There has been a surprising amount of great HD versions of games popping up on the iPad side of the App Store lately. If you've been playing some of these games pixel doubled, or have been waiting for a native iPad version to pop up, any of these games are definitely worth downloading:

Across Age ™ HD, $2.99 We liked the original Across Age a lot in our review, and really consider it a must-have for any fans of Zelda-like games. The HD version is home to some incredibly detailed hand drawn art, and even a new dungeon (and boss) exclusive to the iPad.

Baseball Superstars® 2010 HD, $0.99 I can't get enough of the Baseball Superstars games, as the light RPG elements combined with arcade-style baseball makes for a package I can't stop playing. Check out our review for more details, but beware, getting involved in this game could suck up a dangerous amount of your time if you're like me and enjoy filling experience bars.

ARKANOID HD, $4.99 You don't get much more classic than Arkanoid when it comes to brick breakers, and while we liked the iPhone version a lot, single device multiplayer works really well on the iPad. If you're looking for a blast from the past, or another fun two player game, give this a shot.

Meow Meow Happy Fight HD, $2.99 This has been one of my favorite iPhone dual stick shooters since it was released in August. The iPad version looks great, and is much nicer to play with proper iPad controls instead of playing the iPhone game pixel doubled.

Cut the Rope HD, $1.99 I gushed over the iPhone version of this game in a big way in our review, and the iPad version is just as good. There isn't much sense in re-buying this as it plays fine pixel doubled... But the graphics do look awfully nice on the iPad screen.

Back when Gameloft's Modern Combat: Sandstorm [$4.99 / Lite / HD] was first released, in our review we called it one of the most impressive gaming experiences we've seen so far on the platform, but it wasn't long before it was inevitably bested by other first person shooters (some even released by Gameloft themselves) on the fast paced market of the App Store. Gameloft ups the ante once again with Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus [$6.99], a game that is by far their most blatant carbon copy yet, but is executed so masterfully that it hardly seems to matter.

If you've played Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2, you'll know exactly what to expect out of Modern Combat 2. Single player consists of a similar mixture of combat scenarios that follow the typical plot line of hunting terrorists. Objectives are varied and involve some light stealth elements, protecting caravans, escaping from or infiltrating enemy installations, and others. However, just because this has all been done before in other games (and even to some extent in the original Modern Combat), it doesn't make playing through the single player campaign any less fun-- in fact, it's a blast to play through.

The default normal difficulty is incredibly forgiving, with the same health regeneration that has practically become standard in first person shooters. Modern Combat 2 also has an aim assist system that will snap your crosshairs on to nearby targets, taking a lot of the frustration out of controlling the game. In addition, an arrow on the top of the screen constantly points to where you should be going. Of course, if you don't need your hand held, you can crank up the difficulty and turn off all the assist systems-- resulting in a surprisingly challenging campaign.

One of the best things about Gameloft games is their incredible consistency when it comes to all the little things that you don't usually notice unless a game lacks them. For instance, you're able to completely customize your controls and the locations of interface elements on screen. You can control your music without leaving the game or even visiting a submenu, it saves your progress when you close the game for any reason and resumes instantly, and when you pause, it displays the time and your battery level. Modern Combat 2 has all this and more, adding to the near-perfect technical execution of the game. Also, if you're playing on an iPhone 4 or 4th generation iPod touch, you'll be able to enjoy optional gyroscope controls and full Retina Display graphics.

Unfortunately, this also means if you play a lot of Gameloft games, you'll also notice many similarities that can ruin your immersion. For example, the quick time event sequences used for your spider sense in Spider-Man: Total Mayhem [$6.99] has since turned in to slow motion interactive cut scenes where you need to tap specific areas of the screen to do things like avoid an explosion, an incoming knife, or grab a ledge. Quite of a few of the events that take place in the incredibly scripted single player campaign feel recycled, and it seems like far too often you're using the familiar mounted turret gun to defend against an oncoming swarm of bad guys. However, once again, all these mechanics go together so well in Modern Combat 2 that they're not much of a distraction even if you stop and notice them.

