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Looking for something to spend your weekend doing? How about playing Geared 2 [Free] for the low, low price of free. Much like It's Just a Thought, Geared 2 was crushed under the might of the EA holiday sale.Geared 2 obviously is the sequel to Geared [99¢ / Lite / HD], a gear-grinding puzzle game which has enjoyed millions of downloads during its life on the App Store. I explained what makes Geared 2 awesome in our review:

Each level is composed of a set of gears, one yellow gear and one (or more) blue gear(s). Utilizing gears of different shapes and sizes, you must connect the two so everything spins. Neither Geared or Geared 2 have any kind of grid the gears snap to, which allows you to place the gears anywhere you want inside of the game.

The challenge comes from the limited set of gears available for each level, in addition to obstacles in each level such as crossed off areas where gears can't be placed but the can be dropped in to. While it all might sound fairly easy, it won't take long until you're flat out stumped on a level, and are left sitting there desperately trying to figure out how in the world to position the two gears you're given with the five you have to spin. Thankfully, the Geared games allow you to skip forward a few levels in the event that you're really stuck.

Both Geared games are totally worth downloading, and I cannot think of a single excuse not to download Geared 2 while it's free aside from "I already downloaded Geared 2."

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Sure, Mobigame is celebrating the coming of 2011 a little late according to iCal, but its App Store New Year Sale is worth swallowing that glorious moment of serendipity that comes along with pointing out the obvious. For this weekend only, three of Mobigames’ releases — Trucker's Delight, Edge, Perfect Cell — are on sale, ranging from free to a dollar off.

In general, all three of these games are solid offerings and totally worth of eating your precious hard drive (or flash memory) space. Here's some handy-dandy blurbs about each if you want to dig around a bit before you start purchasing:

Truckers Delight: Episode 1, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Truckers Delight is an episodic retro racer filled with the overtly sexy kind of stuff that would make your mother blush. Eli got his hands on this earlier in 2010 and said he had a surprising amount of fun with it, though I think we all know why. Unfortunately, there's still no sign of the second episode.

Edge, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – OK, so in Edge, you're put in control of a cube that can move around in 3D space. The point is to get your cube dude to the endpoint of a given maze, most often by a combination of platforming and puzzlin'. It's a cool game that has won a lot of awards, so it's definitely worthy of your coin.

Perfect Cell, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – We have nothing but good things to say about this game. Check out Jared's glowing review, which spells out what this game is: "It's sort of a mishmash of genres, with elements of action, platforming, stealth, and puzzle. These end up working really well together, and coupled with intuitive controls and a beautiful graphics engine, Perfect Cell is a good time from beginning to end."

I know, I know, a dollar off of Perfect Cell doesn't bring it down to that .99 cent price point that everyone undoubtedly wants, but hey, the game just came out and is a ton of fun. These sales are only in effect this weekend, so don't delay if you've had your eye on any of these games.

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There were tons of App Store casualties of the holiday season as EA's insane sale and the onslaught of news games drowned out the competition in the weeks leading up to Christmas. It's Just a Thought [$1.99] is one of the many games that got trampled in the holiday stampede which I just discovered today as fellow judges went through the entrants in the International Mobile Gaming Awards. At its core, It's Just a Thought is a basic tilt to move game that is so basic it doesn't even come with a way to calibrate the tilt controls. Normally this can be a deal breaker for me since I generally dislike hunching over my phone holding it perfectly level, but It's Just a Thought is cool enough that I'm more than willing to overlook all that.

It's Just a Thought starts with asking for your Facebook name and password. From there, it snags a whole ton of photos which it then uses for the main gimmick of the game which revolves around exploring deep in to your mind and stumbling across these "memories" (your photos) which you must collect. You need to tilt your phone to stay on the neural pathway, lighting up neurons as you go, and tapping on your memories to use as power-ups. It all flows together really well, and the music its set to is a real treat.

For an idea of what I'm talking about, check out the trailer:

It's Just a Thought is an extremely basic game built around a really clever gimmick of utilizing random photos from your Facebook in the game. If you don't have a ton of photos on Facebook, it will likely be pretty boring. However, if you do have a bunch of photos, the game is a really awesome stroll down memory lane as you're tapping to collect memories you've long since forgotten that were stashed away in some Facebook album.

