If you were a PC gamer in the mid 90's, the very mention of Command & Conquer likely brings back memories of massive battles, elaborate bases, the cumbersome Westwood Online multiplayer, and best of all- The game coming with two discs to give one to a friend to play against without having to buy a second copy of the game. Westwood was eventually acquired by EA, and through numerous sequels and spin-offs there have been over 30 million copies sold across the franchise.

Command & Conquer Red Alert [App Store] like the other games in the Red Alert family takes place in an alternate universe where World War II never occurred thanks to some time traveling trickery by Albert Einstein which resulted in the Soviet Union rising to power due to the Allies never developing nuclear weaponry. Unfortunately, the iPhone game doesn't do much to convey this fascinating game setting, but other games in the series that do a better job of this are worth checking out if you're an alternate history fiction fan.

The controls in Command & Conquer Red Alert work shockingly well. I consider myself real time strategy fan, but there are not only few of these games on the App Store, but even fewer that have controls that make for fun gameplay. The user interface has remained constant since the preview we did early last month:

The screen is framed with all kinds of interface elements, and while seeming slightly cluttered, everything works well enough and I never felt like the controls were getting in the way of what I wanted to do in the game. The battlefield can be zoomed using standard pinching gestures, and to change your field of view you can either swipe your finger around the screen or touch the mini map in the top right corner.

Lining the right side of the screen are all the buttons and menus for building your base as well as training units. Just like the PC version, units can be queued up to train multiples at once. Placing a new building in your base is as simple as tapping it from the "build" menu, at which point a grid appears on top of the terrain and your building can be placed with familiar green and red highlighting indicating valid placement.

Once you've got your army built, you can organize units in to three squads assigned to the three buttons on the left hand side of the screen. To select units, you can either tap them to select individual units, or by tapping a button on the bottom left corner of the screen you can drag a selection box around units on the battlefield. From there, another button on the bottom of the screen allows you to assign your current selection of units to one of the three buttons on the left side of the screen.

The graphics and sound in Command & Conquer Red Alert are absolutely phenomenal. Everything is rendered in beautiful 3D graphics, and some of my favorite tracks from other Red Alert games have made their way in to the iPhone version. In these two categories, the game excels.

However, like most games from long-standing franchises that wind up on the iPhone, Command & Conquer Red Alert is substantially trimmed down. On one hand, this is without a doubt among the best RTS games available on the platform, but on the other, the game is very minimal and when I step back from my incredibly fond nostalgia of the Red Alert series, it seems like a $9.99 vessel to sell downloadable content packs.

The amount of content the game itself comes with is disappointing, to the point that I didn't mention it in the preview as I was fairly certain they were going to add more in to the game when it was finally released. Unfortunately, it has remained the same. Without looking to the in-game store, the content in Command & Conquer Red Alert is limited to two brief campaigns which feel more like tutorials and two skirmish maps you can play against an AI opponent.

The single $0.99 DLC pack which is available with the launch of the game offers six additional skirmish maps and a couple extra units. In the future EA plans on releasing a free update to add local multiplayer via WiFi or bluetooth, but currently you're stuck playing these maps against an AI controlled army that has no difficulty adjustment– likely creating gameplay that will be boring to veterans of the genre and frustrating to newcomers.

So in the end, how much you enjoy Command & Conquer Red Alert will largely depend on what you expect out of the game. For an iPhone game, EA does a great job with the controls and stellar music and graphics make watching and listening to the game much more fun. Unfortunately, the game does feel remarkably bite sized, with neither very much content nor much replay value without buying more maps via DLC. And launching a $9.99 game with a $0.99 DLC just doesn't sit well, especially when the downloadable packs don't feel as optional as they should be.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

We generally try to avoid discussing game pricing, as everyone feels differently on what is and isn't an acceptable price for a game. It just seems to me, that if you're launching your game at the top-end of the App Store pricing spectrum, it shouldn't require an additional DLC pack for gamers to feel like they're experiencing a more complete game– especially in a Command & Conquer game which historically have come with an unbelievable amount of maps.

If you can get around feeling nickel and dimed buying what seems like something that should have been included in the initial version of the game, Command & Conquer Red Alert is great. Unfortunately, with how little content is included, I'd suggest waiting to see how the multiplayer updates pan out.

App Store Link: Command & Conquer Red Alert, $9.99

KOEI's Romance of the Three Kingdoms Touch [App Store] is a strategy game that takes place in China during the second and third centuries. The iPhone version is the latest in a long line of ports, sequels, and remakes starting with the original PC release in Japan in 1985.

