The dual-stick shooter is an overcrowded genre on the App Store, but every once in a while one of them stands out from the pack. Developer Facet Studios is working on a new dual-stick shooter called Etolis: Arena, and based on their preview video it looks like it may just have a chance of standing out. Etolis: Arena is a space-themed game that almost has a Halo-like look to it, with metallic ship chambers and bright neon highlights. Rather than just one big open map like most dual-stick shooters, the levels in Etolis: Arena have a lot more structure, and are made up of different corridors and rooms.

You'll play as a soldier of the United Front Alliance who has been captured during an invasion of the planet Etolis by an army known as the Kraven. The Queen of the Kraven, Natus, has requested that you fight for your life in what is known as the Arena for her amusement. Battles consist of 3 waves of attackers per round, with an endless amount of rounds across 5 different maps. As you defeat each wave, the Queen will give you honor points which can be used to upgrade your weapons to take on the increasingly difficult enemies. The developer details some of the features of Etolis: Arena:

- Battle for survival on 5 different maps
- Use 7 different weapons and 3 grenade types to destroy your enemies
- Battle against 11 different enemy types
- Use 1 of 4 temporary special abilities for those emergency moments (invisibility, invincibility, self explosion, and endless ammo)
- Unlock secret information about the invasion as you play in different locations
- Leader boards and Achievements
- Compelling Music

Etolis: Arena is still one to two months off from release, but is looking pretty nice in the teaser trailer. The structured arenas seem like a fun place to do battle, and the game has a cool style and impressive graphics to complement this aspect. There's also a fairly fleshed-out storyline to accompany all the action, which can be rare in games of this type. More information and screens can be found in the upcoming game thread in our forums, and we'll bring you more news on Etolis: Arena as it becomes available.

It was just about this time last year that Apple introduced the 3.1 firmware update to the iPhone that allowed developers to access the built-in camera for games and apps. What followed was an avalanche of “Augmented Reality” games, or in other words games that utilized real-time images from the iPhone camera and added digital graphical effects over those images to create gameplay out of the environments in front of you. Unfortunately, nothing too spectacular ever emerged from this technology, and most games consisted of shallow gameplay with Space Invaders-type graphics slapped over the camera's view. There have been some interesting uses of Augmented Reality on the iPhone just to be clear, but as far as gaming was concerned it never amounted to more than just a gimmick.

Now it seems that developer Int13 is trying something a bit different to bring a more authentic Augmented Reality experience to the iPhone (and camera-enabled iPod touches) with their upcoming game ARDefender. The way ARDefender works is that you'll print out an image from a PDF file available on their website, and this special image will be read by the camera and create a tower where the image is placed. The goal of the game is to defend that tower from waves of enemies by moving your device around the fixed position of the tower to take aim and blast away at them. It may sound a little simplistic gameplay-wise, but what I really like is how convincingly the tower and enemies seem to actually be on the table, which can be seen in the video below.

We previewed a technology very similar to that used in ARDefender way back in March of last year at GDC, but at that time use of the iPhone camera APIs was off limits to developers. The technology has also been used in the Playstation 3 game Eye of Judgment, and even in this incredible Augmented Reality tattoo. Ideas like this are obviously possible on the iPhone as well, and it seems like ARDefender is a step in the right direction. All I've ever really wanted from an Augmented Reality game is for it to make me actually feel like something is being created in the real life space around me, and by the looks of things ARDefender does just that.

It shouldn't be too long before we can get our hands on the game either, as ARDefender has already been submitted to Apple. Interestingly, the game has been available for over a month on the Samsung Wave, and impressions from those gamers have been positive. They've even come up with some clever ideas on how to use the technology, like printing out a huge version of the PDF image to create a gigantic tower and playing the game from an elevated area like a balcony, or pulling up the PDF on their computer at work and pointing their phone at it to play the game directly on the screen. We'll be sure to take a closer look at ARDefender when it gets released in the near future.

Some of you gamers out there may remember a GameStop ad campaign from a couple of years ago featuring a foul-mouthed little bunny named Buck who would find himself in funny situations as he made his way through fake versions of Mario-like 2D platforming games. For reference, there is a nice montage video on YouTube showing some of Buck's commercials. The ads were a hit, and there was even a short-lived game available on GameStop's website that let you play through a level featured in one of the commercials. Now, GameStop has given Buck another chance at video game stardom in a new iPhone game just released on the App Store called Buck and the Coin of Destiny [99¢].

