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Rimelands: Hammer of Thor [$4.99] is a new tactical turn-based RPG from developers Dicework and Crescent Moon Games (of Ravensword [$3.99/Lite] fame). We previewed a hands-on video of the game about a month ago that explained how the turn-based combat worked as well as showcasing some of the games many items and weapons. With Rimelands now available, we've been able to experience these first hand, and came away impressed with how well the different elements of the game come together. The dice-rolling combat mechanic gives it an old school pen-and-paper feel, while the dungeon crawling and loot collection offers plenty to discover in the game. Couple that with an interesting story and top-notch visuals, and Rimelands is one of the best RPG experiences you can have on the iPhone.

Humans have squandered the resources of the world, throwing off the balance of the ecosystem and turning their once beautiful lands into an uninhabitable frozen wasteland. They are forced to move into underground vaults for a thousand years, and when they finally emerge they find that a new race called the Fair Folk have taken over the dominant role above ground. Humans try to reclaim their territory, and war ensues. An uneasy peace is finally reached between the two sides, and they are able to precariously coexist together above ground. This leaves countless underground vaults filled with treasures of the last millennium, ready to be explored and exacted by you, treasure hunter Rose Cristo.

The story in Rimelands sets the stage perfectly for a dungeon crawling adventure. You'll play the role of Rose as she travels to the many towns and vaults in Rimelands discovering treasures, completing quests, and evolving her character with the multitude of items and abilities available. The game is played from an isometric viewpoint and combat and movement are grid-based. This can take some getting used to as you're only able to move in four directions rather than being able to move around the world freely. Coming within striking distance of an enemy allows you to engage in the turn-based combat which is a mixture of long-ranged and melee attacks. An interesting dice mechanic determines your offensive and defensive effectiveness, and playing Rimelands feels like an interactive board game where all of the dull pen-and-paper stuff has been automated for you.

An overhead map lets you travel to the towns and vaults that you discover during the game. Quests are obtained by talking with characters around the world much like your typical RPG. There is a main storyline to follow as well as many side quests to pick up and complete. The dungeons in Rimelands are full of dangerous enemies, as well as many unique treasures. Traversing these dungeons feels very Diablo-esque, as there are many rooms to explore and a ton of loot to obtain, although with strategic turn-based combat instead of the hack 'n slash variety. Making your way through the dungeons is incredibly fun, and I found it hard to stop playing until I was sure I'd explored every nook and cranny of each in order not to miss any lucrative treasure chests.

One of the high points of Rimelands is the extensive variety of items and weapons in the game, as well as the various skill trees for your character. Defeating enemies earns you gold and experience points, and upon leveling up you can choose a new ability from one of three skill trees. Barbarian brings melee effects, Assassin boosts your ranged abilities, and Shaman covers magical abilities. There's quite a bit of diversity with how you want to build your character, and good reason to play through the game multiple times focusing in different areas each time. An engineering dynamic is in the game as well, allowing you to build different weapons with blueprints that you find. It's an interesting idea, but not totally necessary due to the many excellent weapons you're bound to come across in the game anyway.

Graphically Rimelands is a beautiful game. The characters and enemies are fairly detailed, and their animations are excellent. The environments are also very attractive, with snowy terrain when you are in the above ground areas and dark dungeons with nice lighting effects when you go underground. The in-game graphics do have a slightly jagged look to them, but nothing overly detracting. Retina Display support is a possibility down the road, as is a native iPad version, although nothing has been finalized. Rimelands runs just fine in 2x mode on the iPad, and players in our forums are definitely enjoying the game this way. The story is told via static illustrations and text, and by in-game dialogue between characters as well. There isn't any full motion video or animated cutscenes, but the story is engaging and the illustrated bits look great.

There are plenty of other nuances to Rimelands, and it really is a game with a grand scope. You can expect to get about 8-10 hours out of one playthrough, and there is good incentive to go through multiple times and try out different character builds. Plus, this should only be the first chapter in the Rimelands universe, as more content will be coming down the line via updates as well as planned sequels. Dicework and Crescent Moon have a winner on their hands here, and I'll be looking forward to seeing more from this series. I don't typically love turn-based strategy games, but Rimelands had me hooked almost instantly. It's easy enough to get into whether you enjoy the strategic combat, loot collecting, character leveling, or just want to uncover the story in the unique steampunk universe. For fans of these elements, or any gamer in general, Rimelands: Hammer of Thor is a solid choice.

