We explained the basic premise behind Rayman 2 in a preview earlier this week:

Rayman 2 is a 3D platformer released in late 1999 that takes place in a world known as the "Glade of Dreams" that happens to be infested by robot pirates who, lamentably, invaded and destroyed the "Heart of the World". Now it's up to Rayman to seek out the four magic masks needed to awaken Polokus, the spirit of the world, and set things right.

In the graphics and sound department, Rayman 2 is great. It looks just as I remembered it on the Dreamcast, and the soundtrack does a great job of setting the mood of the game. Unfortunately, once you get past how cool it is to be playing a late 90's console classic on your phone, things start to quickly fall apart.

As a 3D platformer, the two most important things are the controls and the camera system. A virtual joystick on the left side of the screen controls Rayman's movements, while a set of buttons handle jumping and tossing orbs to attack. Additional buttons appear when needed, such as a third button to dive while swimming.

The camera can be moved left or right by swiping that direction on screen, and to lock on to enemies a confusing pinching gesture is used. There are also some portions of the game with an obligatory tilt gimmick thrown in for good measure.

I feel like there are a lot of similarities between what I think about Rayman 2 and how I felt about Earthworm Jim when Gameloft brought it to the iPhone last year. The game itself looks great, but even a fantastic looking port of a game I had a lot of fun with when it was first released in the late 90's doesn't outweigh the cumbersome controls that make even the simple tutorial levels much more difficult than they should be.

I can forgive Gameloft for yet another game that doesn't really fit the iPhone with a set of virtual controls plastered on top, because Rayman 2 with bad controls is still better than not having Rayman 2 at all. As you progress through the game, you even start to get used to the crazy camera system and end up falling off ledges much less than you were originally, but something as simple as character movement really shouldn't have a learning curve attached to it.

Where Gameloft completely loses me on this port is in the save system. If you need to answer a phone call, a text message, or quit the game for any reason, the next time you load it you're back at the level select screen and need to start the level you were on over, complete with skipping through any associated cut scenes.

Taking these flaws in to account, Rayman 2 is hard to recommend, especially as your first foray in to the Rayman universe. If you are willing to invest the time in to mastering the game's irritating controls, and can work around the ridiculous save system, you will be rewarded with a classic adventure across tons of unique levels that are loaded with oodles of different hidden collectables.

App Store Link: Rayman 2: The Great Escape, $6.99

Rayman 2 is a 3D platformer released in late 1999 that takes place in a world known as the "Glade of Dreams" that happens to be infested by robot pirates who, lamentably, invaded and destroyed the "Heart of the World". Now it's up to Rayman to seek out the four magic masks needed to awaken Polokus, the spirit of the world, and set things right.

The game will be available on the App Store on March 1st, and Gameloft released the following trailer which shows quite a bit of gameplay:

When Rayman 2 was first released, it saw a positive reception both from gamers and the gaming media, but the recent Nintendo DS port tarnished much of the magic due to an extremely problematic camera system that made traversing the various 3D obstacles much harder than it should have been. While the original 2D Rayman may have been a better fit for the iPhone, as fans of the Rayman series, we're excited to see this game on the iPhone and hope Gameloft continues porting these classic games of the 90's.

Our early impressions from playing through the first few levels are definitely positive, with a range of puzzles providing some fresh if challenging gameplay elements. Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond The Mirror, the game's full title, pits you in the shoes of Alice who finds herself back in Wonderland on another inane adventure. By tapping on Alice you are able to change between four other characters including the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare; each with their own abilities to help Alice navigate through the various puzzles you'll encounter each level. The game's write-up and feature list as provided by Disney is as follows:

Play as Alice and solve a series of puzzles with help from the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and other memorable characters from the movie. Explore a world filled with whimsical settings, optical illusions, challenging puzzles, and formidable adversaries.

