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The AppStore being the bottomless font of creativity and innovation that it is, developers are constantly finding new ways to engage us with our devices. Tactility is a big draw card here, with simple concepts such as Fruit Ninja proving a hit thanks to the very cool way that we interface with the game. Brainium Studios provided another example of something fresh earlier this year, but their game was pulled due to a new publishing arrangement. Thankfully, it has now re-emerged as Hand of Greed – dodge the blade! [AppStore].

Hand of Greed is an avoidance game with a twist, forcing you to literally put your hand in the hornet's nest. Where Fruit Ninja had you do the slicing and dicing, Hand of Greed makes you the subject of the slashing– tasked with avoiding the whirling on-screen blades to collect each level's treasures simply by tapping on them. Each time you unsuccessfully jab at a target, the screen is caked with blood and a gut-wrenching stabbing sound emanates from the device, along with a sharp vibrate.

There are 50 levels overall in Hand of Greed spanning over 5 differently themed worlds. Each level is beautifully rendered, with the exceptionally crafted blades stealing the show and occupying most of the screen real estate. This is especially true of the latter levels, where you'll have to face off against a number of wicked looking knives that you certainly will not find in the kitchen.

Each level provides several wave of different treasures to collect, with bonus points awarded for collecting chains of like-treasures. The object of each level is to clear it in its entirety without being sliced more than three times. To help, power-ups are slowly introduced along the way, and provide benefits such as refilling portions of your life bubble located at the top of the screen. They're sorely needed too, as Hand of Greed features a sharp incline (pun intended) in difficulty that requires you to study closely each blade's pattern or face being shredded instead.

Scores are accumulated at the end of each level and high scores recorded on the OpenFeint leaderboards. There are also 17 achievements to unlock, with most of them remaining secret until discovered to further up the ante.

It's a winning formula that is as simple as it is effective. Though there's not a lot of depth to the game, it's a terrific time waster that should keep you occupied for a long while, largely thanks to its gruelling difficulty (which may very well be too much for some). Just don't show it off to anyone with a queasy stomach or penchant for fainting at the sight of blood.

App Store Link: Hand of Greed – dodge the blade!, $0.99.

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Freeverse's space conquest game Warpgate [$4.99 / Free] and the high resolution iPad Warpgate HD [$7.99 / Free] both recently had free versions appear on the App Store. If you've been on the fence, you really should give the free version a try, especially with the recent 1.2 update that added save game portability via the Plus+ network.

When Warpgate HD first launched along side the iPad, we loved the game in our review, and later found the only differences between the iPhone and iPads version of the game were minor UI differences. Here's what you're getting in to in the Warpgate universe:

Obviously set in space, Warpgate is host to a gigantic galaxy map that you slowly explore through a seamless set of campaign missions. Once you complete the initial tutorial, and start in on the "real" game, procedurally generated missions begin appearing that have you flying places, delivering things, getting in to battles with other ships, and other objectives. Because of this, the game never technically ends.

Warpgate is remarkably open, so much so that if you're the kind of gamer that requires a rigid goal structure with a concrete "end" to a game, it might just drive you crazy. The end goal of Warpgate is whatever you want it to be. If that means grinding up reputation with the space pirates and piloting the biggest, baddest battleship in the entire galaxy, killing everything in your path, you can. Or, on the opposite side of things, you can be completely lawful and play your cards so you're in good standing with all the factions of space. …Read More

One of my main concerns from our initial review was the inability to manage your save game data. Since Warpgate is a game you can keep playing for a very long time, not being able to secure my game data from the horrors of iPhone syncing and updating SNAFU's after potentially investing weeks of playtime in to the game made me very nervous. Warpgate 1.2 not only adds online save game storage via the Plus+ network, but these game saves are also portable between devices and versions of the game.

If you own the game for both the iPhone and iPad, all you need to do is open the game's options screen, upload your game save on one device, then do the same thing to download it on to the other device and you will be right where you left off. What's even cooler, is that if you download the lite version for either the iPad or iPhone, you can upload your game save, buy the full version, download it, and keep all of your progress.

Unfortunately, because of the size of the Warpgate game save files, automatic online game save storage like many other Plus+ games simply isn't realistic. According to Warpgate producer Bruce Morrison, Warpgate game saves can grow to upwards of 500 kilobytes once you get farther in to the game. In comparison, Flick Fishing, another Freeverse game that handles all of the Plus+ game save data automatically only uses around 5 kilobytes to save everything it needs.

