The best way to describe Captain Ludwig is with reference to Dizzypad, a title released in February which we really enjoyed. Captain Ludwig is a super-hero of sorts that with little fanfare, finds himself each level spinning around a planet, tasked with flying from planet to planet bringing luminescence to the greyed out rocks of space.

Similar to Dizzypad, the trick to Captain Ludwig is to time your one finger tap just right to direct Ludwig to the next planet. If you overshoot your mark or mis-time your flight, your hero will find himself lost in the ethers of space and minus a life. In many ways, Captain Ludwig is an improvement over Dizzypad, with a number of traps and pitfalls introduced to make your solitary task that little bit harder. Noxious planets can only be rested on for a short while, while turrets and spikes and a number of other hazards ensure that your planet-to-planet hopping expedition is a measured one. Of course, there are a number of helpful gameplay elements too, with bubbles protecting you from harm and rocket ships allowing you to get to out-of-reach planets.

All up, the 21 levels in Captain Ludwig regularly introduce new gameplay elements to keep you on your toes. The game is presented in a stylish monotone that whilst we liked, didn't think offered the same appeal as the gorgeous backdrops of Dizzypad, and tended to get a little boring. That said, if you're a fan of the one-tap timing and high score-centered gameplay of Dizzypad, then Captain Ludwig should be just your thing, with OpenFeint integration and leaderboards available for every level.

Be sure to try out the free Lite Version too if you want to see the gameplay in action for yourself.

App Store Link: Captain Ludwig, $0.99, Captain Ludwig Lite, Free

TouchArcade Rating:

Sketch Nation Shooter has been a game on our radar for a while now, since we had a chance to play it at GDC 2009 and preview it in December. The wait is finally over as Sketch Nation Shooter [AppStore] has been released and ready for your creative ingenuity! In the developer's words:

[Sketch Nation] allows users to create their own games by drawing a player, enemies and a level on a piece of paper and taking a picture of the drawing with their iPhone camera. Users can then share their creations with their friends and other users. Our unique image recognition technology automatically detects the objects drawn and calculates collision boundaries. Sketch Nation Shooter is the only game to incorporate the iPhone camera in such a way. iPod Touch users can import their drawings through the Photo Library. After the drawings are imported into the game, users will be able to place enemies and powerups as well as set their properties in our easy to use in-game editor and then play with their unique creations.

Our initial impressions with Sketch Nation Shooter have confirmed what we hoped for, with a comprehensive level editing system that offers a range of options for customizing your own creations. We are especially delighted to see there is the option for a 'Simple' and 'Advanced' degree of customization, ensuring even those that want to create something to show their friends on the fly, like our TouchArcade mascot fighting Eli's giant evil guy on wheels that you can see in the screenshot above (sorry, we had to leave out the 'wheels' to keep the site kid-friendly!)

From out of the box, Sketch Nation Shooter provides a few developer-created levels that are far beyond anything we hope to create ourselves, but are confident that the masses will have trumped in no time. The actual shooter gameplay is straightforward, with several weapon power-ups, shields and and bosses with a variety of attack patterns all evident in our play through.

We'll have more on the actual nuts and bolts of the game once we've spent some more time with it. We especially want to see what you guys manage to do with the platform. Discuss the game with other TouchArcade members and share pictures of your creations in our forum thread. The game is priced at only $0.99.

App Store Link: Sketch Nation Shooter, $0.99.

While the first installment of Monster Trucks Nitro was pretty successful, it left a lot of people underwhelmed. For such a hotly anticipated title, the poor framerate, dull tracks, and an extreme difficulty failed to deliver anything more than a mediocre experience. Now, a chance for redemption is at hand as Monster Trucks Nitro 2 was just released today on the App Store. In most regards, it succeeds in delivering the type of game we were expecting in the first place.

The gameplay is similar to the first game. You tilt the device to tilt your truck while minding your speed and negotiating the terrain. Instead of onscreen gas and brake pedals, there's now a slider at the bottom of the screen that controls the speed. While it does give you more accurate control of how fast you travel, I found it awkward to use and prefer the older method. While you can just slide it to the fastest setting and leave it there, if you want to get truly competitive scores and earn all the medals you'll need to adjust your speed based on the layout of the track. The same type of nitro boosts from the original are scattered throughout the levels to give you a quick burst of speed, and tilting your device a full 90º allows you to do flips while in the air.

