Richard Perrin's Kairo [$4.99], released under his Locked Door Puzzle label, is billed as a minimalist, first-person exploration puzzle game. That's a mouthful, and it's true, but it doesn't begin to describe the game's texture and feel -- it's equal parts serene, melancholy, unnerving, and dreamlike.

The world of Kairo is like a playable, explorable tone poem.

Kairo's minimalism is its defining characteristic: it affects everything in the game, from the puzzle design to  the environments. There's no real narrative frame (or text, really) to speak of, just a few scattered hints that the game takes place in some deserted future-Earth. Abandoned monuments abound, but there are no people, just the puzzles and long-dormant technology they left behind. The game's environments are built out of simple shapes -- cubes, blocks, spheres -- giving the game a futuristic, alien quality.

The abstract environments, lack of narrative, and audio direction all help set the mood for each section. The lack of some over-arching emergency gives players time to relax and explore the nooks and crannies in a peaceful, pixelated garden, but it also keeps us disoriented and confused when Kairo takes a turn for the creepy and macabre. Kairo isn't a horror game per se, but it re-creates the feeling of being alone in an old house -- every scrape, every bump in the dark, every muffled footstep feels overblown and significant. Disembodied voices are terrifying when you know you're literally the only living being on a dead planet.

The game's visual and narrative style is matched by equally sparse controls and puzzle design. On the left side of the screen are virtual buttons that move your first-person avatar forward and backwards, and the the camera is controlled by touching and dragging with the right thumb or index finger. The controls are tight and simple and worked well on my iPad 2, but here's the kicker: there's no dedicated interaction button.

This means that every puzzle in the game is a mix of aural, visual, and spatial cues. With no way to interact or pick up items, entire swathes of traditional puzzles (physics puzzles, inventory management, etc.) are rendered off-limits. Some designers might find that restrictive, but Perrin finds a lot of interesting and graceful ways to work within that context, mostly with the help of audio cues -- a bell-chime for "good," a cymbal crash for "bad" -- and visual symbols. The majority of the puzzles are logic-based, which works well with the control scheme and mood of the game.

Perhaps my favorite puzzle involves walking on a giant track-pad connected to two wall-mounted dials: moving vertically moves one dial, but moving horizontally moves the other. Getting the dials aligned just so -- there are clues on the wall to help you figure out where this is -- will activate the machinery necessary to advance.

Doing away with text-based instructions and relying on atmospheric clues makes Kairo an elegant and understated game, but that elegance isn't always intuitive. Kairo is perhaps over-dependent on players paying close attention to each puzzle's fine details, or on making connections between disparate parts of the world -- even after "solving" a puzzle, you may not notice what affect it had or why it was important. Kairo doesn't always do a good job highlighting the salient features of its design: I was stuck for two days on the game's second hub area before I had an epiphany about how to interact with the game's numerous fragmented monoliths, for example.

It also helps to know that kairo is the Japanese word for "circuit": there are four hub areas, each with a number of puzzle rooms attached. Once each puzzle is solved, the circuit is complete, the hub area is activated, and the player can move on. Given the lack of text or narrative in Kairo, learning the structure can do a lot to keep players focused and oriented.

In any case, any unintuitiveness is largely mitigated by a generous hint system. Kairo isn't about making players feel dumb or setting up arbitrary challenges and goal posts: Perrin is obviously focused on letting the player explore the mysterious world he created, see how it works, and try to make sense of it. There are no penalties for using the hints or experimenting as much as you need to solve each puzzle -- it's more important to see what the world has to offer than it is to be stumped by a designer's funky logic.

I like that Kairo demands attention, demands that you clear out some time, relax, go slowly, and be observant. It's a thoughtful, deliberate, and delicate game. Few players, I would imagine, unlock of all of Kairo's secrets during one play through -- there are a few optional rooms that I haven't been able to wrap my head around, hints or no hints. Even after having beaten Kairo, it's story is still mercurial and vague -- all that exploration provided more questions than it did answers.

