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Robot Entertainment told us that it wanted to support iPad and new iPad with a Hero Academy [Free] update, and it wasn’t pulling our collective tail. This morning, the talented developer announced that a Universal update, which will also support the high-resolution display on the new iPad, is coming “soon.”

In even better news, a new team called the Tribe is coming soon as well. Robot describes these guys as brutes: “powerful and ruthless, the Tribe are aggressive warriors that are always on the attack,” the announcement reads. A convenient class-by-class breakdown of this upcoming team is available on Robot Entertainment’s blog. We’re most impressed by the Warrior. This little green sweetie can instantly KO any wounded enemy unit under 50 percent health.

If we had to guess a date for these releases, we’re guessing April 8th-ish. Robot notes that it’ll be showing off a Universal build during PAX East. It’s hard to imagine that the official release version won’t appear during or soon after the event. We’ll see, though.

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If you’ve been whining for an extra bits update in 1-Bit Ninja [$1.99 / Lite], you can stop now. DogByte Games has you covered on that front, as its new ninja game, creatively titled 8-Bit Ninja, has SEVEN MORE BITS. That’s, like, a lot.

Seriously, though, you should check this out. Taking place in a world where ninjas have tournaments that don’t involve men with metal plates stapled to their heads, you play as a variety of tiny ninjas tasked with evading fruit after a demonstration of ninja-ness goes sideways. We’ve got some footage just below:

8-Bit Ninja will be free and it’s due out at some point next month. We’re going to bring you more on it in the near future, for sure.

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There’s never been a better time than now to jump into Kode 80’s 1-Bit Ninja [$1.99 / Lite]. A free Lite version of the game is now available on the App Store, giving users a taste of the full arcade-oriented, perspective-jostling experience. Specifically, it rocks five of the game’s first levels.

Here’s another reason: the game’s first major content update since its debut in 2011 is now out, too. The newly-introduced World 5 picks up right where World 4 had left us wanting more, and, as a bonus, this update also packs in a nifty custom checkpoint feature. Kode 80 says this takes the edge off some of the trickiest sections. I’ve been having trouble in the first level, so, uh, here’s to finally seeing that one through.

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Talk about radical news: Beamdog and Overhaul Games‘ Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition for iPad will support multiplayer. Also, publisher Beamdog isn’t looking to kill your wallet. Kotaku is reporting that it’ll launch this summer for under $10.

We still don’t know a lot about this version, which seems crazy since this it’s one of the most anticipated releases in 2012. We do have a few more interesting tidbits for you, though: the game will rock an enhanced version of the game’s original Infinity Engine, and is set to sport a new character and adventure. The Tales of the Sword expansion is also a part of the package from the get-go.

We’ll be talking with Overhaul games soon, so feel free to drop any questions or comments you have under this post. We proudly accept all froms of “what” and various statements containing disbelief, excitement, or extreme nerd-ery.

[via Kotaku]

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Finnish studio Futuremark Games Studio has a new owner: Rovio Mobile, the creators of Angry Birds. In an announcement today, Rovio announced the acquisition of FGS, but it didn’t disclose what the studio will be doing for its new owner. It also didn’t talk about what it paid, though that’s pretty standard.

This is an interesting buy on a couple of levels. Futuremark was once a two-studio company. One was a 3D benchmarking studio, the other made passable games like, say, Unstoppable Gorg [$4.99 / Free]. Rovio has acquired the latter as opposed to the former, and its allowing the main arm retain all of its game studios’ known IP. Futuremark will be able to make sequels, then.

The PC version of Unstoppable Gorg.

In a press release, Rovio says that this is all just a part of its “rapid expansion in entertainment, publishing, animation, and retail.” Rovio plans to “continue to focus on seeking out the world’s best talent to join its team.”

Futuremark, by the way, will continue with benchmarks. In a statement we received, Futuremark says that it will churn out a new version of 3DMark this year that will “allow a direct comparison of gaming performance across” various OSes and form factors. That sounds… fun.

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Just a quick heads up to let you know that Noodlecake Games has made two of their iOS titles free for a limited time. First up is Lunar Racer [Free], a side-scrolling 2D racer that feels like a mashup of Excitebike and Mario Kart. The physics are crazy, due to being on the Moon and all, and Lunar Racer is a frantic arcade experience due to just how easily the tides can turn during a race.

There’s also a whole host of unlockable items to trick out your ride with, as well as 12 different lunar tracks to race on. Finally, there’s a local multiplayer mode over Bluetooth or WiFi that is a total blast if you have a friend handy with another copy of the game. You can read about that and more in our review of Lunar Racer, but since it’s free you might as well just go grab it anyway and find out how it is for yourself.

