Can a game be a piece of art? So asks Geardome, who strives to deliver just that in their recently released physics-based, ball-roller style game Ozone [App Store].

Dive into the galaxy of Ozone and unveil the secrets of this unique audio-visual experience, a mix of art and technology, never before seen or heard on a mobile device.

The game puts you in control of an inflatable ball that can be moved about various maze-like levels by way of touch-directed bursts of air. The goal is to collect all of the yellow orbs strewn about each of the game's more than 50 pseudo-3D levels in order to exit each maze. But there's more in each level than just yellow orbs. You must negotiate a wide variety of obstacles and enemies in order to make your way through each level. There are, among other things, moving traps, doors to unlock, weapons to collect and use, spikes to avoid, and end-bosses to contend with. A steel ball power-up renders your ball impervious to damage and able to plow through certain walls for a short period. Some pathways require you to deflate your ball in order to fit through, and then it's fingers-crossed that an air pump is just around the corner, because when you're out of air, you're out of luck. And those bursts of air that move you hither and yon -- they're not freebies; each burst lowers your air level just a bit.

It's a lot to juggle.

But luckily, time is something you have plenty of in this game. Ozone is not a race against the clock, but is a slow-paced, intricate affair that requires a high level of precision to master. In that way, it's really not akin to Dark Nebula, a comparison some in our forums have made, in seeing posted screenshots. It reminds me more of Bubble Ghost, actually. It's a game for the patient, and an experience that is both frustrating (in a good way) and relaxing at the same time. A very well-matched, ambient soundtrack sets the mood and helps deliver what feels like a rather "zen" experience.

The developers have also created a custom level editor that can be used to create your own levels, available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows. The game's upcoming first update will enable the ability to play custom levels, and downloadable content is also on the way. Ozone HD, a version that takes advantage of the iPad's features, will soon be released, the developer indicates.

The reaction to the game in our forums has been extremely positive. Your Personal Robot shared his thoughts.

...I am playing this gem and WOW am I impressed.
This really is a little indie masterpiece. The graphics, the sound...simply amazing...

This game just feels very deep, very thought out, every detail just seems right in place. Hard to describe it. It's a complete console game with a fantastic look and feel. And it's definitely NOT too expensive. This is a title with so much quality, many - or most - of the App Store games are far from reaching.

Ozone is a very well done and highly enjoyable game that should have great appeal to those who enjoy problem solving and being rewarded for precision. It's certainly one of the more engrossing titles I've spent time with in recent months.

App Store Link: Ozone, $4.99

Sixteen years ago, as the developers tell the tale, Rabah Shihab led a team at Baghdad University, Iraq to develop an original puzzle/platformer for the Amiga, inspired by what he saw of other games' depiction of his home country.

As he explained in an interview with Amiga Games That Weren't,

…My real dedication for this theme came during the early nineties after I saw a computer game in which you control a warplane with the goal of bombing Iraq. Putting the bombing aside (I was in Baghdad during the first gulf war and I saw the human suffering that resulted from the real bombing ), I didn't like the way they depicted Iraq in the game, as a primitive and uncivilized place. I wanted to build a game that counter that image, a game that shows the vibrant history of Mesopotamia. In Babylonian Twins, the game takes you to different historical places, from Babylon to Assyria. We relied on authentic history books to design many of the graphics in the game.

Under the extraordinary conditions caused by the economic sanctions of Iraq at that time, the first Iraqi-developed game never came to be; a well-loved, early Amiga demo release was all we ever saw. Last week however, saw the arrival of Babylonian Twins -- The Quest for Peace in Ancient Iraq [AppStore] and Babylonian Twins HD [AppStore] to the iPhone and iPad respectively, the result of a re-union of that development team.

Babylonian Twins is both a port and re-imagination of that original Amiga title. All the artwork has been re-done from scratch in rich, high definition and the original, middle eastern score and gameplay elements have all been improved. It is obvious that this has all been attended to with the utmost care, as there are no outward signs that this is in fact a port, beyond a grand style of gameplay that harkens back to the golden age of the Amiga.

