Originally released for the PlayStation all the way back in the year 2000, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 [App Store] was the definitive skateboarding game of its day. Since then, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series has spawned a ton of sequels, but, at least in my opinion, no skateboarding game has come close to the same level of fun. I played Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 so much that I quite literally wore out controllers. I really can't think of another game I can say the same for.

I'm not alone in absolutely loving the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 either, as it's currently the #2 top rated game on all of MetaCritic, second only to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In its day, THPS2 received flawless reviews from nearly everyone who touched it, and believe it or not, even the Gameboy Advance port was great... An accomplishment not to be taken lightly given how terribly mediocre even the best Gameboy ports of "full" 3D games were.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 stikes a perfect balance between an in-depth career mode with multiple skaters you can slowly improve by buying additional stat points, skateboards, and tricks while also sporting an extremely open game world that seems to never run out of things for you to do. Once you do finally beat the game, there's always topping you and your friends' scores which begin to become a test of endurance for how long you can keep an infinite combo going before falling.

Progressing through career mode involves selecting a skate location and completing goals to earn in-game money. Initially only the warehouse is open, and goals range from finding gaps (two ramps you can jump between), picking up the S K A T E letters, knocking over barrels, reaching several different point totals, and others. Once you make enough money the second skate location opens, and the rest of the game continues like that. Of course, you can always visit old locations, which is vital if you hope to fully tweak out your skater as each stat point you buy is incrementally more expensive than the last.

Sadly, even though Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 is based on source material that is pure gaming gold, there are the usual console game to iPhone issues. First off, the necessary evil of the virtual D-Pad and set of four buttons to handle all your jumping, flipping, grabbing and grinding really doesn't do the game any favors. They're slowly growing on me and work as well as to be expected, but I'm not entirely sure I'll ever be able to pull the insane infinite combos I could on a real controller just because of how hard it is to rock your thumb between two virtual buttons on the iPhone screen.

Secondly, and potentially worse is that Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 flat out hasn't been adapted to be a very good mobile phone game. It still utilizes a similar save system to the now ancient console game where your progress is only saved after each level, so any phone calls will result in you restarting from your last save. This probably isn't as big of a deal as it sounds, since each skate session is only a couple minutes long, but it still seems worth mentioning.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 is also a game that would benefit greatly from some kind of online leaderboard integration. The sheer potential this game has to be the most amazing thing I've ever seen by implementing leaderboards, push challenges, and replay sharing is out of this world. I can't even imagine how much fun sending challenges to all my friends I used to play THPS2 with back in the day would be, and I really really hope they consider adding this.

In the graphics and sound departments, it's all there. In fact, the game looks even better on the iPhone than I remember it. It has a soundtrack of real music, although the original game music by Anthrax, Rage Against the Machine, and Bad Religion are nowhere to be found. Currently the game's availability is severely limited, but according to Tony Hawk's Twitter should be available internationally fairly soon.

Despite these issues, if you have any nostalgia at all from playing the original game ten years ago, you're going to need this game. From the familiar menus to all the skate locations filled with secrets you slowly begin to remember, there's nothing that compares to Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2. There is no way you won't be smiling ear to ear the first time you drop in to the warehouse, and chances are, you won't even care that the controls aren't ideal because you're playing Tony Hawk on your phone.

If you're only familiar with more modern Tony Hawk games, you might be annoyed that it's lacking (and I use that word loosely) things like a story mode, a more structured career mode, greater depth of customization, and other things that have since become common place in recent skateboarding games. But, honestly, none of that even matters, because the actual skating in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 has an absolutely timeless feel to it.

This is a game I will never delete from my iPhone.

App Store Link: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, $9.99

Apple has started to reveal the iPad apps in the App Store. While we have reported on many of the upcoming releases, one surprise release from Activision is an official Geometry Wars title called Geometry Wars: Touch.

Geometry Warsâ„¢: Touch utilizes higher graphics and faster processing to enhance the game experience and immerse players deeper into non-stop shooter pandemonium. This is sure to be the must have game for the iPad.

In addition to the six original Geometry Wars gameplay modes: Deadline, King, Evolved, Pacifism, Waves and Sequence, Geometry Wars: Touch has a brand new mode called Titans! which is exclusive to iPad.

While you can purchase iPad apps now, they won't do you any good until the iPad launches. The iPad launches on Sat, April 3rd.