Buck and the Coin of Destiny is an auto-running platforming game that have become quite popular with the success of games like Canabalt [$2.99] and Monster Dash [99¢]. There's a Story mode that has Buck running through five different video game-themed levels in an effort to get from the start to the finish of each level as the story of the Coin of Destiny unfolds. For example, one level is reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda games, one is very Castlevania-esque, and before and after each level are some funny animated Buck the Bunny cutscenes. Buck automatically runs to the right and tapping the screen allows you to jump or double-jump as you collect coins and powerups while avoiding spikes, pits, and enemies.

The five levels of the Story mode are fairly short, and it won't take too long to complete the whole campaign. However, there is an Arcade mode that lets you play through any of the five level themes in randomly generated endless fashion. This mode has the potential for unlimited replayability, but I do have one small gripe about it. You start the endless portion with only one heart, meaning if you hit any hazard it's instantly game over. Like the Story mode, you can pick up additional hearts along the way, up to a total of eight. That's fine for the Story levels that have a definitive ending, but in endless mode the ability to pick up additional hearts can cause a game to drag on for a pretty long time. I'd much prefer to see how far I can make it with the threat of instant death looming, or even just a cap of 3 or 4 hearts instead.

The gameplay in Buck and the Coin of Destiny isn't the best available in the running platform genre, but it's really not bad at all. The jumping controls are responsive, the level designs are interesting, and it's simple and fun to play. I'm really surprised by how much I continue to come back to Coin of Destiny. The Story portion is pretty short, but a fun ride while it lasts. The end of the game offers a “to be continued…” so the brevity may be rectified in the future with updates. The endless Arcade mode is a great addition to lengthen out the game, even if it does tend to drag on a bit. There's also a number of achievements to earn in the game, and local scores are kept for the Story mode and each individual Arcade level. Sadly there's no Game Center integration or online functionality other than the ability to share your scores over Facebook.

If you were familiar with the GameStop Buck commercials, like many of the players in our forums, then you'll likely get your dollar's worth of enjoyment on the cutscenes alone. If you don't really care about the Buck character but are looking for a new running platform game, then Buck and the Coin of Destiny really isn't a bad choice at all. I'd really like to see the game evolve with updates to add more content to the Story mode, some tweaks to the endless Arcade mode, and some sort of online functionality for achievements and high scores. There's a really nice foundation in place here, and even in its current state Buck and the Coin of Destiny is a solid running platformer for the price.

If you've found yourself excited by all the coverage of Galaxy on Fire 2 lately between the initial set of screenshots, the WWDC hands-on, the teaser trailer, and finally the full trailer, this is a freebie you won't want to miss. Galaxy on Fire 3D was released in early 2009, and includes over 20 hours of space shootin' and tradin' gameplay. It feels a little dated compared to more recent shooters, but that doesn't make the game any less fun to play through.

Galaxy on Fire 2 is scheduled for release this October, and while I doubt that playing through the first one will be at all required to enjoy the second... There's no reason not to give this game a try, especially while it's free.

If you've been searching for an excuse to either buy or replay either Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [$2.99 / HD] or Pix'n Love Rush [99¢], how about this: Both have been updated with Game Center support, sporting online leaderboards and achievements. In case you missed these games the first time around, here's the rundown on both:

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, $2.99 - Our game of the year for 2009, we explain the premise in our review:

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor is a beautifully created action (adventure?) game that places you in the role of a spider who must spin webs in order capture enough food to make it to the next level. Use up too much silk between meals and you won't survive.

As a spider, you are able to crawl across objects, jump great lengths and lay down silk to weave your web. Spinning a web simply requires you to create closed geometric shapes using your silk. Tapping on the spider toggles silk production while swiping on the spider causes it to jump. Finally, crawling is invoked by simply tapping on the screen. All in all, the controls work incredibly well and makes it feel like a natural iPhone game.

Left and right arrows control movement, and separate buttons control jumping and firing. You can only shoot straight up in the air Space Invaders-style and must be cautious with your bullets as the ones that miss the mark will fall back down to the ground, possibly hitting you if you aren't careful. Collecting coins with a plus symbol will net you 250 points, and touching boxes with a minus symbol with deduct 500 points. There are enemies to take out with your weapon, sometimes moving and sometimes stationary, but there are also angels which must be protected from both the bad guys and your own errant bullets.

Grabbing coins without getting hurt while avoiding minus boxes will work towards building up a multiplier to x2, x5, and x10. A handy indicator in the upper right corner shows you how close you are to each one, and similarly a heart icon in the upper right displays your remaining life. Beyond worrying about what level type is thrown at you next, you must constantly be getting the good stuff while avoiding the bad stuff, and it's a wonderful challenge of your dexterity.

