Two free, lite versions of paid iPhone games recently appeared in the App Store and we wanted to make sure that readers who may not have tried these titles had them on their radar.

Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front FREE

Back in February we took a look at Gameloft's Brothers in Arms 2 [link], a follow-up to the late-2008 release Brothers in Arms Hour of Heroes [link] which was one of the most impressive games in the App Store at the time of its release. We found much to like about the sequel.

Brothers in Arms 2 was designed as an iPhone game from the ground up. Weighing in at over three times the filesize of its predecessor, it brings to the iPhone a much larger game experience. This time around it's a first person affair, as opposed to the third-person, over-the-shoulder experience that is the first title. Actually, when in duck-and-cover mode, BIA2 does jump out to third person — and that's something you'll see often, as using crates, walls, and tanks for cover is pretty much par for the course in this title. That is, when you're not sprinting across the battlefield, manning the turret in a jeep or tank, or piloting a "glider" through heavy flack. Yea, it's a pretty intense affair.

Gameloft's recently posted Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front FREE [App Store] is a scaled down version that offers a taste of the full release through a battle mission set in the Pacific.

Late last year everybody's favorite cartoon family came to the iPhone in the form of The Simpsons Arcade [App Store], a touch-controlled beat-'em-up of a different sort. In the game you play as Homer, who is on a quest to chase down a mysterious doughnut which also happens to be host to a USB flash drive that holds some kind of secret information that nearly the entire population of Springfield seems to be in on. Using an on-screen joystick and two buttons Homer can perform a variety of simple moves and combos on the seemingly never-ending supply of henchmen that are dead-set on keeping you away from the doughnut in question.

While it's certainly not the most ambitious fighter we've ever seen, well -- hey -- who doesn't want to fight as Homer?

EA's The Simpson Arcade FREE [App Store] delivers the first level of the paid release to get gamers hungry for more Springfield smackdown.

When Spacetime Studios first revealed their newest game earlier in the month I thought it was as ambitious a project as had been attempted on the platform. Not happy with putting out just any old Massively Multiplayer Online RPG, Spacetime Studios assumed the challenge of delivering it in 3D. And it is fortunate they did, as Pocket Legends [iPhone] and [iPad] has been a huge hit since its release a couple of weeks back.

Pocket Legends puts you in direct control of one of three classes; the warrior bear, the archer hawk or the elven enchantress/mage/healer. Diehard purists will maintain that Pocket Legends isn't technically an MMORPG, on account of its use of instances to tell the story instead of a massive, open world. In fact, there isn't much here that could be called a story either, merely a yarn spun to connect the action and game worlds together.

That may seem a criticism, but to its credit Pocket Legends does not take itself very seriously, telling its tale in a few short lines each chapter and darting comfortably between zombies, moronic knights, bling and beer. The models and animations are brought fluidly to life in 3D with a range of attack animation effects and clever emotes to boot. In fact, an array of great looking weapon and equipment models, from a spiked club to a claymore, often belies the fact that you are playing a handheld MMO.

The game's camera can be zoomed and rotated by on-screen swipes and gestures, and the characters are controlled via a virtual analogue stick. Enemies are targeted by either pressing the Attack button to target the nearest or physically tapping them on-screen. This system does take some getting used to, but it ultimately offers the best of both worlds and allowing easy target switching. Naturally, Pocket Legends features a complete loot and inventory system as well as a number of excellently thought out skills that are progressively unlocked. Curiously, the only area where the interface is lacking is active trading between players, a feature scheduled to arrive 'soon'.

Pocket Legends is free to download, but the game plays like a Lite with in-app purchase level packs. The free portion allows you to reach level 13 for free but then you need to buy additional level packs to continue earning experience points. The included Forest Haven Campaign is one of four currently available (with another on its way soon), and the only one able to be played freely. Each pack has a different objective, with the other 3 packs costing $1.99 each and offering a variety of increasingly challenging enemies to excel your character to the current maximum level of 25.

Other in-app items available for purchase through iTunes include:

• An extra character slot beyond the default 2, available for $0.99;
• A skill and attribute re-roll for $1.99;
• 2 emote books, each with 4 whacky emotes with special effects for $0.99 each;
• Gold Purchases in bundles of 500, 2500 and 5000, ranging from $0.99 to $4.99; and
• An assortment of class-specific items and item packs, the first pack which has been released for the archer for $1.99, and a solitary bow costing $0.99.