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It's about that time for many gamers to start heading back to school, and it can be a difficult task to say goodbye to the lazy days of summer. Your friends at Sega want to make this transition just a little bit easier by offering just about all of their App Store titles at a discounted rate until September 1st. And Sega's not alone, as developer Meridian is celebrating the one year anniversary of their popular dual-stick shooter Alive 4-ever by putting their entire selection of games on sale for the next three days. If you haven't had a chance to pick up any of these titles before, now is your chance to do so and save a bit of cash in the process.

Sega titles on sale:

• Sonic the Hedgehog, – $5.99 → $2.99
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2, – $5.99 → $2.99
• Super Monkey Ball, – $2.99 → $1.99
• Super Monkey Ball 2, – $5.99 → $2.99
• Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition for iPad, – $7.99 → $3.99
• Shining Force, – $2.99 → 99¢
• Ecco the Dolphin, – $2.99 → 99¢
• Streets of Rage, – $2.99 → 99¢
• Golden Axe, – $2.99 → 99¢

Meridian titles on sale:

• Alive 4-ever, – $2.99 → 99¢
• Alive 4-ever RETURNS, – $2.99 → 99¢
• Armageddon, – $2.99 → 99¢
• Abigale: Revenge of the Princess, – $1.99 → 99¢
• Ace Commando, – $1.99 → 99¢
• Against the Fire!, – $1.99 → 99¢
• Amy's Dessert Shop, – $1.99 → 99¢
• Are You Alright?, – $1.99 → 99¢
• Stick Dunk, – $1.99 → 99¢

Besides these specific sales, there's pretty much always other titles with price drops at any given time, as most App Store shoppers are aware of. Make sure you check out the latest price drops on AppShopper to stay on top of your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad bargain hunting needs.

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One of the most underrepresented sports on the App Store is ice hockey, which is perplexing as even if you aren't really a fan of the sport itself, hockey has historically made for a fun video game. Back in early April we finally got an attempt at a real ice hockey game for the iPhone, Hockey Nations 2010 [$3.99/Lite]. While it looked and controlled fairly decently, it was missing that intangible aspect that made it a fun game to play. In what was somewhat of a surprise release, seasoned sports game developer 2K Sports has brought NHL 2K11 [$1.99/Lite] to the iPhone. While not the prettiest game around, it's an absolute blast to play and features a full season mode, official NHL teams and players, and more options than you could ever possibly need in a portable hockey game.

NHL 2K11 controls similarly to Hockey Nations with an analog stick for player movement and three virtual buttons for performing actions. There are separate buttons for passing and shooting on offense, with the power of each determined by how long you hold the button down. On defense these same buttons serve to change players and perform checks. The third button gives your player a speed boost on offense or defense. Your actions can differ based on where you are in relation to other players allowing for simple poke checks or full blown body checks. Passing also works really well, letting you bounce the puck off the boards to a teammate or set up for a one-timer. The controls are really uncomplicated but still allow for depth and strategy.

What is really impressive about NHL 2K11 is the absurd amount of options at your disposal. There's typical game settings like difficulty, toggling penalties, choosing NHL or international style time and icing rules, and more. You can set line changes to automatic, manual, or turn them off completely. A ton of different camera angles and zoom options are available including locking the camera in place. A season mode lets you choose a team and play through an entire season in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Rosters can be altered, saved, and loaded with or without a trade deadline and salary cap. What's in NHL 2K11 is comparable to what you would find in a full console sports title, and caters well whether you're looking for a casual hockey experience or something in-depth.

Even with all of the great features in NHL 2K11 it does have some shortcomings. Players are blocky and comprised of low resolution textures, which is pronounced when the game zooms in during replays. This isn't as noticeable with the default overhead camera in the game, but the tiny players are still pretty jagged, especially on the iPhone 4. While the visuals are not the best, they don't distract from the game too much as you can still tell what is going on, but they could stand to be better. The game description warns NHL 2K11 isn't compatible with first gen devices, but players in our forums have been able to run the game, just with a lowered framerate. You can always try the lite to see how it performs if you have an older device. Additionally, the AI in the game doesn't always make the smartest choices, and the audio portions of the game are lacking. Overall, NHL 2K11 has some “rough around the edges” spots, but overall none of these issues really diminish the fun of playing the game.

