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I like to imagine there’s an Oberlin burnout somewhere who’s made a living getting bent on ayahuasca and pitching music-history based games to different companies. My hypothetical game designer, wide-eyed and euphoric, is responsible for games like Boom Boom Rocket, Eternal Sonata, Jazz: Trump’s Journey [$2.99], and now Frederic –Resurrection of Music [$1.99/HD/Lite], by Forever Entertainment S.A.

In the first scene, set in present-day Paris, Fryderyk Chopin climbs out of his grave, speaks with the Muses, and rap-battles a French DJ with dual-wield keyboards and a jetpack. After this, he rides a horse-and-carriage to Jamaica and gets high with a reggae artist named Rob. Amazing.

As he travels the world in his mystic carriage trying to unravel the circumstances of his undeath, Chopin runs through a series of musical duels with local artists. Mechanically, this translates into a rudimentary version of Piano Hero: notes travel on a track toward a touch-screen piano keys, and players are scored on their accuracy and combo streak.

The songs in Resurrection are modern remixes of Chopin’s most famous waltzes, nocturnes, études, and marzukas, re-imagined in the style of whichever locale our hero finds himself: country in Texas, Celtic dance in Ireland, chiptunes in Tokyo. I actually like most of the music — the Resurrection soundtrack is available for purchase on iTunes [$5.99] — but they all tend to suffer from repetitive melody and relatively simple arrangements. Still, the lighthearted pop remixes fit into the game’s absurdist aesthetic much better than an orchestral score would.

With only nine songs, Resurrection is relatively short, though some players might be able to extend its shelf-life by trying to improve their scores. But even on its hardest difficulty, at its most complex, Resurrection goes out of its way to indulge and empower the player, not defeat them with impossible challenges.

Like Climber Brothers [$0.99], the real joy of Resurrection is the one-to-one relationship between tactile input and feedback: tapping the screen of my iPad is more or less a reasonable facsimile of pressing down a physical key. This is a relatively simple pleasure, but Resurrection goes to great lengths to extend it by being overly-generous  in its design — players have a relatively large window to hit notes in, and it’s almost impossible to miss enough notes to fail a song. The goal here is to listen to the music and soak up the strange animations going on in the background.

Since failure — and, by extension, most of the game mechanics — is largely an illusion, Resurrection’s real hook is its insane premise and matching art direction. In both its art direction and treatment of ethnic stereotypes, Resurrection draws on the bande dessinée style of mid-80s Lucky Luke. The voice acting, too, is hard to place: British English re-routed through Forever Entertainment’s Polish roots.

But Resurrection’s essential Europeanness isn’t limited to animation and cut scenes, and this isn’t a game so much as it is a rewriting of Chopin’s cultural identity. During the Cadet Revolution in 1830 Chopin, the son of a Franco-Polish immigrant, fled Warsaw for Paris, never to return. Resurrection ultimately leads him back to a culturally reinvigorated Warsaw, but only after he uses his musical gifts to destroy the stereotyped, corporate shills that populate the rest of the world. Chopin is cast as the savior of music, but it’s odd that he uses modern remixes, not his traditional compositions, to further his cause.

By fudging its rhythm mechanics, Frederic — Resurrection of Music actually presents itself as more of an interactive cartoon than a game. But when viewed as such, Resurrection often comes off muddled and directionless and, even at the end of the game, it’s not clear why Chopin was resurrected, who he’s “saving” music from, or if he really succeeded.

Nevertheless, Resurrection is a bold product, unafraid to be campy, kitschy, and surreal, and presented as a labor of love from a team full of ideas. This game is larger than the sum of its parts and everyone I’ve showed it to has enjoyed basking in the art and music and in the fact that Frederic Chopin uses his second chance at life to smoke dope on the beach and learn the keytar.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Don’t take this as a shocker, but it sounds like Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm is open to the idea of branching out beyond its resuscitated IP as well as exploring other platforms like iPad and iPhone. In an interview with GameSpot, head honcho Ed Boon talked about the future of NetherRealm and where it might go, noting that it, of course, isn’t done with Mortal Kombat, yet is down with creating new experiences across multiple platforms.

Here’s the relevant stuff for us from the wide-reaching interview:

GS: NetherRealm recently released Arkham City Lockdown for the iOS. Will NetherRealm continue to work on iOS projects, and what was it like developing it compared to a console game?

EB: It’s surprisingly similar, but for not as long a time period. We’re working in the Unreal environment, both in our console games as well as the iOS games, so there’s a familiarity there. We can share our programming resources, which is great. Obviously, the iOS games aren’t as long, in terms of how long it takes us to complete the project. As for future ones, we would definitely like to do additional iOS titles; we have nothing to announce at the moment, but that’s generally something we want to do. With our studio, we really want to diversify ourselves, and work on multiple formats, multiple types of games, not just Mortal Kombat games.