Another major gripe with the original was the serious lack of tracks. There is no sign of that problem here. There's 4 leagues with 4 tracks apiece, and a bonus league with another 4 tracks for a grand total of 20. Each track has Bronze, Silver and Gold medals to earn by beating an onscreen ghost truck. Instead of choosing which truck to use before each race, every track is locked in to 1 of 4 different vehicles. I think this is a smarter choice and each of the 4 monster trucks are very different from one another. The graphics have also seen a huge boost since the first game with much larger and more detailed truck models. The tracks feature many more interactive elements, and thankfully there's a variety of locales other than just desert sand.

If you found yourself disappointed with the first MTN game, then you should finally feel satisfied with this latest iteration. Monster Trucks Nitro 2 has impressive graphics, loads of content to play through, and an over the top fun factor that makes it a recommended purchase.

App Store Link: Monster Trucks Nitro 2, $2.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Today Apple sent out a press release announcing that it sold over 300,000 iPads in the US the first day in its Apple Stores. Also, over a million apps were downloaded from the App Store that day. Which is not surprising since a lot of developers worked hard to make sure their app was ready for launch day. Even the iBookstore had some big numbers to share with over 250,000 ebooks being downloaded the first day.

If the release of the iPad didn’t drum up enough excitement the second piece of big news out of Apple today will. Members of the media have received invites to an April 8th press conference starting at 10am Pacific about the future of the iPhone OS.

With the press conference only a few days away it doesn’t give me much time to get my wish list of features together. My fingers are crossed for multitasking.

On April 10th Cave, the world leader in bullet hell shooters, are releasing ESPGALUDA II on the iPhone and iPod Touch. You could of played or seen this game already on the Xbox and you should be happy to know this is pretty much a direct port, other than the new iPhone game mode.

ESPGALUDA II will have two modes of play, iPhone and Arcade. The Arcade version is just like the Xbox/Arcade version with the controls obviously modified for a touch interface. The iPhone version adds new game play with the “Awakening Pulse” system. This is where you tap the screen to send out an energy blast that changes enemy bullets in to spirit stones. Spirit stones are used to protect your character, which is great since everything else on the screen is trying to kill you.

With shooter games, the controls are obviously very important and you don’t want them to hinder your view of the action. Cave feels they solved this with track pad like controls at the bottom of the screen. I have played other games that used this method and found it a dream to use once you get the hang of it.

The game will only run on the 3GS and 3rd gen Touches. This is expected with the amount of sprits that are on the screen at the same time. Older models will probably have unplayable frame rates for this kind of game.

ESPGALUDA II is expected to be released April 10th for $4.99. The response in our forums has been very positive and expectations are high for this game.

In February, we first spoke with Rocketcat Games' Kepa Auwae about the successor to Hook Champ. At the time it was described simply dubbed "Avalanche Game". Auwae has since released to us the first gameplay video and a name for the project: "Super Quickhook".

As described in February, Super Quickhook is a spiritual successor to Hook Champ. Yes, that means you can hook and swing your way through this game too. Unlike Hook Champ, however, Super Quickhook features infinite, randomly generated levels in a survival/last-longer type game. Your goal is to outrun (outswing) the avalanche for as long as you can.

Auwae also reports that you can search for and uncover "mysterious secrets". Here's a first look at the gameplay:

Super Quick Hook will also share many popular features of Hook Champ. If survival gameplay isn't your thing, there are unlockable, non-random racing levels with no time limit. The shop system and achievements will also be back as well as OpenFeint ghost races. There are plans for frequently released free new levels, and yes, fancy new hats.

The game will launch at $1.99 with a normal price of $2.99. As further incentive, they are working on giving early adopters exclusive hats. The game should be done in about a month. Follow Rocketcatgames' twitter for more news about the game.

Last night Gameloft released their latest game Fishing Kings. We had previewed the game during GDC in March. Fishing Kings uses some proven gameplay mechanics like those found in Flick Fishing, but adds some nice new features and top notch graphics.

When you start the game you are shown an overhead map displaying North and South America. From here there's five different locations you can choose to fish in, with four of them unlocked from the start. The locations include the Bahamas, Lake Erie, New Zealand's longest river the Waikato, Nahuel Huapi lake in Argentina, and finally the Amazon River, which is the one locked location. Each of these fishing areas breaks down into three smaller sub-areas. There's a nice mixture of places to fish, some of which are quite exotic.

