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Late last year we reviewed Dark Nebula [99¢], a game that called itself a "skill-based action game" that we described as "short but sweet." While the gameplay mechanic of utilizing the tilt controls to move a rolling ball around have been used since the earliest App Store games, the original Dark Nebula really took this to the next level– so much so that it was difficult to even group it in the same genre as other ball rollers on the App Store.

In the original Dark Nebula you controlled a ball through 10 levels that vary widely with all sorts of different obstacles including spikes, lasers, switches that needed to be tripped, and others. The graphics of the original were fantastic, and while there wasn't a ton of content in the game, what was there was top notch. The entire experience was good enough that I played through the first Dark Nebula at least twice, if not more.

The sequel, Dark Nebula – Episode Two [99¢] arrived on the App Store this afternoon, and is even better than the first installment. Episode 2 sports nearly twice as many levels across a variety of environments along with a new combat system that allows for boss fights. Yes, boss fights in a ball roller.

Aside from the usual dodging and weaving, in Dark Nebula – Episode Two, you can roll over pads which will equip your orb with a colored ball that orbits around it. Initially you use this to destroy matching colored objects in the game world to open gates, but it doesn't take long until you're fighting red swirling blades of death. A few levels later and Dark Nebula – Episode Two pits you against a giant boss with blades that wind up and go in to a massive slicing frenzy which you need to take down in a similar fashion by smashing it with your orbiting weaponry.

The production quality of Episode Two is absolutely outstanding. The visuals are remarkable, and incredibly detailed environments pair perfectly with all kinds of flourishes that flow over the screen when you restore your shield, reach a checkpoint, or do other things.

Just like the original, playing through Dark Nebula – Episode Two won't take very long, and if you're determined you will be able to complete the entire game in one sitting. But what's so refreshing about the game is the high quality of the levels. Unlike some games where you feel like you are playing the same level over and over again, the level design in Dark Nebula remains fresh throughout.

To add replay value, the developers have added in seamless online leaderboards to track your performance on each level, along with a ranking system and an expert mode. It's as easy to recommend Episode Two as it was to recommend the original Dark Nebula. Reactions on our forums have been remarkably positive, and overall it's really hard to imagine ball rolling games to get better than this– That is, until the inevitable release of Dark Nebula – Episode Three.

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TechCrunch posted today about 11 new startup companies to be funded by TechStars, a group that has provided seed money and mentorship for various startup companies for the last four years. Most of these companies seem to lead towards different web services, but GearBox is a "smart toy company" who have created a robotic ball which can be controlled via a smartphone using a simple API.

How this all works is summarized in a recent GearBox blog post:

So basically how HTC/Android/Apple make smart phones, we make smart toys. Our first smart toy is a robotic ball that you can move by tilting your phone in the direction you want the ball to roll. We are then leveraging the connectivity and computing power of the phone to create a fully interactive experience for the user. Our first app for the ball is Sumo. I throw my ball on a table, you throws yours on the table and then we can try and sumo each others ball off the table. However, while our physical balls are moving there is also an onscreen component with online stats, profiles, damage, powerups and other aspects of gameplay that aren’t possible with a regular remote control toy. For instance, when the balls collide they can sustain “damage” and roll slower or I could get a powerup to reverse your controls for a few seconds.

Other examples cited were a golf game where you swipe to "hit" the ball, curling where you roll the ball then "brush" on the screen, or even just control the ball to harass your cat. Currently all of the app development is being done on Android, but according to the guys at GearBox, iPhone development is totally possible and they're just using Android for prototyping. The Smart Ball is still in prototype phases itself, and it's hard to say when it will be available for sale. Either way, it seems that the Parrot AR.Drone isn't going to be the only toy in town to be controlled via a smartphone.

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If you're in the mood to indulge in something completely off the wall crazy, then you're in for a treat. Meow Meow Happy Fight [99¢] is a new dual stick shooter with an incredibly wacky Japanese style. Before you bemoan the existence of yet another dual stick shooter, this one actually throws some novel ideas into the mix to set itself apart from the pack. Oh, and did I mention you get to play as a cup of noodles? If that's not a selling point of the game, then I don't know what is. With multiple stages to play, a slew of diverse characters to unlock, and colorful graphics with a unique style, Meow Meow Happy Fight will bring happiness and destruction to your iPhone.

Happy Cat comes from the future, where everything is just too darn happy. He travels back in time to the present day to encourage the characters in the game to battle each other, and take the future happiness down a notch. While Happy Fight functions like most traditional dual stick shooters (left stick for movement and right stick for firing), rather than fighting off hoards of enemies in a survival marathon you'll be directly battling the other characters in the game deathmatch style. Each of the 24 levels in the game has you fighting against multiple opponents, and the character who has the most kills when the match time runs out wins.

There's 15 different characters in the game, including a hamster in a ball, a vending machine, and of course a cup of noodles. Defeating enemies causes them to drop a number of different happy pickups, which are just as odd as the characters themselves and include various food items, toiletries, and designer fashion accessories. It truly is bizarre, but in a good way. Some of these items will replenish a small portion of your health, and others contribute to your total of Happy Points at the end of a match, which act as the currency in the game for purchasing and unlocking additional characters.

