Adult Swim's game portal is absolutely loaded with fun Flash games, quite a few of which have since went on to become both iPhone and iPad games. Robot Unicorn Attack is one of the few Flash games I find myself regularly playing, as the Canabalt [$2.99] style gameplay mixed with Erasure's Always creates an experience that is quite honestly too awesome for words.

In the game, you play as a unicorn and have three wishes (lives) to score as many points as possible by double jumping and dashing to ram through stars. According to an Entertainment Weekly exclusive, fans of Robot Unicorn Attack will soon be able to chase their dreams on the iPhone.

Adult Swim plans on launching the game on June 1st for $2.99. If this is the first you've heard of the game, head on over to the Robot Unicorn Attack page on Adult Swim's games and give it a spin. It has sound, so make sure you're playing somewhere that you can fully enjoy some Erasure before clicking.

Our pals over at 148Apps scored some details on the upcoming Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth tower defense game this morning. As someone who not only loves The Empire Strikes Back, and tower defense games, I'm having a hard time not getting totally excited for The Battle for Hoth.

Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth obviously takes place on the snow covered planet of Hoth during the massive assault on the Rebel Base at the beginning of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. If you've seen the movie (and if you haven't you should really stop reading this and fix that) you probably can guess the objective of the game: Defending the shield generators from the Imperial forces.

15 levels are included, with new units joining the ranks of both sides with each new level. Rebel forces are placed on the map just like towers in any tower defense game and range from different kinds of soldiers to several types of cannons and even Snowspeeder or X-Wing control towers which each deploy their respective aerial craft. Imperial units range from gigantic AT-AT walkers to smaller AT-ST's, TIE Fighters, Speeder Bikes, Probe Droids, and two different types of Imperial soldiers.

Two game modes are included, a "classic" mode which works like an normal tower defender where players gain and spend "command points" to buy additional defenses. Once a level is completed in classic mode, "fortress" mode is unlocked where players start with a fixed pool of command points and must see how long they can survive.

Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth is going to be released "very soon", and since I'm basically chomping at the bit to get this game on my iPhone, I can promise we will post more information as soon as we receive it. Games based on movies have been very hit or miss on the App Store, with last year's Star Wars: Trench Run being one of the bigger misses. I've got my fingers crossed that The Battle for Hoth will be just as awesome as I imagine it being.

Early last month, dual-stick dungeon crawler Solomon's Keep was released onto the App Store. Successfully blending aspects from many similar games before it, it proved to be a surprisingly fun experience that we enjoyed in our review. As impressive as that initial release was, rather than resting on their laurels developer Raptisoft has been hard at work collecting user feedback regarding new ideas, gameplay tweaks, and bug-fixes to further improve their game. The latest culmination of this is the recently released version 2.0 update, which irons out the kinks that plagued the first version and adds a considerable amount of new content to play with.

One of the most significant improvements in 2.0 is the ability to weld offensive skills together. Combining 2 of the 3 primary attacks (Magic Missile, Lightning, or Fireball) creates an attack that carries attributes of both. As just one example, Lightning welded with Fireball creates an auto-targeting stream of fire called Flame Lash that's capable of exploding and arcing to multiple enemies at once. The characteristics of the welded attack you create depend on how extensively each individual skill has been upgraded at the time you combine them. The welding mechanic works extremely well and adds a whole new layer of strategy and customization to developing your character, as well as providing satisfying firepower.

Another welcome change is an extension to the game's length. There are now 13 dungeon floors versus 10, with an added boss fight on floor 11. After beating all 13 levels, you're given the ability to play through the dungeon over again on a harder difficulty while retaining all your previous skills and gear. This second run through the game is called Wizard mode, and once that has been completed a third even harder Archmage mode is waiting. There's also a new wizard in town that offers you specific meta-quests, called Feats, such as beating the game without using any potions or items. Acting similarly to achievements, these Feats provide even more interesting ways to play through Solomon's Keep.