I'm not sure how strong of a recommendation I can give It's Just a Thought because at the end of the day it is just a simple tilt-based game, but as far as the game's core concept is concerned, it's really cool– Especially if you've got an extensive Facebook photo collection.

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German developer Crytek, probably best known for its astounding visual work on an otherwise dull FPS called Crysis, is fishing for an iPad and iPhone developer with knowledge of Android development, according to a job posting on Develop Jobs.

The posting doesn’t give much away in terms of what this could be for. The closest thing to game-related that I can find is this little sentence: “Designs and develops complex, integrated iPhone / iPad applications.” And, yeah, I’m reaching here.

I’m guessing three things about this posting: (a) this job is for an app that’ll be used as a supplemental or a marketing tool for Crysis 2, which is slated to hit the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 later this year OR (b) this is for a brand new game that might use CryENGINE 3, Crytek’s engine that’s being used in multiple upcoming console and PC games this generation OR (c) this is an R&D thing.

Say if this is actually a brand new game using that engine, there’s a good possibility it could be used as a tech demo of sorts. Crytek wants to license out its engine and, I’d imagine as a business, wouldn’t mind getting it into App Store developers’ hands. But this is just speculation — I could be horribly, terribly wrong, so keep your pants on graphics-philes. For all of our sakes. Thanks in advance!

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We fell in love with World of Goo the first time we loaded it up on our iPads. We incessantly gushed over the game in our review which eventually lead to naming World of Goo our 2010 iPad game of the year. If you haven't heard of the game, we explain the basic premise in our review:

At first, World of Goo is about manufacturing bridges and towers with the stretched tissue of little balls of goo. The point is to provide a path that other goo balls can follow into a metal pipe, the end point. Physics play a key role in this process: you'll need to build sound structures, which sounds easier than it is. Goo isn't concrete.

Each level requires a set number of goo balls to reach the pipe, and each goo ball you use for a structure counts against the total provided. This constant negotiation of goo resources is pleasing because it forces you to think around the obvious solution, which is often one of brute building.

World of Goo is an absolutely fantastic game, and was worth every penny of its original $9.99 price point. At its temporary sale price of $4.99, this is a no-brainer and without a doubt a must-have game for anyone with an iPad. If you need additional convincing, stop by the thread in our forums.

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One of my favorite things about the App Store is how a tiny gem of a game can seemingly pop up out of nowhere and blow me away with how fun, unique, and inexpensive it is. Such is the case with Pocket HalfPipe [99¢], the first iOS game from developer NaffRobot. Pocket HalfPipe is exactly what the name implies – a halfpipe skateboarding game featuring really intuitive controls, stylish graphics, and a decent amount of content that fits snugly in your pocket. There's a neat level of customization that makes it feel personalized, and even though the game is a bit basic overall the fun factor is through the roof.

Pocket HalfPipe features a single outdoor ramp for you to skate on. You'll start by naming your skater (male only, sorry ladies) and then choose from a selection of skin, hair, board, and clothing options to deck out your dude how you see fit. There aren't very many customization options to begin with, but as you play a number of new items become available. You can also click on a boombox that lets you play music from your iPod library during the game. There isn't any regular in-game music, but there's something very nice about listening to just the sounds of your board as you skate if you don't feel like playing your own music.

Once you're satisfied with the look of your skater, a very nice tutorial introduces you to the slick control system in the game. It's essentially a dual-stick setup, with the left stick controlling speed and flip tricks and the right stick controlling grabs. If you're old like me, you may have been a fan of Skate or Die 2 on the NES and gameplay here feels very similar to skating the halfpipe in that game. Just as in real skateboarding, you gain speed by pumping the transitions, or in gaming terms holding down the left stick and lifting it up on the parts of the ramp that curve from flat to vertical. There's a nice rhythm to how this works and after a bit of practice you won't have any trouble gaining speed and launching into the air.

Once airborne, you will press the right stick and push it in different directions to perform different grab tricks. Letting off the stick takes your hand off your board so you can land safely back in the ramp. Similarly, flip tricks are performed by pressing the left stick and flicking in a direction, not totally unlike another awesome iOS skating game Stick Skater [99¢/Lite]. The board will begin flipping after you've lifted your thumb up from the flick, and pressing down on the left stick again stops the flipping and brings the board back to your feet so you can land back in the ramp. If you don't release your grab or stop your flip by the time you land back in the ramp, then you will bail in a comical and painful looking fashion.

