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So back in early December, we were kind of caught off guard when Batman Arkham City Lockdown [$5.99] hit the App Store. There had literally been zero hype for the title previously, and to top it off it was developed by Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm using the Unreal Engine, which was surprising but great at the same time. Besides the interesting peripheral elements though, Arkham City Lockdown itself was actually pretty outstanding.

It used a slightly dumbed-down version of Infinity Blade style combat, but came packed with an interesting character progressions system with tons of upgradeable items and abilities. Maybe an even more important point was that it just oozed that Batman character through every facet of its visuals and presentation, adding a lot of fan appeal to the gameplay.

Today Arkham City Lockdown received its second update, with the most significant addition being a new section of the city, the Industrial District, which features Harley Quinn and new “timed thug fights.” There’s also a new Batarang mini-game and two new character skins, one for Bruce Wayne which is free and one for Batman Inc which is $.99. Finally, the update gets rounded out with a level cap that has been raised from 30 to 35, additional achievements to earn, and a new Critical Strike branch to upgrade inside of the Waynetech combat training.

All in all a pretty nice update for Batman Arkham City Lockdown. Make sure to check it out, and hopefully NetherRealm has even more Batman updates planned for the future.

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Robot Entertainment is making good on the promise of more Hero Academy [Free] content, and it sure delivered the other day. In an update, Robot unleashed the game’s third team, the Dwarves, for a one-time $1.99 in-app purchase. These undersized big men specialize in the fine art of explosives and gunpowder, kinda like the Squat in Warhammer 40K except without the exo-armour and all those Land Trains.

Robot has an awesome blog post up that details each of the new classes that the Dwarf army is bringing to the fold. It also spills the beans on all the contents of the new update, which brings about some needed chat bug fixes and several neat tweaks, like auto-forfeiting. Hit it up if you’re especially curious, and check out our review if you still don’t know why everyone is buzzing this. Hint: it has something to do with the amount of little dudes equipped with stabby things.

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If you’re a fan of things that are awesome, you should be intimately familiar with Robot Unicorn Attack [$.99], Adult Swim’s popular Flash game that rainbow dashed itself onto the App Store in mid-2010. If you aren’t familiar with the title, well, I’m not so sure we can be friends. Robot Unicorn Attack is an endless runner that is chock full of robot unicorns (duh), magical fairies, a pod of leaping dolphins, and colorful visuals that would make any 7-year old girl (and myself) squeal with delight. All set to a looping soundtrack of Erasure’s Always.

Robot Unicorn Attack was such a success that it saw two follow ups on the App Store, Heavy Metal Edition [$.99] and the festive Christmas Edition [$.99]. A few months back, all 3 RUA titles were updated with Retina Display visuals, something fans had been clamoring for since the release original release of the iPhone 4. Today, the original Robot Unicorn Attack got another dose of update love, turning it into a Universal build and improving its performance on all devices.

If you recall, the Retina Display updates to the 3 RUA games were kind of staggered, taking about a month for all 3 to finally receive their updates. This means that it’s possible the other 2 RUA games will be getting a similar Universal treatment, though I haven’t heard confirmation of this just yet.

Also, in kind of a strange move, the iPad native Robot Unicorn Attack HD has disappeared from the App Store. It makes sense with the new Universal version to not have 2 iPad versions, but I don’t really know what that means for previous owners of the HD iPad version. We’ll be getting to the bottom of this query as well as what’s in store for the other Robot Unicorn games, but for current owners of the original release make sure to grab the latest update, throw that bad boy on your iPad, and rainbow dash your way to ultimate happiness.

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One of the nicer surprises from the holiday release frenzy late last year was Robot Invader’s Wind-Up Knight [Free], a game we gave 5 stars in our review. Wind-Up Knight is an auto-running puzzle platformer which has you playing as a tiny knight who is mindlessly charging through each fiendishly-designed level on his own, with the task of avoiding hazards in order to survive to the end of a level left up to you. You do this by jumping, rolling, shielding, and attacking anything that gets in your way.

Wind-Up Knight requires impeccable precision and loads of patience, as to fully maximize the rewards in each and every level it will take countless deaths and retries. It’s that good kind of difficulty though, the kind that makes you want to keep coming back until you get that perfect run.

So yeah, Wind-Up Knight is pretty darn good. Another thing that’s pretty darn good is that you can now get the game for free on the App Store. If you feel guilty getting such a quality title for free, then there’s always some in-app purchase items you could splurge on to ease your conscience a bit. Although, with this latest update the items in the game’s Armory are now discounted, which means any in-game currency you get through IAP will stretch even further. I guess you’re stuck feeling at least a little bit guilty, then. Sorry.

