After a seemingly long wait, Ngmoco's Rolando 2 has finally made it's way into the App Store today. The $9.99 game is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Rolando which was perhaps the first iPhone game to build up a massive following well before its release.

Rolando 2 improves upon the existing Rolando formula by adding a "2.5D" display system which provides a 3D-looking environment to travel across. Beyond just this aesthetic change, the game also introduces a number of new characters, skills, weapons/vehicles and puzzles throughout the game's 46 levels. The game shares the same basic controls as the original game with tilt movements to roll the Rolandos and swipe controls to jump.

We spent a bit of time with a preview version of the game at WWDC, and were pretty pleased with the improvements that had been made. It also seemed clear that if you were a fan of the original Rolando, you're certain to enjoy this sequel. We'll sit down and spend some time with the final version to provide a full review soon.

Here's a video walkthrough of some of the new features from developer Simon Oliver:

Rolando 2 also integrates Ngmoco's Plus+ network which allows you to maintain buddy lists and issue push challenges with your friends.

App Store Link: Rolando 2, $9.99 (Requires firmware 3.0)

Firemint's Real Racing [App Store] is the game to show people when you're showing off the graphical capabilities of your phone. The immersion experienced in the cockpit view is substantial, and the remarkably lifelike AI makes the game extremely fun to play. I even made note of how great it felt playing against the AI opponents who actually play like people do when playing against others online in my review of  Real Racing:

Real Racing is an entirely different animal. In my previous hands-on / first impressions post I mentioned how great the AI is, and countless races later I still feel this is Real Racing’s greatest asset. The AI opponents play how they should play; they’re not mindless drones following a simple line around the track, they’re extremely competitive racers that just flat out won’t put up with you trying to cut in front of them, or leaving yourself open on a turn.

Now imagine this, but not against one or two racers, but forty. Allow me to introduce you to an excerpt from the latest post on the Firemint blog:

Real Racing has up to six cars on the track at any one time. Since the game uses a high fidelity physics engine, adding cars is a good test for pushing the hardware. We started our tech demo with 8 cars on the track, then 10, 12, 16 and 20, and the 3GS still didn't break a sweat. We finally stopped when we got to 40 cars on the track at the same time, still with no perceptible drop in frame rate. We think the results are mind blowing.

Unfortunately, this is just a tech demo by Firemint. They don't actually have plans to release a version of Real Racing to allow for 40 racers at once. Regardless, this serves as a remarkable benchmark of what the iPhone 3GS is capable of.

App Store Link: Real Racing, $9.99

Escalation Studios and id Software has just released the first original Doom title to the iPhone and iPod Touch platform: Doom Resurrection [App Store].

The Doom name carries with it an enormous 16 year legacy that results in some massive expectations for any adaptation. This iPhone version of Doom has been in development for over 6 months and utilizes many of the assets originally created for Doom 3. As a result, the game will look quite familiar to those who have played Doom 3.

The best compliment I can offer to Doom Resurrection is that despite some controversial changes, it "feels" like Doom and is a lot of fun. And as a reviewer, there are games I have to play to the end and games I want to play to the end, and Doom Resurrection easily fell in the latter category. The game makes good use of the Doom 3 graphics and audio to provide an immersive game that sucks you in for the duration.

Unlike Doom, Doom 2, and Doom 3, Doom Resurrection is not quite a traditional first person shooter. The character movement in the game is scripted along a pre-determined path. This means that you move along from scene to scene automatically as you combat demons and zombies with your available arsenal of weapons. The shooting component of the game, however, uses an accelerometer controlled reticule that is used to target the enemies. Incoming projectiles can be dodged with well-timed presses of the "dodge/cover" button, while cover can be temporarily sought from machine gun wielding enemies using the same button. Escalation Studio's Tom Mustaine had explained to us at WWDC that they had originally experimented with a tap-to-shoot mechanic but the game simply wasn't any fun. The accelerometer controlled aiming mechanism, however, really does work well and manages to offer an immersive Doom-like experience on your iPhone.