Also displayed on the world map are four buttons that include the necessary tools you'd expect from a fishing game. "Tackle" lets you change lures, rods, lines and reels. All of this equipment can be upgraded with the money you earn to assist in reeling in the tougher fish later in the game. "Diary" keeps track of a few different career stats, as well as Gameloft Live achievements and leaderboards. The "Guide" option displays a picture of all the fish you've encountered along with their preferred lure, and finally a "PDA" option let's you know about tournaments and other missions.

The actual fishing mechanics are very similar to Flick Fishing, except everything is in landscape mode. You'll flick your device forward to cast your line, jerk it upwards to set the hook in the fish's mouth, and finally spin a small touch reel to draw the line in.

Where Fishing Kings differentiates itself is in requiring you to tilt your device with the hooked fish's movements so as not to cause too much tension and snap the line. This really adds to the realism and fun of catching fish as you grip your device tightly and swing your arms to and fro trying desperately to not let that sucker break your line. At the same time this makes it much more difficult to catch fish than in Flick Fishing, but far more satisfying. You get the hang of it with practice, and the various upgrades you can buy help make the process easier.

So far Fishing Kings seems to be solid take on iPhone fishing. The fishing works as expected, and is decidedly more fun and interactive than other available titles. As with most Gameloft games, the graphics are quite good and the underwater camera element adds a nice touch. There's also plenty of upgradeable gear and fishing venues to work your way through, as well as tournaments to enter and achievements to unlock. Finally, other early impressions in our forums have also been quite positive.

App Store Link: Fishing Kings, $2.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Qbism from Blowfish Studios is an interesting new game that stands out in the sea of iPhone puzzle games. The premise of the game is fairly simple. You have a three dimensional shape made up of smaller cubes. The shape is "empty", showing just the outline, and the cubes that are to make it up are scattered about the screen. It's your job to slide each cube into an appropriate space in the empty outline to create the shape. It's a clever concept, and is executed really well in Qbism.

Qbism is all about perspective, and forces you to think in three dimensions. From one angle, it may look like you've slid all your cubes into the right place. Then you spin the puzzle to a different angle, and realize that one of your pieces is way out of position. Oftentimes there are cubes that belong in the middle of the puzzle, surrounded by other cubes. You have to think ahead so as not to block your path to the middle of the shape. With some puzzles I've swore I had it figured out correctly, only to find that when I ripped apart all the pieces I had just put together there was a blank spot I had blocked that went unseen. It only gets more complicated as the puzzles increase in size to 4x4 and 5x5, as the initial puzzles are 3x3 and can still be quite difficult.

Levels are unlocked linearly, one after another. This means that if you get stuck on a certain level, you can't really progress. Thankfully, it sounds like this is being rectified in an update. If you do end up getting stuck on any of the puzzles, you can choose Hint from the Options screen. This clears the field of all cubes and allows you to spin the outline in any direction, giving you a better idea of the puzzle's overall shape.

(more...)

TouchArcade Rating:

As we tear our way through the iPad App Store, we've been focusing on iPad-specific versions of existing games. But for those who don't want to upgrade your existing library of games, the iPad does allow you to play those same games "pixel doubled". This simply means the entire game is scaled to fit the iPad's screen.

After spending some time with a few of these games, I've found the games are surprisingly playable. There have been no notable performance penalties for pixel-doubled games, though the scaled up graphics are noticeable. Realistic or detailed 3D graphics such as Real Racing and Dungeon Hunter suffer the most, vs. more cartoon themed games like Soosiz. You will find, however, that in many cases developers have moved controllers slightly in order to accommodate the iPad's larger screen size. This can be see in Soosiz and Dungeon Hunter below.

Here are pairs of side-by-side screens for a few iPad specific games and their pixel doubled iPhone counterparts. Click to see full-size images. Pixel doubled on left, iPad-specific on right:

Dungeon Hunter [iPhone, iPad] - Note that on-screen button configurations are different.

Real Racing [iPhone, iPad]

Soosiz [iPhone, iPad] - Again, buttons are reconfigured.

Here's an attempt at capturing the two in video:

Unfortunately, it doesn't show very well in a YouTube video. While the iPhone version is perfectly playable, the experience is much nicer on the iPad version.

After having played all these versions side-by-side, it's clear if you're an iPad owner, you are going to want to play your games in native mode when possible. Pixel-doubling is a nice way to keep your previously-played library accessible, but for new games HD-versions feel so much better. How can you tell which old games are worth upgrading? Stay tuned, we're working on a guide for that.

Lima Sky's Igor and Marko Pusenjak were profiled in the New York Times today as part of this weekend's iPad launch.