The other title Noodlecake is currently offering for free is the excellent Super Stickman Golf [Free]. It’s been free a few times before, but that is definitely no reason not to grab it if you haven’t already. Super Stickman Golf is what happens when you combine the trajectory-based mechanics of an artillery style game like Worms with the rules of golf. The results are spectacular. Super Stickman Golf offers a crazy amount of single player courses to play through, and a bunch of special “power-up” golf balls to use that give you unique abilities like sticking your ball to a surface or causing it to stop suddenly and drop right out of midair.

Despite all of this single player goodness, perhaps the biggest draw of Super Stickman Golf is its fantastic online multiplayer mode, which we covered when it first hit. It’s a ridiculous amount of fun and is easily one of the finest real-time multiplayer experiences I’ve had on iOS. Needless to say, make sure to grab both Super Stickman Golf and Lunar Racer while they’re currently free if you’re a fan of not paying anything for good games.

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Hey Daniel Johnston fans, there’s another Johnston-centric game on the App Store. Daniel Johnston’s Space Ducks [ Free (HD)] joins Hi, How Are You [$2.99 / Free ] with another look into his art and music. This time around, it’s much less of a game when compared to the puzzle elements of Hi, How Are You, and instead could be described as an “interactive comic book experience.”

Space Ducks is free, and as you play through it you slowly unlock all the songs from Johnston’s upcoming album. If you’ve never heard of Daniel Johnston, Hi, How Are You is likely a much better gateway drug than Space Ducks (Check out our review of Hi, How Are You.), but, either way, I dig these sort of gamified comic book apps.

Getting access to new music early (and for free) is just icing on the cake.

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Sega’s Phantasy Star Online 2 won’t cost you a dollar — unless you’d like an item or two. Sega has announced that the upcoming sequel to the everyone’s favorite “light” MMO, Phantasy Star Online, will roll with the standard MMO free-to-play model, and charge users for select item transactions from its in-game store. Also, an iOS and Android version has been confirmed. Both are slated to hit at some point in “winter 2012,” according to Andriasang.

Keep your expectations in check, though: Sega has said that the phone versions of the game are simpler and will feature “social game elements,” on top of a basic character creation mechanism, and controls. These versions will be able to loosely communicate with the PC and Vita versions of the game, but the experiences won’t had across these platforms won’t be measuring up to each other.

Images via Andriasang.

The available intel on PSO2 still isn’t fantastic, as it seems like Sega is keeping its marketing efforts for the game contained to other regions. However, we do know that PSO2 will continue to offer the franchises’ specific blend of shooter-meets-brawler combat and offer instanced-based content. Oh, and Mags are totally coming back!

Footage of the Vita version.

[via Andriasang]

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In case there’s still a person out there who is shocked by the runaway success of the Angry Birds series, secure your monocle and try this news on for size: According to a recent tweet from Rovio, Angry Birds Space has been downloaded over ten million times in three days. Now, before you go multiplying that ten million by ninety nine cents, consider that Rovio has been historically vague with the platforms their download figures are from. Angry Birds Space launched as a 99¢ iPhone version, a $2.99 iPad version, and a free ad-supported Android version. Free versions of anything seem to be downloaded exponentially more than apps with a price tag, so it doesn’t seem that far out there to assume that a hefty chunk of those downloads came from the Android side of the fence, but still.

If you still haven’t downloaded Angry Birds Space for whatever reason, check out our review. The game is seriously just phenomenal, and as I’ve spent more time with the game I’ve been having an absolute blast attempting to three star the 99¢ IAP “Danger Zone” ultra-difficult levels. If anyone from Rovio is reading this, please keep releasing level packs like this. Heck, make ‘em more difficult, I dare you.

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At GDC earlier this month, one of my favorite upcoming games that I had a chance to play was Get Set Games’ Mega Run. They’ve taken Redford, the adorable main character from their hugely successful previous title Mega Jump [Free], and have dropped him into an auto-running game.

But, this isn’t just any boring, old auto-runner. Instead it’s literally bursting with items, power-ups, and enemies, not to mention its colorful visuals and loads of personality. Plus, it has incredibly well-designed levels with multiple pathways and tons of secrets to discover. It really is something you need to see in motion to appreciate. Which is fortunate for you, as Get Set has released a new gameplay video of Mega Run in action.

Mega Run is still in the final stages of development, and with any luck we should be seeing the title hit the App Store within the next month or two. After getting my hands on the preview version at GDC, I really can’t wait to spend some quality time with the final game. Keep your eyes firmly planted on this space and we’ll let you know just as soon as Mega Run gets a firm release date.

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