Hey, have you heard the one about the dolphin with a laser beam attached to its head who must battle enemies on his way into space in an effort to save the Prime Minister who has been abducted by aliens? Oh, you haven’t? Well, neither have I, but that is the awesomely absurd premise in Dingo Games’ appropriately titled Laser Dolphin, which appeared on Mac and PC a few years back and is now making its way to iOS. I’ve had a preview copy of the game for the past few days and have been enjoying it a lot so far, not just for the crazy story but for the solid underwater action and fun variety of modes it contains.

At first blush, Laser Dolphin may look like Ecco the Dolphin with guns, and that description wouldn’t be totally far off. The game is presented in a 2D side view with levels filled with corridors to explore. You can also launch above the surface of the water to leap over barriers and gain access to new areas, or even perform tricks in the air. On the most basic levels, Laser Dolphin definitely has a few things in common with Ecco the Dolphin.

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Adult Swim Games VP Jeff Olsen has said something that’s music to my ears, at least. In a recent interview with Joystiq, Olsen made the point that an original IP is often a more profitable game than a branded one. Basically, he believes that branded games like your Fast Five’s of the App Store world are more inclusive. "The audience for a casual game based on completely original IP, in my experience, is almost unlimited," Olsen said. "If you're basing it on a show, you're probably shutting more people out than letting them in."

And Adult Swim knows a thing or two about making branded games -- before they started making ports based on original Flash-based games or concepts, Adult Swim was licensing out titles based on its cartoon content. As Joystiq rightly points out, its branded games weren’t good, but obviously Adult Swim itself is now capitalizing on unusual and unique in-house IP offerings like one of the greatest games on the planet, Robot Unicorn Attack [$.99].

Awesomely, even more unique stuff is in the pipeline -- a very rotund and slidey pipeline, I should add: “We're trying to get to the point where we can release a new mobile game a month," Olsen said. Hell yeah! Although, admittedly, I really want one of those to be Robot Unicorn Attack 2.

[Via Joystiq]

Across Age [$2.99] is one of the few really, really good RPG-adventure game hybrids available on the App Store. It’s kind of like Zelda, as it has plenty of musky environments and disheveled tombs with entirely too many moveable blocks, treasure chests, and baubles that open locked doors. The Zelda-like approach to the design is what makes Across Age a standout among the throngs of games, but I think you’ve got to appreciate the cool time-shifting, real time battle, and party member mechanics. In brief, it’s good.

Also, the DX version, Across Age DX [$.99], is now cheaper.

Starting now and for a limited time, you can download Across Age DX for just .99 cents, a big time savings of two bucks. DX, by the way, is a huge improvement over the original the we reviewed -- not only does DX boast retina visuals, it also incorporates a much better way to do battle, slicker animations, and a new dungeon. It’s a new game, basically, adapted from the old one.

So, yeah, go grab it if you’re an RPG nut. We’ve no clue how long this’ll last, so make the choice soon.

Careful watchers of the top charts on the App Store have noticed an interesting trend over the weekend with various apps inexplicably substantially changing position. Previously (and possibly still currently) Apple seemed to use the number of downloads an app had to form both the top free and paid lists. While this method might have made sense originally, gaming these download-only lists has turned into a remarkably profitable enterprise for those that have apps with a large install base which also have a way to push users into downloading other apps.

If you've played a freemium game lately that offered some kind of benefit for downloading a completely different game, chances are the developer behind the title you're being incentivized into downloading paid the original developer a bucket full of money for that promotion. For both developers it's a win/win situation, one (often) gets a fat stack of cash while the other gets a massive boost in overall charting position along with all the benefits that includes. The issue with this is that clicking a link in your favorite social farming time sink to get more virtual oats for your virtual cows to download another game creates a top-download list that might not be entirely representative of what people are actually even using for anything more than that download bonus.

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Get Outta My Galaxy [99¢] was released in late March and provided some really great puzzle and action elements with levels that are actually little Super Mario Galaxy-like planetoids. We get more in depth in our review:

Each level, much like Super Mario Galaxy is a unique planet with different kinds of vegetation, obstacles, and more. They're all spherical in shape, and generally are small enough that you never really get lost. Progressing in the game requires clearing a planet of Wikus, which just involves giving them a smack with one of your arms. There's a number of different types of Wikus, and various power-ups as well to mix things up. After you've "dealt with" all of the offending Wikus, you need to make it to a glowing stone of sorts, hit that, and you're off to the next planet.