The other aspect to skating is spinning in the air, and this is something that doesn't quite control as well as the rest of the game. Spinning is handled by tilting the device, and your position is smartly calibrated before you drop into the ramp for each run. What makes spinning awkward is that you have to actually tilt the device before launching into the air, while you're still on the ramp. This sort of preplanning for rotations doesn't flow that well with the rest of the game. With practice, you get used to it and it's not much of a problem, but it doesn't always feel consistent and some alternate method might be nice.

Just skating in Pocket HalfPipe is a real joy, but there are also some nice modes to utilize your skills in. There's a Free mode where you can just skate for fun without any time constraints or obligations. Then there's Countdown mode, my personal favorite, where you try to earn the highest score by busting as many tricks as you can in 30 seconds. Survival mode gives you just 15 seconds on the clock, but landing tricks adds additional time and instead of scoring points you try to see how long you can keep playing before the timer runs out. Finally, there's a Big Air mode where you must simply try to launch as high as possible in the given time.

As you play through these different modes and achieve certain scoring goals, you'll unlock a bunch of new things like additional clothing items, skateboards (including the wonderful Enviroboard 2000), skill improvements, and many new tricks. It won't take long to unlock them all, but it's fun while it lasts. The pure skating element in Pocket HalfPipe is so good though that even once everything is unlocked you'll still find yourself playing just for kicks, or to compete for better scores on the Game Center leaderboards. The graphics are simplistic but stylish, and look sharp on the Retina Display. There's only one backdrop to skate in which isn't a big deal but additional environments would be welcome.

Honestly, any negatives I can think of about Pocket HalfPipe are quickly forgotten once you get your thumbs on the board. It's just so much fun. Some additional variety in the form of tricks, clothing, or environments couldn't hurt, but what's here already is still really solid. Players in our forums have been raving about Pocket HalfPipe, and whether you're into skateboarding or just naturally enjoyable gameplay it's definitely one you want to check out.

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Well, it's that time again. Dedicated readers of TouchArcade should know that we have a penchant for posting about silly or absurd games every now and then. They aren't always the greatest games known to Man, but with the App Store economy being the way it is sometimes spending a dollar or two on a game that will give you some laughs is totally worth it. The latest example of this is Rainbow Pony [99¢]. I could almost stop right there, as anything called Rainbow Pony must be worth at least a dollar. But for the sake of thoroughness, I'll go ahead and explain the delicate inner workings of the game.

Rainbow Pony plays a bit like Solipskier [99¢] in that you must guide your majestic steed along a wave of rainbow that you direct with your finger. Along his (her?) magical journey, the Rainbow Pony will collect various items spread throughout the game. Each arrow icon you collect will increase your speed, and each bomb you hit will slow you down. You can also collect delicious candy and teddy bears, though these seem to serve no purpose other than to increase your own personal happiness a tiny bit.

The game is played over 3 modes – Normal mode has you racing for a finish line in as little time as possible, Survival sees how far you can make it before hitting a bomb and instantly dying, and Timed mode sees how great of a distance you can achieve in a set amount of time. All of these modes contain their own individual high score leaderboards in OpenFeint, so you can compare scores with your many friends who will undoubtedly want to pick up Rainbow Pony once they see you playing it.

Visually, Rainbow Pony is pretty nice. It employs an 8-bit graphical style and retro-chiptune soundtrack, complete with grating, high-pitched coin collecting chimes. The game is really bright and colorful, though my one gripe here is that the Rainbow Pony looks a lot like a llama piñata to me. When I first saw the screenshots, I was almost certain this was some sort of retro 2D demake of Viva Piñata. Honestly, there's almost nothing better than watching the Rainbow Pony frantically galloping along, staring at you with a blank look on its face. It just makes me smile every time.

So in the end, Rainbow Pony is a pretty clever idea that is only executed marginally well. The controls and fluidity of the game are a far cry from the nearly flawless feel of Solipskier, though they do work well enough to enjoy the game. The biggest problem to me is the lack of spacing with obstacles in the game. There's no real warning of what's coming, and things can speed up so quickly that you can't avoid hitting bombs over and over again. I found myself having more fun trying not to hit the speed icons and just collect the yummy candy at a leisurely pace.

