100,000 units of Space Miner, I’ll get them a pinball machine. We have a long way to go though…

App Store Link: Space Miner: Space Ore Bust, $4.99

When Plants vs. Zombies [App Store] was originally announced on April 1st last year, PC gamers everywhere (myself included) were unsure if Popcap's newly revealed game was part of an elaborate April Fool's Day hoax or not. A little more than a month later, the game was released and not only saw universal acclaim from the gaming media resulting in an 88 on Metacritic, but also earned the title of Popcap's fastest selling game of all time.

In Plants vs. Zombies, Popcap takes the standard tower defense formula and greatly simplifies it. Instead of a path to build towers along, you drop seeds in your yard which then grow in to plants that have various offensive or defensive capabilities. The yard is organized in a grid, and zombies move straight across the row they spawn on, munching (or in some cases jumping or flying over) anything that they come in contact with.

A gauge on the top of the screen shows how close you are to the end of the level, with flags indicating when big waves of zombies are going to come. When you clear a stage, you're often awarded with the seeds of one more of the nearly 50 included plants. This seemingly constant progression does a great job of keeping you interested, as it always seems like you have a new toy to play with. To shake things up even more, mini game levels are mixed in, including a bowling game of sorts, a whack-a-mole game with zombies, and others.

Originally designed to be played with a mouse, Popcap did an excellent job of porting Plants vs. Zombies to the iPhone. The resource required to build your defenses is sunlight, and in the PC version feverishly moving your mouse around to click on the small suns falling from the top of the screen got tiring (especially when playing on a laptop with a touchpad). On the iPhone, the sunlight mechanic is also in place, but seems to work so much better when you only have to tap the falling suns to collect them.

Interface elements have been made smaller to dedicate more screen space to your yard, and some things have been moved around. Your available seeds have been moved from the top of the screen to the left, and to plant one all you need to do is tap it then tap the grid square of your lawn where you want it placed. Alternatively, you can tap the seed icon then drag your finger around your lawn. This causes both the X and Y axis of the square you're currently selecting to light up which effectively put an end to me accidentally placing seeds in squares I didn't mean to.

Plants vs. Zombies is absolutely loaded with high quality animations, excellent cartoonish zombies, and silly dialog between your neighbor/shopkeeper Crazy Dave and even notes from the zombies themselves. Throughout the game you'll defend your front lawn during the day, at night, then defend your back yard which introduces water plants that can only be planted in your pool.

As you advance through levels you will come across many more zombies than just the standard run of the mill mindless brain-muncher. There's a Michael Jackson zombie that causes others to rise from gravestones following a Thriller-like dance. There's also zombies that have armored themselves with screen doors, traffic cones, buckets, football pads, and other equally ridiculous equipment. 25 different zombies in all are included, and one end-boss. Each zombie even has their own profile inside the in-game almanac, and they're really worth a look once you unlock it.

Plants vs. Zombies performs well on both my iPhone 3G and 3GS. I did experience some slowdown when there were tons of zombies and projectiles on screen, but overall this didn't cause a problem playing through the game as the only time there was enough things happening on-screen to cause slowdown was at the very end of some levels where you already have your yard fully covered and are just waiting for the last wave of zombies to die.

On the iPhone, Plants vs. Zombies only includes the main story and a quick play mode that is unlocked once you've beaten the game that will allow you to play a few different scenarios and the various mini games you came across in story mode. The endless survival mode from the PC version is nowhere to be found, which is very disappointing, especially since I imagine quite a few people excited about Popcap porting the game to the iPhone have already completed the story mode on the PC.

There is only one difficulty level, and if you're a veteran of tower defense games, Plants vs. Zombies will likely be very easy for you. Personally, I love the tower defense genre, and being able to make it all the way through Plants vs. Zombies without much difficulty at all hasn't stopped me from playing through the game multiple times on my computer, and I'm enjoying the iPhone version just as much. I'm not sure what it is about Popcap games, but similar to Peggle and Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies never seems to get old.

The 88 Metacritic score of the original Plants vs. Zombies (complete with 100's from multiple sources) just goes to show how great this game is. The iPhone port is absolutely phenomenal, and even though it's lacking a few game modes, there's always hope for them to be implemented in the future either via an update or a DLC add-on. There isn't a lite version, but there is a free Flash demo that I highly recommend trying if this is the first you've heard of Plants vs. Zombies.

App Store Link: Plants vs. Zombies, $2.99

Well, readers, that special day is upon us. It's Valentine's Day. And what better way to share our love with our readers -- who are certainly glued to the website, the App Store, and their iPhones, rather than out weaving a web of romance with someone special -- than to underscore a few Valentine-savvy iPhone games?

Makeout Mania! from StormHatch ($0.99)

Makeout Mania! is a "chain-reaction puzzler" that puts you in the role of that love-spreading cherub, Cupid, on a mission to pierce the heart of a school full of unsuspecting students with your arrows of love, sending them on a frenzied bid to kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.

The title offers 24 levels of gameplay in Puzzle Mode, where the mission is to pierce a heart and make the perfect match (consult the yearbook to see who's nuts about who) while avoiding the teachers at all cost. There's also Mania Mode where it's a race against the clock to trigger the most kisses possible in an ever-scrolling schoolhouse, with the option to compete against your Facebook and Plus+ friends.

Free, new levels are on the way and an update has been submitted that tweaks a few areas of gameplay.

App Store Link: Makeout Mania! ($0.99)

Flower Garden from SnappyTouch ($0.99)

A big part of Valentine's Day, for those of us that don't spend all our time playing iPhone games, is flowers. And, thanks to Noel Llopis of SnappyTouch, you can have your own lovely flower garden right inside your iPhone.

As we said in our initial review of the app, Flower Garden is not really a game. It does, however, fall into the same sim / virtual pet type experience that has boosted apps such as Koi Pond, Pocket God and Touch Pets Dogs to the heights of popularity in the App Store.

There's no real goal to Flower Garden. It's something of a zen-like experience, really. Grow flowers. Unlock new seeds. Clip flowers to make bouquets. And it's the last that really puts this game under the Valentine's Day crosshairs; you can make a lovely bouquet and email it to someone special. Basically, it turns your iPhone into a digital Cupid, with email for arrows. And, to make things even sweeter, the game is currently under a 60%-off weekend-only Valentine's Day sale at $0.99.

App Store Link: Flower Garden ($0.99, sale)

Whac-a-Mole: Whacky Valentines from Mattel (Free)

Everybody's played a whack-a-mole game, in one form or another. It's a pretty simple formula: the mole pops up out of its hole and you whack it.  And, who doesn't like to bludgeon moles? Especially when the damned things are trying to ruin Valentine's Day!

Whac-a-Mole: Whacky Valentines is basically a Valentine-themed version of the iPhone original [App Store] which is, as such games go, a pretty solid take on the whack-a-mole formula. Amusingly, the digital backboard of the game provides the occasional (though highly simplistic) mini-game -- a nice touch.

I'd go into further description of the title but...it's free, so just download it and start whacking.

App Store Link: Whac-a-Mole: Whacky Valentines (Free)

Touch Pets Dogs Valentine's Goodies Pack from ngmoco ($2.99 DLC)

Virtual pet buffs need not be left out in the cold on this day of love and merriment. Ngmoco is currently offering a Valentine's Goodies Pack as paid in-game DLC ($2.99) in Touch Pets Dogs for those that want to lavish their v-pooch with as much love as can be.

App Store Link: Touch Pets Dogs (Free)

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.