Kairo's roots as an indie PC game are apparent, but it's made a great transition to iOS. The controls are responsive and well-suited to touch devices, but more importantly, Kairo brings something fresh and unique to the platform -- there's nothing like it, to the best of my knowledge, on the App Store. We need more games like it.

There's nothing better than a big, crackling fire, for ambiance, for warmth, for burning all your belongings. In the world of Little Inferno [$4.99], the best thing in life is getting a new toy or gizmo in the mail, tossing it in your Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace, and setting it on fire. In fact, there may be nothing else. Nothing else at all.

This might seem like an exercise in futility—burning up every bit of progress you make—but it isn't. Not quite. There's something Tomorrow Corporation is trying to tell you in this game, something that isn't entirely comfortable to reflect upon. It's a message that can't be discussed without spoilers, so suffice it to say that it will resonate with mobile gamers—probably much more than any other audience. Just one of a few reasons Little Inferno feels right cozy on iPad.

The device also makes a pretty good window right into your Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace. Dragging things into the fireplace feels natural; setting them on fire even more so. You can hold a fingertip near something that burns and watch as the heat from your flame lights it up. Or you can sweep your finger around haphazardly, lighting everything in bright flame. All Little Inferno is missing is some heat and the smell of burning fur and plastic.

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If you've been following Polarbit throughout the years, you know the developer has a penchant for racing titles. Whether its with top-down arcade titles such as Reckless Racing 2, water races such as Wave Blazer or Rush-esque titles such as Raging Thunder 2, vehicular gameplay seems to be in their blood. Enter Cracking Sands [$1.99], the latest racing title from Polarbit. While the racer features an impressive customization system, and a wealth of maps and cups, Cracking Sands falters a bit with its frustrating control scheme and increasingly hectic weapons-based gameplay.

As far as kart racers go, Cracking Sands doesn't do much to mix up the core gameplay. An extensive campaign is initially available, which has players participating in cups, racing through maps that award points and cash (and earning final rankings based on total points against other computer opponents) which can be used towards upgrading vehicles and weapons. Completing the campaign opens up other game modes, including single races, time trials, and more. In between standard races, Cracking Sands also throws two other game modes at you: Elimination (where the game systematically removes the racer in last place until one is left standing) and Head of the Pack (which awards points to the racer in first place for a certain amount of time). Multiplayer rounds out a decent amount of variety in Cracking Sands.

The actual racing, meanwhile, is pretty standard fare, with players balancing trying to earn first place while dodging (and launching) a variety of weapons at other racers. Weapons are powered by an energy system that is replenished during races by collecting energy cubes, running over energy pads, or by taking advantage of situations with temporary unlimited energy. Initially, racing in Cracking Sands is a bit slow and bland as your kart has little in terms of weapons and upgrades, but as you earn more coins (which flow freely if you get a few first places), the game picks up a little.

The area that Cracking Sands excels the most is in the sheer amount of variety and customization for players. The campaign is pretty huge, with tons of unlockable cups, each featuring a decent amount of map environments. Meanwhile, players have a wealth of options in customizing your racer's clothes, facial features, and vehicle. Each vehicle also has its own upgrade paths, further providing players an opportunity to tailor and improve their vehicles. This wealth of customization extends to the weapon options, with tons of different choices, each with the ability to be upgraded several times.

Where I have an issue with Cracking Sands, however, is its use of tilt-based controls. The game forces players to use the accelerometer to steer, which can feel imprecise and frustrating at times. This becomes especially apparent in later races which feature complicated maps with quick (and sometimes hard to distinguish) turns. There are options to adjust the tilt sensitivity, but I really would have preferred some virtual buttons instead.

As if the controls weren't bad enough, the Weapons-based gameplay can lead to a lot of highly frenetic action on screen. In fact, at times there were so many weapons effects going off on screen that I even encountered some slow-down on my iPhone 5. There's also the fact that you'll encounter situations where you get railed by so many weapons by other CPU racers that you can instantly go from first to last place. It's frustrating and feels cheap, but then again this isn't the first time kart racers have done this (remember the plethora of blue shells in Mario Kart whenever you got in first place?).

