Earlier this week we posted about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12's immanent arrival on the App Store. EA is saying it will be released in March, and it obviously didn't appear on the App Store last night, which means it will likely be released next Thursday. The existing Tiger Woods PGA Tour [99¢] recently dropped to a buck, so if you're really looking to get a taste of Tiger, now is your chance. We reviewed it when it was first released, and it's a very solid iOS golf game.

It's hard to say how long this sale will last, but I doubt it will persist past the actual release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. If you don't necessarily care about having the latest and greatest installment in the series, this is totally worth snagging while it's on sale. Alternatively, you could wait a week for Tiger 12, but just keep in mind it will likely launch at one of the standard EA price points somewhere around $10.

Last month we reviewed the (Universal) iOS conversion of the classic cybersports title Speedball 2 Evolution [App Store] from Tower Studios, Vivid Games and The Bitmap Brothers. We were thrilled to be able to relive the fun we had with the 1990 original on our favorite mobile game devices today -- and we aren't the only ones, looking at the title's impressive App Store rankings since launch.

To bring the undecided on board, Tower Studios has just released a free "taster" version of Speedball 2 [App Store] that provides a hands-on glimpse of what the game is all about. This free version delivers only a few minutes of gameplay -- the Career mode Speedball Cup (one game) played up to half time -- but it should help in deciding whether to grab the full version which, incidentally, was recently reduced in price from $2.99 to $.99 for a limited time.

Speedball 2 is a futuristic cybersport that's something of a mix between handball and ice hockey. The game takes place between two opposing teams — nine players to a team — in an enclosed, metal arena littered with power-ups and arrayed in warp portals and various score-enhancing mechanisms. Points are scored by getting the metallic ball past the opposing defense and into the goal, but brutality and violence are rewarded along the way. The overall feel is something akin to Atari's earlier, football-inspired arcade cybersport Cyberball, I've always felt. It's nicely visceral.

I recommend that anyone who hasn't played Speedball 2 Evolution give the free demo version a try.

Developer Ponos, creators of two of my favorite puzzle games Puzzle Prism [$2.99/Lite] and Puzzle Cosmos [$2.99], have just released the latest game in their “Mr.” series of casual titles called Mr. Ninja [99¢/Lite]. Mr. Ninja joins the ranks of Mr. Space!! [99¢/Lite] and Mr. AahH!! [Free] as containing a simple gameplay mechanic with a compelling high scoring system, all wrapped up in stylish visuals (in this particular case, extremely orange stylish visuals).

Mr. Ninja plays similar to games like Dizzypad [Free/HD] and Jump O’Clock [99¢] where you must jump to and from a series of spinning discs, but with the added element of destroying spiky enemies along the way. One touch of the screen sends your ninja leaping from one disc to another, and just coming into contact with enemies causes him to slice them into pieces using a katana. The main goal is to go as far as possible, and missing one landing will drop Mr. Ninja into oblivion, thus ending your run.

The mechanics are super tight in Mr. Ninja, and when you end up missing a disc it’s only due to your own misjudgment. Levels are randomized each time, offering a different setup of disc sizes, rotation speeds, and enemy placements. Aside from discs, you will occasionally jump into a cannon which will fire you off into a predetermined direction. Slicing up enemies consecutively will add to a score multiplier, which is the key to getting huge scores in Mr. Ninja.

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In celebration of the release of Final Fantasy III [$15.99], Square Enix is currently having a sale on just about every iOS game in their library. If you don’t fancy the 3D graphics in Final Fantasy III, now is a great time to pick up either of the first two Final Fantasy games or Secret of Mana for a more classic RPG experience. Of course if you do fancy 3D graphics and are in the mood for an iOS exclusive RPG, then Chaos Rings comes highly recommended. Check out the full list of links below:

iPhone and iPod touch games:

• Final Fantasy, $8.99 → $3.99
• Final Fantasy II, $8.99 → $3.99
• Chaos Rings, $12.99 → $5.99
• Secret of Mana, $8.99 → $3.99
• Hills and Rivers Remain, $4.99 → $1.99
• Crystal Defenders, $7.99 → $3.99
• Sliding Heroes, 99¢ → FREE
• Vanguard Storm, $3.99 → $1.99
• Voice Fantasy, $2.99 → 99¢
• Song Summoner, $9.99 → $4.99

iPad games:

• Chaos Rings for iPad, $15.99 → $7.99
• Crystal Defenders for iPad, $7.99 → $3.99
• Chocobo Panic, $3.99 → $1.99

There’s definitely some decent bargains to be had in this current sale on any of these Square Enix titles that you might not have picked up already. The sale will run until March 31st, so you have about a week to mull over your purchasing decisions before they bump back up to normal prices. And as always, you can use AppShopper.com, the universal AppShopper app [Free], or our price drops and freebies forum to stay up to date on all the best sales going on in the App Store.

Right around this time last month, we learned that Final Fantasy III might be coming to iOS by way of a scanned image from Japanese gaming magazine V-Jump, and the very next day it was confirmed by a tweet on Square Enix’s Twitter account. Next we wondered which version of Final Fantasy III it would be, and this was also quickly discovered to be an enhanced remake of the 2006 Nintendo DS title, which itself was a remake of the original Japanese Famicom (NES) game from 1990.

Following along? Good, because it gets even more confusing. Most Americans fondly remember playing Final Fantasy III on their Super Nintendo, but due to Square skipping several Final Fantasy releases outside of Japan, what we know as Final Fantasy III on Super NIntendo is actually Final Fantasy VI chronologically. The 2006 DS remake marked the first time the true Final Fantasy III had been officially released in North America, and now an enhanced version of this game is available for download on the App Store.

Whew! Despite all the confusing backstory, Final Fantasy III is a highly regarded entry in the series. This new iOS version takes the 3D graphics from the DS and enhances them both with higher quality textures and support for Retina Displays. It doesn’t quite look as visually impressive as some games that have been built from the ground up for the power of iOS devices, but it looks far and away better than the DS version and the reworked controls for the touch screen work extremely well. A touch anywhere virtual analog stick handles character movement, and practically everything in the game from the menus to the battles themselves is tap friendly.

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It seems like ages ago that I got my first look at Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP back at GDC '10. We later checked in with the guys from Superbrothers at E3, where we discovered the shift to the iPad. An iPhone version is still in the works, but it's not expected to appear for another month yet. Now, as mentioned in our preview earlier this week, a big part of your enjoyment of Sword & Sworcery will come from discovering things on your own, taking your time, and enjoying how well the pixel art melds with the music and vice versa.

Since so much of the game is the actual experience, I'm going to try something new and write this review in layers starting with high level commentary that spoils basically nothing straight on down to actually discussing the themes of the game and spoiling everything. I'll leave it up to you to decide when to stop reading, just keep in mind if you want the most out of the game you should go in to it knowing little more about it other than it's a cool looking adventure game with great music. In fact, if you're holding out for the game on your iPhone, I'd try to just avoid all the iPad commentary entirely, as difficult as that likely will be for the next month.

Anyway, on with the show.

Sword & Sworcery is a point and click adventure game with art by Craig D. Adams and music by Jim Guthrie. Craig and Jim have been working together for years now, as evident by more than a few videos on Vimeo by the duo, and Jim has an impressive catalog of music on iTunes which is also worth checking out. After getting mixed up with Capybara Games, Sword & Sworcery is the first time they've worked together on something interactive. The game was built from the ground up with both the music designed for the game as well as the game designed for the music, making it one of the most unique gaming experiences I think I've had on my iPad.

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Remember that Dungeon Raid [$2.99] update we talked about last week? It’s up and available to download now. Version 1.3 of the popular, match-3-with-a-significant-twist game brings about ten unlockable character classes, a total of ten skills, five new “special” monsters to sword to death, new introduction tales, and 75 new achievements. Yeah, I meant to write 75.

But wait, what’s up with the races? Our other post on this subject, based on developer response in our forums, had the skinny:

Races will, essentially, add in an advantage versus drawback element. Each race has a special bonus, but is also weak to a specific enemy type, so there’s an obvious strategic piece being added to the core game here, a perfect addition for those seeking more challenge.

