Last month, we previewed Jeff Minter's latest iOS creation: Minotron: 2112. This time Minter reincarnates Llamatron from the Atari ST, which was a Robotron-like multi-directional shooter.

Llamatron, which was originally released as shareware for the Atari ST, was a shooter inspired by Eugene Jarvis' Robotron: 2084. The game plays more or less like a single-stick version of Robotron — wander about the playfield shooting baddies and not getting killed, but you're a llama instead of a superhuman and its beasties instead of helpless civilians you're rescuing. Minotron plays basically the same, but this time around, you're a minotaur, and things have gone dual (virtual) stick, so what you get feels a whole lot like Robotron, but on acid (which is a phrase that could be used to describe a great many of Jeff's creations).

Blake took a close look at a preview version, and really enjoyed it at the time, so I suspect fans of Minter will be pleased. We'll take a closer look at the final version when we escape from GDC.

Impressions are rolling in our forums.

Last week Apple invited media to come to San Francisco and "see what 2011 will be the year of." This morning TouchArcade attended the Apple media event and discovered that, as expected, 2011 will be the year of the iPad 2, according to the tablet maker.

To the surprise of most, Steve Jobs, who is currently on medical leave from Apple, took the stage himself to unveil the successor to the company's hugely popular iOS-based tablet. Jobs unveiled the new tablet to the gathered media, detailing the various innovations Apple's engineers have rolled into this new, most powerful iOS device.

The iPad 2 is physically similar to the original iPad, but with a few notable changes. The new unit weighs in at 1.3 pounds, lighter than the original 1.5 pound iPad. It's 33% thinner than the original unit (8.8 mm vs. 13.4 mm) -- that's thinner than the iPhone 4. Despite its new, svelte enclosure, the iPad 2 manages to hold onto the 10 hour battery life of the original thanks to a reengineering of the battery, says Apple. Front and back cameras have been added, as well as the FaceTime and PhotoBooth applications. And, the iPad 2 will be available in both black and white versions (fascia color) and in both WiFi-only and 3G versions -- on both the AT&T and Verizon networks -- on day one, which is March 11 in the states and March 25th abroad. An updated iOS 4.3 will also be landing on March 11.

The changes don't stop there, and this is where things get very interesting for iOS gamers. The iPad 2 features a new CPU, called the A5, that contains two processor cores as well as a dramatically improved graphics unit that Apple claims is capable of up to 9x the performance of the iPad's (and iPhone 4's) GPU. A likely candidate for the GPU used in the A5 is the PowerVR SGX543 which is capable of pushing 35 million polygons per second at 200MHz and one billion pixels per second. The SGX543 is able to run in multi-core configurations and supports OpenCL for offloading computation to the GPU core(s). A gyroscope sensor has been included, as well, which, of course, enables more precise reading of the unit's movement in space.

Even without solid confirmation of the A5's exact GPU configuration, it's clear that the iPad 2 is a dramatically more powerful mobile gaming machine than any of the current iOS devices. This was evidenced by the impressive demonstration of the new iMovie and Garage Band apps during today's event and even in the few minutes we spent in the hands-on session.

 

 

Apple allowed the media to spend some time trying out the new iPad 2 in a hands-on session following the morning's presentation. The first thing I noticed about the iPad 2 in my time with the unit is that it conveys an overall "smoother" feel, with the outer aluminum shell being slightly receded at the edge of the polycarbonate face plate. Playing into this was the reduced weight and thickness, which is readily apparent -- it definitely feels like a less substantial device, while maintaining a very solid, rigid feel. The new apps, which are very heavy on animation, as wall as iOS in general felt very smooth and responsive. I did a bit of text entry on the unit I was playing with, as lag during text entry is pretty much my only iPad gripe, and found no lag whatsoever. Unfortunately, the test device I used was not heavily loaded with games to try out, but there is no reason to think that virtually every title in the App Store won't benefit from the iPad 2's more powerful hardware.