In the end, Cracking Sands ends up being a title recommended to racing fans that are looking for a title with a wealth of content. That's pretty much all it has going for it as the visuals aren't particularly inspiring, the controls aren't as precise as I'd like, the weapons-based gameplay, while fun, can easily become too hectic. It sounds like a lot of cons, but games that have the ability to afford players a lot to do and see are worth noting. If you're a genre fan looking for that, check out Cracking Sands. For everyone else, there are better races out there.

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes [$4.99] is one of those games I just can't get enough of. I've picked it up on three different platforms so far, and through them all there's been one constant: it offers an excellent blend of strategy, puzzles and roleplaying. It's more than worth playing, be it on PSN or XBLA, on Nintendo DS, or on Steam. iPad, too—aside from a few big bugs. iPhone, on the other hand? Not so much. Asynchronous multiplayer is a wonderful addition, but it comes at a cost.

Clash of Heroes takes a touch too much squinting on the small screen, but I could live with that if it weren't for the frustrating controls. This is a game that's likely to make most people feel uncomfortably fat fingered. You can zoom in on the action, which helps, but then you can't see the enemy team. The iPad, even the Mini, fares so much better it may as well be a different game. In fact, it probably ought to be - the iPhone version would benefit from a complete overhaul.

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It's that time of week again when the deluge of new releases finally land on the US App Store. It looks like a pretty decent week based on what's in our weekly Coming Tonight post, and all those games are now available with the links provided there. As we usually do, we're highlighting what is the most noteworthy release of the bunch and this week that game is Might & Magic Clash of Heroes [$4.99].

Clash of Heroes is a match-3 RPG hybrid in the loosest sense, and is wrapped in a massive single-player story-driven campaign. Typical RPG tropes are at play as you follow along with a ragtag group of young heroes as they try to save the world from certain doom.

Battles are centered around the matching style gameplay, and as we've talked about previously in our preview coverage of Clash of Heroes, this is the game's biggest strength. There are layers upon layers of depth to the fight strategies and mechanics, and while the story and presentation are key components if Clash of Heroes was nothing but battling I wouldn't complain one bit.

That's sort of what the multiplayer is there for, though. You can play against AI opponents, battle real-life friends locally, or take on the competition online in asynchronous bouts. The single-player campaign in Clash of Heroes should keep you busy for quite a long time, but the multiplayer options are what really give it long-term legs.

Might & Magic Clash of Heroes originally launched as a Nintendo DS title back in 2009, and was re-released and enhanced in HD for home consoles in 2011. The iOS game is based on the HD release, and because of that the file is nearly a full 2 gigs, so just a heads up. Other than that it appears to be a fairly decent touchscreen translation of an absolutely phenomenal original game, so check out our forums for more early impressions and watch this space for more on Clash of Heroes in the near future.

When Grand Theft Auto 3 hit the video game scene over a decade ago, it caused a pretty big splash with its shift to 3D action as well as the elaborate (for its time) narrative being weaved in Liberty City. However, I think Rockstar really started to hit its stride when it released Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Similarly, when GTA3 [$4.99] debuted on iOS last year, we thought it was a pretty good port of the PS2 title with the exception of its touch controls. However, with the release of GTA: Vice City [$4.99], Rockstar has delivered a refined port with improved controls, nuanced improvements to the visuals and gameplay, all with the great story and totally awesome soundtrack that made it popular ten years ago. Other than some lingering control issues, Vice City is well worth checking out for a blast to the past.

If you're one of the few people that have never been exposed to a Grand Theft Auto game, I'd advise you to check out our review of GTA3 for a quick recap in regards to general gameplay rules and overarching story architecture. In regards to Vice City, the same open-world freedom to do whatever you want still exists and translates well to iOS. New features such as an improved auto-save function, the ability to instantly replay a mission if you fail, and iCloud save compatibility make this version a bit more friendly to play in this day and age (and even has a few tricks that GTA3 iOS didn't have when it first came out).