Warpgate's implementation of online save storage is a little ugly, but it works. It's really great to be able to play my same game on both my iPhone and iPad, and the ability to roll your progress in the lite version straight in to the paid version is really cool. If you haven't yet, you really should give Warpgate a try, or at least download the free version. Aside from being a fun space conquest game, it also looks really great on the iPad.

App Store Links:

• Warpgate, $4.99
• Warpgate Free, Free
• Warpgate HD, $7.99
• Warpgate HD Free, Free

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The evil Mr. Demon, for reasons unknown, has it out for the poor inhabitants of Ninjatown. He took to their homes in its critically successful DS release and looks to be at it again when creators Shawnimals team up with Venan (of Space Miner fame) to bring Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! [App Store].

Ninjatown: Trees of Doom for the iPhone is a wholly different affair to the strategic Nintendo DS combat game. It is a lighthearted, Doodle Jump-esque adventure, with enough twists to the gameplay to give it its own distinct flavor, even before the iconic overly cute ninjas are factored in.

In Trees of Doom you take control of a solitary Wee Ninja, tasked by the Ol' Master Ninja to climb the Trees of Doom and take the fight to Mr. Demon minions. Of course, being of the Ninja persuasion, there's no way you'll be scampering up that tree with your shins — instead you propel yourself upwards by jumping deftly between trees and using branches to fling you on high. It's all very Crouching Tiger.

Naturally, Mr. Demon objects to your shenanigans and sends a horde of demon-like (but still very cute) monsters to stop you in your tracks. If that still isn't enough, the Trees of Doom are aptly named– presenting their own hazards in the form of evil ooze and slippery bark to avoid, lest your quest be met with a long drop and short demise.

Your Ninja is controlled by tapping either sides of the screen (the two trunks). Simply tapping will cause your Ninja to make a small leap, while holding down your finger will cause him to push off into a higher leap. These both need to be mastered to make it to the top and avoid the many pitfalls along the way. Of course, being a Ninja there may be times when you need to move vertically up a trunk, which you can do so by simply pressing the side your Ninja is presently on. Branches are another helpful tool, which can be directed to fling your by swiping down on the screen, an on-screen arrow allowing you to control where you ninja ends up.

As in Doodle Jump and similar games, there are a raft of power-ups to collect on the way, all aimed at helping you inching just that little bit further than last time. Granted, I don't think any game has had anything quite as bizzare as the Mucho-Mucho Moustachio though, a giant moustache that your Ninja clings to as it carries him skyward. There are also the standard ninja-fare smoke bombs though and gum balloons that can be inflated to encompass you in a shield of sorts. The Plus+ network records your highest climbs, as well as a large list of challenging achievements to attempt.

Trees of Doom's real appeal though comes largely thanks to its crisp, richly colored artwork. Sure, the game itself poses an interesting spin on the usual tilt or tap mechanic, requiring quite a bit of dexterity and skill to land precision jumps, but at the end of the day we know what these games are about. They're about high scores and quick games that keep you coming back for more. Trees of Doom does all these things, and looks great to boot. If you like Doodle Jump and other see how high you can go games, and you like Ninjas (who doesn't) then this is definitely a worthwhile pickup.

App Store Link: Ninjatown: Trees of Doom!, $1.99.

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This short video uploaded to youtube shows off the ability to run an emulator on the iPad to play SNES games, while using the Wii Remote to control the character. The game being played is Super Mario World on snes4iphone [$5.99 from Cydia].

The jailbreak for the iPad has not even been out a week yet, and you can clearly see the great possibilities that can come out of this device. As the jailbreak community continues to release new iPad specific applications, that Apple does not allow in their own AppStore, expect to see some really creative ideas unfold.

If your not too sure what jailbreaking your iDevice means, Gizmodo has posted a great overview on what jailbreaking is, how easy it is, and some other common FAQ's regarding jailbreaking. But as always, like the Gizmodo article clearly points out:

And remember, be careful! Jailbreaking is unsupported and something that's very new to the iPad. If in doubt about a particular Cydia app, err on the side of caution. You're better safe than sorry, really.

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Carcassonne developer The Coding Monkeys has confirmed with us that the iPad version of the upcoming Apple handheld title will be a universal update to the initial App Store release this summer.

Just don't expect the update to hit in the immediate.

