I've never really been able to figure out what Square Enix's deal is with the App Store. They go from releasing full iOS-exclusive titles like Chaos Rings [ $12.99 ] to flat-out weird "games" like Voice Fantasy [ $2.99 ] (among other zany titles). The just-released 774 Deaths [ $3.99 ] seems to come from the same "why does this exist" department as Sliding Heroes [ $0.99 ].

Billed as a "murderously difficult action platformer" 774 Deaths, according to Squeenix, is "certain to chew up and spit out even the world's best gamers." The format of the game goes a little something like this- You play a pixelated little dude going through rooms filled with locked doors. To progress through the doors, you need to complete the mini-games that each room has to offer you.

So far, I've been given the choice of four games, each with the same basic principle of navigating your guy to the end of the level while avoiding what appear to be blood covered blades. Each "game" has a different control method. There's an auto-runner style game where you tap the screen to jump, a platformer style game with virtual controls, a vertical falling game controlled via tilting, and a similar tilt controlled top-down maze-style game.

None are particularly interesting, and I really can't quite decide if the game itself is difficult, or if the controls are just terrible. Either way, you beat two of the games inside the room you're currently in, the next room unlocks, and you repeat the process. Admittedly, I'm stuck on the third room right now, but there hasn't been much variation to speak of yet. Per the iTunes description, there are 9 rooms in all.

I'm reluctant to call this a "review," since, as mentioned, I've basically reached a stopping point in the game right now. With that being said, I haven't really found what I have been able to get through to be that enjoyable, and like way too many things that Square farts out on to the App Store, 774 Deaths just has me wondering why an iOS port of Final Fantasy VI doesn't exist. I'd buy that at a high price. (And I'd even say that in the same tone of voice as the merchant dude in Resident Evil 4.)

For what it's worth, people in our forums seem to be enjoying 774 Deaths. So, if you're a glutton for punishment, give it a shot…?

It's really tricky covering anything that happens on April Fool's Day, so take this news with the caveat that tomorrow it's entirely possible that Team Meat could just reveal that they were trolling. Anyway, what makes me think this might actually be real is that it fits in with recent news. First that Team Meat would "probably" be making an iPhone game then via a tweet-storm later mentioned that a Super Meat Boy prototype was in the works.

According to Team Meat, they've just started working on the game, and they're sure a lot will change in the development. However, they've clarified that this isn't a port, and instead is a total feature-length touch-controlled total remake specifically designed for touch-based devices. It doesn't sound like they'll use any virtual controls, and Super Meat Boy: The Game will be "a brand new game with new art, new sound, everything."

I can't wait to see what they come up with.

If you're anything like my roommate who asks me multiple times a week, "Whatever happened to that western-themed Infinity Blade?" …We now have an answer. Well, sort of. The "western-themed Infinity Blade" in question, if you weren't around for its original reveal back in September of last year is Bladeslinger. Maybe the trailer will jog your memory:

It was originally slated for release in Q4 2011, which, for any of you playing along at home, has already passed. Communication with LumaArcade and excited players went dark, leaving the thread in our forums abandoned by anyone other than random people bumping it. The good news is that a representative from Kerosene Games (Bladeslinger's publisher) recently dropped some details in that very same thread.

Here's the cliffsnotes: The game has since become bigger and longer, and they're doing some ultra-cutting edge stuff with Unity. A specific example cited was dynamic shadows on everything, which Infinity Blade II doesn't even do. Good news for the anti-rails crew, the game itself isn't on rails at all. Launch plans are still a little wishy washy, but they're currently shooting for a May release.

The iPhone 4S, as well as the new iPad and iPad 2 will definitely be supported, and it sounds like they're not making any promises but have their fingers crossed for iPhone 4 and O.G. iPad support.

So, there, that's what happened to "that western-themed Infinity Blade."

We don't normally dabble in business-centric news. Let's be honest, buyouts are rarely interesting, and lately they all seem to have to do with the free to play world which is often even less interesting. With that caveat, here's a recent buyout that might be interesting, mostly because Fabrication Games has made actual games (and great ones at that). We've actually reviewed quite a few of them.

Fabrication is responsible for the steampunk racer Ionocraft Racing, a slick little augmented reality game called Piclings, the retro platformer Niko, the absolutely fabulous casual puzzler Sprinkle among other titles. Oh, and when we met with them at GDC, they've got some even cooler stuff on deck.

Co-Founder Tommy Palm explained to me this morning that his acquisition should hopefully give the Fabrication Games team the resources to take these sort of games even further with the development budgets afforded by having access to the comparably deeper pockets of King.com. So, potentially games of the quality level of Sprinkle with even bigger budgets?

Where do I sign up?

Also, if you haven't yet, mash some of those links up there and check out some of the games they've released. They're great.

Earlier this month we caught wind that Phosphor Games was planning to give the paid version of Dark Meadow [ $5.99 ] a free to play extreme makeover. Our community caught wind, formed up the all too predictable angry mob, and the next day Phosphor decided that the free to play version would come as a separate app instead of updating the existing paid version.