Just as was the case with GTA3, folks playing Vice City will experience a deluge of on-screen virtual buttons. Some buttons are contextual and only appear when they need to (such as the carjacking button), while others (such as the virtual joystick for movement) are always present. While the button schemes look intimidating for the initiative, Rockstar has put a lot of work into trying to make the situation bearable. While some folks averse to virtual buttons will still be turned off, for others it mostly succeeds.

For starters, every button and on-screen element (including the mini-map, tutorial messages, and health bars) can be moved around the screen in any way you wish. In addition, buttons can be resized to various levels, allowing you to make actions that are important to you stand out more. Additional options like left-handed options, auto-aim tap-to-shoot (which will remove one button from your screen) and tap-to-aim round out the control options. Tap-to-aim in particular is an interesting addition, as it replaces the previous toggle aim found in the console version and works well with the innate auto-aim to make taking out bad guys easier.

While the above options will alleviate some of the issues with touch-based controls, the simple truth is that it can't fix everything. Just as is the case with previous ports, there's a certain amount of precise movement and reaction lost with the lack of tactile input. This issue becomes a problem particularly during the heavy action sequences, such as when you have to take on multiple enemies head-on or when you're in a chase mission having to damage or destroy another car. Also, the heavy reliance on auto-aim also shows that the developers recognize that it's simply harder to play these types of games on iOS devices.

Otherwise, Vice City plays like you'd expect for an iOS port. Visuals are improved but not in a drastic manner (there's only so much that can be done with graphics originally conceived a decade ago). In addition, the phenomenal soundtrack remains my most favorite port of the game, with a stellar selection of themed radio stations full of 80s hits everyone should know. As with the console version, you'll get a lot of enjoyment simply driving around Vice City listening to every radio station. It's also important to remember that this is the full version of Vice City in all its glory, with tons of content, hidden items, side missions, and a whole city to explore.

A lot of the appeal from playing ports on iOS is the simple fact that you get to play whatever the game is on your phone regardless of any pratfalls that emerge from the translation process. With GTA: Vice City it also helps that the developers have put a lot of time and effort into attempting to address the issues that have occurred during the porting process. Sure, the controls are still not ideal for an iOS game, but they work and allow you to experience the awesomeness of the game. There's also the simple fact that Vice City is an amazing game in most regards. In this regard, the high points far outweigh the control issues, making Vice City for iOS a no brainer for most gamers.

Mike Singleton's The Lords of Midnight [$4.99] was originally released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984, on magnetic cassette tape. It was quite possibly the most ambitious game of its time, and you can see the roots of the modern open-world RPG in it as well as its influence on later strategy games and the development of the graphical adventure game. The iOS port is by Chris Wild, and his devotion to the game, and its sequel, Doomdark's Revenge is obvious.

The first thing that will strike most players is the unique look of Lords of Midnight. Rather than embrace the "pixelated" look of most classic and retro games, Singleton and Wild decided to keep the aesthetic of the original, with its bright, crisp primary colors, while sharpening the images to the resolution of modern devices. The result is distinctive and perfectly lucid in its presentation of meaningful information, but it does take a little getting used to – at first, the game looks like a construction-paper version of Lord of the Rings.

Certainly Lords of Midnight is deeply and unabashedly indebted to Tolkien. The scenario is familiar: on the night of the winter solstice, the Witchking Doomdark invades the lands of the free. Disunited human lords, fey creatures of the forest, and tower-dwelling wizards must be united to fight him even as one unique individual, Morkin the half-Fey, sets out into the heart of the enemy's territory in a perilous quest to destroy the Ice Crown, the focus of Doomdark's power. There's even a wretched Gollum-like creature, Fawkrin, who may play a crucial role in the story.

