Wandering the halls of the Austin convention center we ran into InMotion Software, creators of I Dig It [99¢ / Free] and got to talk about their upcoming sequel to the game, I Dig It Expeditions that is due out this holiday season.

We don't have any screenshots yet aside from a few promo images like the one above, but they did give us some details that I Dig It fans can look forward to. If you haven't played the original, I Dig It is an exploration game that we greatly enjoyed in our review:

On the surface, I Dig It is a simple dig for treasure game, but it's not until you play it for a while that you start to appreciate the strategy involved in choosing your upgrades and intelligently planning your dig routes. On top of all that, you're constantly faced with the threat of overheating, hull integrity, and you always need to make sure you have enough fuel left to make your way topside.

Digging deep is key to maximizing profits, but also comes with the increased risk of not making it out alive.

Screenshots from the original I Dig It

Since our review the game has had a substantial update, adding a second campaign and even more things to collect underground. I Dig It is currently on sale for 99¢, and will be for a few more days.

I Dig It Expeditions is going to take absolutely everything that was great about the original and add features suggested by the userbase along with some substantial upgrades to the gameplay, new levels, and more. The entire consumable and cargo system has been completely overhauled. Consumables like different kinds of dynamite are now much cheaper, and you have more room to hold them. The trade off is, for every item you're carrying, that's one less slot available for diggins to bring back up to the surface. Aside from different types of dynamite, power ups are also available that will point you in the direction of valuable diggins or provide other useful effects.

The emphasis on these new consumables will make them a much larger part of the game, and additional upgrades for your digger will allow for even greater customization of how you play the game. The idea behind Expeditions is that you've successfully paid off your farm (The original motivation for you to go digging in the first game.) and decide to take your digger worldwide. Locales include the arctic seen in the above promotional image along with rain forests, or even underwater among others.

The whole game has a very Indiana Jones-like feel to it, with different archeological treasures you will be seeking in each of the various locations. Of course different upgrades will also be available on each level. For instance, while underwater, you will have access to improvements to your digger such as air tanks to allow you to stay submerged longer.

One of the coolest features included in I Dig It Expeditions is a mini map to show you where you've been digging along with a way-point system. The mini map has the same art style as the I Dig It interface with your path being drawn on what looks like a green and black oscilloscope screen. There are numerous other improvements both in game and in the works that InMotion isn't ready to discuss yet.

Something interesting that came of the conversations with InMotion that many people likely are not aware of is that it's a father/son operation with a small handful of other people with AAA industry experience from companies like id and Midway.

I Dig It Expeditions is currently in development and will be released during the holiday season this year. In the meantime, try out I Dig It or I Dig It Lite.

App Store Link: I Dig It, 99¢ – I Dig It Lite, Free

For those who haven’t closely followed Showtime’s Dexter, the series is based on novels written by Jeff Lindsay. I remember reading his first book “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” years ago, and the intelligent, yet macabre storyline has kept me reading the novels and watching the show.

Coincidentally, I had just finished the latest book “Dexter by Design” when Dexter arrived on the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. Happily, the intelligence and spirit found in the books and TV series carries through into the game. For fans of Dexter, the game will not be a disappointment with good variety, engaging play, and humor with an element of guilty morbidity. However, non-Dexter fans may find themselves disoriented and will want to first familiarize themselves with the TV show or books first.

Dexter is a psychopathic serial killer who was taught his policeman father Harry how to channel his killing urges. When Dexter was younger, his urges, also known as the Dark Passenger, were released by killing animals. Instilling his own special killing code, Harry decided to focus Dexter’s talents on criminals who had gotten away with murder in the eyes of the law. In Dexter the Game, you play through the eyes of Dexter and must collect enough evidence to ensure that Dexter is killing someone rightfully deserving. Of course, the catch is that Dexter must also maintain his cover as an unfeeling psychopath.

The game focuses on the first TV season consisting of 5 cases: Mike Donovan, Dear Dexter, Coke Head, Jamie Jaworski and Robert Marelli.

The cases are presented in a simultaneous fashion with Dexter moving back and forth between the different victims each with its own set of mission objectives. This type of format lengthens the game significantly because you’re managing several cases at once with each at different levels of progress.

The game incorporates voiceovers from Dexter actor Michael C. Hall, expertly used throughout to create that Dexter atmosphere. Unlike other games, Dexter follows a steady, slower pace as you identify and stalk your victim and incorporates a mix of timed and untimed mini-games, performing and meeting task-oriented activities, and interacting with other characters. This is where the game shines because the variety of challenges keep everything moving.

Through the use of 3D graphics which run smoothly on my iPod Touch 2G, the game makes liberal use of cut scenes that show Dexter performing his actions to give it an almost movie-like quality. The characters representations can look somewhat strange, however. Dexter’s sister, for example, is not nearly as sexy as she is on the show, although the character of Sergeant Dokes looks pretty good. The various locations, however, such as Metro Police Station or a victim’s home really do show the high production values that were put into this game.

