Ravensword is an open-world roleplaying game that begins with a mysterious cut scene that mentions strange creatures wandering the countryside at night, villagers gone missing, and a king who hasn't been seen in years. Your character was found at the edge of the forest, and was brought to the nearby town of Aven where a friendly woman named Beatrice attempts to answer some of your amnesia-induced questions.

She mentions a nearby castle filled with evil, but obviously recommends you you stay away, and instead head down to the nearby Rat Donald's stand to take your first quest: Collecting five rats for the "dinner rush". He arms you with a club and then sends you off to the nearby forest to bash the surprising amount of giant sized rats. The rest of the game continues as you hop from quest to quest, leveling up, collecting items, and discovering more about your mysterious identity.

Ravensword has both third person and first person views, and the game's controls work a lot like the many first person shooters on the platform. A virtual joystick on the left side of the screen controls your movement, and swiping anywhere on screen with your right thumb allows you to look around. Swiping with two fingers changes your view much faster, and is useful for when things sneak up on you from behind.

Combat uses a lock-on system where you can tap an enemy, then start swinging by hitting the attack button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Double tapping an enemy brings up their statistics, and to see your own stats along with viewing the map, changing settings, or looking up your quest log is just a matter of tapping the backpack icon in the top right.

The graphics and music in Ravensword combine very well to create a whimsical fantasy atmosphere that permeates the whole game. Forum members have also reported that Ravensword even performs well on the first generation iPod Touch, but you can squeeze even more performance out of the game by toggling off shadows and foliage in the game's settings if you prefer a higher frame rate to visual effects. Ravensword runs like a dream on the iPhone 3GS and 3rd generation iPod Touch, a surprising feat given the level of detail in game and the fact that they're using Unity and not some highly optimized custom game engine.

The developers haven't been modest in their comparisons between Ravensword and other games, and have mentioned long-standing series like Elder Scrolls and Zelda as inspiration behind the game. While the game does have its limitations, it's an amazingly impressive effort for a two man development team.

Some of its shortcomings are things like lack of any real character customization, when you level up your attributes are assigned automatically and there aren't any skill trees to speak of– two features that have become somewhat expected in most modern RPG's. There's also no secondary skills or traditional magic you can cast, so in its current form you will be limited to swinging your melee weapon and (when you get it) shooting your bow.

Later in the game, things do start to feel a bit limited, but more because of the lacking diversity in weapons and armor than the inability to customize your character's skills. In games like Dungeon Hunter or Underworlds, different loot flows like water, and it seems like you're constantly upgrading gear– something I feel like I'm missing from Ravensword. Despite that, the game world itself and the plot line of the main quest kept me sucked in throughout and the impressive 3D engine gives the game an open-world feeling otherwise unmatched on the iPhone.

Overall, Ravensword is a great addition to the somewhat scarce landscape of RPG's on the iPhone. It has some flaws, but it's a lot of fun and at the end of the day that's really all that matters. With an estimated 6-8 hours of gameplay, and side quests to keep you busy long after that, I can't help but recommend Ravensword.

App Store Link: Ravensword: The Fallen King, $6.99

Because of this change, players will be energized more often, earn more credits, and in turn be able to spend those credits on the various upgrades that are sold in game much faster. If this somehow is the first time you've heard of Eliminate, if you're at all interested in first person shooters you should download it (for free) as soon as you can. While you're waiting for it to download, check out our review which explains quite a bit about the game, available upgrades, and play strategies.

If you've been as captivated by Eliminate as we have, you also will be happy to know that ngmoco already has Eliminate 1.1 in the works. Along with many refinements, there will also be a brand new map and even more armor for you to buy with your hard earned credits. Ngmoco isn't ready to release details yet as the update is still in development, but we should have more information as soon as it is actually submitted to Apple.

App Store Link: Eliminate, Free

From our coverage of the Galactic Gunner release:

As the title would hint, you play as the Galactic Gunner, shooting down Trepidoids by tapping the screen while the Galactic Captain flies the ship. Taking the control out of the player's hands allows for a more cinematic experience as your ship flies through precisely choreographed manuevers.

