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id Software has tinkered with the price of DOOM Classic [$1.99] more than ten or so times since its release in mid-2009, but it hasn’t thrown in an update or tweak… until now. I’m still kinda stunned that the studio even bothered considering the age of this iteration of the shooter, but I’m also pretty jazzed about version 2.0, which adds retina support, universal support, a new menu layout, and a few “minor bug fixes.” On the other hand, it's also applied the same update pass on Wolfenstein 3D: Classic Platinum [$.99]. Wolfenstein, as I'm sure many of you noticed, has been updated several times in the past, unlike DOOM.

Another bit of good news regarding these titles: both are now much cheaper. DOOM Classic’s price is now down from $6.99 to just $1.99, while Wolfenstein's is now just $.99 from $1.99. That's a total of, like, six or so dollars worth of savings between the two! I think!

We’ve little indication of why either these price drops or the updates have happened. I can’t even conjure a solid marketing reason — id has been crunching on RAGE as it finally spirals towards a release, but the fledgling series has nothing to do with the DOOM, so there’s no immediate gain. Wait, on second thought, I guess QuakeCon is happening right now, so this might just be a fan rewards kind of deal. Either way, both games are wicked cheap!

UPDATE: Included the information about Wolfenstein and remember QuakeCon was happening. Thanks for the heads up on the former, guys.

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Awesome Saucer [$1.99] slipped stealthily into the App Store a couple of weeks ago, without receiving much attention, but this well-presented 3d space-shooter deserves some acknowledgement. Nebuleux Games has used a unique graphical style, which makes it a memorable experience to play. And because it's universal, you can install it on your iPad and iPhone. Here's the low down…

You're a saucer pilot, responsible for flying the SCR-090 space fighter. It's an old-fashioned flying saucer, shaped like a frisbee, as often portrayed circa the 1950s. You fly around space, tracking, targeting and destroying the required quota of aliens to clear each area. Do it fast enough and you earn bonus points and unlock weapons. It's basically a dogfight situation, in space. This is an arcade-style game, so there's no story, missions, trading or traveling to specific locations. Instead, you simply score points by blasting aliens. When your shields hit zero, it's game over and you restart from scratch.

The graphics are, as the title suggests, quite awesome, in terms of their uniqueness. The enemies resemble glowing stars, which leave colorful trails, which are helpful for tracking them down. The default view is third-person perspective, looking from behind your saucer, however you can switch to first person perspective by tapping the screen. There's also crystalline asteroids to dodge or shoot.  The background graphics, such as particle clouds and interplanetary skies will make you pause mid-battle to check out the awesome scenery. Movements are all smooth, fast and responsive. And if you hit the 'boost' button, things get even faster for a few seconds, with an acceleration effect. At times the game does get a little too fast, and that's on easy mode!

There's a heap of weaponry systems (12 types) and you can try them out in the free-roaming tutorial. Weapons include a rapid-fire proton-burst, gas attacks, 360 degree lazer targeting and graviton missiles. Some games offer two or three weapons slots, but in Awesome Saucer your craft can be loaded with all of the weapons simultaneously.  The weapons auto-fire when an enemy is in range and targeted, so you can focus on navigating rather than mashing the fire button, although there's a manual fire button too. Now, need something to shoot? There's at least eight different enemies. Some are fast, others aggressive, some swarm, while kamikaze extra-terrestrials will chase you down and attempt to physically ram into your saucer.

The controls are a little different, with a left "flight stick" for steering and a right stick to rotate your saucer, so it rolls like a fighter jet. I didn't understand why the rotate stick was required, until the developer explained "It helps you turn faster, and rotating can help you track a target by spiraling in. But mostly it just looks cool". There's also buttons for braking and changing weapons.

If you took away the stunning graphics, Awesome Saucer would be less awesome and more ordinary. The gameplay is fairly shallow, a bit repetitive and doesn't provide a great feeling of progression, as there's currently no story, career mode, achievements or rankings and each game starts from scratch. Although, the game does track your overall kill statistics and the developer advises Game Center integration will be a priority update.  Fortunately, the graphics transform Awesome Saucer from an average dog-fighting game, into a visual experience, which is why it caught our attention. E.T might need to "phone home" to warn the galaxy, because I'm about to board my saucer!

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Last month we checked out the trailer for an upcoming platformer called Roboto from developer Fenix Fire Games, and thought it looked pretty promising. You play as a hoverboard riding robot who is chasing his female robot crush all across the galaxy, in an effort to win her affection. Gameplay appeared to fall somewhere in between a traditional platformer and a fast-paced endless running game, which seemed like a good combination.