Both of these games are absolutely fantastic, and while I'm reluctant to call Pix'n Love Rush a classic quite yet, Spider is without a doubt. If you're looking for some great games to fill up your Game Center achievement listing, look no further than either of these.

According to German iPhone site iFun.de, an RPG by EA entitled Heroes Lore is coming to the App Store in late October. Revealed during an iPhone session at 4010, the following video was shot showing some brief gameplay:

We don't have many details right now, but Heroes Lore is a series of J2ME RPG's that have been hugely popular in Asian markets. It's unclear whether this is a port of one of the Heroes Lore games or an entirely new game, but we hope to have more information soon.

Yesterday, developer Capcom announced that  they are having a 99¢ blowout sale on eight of their App Store titles. My personal picks of the bunch are Resident Evil 4 which is a scaled down version of the console title that still retains much of the same content and gameplay, and Dark Void Zero which is an 8-bit "demake" of the console title Dark Void and completely nails the feeling of playing an old NES game (right down to blowing in the cartridge when starting it up). Check over the list, and if there's something on there you've been waiting to pick up now would be a great time to do so.

Resident Evil 4, - $4.99 → 99¢

1942: First Strike, - $1.99 → 99¢

Mega Man II, - $2.99 → 99¢

Dark Void Zero, - $2.99 → 99¢

Cash Cab, - $4.99 → 99¢

Cash Cab: Las Vegas, - $1.99 → 99¢

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? 2010, - $1.99 → 99¢

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2010, - $1.99 → 99¢

The sale is set to last through the coming weekend, so make sure to grab any titles you want before they return to their original prices. As always, you can keep an eye on all the price changes throughout the App Store using AppShopper.com or the recently released AppShopper [Free] app for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

A little more than a month ago, iPhone giant Gameloft first announced a sequel to Gangstar: West Coast Hustle [$4.99 / Free / HD], an open-world crime game which we liked quite a bit in our review despite a few disappointments. Gangstar: Miami Vindication [$6.99] was released this evening, and while several of our annoyances from the first have been tweaked or massaged to be less problematic, there's still a few things keeping Miami Vindication from being our favorite thug simulator.

Much like the original, Gangstar: Miami Vindication features a full city to explore, a wide variety of vehicles to steal, weapons ranging from baseball bats to flame throwers, and a heap of missions to complete. (75 to be exact.) The game plays exactly how you'd expect it to play if you've ever played a Grand Theft Auto or similar type of open world crime game. You can play through the series of missions which vary wildly from something as simple to going to a particular point in the city to stealing a specific car or even racing. Alternatively, you can just disregard the missions entirely and instead just drive around the city, stealing cars, running from the police, or really doing whatever you feel like doing.

While there isn't a whole lot of innovation to be found in Miami Vindication, it has been improved in some ways over the original. For instance, the game is fully voiced over and the voice acting actually seems to be a little better than your typical Gameloft game-- at least for major characters. Gameloft also has been boasting the fact that the game was written in part by one of the writers from the TV show The Wire. This story consists of dabbling in the various sectors of the Miami criminal underground on the hunt for your missing brother. I don't see it winning any awards, but by and large the dialog in Miami Hustle is substantially less cringeworthy than West Coast Hustle.

Controls seem to be a lot tighter than the original, offering three different options: Tilt, a virtual steering wheel, and a slider which I've found myself preferring. When on a motorcycle, tilting your device back and forth executes wheelies and stoppies although riding a wheelie for any length of time usually seems to result in a spectacular crash. Lighting is improved as well, resulting in some fairly spectacular views during sunset and sunrise as the entire city is bathed in warm sunlight.

Unfortunately, even though the lighting is better, Miami Vindication is home to some heinously low polygon models. Cars look decent, but character models look absolutely dreadful. Animations are extremely limited, faces lack depth, there are no fingers to be found anywhere, and no lips move when anyone speaks. Instead, they just flail their arms about and bop their heads back and forth. With how much of the game is spent watching two characters talk to each other, this soon becomes incredibly distracting.

The draw distance is decent, but pop-in is considerable. You can see buildings and terrain from far away, but trees and other small details all appear incredibly close to your character. Much like the original Gangstar, the city of Miami in Miami Vindication is terribly barren. Only a few cars will ever appear on screen at once, and pedestrians are rare as can be. Everything feels entirely too clean and empty. Gameloft did implement some varied areas to the city instead of being totally metropolitan, but all the subareas all feel equally lonely and empty.