The story begins with the plight of the twin princes of Babylon, imprisoned by an evil sorcerer who has cursed the city in which they live. It is a thread-bare tale told merely to give some context to the unique gameplay elements herein, foremost of which is the ability to control two protagonists with differing abilities. Blasir is able to jump higher than his brother, and is able to Dash mid-air to access hidden locations or break through weakened walls. Nasir on the other hand, has a mace capable of breaking objects and a Drill ability that destroys broken ground underfoot. Movement and attacks are handled with the standard platformer on-screen D-Pad and thumb buttons.

Nasir and Blasir are played interdependently, relying on each other's strengths to reach otherwise inaccessible locations, though only one twin is under your immediate control at any given time. When this happens, the other freezes into a statue, providing an oft-used height boost for out-of-reach areas or a weight to trigger pressure switches. In some ways this co-operative gameplay is reminiscent of another Amiga classic, The Lost Vikings, one of Blizzard's earliest titles (when they were known as Silicon and Synapse).

These simple gameplay features form the premise for some of the most interesting and expansive level designs that we have seen to date on the platform. In many ways, Babylonian Twins does away with contemporary trends in gaming, and re-instates the old-school values of a challenging, explorative platformer that refuses to hold you by the hand. There are no directional arrows or maps to point you towards the golden palm trees you must collect each level. In fact, even crucial objects such as the aforementioned broken walls and floors are easily missed unless you're paying attention. And each level is enormous-- an adventure in and of itself-- many of our completion times clocking in at around 30 minutes each.

To some, this may seem overbearing, but we thoroughly appreciated the breathe of fresh air that comes with a game that respects its players, and isn't just another title that can be waltzed through with minimal effort. Much of our time was spent exploring the colorful, wonderfully crafted middle-eastern environments; not to take in the vistas, but to puzzle out what path we had yet to take, and what vital element we were missing that was stalling our progress. That and avoiding the many pitfalls and enemies peppered across each landscape.

Babylonian Twins isn't completely unforgiving, having both a generous health bar for each twin and three lives between them to ease enemy encounters. That said, we expected that it would be replete with a checkpoint system and a resume feature to handle call-interruption. Unfortunately, these are not included to the extent they should, the latter proving especially frustrating on one occasion when 25 minutes of gameplay was wiped with the end in sight. Fortunately, the developer has indicated on our forums that this is being looked into, and that further checkpoints may be added in future versions.

This shouldn't be reason though to miss one of the most engaging platformers that we have had the pleasure of playing in a long while. While the artwork is stunning (apparently there was significant historical research behind much of the environment) and the terrific accompanying score both retro and authentically middle-eastern, the real selling point is the core gameplay. OpenFeint high scores and achievements (which include a near-impossible to find hidden trove of treasures) only accentuate a style of play that is heavy on exploration and puzzles designed to really challenge you. This won't be a game breezed through in a few short hours, but will require dedication to learn and reasoning to execute.

In true puzzle fashion, when your synapses are firing and each of the dozen levels are finally completed, your efforts pay off with a feeling of satisfaction and achievement that's second to none. That's when Babylonian Twins again shows its nature, offering two secret, additional levels when further time and life challenges are met. This is certainly a game that will remain on our iPhones and iPads for a long time to come, a sentiment shared by many of our readers who are posting their own impressions in our forums.

App Store Link: Babylonian Twins, $2.99, Babylonian Twins HD, $4.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Our March game ratings are in place now, and here are the top of the heap. Our monthly "best of" round-up summarizes the top rated games that we looked at in the previous month. Each game reviewed receives a 1-5 star rating relative to the other games from that month. Generally, a 3 or higher is considered a "good" rating.

Our final scores are not the product of any traditionally objective measures such as graphics or sound, but simply reflect the games we would most recommend to others.