Doom fanatics will find familiarity with the variety of weapons strewn throughout the game. Some of these include a double barreled shotgun, plasma rifle, chainsaw and yes, the BFG. Weapon selection is more than just for visuals, as different weapons are more or less effective on different enemies. Health and ammo pickups are available throughout levels and are picked up by tapping on items directly.

The game includes 4 levels of difficulty from Recruit to Nightmare. Your performance in each of the eight levels is graded on an A-F scale based on your headshots, time, and item pickups and secrets found. Long term replayability involves the ability to replay individual levels at different difficulties for higher scores. While the gameplay remains similar throughout, the addition of new weapons and enemies do tend to keep things interesting.

Here's our gameplay video showing the controls:

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The 8 levels went by relatively quickly with my first time through taking somewhere between 2-3 hours on the 2nd level of difficulty (Marine). The story line of the game, however, is a bit weak though it introduces the first dialog from the Doom marine himself. These cut scenes, pre-scripted sequences and dialog screens are ok the first time through, but when playing through again, you wish you could cut past them quicker than you can. While lengthy dialog can be skipped, you still have to go through the motions of some of the cut scenes. My only real gameplay gripe was that the cover mechanic becomes repetitive in some of the later levels.

Based our interview with both Escalation Studios' Tom Mustaine and id Software's John Carmack, it seems they are really proud of this release, and I can certainly see why especially given the realistic constraints of the platform. I believe Doom Resurrection will be a huge hit amongst both casual and hardcore iPhone gamers. There will, of course, be a vocal few that simply won't be able to get past the "on rails" aspect of the game, and to those, I suggest trying the game before passing judgement.

While Flight Control [App Store] may be Australian developer Firemint’s runaway hit, they’ve been hard at work for months on Real Racing [App Store]. Prior to last week, all we saw of Real Racing was a screenshot or new trailer randomly pop up here and there, leaving iPhone communities all over the internet speculating what the final product would be like.

I’ve found most iPhone racing games somewhat unappealing. While accelerometer tilt controls translate great to driving controls, they’ve all just felt a little flat. EA’s recently released Need For Speed Undercover [App Store] came close to quenching my thirst for a great racer on the platform, but fell short for a number of reasons, in my eyes. Poor AI combined with races that were hard to lose had me quickly growing bored of the game, despite its doing a great job at capturing the Need For Speed feel on the small screen.

Real Racing is an entirely different animal. In my previous hands-on, first impressions post I mentioned how great the AI is, and countless races later I still feel this is Real Racing’s greatest asset. The AI opponents play how they should play; they’re not mindless drones following a simple line around the track, they’re extremely competitive racers that just flat out won’t put up with you trying to cut in front of them, or leaving yourself open on a turn.

It really feels like you’re playing against human players. It’s crazy. Just like on XBOX Live, how you would ram someone’s rear corner as they pass you to try to make them lose control, the AI in Real Racing does the exact same thing. It’s a night and day experience from other iPhone racers that I’ve played where you’re largely ignored by the slow moving AI opponents and the difference this makes in the overall feel of the game is hard to put into words.

While Real Racing also includes quick race and time trial game modes, the meat of the game is in its career mode. Also available is a local WiFi multiplayer mode, and online tournaments utilizing Firemint's Cloudcell system for score tracking. (Also like previous Cloudcell games, full Twitter, FaceBook and even YouTube replay uploading is implemented.)

There are three types of cars: Hatchbacks, sedans, and muscle cars. Each car has its own set of races in career mode, starting with a qualifier, then two sets of events. After your first qualifier you unlock the Monacato 500 Hatchback Championship C class.

Win the three races that make up the championship and you will unlock its B class as well as a new car and the NrGee Super Sprint C class event. The rest of career mode continues in this manner, and each car or track you unlock becomes available in quick race and time trial.

I fully admit I was as skeptical as everyone else when the trailers were released, but Real Racing is something you really have to see to believe. Firemint honestly deserves some kind of award for the technical accomplishments made with the graphics engine powering Real Racing. It runs at a higher framerate on my iPhone 3G than most 3D games at a level of detail that is comparable to what you would normally see on the PSP. I can’t even imagine how this game will play on the upcoming iPhone 3G S.