All the while, you're listening to near constant radio chatter between the Galactic Captain, your wingmen, and the Trepidoids. The whole package creates an experience unlike anything on the App Store, and the game feels like playing an episode of a wonderfully cheesy low-budget 80's Sci-Fi show, especially whenever the Trepidoids speak.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

The only thing bad we had to say about the game was its relatively short length, but it's hard to complain about a half hour or so of expertly choreographed free rails shooting action. Galactic Gunner is going back to its regular price tomorrow, so don't delay if you're planning on giving it a try.

App Store Link: Galactic Gunner, Free

I suppose I should start with the good news first, in that I've been playing the 1.0 release of Ravensword most of this week, and the game is absolutely amazing. Similar to recent Elder Scrolls games like Morrowind or Oblivion, Ravensword is an open world roleplaying game with both a main quest line to follow and a considerable amount of side-quests. The developers have quoted anywhere between 6-8 hours of gameplay to complete the initial quest, and from what I've seen so far, that seems fairly accurate without even taking side-quests into account.

The Ravensword game world is surprisingly detailed for an iPhone game, and performs remarkably well for a game that is built in Unity instead of its own optimized engine. Along the way you will equip your character with all kinds of different magical items and slay hordes of enemies as the main quest line slowly reveals your character's mysterious identity. Utilizing familiar touch screen controls, navigating the world of Ravensword is as effortless as playing games like Gameloft's Modern Combat: Sandstorm [$4.99 / Free], which is often used as an example of highly refined touchscreen controls.

Now for the bad news. Not long ago we got word from the developers that Ravensword had been rejected along with a considerable number of other games built using the Unity engine. Unfortunately it seems that Ravensword like many other Unity games have found themselves caught in the crossfire between Apple, Storm8, and API calls which exist inside of all Unity games.

Storm8, developers of iMobsters and Vampires Live were recently accused of harvesting players phone numbers using private API's and uploading them to their servers– A gross violation of the iPhone developer SDK agreement. The Unity engine currently uses the two private API calls that Storm8 allegedly exploited to steal user data, _NSGetEnviron and exc_server. Mantas Puida of Unity Technologies explains these two API's utilized by the Unity engine serve the following functions:

_NSGetEnviron is used by Mono runtime to provide implementation of .NET core API method: Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable().

exc_server is also used by Mono runtime to provide graceful NULL reference exception handling.

According to a thread on the unity forums, a considerable number of games are being rejected for this– even games without any kind of network functionality to transmit any kind of personal data.

On the brighter side of things, Unity has already been updated to fix these problems and a new build of Ravensword which includes the latest Unity engine has already been resubmitted to Apple for approval. Sadly, this does put Ravensword and all the other rejected Unity games at the back of the approval queue, but as I mentioned earlier– Ravensword seems it will be well worth the wait.

Hook Champ is a game that takes the swinging mechanic which has been amazingly popular both in Rope 'n' Fly and its sequel as well as the recently released Rope Raider. The game has wonderful pixel art retro graphics, and feels more like an Indiana Jones game than the actual Indiana Jones NES game.

Using your trusty rope and grappling hook you swing through a series of caves trying to make it out alive with the idol you stole before the evil (and hungry) ghost that is constantly chasing you catches up and eats you. Everything in the game is upgradeable via an in-game shop where you spend the gold coins you pick up, and each level has its own online leaderboard with additional in-game perks if you rank high enough such as a crown for your guy to wear if you're #1.

The impending update is going to have even more hats for you to buy, along with full OpenFeint support. Along with OpenFeint comes loads of achievements that range from things like beating levels to killing 40 bats in a single level. Aside from the current in-game leaderboards, there will also be a myriad of OpenFeint powered leaderboards including an overall leaderboard to see who the true king of Hook Champ is. Also, you will be able to challenge friends to compete against your performance in any level in the game.

If you felt Hook Champ did a poor job at representing female grappling hook spelunkers, you'll be happy to find out that Gunny, the girl who hauls you up at the end of each level will be a playable character in the new update. Not only that, there's an entire new level set. The rat series of levels is all about doing things at blisteringly fast speeds. There's even a new ghost that chases you that's shaped like a rat skull that moves even quicker than before.

