It's hard to say enough good things about Rovio's furious catapult game, Angry Birds [iPhone: 99¢ / Free - iPad: $4.99]. The game is set in a surprisingly cute game world where smug green pigs steal the eggs of a band of nearby birds. Naturally, this makes the birds very angry. They then decide the best way to get revenge on the pigs is by loading themselves up in catapults and slamming in to the pig fortress that makes up each of the included levels.

The previous update added a bunch of new levels, and this latest update not only packs even more levels in to the mix but also a brand new bird with a special ability that sends it flying backwards like a boomerang for massive pig mayhem.

New block types are included that make up the pig defenses including a mattress to bounce off of. There's a new graphical theme, even more achievements, and in the level select screen there are two "coming soon" buttons, indicating even more new levels coming in the future.

We loved Angry Birds in our review, and since then the game has only gotten better and better with updates. I've played through Angry Birds in its entirety on my iPhone, and again on my iPad, and really can't recommend this game enough especially with all of these updates.

App Store Links:

• Angry Birds, 99¢
• Angry Birds Lite, Free
• Angry Birds HD, $4.99

The remarkably popular Doodle Jump [99¢] is officially coming to the iPad, according to Lima Sky's Igor Pusenjak. They've actually been hard at work on the iPad version since they first got their hands on the devices, but instead of simply rushing a high resolution version of the same game to the App Store, the Pusenjak brothers are experimenting with all kinds of different graphics sizes, screen orientations, and features for a truly great Doodle Jump iPad experience.

In other news, Doodle Jump has been downloaded over 4,000,000 times so far, easily making it one among the very best selling games on the App Store. Lima Sky also has updates planned over the next three months to add even more awesome stuff to the game.

If you're somehow unfamiliar with Doodle Jump, you simply must check it out. Doodle Jump is an extremely simple tilt-controlled jumping game that is both easy enough to be fun for casual players in the early game, and challenging enough to allow for a hardcore ceiling of online high scores that reach in to the millions.

App Store Link: Doodle Jump, 99¢

Majic Jungle Software has just posted a new video demonstrating their upcoming Chopper 2 game played on an iPad while being controlled by an iPhone over Bluetooth.

While not an entirely practical way to play your iPad games, it's also something we're itching to try when it comes out.

As we previewed in March, Chopper 2 is a rewrite of the original game with 3D graphics, numerous different landscapes and a realistic physics system. Chopper 2 is said to be in late stages of development and should be coming soon. It will be released for both iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.

Leaked screenshots indicate that Sega may be reviving Jet Grind Radio / Jet Set Radio this year for the Xbox Live Arcade.

So what, you ask?

Yes, well, we're not sure that means anything for us iPhone-toting gamers, but it does provide some closure to 2008 rumors we reported on that Sega was indeed reviving this classic game. At that time, a trademark filing revived the Jet Grind Radio trademark to include games for "mobile phones" as well as "downloadable game programs" which had given us some hope for an iPhone port. Of course, SEGA's sub-par iPhone gaming releases since that time have left us far less hopeful that we'll see a proper Jet Grind Radio game in the App Store.

Jet Grind Radio (known as Jet Set Radio outside of North America) was a highly rated Dreamcast game with distinctive, visually impressive cel-shaded rendering. There are whispers the official Jet Grind Radio announcement will come at E3 2010. Hopefully, at that time we'll find out if this will be an Xbox-exclusive title or we'll be seeing it grace other platforms.

For those of you who had issues installing Espgaluda II onto your 3rd Gen iPod Touches, the new update now fixes that. Along with a few other bugs being fixed:

- Fixed install error for 3rd generation iPod touch
- Fixed issue where sound does not play when receiving a call
- Fixed issue where save data is not saved under certain conditions
- Fixed issue where some achievements do not unlock due to data not being
saved.

The game is a bullet hell-style shooter by Cave Co. that we reviewed earlier this month and really loved.

However, due to the number of projectiles in the game, Espgaluda II requires a 3rd generation device. This includes the iPhone 3GS, 3rd Generation iPod Touch and even the iPad (works great even in pixel doubled mode).

In addition to releasing an update to the full version, a free Lite version is now available to try out to see how you like the game. It is also suggested that you install the Lite version to confirm that the game is compatible with your device.

Compared to the full version, the Lite version only includes the first stage, one character, one difficulty mode, and OpenFeint is not integrated.

Here is a video of the game in action:

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $8.99, Espgaluda II Lite, Free (Both games; 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch or Pixel-Doubled on iPad only)

Gameloft's Iron Man 2 has arrived in many other regions over the course of the day today, but likely will not appear in the US App Store until May 3rd. We've got our fingers crossed it shows up earlier, but right now, things aren't looking good.