Also mentioned in the review was that I wasn't really crazy about the game's controls which were all tilt-based and nowhere near sensitive enough which resulted in severely tilting the device to play. Now that it has a virtual joystick, there's no reason not to pick this game up. In addition, the developers are also working on a "big content update" which will "deepen the gaming experience and boost the replay value" along with eventually supporting the iPad. Sounds good to me!

As we discussed last week, and has become commonplace whenever a new holiday rolls around, Rovio has released an update to Angry Birds Seasons [99¢/Lite/HD] adding 15 brand new levels themed after the upcoming Easter holiday. In addition, there is a new Easter leaderboard and several new achievements in Game Center, as well as some new golden eggs to discover.

Rovio has also released a new gameplay trailer showcasing the new Easter levels, which are full of brightly colored eggs and pigs clad in bunny ears. Check it out:

This latest update is free for current owners of Angry Birds Seasons and the iPad version Angry Birds Seasons HD, so make sure to grab the latest version to check out the new Easter theme. We’re still waiting to hear more about Rovio’s planned game save syncing across multiple devices, and we’ll let you know when we have more concrete details about that feature.

In the meantime, feel free to speculate on the next holiday update for Angry Birds Seasons. The smart money would most likely be on obvious choices like Cinco de Mayo or Mother’s Day, but I’m hoping Rovio doesn’t forget about the renowned National Dance Like A Chicken Day on May 14th.

Future game developers, it might be a good idea to make sure the main character in your upcoming game has feathers. Currently in the US App Store, 4 of the 5 overall top paid apps are games featuring some type of bird. The newest of these titles, and the game that has recently toppled Angry Birds Rio [99¢/Lite] at the #1 spot, is Gamevil’s Air Penguin [99¢].

It’s not hard to see why either, as Air Penguin contains all the elements that can make for a successful game. It has adorable graphics, dead simple gameplay, and an engaging scoring system that ensures you’ll keep coming back for more.

Global warming has caused the glaciers to break apart into pieces in Antarctica where Air Penguin lives. Your job is to direct him across the scattered pieces of ice in an effort to reunite him with his separated family members.

This portly penguin will bounce high into the air and you control his direction by tilting your device, trying to bounce safely along each chunk of ice. Breaking up all the bouncing gameplay is a turtle which you can land on and control for a quick ride through the ocean, and some segments have you landing on a long sheet of ice and literally skating along while avoiding seals and holes in the ice.

Each of the 100 levels in Story mode have 5 golden fish which can be collected along the way, and these can also be used to purchase special items to help you in your journey. These items include things like making seals smaller and easier to avoid, covering the gaps in the ice while you're skating, or giving you a second chance after you’ve fallen into the water. Besides collecting the gold fish to use as currency while you play, you can also get more via IAP if you’re running low and need to buy some assistance.

Scoring is cumulative across all the Story mode levels, with an added bonus that grows based on how many levels you complete in succession without dying. There is also a Survival mode which gives you a randomly generated endless level to see how long you can last, and Game Center is integrated to track high scores across both modes and unlock achievements.

I’m not usually a big fan of tilt-only games, but Air Penguin definitely does it right. The tilting is extremely accurate, so it makes completing acrobatic leaps of faith a joy rather than frustrating. The tilt sensitivity can also be adjusted to your liking, and Air Penguin is the perfect game to pop into when you have a few minutes to kill here and there. Of course it’s also extremely easy to get sucked in and play for great lengths of time trying to perfect scores and collect every fish, which is another hallmark of a good game.

I can definitely recommend checking out the newest bird-themed sensation to hit the App Store, as I’ve been having a pretty great time with Air Penguin so far and players in our forums are enjoying it as well.

Just about a month ago we saw the release of Final Fantasy III [$15.99] in the App Store, Square Enix’s 3D remake of their 1990 NES role-playing game and an enhanced port of the 2006 Nintendo DS release. The iOS version is the definitive version of the game, featuring Retina Display graphics and an intuitive touch interface, and despite some archaic gameplay design as a result of being based on a game from 20 years ago, we thoroughly enjoyed Final Fantasy III in our review.

While Final Fantasy III was released for iPhone and iPod touch devices, many players in our forums noted that the game played extremely well on the larger screen of the iPad in 2x mode. Yesterday, however, Square Enix revealed on their Facebook page that they will be bringing a native iPad version of Final Fantasy III to the App Store this Thursday. It isn’t clear whether there will be any further enhancements to the iPad version beyond a native resolution and screen size, but it should be a better experience than pixel-doubled mode for iPad gamers wanting to get in on some Final Fantasy III. Here’s a single teaser shot from the iPad version:

In other Square Enix news, the developer has updated the teaser page for Chrono Trigger that we stumbled across last December to include a date of April 25th. Unfortunately, it appears that the date mentioned is in regards to a mobile version of Chrono Trigger for feature phones, and not the iOS iteration that we’ve been patiently anticipating. Since their recently announced new game specifically mentions smartphone devices, we would expect the same from the Chrono Trigger teaser page if it had anything to do with an iOS version of the game.