5 Stars

Tilt to Live - Tilt to Live is a game that draws you in with its edgy personality and inescapable 'just one more go' gameplay. It is gorgeously crafted and presented and has a wicked sense of humor to boot (just take a look at the loading screens to see what I mean). Completing its challenges and unlocking weapons has the added benefit of enabling you to achieve even higher scores and multipliers, meaning even those not normally counting themselves as completionists may be eager to experience the width and breadth of what Tilt to Live has to offer. This is one game that will remain a fixture on my iPhone for a long time to come. (Review, App Store)

4.5 Stars

Bounce On 2 - Bounce On 2: Drallo's Demise succeeds in delivering highly enjoyable platform gameplay to the iPhone. The original was fun, but the sequel goes well beyond, feeling notably more "fleshed out," with a good deal more eye-candy. While there's certainly room for more quality platformers in the App Store, Bounce On 2 is among the current best. (Review, App Store)

ZombieSmash - ZombieSmash has evidently received a lot of love from the developers, who have attempted to liven up the stale flicking gameplay that comes with most castle defense games. As a result, ZombieSmash really does stand head and shoulders above its competition. (Review, App Store)

Street Fighter 4 - Street Fighter 4 is easily recommended to any Street Fighter fan or fighting game aficionado. At its core it is a lightweight port of the exceptional console title, so don't go expecting anything different if you've had your SF4 fill. On the other hand, it is amazing that such a game was ported to the AppStore in the first place and the simple fact that you can now bring Street Fighter 4 around in your pocket should be enough to sway many an eager button masher. (Review, App Store)

Ragdoll Blaster 2 - The sequel reveals a more polished title than the original, discarding the hand-drawn art and instead drawing heavily from the steampunk genre to create a rich game world of oiled cogs and shiny bronze contraptions. It is thanks to these machinations that the gameplay in Ragdoll Blaster 2 does vary a little to the original, if still sharing that same overall feel of blasting (and resetting) over and over again until you reach your target in as few shots as possible. (Review, App Store)

Vector Tanks Extreme - The game is basically an exercise in GO GO GO, watch the map to dodge enemy fire, swing behind an obstacle for shielding, and lay down the smack as fast and as hard as you can. And if the aforementioned obstacle is slowing you down, just blow it away. (Review, App Store)

The rest of March game ratings can be seen in their respective rating categories (also found in the sidebar navigation): 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2 Stars.

As always, we expect there will be some debate about relative scores, but keep in mind that everyone's personal ratings may vary based on individual tastes.

Any truly diehard arcade shooter fan will have heard of Cave. Founded in 1994, the Japanese gamemaker is responsible for some of the most highly acclaimed scrolling shooters to have ever appeared in an arcade. With their 1995 release of DonPachi, the company created a new, intense genre of shooter known commonly as the "manic shooter" or "bullet hell" shooter, in which the screen is almost entirely filled with enemy fire, and successfully evading said fire requires extreme control precision and skill. It's a prevalent genre in Japan that is far less-represented in the West. (Some such titles readers may be familiar with include Ikaruga (Xbox 360, Gamecube), Triggerheart Exelica (Xbox 360, PS2, Dreamcast)  and Noiz2sa [App Store].)

In a move that should have iPhone shooter fans standing up and cheering, Cave has just thrown their hat into the iPhone gaming ring with their port of the 2005 Japanese Arcade / Xbox 360 release Espgaluda II [App Store]. A sequel to the original Japanese arcade and PS2 release, Espgaluda II is a bullet hell-style shooter that was released in 2005. The iPhone version seeks to bring a fast-action, arcade quality shooter experience to our favorite mobile platform.

The first thing I said to myself upon jumping into a game of Espgaluda II was, "finally!" I've long lamented the fact that the iPhone 2D scrolling shooter experience was, across the board, pretty much a slow-motion affair as compared to that of even much older consoles such as the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation. Cave's first iPhone shooter throws an x/y scrolling backdrop along with an incredible number of moving objects onscreen at once, and the whole thing just flies. Fast action at a super-smooth framerate. (There's a settings option to set the screen size, if you want to tweak performance a bit.) It's certainly the most impressive iPhone shooter to date from a technical standpoint. But all this pixellated magic didn't come without a price; Espgaluda II presently only runs on the iPhone 3GS and the iPad (with 3G iPod touch support coming soon in an update). Older devices just can't push this scale of pixels, it seems.

Gameplay involves using touch controls to maneuver your craft about the playfield, destroying enemies, dodging their fire, and collecting Spirit Stones and power-ups. Along the left or right of the screen (user's choice) are special function buttons that trigger a Guard shield / attack mode, Awakening mode (more on this later), auto-fire on / off, and weapons mode select -- some of which may not be presented depending on the control mode you've chosen, among Simplified, Normal, and Expert. The touch controls work quite well and offer better control than either the stick or D-pad of the earlier arcade and Xbox 360 versions. Thankfully, you can tap and hold some distance from your onscreen craft to control it without obscuring your view of it.