It wouldn't be hard for NHL 2K11 to claim the title of best ice hockey game on the iPhone, since the competition is sorely lacking. But it surprisingly goes above and beyond and offers a truly full-fledged NHL experience on a mobile platform. Even with such a robust experience, the game supports fast app switching and saving during season play which makes it well suited for on-the-go gaming. And on top of everything else, it's just incredibly fun to play. EA's NHL offerings have typically been favored over the 2K series on consoles, and it will be interesting to see if EA decides to throw their hat into the iPhone hockey arena. Until that time, however, 2K Sports NHL 2K11 is the clear cut choice for hockey on the iPhone.

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Tonight, the folks at Team Phobic released a video of their next App Store installment, the forthcoming game GravBot. If you aren't familiar with Team Phobic, they are most well known for the excellent platforming games Bounce On [$1.99/Lite] and Bounce On 2: Drallo's Demise [$3.99/Lite], as well as the collaborative effort with Backflip Studios on the colorful tunnel shooter aptly named Tunnel Shoot [99¢]. This new game will be a physics-based puzzle-platformer with an emphasis on manipulating gravity to navigate levels filled with switches, buttons, elevators, and traps.

Here is the gameplay trailer for GravBot that shows some of these mechanics in action:

Team Phobic has proven they have a knack for first-rate level design with the Bounce On series, and they are known for the charming visuals in their games as well. The main character in GravBot already seems to show quite a bit of personality for what is essentially a TV with a unicycle wheel (which immediately gave me that GizmoDuck vibe). The game is slated for a September release, and we'll have more on GravBot as it becomes available. In the meantime you can check out the thread in our upcoming games forum or the GravBot Facebook page for additional screenshots of the game.

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Last week during the QuakeCon keynote address, John Carmack pulled an iPhone 4 out of his pocket and shocked the audience by showing a demo of id Software's next game, Rage, running on the device. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Rage will have elements of racing games and first person shooters. There's also said to be RPG elements in the game as well, making it sound similar to both the Fallout series and Borderlands. Information is still limited as the game isn't slated to launch until 2011, but either way the following demonstration is beyond impressive:

We've spoken at length with John Carmack at length in the past, where he's mentioned potential upcoming id Software titles such as Doom 2, Quake Classic, and the rest of the id back catalog coming to the App Store. Wondering what the state of all these projects were, we once again pow wowed with Carmack to see what he's been up to since we last spoke.

According to John, id has restructured a lot last year and several people from the mobile team has since been sucked in to other big projects, and they've only recently got the mobile team staffed back up to the proper size for iPhone development. Carmack admits that after releasing Doom Classic [$6.99] he hadn't even opened up Xcode until last month to start working on Rage technology.

Currently, id is completely focused on Rage, and John isn't sure when they will get back to the classic games "even though it makes a lot of sense." He also explained that while both Doom II RPG [$3.99] and Wolfenstein RPG [$1.99] have done well on mobile phones, their performance on the App Store has been less than ideal, leading to the decision to not bring the Orcs & Elves games over to iOS.

Carmack admits he's had a lot of fun working with iOS 4 recently, and wished he had more time to devote to it. And while it's more than a little disappointing that we won't see the classic id games anytime soon, with how impressive the Rage demo was, I'm A-OK with John Carmack and the rest of the id Software team working on the forefront of iPhone development instead of focusing on porting retro hits– I doubt I'm alone in that.

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One Man Left's Tilt to Live [99¢] has been a favorite of mine for quite a while now. In our review we discuss just how much fun its avoidance based gameplay is, and since then they've updated the game to add new power-ups and game modes not once, but twice.

Announced mere moments ago is Tilt to Live HD for the iPad, which according to developers One Man Left won't just be a simple up-scaling, and instead will be a similar game with an arena that is four times as large… Best yet, it will be free to try with a demo mode and a $3.99 in-app purchase to unlock the rest of the content in the game. Tilt to Live HD will be tilt controlled much like its iPhone counterpart, and although the developers are claiming the controls have been optimized for the iPad, I'm curious to see how well the game works in practice as many tilt controlled iPad games get tiresome due to the weight of the device.