Then last week, Roboto [$2.99] was released in the App Store, and after playing through the game it mostly delivers on all the promise that was expected from the trailer. The visuals and level design are the brightest points of Roboto, but a couple of technical shortcomings and less-than-ideal controls hold it back from true greatness. Fenix Fire is already in the process of addressing these issues though, and with just a small bit of post-release update love Roboto could be one of the finest platformers available on the entire iOS platform.

Right off the bat you’ll notice that Roboto is simply stunning visually. The crisp and colorful graphics look fantastic on the Retina Display, and there are loads of little details that give the game a great sense of character. Gameplay is strictly on a 2D plane, but the entire game is rendered in 3D and the usage of the foreground and background give a great sense of depth as you play. Killing an enemy might shoot a gear right into the screen when it explodes, and background elements like huge wrecking balls will swing into the foreground, looking like they might burst right through the screen.

Roboto’s moves consist of running left or right, jumping, hovering, and shooting. Holding down the jump button will cause Roboto to hover for a short period, a la Princess Toadstool in Super Mario Bros. 2. Roboto’s actions will expend an energy meter at the top of the screen, which can be replenished by collecting various energy pickups spread throughout the levels. If you run out of energy and come across a point where you need to hover over a gap, you’re pretty much screwed, so it’s best to keep a close eye on your supply and not overuse any of your moves.

The real brilliance of Roboto lies in its level designs. They are each designed to be completed speed run style if you choose, but if you slow down and take your time there are plenty of items to collect or enemies to defeat. At the end of each of the 30 levels in the game, your score is tallied based on completion time, enemies killed, remaining energy, and whether or not you collected each of the 3 gears hidden in the level. This gives Roboto great replay value, as after merely completing a level it can be a nice challenge to go back and try to get 100% for everything and land a huge score. Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards adds to this as well.

My biggest gripe with Roboto is the absolutely terrible control stick used for moving your character in the game. The stick is seriously temperamental, and sometimes will drop whatever direction you’re moving without you even realizing it. This can make the game infinitely frustrating, as you’ll literally be hovering over a gap and will suddenly drop right into it due to no fault of your own. I’ve easily died more times from this one issue than from any enemy or challenge in the game. Luckily, Fenix Fire has posted on their Facebook page that an update will hit soon that adds separate left and right arrows for movement, which I think will be a much better option. But right at this moment, the control issue drives me absolutely bananas.

Another issue worth considering is that for such a graphically intense game, performance has been spotty for some players. It’s not really consistent, either, as I’ve had almost no issues running the game on my iPhone 4, except for very minor stutters when a ton of things happen onscreen at once. Conversely, some members in our forums cannot even play the game at all due to an abysmal frame rate grinding things to a halt or the game simply crashing on them. The developers also mention on their Facebook that performance optimization is coming in an update as well, but again, as of this writing you may or may not have any luck getting the game to run consistently well, or at all.

Roboto has all the makings of a classic platforming game. It’s one of the most visually impressive games I’ve seen in some time, and the gameplay itself is well designed and a lot of fun. If the controls and performance issues can be ironed out sufficiently, then Roboto will fall into the “must have” category of iOS platformers. Right now though, expect to be frustrated with the touchy control stick and potential for some technical hangups that might prevent your from playing the game. If you’re on the fence, it might be worth waiting to see how the update resolves these issues.

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Defiant Development, the Brisbane-based studio responsible for Rocket Bunnies [$.99 / HD], is now one of many studios looking to dazzle Diablo fans with a future Diablo-like game. The hook for the purposes of this news story is that Defiant’s forthcoming dreary medieval fantasy hack-and-slash RPG is coming to iOS, and it’ll feature some pretty stellar 3D visuals and a point-and-click interface that works well for the platform.

The game in question is called Quick Quest. Defiant shared the quick game announcement with our fair message board and included a video from the alpha build of the game. You can that see right below this dreadful text junk you’ve been reading:

Looks great, right? I’ve fired off an e-mail to Defiant in the hopes of grabbing more cool information, and of course, a release date. I’m so ready for this game.

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On Monday, Gamasutra reported that Rubicon Development, creators of the excellent iOS strategy title Great Little War Game [$2.99/Lite], had posted over on the NeoGAF forums that they received several PlayStation Vita development kits from Sony for free, so that they could port Great Little War Game to that platform.

What’s interesting here is not just that an active iOS developer is porting a popular and previously iOS-only game to the Vita, but rather the stance Sony seems to be taking in regards to independent developers. You might also hear them referred to as “garage developers” by Nintendo, and the last time I checked, The Big N wanted nothing to do with these indies making games for their soon-to-be price-reduced 3DS console.