The arenas in Happy Fight are all locations around Tokyo, and provide relatively small but adequate quarters to engage in battle. Each new location must be unlocked by coming in first place in the previous one, and they get progressively harder as you go. A number of cool powerups also begin to appear as you make your way through the game, and the arenas have interactive elements like teleports and explosive barrels to add strategic variety. Icons at the edges of the screen point you towards enemies and powerups, and battles are fast and action packed as you search out opponents to destroy or scramble to pick up a health pack as you're on the edge of death. It really is a lot of fun.

The one negative aspect of Happy Fight that sticks out to me is that you can only play against computer controlled opponents. This game is just screaming for some online play against real live human opponents, but sadly this is not the case. The AI is very good though, and the game is still a lot of fun, but I can only imagine how much better it could be with some sort of online multiplayer component. Still, it will take you a good amount of time to beat all of the games levels, and unlock every character. Plus there is OpenFeint integration for leaderboards and achievements, as well as some detailed stat tracking.

This is the first dual stick shooter in a while that's been entertaining enough to hold my interest, as the gameplay is fast-paced and the style is the most absurd I've seen since MUST.EAT.BIRDS. [99¢/Lite]. Players are loving the game in our forums, and the developers are there answering questions and collecting feedback on ways to improve the game. If you're looking for something that feels familiar but adds some interesting new twists, check out Meow Meow Happy Fight right meow.

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Last month we took a look at Helsing's Fire [99¢], an absolutely fantastic puzzle game by Ratloop and published by Clickgamer. We thought the game was great in our review as it sports a unique gameplay mechanic we had yet to see on the iPhone. Players position a torch in the game world, and from there are able to attack the baddies that are within line of sight using a variety of multi-colored tonics. Things eventually get complicated as new monsters are introduced with both behave differently and require different combinations of tonics and torch positioning to vanquish.

Since our review, one of the main criticisms I've seen of the game is how slowly the difficulty ramps up since most of the earlier levels required very little thought at all. Ratloop addressed this concern by both making the game harder faster and adding the "absurd" difficulty level, even warning players in the iTunes description that this new difficulty level is "way too hard." There are now multiple player profiles for those who share their device with other people, and they even added a new colorblind mode for those who had issue with the red, green, and blue palette of the enemies.

Performance has been tweaked for higher frame rates, and you can now listen to your own music while playing. Best of all, there's an entirely new victory animation– The Tomahawk. Overall, 1.1 is a fantastic update to an already great game. If you already own Helsing's Fire, make sure you grab 1.1, and if you need more convincing to download the game, take a look at <a href="our review or read the overwhelmingly positive responses in the thread in our forums.

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If you like chucking gnomes (and who doesn't?), you need to be aware of Chuck Gnome [$1.99/Lite] from developer Movable Sprites. Essentially, it's a mixture of Ramp Champ [$1.99] and MUST.EAT.BIRDS. [99¢/Lite], but with 100% more gnome flinging. The painfully simple mechanic of pulling back and launching gnomes at targets is bolstered with some complex level designs and excellent presentation. Simple enough that anyone can play, but requiring a surprising amount of skill and determination to be successful, Chuck Gnome is a game that is full of challenge and a lot of silly fun.

As the name implies, the task at hand is to chuck gnomes at various targets in the game. Each of the 5 levels (plus a bonus level) has the colorful, illustrated look of a children's storybook come to life. The levels also evolve as you play, with backgrounds and targets changing as you progress, sometimes resulting in a level that is completely different than it was when you started. It's quite a sight to behold, and coupled with the charming background music the presentation in Chuck Gnome is a real high point. The levels are set up like shooting galleries, with different targets moving as if on a track or popping up from the edges of the screen. Another neat aspect to the levels is the clever use of the accelerometer. Similar to the game Bowmaster [99¢], tilting to either side shifts your view to reveal more of the level, and can give you an extra chance to hit a missed target.

Simply pulling back on the slingshot at the bottom of the screen launches your gnome, and how much you pull him back dictates how far he will travel into the distance. You have an unlimited number of gnomes to launch, which may make it seem like you could rapidly spam gnomes to take out all the targets, and to a certain extent this is true. But this will only get you through the first few levels at best, as the later levels require precise aim to take out targets. Also, this tactic won't net very high scores due to the multiplier aspect of scoring. Successfully hitting targets in a row builds up a progressive multiplier, and thoughtful shooting can result in some monster scores.

The biggest issue I had with Chuck Gnome is that it can be very hard to progress in the game. Each level must be unlocked by finding a key in the previous level. Taking out certain targets before time runs out will result in the key popping up on screen, which must also be hit with a gnome to initiate. This can be difficult to pull off at times, but is definitely possible with perseverance especially as you learn which targets to shoot for in order to get the level to switch to its next set of targets eventually leading to the key appearing. Another minor issue is the sensitivity of pulling back the sling doesn't feel consistent. Sometimes it seems the slightest pull will send your gnome flying completely offscreen, and vice versa. You get used to it to an extent but it still feels rather touchy.

What appears to be an overly simplistic game on the surface actually has a ton of subtle depth, and Chuck Gnome is one of those games that's easy to pick up and play for short or long periods of time if you end up getting sucked in to maximizing your multiplier with precise gnome shooting. OpenFeint is in the game for online leaderboards and achievements, and it should take a good amount of time to play through every level. Even once completed, there's incentive to go back and try to top your previous high scores by playing a level more efficiently. Overall, Chuck Gnome combines a fun flinging mechanic with stellar visuals, and players are enjoying the game in our forums as well. If you're on the fence, give the lite version a try first. Content is fairly limited in the free version, but it will give you an excellent idea of how much you like the flinging mechanic the game hinges on.

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