This isn't the first time that Fish Labs has dropped the price of Galaxy on Fire 3D [Free] to free, so if you missed it last time, here is your chance again. Galaxy on Fire is a space shooter that was really impressive when it was first released, but hasn't exactly aged well compared to similar recent game releases such as Gameloft's Star Batallion [$6.99] or even Freeverse's Warpgate [$4.99 / Lite / HD]... But it's still pretty awesome. If you're looking for something to do while you wait for Galaxy on Fire 2 to show up on your country's App Store, get crackin' on playing the original.

If you're in New Zealand, or other areas of the world where it's currently Wednesday, Galaxy on Fire 2 is already available for the equivalent of $6.99 USD. We'll have a review ready tonight after the game hits the US App Store at 11:00 PM EST tonight, but in the meantime you can check out the thread in our forums where anticipation has been growing all day.

Ever since Apple eased up their App Store approval guidelines, all kinds of crazy things have been getting released like the fabled GV Mobile+ [$2.99] and other apps that have been stuck in approval purgatory for months (or even years). Some emulators slipped through the cracks either by appeasing Apple's wishes such as Commodore 64 [$4.99] and others that were inexplicably approved, then immediately pulled like Nescaline. Late last night iDOS [99¢] was released. Based on DOSbox, an open source DOS emulator, iDOS is a universal app that has PC keyboard support, mouse support, multiple screen modes, and more.

Forum member Menneisyys posted the following two screenshots of iDOS running Spellcasting 101 both on his iPad and on his 4th generation iPod touch (Yes, it even runs at Retina Display resolution.):

iPad left, iPod touch right. Click for full size.

Currently we've got a fairly active thread on our forums with people trying various games running in the emulator and there's another thread on the DOSPAD forums with even more compatibility testing going on. We're going to have our own retro fetishist Blake Patterson take a closer look at iDOS very soon, so if you've got any questions or want to see any specific games tested that aren't mentioned in the threads I linked, drop a comment and we'll try to include it in our followup post.

In the meantime, if you're even remotely interested in emulating old DOS games, this is 99¢ you need to spend. While iDOS technically seems to comply with all the new approval guidelines, it's hard to say whether or not this was an accidental approval or if iDOS truly does have the blessing of Apple. In any case, I'd download it now in the interest of being safe rather than sorry if the powers that be change their mind.

UPDATE: Just for an idea of exactly how deep the iDOS rabbit hole goes, and what the emulator is actually capable of: After blasting this link out to everyone I know, my friend Sam successfully installed Windows 3.0 and is currently playing Windows Solitaire on his iPad:

This is unreal. The capabilities of this emulator is insane.

Update 2: Mark just posted the following video in our comments of him running Space Quest:

Update 3: It seems that Sierra adventure games work great in the emulator, here's a screenshot of Freddy Pharkas - Frontier Pharmacist sent to us by Fish of Four Player Coop.

Update 4: Assuming your monocle hasn't blown completely off your face yet, forum member Audioteknika just got Warcraft II running:

Update 5: Aaaaannnd just like that it's gone.

Update 6: Even though it may seem like the fun is over, if you're a jailbreaker you can download this same emulator for free. It's called DOSPAD and here's how to get it. Also, just for fun, one last screenshot of The 7th Guest running from a CDROM disc image, complete with music:

G5 Entertainment has recently released a new update to the iPhone/iPod touch version of their transport management simulation game Virtual City [$4.99/Lite]. In our original review of Virtual City last month, we found it to be a well crafted simulation that required keen skill and strategy to complete the many scenarios contained in the game.

A couple weeks ago, Virtual City HD [$9.99/Lite] launched for the iPad, and in addition to offering higher resolution graphics and a reworked UI to suit the larger screen it also boasted a sandbox mode with 5 different maps where you were free to build and maintain your own city from the ground up. This latest update to the iPhone version of Virtual City adds the same sandbox mode and 5 maps of its iPad counterpart. In addition, there is now Game Center integration and improved Retina Display support (as originally Virtual City only had partial Retina Display graphics).

If you own Virtual City then make sure to grab the latest update to take advantage of these new features. While the $2.99 introductory price for the game is now over, based on the many positive impressions in our forums the game is still a great buy at its current price of $4.99, and there are many happy customers of the iPad version in that forum as well.