Master unique abilities with the help of Alice's friends:

• Freeze time with the White Rabbit
• Make objects appear or disappear with the Cheshire Cat
• Use the power of Telekinesis with the March Hare
• Transform objects from one world to another with the help of the Mad Hatter
• Unlock Hidden Objects in Alice's Journal with your GPS, Camera, Photo Library, and by playing the game!
• 100's of puzzles and challenges to complete

The graphics in Alice in Wonderland are a rich, cell-shaded affair that bring out the child-like madness of Wonderland beautifully. In a way they remind us of the hit multi-platform indie game Braid (most definitely a welcome thing), which is fitting as some of the gameplay elements are very Braid-esque too, with stopping and starting time and objects featuring heavily from the get go.

Our review is still cooking but we'll have it hot out of the oven for you shortly. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Lite version which offers up a brief tutorial level to give you a taste of the gameplay.

App Store Link: Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond the Mirror, $4.99, Alice in Wonderland Lite, Free.

Rayman made his debut in 1995 on the Atari Jaguar and MS-DOS, followed closely by Playstation and Sega Saturn releases. The 2D platformer featured some of the most lavish console graphics ever seen at the time and was immensely playable. I, personally, threw several weeks of my life into the game, glued to my shiny new Playstation back in early 1996. And, while the game was followed up by a number of 2D and 3D sequels, it's really the first that feels the best, and which we believe (and hope) is the version that's headed to the iPhone.

The game's backstory is as amusing as its colorful, cartoony graphics.

In Rayman world's, nature and people live together in peace. The Great Protoon provides and maintains the harmony and balance in the world.

Sorry Folks, this apparently can't last.

… one fateful day, the Great Protoon is stolen by Mr. Dark, an evil being! The Electoons who used to gravitate around it lose their natural stability and scatter all over the world! Troublesome, isn't it? (and untidy, too!) In this now-unbalanced world, strange phenomena begin to occur: freaks and hostile characters appear, capturing every Electoon they can find! They definitely need a HERO to save them now, don't you think?

Rayman must recapture the Great Protoon from its mysterious kidnapper, free the Electoons and reasseble them all to restore the world's harmony. But will the bad guys let him do it?… After all, he doesn't have arms or legs… but don't panic, neither do the bad guys.

Have a look at a bit of gameplay from the Playstation version of the game.

We'll be sure to let readers know when they can expect to begin their own iPhone-based search for the Great Protoon as soon as we get further details.

In Above, you play as a guy who runs from side to side across the screen jumping on a series of platforms that apparently just mysteriously spawned in the air as he was walking down the street. Of course the logical thing to do in this situation is to start jumping on them to see where they go. Instead of constantly jumping like Doodle Jump, you touch the screen to charge up a jump which allows you to make quick hops as well as giant leaps depending on how long you hold your finger down. As you go higher and higher, the background scrolls up with you until you reach the clouds, and eventually make it in to space on the hard difficulty level that has you starting by jumping off the solar panels of the International Space Station.

Above is delightfully ridiculous, and has a constant element of urgency to the game not seen in the other platform jumpers where your guy is constantly running back and forth, forcing you to either keep jumping, or fall between the gaps to the level below. Because of this, the game is a little more forgiving and you can fall down a few levels of platforms before you actually lose.

Above is still in development, and is missing several sprites and other refinement, but here is some gameplay video of this work in progress to give you an idea how this all goes together:

Axolot Games expects to have Above on the App Store sometime in March.

Makeout Mania! from StormHatch ($0.99)

Makeout Mania! is a "chain-reaction puzzler" that puts you in the role of that love-spreading cherub, Cupid, on a mission to pierce the heart of a school full of unsuspecting students with your arrows of love, sending them on a frenzied bid to kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.

The title offers 24 levels of gameplay in Puzzle Mode, where the mission is to pierce a heart and make the perfect match (consult the yearbook to see who's nuts about who) while avoiding the teachers at all cost. There's also Mania Mode where it's a race against the clock to trigger the most kisses possible in an ever-scrolling schoolhouse, with the option to compete against your Facebook and Plus+ friends.