If you can get past the relatively sparse graphical environment, there really isn't anything else like Miami Vindication on the App Store. Riding around on motorcycles and boats is a lot of fun, and if you can find a helicopter, flying around the city is really pretty cool. I still prefer Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [$9.99 / Free / HD], but if you don't like the top-down view and want a full 3D experience, Gangstar: Miami Vindication is worth exploring.

Last month we brought news that developer One Man Left had announced that their popular iPhone combat-avoidance game Tilt to Live [$2.99]would be appearing in native iPad form. Today they released the first trailer showing the iPad incarnation in action. Rather than just scale the graphics up to suit the larger size of the iPad screen, One Man Left has actually created a slightly reworked version of the original game and instead used the bigger screen to provide a playfield that is four times the size of the iPhone version, showcased in the following trailer:

Tilt to Live HD has already been submitted to Apple, and barring any unforeseen complications One Man Left expects it to be available September 30th. It will be free to download initially, with a limited version of Classic mode available to play. If you enjoy that sampling you can download the entire rest of the game, which includes a revised version of Gauntlet mode, for a $3.99 in-app purchase. If this is somehow the first you've heard of Tilt to Live, then check out our full review of the iPhone version as well as our coverage of the first and second updates that added significant content to the game.

It seems like the quality of trivia games on the App Store varies wildly from ports of time-tested classics like Trivial Pursuit [$2.99] to Justin Bieber Quizzle [99¢] and and other celebrity or TV show specific quiz games. MovieCat! [$2.99] is a breath of fresh air in that it not only seems to be a comprehensive movie trivia game, but it also features cats. Lots and lots of cats.

MovieCat! is created by the movie trivia hive mind that is FilmWise.com who are also responsible for the Invisibles series of puzzles, as well as trivia found in various magazines and newspapers around the world. The game begins by asking you for your name, and selecting a difficulty ranging from easy to hard. This controls how many cat lives (of which you have 9) you can lose on any given puzzle. From there, the first of five rounds begins.

Each round consists of five trivia challenges. These range from questions where you need to guess the movie based on the title of the chapters on its DVD, guess a movie based on some dialog, guess movies that won awards, matching actors to movies, and others. The text-based questions seem fairly comprehensive, but what really makes MovieCat! shine is the trivia challenges that involve guessing a movie based on costumes, movie posters, or even an image from a movie... which are all drawn using cats.

My main concern with so many of these trivia games is just how long you can play before you start running in to duplicate questions, but I've clocked several hours in to MovieCat! and have only been served a few questions that I've seen before. Also, there's an in-game store for future question packs, and currently there's a single pack available for 99¢. Hopefully the developers will keep additional content packs coming in the future.

If you consider yourself a movie buff at all, you'll have a blast with MovieCat!. There's even online scoring with two separate leaderboards for highest recent and all-time scores and unlockable cat scenes which feature cats drawn in famous scenes from movies to keep you playing. I've been having a ton of fun with the game, and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys movie trivia.

If you missed Mind Juice Media's Charmed [Free] the last time the game went free, now's your chance to download one of the better match three games available on the App Store. Charmed combines classic match three gameplay with accelerometer controlled gravity, the ability to freeze time, and multiple game modes. Clearing levels in Charmed involves matching charms on top of gold tiles, and this is made more difficult by immovable purple blocks which stop blocks from falling past them.

To see how this all goes together, check out the following gameplay video:

Charmed was made free today in part to promote their new game, Flight Deck: Reloaded [99¢], a military-themed line drawing game similar to Flight Control [99¢]. Definitely download Charmed while it's free, and if you can't get enough of landing planes and helicopters on color corresponding runways and landing pads, give Flight Deck: Reloaded a look.

An interesting game was released over this past weekend called Blind World [99¢] from developer Dmitriy Kuzmenko. In Blind World you're given a series of levels comprised of designs on a 2D plane. The catch is that the level designs are invisible from the start, and you can slowly uncover them by rolling a wheel along their edges by tilting the device or touching and dragging the screen. You're given points for revealing the lines that make up the level, with bonus points for uncovering large portions at a time without your wheel leaving the surface. A set amount of points must be achieved in order to complete a level. Adding to the challenge is the addition of objects inside of the level structure itself that react to the gravity along with your wheel and can hinder your progress.

What really stands out about Blind World is the excellent visual and aural experience it gives you when playing. Each increment of surface that you reveal with the wheel is a different colored splotch of color, and a moody piano piece serves as the soundtrack. Just rolling your wheel around the level and slowly uncovering the surfaces has an almost zen-like appeal to it. OpenFeint is integrated with leaderboards for each of the game's 40 levels, and a neat challenge system has you earning as many points as you can in 30 seconds on any unlocked level and then sending that score to a friend to try and beat.

