When you look at the lineup of iPhone games in the App Store you will notice a few genres that seem a little crowded. One of these is castle defense type games, so I was kind of surprised to see a developer working on one to join the ranks of the many other castle defenders such as the highly detailed 2D Knights Onrush [99¢] and Gameloft's 3D Castle Frenzy [99¢].

Gamedoctors, an independent developer form Germany, is hard at work putting on the finishing touches on a game they call, ZombieSmash! In an effort to have their game standout they’re using the strangely popular (and arguably overdone) theme of zombie killing to draw gamers in.

After watching the trailer you can see the game has cartoony look and some amusing killing methods. ZombieSmash! also includes something they're calling the "splatter engine" that is powering the zombie ragdoll physics and excessive amounts of blood spewing everywhere. Gamedoctors is trying to get people to call it a survival comedy, but we’ll have to wait and see if that sticks.

The game should hit the App Store in March for $1.99.

Late last year Volkswagen teamed up with Firemint to bring us Real Racing GTI [Free], a cleverly disguised free demo of Real Racing [$4.99] loaded with VW cars and branding that is still totally worth downloading if you haven't tried out Real Racing yet.

VW's most recent collaboration was just released today, this time working with Fish Labs to bring us what appears to be some kind of crazy economical driving edutainment game that appears to share a similar game engine to their previously released Rally Master Pro 3D [$4.99]. In Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge [Free], instead of racing as quickly as you can, players are forced to drive economically.

As silly as this sounds for a video game, doing well is actually quite challenging. You start the game with a small amount of gas, and with each checkpoint you come to, you're asked an often obvious question about fuel efficiency to get more fuel. You then try to drive as far as you can with the amount of gas the game gives you. This means intelligent throttle management, coasting down hills, taking turns properly to not lose speed, and other economical driving techniques the game explains for you.

When you finally run out of gas, your distance is submitted to a global online leaderboard showing how far the world's most economical drivers have gotten in the game. Initially I just wrote Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge off as a marketing gimmick, but after playing a few games it's really kind of neat how the game encourages highly technical driving. So often in driving games you're able to just go all out, bounce through corners and off other cars with little if any penalty at all and this is a nice, albeit fairly odd, change of pace.

Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge is free, and who knows, you might even learn something about economical driving that could end up saving you money on gas in your own car. If you like the graphics in the game and how it calls out turns for you, be sure to check out Fish Labs' game this seems to be based on, Rally Master Pro which we posted a review on when it was first released.

App Store Link: Volkswagen Think Blue. Challenge, Free

A title that has been getting a lot of attention on our forums, and rightly so, is the upcoming dual-stick shooter, Revolt, created by the three-man team of Kristopher Peterson, Jaap Kreijkamp and Sean Neville.

Revolt is an exquisite looking shooter that departs from the usual dual-stick model of unlimited ammo run-and-gunning by throwing a surprising amount of strategy into the mix. The gameplay promotes taking cover and rolling to avoid enemy fire, and ammo needs to be carefully managed across 15 weapons and 5 weapon types. A mixture of lasers, grenades and missile launchers serve to create some of the most impressive explosions and combat effects we've seen on the AppStore, too. To boot, Revolt seems to take its storytelling seriously, the gameplay spanning over 8 campaign levels and an impressive 20 survival arenas.

The story behind Revolt's development seems equally impressive, being largely a labor of love for Peterson who started development in May '09 on his own and was joined soon in September by Kreijkamp to form what has mostly been a two-man development team. Lack of manpower certainly doesn't show, as Revolt's stunning level design and attention to both lighting and shadows are really setting it apart from the usual shooter suspects. The full feature-list as provided by the team is as follows:

• 8 Story Levels and 20 Survival Arenas
• 15 Weapons
• 8 Unique Enemy Types
• Weapon and Armor Upgrades
• Advanced Gameplay
• Destructible Environments
• 3 Difficulty Modes
• Kickass 3d Graphics
• Killer Music and Sound Effects
• High Score Leaderboard

The developers have already promised to add to that sizeable feature list, with a character skill system, more levels, weapons and enemies, and OpenFeint integration scheduled as planned updates, so there is a ton of content to look forward to.

Be sure to check out the impressive trailer above and keep an eye on our Revolt discussion thread for further updates from the developer before its upcoming but as-yet unannounced release date.

A few days ago we took a look at Cocoto Magic Circus [App Store]. Since then, the game has been released and is easily one of the better tap to shoot arcade style games I've played on the iPhone.

From our preview:

In Cocoto Magic Circus, you take on the role of Cocoto, Shiny, Neuro, or Baggy on a mission to save poor Fairy, the pixie, who has been kidnapped by a sinister and disturbing clown. In order to save her, you must progress through five different creepy carnival settings, wielding your dart-gun like a champ, tapping true on the clown's various minions to knock them into oblivion. There are seven shooting gallery-style mini-games in each of the settings, making for 35 challenges in all.

While it's true that shooting gallery titles are generally rather simplistic affairs — and there's certainly no lack of such games in the App Store — Cocoto Magic Circus is a surprisingly enjoyable little game. The visuals are very well done — cartoonish, cute, and atmospheric with a nice parallax effect to the scenes that adds a sense of depth to the game. Complexity is added to the title's tap-to-shoot dynamic by way of line-of-fire obstacles as well as floating bonuses and special effects that, when shot, trigger things both good and bad: double shot score, free hits, lights out, gun jams, flip screen, etc. It's a nice touch.

Cocoto Magic Circus is a fun series of tap to shoot mini-games that is enhanced by a real-time online multiplayer mode that worked pretty well in the few games I was able to play. The game has seen an overwhelmingly positive reception in our forums, and while these tap to shoot games never come close to the feel of an actual light gun game, Cocoto Magic Circus is really worth checking out.