Much like Modern Warfare 2, the single player campaign in Modern Combat 2 almost seems secondary to the extensive online multiplayer included. Gameloft is boasting MC2 as providing "the most comprehensive FPS multiplayer experience on the App Store," and that's a claim that is hard to argue with. It's almost like Gameloft internally distributed copies of Modern Warfare 2 and simply said, "Make this, but for the iPhone." Initially, you might groan at just how obvious the similarities are, but all that will quickly wash away when you realize just how awesome it all is and how an experience bar with tons of unlockables serves as an unbelievable carrot on a stick, keeping you playing for hours on end without even realizing it.

Seemingly every positive action you make in an online game awards experience. Headshots, kills, assists, revenge kills, and other things result in an explosion of experience points in the center of your screen. Eventually you level up, unlocking new ranks, weapons, and kill messages which work just like the Modern Warfare 2 title and emblem system and displays little tag lines on the screen of the person you killed. (However, unlike Modern Warfare 2, endless drug references are nowhere to be found.)

Multiple game modes are included, and all are a lot of fun. Both standard and team-based deathmatch makes an appearance, as well as a capture the flag and diffuse the bomb game mode. Whatever you play, it will be with up to ten players at once either locally or online. Online multiplayer works incredibly well, and aside from a few rogue disconnects I haven't had any issues playing game after game.

It remains to be seen how much post-launch support Gameloft will provide Black Pegasus. I'd really love to see Game Center supported for matchmaking, as finding friends online with Gameloft Live is a chore and I've really been looking forward to not needing to worry about what everyone's Plus+/OpenFeint/Gameloft Live/Crystal/Agon/etc. names are. Also, I'd love to see more multiplayer maps or even additional ranks and weapons to unlock either via some kind of DLC pack or available as a free update.

As I mentioned previously, Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus is Gameloft's most blatant clone yet. However, there is absolutely nothing like it on the App Store. Without a doubt, this is a game that absolutely every fan of Modern Warfare 2 should have on their iPhone. The single player, while entirely cliche, is extremely fun to play through and the online multiplayer is incredible. Our forum members have been going crazy over the game, and as it stands, Modern Combat 2 is the king of iPhone first person shooters. For now, anyway.

As is commonplace on the App Store, several notable titles have either seen a significant sale or dropped down to free for a limited time. There are always sales going on for a ton of different games at any given time, but here are some of the more interesting titles, including an iPad game that is currently 90% off the original price. As with all price changes in the App Store, they can change at any time so it's best to grab what interests you as soon as possible.

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Rat On A Scooter XL, $0.99 In celebration of their new game Urban Ninja [99¢], Donut Games has dropped the price of Rat On A Scooter XL to free for a limited time. Rat On A Scooter XL is a spinoff game featuring the main character of Rat On The Run [99¢] as he rides his scooter through randomly generated levels collecting cheese, powerups, and performing stunts. As one of the earlier “endless runner” style games, Rat On A Scooter XL still hold up all these months later, and is certainly worth a download while temporarily free.

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Banzai Rabbit, $0.99 The modernized homage to the classic arcade game Frogger, we really liked Banzai Rabbit in our review when it first came out, but found the game to be overly difficult. Developer Revolutionary Concepts heard the painful cries of their players, and promptly released an update to Banzai Rabbit making it much more forgiving and thus much more enjoyable. Now in celebration of their recently released UFO on Tape [99¢] and in part with a FAAD promotion, they have dropped Banzai Rabbit down to free for a limited time. If you enjoy great arcade gameplay with 3D Retina Display graphics, definitely take a look at Banzai Rabbit during this free promotion.

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Osmos for iPad, $4.99 One of the most highly regarded indie games of the past year, Osmos is both a relaxing and challenging artistic game that feels even more at home on a touch screen than it originally did on the PC. We really enjoyed both the iPad version and the iPhone version in our reviews, and when the iPhone version recently went on sale for 99¢ we highly recommended everyone take advantage of such a great sale. Well, Osmos for iPhone is still on sale for 99¢ [Link], but now it's older brother Osmos for iPad is getting its very own sale for just $1.99. You really can't go wrong with either version at these prices, and this is one sale that shouldn't be missed.

