As it does every year on Talk Like A Pirate Day, Telltale Games has slashed the price of its best and brightest adventure game series, Tales of Monkey Island. For today at least, you can grab every episode in the series on the App Store for a puny $2.99. This is, roughly, a four dollars savings per episode, which equates to a “sweet deal” in our ancient, seaweed covered book.

I’ve got a baby skull-like soft spot for the Monkey Island franchise in general, but I really do think Telltale nailed what made the originals great in Tales. The episodic take is a masterclass in reverence that manages to weave in some new and interesting content and a few hip, memorable characters. If you haven’t tried them yet, you almost have too. Do note, though, that these iPad versions are slower and crappier-looking than their PC and Mac counterparts.

• Monkey Island Tales 1 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 2 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 3 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 4 HD - $6.99 → $2.99
• Monkey Island Tales 5 HD - $6.99 → $2.99

Just as an off-beat side note here, give the Wikipedia entry on Talk Like A Pirate Day a read if you have the time. I can’t tell if its truth or lies, but it’s hilarious.

Imangi Studios has just announced that their latest release, Temple Run [App Store] -- the endless runner that makes you feel like an archaeologist with a penchant for deadly situations -- is free, for a limited time.

Temple Run scored 4.5 stars in our recent review and was among the titles in our Best iOS Games of August 2011 roundup. Imangi recently pushed out a v1.2 update that brings the following enhancements:

• Two new characters
  • Scarlett Fox
  • Montana Smith
• Two new powerups
  • Boost (when you pick it up you boost forward at super speed)
  • Head Start (when activated you boost forward 1000m at start of your run)
• Three new achievements
  • Miser
  • Allergic to Gold
  • Head Start

With this updated, players can now earn free coins through offers in the in-game store, but Imangi would remind players that such in-app purchases are optional, and that coins can still be earned in-game.

The next Temple Run update, bringing more new characters and powerups as well as iCade support, is expected soon.

It's been about a year since decades-old studio Elite Systems brought their ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection [iPhone, iPad] and the first wave of its retro titles to the App Store. Since then 150 titles have become available through their Spectrum emulator, giving retro fans much old school gaming goodness to play with.

Since then, Elite has been hard at work engineering a completely new system through which to bring an even broader range of retro classic to iOS gamers. I recently had a conversation with Elite co-founder Steve Wilcox who filled me in on some of the titles that are on the way in the coming Elite Collection of 8-bit home computer games, as well as details surrounding their newly completed proprietary technology that went into it. The new system is a facilitator, of sorts, that was designed in such a way as to not incorporate, reference, or in any way rely upon third-party property and that is able to deliver, to iOS, games that originated on platforms other than just the ZX Spectrum in near-100% original form.

Elite has been busy licensing classics from a wide range of developers and it sounds like iOS gamers are in for a trove of titles to be delivered through the studio's new system. The first stage in the deployment consists of nine games developed across North America, the UK, and Germany.

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Before anyone takes up their recently sharpened pitchfork to form up the angry mob that materializes whenever we post non-iOS related things on TouchArcade, consider this: We're all gamers here, and we all likely have a computer that we're syncing our iOS devices to. So, put that machine to work and download Portal this weekend. As part of Valve's Learning With Portals educational program, they've dropped the price of this classic computer game to free.

Sporting a 90 average (and a 9.6 user score) on Metacritic, Portal is a game that I think everyone who even vaguely considers themselves a gamer flat out needs to play. Hell, it's enjoyable enough that even if you're a non-gamer you'll likely still have fun with it. Portal will only take a few hours for you to complete, and, in my opinion, is one of the best single player computer gaming experiences I've ever had. The atmosphere is perfect, the puzzles are fantastic, the writing is top-notch, and the only complaint I've ever even had about Portal is that the game eventually ends and really leaves you wanting more. (Good news! There's a sequel!)

