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At the beginning of February, Ravenous Games released League of Evil [99¢/Lite], a fast-paced platforming game with a retro look and feel. We liked League of Evil quite a bit in our review, noting its well-designed levels, fantastic pixel art, and solid controls. League of Evil originally came with 54 levels to play through, with several goals to attain on each that offered a nice amount of replay value. Just a couple of weeks following release, the game was updated with 30 additional levels themed after fellow developer Halfbot’s The Blocks Cometh [$1.99], as well as 18 “impossible” levels that came with a brutal degree of difficulty.

Over the weekend, League of Evil received its second substantial content update that brings another new episode filled with 30 brand new jungle-themed levels. This update also brings online leaderboard that join the already implemented OpenFeint achievements. There’s a leaderboard for each of the 4 episodes – Weapons of Mass Destruction, The Blocks Cometh, The Impossible Missions, and Welcome to the Jungle – and once you’ve completed every level in an episode your total completion time for that episode will be uploaded online.

The App Store is a veritable smorgasbord of great platformers, and since release League of Evil has hovered near the very top of the list for me. With all of the new levels from these last 2 updates that have more than doubled the size of the original release, it just keeps getting better. Plus, Ravenous Games has said in our forums that they are currently working on a level editor for League of Evil that will come with the ability to share created levels. There’s no set release for this feature, but the prospect of creating my own levels has me really excited.

If you haven’t yet picked up League of Evil, now would be a great time to do so as it’s supposed to jump up in price with this latest update to $2.99, but as of this writing can still be bought for just 99¢. The price can change at any moment though, so best to act quickly if you’re interested in buying the game, and don’t forget there’s a free lite version to try as well.

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Earlier this month we took a look at Elemental Rage [$4.99] from Oniric Games, a new metroidvania-style platforming game for iOS. Last week, the iPad version Elemental Rage HD [$6.99] was released in the App Store, and yesterday its small screen counterpart became available as well. As far as metroidvania games go, Elemental Rage is just about everything I could ask for. It might not be as complex or expansive as previous entries in this particular genre, but it has sharp graphics, tight controls, wonderfully designed levels, and is a great fit for a mobile game.

Elemental Rage starts out with you playing the young boy Huna who suddenly awakens to find himself on the floor of a strange castle. You quickly learn that an evil sorcerer has sucked the elemental spirits from your planet’s inhabitants, turning them into evil creatures. The last of the planet’s 4 Spirt Guides Talis, the Spirit Guide of Water, has summoned you as the last hope to save the planet. You must battle the many dark creatures and collect the missing elemental spirits spread throughout the castle to once again restore peace to the planet.

The castle itself contains several large chambers and 4 towers for each of the elements – Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Each section of the castle is fairly expansive and the elemental towers consist of multiple areas as well. Collecting enough elemental spirits will unlock additional abilities for Huna, and some parts of the castle are inaccessible until you have a certain ability or item. For example, there are special walls that block certain paths that can only be broken with a fire shot that is gained from collecting enough fire spirits. The way this is implemented and the designs of the levels are very well done, encouraging exploration and a good amount of backtracking once you gain new abilities.

The virtual controls in Elemental Rage are also very good. Huna’s jumping looks kind of floaty in the video, but that is just because you’re able to jump really high and you can control the height of your jump depending on how long you hold down the jump button. Overall the controls and the feel of moving around in the game is excellent. Combat is heavily melee-focused, as your main weapon is your staff. This gives fighting enemies a very old-school Castlevania feel. Enemies will drop powerups randomly that can enhance your staff’s abilities, eventually allowing you to fire a wave of energy which can be extremely helpful too.

Elemental Rage is one of those games where screenshots and video don’t do it justice. It looks great in person, and the excellent animations make it feel like you’re playing a cartoon at times. In fact, much of the visuals and sounds in the game, and even elements of the gameplay, give off a 2D Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker vibe. The story in the game is also well done, and despite the overly cliché “you’re the last hope for survival” way it starts out, there’s several twists and turns and interesting lore to go along with the world created in the game.

My only real gripe with Elemental Rage is that I wish there was more of it. It will only take around 4 hours to play through, but without spoiling the story too much, you’ll definitely have reason to play through the game again when you’re done. Still, it all seems to be over too quickly, and the game is so much fun that you wish it would just keep on going. Also, despite the exploration aspect, the game holds your hand quite a bit throughout. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever find yourself lost or not knowing what to do next, which is good, but at the same time it would also be nice if they left a bit more of the thinking up to the player rather than spelling things out so blatantly.