Real Racing defaults to the cockpit view and, with a pair of headphones on, the only game that even comes close to rivaling the immersion experienced is 2XL Supercross [App Store]. Instead of any kind of on-screen HUD, your speed, position in the race, current time, and other relevant data are displayed on the steering wheel and pillar mounted gauges. One thing that I would really like to see added is some kind of mini-map. While I appreciate their HUD-less interface, a mini-map would be extremely helpful in learning the tracks and allow you to more accurately determine when to brake, approaching corners.

Real Racing has no customization of the included cars, which may disappoint some racing fans looking for a true simulation style racer on the iPhone. There isn't any kind of upgrade system, and while the different unlockables no doubt add quite a bit of replay value to the game, it pales in comparison to Gran Turismo-style car collecting and upgrading.

All in all though, it is a mobile game, and one of the most detailed and complete racing experiences offered on the App Store, so I have a hard time getting too worked up over not being able to add turbo boost, spoilers, and custom exhausts to my cars. The racing experience in Real Racing is unrivaled, and that's what counts.

EA's Sims is a series that needs no introduction. Between The Sims and its seven expansion packs to it's sequel and the associated eight expansion packs (and The Sims 2 ten "Stuff" packs with additional furniture and accessories), The Sims 3 [App Store] has a lot to live up to.

Naturally, the game begins with the creation of your Sim. Veterans of The Sims games may be slightly disappointed by the limited options while customizing your character as you're limited to sex, hair, eyes, shirt, pants, and shoes along with color selection for each. Personality choices are also fairly restricted.  And while the trait selection gets the job done, it left me wanting more. Unfortunately (and somewhat expected with the iPhone version), this theme of not having as many options as you may be used to from previous versions continues throughout The Sims 3.

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Immediately after finalizing your choices for your character, a brief tutorial walks you through the basics of the game and how to keep your Sim satisfied. Sims have the same basic needs you're used to, between needing to eat, sleep, bathe and go to the bathroom as well as a goals and wishes. The goals pop up randomly, and act like mini objectives for what to do in the game. While I haven't yet had the chance to get particularly deep into the game, the goals I've come across so far seem easy to satisfy and include things like catching a fish or going shopping.

The controls take some getting used to, mostly due to the inherent inaccuracies in trading a mouse pointer for a fat finger. Like in previous games, most items in your house have actions associated with them. Tapping a person gives you the option to talk to them in various ways, but often when you mean to select something without zooming-in first, you select something else. This becomes particularly annoying while visiting someone's house who has a lot of furniture and you keep selecting the lamp instead of the person you're trying to talk to.

Because of this, camera control is vital to selecting anything. The camera can be moved by dragging a single finger, and moving the camera up or down, as well as rotation and zoom, are all done through two finger gestures. It works, but because of so many things attached to a two finger gesture, it takes a while to get the hang of it.

The performance on my iPhone 3G is average. The Sims 3 doesn't run at a particularly high framerate, nor is it jerky to the point of being unplayable.

The biggest letdown — and again, somewhat expected for a $9.99 iPhone game — is the lack of a real build mode. If what you enjoyed about The Sims series is building your house, you'll be disappointed to find that your options are limited to buying and selling furniture, along with moving and rotating it. Once you save enough money, you can upgrade to a bigger house, but the floor plans cannot be changed.

At the end of the day, The Sims 3 is a decent downsized port that likely has enough content to keep fans of the series satisfied. It comes loaded with the same quirky AI seen in the previous games, and most of the social options when talking to NPC's seem to have remained intact. Whether or not I'd recommend The Sims 3 largely depends on what you liked out of The Sims games.

The Sims 3 is an extremely ambitious game for the iPhone, even with the limitations it has, but if you're like me, and really enjoyed building elaborate houses, you'll probably want to take a pass. If what you spent the most time doing was cultivating virtual relationships between your Sim and the other Sims in your neighborhood, you'll find yourself right at home once you get the hang of the controls.

App Store Link: The Sims 3, $9.99

It was a long time coming, but the greatest iPhone racer of them all has arrived in the App Store.