App Store Link: Geometry Wars: Touch, $9.99

In celebration of Spring, EA has discounted a number of their games until April 5th. The list includes a wide range of titles included below:

• The Simpsons Arcade - $0.99
• Spore Creatures - $1.99
• Madden NFL 10 - $4.99
• NBA Live - $4.99
• Spore Origins - $0.99
• Dragon's Lair - $2.99
• Monopoly (Classic) - $2.99
• Scrabble - $2.99
• Trivial Pursuit - $2.99
• Battleship $1.99
• Boggle - $0.99
• Connect 4 - $1.99
• The Game of Life - $1.99
• Yahtzee Adventures - $1.99
• American Idol $0.99
• Anytime Pool - $0.99
• Clue - $0.99
• Mass Effect Galaxy - $0.99
• Star Trek - $0.99
• Wolfenstein RPG - $0.99
• Snood - $0.99
• Mystery Mania - $0.99

The sale lasts through the weekend until April 5th.

When I wrote the closing thoughts of my four-star review of Across Age a couple of months ago, I commented on the fact that the game marked a continuing increase in the quality of App Store RPGs, and I wondered if Zenonia 2 [App Store] would be able to keep the pace. Zenonia 2 has been out for a few days now, and I've finally been able to put it to the test. The conclusion that I've come to is that while this isn't markedly better than any game before it, it is a massive improvement over the original game and stands among the best RPGs on the App Store.

The plot of the first game followed a young boy named Regret in the midst of a war between the Holy Knights of the land and a clan of dragons. This sequel traces a new story in the same universe with one of four selectable characters as the stars. A half-naked swordsman, gun-toting blonde, animal-man hybrid melee guy, and generic, emo magician make up the cast, and each play quite differently. Choosing one character over another won't change the story in any significant ways, but each character does come with some side-quests specific to them. I wasn't extremely impressed by the quality of the game's story as a whole, but I can say with some confidence that it's an improvement over the one in the original game.

Spelling and grammar errors, a clunky menu system, and an annoying hunger system held the first Zenonia back from greatness, but its enjoyable real-time battle system made it into a game that many loved. While the story in Zenonia 2 might not be especially better, numerous other elements are. The menu system in particular is leagues better than the previous game's (although it does still need some work; combining items and dealing with duplicate items is a big pain in the bum).

The game still uses SNES-era-inspired graphics, so it looks good for a mobile port. The hunger system is back, but in a much more manageable fashion that doesn't grind on one's nerves. I still can't believe that your equipped armor and weapons show in-game on your character. That's a feature that rarely makes its way into 2D games, but certainly should more often. One feature that has been showing up more commonly in App Store RPGs is online PvP matches. I was a bit disappointed that it isn't "real" PvP (the computer controls a downloaded version of your opponent's character) but it's cool that Gamevil included the option.

The core of Zenonia 2 is largely the same, but for some reason it just feels bettter than before. The game has some of the most customizable controls I've ever seen, so maybe that combined with the new touch-controlled menu system is what makes the difference. The best part of the game is still the battle system. The auto-turn-to-face-enemies feature and easily accessible skills gives everything a clean, fast-paced feel, and fans of RPGs know what I'm talking about when I say that there's just something fun about dashing around leveling up and increasing a character's stats.

Zenonia 2 still has its flaws. Having to repair items sucks, plain and simple, and the item combination system is pretty boring. A couple of times I ran into a glitch where it seems that items I picked up failed to show up in my inventory. The cutscenes are generally well-done, but the opening cutscene in particular is way too long, even to the point of being tedious. I did some lurking in our forums and found that other users have been experiencing the problem as well, so I hope that Gamevil addresses the issue with an update soon.

Honestly, if you really disliked the first game, you probably won't feel differently about Zenonia 2. If you're like me and you enjoyed the first game but had a few grievances with it, however, this game fixes those problems. I hate to fall back on Across Age as a reference point, but in my mind it's the App Store RPG to beat. The fact is, Zenonia 2 is just as good as Across Age, and those who've gotten their money's worth out of that game shouldn't hesitate to drop the cash to download this game. I can nitpick all day about the lame item-repair system or that awful opening cutscene, but the most important part of this game is how the battles feel, and Gamevil hit that nail on the head.

App Store Link: Zenonia 2, $4.99

Here we are only two days from the arrival of the iPad and gaming news surrounding the device is coming at a fever pitch. Games are now continuously appearing in our Upcoming iPad Games forum and on the App Shopper iPad area. We're doing our best to keep readers in the know regarding upcoming titles that've got us excited.

