Astraware has posted a sneak peak video of their upcoming title Platypus for the iPhone. Few details are available but Platypus appears to be a port of their existing game which is available for various mobile platforms.

Based on the cult classic for PC and Mac, Platypus is a fast, frantic and fun side-scrolling arcade shooter with a difference - the entire game is made from clay!

Quite literally, every element of the game is said to be “made from clay and photographed using a digital camera.”

The demo of the iPhone version of the game appears to use the accelerometer for control:

It wouldn’t take much for Astraware to take title of best side-scrolling shooter on the App Store as the competition for that title is thin.

No word on release date or expected price.

Kotaku reports that TransGaming’s Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will be arriving for the iPhone next month for $9.99. The iPhone version of the game is said to include new story lines, characters, conquests, and, of course, take advantage of the iPhone’s touch screen.

Puzzle Quest was first released for the Nintendo and PSP in 2007 and was very well received. The game combines role-playing with strategy and puzzle elements.

During play, the player takes on quests as part of the main storyline, as well as accepting side quests in order to gain items, experience and gold. Gold can be used to buy equipment that offers bonuses in combat, or it can be used to build up a citadel that unlocks additional content and customization for the character.

Quests are typically completed by defeating opponents in one-on-one match-3 puzzle battles.

Last we heard from Ngmoco, they were still hammering out details on the release date of Rolando despite some initial hints that we’d hear an official released date today. It seems, however, they were comfortable enough to reveal two other games that they have been working on by posting these videos to their blog.

Dropship

Dr. Awesome

Both of these games have been described as “fast apps” by Young, which indicate smaller games priced inexpensively like Topple and Mazefinger.

PC version screen

“SimCity for the iPhone may ruin my life (in a good way).”  So says MG Seigler of VentureBeat.  He had a chance to spend some time with Electronic Arts’ upcoming iPhone version of its hugely popular city-building simulation game.

He liked what he saw.

I got a chance to play a near-complete version of it today; it looks great. Fans of the series will recognize the SimCity 3000 look and feel, but the addition of touch screen controls makes sense for things like zoning (creating a certain type of building zone). Using the multi-touch capabilities of the iPhone to do things like zooming in and out of your city also makes the game a good fit for the device.

Siegler points out that the iPhone demo exhibited loading time issues, but EA indicates they’ll be ironed out by launch.

SimCity for the iPhone is expected to make its App Store debut in December for $9.99.

Last night we were able to speak briefly with Danielle Cassley and Jason Citron, the developers of Aurora Feint: The Beginning [App Store] about their next major release which has just been submitted to the App Store.

For those not familiar with the original Aurora Feint, it was one of the first games to appear on the iPhone back in July and won a huge following due to its polish and complexity (not to mention also being free). The developers are following up the success of the original with a new pay version that builds on the existing world and adds head-to-head competition into the mix.

Aurora Feint: The Arena, as it is called, contains all the components of the original game which revolve around a typical color-matching game but set in a role playing environment. Players can earn crystals while “mining” and subsequently level up and purchase additional tools to add to your abilities.

The new game reframes the “tools” as “weapons” which can be taken into battle. The central feature of the new game appears to be the ability to play unique competitive battles against other players.

Rather than “synchronous” head to head competitions, the developers are proud of the unique “asynchronous” system they have developed that seems well suited for casual gaming. This means that you can sit down and play against opponents who aren’t actually online at the same time as you are.

The developers accomplished this by allowing users to play 90 second sessions called “ghost sessions” in which you try to do their best. Players are allowed to bring three weapons (that they’ve earned) into the battle. This gaming session is saved for others to challenge at any time. Particularly aggressive players can actually affect other player’s boards and slow down their play (see Mana Orb docs).

The game also incorporates social aspects allowing users to leave comments and challenges on other player’s “walls”. Meanwhile, a world newsfeed provides a constant ticker of real-time events taking place by other players. Overall, the game also seems to offer a lot more guidance and documentation than the original.

Some screenshots:

The game should appear in the App Store within the next few days and will be priced at $9.99. (Update: The game will be discounted to $7.99 as a sale price at launch)

The first news of upcoming zombie-based FPS Zombie Mansion broke early last month.  We were frankly surprised to see in the comment and forum posts just how fond readers are of zombies.  (”Woo! Zombies! I’m buying this one! The game could be watching zombies watching paint dry, i’d buy it.”)