There’s a lot of ifs, mights, and wants in the interview, but it’s totally worth reading if you’re a fan of NetherRealm or even the old Midway studio it was built from. And while we weren’t the biggest fans of Lockdown [$5.99], we’re stoked about the prospect of more iOS titles from this studio. These guys know what they’re doing and given the resources, we bet its next Big Thing on iPhone could be special.

[via GameSpot, via Joystiq]

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Last month, after basically zero pre-release hype, we were pretty surprised to see Batman Arkham City Lockdown [$2.99] pop up in the App Store. Perhaps even more surprising was that NeatherRealm Studios, developer of the recent (and excellent) Mortal Kombat reboot on consoles, was behind the iOS title.

And, even more surprising still, Batman Arkham City Lockdown was actually pretty freaking awesome. It was built using the Unreal Engine, so the graphics were definitely up to snuff. And the gameplay took a tiny page out of the Infinity Blade handbook, having you face off against baddies in one-on-one battles using swipe controls to dish out the pain. The combat didn’t quite have the complexity of an Infinity Blade, but it was fun nonetheless.

Now, Batman Arkham City Lockdown has just received its first ever sale, dropping from its normal $5.99 price point down to $2.99 for a limited time. If you’re wondering if this is the game for you, then be sure to give our full review a read for some insight. Personally, I had a ton of fun with Arkham City Lockdown, and thought it was well worth its original price. For $2.99 I think it’s a steal, especially if you’re a fan of the Batman, as the developers have done a wonderful job of making the game feel like a fully realized Batman experience. Definitely check it out and take advantage of the sale while it lasts.

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If you’re looking to game on the cheap this week, you’re in luck: a couple of big-time publishers and studios are offering a healthy swathe of their catalogues for $.99 right now. For example, Telltale is throwing yet another free-for-all. Until the end of this month, you can grab the Puzzle Agent and Hector series at a more wallet-friendly price. Gameloft is celebrating the Chinese New Year by killing the prices of nine of its premium offerings, while EA is still rocking price tags with its Daily Deals program.

Here’s a list, and note some of the odds and ends, too — Bard’s Tale and Puzzlejuice are in the mix, as well as a few other cool notables. This, by the way, is by no means a comprehensive list. We’re just highlighting.

Telltale

• Hector Episode 1 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 2 – $4.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 2 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Hector Episode 3 – $4.99 → $.99
• Hector Episode 3 HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Puzzle Agent – $4.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Agent HD – $6.99 → $2.99
• Puzzle Agent 2 – $4.99 → $.99
• Puzzle Agent 2 HD – $6.99 → $2.99

Gameloft

• Assassin’s Creed – Altair’s Chronicles – $4.99 → $.99
• Assassin’s Creed – Altair’s Chronicles for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• BackStab – $6.99 → $.99
• Fast Five the Movie: Official Game – $4.99 → $.99
• Fast Five the Movie: Official Game for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• James Cameron’s Avatar - $4.99 → $.99
• James Cameron’s Avatar for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• NOVA 2 – $6.99 – $.99
• NOVA 2 for iPad – $6.99 – $.99
• Silent Ops – $6.99 → $.99
• Spider-Man: Total Mayhem – $6.99 → $.99
• Spider-Man: Total Mayhem for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard – $ 6.99 → $.99
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard for iPad – $6.99  → $.99
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction – $4.99 → $.99
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction for iPad – $4.99 → $.99

EA

• Command and Conquer Red Alert for iPad – $4.99 → $.99
• Tetris for iPad – $6.99 → $.99
• Trenches 2 – $1.99 → $.99

Odds and Ends

• Monkey Quest: Thunderbow HD – $1.99 → $.99
• Plunderland – $2.99 – $1.99
• Puzzlejuice – $1.99 → $.99
• The Bard’s Tale – $5.99 → $2.99

There you go! I heartily suggest Puzzlejuice if you still haven’t gave it a shot. It’s a really, really well-made puzzle game.

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Numberlys [$5.99] is an interactive story from Moonbot Studios, which is promoted as a story, mystery and game. It started out as a short film, but when the iPad was announced they changed direction and eventually created this lovely visual experience for us to enjoy.

We don’t usually review interactive stories or children’s games, but Numberlys caught our eye due to it’s stylish artistic quality …and, for the record, it does include mini-games.

In a colorless world filled with numbers, five of the citizens wanted a change and set about inventing the alphabet. The story is told through beautiful black and white animated graphics which are clearly inspired by the classic sci-fi film Metropolis, but with a modern touch.

It’s a children’s story, but adults can enjoy the wonderful presentation, music and sound effects. Text cut-scenes are displayed, like old-fashioned subtitles (just like Metropolis) and the story is also conveyed verbally by a narrator, who has the perfect voice and accent for this particular tale.

