The original Train Conductor was a sleeper hit that we really enjoyed and remains a staple on many users' iOS devices. That version featured a distinct Australian backdrop that many of us may have found unfamiliar. Train Conductor 2: USA [iPhone/ iPad] puts Uncle Sam in the driver's seat, embarking on 5 new levels from New York to the Grand Canyon.

Train Conductor 2 retains the basic Flight Control on Rails gameplay from the first game, but re-imagines both the setting and each level's special gameplay twist.

One such twist challenges you to flick trains upwards and or downwards depending on their color, whilst the others are a spin on the standard formula. The New York subway sequence for example provides non-sensical numerical and alphabetical line names that confuse just as they do in real life.

Some early impressions from a fan of the original in our forums:

Each level is a survival level. You route your trains until you crash. When you crash your score is displayed and you then have a choice of playing the level again or going to the map which is a US map drawn in the same style as the Aussie map in the first game. You also get a choice to post the results to Facebook or Twitter. To find out how many more trains you need to route to unlock the next city you just tap the locked city to activate the bubble with the answer. The visual style is consistent with the original game.
....
There is no longer night/day button. The cities now can only be played in one mode i.e. New York is a day map and Nashville is a night map with Ghost trains. I am enjoying the game so far and can recommend it, especially at $0.99.

For all these new gameplay mechanics though, it seems that in some ways Train Conductor 2 is a scaled back version of the first game. Objectives required to unlock the next level are much easier to obtain; there are no day/night sequences for each track as there was in the first game; and there is no longer level bonus' for speeding up time or acheiving a streak of connections. Facebook high scores also replace the Plus+ integration from the previous iteration.

In fact, if you had not played either game and were interested in the base gameplay, we'd still recommend you to try the original Train Conductor first. What Train Conductor 2 does add is a flashier, higher resolution look for the iPad and iPhone 4 Retina display and a funky new soundtrack to suit each of the new U.S. level themes.

Update: It seems like iPad users have cause for concern; readers have reported a lacklustre iPad port-- foregoing the higher resolution of the iPhone 4 in favor of blurry, upscaled textures and no fullscreen support. iPad users may want to steer clear until the developers have addressed this.

Proud to be indie developer NimbleBit leaked some vague details to us this afternoon regarding their next iPhone game, Pocket Frogs. The story of Pocket Frogs starts back with their previous game, Dizzypad [iPhone: $1.99 / iPad: Free + DLC], a simple jumping game that we loved in our review which recently received an update adding in iOS 4 fast app switching and Retina Display support for the iPhone 4.

Figuring they'd make the various Plus+ awards a little more fun than just increasing your overall Plus+ gamer score, NimbleBit linked these awards with unlocking differently colored playable frogs. The unexpected side effect of this for NimbleBit was it turned out that for many players, the goal of playing Dizzypad for them was to unlock every frog rather than shooting for high scores as originally intended. NimbleBit released several updates to the game which added even more frogs, so when searching for inspiration for their next game, it seemed only natural to make a game with the sole purpose of collecting as many frogs as possible.

Pocket Frogs is a game of raising, breeding, and trading frogs. Each of your frogs will have three specific genetic traits that they inherit from their parent frogs, which according to NimbleBit will result in "many thousand possible emergent species." There are going to be multiple customizable habitats to raise your frogs in, and players will be responsible for keeping the frogs healthy, happy, and well fed by taking them out to explore the Pocket Frog pond.

Aside from breeding frogs, players will be able to get new frogs by ordering them in-game as well as trading frogs with friends via Plus+. There are also plans to have various challenges to breed certain frogs which rotate on a weekly and monthly basis and the frog store will rotate on a daily with new frogs to buy with in-game currency. NimbleBit is still hashing out plans on exactly how they're going to monetize Pocket Frogs, but have assured me that players will be able to access absolutely everything in game for free and whatever in-app purchases they finally decide on will be intended for serious frog breeders and otherwise entirely optional.

One of the core features of Pocket Frogs that NimbleBit feels has been missing from some many of these free social games is a full featured offline mode. If you're an iPod touch user, you will be happy to know that you can play Pocket Frogs without ever connecting to the Internet, you just won't be able to buy any of the in-app purchases or participate in frog trading while offline. Otherwise, you can breed your own little frogs to your heart's content, buy new frogs, and even participate in all the breeding challenges.