Tilt to Live HD is due to be released on the App Store this September, and as soon we we get our grubby little hands on it, we'll post some more details on the game.

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Ponos is one of the App Store developers that always gets my attention when they release a new game. Their first title was the underappreciated Puzzle Prism, a 3D-tower take on Tetris. Their followup titles included the enjoyable and original Mr. AahH! and Mr. Space!!.

With Puzzle Cosmos they return to their block dropping roots and have released what can best be described as a cross between Tetris and Lumines.

In Puzzle Cosmos you are presented with dropping square shaped pieces made up of up to 4 different colored blocks. The goal is to match up to 4 different like colors in order to eliminate them from the board. Once a piece falls down, you are able to move it to the left or right on the board. The piece "rolls" along the board changing its orientation (along with the colors it is composed of). Once you are happy with the position, you can drop it into place. If you match up four colors they begin to glow. After a short period of time, those pieces are eliminated from the board. However, you can continue to add like-colored pieces during that small window to build up chains and increase your score.

Throughout the game, the board steadily rises pushing the entire board towards the top of the screen. So, it becomes a fast-paced race to stay ahead by eliminating blocks as quickly as possible.

The game comes with both flick and customizable button controls. I thought the button controls worked perfectly and never bothered switching from the defaults. Global high scores are included as well as 4 different game modes: Standard, Time Attack, Dead Line, and Flash / Rain.

In some ways, I love this game. There were a few people in our forums for which the game never seemed to "click". But for me, the fast paced nature of the game really gave me a frantic Tetris vibe that I hadn't had in a long time. Little design decisions like being able to rotate a block in place when it is up against a tall structure adds some strategy/skill beyond the luck of the drop. That said, this game is hard. Unlocking the additional modes require you to score 50,000 or higher in Standard. I've only been able to hit that score a handful of times, and when I do it seems as much to do with luck of the pieces as it does with my skill as a player. The game just ramps up really quickly, and I'd love to see a more casual mode where you could take your time.

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When it comes to racing leagues, MotoGP is to motorcycle racing what NASCAR is to stock car racing and IRL is to indy car racing. It's the premiere league for street racing of the two-wheeled variety, and has a fairly long history as a video game franchise. The MotoGP series of games are known for being something of a hybrid of simulation and arcade racing, and this still rings true with the release of MotoGP 2010 for iPhone. The iPhone version of the game, however, really doesn't impress much visually, and there are several quirks that keep it from being a very good racer.

MotoGP 2010 features a Championship mode as its main single player component, and this takes you through the 18 official events of the real MotoGP season. Also, there are licensed bikes and riders to use in the game, so you can live out your dream of racing through a season of MotoGP just like in real life. This is about where the simulation portion of the game ends, though. Racing in MotoGP 2010 is strictly of the arcade variety. Turning is handled with tilt, and acceleration is automatic. Touching the lower right corner of the screen activates a limited boost, and the lower left corner is the brake. Besides a brake assist indicator that tells you when to brake as you approach a curve (which can be toggled on/off), there are no other control options available.

Racing boils down to boosting as much as possible without overheating while slowing to almost a stop for just about every curve. Running off the course doesn't really affect you very much, as you can just boost your way back onto the pavement. It's also impossible to crash into walls or other riders and fall off your bike. The courses themselves are well designed and interesting, mostly because they are based on real tracks, but racing on them feels pretty mediocre. Not terrible, just not very exciting. Like the gameplay, the graphics are pretty average as well. Jagged edges abound, and the game has a grainy overall look. Performance isn't the best either, as regularly the game would drop frames and stutter along during a race on my iPhone 4.

Even with all that, once I came to grips with the weird handling of the bikes, I did find myself having some fun with the game. It will take a good amount of play time to make it through the season, and each event has a qualifying race you can choose to participate in to get a feel of the track and earn a higher pole position before actually competing, which I thought was a nice touch. There's also a number of achievements and unlockable gallery art to be earned through play. MotoGP 2010 isn't the worst racing game that I've played on iPhone, but it's far from the best.