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Retour sur l'Ile Mystérieuse - Deluxe Edition, $1.99 The adventure game sequel to Jules Verne's novel The Mysterious Island, Return to Mysterious Island was released for PC several years ago and an iPhone adaptation [Link] was released in May of last year to positive reviews. Last month a deluxe iPad version of Return to Mysterious Island debuted for $9.99, and as of just moments ago the game has received a drastic price reduction down to 99¢. The iPad version features additional bonus content as well as an enhanced user interface that takes advantage of the larger screen. If you are a fan of the classic-style point-and-click adventure games popularized in the 90s, pick up Return to Mysterious Island – Deluxe Edition during this one day sale.

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As always, you can keep track of all activity in the App Store, including price changes and updates, using AppShopper.com or the universal AppShopper app for iOS devices [Link].

The current trend in iPad game releases seems to be for developers to take an existing iPhone game, append "HD" to the end of the name, and increase both the resolution of the graphics and the price-- and maybe add an iPad-exclusive feature of two. iPhone developer One Man Left have significantly upped the HD ante this week, releasing one of the best HD remakes I've played in quite a while of an existing iPhone game. We loved the original in our review where we explained the basic premise behind the game:

Tilt to Live [$2.99] is at its core, an object-avoidance game wholly utilising the accelerometer of the iPhone or iTouch to maneuver your arrow around the battlefield. I say battlefield, because that's exactly what is going on here– the dots are out to get you and will stop at nothing. And it is remarkable just how much personality One Man Left have managed to inject into such a straightforward concept. These are certainly no ordinary dots– these perilous periods make a point (ha!) of chasing you around the screen; coalescing into arrows and other shapes then hurling themselves at you at breakneck pace, or circling you like vultures, slowly closing in until it is impossible to escape. Make no mistake, touch even one of the hundreds of dots on screen at once, and you are history.

Tilt to Live HD [Free] offers identical gameplay, with a major twist: Instead of simply making everything bigger, they kept all the in-game objects the same size, and quadrupled the size of the battlefield. In our early previews, I wasn't really sure how much of a difference this would make when you're actually playing the game, but after spending a considerable amount of time with it (in fact, this review itself was delayed because I simply couldn't put it down), I'm totally sold on this HD remake.

Increasing the size of the battlefield makes playing the game much more exciting because of just how many more red dots appear on screen, and how much farther power-ups spawn away from you. Not to say the original Tilt to Live was boring by any means, but this is one instance where much more going on at once on screen is actually much, much better.

To further kick things up a notch, Tilt to Live HD is available for free. With your free download you get full access to a limited classic mode with only a few of the available weapons. If you're happy with this, you can play to your heart's content, competing in a free mode online leaderboard until you're blue in the face. For a $3.99 in-app purchase you then unlock the rest of the game. This opens up additional power-ups to earn, and three additional game modes: Code Red which is just classic mode but much faster and more difficult, Gauntlet Evolved which is pure avoidance, and Frostbite which has you shattering red dots before they thaw at the bottom of the screen. Each game mode plays differently, and has its own associated online leaderboard.

Originally I was thinking that Tilt to Live HD wouldn't be that fun to play because I haven't really found myself liking tilt controls much on the iPad due to the weight of the device. Oddly enough, this doesn't seem to be an issue at all, and hasn't stopped me from sitting perched on the edge of my couch completely focused on my iPad as a bob my head to the music for hours on end.

If you own an iPad, you owe it to yourself to at least try out the free mode of Tilt to Live HD.

TUAW's Mike Schramm tracked down Epic Games Vice President Mark Rein and asked some questions on Epic Citadel [Free] and other things to do with the iOS platform. The whole interview is worth reading, but what really struck me is that the iPhone 3GS, not the iPhone 4, was what originally interested Epic Games in porting their engine to the platform:

Epic Citadel is most popular on the iPhone 4, but Rein actually says it was the iPhone 3GS that really sold Epic on the power of gaming. "The iPhone 3GS is a very powerful device," he told me, "and it was really the first mobile phone that broke over the line of something we could actually run Unreal Engine 3 on without making significant compromises." Of course, Epic Citadel is just a demo for the game code-named Project Sword, a full RPG title that Epic is releasing soon. And while I did ask, Rein didn't offer up a price or date yet.