Each level is concluded by a boss battle, some quite lengthy, that really puts your control savvy to the test. Keep a finger hovering over that shield trigger when a boss comes out to play...

From an artistic standpoint, the game really stands out. The backdrops are very well done and the enemy craft objects are highly detailed. There's so much color and graphical complexity onscreen -- and zipping around at a breakneck clip -- that it probably takes the smallest hit in running pixel-doubled on an iPad than any iPhone game I've seen. In fact, the larger screen image makes dodging enemy fire a bit easier than on the iPhone. The iPad is my personal platform of choice for this one.

A lively soundtrack featuring audio similar to other such Japanese shooters accompanies gameplay and adds to the overall feeling of intensity. (Cave released the game's soundtrack on CD back in 2006.)

The iPhone version of Epsgaluda II features two modes of play. There's the Arcade Mode, which stays close to the arcade original and the Xbox 360 version -- but in the case of the latter, this has been a source of complaint for some, as far as the somewhat unclear scoring system. Cave addressed this by adding an iPhone Mode, which features a scoring system that the developers feel makes more sense for mobile play. As well, the iPhone Mode features a new Awakening Pulse attack where you can turn enemy fire into the green Spirit Stones that you want to collect, increasing your multiplier and protecting your ship at the same time. Across both of these modes are Novice, Normal, and Hard difficulty levels.

The game utilizes OpenFeint for various in-game achievements and leaderboard tracking to keep things nice and competitive.

I am a particular shooter fan, but the bullet hell variety is not my very favorite flavor. Despite that, I fell quick and hard in love with Espgaluda II. It is easily the best 2D shooter experience in the App Store. I spent most of the day plowing through wave after wave of some of the most dense bullet swarms I've ever encountered and found it quite difficult to put down in order to start this review. I moved frequently between the iPhone 3GS and iPad to get a good feel for gameplay on both devices and it was fast-paced and frenetic fun, whichever device I used.

If you own an iPhone 3GS and are a fan of the manic shooter -- go buy this game right now. If you are a general shooter fan and feel that you're up to facing the dense and constant volleys of enemy fire that this type of shooter brings -- go buy this game right now. At present, Espgaluda II has no peer in the App Store.

The game is currently listed at an introductory price of $4.99, down from the standard price of $8.99.

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $4.99 (limited time)

TouchArcade Rating:

Cave's Espgaluda II appeared in the App Store tonight. This vertical shooter falls in the "bullet hell" subgenre where your job includes dodging waves of endless projectiles. Espgaluda II was originally released as an Xbox 360 game earlier this year and is now making its way to the iPhone.

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. In fact, the game plays pretty will on the iPad with pixel doubling as the added screen size seems to make navigation a little more precise. That's not to say the iPhone 3GS version is lacking. In our brief time with the game, it seems to deliver on the promise of "bullet hell" with smooth visuals and solid controls.

The video shows the manic action involved in the iPhone release:

While you can touch anywhere on the screen, the play field is inset a bit to allow you a bit of room to swipe your finger. It works well prevents any obscuration of your ship with your finger.

The game has 3 levels of difficulty, multiple control setting options, and both iPhone and Arcade modes. The embedded video gives a great walk through of the game and the intense action.

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $4.99 (3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch or Pixel-Doubled on iPad only)

Note: The game will reportedly not install on iPod Touches (even 3rd gen) at this time. This should be easily fixable by the developer in time.

The use of a movie license, particularly one as huge as Star Wars, usually brings with it the gloom and doom of expectation-- and more often than not-- subsequent frustration too. It is fortunate then that no one expected THQ Wireless' latest release, Star Wars: Cantina [App Store], a surprisingly well rounded, if light-hearted time management game.

Time management games invariably adopt a similar formula-- impatient, fussy patrons, frantic table-to-table action and an upgrade system that assists you in serving even more impatient and fussy patrons. Though Star Wars: Cantina doesn't deviate far from this mould, when the subject matter concerns a spark from Lucas' brain matter, you just know you're in for something special. In this case a humorous back-story of an indebted bartender ties the gameplay together with an intermittent comic strip filling in the details.

