Friends of mine know King of Dragon Pass [$5.99] as "that menu-based simulation game Eli will not shut the heck up about." Well, now it's "that menu-based simulation game Eli will not shut the heck up about that's also on sale." For a limited time, King of Dragon Pass has sworn fealty to a new royal price point in honor of the game's 12th birthday: $5.99, down from $9.99. Now, before you go instinctively mashing the download button in iTunes, you should really know what you're getting into with this game. It's definitely not for everyone, as I mention in our review:

I think the easiest way to describe what the game is all about is to call it a largely text-based menu-driven mash up of a Civilization game and a Choose Your Own Adventure book. If you're the kind of person who requires flashy graphics, fast action, rock-bottom pricing, and online multiplayer, stop reading now. This is not the game for you. If, however, you can barely even fathom a more glorious conglomeration than Civilization and Choose Your Own Adventure, prepare to absolutely lose yourself in King of Dragon Pass. …Read More

In addition, development has started on the iPad version of the game, which is glorious news for iPad-owning fans to the game. In fact, my only real issue with KoDP is that I really wanted to play it on the iPad and text-based games with mega-pixelated fonts running in 2x mode just doesn't jive with me. From the sounds of it, the developers are just starting on work for the iPad adaptation, and haven't yet committed to whether it's going to be a universal update or an entirely separate version… But I've got my fingers crossed.

Like most, I think of myself as a reasonably intelligent person. I'm no genius, but I'd like to believe I've got a few brain cells to rub together. SpaceChem Mobile [$5.99], a puzzle game that's just made its way from PC to iPad, shakes my confidence about my own intelligence -- and then it leaves me feeling brilliant, just moments later.

Zachtronics Industries' puzzler hit the PC indie scene earlier this year, wowing critics and players alike. I tell you this to keep you reading, because the other shoe is about to drop: this is a game about chemical synthesis. And it's not some sort of dolled up, sexy chemical synthesis. This game puts players to work creating chemical products from their raw elements in the simplest terms possible. You'll be bonding one chemical symbol to another, creating workflows out of color coded paths to move them along. And you'll (probably) love it.

I say "probably," because SpaceChem isn't for everyone. You'll need a heavy dose of curiosity and creativity, plenty of patience and just a dash of masochism. But if you're still reading this review after seeing the screenshots and learning what it's about, I'm pretty sure you'll love this game.

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I have such a love-hate relationship with High Flyer Death Defyer [$4.99 / HD]. On one hand, I love the visually striking graphics which I think complement the sky-diving gameplay beautifully. On the other hand, the poorly done tutorial and lackluster controls hold back High Flyer Death Defyer from being even an above average addition to the genre. Whether you actually decide to pick up this skydiver is going to depend on how much you love graphics over, well, everything else.

At its core, High Flyer Death Defyer is a sky/cave diver with a heavy dose of exploration and collection quests thrown into the mix. You play as Arreon, a member of the Death Defyers: a group of skydiving explorers charged with discovering new islands (and treasure) in a post-apocalyptic world in which the only human cities reside in the sky.  At the onset, High Flyer’s story is a bit convoluted and confusing, but as you continue playing through the story, you’ll get a better glimpse of what the heck is going on through the game’s comic book style cutscenes.

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On the heels of the pyrotechnic announcement for Infinity Blade 2, Chair Entertainment has dropped another content update for the original Infinity Blade [$5.99]. Content Pack #4, as it’s been oh-so-cleverly dubbed, gives you new rings, swords, helmets, and shields to level up and use against its brand new enemy the “RookBane.” Chair describes the ‘Bane as “fierce and deadly,” which kinda calls into question the character of the game’s other monsters. I mean, what are these guys, chopped liver?

If you’re one of the two or three people who are really into Infinity Blade’s lore, know that this update also packs in a “sneak peek” at the game’s book, "Infinity Blade: Awakening." The whole thing is available right now, actually, on the App Store for $2.99.

That's not a RookBane, btw.