A minor criticism I had of the purchasable campaigns at release is that they seemed to largely recycle the textures in the first campaign. Fortunately, future level packs seem more varied, with snow and swamp themed add-ons nearing completion.

With regard to Pocket Legends' gameplay, it is wondrous that the iPhone can produce a comparable level of character progression and skill usage that traditionally only a PC game could evoke. From personal experience as a lowly Archer with only an auto-attack, I found myself only several hours later blasting at multiple targets with new friends, frantically stringing together sequences of buffs and debuffs in large-scaled boss-like encounters. In this respect, Pocket Legends is the type of game that can be rather monotonously if soloing, but as soon as other players are added, becomes a challenging, exciting, team-oriented affair that requires you to really look out for each other.

The instanced gameplay actually assists this whole process, as players are constantly joining your games almost as soon as they are created. This is thanks to the easy-to-identify game list that is presented to players as soon as they enter the game (though I did have slight difficulty getting people to join a DLC game). Furthermore, a detailed friends list keeps track of those players you have befriended in the past and informs you when they are online, allowing you to rejoin them if room permits.

For some, however, the demand of paid level packs every 5-10 levels may simply be too much. But for those willing, Pocket Legends is an extremely rewarding experience that has easily provided me with some of the best online gameplay on the iPhone to date. There are innumerable hours to pour into this game, with the current level cap of 25 requiring whole days of gameplay to reach. What's more, Spacetime Studios have already releasing two updates since launch which have added to both the existing free and paid content in the form of additional levels and items.

Reader impressions that have collected in our forums over the past few weeks have been largely positive. Pocket Legends plays on 2nd generation devices and up, and has a separate, High Definition iPad version available.

App Store Link: Pocket Legends (3D MMO), Pocket Legends for iPad (3D MMO), Free (With In-App Purchases).

TouchArcade Rating:

Here are just a few quick iPad titles / deals for those of you trying to fill all that vacant space on your iPad's home screen, heading into the weekend.

Top Gun for iPad ($2.99 weekend sale)

Early this month Paramount / Freeverse released a reworked iPad version of their iPhone aerial combat game Top Gun [App Store] which we looked at a year ago. While Top Gun for iPad debuted at a price of $4.99, the publisher has reduced the price to $2.99 for a limited-time weekend sale.

In Top Gun for iPad, you take the role of an Navy training recruit in the Top Gun flying ace program. In the game, movie main characters Maverick and Iceman are instructors who lead the trainee through various flying scenarios, offering cutscene advice in a manner similar to the company's Days of Thunder.

Top Gun for iPad features upgraded high-res graphics as well as a new aircraft, an F-14 Navy fighter jet, and a new afterburner feature that helps get you out of a sticky situation. Like the iPhone version that came before it, the game features impressive aircraft visuals, decent controls, and an admirable framerate.

One of our early App Store favorites was Sandlot Game's somewhat adorable racer Snail Mail [link]. The game puts you in control of Turbo, a cel-shaded racing snail that rides a ribbon-like track extending through the animated, nebulous backdrop of space. His mission is to collect packages and deliver them to the farthest reaches of the universe while dodging obstacles such as laser towers, slugs, asteroids, and salt (it burns!). It's cute, colorful, and fun.

Early this month Sandlot released an iPad version of the game that features redone, high-resolution graphics, competitive and co-op multiplayer modes, and 2-4 player split-screen competitions in Race, Score, and Deathmatch modes. And yesterday, the version 1.0.1 update was released that delivers performance and control tweaks along with a few minor bugfixes.

iPhone developer Bottle Rocket has released a a number of casual flight simulation titles over the past year and a half, the headliners being Wings Earth: Flight Simulator Experience [App Store] and Wings Galaxy: Space Exploration [App Store]. As a life-long flight sim fan, I've had fun with these on the iPhone and was happy to see their recent release of Wings Earth for iPad: Flight Simulator [App Store]. It's a pretty relaxing experience for those who just want to soar.

Improvements over the iPhone version include:

• Improvements to all four environments
• Greater sky detail and realism
• Longer viewing distance
• More realistic terrain and coloring

A free version (for the iPhone) [App Store] is available for anyone wanting to try before they buy.