Despite any criticisms though, Elemental Rage is one of the best experiences you can have if you enjoy a good action-platforming game. The iPad version looks great on the larger screen, but it feels a bit more natural to play on the easier to handle iPhone or iPod touch. The games are identical content-wise, so it’s really just a matter of choice on which device you prefer to play it on. Players in our forums have been really enjoying this one, and if you’re looking for a new adventure to have then Elemental Rage is one to check out.

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This past weekend we learned that Square Enix would be releasing a native version of Final Fantasy III for iPad [$16.99], and the game is now available for download in the App Store. In case you’ve been trapped under a rock for the last couple of months, the iOS version of Final Fantasy III is an enhanced port of the 2006 Nintendo DS title, which itself was a complete 3D remake of the 1990 Japanese Famicom game.

About a month ago, Final Fantasy III [$15.99] was released for iPhone and iPod touch devices, and we found the game quite entertaining in our review. Despite some thoroughly old-school game design, this role-playing game still managed to be a whole lot of fun, and both looked great with Retina Display graphics and was a joy to play with the touch interface.

There’s not a whole lot to tell about the iPad version of Final Fantasy III, as for the most part it’s the same exact game. The gameplay area has been enlarged and much of the user interface has been tweaked to accommodate the larger screen, but beyond that you’re getting pretty much the same experience that was had on the iPhone a month ago. Actually, the low resolution texture work in the game is even more pronounced on the iPad’s bigger screen, making for even more pixelated visuals than that of its smaller screened counterpart. It’s not terrible mind you, but the tradeoff for a larger play area is a slight hit in the visual department.

Interestingly, the game description states that the 3D visuals have been improved for the iPad release, but I definitely have not noticed anything to this effect in my limited time test driving the game. It also mentions story sequences exclusive to this iPad version, but again I haven’t come across anything like this yet. As I’m already 25+ hours into the iPhone version of Final Fantasy III, starting completely fresh with the iPad version just to find out if there’s any additional features sounds like a hard pill to swallow. But my curiosity will surely get the best of me, and I'm already planning on doing just that.

If your’e a huge Final Fantasy fan and only own an iPad, and haven’t yet picked up the iPhone version to play in pixel doubled mode, then this native iPad version of Final Fantasy III looks like a pretty safe bet. If you own both devices and have already purchased the iPhone version, you’re probably better off just sticking with that one as the iPad specific enhancements don’t seem to be substantial enough to warrant another purchase.

If there was some sort of cross-device save file syncing then I might be more apt to recommend both, since you could progress in your game no matter which device you happened to want to play on. The bottom line though is that Final Fantasy III is a great game on either device, and now you have an option of choosing which one you want it on.

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Coin Drop is a cool mobile-focused game. By that I mean, it’s easy to pick up, easy to put down, easy to resume, and a blast to play wherever. But more important than its breeziness, Coin Drop [$.99] rocks. It’s a little like Peggle [$2.99] in the sense that you’re playing a game that involves pachinko-like rules and attributes. In Coin Drop, you have control of a set amount of coins. On the board, which is full of various obstructions that twirl, rotate, or react to weight, there are other, bluer coins that you need to “capture” by hitting them with your coins.

In a cool twist, a given level continues after each blue coin is captured by your coins. At this point, Coin Drop turns into a “How do I make this bonus bigger” game. Design-wise, it embraces this fact by giving you star ratings that’ll allow you, eventually, to enter into other whimsically themed levels.

I mentioned Peggle earlier because the design is similar, but there are some important deviations to keep in mind: foremost, you can unload up to five coins on the board at the same time, which can net some pretty wild results — you’ll score like a madman just due to the fact that your coins are bouncing off each other and then the walls. Also, there are several different kinds of coins, each with their own weight and properties, which really mixes up what you can do.

Oh, and there’s like 60 levels in this game — you’ll not want for content for a while.

I feel really good about recommending this one. Sure, the boards can get a bit messy when you start letting the coins fly with reckless abandon, but I think that’s the vision here: there is no sweet science to Coin Drop, you just drop a bunch of coins, look at the pretty lights, and enjoy the challenge of trying to reach the blue coins. It’s simple, sure, but in a satisfying one-more-play kind of way.

So, yeah, go grab this. It’s breezy, entertaining, and rather simple — the Tri-force of mobile game design. Check it!

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This past September, FDG Entertainment released Beyond Ynth [Free/HD], a puzzle platforming game starring an adorable bug named Kribl. In Beyond Ynth, the goal is to get Kribl to the end of each level by way of various types of boxes which he could enter and move from within. Rolling boxes from the inside allowed Kribl to negotiate the terrain in each level, but there was a heavy puzzle element too, as you had to think ahead as to how each box would match up in order to make your way to each new one.