The stars of this Star Wars saga are undoubtedly the customers though, who start off as mere moisture farmers, but progress over the 16 levels of the Campaign to introduce Jawas, Bounty Hunters, Gamorreans, Twi'lek Smugglers, Stormtroopers and even Hutts! Each of these archetypes have different personalities, framed in terms of levels of patience and their generosity. It wouldn't be a Star Wars Cantina without a bar brawl either, an event that easily results if you leave some of the more volatile patrons waiting-- much to the chagrin of your property.

As each level is completed you are able to retrofit your bar with equipment that helps soothe your clientele, and assist you in preparing drinks all the more promptly. Controlling Nia (our hero) is effortless, and despite the the initial tutorial being somewhat confusing, you will quickly be zipping around the bar sending patrons to their tables, taking their orders, and cleaning up after them too. The challenge comes in taking the right drinks to the right patrons and ensuring you manage their moods-- for example, moisture farmers can wait all day but Stormtroopers had better be served pronto. The gameplay isn't all that complex-- you don't have to manage prices or supplies of drinks -- but we think Star Wars: Cantina actually benefits from adopting a more light-hearted approach; placing the difficulty on the customer types and numbers instead.

Star Wars: Cantina has an enormous amount of personality instilled in it by its excellent artwork and the hallmark (and very familiar) Star Wars tunes pumping through the bar. A particularly nice touch was how all our favorite Star Wars tracks have been jazzed up to suite the bar environment. With a Career mode and an Endless Shift mode, where your current upgrades can be put to use to see how long you last before any patrons up and leave, there's also quite a bit to do in Star Wars: Cantina too. For high score seekers, both modes have leaderboards that can potentially add even more replayability to what is already a game of reasonable length.

Without a doubt, the biggest thing that Star Wars: Cantina has going for it is how successfully it captures that Star Wars charm-- from the music to the background art and the notorious characters you encounter-- you almost expect Luke and Han to walk through the door next. So if you're a Star Wars fan and have even a remote interest in time management games then Star Wars: Cantina is very easily recommended. Hardcore fans of the genre though may feel it skimps on the traditional micro-management of products due to its simplistic formula. We understand too that this is a niche genre and not even the Star Wars licence will change people's opinions of a play style that has remained largely unchanged since Lemonade Tycoon.

App Store Link: Star Wars: Cantina, $4.99.

TouchArcade Rating:

Six months ago MoreGames/Chillingo released a free game called a Quest of Knights Onrush [Free] to promote their castle defense game Knights Onrush [0.99]. What they didn’t expect was that this free promotional game would turn out to be a big hit. The game made it into the Top 10 list in several countries and generated over 2 million downloads. Given that strong response, they quickly decided to begin work on a premium version called Knights Rush.

The gameplay of Knights Rush will be similar to the first game, but instead of just being an endless survival game, there will be a complete campaign to play through. The campaign will feature 8 worlds to explore each with different locations, bosses, and enemies. There will also be 3 different heroes each with different skills and abilities. The more I hear about this game, the more it reminds me of Castle Crashers on the Xbox, which is not a bad thing.

For those of you that liked the survival gameplay of the original, they've included that as well. There will be two different flavors of survival mode: an Endless mode and a Super Endless mode. In Endless mode you play through each predefined world, while in Super Endless mode, levels are generated randomly.

At this time there are no details on the release date, price, or target devices. Keep an eye on the thread in our forums for more details and screenshots as they become available. We will let you know as soon as we find out more.

Apple's devices almost seem built for pinball. It just feels right seeing a pinball table running below the elongated glass touch screen. It's a well represented genre on the App Store with many quality options available. Recently, there's been a brand new game released, a significant update to an existing game, and a new app that gives you a truly unique experience while playing pinball on your Mac (and PC soon too), all of which are worth a mention.

Multiball Pinball ($1.99)

The newest game from Matmi, makers of Monster Pinball, is another blisteringly fast game with a focus on multiple balls in play. Unlike more traditional tables, this game makes it easy to unlock multiball modes and ensures that you're almost always playing with at least 2 balls concurrently. It features the same fantastic graphics and art designs that are a hallmark of Matmi games.