Varshia has just released Revenge of the Summon Monsters (R.O.S.M.) [App Store], a title that they call "a totally new style of action defense game." I call it a fresh, new take on tower defense.

Like path-based tower defense titles, you're placed in a setting with enemies approaching from various set routes. The goal is to keep the enemies from reaching your castle, upon which you, a magician, are perched. But rather than festooning the battlefield with various machines of war, your task is to destroy the enemies with your magical abilities, casting spells from on high, and building up those abilities by purchasing power-ups with the Honor Points gained by killing the baddies. It's basically a situation where you are standing on "the tower," and you are the one and only machine of war. It's definitely a nice twist on the formula.

Your attacks are waged by swiping towards the desired enemy target. A quick swipe sends a quick volley, a slow swipe delivers an attack that travels slowly. Every blast of magical ferocity you issue saps your Mana to some degree, and you have but a set amount of it and a certain rate of replenishment. Higher Mana capacity and quicker Mana regeneration are upgrades that can be purchased with Honor Points. Other upgrades include levelling weapons based on fire, ice, or electricity, and the summoning of magical beasts to do your battlefield bidding. At the highest levels, the magical weapons get rather interesting.

I have enjoyed the time I've spent with the title, but would advise all but the most dainty gamer to start out on the middle difficulty level (Expert), as I found the Apprentice level to take a bit too long to get into any real action. But, when the action heats up, this is a really enjoyable twist on one of my favorite formulas. Our forum readers are liking it, as well. Anyone who enjoys a solid tower defense game should take a close look at Revenge of the Summon Monsters.

App Store Link: Revenge of the Summon Monsters (R.O.S.M.), $1.99

After so enjoying Meridian's post-apocalyptic zombie survival shooter Alive 4 Ever [App Store] (we gave it a 4.5-star rating back in August), we've been eagerly awaiting the release of the studio's upcoming Alive 4-Ever RETURNS. The upcoming sequel seems to take all that was good about the initial title and adds to it a new graphics engine delivering weather and cinematic camera effects along with even more of the RPG elements that helped set the original apart from the zombie pack. There are 18 types of zombies, 37 types of weapons, various game modes including local WiFi co-op, and gore, gore, gore.

It all sounds like a pretty good time.

Meridian has released a new gameplay video that should give others, like ourselves, who are itching to bust out some zombie smack-down, something to whet their appetites. (An earlier trailer can be seen in our post from last month.)

The game is being actively discussed in our forums. We promise a closer look at Alive 4-Ever RETURNS when it soon staggers into the App Store (shedding limbs and gore).

The last few months have seen an explosion of online games hitting the iPhone. Developers are waking to the fact that in today's WiFi world and speedier mobile internet, online content delivery for the iPhone has finally entered the mainstream. Com2Us have tapped into the mother load of online genres, the behemoth (to pronounce) Massively Multiplayer Online RPG, through its release of IMO: The World of Magic [AppStore].

IMO adopts the controversial 'freemium' model, where games are released free to the public, but charge an in-app fee for premium services and items. Instead of just recommending you an app that you can try for yourself, this review should assist to shed light on what is actually available to premium users, and what free users may be missing out on.

Many would be surprised to learn that IMO is in fact a port of a 2006 release on older mobile devices in Korea. The in-game artwork is a give-away in this respect, not being as high-resolution as you would expect from a native iPhone app, but still sporting the vibrant colors and cute characters that the Korean game market is known for. Another apparent symptom of the port to iPhone is an ever-present stutter as the game world scrolls around the character, a factor that detracts from the fluidity of the game and lends it a sometimes lag-like quality.

This shouldn't detract people from enjoying The World of Magic though, as it also happens to be a surprisingly comprehensive MMO that is a heap of fun to play with friends. There are three unique characters to play; a warrior, mage and archer, each of which has a well-developed skill tree up to level 50. These characters can have their appearances customized to a small degree at creation, but to a much greater scale through the many different armor and weapon sets expected of an MMO. IMO also features a full-scale guild and party system, as well as PvP battlegrounds, challenging dungeons and an expansive, open world.