In addition to these major enhancements, there's a multitude of bugs and glitches that have been taken care of, which was a point of contention in our initial review. Many other tweaks have been implemented to balance out the gameplay, as well as a few brand new items and secondary skills. Facebook connectivity also enters the fray so you can boast about your achievements (and failures) to your social networking cohorts. It's now a much more stable experience throughout, and taking into consideration all the new additions it feels like a much more complete game. With random level and item generation, and countless possibilities for character leveling, the replay value here is near infinite.

What started as a somewhat brief, quirky game now contains enough compelling content and polish to compete with other heavy-hitting dungeon crawlers on the App Store. And it doesn't seem likely to stop here, as development is already under way on ideas for future updates and DLC. These include an endless graveyard mode to test how far you can take your leveled-up character, and possible new classes such as Archer, Rogue, and Warlord each with unique skill trees and stories. With such an incredibly solid foundation in place, the prospect of additional content like this is really exciting. The price has risen to $1.99 with the 2.0 update and lite version being available, but it's still a great bargain for the amount of entertainment it contains. If you've not checked out Solomon's Keep yet, it's strongly recommended to at least give the lite a try, and to not miss out on this extraordinary title.

Croquisoft, creators of Castle Fantasy [99¢], recently dropped the price of their other game, Finger VS. Finger [Free], to free. While it may not look that impressive from first glance if all you're looking at is screenshots, Finger VS. Finger is actually a surprisingly clever turn-based game that can both be played with AI opponents along with a full suite of multiplayer options to play with other people.

The object of the game is similar to playing ringer with marbles in that players take turn knocking the opposing marbles off the game board. You have control of which marble you shoot, along with its direction and velocity. Aiming and shooting your marbles is just a matter of tapping on the screen, and winning games usually involves intelligent use of environmental obstacles to protect your marbles from your opponent.

These obstacles include two kinds of bumpers that both have a different effect on how hard your marbles bounce off of them. There are also black holes that completely swallow your marbles, as well as warps which look like little worm holes that you can shoot your marble through to have it come shooting out the other similarly colored hole in the game board.

While playing against the AI opponents in the 32 different included levels is a pretty good time, the real killer feature of Finger VS. Finger is online multiplayer which seems to work equally well over both 3G and WiFi. Also, I'm not sure if the developers have bots to play against online or if all the opponents I've faced have been human, but I've yet to have much of a problem finding a match with another player.

The one down side to the game is that the online functionality is limited to random matchmaking. The only way to play with a friend is to simply use the local single device multiplayer. But, at the current price of free, it's hard to really get too worked up over the omission of private online matches-- Especially when the random matchmaking works so well.

Forum member TheProxy shot the following gameplay video for the Finger VS. Finger thread:

Croquisoft hasn't mentioned anywhere that I've found how long Finger VS. Finger will be free but since App Store pricing can change at any time, you should really snag this game as soon as possible.

Confirming hints that we had posted in April, Puzzle Quest 2 is now officially coming to the iPhone and iPad later this year.

The followup to the hit game will first hit the XBox 360 and Nintendo DS, but will also be coming to the iPad and iPhone in "end of fall/early winter", according to a report from GamePro.

Puzzle Quest 2 expands on the original Match-3/RPG mashup with a new 3rd person perspective, gems, spells, and more. Here's a trailer for the upcoming DS version. No official iPhone screenshots or video has been released:

The developers of Sally's Spa [$2.99] and Hottie Hookups [$.99] are about to release their newest game, Sigma. Entering a new category of games, BigStack Studios has created a marvelous looking match-3 game.

Using multi-touch, you can independently spin two columns of blocks on either side of the screen. Tapping either side of the screen sends blocks back and forth across the screen. Once a match has been created, you'll have a couple of seconds to tag additional blocks on to the cluster before the whole thing explodes. Overall, it reminds us of an enhanced version of Unify.