Portal was originally released in 2007, and runs on Valve's Source engine which is great at supporting all kinds of hardware configurations. If you've bought your computer inside of the last five years (or maybe even older than that) I'd think it would run Portal just fine. To get the game, install the Steam client, create an account, and then install Portal. The whole process should be fairly easy, and aside from actually downloading the game itself, should only take a few minutes.

Even if you don't have time to play this weekend, you can still grab the Steam client and download the game. There's really no reason not to. I cannot possibly overstate just how great of a game Portal is.

Anyway, this deal runs through September 20th, and you've seriously got to have a killer excuse if you don't take advantage of it. (Assuming you don't already own or have already played Portal.)

As most of you already know, we’re a man down for the next two weeks on The TouchArcade Show as Jared explores the infinite wonders of Europe. Have no fear, though, for we grabbed a capable voice to join us this week: Adult Swim and Player One Podcast’s Chris Johnston. At the top of this week’s show, we discuss Adult Swim’s new initiative and then flow into the usual: video games, video games, and more video games.

Specifically, we have a good time talking about the PS Vita’s impending launch and possible line-up, the whole “Nintendo won’t developer mobile games ever” thing, and dig into a really great user e-mail. Also, we give a lot of room to our recently played games section. If you’d like to give us a listen, you can do so just below via these links. You can also subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune to get our latest podcasts the second they’re listenable.

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I think at this point it's safe to say that Backflip Studios has embraced the free-to-play market. From the acclaimed Army of Darkness Defense [Free] to iOS classic Paper Toss [Free / HD], most of its titles have gone free and are now supported by ads or premium currency options. DragonVale [Free] is something a little different, though. It's built from the ground up to compete in the crowded freemium marketplace that have you managing zoos, pet stores, restaurants or, in this case, dragon parks.

Just between you and me, dragon parks are pretty rad.

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So here we are, a couple of days out from Square Enix’s recent Tokyo Games Show press event and we’re still scratching our heads about an announcement it made. Cutting to the chase, it seems as though the publisher has confirmed that Chrono Trigger will be indeed be making its way to Android and iOS, just as it seemed to suggest it would via a teaser page from forever ago.

That’s huge news considering how well-loved, how fun, and how well designed of this game is, but the translations and breakdowns of the event we’ve read are seem to be missing bits of information. With this in mind, we’re actively being cautious about this announcement, as Square could have easily just announced a normal mobile version of the game. We’re still working on trying to get some stone-cold confirmation, so stay tuned on this one.

As an aside here, one little interesting tidbit that’s still emerging from this conference is the Square Enix Market, a portable “store” for all of Square Enix’s mobile games on Android. As of now, it appears it’s strictly tied to Japanese carriers, so don’t get too hyped up if you live elsewhere in the world. I'm going to go ahead and tease you with this though: apparently, games like Final Fantasy I and II, Chaos Rings and Crystal Defenders are all slated to arrive via this portal.

Anyway, supposing that Chrono Trigger is actually coming to smartphones -- how cool is that?

[Via G4, IGN, Shacknews, Dengeki - Images via Giant Bomb]

I can't help but want to think that Calibre Games' Hunger Calls [99¢ / HD] is meant as a metaphor for fast food culture. The purpose of the game is to shove as much food into people's mouths as you can, as quickly as possible, then after they overeat, you have to either hit them with some Alka-Seltzer or they die.

At first, I thought Hunger Calls was just going to be some kind of resource management game in the vein of Diner Dash, then after a few minutes, I was worried it might be a clone of the Flash game, Sweatshop, but it's neither -- the only way I can think to describe Hunger Calls is as a reverse tower defense game.

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On the heels of another great release in Grand Prix Story [$2.99], the simulation gurus at Kairosoft have dropped its SimCity-lite offering, Edo Town, in the Japanese App Store. Putting English-based speculation on the back-burner for a moment, Edo Town has you play the role of a city manager charged with putting together a thriving town complete with businesses, facilities, and utilities. No doubt, you’ll have to walk the line between citizen happiness and overall revenue, which can make for some compelling play, as Maxis has proven time and time again.