Last night, two things happened. First off, Dark Meadow: The Pact [ Free ] hit the App Store, offering players who never tried the original game a free opportunity to dip their toes into the Dark Meadow universe. Secondly, Dark Meadow was updated to have all the improvements of the free version. This includes Retina Display support for the new iPad and some new content which comprises both new areas and enemies as well as weapons. Getting around in the game is also easier, as they've not only added an in-game map, but also the ability to warp around so you don't have to totally start over when you die.

Regardless, I'd still back up your original Dark Meadow .ipa file before updating in case you ever want to go back, especially if you're the kind of person who hates shoehorned IAP currency. The way I (and a lot of our community it'd seem) read the original explanation from Phosphor on how they were going to split the free and paid versions was more along the lines of "We're going to add the tweaks and new content from the free to play version to the existing paid version, leaving all the wacky micro transaction stuff to the free version."

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It's Wednesday, and with iOS developers free of the looming shadow of the Mighty Eagle with last week's release of Angry Birds Space [$0.99 / $2.99 (HD)], you'd think there'd be some massive influx of releases… But, there really isn't. Thankfully, Ow My Balls! XL is coming out tonight, so that's something to look forward to, especially if you've got a new Retina-equipped iPad.

If you're wondering who the bros are in that photo, the guy with the incredible pecs is Brad Nicholson and the guy with the incredible everything else is Josh Michaels, the curator of the Ow My Balls! universe. Anyway, Ow My Balls! XL and all these other games should be released at 11:00 PM Eastern on the US App Store, or potentially much earlier if your App Store region of choice resides east of North America.

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Here's a story that has multiple layers of coolness, or, as Shrek would say (Yeah, I'm going there.) it's like an onion. It all started back in September of last year at the 360iDev conference. 360iDev, in case you haven't heard of it, is a great get-together for iOS developers because it's still small enough that you can attend it and actually have a pretty good chance of meeting everyone there instead of just falling into the sea of people that show up for a massive convention like GDC. One of the things they seem to do at every 360iDev is a game jam, or, a marathon game development session where developers crank out workable games from start to finish overnight.

TUAW's Mike Schramm attended the last one, but, instead of covering it for the site he decided to jump right in and build his own game. He blogged the whole thing, which I've found to be incredibly interesting to see what it's like when a blogger jumps to the other side of the fence, so to speak. At events like these, we're used to just showing up, hanging out, pestering whoever we can, and saying peace out… Not actually slogging through the whole gam jam process and coming out with an workable product entitled Antithesis [ $0.99 ].

Original concept sketch on the left, final screenshot on the right.

The concept for the game is cool too. It's a Pong battle, so to speak, where you control a black paddle and defend against a stream of black balls, while an AI-controlled white paddle does the same. The line in the middle shifts back and forth between both sides depending on who is playing better in a series of waves. Like most game jam titles, it isn't the deepest game in the world, but it's really cool reading the whole process and seeing the game in various stages of development then finally playing the end product.

Game Jam photo courtesy of RetroDreamer.

As if you need another reminder to download Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [$2.99 / $0.99 ] if you haven't already, nominations for the 2012 Canadian Videogame Awards were just revealed and Sworcery was nominated for basically every category that even vaguely applies to the game. This includes game of the year, best game on the go, best downloadable game, best game design, best visual arts, best writing, best indie game, best original music, and… innovation award.

I have no doubts that the game will soak up at least some of those awards, which is just extra crazy when you look at the list of other games that were nominated. In your wildest dreams back when the App Store launched in mid-2008 did you ever think that four years later an iOS-exclusive indie-developed game would be standing toe to toe with massive budget AAA console titles for awards?

What a wild time to be a gamer.

Oh, and if this somehow is the first time you've heard of the game (really?) check out our review.

[via Gamasutra]

Hey Daniel Johnston fans, there's another Johnston-centric game on the App Store. Daniel Johnston's Space Ducks [ Free (HD)] joins Hi, How Are You [$2.99 / Free ] with another look into his art and music. This time around, it's much less of a game when compared to the puzzle elements of Hi, How Are You, and instead could be described as an "interactive comic book experience."

Space Ducks is free, and as you play through it you slowly unlock all the songs from Johnston's upcoming album. If you've never heard of Daniel Johnston, Hi, How Are You is likely a much better gateway drug than Space Ducks (Check out our review of Hi, How Are You.), but, either way, I dig these sort of gamified comic book apps.

Getting access to new music early (and for free) is just icing on the cake.

Following the release of Portal 2 on Steam and home consoles came Geoff Keighley's "The Final Hours of Portal 2" [ $1.99 (HD)] which, as mentioned in our news post on its release provided a really cool highly interactive look behind the scenes of the game's development. Well, Keighley is at it again, this time with the recently released Mass Effect 3. "The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3" [ $2.99 (HD)] follows the same interactive magazine article approach as its Portal 2 predecessor, and provides a really cool behind the scenes look at the game's development.

If you're a Mass Effect fan, and you haven't completely written off the series following the horrid ending of Mass Effect 3, you should give this app a look. New iPad owners should be aware that like most magazine-like apps out there right now, "The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3" has yet to be optimized for the Retina Display. Some text looks pretty pixelated compared to the ultra-crisp text found in Retina-ready apps.