Hook Champ was a great game, even before this update was announced. Rockcat Games' commitment to adding additional content and features for fans of the game goes even further to seal the deal. If you haven't yet played Hook Champ, I highly recommend downloading the free lite version.

App Store Link: Hook Champ, $2.99 – Hook Champ LITE, Free

So what has changed over the years? Well, the most noticeable thing are the sprite-based graphics from days of old have been replaced with a 2.5D world with all kind of new animations and environmental effects. It's hard to say how much this improves the game though, as the textures are low resolution, the animations appear to be almost intentionally ridiculous, and what's worse is the game doesn't run very smoothly even on my iPhone 3GS.

The difficulty has been significantly decreased from the original. You can now absorb multiple hits from enemies before dying, and there are a whole array of additional weapons and power ups to be found in the game. Unfortunately, it seems that most of the challenge in the game now comes from negotiating the inherent lack of precision in the virtual D-Pad controls. Similar to how we felt about Earthworm Jim, if your memories of Ghosts 'n Goblins involve a physical D-Pad, you will likely have an uncomfortably awkward adjustment period of missing jumps and falling in to pits.

Because of the increased life bar and chests with power-ups littering the game, the only real threat that the monsters you come across pose is knocking you backwards in to a pit. At the end of each level there's a boss, but the gimmick of each boss only amounts to dodging different things. Levels feature multiple check points, and it seems like there's always a checkpoint just before a boss so if you don't beat them the first time you will almost assuredly beat them the second.

There is an in-game store where you can buy access to various cheats for 99¢ each. These cheats range from infinite lives to stronger armor and weapons. Unfortunately, there's no "don't fall in pits constantly" cheat you can buy, so none of them seem really that useful. Since after you die you're able to select the last level you were on and start from that point, even having infinite lives doesn't help that much.

Despite the game's many flaws, it's still Ghosts 'n Goblins, and I doubt I'm alone in enjoying this game just because of that. Everything from the map scrolling across the screen between deaths to your guy running around in his underwear when you take enough damage to lose your armor is in place. If you're into nostalgia, Ghosts 'n Goblins does deliver but, otherwise, the iPhone version of the game can't really stand on its own. If this is the first you've heard of Ghosts 'n Goblins, you'd probably be better off playing it on a real console with a real d-pad, though it will likely cost you more than $2.99.

App Store Link: Ghosts 'n Goblins Gold Knights, $2.99

The game is quite similar to a 2D version of EVE Online, and the game concept has remained the same since our preview:

Outer Empires takes place in a persistent galaxy where players can choose from a variety of different activities as you play in the intergalactic sandbox. There are tons of quests (or "Missions" as they're called in game) to complete that range from simple transport jobs to exploring and bounty hunting. Once you establish yourself in the world, you can set up colonies as well as run or join a guild (or "Factions" in Outer Empires).

There's a whole array of upgrades, ships, and other things to buy as you rank up in game. While the iPhone client costs $1.99, you can play the web version for free and neither version of the game has mandatory subscriptions. If you do choose to subscribe, you will get double the experience and space bucks of free users for completing the same missions. Subscription prices range from $3.99 a month with options for 3, 6, or 12 month discounts along with a $99.99 lifetime subscription.

Outer Empires is a cool concept, but like any online game how much fun you have with it will likely depend on the community inside of the game. I'd definitely at least give the free browser version of the game a try if the idea of a mobile space MMO interests you, and if you find yourself captivated by the Outer Empires universe, pick up the iPhone client.

App Store Link: Outer Empires, $1.99

Your dog in TouchPets is powered by virtual dog food, which you can either buy or just wait for your in-game dog food bowl to slowly recharge on its own just like energy in Eliminate. The main difference is, while you can play Eliminate all day long if you wanted to without earning credits, your dog in TouchPets actually goes to sleep when it runs out of food. Feeding your dog increases its energy meter, which then is depleted as you play with it.