Well, zombie fans: get ready.  Fuel Industries has just submitted Zombie Drive to the App Store and it should be available in a day or two.

As the developer frames it,

It’s called Zombie Drive, and it centers around you, the protagonist being left behind in a quarantined zone sectioned off by the army. If you’re doomed to get nuked, you might as well take out some zombies on the way—by driving them over.

The developer posted a gameplay video.

Zombie Drive is another title utilizing the increasingly popular Unity 3D game engine.

In 1979 game desginer Warren Robinett created the world’s first action-adventure game.  It was called Adventure.  It was released for the Atari 2600 game console.  It was historic.

And thanks to Peter Hirschberg (of the Luna City Arcade!) it is now available for the iPhone [App Store]. And it’s free.

The player’s goal is simply to find the enchanted chalice and return it to the gold castle. The player character, represented by a square, explores a multi-screen landscape containing castles, mazes, and various rooms. Hidden throughout the world are a sword, keys to unlock each of the three castles (gold, black, and white), a magic bridge which allows the player to travel through a wall, and a magnet which will pull any of these objects toward it.

This truly is an historic arrival on the iPhone platform, but be forewarned: as the game features authentic Atari 2600 graphics–rather primitive by modern standards–only true retro gaming fans will likely find this to be an unavoidable App Store download.  That said, we encourage gamers with even a causal fondness for the retro to check it out as well because…well…it’s free and it’s a great game.

App Store Link: Adventure, Free

Forum member fusionXdeveloper points out an impressive looking preview of an upcoming iPhone game called Hill Billy.

Hill Billy is a first person shooter that uses the accelerometer for movements. The Mahatma graphics engine support full normal mapping lighting for a result never seen before on a mobile device. This is a sneak preview of weapons and scenarios graphics. Coming soon on the App Store…

While we’ve seen a few example of first person shooters being demoed for the iPhone, but none have made it to the App Store yet:

It’s always a little strange to announce upcoming announcements, because inevitably, the actual announcements arrive right after posting these articles. That being said, there are a few major announcements coming this week, so stay tuned.

Rolando Release Date

Ng:moco tweeted that they are preparing to announce the release date for Rolando as well as some of their other upcoming titles next week. We have an unnatural interest in Rolando — even before ng:moco took over publishing of the game.

Other tidbits: it’s just been localized for Japan, and here’s a brief description of gameplay:

It’s a world of cute, round creatures who are under attack by darkness. By tilting the iPhone, you roll them through a landscape of hills, mountains, houses. When they hit a river, you can drag a finger across the screen to draw a bridge.

“Turns out in this game, their deity is the finger, which is the player,” Young says. “So they sort of speak to you and say, ‘Finger! Finger! Help us!’ “

Fieldrunners 1.1 with Sound

Subatomic Studios has submitted the update to Fieldrunners [App Store, $4.99] to version 1.1 on November 11th. That means we should see the release any day now. Version 1.1 brings:

• Sound FX from a well-known sound designer!
• New map with gameplay and visual enhancements
• 2 new fieldrunners

We provided an early review of Fieldrunners when it was released, but frowned upon the lack of sound. But we have to now admit that even without sound Fieldrunners is one of the (if not the) best game(s) on the iPhone.

Aurora Feint II

We weren’t sure if this was authorized for pre-announcement, but Pocketgamer already posted so it’s out there.

Aurora Feint II will be officially announced next week. The new version is described as an MMO with new features that allow “asynchronous” play not yet seen on the iPhone. We’ll be getting more details, screenshots, etc… next week.

The original Aurora Feint [App Store, Free] was one of the very first iPhone games that we looked at and highly recommended.

Razorianfly has posted a gameplay video of a beta version of Zombie Mansion, a first-person shooter for the iPhone that we profiled in October.

Controls are implemented through the use of onscreen directional pad and shooting and jumping buttons.

The game remains in beta testing and involves fighting your way out of a maze-like environment:

The game is set in a maze-based environment, and with the directional controls, even aiming your energy surges right becomes that of a challenge in itself. You’ll also find a mirage of twists and turns, locked doors, wells, prison bars, gates and other obstacles which will stop you from escaping. Gameplay is extended by the use of locked doors. Hidden in the levels are keys, and you must find them, unlock the door, and continue to escape.

The game is not yet complete but said to become available “very shortly”.