The thing is, independent and smaller scale studios account for some of the biggest success stories on the App Store and are a huge reason that iOS gaming, and even smartphone gaming in general, has surged so drastically in just the past few years. The barrier of entry is so low for Apple’s App Store that it allows new or risky ideas to be brought to life by almost anyone, sometimes even just one person working on a project in their down time from the tribulations of daily life.

Of course, with a user base of more than 200 million devices, the big boys have jumped onto the App Store bandwagon too, bringing many popular video game franchises to the touch screen. But by and large, it’s the independent developers who are responsible for creating the quirky and original experiences that just wouldn’t have been viable under the traditional video game creation model the industry had grown accustomed to.

So, the fact that Sony is embracing this idea and welcoming independent developers to the new Vita platform with open arms (and at least in some cases, free SDKs) is a good sign that the company is recognizing the importance of independent developers and the direction the game industry is heading. Digital distribution is the future, and it offers a significantly more even playing field where the little guys can sit on the virtual shelf right next to the big guys.

It’s unclear just how readily available the Vita SDK is to just any old person interested in making a game for the system, and Rubicon notes that their kits are only on loan and must be returned to Sony when the port is complete. But even still, if Sony can create an entry point to the Vita that is similar to the App Store’s, then they might be able to create the kind of 3rd party traction that the 3DS has been unable to attain thus far. With the Vita’s $250 starting price point and more technical bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at, it might actually become a real enticing alternative to mobile gamers currently satisfied with their iOS devices for on-the-go gaming.

It will be interesting to see how Sony plays their cards with the Vita and the digital download indie scene, and how it will affect Apple’s game (if at all). The Vita seems the most well-poised to give iOS a run for its money, and that sort of competition can only mean good things for all fans of portable gaming.

[Via Gamasutra]

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If you like the RPG genre, you’ve likely spent lots of time exploring old worlds populated with critters out to get you, unexplored bits of terrain mysteriously populated with treasure chests no one else has gotten to yet, and serious quests (Save the princess! Save the world! Save your mom!). And yet, there’s something endlessly appealing about the formula — it’s kept us playing for decades, after all. Nothing wrong with the serious formula, of course, but that’s not what you’ll get when you go for Quest Runner [$1.99], an cute little action RPG from Trident 3D that goes with cartoon-inspired 2D graphics and humorous writing to tell the story of your adventure to protect the town of Torma and keep its citizens safe and sound.

Quest Runner starts out allowing you to pick your own character and customise it a bit, which feels a little limited when it comes to options. You can only play as a male (boo! Where’s the ladies at?), but at least you can choose some cool costumes, and in homage to retro games, you can even wear costumes that you may remember some of your old favorite characters donning back in the day. In fact, the game is peppered with tongue in cheek references to lots of wonderful classic games such as Zelda, Sonic, Prince of Persia and more. The developers wanted you to know that they’re loved videogames for a long time, and it shows — it’s a little dash of fun that put a smile on my face.

Gameplay is easy enough to navigate. The action is sidescrolling, and there’s no directional pad to clutter up your screen, which seems like a good idea but left me feeling as if my fingers were blocking the action more than I’d like. You just tap the direction you want your hero to move in and off he goes. The bottom of the screen offers easy access buttons for your potion supply, basic attack and special attack, all accessible with a single tap, and tiny icons on the top right keep track of your quests and your current status. They did a good job with managing the tiny bit of screen space offered on the iPhone, and there’s no excess clutter, making the action easy to enjoy — as long as you don’t mind peering around your fingertips a bit.

It won’t be long before you make your way into town and realize how many options are at your disposal. Sure, there’s the usual merchants and vendors, but what makes Quest Runner really cool is the ability to hire mercenaries to assist you in your quest. These are colorful personalities, and you’ll find yourself wanting to try them all out. As the difficulty ramps up, you’ll find these guys to be truly helpful to your cause too. You can also get pets to help you, but you’ll need to remember to feed them or they won’t stick around. Don’t be a neglectful hero — feed your four legged friend!

You’ll get basic quests from NPCs in town that will guide you along in your adventure, allowing you to explore the terrain as you go and gain levels in the process. Your interactions with these characters remain consistently funny, and you’ll find yourself giggling as you complain about the lazy commander who can’t be bothered to give you a hand. What a jerk.

Quest Runner is Game Center enabled as well, so you’ll be able to get achievements for your gameplay time, which makes it a bit more challenging and gives you some goals to meet. A total of 35 are available, and many focus on killing a quantity of monsters, so you may want to spend some extra time in the field instead of hurrying to your next quest if you want to get them all.