A small little side-note here, but it appears as if Infinity Blade 2 will launch with its share of new equipment and items in addition to the pre-existing stuff in Infinity Blade. I’m not sure if this applies to new items added in updates, but if it does, this update rolls in a lot of content that you’ll see again this December.

[Via TUAW]

I am what you would call a horror genre fangirl. I wait with baited breath for new installments of Silent Hill (or used to anyway, when Team Silent was at the helm), sucked up every survival horror title that didn't look totally terrible (and a few that did, just for kicks), and and pretty much lived and died by how perfect I could get a photograph score in Fatal Frame. There's something about decaying hospitals and shambling, unidentifiable demons that just appeals to me, I guess. I think what this says about me is that I have a taste for the weird, I may or may not collect strange objet d'art, and that I possibly may have a bonafide future as a crazy cat lady. I hope I'm wrong about the latter.

At any rate, the very first screens of The Dark Meadow [$5.99] had me foaming at the mouth, and rightfully so -- it was a first person perspective exploration game with pieced-together baddies, a super atmospheric setting, and best of all, powered by the rather esteemed Unreal Engine, which is still winning awards to this day. It had all the makings of a truly standout game on the iOS platform, and I wont deny that my hopes were very high for it.

Speaking of atmosphere, when it comes to making the setting appropriately spooky and weird, The Dark Meadow has it down to a fine art. The game itself looks terrific, and the music is dark without being overpowering or ridiculous. You will navigate your way around with simple touch controls and by moving from spot to spot, which foregoes the need for a directional pad. And I truly appreciated how little clutter there was on the screen -- Phosphor Games wanted this to be a clean, immersive experience for the player, and the attention to detail is evident.It's easy to get lost in this world.

As you explore darkened hallways, you'll come across baddies that you'll need to clear out in order to progress. My first few go-rounds with them, I was pretty pleased with the way combat worked. They always appear at a distance, so when you first see them you'll be armed with a crossbow (and later down the line, other weapons will be available.) You'll use your finger to aim and you'll let go when you want to fire, which feels smooth and makes the experience pleasant overall, at least initially.

Once your enemy is really close, you'll switch to melee. The fights are designed so that you can slash with a finger swipe and dodge by tapping an arrow to the right or left. The game is good about telling you when to act, so if you pay attention, you can really get the rhythm of fights down. For instance, after a dodge, if the game prompts you to "attack now!", it's time to get your slashes in, but if not, there's another attack coming, so wait for it. It works a little like a toned down version of Infinity Blade [$5.99], although missing most of the finesse and feeling fairly basic comparatively.

Keep up your fights, and you'll keep gaining experience, and the game makes sure you know it. After each fight the game grinds to a halt, at which point the game tallies your experience while you wait, which not only feels really unnecessary, but also hurts the pacing of the game. When you hit a level, you'll be able to assign experience points how you please. Enough of these and you'll gain new weapons as well, so know that your efforts will be rewarded.

You aren't completely alone on this journey, either. There's an old man you'll meet in the beginning who will communicate with you via radio and give you advice on how to survive in this dark world. His advice can be quite handy (and in addition, it's pretty decently voice-acted, too). In fact, if you die a few times, he will tell you different things, and some of it is pretty hilarious - -bravo for the writer or sticking in bits of tongue-in-cheek humor! You can also find scraps of paper and notes that will shed some light on the world you're in and divulge its backstory. It adds some nice detail, some of which will factor in as you get further into the game.

If The Dark Meadow has any weakness, it's that the fights eventually begin to feel a bit rote, and I found myself wishing creatures would stop popping up so I could just explore my surroundings and progress through the story without hinderances. On the other hand, I'm sure I'd feel the same way if the situation were real, but hey, there's some pains in the ass in every dark and twisted universe, and this is one of them. As long as you don't mind the grindy feel to the combat, then you really shouldn't be bothered by this much.

Overall, The Dark Meadow is a standout in almost every way. From look to setting to the touch-centric gameplay, it shines, and you can tell this title was crafted with much love from its developers. Any horror fan will be thrilled by it, especially if your traditional iPhone fare is stuff like that wretched Silent Hill game [99¢] (even this fangirl couldn't swallow that.) It's quite a bit more expensive than the usual iOS title, and it's worth every bit of the money you'll spend. It doesn't quite hit the note of perfection largely becomes of the combat mechanic, but it edges damn close -- and even at that distance, it's well worth your time and money.