Free, new levels are on the way and an update has been submitted that tweaks a few areas of gameplay.

App Store Link: Makeout Mania! ($0.99)

Flower Garden from SnappyTouch ($0.99)

A big part of Valentine's Day, for those of us that don't spend all our time playing iPhone games, is flowers. And, thanks to Noel Llopis of SnappyTouch, you can have your own lovely flower garden right inside your iPhone.

As we said in our initial review of the app, Flower Garden is not really a game. It does, however, fall into the same sim / virtual pet type experience that has boosted apps such as Koi Pond, Pocket God and Touch Pets Dogs to the heights of popularity in the App Store.

There's no real goal to Flower Garden. It's something of a zen-like experience, really. Grow flowers. Unlock new seeds. Clip flowers to make bouquets. And it's the last that really puts this game under the Valentine's Day crosshairs; you can make a lovely bouquet and email it to someone special. Basically, it turns your iPhone into a digital Cupid, with email for arrows. And, to make things even sweeter, the game is currently under a 60%-off weekend-only Valentine's Day sale at $0.99.

App Store Link: Flower Garden ($0.99, sale)

Whac-a-Mole: Whacky Valentines from Mattel (Free)

Everybody's played a whack-a-mole game, in one form or another. It's a pretty simple formula: the mole pops up out of its hole and you whack it.  And, who doesn't like to bludgeon moles? Especially when the damned things are trying to ruin Valentine's Day!

Whac-a-Mole: Whacky Valentines is basically a Valentine-themed version of the iPhone original [App Store] which is, as such games go, a pretty solid take on the whack-a-mole formula. Amusingly, the digital backboard of the game provides the occasional (though highly simplistic) mini-game — a nice touch.

I'd go into further description of the title but…it's free, so just download it and start whacking.

App Store Link: Whac-a-Mole: Whacky Valentines (Free)

Touch Pets Dogs Valentine's Goodies Pack from ngmoco ($2.99 DLC)

Virtual pet buffs need not be left out in the cold on this day of love and merriment. Ngmoco is currently offering a Valentine's Goodies Pack as paid in-game DLC ($2.99) in Touch Pets Dogs for those that want to lavish their v-pooch with as much love as can be.

App Store Link: Touch Pets Dogs (Free)

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody.

Now on the iPhone after a re-imagination on the DS in 2009, Giana Sisters [App Store] is an enhanced version of a tongue-in-cheek attempt in 1987. The levels have everything you would expect of a Mario-inspired game– refined run-and-jump platforming, fireball power-ups, brick smashing, coin collecting and even castles with Bowser at the end (well, a look-a-like cousin at least). In fact, it is not until well into the second world that Giana Sisters even hints at an identity of its own.

By the third and fourth worlds however, an attitude easily rivalling that of their plumber pals shines through. And the sisters will need every bit it as the game is rife with pitfalls and dangers. Crumbling platforms, deadly waters and razor sharp stalagnites– as well as a battalion of terrifically crafted enemies, some of whom would as soon run you down as fire a bazooka at you– are all thrown at our heroines. Not all enemies can be defeated by fireballs and head-stomps either, often needing deft and precarious jumping to avoid. The sisters do have a little help though; dispensers spit out shakeable soda bottles to clear brick obstacles or put out fires and dispense man-sized, floating bubble gum balloons to fly around in. A handy flower pot check-point is also available in most levels to save your progress.

The original title featured 32 levels all up, which are all playable after completing the game, but it's the whopping 80 newly crafted levels that will keep you most occupied in Giana Sisters. Negotiating your way through these levels is a breeze, with both a Classic and Touch scheme available. The Classic mode works a treat and is the recommended setting, the finely-tuned left and right movement and jump and attack buttons are well-placed on the screen. As in our early impressions though we had difficulty getting used to the Touch scheme, particularly the jumping mechanic which proved too tedious. Both settings have a swipe feature for looking below or above your current platform.