With the U.S. release of the iPad on Saturday, most developers have had no chance to test their games on the iPad prior. Only a handful of developers were given early access to the iPad, which left many developers scrambling to get iPads in hand as soon as possible. The Pusenjaks were uneasy about submitting an iPad version of Doodle Jump without first testing it on the units, especially since it heavily relies on the accelerometer. They got to work on the new version of Doodle Jump right after buying the iPad on Saturday morning in New York City.

“Plenty of people will see a nice spike in downloads today, but we’re more concerned with the long-term stability of our application,” Igor said. The brothers estimate that it could take a few days before they were satisfied with the game.

App Store Link: Doodle Jump, $0.99

Whilst the iPhone is lauded for its tactile innovations in gaming, the device itself has the potential for a much more sensory experience. Few games exhibit this more than the music and rythm category of games, where we've had such gems as the creative Thumpies and the instrumentally excellent Beat-It. Para9 have introduced their own take on the genre with their recently released, muBlip [AppStore].

muBlip is a stylish looking title that marries para9's own original score with shape and rhythm-based patterns in a Simon Says formula. Over the course of each level you are shown several bars of music depicted by shapes that are highlighted on-screen. You are then tasked with repeating the order of shapes on your own, testing both your memory and timing accuracy. There are 10 levels all up, divided into an introduction stage and three additional stages of increasing difficulty.

The physical interaction needed in muBlip goes beyond the simple taps required in many music rhythm games. Where an instrument holds a note in the track, muBlip may have you similarly hold down on a shape, or sliding your finger across the screen to simulate the sustain. The more advanced levels will see you attempting to replicate drum beats or staccato notes, where a set of shapes need to be tapped simultaneously and in rapid succession. If it sounds difficult, that's because it certainly is-- often the slightest touch out of time will see you failing a whole bar of notes.

To its credit, though muBlip feels unforgiving it never feels unfair. Practice will bear fruit as patterns are committed to memory-- the joy at pulling off a feat of finger finesse making it all worthwhile. This focus on memory is further emphasised by a hardcore mode which is unlocked after scoring over 80% of notes on a particular level. Hardcore mode removes the demonstration at the beginning of each bar, forcing you to rely solely on your memory to identify the routine.

muBlip is certainly a game that will put to the test your sensory co-ordination and digit dexterity-- a candid warning to those without either to give muBlip a wide berth. Though the initial 10 levels may seem a slim offering (and can admittedly be breezed through quite quickly), each level features an original, energetic track with a range of instruments that helps shape each level into an individual challenge. For those that accept muBlip as the entertaining sensory showpiece that it is, muBlip will provide an enjoyable, challenging and singular experience.

A video of the gameplay has been provided by the developers above. Furthermore, to allay doubts as to the breadth of content available, para9 have promised that additional levels are on their way.

App Store Link: muBlip, $1.99.

TouchArcade Rating:

I don't think it's an understatement to say that EA's Mirror's Edge was one of the most anticipated iPhone games coming in early 2010. After a few delays, the game kind of disappeared until this past week when we learned that it had become an iPad launch title.

Mirror's Edge for iPad is essentially identical to the iPhone version that we extensively previewed back in December. Our thoughts about the game then as now were very positive. In fact, Eli even said at the time that he had more fun with the iPhone version than he had with the console version.

The world of Mirror's Edge is set in the future, where a totalitarian regime is in power and an underground resistance powered by runners move information around on foot to avoid to watchful eye of the government which have implemented intense levels of surveillance across all communication mediums. You play as Faith, one of these runners.

The iPad (and not yet released iPhone) version of the game is controlled using very simple swiping gestures that all feel very natural. Swiping right or left makes you run in that direction, swiping up makes you jump, and swiping down makes you slide. When you run across opposition, you can also use similar gestures to take them out with a variety of moves such as sweeping their legs out from under them or jump kicking them. There are many other interactions with different obstacles you come across, like jumping off spring boards, sliding down zip lines, and wall-running across billboards.

While some game purists have found offense to this sort of adaptation to the Mirror's Edge franchise, we found it to be great implementation of the game for our favorite platform.

Screenshot from multiplayer on iPad

The iPad version also includes a on-same-device multiplayer where you can race against a friend while sitting on opposite sides of the screen. Each runner is controlled using the same swipe controls and can even fight each other. We haven't had a chance to test this out extensively, but it's a nice bonus.

If you'd like to see the game on the iPhone along with gameplay instructions, check out our previous iPhone gameplay video. Overall, we're big fans of the game and recommend it for iPad owners (and even iPhone owners when it finally launches).