It's an incredibly unique concept, but also one that is very hard to explain. This demonstration video gives you a good idea of how Blind World works:

While there are many positive points about Blind World, the one thing that really drags it down is the frustrating physics in the game. The wheel gains momentum too quickly and is hard to control once it gets going. Also it can bounce around very easily making it too difficult to control where you want it to go. If you plan to use tilt controls, then get ready for some manic spinning of your device, which is especially awkward with an iPad. I prefer the touch and drag controls myself, as you have a bit more control over how much you tilt the level and get your wheel moving, but neither really feel ideal. Another sore point to Blind World is that it has a tendency to crash fairly often, which can be infuriating if you're just about to finish a level when it happens. The developer has acknowledged working on a fix in our forums.

Blind World has the potential to stand out as something very different from what is available on the App Store. It's a really unique and artistic experience that's well suited to the platform. The crashing problem and the physics engine, however, can make it a bit of a chore to play, so we are hoping they can be tweaked in the updates.

Developer Mika Mobile, who are responsible for the popular Zombieville USA [$1.99/Lite/HD] and OMG Pirates! [$1.99/Lite], have just announced their newest iOS project called Battleheart. Battleheart is a real-time tactical strategy RPG that uses a line drawing mechanic for controlling the actions of its characters. You'll create a party of 4 from 8 different classes, and Mika Mobile assures there will be a robust skill system that offers a ton of ways to outfit your party members.

Here is an excerpt of some additional details about Battleheart that Mika Mobile has offered up in our forums:

The strategy lies in how you configure your party between the 8 classes and dozens of active and passive powers they possess. As they level up, you choose new skills which when used properly help to control the chaos of the battlefield. Examples include spells that slow time or raise your defenses, poisons that paralyze enemies, or attacks that simply deal heavy damage to thin out the enemies numbers fast.

Not too much more is known about the gameplay in Battleheart other than what can be found in the upcoming games thread, but we do know that the game will have universal iPad support and be optimized for Retina Display and fast-app switching. Mika Mobile is shooting for a release before the holidays, but are not going to rush anything out before the game is ready. They are currently working on a video preview of Battleheart in action, and we'll bring you any more news on the game as soon as it's available.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that we reviewed Solomon's Boneyard from Raptisoft, the prequel to the excellent dual-stick dungeon crawler Solomon's Keep [99¢/Lite]. In the game you'll play as one of an assortment of different wizards and witches who are trying to prevent a young Solomon Dark from desecrating the local graveyard. You'll fight against endless waves of increasingly difficult undead enemies within the confines of the cemetery. Your character will earn experience and level up allowing for upgrading of your magical abilities, and a persistent monetary system lets you collect coins for use in an upgrade shop in-between play sessions.

We really liked Solomon's Boneyard when it came out earlier this month and found it well worth the one dollar price tag, but surprisingly the game has already dropped to free for a day. The following video gives you a good idea of what the gameplay is like in Solomon's Boneyard:

If you had been on the fence about buying Solomon's Boneyard before, there's no excuse not to give it a try during this temporary price drop. If you like the gameplay, then we can definitely recommend checking out Solomon's Keep as well, which has similar elements but a structured level progression and meatier story to go along with it. Be sure to check our full reviews for Solomon's Boneyard and Solomon's Keep, as well as our take on the Solomon's Keep 2.0 update. For the grand total of 99¢ you can grab two of the better dual-stick shooter experiences on the App Store. More information and impressions can be found in the Solomon's Boneyard thread in our forums.

Adult Swim's Robot Unicorn Attack [99¢] had an update hit mere moments ago to add full OpenFeint support with both online leaderboards and achievements. If you've been annoyed by your inability to truly boast about your best runs other than posting to Facebook or Twitter, make sure you grab this update ASAP.

If you still haven't downloaded the game yet, it's still on sale for 99¢ and I really recommend picking it up. It's a quirky take on the see how far you can go platform game type that has become so popular on the App Store, and it's even available online as a free Flash game. The inclusion of online leaderboards answers my only gripe about the game, and I really can't recommend it enough.

Illusion Labs' Labyrinth 2 [$4.99 / Free] also saw an update today which aside from high resolution graphics for the Retina Display of the iPhone 4 and new iPod touch also added Game Center leaderboards and achievements. There are 36 achievements in all to farm, and if you're looking to fill up your Game Center achievement listing, Labyrinth 2 is an awesome game to do it with.

We loved Labyrinth 2 in our review, and really recommend at least trying the lite version out if you've yet to play the game yet. With Retina Display graphics and Game Center support, this is an already awesome game that just got much more awesome.