Iron Man 2 seems to be just about everything you'd expect from a movie tie-in iPhone game made by Gameloft. The dialog isn't great, gameplay seems surprisingly linear, and while flying around as Iron Man is pretty cool, the whole thing just feels like your typical movie game.

Unfortunately, I'm not alone in not really enjoying the Iron Man 2 iPhone game. The Iron Man 2 thread on our forums seems to be in agreement, filled with people who have spent the day playing the New Zealand version. Forum member Der-Kleine was able to play through the game in 2 hours and Ziotoo4 comments on the plot, voice acting, and bugs.

New Zealand App Store Link: Iron Man 2, $9.99 NZ (International Only)

Nearly a year ago I took a look at PDJ Apps' iPhone homage to Inner Space (ok, that's a joke) Nano Fighter [App Store] and found it to be a decent dual-stick shooter in the vein of Robotron and Geometry Wars. It's not the best or most feature-packed shooter I've encountered, but it makes for a fun few minutes of shooter action on the go. Pavel Doichev has recently released Nano Fighter for iPad [App Store]. And it can be described in pretty much the same terms as the iPhone original.

In Nano Fighter for iPad, as with the iPhone original, you take the helm of a microscopic vessel working your way through a host organism, battling various immune systems and bacterial baddies. It's a level to level progression, and each level is only one minute long, so the difficulty ramps up pretty quickly. It's a decent shooter that delivers real intensity

I was somewhat disappointed to see that the iPad version, although designed for the device's larger, high res screen, features sprites that appear to be simply up-scaled renditions of those from the iPhone version. As well, there's something about the controls of the iPad version that come up short as compared to the iPhone original -- it's hard to articulate. Nano Fighter, for these reasons, actually feels a better fit for the iPhone than for it's new, larger sibling.

All that said, right now Nano Fighter for iPad is going for $.99, a half-price introductory sale that should last a few days more. My advice is to grab it now if you're a fan of the iPhone version and are looking for some shooter fun on your new iPad. When it jumps up to $1.99, we might recommend that iPad users just grab the $.99 iPhone original to run at 2x scaled. It's fun to play on both platforms, but I'd hoped for a little bit more from an iPad rework.

App Store Link: Nano Fighter for iPad, $.99 (limited time)

Those who enjoy a bit of casual, yet challenging, fun may want to have a look at Future Games of London's recent iPhone survival action title, Hungry Shark [App Store].

Hungry Shark is an aptly named title. The game puts you in tilt-based control of a shark that is, well, hungry. Your shark must feed -- constantly -- in order to keep his ever-dwindling health bar from tanking out. The menu consists of pretty, little tropical fish, humans, barracudas, penguins, pelicans, and scary-looking deep-sea anglers, among others. Bingeing yourself on a whole mess of fish at once gets you multiplier bonuses. And some things out there are best left uneaten or perhaps eaten just right. These include jelly fish, puffer fish, swordfish, and aquatic mines.

After a few minutes of play, zipping to and fro gobbling prey, you'll realize you've only just scratched the surface of the game, so to speak. While reefs and shores and ice block your way in places, you can swim your shark far down into the darkened depths to feast upon a more creepy-looking menu. But, whatever your depth, the name of the game is eat, eat, eat. As you do so, your shark will level up, growing in size and ferocity -- but be careful, your newfound might will soon attract the attention of shark hunters.

Along with the health meter, your shark has a boost meter that replenishes with time. A tap to the screen activates the speed boost which helps in grabbing fast moving prey or getting out of a sticky situation. Collecting lost items strewn about the seafloor (license plates, helmets, etc.) gains you points, as well.

Hungry Shark is a cute, fun, simple game that's pretty hard to put down. It has a just-one-more-time appeal that I would liken to Doodle Jump; it seems that surely the next game will win you a crown spot on the global leaderboards. It's a casual game that our forum readers are loving, and so are we.

( Note that the developers, who are active in our forums, have indicated that the game has a bug that prevents it from running on 3G iPod touch 32GB / 64GB models, at present. A free v1.1 update is on the way (already submitted) that will correct this issue and allow it to run on all iPhone platform devices. )

App Store Link: Hungry Shark, $1.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Argharta Studio has finally submitted the second episode of 1112 to the App Store. The original installment of the series was first released in November of 2008 and was a highly anticipated point and click adventure for the iPhone. The follow up episode is finally arriving soon.

Louis has arrived in New York in a rather mysterious way... Help him discover why he has ended up in New York and follow his adventure promising unexpected developments and encounters.