Dungeon Raid, by the way, is a fantastic game. Fearless leader Eli Hodapp gave it a full five stars in his review from much earlier this year. Also, it’s safe to assume that even more content is on the way -- the devs said as much in our forums, but the catch is that future updates might not be as large as this one. They’d rather do smaller, more manageable tweaks in the future in order to get content out to you faster, which seems like a solid plan to me.

Have you given the new Dungeon Raid a spin yet? What do you think?

It's Wednesday morning and time to do the same old song and dance we do every week around here: Go digging through the New Zealand App Store to see what kind of treasures await at 11:00 PM EST when those same games are released on the US App Store. This week comes with a particularly awesome haul, both expected and unexpected.

If you're new to this whole deal, as mentioned previously, all of these games should show up for download in the good ol' US of A later tonight. If you're reading TouchArcade from somewhere other than North America, these games should all automagically appear on the App Store in your neck of the woods around midnight local time. Usually these same links will work as well to find the game in your region.

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Last December we reviewed Big Blue Bubble’s puzzle game Burn the Rope [$1.99/Lite] and found it to be a unique and challenging experience. Less than a month later, an update brought new levels, Game Center integration, and several gameplay tweaks that took care of most of the complaints in our original review. Then, several weeks later, another update added more new levels, additional gameplay elements in the form of new bugs and bonus rounds, and Retina Display support. What started out as a quirky little puzzle game quickly evolved in a matter of weeks into one of the most fun, content-filled, and beautiful games on the App Store. Many people felt the same too, as Burn the Rope spent a significant amount of time hanging around the top paid charts in the App Store.

Now this game is available in an iPad native version called Burn the Rope HD [$4.99] which encompasses all the new content and features that have been added into the iPhone and iPod touch version since its release. My first concern when thinking about playing Burn the Rope on an iPad is that it doesn’t sound terribly fun to spin a larger, heavier device around in my hands, which is a main component of the gameplay. Luckily Big Blue Bubble has thought about this as well, and has come up with a simple but perfect solution to this problem.

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EA just dropped us a note about the upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 which apparently is coming to the App Store this month. Knowing what we do about EA and how they release games, that only means two possible dates for its release: This Thursday the 24th or next Thursday the 31st. While we're not entirely sure which of these two dates it will drop on, we do know quite a few details about what it will include-

The coolest addition is also the feature EA boasts about first, a "closest to the pin" Facebook challenge which kicks off twice a week. Apparently, much like how you're able to compete with friends in Bejeweled 2 using Facebook, you will soon be able to take a shot on a par 3 hole to see who can get the closest to the hole. It sounds cool, but seems to be entirely dependent on having friends who use Facebook, have an iOS device, and have purchased Tiger Woods 12. There's also the "Tiger Challenge" which is an array of over 20 mini games that earn in-game cashola to then be spent on the entree fee to PGA events or to pump up your golfer's stats.

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As I sit down to write this review, I can't help but notice that it's rather late in the day -- evening, in fact. The plan was to get this post up and out hours ago. The problem here is the fact that I've been playing the game that is the focus of this review, Forget-Me-Not [App Store] from Nyarlu Labs, this entire day -- from initial download in the wee morning hours to moments ago. Whenever I managed to set it down, just minutes later I felt that a little bit more "research" was needed. And, I have no doubt that before this post is through, yet more research will be called for. That is how excellent this retrolicious lovechild of PAC-MAN and Rogue truly is.

This game is just awesome. It drops your blocky little onscreen avatar into the top level of the ever-changing, pixellated NEON DUNJUN on a mission to collect flowers, shoot monsters, gather fruit, grab the key, and get to the next floor -- and fast, lest the waving ghost of motivation appear! When you collect all the flowers on the floor, the doorway to the next floor appears, and from there you just need the key (which the monsters are fond of running off with). Collect as many flowers as you can in an unbroken sequence to see some real score multipliers kick in.

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I'll fully admit that I'm a total sucker for anything that vaguely follows the Metroidvania formula. Something deep inside of my genetic code just loves navigating a maze-like mixture of corridors and platforms with more areas becoming unlocked as I collect new skills, weapons, and abilities. Robot Wants Kitty [99¢] plays in to this perfectly, even integrating my love for cats. Based on the Flash game with the same name, Robot Wants Kitty has been fantastically translated to the touchscreen of iOS devices and plays just as well as recent platformers like League of Evil.