And the Smart Covers -- they are just brilliant. I couldn't stop snapping it on and off the side of the iPad 2. I'm sure other tabletmakers have already begun sketching out copy designs.

Steve Jobs and the other members of the iOS team that took the stage today made frequent use of the term "post PC" to describe the iPad 2. It's an ambitious term, certainly, but based on what was demonstrated today and looking at the hardware sitting under the hood of Apple's new tablet, it's not a term I feel inclined to laugh off.

While we're barely able to keep up with GDC insanity, the massive announcement of the iPad 2 and all the other craziness taking place this week Chair decided to go releasing a major update to their Unreal Engine-powered sword fighter Infinity Blade [$2.99]. The update, dubbed "The Deathless Kings" adds an entirely new dungeon, new enemies, as well as six new arenas which apparently double the size of the game.

Hardcore players will be able to start a new game+, which removes the level cap, allows for re-mastering of items, and unlocks brand new items in the store. In all, 30 new items have been added to the game and new achievements have been added to farm as well. Of course, there have been various tweaks made to the game to make it even better too.

We absolutely loved Infinity Blade in our review, and recommend anyone with an iPad or recent iOS device pick it up while it's on sale. This massive update just further sweetens the deal.

Here at GDC 2011 I sat down with Gian Cruz from Feel Every Yummy to check out their new game WordFighter. Basically WordFighter is a word game like Boggle or Scrabble with an added fighting game component layered on top. Players will “fight” each other by creating words from a 5x5 grid of letters over 3 timed rounds. Each letter has a point value and the total value of created words determines the damage dished out to your opponent. As you create more words you’ll earn special bonuses to use which vary amongst the planned 6 characters. These will either heighten your own offensive exploits by giving your increased damage or make things harder for your opponent’s endeavors by mixing up the game board or forcing them to spell words backwards.

The concept works incredibly well even in this pre-alpha version of WordFighter. The plan is to offer typical local multiplayer options, same device multiplayer on the iPad, and online multiplayer for all versions in both real-time and asynchronous turn-based fashion similar to Words With Friends [$2.99/Lite/HD]. Eventually an Android version of the game will allow for cross-platform play between iOS and Android users. The same device iPad multiplayer is especially fun as you’re literally elbow-to-elbow with your opponent frantically making words and dealing damage to each other, as you can see in the following video.

WordFighter is still in a really early state, and may even undergo a complete art style overhaul before its final release, using stylized versions of characters from popular literary works rather than anime style fighting game characters. Despite how the game ends up looking, the core concept is a lot of fun, and if Feel Every Yummy can find a way to offer a solid turn-based online multiplayer experience then WordFighter could end up being a hit. We’ll have more on WordFighter in the coming months as development continues towards its planned Summer release.

We see a lot of “core” games at GDC in San Francisco. Developers like hard, deep, or big games just as much as the vast majority of you do, and their designs reflect this. A nice palate cleanser swung my way the other day and provided a break from the gore and the challenge I’ve been seeing. It was a casual game called Total Toads. It’s the kind of title you can pick up, play, and drop on the train or while walking the dog or even sitting on the toilet.

In a nutshell, Total Toads is a game built around the high score. The not-so-subtle twist is that the score building requires a little math on your end.

It’s a little abstract, so stick with me for a second. In the game, you control the tongues of three respective toads that line the bottom of the screen. You use these tongues to collect numbered bugs. The number of the bug you collect goes towards your score.

The catch: some bugs have negative numbers, meaning you could lower your score. But, each toad has an addition, subtraction, or a multiplication sign etched into their fleshy bits, which means that you can turn negatives into positives by using the right frog.

Some bugs operate as bonus items. If you happen to divide by the zero bugs, for example, a ton of numbered bugs will flood the screen. Or if you divide by two, your score will be halved.

How do you lose? Each bug that passes your frog ends up killing the little guy. After all three are gone, your game is over.

So, Total Toads is simple, sure, but it’s a good time for what it is, which is to say, a basic, “matching” type of game. Laid back, smooth music compliments and exudes the vibe the point and touch play exudes (brushed by Randy O'Conner of Spider: Secrets of Bryce Manor fame [$2.99]) ; awesome art plays its role as well, adding a layer of quirk and character to the experience.

Look for the game  at some point this March. It’ll hit at around the one-dollar mark.

As mentioned before, Apple is stealing the show this week with their event in San Francisco which quite literally takes place next door to GDC. We're totally swamped with GDC meetings, and as I'm writing this both Brad and Jared are meeting with developers, so for true live coverage of the keynote we recommend checking out MacRumors, or the many other sites doing live blogs.

Photo courtesy of Engadget

Yesterday at GDC we sat down with Brian Robbins of Riptide Games who took us through their latest release, Shadow Ranch [link] (with an "HD" version for iPad [link]), an iOS adaptation of Her Interactive's highly popular Nancy Drew Adventure series.

In a departure from the PC and console originals, the iOS Nancy Drew mobile mystery takes the form of an interactive book that works much like one of the old Choose Your Own Adventure stories. The primary portion of the experience is reading the story presented, eight chapters full of illustrations and media-enhanced hyperlinks. The other part of the app consists of three different kinds of mini-games. The outcome of a variety of hidden object games, word games, and horse racing games determine the path of the story and bring achievements. Several sideline mimi-mysteries are also included.

Brian also showed us Mini Monster Smash! [App Store], the fruit borne of Riptide's all-night coding frenzy at November's 360iDev Game Jam. The goal of the game is to smash a cute little red monster with a flyswatter to get it to fly as far as you can. Along the way the monster will bounce off of trampolines, bombs or float in bubbles.

And, finally, we had a look at an upcoming title called My Pet Zombie, which is being developed jointly with Recharge Studios. It's one for the virtual pet fan who also has a thing for zombies. The game puts a cute little zombie in a graveyard setting on your screen for you to love and nurture. It even dances. But don't take care of it and it's one more tombstone in the graveyard. The game also features social aspects, such as freinds' zombies going on a date, etc.

Shadow Ranch and Mini Monster Smash recently went live in the App Store, and My Pet Zombie is expected in late April or early May as a freemium release.

Halfbrick, the studio behind the enormously popular fruit homicide game, Fruit Ninja [.99 / Lite], are about three months away from debuting a brand new title on the App Store. And there’s a twist: it stars a familiar face, Monster Dash’s [.99] Barry Steakfries.

Actually, Steakfries and Monster Dash are great starting points when describing this upcoming title, Machinegun Jetpack. It looks and works a lot like Monster Dash. It’s a traditional runner, so it has a lone, endless level and randomly generated content.

Where it differs, it really differs. Instead of controlling a protagonist who can merely run, you control an avatar that’s hooked into a jetpack. Tapping on the screen keeps Barry afloat, and you’ll need to do that to avoid all the vertical obstacles such as electricity or rockets or lasers.

Ratcheting up the intensity of the experience is a goal of Halfbrick’s. Perhaps the best example of this is in the “vehicle” pick-ups that give you control of a robot reminiscent of ED-209 or even the motorcycle from Monster Dash. There’s also a special gravity suit that lets you to run on the top and bottom of the screen with a tap, and a teleportation power that allows you to jump all over the level.

Here’s a video of the game in action from our demo at GDC in San Francisco. The first part is footage from the iPad version; the other is the iPhone version.

At the demo, I was more impressed with the amount of side content as opposed to the explosions, which to be frank, is a little out of character for me. As you play, you’ll collect coins that you can then, in turn, spend on upgrades to your jetpack. You can also pick up bigger coins that, at the end of a single play, give you the opportunity to use a massive slot machine. If you’re lucky, you’ll earn rewards like double coins on your next play or even a Continue that puts you back in the game right where Barry fell. This is good, game-expanding stuff that adds a little more to the “just one more time” play.

Machinegun Jetpack is still three or so months out. Halfbrick told us that it plans to launch the title as a Universal game complete with Game Center support. The target price is also 99 cents, so get ready to take the plunge a little later this year.

In the midst of GDC 2011, EA launched Fight Night Champions for iOS just last night.

Go toe-to-toe with a premium roster of title-holders past and present, and create your own championship legacy in the ring. Experience the true brutality of boxing in the tradition of the highest rated simulation fighting franchise of all time. Featuring innovative gameplay and best-in-class graphic quality, you’re looking at the best boxing game on the App Store. It’s undisputed.

The $4.99 app promises a game roster of 20 champions including Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali.

We haven't had time to test out the new game, but the discussion thread is showing early positive impressions. One reader posts this gameplay video and some notes:

Please note i'm just going mad in the video,throwing as many punches as possible ,if i was playing like i should i would defend more

As for the question of taking up a lot of the screen with lots of swipes,well yes you can do that i suppose but if playing properly and you don't wanna get K.O'd then better to get 2 or 3 off then step back/defend and then throw a few more.So not a bit deal if played as you should play it,unlike in this video where i'm manic swiping

EA recommends iOS 4.2 for smoother gameplay, and requires a 3GS or above for head-to-head Multiplayer. Dynamic lighting is added for 3rd generation devices and above (3GS, iPod Touch 3rd Gen). Meanwhile, 1st generation devices are not supported at all.

Touch and swipe are what iOS games do best. In my opinion, focusing on these two native user inputs often spawn the best design in iOS games.

These are the two thoughts that hit me as I went hands-on with a demo of MecaPix at GDC in San Francisco yesterday afternoon. It’s sort of looks like Tetris with a touch of Space Invaders. And it’s also a game with no virtual d-pads or buttons -- just touch and swipe, the bread and butter of the iPad and iPod Touch.

In Tetris, the idea is to organize descending blocks into piles. In this game, the idea is to draw and fire off ascending blocks (with your finger) in order to clear falling blocks before they reach the bottom of the screen. It’s a unique, simple idea that plays off the familiarity we all have with the classic puzzle game, Tetris. It’s even got that retro look and similar shapes. Check it out.

But there are twists. For example, some descending block patterns have special abilities packed within their constructions. Bombs can be placed in the middle, and when you hit the bomb, the entire patterns clears. Other patterns have laser blocks that fire adjacent blocks at other constructs falling down at the screen.

So, the idea is to be precise and hit the blocks that matter. There’s an ammo counter that keeps you from firing blocks wholesale. Otherwise, you could theoretically just build massive lines of blocks that would eliminate all enemies.

MecaPix mixes things up with classic puzzle elements, creating a cool balance between basic trigger-finger play and thought. One level, one out of around ten in the stage, forced me to consider each of the special blocks in a descending pile and pick the best ones to kill the construction before it reached the end of the screen. It’s a neat change of pace.

Precision, and therefore conservation, is rewarded with points. And so are combos. As you anticipate and shoot blocks in the right place, points skyrocket.

There’s a lot more to the game that I didn’t get to play directly, but demonstrated the amount of depth to be had. There are boss battles, for example, that have you attempting to reach the heart of a tumbling monster. There’s also a cool level that uses the classic game Snake as its inspiration. The falling blocks in this level resemble the Snake and squirm, keeping you from drilling the heart without thought.

Mecapix is being built by Robotalism Games, a developer out of Paris. The plan is to launch the game is as soon as they possibly can and at an agreeable price point: a mere .99 cents. From what I saw this afternoon, this might be a very special game. I’ll be keeping my eyes on it, for sure, as it combines unique and possibly deep play with the two things that spawn the best games: touch and swipe.