Here at TouchArcade, we are not shy about our love of cats. That’s what makes the upcoming Techno Kitten Adventure so exciting - it features not just a cat, but a kitten, and that kitten is wearing a jetpack. Along with the jetpack kitten are other amazing things like rainbows, unicorns, and techno music. Indeed, Techno Kitten Adventure contains more ironically cool internet memes than you can shake a stick at.

Techno Kitten Adventure has been available as an Xbox Live Indie title since last year, and now developer Elite Gudz is bringing an improved version to the App Store. Gameplay is similar to the many iCopter games that have been released, which you can see in the following teaser trailer. Unfortunately, the man in the cat suit is not representative of in-game graphics:

So, as I mentioned, the version of Techno Kitten Adventure that is coming to iOS is an improved version of the current game. Basically what you see in the trailer isn't what you'll be playing on your device, but I just couldn't resist posting that video. Those MS Paint-style graphics might have a certain campy charm, but the screens of the updated version available on the Techno Kitten Adventure Facebook page show much more pleasing visuals.

If you look closely, you'll notice such stellar additions as dolphins wearing top hats, a pterodactyl with a bow tie, a flame shark, and a snowman in Hell. If those things don't get you excited, then I just don't know what will. This revamped version of Techno Kitten Adventure is set to hit the App Store on June 7th. If you like cats, unicorns, rainbows, or any other matter of silliness, then it’s one you’ll want to keep an eye out for. We’ll take another look at Techno Kitten Adventure when it’s released.

The iCade is here. It started as an April Fools joke and became a reality. We got ours this evening and wanted to share a few unboxing photos. Its Bluetooth controls work right out of the box with all 100 games in Atari's Greatest Hits [App Store] and so far it's been a blast to play with.

We'll post our full review of the system tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Way back in October of last year, just before Halloween, we learned that an official Evil Dead game was in the works. For fans of the 1980s cult-classic horror flick, this was some pretty exciting news, especially with how faithfully the announcement trailer mimicked the original trailer for the actual movie. Unfortunately, since that announcement, the Evil Dead game has somewhat fallen off the radar, with very little new information being released for the title.

The project most certainly was not dead though, as developer Trigger Apps has been occasionally popping into our forums to let our members know that the game is taking longer than expected, but is still very much on the way. In fact, if plans go as expected, Evil Dead will be available sometime next month. There aren’t a ton of details just yet on exactly what the gameplay will entail, but we do know that you’ll be playing through all the major events of the movie plus some additional events unique to the game.

Trigger Apps has released a new batch of in-game screenshots for Evil Dead, which you can check out below (click to enlarge):

We expect that more information will slowly be revealed as Evil Dead nears its release next month. Be sure to follow along with the upcoming games thread in our forums for even more information and discussion of the game. Evil Dead will be launching for 3rd generation iPhone and iPod touch devices as well as both iPads, and we’ll have more details as we get closer to the release in the coming weeks.

There’s a way to simulate 3D visuals on devices with front-facing cameras. Researchers Jeremie Francone and Lawrence Nigay have proved that with i3D [Free], a brand new app that is available on the App Store right now for the generous price of $0.

Is it a game? No. It’s a proof of concept that uses a device’s front camera to track a user’s head in order to trick their eyes into seeing 3D through ‘a small window.’ But while it has no use as a game, the overall tech shows promise as a middleware tool that could, maybe, grant more adventurous developers the ability to make their own 3D scenes.

The thought that Apple devices, or even other handhelds with front-facing cameras, could someday be able to spit out 3D -- illusion or not -- is an interesting one. Nintendo’s next generation portable, the Nintendo 3DS, is centered on its use of glasses-less 3D. If that hook were to become not so unique, what would be the point of picking up the device?

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A one-man games development guru has decided, with the visual might of the Unreal Development Kit, to add a new dimension to Crush the Castle [$.99] catapult games. I’m not talking about time, here; nah, I’m talking about 3D.

It’s a good idea, and if plans stay firm, you’ll be able to check out what “Archer X” is coming up with a little later this month or in June. So far, he’s drained two months into the project and is looking for some feedback based on the video embedded just below.

The game you’re seeing is called “Bizango Blast” and there are a few twists that separate it from its influencers. First, and most important of all, is the catapult. As of right now, it appears as though you’ll be locked into a singular perspective before firing -- one that will require you to fire your balls of tower-death into specific weak slabs or points of interests in order to wreak havoc within and outside objects.