In a nutshell, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is pretty much the dream come true of an App Store gamer that have found the current offering of strategy games not detailed enough, or lacking depth. The game is split between managing your forces on a map of china broken in to smaller areas where you build up your armies or weaken the resolve of others and a sequence of turn-based battles when push comes to shove. The amount of choices you have in game is mind boggling, and even with the in-depth tutorial system I've felt slightly overwhelmed trying to get a grip on this game not having experienced any of the other entries in the series.

AppBank shot a brief video of the game in action, and while they're not playing the English version of the game, you can at least get an idea of how the game looks and feels in motion:

It's hard to say how much appeal Romance of the Three Kingdoms Touch will have on the App Store. Currently we have a thread on our forums with a few very enthusiastic members posting how much they love the game, but if you weren't around for previous iterations of the series or don't enjoy extremely involved strategy games, it not going to be for you.

App Store Link: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, $9.99

Rhythm games have been a part of gamer culture since Bemani popularized them outside of Japan with Dance Dance Revolution in the late 90's. Since then, the core game concept of DDR has varied widely from things as obscure as shaking maracas in Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast to emulating a full band in EA's newly released Rock Band [App Store] on the iPhone.

Rock Band allows gamers to choose from playing the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and even singingwhile rocking out to a particular song. In console versions, you use plastic guitar, drum kit, and microphone. On the iPhone and iPod Touch, each of these instruments are played by tapping four areas on the screen to match up with the musical notes coming down the screen.

We extensively previewed the game, and preferred it to the other available rhythm games:

Where Rock Band pulls ahead of the pack of rhythm games on the iPhone is when it comes to overall immersion while you're playing the songs.

Obviously there's only so much immersion that you can achieve when you're pretending to play a guitar by tapping on the screen of your iPhone, but playing the tracks in the iPhone Rock Band works just like its console big brother in that every note you miss causes the music to be interrupted. This seems to add so much more to the game than just tapping along to a song like other similar games on the platform with music that just keeps playing regardless of how poorly you're doing.

Rock Band for the iPhone comes loaded with 20 songs, and additional songs can be purchased in game in packs of two for 99¢. This is not only cheaper than buying the songs themselves from iTunes, but also significantly cheaper than buying them inside of any other iteration of Rock Band.

Also included is four player local bluetooth multiplayer, achievements, Facebook connectivity, and along with both single song game modes and a "World Tour" career mode. Keep in mind, because of the in-game DLC, Rock Band requires the 3.0 OS.

The iPhone version of Rock Band does a great job at emulating some of the feel of the console original, and thanks to the four distinct playable tracks in each song, the game also offers an experience not found in competing games on the App Store. With the cheapest DLC to be found in the Rock Band series, the iPhone version will be hard for fans to pass up. Reactions so far seem positive in the thread our forums, with the main complaints relating to veterans of Rock Band finding the iPhone version to be too easy, along with the somewhat expected complaint regarding the track selection.

App Store Link: Rock Band, $9.99

EA's FIFA franchise carries a 16 year history of creating a sim-like soccer experience on various console and computer systems. This, of course, has led to somewhat lofty expectations for the iPhone/iPod Touch version which is a bit of a mixed bag.

FIFA 10 has a ton of content consisting of 30 leagues, 570 teams and 12,620 players as well as 20 tournaments. While some may take issue with specific team omissions, let’s not forget the depth of content that is included. FIFA offers 4 levels of difficulty: Amateur, Semi-Pro, Professional, and World Class, and 5 modes of play: Tournament, Manager, Penalty, Training and Be A Pro. There is also a local Wi-Fi mode in which you can play against your friends.

Tournament mode allows you to play in any of 20 tournaments and is where most will spend their time. The presentation of the different groupings and post-games scores are well designed and part of the enjoyment is the simplicity in which you can easily scroll through the results of the daily matches. Manager mode allows you to manage your own team and provides a set of season objectives that must be met to succeed and continue to the next season. These can be as straightforward as securing a winning to season to more difficult objectives such as winning the finals. Be A Pro is a rather interesting mode where you guide a player through a full career. You can either use an existing player from the 12,000+ included in the game or create your own. When creating your own, you can customize player attributes including speed, shooting and tackling among others as well as play a specific position (e.g. goal keeper, defender, etc.). Finally, Penalty mode pits your team against others in penalty shooting contests, where success will lead to additional contests.