According to developer Martin Pittenauer, The Coding Monkeys haven't started work on the larger version of the game. Instead, they've focused their efforts on the iPhone and iPod Touch versions slated for release in May.

"The iPhone version will be released this month and we plan to start work on the iPad after that," developer Martin Pittenauer told us via e-mail.

"We poured a lot of love into the game already and feel the iPad version deserves the same level of attention, so it's hard to make promises for a release date right now. But we plan to have the game universal later this summer."

Universal updates allow handheld Apps to run natively on the iPad, which avoids creators from having to juggle two similar Apps on the Store at the same time.

The Carcassonne update will be free for purchasers of the App, but the price of the whole package will be raised from its initial $4.99 price point once the update goes live on iTunes.

"Once the app is universal we will end introductory pricing and sell the game for $9.99," Pittenauer told us in a later e-mail. "So, if you buy early, you essentially get a discount on the version that runs on iPhone, iPod, and iPad."

Despite being universal, the iPad version of the game will have its share of differences according to Pittenauer. Most of which are planned to stem from the iPad's larger touch screen size.

"We will try to use the available space to streamline some parts of the user interface and adopt more of the emerging 'feel' of the iPad platform," he said.

"We are also still thinking about the dimensions of the device and its implication for the multiplayer user interface. Other than that it will mainly differ by size."

But Pittenauer believes neither version will have a leg up on the other.

"We don't think any version will be better per se, but they will have different strengths."

"The iPhone version is very portable while being very easy to play thanks to pinch-zooming and its UI. The iPad version will have room to see more of the game board, but isn't as practical on the go. And as the game will be universal, both versions complement each other perfectly anyway."

Visually, the game appears to be capturing the board game feel. The big question is if the  game's mechanics and components do the same. Pittenauer tells us that bringing the board game to life via our iDevices is the point of the project.

"As boardgame geeks, we hope to make players feel like they are playing the original in the real world."

"That's why we favor a very traditional view of the table and decided against unnecessary 3D gimmicks for our version. We also love the social aspect of board gaming, so we tried to retain that as much as possible by adding all sorts of multiplayer variants (pass-around, local network, internet) and in-game chat."

At the end of the day it's up to the players to judge if the digital version of the board game feels like the board game. We'll have to hope and see.

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In just a few days Fabulapps plans on releasing its first game called CrossRoads in to the wild. CrossRoads is yet another line drawing time management game, but it sets its self apart by adding a few extra gameplay features all wrapped in a slick art style.

Similar to existing games on the App Store like Car Mania [99¢], you guide cars to their destinations by drawing lines on a map. Fabulapps takes this concept a little farther by adding unique events that occur on each map. For example there is a map were you have to crush zombies in your path as you route cars around. On others, you will need to pop balloons, shake clouds off the screen, and break ice when your screen freezes over.

The feature that most piqued my interest is the multiplayer mode, which allows you to play against another player with the game via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Similar to the multiplayer found in Flight Control [99¢] and Harbor Master [$1.99 / Free], you will be able to route cars off your screen and on to your opponents to add even more vehicles for them to manage.

CrossRoads will launch with 4 included maps (one as a free download) and 3 additional maps available as in-app purchases. Each add-on map includes new music, special effects, and new vehicles. The game should be out sometime this week for $1.99.

For more details on the game as it nears release, take a look at the thread on our forums.

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Every now and then a game is released that completely transcends the genre it's made for, elevating its possibilities to all new heights. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it results in something genuinely spectacular. And that is precisely the case with Dinofarm Games and Fusion Reactions's lovingly created 100 Rogues [App Store].

100 Rogues is an arcade-style dungeon crawler/rogue-like loosely based on classics such as our highly rated Sword of Fargoal. We say loosely based, because while it features the typical dungeon crawler elements of near-certain death, randomly generated maps and loot and a foray into the depths of an enemy-riddled pit, 100 Rogues delivers it in a way that makes you feel you are playing something else entirely.

Obviously, at first glance, this can be credited to its utterly gorgeous presentation and visuals. Typical dungeon-crawlers are recognisable by their dogmatic approach to gameplay over graphics, many of which are still ASCII-driven. That is definitely not the case here. To begin, 100 Rogues introduces its heroes — the Crusader and the Fairy Wizard– through two different, tongue-in-cheek cutscenes that reveal a surprising amount of context for each character and a dubious quest to eradicate Satan himself. It sets the mood for a game riddled with comical self-awareness.