Quest Runner has that great casual feel, so it can be played in bits and pieces whenever you have free time for it, and it’s easy to come back to the adventure at anytime. There’s a bit of grinding involved, but if you’re the type that hates having to spend hours in the field just to be at the right level to buy that one sword, you won’t have to cope with that type of thing in Quest Runner.

Overall, it’s a fun experience, and players in our forums seem to be enjoying it as well. While it doesn’t break any startling new ground in the genre, it executes the humorous action RPG formula very well. If you want to laugh while you play an RPG instead of furrowing your brow and trying to shoulder the weight of the world, this one’s for you.

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Supermono Studio, the same studio who achievement-ized standard non-game tasks like chores and scrubbing behind your ears in the stupendous Epic Win [$2.99], are close to releasing its next game, Forever Drive. Forever Drive, if you didn't know, is a futuristic racing game, complete with track building and neat customization elements, sorta like ModNation Racers. The coolest element, on paper at least, is its online, perpetual city. Supermono describes the game as “Outrun-meets-SimCity-in-the-future-online,” if you need some analogues.

Of course, it also dropped some screenshots. There’s probably a great word for this kind of art style, but because my brain doesn't work so great all the time, so I’ll just say it looks great (in a TRON kind of way) and let you tell me my business in the comments.

If you’re familiar with this project, you might be wondering why it’s now called Forever Drive instead of "Drive Forever." According to Supermono, there’s a legal reason for the flip. It didn't go into the details in the official blog's latest post, probably because the story would be REALLY boring.

It also didn't discuss release date. We've got in touch and hope to bring you that information and more in the near future.

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Words With Friends [$1.99 / Free] is headed to Facebook. Social giant Zynga Games announced the platform flip this afternoon with a delightful teaser image. Normally, I’d be a little annoyed by the lack of information, but really, what is there to say? Words with Friends is an extremely simple riff on the Scrabble formula with basic visual do-dads and mechanics that we’ve been enjoying for quite a while on iOS.

I’d imagine the reason we don’t have many details here is tied into the fact that nothing meaningful has been changed, aside from the addition of new Facebook-y social elements.

Let's talk about those for a second. PC Mag is reporting that users will be able to sync their iOS and Android games to this particular version. Also, you'll be able to, somehow, post about your current game on your foes' walls. Cool!

Zynga is heavily invested in Facebook, and as you know, the With Friends creator NewToy was grabbed by the mega publisher earlier last year. It only makes sense that we’re seeing its games (under a new name) on this specific platform, too.

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Com2uS loves to party, apparently. The App Store publisher and owner of the trademark ‘tower defense’ isn’t above cutting the costs of its games in celebration of every single calendar holiday. But it also drums up weird reasons to price slash its games when there isn’t one on hand. Take now, for example. The publisher is 13 years old now and because of that, it has decided to drop a bunch of its games to 99 cents. Neat, I guess!

• Caligo Chaser – $2.99 → $.99
• Chocolate Tycoon – $1.99 → $.99
• Crazy Hotdogs – $1.99 → $.99
• Heavy Gunner 3D – $2.99 → $.99
• Heavy Gunner 3D HD – $2.99 → $.99
• Homerun Battle 3D – $4.99 → $.99
• Homerun Battle 3D HD – $4.99 → $.99
• Inotia 3: Children of Carnia – $4.99 → $.99 [Universal]
• Third Blade – $2.99 → $.99
• Trapped: Undead Infection – $1.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Family Starpack – $1.99 → $.99

Just as a little FYI, these deals started appearing before the weekend and they only extend into this afternoon. That makes today the last day you’ll be able to enjoy these prices… until Com2uS finds something else to celebrate. My cat's birthday is coming up soon, actually. Surely, Hannibal's name day is worth some good ol' fashion impromptu savings, right? You can thank me later.

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Kids vs. Goblins is an upcoming tactical action RPG being developed by Stolen Couch Games and being published by Crescent Moon. The crux of the gameplay revolves around controlling the 3 different main characters in the game and utilizing each of their unique sets of magic spells. There will be more than 80 spells in the game, and different situations that arise as you travel across the 7 locations in the game will call for the use of specific spells or tactics.

Stolen Couch has said in our forums that they took a cue from Mika Mobile’s Battleheart [$2.99] in regards to controls in Kids vs. Goblins, with what appears to be a similar line drawing-esque approach to moving and dishing out commands. Since Battleheart is one of the finest games around, I fully endorse this decision. It also employs similar real-time combat, and I’m looking forward to seeing just how deep the magic system is and how extensive the RPG elements are.

At the very least the 3D graphics are sure looking nice, and I’m really liking the general art style and character design used in the game. The developers plan on releasing Kids vs. Goblins in September, and I’m sure we’ll be bringing you plenty more details about the game in the weeks to come.

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