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QuakeCon 2010 is a free four day gaming festival that takes place down in Dallas, TX every year. QuakeCon is host to a massive LAN as gamers from all over bring their PC's to come play games locally, see the latest software and hardware from various vendors, and compete in various tournaments. I've never been able to make it to the event, but it's always been high on my to do list as friends of mine who go every year routinely rave about what an awesome time QuakeCon is.

…But just because we're not in Texas this weekend doesn't mean we're missing out on all the QuakeCon festivities, as to celebrate the event id Software has significantly dropped the price of all of their iPhone games. These games are all worth owning, and highly recommended.

DOOM Resurrection, $6.99 → $1.99 – Everything that is awesome about a modern Doom game applied to a rails shooter. The fact that the game is on rails was a point of tons of controversy when the game was originally released, but we thought it was absolutely awesome in our review and is still high up there among the best looking iPhone games to this day.

Wolfenstein 3D Classic Platinum, $1.99 → 99¢ – It's hard to get much more classic than Wolfenstein 3D when it comes to first person shooters. The iPhone port has a wide array of control options and since its initial release was update to Platinum which includes more maps, more bosses, and even custom map support. There's also a lite version to try.

DOOM Classic, $6.99 → $1.99 – This game hardly needs an introduction, but much like Wolfenstein 3D, this classic first person shooter is right at home on the iPhone with a ton of control options, along with 36 missions to play through across four episodes. Doom Classic has both deathmatch and cooperative multiplayer, but unfortunately you can only play with local players.

DOOM II RPG, $3.99 → 99¢ – This odd spin on the Doom universe still has you killing demons with huge guns, but this time it's in a turn based RPG setting. It's a little weird, but once you get past the whole Doom going from a first person shooter to an RPG, Doom II RPG is a ton of fun. For more details and gameplay video head over to our review.

Wolfenstein RPG, $1.99 – This isn't on sale as it's published by EA, but it's odd to mention the rest of id's lineup without Wolfenstein RPG. It plays very similar to Doom II RPG, although the plot and events that transpire in Wolf RPG seemed substantially more wacky. Check out our review for more information on exactly how many chickens you'll be kicking in this game.

QuakeCon goes all weekend, and these sales will only last for the duration of the event. If you've been thinking of picking any of these games up, make sure you do it by Sunday night.

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Back before John Kooistra was allowing players to beat the crap out of boxes in Fastar! [99¢], he was bringing clever game concepts to an App Store that was still in its infancy. His first iPhone game, Blue Defense! [$1.99], felt like a mixture of Robotron and Missile Command. Waves of enemies descended upon a planet full of people, and you were left to fend them off with a never ending supply of cannon fire. Your weapon was constantly shooting, and you tilted the device to spray bullets at the incoming threat. What really made Blue Defense! unique was how the view would dynamically zoom in and out, and change from portrait to landscape on the fly with each progressive wave. There was an elegant simplicity to the concept and visuals, and the title really showed what kind of games were possible with Apple's device. If there is such thing as an App Store classic, then Blue Defense! certainly qualifies as one.

Now, John's new development studio Cat in a Box Games has sent word of a sequel to Blue Defense! titled Blue Defense: Second Wave. While appearing to use the same core concept of the original game, Blue Defense: Second Wave adds some new gameplay mechanics to the mix. Here is a rundown of features from the developer:

• Same great gameplay as Blue Defense, but with some new twists!
• Four different modes, ranging from just seconds to infinite progression!
• All-new Gauntlet mode changes your strategy completely!
• Classic accelerometer controls alongside new multitouch targeting!
• A new "Planet Cannon" weapon, use it only in emergencies!
• Red and Green forces are both attacking, with over a dozen all-new enemies!
• 64 all-new levels to beat individually, or in the classic Infinite mode!
• Global leaderboards, 74 different lists to compete on!
• Over 200 awards to obtain
• Universal app
• Retina resolution support
• Runs smooth and fast even on the oldest devices!

In addition to the announcement of this sequel, the suite of previous titles from John Kooistra and Cat in a Box have all been updated in recent weeks. Blue Defense! [$1.99], Blue Attack! [$1.99], and Red Conquest! [$3.99] have all received iOS4 compatibility and other minor fixes, with the latter two titles also receiving Retina Display support. A release date and price have yet to be set for Blue Defense: Second Wave, but expect more on this title soon.

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