2XL Games has built a solid reputation in the iPhone game space as a maker of quality offroad racing games with their 2XL Supercross and more recent 2XL ATV Offroad. And so it was with some surprise that we took a look at their most recent App Store release, 2XL Fleet Defense [link]. An offroad racer, this is not — but so much more hangs in the balance…

Caught in the middle of an international crisis, you are the naval aviator charged with the defense of your carrier and the lives that depend on it from the enemy’s relentless attack. Fortunately, you are in control of the world’s most advanced jet fighter. The F-35 is a modern marvel, centralizing all information and controls at your command.

With the ominous threat of a looming nuclear attack, millions of lives hang in the balance. Can you navigate the perilous political waters to save the lives of your crew while preventing a nuclear war? The entire world is watching your every move…

(And that's just a small part of the gripping backstory.)  As indicated, Fleet Defense puts you in control of the carrier-based F-35 in a bid to defend your ship and crew. It works like this: You're presented with a 2D, top-down ocean playfield with a carrier at the center and enemy ships and aircraft encroaching from all directions. A pop-up radar aids in choosing which crafts to eliminate first. Spending any time with the game reveals it to have a feel similar to Flight Control and Harbor Master, in that dealing with oncoming craft in exactly the proper sequence is key. But, rather than drawing lines to plot the course of inbound boats and planes, you scroll about the playfield and tap on an enemy craft to target, which sends your F-35 on an intercept course. When your fighter gets close enough, it fires a missile and destroys the craft, allowing you to select the next target.

Your carrier base can take a certain amount of damage from enemy vessels before being completely destroyed, and it can heal itself while your F-35 is on deck and it's not under attack (tap the carrier to land). The carrier itself is not without defenses; it is equipped with a highly powerful defense system known as the Phalanx, which is basically a volley of ordnance in all directions, but it's very slow to charge and, as such, must be used only at critical moments.

See our brief gameplay video for a look at the action.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

The game includes an achievement system as well as online leaderboards which add to your skill incentive. Fans of either of the aforementioned craft management games should find Fleet Defense to be a challenging (and enjoyably frustrating) twist on the formula. Fun isn't all about offroad racing, after all.

App Store Link: 2XL Fleet Defense, $1.99

Last month we had John Kooistra on our podcast to talk about Blue Defense!, Blue Attack! and his upcoming game, Red Conquest. Unfortunately, Red Conquest had some extremely minor issues during Apple's approval process, but the game has since been fixed, resubmitted, and hopefully will be released soon. In the meantime, two new videos were unveiled today– A trailer, and a video showing a walkthrough of one of the levels:

John Kooistra's games have had a massive fan following on our forums, and there's already a thread filled with people waiting for Red Conquest. Needless to say, when the game is finally released, we will be posting a full review.

Song Summoner Encore [App Store] is Square Enix's second release in as many weeks, following on the heels of Hills and Rivers Remain which we weren't overly impressed by. Fortunately, Song Summoner Encore has a bit more substance to its gameplay, touting an interesting twist that sees your music library integrated into the game as its major drawcard.

Song Summoner Encore was originally released as an iPod app utilising the click wheel control. It is a typical turn-based RPG in the same vein as Final Fantasy Tactics, where each battle sees you taking turns to face off against a number of foes with a limited number of your own troops. The iPhone version of the game carries over 20 hours of gameplay and represents both the content of the original Song Summoner as well as a never-published iPod sequel Song Summoner 2.

Song Summoner distinguishes itself by offering a meta game of sorts by integrating and keeping track of your favourite music. Song Summoner Encore automatically generates your troopers from songs in the library that you select; giving each song a class, stats and in-game likeness. The game presents music as a force to be reckoned with as part of the storyline, but continues this out-of-game too by remembering your iPod play counts for each song/trooper that you select. The more you listen to your chosen songs, the more you are awarded with moral boosts that strengthen your troopers in battle.

It is a novel idea that unfortunately is not as fleshed out as it could be. Other than the system outlined above, the songs you select play no further part in the game itself, making the entire integration feel more than a little lacklustre.

This continues through to the presentation of the game itself. The graphics in Song Summoner Encore are nothing to write home about, the only exception being the excellent cutscene artwork. When fully zoomed out, the in-game graphics look decent, and the animations and spell effects are respectable. As soon as you zoom in however, each pixel stands out in what can only be described as an eye sore. Unfortunately, the game cannot practicably be played at the prettier zoomed out level; as navigating the battlefield becomes hit and miss at this setting, particularly for those with larger fingers. Of course, the reason for this seems due to the fact that the game content was originally designed for the click-wheel iPods.