Also of note is that Rein hinted that Project Sword, the Unreal Engine powered game unveiled at Apple's September keynote address would be more expensive than your typical iPhone game, even citing higher-priced premium titles that have succeeded on the platform.

If you haven't yet, now is a great opportunity to give Epic Citadel a try. The things the Unreal Engine is capable are able to do on iPhone hardware is absolutely breathtaking and will completely blow you away.

Now, to get back to waiting for more Project Sword details...

[via TUAW]

Japanese mobile service company DeNA has been on an absolute roll lately buying up and partnering with all kinds of different companies involved in social gaming. Lately they've partnered with and made a multi-million dollar investment in OpenFeint, acquired Gameview, creators of the Tapfish games, and invested in Astro Ape Studios who were responsible for Office Heroes. Now, they've got their crosshairs on ngmoco, who themselves recently acquired Freeverse, switching both companies over to the freemium world of social gaming.

According to TechCrunch, multiple sources have mentioned that this acquisition could set DeNA back over $400,000,000, although the specifics of the deal are still unclear. Ngmoco themselves have raised over $40,000,000 in funding, and offer a wide array of free to play social games. It has been an interesting ride seeing ngmoco come full circle, from the original release of games like Rolando [$2.99 / Free] to later releasing micropayment-powered online games like Eliminate [Free] which some TouchArcade forum members and front page commenters were sure would be the death knell of the company.

Ngmoco hasn't responded to any inquiries about the potential deal, but the fact that these kind of dollars could potentially be changing hands over a company that exclusively develops for the iOS platform is amazing.

[via TechCrunch]

TUAW's Mike Schramm is all over GDC Online this week, and managed to snag a preview of WINtA, an up and coming rhythm game from Masaya Matsuura. While that name might not be immediately recognizable, his creations surely will. Matsuura designed PaRappa the Rapper, a PlayStation game which was among the first rhythm games and featured gameplay that involved tapping various buttons along to the beat of songs. In fact, PaRappa was so catchy that I can still bust out most of the raps from the game in their entirety. (And I doubt I'm alone in that.)

WINtA is an abstract rhythm game which will be released on the App Store for free later this year. Unlike most (all?) rhythm games on the App Store, WINtA has gameplay that matches up with the lyrics of the song rather than just the beat itself. Each syllable requires its own tap, and playing the game is comparable to Elite Beat Agents in that you tap various areas of the screen at the right time.

The following video from the presentation at GDC shows a bit of gameplay:

The game will be monetized via DLC packs of songs with 100% of the profits going to charity. It all sounds pretty great to me, especially with the man who essentially created the genre developing for the iOS with all the proceeds going to a good cause. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

[via TUAW]

Gameloft's Real Soccer 10 [$6.99 / Free] successfully launched last year on the back of realtime online multiplayer, being the first iOS soccer sim to offer across the globe head-to-head. Competitors quickly took note, so that this year the focus was supposed to be on improving laggy online multiplayer and pushing the boundaries of the iOS hardware. With PES 11 just launched internationally (coming to the US soon) and the better-funded Fifa 11 [$4.99] launching last week (with Fifa 11 receiving a tentative thumbs up from us) is Gameloft's claim on the virtual soccer market dwindling? We take it for a run to find out.

Of all the soccer sims released last year, with X2 Soccer 2009 [$4.99] being the only one not already mentioned, Real Soccer 10 sadly took the back-seat in the graphics department. Things seem to have notably improved this year, with the addition of high definition Retina Display support and much more attention spent detailing each player and arena. That's not to say that you'll be able to identify any real likenesses, as in Fifa 11, as models remain largely generic. This is worsened by the fact that Gameloft lack of official licensing-- many teams suffer from having randomly populated player names. Stadiums and crowds do look better this year, though again Gameloft doesn't have the licences required to emulate the former, and the latter suffer from blocky models and ugly texture work when shown up close.