We first caught wind of an iPhone installment of EA's highly popular and long-running racing franchise back in August, and after several delays, Need For Speed Undercover [App Store] has finally arrived.  Was it worth the wait?  Most definitely.  Let's take a look.

NFS Undercover, in keeping with much of the franchise, is a mission-based racer, as opposed to the 'round-the-track variety.  As the title might suggest, you play the role of an undercover wheel man infiltrating a series of street racer / chop-shop gangs to try and bust an auto theft ring wide open.  Your point person is a seductive get-the-job-done savvy operative who guides you from mission to mission and gang to gang.  And the key to it all?  Own the road, screw with the cops, and just generally cause mayhem to build street cred.

Getting the job done involves taking part in various types of street confrontations, including Circuit Races, Highway Battle, Cop Takeout, and Sprint — there're eight in all.  Sometimes the only objective is to cause as much public property damage as possible in the course of a run.  And that, I can tell you, is a whole lot of fun.

Your weapons of choice are many: Ponitac Firebird, Porsche Carrera GT, Nissan Z34, Lamborghini Gallardo, Pagani Zonda F, and many more.  Each have their own distinct characteristics and can be purchased, along with handling, speed, nitro upgrades, and the like, with cash won from various street competitions.  It's rough out on the mean streets, but there's cash to be won — and lots of it.

The game features fairly obvious controls that work quite well.  Your car accelerates from stop to maximum speed automatically, so there's no accelerator to speak of.  Tap the screen to brake.  Swipe upwards to engage nitro boost.  Swipe downwards to enter a slow-motion mode that lasts but a short period but can be of considerable help when barreling through a busy intersection under the glow of a red light.

Graphically the game is superb.  It takes me back to the first time I saw Gran Turismo on the original Playstation (though NFS Undercover looks much nicer) and found it hard to believe what I was seeing onscreen.  The quality, animation flow, and overall "tightness" of the graphics are truly far more suggestive of a PSP title than an App Store release.  (We're finally getting there!)  The menu system and effects are top notch, as well.  The car models, with reflective windshields and paint jobs, whizzing through the game's various high quality environments, are highly realistic and really give the game a top-notch feel.  And that's not to mention the big-studio caliber sound effects and music tracks.  It's polished, tight, and clean — an iPhone dream title, in short.

In the area of complaints, I can't really offer much, though a few roll-your-eyes moments do arise from the game's live action cut-scenes.  The drama is laid on pretty thick and, after a while, it just becomes amusing to watch those actors seriously fume about the street battleground scenarios.  But it's nothing so bad as to warrant a dodge of the title.

Need for Speed Undercover is easily the best iPhone racer in the App Store and one of the best iPhone titles — period.  In digging into the game for this review, I spent a notable amount of time playing on my daily commute to and from the office.  I received three separate comments from fellow commuters regarding the visuals dancing across my iPhone's screen.  "That's not an iPhone is it?!"  And, really, it's no wonder.  This is a game that every racing fan needs to own and is well worth the price of admission.

EA really knocked one out of the park with Need For Speed Undercover.  A title definitely worth the wait.

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This has been an busy week for the App Store!

Gameloft's Terminator Salvation [App Store] just went up for sale following an already impressive lineup of big name titles released recently. Fans of the Terminator universe should find themselves right at home as they dive in to the action of this third person shooter.

• Play as John Connor and Marcus Wright, each having their own strengths and special abilities.
• 4 different controls that take advantage of the iPhone-specific touch screen and accelerometer to fit any playing style.
• Counter hordes of 11 different enemies sent by Skynet, including some exclusive models exclusively designed for the iPhone & iPod touch game.
• 6 weapons from shotgun to surge cannon and grenade launcher.
• 360 degree view of 3D environments through 8 levels.
• Play as a T-600 in an unlockable game mode.

Terminator Salvation is a 3D shooter that gives you a 360 degree view and has 8 missions where you play John Connor who is battling alongside Marcus Wright and Kyle Reese.