The only downfall here is that there is just this one table when their other games feature at least three, however this one table is well designed and extremely fun to play. If you liked Matmi's previous pinball offerings, you will most certainly like this.

Pinball Ride ($4.99) and Pinball Ride (Free)

Although released last November, Pinball Ride never gained much notoriety due to a difficult table design and a relatively higher price. Well, Massive Finger has been hard at work since then and have released a 1.1 update that really improves the game greatly. Certain aspects of the table have been reworked to be more forgiving, and in turn the game is overall much more fun. It's a completely 3D table which looks impressive, and the pinball action is fast and smooth.

The $4.99 price still may be a bit high if you're not a pinball fanatic, as there's only the one table. A lite is available to try so you can determine for yourself if you want to plunk down the cash. The lite features a Burst Mode that puts 45 seconds on the clock to play and achieve a high score. This isn't nearly enough time to get a good feel for the game. Fortunately, the developer has created a TouchArcade exclusive link to get 5 free credits of unlimited play in the lite. Each game lasts a long time, and 5 credits should be more than enough to help you decide if you're into it or not. Definitely worth trying out.

Pinball Remote App (Free)

Gameprom is known for bringing out high quality pinball games at extremely low prices. Their Wild West, The Deep, and Jungle Style games have all seen a lot of success. Now, all three of them are available on your Mac. The Pinball can be downloaded from Gameprom's website for free with Wild West already included. For $2.99 each, you can download The Deep and Jungle Style as well.

The interesting thing is that the only way you can purchase these additional tables is as DLC through the Pinball Remote App itself. Besides acting as the online store for The Pinball, the remote can also control the game on your Mac via Wi-Fi. Sit back and relax as you control the flippers, plunger, and tilt on your computer screen using your iPhone or iPod touch. It works well for the most part, although I encountered occasional lag with my screen taps on the remote triggering the flippers in the game. Still, it's a really fun concept to use and since The Pinball and Pinball Remote are both free, you can try it out without risk. The Pinball is currently Mac only, but Windows users can join in on the fun in the next month or so.

Stickbound is a recently released take on platforming that uses a new type of mechanic to advance your character through the game. Imagine an upside down Hook Champ crossed with pole vaulting, and add a dash of pogo-sticking, and that gives you a rough idea of this game. It's clever and hasn't been done before, and provides a fun and compelling experience.

The gameplay involves propelling a tiny spaceman across hot dogs, plungers, piñatas, and other weird objects. Touching anywhere below your character extends a pole that launches him into the air. Where you touch the screen in relation to your character determines the trajectory. Touching right below him sends you straight in the air, and touching off to the side a bit sends him flying diagonally. The longer you touch, the more the pole extends, allowing you to control the force of your jumps. It takes some serious practice before the concept finally clicks, but once it does you'll be deftly bouncing along your merry way.

While this unique gameplay is really enjoyable, Stickbound does end up feeling a little shallow. The main draw is an endless mode, that has you seeing how far you can advance in the randomly generated terrain within your allotment of lives. There's the ability to earn more lives by collecting 50 of the stars spread around the level, and checkpoints in short intervals so if you fall into oblivion you can pick up near where you fell. A couple different power ups can float by occasionally. One rockets you a short distance and lands you safely and one that gives you wings that flap with taps of the screen. There is also a Timed mode that is exactly the same thing only you see how far you can get in 30 seconds. Both modes have separate online scoreboards you can submit to. Finally, three more characters can be unlocked by meeting certain criteria in the game.

Stickbound is a lot of fun to play. It has colorful graphics, really charming music, and a gameplay hook that had me obsessively trying over and over to top my best scores. At the same time, I'd love to see this new mechanic put to use with set level designs and much more content, similarly to something like the aforementioned Hook Champ. Still, at the introductory price of only 99¢ Stickbound is definitely worth taking a look at.

App Store Link: Stickbound, $0.99

TouchArcade Rating:

After starting on the Amiga 17 years ago, Babylonian Twins has finally been released -- but on the iPhone platform. Babylonian Twins was started in 1993 by Iraqi developer Rabah Shihab.