Agharta has released new screenshots as well as a trailer video.

Features found in episode 2 include:

• All new advanced graphical design and artistic direction
• 25 new larger than life environments
• 14 new characters
• Various puzzles, each with a specific gameplay
• An incredibly responsive Multi-Touch user interface
• Original score
• Elaborate interactive narrative
• Totally redesigned game engine

The first episode had somewhat mixed user reviews, so we'll be interested to see how the game has progressed in the time since. It seems they've redone much of the game engine and gameplay for episode 02. The game will be coming for both iPhone and iPad.

iPhone developer TouchGrove, who brought us the retro '70s LED Football [App Store] for the iPhone and the entertaining Air Harp [App Store] for the iPad, has released another retro remake, Castle Bash [App Store] for the iPad.

Castle Bash is a remake of Atari's 1980 arcade release Warlords, which is probably best known for its release on the Atari 2600 console in 1981. Rated the 25th greatest video game of all time by Game Informer, Warlords allows up to four players to compete in a castle defense bout that's something of a combination of Breakout and Elimination / Quadrapong.

Warlords presents a game screen consisting four castles, one in each corner, each of which must be defended by a movable shield that can slide along the castle walls. The shield is used to deflect a fireball that bounces about the play area, knocking out bricks on impact with a castle wall. If a wall is breached and the fireball knocks out the king inside, that player gets zero points for the round, while the last player standing gets one point. The game allows for one to four human players to get in on the action.

Castle Bash is a very close rendition of the Warlords formula. The only real difference is the apparent lack of the ability to capture the fireball with your shield and send it off in the direction of your choice, as you can in the original -- deflection is the only interaction you have with the fireball. The game allows either one or four human players to man each castle, the latter scenario making great use of the iPad's large screen for tabletop group gaming. There is an Arcade mode which is just one round of quick play, as well as a Tournament mode that brings round after round of play. The game's visuals are straight up retro, with blocky, glowing pixels that, along with the simple, "blippy" sound effects, will take anyone familiar with the Atari classic right back to the early '80s.

Castle Bash, like Warlords before it, is a rather simple game by today's standards -- we're talking 30 year-old gameplay, after all. But it is entertaining. In fact, Warlords was recently released on the Xbox Live Arcade. The only real complaint I have with the title is the need to trace a finger along the line of the castle walls to move your shield. The arcade and 2600 releases used spinners / paddles, which would've been better approximated with a simple, linear touch slider. It's definitely more of a preference than a deal-breaker, though.

App Store Link: Castle Bash, $2.99

One of the early classic iPhone games PapiJump is now available for the iPad. We first discovered PapiJump back in August, 2008 and found it to be a surprisingly fun experience. The game later inspired Lima Sky's Doodle Jump which has also been a massive success.

While Lima Sky is still putting the final touches on their iPad version of Doodle Jump, you can play PapiJump on the iPad for free.

I can't say PapiJump for iPad is anything more than a novelty, but it plays differently than you might expect. The iPad version will play in both landscape and portrait, though I found the landscape (steering wheel hold) more natural. In contrast, the iPhone version has always been a one-handed portrait affair. Sunflat has also added swipe and touch controls to the iPad verison.

App Store Link: PapiJump for iPad, Free

Meanwhile, James Cameron's Avatar from Gameloft is now available in an iPad version.

The iPad-optimized version does not appear to have any new content, but does have improved graphics and reconfigured controls for your iPad-enjoyment.

App Store Link: James Cameron's Avatar for iPad, $9.99

Late last year we reviewed MiniSquadron, a 2D, side-scrolling aerial combat game that we thoroughly enjoyed and was a hit with our readers. Developers MrFungFung have followed up their original title with a content-rich sequel, MiniSquadron Special Edition [AppStore].

Gameplay in the new MiniSquadron Special Edition is identical to that in the original game, so instead of reiterating what we originally reviewed, we'll just cover what has been added.

Primarily, the fee structure has changed. MiniSquadron Special Edition is now a free to download game, offering the first two levels for free and including the remaining 6 levels in the form of 3 separate level packs for $0.99 each. Each level contains waves of progressively harder enemies that you must defeat to continue. Essentially this adds to the same $2.99 price of the first game, but it should now be more accessible to those who never got around to giving the original MiniSquadron a try.

Content-wise, there are a whopping 50+ new aircraft to unlock, which also introduce the helicopter to your squadron ranks. As expected, the helicopter can hover and brings greater manoeuvrability and control. More than that though, it changes up the gameplay you're more than familiar with by now and gives a fresh perspective on how to tackle each of the 8 new levels. MiniSquadron Special Edition also features 2 new power-ups, Freeze and Rapid Fire (which can both be used against you, too) and are rather self-explanatory. Also included is a new fireball weapon-type that is unlocked for certain aircraft.