Now, for the tea leaves -- if Kairosoft keeps up with its current model, there’s a good chance we could see an English version of Edo Town as early as next month. If this happens, Edo Town would be the studio’s next US release following it's racing simulation game. Localization is not an easy process and Kairosoft has said before that it has a special release schedule for the rest of the world, however, so let’s keep anticipation in check for the moment.

For what it’s worth, we’re doing our best to independently confirm if we’ll see Edo Town in English. We’ll definitely bring those details when or if we get them.

[Via Kairospot]

Globulos Mania [Free] might look a bit familiar. It's built off a very popular free-to-play web game and seems to contain the same content as Globulos Party on DSiware. Haven't played either? Then you'll want to give this one a shot. It's a simple competitive game that's positively oozing with content. And, frankly, it's a lot of fun.

A caveat, however: you'll want to try this game before investing in its premium offerings. Globulos Mania is an exceedingly simple game. In each of its 20 modes, you'll find yourself doing the same thing. You aim your globulos by pulling a line out from them in the direction you want to travel. At the same time your opponent will aim his. You'll press the Go button, and you'll watch the turn play out. You'll repeat this until one of you achieves whatever goal has been set before you. If you find that fun then by all means, pay and play more. If it's starting to wear on you by the time you've played through the free content, you'll want to stop there. The many modes offer a startling amount of variety, but Globulos Mania lives and dies by that single mechanic.

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Whoa, hey, stop the presses even though nobody reads newspapers or magazines or uses paper anymore! Adult Swim Digital, the publishing wing of Adult Swim, has just announced a much broader original content initiative that'll see the release of several App Store exclusive games in 2011 and 2012. In 2011 specifically, we'll see a total of five originals from Adult Swim. Its first original, Monsters Ate My Condo [$.99], is on the 'Store right now, actually.

We're pretty sure we don't need to remind you, but just in case you're not hip with Adult Swim, this is the publisher responsible for sharing Robot Unicorn Attack [$.99 / HD] and other delectables like the flash-tastic Cream Wolf, with the world.

Monsters Ate My Condo is a fast-flowing, almost Jenga-esque puzzle game developed by PikPok, the New Zealand-based studio who handles the Flick Kick franchise. In the stupidly vibrant Monsters, you match up colored floors in towering condos in order to feed monsters. If you suck, the tower falls.

One of the coolest things about it is its look, which riffs on Japanese anime, pop-culture, and monster flicks. You can grab the game right now because it's good, but just so you know, we'll have a proper review-y write-up shortly.

The second game in this initiative has been revealed, too. Adult Swim is getting together with the studio that brought us Wispin [$1.99 / HD], Grumpyface Studios, for Bring Me Sandwiches. Slated to hit a little later this month, this is another title revolving around feeding a monstrosity. Specifically, you’ll be tasked with making sandwiches out of whatever an alien wants, including people and junk.

Overall, we’re totally stoked about Adult Swim’s push for original content. As much as we’ve loved the flash game ports in the past, it’ll be refreshing to see the publisher’s creativity and moneybags dropped into games catered specifically for iOS. Adult Swim is stoked, too.

This afternoon you’re in for a treat if you’re a fan of our weekly podcast. Adult Swim producer and all-around awesome dude Chris Johnston joined Eli and I for a regular episode. At the top, we have a good discussion revolving around Monsters and this initiative. Also, we do the regular podcast thing and because we’re all so pro, it turned out pretty well.

It was back during GDC 2011, during Eric Chahi's Classic Game Postmortem presentation, that we first learned that the French gamemaker would be bringing a 20th Anniversary Edition of his acclaimed classic Another World to iOS [App Store] with the help of DotEmu, through BulkyPix. A few days back, I interviewed Chahi and shared his thoughts on the coming App Store release and the iOS game scene in general. Since then, I've been playing through the release version of Another World for iOS and wanted to take the opportunity to post an early review of the title so readers know what they've got to look forward to on the game's September 22nd App Store launch day.