Pocket Frogs is currently being developed for all iOS platforms and will include Retina Display support. NimbleBit isn't getting specific with release dates yet, and instead have just told us to "expect to have a handful of little frogs this summer." We've yet to hear whether or not players will be able to release their army of frogs on unsuspecting virgin ecosystems, but for what it's worth, I've got my fingers crossed.

Last weekend we posted a preview of Ratloop / Chillingo's upcoming illumination puzzler (well, that's really the best way to describe it) Helsing's Fire. This weekend the game went live in the App Store [link] and we've had a chance to spend some time with it.

Helsing's Fire sends you on a quest to destroy Dracula, placing you in 90 randomly generated, dungeon-like levels across three different worlds (The Abandoned Village, The Haunted Forest, The Cursed Castle), peopled by the 13 different monster types that comprise Dracula's horde. The challenge is to eliminate said beasties by moving your torch about the screen, which casts brilliant beams of light and dark shadows about the play area. Light up as many ghouls as you can and strike with a powerful tonic, banishing them to oblivion. But, be careful — not all that dwell in The Shadow Blight are creatures of darkness, and those that aren't must be spared. It's a highly innovative puzzle mechanic, which we've never encountered before.

In each level you control the placement of your torch by either dragging it about the screen with a finger or tapping on a new target destination. In the majority of the Story Mode at the core of the game, you use these controls to arrange your torchlight just so, and then trigger the colored potions when you're ready. But, as I came to find out after getting my hands on the title, at the completion of each world lies a boss battle, of sorts, that puts your fingers in motion at a rather quick clip. In these encounters, a sinister being of evil leaps from the top of one obstacle to another, firing at you all the while. Only during these brief jaunts can you illuminate and decimate, while dodging his attacks, of course. It's nice to find a touch of arcade action thrown into the mix, like this.

Survival Mode is a timed affair where the pressure's on to figure out the proper potion sequence and get your torch placed as efficiently as possible. Because enemy creatures are sometimes wrapped in several multi-colored layers of protection, it really can put your brain through the ringer to get the potion sequence and torch positions laid out in sound order. And, midway through the game, the arrival of ghosts -- which can only be seen in shadow -- are no help at all. Deliciously frustrating, it is.

Integration with Chillingo's Crystal social game network allows online achievement and score tracking.

While the screenshots and preview video definitely piqued my interest, Helsing's Fire is even better than I expected. Dark gothic creatures wrapped up in amusing sequences of Victorian dialogue and, not to be forgotten, that excellent light and shadow puzzle mechanic. It's one of the most unique games I've ever played and is a true App Store gem. Surely only a creature of darkness would let this one slip by them.

TouchArcade Rating:

If you've been following TouchArcade, chances are you've already seen this video, but like anything related to the Star Wars movies, it almost seems to be tradition to release things, then re-release them (and often times re-re-release them). This time, the video is narrated by Fluffy Logic designer Tomas Rawlings. Rawlings explains some of the strategies used in the game, such as building trenches and placing infantry in those trenches which offer them a defensive bonus.

Trenches also allow you to funnel enemy units, and the incoming attackers will also fire on your defenses instead of just walking by like most creeps in tower defense games. Star Wars: Battle for Hoth is scheduled for release on the 15th for $2.99, and you can expect a full review as soon as we get the game in our hot little hands.

An ambiguous image has been making the rounds over the weekend as casual game development king PopCap has sent out save the date emails for August 2nd in San Francisco, CA. This is quite literally all we know right now, but judging by the wild success of both the original Plants vs. Zombies for the Mac and PC, as well as the chart-topping Plants vs. Zombies [$2.99] and Plants vs. Zombies HD [$9.99] for the iPad, it's no surprise that PopCap would be making a sequel.

If this is the first you've heard of Plants vs. Zombies, here's the gist of the game from our review:

In Plants vs. Zombies, Popcap takes the standard tower defense formula and greatly simplifies it. Instead of a path to build towers along, you drop seeds in your yard which then grow in to plants that have various offensive or defensive capabilities. The yard is organized in a grid, and zombies move straight across the row they spawn on, munching (or in some cases jumping or flying over) anything that they come in contact with.