Another thing we’re noticing in the footage is the focus on non-destruction. In Angry Birds [$.99 / Lite / HD], the object is kill pigs nestled within the game’s obstructions. With this, the goal is to avoid cracking eggs that are dropped into various locations inside or outside the various structures you’ll be destroying.

There’s still some work to go, but Bizango is looking radical so far. It certainly has a cool visual style and, hey, the promise of power-ups is always a plus in our books.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this one, for sure.

UPDATE: Spiral Knights is still 'go,' but this specific release, apparently, was and has never been slated for iOS as was suggested. It is "is the story currently being told on the PC." However, an iOS-specific release is now in the works and we'll bring you those details soon.

Earlier this year, Playground State, a small five-man indie development studio headed up by two brothers, announced plans to release a set of serial FPS games under the umbrella of a franchise called “Knights.” A bit of buzz followed. The series had all the makings of a promising one, but after funding fell through, we’re left wondering if there is a slice of hope for the first game in the series, Knights: Spiral Islands.

Spiral Islands was the first of two known serials in Knights. The other was being called Humming Bell Station, though that was being put on the backburner until Spiral Islands was complete.

In both, you would have been given the reigns of a space knight who had to best the evil was thrown at you. In an interesting twist, Knights wasn’t just going to be a standard shooter; the studio had plans to break up the games into bite-sized chunks, each of which would present a different style of play. A co-op, a narrative-led single-player, and a competitive component were all mentioned at the time of announcement.

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It's hard to believe it's already WWDC (and E3) season already. The always-accelerating fast-paced nature of the App Store (and mobile devices in general) have made this year absolutely fly by. Anyway, if you're unfamiliar, WWDC is Apple's event which falls around the same time every year and is usually kicked off with a keynote address by Steve Jobs. While this event is entirely Apple-centric, E3 is all about video games of all kinds. Unfortunately, these two events fall on the same week this year, which is going to make covering both events pretty tricky, to say the least.

To determine which days I'm going to be spending at which events, I really need developers to get in touch with me! Think of this as an iOS-specific battle of Team Edward versus Team Jacob. Which event corresponds to which Twilight heartthrob I'm not entirely sure of, but it's important you get in touch with me all the same.

There are two ways you can contact me to set up a meeting at either event:

1. Solve this CAPTCHA to get my Google Talk name (which is also my email address, hence the anti-spam captcha) and shoot me an instant message. Assuming I'm around, I'll be able to get you booked into a meeting slot and collect all pertinent pieces of contact information very quickly
2. Send an email to tips@toucharcade.com with either "E3 2011 Meeting" or "WWDC 2011 Meeting" in the subject line so I can filter your message properly. Include what days you're going to be at the event in question, contact info, and anything else you feel is relevant to booking a meeting with us.

I can't wait to see everyone at both events. Also something to keep in mind, I'm local to the Los Angeles area now, so if you're in town for E3 and are going to be staying an extra couple days so we don't necessarily need to meet up specifically during the event, that will help me out considerably to know that!

So which is it, Team Edward or Team Jacob? Which event is which? I'm thinking WWDC is definitely Team Edward, but it's open for debate.

The movie 'Kung Fu Panda' introduced us to the animated characters of Po (a food-loving panda with a heroic destiny, voiced by Jack Black) and his trainer, Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman). In 2011, the joke-cracking panda returns in 'Kung Fu Panda 2'. To tie in with the soon to be released movie sequel, THQ has released the game Kung Fu Panda 2: Be The Master [99¢].

A first glance, this game is extraordinarily easy to describe. It (currently) contains two games, each of which is described as a "scroll" which Po must complete as part of his on-going training. The first scroll, named 'Paws of Power', provides endless Fruit Ninja type gameplay whereby you swipe objects propelled onto the screen. The second scroll is named 'Feet of Fury' and involves Doodle Jump type gameplay, with tilt controls being used to maneuver between platforms in order to jump higher. Refer to this gameplay video to see the obvious similarities to these popular titles:

Both of the games are skinned with Kung Fu Panda graphics, which likely will appeal to kids and fans of the movie. Whereas Fruit Ninja swipes are directed at pineapples, watermelons and apples while avoiding bombs, Paws Of Power takes aim at bowls of noodles and training dummies modeled on Po's foes, while avoiding bee-hives. Likewise in Feet Of Fury, the power-ups include bowls of noodles, bamboo stilts and chairs with rockets attached. In the background is the "Waterfall of Agony". High scores and 42 achievements are maintained via Game Center.