This certainly plays second-fiddle though to some of the most incredibly animated 2D caricatures we have seen– period. Both the Crusader and the Fairy Wizard are brought to life by Dinofarm Games and Fusion Reactions, each with their own distinct personality and style. The Crusader is an armor-clad, righteous bastion of good who cuts a swathe through enemy hordes with his cape flicking behind him; standing in stark contrast to the Fairy Wizard, a withdrawn, misunderstood creature of magic that prefers to attack with guile and deception from afar.

It's not all eye-candy though, as 100 Rogues brings to the table 8 unique skills for each character. The Crusader for instance, can call on divine powers, knocking back enemies with his Whack of Glory, or Healing himself if things get rough. Also, in what is quite possibly the coolest and most hilarious ability that I have ever seen, he can call on God Himself, who appears in the form of a giant finger that descends upon the battlefield to smite a foe or heal our Hero in times of need. The Fairy Wizard on the other hand, is far more fragile, but is able to teleport to elude enemies and cast crystal attacks from afar. The Fairy Wizard is also capable of confusing enemies or calling on a giant crystal ball familiar to attack nearby enemies.

Though the skills themselves look great and varied, it is their thoughtful implementation that really makes combat in 100 Rogues something special. This is because many of the skills have a strategic use that once discovered, can really excel your combat ability. For instance, the Fairy Wizard can combine a dagger attack with Teleport (aptly named Telestab), popping up behind an enemy to deliver a lethal backstab, only to teleport away again. The Crusader on the other hand can Overheal, giving himself bonus life above and beyond his normal hit points. And though his Whack of Glory knocks back enemies, if they are against an obstacle already, it delivers a devastating critical attack instead.

These secondary functions are critical to advancing through the gruelling 10 dungeon levels included at release. But they aren't made obvious from playing the standard game, so to lend a hand the developers have included a Challenge Mode to highlight to players some of their uses. There are 10 challenges available at release which have you killing a number of enemies or escaping the level within a set number of moves, usually giving you only few hit points and one crucial ability to complete your task. They're a great way for players to familiarise themselves with the advanced strategies, though we're positive there are more to be found through experimentation.

It's an indication of the breadth of features to cover here that we're only now arriving at how well 100 Rogues handles. Foregoing any on-screen controls, your characters are navigated by tapping in any four directions around them. Similarly, enemies are targeted by simply tapping on them (if a range attack) or running into them by the aforementioned mechanism. Skills are activated by tapping on your character, which in turn reveals a skill palette from which your skill is chosen, and then a suitable target selected. There are two on-screen buttons on the lower left and right of the screen to open your inventory or issue a wait command respectively, and a 4-slot quick-bar for immediate access of items. It's worth noting that the game can only be played in Portrait mode, too.

Items and equipment play a big part in dungeon crawlers, and that's no different here. Players can equip a large assortment of weapons, from swords and axes to wands and bows (to name a few), together with a range of armor types and accessories. 100 Rogues runs the full gamut of item effects and stat bonus' too. What's more, some enemies can only be effective by certain item types– something that will have to be learned quickly by players in order to proceed through the depths. As well as weapons and armor, there are also spell scrolls and buff scrolls that enhance either your health, magic or strength, or can raise the item level of equipment. 100 Rogues also has a countdown of sorts in the form of hunger, forcing you to keep your belly full lest your hunger cause you to waste away– placing a significance on searching for safe meals to consume on your quest.

If hunger doesn't get you, enemies surely will however, as 100 Rogues is true to its origins in that it is challenging and unforgiving, with a vast array of enemies that all require a different approach to defeat. If you make one wrong move, you are dead. If you are unlucky, you are dead. If you don't manage to find food, you are dead. And if none of these kill you, then maybe the large-scale boss encounters found every 5 levels will. These are all grim realities of the dungeon crawler. Fortunately, by way of its versatile skill system and arcade-paced strategic action, 100 Rogues is still a highly accessible adventure. And in case you forget, the game regularly lets you know that death is a certainty, and that fun is to be had in achieving that high score and glorifying your name in the online leaderboards forever.

100 Rogues is as much about exploration as it is about move-by-move action and employing a careful strategy. Game sessions are generally short, but 100 Rogues still saves your game by the move, meaning interruptions are a thing of the past and lengthy game sessions are easily broken down into short bursts. Finally, 100 Rogues is rounded out by a catchy, retro-style, synthesised soundtrack that is of the same calibre as the rest of the game.