The controls in Song Summoner Encore have been adapted well from the click wheel. Each action is managed from an in-game scroll wheel with a considerate confirmation prompt ensuring that no order is given accidentally. Character and option menus are easy to navigate with the touch controls, and an automatic and manual save system minimizes frustration.

Each level consists of managing your army either by choosing existing forces or importing new units from your iPod library, then pitting those units against the various enemies that make up each level. From there Song Summoner is a standard turn-based strategy game where you kill all of the opposing forces before they kill your force, progress to the next level, and repeat.

Those new to the game however, will undoubtedly find mind boggling the sheer magnitude of stats and game mechanics to keep track of in Song Summoner Encore; something not alleviated by the less-than-helpful in-game assistance. For example, the effectiveness of each trooper in battle requires consideration of deployment points, play points, class ratings, rankings and morale levels.

Song Summoner Encore is ultimately a game that will only reward those with patience enough to learn its details. For those looking for a casual experience, Song Summoner Encore is difficult to recommend, even considering its unique iPod integration. Fortunately, a lite version is available for download and highly recommended for those remotely interested in the game or have been looking for a tactics game to really sink their teeth into.

App Store Link: Song Summoner Encore, $9.99, Lite Version, Free

Square Enix appears to be dipping its toes into the App Store once again, releasing another title with little fanfare, Hills and Rivers Remain [App Store]. Square Enix has released a light strategy game that is best be described as a Galcon-a-like. Fortunately, it does do enough different that it can be distinguished on its own merits, though it continues to disappoint that a developer of Square Enix's calibre could not bring something to the table that really redefines the platform.

Hills and Rivers Remain wraps the traditional Galcon model in a typical Japanese RPG wrapper, with grandiose story telling, an abundance of dialogue and the typically overly dramatic anime characters that have been a hallmark of Square Enix's franchises. Unfortunately the story in Hills and Rivers Remain isn't its shining point, being loaded to the brim with clichés, uninspired characters, and banter that will likely make one wince more often than not.

The gameplay itself sees you directing your forces around a grid of linked bases, reinforcing the troops at each base and sending them on their way to overwhelm and capture the enemies' bases. Your troop numbers are replenished only when the constantly circulating green frame around the screen depletes, and only at a HQ that you can designate by pressing on an existing base. This summarizes much of the gameplay; frantically selecting the appropriate base to reinforce depending on the enemies' moves and your own strategy, a fact that is compounded when you are faced with more than one enemy.

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Turn-based strategy games have popped up here and there in the App Store, but none have really gained the traction that games like Advance Wars or Final Fantasy Tactics have on other consoles. With the exception of a small but devoted UniWar following, the iPhone has yet to see a breakthrough success in the world of turn-based battalions. Rogue Planet is looking to change all that.

Returning from a 35 year mission in space, the Nimeh is loaded with crew longing to see home. But when they return to earth they discover a horrible situation – the machines have taken over! Yes, that’s right – Rogue Planet is Macross Saga meets Terminator. As any science fiction fanboy will attest, the combination of these two scratches a certain nerd itch that we didn’t even know we had and we’re all the better for it.

Despite drawing from some obvious inspiration, the story in Rogue Planet ends up feeling wholly original and fairly well told. Each mission is a part of the larger story, unfolding as the Nimeh travels in search of any human survivors. Decent writing and a compelling plot keep things moving along nicely throughout. But what is a compelling story without some equally compelling gameplay?

Thankfully Rogue Planet delivers where it counts. Basic mechanics feel like a stripped down version of what Advance Wars offers. You’ll move, attack, and produce units. In terms of actual gameplay, that’s the bulk of what you’ll need to know. The touch screen interface feels like a perfect fit for the genre. You just tap a unit, tap where you want to go, and confirm your intentions. Depending on your situation you’ll attack, rest, heal, bomb, or commit suicide. It’s important that you know what you want to do, because unlike many of its competitors Rogue Planet doesn’t offer an undo button. The game is fairly unforgiving in this way, forcing you to think your strategies through before jumping into action.

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In the turn-based strategy world, few games are as vast as Battle for Wesnoth [App Store]. Originally released as an open source project in 2003, Wesnoth has collected a massive following of fans that contribute to the code base, create new art and sound assets, and/or write the campaigns themselves.