Unlike its inspiration, however, Lords of Midnight includes contingencies. To win, either the armies of Luxor the Moonprince must conquer Doomdark's citadel of Ushgarak, or the Ice Crown must be destroyed. The game is lost only if Morkin is killed and the armies of the free are defeated. Moreover, there are are at least two ways to destroy the Ice Crown, but I'll say no more of that...

Lords of Midnight bills itself as "epic" and still feels epic today, even thought the world is smaller and can be explored much faster than in a modern RPG. This is partially due to a remarkably clever multiple first-person perspective system and a turn-based mechanic in which each of your characters can use up the hours of the day independently, and then Doomdark's forces move by night.

I keep comparing Lords of Midnight to the modern RPG, but the developers describe it as an "Adventure Strategy game." There are no levels to gain, or skills to learn in Lords of Midnight. Inventory plays a nominal role and is managed automatically, and combat is resolved instantaneously and without explanation. The look and feel, however, is much closer to Wizardry (1981) than Kings Quest (1984), and Morkin's quest feels more like the sneaking about that Frodo and Samwise do than the object-use puzzles of text and graphic adventure games.

I think modern players will find the Strategy component of the game more familiar, as it plays a bit like an ancestor of King's Bounty (1990) and especially the subsequent Heroes of Might and Magic games. You recruit the diverse Lords of Midnight to your cause, and they in turn recruit infantry and horsemen at fortifications. Armies only travel with a hero/lord, and they can meet other armies on open ground or lay siege to the enemy's keeps and citadels.

Heroes without armies can fight Doomdark's scattered minions (Wolves, Skulkrin, Trolls, and Dragons), but have no chance against an organized army. The difficulty curve is surprisingly flat for these lesser battles, and hard to predict unless your hero has one of the "-slayer"swords, which seem to give a 100% success rate against the specified enemy type.

In my first game, Mokin encountered wolves on the first turn. Figuring he could take a few wolves, I told him to fight, and then he was (permanently) dead. That's it. One entire path to victory foreclosed before turn 2. In another case, I had a different hero fight dragons without an army or Dragonslayer sword on the first turn, and he slaughtered them.

This is one of the legacies of game design of the period that may make it hard for some fans of modern games to get into Lords of Midnight. Another is that not only do clashes between armies happen between turns, but there's no combat report: to find out how many soldiers each side lost, you have to go to the Lord(s) in question (assuming any of your heroes still live).

Clues that are strategically helpful and/or relevant to Morkin's quest can be garnered at towers and occasionally elsewhere, but the process is tedious and the average answer is useless, something like "the Lord of Utarg can be found at the keep of Utarg." It seems like the best strategy is to play a couple of games just to gather information (the game is not randomized in this way), and then play to win. On a related note, the in-game tutorial tells you that you don't have to read the included novella, but if you don't, you are likely to waste time trying strategies that are intended to be impossible, like trying to confront Doomdark's armies head-on on the plains of Blood.

The game's interface is well-designed for touch, and is easy to navigate and use with one significant caveat. At least on my 4th gen iPod Touch, I had to aim low on or even below the smaller icons in order to select them. This sometimes caused problems with the pop-up tutorials, where missing the small book icon could cause the selected character to move forward one "space."

I mentioned the lucidity of the game's art before: this is one of its greatest strengths. Unlike in most modern overrendered games, you always know what you're looking at in Lords of Midnight. If there's an army far off on the plain, you can see their banners but not make out their numbers. When seeking a magical "henge" or one of the towers of the Wise, you will be able to see it in the first-person view before it shows up on the automap (unless something tall, like a citadel or mountain range, is directly in the way).

Once you get used to the game's combat mechanics and the touch sensitivity, this clarity of vision makes it easy to avoid "stupid" mistakes. The way you can play a couple of minutes at a time with no worries about losing your progress and little concern over forgetting where you were shows both that the original game is suited to mobile play and that the adaptation plays to that strength.

If you're interested in classic games, especially fantasy and/or strategy games, Lords of Midnight is a must-have. On the other hand, if you are an action gamer whose idea of "old school" is Goldeneye 64, you'll want to give this one a pass.