During the animated film, items appear in red if they’re interactive. For example, touching a red light-bulb above a character will make them say their line. Or pressing a red button might trigger the next piece of animation. Sometimes you turn or swipe an object, to help construct the next letter of the alphabet. There’s only one pathway through the story, so your actions don’t really change the outcome. However, although the interactive component is limited, it does help you to feel involved.

There are eighteen “mini-games” to play, like tapping the five main characters to create the “ayyyyy” sound of the letter “A”, but there’s no passing, failing or scores (which was an intentional design decision). It’s more about interacting with the characters and story world. The mini-games are easy and can generally be completed within a minute, but again, they’re not intended to be challenging or drawn out. It’s more about the experience.

Other mini-games include brick-breaker and whack-a-mole variants and aim-and-shoot games, which all sounds quite cheesy, but they’re actually presented with a stylish quality that’s consistent with the rest of the app.  Although, some of the mini-games are repeated, with the jumping game appearing a few times.

I watched Numberlys in a quiet room, on a comfy couch and enjoyed the 28 scenes within an hour. Afterwards I watched some of their behind-the-scenes footage, from which it’s clear the development team are proud of their work.  I’ve enjoyed and savored Numberlys, but like any film, I probably won’t watch it again for a while, but it could be a recurring treat for a young child.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Urban Crime [Free], the newest game from Gameloft, is the latest title attempting to take a traditional genre and infuse it with free-to-play elements. In this case, it’s the open world third-person shooter made popular by the likes of Grand Theft Auto III that gets the freemium makeover. Normally, these types of games are treated as forums discussing the merits of freemium and whether the gameplay and overall presentation outweighs whatever hooks are put into the game. In the case of Urban Crime, that discussion isn’t necessary as the game has so many issues (freemium and otherwise) that you really should just avoid it completely.

In Urban Crime, you’re thrown into a world run by a multitude of gangs and are told to conquer it territory by territory. You’ll accomplish this by running randomly generated missions until you fill up an arbitrary meter that allows you to take out a rival gang leader. Eliminate said leader and you earn a piece of territory and you start over again. Completing missions also earns money and experience which is used to level up and unlock random rewards. Missions are divided into standard subtypes ranging from assassinations to drag races to escort missions. While I didn’t particularly have any issues with the missions, I found them becoming repetitive rather quickly.

One of the big differences in Urban Crime compared to similar titles is its complete reliance on freemium. To put it bluntly, the switch to freemium is poorly implemented and gets in the way of a lot of elements that are staples for this genre. As an example, let’s take carjacking. Imagine running from the cops and spotting an awesome sports car to aid in your getaway. You get close, press the button to highjack, and get a message saying you don’t have a high enough level to steal this car. Of course, you can buy diamonds (the in-game premium currency) to let you steal it instantly, but that would be ridiculous. I could understand clothing, skillsets, and even weapons tied to the leveling system, but being able to steal certain cars? That’s just silly.

The above example is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to freemium. Gameloft’s notorious energy system also makes a return. It doesn’t go as far shutting the game down when you run out of energy, but if you do run out, you will not be able to play new missions until your energy recovers. You can do this by spending your premium currency to recharge, waiting awhile for it to naturally build up, or by gaining levels. Granted, the first hour or so of content seems to be relatively stable as far as energy is concerned (since you continue to gain levels and thus energy at a steady pace). However, once you get to the point where you have to do a lot of missions to even gain levels, you’re going to be bottlenecked very quickly.

Another area of Urban Crime that I’m disappointed in is the sacrifice of an overall story in favor of the strict mission based gameplay. Sure, Gangstar wasn’t particularly known for its epic storytelling, but at least there was an overarching tale that sought to bring you in. Urban Crime simply puts you in the city and tells you to take it over for no other reason other than that. Outside of the initial prompt at the start of the game, the only story found lies in the fragmented mission texts which offer nothing of value and are just an excuse to go out and cause more havoc. What’s worse, since this game reuses the assets of Gangstar: Miami Vindication, you won’t even have the pleasure (what little there is) of exploring a new world if you’ve played that game before.

There’re a few other elements within Urban Crime that I haven’t addressed yet, but might factor in your choice to check this out. The visuals look like they came from a game made a few years ago (which they are) and do not compare to any games recently released. Despite this, I still encountered a lot of obnoxious pop-up and frame rate issues, even on the most recent iOS devices. The controls are probably one of the few areas of the game that are adequate, with a few different schemes that give you the option of touch controls or the accelerometer. However, when you combine any control method with the poor frame rate, most gamers will probably be frustrated regardless.