Just a smidge over a year ago, Epic announced that the Unreal Engine would be hitting iOS. We've seen a great game or two developed in the UDK since (Infinity Blade [$5.99] being the obvious example), but most studios outside of Epic seem to still be feeling the engine out. Those cautious, early days might finally be coming to an end, thanks in part to Gyro13 [$5.99].

This game is sexy, pulling out most of the bells and whistles we've come to expect from the Unreal Engine. Textures, lighting and shadows are all top notch. But we've seen that before, and slick visuals don't make the game. Luckily, Gyro13 follows through with outstanding gameplay, an original soundtrack and even a hint of a story.

You play a pilot of a gyrocopter, tasked with rescuing people in a mine that's filling with deadly gas. In each of the game's 24 levels you're told how many miners there are to save and how long you have to save them before the gas overtakes you. You can survive it, but your cargo hold is unprotected and your passengers will die.

Speed is of the essence, but so is safety. Your ship is fragile, so a few slight bumps against the wall will blow you apart. Thanks to a complicated set of controls, avoiding the walls and obstacles can be a serious challenge. Your ship moves on a central axis, controlled by an on-screen slider. Slide to the right to tip your nose down and left to raise it up. That covers the steering, and a separate button controls thrust. You can also tap the screen to pulse certain obstacles in front of your ship. It's complicated, but that difficulty is fundamental to the game's success. It takes quite a while to get the hang of it, but practice enough and it'll click. When it does, Gyro13 comes together beautifully.

Rescuing the trapped miners takes skill. The mines they're trapped in are filled with all kinds of old equipment, explosives, wind tunnels and poisonous gas clouds. And those are just the early obstacles. The time limit is generous in most levels, but only if you can get through cleanly. Crash your ship and you'll be sent back to the last checkpoint, but with 5 more seconds on your total time. As time gets tighter and tighter, landing on those platforms to pick up the miners becomes an exercise in cost/benefit analysis. Is it worth it to save the miner who's so badly injured he can only crawl slowly to the ship? It might cost the lives of the other eight miners in your hold, and you might not save him either. Could you make the hard call?

It's an elegant experience, one made even better by the accompanying soundtrack. Tense techno beats increase the anxiety of the last moments of breathable air slipping away. A few other bits and pieces help Gyro13 stand out, including unlockable skins for your ship. Each level's introduction is voiced, too -- and while the voice acting isn't top of the line, I've certainly heard (much) worse.

Gyro13 isn't the most ambitious title we've seen built on UDK, but it is one of the best so far. I only have one major complaint: you can't see how much time you have left in a level, so if you've forgotten your time limit some of the hard choices become moot. Otherwise there's little left out -- even the currently-absent Game Center support is planned for the first update.

Still, this is a challenging title, and it's one that requires players to commit to an unusual control scheme. I grew to love those controls, but if you're worried they're not your style you can always get a few more opinions in our discussion thread. For the daring, though, there are miners to be rescued, and it looks like you're the only one who can do the job.

One thing about Shift 2: Unleashed [$5.99/HD], just real quick: Don't bother. If I had to summarize EA's latest Need for Speed sim, it certainly wouldn't involve the word "unleashed." This is about as misleading a subtitle you could attach to something so tame and afraid to do anything outside its comfort zone.

I'm still high off the faster, crazier NFS: Hot Pursuit and the dialed back Real Racing 2, I think. Shift 2 exists in a limbo-like spot somewhere in between those titles, with a slightly heavier weight toward the realistic racing, which is something the franchise has only recently started dabbling in. We loved the first Need for Speed: Shift because it nailed what we wanted from a console approximation and it was a convincing, competitive iOS sim-racer. This sequel hits those same notes, but the standard, and thus what I expect, has raised since.