Have a look at three that we're anxious to spend some time with.

Phil Hassey has just sent us details of the upcoming iPad version of his arcade-strategy game Galcon [App Store], winner of the 2009 IGF Mobile Innovation in Game Design award. Galcon Fusion for the iPad features online realtime multiplayer support and takes full advantage of the iPad's ample screen real-estate.

Features, as listed by the developer:

• Beautiful new HD graphics
• Multi-player, team games, and solo missions
• Achievements and detailed rankings
• 8 single player games including Stealth and Assassin
• Online games with up to 12 players
• Play against PC, Mac, and Linux users

See the developer's Galcon Fusion page for more iPad screenshots.

Back in November we took a look at David White's iPhone take on the open source, turn-based strategy game Battle for Wesnoth [App Store]. We were quite impressed with the game's online multiplayer implementation that allows iPhone gamers to go up against desktop-based competitors. A major shortcoming, however, is the small iPhone screen and an in-game interface that's not ideally suited to the cramped quarters. All that should fall away with the recently announced iPad version, rendered to its 1024x768-pixel screen.

The above screenshot (click for full-size) shows the iPhone version, inset, to give an idea of the additional play area provided by the iPad version.

Battle for Wesnoth HD will arrive in the App Store at a download price of $0.99. See the forum thread for discussion and more in-game images.

Ziconic's AirCoaster started out as an interesting sort of iPhone toy / demo that let users careen down a variety of floating roller coaster tracks, adjusting certain physics details along the way to change up the experience. With AirCoaster Pro [App Store], things got a lot more interesting with the inclusion of a track editor allowing you to create the coaster of your dreams.

The developer has recently announced support for the iPad in his upcoming AirCoaster XL featuring lovely 1024x768-pixel graphics, the integrated track editor, and an improved touch interface, thanks to the additional screen real estate offered by the iPad.

With the iPad I was finally able to create a multitouch roller coaster track editor that is truly usable. Trying to create a roller coaster on a tiny iPhone screen never really felt right.

See the developer's forum post for additional iPad screenshots.

In the wake of a sea of iPad announcements, Activision has finally released Tony Hawk' Pro Skater 2 for the iPhone. Tony Hawk himself announced the coming of the game earlier this month.

The new iPhone version carries both traditional control configurations as well as iPhone-specific accelerometer controls. Features include:

• Ride as Tony Hawk, one of the greatest skateboarding icons of all time.
• Skate as one of 12 other featured pros.
• Master signature pro moves and hundreds of tricks including nose/tailslides, nose/bluntslides, lip tricks, nollies, manuals and more.
• Earn virtual cash to purchase dozens of additional in-game moves and alternate boards.
• Over 13 epic environments to skate.

We haven't had time to spend any time with the game ourselves, so will report back later today. The first forum impression from debtOFskittles is quite positive:


so I've played through the first skate park, and I'm finding the controls very responsive, and the framerate is buttery smooth (on my 2g itouch)... graphics are, shall i say, familiar, as in nothing special (i wish they'd reworked the colors a bit, like gameloft did in Rayman) but it's obviously the gameplay that's the most important here, and it's really good. I personally think the buttons look ugly. I'd say that the onscreen buttons is a much better control method than the accelerometer, since I encountered some weird kinks in that... the game wasn't made for that kind of input. But anyhow, the game's all here, and I like it!

More impressions should filter into the discussion thread.

App Store Link: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, $9.99

Along with the blitz of iPad details leaking out of the App Store this evening comes EA's Command & Conquer: Red Alert for $14.99, a real time strategy game that appears to share quite a few interface elements with the iPhone version. Since the iPad was first announced, the increased screen real estate has left RTS gamers drooling at the potential of playing a full fledged strategy game without the somewhat annoying limitations of the small iPhone screen.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert is yet another game on our long list of games we're going to need to be trying out this Saturday. Hopefully there is more to Red Alert than an up-sized version of the iPhone game. I've got my fingers crossed at least.

Also coming for $12.99 is Civilization Revolution which has been "updated and optimized" for the high resolution display of the iPad... Yet another game to add to our busy Saturday morning.

As the early iPad section of the App Store fills out, we discovered that at least some of Gameloft's current iPad launch lineup.

The iPad games which appear to be launching along side the device are:

• Asphalt 5 HD
• Dungeon Hunter HD
• Modern Combat: Sandstorm HD
• NOVA HD
• NFL 2010 HD
• Let's Golf HD
• Real Soccer 2010 HD