Announced way back in February of this year, Beast Boxing 3D is a new first-person iOS boxing game from Goodhustle Studios. Said to be inspired by the classic Punch-Out! series and the more recent PC and Xbox Live Arcade first-person fighting game Zeno Clash, given the excellent video preview released by Goodhustle I'd say that Beast Boxing 3D is looking very close to hitting that mark.

Beast Boxing 3D will have 9 different opponents to square off against, all of which are wild and menacing looking characters. There will be 4 arena locations to fight in initially, and Goodhustle hints that additional characters and arenas may be created for future updates to the game. There will be a story driven career to play through as you face each of the 9 fighters, with the ability to rematch previous opponents to earn extra cash. This cash can be spent in a gym to upgrade your equipment and abilities in pursuit of becoming the best boxer in town. The career can be played on three difficulty settings that Goodhustle promises will each offer a different experience and cater to gamers of any skill level.

This video shows the impressive looking graphics and smooth animations of the crazy boxers in Beast Boxing 3D:

There have been a number of boxing games released on the App Store, and some very good ones at that. But it always seems that the touch screen interface holds them back from greatness as these kinds of games traditionally work best with physical buttons. The one thing I'm dying to see is how the controls will work out in Beast Boxing 3D, as I'm already sold on the visual style of the game.

Beast Boxing 3D has already been approved by Apple and Goodhustle is just waiting for the lite version to be approved so as to release them both at the same time. More info and screenshots can be found in the upcoming games thread in our forums, and we're looking forward to going a few rounds with Beast Boxing 3D when it hits the App Store hopefully within the next week or so.

Earlier this month we previewed Linkoidz, a new arcade puzzle matching game from Retro Dreamer Games, developer of Sneezies [99¢/Lite/HD]. Based on that preview video, Linkoidz looked similar to Astropop or Magical Drop Touch [$2.99] in that you actually suck in orbs from the stacks in the playfield and place them strategically in order to create matches and combos, rather than being given brand new orbs to match each time as in a game like Bust-A-Move [$4.99/Lite]. Earlier tonight Linkoidz [$1.99] went live on the App Store, and after spending some time with the game it does strike me as very much like the aforementioned games offering some fast-paced arcade matching, sharp and colorful graphics, and an interface that feels right at home on a touch screen.

In Linkoidz your spaceman character huddles inside his half-dome shield at the bottom of the screen as stacks of enemies, called Linkoidz, build up in columns on top. The more stacks of Linkoidz that pile up the more stress gets put on the shield, represented by a gauge at the very bottom. As you match Linkoidz you can regain strength in your dwindling shield meter, but if it reaches zero then the shield breaks and the Linkoidz destroy you. There are various types of Linkoidz, rocks, ice blocks, and bosses to deal with as you frantically try to keep making matches before your shield destructs. The gameplay in Linkoidz is shown really well in the following video from Retro Dreamer:

Linkoidz is a universal app that will run on both the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad, and comes equipped with Retina Display graphics for owners of 4th generation devices. There are a ton of different levels and game modes to play through as well as OpenFeint and Game Center integration for high scores and achievements. Our forum members are having a blast with the game so far, and our own impressions are really positive as well. In a marketplace that is overly saturated with color matching games, Linkoidz stands out from the pack by being designed to feel natural to the touch screen interface and offering some frantic matching fun.

Last month we posted some info on an upcoming bullet hell shooter from Firi Games called Phoenix. After going hands on with Phoenix, we ended up really liking the randomly generated nature of the game and were impressed with how well the scaling difficulty worked in practice. While the core gameplay was a lot of fun, Phoenix lacked graphical variety and overall had a rough around the edges feel. This last weekend Phoenix [99¢] was released into the App Store, and the final build of the game has a much more refined feel gameplay-wise but still has some minor issues that hold it back.

Each playthrough of Phoenix is one endless high score run with randomly generated small, medium, and large enemies. Opposing ships are comprised of many different pieces that can be put together in all sorts of ways, meaning you'll be facing a lot of enemies that look similar but can have slight differences from one another. The bad guys have a nice variety of different bullet types, and it's both fun and challenging to try and dodge the ridiculous amount that's being fired at you at any given time. Even with all the action that is taking place on screen at one time, Phoenix still runs smoothly across all of the iOS devices.