The basic premise of the game is that you're a robot, and you want to collect kitties, as the title suggests. Doing so involves picking up new "apps" for your robot, to program it to do additional things. For instance, at the start of the game you're not even capable of jumping. You've got to figure out how to get to the jump app, usually by falling, and avoiding enemies. Actually acquiring the kitty on each level will requiring your robot to be fairly decked out, both with abilities like powered up lasers, rocket boosters, and multi-colored key cards.

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We've made several posts covering the games that we were shown at the EA Mobile / Chillingo media event that took place during GDC 2011. The last title we've got to share from that event is an ambitious twist on the tower defense formula called Anomaly Warzone Earth, coming from Polish group 11 Bit Studios, to be published by Chillingo for both iPhone and iPad

In 2018, the world stood in terror and watched as a giant comet flung from the heavens entered our atmosphere and slammed into the Earth. Impact point: Baghdad. Only, it wasn't a comet. Upon impact, the alien craft erected a gigantic dome, concealing the invaders' activities from all the world. It's up to you to command waves of Earth forces in order to penetrate the alien defenses and confront the otherworldly intruders.

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Last week we showed you the new trailer for Gameprom’s latest iOS pinball title War Pinball, and over the weekend the game went live in the App Store. It comes in two flavors, War Pinball [99¢] for iPhone and iPod touch and War Pinball HD [$2.99] for iPad. If you’ve been a fan of Gameprom’s iOS pinball titles over the past couple of years, you should be instantly familiar with the basic mechanics and layout of War Pinball. But this new game is easily their best effort yet, and besides containing 3 solid pinball tables within one app it’s also a great showpiece for owners of Retina Display devices or the new iPad 2.

The 3 tables in War Pinball are all based on MGM action movies from the 80s and 90s - Platoon, Navy Seals, and Missing in Action. Gameprom has done an excellent job putting these licenses to good use, and each table features visual elements, music, and sound bites that are appropriate to the movie it’s representing. Even the table missions follow along with the movies really well, and if you’re familiar with the basic plot elements from the movies you’ll get a kick out of seeing nods to them as you play through each table. As a quick note, there are several curse words contained in the voice samples taken from the movies, but there is an option to turn these off or set a password lock to restrict access to certain tables if you’re concerned about younger players being exposed to them.

Each table in War Pinball is rendered in full 3D and contains more complex designs than any of the previous Gameprom titles. The visuals are crisp and colorful, and look especially great on Retina Display devices. War Pinball HD is also optimized for the iPad 2, and it not only looks razor sharp on the larger screen but it runs at an absolutely insane frame rate, running fast and smooth without so much as a single hitch. I’ve always loved having an assortment of pinball apps on my iPhone in my pocket at all times, but in the case of War Pinball HD the performance is so impressive on the iPad 2 that it’s my preferred platform for playing the game.

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Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP has been on our collective minds here at TouchArcade for over a year now. The first time I saw the game, I called it "the most amazing game I've seen at GDC". Blake was sitting nearby for the initial demonstration of the game, and later offered his own remarkably positive impressions. A year passed without much news on Sword & Sworcery aside from the Superbrothers team popping up for air every now and again to deliver some new screenshots, a brief video, or vaguely mention a potential release date. We caught up with them again at this year's GDC where we were let in on the terrible secret of Sword & Sworcery's development.

It turned out that what we were shown of Sword & Sworcery was all that was actually even completed at the time, and we had fallen in love with what amounted to little more than a prototype. This unconventional development approach actually allowed Superbrothers to follow the community feedback on what people expected the game to be, implementing quite a few of the suggestions along the way. In comparison, typically when we're given a game preview the title is finished or close to it. At that point, there's not much a developer can do with major community complaints aside from attempt to address them in updates. Superbrothers turned this process on its head, and it shows when you're playing the game.

Before I continue with this preview, there's something you should know about Sword & Sworcery. It's as much of an experience as it is a game, and at times it's more of an experience of pixel art and music than it is an actual game. This makes determining what is and isn't technically a spoiler very difficult, as discovery is such an important element of this whole experimental project that Superbrothers is conducting.

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