As in the previous version, the handcrafted levels are all individually themed (you can take your dogfighting into space to fly amongst aliens, or to the arctics to play with penguins) and really present a terrific backdrop to the frantic flying action. There is still a Classic mode (which offers waves of individual challenges per level) and a Survival mode to play through. MiniSquadron Special Edition also allows for Network play via WiFi.

We're a bit disappointed that our biggest wish for the first version hasn't been provided. There is no online multiplayer, and network play is restricted to 1 v 1 battles only-- overlooking the opportunity for this game to really shine by offering dogfighting between several players at once.

If you are a big fan of the first Minisquadron, then MiniSquadron Special Edition will be an obvious must-buy for you. The gameplay is identical despite the new additions, so essentially you're purchasing additional levels and a large number of new plane unlocks. We're sad that there is no expanded multiplayer functionality, as it would have offered something fresh for those that had their MiniSquadron fill in the original title.

This doesn't seem to have discouraged our forum readers though, who are already expressing their enthusiasm for the sequel on our forums.

App Store Link: MiniSquadron Special Edition, Free (With 3 In-App Level Packs for $0.99 each).

TouchArcade Rating:

If there's one thing RPG fans on our forums love, it's the Zenonia series. The original was insanely popular amongst our community, and the sequel seems to have the same appeal. I thought the first Zenonia [$2.99 / Free] was a ton of fun, and the sequel Zenonia 2 [$4.99 / Free] was just as good, if not better.

Here's the basic gist of Zenonia 2 from our review:

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. ...Read More

The lite version includes 5 main quests and 6 sub-quests to complete, as well as full access to the PvP arena. (Although, expect to be owned.) If you've been on the fence for whatever reason on this game, you really should give the light a spin. Also, another great thing about Gamevil releasing a lite version of Zenonia 2? I totally now have an excuse to post this awesomely ridiculous video again:

YEAH!

App Store Links: Zenonia 2, $4.99 / Zenonia 2 Lite, Free

Gameloft's Naomi and Josh are back again to bring us another look inside of Gameloft. Like most of their video podcasts, they include a good mix of things you've likely already seen if you follow TouchArcade closely along with some new reveals.

This one is much longer than their other video podcasts, so if you don't want to sit through the whole thing, you can skip to these points of interest:

• 0:00 - Gameloft visits the New York City Fifth Avenue Apple Store and talks to some people about the iPad, along with interviewing some of their own developers who discuss how great the iPad is going to be for gaming.
• 2:51 - iPad trailers for HD versions of Shrek Kart, Brothers in Arms 2 Global Front, Hero of Sparta, and Avatar
• 5:13 - Blokus overview, including some tips and video of what playing the actual board game looks like.
• 6:26 - Iron Man 2 gameplay iPhone gameplay footage, as well as revealing that the game will be simultaneously coming to all three devices. They're not clear as to whether or not this means Iron Man 2 will be universal, or if the iPhone version will simply launch with the iPad HD version.
• 8:02 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction gameplay video combined with an overview of the iPhone exclusive Potomac River level which apparently is going to feature a rails shooter portion.
• 8:45 - Gameloft officially reveals Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within. They don't show any gameplay, but the cinematic trailer is pretty cool.
• 10:45 - Explanation of the various contests Gameloft is currently running to get free games and even a trip to their offices in Paris
• 11:45 - Gameloft closes their video podcast with a brief Q&A and revealed that their games generally take a year to develop from early concepts, to actual development, testing, and everything else.

A couple of interesting releases recently hit the App Store. For various reasons we can't fully recommend them, but may be of interest.

Fast & Furious Adrenaline, $5.99

A sequel of sorts to Fast & Furious The Game [99¢ / Free], Fast & Furious Adrenaline is another arcade racer that runs at a decent frame rate with tracks filled with jumps and sharp turns. As noted by forum members in the game's thread, the physics in the game feel off and the draw distance is kind of low, but if you love the Fast & Furious movies, here's the latest game spinoff.

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Icarus-X, $1.99

If you don't have a device capable of running Espgaluda II [$8.99], Icarus-X may be worth checking out. The 3D graphics are cool, but without an extensive weapon upgrade and power-up system (something which seems to be standard in shoot 'em up games) the game can feel a little monotonous. Forum members seem to be enjoying it because it does a pretty good job at throwing bullet hell at you. The control system is your standard touch to move, but your finger can easily get in the way when you are trying to maneuver your way through fields off bullets.