Phoenix uses a scaling difficulty level, and the developers have implemented this in a really smart way to ensure that the game is approachable by players of any skill level. Destroying enemies during play will slowly add stars to a gauge in the upper left corner, up to five. The more stars you have the more difficult the enemies are, and the more points you earn. Each time you are hit by an enemy bullet you'll lose a star and the game's difficulty will drop down a notch. Before starting each game you can choose how many stars to begin with and during the course of that play the star level will not drop below what you choose even if you're hit by enemy fire.

My biggest problem with Phoenix is one that remains from the preview build that we tried last month, and that is that the game's graphics and environment get overly repetitive. There's only one scrolling background in the game and nearly all the enemies use a similar color scheme and design so that they don't really differentiate themselves from each other. The fact that the gameplay is so enjoyable makes this problem somewhat forgivable though, and I would bet that Firi Games will work on adding some visual variety to the game in future updates.

Note that this video is of the preview version of Phoenix, and the released version contains more sound effects and background music.

Phoenix is one of those games that really grows on you the more you play it. I love how it's different each time you play and it captures that same type of magic of classic arcade-style high score games. There is regional and global online high score tracking using Firi's own leaderboards in addition to Game Center leaderboard integration. Players in our forums are really digging Phoenix as well, and Firi Games is there actively collecting feedback for future update consideration. At the price of 99¢ if you like scrolling shmups, randomly generated games, high score challenges, or any combination of the three then you should definitely give Phoenix a look.

If you're one of the 2,374,436 (as of this writing) people who have downloaded NimbleBit's Pocket Frogs [Free], you're going to be in for a treat when Apple approves the latest update that was submitted this afternoon. When the update lands, gameplay will be expanded beyond just hopping around in your habitats and frog ponds to actually racing your frogs. Frogs will have speed and stamina stats that will affect race performance, and winning a race results in a coin prize or a free frog. Happiness also comes in to play, and if you're lucky, your frog will even come across some dragonflies to munch on during the race which will provide a small boost.

NimbleBit likens this new frog racing functionality to betting on horse races, as the outcome of the race entirely depends on your frog's statistics as well as the potential of a little luck from dragonflies. You can't just endlessly enter your frogs in races either, each race has an entrance fee which you have to risk. Lose the race and you're out your entrance fee, win the race, and you'll be drowning in coins (or frogs).

In addition to racing, some other tweaks have been made to Pocket Frogs. Currently, when you're breeding high-end frogs and want to use growth potions to speed them up you're forced to use a certain number to complete the process. In the update, you'll be able to spend individual potions to speed the bar along in small increments instead of it being an all or nothing affair. Also, if you breed a frog that you want to share with friends, you'll be able to tweet an image or post it on Facebook.

Pocket Frogs 1.0.6 will be available as soon as Apple approves it, which could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks from now. In the meantime, happy breeding.

Telltale Games just blasted out a press release on the upcoming Back to the Future: The Game with some surprising news: It will also be coming to the iPad. Release dates are still up in the air, and I already can hardly wait. Telltale has an awesome resume of games available on other platforms, and has released Puzzle Agent [$4.99] for the iPhone as well as Wallace & Gromit: The Last Resort [$4.99], Sam & Max Episode 1: The Penal Zone [$4.99] and Puzzle Agent HD [$6.99] for the iPad.

Not a whole lot is known about Back to the Future: The Game aside from a few videos posted on the Telltale site. It's going to be a point and click adventure game written with the assistance of Bob Gale, the screenwriter of the original three movies. Christopher Lloyd is voicing Doc Brown, and the game is said to take place six months after the events of Back to the Future Part 3.

I wish we had more details, but in the meantime, check out the Gaker's list of 13 Things from Back to the Future II That Actually Came True, and 5 That Haven't... Yet if you're looking for a laugh.

We've scrounged up some interesting details on Activision's next game that's heading to the App Store. The latest entry in the Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts series should be appearing for download sometime soon, potentially as early as this week. The Dangerous Hunts games first originated back in 2003 and offer gameplay that is a little different from your typical hunting games which usually are about as interesting as shooting digital fish in a virtual barrel. Instead of just having your choice of a wide variety of succulent prey immediately in your field of vision for you to shoot at, player need to deal with treacherous terrain and targets that are just as interested in hunting you as you are in hunting them.