A gauge on the top of the screen shows how close you are to the end of the level, with flags indicating when big waves of zombies are going to come. When you clear a stage, you're often awarded with the seeds of one more of the nearly 50 included plants. This seemingly constant progression does a great job of keeping you interested, as it always seems like you have a new toy to play with. To shake things up even more, mini game levels are mixed in, including a bowling game of sorts, a whack-a-mole game with zombies, and others.

We awarded Plants vs. Zombies for the iPhone 5 stars, and the iPad game is worth a look too as it includes a survival mode, more mini games, and the graphics look simply fantastic on the iPad screen. PopCap seems to have a knack for creating fun games that appeal to everyone from the most hardcore FPS player to your grandma, and I expect Plants vs Zombies 2 to be no different. It seems a sequel is inevitable, I just hope they release it simultaneously on the App Store instead of making iOS gamers wait nearly a year for a port like the first Plants vs Zombies.

If you've found yourself stricken with a severe case of the Mondays, why not give your life some perspective and appreciate the fact that unlike the citizens of The Raging Dead [Free], you're not currently running for your life in a city filled with zombies with some omnipotent finger deciding whether or not your life is sacrifice for the greater good. (Or, if you are in a situation like this, I'd wonder why it is you're reading TouchArcade instead of, well, not getting your brain eaten.)

We reviewed The Raging Dead when it was released earlier this year, and as someone who was always oddly captivated by the various Java-powered zombie infection simulators that made the rounds years ago, I thought the game was really cool. Much like said simulators, The Raging Dead uses similar AI to populate a game world which initially only has a few zombies (red dots) who instantly begin pursuing the humans (blue dots).

From our review:

As you might imagine, entire cities can be completely overrun with zombies unless the undead are stopped quickly, and that's where the player comes in. Tapping on the screen will drop a bomb (or fire the machine gun, if that's your preference), killing all zombies in the impact area. That impact area is painfully small at first, and that combined with the extremely zoomed out view in each level makes precision a bit difficult. Luckily, weapons can be upgraded with money earned at the end of each level to allow for a more forgiving blast radius, so players will be able to eliminate the zombie threat quickly and efficiently.

The interesting part of the game becomes apparent when you realize that your weapon has limitations like reload speed time, and you must sacrifice some civilians in order to prevent the infection from hitting everywhere in the city at once. The strategy is to quickly eliminate all the scattered zombies at the start of the level, and by the time you've done that it's likely that the one or two that you missed have created a small army around their locations. That's just the sacrifice that you'll have to make if you want to be successful, because the only way to win is the eventually get all the zombies in a corner where they have no more civilian targets to infect and wipe them out all at once.

22 levels are included, as well as two weapons which you can upgrade in between levels. At the end of each level you're graded, earn money for said upgrades, and potentially unlock in-game medals based on how many humans survive as well as how little damage you did to the surrounding city. I fully realize there are entirely too many zombie games on the App Store, but if you've got room on your device for just one more, The Raging Dead is worth a try especially while it's free.

Just last week we reported that Halfbrick Studio's popular iPhone fruit slicing game Fruit Ninja [99¢] had surpassed the 1 million download mark, and that a separate iPad version was on the horizon. Yesterday, a video showcasing the iPad version was released, and it's definitely looking impressive. The screen on the iPad allows for a larger play area and some frantic multitouch slicing, and the beefier processing power ensures everything runs at a silky smooth framerate – even in the new same-device multiplayer mode.

The multiplayer mode looks to be a huge draw for Fruit Ninja HD and it appears that at least one facet to this will be sending bombs over to your opponent, which should make for some heated two player battles. Take a peek at the new video for yourself:

To be perfectly honest, I think the guys at Halfbrick just like to tell their boss they're going to do some “work”, dress up in ninja and fruit costumes, and run around a playground all afternoon karate kicking each other. But you can't deny that they've come up with some high quality and humorous trailers for their games, which is always a nice treat beyond just straight in-game footage. This latest video has us really excited for Fruit Ninja HD, which if all goes well should be releasing this week.

Ever since we spotted the online first-person shooter Archetype in limited release, we'd been dying to try the game out. At long last, Archetype was released to the global App Store this past week to much fanfare and a huge marketing campaign. After finally getting our hands on it and spending some quality time playing, we can safely say that Archetype is one impressive game, and developer Villain has, for the most part, followed through on their promises for the title. That's not to say there aren't a few issues with it, or a wish list of things we'd like to see added, but all said, Archetype delivers one of the most robust, beautiful, and most importantly fun FPS experiences that can be had on the iPhone.