Beyond Ynth has a wonderful art style and tons of cleverly designed levels, and while we really enjoyed it in our review we did note that it could be frustrating since dying caused you to have to replay a level over from the beginning. FDG went ahead and fixed that though by offering a fantastic rewind feature in an update a couple of months after release. With the rewind feature in place, the frustration levels were minimized and I was able to enjoy the great content in the game.

Now you can grab all that great content in Beyond Ynth for free for the next few days. Both the iPhone/iPod touch version and the iPad native version prices have been slashed to free for the next 72 hours. While I have pretty much nothing but praise for Beyond Ynth, don’t just take my word for it, as the game recently won the IMGA awards for Excellence in Gameplay and for the overall Game of the Year. For zero dollars, it really is recommended that you download Beyond Ynth for your iOS device of choice during this free promotion.

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Across Age [$2.99] is one of the few really, really good RPG-adventure game hybrids available on the App Store. It’s kind of like Zelda, as it has plenty of musky environments and disheveled tombs with entirely too many moveable blocks, treasure chests, and baubles that open locked doors. The Zelda-like approach to the design is what makes Across Age a standout among the throngs of games, but I think you’ve got to appreciate the cool time-shifting, real time battle, and party member mechanics. In brief, it’s good.

Also, the DX version, Across Age DX [$.99], is now cheaper.

Starting now and for a limited time, you can download Across Age DX for just .99 cents, a big time savings of two bucks. DX, by the way, is a huge improvement over the original the we reviewed — not only does DX boast retina visuals, it also incorporates a much better way to do battle, slicker animations, and a new dungeon. It’s a new game, basically, adapted from the old one.

So, yeah, go grab it if you’re an RPG nut. We’ve no clue how long this’ll last, so make the choice soon.

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Just about a month ago we saw the release of Final Fantasy III [$15.99] in the App Store, Square Enix’s 3D remake of their 1990 NES role-playing game and an enhanced port of the 2006 Nintendo DS release. The iOS version is the definitive version of the game, featuring Retina Display graphics and an intuitive touch interface, and despite some archaic gameplay design as a result of being based on a game from 20 years ago, we thoroughly enjoyed Final Fantasy III in our review.

While Final Fantasy III was released for iPhone and iPod touch devices, many players in our forums noted that the game played extremely well on the larger screen of the iPad in 2x mode. Yesterday, however, Square Enix revealed on their Facebook page that they will be bringing a native iPad version of Final Fantasy III to the App Store this Thursday. It isn’t clear whether there will be any further enhancements to the iPad version beyond a native resolution and screen size, but it should be a better experience than pixel-doubled mode for iPad gamers wanting to get in on some Final Fantasy III. Here’s a single teaser shot from the iPad version:

In other Square Enix news, the developer has updated the teaser page for Chrono Trigger that we stumbled across last December to include a date of April 25th. Unfortunately, it appears that the date mentioned is in regards to a mobile version of Chrono Trigger for feature phones, and not the iOS iteration that we’ve been patiently anticipating. Since their recently announced new game specifically mentions smartphone devices, we would expect the same from the Chrono Trigger teaser page if it had anything to do with an iOS version of the game.

There’s still no further word about the release date for the long, long awaited port of Final Fantasy Tactics on iOS either, but we’ll keep digging around for more information on this and anything new with Chrono Trigger coming to iOS. Also, we’ll take a look at the iPad version of Final Fantasy III when it hits the App Store this Thursday.

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You and I have one chance to live our lives. All our choices, all the accomplishments and defeats and discoveries, are permanent: We can’t hammer a “restart” button whenever we get into an argument or mess up, just as we can’t click “continue” or “new game.”

This is the reason why games like One Chance and One Single Life [Free] exist. Living with choice is powerful, especially when there are no nets.

Where the flash game One Chance gives you six days to live your life as the creator of a virus that’s eradicating the human population, One Single Life for iPod Touch gives you one chance to make a series of jumps. Death is eternal, the thrills momentary.

The crux of One Single Life is this: you get one single life to make an absurd building-to-building jump. If you make the jump, you continue on to the next jump, but when you miss its not just “game over" — it’s game complete.

At the beginning of each segment, you’re shown a scoreboard that tells you how many people have died at that point, applying a kind of uncomfortable pressure that takes time to kindle in other games. Also, the entire level is also shown before the jump: You see the end goal and the level art before a plunge.

What troubles me about One Single Life is that it doesn’t embrace its design. It gives you an infinite amount of chances to test a jump in a grid-lined virtual room before you take the actual plunge, which robs the jump of its impact and kills some of the tenseness that builds up before your little avatar begins his run. Also, if you play through the credits, the game gives you an extra life.

