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Zero Punctuation is a weekly comedic minimalist animated review show that got its starts all the way back in mid-2007 as a pair of YouTube videos on The Darkness and Fable. Like all good YouTube videos, it quickly went viral and not long after that Escapist Magazine started publishing the videos and has ever since. In the console and PC gaming world, Zero Punctuation is wildly popular, with Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw usually targeting whatever happens to be the popular new release that week. This week, he set his sights on iPhone gaming. Specifically, Angry Birds [99¢ / HD], Cut the Rope [99¢], Fruit Ninja [99¢ / HD] and Doodle God [99¢].

Fair warning, the video does have some cursing in it, which may or may not be work safe depending on how strict your office environment is.

If you liked this one, there are tons of other Zero Punctuation videos worth checking out. I'd list some personal favorites, but honestly, there are just too many.

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Looking back on this last year, it's pretty crazy how much has changed since the last time we posted about Blacksmith Games' Appvent Calendar. This time last year, the free game phenomenon was practically unheard of. Following the success of the original Appvent Calendar, a silly amount of copycat sights have since sprung up. The main difference between the Appvent Calendar and these competing sites is that the Appvent Calendar had great games available for free as a one-time holiday promotion, versus many free app site which seemingly exclusively feature games that were designed to be free with ads, in-app purchases, and other things. We've been told to expect the same high caliber of freebies again this year, with a new free game released every day much like a regular holiday advent calendar.

Today's freebie is Time Geeks: Find All! [Free], a hidden object game of sorts that we liked quite a bit in our review. Especially while it's free, there's no reason not to download this game. (Unless of course you already have it.) If you own an iPad, Time Geeks: Find All! HD [99¢] is also available, although it isn't free.

It's probably a good idea to bookmark the Appvent Calendar, as they'll have new freebies every day. And of course, you can always use AppShopper to find all the games that have dropped to free instead of lurking around the slew of free app sites every day as well.

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Faithful followers of TouchArcade know this song and dance all too well by now. It seems that the cool thing to do is to set the release date of your game to a Thursday. This means that as soon as Thursday crosses the international date line, games become available in New Zealand. They then slowly filter out to the rest of the international App Store markets as it becomes Thursday for other people, until finally showing up in the US App Store at 11:00 PM EST Wednesday night. This creates a few awesome phenomenons such as everyone cluttering up every game thread with anticipation waiting for things to appear in their neck of the woods, and us having little to do on Monday and Tuesday, but I digress.

This week's haul of releases isn't anywhere near as huge as I was expecting, but we've heard from several developers that today was the last day to submit a game to have it approved before the end of the year. Next week will be insane with the release of Infinity Blade, and the first onslaught of pre-holiday approvals. We've already got a thread in our forum with some people estimating they'll be spending $100+ this month on iPhone games that's worth checking out if you want to get yourself hyped up for future releases.

Rockband Reloaded, $4.99 – Even more Rockband action. This time around you'll be able to sing along as well. Reloaded comes with 29 "free" songs, and additional songs available via in-app purchase.

Backbreaker 2: Vengeance, $2.99 – Similar to the previous Backbreaker, players run down the field attempting to avoid being tacked. A new game mode turns the tables and has you doing the tackling, and new obstacles have been implemented that you must jump over.

Hooga, 99¢ – A caveman platformer that reminds us a lot of Bonk's Adventure. It comes with a bunch of weapons, power-ups, and other goodies. If the controls work well, it should be really fun.

Miro: Color The World!, 99¢ – A physics-powered rolling game. From the looks of it, you're timed by how quickly you can roll around an object to color the world (as the title hints). 25 levels and online leaderboards are included.

Plant Tycoon, Free – I'm not really sure what to think about this game, as I dumped hours of my life in to it on my Palm Treo. It was a great game, with tons of history, which really has my scratching my head as to why it's free. Hopefully it's not laden with consumable DLC required for progression.

Kosmo Spin, 99¢ – The art style of this game is dripping with charm, and the game itself is packed with various objectives and achievements which hopefully will keep the seemingly basic gameplay fresh.

Scarlett and the Spark of Life: Scarlett Adventures Episode 1, $2.99 – A episodic point and click adventure game that's promising both an angry princess with a crowbar and a talking horse with a god complex. These types of games have worked very well on the platform, and I'm excited to play through this one.

All of the above links should begin working as soon as the games are available for download in your region except for Rockband Reloaded, as EA typically releases an international version and a US version of their games for some reason. We'll be taking a closer look at these games throughout the day.

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Developer Gameloft is holding an Advent Calendar promotion over their Twitter account and will be tweeting a free gift every day until December 25th. Seeing as today is December 1st, it appears that they wanted to start things off with a bang, as today's free gift comes in the form of the iOS port of vehicular mischief game Driver [Free].

Driver is an open world driving game that was originally released on Playstation and PC over a decade ago. It's similar to the 3D Grand Theft Auto games, except you don't ever leave your car, and was considered one of the classics of the time. Gameloft did a marvelous job porting the game to iOS last December, keeping most of the game intact and giving it a slight graphical makeover. We really liked it in our review, and recommended it at its initial price of $6.99. Now that Driver is free for a day, there's no excuse not to pick it up.