App Store Link: Mirror's Edge for iPad, $12.99

As a gaming kid in the 80s, I sometimes sat dreamy-eyed between rounds of Demon Attack, wondering just what video games 30 years in the future might look like. What I pictured was something pretty darned close to Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved from Bizarre Creations. So when that game first crossed my radar, I ran right out and grabbed an Xbox 360 -- and it was absolutely worth it. Since then, I've enjoyed Geometry Wars: Galaxies on the Wii and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, again on the 360.

That said, no one should be surprised to hear how excited I was to see Activision release Geometry Wars: Touch [App Store] -- out of nowhere -- for the iPad.

Those familiar with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, a downloadable XBLA release, should have a pretty good idea of what Geometry Wars: Touch brings to the table. If you've somehow missed it all this time, the game is a retro-styled multi-directional shooter with over the top glowing particle effects. The game has won rave reviews and been cloned numerous times on many platforms. The iPad version features all six play types of the XBLA release, with a seventh ("Titans") added in for good measure.

• Deadline: Score as high as you can in three minutes of play with unlimited lives.
• King: With one life and no bombs, master the enemies moving from safe zone to safe zone.
• Evolved: Basically Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved.
• Pacifism: With one life and no weapons, wipe out enemies by flying through explosive gates.
• Waves: With one life, dodge or destroy an onslaught of enemies in wall formation, coming from all directions.
• Sequence: Destroy all enemies in each of 20 progressive levels.
• Titans: Pulverize large enemies into more and more smaller ones -- basically Asteroids.

As compared to the XBLA version of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, the iPhone release is basically the same game, but with slightly toned down visual effects, no multiplayer, and dual virtual analog stick controls. An integrated online leaderboard keeps things competitive.

Now, this is the first iPad game that I've spent any time with, and I quickly became aware that gaming on the iPad is definitely a different experience than gaming on any desktop, laptop, or mobile device out there. Holding the iPad in front of me with both hands, looking at the action on its sizable screen really was a new and immersive experience.

Sadly, though, it's not all for the better.

Geometry Wars: Touch, as mentioned earlier, is a dual virtual stick shooter. There are plenty of these types of games out there for the iPhone and iPod touch, and they play well enough. But, on the iPad, things are a little different.

In an earlier article, both Arnold and Eli noted an initial unease with the dual stick controls in this and other games on the iPad. After spending time with this title, I felt similarly and attributed it to the iPad's larger edge border. Because of the extra "dead area" around the screen, I frequently found myself dragging my thumbs out of the active multitouch area and losing control of the game. At first this happened quite a bit, but as I got a few hours into the game and learned to force myself to put my thumbs "deeper" into the screen, the issue lessened -- but it was still occasionally there.

See our gameplay video for a closer look.

That said, I don't think the issue is a specific implementation problem on the part of the Geometry Wars: Touch developers; I believe it is likely just a side effect of the iPad design. And I sincerely hope that more time spent with such games on the iPad can result in a learned proficiency that makes this a non-issue.

Those control concerns aside, Geometry Wars: Touch is, like earlier members of the series, an excellent arcade shooter. The game has been endlessly cloned on the iPhone and iPod touch platform (and most other platforms), so iPad gamers are definitely lucky to have an authentic Geometry Wars title in the App Store. And, for jealous iPhone and iPod Touch owners, I can't imagine why Activision wouldn't also port the title the rest of the iPhone platform devices sooner or later.

App Store Link: Geometry Wars: Touch, $9.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Alright, so here's the deal- The amount of iPad games out there on day one is beyond overwhelming. In the interest of getting something up on the site, here's some brief first impressions of the games we're going through as quickly as possible. Right now we kind of feel like kids in a candy store with hundreds of different kinds of candy while thousands of people stand outside with their face plastered against the window yelling "How does it taste?!"

We'll likely do in-depth coverage of most of the games that stand out, but for the time being, if you just got home with an iPad and are totally lost with where to start you can follow along with us going through these games. These aren't in any kind of order, rather, these are just the games that jumped out at us first.

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Real Racing HD, $9.99 - One of the biggest surprises for me with the iPad is how immersive racing games are, especially when in cockpit mode. The iPad feels a little on the heavy side until you get used to using it as a steering wheel, but a 1024x768 screen so close to your face really makes for a cool gameplay experience. For more details on Real Racing, check out our review. The game itself is very similar to the iPhone version, but with much better graphics and a hefty heap of immersion.