Mike Singleton died this past fall, and with him any possibility of a long-intended final game rounding out the trilogy. Wild's release of the iOS version on December 21st, 2012, the winter solstice and the night the world was "supposed to" end but did not, is a fitting tribute.

Back in March we reported that Mike Singleton's expansive 1984 adventure game The Lords of Midnight, which brought a rich and incredible fantasy world to the meager ZX Spectrum home computer, would be making its way to iOS. Singleton teamed up with developer Chris Wild in early 2011 to begin the effort of bringing this true classic to modern platforms, and after much labor, the (universal) iOS version has finally landed in the App Store [$4.99].

The Lords of Midnight sets your band of four adventurers on a quest through the land of Midnight to defeat the evil Doomdark, the Witchking of Midnight. This goal can be reached in several ways; victory can be achieved by successfully destroying the source of Doomdark's power, the Ice Crown, or by recruiting other lords and their forces in a bid to destroy the armies of Doomdark, or by successfully carrying out both efforts simultaneously for the largest victory of all.

The original title was praised not only for its vastness but also for the its use of a clever graphical technique known as "landscaping" to render the game world with pre-scaled sprites in a fashion that delivered a more immersive experience than perhaps any other game of the day. The iOS adaptation features the same rendering style, with graphics that are enhanced, but just as simple as the original.

A sequel, Doomdark's Revenge, followed The Lords of Midnight in 1985, and it is slated for eventual release in the App Store, as well.

Sadly, noted developer and creator of The Lords of Midnight, Mike Singleton, died in October of this year.

If Hollywood Monsters [$5.99] feels like a bit of a throwback to yesteryear’s adventure gaming heyday, well, that’s because it is. I mention the following not to bog you down with the game’s lineage, but to help you better understand the context with which it truly exists: Hollywood Monsters, freshly out for the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 and both platforms more recent iterations, came out in 2011 on PC as The Next Big Thing, which itself was a sequel to a somewhat obscure 1997 PC adventure game called Hollywood Monsters. The reason why this sequel bares the same name as its predecessor? My guess is it’s the same reason that it’s coming to the iPad, etc. all this time later: Nobody really played or remembered the original.

You don’t need to have any prior experience or knowledge of the games’ series because it’s instantly recognizable: It’s an adventure game in the more modern sense of the genre term, where you control multiple protagonists and don’t need to worry extensively about scooping up anything not bolted down “just in case.”

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We were pretty excited back in August when we got word that a compilation of games in the classic Raiden series of arcade shooters was coming to the App Store, especially since it was in the very capable hands of developer DotEmu who has done a killer job in the past porting older titles to the iOS platform. Well, bucking the trend of releasing on a Thursday, Raiden Legacy [$4.99] popped up in the US App Store last night and is now available worldwide.

The Raiden Legacy iOS compilation includes the original arcade versions of Raiden, Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters 2 and Raiden Fighters Jet. Four complete games in one package. They all come equipped with the additional features we've come to expect from DotEmu games too, like adjustable controls and screen sizes, optional video filtering, multiple difficulties, an auto-fire toggle, and iCade compatibility. Here's the official launch trailer for Raiden Legacy.

Other noteworthy features include Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards, Universal iPad support, and widescreen display support for the iPhone 5 and newest iPod touch line. Players in our forums seem to be incredibly pleased with Raiden Legacy so far, so if you were a fan of the original games or just a newbie looking for some solid '90s shooter action then definitely check it out.

There are so many things to love about Sega's classic Jet Set Radio. Back when the game debuted on the Dreamcast in 2000, it set the gold standard for visuals, music (courtesy of Hideki Naganuma) and pure style, creating a game that simply hadn't been seen before. The iOS port of Jet Set Radio [$2.99], in some ways, takes that original experience and makes it even better with high-def visuals and a much faster framerate. Unfortunately, like a lot of ports before it, Jet Set Radio's virtual controls leave a lot to be desired, especially when you take into consideration the natural difficulty curve of the game.