Seriously though, that ending. Yeesh.

In case there's still a person out there who is shocked by the runaway success of the Angry Birds series, secure your monocle and try this news on for size: According to a recent tweet from Rovio, Angry Birds Space has been downloaded over ten million times in three days. Now, before you go multiplying that ten million by ninety nine cents, consider that Rovio has been historically vague with the platforms their download figures are from. Angry Birds Space launched as a 99¢ iPhone version, a $2.99 iPad version, and a free ad-supported Android version. Free versions of anything seem to be downloaded exponentially more than apps with a price tag, so it doesn't seem that far out there to assume that a hefty chunk of those downloads came from the Android side of the fence, but still.

If you still haven't downloaded Angry Birds Space for whatever reason, check out our review. The game is seriously just phenomenal, and as I've spent more time with the game I've been having an absolute blast attempting to three star the 99¢ IAP "Danger Zone" ultra-difficult levels. If anyone from Rovio is reading this, please keep releasing level packs like this. Heck, make 'em more difficult, I dare you.

Here's a fun Friday story for you- Disc Drivin' [$1.99 / Free / $2.99 (HD)], if you've never heard of it, is an a turn-based racing game that both Jared and Arnold can't get enough of, still. The basic idea is if you took a game like Mario Kart, but gave it online turn-based multiplayer, and used a flick-based shuffleboard-like mechanic to race your discs around a track. We've got a pretty extensive review in the books, but since then, the game has been updated a whole bunch of times with all sorts of new stuff.

Anyway, in a recent short interview with AdWeek, Rich Sommer, the actor who plays Harry Crane on AMC's Mad Men dropped some interesting details on the gameplay habits of the cast and crew:

Disc Drivin’ is a racing game that I’ve been playing a lot lately with Jon Hamm; Jay Ferguson, who’s also on the show; our head hairstylist; and our makeup artist.

Celebrity endorsement for apps and games isn't a new thing, but it always seems like whenever a celeb' is tweeting about the game they're playing, it's usually the same ultra-popular junk everyone else is playing. Disc Drivin', however, is seriously obscure compared to something like, I don't know, Temple Run.

So, yeah, if the folks behind Mad Men are playing Disc Drivin', you totally should be too. Right?

[via AdWeek]

Let's wind the clocks back to 2009, as really, to appreciate what Angry Birds has become, I think we need to go back and appreciate what Angry Birds was. The App Store was a crazy place. The "gold rush" was still in full effect. Publishers like Chillingo were trying to stake as large of a claim as possible in this brave new world brought about by the impulse-powered instant gratification of downloading a 99¢ game and the exploding popularity of the iPhone.

Chillingo was incredibly successful in pooling together a library of games we called "AAA titles" at the time. iDracula [ $2.99 ] may look incredibly archaic by today's standards, but back then, it was among the cream of the crop. In late May, Chillingo spun off a new brand called Clickgamer.com, which per the original press release was intended to "carry casual games and software applications in the Apple App Store. This new brand will fully complement Chillingo’s existing catalogue of AAA innovative titles."

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Well, that didn't take long. There's been rumblings over on TechCrunch for a few days now that Zynga was in acquisition talks with OMGPOP as a result of the smash hit Draw Something [$1.99 / Free ]. The original suggestions were that the purchase price would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $150m to $250m, as OMGPOP itself is a company that's already fueled by $17m worth of investor cash as is.

Zynga scheduled a call at 3:00 PM Eastern today to discuss a "news announcement," but the guys over at All Things D have the scoop early: Zynga has picked up OMGPOP for a cool $200m, which isn't too shabby considering two years ago they doled out $53m to buy Words With Friends creator Newtoy.

I've got mixed feelings about this news. On one hand, I'm glad that OMGPOP is reaping the rewards of creating a fantastically successful game. Zynga has proven in the past that they talk acquisitions first, but if you turn them down, they have no problem ruthlessly cloning your game instead. On the other, I really like Draw Something as it is now, and I'm really not looking forward to Zynga, well, Zynga-ing it up. But, I suppose Word With Friends is still a fun game, so, whatever.

I imagine the guys at OMGPOP will be popping some champagne bottles this afternoon, if they haven't already.

UPDATE: It's official. OMGPOP is now a part of Zynga. Also noted in the call: picture saving and chat as possible updates, people don't like the word "latrine," and over 1 billion drawings have been created since the game's launch. The more you know!

As I mentioned yesterday, I can't get enough of OMGPOP's Draw Something [$1.99 / Free ]. All of my iOS device owning Facebook friends seem to be playing it, and we all seem to be equally horrible when it comes to drawing things. The dudes over at IGN, however, apparently are playing games with people who aren't horrible at drawing.

Take a look:

There's even more where those came from. Seeing this sort of talent really makes me wish Draw Something had a better social sharing component, as I'd be great if I could mash a button and automatically tweet one of my drawings, and, in the process, be able to look through the drawings of others.

Have you saved any particularly incredible drawings either of yours or of your opponents in Draw Something? Drop 'em in the comments, I'd love to see them.