For starters, if you have Apple's new iPhone 4 then you are treated to some unbelievably crisp graphics. The textures that make up the levels and player models aren't the most detailed -- which is fine, as this allows the game to run at an ultra-smooth clip -- but, on the retina display, it really approaches a high definition console game running on the small screen. For all other devices, including the first generation of iPhones and iPod touches, the game is still very graphically impressive and maintains a solid framerate. The five stages available in the game are also visually quite nice, and are all indoor arenas with a high tech industrial look similar to games like Eliminate or the Halo series. It's not a groundbreaking style, but it gets the job done while maintaining good performance across all devices.

Controls in Archetype are a familiar dual analog stick setup that works well, though doesn't leave many options for players that prefer different control schemes. The two sticks are visually situated in the usual spots in the lower corners, but can actually be activated by touching nearly anywhere on either half of the screen. This lends itself well to people who like the “touch anywhere” or “swipe the screen to aim” mechanics of similar touch screen FPS games. Your weapon can be very quickly changed by touching the upper right corner and grenades are thrown by touching the upper left corner. A melee attack is performed by touching the bottom of the screen anywhere in between the two analog sticks, which is also where the radar is displayed. Minor options to invert the aiming axis or adjust sensitivity are available, but the default control scheme described is basically all you get. This isn't really a bad thing though, as they do work very well and are semi-flexible, but surely won't suit every single gamer.

(more...)

TouchArcade Rating:

One of the first top-down shooters worth playing to appear in the App Store was Lazrhog's iPhone port of Kenta Cho's 2003 "bullet hell" shooter rRootage. This weekend, Miko Wohlgemuth released his own iPhone adaptation of Cho's vector-based shooter, rRootage Online [App Store].

rRootage Online is, of course, rather similar to Lazrhog's early App Store offering, but comes packed with a number of additional bells and whistles. It features music and sound effects, multitouch controls, online scoreboards, and a number of different playmodes, which really notches up the experience.

• Normal Mode -- This is the standard playmode. Your special weapon (two finger tap) is a bomb that wipes out enemy bullets.
• PSY Mode -- The trick here is to closely graze enemy bullets. With each graze, an onscreen graze meter increases. Once full, your ship becomes invincible for a short period. Your special weapon is the ability to roll, slowing the ship and widening the range with which your ship can graze bullets.
• IKA Mode -- A nod to Ikaruga, in this mode your ship is either black or white. The special weapon is to change your ship's color. Bullets, as well, are black and white and those the same color as your ship cause no damage upon impact.
• GW Mode -- In this mode, your special weapon is a reflector, which reflects enemy bullets away from your ship, tied to an onscreen reflector meter.

In each mode, the overall goal is to shoot shoot shoot and dodge dodge dodge. And, perhaps the most noteworthy feature of this release versus the earlier App Store version is full playability under iOS 4.

Anyone who enjoys a nice 2D shooter should grab this one instantly. After all, it's free, funded by iAds on the high scrore screen. Our forum readers are loving it.

Very rarely, an absolute gem flies under our radar, as seems to be the case with Jagex Games Studio's Miner Disturbance [App Store]. Based on a PC game by the same name, Miner Disturbance is an alternate take on the classic Dig Dug formula.

In Miner Disturbance, you take control of a very Mario-esque miner, whose job it is to pick a rather hazardous mountain clean of all its precious metals. Part platformer, part puzzle game, Miner Disturbance has you haphazardly negotiating a series of deteriorating, volcanic, gassy and waterlogged mine-shafts...filled with nasty critters no less.

Your miner is directed via a virtual thumbstick and on-screen buttons. One button enables you to dig through rock and the other is your life-saving jump button. Though the controls are simple, Jagex Games Studios (of Runescape fame) have put effort into making your mining life as easy as possible. Pressing in a direction while pressing your dig button will stop your miner from tumbling down precarious drops, enabling you to easily pick at rock on the other side of the gap.