One of the things Gameloft did deliver on last year, was a very fluid style of football, with an almost arcade spin on it. That's continued through in Real Soccer 2011, with performance being a real winner, particularly when compared with Fifa 11 which we struggled with in its as-yet unfixed, laggy state. Unfortunately, with all the improvements the other franchises have made to address realism and to take an accurate account of player skill, we're not confident that Real Soccer 2011's instant passes and exaggerated accuracy in front of goals will be appreciated. The AI certainly doesn't do this any favors either, often gifting the game to you (even on highest difficulty levels) through silly mistakes such as pausing when intercepting the ball, or failing to track their runners entirely.

Where Real Soccer 2011 does lead the pack, is in its approach to the control system, with an integration of on-screen gestures and sensible button combinations, and a much-needed sprint button (addressing my persistant woes with the virtual stick). Only an A and B button is present on-screen, and these two buttons handle all the inputs that other games struggle with just fine. Through balls are simply made by holding the B (pass) button, while crosses require the B button to be dragged up slightly. One-Twos are intuitive too, with a simple double tap of the B button getting the job done. Complex dribbling moves like the Marseille Roulette and flip-flop are cake in Real Soccer 2011, with just a quick circle or double tap anywhere on the screen needed

Real Soccer 2011 also boasts a ton of game modes, though very surprisingly, online multiplayer is entirely omitted. Still, you'd be hard pressed to top Gameloft's efforts here, as they've included Seasons, Leagues, Cups (Yes, there's a Champions-league-alike too, in the Euro Cup), Historic Games, Training, Penalty Shoot-Outs, and even an RS League, where your winnings contribute to an overall online ranked leaderboard. Additionally, there's an 'Enter the Legend' mode, Gameloft's take on EA's "Be a Pro" mode in past games, where you are given control of a single player in a selected team and the AI plays around you. Our time with this mode led to more frustration than anything else though, as you're left at the mercy of the sub-standard AI (even randomly subbing us off) and the on-screen controls do nothing to help your situation. We ended up giving Enter the Legend a wide berth in the end.

Though there were things I loved in Real Soccer 2011, I can't help but feel that although Gameloft have taken 3 steps forward from last year, it hasn't been enough to keep up with the improvements we've seen in Fifa 11 and X2 Football 2010 [$6.99 / Free] this year. With an emphasis amongst the big names on bringing console-quality football to the iOS, Real Soccer 2011's notable lack of licenses, average, repetitive commentating and just plain awful AI only serve to underline Gameloft's flailing grasp on the market. What Real Soccer 2011 does have going for it however, is a successful implementation of Retina support, as Fifa 11's iPhone 4 support is dismal at this stage pending a critical fix, and PES 11 seems to have foregone Retina support altogether. As far as the gameplay goes however, particularly with the lack of online multiplayer from last year that made it a hopeful contestant, Real Soccer 2011 will likely appease only the casual soccer fan, once again playing second fiddle to the big guns.

Gameloft's Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus [$6.99] hit the US App Store mere moments ago. I spent most of the day today playing through the single player game, but need to wait for the multiplayer community to pick up a little bit to get a feel for the seemingly extensive online multiplayer before posting our full review. What I can say right now is that if you're willing to disregard the fact that Modern Combat 2 plays like every other modern military-centric first person shooter, you're going to be in for a treat. Much like Modern Warfare 2, Modern Combat 2 hops around between characters and combat scenarios, and while it all feels a little disjointed, it is a lot of fun. Quick time events have been implemented, you often play with AI-controlled team mates, and the Retina Display-friendly graphics look great in action.

As far as online play is concerned, you'll be able to play in 10 player multiplayer games both locally and over the internet. Four multiplayer modes are included: Deathmatch, team deathmatch, defuse the bomb, and capture the flag. As you play online, again much like Modern Warfare 2, you gain experience for nearly every action you do, and then rank up through 72 different ranks each with their own associated rewards and weapon unlocks. The few games I've been able to play have been largely lag free, and a great time.

Stay tuned for our full review which will be up ASAP, but in the meantime, if you're looking for people to play online with or want to check out reader impressions stop by the thread on our forums.

