Subatomic Studios has released version 1.1 of Fieldrunners which is now in the App Store. This point upgrade brings a number of new features to the popular iPhone game:

• Sounds and music are here! This update includes sound effects and a Fieldrunners theme song.
• Added a new map that requires new strategies.
• Added the highly requested Endless gameplay mode!
• Introduced two new fieldrunners. Watch out, one is invulnerable to goo!
• Added a grid to help place towers.
• The most recently obtained high score is now highlighted.
• Enhanced the visual quality of the title screen and the maps.
• Improved the user interface.

A number of bug fixes and options have also been added. So if you have it, upgrade now. If you don’t have it, well, you should. We consider Fieldrunners to be one of the best iPhone games available. Our first look review of it provides a gameplay video from the 1.0 version.

App Store Link: Fieldrunners, $4.99

DVide Arts Inc. has just released an iPhone version of its popular mobile adventure game Angel Sword [App Store] through the iTunes App Store.

Once upon a time, in a land of magic, two wizards ruled in peace. The legend says that the Red Wizard unlocked the power of the Sword of Angels, a blade forged by the gods using good and evil magic. Over time, the power of the sword filled the Red Wizard with darkness. In order to stop the Red Wizard, a guardian angel was summoned using the power of light. Now you must guide this hero on the path to recover the Sword of Angels and restore peace through out the land. Prepare to battle demons, solve mysteries, and travel across two major lands in search of the legendary Angel Sword.

Angel Sword is a Zelda-like adventure both in gameplay and appearance.  Although not actually a retro title, it looks like one, likely due to the lowest common denominator of the smartphone platforms the game supports.  The main character is controlled via an on-screen button rose and by way of other contextual pop-up buttons.  A simple musical score accompanies gameplay.

Features listed by the developer:

• Interactive game characters with in depth stories
• Re-playable interactive alternate endings
• Challenging animated enemies
• Auto save your game progress
• Save up to 3 unique games
• Submit your game online after completion
• Full color graphics and animation
• Music and Sound Effects with mute sound option
• Easy to use interface with on screen instruction buttons

App Store Link: Angel Sword, $4.99

FremantleMedia released an iPhone version of the long running daytime gameshow The Price is Right [App Store, $4.99]

The 84.5MB iPhone game offers 16 of the pricing games from the gameshow in which contestants guess at the actual price of various items. Features include:

• Single Player Mode: Play to avoid strikes and to rack up the biggest winnings.
• Party Mode: Compete against up to 4 players to accumulate the highest value of prizes.
• Includes 16 popular pricing games, plus Contestant’s Row, Big Wheel & Showcase Showdown.
• Theme music, announcer audio and game sounds create a true-to-show experience.
• Rack up achievements in your personal trophy room.

First impressions of the game show a well implemented game that is reasonably faithful to the game show. The game itself is somewhat condensed to allow for individual play (even if you don’t win the Contestant’s Row). The products are shown both with video clips and images with detailed descriptions. The announcer’s voiceover follows you throughout the game.

Based on early play, it’s hard to tell how many video clips there are, though it certainly contributes to the sizable 84.5MB size. Overall, a safe bet for those who are fans of the show.

App Store Link: The Price is Right, $4.99

TrickySoftware’s Armado platformer is now available [App Store] for $4.99.

Armado is a port of an existing Mac and PC game which the company has “completely reworked” which we reported just the other day. The game is a platformer in which the main character runs, rolls, jumps and smashes his way around enemies and obstacles.

This gameplay video shows off the footage from the actual iPhone game. A higher quality QuickTime version is also available:

App Store Link: Armado, $4.99

In 1987, Casady & Greene published a game by Patrick Buckland known as Crystal Quest for the Apple Macintosh. Ths first game to support color on the Mac, Crystal Quest was a simple affair where the player used the mouse to move a sphere around the playfield, dodging enemies and collecting crystals in order to unlock an exit gate a the bottom of the screen.  While a very basic game, it worked very well with the mouse and offered some rather frantic gameplay in the higher levels.  Anyone who used a Mac extensively in the late ’80s surely encountered this title and it likely holds a special place in his or her heart.  Crystal Quest was later ported to the Apple IIgs, Commodore Amiga, Nintendo GameBoy, and Palm OS devices.  Much more recently, an updated take on the original appeared in the Xbox Live Arcade, published by Buckland’s own Stainless Games (who announced iPhone support back in July).

And thanks to Hands-On Mobile’s recent App Store release [link], the iPhone can be added to the list of ports of of this classic action game.

Quite similar to the Xbox Live remake, Crystal Quest for the iPhone offers both a modern play mode, featuring updated graphics and audio as well as mild gameplay enhancements, and a classic play mode that stays true to the original’s simple color graphics and controls.  The most notable gameplay enhancement in the modern mode is the ability to shoot at enemies in any direction by tapping in the enemy’s vicinity.  The classic mode only allows shots to be fired in the direction that the sphere is traveling, like the original mouse-controlled game.  The game’s option screen allows the choice of accelerometer or swipe control (or both) as well as sensitivity settings for each.