After sinking my teeth in to this game for a bit, I like what I've seen so far. Terminator Salvation comes packed with a pretty generous aim assist system, which greatly assists in easing the frustrations in playing a game where you control both your movement and aiming on the iPhone. Also featured is a cover system which reminds me a lot of Gears of War. Terminator Salvation is also loaded with plenty of scripted events and cut scenes rendered inside of the game engine that keep the plot flowing.

The game should feel very familiar to those who have played Gameloft's Brothers in Arms which shares a similar (if not same) engine.

As a huge fan of the Terminator movies (and even the new TV show), I've really been enjoying the game so far.

The game is being heavily discussed in our forums with some detailed impressions already provided. While the game itself seems solid, it's relatively short length seems to be the main criticism. At least one player already completed the game once-through, confirming the originally estimated gameplay time of only 2-3 hours. So, while Terminator fans will likely enjoy the game, the short gameplay time may not justify the $9.99 price for those with a more casual interest.

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App Store Link: Terminator Salvation, $9.99

EA's Need for Speed [App Store] racing game has finally made it into the App Store after months of delays, and the question on everyone's mind is… was it worth the wait? I don't think we can answer that question this early on, but here are some first impressions.

As with most EA games, the production quality of Need for Speed is top notch. The game includes cut scenes with real actors and a smuggling story line to drive the action forward. When you first launch the game, it nicely throws you straight into the tutorial mode to get you used to the game's controls. Tilt steering is offered with auto-acceleration. The game's controls seemed well tuned and natural to me on initial play, but some players won't like the fact there are no calibration settings offered. The game also includes a few other gesture-based actions including braking (tap), nitro (swipe up), and speedbreaker (swipe down).

The game is very much an "arcade" racer that feels a lot like I-Play/Firemint's Fast and Furious racing game. The game puts you into very specific racing tasks such as Highway Battle, Sprint and Cop Takeout. The embedded gameplay video shows a bit of a standard street race as well as Cop Takeout — which requires you to take out a number of cops without getting caught.

Screenshot by qasim

Car enthusiasts will enjoy the fact that you can play in one of 20 of real-world cars such as the Porsche Carrera GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and many more. Money earned from individual races (there are 24 missions) can be used to buy new cards and upgrade features on existing cars. Aside from performance enhancements you can also upgrade the appearance of the cars with different wheels, paint jobs, spoilers, etc.

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The game looks, sounds and feels great and most early impressions have been positive. Those hoping for a more authentic racing or free-roaming experience, however, may not like what they get. We'll spend some more time with the title and provide a full review in time.

Additional notes and impressions by our forum members: Screenshots by RaZrVIN and qasim, Impressions from slickninja, Rylin, dannys95, Auhron.

App Store Link: Need for Speed Undercover, $9.99

EA's long awaited Need for Speed racing game is now available in the App Store [link] for $9.99.

Feature list includes:

• Innovative touch controls activate tilt control steering and power boosters for a faster, tighter ride!
• Drive 20 of the world’s fastest and hottest cars!
• Realistic 3D graphics and sweeping camera angles intensify the ride.
• Engage in 24 covert ventures that lead to intricate secret missions.
• Choose 8 high-impact race modes: Highway Battle, Sprint, and Cop Takeout.
• Earn performance upgrades: Boost, Speed, Acceleration and Handling.
• Customize your vehicle with aftermarket spoilers, wheels, body kits, and paint schemes.
• Receive instructions through realistic, full-motion cinematics.

We'll provide a gameplay video and first impressions shortly.

App Store Link: Need for Speed Undercover, $9.99

A few of days ago we posted our first impressions of Tiger Woods PGA Tour [App Store] from Electronic Arts.  Since then, we've spent more time putting around this latest installment in EA's 11 year old golf franchise and can provide further reactions.

As mentioned in our previous post, Tiger Woods PGA Tour is a golf game of the realistic, simulation sort as opposed to the more casual golf titles, such as one can readily find on the Nintendo Wii platform.  If realism, as opposed to bouncy music, rainbow colors, and enlarged heads is your thing, then you're in EA's target audience on this one.  (And that's not to say that the more festive variety of golf titles are to be discounted — we love Gameloft's Let's Golf, for instance.)