The production values in Giana Sisters go beyond just a carefully crafted platform game however, as it both looks and sounds superb. The artwork is crisp and detailed with gorgeous, layered backdrops and themed levels really setting the scene to distinguish each area. The soundtrack is really something to write home about too; layering on that nostalgia thick with keyboard-heavy midi-esque tracks that run the gamut of upbeat to dark and ominous.

Giana Sisters is certainly deserving of its tremendous cult following. As a widely appealing game, it is easily recommended to all as a fresh take on classic platforming. It draws its strength from its unashamed inspiration, offering a tight, fully-featured and excellently crafted platformer that really raises the bar for the AppStore. Achievement hunters and competitive types will also be glad to know that Giana Sisters comes packaged with OpenFeint support for both achievements and leaderboards.

Impressions from our discussion forums have been wildly positive. Be sure to check out the developer's trailer above for a closer look.

App Store Link: Giana Sisters, $4.99

Check out the following early gameplay trailer:

Knife Media boasts Choma will be the one of the first "true AAA titles" exclusive to the iPad, and they're shooting for a release window of mid to late 2010. Judging by the gameplay trailer alone, Choma seems quite similar to Rolando. Ngmoco has not said anything publicly on the fate of the Rolando series, or whether or not there is a Rolando 3 in the works, so if Knife Media plays their cards right it's entirely possible that Choma could be the Rolando of the iPad.

Having just played through the first and second worlds, it is immediately obvious where Armin Gessert's Giana Sisters has derived its inspiration. Our early experiences were replete with head-butting brick-smashing platforming, jumping on unsuspecting enemies, pipes, and a steady stream of fireball upgrades. It goes so far as to have coin-bricks, and hidden coin-bricks, and a flag at the end of each level.

It isn't all Mario though, as Armin Gessert's Giana Sisters appears to have an abundance of its own charm. The platforming is straightforward, but challenging, and it really comes into its own after the first few stages. There are two control schemes available– a Classic and Touch setting– the latter of which seems a bit too unorthodox to time pin-point jumps. Fortunately, the Classic setting is as you would expect it; movement buttons on the left and jump and shoot buttons on the right which work a treat. Both modes have a swipe feature to help you look below and above you. A number of different power-ups are also available throughout the 80 newly-crafted levels, after which the 32 original 'retro' levels are unlocked.

The full feature set, as provided by Bad Monkey is as follows:

We've thoroughly enjoyed what we've played so far of Armin Gessert's Giana Sisters. There's something special about a great 80's platformer, and this one seems to get all the elements just right. Expect a more extensive review in the near future as we put Armin Gessert's Giana Sisters on the iPhone through its paces.

More first impressions from our readers are already amassing in our forums.

App Store Link: Giana Sisters, $4.99

From our review:

GTProduction's Spring Fling is a jump-up-the-platform-wall game where you take on the role of a spring. Being a spring, it's not just a matter of tap to jump straight upward — you can compress the string and set the angle of your jump by way of a tap and drag mechanic. And the integrated PhysX engine makes the experience rather convincing. Choose an angle to shallow or severe and it's a platform miss with a plummet to your end.

Each jump uses up a supply of Power that doesn't get recharged until the next checkpoint. So, the game is a more deliberate physics/power management game than the fast paced action of other platform jumping titles.

Along the way rockets, balloons, parachutes, and pogo sticks help you scale the wall. The game includes five different worlds, some static and some downward scrolling. And achievements, online leaderboards, and Facebook / Twitter integration provide incentive to reach the highest height.

Spring Fling is free for a limited time, so if you're as much of a fan of these endless jumping games as we are, don't waste any time downloading this one.

App Store Link: SpringFling, Free (Today Only)