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There are plenty of popular car racing games in the AppStore; Real Racing 2 [$6.99/HD], Death Rally [99¢] and Reckless Racing [99¢/Lite/HD] spring to mind, to name a few. However, moto-racing is less frequently represented, so it's nice to find a new game about Italian motorcycles which looks pretty sweet. Ducati Challenge [$3.99/HD] from Ducati and Digital Tales opens with a montage of Ducati motorcycles in action, complete with pumping music. If you're a motorcycle, Ducati or racing game enthusiast, check this out.

The game features three modes: Quick Challenge, Championship and Multiplayer. Quick Challenge allows you to practice before a race, to familiarize yourself with the bike and track. You choose the difficulty level and number of laps. Championship Modes include easy (4 races), medium (6 races) and hard (12 races), which must each be beaten in turn as they're locked initially. Each Championship begins with qualifying practice laps which determine who scores pole position, followed by the race itself. Multiplayer mode lets up to four petrol-heads race via a local wi-fi connection and works with a combination of iPhone and iPad devices.

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We all had a suspicion that Infinity Blade [$5.99] was continuing to sell well at this point in its life, but we haven’t had a number to back us up. Now, we do. According to Epic Games and creator Chair Entertainment, the hack and slash third-person action game has raked in around 10 million dollars in earnings. That’s... a lot of games and in-game gold sold.

What gives, asks the indie developer with a good game that hasn’t accrued this kind of landmark dough? While Infinity Blade is a good game and a technical marvel to boot, it’s also had a heck of a lot of external support from two well-known entities: Epic and Chair. I think that helps to explain why it’s sold so much in so little time. It was also a flagship game for the UDK, which certainly drew some a lot of extra eyes to the project.

Epic released this number for a reason: it wants me, you, and every developer out there to know that there’s a market for core, Unreal Engine 3-powered titles out there. Mark Rein, Epic VP and co-founder, says in statement that Epic is “looking forward to our licensees achieving spectacular results of their own,” as if this perfect storm isn’t so perfect.

I suppose we’ll see.

Grab your whet stone app and find a virtual squire -- you’ll need them, no doubt, to best the hordes of Infinity Blade [$5.99] slaves waiting for this bit of news. On this Thursday, May 19, the oft-promised competitive multiplayer update to Infinity Blade goes live alongside some new, though traditional content additions all for the generous price of $0.

The competitive online component has been dubbed “Infinity Blade: Arena,” but aside from its monster-versus-dude twist, point, usage of Game Center, and its titling, we still know almost next to nothing about it.

No worries if you can find the time to spare this afternoon, though. Game creator Chair Entertainment will be doing a special Facebook Q&A session this afternoon at 4:30 EST to answer these lingering pre-launch questions.

Back to those other content additions I mentioned: in addition to “Arena,” this content update will see the release of “two dozen” new rings, swords, shields, and helmets, as well as Facebook integration, and new achievements. Also, Chair will be dropping in a new Boss Rush mode called “Survivor Mode,” that’ll have you fighting against Titan after Titan in an attempt to get a high score. Oh, and holiday helms! Everyone loves those.

That’s one hell of a free content drop for any kind of game, right? I can't wait to hack you dudes up this Thursday.

Traditionally speaking, Ankama Games' Dofus series is best known for two iterations: the Flash-based MMORPG that was launched in 2004 and the Wakfu series of games which has seen iterations on Xbox 360 and an upcoming version for browsers. Dofus: Battles [$2.99 / HD] takes the pre-existing world and art style from the browser games and drops it onto iOS as a curious little tower, uh, dragon defense game with a set of RPG elements.

Despite the pedigree, you don't actually have to be familiar with Dofus to enjoy Dofus: Battles. Nor do you have to like MMORPGs, because this isn't one. It probably helps a bit to understand the character classes and items, but the uninitiated can pick it up quickly and without too much trouble.

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With the iPad 2 slated to hit consumers’ hands later today, developer’s are already beginning to release updates to their games that take advantage of the extra graphical processing power that we talked about in-depth yesterday.