Babylonian Twins is s a puzzle-platformer with two-character tag-team type play. The game has been entirely revamped since the original Amiga version and includes all new graphics and audio.

First impressions of the game are very positive. You control two characters, Nasir and Blasir, in order to solve each levels. Each character has some special abilities, but only one can be active at once. Switching between the two is as simple as tapping on a button -- leaving the unplayed character as a statue. You'll find you need to tag team to make your way past puzzles and obstacles, and even use the other character as a springboard to jump higher. Blasir can jump higher, and dash into walls, while Nasir spin to break through weakened floors. The game is a collaborative effort between the two characters.

As all virtual control systems, the d-pad suffers some from a lack of tactile feedback, though not sure if that is avoidable. We'll spend some more time with the game for a more formal review. The game is available for both iPad and iPhone.

App Store Links: Babylonian Twins (iPhone/iPod Touch), $2.99, Babylonian Twins for iPad, $4.99

Apple's surprise announcement of their new social gaming network caught a lot of people by surprise. Most affected by the news were the many social gaming networks that have sprung up on the iPhone over the past 3 years.

OpenFeint was the earliest iPhone Gaming Network and remains the largest one in terms of active developers. We caught up with Jason Citron, founder of OpenFeint, and asked him his reaction to the news (full interview embedded below). OpenFeint seemed to be taking the news in stride and has already issued a press release indicating that they are refocusing their product behind OpenFeint X which was announced this past February.

Personally, Citron believes the move is "a really good thing" for gamers, as he acknowledged that the fragmentation in the market has been difficult for users. In the long run, he expects developers will adopt Apple's solution for leaderboards and achievements. He reports, though, that they plan on continuing to support OpenFeint's implementation and will offer developers and users an easy migration path to Apple's solution when it ultimately goes live. But Citron points out that OpenFeint offers a lot of additional features that don't fall under Apple's Game Center, the most significant one being a OpenFeint X which offers developers tools to build free-to-play games with micro transactions. This so called freemium model has been massively successful on Facebook and is making its way to the iPhone.

Ultimately, Citron believes that they will be able to tie in their features into Apple's Game Center which will allow for a single consolidated login, but from there they can build additional features for developers. He hopes to migrate other OpenFeint features (such as replays) to the new system, but details will have to wait until Apple releases more information about Game Center.

Citron wanted to reassure developers that they are continuing to support OpenFeint and will offer migration paths when Apple finally launches Game Center.

Podcast music provided by Overclocked Remix.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes or Direct Download (M4A, 14MB)

Spacetime Studios' Pocket Legends [iPhone, Free / iPad, Free] has been the talk of the town since the iPad client was first released along side the iPad last Saturday. We've already posted about the game between its announcement and a comparison between both the iPhone and iPad clients. Also, we have threads in our forums for both the iPad and iPhone versions of the game if you're looking for someone to play with.

So there you have it, both clients are now available, and completely free. People in our forums are loving the game, and while I haven't been able to invest too much time in to it yet, you've got nothing to lose by giving it a spin.

App Store Links:

• Pocket Legends for iPhone, Free
• Pocket Legends for iPad, Free

Arguably the biggest bombshell to come out of today's keynote was the announcement of Apple's own social gaming network, that they're calling 'Game Center'. It appears that Apple will be duplicating the functionality of the other social networking services with a matchmaking system, online leaderboards, achievements, and everything else you'd expect to see. Apple plans on releasing Game Center "later this year".

This development makes the future of existing social gaming platforms such as OpenFeint, Plus+, and others seem fairly uncertain. With each new network, it has seemed like gamers have been more and more irritated that their achievements, scores, and friends are fractured even further and require yet another username and password to access.

Presumably, Game Center will work either off your iTunes credentials, or some other tightly integrated way to completely eliminate this annoyance. Details are extremely scarce right now, but needless to say, we will be following Apple's Game Center, as well as the response of the other social networking services very closely as this all unfolds over the coming months.

Photos courtesy of Gizmodo.

Apple's surprise media event unveiling the iPhone OS 4.0 is set to begin shortly. We'll be providing live updates, and focusing on things that specifically pertain to iPhone gaming or things iPhone gamers might be interested in like all of our other keynote coverage in the past.