What is more astonishing is that all of the above is available completely gratis. Where your wallets do come into play though is through the auction system. In the middle of town are two traders, both of whom are inaccessible to 'free' players. On purchase of a 'Starter's Pack' for $2.99, the player is bestowed with a Premium Member Ticket. This ticket enables players to access the auction house system, as well as removing in-game AdMob ads that pop up on occasion and cause minor irritation. Prospective traders may also choose to dig further into the purchasable items, as they can have their trading slots expanded to 10 and then to 15 for $0.99 each.

To entice players to pay, the 'Starter's Pack' opts for the carrot rather than the stick. Together with the Premium Ticket, you are given a 7 slot bag (an otherwise expensive in-game item), a random Costume Hat (I got kitty ears!), and a slew of consumable items that cannot be purchased through the in-game currency (and cannot be found either, from what I can tell). Each of these consumables have special effects such as resurrecting on the spot, summoning friends, insuring against item breakage or -- strangely -- permitting you to shout to all regions. If you had to buy them on their own, they cost between $0.99 and $2.99 for between 3 and 10 items, making the Starter's Pack a bargain.

It really seems as though the Starter's Pack is enough for most to get by with, but in any case IMO is not as restrictive as other 'freemium' games. In fact, it has no inherent requirement to purchase anything at all-- so long as you are happy with the ads and aren't using the auction system. The consumable purchases are of questionable use, particularly as they are offered in rather paltry bundles. Whether they become more useful in the latter game is yet to be seen though, as IMO also features a steep levelling curve that appears to require a substantial amount of grinding for both gold and experience.

If you can get past the MMO grind-- a fact made easier by the regular PvP battlegrounds that are a real spectacle-- IMO has alot going for it in both its social features and its huge game world. It may prove inaccessible to those not willing to ask questions though, as the game documentation is currently a little sparse. Having said that, this is an enjoyable, practically-free title that is capable of consuming countless hours and have you still clamouring for more. Our readers are certainly responding well to IMO, with hundreds of impressions already streaming in to our forums. IMO: The World of Magic can be played over both WiFi and 3G internet.

App Store Link: IMO: The World of Magic, Free (With In-App DLC).

Late last night the TouchArcade Game Jam at 360iDev brought a room full of developers together to build a game in twelve hours with only a single word as the inspiration: "Tiny". After a few cases of Red Bull, a truck load of Doritos, and some Franzia, each participating developer slowly formed workable prototypes for game ideas thought up on the fly. Some people worked in teams, others went solo, but I feel confident in saying that everyone had a good time.

To track the progress of the developers, we opened up a Game Jam Forum that they used to post screenshots and get ideas from the TouchArcade community. Ordered by the number of responses each game got, here are the products of the Game Jam:

(more...)

Football fans (soccer, in the US) are in for a treat in sometime in Q2 of this year when X2 Games releases X2 Football 2010, a follow-up to their popular X2 Football 2009 [App Store]. We've recently received details and pre-release screenshots from the developer

This new release sees the addition of over 150 national teams, 10 national leagues, and features online multiplayer for head-to-head action (via Bluetooth, local WiFi, or online).

A core innovation to X2 Football 2010 is the introduction of the Dream Team mode. In Dream Team mode, players must use their skills to try and create the ultimate team of their own. It goes like this: you start out with an initial draft of weakly skilled players and compete in the multiplayer, tournament, and quick match modes to accumulate tokens. Users can then spend these tokens to scout for quality players from across the globe to build up the ultimate Dream Team.

Technical Director Charles Chapman commented,

"We were always confident that X2 Football 2009 would be successful, our entire development team are football fans and this, in turn, lead to the creation of a game that met with world-wide acclaim. But we never, ever want to rest on our laurels.

We've taken on board a lot of feedback from users and have rewritten large parts of the game from the ground up as well as adding more features. Our aim is to ensure that X2 Football 2010 continues in the same tradition that its predecessor set upon first release."

The game features improved AI as compared to the 2009 release and faster gameplay for users with iPhone 3GS / 3G iPod touch devices.

iPad users striving for the Elite experience on the iPad will soon have an alternative to Warpgate HD, thanks to FishLabs' upcoming space commerce shooter Galaxy on Fire 2, sequel to one of my favorite iPhone titles, Galaxy on Fire [App Store].

Currently available as a Java version, Galaxy on Fire 2 is making its way to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, taking full advantage of each target platform.