Sure, it's still a hunting game, but the 2011 iteration is said to be closer to a survival horror game than the hunting games we're familiar with. Destructoid offers a comprehensive preview of the console version, although it remains to be seen how much gets lost in translation on the way to the iPhone. It sounds like it follows the same story as its console cousin, with nine levels that take place over 31 chapters. Of course, if shooting the previously mentioned virtual fish in digital barrels is your cup of tea, there's also supposed to be an arcade mode with six different shooting galleries.

Another interesting wrinkle in this story is that Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is going to be Activison's first game to use OpenFeint, although we've yet to hear what level of integration it will have beyond showing off your kills in what seems like some kind of leaderboard system. Why they're not using Game Center instead is anyone's guess, but it's cool to see Activision implementing social features on some level, which will presumably only expand as they get more involved in iPhone development.

We'll take a closer look at the game as soon as it appears on the App Store.

We've posted at length regarding all the other gamebooks available on the App Store, but they all (or at least the ones I've read) are set in fantasy worlds with orcs, dragons, wizards, and other mystical things. Star Breed [$2.99], as the title may hint, is a two part episodic story with a glorious sci-fi setting. Initially, it can be run on either the iPhone or iPad with pixel doubling, but a universal update is in the works that will make it look even better on the iPad.

The developers explain the premise of the story:

By the year 2387 AD, Mankind has spread across the stars leaving a destroyed Earth behind.

A now unified human government, the United Dominion of Man (UDM), spreads unchallenged, marshaled by its most powerful agency, its Armed Forces (UDAF). The UDAF spends billions each year on weapons and technology to accelerate this colonization of the stars. Man now reigns supreme over a thriving new world, one encompassing hundreds of star systems. His progress has gone unimpeded - he has yet to come upon intelligent alien life.

Man's civilization is at its peak in this era of expansion when the game begins. The player takes on the role of an Officer in the Armed Forces. When a human survey ship operating in fringe space goes silent while exploring an uninhabited planet, the results are far-reaching and threaten to alter the course of human history forever. The player is at the forefront of the horrific turn of events that follow. The choices he or she makes will decide the outcome of the story … and the fate of mankind.

Something that's really cool about Star Breed is that dice-based challenges have been replaced with skill-based mini-games. While this is somewhat of a departure from the random nature of traditional gamebooks, it's so much nicer to actually feel like you're controlling the outcome of things instead of slowly watching a set of dice allow a pair of goblins to bring your tale to an end. Also, since this gamebook was designed from the ground up to be played on the iPhone, the decisions you make can often result in subtle differences in the story that go beyond turning to two different pages depending on which path you want to take.

I've been amazed by just how much I've found myself enjoying gamebooks on both the iPhone and iPad. Be sure to check out some of the other ones we've posted about if this is the first time you've heard of gamebooks, otherwise, Star Breed - Episode 1 is a worthy download for any fan of interactive fiction.

Halfbrick, creators of Fruit Ninja [99¢ / HD], Monster Dash [99¢] released a new trailer for their next iPhone game today, Age of Zombies. This dual stick shooter actually started its life as a PSP Mini earlier this year, and while it was yet another zombie game and yet another dual stick shooter, it still was reviewed quite well.

The iOS version of the game is launching on the 28th as a universal app, and features new graphics, controls, and content not found in the original PSP game.

Check out the trailer:

I had a great time with Monster Dash, so it's hard to not get excited to see yet another game starring Barry Steakfries. We'll post a review as soon as the game is available.

Battle for Wesnoth [99¢ / HD] is an open source turn-based strategy game originally released on the PC in 2003. Since then, both the iOS and PC versions of the game have seen substantial improvements as well as seemingly a constant supply of new content created by a massive community of Wesnoth fans that build characters, maps, individual battles, and all-out campaigns.

The PC version is available as a free download and can run on both Windows and Mac OSX. The iPhone version of the game was a little rough around the edges when we first reviewed it, it has improved substantially with each update. Also, each update has brought additional content to the game and currently there are 15 full campaigns which include nearly 200 scenarios. If turn based strategy games are your thing, Wesnoth will keep you busy for a long, long time.

If you're lucky enough to own an iPad, I'd totally spring for the HD version of the game. Battle for Wesnoth makes great use of the bigger screen, and while playing it on the iPhone is still fun, the overall experience is much better on the iPad. For more information on Wesnoth, strategy discussion, and other tips, check out the absolutely massive thread in our forums.