What initially seems like a very simple virtual pet game quickly turns in to a surprisingly elaborate dog training roleplaying game of sorts where you need to constantly be raising your dog's attributes to rank up as a dog trainer and caretaker. As you level up, more items will be purchable at the pet store using the in-game puppy bucks currency which is earned by keeping your dog happy. There are also career paths for your dog to embark on such as becoming a crime fighter or a rescue dog along with silly careers such as a scientist or a politician.

Each step in your career requires items from the pet store you need to buy along with other requirements like trainer rank, dog happiness level, and some career missions even require you to bring another dog along, which brings us to the social aspect of the game. Since the game leans to heavily on Plus+, TouchPets must be constantly connected to the internet to play.

At any time during the game you can look through your Plus+ friends and invite their dog to come play with yours. The dogs then form relationships and can become friends, get angry with each other, or even fall in love. Every milestone in game is saved online and can be shared on Facebook, and your dog (as well as your activities with friends' dogs) are constantly synchronized with ngmoco's servers.

This allows you to do things like invite a friend's dog over and feed them. When your friend loads up the game, it grabs the latest snapshot of their dog saved on the TouchPets servers, and their recently fed dog will be have a full energy meter in their game. The social aspect of TouchPets is surprisingly fun, and the crazy dog relationships, scuffles, and love triangles that form have been endlessly amusing.

You can train your dog to do tricks, and if you're a good enough trainer (and have enough puppy bucks) you can even own multiple dogs. There's tons to do in TouchPets, and you could just play the game utilizing the free food you get throughout the day. Doing so, however, only allows you to play sporadically for a few minutes at a time, but otherwise there is no limit on how much you can advance your dog. If you're patient enough you could have a house full of dogs with multiple completed career paths without paying for anything.

The other way to play the game involves buying the different packs of virtual dog food which are currently priced between 99¢ and $29.99. Keep in mind though, the game seems to be designed more towards playing the game a little bit every day. While you could, for example, buy the $30 pack, and power your way through the game in few days, I'm not sure you'd have much left to enjoy. I've been playing TouchPets since the start of the Canadian beta, and without paying for anything I've ranked up significantly along with progressing nicely down the scientist career path by just playing a little bit each day.

TouchPets Dogs is definitely one of the best virtual pet games I've played, largely in part due to how much it utilizes Plus+ for building relationships between dogs. It adds a completely unexpected level of depth and complexity to the game that will likely keep me playing it for quite some time. I might eventually buy some food, but I've been happy with the amount of play time I'm getting with my free food allotment each day. Since the game is free, there really isn't much reason to not give it a spin. Further impressions and play dates are being coordinated in the official discussion thread in our forums.

App Store Link: TouchPets Dogs, Free

In September, the C64 emulator was finally approved by Apple, and available for a short period of time. Just a few days later, it was pulled from the App Store because the BASIC interpreter included was not removed, only disabled, and reactivating it was extremely simple.

Manomio once again submitted an updated version of the emulator to the App Store, and it was finally approved this afternoon. Aside from (hopefully) removing all the things that Apple didn't like, it also sports up to a 30% performance improvement, onboard instructions for each of the included games, and three new games: International Basketball, International Baseball, and International Tennis.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Following its initial rejection, we did a full hands-on preview, and aside from the improvements and changes mentioned above the emulator seems quite similar to its original release. Since C64 has had such a torrid history of being pulled from the App Store and then taking months to reappear, if you've been waiting to grab this fully featured emulator, I wouldn't hesitate for long.

App Store Link: C64, $4.99

Similar to our monthly game ratings, the OpenFeint Gold program aims to pick out games which are not only of the highest quality, but also make excellent use of the OpenFeint service. They seem to be setting the bar fairly high in nominating Fieldrunners as the first game to get their gold rating, and it should be interesting to see what games they choose in the future.

Here are two screenshots of the upcoming levels, Frostbite and Skyway:

Each will feature new towers, new enemy units, and will require new strategies.

Fieldrunners was among the first of the highly successful tower defense games for the iPhone, and it's always nice to see original App Store classics like this still getting attention from their developers.

App Store Link: Fieldrunners, $2.99