FIFA 10 also provides plenty of customization options depending on the mode of play including minutes in a half, camera angles, HUD layouts, weather conditions, time of day, commentary on/off and more. The replay system and camera angles are among the best you’ll find on the iPhone. Replays can be viewed from multiple angles, zoomed in/out, and played at various speeds.

FIFA 10 is billed as a visual extravaganza amongst soccer games, but the reality is that it could be better. While it does deliver decently designed stadiums and lush playing fields, the players themselves lack any basic facial characteristics, which is disappointing. Often, I find that the commentary audio used in sports games don't match up well with the gameplay, but, fortunately for FIFA fans, the commentary in FIFA 10 is relatively good and some of the more accurate you’ll hear. The actual sound quality of the announcers, however, seem particularly muddled, presumably due to excess data compression to reduce the game's size.

The biggest hurdle for many, however, will be the controls found in FIFA 10, especially compared to the other App Store offerings. Moving the player can be done by either a virtual d-pad or the accelerometer. Unlike Real Soccer 10 and X2 Football, however, the control pad is fixed in place rather than floating. As a result, there is the frustrating tendency for your thumb to slide off the edge of the screen especially during sprints. Meanwhile, even with sensitivity tweaks, the accelerometer's accuracy left much to be desired.

In addition, two key action buttons—A and B (a C button is also provided when using accelerometer controls)—are provided. Through a combination of taps of these buttons, specific commands are carried out. The basic offense commands are relatively simple for passing (A), shooting (B), and sprinting (C when using accelerometer controls). However, when attempting other commands such as lobbing or attempting a 1-2 pass, the learning curve can be quite high. For example, a lobbed through ball requires sliding from B to A to B, while a 1-2 pass involves sliding from A to B to A. Even crossing a ball isn’t as easy as it sounds.

On defense, tapping on the B button will switch control from player to player, or you can simply tap on a specific player. Again, specific actions such as tackling and slide tackles require a certain combination of taps. A to B for slide tackles and while a standing tackle only involves tapping A. I understand that EA is attempting to provide a variety of moves, and the controls overall are solid after overcoming the learning curve. But at the same time, they don’t feel as accurate as they could be, especially compared to other App Store soccer games.

Once you overcome the controls, the gameplay itself is rather enjoyable with a balanced AI. Even on the Amateur setting, FIFA 10 can be challenging. The game does an admirable job creating an immersive experience from the better than average commentary to the intense gameplay. Like most soccer games, teammates can sometimes react poorly, but seems to be less of a problem with FIFA 10. Depending on your success, you also unlock rewards that provide additional training, home stadium upgrades, and even unlock an additional teams. These all contribute to a well-balanced game.

FIFA 10 is not perfect by any means, although it does offer a good deal of depth and is well-balanced in AI gameplay, with mostly top-notch graphics. EA has delivered a well-presented and well-packaged soccer experience in FIFA 10, but then again, it’s up to you to figure out all the intricacies.

App Store Links: FIFA 10 (U.S.), $9.99, FIFA 10 (International)

EA's much anticipated FIFA 10 has been slowly being released internationally throughout the day. The U.S. release should happen in the next few hours, but the game is already available in Europe and Australia. Forum user Feltzam posted a detailed impressions post breaking down various aspects of the game:

Overall I'm quite happy with this game so far. The controls take a while to get comfortable with, but the game isn't too easy or too hard, and … there's multiple difficulty settings so you can find the perfect setting for you. I'm impressed with the level of content that EA put into the game. A lot of what's in the console versions is in this version.

A full list of the Leagues/Teams available in FIFA 10 for the iPhone is compiled in this list. More impressions were also provided by Nizy.

Our gameplay video shows the basics of gameplay:

We'll provide a more in-depth look at the game after we have had more time with it. In the meanwhile, further discussion is being collected in this thread. We will also update this post with the link to the U.S. version when it's released tonight.

App Store Links: FIFA 10 (U.S.), $9.99, FIFA 10 (International Only)

Update: US Version released (iTunes link)

Here are a couple of recently released games that might appeal to a specific audience niche:

RC Heli

RC Helicoptor fans may want to consider RC Heli which just came out yesterday. Multi-touch controls to control your helicopter around a house. The game offers free fly mode, race mode, and 3 camera views. Early reactions in our forums.

App Store Link: RC Heli, $0.99

HIARCS Chess

Described to be the strongest chess program on Palm and Pocket PC devices, it's also said to be the only handheld chess program in the world which has won Grandmaster tournaments. Serious chess gamers looking for a challenge will certainly want to consider this option.