Still, the gameplay is fun enough to have a go at once in a while and for a dollar you can have a Rainbow Pony in your pocket, which is a statement I'm proud to be able to say in my lifetime.

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So, about that MaXplosion [$.99] thing — you know, that story about Twisted Pixel Games not digging MaXplosion because of how much it boosted from Twisted Pixel's Xbox Live Arcade title Splosion Man? That thing. Capcom issued its official response this afternoon stating that, yes, it did see Splosion Man before it came out but, no, that team and Capcom Mobile never talked about Splosion Man. MaXplosion, in other words, isn't what happens when you pitch your title to the publisher. In fact, Capcom is “saddened by this situation” and wants to earn back your trust, as a fan, in the company.

It also wants to rebuild developers' trust. This is an angle we didn't take in our last news story because, well, most of you aren't game developers. You see, this MaXplosion debacle makes Capcom look like Dr. Wily in the eyes of indie developers. Would you want to pitch a game to Capcom after seeing what happened here? Nah, man, you wouldn't. Well, maybe you would. Eating makes your tummy feel good.

Anyway, here’s the full response:

“While Twisted Pixel did have discussions with our console game team about publishing Splosion Man on game consoles, Capcom Mobile is a different division of Capcom with separate offices and as such, had no prior knowledge of any meetings between the console game team and Twisted Pixel. MaXplosion was developed independently by Capcom Mobile. Nonetheless, we are saddened by this situation and hope to rebuild the trust of our fans and friends in the gaming community.”

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Late last month we took a look at Rappin Granny [Free] by Nathan Hunley, who just so happens to be half of Igloo Games. If that doesn't ring a bell, they were responsible for some ancient App Store classics like Dizzy Bee [99¢] and Bed Bugs [99¢]. Both of these games might seem a little dated today, but when they were originally released they were very substantial games. In fact, I distinctly remember being fairly impressed that my phone was capable of playing a game like Dizzy Bee.

Anyway, back when the game was first released I explained the premise of Rappin Granny in our review:

A rappin' granny struts down a hallway dishing out presents which you have to give to the correct recipient. In order to figure out who to give which present to, you have to listen to the rap which is filled with clues. These clues initially start out very simple, but get tricky later in the rap as you're forced to determine who someone's wife is, for instance.

The entire game is wrapped around a scoring system that awards more if you're able to deliver the presents to the beat. Also, you can score bonus points by flicking presents to their recipient instead of dragging them to their hands. The granny's rap is funny, the gameplay is silly, and the music of the game has a real PaRappa The Rapper feel to it.

Our major concern with the game was its complete lack of replay value once you memorized the rap, and the fact that it's a holiday themed game which doesn't give it much of a purpose outside of the holiday season. However, Rappin Granny is still a very cool concept for a game that you really should download while it's free. It likely won't stay on your device very long, but it will be fun while it lasts. I really hope Nathan Hunley evolves this concept further, as Rappin Granny really feels like the start of something that could be really rad.

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In October of last year we first caught wind of Martin Kool's loving homage to retro adventure games, Sarien.net. Nearly a month later, we got a hands on preview of Space Quest, the first game Martin ported from its previous web-based browser state to an iPad-specific version that was custom tailored for both the screen and input of the device. Not long after that, Space Quest went live. While I'm not entirely sure how many people played the web-based version of the game to completion, it sure was awesome to have, and was a great tech demo for just what was possible via a web app on the iPad.

Today we got word that the rest of the Sarien.net catalog has been ported over, and in addition to iPhone support, the whole site is now hosted via Amazon's content distribution network to make loading even faster. Most of the games have even been extensively tweaked to be easy to play on the touch interface.

I'm not sure how much more detailed I need to get on this because, well, all the games are completely free to play and don't require any kind of installation beyond navigating your iOS device to sarien.net, tapping the game you want to play, adding a bookmark icon for it, then launching it. The single down side (if you'd even call it that) to all this is that since the games are played online via a web browser, you need an internet connection, but that seems to be a decent tradeoff to being able to instantly play such fantastic vintage adventure games for free on your iPhone or iPad.

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