FDG Entertainment, the developers of the Bobby Carrot series, Parachute Panic [$1.99 / Free], and more recently, Across Age [$5.99 / Free] tipped us off to their next game in the works, Physics Gamebox. Scheduled for release in June for $2.99, Physics Gamebox will come loaded with iPhone ports of two flash games from NewGrounds veteran Johnny-K.

The first game, Roly-Poly Cannon, is highly reminiscent of so many physics games on the App Store currently. Playing the game amounts to shooting a cannon to bust up bases and blow up enemies much like Angry Birds [99¢ / Free]. Roly-Poly Cannon as well as the various sequels and additional level packs are all playable for free on NewGrounds, all you have to do is sit through some ads.

Ragdoll Cannon is the other half of Physics Gamebox. Using a similar cannon shooting mechanic as Roly-Poly Cannon, players fire ragdolls at targets just like the iPhone game Ragdoll Blaster [$1.99 / Free]. Also, just like Roly-Poly Cannon, if you can deal with some advertising you can play Physics Gamebox for free on NewGrounds as well.

The interesting thing about these games is that while your knee-jerk reaction might be to roll your eyes at yet another App Store copycat of existing games, both parts of Physics Gamebox have been out for quite a long time, with the flash version of Ragdoll Cannon predating Ragdoll Blaster by nearly a year.

As mentioned before, Physics Gamebox should be available in June for $2.99, with an iPad version slated for July. Between both games, 300 levels will be included.

Back in March we posted early details of ChronoSoft's upcoming roguelike / dungeon crawler (with a dash of Zelda) Spirit Hunter Mineko: Demon's Reach. As the title is coming from the developer of the excellent Rogue Touch [App Store], we've been quite anxious to get our hands on the game.

Author Kevin Hill has just posted a new gameplay video along with further details surrounding Spirit Hunter Mineko, which has been in development for six months, now. Says, Kevin:

This video gives a brief highlight of areas that Mineko will travel through in her journey to find out the mystery of the castle "Demon's Reach". Starting from her house, part of a small village on a mountian, she sneaks out of her room through a trap door, she traverses the village "cellars". From there she continues making her way down into caves in the mountain until she reaches the exit to the valley floor and daylight! Mineko will make her way through the forests on the valley floor, experiencing a variety of environmental effects, including a day/night cycle, until she reaches the castle. Finally you must explore the castle, working your way up to the top!

New details from the author:

• At least the 4 major environments will be seen in your primary game. There are a few secret bonus lands I have ideas for that may or may not make the initial cut. Each of the major environments has its own random generator for unique look and feel. Most importantly, each environment provides new exploration tactics, new combat tactics, and new room features to interact with, in addition to looking pretty!
• At least 30 types of monster will be found in the game, each monster species is fully animated and has unique attributes and special abilities to keep you on your toes!
• Lots of varied equipment and items. I'm going to remain hushed about this and the magic system for a while longer
• The "main" game will be between 30 and 40 levels long, depending on how the gameplay balance feels. A "post-game" scenario is planned for people who need more Mineko while awaiting a sequel

Stay tuned for further coverage of ChronoSoft's Spirit Hunter Mineko: Demon's Reach as additional details emerge.

Nearly two years ago now , Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D by developer Polarbit was amongst the first batch of games released onto Apple's fledgling App Store. At the time, it was an impressive example of what could be achieved on a mobile phone, and glimpsed at a bright future for iPhone gaming. Looking back on it today, however, the decidedly lackluster graphics, stuttering framerate, and deplorably short draw distance mar the otherwise very enjoyable gameplay. It's still a good game, but in the time since its release a number of competing kart racers like Shrek Kart and Cocoto Kart have raised the bar considerably in terms of graphics and notable features like online multiplayer. Now, Polarbit has reentered the fray with a sequel that - for the most part - addresses the downfalls of the original, delivering a largely familiar but wholly expanded upon experience with Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2.

The most immediately noticeable improvement in Crash 2 is the visuals. The scenery is detailed and brightly colored, and thankfully the dreadful draw distance of the first game is nonexistent. The levels are cleverly designed with multiple pathways, varying track elevations, and many different shortcuts waiting to be discovered. The character and kart models are notably better this time around, consisting of a higher polygon count and much more detail and personality. The framerate can still get choppy when there is a lot of action onscreen at once, but it's hardly ever bothersome and is significantly better than the original's. The load times are a bit long, and the audio can stutter while loading on occasion. Some users are reporting the game crashing, although this was infrequent in our time with the game. Also of note is the excellent music and sound effects throughout that bring the game to life without ever feeling overbearing.

Gameplay-wise Crash 2 features the familiar drift-heavy, combat-intensive racing found in its previous iteration, as well as most every other kart racing game since the inception of Super Mario Kart. It's a proven formula that's executed quite well here, but can be highly unforgiving. One wrong turn or attack from an opponent can cost you an entire race, but this can work to your benefit too, allowing you to come from behind and still win. It can end up being frustrating to race near perfectly only to lose at the very last stretch of track because someone launched a missile into your backside. This is par for the course in games like this, however, and the frenetic fun outweighs the frustration. Touch or tilt controls are available, and while the tilt felt a little more comfortable I found the touch option allowed for more finesse while turning. The controls are really responsive, and either option should be suitable for most people.

The number of different game modes in Crash 2 is quite impressive. The standards are here, such as Arcade, Time Attack, Cup races and more, but some others that offer more non-traditional racing. For example, Mission Mode presents one specific objective for each of the 12 courses. You may need to accumulate a certain amount of points by drifting, or collect a number of different items, all while still placing 3^rd or better in the race. These different modes offer a fun way to play through the game's content while staying fresh and engaging, although sometimes the requirements to complete them can be brutally difficult. There's a total of 10 characters, 12 courses, and 8 modes in Crash 2, the majority of which are unlocked as you progress through the game.

One standout feature is the ability to race online against players from all over the world. It works incredibly easily, as you just type in a username and connect to a lobby showing available rooms to join. You can create your own room as well, and as host can pick which mode and track to play. The types of online games are standard races, knockout-style Eliminator mode, and Collection where the goal is to be the racer who collects the most crystals by the end of the race. Our experience racing online worked well and was relatively lag-free, and adds a tremendous amount of replayability to the title.

In the end, Crash 2 is just what you would expect out of a sequel. They've taken all of the great elements of the first game, refined them, and added a ton more content on top. If you were a fan of the original game, then you should no doubt enjoy this one even more. If you have yet to pick up one of the many kart racers on the App Store, then Crash 2 is likely your best option. It feels as close as you can get to something like Mario Kart DS on this platform. The overly difficult challenges and somewhat cheap combat mechanics will likely frustrate some more than others, but overall the game is a lot of fun. With a ton of content, beautiful graphics and presentation, excellent online play, and the pedigree of one of the App Store's first classics, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 is definitely recommended.

TouchArcade Rating:

Gamelab, creators of Roswell Fighter [$.99 / Free / $1.99 HD] and Probably Nuts [$.99], have released their newest game yesterday. Published by Chillingo, Pirate's Treasure [$1.99], is a 3D dual-stick shooting adventure game.

Pirate's Treasure is a game similar to Minigore [$.99] with two on-screen joysticks to control the game. The right controls where you shoot and the left handles your movement. Unlike Minigore, however, Pirate's Treasure has a campaign mode that sends you on a quest to recover your gold. The game has over 50 stages, each with different missions to unlock the next.

In campaign mode, you must defeat each stage by completing a certain goal to receive a key to unlock the next level. For example, staying alive for 40 seconds or killing 20 monsters will unlock the next stage. These missions get progressively harder as you get farther in the game. As you collect more keys, you are able to access different areas of the island and play in different themed environments.

You also get gold coins from beating stages that you can use at the shop to upgrade your character. By purchasing upgrades you are able to do better as the levels get harder, advancing you through the game. You can upgrade attributes such as your fire rate, movement speed, chance of getting a flame thrower, and increasing your special ability.

There is also an endless survival stage to see how long you can last and compete on the online leader boards. Be sure to upgrade your character before entering this stage though, as the enemies are much tougher. It's better to play through the campaign some before trying to compete in this stage. Chillingo's Crystal social gaming network is used in Pirate's Treasure to track your high scores in survival mode and award achievements for tasks completed throughout the game.

The campaign mode certainly sets this game apart from most other dual-stick shooters, which tend to be just endless survival games. Upgrading your character along the way and having different missions for each stage makes Pirate's Treasure a fun and intriguing game that is said to have over 6 hours of gameplay. If you were a fan of Minigore or Guerilla Bob, you should definitely check out Pirate's Treasure. The game is being extensively discussed in our forums with some people having crashing issues.

App Store Link: Pirate's Treasure, $1.99

TouchArcade Rating:

Back in March we sat down with the guys from The Binary Mill to check out their upcoming shooter, Assault Squadron. It's a "bullet hell" shooter that's particularly striking for the insane frame rate at which it runs; the developers insist that it sticks to a solid 60 FPS even on the first-generation iPod touch.

We're happy to report that Assault Squadron [link] has appeared in the App Store and is available for download at a price of $2.99.

The twist of Assault Squadron comes from the two gameplay modes the various levels alternate between. While playing through the game, you'll go through a level where it plays like a vertical shooter with your phone held in portrait mode. Following that, the game might alternate to a horizontal side scrolling level. With each transition you see different sides of both your ship and enemies, and the game.

The game has a lot to offer. There's a crazy scoring system with multipliers galore (and online leaderboards via Crystal), four different ships that all handle differently with their own unique weapon systems, upgrades everywhere, and best of all – control options that should satisfy everyone between the on-screen touch controls, a virtual joystick, and tilt.

Frantic shooter fans might want to take a close look at this one.

App Store Link: Assault Squadron, $2.99

Backflip Studios, who brought us Ragdoll Blaster and the recently-released Strike Knight, has joined forces with Team Phobic (Bounce On, Bounce On 2) to shortly bring us Tunnel Shoot, a ... tunnel shooter ... somewhat reminiscent of Boost 3D, but with a little more neon glow.

Gameplay involves zipping down a series of tunnels festooned with obstacles and enemies bent on your destruction.  Don't crash, don't blow up, and hold onto your hat.

See the developers' gameplay video:

Tunnel Shoot looks like fun -- we're anxious to give it a try when it makes its App Store debut in mid-June.

And, while we're talking Backflip Studios, have a look at Ragdoll Blaster 2 [App Store],  which is on sale this weekend for $0.99 (down from $2.99).

It's Memorial Day weekend for those in the states, and in honor of this holiday weekend, both Glu Games and Igloo Games are running sales on a notable list of App Store titles.

Glu games on sale:

• Deer Hunter 3D, $2.99 → $0.99
• Family Guy Uncensored, $1.99 → $0.99
• Super KO Boxing 2, $2.99 → $0.99
• Build-a-lot, $2.99 → $0.99
• Bonsai Blast, $2.99 → $0.99
• Glyder, $4.99 → $0.99
• Glyder 2, $2.99 → $0.99
• Transformers G1: Awakening, $1.99 → $0.99
• Taxi Fight!, $1.99 → $0.99
• Stranded: Mysteries of Time, $2.99 → $0.99
• Mini Golf Wacky Worlds, $2.99 → $0.99
• Cooking Star, $1.99 → $0.99
• Beat It!, $2.99 → $0.99
• Alley Gator, $1.99 → $0.99

Igloo games on sale:

• Dizzy Bee, $2.99 → $0.99
• Dizzy Bee 2, $2.99 → $0.99
• Bed Bugs, $1.99 → $0.99
• Flippin', $2.99 → $0.99
• Igloo Games Arcade, $4.99 → $2.99

The amount of post-launch support Spacetime Studios has given their free MMO [Free: iPhone Universal / iPad Only] got even more impressive lately with the release of Pocket Legends 1.2 which adds three main features to the game:

PvP - In team deathmatch arenas vaguely similar to World of Warcraft's arena system, players choose sides and battle the other team. The various arenas have different sizes, player limits, and even power-ups. Points are awarded for killing other players, and when the score limit is reached a scoreboard displays showing the match standing.

Secure Trade - Inspecting other players now give you a new option to securely trade items, gold, and potions. Just like any MMO, a trade window will appear for both players to confirm the trade before the transaction is complete.

Elixirs - Using gold or platinum players can purchase a number of different elixirs which do things like increase movement, experience gain, damage, and even armor. Elixirs last for five minutes and don't stack on top of each other. Also, they can only be used in the story mode so players don't have to worry about buying elixirs to be competitive in PvP.

Spacetime Studios released a new trailer that shows the new PvP arenas:

If you haven't tried Pocket Legends yet, there's really no reason to keep resisting at this point. The game is free to try, and is one of the more impressive realtime multiplayer experiences available on the App Store.

In the wake of the free to play movement on the App Store, Ubisoft has recently released an iPad client for their free browser game, Might & Magic Heroes Kingdoms. Currently only available in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Might & Magic Heroes Kingdoms puts players to the task of managing their kingdom, bossing around their heroes, and do the typical MMO-style resource gathering and management by capturing mines.

After your kingdom is booming, you'll be able to wage battles which Ubisoft is describing as "epic" with other players by creating or joining alliances to conquer new territory in attempt to control the entire in-game world of Ashan.

If you're an iPad owner in Germany, France, or the UK, give the free iPad client a spin and see what you think. Since it is free to download, if you're outside of those three countries and you really want to get a jump on the game before it hits the US App Store, it shouldn't be too hard to create an international account to snag the game.

United Kingdom App Store Link: Might & Magic Heroes Kingdoms, Free

In what would appear to be a perfect storm of awesomeness comes a completely surprising release from Ubisoft. Earlier this month we posted some vague details on Prince of Persia Retro [99¢] based on a small blurb and a few screenshots found on the Ubisoft web site. And while I had high expectations of the game, given its classic roots, I never would have imagined that Ubisoft would not only push the game out as a universal iPhone/iPad title on day one, but also launch at 99¢.

In the game, you must save a princess from the evil Persian vizier, Jaffar. You have an hour to do it, and in between you and her are tons of enemies to fight and obstacles to overcome. My initial impressions of the game are positive so far, but like most games designed for physical controls then ported to the iPhone, I have found myself fat fingering some jumps and generally just making play mistakes because of the inherent inaccuracies of virtual controls.

Impressions are rolling in from forum members in the Prince of Persia Retro thread, where the controls are being discussed at length. Given the price and compatibility of the game as a universal app, Prince of Persia Retro is going to be nearly impossible for any classic gamer to pass up.

TouchArcade Rating:

Earlier this month we posted that Konami announced Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 will be coming to the App Store. Konami has updated their blog on the controls, camera angels and some screenshots that will be featured in PES 2010 for the iPhone.

The first screenshots for Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 for the iPhone and iPod Touch have been revealed and show off the replay feature and in-game layout.

The controls in any game can make or break the user experience, which is why the Konami team is spending a lot of time on the control layout for PES 2010. Of course they have the classic controls with a virtual joystick and virtual buttons on screen, but they have also come up with a new unique iPhone control method called "one-touch". The "one-touch" AI assisted control mode takes advantage of the iPhones capabilities and keeps things simple. No buttons or joysticks on the screen, just the accelerometer and the screen as one giant input zone.

The unique one-touch mode with accelerometer and multi-touch comes with great AI assistance so to ensure the best possible gameplay experience. This is a new way of approaching controls for a football game.

Konami has also been posting in our forums, and answering users' questions about the upcoming game. Of interest, they have said that the licensing of player and team names "will be comparable to the PSP", and that "there are about 100 animations for player and goalkeepers in the game".

With a new intriguing control method, great visuals, and player licensing, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is shaping up to be promising soccer game for the iPhone. There is no release date set for the game yet, but last week they were about to enter the beta testing, so hopefully we will get to play PES 2010 sometime this summer.

A week ago we reported that not only is Adult Swim's Robot Unicorn Attack coming to the iPhone, but they also planned to have it on the App Store by the 1st of June for $2.99. Well, thanks to the magic that is Apple's approval process, their launch date has slipped to simply "June," but after having played a development build of the game, I can say with some amount of authority that it will be worth the wait.

Robot Unicorn Attack is one of the many Flash games available on the Adult Swim games portal. Since its release, it has been remarkably popular, and for a good reason: Robot Unicorn Attack strikes a perfect balance between Canabalt [$2.99] style survival platforming, unicorns, rainbows, and most importantly, Erasure. As of this writing, the Robot Unicorn Attack flash game has been played over 21 million times.

Gameplay is identical to that of the flash version, but some of the graphical detail has been lost in compressing the original 640x480 flash game down to the 480x320 screen of the iPhone. Regardless, it's just as much fun as the original and I can't wait for the final version of the game to hit the App Store.

Agharta Studio released the sequel to their 1112 series last month, 1112 episode 02 [$4.99] for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Following up the original, 1112 episode 01 [$4.99 / Free], that came out back in November 2008. And now the iPad version 1112 episode 02 HD [$7.99] has hit the App Store.

If you never played episode 1, we recommend you try out 1112 Episode 01 Lite [Free] to get some background and hands on with, to find out what the type of puzzle game that the 1112 series is like. For the less inclined, episode 2 offers a short summary video to get you up to speed on the story line from the original.

The goal is to help your character, Louis, discover why he has ended up in New York. Through the use of multitouch, you'll be looking for objects and solving puzzles, including some sudoku puzzles, to find your way to completing the mystery of 1112. The game is made up of awesome hand drawn environments to navigate through and admire along the way. Episode 2 includes a multitude amount of new content to interact with;

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

Despite the larger screen and redrawn graphics in HD, the game doesn't play very differently between the iPhone and iPad version. The storyline and gameplay is the same between the two. In fact, aside from the pixelated text, the game plays quite well in pixel-doubling mode. The graphics don't take a major hit at all and look very good still. Because of that, we don't recommend upgrading to the HD version if you already own the iPhone version, as you won't gain much. But if you held out for the HD version, or haven't picked up any of the episodes before, you won't be disappointed by going with the iPad specific version.

The overall consensus in our forums discussing episode 2 seem very positive. The developers have already updated the iPhone version earlier this month to fix some bugs and say the iPad version ships with the fixes already included. With users reporting gameplay length between 3-7 hours long, depending on how long it takes you to solve some of the puzzles, the game offers a fair amount of content. We are already looking forward to episode 3 of the series, so be sure to get your copy of episode 1 and 2 to keep up with the intriguing story.

App Store Link: 1112 episode 2 HD, $7.99

It's no secret that we at TouchArcade are big fans of Donut Games. They have a reputation of consistently delivering fun games with simple mechanics, wonderful pixel art, a polished interface, and a ton of replay value. This rings true yet again as their latest game, Cat Physics, has been released to the App Store. In essence a physics based puzzler where you must get an object from point A to point B, Cat Physics has all the charm and replayability you've come to expect from Donut games, and appears to be another great entry.

The goal of Cat Physics is to successfully direct a ball from one onscreen kitty to another. The layout of each level, placement of the goal cat, and many different obstacles work to prevent you from completing this seemingly simple task. To aid you, moveable arrow icons can be placed in the path of the ball, launching it in the direction of the arrow displayed on each icon. How many arrows are on each level and what direction they point is always fixed (aside from occasional moving arrows), so it's up to you to figure out the best way to utilize them to complete a level. Scoring is based on getting the ball from the starting cat to the receiving cat in as short a distance as possible.

The level designs can be quite clever, and it's a challenge to figure out the best way to deal with the objects in the ball's path. These objects can affect your ball in many ways, and include tiny catapults, teeter-totters, teleportation vortexes, breakable barriers, and more. It takes a lot of trial and error, but is very rewarding when you finally find the best solution. There's 50 unique levels to play through, as well as the lovely 3-star system (think Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals for each level) that is a hallmark of many Donut games. Similarly, an out-of-game online leaderboard for total scores is included. Gaining 3 stars on every level would be a tall order for even the most adept gamer, and there's certainly a lot of content and replayablity here for your money.

As fantastic as Cat Physics is, there were a couple of blemishes that stuck out a bit during my time with the game. First, the arrow icons can require some extremely precise placement in order to maximize your score, and it sometimes seemed difficult to move them in the tiny increments that I needed too. Possibly due to my own fat fingers, so your results may vary. A more fundamental problem is that some of the levels are just flat out too easy. Like, you-don't-even-have-to-do-anything easy. Sometimes you can just let your ball go, and it will safely find the goal by default. You likely won't be getting any high scores by doing this, but still it would be nice to have a bigger level of user interaction required out of some of the levels. It's more of a problem in the first half of the game, with the latter half being sufficiently elaborate in design and challenge. Neither of these issues do much in diminishing the enjoyment of playing.

If you're already a fan of Donut Games, chances are you were downloading this the moment you read the title. And chances are you're satisfied yet again. If you're new to them, then Cat Physics is an excellent chance to get yourself acquainted. Even if this particular game doesn't strike a chord, they make an assortment of games to suit just about every type of gamer, all at incredibly low prices. This latest offering is another winner, and comes highly recommended.

TouchArcade Rating:

We're not entirely sure what to make of this new teaser trailer released by Namco, but as part of the Pac-Man 30th anniversary they're releasing a Pac-Man-powered match three for the iPhone. Currently playable as a Flash game, Pac-Match Party will have 30 levels when it hits the App Store.

It's anyone's guess why Namco doesn't reach in to their massive back-catalog of their own games to bring to the iPhone instead of releasing odd an odd mixture of match threes and solitaire games. But hey -- who couldn't use another Match 3?