Wind-Up Knight’s levels are split into 4 books, the first being included for free. You can unlock additional books by using the in-game currency, which can be bought in various IAP packs or earned through play, or you can just pay a flat $1.99 to unlock each book. If you owned the original paid version of the game, then all books should be automatically unlocked, provided you have previously played through at least 1 level before updating.

The update also includes some minor tweaks such as social network integration, screen rotation support, and improved interface and gameplay flow. There’s definitely no reason not to check out Wind-Up Knight now that it’s free, so what are you waiting for?

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This past November we learned that Dejobaan Games and Snuggle Truck [Free/HD] developer Owlchemy Labs were in the midst of bringing a mobile version of their 2009 PC hit AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity to the App Store.

The absurdly long title refers to the sound one makes when base jumping off extremely tall buildings, which is exactly what AaAaAA!!! is all about. On the way down you perform risky and stylish stunts to earn maximum points and admiration.

The mobile version of the game is known as AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! (Force = Mass x Acceleration), and the developers have announced that it is scheduled for release one week from today, on March 1st. Check out the amusing and informative new video for AaAaAA!!! (F=MxA) below.

When AaAaAA!!! (F=MxA) launches next week it will come equipped with Universal iPad support and cost $2.99, and we’ll have more on the game once it’s finally available.

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I may be dating myself here, but there was a time when I was completely obsessed with Windows Solitaire. I wanted to see every pixel of the game’s window covered in the cards that hopped down at the end of the game, and the obsession lasted just as long as it took to make that happen. Since then, stacking cards onto other cards hasn’t held the same charm. Then I picked up Fairway Solitaire [Free / HD] and now I’d kind of like my life back, please.

It’s not that Fairway Solitaire is particularly challenging—quite the opposite, in fact. It follows Big Fish Games’ usual mandate of making everything as player-friendly as possible. But between the dead simple gameplay and the weirdly compelling golf metaphors, I’m totally engrossed. And reading around online and in our forums, I’m not alone. This game gets its hooks into people more than one might expect from a golf-themed card game.

The game is built around one-card draw solitaire. The field is covered in cards that are stacked in various piles, face up or face down, and one card is drawn from the remaining deck at a time. You can put any card on top of that draw if it’s higher or lower by one. You keep stacking them until you have no cards left within one point on either side, and then you draw your next card.

Golf provides the framework in with the game is played. Each game is a single hole of a golf course. The score for an individual hole doesn’t matter all that much because your real goal is to hit below par for the whole course. The beauty of this system is that when you get to those awful awkward moments when the last few cards on the table just won’t work, you can end your game and move on to the next hole.

In fact, a cleared table will land you well under par. Not only does this make successful games particularly rewarding, it also keeps you from getting bogged down in losses. Just pick up your clubs, dust yourself off and move on to the next hole. You’ll even it out in the end.

Speaking of clubs, they play a vital role in Fairway Solitaire. You can find them as you play or buy them with Golf Bucks, and they can be used as cards for cheating. Whenever you’re in a tight spot with few cards left in your deck, you can pull out a relevant club and build off that instead. Again, this design cuts down on frustration and adds a teensy bit of strategy thanks to the relative scarcity of Golf Bucks and the long cooldown on each club.

Not that they’re all that scarce. You earn Golf Bucks for everything you do. They come from achievements, from finishing holes, from really good shots. They also come from in-app purchases, if you’re so inclined. You can use them to buy clubs or gear that gives you other advantages, like letting you see how many cards are left in the deck or clearing away a few hazards at the start of each hole.

Fairway Solitaire starts with one course pack, which contains six courses and about twenty-four holes total. If you choose to pay a dollar to unlock the rest of the courses, there are ten course packs that open up as you progress and one that can be unlocked with Golf Bucks. The differences between holes lie in the card layouts, the hazards present (which generally must be cleared by finding a hidden card or sacrificing a card from your deck), and the number of cards you need to get through to make par. Since most of the holes have their card selections randomly assigned, you can pretty much play forever.

Quirks abound, like realistically banal golf banter (which can be turned off) and overarching story about an angry gopher. The latter only comes up when you draw a wild card, which will throw you into a random gopher-related situation. Some give you clubs or take away your cards, and some are silly little minigames that award you with Golf Bucks.