There’s still no further word about the release date for the long, long awaited port of Final Fantasy Tactics on iOS either, but we’ll keep digging around for more information on this and anything new with Chrono Trigger coming to iOS. Also, we’ll take a look at the iPad version of Final Fantasy III when it hits the App Store this Thursday.

If you haven't heard of it yet, Kickstarter is currently the largest funding platform to creative projects in the world. It's the kind of site that you can sink hours into looking at all the incredible proposals people have. If you find something you like, you can "kickstart" it by throwing some money at the project. Each project has rewards to thank those who fund the project and one of the lower-rungs of the funding ladder usually involves getting a copy of whatever game/movie/product/etc is being proposed. It's a great system, and I really recommend looking into it if you've got some extra cash and want to support some great projects.

Anyway, something that caught my eye today was a project called "Tweet Land - The first set of games that play with reality!". It's a really cool idea, and it's already well on its way to meeting its funding goal. The basic premise is to release a series of iOS (and web) games that use tweets to create events in the game:

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While the rest of the world anxiously waits for GLaDOS to reboot, Gamevil announced on our forums late last night that Zenonia 3: The Midgard Story will be released on April 28th. In fact, if you want to know basically anything about the game, the beta testing thread on our forums is full of more information than anyone would likely ever need to know about it.

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Last December, MacRumors reported on survey results showing that users of portable games are increasingly defecting from dedicated devices such as the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP to smartphones such as the iPhone.

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If you were one of the many people who loved Galaxy on Fire 2 [$9.99 / Lite] (and understandably so, the game is great), you're in for a treat with the update landing later this month. Give the recently released trailer a look:

This update essentially includes two components. For free, all players will get access to three "refurbished" space ships from the original Galaxy on Fire in addition to a personal space station where you can store multiple space ships and cargo. The Valkyrie portion of the update is an add-on available via IAP which includes a new storyline (with voiceovers), as well as new ships, weaponry, and improved equipment. There's also new planets, and a "black market trading system" which we're anxious to try out.

All of this is landing on the 28th, so make sure you clear out that weekend if you're a Galaxy on Fire fan.

Early this morning Gizmodo spotted what might be the craziest iPhone accessory I've seen yet. Creating steering-wheel attachments for iOS devices is nothing new, in fact, we reviewed one a while back and found that it basically added nothing to the experience aside from a piece of plastic to lug around. For ¥1,599 (roughly $19 USD) you can now get a steering wheel with with speakers that are actually powered by a Nokia battery (sold separately, oddly enough).

Even though the whole steering wheel attachment thing might not add that much to the game, I can't help but think a (comparatively) huge set of powered speakers hooked up to your iPhone 4 while playing a game like Real Racing 2 [$6.99] might do something for you. Although that "something" might just amount to annoying everyone nearby.

[Gizmodo via IT Media]

This morning beloved developed Square Enix announced another iOS title via a cryptic teaser page:

What you're looking at is all we know about the game, we don't even know the title. I figured that potentially looking up Shinji Hashimoto or Motomu Toriyama might at least yield some clues as to what type of game this might be judging by their past work history. Unfortunately, they've both worked on a wide array of Square Enix titles, so even that isn't much help.

The French wording doesn't give off any clues either, which according to my wonderful in-house translator means, "The world is fake, dreams of the night are truth." I've got my fingers crossed for an iOS version of something similar to The World Ends With You, but I'm basing that off nothing more than I really want an iOS version of The World Ends With You.

In other news, still no word on either Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy Tactics!

You may remember nearly a year ago when perpetually busy developer Crescent Moon Games announced a new title by the name of Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants. It was a platforming game with a combination of 2.5D and fully 3D gameplay, set in a colorful and cartoonish 3D world with the cute space boy Ultra Kid as its main character. A couple of months later, late last June, we got a peek at the first teaser video for Ultra Kid, and it looked really promising.

About this same time, Crescent Moon had taken on the massive cosmetic overhaul of Aralon: Sword and Shadow [$9.99], and due to that project taking up most of their focus Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants got put on the back burner. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard much about him since then, despite the upcoming thread in our forums still receiving a fair bit of interest.

Then yesterday, Ultra Kid was resurrected, but not quite in the way you might think. Crescent Moon announced a brand new game, Ultra Kid Sprint, which is an endless running style game using the same graphics and set in the same universe as Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants.

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