One of the big announcements last week from Apple was the announcement of a Mac App Store -- coming soon to both Snow Leopard and Mac OS X Lion (due in 2011).

Now we realize that not all of our readers are Mac users, but the announcement definitely makes waves in both the iOS and Mac communities. The App Store model has been a huge success with both developers and users. Users enjoy a centralized repository of apps that provide a seemingly endless stream of cool new toys. Meanwhile, developers are able to leverage the massive App Store audience to sell their goods and (hopefully) make a living.

Applying that model to the Mac seems like a natural extension. We've heard both users and developers reacting favorably and cautiously about the new system. We're not entirely sure the type of apps that will gain the most steam on this newly created ecosystem, but I do think that many iOS apps will find their to the Mac.

Firemint has already announced that Flight Control HD will be Mac-bound soon:

It's hard to say how Flight Control will fare using (we presume to be) mouse controls. But, Apple's invested heavily in laptop and desktop multi-touch pads which open up some really interesting possibilities.

Illusion Labs demoed this Multi-touch MacBook version of Touch Grind months ago, well before the launch of the Mac App Store.

We hope they'll dust off this code and see what they can do for the Mac App Store.

Villain and Munkyfun's online first-person shooter Archetype [99¢] received a massive new update over the weekend, adding some new features to the original game for free and and even more new stuff through an available in-app purchase. The game has once again dropped to 99¢, and it sounds like that may be the new permanent price for the “base model” of Archetype, which is now referred to as Chapter 1. This new update adds a new arena for multiplayer called Shotgun Arena and a new advanced training level.

Buying the IAP Chapter 2 will add even more content to Archetype. The major addition with this purchase is a capture the flag mode, which has been oft requested since the game's release. There are also 3 brand new environments in this chapter, and 6 new arenas. Crimson Moon and Aqua Lock each have team deathmatch and capture the flag variants, Obsidian Skirmish adds a brand new team deathmatch arena, and previous arena Avarice has been reworked for capture the flag play.

Both chapters now feature story elements that are gradually unlocked as you play through multiplayer matches and earn experience, adding a cohesive campaign to go along with your online fragging. Game Center support has also been added for unlocking achievements and tracking high scores. Rounding out this giant update is a number of fixes and optimizations to Archetype, which smooth out the entire experience and improve matchmaking speeds considerably.

Perhaps the best part of all this is that the additional chapter available through IAP launched on Saturday for $2.99, but has since been discounted to just 99¢. This move was probably made to increase the amount of people playing the capture the flag mode. If you already own Archetype I would definitely recommend updating to the latest version and purchasing Chapter 2 while it's only 99¢. If you don't yet own Archetype, but like first-person shooters, check out our original review as we think it's one of the best ones available in the App Store.

You can drop by the game thread in our forums for more information or to find some people to add to your Archetype friends list. As it seems the new game model for Archetype is this downloadable chapters system, we're eager to see what more will be added to the game in future updates. The enhancements found in this latest update to the iPhone version of Archetype are expected to hit the iPad version soon too, presumably after the release of iOS 4.2 sometime next month.

Freeverse has recently released -- in the Canadian App Store -- a social arcade-style bowling game called We Bowl [CA App Store] that utilizes Flick Bowling mechanics and lets you play friends online with integrated Plus+ awards and leaderboards. It's a freemium game that serves as the launch platform for the studio's Wii-like avatar system that could see use in many upcoming Freeverse titles.

Trigger crazy game changing power-ups (or whammies) in head-to-head competition with friends, or hone your skills to level up and win great prizes. We Bowl is fast paced frenetic action — bowling has never been this much fun!

Features include the following, listed by Freeverse:

• Awesome Powerups: Why bowl boring when you can bowl gonzo? Aim for the powerup icon and trigger an amazing assortment of powerups like Shotgun Ball, Thumper Ball, Boulder Ball and more! But watchout for those Whammies!
• Flick Fun Avatar System: Customize your avatar with cat eyes, ponytails, X-Ray glasses and crazy moustaches, then show ‘em off in head to head play with friends
• 2 Great Game Modes: Unlimited multiplayer games with friends, or solo bowling whenever you want, the action never stops.
• Unlockables, Prizes, Collectibles and Achievements: Collect tickets to buy decorations for your lane and whacky accesories for you Avatar

Our forums members are digging it. The game should land in other App Stores shortly.