As someone who was completely engrossed in the console wars of the 16 bit era, I took great pride in boasting about all the things Sega did that Nintendon't. (Of course as soon as I discovered RPG's on the SNES I flip flopped, but I digress.) The original Sonic the Hedgehog was an amazing game, and the rest of the series on the Genesis was just as good, if not better as they introduced both Tails and Knuckles. Unfortunately, with the advent of 3D gaming came 3D Sonic, and since then Sonic games haven't really been the same. Sure, there have been some fantastic 2D Sonic games for handhelds (the Gameboy Advance ones were particularly good), but the flagship Sonic games have been bad for years. That is, until today.

Sonic 4 [$9.99] has likely been in development for quite some time now, but was only first announced in late 2009 as the cryptic "Project Needlemouse" which was later revealed to be a return to classic 2D Sonic gameplay. Since then, the Sega hype machine has been in full force releasing various mysterious updates to the Sonic 4 web site, teaser trailers, screenshots, and development delays. In other words, Sonic 4 has a lot to live up to.

Sonic 4 is being released in episodes, with today's release as the first installment. Episode 1 comes packed with four zones: Splash Hill Zone, Lost Labyrinth Zone, Casino Street Zone, and Mad Gear Zone. Each of these zones are flavored with themes from classic levels of Sonic's past, with Splash Hill and Casino Street by far being the most memorable. Each zone is host to three acts and a boss fight. After beating the zone's boss, you unlock Time Attack mode which switches the game in to what Sonic games are best at: Going as fast as possible. Also worth mentioning are the two levels that are exclusive to the iPhone, but until the other versions of the game come out it remains to be seen how much different these exclusive portions are.

Controls are surprisingly decent for a game series originally designed with a physical controller in mind. By default you use a virtual joystick of sorts and a single button which handles everything else. Alternatively, a tilt control mode is included, but I found touch controls to feel far more natural. Like previous Sonic games, you can spin dash, and Sonic 4 implements a new lock on system of sorts which targets enemies and obstacles you can jump on to. When the game targets something, tapping jump sends Sonic shooting that direction, allowing you to precisely bounce off multiple enemies with ease.

Since Sonic games are all about speed, performance is arguably just as important as gameplay. Because of this, I busted out my entire library of iOS devices to see just how good of a job Sega did at optimizing Sonic 4 for the iPhone. After syncing the device to everything from the original iPhone to the iPad and iPhone 4, I'm more than a little surprised by the results. Performance obviously suffers with older devices, but Sonic 4 is completely playable even on the original iPhone. Oddly enough, the 3rd generation iPod touch seems to boast the highest frame rate, followed by the iPad pixel doubled, then the iPhone 4.

The level design is classic Sonic, with tons of loops, corkscrews, rings, recognizable power ups, and bonus stages. While Sega seems to have succeeded in bringing back the classic Sonic feel, the content included in the first episode seems like a tease after so much waiting. Sonic 4 is a ton of fun, but it's over before you know it, and without online leaderboards of any kind, I'm not sure how much appeal there will be in replaying levels for higher scores or lower times.

While the performance is certainly good enough to be fun, it's nowhere near the solid 60 FPS I had hoped for-- even on newer devices and to make things worse, Retina Display support is nowhere to be found. The first episode of Sonic 4 will also be available on the Wii via WiiWare, the Xbox 360 via XBOX Live Arcade, and the PS3 via PSN in the next couple days. So, if you own any of those systems, you can consider waiting to see how those versions of the game are reviewed, especially considering the fact that Sonic 4 will be in 1080p on both the PS3 and 360. Otherwise, if you're looking for a very fun taste of what a Sonic game should be like on the iPhone, we recommend Sonic 4... Just be fully aware that it will likely leave you unsatisfied with an intense longing for the release of the next episode, and I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing or not.

Today EA Mobile has announced that one of their flagship franchises, Battlefield, would be arriving in the App Store in the form of Battlefield Bad Company 2 for iPhone and iPod touch. Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a squad-based first-person shooter that was released on consoles and PCs earlier this year to some fairly positive reviews.