The goal is to create huge blocks of the same color to earn the most points, get power ups, and increase the point multipliers. There will be three different modes in Sigma; Sectors, Time Attack, and Multiplayer. Playing in Sector mode allows you to unlock up to 10 different themes, each with their own music track. Time Attack mode has three time lengths to score as many points as possible before the time runs out. And go head-to-head in Multiplayer mode to compete against your friends over local wifi or bluetooth connection. Sigma will also have the online social network Plus+ included in their game with awards to unlock and leader boards to submit your high scores and compete against the world.

Sigma should be available soon, look for it on the App Store in the near future. And to better see how Sigma will be played, check out this gameplay video:

We'll take a closer look when it arrives. The developers plan on submitting the game to Apple as early as today.

Back in 1989 now-veteran UK game developer Jamie Woodhouse released a lively little puzzle / platformer called Qwak for the 8-bit BBC Micro home computer. Not long after, he joined forces with Team17 to develop an enhanhced, two-player Amiga version of the game, which was released in 1993 and featured faster action and more frantic gameplay. The rather well-reviewed title (Amiga Computing magazine gave it a "Gamer Gold" 92% rating) later made its way to the Gameboy Advance as well as the Mac and PC.

We're pleased to report that Jamie recently got in touch with Touch Arcade to give us an exclusive look at the iPhone version of Qwak he has just completed and will be shortly launching through the App Store.

In Qwak, you control a duck (get it?). Your objective is to guide this green duck through level after level of platforms, fruits and gems (worth points), bouncing enemies, power-ups to help demolish said enemies, and keys to unlock goodies as well as the level's exit gate. Your duck can run, jump, and fire volleys of egg projectiles to knock out the baddies. Grab a bonus item and watch a hail of colorful fruit rain down upon you. Take too long on a level and meet a hail of spikeballs. In a nutshell, I call it frenetic, fun, and rather fruity (to be alliteratively wanton).

I've spent some time with the prerelease build of the game Jamie provided us and it's been lovely to play. It's a touch-controlled affair with a left / right control in one corner and jump and egg-fire controls in the other. The vibrant visuals move about the screen as smooth as glass on the iPhone 3GS test device and a very Amiga-sounding score accompanies the action. It feels both retro and highly polished. It's a game platformer fans won't want to miss.

[ NOTE: Our original video embed ran at half-speed for some reason, the video has been replaced with a speed-accurate version. Have another look. ]

Additional details, I'll leave to the developer to provide (after the jump), as he was kind enough to grant us an interview along with the exclusive ad hoc build.

(more...)

Clickgamer's Angry Birds [99¢ / Free] has been one of my favorite games since it was first launched in December of last year. We thought the game was great in our review, and since then, Angry Birds has only gotten better with the surprising amount of extra content that has been added to the game via updates.

Angry Birds is a game that could easily be described with any number of cliches such as "easy to play, difficult to master", "polished", "addictive", and others. When it comes down to it, what makes Angry Birds great is how incredibly accessible the game is to everyone, even non-gamers. Gameplay amounts to a number of different birds, each with different abilities, loading themselves in to a slingshot. You then use a single finger to fling them at a fort filled with smug, smiling pigs.

There isn't really any quick reaction elements to the game, or really anything that requires more than just intelligently analyzing the weaknesses in the pigs' fortresses and aiming at them with your birds. Levels are scored and stars are awarded based on performance. Completionists can shoot for three stars, perfecting every level, and gamers just looking to have fun can generally clear levels with one star without too much trouble.

A previous update added Chillingo's Crystal for all kinds of online scoring, achievements, and all that fun stuff along with 40 new levels. The last update added a new bird and 15 additional levels. This update adds another 15 levels and a new level theme. The amount of content in Angry Birds when it first launched was more than enough, but after all these updates, you really need to pick this game up if you haven't already.

We first heard of Blizzard's plans to improve the functionality of the Mobile Armory [Free] app to include access to the auction house back in February. MMO Champion has all the details today on the recently released Remote Auction House functionality of the existing Mobile Armory app which currently only works for a small number of World of Warcraft servers as part of a beta test of the service.