I’m really not sure what Gameloft is trying to do with Urban Crime. Yes, it’s a freemium game and the whole point is to attract folks under the guise of free play and eventually get them to shell out with IAP. However, in order for that to work, you have to actually want to play the game in the first place before you even think about spending money in the game. With its complete lack of narrative, boring mission structure, antiquated visuals, spotty controls and monotonous gameplay, I don’t know who would want to play this, much less eventually spend money within it. If you’re looking for a free-roaming third-person shooter on your iOS device, go pick up GTA 3 [$5.99] if you haven’t already done so. Otherwise, just stay away from here.

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Surprise! Infinity Blade has made a lot of money. The other afternoon, Epic Games announced that, overall, the franchise has earned $30 million since the debut of the original Infinity Blade [$5.99] in December 2010. An astounding $5 million of that comes from the earnings of Infinity Blade 2 [$6.99], which released November 30th, 2011. A month or so ago.

Here’s some boilerplate for your eyeholes:

“The success of the Infinity Blade franchise is testament to our talented team who is devoted to making games we want to play, all while using Unreal Engine technology to redefine what is expected from games on iOS devices,” Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps says in a statement. “We have so much more in store for players, and will continue to make great content for Apple’s evolving platforms.”

The thing to take away from this isn’t exactly “wow, that’s a lot of money.” Nah, it’s that big-budget, AAA-quality releases on the App Store can make money. Not everything needs to be $.99 and require a razor-thin development budget to see ridiculous returns. Also, there’s a significant audience out there who wants to play great, deep games with superb visuals — and for us, that’s the most heartening news.

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We’ve mentioned in the past how difficult it was deciding on Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [99¢] as our game of the year in 2009, along with Space Miner [99¢ / HD] in 2010. It shouldn’t come as much as much of a surprise that as the App Store has gained even more momentum, making these picks has become much more challenging. Interestingly enough, this year all of the games that we had in consideration for game of the year were also universal, which made the decision to drop the differentiation between the iPhone game of the year and iPad game of the year that we did in 2010 incredibly easy.

In 2011, we’re looking at iOS games as exactly that, games for iOS devices. We might prefer playing some of these games on the iPad (or in some cases, even the smaller screens of the iPhone or iPod touch) but they’re all fantastic experiences regardless of what device you’re playing it on. With the advent of iCloud, we’re hoping in 2012 developers take universal compatibility to new levels, and create games that are not only great on all devices, but can be seamlessly played on as many devices as you own.

Also, if you’d like to get some more insight on the TouchArcade game of the year process, check out the most recent episode of The TouchArcade Show. We discuss what we each liked about all of these games and more.

TouchArcade Game of the Year

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Our minds were blown at GDC 2010 when we first got our hands on Sword & Sworcery. The initial experience of playing the game is so powerful that it gave me chills. I really can’t think of any other mobile game that has invoked a similar emotional response that I’ve played in my entire life. Sworcery is an absolute flawless combination of an entirely original soundtrack by Jim Guthrie, pixel art that is easily among the best I’ve ever seen by Craig D. Adams, and the creative genius of Kris Piotrowski along with the proverbial behind-the-scenes glue provided by Capybara Games to bring the whole project together.

Sword & Sworcery is universal, and while we ever-so-slightly prefer the overall experience on our iPads, it’s still just as incredible on the smaller screens of the rest of the iOS device family. In fact, if all you have is an iPhone or iPod touch, you might want to just opt for Superbrother: Sword & Sworcery EP Micro [$2.99], which is a couple bucks cheaper at the expense of losing universal compatibility. Regardless of what device you play it on, S&S is a game you simply must play, from start to finish, with a great pair of headphones on if at all possible.

TouchArcade Game of the Year Runner Up

Anomaly Warzone Earth, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Tower defense games have always been an App Store staple. It just seems to be a genre that perfectly meshes with both the touch controls of iOS devices, as well as providing an overall gameplay experience that works really well for playing on the go. Unfortunately, it seems there’s only so much you can do in a tower defense game, and even though the past few years have brought some great entries into the genre, they all felt sort of the same. Then, from out of nowhere, comes Anomaly Warzone Earth. In essence, 11 bit studios took the traditional tower defense formula, and flipped it around, offering a whole new take on an otherwise stale section of the App Store.

They didn’t stop there though, as especially when played with headphones, Anomaly Warzone Earth is ridiculously immersive. Incredible amounts of effort went into creating a game that looks and sounds as good as it plays, and the game feels fresh the whole way through, as 11 bit studios constantly throws new challenges and gameplay elements at you all the way up to the last level. Similar to Sword & Sworcery, Anomaly Warzone Earth [99¢] is also available as a slightly cheaper although non-universal version as well.

Honorable Mentions

We also wanted to honor three other stand-out iOS titles that were among all of our best-of lists for the year. Like our game of the year and runner up, they’re all universal and should be on every iOS device that you own if you’re even remotely interested in iOS gaming.