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Need For Speed Shift for iPad, $14.99 - Much like how we mentioned in our in-depth preview of the iPhone version, it's really a toss up as to which game is better between Need For Speed and Real Racing. Much like Real Racing, the game looks great on the iPad and I absolutely love the in-car view with the feel that comes with using the iPad as a steering wheel. Currently, Need For Speed costs an extra $5 over Real Racing, but if you prefer the arcade style of racing in the Need For Speed series, don't let the higher price tag scare you away.

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Touchgrind HD, $7.99 - If you're at all in to finger boarding, or liked the iPhone version of the game, you need Touchgrind HD for your iPad. The extra screen real estate of the iPad really improves gameplay, as you can see so much more and can actually plan out lines to skate instead of just bumping along looking for ramps and rails. The two player mode is super cool, and the amount of customization in the game between different skateboards rocks. Something to keep in mind is that this game controls like you're using an actual finger board just like the original, so there can be a somewhat sizable learning curve as you learn how to handle your board.

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Labyrinth 2 HD, $7.99 & Labyrinth 2 HD Lite, Free - Following the previously mentioned racing games, Labyrinth 2 HD was yet another "Oh wow, this is really cool" experience on the iPad. We absolutely loved Labyrinth 2 when it was first released for the iPhone, so it's not much of a surprise that the game is even better on the big screen of the iPad. Seriously, download the lite version if nothing else. The pseudo-3D tilting effect looks even better on the iPad.

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Harbor Master HD, Free - Line drawing games work fantastic on the iPhone, and they're even better on the iPad. The control method feels completely natural, and the game gets even more hectic because of how much more you can have on screen at once. If you've got an iPad, you definitely need to grab Harbor Master HD while it's free. (Heck, grab it even if you don't have an iPad just in case they raise the price.) The main down side to the game is it only includes one map, but if you get bored of Harbor Master HD and are craving more line drawing chaos management there's...

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Flight Control HD, $4.99 - The original Flight Control for the iPhone was a runaway classic, and I expect the iPad version to see the same success. Along with the HD upgrade comes even more maps, two player mode, and other fun stuff. Honestly, Harbor Master HD and Flight Control HD are both worth owning, and each game serves as a fantastic example of how to do a great job in taking a solid gameplay concept for the iPhone and making it even better on the iPad. I can't say enough good things about both games.

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Azkend HD, $4.99 - The original Azkend I think is the only puzzle game for the iPhone that I completely beat. The control mechanic employed is this neat mixture of matching and line drawing, which you can read all about in the review of the iPhone version. I really, really liked Azkend, and am more than a little disappointed that it doesn't seem that the HD upgrade brings much new to the table. The art definitely looks amazing at 1024x768, but if you're like me and have already annihilated Azkend on the iPhone you can probably skip the iPad version. If this is the first you've heard of Azkend, then the iPad version is fantastic.

Dual Stick Shooters

We've tried both Geometry Wars ($9.99) and Mini Gore HD ($4.99) and so far, we're not crazy about the feel of dual stick shooters on the iPad. We're not sure if there's a learning curve that we have to master, but it comes as a surprise given how naturally suited they were on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Geometry Wars looks and sounds great, but I couldn't get out my mind the thought that I'd rather be playing it on my iPhone. We'll spend more time with these and more titles and let you know our final conclusion

Positioning

Perhaps related to the dual stick shooter feel is that with the iPad I'm far more aware of my position and how I'm holding the device. Whether in my lap, or on the couch or holding it up, I've had to consciously juggle it around more than my iPhone due to the increased heft. In the long run, this may affect the type of games I want to be playing on it.

Tower Defense Games

So far every tower defense game I've tried has seemed to be absolutely perfect for the iPad. The HD upgrades also look beautiful.

The Creeps HD, $3.99 and Fieldrunners for iPad, $7.99 have controls that work great with the device, and panning around the map is a thing of the past with the iPad.

...Stay tuned for even more game impressions

If you're sitting around waiting for your iPad or think you'll be getting it in the near future, here are a bunch of free-to-download iPad games that you should go ahead and download.

Smiles HD
The only time limited one of the group is Smiles HD, a nice match-3 game that has made it to the big screen. It's Free for today only (normally $4.99). We've also compiled a list of other games that you can use to test our your new iPad without spending anything right off.

• Smiles HD, Free (Today only)
• Tap Tap Radiation, Free
• Harbor Master HD, Free
• We Rule, Free
• Aurora Feint 3, Free
• CastleCraft, Free
• Pocket Legends, Free
• Labyrinth 2 HD Lite, Free