The game advertises that two additional scrolls (games) will be released in future upgrades. Any developers with popular games must be wondering if their titles will become the inspiration for scrolls 3 or 4. One TouchArcade user jokes in the thread that we'll see 'Angry Pandas' in the next update, referring - of course - to Angry Birds.

At the end of the day, I only have two minor gripes with this game. The screen orientation changes abruptly between landscape and portrait when you switch games and I felt this transition could have been implemented better. And the "Trophy Case" menu does not explain how to obtain trophies and lists "Kung Fu Training Master" without any explanation of what this means. Presumably unlocking these achievements involves the other two scrolls being accessible, but there's no way to tell for sure right now.

Kung Fu Panda 2 delivers two games which, although not as good as the originals, are well implemented casual games, which are fun to play. By the time four scrolls (games) are provided, assuming the next two are of a comparable quality and provided free, this title will be pretty good value for a dollar. If you for some reason don't already own Fruit Ninja and/or Doodle Jump and are totally stoked for the impending release of the Kung Fu Panda 2 movie, this is the game for you.

A couple of months ago, Illusion Labs revealed their new upcoming iOS title Touchgrind BMX by way of a very nice looking trailer. Touchgrind BMX is a follow-up of sorts to their  highly popular skateboarding title Touchgrind [$4.99/HD] that made waves on the App Store way back in November of 2008 for it’s fantastic graphics and excellent use of multitouch.

Touchgrind BMX is a similar title in that you’ll be using multitouch to pull off tricks in object-filled environments, though obviously using a bike rather than a skateboard. Also, the game uses a nice behind-the-bike view, rather than the strictly top-down view of Touchgrind, which is a welcome change and allows you to get a much better perspective on the action.

Another cool feature in Touchgrind BMX will be the ability to create HD replays of your runs and then export them to your computer or upload them to YouTube to share with the world. The developer has put together this little teaser video which shows an example of a replay from the game:

We have learned that Illusion Labs submitted Touchgrind BMX last week, and that the game will be available this Thursday the 26th for $4.99. It will run on all devices except the very first generation iPhone or iPod touch, but it is recommended for 3rd generation devices and up. No word yet on if an iPad version of the game is planned.

Touchgrind was one of the first iOS titles that really opened my eyes to how impressive multitouch technology is on my device, and as a huge fan of that game I’m really excited to check out Touchgrind BMX. There’s a discussion thread for the game going in our forums, and we’ll definitely be taking a look at Touchgrind BMX when it hits later this week.

Confession time: some games are so adorable I just can't resist them. Storm in a Teacup [99¢] is one of those games - I saw the screenshots and I knew it had to be mine. Based on the reaction in our forums, I'm not alone. Luckily the game largely lives up to its first impressions.

Yes, Storm in a Teacup is completely adorable. But it's also a great little platformer. In it, you control Storm, a little boy riding a teacup through an imaginary world created by his brother, Cloud. Using on-screen controls, you move him around the game world by flying in short bursts. You can't get far without running out of boosting power, so you'll need to time jumps carefully to get where you're going. You'll also need to solve simple physics puzzles as you work your way through.

My biggest fear going into this game was that the on-screen controls wouldn't work out, but I found them quite responsive. It took a while to get the rhythm of flight down - one full press of the boost button won't always get you where you want to go, so you need to learn to tap it to extend your flight time - but otherwise the controls always worked well.

Thank goodness for that, because you'll need precise control over Storm if you want to pick up all the collectables. Each level of Storm in a Teacup is stocked with sugar cubes and a well-hidden sticker. If you find every sugar cube, locate the sticker, and make it through the level without dying, you'll earn a "perfect" for that level and get to see your best completion time. Crystal/Game Center achievements keep track of your perfects, and provide some interesting challenges for completing levels in unusual ways.

Storm in a Teacup includes 40 main levels. Playing through the whole game took me about three hours, though the fastest completion time recorded so far is 40 minutes. There are also five survival levels that can be unlocked throughout the course of the game. Between those and the challenge of perfect playthroughs, there's lots to replay. The difficulty curve also works well. You're faced with simple levels while you learn the controls, but by the midway point things get challenging. There were a couple frustrating moments when I really wanted to skip a level, but every level can be completed with enough care.

One technical note: Storm in a Teacup is universal, but some of our forum users have complained about low frame rate on older devices, including the original iPad. Hopefully this will be addressed in an update. Given the choice, I preferred playing the iPhone version (I find the on-screen controls uncomfortable after a while on iPad), but there are a few sections where the camera zooms out and the action is difficult to see.