Some of the other quirks of the game are less pleasant.The HD version doesn’t include Game Center, while the standard version is about double the file size. Multitasking drops off unusually quickly and without it you’ll be sent back to the start of the hole. And prepared to be inundated with ads for other Big Fish Games titles whenever you load Fairway Solitaire up fresh.

Those annoyances aside, this is the new solitaire title to beat in my books. What it lacks in difficulty it makes up for in sheer mindless entertainment, which is arguably what solitaire does best. If you want to push for a bigger challenge you can always go for three stars on each course, but success ultimately comes down to luck of the draw. Instead, I’d recommend enjoying Fairway Solitaire as the never-ending meditative experience that it is. Let other games be challenging. For this one, compelling and fun might just be good enough.

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Hot off the recently released Dungeon Crawlers [$3.99], the folks over at Ayopa Games are back with Mailmen [$1.99], an enjoyable stealth-based tale showcasing the eternal battle between mail carriers and the canines that chase them. Featuring a crazy story, good team-based gameplay, and well done level design, Mailmen is well worth checking out.

Mailmen follows the tale of three postal employees as they try to deliver letters and packages to the public while thwarting the plans of the nefarious Newman, a former member of the team that turned to evil. Standing in their way are packs and packs of dogs eager to catch, chase and bite our heroes. The story is off-beat, ridiculous, and completely appropriate for the style of game Mailmen offers. This is also echoed in the development of the team itself, which does a great job imparting personality into each of the characters in every little thing they do.

Gameplay is divided into objective-based levels. While the primary goals typically involve delivering a package or item from one part of the map to the other, each mission always has optional objectives, such as delivering letters to special mailboxes and collecting stamps. Sure, you can skip these side quests, but they’re essential if you want to get the highest score (and thus, the highest rating for the map). While some levels focus on only one of the mailmen, most of them will have all three working in some sort of tandem.

Your team members aren’t just there for show, either. A big portion of Mailmen is its team-based stealth gameplay. Each mailman has unique abilities that must be utilized if you’re going to avoid the dogs (and score the most points). For example, Johnny is the only one with that can tie up dogs with a rope, while Charlie can hide in trees and throw a reclaimable ball to distract dogs. While the gameplay elements aren’t necessarily the deepest I’ve seen (you really only have a handful of abilities), I’d rather play a game that is well-executed and slightly simpler than a complex one that’s a mess to learn and control.

Dogs, meanwhile, serve as the primary nemesis and deserve some attention in their own right. Each dog has its own cone of vision, and you’ll spend the vast majority of your time figuring out ways to move across maps while avoiding the dogs spotting you. Most dogs basically operate in one of three different modes: patrol, stationary searching, and simply stationary. Later levels introduce deviations such as a dog on top of a watchtower that can see over most items that would normally block their view.

If you happen to get caught by a dog, they do what any canine naturally does to a mailman: try to bite them. Mailmen features a few breeds, ranging from the small Chihuahua (which mainly just barks and alerts other dogs), to the German Shepherd (usually asleep, but can do damage if it gets woken up) to the Rottweiler (can actually free other dogs that get tied up). If you happen to successfully hide, dogs do eventually go back to the patrols. As imagined, endure enough dog bites and the game is over.

Having good team mechanics are all well and good, but they don’t mean much if the level design doesn’t take advantage of it. Thankfully, Mailmen does a great job with that aspect of its game. Introductory levels do a good job of presenting the mechanics of each of your teammates, with later levels evolving into somewhat elaborate labyrinths that hit the right balance between difficulty and approachability. Obviously with stealth being the main ingredient, Mailmen is a bit slow-going, but that really is expected for the genre. With that said, I was never really frustrated with any of the levels, although getting three stars on later missions requires a lot of patience and planning. Still, more levels would have been nice, as the game is a little on the short side.

Control-wise, Mailmen does a decent job utilizing tap-to-move mechanics for controlling your characters. However, there are some other decisions that just feel clunky. For example, I loved the top-down isometric perspective, which just works for the gameplay. However, a pinch-to-zoom scheme really would have been a nice addition for viewing the map, as the ‘satellite’ view (which lets you see most of the map on the same screen) zooms out way too far, while the normal camera angle doesn’t suffice for the bigger maps. The same goes for changing camera angles, as a multi-touch gesture would have been a lot more precise and intuitive than a ‘Change Camera Angle’ button.

UI annoyances aside, Mailmen is an entertaining game and a great addition to the iPad stealth library. The team-based gameplay and silly story simply makes for a title that’s an enjoyable experience. If you’re a fan of stealth game that requires planning and patience, you won’t be disappointed with Mailmen.

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