Along with a complete reworking of the graphics, the in-house ABYSS game engine has been adapted to the functionality of the modern smartphones. In the new developer diary for GoF 2, lead developer Hans-Christian Kühl extensively describes the changes so far to the original Java version in the port. The new Galaxy on FireTM 2, which previously only required approximately 1 MB of memory for technical reasons, will have over 120 MB of pure game data in the final version.

While there are not a great deal of bullet-point feature details available at the moment, we do have alpha-stage screenshots of both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game.

Have a look. The first row is iPad screenshots, the rest are shots of the upcoming iPhone version of the game.

In the year 198x the PlayChoice-10 was the first arcade cabinet to feature two interactive screens. Capcom soon began developing a game to make use of this advanced technology. This groundbreaking title was called Dark Void. Unfortunately, the PlayChoice-10 was discontinued and the project was cancelled. In the year 20xx, Capcom found the project buried deep in its vault. It's concept inspired a new adventure of the same name. But… The original game… Locked away for decades… Is now back from the void.

As Capcom's release indicates, this elusive lost title is now back from the dusty recesses of obscurity and has landed on the Nintendo DSi, the PC, and -- that's right -- the iPhone, as Dark Void Zero [App Store]. The tale is an absolute retro gamer's dream!

Well…retro gamer's dream or no, it is a tale -- and a tall one at that... Not quite the reborn rendition of a legendary classic, Dark Void Zero started out (here in the modern day) as a sort of joke within Capcom. The decision was later made to turn the concept into an actual retro-styled, side-scrolling platform game with a bit of a tongue-in-cheek backstory to go along with. A fun little promotion of the much larger Dark Void title. The initial DSi version landed in January and the iPhone release hit the App Store earlier this week.

And, despite its lighthearted beginnings, Dark Void Zero is actually great retro platformer fun.

It all goes down something like this: For years, an evil race of aliens known as Watchers have coveted Earth, our home. The only thing that has stood in the way of a full invasion all these years is the unstable nature of the portals that exist between our world and theirs. Lamentably, the aliens were finally able to create a stable portal, Portal X, through which they can lay siege to our world. A group of humans were chosen to take on the Watchers, Nikola Tesla among them. [You read that right] Tesla has used his inventions to enable these human warriors to survive in the Void between our worlds. You, the Void-born test pilot Rusty, have been chosen for the daunting task of closing Portal X and saving humankind.

Gameplay involves running about the three available levels, searching for lost journals, keycards, and the like in an effort to get from area to area and, ultimately, shut Portal X down. Plenty of armed enemies stand in your way and the terrain can be rough at times. Tesla's five experimental weapons and prototype rocket pack can help you along the way.

The game features an 8-bit graphic style, along with a chiptunes soundtrack composed by Bear McCreary (known for the Battlestar Galactica score). It's all done very well and it really does feel like an NES platformer. It's something like a cross between Mega Man and Metroid. It plays very well and the touch controls (virtual stick and onscreen buttons), which Capcom claims have been carefully refined, really do seem to be one of the best examples of such controls in an iPhone game. In my experience, they work just fine.

With but three levels in all, Dark Void Zero is not a particularly lengthy game, but replay variation is helped by all levels being unlocked from the start and a God Mode thrown in for good measure. Thanks to OpenFeint integration, leaderboards and achievement tracking is solidly in place. (It was probably a real task to work that into the 25 year old codebase.) My only real complaint about the game is the fact that the blocky, 8-bit pixels aren't quite uniformly scaled -- the renderer is clearly scaling up the display to the iPhone's full screen, the size of which is not a clean multiple of the source bitmap. It's not a huge issue, though.

See Capcom's trailer for the DSi version of the game, which is very similar to the iPhone version, only the level map display is accessible through the pause screen on the iPhone (where it's shown on the upper screen of the DSi).

I agree that there's much about the story of this game that would make it seem as if it's something of a "light" title or not a "real" game, in and of itself. I can assure you that's definitely not the case, and our forum readers echo that sentiment. Some critics are even calling Dark Void Zero a stronger title than its modern console namesake. Any platformer fan -- retro or no -- might just find this one worth some space on their home screen.

App Store Link: Dark Void Zero, $2.99

Late last week we posted a bundle of trailers of four upcoming games. Since then, a couple of them have since been released and are worth a look if you like dirt bikes and/or zombies.