The computer game is a free download, and will run on Windows, OSX, Linux, and several other more obscure operating systems like the AmigaOS4 and OpenSolaris. Its system requirements are modest enough that the game will run on nearly any computer made in the last five years, and because of this Wesnoth seems to be a favorite among netbook gamers.

Kyle Poole, along with the support of countless fans, decided to take on the massive task of bringing Wesnoth to the iPhone. After months and months of work, Battle for Wesnoth is finally available for turn based strategy fanatics on the App Store. If you look at the game strictly with regard to its faithfulness as a port, it's absolutely phenomenal.

Nearly everything from the original has been preserved on the iPhone, and instead of just simply one or even two campaigns like most similar games, Wesnoth's initial release comes with 14. These 14 campaigns consist of nearly 200 individual scenarios which will provide hundreds of hours of playtime as you wage war in the mystical land of Wesnoth with multiple different battle locales, races, factions, and classes.

Like most turn based strategy games, utilizing your units intelligently along with taking advantage of the benefits offered by different types of terrain is key in winning any battle. These terrain types work exactly as you would expect– For instance, units attacking from forests are harder to retaliate against than units standing on open ground. I could go on detailing the various parts of the game, but they've already done that and then some on the Battle for Wesnoth wiki which I really recommend checking out before either downloading the free computer game or the iPhone version.

Unfortunately, while the game is a fabulous port of the original, not many concessions were made in its first release to make it a good fit for the iPhone. Most of the UI elements seem to be taken straight out of the PC version, with buttons and widgets that are often far too small to comfortably or accurately hit. Also, the different campaign levels themselves can take upwards of 30 minutes and needing to take a single phone call means losing all your progress since the last time you manually saved your game.

Normally these kind of things would really make me think twice before getting involved in an iPhone game that seems to forget that many people will be playing it on their phone, as interruptions will likely be unavoidable. Not only that, but reports of game performance on previous-generation devices have ranged from decent to unplayable.

Wesnoth's saving grace that has me on the verge of disregarding many of its flaws is its amazing implementation of multiplayer. Not only can you play online, but you can also play against the desktop version of Wesnoth. iPhone games with online multiplayer are few and far between. But iPhone games that not only have online multiplayer but also complete cross-platform compatibility are a rare find indeed.

Developer Kyle Pool is actively participating in the Battle for Wesnoth thread and plans to release an update soon addressing most of the issues mentioned above along with other complaints of forum members. Largely because of the spotty performance on devices other than the 3rd generation iPod Touch and iPhone 3GS, it is probably a good idea to hold off on buying Battle for Wesnoth until these issues are ironed out and the update is released.

If you're willing to put up with these issues to play the game now, your perseverance should be rewarded with the most in-depth turn based strategy game available for the iPhone. If this is your genre, Battle for Wesnoth really is a game that you must experience, if not on your iPhone then on your computer.

App Store Link: Battle for Wesnoth, $4.99

Commanders, get ready for battle! Gameloft has just released the much-anticipated turn-based military sim Rogue Planet to the AppStore, and from what we’ve played so far we can tell you it’s everything we’ve been hoping for.

Fans of turn-based war games like Advance Wars and Military Madness will feel right at home here. Unlike previous iPhone attempts at tackling the genre, Rogue Planet felt like a natural fit from the first moment we fired it up. The space opera story about a ship returning to earth only to find it in the hands of a hostile force is exactly the kind of sci-fi popcornia that hooks a player on more than just gameplay.

Just like our initial impressions of the story, the touch screen mechanics feel as tight as you might want them to. Things move at a quick pace and everything is streamlined down to the basics. Move units, attack units. Lather, rinse, repeat. After playing the first few levels, we’re happy to say that they offered up great map layouts that never feel like you’re walking endlessly, marching and marching just looking for battles. Hardly a turn goes by without some form of combat occurring.

The other thing that both surprised and delighted us was the length of each battle. Developers try to tailor their efforts to what they believe is a "typical" iPhone experience, meaning quick bursts of gameplay without a great deal of depth or strategy. The catch, though, is that depending on the type of game you’re making you might be sacrificing everything that would have made your game great in the first place. In this regard, Rogue Planet unapologetically sticks to its roots and strays away from the bite-sized gaming experience that many iPhone gamers have come to expect. By the time we’d reached the third mission we found ourselves spending 30 minutes or more reach our objectives. It’s the same tried and true deep experience that has made games like Advance Wars such a success on other platforms.