To use the Mobile Armory you will need a World of Warcraft or Battle.net account, with most of the features requiring an active World of Warcraft subscription. If you're lucky enough to play on the hand full of servers currently supported, using the existing Mobile Armory app you will not only be able to buy items on the in-game auction house, but also sell any item from your character's bags, bank, or mailbox as well as manage all the gold generated from said auctions.

Currently, this functionality is free but limited to 25 total transactions a day, a number which will be increased at launch, according to Blizzard. At the conclusion of the beta test, the auction house features of the Mobile Armory will split in to free and paid functions. Without paying for anything, you will be able to browse and view the auction house along with getting real-time notifications when your auctions sell, expire, or you are outbid or win an auction. For $2.99 on top of your existing WoW subscription you'll be able to do all the buying and selling mentioned previously.

Towards the bottom of the new Remote Auction House site is a chart that details the feature differences of the two subscription tiers.

In late March we first caught wind of Warblade, an impressive looking vertical shooter that has already lived a long life on the PC. (Starting originally with the Amiga.) The plot of Warblade is extremely simple, an alien race is invading Earth and you must stop them by shooting up every enemy ship that crosses your path. While the game likely won't win any awards for story telling, the recently released gameplay video really looks great:

The graphics look awesome, and they even go through the shocking number of weapons you can buy in game while playing through quite a few levels. Also, as mentioned in the description of the video, Warblade will come loaded with 100 levels along with 15 time trial levels and boss fights. The game also runs at 60 FPS, but it isn't clear on which devices.

According to the EMV Software Twitter, the free version of Warblade was recently submitted. The last mention of the full version of the game is from May 6th, where a new beta version was sent to testers.

I was excited for Warblade when I first heard about the plans to bring it to the iPhone, and after seeing the game in motion, I can't wait for it to get here. Hopefully the free version comes with a decent amount of content to hold us over while the paid version is finalized.

Following on the heels of the recent rerelease of Edge [$2.99] comes Mobigame's next title, Truckers Delight: Episode 1 [$2.99], an episodic retro styled arcade racer. Based on an incredibly not work safe video filled with pixel art, cartoon nudity, and many other potentially offensive things by director Jérémie Périn, Truckers Delight: Episode 1 seems to be based on just the first segment of the video in all of its 8-bit glory. Presumably, the other portions of the video will be coming as their own episodes in the future.

In Episode 1, you play as a truck driver chasing a girl in a sports car down the highway. The iTunes description mentions similarities to the classic Sega arcade game OutRun, which couldn't possibly serve as a better comparison. Tilting the phone controls your truck, and all you do is chase the girl, ramming her car whenever possible for points. A countdown timer is constantly ticking away which is refreshed by passing checkpoints, and during your pursuit you will need to fend off angry police, bikers, and avoid a constant onslaught of traffic that will slow you down.

Several power ups can be picked up during your adventure. So far I've come across three: A set of horns that allow you to ram other cars off the road easily, a rocket booster that sends you flying towards the next checkpoint, and a tongue attack point multiplier. You can also honk the horn of your truck, this doesn't seem to do anything, but I can't seem to help myself from doing it almost constantly.

Truckers Delight: Episode 1 includes an odd amount of cartoon nudity for a game on the App Store. Not only does it include the first portion of the original video, but when you pick up the power up to let your tongue fly, it quite literally results in an on-screen explosion of naked women.

I've actually had a surprising amount of fun with Truckers Delight. Mobigame did a great job of nailing the feel of endless retro racing games, and the difficulty ramps up nicely requiring quite a bit of concentration as you dart between oncoming cars in your 18 wheeler. Truckers Delight features online leaderboards which are already loaded with scores that are about twice as high as my best score, and it's hard to not get in to the catchy soundtrack included with the game.