If you're one of the few that have never played (or heard) of Jet Set Radio, this is a game about turf wars within the city of Tokyo-to. You take control of a skater gang known as The GGs as they battle rival gangs to take control of the town. Battles take place via missions that span three different parts of the city, with the goal of most missions being to spay the graffiti of your gang over any rival gang marks. While that sounds simple enough, tags can and will be found in areas requiring precise platform skills. In addition, rival gangs, as well as the Tokyo-to police force will always be gunning for you. Finally, a perpetual timer exists in most missions, keeping you on task. Jet Set Radio is a perfect example of a game with a great balance between platforming, action, and exploration.

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We're sure by now you're plugged in to our regular "Coming Tonight" post about all the big games that get released each week, but dang it, this is freaking Jet Set Radio [$2.99]. A Dreamcast classic and ultimate fan favorite. It totally deserves it's own spot, just in case you happened to miss it.

As I said, Jet Set Radio (or originally Jet Grind Radio in the US) was a game on the Sega Dreamcast more than a decade ago, and was landmark at the time for its novel visuals and "urban lifestyle" thematics that had you racing around on in-line skates and blasting graffiti all over the city. It's extremely well-loved for standing out from the crowd way back when, but it's also a heck of a fun game, too. Now you can take the experience with you anywhere on your iOS device.

This new iOS version of the game boasts some additional features over the original, like Retina Display visuals, Universal iPad support, and Game Center integration. Aside from those standard features it also includes the ability to spray graffiti right on the touchscreen using swipe gestures as well as the ability to take photos with your device and spray them into the game itself. Sounds pretty cool.

Of course the big question mark is how the virtual button setup works for an old-school game like this that was designed for a console controller, but rest assured we'll be putting Jet Set Radio through its paces in the coming days. You can also check out our forum thread where early impressions have been rolling in since the game hit international markets earlier today.

Yesterday I sat down with fellow dragon enthusiast Brad Nicholson to play Dragons Dream [$4.99], a new cave-flyer style arcade game from Appshen Limited that uses artwork created by legendary fantasy landscapist Roger Dean.

You might be familiar with Roger Dean's body of work by way of his dozens upon dozens of album covers that he's created over the last 40+ years, most notably for just about every album from the band Yes and many from the band Asia. He's also done work in the world of video game box art, like the iconic box art for Shadow of the Beast from Psygnosis or the revamped Tetris art from Tetris Worlds in the early 2000s.

As for the game itself, it's actually rather fun. The cave flying mechanics feel incredibly tight, and obviously the artwork is wonderful. In fact, the visuals combine so well with the music and sound effects that it creates an experience all its own, despite the game being somewhat simplistic and light on features. I was quite pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed the game myself in our review from earlier this week. If you enjoy fantasy artwork or are a fan of Roger Dean, then I think you'll have a nice time getting lost in the world of Dragons Dream.

Fans of both video games and music are likely familiar with the work of fantasy landscape artist Roger Dean. Since the late 1960s he's been creating album artwork for countless bands, most notably for the bands Yes and Asia, and that continues to this day. In the mid-80s he also became involved with video game illustrations, and created the iconic box art for Shadow of the Beast by Psygnosis as well as numerous others.

Roger Dean is an incredible artist and a legend in the field, and now he has another feather to stick in his cap with his own iOS game called Dragons Dream [$4.99]. It's a fairly simplistic cave flyer, and if we're talking strictly in terms of back-of-the-box features it won't set any benchmarks. It's got two modes – a 2:00 minute timed mode where you collect as many orbs as possible and an endless mode where you try to get as far as possible while nabbing the occasional wisp for extra points.

However, a feature list is not the reason you get a game like Roger Dean's Dragons Dream. You get it for the overall visual and aural experience; for the immersion into incredible fantasy worlds. And Dragons Dream totally nails that. From the tiny details like the animation of the dragon and menu sound effects to the collection of unlockable artwork (which you can save straight to your Camera Roll), Dragons Dream is a fantasy enthusiast's dream.