Infinity Blade II, $6.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – A great sequel to Infinity Blade [$5.99] by Chair Entertainment, Infinity Blade II expands upon the original in every way possible. It’s by far the best looking game on the App Store, and we suspect it will likely serve as the graphical benchmark of what iOS devices are capable of throughout 2012. If you want to stretch the legs of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and see what its truly capable of, Infinity Blade II is the game to do it with.

Mage Gauntlet, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Rocketcat Games has had a fabulous track record for releasing phenomenal iOS titles with its Hook series of games, and Mage Gauntlet continues that tradition by being its best game yet. Flawless controls combine with all the retro trimmings to make us warm with nostalgia while feeling modern enough that even people who weren’t around for the great action RPGs of the 16-bit era can appreciate it. Recent updates have improved gameplay even further, and have added universal compatibility. We can’t wait to see what Rocketcat does in 2012.

SpellTower, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The App Store is home to a plethora of clever puzzle games, and Zach Gage’s SpellTower is our favorite of the year. Gage elegantly combines the simplicity of a word game with the complexity of a strategy game, and its multiple game modes provide something for everyone regardless of whether you like to take your time and hunt for the best words, or be on the clock and racking up points as quickly as possible. We prefer SpellTower on our iPads, but it’s just as much fun on the iPhone and iPod touch as well.

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Each year before Christmas we’ve put up a buyer’s guide listing the best iOS titles of the year. Looking back at the 2009 Buyer’s Guide and the 2010 Buyer’s Guide, we’ve come a long way. Below you’ll find all of 5 star rated iOS titles, as well as the standout 4.5 star games.

If you just opened an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad for Christmas, this is a great place to get started. To make this list a little easier to digest, we’ve broken these games into a few very vague categories. Oh, and if you also opened an iCade this Christmas, don’t forget to check out our list of iCade supported games.

Casual

Tiny Wings, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It’s not every day that Angry Birds gets knocked to the #2 position on the top sales charts, but Tiny Wings did it. It comes packed with delightfully simple single button gameplay that even kids could enjoy along with increasingly difficult goals that even hardcore gamers will find challenging. Get this game, now.

Angry Birds Rio, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – As easy as it is to groan at Angry Birds Rio getting a 5 star rating, it’s a fantastic game. It obviously takes the original Angry Birds formula and builds on top of it with the Rio tie in, boss battles, and some spruced up interface elements. There’s also a few extra layers of parallax scrolling that really make this version of Angry Birds look much better than the others as well.

Bumpy Road, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It’s not often that a game comes along in the App Store that makes you think, “Wow, why didn’t someone think of this sooner?”. Bumpy Road is just that kind of game. The control system to control the game world rather than the car is remarkably clever, and since its initial release it’s even seen some update love from the developers.

Tiny Tower, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – NimbleBit set some sky high expectations with Pocket Frogs [Free], their previous (and first) foray into the free to play world. I’d go as far as to say that Tiny Tower is even better, as it has completely taken over my household.

Temple Run, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Imangi Studios doesn’t release games all that often, but when they do, they sure are good. Temple Run takes the endless runner formula, adds a third person chase viewpoint, some tilt mechanics, and heaps of power ups to cheat death. Additionally, Temple Run was voted the forum game of the week when it was first released.

Platformer

EDGE Extended, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – We thought the original Edge was incredible, and Extended somehow takes that same game formula, applies a substantial layer of awesome, then knocks it out of the park. Clever platforming mechanics combined with fantastic music really just create an experience that you can’t miss.

Bring Me Sandwiches!!, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Adult Swim is batting 1000 lately with fabulous iOS games, and Bring Me Sandwiches!! keeps that tradition going strong. It’s a cross between the collect-everything-you-see gameplay of Katamari Damacy with a platformer game. Additionally, tons of control schemes make the game great to play no matter what your control preference might be.

Sonic CD, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Here we have the best installment of one of the greatest gaming franchises, which received both flawless review scores and game of the year awards when it was originally released ported with complete perfection to iOS. This is a game you flat out need to buy if you even vaguely consider yourself an iOS gamer. Not only because it’s such an impeccable port of an important piece of gaming history, but because we need to vote with our wallets to tell Sega (and anyone else who might be watching) that this is the quality we demand out of retro games brought to the App Store.

Whale Trail, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Most games you can plot along a line graph with “gameplay” on one end and “presentation” on the other. The best games wind up somewhere in the middle, and Whale Trail definitely sits deep into the “presentation” side of things. Still, the game looks fantastic, and the incredibly vibrant graphics almost make you forget the gameplay is so simple.