If you are hip to the Twitters, then you can follow Gameloft to check out what other kind of freebies will be in store during this month. I wouldn't expect a big name title to drop to free every single day or anything, but it should be worth keeping up with just to see what kind of free stuff you can score. At any rate, a free copy of Driver is a great way to kick off the promotion, and I'd highly suggest downloading the game while you can.

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A couple of weeks ago we took a look at a teaser video for GameResort's Downhill Bowling 2 [Free], the sequel to the well-received Downhill Bowling [$2.99/Lite] that launched way back in January of '09. Earlier today, the game was released in the App Store as a free, ad-supported download. Downhill Bowling 2 has just about everything you would want from a sequel if you were a fan of the original game, but also has a few drawbacks that are hard to overlook. Still, it's a fun game that will keep you occupied for quite some time before conquering all it has to offer, and is worth a look.

The core gameplay in Downhill Bowling 2 remains the same as its predecessor. You steer a bowling ball using tilt or touch controls as it barrels down an outdoor course filled with all sorts of interesting obstacles and hazards. Throughout each course there are ten sets of bowling pins which you will need to knock down in between collecting coins, gems, and powerups. When you finally reach the end of the line, your score is tallied up based on how many pins you were able to knock down as well as how much loot you were able to collect.

It's a formula that worked well in the original Downhill Bowling, and comes with some enhancements in this sequel. The biggest addition is that you can now jump with your bowling ball, which allows for some more interesting level designs with various platforms and hazards which must be leapt over as you go. It almost feels like a third-person platformer at times, which is pretty cool. There's also some nice powerups you can grab which help you on your plight, like a rocket that boosts your speed or an item that turns you into a disco ball that doubles your collected points.

The game takes place in three distinct environments – Green Mountain, Wild West, and The Cave. There are 10 levels in Green Mountain, but unfortunately only one level each for the other two areas. It's obvious that GameResort will be adding additional levels to these environments, but it's still kind of a tease to only have one level in them currently. Levels are unlocked using coins that are collected during play, or if you are impatient, you can purchase packs of 1000 coins for a dollar each. The environments are much more lively and detailed than the original game, though sadly are not optimized for Retina Display. You also don't ever seem to gain as much speed in any of the levels as you did in the first game, which is unfortunate but just a minor gripe.

By far the thing I like least about Downhill Bowling 2 is the inability to disable the iAds. I'm all for the ad-supported model, but please give me a way to pay to get rid of them if I choose. GameResort has stated in our forums that they will consider this issue, as well as all other player feedback, for future updates. Aside from that quibble there is a lot to like about Downhill Bowling 2. Twelve well designed levels with Game Center integration for leaderboards and achievements, and more levels in the pipeline. As a free download, it's definitely worth checking out Downhill Bowling 2, especially if you enjoyed the first.

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Well here is a nice surprise. With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and whatever other combinations of buzz words/days of the week you can concoct now come and gone, developer Halfbrick Studios still has a monster deal up their sleeve for thrifty shoppers. The iPad native version of their multi-million selling Fruit Ninja franchise has just dropped down to 99¢ for an extremely limited time. 24 hours limited, to be exact.

Most everyone is familiar with Fruit Ninja by now, as well as Halfbrick's penchant for releasing multiple updates that add new features to their games. Most recently, a brand new Arcade mode was added to both Fruit Ninja and Fruit Ninja HD earlier this month, and last September the iPhone version received head-to-head online multiplayer through Game Center. With the recent release of iOS 4.2, the iPad now has Game Center functionality and Halfbrick should be releasing a similar multiplayer update to Fruit Ninja HD soon.

If the recent holiday sale of Fruit Ninja HD for $2.99 still hadn't convinced you to pick up the title, then chances are that you will not be able to resist picking it up for 99¢. The price was just changed and is filtering throughout Apple's servers, so if you don't see 99¢ right away make sure to keep checking.

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EA recently made good on their promise made all the way back in July and finally implemented the iPad-exclusive "Vintage Voltage Football" mode in Madden NFL 11 for iPad [$12.99]. This new mode supplements the existing awesome football gameplay and all the cool new features (like Game Flow) that we loved in our review. The Vintage Voltage Football mode uses the existing football player models which stand in one position and look like figurines. The amount of effort that has gone in to this new game mode is incredibly apparent, as even the interface is dripping with retro charm.

In addition, Madden NFL 11 for iPad also had local multiplayer modes added. Now, two people with iPads and the game can play via either Bluetooth or WiFi. Even though this update did take quite a while to land, it's still cool to see EA releasing substantial updates to their games. Download this update right away.

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Japanese developer Kairosoft is as surprised by the reception of the English iOS port of Game Dev Story as you were by its quality. "It made us happy to know that people had the same feeling about game making," the developer told us in a recent interview we conducted in collaboration with App Bank, "imagining a game that you liked playing, developing it inside [an actual] game and enjoying looking at the sales records." But as veterans of the game are aware, success necessitates a sequel — there's no time to be surprised or enjoy the fruits of triumph. So, yes, we'll see Game Dev Story 2 in the US for iOS at some point, Kairosoft confirmed with us. Just not "soon."