The 2D art in the battle scenes and dialogue sections pops just as much as you’d expect from the trailer. There’s a very heavy anime influence to the art style. For some reason the whole experience reminds me of Macross. Maybe it’s the ship returning from space. Maybe it’s the choice in vehicles. Whatever it is, it works.

In addition to the single player campaign with 19 missions, Rogue Planet also offer local multiplayer over Bluetooth and Wi-fi. The absence of internet play stings a little, but Gameloft assures us it’s being worked on for the next update. In the meantime, those without iPhone pals hanging around their living room can still experience the feel of multiplayer in a single player setting thanks to the Quick Game mode. Quick Game let’s you fire up a multi-style battle against AI bots and here there are 3 levels of difficulty across 34 maps (19 from story and 15 new ones) playable with 2 different armies.

So far we’ve only had a chance to experience the single player campaign, and from what we’ve seen of the first few missions, it looks as though we might finally have a solid iPhone contender for the hearts of Nectaris lovers everywhere. We'll take a more in depth look after we've had some time with the game.

App Store Link: Rogue Planet, $4.99

The Settlers is a real time strategy (RTS) gaming series that has evolved quite a bit over the past two decades. Gameloft’s The Settlers as a standalone game brings a slightly different take on RTS to the iPhone/iPod Touch platform that for the most part delivers, but also bringing a few frustrations along the way including the omission of a freeplay mode. Ultimately, The Settlers is a solid experience and good introduction for newcomers to the series.

As with any typical RTS game, the objective is to build a community, establishing a means of income, develop a powerful military, and expand territories. The Settlers, however, is less about tactical micromanagement and more about strategic planning. In many ways, The Settlers is a game focused on urban planning where the placement and construction of buildings play heavily in your success. Unlike many of today’s RTS games, direct control of individual or groups of units is limited. You literally establish a virtual society where your vision will set it down the path to success or failure. This premise alone makes The Settlers worth considering especially for newcomers to the series.

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Gameloft's iPhone adaptation of The Settlers has already appeared in the App Store. The $4.99 real time strategy simulation game started out as an Amiga game back in 1993 and has since evolved through multiple iterations.

You’ve arrived in a wondrous place populated by Romans, Vikings and Mayans competing or cooperating to reach a variety of goals. These goals include occupying land, ensuring the supply of raw materials, or simply trying to create the most beautiful settlement. There is more than one path which leads to success – you can engage in trade, forge alliances, or lead your army into battle.

Gameplay is described by Gameloft:

• Gather resources and build a lively and bustling town in an ancient world. Your decisions and skill in managing and protecting your settlement will determine its fate.
• The strength of your units depends on how effectively you have built up your settlement and paid attention to the economic relationships within it.
• Three nations to govern: Conquer new territories, defeat rival armies, and establish an empire with your warriors that encompasses lands and continents.
• A huge number of parameters to manage: Dozens of building’s types, settlements, soldiers, raw materials, and much more.
• An accessible game for everybody, thanks to extensive tutorial missions and multi-touch gameplay, ideal for strategy games.

Early impressions are starting to trickle into the discussion thread on our forums with some positive first impressions. One forum member mrbass posted an extensive gallery of screenshots of the gameplay and tutorial screens. We'll provide a more in depth look of the game in time.

App Store Link: The Settlers, $4.99

As is the case with most Gameloft games, very little is known about these two games short of the contents of their trailers. Thankfully, there is quite a bit of gameplay shown in both of them so it's not very hard to get a feel for each game.

The Settlers – The last in a long line of Settlers games starting with the original that was released on the Amiga all the way back in 1993. The Settlers is a real time strategy simulation game that historically has had a fairly relaxed gameplay pace which should translate well to the iPhone. The amount of units moving on screen at once is fairly impressive, and with how few of the games there are of this genre on the App Store, The Settlers should easily stand out from the pack.

Castle Frenzy – Castle defense games have seen a remarkable amount of success on the App Store, from the numerous games with simple stick figures to highly detailed games like Knights Onrush that all share the same basic gameplay elements. Castle Frenzy seems to have the same array of defense upgrades and abilities seen in most similar games, with the most notable difference being its colorful 3D graphics. It's hard to say what if any effect this will have on gameplay, but from the trailer alone Castle Frenzy seems to be one of the coolest looking castle defense games if nothing else.