Wind-up Knight, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Picture Super Mario Bros. Got a nice image in your head? Good. Now imagine Mario could never stop moving and would only change direction if he hit a wall. A little tougher. And what if absolutely everything could kill him in one hit, and there was no such thing as a checkpoint? That sounds like the sort of game that would have you cursing, spitting, and contemplating throwing your controller, and it also sounds a lot like Wind-up Knight.

Adventure

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This is the closest thing to what we’d call a “system seller” of a video game since the iPad was originally released. Sword & Sworcery is an absolutely incredible experience, a thought that has not only been shared by the gaming press, but also the mainstream media as well. If you have an iOS device and $5 to your name, there’s no excuse not to spend it on this game. If you don’t want to fork over a couple bucks more for the universal version, Sword & Sworcery Micro [$2.99] is just what the doctor ordered.

Machinarium, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This game generated a heck of a lot of controversy when it was revealed that it’d only run on the iPad 2 only, which had us more than a little worried about its performance if it requires top-end hardware. It turns out, Machinarium runs fantastically, despite its Adobe Air-based innards. If you’ve got the hardware, don’t miss this remarkably clever adventure.

Aquaria, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Imagine if a Metroidvania went underwater with a fantastic touch-based control scheme. That’s what Aquaria is in a nutshell, but you’ve got to appreciate its fine touches and vision even if its formula doesn’t jive with you.

Retro

Forget-Me-Not, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – In our review we called Forget-Me-Not the “retrolicious lovechild of PAC-MAN and Rogue,” and I’m really struggling with a better way to describe the game. An amazing scoring system combines with fantastic retro graphics that only bolster how much fun Forget-Me-Not is to play. If the thought of PAC-MAN combined with dungeon crawling at all piques your interest, stop what you’re doing and download Forget-Me-Not immediately.

The Last Rocket, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Retro-inspired games are fairly common on the App Store, but The Last Rocket is one of the best examples we’ve seen of a modern-day title that could have easily passed as an absolutely fabulous NES game. The Graphics and music are all delightfully 8-bit, but even without all these retro trimmings the gameplay could stand on its own.

Velocispider, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This fantastic tilt-controlled shooter has sucked up entirely too much of our time. With nods to retro shooters like Space Invaders, awesome pixel art, and universal compatibility Velocispider is simply fantastic.

Another World – 20th Anniversary, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It’s hard to find a game on the App Store with more history behind it than Another World. Touch-based controls (as well as an optional virtual D-pad) along with both original and remastered graphics make for an outstanding port of this classic adventure game.

Role Playing

Infinity Blade II, $6.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – We put incredibly powerful devices in our pockets and on our laps daily, but rarely do we see games that utterly embrace this like Infinity Blade 2 has. It’s a showcase piece; a technically and visually gifted game that consistently delivers eye-popping stuff. The gameplay is great, too.

Mage Gauntlet, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Almost too many games lean on pixel art and chip tunes just because it’s in style, but Mage Gauntlet draws inspiration from that era and allows it to permeate every aspect of the game. If you have any fond memories of Super Nintendo-era action RPGs, don’t miss this game.

Pocket RPG, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Crescent Moon Games’ latest is this awesome spin on entirely randomized Roguelike gameplay mixed with the action-packed style of a dual stick shooter. It’s a combination that works incredibly well, and being entirely randomized, is infinitely replayable. If you don’t feel like springing for the universal version, there’s also a cheaper Pocket RPG iPhone Edition [99¢].

Strategy / Sim

King of Dragon Pass, $7.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – No lie, I’ve spent more time playing this game than all the other games that we reviewed in September combined. If my exhaustive review wasn’t clear enough, here’s all you need to know: If you like simulation games, you needed King of Dragon Pass on your iPhone yesterday. I’ve still got my fingers crossed for an iPad version, but I’m more than happy managing my clan whenever I’ve got a few seconds to spare on my iPhone.

Great Little War Game, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – As mentioned in our review, this game is anything but little. Great Little War Game is a turn-based strategy game that we consider a must have for anyone even vaguely interested in the genre. The developers are remarkably active in our community, and thus far GLWG’s updates have been fantastic, both in implementing new features as well as forum feedback.

Pocket Academy, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – It seems like ever since Game Dev Story [$1.99 we just can't get enough of Kairosoft simulations. This one in particular puts you in charge of a school, and while many of the mechanics might not be immediately apparent, once the game grabs you, it doesn't let go.

Tiny Heroes, $1.99 - [Review] – [Forum Thread] – geoDefense and geoDefense Swarm cranked tower defense on the App Store up to 11, and, dare I say it, Tiny Heroes makes a great attempt to crank it to 12. Or, at least, 11 and a half. This fantasy-based tower defense title should not be missed by anyone who even vaguely fancies the genre.