Dead Space™ for iPad, $0.99 - First out of the gate is an update for Dead Space for iPad that features enhanced graphics and a couple of other user requested improvements. You can now freely adjust the look sensitivity, which was a sticking point in our review, and can also invert the Y-axis for gamers who prefer to play with that option. These latter two control options are also included in an update for the iPhone version of Dead Space [$6.99].

Check out these newly release screens for Dead Space for iPad that show off the improved iPad 2 visuals:

This update is already out and ready to go, and in addition Dead Space for iPad is currently on sale for $6.99 down from the original price of $9.99.

Infinity Blade, $5.99 - Also getting updated today is Chair’s epic sword battling game Infinity Blade. It was just last week during GDC that Infinity Blade received a huge update that practically doubled the content in the game, adding a new dungeon; new enemies, arenas, and items; and the ability to start a new game+ and continue leveling up to your heart’s content. Now Chair is already at it again with an update that optimizes Infinity Blade for the beefier hardware of the iPad 2.

The update for Infinity Blade is just starting to go live, so you may not see it in your updates tab right away as it's still propagating through Apple's servers, but keep checking as it should be available for you sometime today. Along with this Infinity Blade update, the update for Dead Space for iPad, and the just released Real Racing 2 HD [$9.99], there should be more than enough visual stimulation to show off to your friends if you're planning on picking up an iPad 2 today.

There's no doubt that Chair's Infinity Blade [$5.99] is a technical wonder, but the included plot left us scratching our heads in our review. You see, what keeps Infinity Blade going is your (usually) inevitable death at the hand of the God King. Following this, your successor takes up your sword, equipment, and xp/gold to continue the fight against the God King. It's a little weird, especially since you'd think after your great grandpa, your grandpa, and your father were all killed fighting the same entity that perhaps you'd pursue a career in something other than God King slaying.

Penny Arcade agrees:

Even though the story of the game can get a little ridiculous, especially as you hit the 10th (or further) bloodline, Infinity Blade is still an awesome game that anyone with hardware capable of running it needs to check out. If this is the first you've heard of Penny Arcade, you've likely got an afternoon full of going through their back catalog ahead of you, as it's one of my favorite web comics that any gamer should love.

I struggle to find a mechanic or point of level or enemy design in The Flying Hamster [$5.99] that I can use to put the game on a pedestal, to show you that its better than the rest of its side-scrolling, shoot ‘em up brethren on the App Store.

I find myself in this backbreaking dilemma because the game is so goddamn cute -- it’s so full of life, character, and expressiveness, that I’m compelled to justify my adoration of it by conjuring positive opinions about its design that just aren’t present.

The experience is basic. You control an avatar with a limitless primary attack against a diverse range of enemies, each type possessing a unique range and rate of fire. Your goal is to reach an endpoint, to successfully navigate a storm of bullets and enemies to some arbitrary destination guarded by a bullet sponge of a boss.

Your ability to recognize and memorize patterns is the difference between success and defeat. Enemies, including bosses, aren’t erratic -- enemies are scripted and each level plays out the same, which is a good thing considering that there are no checkpoints.

But here’s the deal: all of this simplistic, generic stuff is awash in color, inspiration, and genuine character. Your avatar is an anthropomorphic hamster that can fly. Your enemies are penguins floating down from the heavens while shooting rounds from their hand cannons, angry rams, seagulls, cuddly vampire bats, and red scorpions that shoot pellets out of their venom-laced tails. Your weapons are your own loogies, streams of root beer, and seeds.

And the expressiveness! Each level is capped by a cut-scene of this adorable hamster created in a Japanese style that emotes a bright and cheery tone that flows into the level design, the equally upbeat audio, and the boss fights.

The character, I think, hides something a little more feral than you’d like -- The Flying Hamster doesn’t give you many opportunities to continue. You start the game with five lives and it ends after you lost them. Plus, the points you accumulate are based on what you scored in a single life; it’s not cumulative.

The controls can be a point of frustration. The standard layout gives you the ability to move your character wherever, no matter where your finger is on the screen, which is a nice touch… whenever you’re not inadvertently hiding an enemy with your flesh. Those times, however, are few.