Once learned this becomes an essential tool, as in order to successfully complete each of the 25 levels' objectives and achieve a gold rating, you will need to dig yourself an elaborate maze to avoid or negotiate the pitfalls you encounter. These stem from simple water-logged areas, where digging around submerged areas realistically spreads the water, to dangerous lava-filled caverns, or areas where poisonous mushrooms emit a toxic gas when disturbed. Add to this the necessary rats, moles, spiders and bats that naturally inhabit these areas, and you're never short an obstacle or three.

Completing each of the level's objectives has the added boon of rewarding you with coins, which can be spent upgrading your miner's abilities. These are essential to reaching the lowest depths and returning alive (the latter a requisite of each and every level) as they improve things such as jumping height, health and water and gas breathing time. Equipment can also assist you to walk over lava, climb sheer rock faces, and locate enemies and artefacts.

To complement the core missions, Miner Disturbance uses these artefacts in a meta-game of sorts, displaying the artefact pieces you've collected in a museum accessible via your overworld map. A volcano is also unlocked after the inital few missions that is essentially a randomly-generated survival mission that records your highscores to compare with your friends.

The volcano is peppered with the same dangers as the standard levels, with the added peril of triggering a volcano if your digging makes the volcano unstable. This commences a mad back-track as you attempt to out-run the forthcoming eruption; some of the best fun to be had with the game. And your results are all recorded in OpenFeint or able to be shared with your friends via Twitter or Facebook.

Jagex Game Studios have already released 5 free levels featuring an entirely new arctic world; complete with new icy obstacles to overcome and a new artefact to discover. Even without the added sweetener, Miner Disturbance is a terrific action-packed puzzle platformer that should keep you entertained for hours as you pick your way through devilishly concocted mineshafts. The iOS version also benefits from a faithful but more detailed and glossy re-imagination of the original artwork.

For those still on the fence, or if you're simply interested in sampling the gameplay first, have a go at the free online Java version.

(Limited 50% Off Update Sale)

Resolve Market Research recently conducted an online survey that solicited usage pattern feedback from users of mobile devices of various types, including a specific look at how users perceive the iPad both before and after owning the device. As it turns out, gaming is no small deal on the iPad.

According to the survey, 28% of iPad-using respondents indicated that gaming was one of their main uses on the device. What's more 23% said that between the iPad, smartphones and various portable gaming devices, the iPad is the most enjoyable for playing games. In fact, 38% of iPad owners responding to the survey indicated that they had no desire to purchase a different mobile gaming device.

The iPad is clearly a formidable mobile gaming device, sporting the same 1GHz A4 processor used in the iPhone 4. And, while we've seen a number of quality iPad game titles appear in the App Store, the iPad gaming scene is still young. We're anxious to see, down the road, just how game developers make use of the iPad's 1024x768 pixel display and powerful processing unit.

[ via Joystiq ]

As long-time readers are surely aware, I'm a retro gaming nut and, within that classification, am a particular fan of the roguelike / dungeon crawler genre. Gamers like me were handed real treat early last year when ChronoSoft released Rogue Touch [App Store], an iPhone adaptation of / enhancement to the 1980 genre-defining Rogue. One of my absolute favorite iPhone games, Rogue Touch really takes me back to those long hours spent in front of Rogue on my Atari ST back in 1987.

Developer Kevin Hill has done a great job of updating the game since its initial release, and in ways strongly shaped by the user community in the Touch Arcade forums, Kevin tells me. He's just released version 1.52 of Rogue Touch [link] that addresses iOS 4 performance issues along with a number of other enhancements:

• Hotfix for daemon saving issue at home button press / incoming call answer
• iOS 4 speed improvements (any device will play faster now!)
• Nymphs no longer steal the *last* item of your pack, but a truly random magic item from you
• Venus Flytraps now prevent you from going down stairs if held in their vines
• Scroll of Safe Passage fixed- it would actually *hide* previously found traps without disarming them. Not anymore!
• Tweaks to search messages (scrawlings and gold in cracks will be less frequent)
• Slimes will no longer split when hit with a War Hammer
• Knockback Attacks! You have a chance to push back a monster with each successful blow you strike! The chance grows with increased strength and higher experience levels. Monsters that get pushed into a wall or another monster take additional damage!