Sid Meier’s Pirates! for iPad, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This pirate sim is a game with a ton of history behind it, and 2K Games did a marvelous job of porting it to the iPad. It has depth on top of depth, and will keep you busy for quite some time if it manages to suck you in. We’ve got our fingers crossed for more ports like this of incredible games that work phenomenally on the iPad.

Anomaly Warzone Earth, $0.99 / HD – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Who knew that turning tower defense in reverse would make for such an incredible game? If you’re even vaguely interested in anything to do to tower defense, Anomaly: Warzone Earth needs to be on your iOS device. The mechanics are solid, the atmosphere is cool, and it’ll leave you wanting for a sequel.

Action / Shooter

Dead Space™, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – “Console quality” is a phrase that’s thrown around a lot to describe portable games, and really, it’s a fitting title for this iOS-exclusive version of Dead Space. We tend to prefer Dead Space for iPad [$9.99] over its iPhone counterpart, but both are fantastic games that should be a part of your collection.

Battleheart, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This single player game perfectly combines everything that’s good about complex party-based realtime battles found in MMO-style games with wonderfully simple and intuitive touch controls. Multiple character classes are included, as well as equipment upgrades. It’s incredible just how much flexibility there is for tweaking your party and how you play the game. Battleheart is fantastic on the iPhone, but you can’t miss it if you own an iPad.

THE KING OF FIGHTERS-i-, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Back in the day of the arcade fighter arms wars, it was Street Fighter versus The King of Fighters with as fierce of a rivalry among gamers as arguing Nintendo vs. Sega. KoF has arrived on the App Store, and it’s every bit as good as its Street Fighter, although it remains to be seen if they’ll match the online play found in Volt.

Jetpack Joyride, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This is our favorite game of the month, as this endless power-up packed single-button flying game is responsible for sapping days of productivity across the entire TouchArcade staff. There are so many hooks to keep you playing that you can do “one more game” for hours through achievements, missions, unlockables, and all sorts of cosmetic customizations.

Bug Heroes, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Much like how Dungeon Raid took typical match three gameplay and made it awesome, Bug Heroes takes the dual stick shooter to the next level. The core of the game is based around the typical dual stick shooter formula, but multiple playable characters (each with strengths and weaknesses) as well as elements of both castle and tower defense make this a game that everyone needs to check out. Just keep in mind, it will be very difficult to go back to your basic survival-mode dual stick shooter after this.

Zombieville USA 2, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Tightly-constructed, well-executed, charming, different and entertaining are all words we freely use when describing Zombieville 2. It’s a near perfect iterative entry to the franchise, as it artfully hones in on and turns up the volume on the two best parts of the original: the shooting and upgrade models.

Grand Theft Auto 3, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Even though GTA 3 wasn’t designed for virtual controls, you’ll have a great time with it, even if all you do is drive around Liberty City listening to the fantastic in-game radio stations. (My favorite is the talk station.) As you become more accustomed with the splattering of virtual buttons all over the screen, you’ll find hours upon hours of content to plow through. Having played GTA3 to completion many times in the past, I’m incredibly happy to be able to take it anywhere with me on my phone of all things.

Bug Princess, $4.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Aside from a few small quibbles, Bug Princess offers yet another stellar entry in CAVE’s series of iOS shooters. It’s probably the most straight forward and least complex out of them all, which makes it a great starting point for bullet hell newbies, but it does have its share of depth for those looking to master its strategies.

STREET FIGHTER IV VOLT, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Capcom is following their time honored tradition of relentlessly re-releasing Street Fighter with Street Fighter IV Volt. This time around there are three new characters as well as online multiplayer.

Dark Meadow, $5.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Atmospheric horror is a game genre that never really seems to translates to portable devices very well, but Phosphor Games did a great job of it with Dark Meadow. Set in a creepy hospital, and utilizing the Unreal Engine, the game looks and sounds great. A repetitive combat system drags down this otherwise fantastic title.

Puzzle

Where’s My Water?, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This super-fun liquid-centric physics game puts you in the driver seat of helping an alligator take a shower. Sure, it’s hard to come up with a more ridiculous premise, but maybe that’s part of this game’s charm. A wacky scrolling mechanic on some levels is the only thing we have to complain about, otherwise Where’s My Water is fabulous.

Dungeon Raid, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – As mentioned in our review of the game, with the number of fish in the match three sea, it takes a lot to make one that’s just as fun (if not more so) than the match three staples like Bejeweled 2 and other classics. Dungeon Raid accomplishes this by distilling the Puzzle Quest formula down to its basics, and providing match three gameplay that retains its simple nature while offering a shocking amount of depth via random equipment and character upgrades. Also, there’s much more to matching than just high scoring, clearing each type of block has a purpose, and the order you clear them in can mean life or death. This game has stolen hours of my time, I can’t recommend it enough.