But while that controls and difficulty can be a bummer considering how little this game gives you to work with in terms of chances and tools to succeed, I feel like its art and character triumphs. Sure, The Flying Hamster is not even close to being the best shoot ‘em up available on the App Store, but it’s one of the best-looking and most artistically inspired of the bunch. Give it a shot if you don't mind routine design or a challenge. Or if you're into looking at cute animals.

Earlier this month we posted a brief teaser video from developer Mobigame for their newest iOS title called Perfect Cell [$5.99]. The video didn't explain much in the way of gameplay, nothing at all in fact, and we were left scratching our heads wondering exactly what Perfect Cell was all about. Now that the game has actually been released I've spent a good deal of time with it, and it has turned out to be unlike anything I could have imagined. It's sort of a mishmash of genres, with elements of action, platforming, stealth, and puzzle. These end up working really well together, and coupled with intuitive controls and a beautiful graphics engine, Perfect Cell is a good time from beginning to end.

The story of Perfect Cell starts as an asteroid crash lands to Earth in the not too distant future. Humans discover a form of life in the asteroid that is advancing at an incredible rate. They keep this life form in a research facility deep below the sea in order to study it, but after some time the alien grows into a sentient being who doesn't fancy being held in captivity. It then becomes your job to control this squid-like alien as you negotiate intricate levels full of puzzle-like traps, enemies, and hidden passages in an effort to break free.

The look of Perfect Cell employs a 2.5D perspective, similar to Shadow Complex, with fully 3D backgrounds but action that takes place on a single side-scrolling 2D plane. The lighting effects in the game look fantastic, as do the style of the characters and environments. The underwater facility almost gives off a James Bond-like vibe with giant computer panels and scientists in lab coats spread throughout. Shortly after the game begins soldiers start to infiltrate the facility, and don't seem to take kindly to the scientists, and certainly don't take kindly to the alien being.

You control your alien in Perfect Cell by simply touching and dragging to move, or touching and holding to call the alien to that position. Quickly swiping the screen performs a dashing attack that can kill enemies and bash through certain structures to find hidden areas. Later in the game a super dash attack is introduced, where you can charge up and draw a line that the alien will rapidly follow, killing anything along the path. Also, as you progress you'll run across a couple of your alien buddies which absorb into you, making you larger and stronger. You can then use a pinching apart gesture to split yourself into two or three separate beings, controlling each individually to conquer tasks that require being in multiple places at the same time.

Perfect Cell contains 35 levels to play through, and in reality it will only take several hours to complete them when destroying anything in your path. The real genius to this game comes from not killing people. There is a stealth element to the game, and its very possible to complete every level without killing a single person. This is where serious strategy comes into play. Upon seeing you guards will become alerted in a very Metal Gear Solid kind of way, minus the exclamation point above their head, and will seek you out for a short time before becoming bored and going back to normal patrol.

It would be easy to just dash attack the life out of these guards, but when trying to complete the game without killing anyone you'll need to take advantage of hiding spots and your ability to cloak yourself by staying still. Taking this pacifist's route through the game is really challenging, and practically turns Perfect Cell into two completely different games depending on how you play.

The only real problems I had while playing came from the controls. They're very intuitive and touch screen friendly, but lack precision at times when you need it. Also the dash attack isn't always reliable, and when you're counting on pulling one off during the split second when a guard's back is turned it can be detrimental when the move doesn't come through. These problems are minor, however, and for the most part there's nothing that will hamper you from progressing and enjoying the game.

There's really nothing like Perfect Cell on the iOS platform, and it offers some refreshing gameplay and fetching visuals. It doesn't take too long to whiz through the game when you're killing everything you see, but sparing lives and utilizing stealth offers a real challenge that will keep you busy for a while. There is also Game Center integration for achievements and high score tracking. Fans of games like Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid will find similar gameplay in Perfect Cell, along with the exploration and puzzle solving of the Metroid series.

Perfect Cell blends all these different elements together seamlessly, and creates an experience that feels like its own. Players in our forums have been enjoying this one too, and Perfect Cell is recommended if you enjoy any of these previously mentioned influences or are just looking for a new unique gaming experience.