The game offers three levels of difficulty—easy, medium and hard, and the level of difficulty primarily determines the amount of available of time to complete timed puzzles and activities. You can play either in third-person (behind Dexter’s back) or in first-person mode, and choose from several types of controls—double joystick, accelerometer/tilt, single joystick, and an on/off option for strafing.

This video shows some of the controls and environments, but does carry strong language so is not safe for work:

Contextual action buttons will appear in the appropriate situations such as Examine, Open, Talk and Climb among others. Items that Dexter can interact with are highlighted such as doors, tools, and files. Use of the Talk button brings up text-based dialogue boxes accompanied by voice acting. You are then presented with three response options. The responses range from aggressive to passive and each choice affects Dexter's "Dark Passenger" score and "Mask" score. You need to strike a balance to avoid exposing yourself, while still fulfilling Dexter's inner darkness. If the Mask white bar ever depletes down to zero, the game is over since Dexter will be no better than the criminals he stalks.

The game also provides several tools that help you complete missions. The Journal located at the top of the screen keeps track of case progress and also tells you want you need to do. And since Dexter needs to travel from place to place, accessing the GPS will show different locations. By tapping on a location, the game takes Dexter instantly there. In that, the 3D environments offered are discrete locations rather than one contiguous open world.

Overall, the developers did an admirable job creating a game incorporating a relatively engaging storyline tied together through a variety of different mini games. The initial task usually involves stalking the victim without being seen, and you maneuver Dexter in a game of hide and seek. As the story progresses, you also have the bigger task of investigating an unnamed serial killer who freezes victims before chopping them up. Other tasks involve picking locks, gathering evidence, and executing the final judgment on the victim.

While you can move Dexter in any direction you want, the goals can feel very pre-set rather than providing a free-roaming alternative choices. For example, entering someone’s house involves picking a lock, but then a dog prevents you from entering so you’re left with breaking through a window. Or in another, while stalking a victim, there is only one way to accomplish the recon rather than having several options.

Dexter the Game has high production values that incorporate a good variety of challenging tasks and mini-puzzles despite the point A to point B task progression. Understandably, with this type of game, the replay value is limited, but what is there should take a while to complete. If you’re a Dexter fan, the game is a solid adventure game that admirably captures the spirit of the series. For others, however, first watching the show or reading the books will go a long way in the actual enjoyment of the game.

App Store Link: Dexter the Game. $5.99

Note: there have been reports of the game not working on OS 2.2.1

After having been in the works for over a year, the Dexter iPhone game has finally arrived in the App Store [$5.99].

In the game, help Dexter choose his next victims while always protecting his identity. Analyze crime scenes, uncover evidence and use stealth tactics to stalk your prey. Is the case best served by the courts or the Dark Passenger? The outcome of every choice and action revolves around the Code of Harry: only kill the guilty, maintain the mask, and above all, don’t get caught!

We've had hands on time with early versions of the game at GDC and E3. The game has been notable for its impressive 3D engine. This gameplay video is from a build back in March, so aspects of the game may have changed from that time, but it gives you an idea of the feel of the game:

Also remarkable in our discussions with the developers has been the efforts to stay true to the Showtime TV series. The game features a storyline written by the series producer as well as voice acting from Dexter actor Michael C. Hall.

Early reactions are being collected in our forums and we'll provide a closer look after we spend some time with the title.

App Store Link: Dexter the Game, $5.99

Gameloft's port of Earthworm Jim is, well, Earthworm Jim. If you're unfamiliar with the game, it originally appeared on the Sega Genesis in 1994, and since then saw ports on numerous platforms soon to be including the XBOX 360 via XBOX Live Arcade, the PS3 via PlayStation Network, and the Wii via WiiWare.

The story begins with a high tech super suit falling from space and landing directly on top of an earthworm named Jim. The suit somehow mutates him in to a larger earthworm capable of controlling its various functions. Jim overhears the villains of the game discussing devious plans regarding Princess What's Her Name (Yes, that's really her name) and Jim decides to to go on an adventure to save the princess from killer golfish, evil cats, and queens with slugs for butts. The game was a hit and was even the basis for a short lived cartoon series on the WB.

An on-screen D-Pad (or joystick, configurable via an options screen) controls your movement, and buttons handle jumping, slapping your earthwormy self like a whip, and firing your gun. The controls work, but based on our brief time with the game, it seems to provide a mere shadow of the experience on the original Sega Genesis with the 6 button controller and nearly perfect D-Pad.