Casey’s Contraptions HD, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – There are tons of contraption-building games on the App Store, but few are as good as Casey’s Contraptions. The theme of the game is gloriously whimsical, and you can spend hours delving through the clever and convoluted solutions your friends post via Game Center.

Gesundheit!, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This stealth-centric sneeze-powered puzzle game comes with fantastic controls, some of the best hand-drawn art we’ve seen in action on the App Store, and details like shadows moving relative to your iOS device’s gyroscope readings. We prefer the iPad version, but only because you’ll want as much screen real estate as possible to enjoy this game’s incredible art.

Wooords, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Games where you search for words within a pre-defined set of letters have some serious roots, heck, this kind of puzzle was published in newspapers before video games even existed, and there’s a zillion variations on the App Store. Words totally impressed us with its slick presentation that feels less like playing a word game and more like moving magnetic letters around on a refrigerator.

SPY mouse, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Firemint has managed to de-throne Angry Birds from the #1 position on the App Store with this line-drawing-powered stealth game. Collect cheese, evade cats, use various tricks, and even fight bosses. All the gameplay elements go together incredibly well, and Firemint even managed to remove a lot of things that have historically annoyed us about stealth games in the process.

SpellTower, $1.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Word games can still be fun. Elegant, clever and fun, SpellTower a complete package, brought together by Gage’s trademark use of cheerful colors, simple patterns and elegant typography.

iBlast Moki 2, $2.99 / Universal HD – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This game sets the standard of what gamers should expect of sequels. It’s got familiar puzzle-centric physics mechanics of the original with tons of new features that add complexity and all kinds of new ways to solve puzzles. Additionally, a perfectly integrated solution system can show you how your friends completed a level if you get stuck.

Monsters Ate My Condo, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Adult Swim and Pik Pok joined forces to bring us one of the craziest matching games we’ve ever seen on the App Store. The game requires matching similarly colored floors while appeasing nearby color-coded monsters, each with a more ridiculous super-power than the last. Also, you can score billions if you’re good. Billions!

Scribblenauts Remix, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Originally released on the Nintendo DS, Scribblenauts is a game that’s so unique that you simply must play it. Remix combines the best elements from both of the DS games along with 10 iOS-exclusive levels. In addition, it’s even universal and boasts complete iCloud save syncing support.

Bejeweled Blitz, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Popcap takes the glorious match-three mechanic of the classic puzzle franchise, pumps up the volume on the jewel and match bonuses, and then condenses it all down into frantic, one-minute bursts of eye-gasmic, point-laden play.

Sports

NBA JAM by EA SPORTS™, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – iOS gamers really couldn’t ask for much more when it comes to EA’s port of NBA Jam… Multiplayer was even added in an update! All of the massive dunks and secret modes are intact, making this a surprisingly faithful port. EA even recently updated the game’s roster, bringing it in line with this NBA season.

Pocket HalfPipe, $2.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – This incredibly awesome skateboarding game is highly reminiscent of the halfpipe in the classic NES series Skate or Die, but with much better graphics and crazy dual stick controls that allow you to pull off all kinds of moves. The game could easily be described as basic, but it’s so much fun that we don’t care. The tricks you’ll be able to pull off after a bit of practice are cool, and stringing a massive chain together is hugely rewarding.

Fight Night Champion by EA Sports™, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – A surprisingly competent boxing game that feels like an equal to its console counterpart instead of a typical watered-down mobile version. Great touch screen controls combine with different game modes to create a boxing experience that is among the best that the App Store has to offer.

Music

Groove Coaster, $0.99 – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – There have been a ton of rhythm games released on the App Store, but none have the amazing presentation of Groove Coaster that almost makes it less of a game and more of an experience– And this is one experience you really can’t miss especially if you enjoyed its creator’s other game, Space Invaders Infinity Gene.

Radballs, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – We fell in love with RadBalls inside of the first few seconds of the trailer, and by the time it was over we were ready to yield our first born to its creator. Oh, yeah, the game is fun as hell too. It’s a music-centric matching game that even allows you to use your own tracks. Check it out.

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Surprise! Grand Theft Auto 3, which saw a release this December 14 at $4.99, is now just $2.99 in celebration of the holidays. If you were one of those day-one guys saying he’d wait until a price drop before taking the plunge… well, here you go.

This is part of a larger Rockstar holiday sale, by the way. Until the after New Years, you can also grab the studio’s decidedly more mobile-friendly Grand Theft Auto joint, Chinatown Wars, at $5.99 instead of its usual $9.99. Beaterator, a music creation game, is also on sale. It’s now $1.99 rather than its everyday $2.99. Deals!

Since Grand Theft Auto 3 is so fresh and all, swing by our review if you’re on the fence. Spoiler: it’s GTA 3 — a fun, exciting open-world game that brimming with all the things we take for granted in a GTA — but with virtual controls.

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