While the mouse is probably the perfect control mechanism for this game, the iPhone’s control systems do a decent job of approximating the feel of the original, especially the swipe control mode (which is shown in our demo video).

True fans of the original should find the $4.99 iPhone version much to their liking.  Those unfamiliar with the game: don’t be fooled by the easy first levels–the pace quickly heightens and before long will be more than you can handle.  Crystal Quest is a classic that is worthy of a look.

I-Play has released an iPhone game based on the popular TV series Deal or No Deal [App Store].

For those unfamiliar with the TV shows, the game involves picking one suitcase out of twenty-six which holds an unknown dollar amount typically between $1 and $1,000,000. The game involves opening the remaining cases to remove them from play. At regular intervals the contestant is offered a cash amount from the banker to buy back the contestant’s case. The goal is to get the best deal.

App Store Link: Deal or No Deal, $4.99

Real Networks has released a port of their game Sally’s Salon to the iPhone [App Store] tonight.

The $4.99 game is a time management game in the style of Diner Dash in which you must manage customer flow and services within a business:

Manage your own virtual beauty salon! Help Sally spread her salon savvy from the shopping mall to the glittering lights of Hollywood in this stylish and engaging challenge based on the hit online game. Work with Sally to revamp everyone, from little old ladies to punk rockers to impatient celebrities, in five unique salon locations.

Real Networks provides this brief gameplay video which shows the game in action:

Tapulous has released the previously announced Nine Inch Nails version of Tap Tap Revenge [App Store].

The first-ever special edition of Tap Tap Revenge, featuring 16 tracks from the last two Nine Inch Nails albums, The Slip and Ghosts I-IV. Put your rhythmic skills to the test, tapping and shaking your way through 16 tracks hand picked by Trent Reznor himself.

The new version contains a difficulty level unlocking and a Nine Inch Nails theme.

Tap Tap Revenge is the iPhone version of Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero and gameplay involves tapping the screen to the music. The premium version costs $4.99 while the original version of Tap Tap Revenge remains free [App Store]

App Store Link: Tap Tap Revenge: Nine Inch Nails Edition, $4.99

JPMartineau has just released Stellar Blaster [App Store], a 2D top-down space shooter inspired by “the best elements of 1980s arcade classics.”

Stellar Blaster will look to most like a sort of advanced take on Asteroids where it’s not just asteroids but also enemy spacecraft that must be destroyed.  To me it looks more like portions of a 1990 Amiga shooter from Psygnosis known as Awesome [video].  Either way, Stellar Blaster provides satisfying space-shooter action, complete with the occasional and highly challenging level Boss.

Stellar Blaster utilizes the iPhone’s accelerometer for yaw control and features a thrust and fire button at the lower left and right corners of the screen. And more than is the case in most iPhone titles, the accelerometer control feels particularly “right” in this game.

Stellar Blaster consists mostly of levels that are completed by destroying all alien craft, with the occasional power-up unlocked by destroying asteroids.  There are also bonus levels where the goal is to destroy as many asteroids as possible within a time limit.  There are Boss levels too, in which a single, enormous and heavily armed ship must be systematically disabled–not a simple task.

Features, as listed by the developer:

• 25 action-packed levels with increasing difficulty
• Player-centric top-down scroller with 360º of liberty
• Power-ups, extra lives and surprises
• Beat the clock bonuses
• Saves progress on exit and on incoming phone calls so you can pick up your game later
• Upload your highest score to our worldwide leaderboard (if you want to)

While this is a retro-inspired title, people simply looking for a modern shooter will most likely find this an enjoyable title.  The control coupled with the game pacing makes for an engaging and well-balanced top-down shooter experience.  Fans of the genre will likely find this $4.99 App Store title [link] worth checking out.

Secret Exit’s Spin game [App Store] appeared in the app store tonight.

Spin is a shape matching puzzle game that makes good use of the iPhone’s multi-touch interface to spin 3D objects around in order to match it up with the silhouette shown.

Secret Exit is a small indie developer located in Helsinki, Finland. The team of five is an eclectic mix of developers with backgrounds in the demoscene, mobile gaming, and mainstream PC gaming.

We’ve already been able to spend some time with the game and found it to be an enjoyable experience. 3D rotation is accomplished using left/right and two-finger rotate gestures:

The game offers the following features, and carries a very polished style and soundtrack:

· 10 difficulty levels with 100 stages
· 11th difficulty level for the insane
· Unlockable trophy objects
· 3 different game modes
· 100 different 3D objects

This developer video is an accurate representation of the game (complete with the same soundtrack).

While the game adds unlockable trophies to mark your accomplishments, I found the Minute Rush mode to be a fun exercise in which you simply try run through as many shapes as you can with in a minute time frame. The developer also provides a detailed explanation of the ramp up of difficulty found in the normal levels.

Matching each silhouette is a curiously satisfying experience, and the less moves you take to get there improves your score. As a plot-less experience, this game provides a more “casual” gaming experience, offering you a fun distraction when you have to some time to kill.

App Store Link: Spin, $4.99