The game is also said to be suitable for beginners as well, and includes adjustable playing levels, hints, and more.

In our discussion thread there is some debate about the strongest chess application for the iPhone, and it seems the free Glaurung Chess [Free] is a solid option as well. One blogger is going through the trouble of pitting iPhone chess programs against each other. His first round between HIARCS vs Glaurung, gave HIARCS the advantage.

App Store Link: HIARCS, $9.99

If you found yourself disappointed by the OS 3.0 requirement in ngmoco's Rolando 2 [App Store], you're in luck. Rolando 2 1.1 was just released, which includes full OS 2.2.1 compatibility as well as tweaks to the challenge system.

Rolando 2 saw a fantastic reception in our forum, and needless to say, we also had good things to say about it in our review:

All in all, we are really impressed with Rolando 2 which does justice to one of the few classic iPhone originals. Like the original, the art, style and music come together in a wonderfully immersive package. And with the addition of Plus+, you'll find yourself working to perfect your scores on individual levels in order to challenge your friends.

If you have an iPod Touch and have been holding off on picking up 3.0, but still wanted to play Rolando 2, now is the time to snag it from the App Store.

App Store Link: Rolando 2, $9.99

Firemint has released a major update to their Real Racing game today. Aside from the usual bug fixes, Firemint has added a number of new features:

• 6-player multiplayer over local WiFi network (previously 2 player only).
• New vehicle class with a distinct roar of a V12 engine with "unsurpassed speed and control with 12 new exotic vehicles"
• New game soundtrack with 10 original music tracks
• Career Mode additions: exotic vehicle qualifier and two new championships
• OS 3.0 iTunes Music Library picker
• New Control Method: Touch-Wheel-to-Steer, Manual Accelerate and Manual Brake.

The game originally came out in June and we loved it:

Real Racing sets a new standard for what to expect of racing games on the iPhone. Great graphics combined with a solid framerate make for an action-packed racing experience.

App Store Link: Real Racing, $9.99

While Rolando 2 has only been out for a few days, an official review of the game seems to be more a formality than a necessity for much of our audience. It seems clear that fans of the original title scooped up the new release the moment it arrived, and the early response has been overwhelmingly positive.

The strength of the original Rolando title was clear. It was one of the first original iPhone-native platformers designed specifically for touch and tilt controls. Rather than mapping existing controls to some strange virtual D-Pad equivalent, Handcircus sat down and imagined how a true iPhone-platformer might play, and… they did it with style.

The music, art, and humor throughout the original production were really amazing. From our original Rolando review:

The most striking part of the game, however, is the level of polish and production of the entire title. The style, music, and humor that is delivered adds as much to the experience as does the gameplay. The Rolandos will frequently address you at the beginning of each level to progress the plot, and you will genuinely feel bad when one gets killed.

Rolando 2 takes all that was great from the original and expanded on it, making it bigger, better, and Rolando-ier. The same charming art style is preserved while adding a modern flare with some 3D level-effects. Mr. Scruff returns to provide a wonderful soundtrack that is also available for individual purchase via iTunes. The game offers larger levels and expands on the individual Rolando characterization while introducing new Rolandos throughout the title. The overall package results in an amazing experience that rivals franchises on other platforms.

Rolando 2 also adds a number of new elements to the gameplay with the introduction of underwater scenes, vehicles, new weapons and new Rolando skills. Weapons include the bow/arrows, laser beams and the all powerful "boom finger". Levels are larger, and in many instances, you have to coordinate a large squad of Rolandos to successfully navigate each level.

Based on our impressions, the gameplay of Rolando 2 seems slightly easier than the original. As best as we can remember, there appear to be the fewer purely dexterity-based levels which required avoiding a number of enemies while navigating around treacherous levels. Understandably, these levels could cause some frustration for more casual players, so we suspect this shift was intentional. Simon Oliver had told us at WWDC that other design changes had been made to make it more accessible to casual players. This includes the ability to choose to a number of different levels at any given time as well as the ability to skip particularly frustrating levels.

While there are puzzle elements to the game, it'd be hard to call this game (or the original) a real puzzler. It's unlikely you'll find yourself stuck not knowing exactly what to do next, as most level solutions are pretty straightforward. The long term joy of the game does not come in the difficulty of the levels, but in your ability to navigate them completely and speedily.