"We will be developing a sequel, but we are not planning on releasing it soon," a spokesperson at the developer said. "We are thinking of improving the game by adding elements of networking in the sequel, such as sales score rankings and sending employees to a friend’s company, etc."

Because of the language barrier, the history of the Game Dev Story franchise has been hard for us to pick up on. Here's what's important: The original game, the one we just played this year on iOS, was released for the PC back in 1996. Game Dev Story 2 was released for the PC in, roughly, 2000, meaning that Game Dev Story 2 iOS will be a port just like the original. It's not a "new" game.

As for what's holding up a Game Dev Story 2 for iOS? At least one other simulation game, one that tackles a well-known genre: the City. "The next iPhone App will be a CMS game like SimCity, where you touch to scroll, zoom in/ out, etc," Kairosoft said.

And chances are we'll see this game as a localized release, much like the original Game Dev Story. In fact, Kairosoft said it would "like to release English versions" of all its upcoming iOS titles, of which there are many according to the Kairosoft website. Obviously, we're stoked to see whatever they have in store for us, though nothing can come soon enough. Someone get those guys some Red Bull already! We need something to do at the gym.

[Translation work was generously provided to us by Yasuaki over at App Bank. Thanks so much, sir!]

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Well, as far as strange releases go, EA Mobile's Heroes Lore nearly takes the cake. Back in September, we posted a video from German iPhone site iFun.de that showed an iOS version of the Heroes Lore franchise, an RPG series that has been hugely popular on cell phones in Asian markets for several years. Then early last month, EA released some new details and screenshots, indeed confirming that the title would be coming to iOS as Heroes Lore: Stigmata of Gaia.

Literally the very next day, the international version of Heroes Lore: Stigmata of Gaia was released, which basically meant that everywhere except the US and Canada could buy the game. It is pretty typical practice for EA and some other publishers to release region specific versions of their games, and sometimes this means that the releases of the various versions gets staggered from the rest. Usually this only means a matter of days before the game is available in all territories, so we waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Now, just shy of two full months after the international version's release, Heroes Lore has finally hit the US and Canadian App Stores. Interestingly, and for reasons unknown, the Stigmata of Gaia subtitle has been dropped and the North American version is officially known as Heroes of Lore III [$1.99].

There is a ton of information and impressions available in the thread in our forums from international players who have spent the last seven weeks playing the game, and have compared it to similar titles like the SEED and Zenonia series. So far opinions seem pretty polarized on Heroes Lore III, with some players really loving the game and others deleting it within minutes, so you may want to check out some forum impressions first to decide if this is your particular cup of tea before plunking down your loose change. If you were excited from the announcement two months ago, and your enthusiasm hasn't waned since, then make sure to check out Heroes Lore III in the US App Store.

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Last week we detailed an upcoming update to EA Mobile and Pixelbite's Reckless Racing [99¢] and Reckless Racing HD [$4.99]. This new update includes the previously iPad only track “The Island” added into the iPhone version of the game, and both versions of Reckless Racing get a brand new track called “Frozen Lake” and two new playable characters, “Granny” and “Boss”. Just a few hours ago, this update went live in the App Store and is now available for download. I spent a bit of time checking out the new content, and can say that the new tracks and vehicles are a welcome edition to Reckless Racing.

The Island track will already be familiar to owners of the iPad version, and is a nighttime course with some beautiful lighting, a couple of shortcuts, and a cliff to fall off of if you aren't careful. Frozen Lake is a snow covered level that partially takes place on dirt and partially on – you guessed it – a frozen lake. This is a really curvy track, and coupled with the slippery conditions you can expect to be power sliding around every turn while a couple of snowmen cheer you on from the sideline. Like the other tracks in the game, the two new tracks come with both regular and reversed versions to race on.

As for the new characters, Boss drives what appears to be a long, pink, Cadillac-style car and Granny is a sweet old lady who drives a beefy monster truck. Both vehicles seem to have tremendous power and speed, but at the cost of extremely difficult handling. With Granny on Frozen Lake, I can hardly even gain enough traction to get moving as the tires just endlessly spin on the frozen terrain. These new vehicles will likely offer something new for those who are willing to invest time with them, but so far I'm feeling much more comfortable with my old friend Cletus.

Seeing as our chief complaint in our review of Reckless Racing when it was released was an overall lack of content, I'm really happy to see that the game is receiving updates adding new vehicles and tracks. I can only hope that this trend continues into the future. If you currently own either Reckless Racing or Reckless Racing HD, make sure to grab this latest download and check out the new stuff. And if you have yet to pick up either version of the game, you had better hurry as the iPhone version is still currently 99¢ but the iPad version has since risen back to its normal price of $4.99.

Update: It appears from the disgruntled comments here and in our forums that the update has yet to reach the international version of Reckless Racing. Hopefully EA doesn't go all "Heroes Lore" with this update and it will be available to international players relatively soon.

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