Another World (which was also known as Out of this World in certain markets) is a cinematic platform adventure originally released on the Amiga back in 1991. The game tells the story of physicist Lester Chaykin. As is illustrated in the game's introductory sequence, Lester returns to his underground laboratory one stormy night to continue work on a particle acceleration experiment. Shortly after the experiment is underway, a bolt of lightning strikes the laboratory, sending millions of volts into the accelerator and resulting in the freak teleportation of Lester to a far-away alien planet.

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Whoa, hey, Capcom Mobile is on a roll. After releasing a pretty hefty and free content update to Street Fighter 4: Volt this morning, the publisher has released two new (old) games on the App Store. Starting now, you can re-live some of your old coin-op beat-em-up memories with Final Fight iOS [$.99]. Or, if classic Street Fighter is more your thing, you can also check out three different versions of Street Fighter 2 in Street Fighter 2 Collection [$3.99].

Final Fight, as you’ve probably noticed, is carrying a promotional $.99 price tag, which strikes us as pretty appropriate considering you’ve probably purchased this game in some shape or form a billion times already. This specific version, however, does roll in virtual controls and a finishing move button. Also, if you’ve got pals with phones, you can connect with one via Bluetooth for co-op action. And before you ask: dibs on Haggar.

In bummer news, Street Fighter II Collection is also shackled by Bluetooth. In much brighter news, it’s a heck of a package for fans of the series -- it rolls in the original game, Street Fighter II: Championship Edition, and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting all in one app. They all appear to be relatively untouched content-wise, but like with Final Fight the notable iOS tweak is an “easy-to-use one button finishing move.”

One note: both games require iOS 4.1 (or better) and don’t support a lot of older devices. Check the game notes before you go nuts.

Another mini-cabinet peripheral for the iPad is coming, and the studio responsible for some of the sickest arcade games in the universe is behind the wheel of the project. Earlier this week, Taito unveiled a short promotional video for the InvaderCade. It’s basically the iCade, except with seven less buttons, a charging dock, and branded Space Invaders arcade machine art. Who knew there was room for two of these peripherals, no less three, eh?

To get a tad bit more specific, the InvaderCade sports a ball-top joystick and a singular button. It’s a bulky 25 x 23 x 25 cm and requires external power, but it boasts a charging dock, speakers, and a headphone jack —- three features the iCade doesn’t have. For those of you keeping score, the Atari arcade peripheral has a total of four buttons, no external power, and, somehow, manages to look way sillier than its competition.

Game Set Watch notes that this isn’t slated for the West just yet, but it hits in Japan in a matter of weeks -- October 11th is the target release date and it’ll cost around $200. I hope it comes with a few games and a backscratcher at that price.

[Via TUAW, Game Set Watch]

Hey, cool! Square Enix is preparing an iOS and an Android port of Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi for release in 2012. From all accounts, Legends is a very traditional RPG in the Final Fantasy vein, but it’s also a special one since it’s episodic. Legends first graced Japanese mobile phones back in 2010 as an exclusive, similar to how Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was treated before it was re-released on Nintendo’s WiiWare and then later re-combined as a compilation on the PSP.

So, what do we know about this particular version? Not much as usual, and that’s the running problem with TGS coverage in general -- this stuff is coming out fast and dirty and we don’t have any native Japanese speakers on staff (we'll update this story if we discover anything is funny). We do, however, have these two images from the Square Enix event where the port was announced. It looks pretty!

Anywho, for you FF freaks out there, rest assured that this particular title borrows a lot from its elders -- Active Time Battle, the ever-popular Job System, and all the usual tropes are in this thing. In English, Legend’s subtitle translates to something like “Warriors of Light and Darkness,” which should give you an indication of what to expect from its story: two small group of youths from the light and dark-side respectively come together to fight and save the world.

As soon as we get more information we’ll update this story.