100 Rogues is an evident labor of love for the developers, who already have a long list of planned features including at least two additional classes (the Dinoman Bruiser and the Skellyman Scoundrel), 10 brand new levels, an item shop, many more monsters and items, in-dungeon NPCs and an Endless game mode. All considered, 100 Rogues is an effortless recommendation to anyone remotely interested in the genre, being one of the most captivating, refined and rewarding games on the App Store. Heck, we're not even sure we'll ever find Satan's lair, but it certainly won't be for want of trying as 100 Rogues is simply brilliant.

UPDATE 1: A number of forum members in the 100 Rogues thread are experiencing random crashes. We haven't had issues in our play throughs of the game, but the developers are looking in to the cause currently. It may be worth waiting to see what they find out before picking this up if you're concerned.

UPDATE 2: Developer Wes Paugh posted in the comments that the crashes are related to equipping some shields. An update is being submitted immediately to address stability issues.

App Store Link: 100 Rogues, $4.99

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Back in February we reported the formation of mobile studio AppStar Games by legendary game designers David Crane and Gary Kitchen. The founders' mission in creating the studio is to focus on "small footprint" games for various connected devices, the iPhone among them.

“Garry and I have worked together on a number of successful ventures over the years, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for investors and stakeholders. We’re very excited about the dramatic shift that is occurring in the game industry with the advent of direct-to- consumer distribution of our titles. AppStar Games is committed to taking a leadership role in that transition by delivering the highest quality product in the marketplace”, said Crane, CTO of AppStar.

The studio has just released their first iPhone game, Iron Horse [App Store], which is a reaction / timing game that challenges you to couple stationary rail cars to a passing train by tapping on the connection point at exactly the right moment. At first, while the train pushes along at a leisurely pace, it's a snap. But, once things get a little more full-tilt, you'll find that you need to "lead" your taps, to account for the sluggishness of your own reflexes. There are straight rounds where a set number of cars must be attached to a given locomotive as well as bonus rounds where it's proceed as long as you want — but miss a car and it's no bonus for you. The game features OpenFeint integration for achievements and score tracking.

According to the developers, Iron Horse strives to capture the beauty of the American railroad — and it does an admirable job. The parallax scrolling scenery is well drawn across the various provided settings and the game as a whole is well rendered. Several tain designs are represented, including the General, the Zephyr, and the Chief.

Iron Horse actually made it's App Store debut on the iPad early last month as The Iron Horse [link], which features graphics appropriate for the device's larger screen. And, while the games are otherwise identical, the iPad provides a better play experience as there's more onscreen track, which results in extra time to calculate your link-up tap. It's a good bit of pick-up fun for either device size, though.

The Iron Horse Lite [App Store] for the iPad gives owners of Apple's latest iDevice the opportunity to try before they buy.

App Store Link: Iron Horse, $1.99 (iPhone), The Iron Horse, $0.99 (iPad), The Iron Horse Lite, Free (iPad)

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One board game that our readers have continually mentioned as a worthy candidate for the AppStore is the hit German tile-based game, Carcassonne. This is undoubtedly due to Sierra's well-received adaptation of the game for the XBOX Live and several indie spin-offs that we've already seen on the AppStore. In any case, we're pleased to announce that developers The Coding Monkeys together with Hans im Glück, one of the publishers of the original boardgame, have heard your cries, as Carcassonne is almost done and ready to hit the App Store sometime in May.

The Carcassonne website provides a very brief description of the features included in the initial release. From what we can muster, Carcassonne will include all the tiles from the original board game tileset, with the expansion tilesets (of which there were several) coming later as In-App purchases. It also offers the full suite of multiplayer options, including pass-and-play, local (WiFi and Bluetooth) multiplayer and online multiplayer, which is terrific to see as this sort of title would be stunted without the ability to find willing opponents at any given time. Of course, there is also the option to play against the computer, with a range of AI difficulties available to test yourself against.

Screenshots of the game so far are promising, and the game really looks like it's getting a thick layer of polish. So far, the developers have announced an English and German translation for the iPhone/iPod devices only, but have promised that the app itself will be universal, incorporating iPad support at a later date. We're looking forward to getting a hands on preview with the game in the near future where we'll be able to provide further information before its release later this month at the introductory price of $4.99.

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