The first level felt more difficult than it should have been, and in the version I played (which likely is still under development) the buttons for Jim's various actions seemed a little too close together to accurately mash with my thumb. Also disappointing was that in the levels where Jim flies his pocket rocket there is no accelerometer support.

You can get an idea of what I'm talking about in this video running on a 2nd generation iPod Touch:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Of course, as with all the games we tried today, we didn't have enough time to fully evaluate the game, and we'll certainly spend more time with it when it's officially launched.

There are two ways you can look at Gameloft's Earthworm Jim: It seems to be a great port of the game, runs as well as you could expect, and is the closest thing you're going to have to playing the original in your pocket unless you feel like hauling around a Sega Nomad and the Genesis cartridge. On the other hand, it seems likely to share some of the annoyances of other virtual D-Pad platformers, and while it's certainly playable, the game does feel like it was designed for a real D-Pad (which, of course, it was).

Four noteworthy games went on sale today including two from App Store giants. If you've been holding out waiting for a price drop on these titles, here's your chance.

Rolando, $5.99 -> $2.99 / Lite – A game that should need no introduction, Rolando is a puzzle/adventure game developed by HandCircus and published by ngmoco. Gameplay involves tilting the iPhone to move the various rolandos around Rolandoland. Different rolandos have different abilities that all must be used together as a team to make your way through the various puzzles of each level which often hinge on interactive objects like platforms and catapults. Featuring a soundtrack by Mr. Scruff, a ton of new levels added to celebrate the release of Rolando 2 [App Store], and nearly universal praise from the iPhone gaming press, now is a great time to pick it up.

Super Monkey Ball, $5.99 -> $3.99 – As an App Store launch title, Super Monkey Ball has been around forever. Featuring 110 levels starting off easy and eventually graduating to nearly impossible, Super Monkey Ball includes enough content to keep you busy for quite some time. If you're a fan of the series, or like ball rolling games with tilt controls, Super Monkey Ball is worth a look, especially at the sale price.

Boulder Dash Rocks, $4.99 -> 99¢ – A modernization of the Boulder Dash concept. While we had some reservations about some of the artwork and strictly timed nature of gameplay, at only $0.99 it represents a very high quality production with great controls. Boulder Dash Rocks is an action puzzler in which you play the earth digging Rockford who must collect a quota of diamonds to pass each level. Unlike the original game which relied on fast-paced joystick responses, Boulder Dash Rocks seems more suited for mobile / iPhone play.

Ynth, $2.99 -> 99¢ / Lite – A unique iPhone puzzler, Ynth allows you to take command of a small bug who must rotate a box across a marshland without meeting an untimely demise to the plethora of obstacles between the level start and the goal. Controlled with simple on screen buttons, most of the levels require a bit of trial and error to solve. At 99¢, Ynth is worth a look if you're in the market for a colorful brain teaser.

As if you needed one more difficult decision to make today, you can now either get a Subway $5 foot long sandwich, or five games that all have recently been dropped to 99¢. As strong as the allure of the meatball sandwich is, given the original price of some of these games, now is the time to buy if you've had your mouse hovering over the buy now button in iTunes in the past.

Castle of Magic, 99¢ – A really neat platformer by Gameloft, Castle of Magic has a level of detail seldom seen in iPhone games. Fun level designs, cool boss encounters, and a magical game world make for a highly enjoyable game. There is a down side to the amount of visual flair in the game, as Castle of Magic does have significant load times on older devices, so you might want to check out Castle of Magic Free [App Store] first.

Rise of the Lost Empires, 99¢ – Gameloft's real-time strategy game that takes place in a fantasy setting with two included campaigns, one for both orcs and humans. Colorful graphics and loads of voice overs make for a pretty fun game, but if you're the kind of person who sits down and plays through entire games in one sitting, Rise of the Lost Empires can be beaten in a matter of hours. If you're more of a casual player who plays games in small burts, the game should keep you busy for quite a while. Rise of the Lost Empires Free [App Store] is also available if you want to get an idea of how the game plays before purchasing.

Smiles, 99¢ – If you have room on your iPhone for another match three game, Smiles has more variety in it than most other similar games. Featuring 14 different game modes and 3 themes, Smiles has been well received by the iPhone gaming community and was even a finalist for the best mobile game at the Independent Games Festival Mobile Awards. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, Free Smiles [App Store] will let you get your feet wet.

Silent Scope, 99¢ – Originally a awesome arcade game, Silent Scope for the iPhone has the same wacky premise of you playing as the world's top sniper trying to rescue the President and the first family from terrorists. The controls make some of the boss encounters and tracking moving enemies fairly difficult, so the $5.99 original price point was hard to swallow because of that. At 99¢, Silent Scope is worth a try if you've found yourself enjoying the other sniper games on the App Store.