It's great to see the game continue to evolve and, in fact, Kevin indicates that the version 1.5.3 update will be submitted this week, offering Retina Display text-support, Fast App Switching / Multitasking support, even faster speeds under iOS 4, and maybe a new magic item or two. But that's not all the news he had to share from the world of Rogue Touch...

The developer, alongside his forthcoming Spirit Hunter Mineko, is presently working on Rogue Touch EX, a take on the formula that should have greater appeal to more casual gamers than the original.

Rogue Touch EX is a side project. It is planned to be a more slick, streamlined experience utilizing knowledge gained in working on Spirit Hunter Mineko this year. The “EX” stands for enhanced and extended. Core gameplay will remain “Rogue”, but the presentation will be unlike any version of Rogue ever seen. The fact is most people find rogue-likes unappealing to look at, but may actually enjoy the game if given a chance. Rogue Touch EX and Spirit Hunter Mineko are different takes on the idea of making a more appealing experience.

Major features of Rogue Touch EX, as listed by the developer:

• Professional sprite artwork and more animation, improved lighting effects, everything presented on screen using OpenGL for fluid motion
• It will be a universal app, with high resolution support on iPad and iPhone 4 Retina Display
• An analog / swipe anywhere control scheme, improved context actions, and inventory system
• Gamecenter support

Rogue Touch EX is in the early stages right now, and should see an App Store release sometime later this year. Fans of the original can rest assured that it will continue to evolve alongside the new title. We'll keep readers informed as more details emerge surrounding all of ChronoSoft's works in progress.

Don't get me wrong, I love groaning at the crazy things developers submit to the App Store just as much as the next guy, but every so often games come along that would be all too easy easy to instantly dismiss as junk which actually are not only worth a look, but also have lived long lives on my iPhone. So anyway, here are three incredibly silly games which I've managed to derive an odd amount of enjoyment out of, in order of best to absolute worst. I can't really throw the official TouchArcade recommendation behind any of them, but if you like having games on your phone that make you wonder, "Why does this exist?", here is a good place to start:

Frank Further, $1.99 - The sequel to Hot Dog Down a Hallway [Free], this game features similar gameplay to most cannon games in that you control the angle and power of the cannon, then tilt to control whatever object you're shooting. There's a zillion games that use this mechanic between free Flash games and oodles of similar titles on the App Store. Frank Further is basically the same as Hot Dog Down a Hallway, except it has three different skins:

Remix, which uses a similar graphical style to the original Hot Dog Down a Hallway, Retro, which features awesome old school pixel art and obstacles from Pitfall, Super Mario Brothers, and Adventure, and finally Clay, inspired by claymation. Frank Further comes loaded with OpenFeint for high scores as well as achievements, and there's even a vegetarian mode if you're not in to grinding up pigs.

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Vuvuzela vs Zombies, Free - This game combines pretty much everything wrong with the App Store currently in to one game. The only thing it's missing is some kind of fart mode or amazing amounts of DLC. Playing off recent trends of endless vuvuzela apps following the World Cup, the incessant need for iPhone developers to include zombies in to absolutely everything, and obnoxious constantly rotating AdMob ads, Vuvuzela vs Zombies is absolutely terrible.

But, because this game is so terrible, I can't help but laugh at it. They've turned the incredibly annoying vuvuzela in to a weapon to blow the heads off of legions of undead, ferocious dogs, and birds, which somehow give you unlimited breath to go on a vuvuzela tootin' frenzy. It's also completely free, so even though the novelty will likely wear off quickly, it won't cost you anything except the few seconds of time it takes to download.

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Ow My Balls!, 99¢ - I've been looking for an excuse to post about this game since I first discovered it over a year ago. Since then, it's been downloaded over a million times and even featured in the Los Angeles Times. Inspired by the movie Idiocracy, Ow My Balls! begins with kicking "Joe the Juggler" off the roof of a building, at which point you rack his balls on as many obstacles as possible, tilting to control, and tapping to fart which briefly sends you shooting back up in the air.

If you're able to make it all the way to the end of Ow My Balls!, there is a surprise in store which I absolutely refuse to spoil. Each ball-busting attempt ends with a set of groans, and you can even record your own if you have a device with a microphone. Also, I'm quoted in the iTunes description as describing Ow My Balls! as the "Citizen Kane of iPhone gaming," which is statement I will stand behind completely.