Giant Moto, 99¢

We were extremely hopeful that Giant Moto would scratch our iPhone Excitebike itch, and since giving it a spin, it's hard to say how good of a job it does. Right now, the game seems to have tons of potential, but isn't quite as amazing as I was hoping. Giant Moto really nails the look and feel of a 3D Excitebike-like game, but ultimately falters in several areas. The controls are a little awkward, with a combination of on-screen buttons and tilting to make your way through the included courses. Also, only six tracks are included which really leaves you wanting more.

With more tracks, a track builder, or even randomized tracks coupled with some control refinements and I could see Giant Moto becoming really appealing through updates.

N.Y.Zombies, $1.99 - Free

Yes, there are a ton of zombie games on the App Store, but N.Y.Zombies manages to do a decent job of differentiating itself with the rest of the pack. Controls are simple and work well, you slide your finger around the screen to change your view and tap to shoot zombies. A set of buttons on the bottom of the screen allow you to switch between the over 20 included upgradeable weapons, and there are also over 20 different locations to slay zombies in ranging from corn fields to subway cars.

If you still have it in you to kill zombies, definitely give the lite version of N.Y.Zombies a try.

Mere moments ago we kicked off the TouchArcade Game Jam at 360iDev here in lovely San Jose, CA. In the next 12 hours, a room full of developers will each (hopefully) have semi-workable prototypes of amazing game ideas they cooked up on the spot based on the theme of the Game Jam: "Tiny".

There are tons of people here this evening, ranging from iPhone celebrities like Owen Goss, creator of Dapple [$2.99 / Free] and Monkeys in Space [99¢] as well as Imangi Studios, makers of Harbor Master [$1.99 / Free] as well as the new Harbor Master HD [Free] for the iPad.

Other attendees include the team behind Tower Madness [$2.99 / Free], Jason Citron of OpenFeint, and Santiago Gonzalez, an amazing 12 year old from Denver who surprisingly enough already has a collection of six apps on the App Store, with more on the way coming for the iPad.

We've encouraged developers at the Game Jam to post in our Game Jam Forum, so members of the TouchArcade community can see their works in progress. There are only a few threads active right now, but I expect the forum to fill up as more Game Jam participants begin to solidify their game ideas over the next few hours.

Update: So far it seems like Cake Defense, the collaboration between Endloop and Retro Dreamer is turning out to look like a lot of fun, and both Imangi Studios' The Pollinator and Owen Goss's Atomz are looking pretty cool. Almost every game has a thread in the Game Jam Forum right now, so be sure to swing by and check out what people are making.

Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Vertigo Rogue [App Store] is a helicopter combat game with a huge 3D city and missions that are reminiscent of the Grand Theft Auto games. While not as highly detailed or in-depth as GTA, the lively city, impressive graphics, and brilliant controls makes for a highly entertaining game that stands out as being extremely impressive coming from an indie developer.

The story goes like this. As the protagonist, you are a mercenary helicopter pilot that has landed himself in jail. You've saved up enough money to give up this sordid life, and settle down quietly with your five year old daughter as soon as you're released. Unfortunately, your cellmate knows your background, and has a different plan for you. He has kidnapped your daughter and, in order to get her back safely, you'll have to be a pilot for his mafia family, your first mission being to help him break out of prison and get to safety.

The story is told via text cutscenes before missions, and pressing on the screen fast forwards them. It's a slightly cliché plot, but it can also largely be ignored if you choose. Vertigo Rogue has 37 different missions to complete, each one advancing the plot a bit more. The missions themselves are very GTA-like, although most boil down to finding and destroying certain people or vehicles (including tanks and fighter aircraft) from your eye-in-the-sky vantage. A handy waypoint system points you in the direction of helpful powerups like health, fuel and weapons, or towards the target(s) you must take out. While the missions get a little repetitious, it doesn't really matter as they merely serve as a means for flying around a city and blowing stuff up, which is a great time and truly satisfying.

As mentioned, the control scheme for maneuvering your helicopter is excellent. It's a dual analog setup and functions very similar to controlling a tank. Both sticks forward moves you forward, moving just one stick rotates you, and moving both either left or right at the same time allows you to strafe. Pulling the sticks apart from each other raises you into the air, while pushing them together lowers you towards the ground. A tap on the left stick switches weapons, a tap on the right fires. It's fairly simple and just makes sense. After a slight learning curve you will find you have incredible control over your copter.