Power Touch Pros, 99¢ – An immensely popular series in Japan, Power Touch Pros is an arcade baseball game with a ridiculous amount of customization to it. You can play exhibition games, entire seasons, change the overall difficulty, enable or disable errors, and even change whether or not there is wind in the game. Gameplay can be as simple as tapping or extremely complex depending on how far you delve in to the options available.

CH Games, creators of Dungeon & Hero [App Store] just released a trailer of their upcoming RPG which is being published by Chillingo. According to their site, you will play as Litta, a young boy whose dream is to see the outside world. After embarking on an adventure that will change Litta's life, you eventually guide the continent to peace– It sounds like a pretty standard premise for an RPG.

These screenshots appear to be from the Windows Mobile or Symbian version of the game:

In the game there are four different weapons to choose from along with an "intense skill system" that should allow a hefty amount of character customization. 22 unique towns along with 150 different battlefields are prepared for your conquering, and to get from place to place a little faster, Seed will also have you captaining a ship and piloting an air balloon.

Also in game is a day and night cycle along with quests that can only be completed at certain times of the day. These day and night cycles apparently changes combat as well. Seed also has a elemental component to combat where Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire can be leveraged to affect the outcome of your battles. Equipping different armor and weapons will change the appearance of your character and throughout the world of Seed you will come across all kinds of different items of different rarity that also can be customized with "sockets, compounding, and refining."

That's all we know right now, as Chillingo provides us more information on what could be yet another awesome RPG for the iPhone we will be sure to post it.

If you don't keep your nose glued to our forums or the various Twitter feeds of game developers, chances are you've missed out on these four bits of news that have popped up in the last couple days:

Zenonia 2 was revealed on Gamevil's Twitter. There's a thread on our forums with all of the images that have been released so far complete with fans of the original sharing their anticipation with other forum members.

Gangstar had a teaser site for the game with screenshots and video revealed via Gameloft's Twitter along with announcing that the game will be launched at $6.99 when it is finally released.

Madden 10 for iPhone was reportedly pushed back to September. We still have yet to hear any details on the game, its control method, or anything else outside of knowing that it's eventually coming to the App Store. When in September it's going to be released is currently anyone's guess.

Mad Monkey Studios released another tech demo from their upcoming 3GS-only game project that we covered when it was first announced. We don't have any more information than that, according to this video the game is going to be "sketch shaded":

The video shows a cool direction for the art style of their upcoming game to be taking, but it's hard to get too excited over tech demos without having any idea what the final game will even be about.

It didn't take us long to fall in love with Tiger Style's first game, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [App Store]. It has a beautiful simplicity to it: you are a spider, and as a spider you spin webs and eat bugs. You can choose to explore the various rooms of Bryce Manor, or you can ignore your surroundings and just go on an insect feeding frenzy.

28 hand drawn levels paired with great music and a clever method of storytelling puts Spider pretty high on my list of personal favorites, and judging by the forum response, I'm not alone. If you haven't heard of the game yet, check out our review and watch this trailer that was recently put together by the developers:

After playing through Spider, we wanted to know more about the people behind it and what went into a game that is currently sitting at 146 5-star ratings on iTunes. We tracked down Randy Smith and David Kalina, the two people behind Tiger Style to ask them a few questions about their past, the development of Spider, and what's in store for the future.

TouchArcade / Eli Hodapp: Can you tell us more about your backgrounds in video game development and how your development team was assembled?

Randy Smith: My first project in professional game development was as a designer on Thief: The Dark Project back in 1997.  This game was made at a legendary, now-defunct, design boutique called Looking Glass Studios, at which I was very lucky to kick off my career.  Since then, among other things, I have been the Project Director of Thief: Deadly Shadows, and a Creative Director at Electronic Arts Los Angeles working on a video game collaboration with Steven Spielberg.  I also have the good fortune to write a monthly column in the UK’s finest gaming magazine, Edge, and I am a frequent speaker at the Game Developer’s Conference, the Montreal International Game Summit, and similar conferences.

(more…)

Josh Presseisen from Crescent Moon Games emailed us a heads up this morning of their 3D action RPG set for release sometime in September. Ravensword: The Fallen King has been designed with the iPhone 3GS in mind because of the high polygon count, but will be tuned to also run on previous-generation devices at lower frame rates and without as much graphical eye candy. Reluctant to give too much away, Presseisen compared the game to both Oblivion and Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii.

Ravensword is said to have an open environment with a main quest line that will take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours to complete, along with a hefty amount of side quests to also keep you occupied. What I'll be interested in seeing is how extensive the side quests in Ravensword are, because I had much more fun just fooling around in the open game world of Oblivion than playing the comparatively short main quest line.

Take a look at these screen shots and concept art, also the developers are collecting ideas for the game in their thread on our forums. If you'd like to see something added or have other suggestions, don't hesitate to post them.