App Store Link: Cocoto Magic Circus, 99¢

Turn-based strategy gameUniWar has gone free today. Uniwar came out in mid 2009 and has since seen numerous updates since that time.

UniWar tips its hat at both the StarCraft and Advance Wars series with three playable races that each have slightly different advantages and disadvantages while waging a turn based war on a hex grid.

We loved the game when it was introduced as it was one of the few asynchronous online multiplayer games available on the iPhone. The game now supports push notifications so you know when it's your turn.

If you somehow missed picking up this game so far, now's the perfect time while it's free.

App Store Link: UniWar, Free (Today)

Polarbit's racing game Raging Thunder 2 [App Store] just appeared for download mere moments ago. We're still putting the game through its paces, but so far Raging Thunder 2 fulfills nearly everything on my checklist of what makes a fun arcade racer.

The sensation of speed is great, there's a boost system, tons of jumps, and even a car damage system. Five game modes are included ranging from the standard time trials and career mode to an "arcade" mode where you play through as many races as possible without the timer reaching zero. In total there are six cars and twelve different tracks, although most will need to be unlocked through career mode. It even has internet multiplayer.

Amazingly enough even with all the stuff packed in this game, Raging Thunder 2 only weighs in at the 3G download friendly 15MB. We're going to be spending some more time with the game, but after burning through a few races our initial impressions are very positive.

App Store Link: Raging Thunder 2, $4.99

Studio Radiolaris has released their followup title to Radio Flare this morning. Radio Flare Redux promises a side-scrolling multi-touch shoot'em up experience.

Pilot your ship to the beat of the universe and blast a galaxy of invaders out of the sky. Weave through an intense sensory onslaught as you dispatch swarm after swarm of enemies, tapping the touchscreen, and your toes, as you go.

Redux contains over 30 levels of varying visual styles and licensed techno, club and house music. The latest gameplay video shows much enhanced visuals from the original release:

We'll post thoughts/impressions about the game in the near future.

App Store Link: Radio Flare Redux, $2.99

Gameloft has posted a new teaser site at SamsNewMission.com for an upcoming iPhone game they have not yet announced, but given the named character, it points to Splinter Cell. The site simply contains the above image with coordinates for 1 Infinite Loop, Apple's headquarters.

The game should be officially announced soon, and we'll have details and screenshots then.

It's no big surprise that when it gets close to a big conference (Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco) that developers will taunt us with new screens.

Earlier today EA released some details on their upcoming port of “Skate It” to the iPhone. If you’re not a console gamer, Skate It was the skate board for the Wii and/or DS that has gotten high marks. The iPhone version's release date is set for May 2010.

Here's the video for the DS version of the game:

If the screenshots are any indication it’s going to look impressive, but we will have to wait and see how it plays.

Key Features

• FEEL IT & PICK UP AND PLAY LIKE IT'S FOR REAL: We've maxed out the potential of your accelerometer and gesture controls. Get a real feel of a true skate experience as you conquer the skater nirvana that is "San Vanelona" or roll through real-world locations.
• FLICK- IT & LAND YOUR TRICKS: Use the revolutionary touchscreen Flick-it controls to pull off ollies, kickflips, heelflips, Pop Shuvits, and more.
• BE IT & LIVE THE LIFE OF THE PROS: Freeskate as a selected pro skater, or as your own customized guy or girl. Score Personal Bests in Career mode, and get sponsorships and perks galore.
• KILL IT & UNLOCK STUFF: Own challenges and KILL them to get the really good stuff — from new boards to outfits. Unlock fresh skate spots, too. Gain enough gear and create your own killer skate park.
• FILM IT & SEE YOUR SKILLS IN ACTION: Capture every sick line or epic bail on camera. Replay footage to view your mastery or just for your own amusement.
• KICK IT TO YOUR OWN TUNES: You can even shred to a soundtrack from your own music library.

Screenshots

The expectations on our forums are high with most people hoping for better controls then other the skate games on the iPhone.

As someone who has spent more time than I'd care to admit playing both the first JellyCar [Free] and JellyCar 2 [99¢], I've been having an absolute blast with Chalkboard Stunts [99¢ / Free]. Featuring similar gameplay to the JellyCar series, developer Manta Research ups the ante by including a full featured level editor that not only allows you to create your own levels, but also upload them and download levels made by other players.

The object of the game is simple, you drive your little car across a track drawn out on a chalkboard to reach the finish flag. Buttons on each side of the screen control your movement and the rotation of your car for landing properly off jumps. You can also make your car bounce by tapping the screen. The included maps start out extremely easy, and slowly introduce more gameplay elements such as loops, ramps, and objects you can ram or otherwise interact with using your car.

Much like the JellyCar games, it doesn't take long for these courses to get amazingly difficult and you experience the same sense of satisfaction when you finally beat a level with your car spinning out of control and just barely crossing the finish flag. The levels you can download online vary in quality, but I've had a good time playing through the ones I've tried.

These silly physics puzzle racing games are among my favorite kind of iPhone games, and I've been having a great time exploring the various user submitted levels in Chalkboard Stunts. So much so that this review was delayed by nearly a week because every time I'd sit down planning to write something about it I'd fire up the game and lose an hour to it.

I still prefer the original JellyCar (Mostly because of the awesome music) but if the community generated content in Chalkboard Stunts keeps up, I can easily see it living a long and happy life on my iPhone.

App Store Links:

• Chalkboard Stunts, 99¢
• Chalkboard Stunts Lite, Free