“If Everything Was On The Line, Would I Have What It Takes?” This is the question that Fresh Tone Games says One Single Life answers. I guess if you fall, you don’t have what it takes.

I keep mentioning One Chance, but I need to because it highlights a lot of what One Single Life doesn't accomplish. One Chance does a better job presenting you with what’s on the line: You, your daughter, your wife, and the rest of the entire human race. You have six days to puzzle out a cure for a virus or cheat on those you love or spend the time with them. The emotional impact of the experience can be tremendous and player satisfaction, while not a given, can be attained.

In One Single Life, you have no clear idea of why you're doing what you're doing, which is a problem when a game is built like this is. Also, living with the consequences of a failed jump is hard to do when you know there are other extra lives to be had that don't require a form of cheating.

One Single Life is free and the thrills, while cheapened by the fact that death is not so eternal, are worth the download alone.

While playing, I thought a lot about game design in general, how it empowers us and enforces the notion that we can accomplish greater things if we work hard enough and stick to a given task or dream. I wish this game actually pounded away at this notion. We all have one life, and often we aren’t rewarded for staying honest, working hard, or doing the things games trumpet.

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After the huge amount of success and critical acclaim for Mobigame’s Edge [$2.99] (not to mention all of the trademark dispute drama), everyone was curious what game they could release to follow up such a monstrous title. It turned out that game was Cross Fingers [99¢/Lite], a Tangram-style puzzle game that did a fantastic job of utilizing the multi-touch capabilities of Apple’s iOS devices.

Cross Fingers involved completing a series of puzzles by sliding together various pieces into their intended slots to form a complete shape. Some of the harder levels required complex usage of multiple fingers to move each piece to the correct position, often resulting in a fun game of finger Twister on your touch screen. It contained 90 regular levels and an additional 30 master levels, with an endless Arcade mode unlockable as a bonus upon completion of every level. We liked Cross Fingers quite a bit when we reviewed it in November of 2009.

Today, Cross Fingers has received a substantial update which includes a whopping 270 additional levels as well as Game Center leaderboards. It’s also a universal app now, and the graphics have been optimized for the iPad and Retina Display devices in both the full and lite versions.

Despite releasing nearly a year and a half ago, Cross Fingers is still a ton of fun today. It features a clean aesthetic, clever game mechanics, and fun use of multi-touch. Including this latest update, it now tops out at 390 levels plus an endless mode, which is a whole lot of content for the price. And speaking of price, Cross Fingers is also on sale for 99¢ to celebrate the new update. If you enjoy well designed puzzle games, Cross Fingers is a solid choice and you should definitely at least check out the lite version.

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While I'm not the retro overlord our own Blake Patterson is, I've always thought it would be super cool to have a cocktail arcade machine. Even though the iPad doesn't have the 30 years worth of pizza grease on it like your typical Pac-Man cocktail table would have, the iPad is a surprisingly good substitute when it comes to face to face single device multiplayer. Where am I going with all this? Well, Super Cosmic Word Snake [$2.99] combines so many things I like in an iPad game it's almost like 3V Games built their game off some design document of mine that I haven't even created yet. It's dripping with retro charm, has simple (but incredibly fun) two player single device multiplayer, and even has Game Center.

To start playing, you need to situate the iPad between you and a friend and flip a coin (or somehow determine) who is going to play which side first. As the first player, you're responsible for growing the super cosmic word snake as much as possible. Adding body segments on to the end of said snake is as simple as hitting the 7 letter buttons at the bottom of the screen to make a word. The first letter of the word you form must start with the last letter of the worm itself. The snake then, well, snakes around the screen towards the opposite side.

Player 2 plays on the opposite side of the screen, and using a slider and a button you're able to fire at the word snake. Initially you'll need to shoot asteroids out of the way to get a clear shot, but after that you're home free to unload everything you've got on to the snake. Segments of the snake come in two types, and can be killed in one shot if those segments were added by a three (or less) letter word. Segments added from a four (or more) letter word take two shots to kill.

The game is over when the worm has either been destroyed, or it has made it all the way to the other side. After that, it starts over, and it's up to you whether or not you switch places. There's also a single player mode included as well, although it's substantially less fun than playing with another person. In fact, if you don't have someone to play with, I'd go as far as just suggesting sticking with more typical single player oriented word games.

I really like how retro-ized the whole game is, and how the graphics and interface are designed to look just like a cocktail table arcade machine. It's also neat how the two players play the game so differently, with one player playing what amounts to a retro-style shooter while the other plays a word game. It would be cool to have some additional game modes, or power-ups of sorts that could keep things a little more even if one player was particularly good at their goal, but overall Super Cosmic Word Snake is a surprisingly fun two player iPad game.

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