That's not to say that the core mechanics are bad though, even if a bit basic. The physics and weight of your dragon feel incredibly well-tuned, kind of a mixture between the smooth rise-and-fall movement of Jetpack Joyride [Free] and a more "tap-to-flap" style control. Once I spent a few minutes getting the hang of it, I found myself playing over and over again, hooked on beating my previous best scores and rising up the Game Center leaderboards. There's also a number of achievements to earn, which are tied into unlocking the game's artwork bonuses.

In the timed Arcade mode, scoring is based both on distance and how many orbs you can collect. Collecting orbs consecutively will increase a multiplier which can really send your scores sky high, though it feels like there's a ceiling given that it's a timed mode. The level terrain and orb placement is random each time you play, but even still there's only so many orbs you can collect in two minutes. The endless Free Fly mode is a much better test of your endurance and skill, with a nice risk vs. reward factor that has you deciding if trying to collect wisps for bonus points in your final score tally is worth taking your focus off the safest path.

Oh, one other neat thing I almost forgot to mention is that orb collection in Arcade mode is actually tied to the music. Collecting orbs keeps the main melodies going, and missing them gives you an eerie quietness that's a good reminder that you're screwing up, kind of like missing notes in Guitar Hero. It's just another subtle way that Dragons Dream sucks you into its immersive world, which is pretty cool. Check out the official trailer for an idea of what the game is like, but keep in mind that whatever capture software was used for it doesn't do justice to the game in person, which runs incredibly smoothly.

It might not be the most full-featured game out there, but the gorgeous environments, hypnotic music and sound effects, and attention to detail all make Dragons Dream a compelling offering, especially for fans of Dean's work. Similar to the recent God of Blades [$2.99], Dragons Dream is greater than the sum of its parts thanks to excellent artistic direction and style, and something about it is just plain fun in that minimalist Canabalt [$2.99] kind of way.

I'm hoping the game's developer Appshen Limited will see fit to continue adding new levels and unlockable artwork, but even as is the two included environments which have been created by Dean are a joy to soar through. Players in our forums have been digging it too, and if you have even the slightest love for fantasy artwork or Roger Dean's work, then Dragons Dream needs to be on your radar.

One of the finer action RPGs in recent years made its way to the iOS App Store this past August. It's called Bastion [$4.99], and following heaps of critical acclaim when it released for Xbox Live and PC back in 2010 its touchscreen iteration remained just as good as its counterparts, with the added bonus of being able to stick it in your pocket and take it with you.

Err, did I say pocket? Maybe if you're still rocking those absurdly large JNCO jeans from the '90s that might be true, but in actuality Bastion originally launched as an iPad-exclusive title, so not actually that pocketable. Much like other PC and console games that make the leap to iOS, like World of Goo [$4.99] for example, Bastion appeared to be one of those titles that might not scale so well to the smaller iPhone screen. At least, that's what everyone thought.

However, also like World of Goo, Bastion developer Supergiant Games has found a way to make it work well, and as of today the game has been updated with Universal support, as well as widescreen support for new iPhones and iPod touches. You'll still need somewhat newer hardware to run the game though, specifically an iPad 2 or newer, iPhone 4S or newer, or a 3rd generation iPod touch or newer 5th generation iPod touch or newer (See below for full device compatibility list). Here's a couple of widescreen shots to check out.

If you are sans iPad and have been dying to play Bastion, possibly because our glowing 5 star review enticed you, then you can finally get on the gravy train with this latest Universal update. Another bit of good news: iCloud game syncing has been added as well, so if you own more than one iOS device you can take you progress with you across all of them. Also, there's a great FAQ on Supergiant's website that's been updated to reflect these latest changes, and it might be able to help you with any questions you may encounter.

Update: Since there was some confusion on what devices are currently covered, here's the full list straight from Supergiant Games:

- iPad 2
- iPad 3rd Generation
- iPad 4th Generation
- iPad mini
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 5
- iPod touch 5th Generation