TouchArcade Rating:

Per Ubisoft's web site, Prince of Persia Retro is on its way to the App Store. We don't know many specifics yet other than this appears to be a port of the classic Prince of Persia from 1989. Originally released on the Apple II, Prince of Persia went on to find a home on nearly every device capable of playing the game over the years along with spawning an entire video game series with its own high-budget action movie due to be released on the 28th of this month.

The basic premise of Prince of Persia is similar to that of most classic platformers in that you're racing against a timer overcoming various obstacles all to save a princess. In this case, the game is set in ancient Persia and you're facing off against the sultan's evil vizier, Jaffar. The original version of the game needed to be completed in an hour, and from the sound of it, the iPhone port will be no different.

Aside from that, all we really know is that it will obviously have some kind of touch screen controls, and the Ubisoft site mentions the iPad amongst the list of supported devices. It's unclear if this only means the iPhone version will also run on the iPad, or if Ubisoft is planning on either releasing a HD version of Prince of Persia or simply developing the game as a universal app.

Curiously enough, Ubisoft mentions 4/29/2010 as the release date of Prince of Persia Retro. The game doesn't seem to have been released yet, but since it has been almost a month since their original planned release date we might be playing Prince of Persia sooner than we think.

We're definitely adding Prince of Persia Retro to our App Store watch lists, and we also have a thread on our forums if you're looking to join in on the speculation of how soon the game will be released.

Initiated to pop-culture by the mid-90s Tamagotchi device, pet-sims have really taken off on the App Store, but there are surprisingly few that stand out. Fortunately, developers Tasty Poison Games have given us something to talk about with the release of their full 3D dragon-based pet game, Dragooo [App Store].

Dragooo differs in presentation to other pet-sims in that the game world is rendered in fully navigable 3D. Your focus point is always your dragon pet, who starts out as a fledgling and grows over 3 stages to a teen-sized dragon (think more Spyro and less Smaug), with wings large enough to finally fly.

Flying is ultimately the end-goal to your dragon's growth in Dragooo, and getting there requires the usual tasks of feeding, nurturing and exercising your pet. This is quite easy done with a little exploration of the great-looking subterranean lair that is your dragon's home.

Negotiating your dragon around his lair feels natural. The camera is controlled by simply swiping on the screen, and your dragon can be moved around by tapping at the desired location. An on-screen button lets you switch between interaction and navigation mode, the former of which lets you pat your dragon and begin to teach him to fly by dragging upwards with your finger. By moving towards other objects in the lair, such as the pond or to the fireflies or fruit-bats, interaction mode is activated automatically. This enables you to feed your dragon by dragging a critter to his mouth or motioning him to drink.

After nurturing your dragon for a while (30 minutes or so) he'll have grown into a dragon able to finally lift-off. This unlocks the racing option, where your dragon enters a mini-game where he careens through one of three maps to collect as many gems as possible. In this mode, he will also need to use several abilities (such as fire breathing) to get through the track. Gems collected can then be spent on items to customize your dragon and improve his attributes and skills.

Though this sounds comprehensive on paper, in practice all the above is a very straightforward and simple affair, able to be reached in an hour or two at most. And thus we arrive at our major criticism of Dragooo-- it is far too light on content at present. Flying is all there is to do once you have raised your dragon (other than continuing to nurture him) and though it looks terrific, it's not executed particularly well; the overly sensitive tilt controls being the only real challenge to each race.

There are also no social features to be found, despite all your races being timed and seemingly ripe for a high score table. That's not to say the developers have skimped on the game entirely, as the 3D engine does look amazing (and even though it was purportedly optimized only for the 3rd gen devices, some readers have had luck installing it on their 2G devices). We just think that in its current state, it is more a foundation for future content. If this content arrives and adds to the gameplay, Dragooo could well be terrific. As it stands though, Dragooo is an entertaining but very brief distraction.

App Store Link: Dragooo, $2.99.

TouchArcade Rating:

Little White Bear Studios have released their newest game today, Compression HD [Free] -- an all new iPad version of their popular iPhone game Compression [$1.99 / Lite] that we reviewed and gave 4 stars.