All this would be pointless however if there wasn't somewhere interesting to fly to. Thankfully, this isn't a problem as Vertigo Rogue features a fairly lively and expansive 3D city to explore. Everything is rendered beautifully below as you fly high above, and at any time you can smoothly descend for a closer look. There's always a decent amount of cars and pedestrians going about their everyday business on the ground below, and trees sway from the downforce of your propeller as you get close to them. The detail isn't staggering, but the city definitely feels alive and looks gorgeous. What's most incredible is that everything is rendered so smoothly while the game runs at such a solid framerate. There's even a stereoscopic 3D mode, which causes the game to run much slower on older hardware, but works as advertised and is fun to check out if you have a pair of red/cyan glasses laying around.

I can't think of the last time I've had this much fun playing a game I've never heard of. What's even more impressive is that, according to the credits, the entire game was developed by just one person. If helicopter combat in a large open world sounds like something that interests you, give BrainPhant's Vertigo Rogue a look.

App Store Link: Vertigo Rogue, $4.99

Orion Racer [App Store] from Techlogica is a futuristic racing game that draws influences from the classic F-Zero and Wipeout franchises. It features crisp visuals, a silky smooth framerate, and a tremendous sense of speed.  While it lacks the robustness of some games, it makes up for it with it's focus on a pure racing experience.

The inspiration in this game is obvious from the initial boot up. The hovering vehicles, the sound of the thrusters, the overhead camera that slowly pans down behind the racers before the start. The soul of F-Zero is definitely present here -- and it's a good thing. Each of the four vehicles available in the game have a distinctive feel from one another, and you get a different experience using each one. The tracks are nicely designed, featuring twists and turns reminiscent of Wipeout, that only get more maniacal the deeper you advance in the game. There are no weapons, jumps, hazards, or damage of any kind. Hitting the rails merely slows you down, and you cannot fly off the edge. It's an experience that's stripped down to the core -- just you versus the track with the competition breathing down your neck -- but it manages to be a whole lot of fun in it's simplicity.

The main campaign in Orion Racer is a tournament that has you racing through the 10 available tracks in succession. Placing 1st in the tournament unlocks the fourth vehicle, and placing 3rd or better unlocks the final track for play in the additional single race, time trial and two-player Bluetooth modes. (The first nine tracks and three cars are unlocked from the start.)  The time trials have online leaderboards and the ability to watch replays of the top 25 fastest laps for each track, lending a decent amount of replay value to the game. There are also sliders in the options screen to adjust AI difficulty, brake assist, and tilt sensitivity. You can really tailor the game to your liking, although steering is a tilt-only affair (no option for touch).

While it doesn't sound like a whole lot on paper, Orion Racer really stands out in terms of actual gamplay. The sense of speed is exhilarating, most likely due to the omission of any real graphical bells and whistles. It's still quite visually appealing though, and moves at an incredible clip. Tacks are intelligently designed and are a thrill to play through, delivering a feeling somewhat akin to riding a rollercoaster. It reminds us of why we played games like F-Zero in the first place -- it looked great, played fast, and controlled just about perfectly. Orion Racer succeeds in all of these areas, and while some additions could certainly add to the game, what's here is a fun package that's worth taking a look at for fans of racing games.

App Store Link: Orion Racer, $2.99

Ever since we first saw the game at our iPhone Launch Party at WWDC 2009, we've been dying to get our hands on Freeverse's galactic conquest and trading game Warpgate. When I visited Freeverse's Brooklyn studio back in February, they showed me a build of the game running on a large-screen dev station to demonstrate the high-res textures that have been in place through the whole development process. I was impressed.

Early this month, Warpgate HD [App Store] for the iPad landed, putting those high-res textures to good use, but leaving those without an iPad drifting still onward through the cold vacuum of space that is anticipation.

Well, at long last, late last night Freeverse beamed us all back aboard when Warpgate for the iPhone finally rendezvoused with the App Store [link]. (We could almost hear "The Blue Danube" playing in the background...)

Despite the iPad version making its debut two weeks earlier, iPhone space traders shouldn't feel like second class citizens -- the iPhone was always the target platform for this title. Those considering blasting-off should have a look at our review of Warpgate HD (spoiler: we loved it).

App Store Link: Warpgate, $4.99