Tiger Woods PGA Tour lets you create your own players and customize them through attributes such as sex, skin color, and color and style of attire.  The game tracks deep performance statistics and course records for each player, which can be browsed in the Options area.  In the game's Play Now mode, you can choose to take the role of any of your own characters, or to choose from the on-board big names: Tiger Woods (surprise!), Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, or Annika Sorenstam.  In this mode, up to four players (you and three AI opponents) compete for top spot on the leaderboard.  There is also a PGA Tour mode where your character strives to emerge the best of the best.

Gameplay takes place across seven of the most famous PGA courses in the world — 120 holes in all: Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, TPC Sawgrass, The K Club, Doral, Fancourt, and TPC Boston.  The various courses, naturally, each have their own, distinct layout and also feature a variety of weather settings, as indicated by the nice looking, animated cloud systems in the sky.

While the courses, as rendered, well convey a "large" feel to the simulated golf experience, the polygon count and texture quality of the various flora, as well as the character models, are rather low.  This was clearly a decision made in order to allow for the impressive framerate and smooth animation (as tested on an iPhone 3G and 2G iPod touch) that adds so greatly to the game's realistic feel.  The end result is a game with nice looking visuals and a quality of motion that is suggestive of a sports TV network rather than a typical mobile golf game, even if the most intricate 3D rendering ever seen on the iPhone is not to be found here.

Another positive aspect of the game is the audio.  The whole presentation here shines with big studio polish.  The ambient "course sounds" (wind, realistic ball thud, etc.) convey a nice sense of being out on the fairway.  Adding to this, and again bringing to mind a TV sports network, is the voiceover commentary from former pro golfer Sam Torrance and The Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman.  The interplay and appropriate placement of the many quips from both commentators is well done and adds quite nicely to the game.  It's worth noting that in-game commentary can be harsh and, frankly, annoying when you are just learning the game, however, now that I've hit my stride, I feel that Kelly, Sam, and I are becoming close friends."  If it's too much to bare, the commentary can be optionally disabled.

One of the most notable features of the game is its swing system.  Golf games on the iPhone, like any other platform, offer widely varying methods of simulating the act of swinging a club to drive the ball down the course.  Getting it "right" is a tall order.  I consider TW's innovative swing system to be the best I've seen on any golf game.  The game presents an onscreen swing meter that's graded with an ascending, marked distance scale.  To swing, the player drags the golf ball at the top of the swing meter downwards to the desired distance marker (the backswing), and then slides it back up through the top of the meter to deliver the swing.  Keeping the golf ball centered on the swing meter during the sliding process delivers a straight and true swing, while adding a bit of curve to the left or right while sliding lends a degree of fade or draw to the ball.  It gives a much more "involved" feeling to the swing process than the standard multi-tap/click scenario and is the most satisfying arrangement I've encountered.  (And, while PC versions of the Tiger Woods franchise offer similar, mouse-based controls, swiping the screen directly takes the mechanic to, really, another level.)  Once the ball is in the air, a ball icon appears at the bottom of the screen.  Swiping the icon repeatedly in any direction adds English to the ball to affect its behavior upon landing.

Well executed actions on the course result in a cash prize accumulation.  The money can be used to take part in PGA events and to enhance various aspects of your player's game in the Equipment section. The prize cash can be used to enhance Power, Power Boost, Drive Control, Impact, Approach, Putting, Recovery, and Spin.

See our extended gameplay video (taken since our "first impressions" post):

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I am not, in real life, a golf player.  As such, I'm pretty open as far as what makes for a fun game of golf on a computer.  And so, I enjoy playing a few rounds of most any quality golf game.  My favorite of late has been Gameloft's Let's Golf.  How does Tiger Woods PGA Tour compare on my list?  It's, in my opinion, a pretty close call, with a slight lean towards Tiger Woods PGA Tour because of its uncommonly solid swing system.  It would seem that any true golf fan who spends actual time on a fairway will find the realistic Tiger Woods PGA Tour to be a most satisfying mobile golf game, worth the price of admission.

We've come a long way since Mean 18…