In Compression HD, the object is to remove all the hollowed out blocks from each level to move on. Making a match of 3 or more of the same colored block will remove those pieces from the board. You control new pieces falling down from the top with swipes and taps of your finger to move and rotate the pieces as they come down. The controls are very natural and easy to get the hang of, and you'll immediately understand how to control the pieces once you start playing.

A unique feature in Compression HD compared to similar matching games is that the walls will move inwards throughout the level compressing the board, hence the name of the game. For every three pieces that drop, a wall will come in (either the left, right or bottom wall), adding to the strategy involved with making combos in the game. You must complete the level before the board is too small and there's no room left for any new pieces. As you complete levels, the game gets faster and faster the farther you reach. You'll want to last as long as you can and score as many points as possible to compete in the online leader boards. Compression HD is OpenFeint enabled, offering achievements and multiple global scoreboards.

This game has been soaring up the charts today and it is easy to see why, with fun gameplay, cool graphics and great music that suits the game perfectly. You won't want to pass up this excellent iPad title, especially since it's free. The developer has said in our forums that a new mode may show up in Compression HD in the near future in an update.

App Store Link: Compression HD, Free

Disney Interactive's arcade racing collaboration with Black Rock Studios, Split/Second [$6.99], hit the App Store tonight and so far seems remarkably similar to the version we previewed last week:

Developed in house utilizing scaled down versions of the assets from the XBOX 360 and PS3 version of the game, Split/Second for the iPhone is a fun racing game with a great sense of speed and a cool gameplay mechanic that involves blowing up portions of the track to change the layout of the course and sabotage opponents.

In Split/Second, you compete in a fictional reality television show where you compete for fame and fortune. Included are three gameplay modes: Season mode where you play through the TV show, quick race where you can play any unlocked track, and multiplayer mode which not only can be played locally via bluetooth and WiFi but also online.

The main gimmick of Split/Second is the powerplay system. Racing through the game, a gauge near the back of your car slowly fills up in three segments. Doing things like drifting, drafting opponents, and just generally racing as aggressive as possible increases your powerplay meter. You can then spend this powerplay energy to initiate various explosions throughout the track to take out enemy racers as well as significantly altering the track itself. This can result in debris and track damage that you must dodge and avoid in subsequent laps. The game offers 3 types of modes throughout: Detonator, Elimination, and Race. Detonator pits you against the track itself in which all possible explosions occur during your run. You just need to finish in the time allotted. Elimination is an aggressive quick-elimination mode where the trailing car is eliminated at regular intervals. Finally, Race is self explanatory. Controls are limited to auto-acceleration, tilt control and manual braking with multiple button layout options.

As some commenters mentioned in the preview post, the powerplay gauge increased very slowly in the preview build. This seems to have been tweaked to be more in line with the console version of the game and it seems rare that I'm ever really starved for powerplays.

Unfortunately, the other issues mentioned in the preview still remain. While the game itself is a fast arcade racer with a neat gimmick, it almost seems like too much was sacrificed when compressing the game down from the XBOX 360 or PS3 to the iPhone. So many of the visual effects are missing, and even the biggest explosions aren't nearly as exciting.

In comparison, when playing the full console version of the game, you're constantly dodging explosions and other environmental obstacles launching themselves in the middle of the raceway. On the iPhone, this explosion mechanic isn't anywhere near as prevalent as it should be in a game that tries to be based around adrenaline-pumping explosions around every turn.

Split/Second for iPhone does come with online multiplayer, but since it just launched this evening, it's too early to say whether or not this will become popular enough to sustain itself.

While Split/Second for iPhone can be a fun arcade racer, App Store racing staples like Real Racing [$4.99 / Free] and Need for Speed Shift [$6.99] are just flat out better technical racers. As such, Split/Second isn't a must have but may appeal to those looking for a different and far more arcade-y racing experience.

TouchArcade Rating: