Even though you may not be familiar with the name Rooster Teeth, I can't imagine there are many gamers out there who haven't at least heard of Red vs. Blue. If you you're among the uninitiated, it's a shockingly popular series of machinima videos that utilize in-game footage of Halo combined with voiceovers. The humor of Red vs. Blue usually involves parodies of science fiction movies, military life, and first person shooters. You don't even really have to particularly like Halo to enjoy it.

Rooster Teeth also has a fair share of funny short clips called RT Shorts. The latest short is titled Fight or Flight - A War to End All Wars and turns Angry Birds in to a Michael Bay directed blockbuster summer action film:

"Don't you ever call it 'just a slingshot!'"

While I haven't yet been totally sucked in to Hot Springs Story [$3.99 / Free], I've spent entire days of my life playing Game Dev Story [$3.99 / Free]. Now, admittedly, I wasn't totally engrossed in Hot Springs Story because I'm exponentially more interested in video games than I am maintaining a spa, but what if you threw science fiction in to the mix? Then I'd really be in trouble.

A few hours ago, the guys from War Balloon Games revealed Star Command on Reddit. I'd paraphrase what the game is about, but their succinct description is perfect for getting any simulation fan excited:

Players can build their vessel in their own image - if you prefer a scientific, peace oriented game style you can build long rang scanners and diplomatic facilities to encourage peace and information exchange. Players more focused on settling disputes through force can build their Starship with multiple weapon bays and reinforced hull to absorb heavy damage.

Throughout the game players can hire and manage their crew. Crew members have a variety of skill sets and each of these comes into play when performing tasks on board like research, tactical, engineering and more. Crew members gain new skills as the game progresses making them more and more valuable.

Players can explore the universe, discovering black holes, nebula’s, new planets and eventually make contact with new races. Diplomacy comes into play as some species are naturally drawn to combat while others may be more willing to join you - even exchanging officers on your crew.

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Trenches [99¢] has had an impressive history on the App Store since our initial preview of the game. Originally released on Christmas Eve in 2009, Trenches was soon joined by the not-quite-a-lite version Trenches Boot Camp [Free]. A while later, Stenches: A Zombie Tale of Trenches [99¢] joined the fray, effectively turning Trenches in to a game franchise worthy of spinoffs and pseudo-sequels.

Later, an impressive online multiplayer mode was added, fully utilizing both Game Center and voice chat. Check out the Trenches online multiplayer trailer:

The recently released Trenches Free For All [Free] features everything the full version of Trenches is capable of, including online multiplayer. The catch? A small in-game ad. Other than that, there's absolutely no restrictions of any kind. If you get tired of the ad, you can always spring for the full version of the game for a buck. If you download any version of the game and are looking for people to play with, swing by the thread on our forums where all things Trenches including strategy and online matchmaking is being discussed.

Back in November, Japanese developer CAVE took their expertise in manic shooters and combined it with the dual-stick control scheme that suits touch screens so well to come up with Mushihimesama Bug Panic [$4.99/Lite]. The result was an intense dual-stick shooter with an interesting lock-on offensive mechanic, loads of enemies to kill, and dozens of bullets to avoid. We really enjoyed Mushihimesama Bug Panic in our original review, and its first update improved the experience even more.

Last month during a press event where CAVE announced a port of Deathsmiles for iOS, they also announced that Mushihimesama Bug Panic would be receiving a multiplayer update titled Bug Battle in the near future. Over the weekend, the Bug Battle update became available for download, and after taking the new mode for a spin I can say it’s an incredibly fun addition to an already fantastic game.

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This past week, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new update for one of my favorite games, Pinball Destruction [99¢]. Pinball Destruction came out ages ago, back in April of 2009, and has definitely flown under the radar since. But it’s one of the more unique pinball games in the App Store, and this unexpected update has added some very welcome features to the title.

Pinball Destruction is an extremely simplistic take on pinball, with very basic table designs and insanely bouncy physics. This is intentional, however, as the game is meant to be incredibly fast-paced. It’s best to think of Pinball Destruction as an arcade game based loosely on pinball, because if you’re expecting any sort of realism or accuracy then you’ll be sorely disappointed.

The thing that makes Pinball Destruction so unique is the ability to destroy the elements that make up each table after completing its missions. There are sets of pegs at the top of the screen which act like drop targets. Once you’ve knocked every peg down they reset, and once you’ve knocked them all down a total of 3 times the various bumpers and blocks of the table can be destroyed with the ball. Destroying all table elements allows you to move onto the next table, of which there are 5.

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Back in January at Macworld, we checked out the upcoming puzzle game Look Again! [$1.99] from Smappsoft. Earlier this month the game was released in the App Store, and I’ve finally had a chance to spend some time with the final version. I was intrigued by the core gameplay in Look Again! when I previewed it, which has you matching designs surrounding the screen with an image in the center.

Since then the gameplay has been fine tuned for the better, decreasing the fairly brutal difficulty and also adding a ton more design types to the game. Look Again! isn’t the flashiest game you can buy, but the core mechanic is unique and it’s a fast-paced arcade game that will take a sharp mind to succeed in.

Look Again! contains more than 200 increasingly difficult levels, with each level containing 3 puzzles which must be completed in a set amount of time. Early puzzles have a central image comprised of 2 surrounding images, and the goal is to simply choose which 2 make up that central image.

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Last year we reviewed Spectre 3D [App Store] for the iPhone, Brilliant Bytes' remake of the classic, early '90s Macintosh 3D tank shooter Spectre from Peninsula Gameworks that oldschool Mac gamers likely remember as one of the most hardcore titles available at the time. Spectre 3D has recently received a major update that should notably broaden its appeal. What's more, its also on a limited time, 80%-off sale at a price of $0.99.

New features include:

• iPad support! A new HUD, control scheme, and interface
• All-new Arcade single-player mode
• High-definition Retina Display support
• Completely Re-balanced gameplay
• Game Center support

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Earlier this morning we posted news that Firemint would soon be bringing an update to Real Racing 2 HD [App Store], with support for full-screen 1080p video-out on the iPad 2. This news got us wondering about the overall situation that the iPad 2 and it's new PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processor(s) present to existing games that already utilize TV-out by way of Apple's earlier component and VGA video cables for iOS devices.

I chatted up Keith Shepherd of Imangi, author of Max Adventure [App Store], which has supported TV-out via the aforementioned cables for some time now, to see what he thought the iPad 2's 1080p capability means for existing titles. While he hadn't tested Max on an iPad 2 personally, he felt it likely that the newly supported resolution should be there among those presented to an application by iOS, and therefore presented as an option in his game.

And, he was right.

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I wish I could explain why I've recently found myself so infatuated with a golf game of all things, since my real-world golf experience is limited to doing poorly on driving ranges... But, I digress. EA just released a gameplay trailer for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, and it looks sweet as heck. We were expecting this game to land next Thursday, and EA just confirmed that date on their end.

Check it out:

Keep in mind the original Tiger Woods PGA Tour [99¢] is still just a buck, and it's hard to say if that price will remain the same or not once its successor is released. (Or if the game will even still be sold or not.) So, if you want the old version, or don't particularly care about having the new hotness, don't wait too long on picking it up.

I have some history with other versions of Max and the Magic Marker [$1.99 / HD] . Back in Jan. 2010, I previewed a PC build of the downloadable Wii version. I dug what I saw, though held back on the write-up because the build wasn’t native. At the time, it was suggested to me that Max could make it to other platforms. I’m slapping my head now because I didn’t even consider a touch-based port.

That was stupid of me. Max and the Magic Marker’s core mechanic -- the drawing of objects -- is a more intimate affair with a touch screen. In more measurable terms, the drawing is more precise and satisfying with a finger. Unfortunately, nothing else about Max translates so well.

In brief, Max is a side-scrolling puzzle / platform game wherein you control a imaginative boy who has just been thrust into a colorful world of his conjuring. The obstacles are the same that you’d see in other joints in the genre -- open pits, water, and odd pieces of geometry -- but the hook in Max is that you can construct your own bridges, or stairs, or oddities to circumvent obstructions.

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Anybody who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past month is familiar with Tiny Wings [99¢], the little indie game that could from Andreas Illiger that we fell in love with in our review and then went skyrocketing up the charts to the #1 overall paid position. Tiny Wings has since been knocked down to #2 in the US, but it took an entirely brand new Angry Birds game to do it.

Today the first update to Tiny Wings went live in the App Store, and it adds a number of new features and fixes to the game. The big addition is Game Center support to supplement the existing OpenFeint integration. Previously there was just one leaderboard for overall high scores, but 5 new ones have been added for distance, longest fever time, perfect slides, cloud touches, and coins eaten.

There is also a new nest to earn, allowing for a x30 multiplier, and 3 new achievements associated with it. The Scores option on the main menu is replaced with Stats, where you can view all the local scores for the leaderboards as well as a screen showing a stack of every nest you’ve ever unlocked. Pausing during play will also display all of these same stats for your current game, as well as which island you are currently on. Another new feature is an onscreen counter right above your score display that keeps time of how long you are in fever mode.

Among the many small fixes in this update, there are two big problems from the initial version of Tiny Wings that have thankfully been addressed. The game now no longer crashes when receiving a popup notification, and the ability earn fever mode time while your device is sleeping has been fixed.

The first update to Tiny Wings is a pretty good one, with Game Center support and a new nest being the standout additions. The many other small fixes and tweaks are appreciated as well, making the game a more solid experience overall. Andreas has hinted on his Twitter account that a new mode is in the works for a future update of Tiny Wings, but isn’t spilling any beans on what this mode might be. Until we find out more about the next update, drop by the forums and join the chorus of praise for Tiny Wings, and be sure to grab this current update and check out the new features.

The folks at Firemint have just sent over a brief demonstration video of the next major feature they have cooking for Real Racing 2 HD [$9.99], which will arrive in the next update. Using the video out feature of an iPad 2, Real Racing 2 HD will be able to be displayed on a big screen in full 1080p resolution while the device's 10-inch touchscreen shows a track map and race statistics.

This is the first indication we've seen of an iOS game taking advantage of the iPad 2's ability to render out at a full 1920x1080 HD resolution. On an HDTV, Real Racing 2 HD will run full screen with no black borders and at native 1080p resolution, without scaling.

[ UPDATE: Inspired by this news, we dug deeper and did a little lab work and found that many of the existing iOS games that have supported TV out on earlier devices can be played in full 1080p on the iPad 2 with HDMI or VGA cable -- without an update. See our post on the subject. ]

The game is said to run at a solid 30fps in this mode, and real-time telemetry between the iPad screen and TV will allow for no lag while controlling the game with the iPad.

This announcement is big news, as it effectively paves the way for your iOS device playing the part of a home gaming console in addition to a mobile platform. While not quite as powerful as the current crop of gaming consoles, and iPad 2 is capable of some impressive visuals, and the appeal of being able to play the same games on my living room TV that I play while I’m out and about is huge.

Firemint is vague on a timeframe for this feature's arrival, only saying that it will come in the next major update. Real Racing 2 HD is already on of the best games for showing off the power of an iPad 2, and once this update is released you’ll be able to show it off in your living room in full 1080p.

Back in January, we reviewed Grim Joggers [$1.99] from 10tons Ltd and found it to be a unique take on the endless runner genre. In Grim Joggers, you control a team of 15 joggers all running in line at once. Minding all the different joggers while jumping various deadly hazards and bottomless pits proved to add an interesting dynamic to the gameplay. The goal is to survive for as long as possible while hitting checkpoints along the way that will increase your multiplier and ultimately add to your final score for each run.

We liked Grim Joggers quite a bit when it released, and just a couple of weeks later 10tons sweetened the deal by updating the game with a brand new level and additional Game Center achievements. Now, several weeks later, they’re back again with another update for Grim Joggers. Much like the last update, a new level has been added called Alien Aerobics which features one of the more unique gameplay elements in the game.

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A few weeks back we profiled a few upcoming titles from retro revival studio DotEmu after our meeting out at GDC 2011. One of the titles they had in the works that wasn't on our list is an iPhone port of the early '90s point-and-click puzzle adventure Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon [link], which launched in the App Store this morning, published by Bulkypix. Goblins 2 is the second title in Cocktel Vision's original four-part series to come to iOS, the first, Gobliiins [link], having arrived back in November.

Originally released for the Amiga and Atari ST, Gobliins 2 puts you in control of two different little goblins, each with his own set of abilities, on a quest across the colorful landscape to rescue poor Prince Buffoon.

The King's son, the Prince Buffoon, has been kidnapped by the evil Amoniak. What else is there to do but to call upon daring adventurers, ever ready to confront greatest evils in the name of honor and thus to save the Prince? Two talented gobliins volunteer to take of this grave task. FINGUS is a serious, polite and careful little fellow. WINKLE is an oddball and a joker, cheeky and reckless. They go seeking Tazaar's help in order to find the Prince. It is your job to help them on their way.

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Over the weekend, an interesting new game dropped into the App Store called Bastards [99¢] from developer Octavian Stirbel. Bastards is a Western-themed FPS that’s built on the Doom Classic [$6.99] iPhone source code which was released for public use under the GPL License. There have been a number of games released in the App Store (both authorized and unauthorized) that have used the Doom engine, but frankly not many of them have been very good. Bastards is one of the good ones though, and despite being a fairly short ride it’s worth checking out if you liked Doom on the iPhone and are looking for something new.

Bastards is pretty light on story, but all you really need to know is you play as the cowboy Boot Mckane who is on a mission to kill every last member of the Bastards Gang. The game only contains 3 single player levels, but each one is pretty expansive. Much like Doom, you’ll need to explore each of the maps to find colored keys that gain you access to locked areas and allow you to progress, adding a very small puzzle element to all of the outlaw blasting. Since this is based on Doom, the controls work very well on the touch screen, and there is no y-axis so no need to worry about aiming up or down. There are 3 different options for control layouts, and the ability to turn off the HUD elements if you want.

So basically, Bastards is a solid FPS in the classic style of Doom, but what really won me over about it is the Old West theme. Weapons include classic six-shooter revolvers which can be dual-wielded, or sticks of dynamite instead of the typical rocket launcher. Health pickups are represented by bottles of liquor, and armor pickups are little sheriff badges that add to your “authority level”. The landscapes are open plains littered with cacti, horses, and chickens (which can be shot or blown up). Enemies are an assortment of gun slinging outlaws, and the various sound effects add to the spaghetti Western feel of the game. In a world chock full of space-themed shooters, there’s just something fun about blasting away bad guys in the Old West.

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