A new game released this week that caught our eye is Rhythm Spirit [$2.99] by developer Monad Games. Its focus is on being a rhythm based fighting game, similar to the Nintendo DS title Draglade from a few years ago, but offers more beyond just squaring off against an opponent. It's not the greatest rhythm game, and not the greatest action game, but it combines the two elements in a way that is really enjoyable and does it all with fantastic graphics and a phenomenal soundtrack to boot.

You'll play as the ninja Toshi who is infected with a strange evil spirit that gives him powerful martial arts skills that are controlled by tapping the onscreen buttons in rhythm to the music. Icons enter the screen from both the left and right side and must be tapped when they hit the very middle. Most levels feature one-on-one fighting with how well you do keeping up with the rhythm directly affecting your offensive and defensive performance. Other types of levels are thrown in for variety like the very first level that has you outrunning a group of enemy ninjas, or a level where you must play a song on a flute to appease a giant frog into letting you pass his pond.

This video demonstrates the gameplay and just how crazy some of the game elements are:

What really makes Rhythm Spirit a delight is the colorful 2D art style and the truly excellent music. The soundtrack is bass heavy electronic music with subtle Japanese stylings that really fits the game well. The game suggest wearing headphones while playing and I wholeheartedly agree, as not only does it sound much better but it's easier to pick out the parts of the rhythm that you need to tap in time with. There are 10 levels in the game, each with easy, normal, and hard settings and an A-F grading system based on how well you do.

As we said, it's not necessarily the best rhythm game or best fighting game, but if you're interested in something that's quite a bit different than your traditional game, and contains really high quality music and presentation, then check out Rhythm Spirit .

TouchArcade Rating:

Osmos was originally released in late August of 2009 for the PC, and went on to win numerous Editor's Choice awards as it was initially reviewed, then was awarded further at both the Independent Games Festival, PAX, and even the Spike TV 2009 Video Game Awards. In fact, if you want to see just how much the gaming media loves Osmos, take a peek at their web site where they've got links to a ridiculous amount of reviews with all of them near the top of the scale each media outlet used.

As I mentioned when we first heard about the game coming to the iPad, it didn't take much more than a few seconds of playing the game on my computer to realize just how well it could work on the iPad. I'm happy to report that my suspicions were correct, and Osmos for iPad [$4.99] is a fantastic fit for the device. To get players up to speed on the iPad, Osmos includes "Odyssey mode" which is a 27 level tutorial of sorts which will walk you through everything there is to know about the game.

Osmos has a wide variety of different level types, which all revolve around one common theme: Be the biggest. You control a tiny organism called a "mote". By tapping in a direction, you expel mass towards where you tapped, and your mote goes zooming off the other direction. With each tap you lose a little bit of your mass, so it doesn't take long before you're making extremely calculated taps to get exactly where you want to go with minimal loss of size. Your mote can absorb any mote that it smaller than it, but it also can be absorbed by any mote that is larger than it. You can also zoom in or out using a pinching gesture.

This gameplay mechanic works extremely well on the iPad, and is expertly paired with some fantastic mellow electronica that does a great job of setting the mood of the game. Initially levels simply ask you to be the biggest, but it doesn't take long until Osmos throws other level types at you such as levels where everything is orbiting around a central mass and you must carefully expel your own mass to change your orbit to absorb other motes as well as levels that require you to capture a specific mote.

These levels are my favorite as the "enemy mote" (if you'd even call it that) is also trying to absorb anything smaller than it to get bigger than you to munch your mote up. Since there are only so many smaller motes around for you to absorb initially, these levels turn in to a really fun race for motes you can absorb while avoiding larger ones that will absorb you, and finally absorbing your target mote.

In all, eight different levels types are included, which all have their own unique mechanic centralized around the physics engine powering Osmos. You can even speed up or slow down time by swiping the screen, a function that becomes very handy in later levels when you need time for precise movements. Following the completion of Odyssey mode, arcade mode is unlocked which allows you to play any level type on whatever difficulty level you choose. OpenFeint is even bundled in for tracking the various in-game achievements.

If you're curious about Osmos, there isn't a lite version, but there's a free demo for Windows, OSX, and Linux available on the Osmos web site. Overall, Osmos is a great experience, and while I'm still waiting for a game that feels like it could only exist on the iPad, Osmos is definitely a game that feels a whole lot better on the device.