Steve Jobs just took the stage, and started things out by talking about the sales figures of the iPad. On Saturday they sold 300,000, and as of today they've sold 450,000. Apple apparently is making them as fast as they can, but notes that Best Buy is already out of stock. On the first day, 1 million paid apps were downloaded, and since then 3.5 million have been. (In addition to 600,000 eBooks.)

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

Jobs also mentions that there are over 185,000 apps in the App Store, with over 3,500 iPad apps. He then took some time to show off the more impressive iPad apps in the App Store currently such as the ABC app, Netflix, the Marvel comic book reader, and others. Shifting gears to talk about the iPhone, Steve mentions they've won three JD Power awards for customer satisfaction, and currently holds 64% of the mobile browser market share. Apple has sold over 50 million iPhones, with 85 million combined devices between the iPod touch and iPhone.

iPhone OS 4.0 is coming this summer, with a developer preview available today.

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

Among the seven "tent pole" features of iPhone OS 4.0 is multitasking. Steve goes on to demonstrate how multitasking is going to work. With multiple apps running, double clicking the home button raises a window that looks a lot like the bottom dock of the iPhone showing what apps are running. Tapping an icon instantly switches to that app.

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

To explain how this all works while preserving battery life and performance, Steve hands things off to Scott Forstall, SVP of iPhone Software. iPhone OS 4.0 will provide seven multitasking services. The first of which is audio streaming, and Forstall specifically cites Pandora as an example of an app that will shine with this functionality. Developing applications to utilize this functionality is apparently extremely easy, as it only took the Pandora developers a day to make the app background aware. Skype also works fantastically with this new functionality, even allowing you to accept calls while running in the background.

Doodle Jump spotted:

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

The next multitasking function is background location. Apps that use the GPS functionality such as TomTom will be able to continue routing while in the background. This raises obvious privacy concerns, and a new settings menu will be available to enable and disable location services per application, as well as showing a small arrow icon next to the battery indicator.

Moving on to push notifications, Forstall mentions they've sent over 10 billion notifications since the service went live. Building on push notifications comes local notifications, done entirely on the phone to see alerts from apps you have running in the background. One example mentioned was a popup when a photo was finished uploading to Flickr.

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

Steve takes the stage again and announces folders to organize apps. The interface seems an awful lot like the various jailbreak app organization solutions. So far Apple is really knocking it out of the park with this keynote.

Photo courtesy of gdgt live.

The iPhone mail client is also getting enhanced, with a unified inbox for each email account on the device along with a threaded email view for reading conversations. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone is also getting the iBooks app which will sync pages and bookmarks with other devices that have the app.

Forstall just announced "Game Center", Apple's own gaming social networking service that seems to handle everything Plus+, OpenFeint, and others do with presumably one unified login tied to your iTunes account. Matchmaking, leaderboards, and achievements are all part of it.

Photo courtesy of Gizmodo.

Also mentioned was Apple's own iAd advertisement services, which we expect to see making appearances in many free games that have historically relied on AdMob and other advertising networks.

iPhone OS 4.0 will be coming this fall, and sadly, multitasking will not be supported for the iPhone 3G and second generation iPod touch. That's it folks, Steve is taking questions now.

This Saturday I will be flying to wonderful San Jose, California for the 360iDev iPhone developer conference. I'm half expecting an awful lot of cool iPad news now that everyone finally has the device in their hands, but the real start of the show will be the TouchArcade Game Jam.

On Tuesday night, any 360iDev attendee who is interested is welcome to join us in an all-night code fest to build an iPhone game. We covered the game jam at the previous 360iDev where games such as Gravity Sling [$2.99 / Free] and Hippo High Dive [99¢] were born. We plan on doing some creative things to showcase all the games as they're developed, so this coming Tuesday night will be a good night to be around if you like following indie game development.

If you're a developer who is going to be at 360iDev who wants to meet up with me to show me your new and exciting iPhone or iPad game, don't hesitate to send an email to tips@toucharcade.com or shoot me an IM on AIM if you want to meet up. If you don't have anything specific you want to show me and just want to say hello, follow me on Twitter and we can coordinate 360iDev parties.