An interesting single player campaign was included in Battlefield Bad Company 2, but the real highlight of the game was its excellent multiplayer component that rivaled online juggernauts Halo 3 and Modern Warfare 2 in terms of player base. This new mobile version of Bad Company 2 will indeed include online multiplayer in some form, although details about it are scarce. Also, a single player campaign will be present consisting of 14 missions spread across five different landscapes including jungle, snow, and desert. EA has released the following screenshots of the game (click to enlarge):

Two hallmarks of the Battlefield Bad Company games have been destructible environments and driving a variety of vehicles. Based on the information in EA's press release, vehicular combat including at least tanks and choppers will be a part of the mobile experience, but it's unclear whether or not the destructible environments will make the cut. No other information about the game has been provided other than an expected November release date. A discussion about the game is taking place in our forums, and we'll of course bring you any new information on Battlefield Bad Company 2 as it becomes available.

Today EA Mobile sent over some new screens of an upcoming native iPad version of their game SimCity Deluxe. Back in July when the iPhone version was released, we noted that the game could really benefit from an iPad version, as the larger screen space and higher resolution could really enhance the gameplay. It seems EA realized this as well, as an iPad version is under way. Here are a few screens from the iPad version showing the reworked UI and higher resolution graphics (click to enlarge):

Pricing has yet to be revealed, but EA has pegged the release of SimCity Deluxe for iPad as sometime in November. We'll take another look at the game when it releases next month.

Late last month we posted some spy shots taken on the streets of Manhattan of what appeared to be Angry Birds [99¢ / Free / HD] plush toys. Today we got tipped off to a YouTube video showing a much smaller version of these toys in action:

These toys seem to be somewhat similar to the Woot screaming monkey toys that are often sold during Woot offs. I was excited for a set of plush birds, but knowing that they actually do something, I'm even more excited. Judging by the reception when we posted the previous photos, I'm not alone on that either.

We still don't know much more than we did when we posted the gameplay video of Heroes Lore: Stigmata of Gaia, but EA released a set of screenshots this afternoon of their upcoming RPG:

The Heroes Lore series has roots in Asian markets and exists in a few iterations as J2ME games. EA hasn't released much information about Stigmata of Gaia, but looking at how they have handled game releases in the past, these five images are likely the screenshots that will appear in iTunes. This hopefully means the game has already been submitted and will be released soon, but it's difficult to say for sure.

Either way, we're looking forward to Heroes of Lore: Stigmata of Gaia, and plan on pumping out a full review as soon as we get our pepperoni-greased thumbs on the game.

Update: Since posting these new screenshots earlier today, EA has updated us with information on Heroes Lore: Stigmata of Gaia. The game will center around two warring kingdoms, Soltia and Askra. You'll be able to choose to play as either Kei from the Soltia kingdom or Rits of the Askra. EA boasts over 30 hours of gameplay across six detailed areas for the single player portion. Each character will have the ability of wielding two different weapons at a time from five weapon classes, with each weapon having nine offensive or defensive skills. It sounds like there will be a lot of possible combinations when equipping your character in the game.

In addition to the single player component, there will also be online multiplayer in Heroes Lore. The game will feature player vs. player matches as well as the ability to team up and play 2 vs. 2 matches, though it sounds like the 1 vs. 1 will be the only online mode. I would love to be proven wrong though and have the game support true online team battling, but it remains to be seen.

From the sound of things, Heroes Lore: Stigmata of Gaia will be a fully featured RPG experience. We'll be taking a closer look at the game as it nears release, which EA has said should be October of this year.

Telltale Games' Puzzle Agent [99¢ / HD] had an update hit the App Store mere moments ago that fixed the graphical issues we mentioned in our review. The graphics seem to be substantially improved, but this all comes at a cost- If you had any kind of save game data from playing the game previously, you will not be able to load it. After you update, when you try to load your saved game you're greeted with a game-ending black screen.

Puzzle Agent for the iPhone is still on sale for 99¢, and if you've yet to give it a try, this is a great time to download it now that our only issue with the game was fixed. (And as a new player not loading save game data from the previous version won't have any effect on you.) Puzzle Agent is a great mixture of Professor Layton-like puzzles and point and click adventuring. Check out our review for more information.