I'm really happy with what Storm in a Teacup has to offer, but I feel like Cobra Mobile missed an opportunity to take it from a sweet, challenging platformer to an instant classic. All that's missing is a good story. I couldn't help but wonder why Cloud had created this wonderland for his brother, and why it got progressively more sadistic as the game went on. Sibling rivalry? Was I dodging spinning blades while being blown into spikes because Storm had played with Cloud's toys or called him names? A story as cute and absurd as the game world would have made Storm in a Teacup come to life. That said, it's a great game and an easy recommendation.

Originally released all the way back in 1993, Myst [99¢] was the best selling PC game of all time until The Sims stole that title in 2002. If you had a computer with a CD-ROM drive in the mid-90's, chances are you've played Myst.

If for some reason you haven't, or this era of PC gaming is before your time, here's the gist- Myst is a first person puzzle-centric exploration game set in a pre-rendered 3D world which was absolutely breathtaking to behold when it was originally released. It's entirely tap-driven to move around and fiddle with the various in-game widgets to solve puzzles and progress through the game. For more details, check out Arn's eloquent reflection on the game from back when it was originally released.

For 99¢, this is a blast from the past you shouldn't miss.

Combine two cups of freemium with a scoop of time management. Then add a dash of social, mix it together, and you'll get MobCrete's Pucca's Restaurant [Free], the freemium game that's currently devouring my spare time.

Pucca is a massive media franchise that spans animation, console games, fashion lines, and a lot more. If you know absolutely nothing about it (like me!), you'll still find Pucca's Restaurant to be an adorable restaurant sim. If you're a fan, you'll see all your favorite characters come together to help take your restaurant from a tiny diner to an opulent five-star affair.

There are likely hundreds of freemium sim games on iOS, so I'm not going to claim that Pucca's Restaurant is the best or most unique. I can, however, tell you that it's a lot of fun, and I can't stop playing. There are a few things I look for in a freemium game, and this one stacks up well. I never feel like I absolutely need to pay for currency, I'm not missing out by choosing not to harass my friends, and there's always lots to do.

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Candy Train [Free] is one of PopCap's old and forgotten titles that originally appeared as a Flash game back in 2003. It's since been resurrected as free universal app through their new game development division 4th and Battery.

The premise of Candy Train is quite simple, an engineer has screwed up the train tracks in Candytown and it's up to you to fix them. Accomplishing this task involves tapping on the various tiles filled with train track on the screen to change their direction in order to route the train around. You'll be picking up candy that appears, as well as extra train cars.

After connecting enough cars, you'll head to a station, which both frees you of the extra cars as well as starts the next level. If your train derails, it's game over.

For a simple puzzle game, it doesn't get much better than this. The graphics are both bright and colorful, and as expected, gameplay is a ton of fun. PopCap's 4th and Battery was originally started with the idea being that they'd be releasing smaller games based on strange and edgy game ideas. While I'm not entirely sure that Candy Train is strange or edgy, it's hard to argue with yet another fun and free game. Don't miss Candy Train.

With Chaos Rings Ω barely even two days old, Square Enix has released a teaser trailer for a sequel entitled Chaos Rings II. We weren't that impressed by the latest Chaos Rings offering in our review, as it felt a little too much like an expansion of the original Chaos Rings than something that is new or different enough to be its own game. But, again, if you loved Chaos Rings, and just are looking for more of that, chances are you'll also dig Chaos Rings Ω. It wouldn't really surprise me if this was also the case with Chaos Rings II.

The above teaser is all we know about the Chaos Rings sequel right now. Since the trailer doesn't show much gameplay and (as of this writing) is in entirely un-subtitled japanese... We don't know much. WIth Chaos Rings Ω's planned cycle of updates that run all the way through December this year, my crystal ball is telling me that Chaos Rings II is going to be a first quarter 2012 title, or maybe even a holiday release.

We'll just have to wait and see as more information slowly dribbles out of Squeenix. I just hope they do something a little different with Chaos Rings II.

Word game aficionados, allow me to draw your attention to a freebie you don't want to pass by. 7 Little Words [Free] is a new word game from the creator of Moxie [99¢ / Free] and Moxie 2 [$1.99]. Those games picked up big followings over time, and this should be no different.

7 Little Words uses a super-simple formula that works really well. It feels a bit like a crossword or anagram game, and it's got me pretty hooked. Each puzzle presents you with seven clues for seven mystery words, and twenty two- or three-letter combinations. Put the letter combos together to make words that fit the clues. Your goal in each puzzle is to use up all the letters to create seven words.

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