Ngmoco has integrated their Plus+ network into Rolando 2 which offers global leaderboards as well as a nice new system to challenge your friends. I've always been of the opinion that online components to games are what make them the most interesting, and this online head-to-head competition adds a lot of long term value to the game. In addition, Ngmoco also announced in March that Rolando 2 will receive up to 20 more levels in subsequent free updates, much like the original.

In terms of negatives to the sequel, there are very few objective ones. There have been reports of Rolandos getting stuck in certain parts of the level requiring a level restart. While a few other minor bugs reported here and there, nothing that greatly impacted gameplay. As in the original, there can still be some control-system frustration with the Spikey Commando when navigating sideways and upside down, though, again, less-so in this sequel.

All in all, we are really impressed with Rolando 2 which does justice to one of the few classic iPhone originals. Like the original, the art, style and music come together in a wonderfully immersive package. And with the addition of Plus+, you'll find yourself working to perfect your scores on individual levels in order to challenge your friends.

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After a few sleepless nights of following our forums and ngmoco's Twitter, we're finally able to embark on the quest for the Golden Orchid in Rolando 2 [App Store]. Better late than never, Rolando 2 is already off to a great start with overwhelmingly positive reactions from our community.

Rolando 2 comes with 2.5D cell shaded graphics which look wonderful, as well as such a great soundtrack that I hope ngmoco follows Secret Exit's lead with their release of their Zen Bound [App Store] soundtrack as a free download to people who purchased the game.

TouchArcade reader reactions have been swift and also generally very positive.

Not surprisingly, forum member dannys95 highly recommends Rolando 2 to any fans of the first game, and anyone who enjoys Rolando Lite [App Store].  Something worth mentioning is that while Rolando 2 isn't currently available in a lite version, the lite version of the original will give you a taste of the controls and an idea of the sequel's gameplay.

Redking31591 agrees with me on the high quality of the soundtrack, and describes Rolando 2 as "well worth the long wait," and "a premier iPhone experience." Cjb43 follows up with the overwhelming praise that "every facet of the game is crafted to perfection, and it all adds up to a very fun game."

While Fu3lRac3r loves the new 2.5D graphics, he wishes there was a deeper introduction to the plot of the game and also feels the ability to tweak the sensitivity of the tilt controls is something important that Rolando 2 is lacking. A couple of other minor complaints have included some camera zoom issues and small Rolandos getting stuck under the water, though not enough to mar from the overall experience.

While one user, playing on an iPhone 3G experienced some random slowdowns, across the board, performance reports have been solid for everyone else playing on iPhones and iPod touches. Also, as you would expect, Rolando 2 on the 3GS is silky smooth and feels closer to watching a cartoon than playing a video game.

But perhaps the best testimonial for the Rolando 2 experience comes from Sizzlakalonji, who wasn't very hot on the first Rolando, but figured he'd take the plunge on the sequel. The thread continued on for a few pages, and he returned to tell us how much he's enjoying the game.

There's no doubt that this game is well worth the 10 bucks, the level of quality in every aspect is very high. I just felt that in the first game, some of the "wow" factor wasn't there. I'm feeling it here for some of the reasons mentioned by others. I like the characterization of the Rolandos, along with the corresponding vocalizations. I like the variety of Rolandos with their differing abilities, and like everybody else it seems, I like the soundtrack. These thoughts are coming from someone who absolutely was not caught up in the hype, didn't read all of the pre-release threads, and was just giving this a go to see if I was too hasty on the first. I'm not sure if after I finish this game I'll go back and get the first…possibly, but I'm certainly enjoying this iteration of the game and can easily recommend it even to those who weren't wowed by the first.

My personal favorite aspect of the game is the fact that each level has different goals associated with it, which are awarded by keeping all the Rolandos alive, collecting all the crystals, and beating the time limit. Idols are also hidden throughout the game, which can be used to skip levels. Also included is a massive list of achievements, all of which get send up to your Plus+ profile if you register an account. All of these things should add substantial replay value to Rolando 2.

All in all, Rolando 2 is an evolution of the original Rolando formula. So, if you liked the first, you'll like the second. The graphics and sound are great, and so far the bulk of the complaints we've seen are the usual ones about the premium price and the fact that currently Rolando 2 currently requires the 3.0 firmware.

If you're an iPod touch user and haven't upgraded yet, or if you've stuck with 2.2.1 because of jailbreak, you will have to hold off until ngmoco releases an update that's coming soon to enable 2.2.1 support. Otherwise, we're looking at what seems will be another classic title for the iPhone.

App Store Link: Rolando 2, $9.99

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