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11 Bit Studios decision to make a tower defense game set in a bombed-out, alien-infested world otherwise full of sand, bullets, and bombs doesn’t seem like an inspired design direction for a downloadable game from a new studio, but it totally is. Despite its over-saturated genre and its dull name, Anomaly: Warzone Earth [$1.99 / HD] has something new to share and its fresh conceits are executed in some of the most graceful, simple, and visually striking ways I’ve seen in a long time. It nails its strategy component by providing unique constructs, it nails its controls, and it nails its look, which is really is a treat on touch devices.

The easiest way to express what Anomaly does is with the phrase “tower defense in reverse,” which sorta sounds cheesy, but it’s pretty good approximation. Basically, you control the creeps in an environment laced with enemy turrets. Anomaly takes this idea a step further by giving you control over what kind of creeps you can build, the order in which you place your creeps,  and by also allowing you to plot out the course you’ll take dynamically during the mission.

Outside of this next-level take on tower defense, what’s really magical about this game is that the mixture of troops you deploy in the field — whether it be a combination of tank, APAC, missile launcher-thing, shield generator, or whatever else — changes the way you’ll approach each given mission, altering the paths you take in subtle, but important ways. If there was ever a game primed for replays, this is it. It's insane flexible.

You alter your direction, for the most part, because of the way the turrets are designed. Some, for example, only spit high-damage ‘bullets’ in one direction, while others blast electricity or throw out pulses that disrupt your approach. In other situations, it's the environment you'll need to plot around. All these obstructions ensures that your creep build is fluid, which makes for a very satisfying strategic experience. My lizard brain is still a little unnerved by how deep such a tremendously simple-looking game like this can be.

There’s a lot that goes into creep formations. Early on, you’ll get the ability to trade in-game cash for armor and weapon improvements on a per level basis. Later, you’ll receive the ability to buy other vehicles that flesh out a range of attack options. There's even one that can churn out one of Anomaly’s other remarkable — and ultimately satisfying — mechanics: power-ups. As you kill turrets, you’ll be able to retrieve powers that can mask your troops, heal them, or re-direct enemy fire. Eventually, you’ll get access to a bomb that’ll eliminate foes en masse according to your drop location. The implications of how you deploy  power-ups in a given situation has a huge impact on how you play, build, and move, too.

The decision to render the game in a top-down perspective was an apt one, considering this is almost a god game of sorts. You direct all the movement, the moment-to-moment action, and drop power-ups onto the field with direct touches into the game world. The touch in general is precise, fluid, and native-feeling, which is awesome, but also doubly-awesome considering that this is a port of a mouse and keyboard game.

One of my few issues with Anomaly loosely ties into the activation of power-ups. If you’re not on the ball, it’s very possible that you could accidentally drop one while scrolling through a level. And, hey, while we’re on the subject of bad — the writing and setup are both dreadful.

None of the writing really matters, though, as it’s really just a crutch for the premise of the next level, most of which bring a new design element to the table. One of my favorites is the one that has you killing specific power plants with live wiring scattered throughout the level. This premise revolves around identifying which plants to destroy first, while avoiding the lines you can't get to just yet.  In other levels, you’ll also find yourself doing the normal video game stuff like escorting, protecting, and stopping enemies from damaging specific goals. Outside of the campaign, there's a tack-on mode Horde-ish mode that adds wave-based play into the mix. It's okay, but not anywhere near as entertaining as the core experience.

It’s ridiculous how much Anomaly has to offer and how natural it feels on touch devices. I don’t think it’s out of line to call it one of the best games on the market at the moment, as its easily one the visually sharpest, most well-produced, and executed out there. If you want a tower defense game that does things differently, or if you just want a solid strategy title that gives you near complete control over the experience, this is it.

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Texas Hold'em is one of those games that's better in person. It just isn't the same if you can't pull out your best poker face. But as we mentioned in our preview, you can now get that experience from the comfort of your couch if you've got an iPad 2, because Full Deck Hold'Em [$2.99] includes video chat integration in its multiplayer gameplay, and it works beautifully.

For those who aren't on the latest, greatest hardware, it also has nearly everything else you could ask for in a Hold'em app: sixteen AI players to compete against, up to four-player multiplayer through Game Center, eight tables with a range of buy-ins and a lot more. There are some rough spots in the interface, but the core experience is great.

The video functionality is awesome. I haven't played a game that makes this kind of use of the iPad 2's front-facing camera before, and I'm impressed with how well it works. The video quality is limited by the hardware, of course, but it's more than sufficient for keeping an eye on your opponents and chatting freely. Since this review was written before release we only had the chance to test it with two players, which worked without a hitch, but the game supports it for up to four players, which sounds super cool. The experience is like playing face to face with friends, and it makes things so much more fun. On the other hand, if being on camera sounds like the worst thing ever, the game offers granular control for who you want to see and who's allowed to see you — if anyone.

If you'd prefer to go solo, you'll be happy to know that there's a great mix of AI opponents in the game. According to GRL Games, each of the opponents has a unique personality, and they also model their behavior from your play style to improve over time. It's a bit hard to actually see the nuances of that at work, but I can say from experience that the different AI players feel distinct from each other, and they're all fairly convincing. They won't play stupidly, but some play more aggressively than others, and some like to bluff when they can. Most of them are quite cautious, though, and tend to fold on a dime. Still, while it can't replace the intensity of playing with other people, the AI certainly puts up a good fight.

For players who find the game a bit too challenging, there are plenty of opportunities to keep from busting out. The game will bail you out if you run too low, and each day you can take a spin on the slot machine for a chance at bonus winnings to keep the cash flowing. If you need a big influx of cash because you want to hit one of the higher-end tables, you can also buy chips with real money. If you're good for cash but need a little assistance in taking down the AI, Full Deck Hold'Em offers free, sponsored powerups that let you stack the odds just a tiny bit in your favor.

Though the game starts you off with a $200 buy in and $10 bet limits, you can work your way up to no limits tables and eventually a $20 million buy in for the big spenders. You can also rank on the Biggest Hand leaderboard and collect Game Center achievements for beating the AI, winning with specific hands and winning or losing big. It's enough to keep the biggest Hold'em fans busy for a long time.

Early on, however, don't be surprised if you have some trouble with the game's interface. It's largely lacking the little considerations that help players orient themselves. A more obvious turn indicator would be nice, for instance, and with such a big screen to play with, it's strange that the betting controls are jammed into the lower right corner. It would also be nice to be able to see how much you're betting, even in limit games — especially since new players may not immediately understand how betting differs when there are limits. There's a lot going on in Full Deck Hold'Em, and a little hand holding really wouldn't hurt.

But those things are fixable, and according to the developer we should see improvements to the interface in the first update. The big stuff is all in place, with AI that's up to a challenge and online multiplayer that's made even better with video chat. If you have even a basic understanding of how to play Texas Hold'em, you won't have any trouble digging deep into Full Deck Hold'Em — and if you don't, I'm sure the sharks kind people in our discussion thread will be happy to help you out.

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Oh hey, it's Wednesday again. There's a ton of great games coming out this evening, although, for us, they're all overshadowed by Anomaly Warzone Earth. We've been looking forward to this game for so long it isn't even funny, and it's finally here.

Wednesday nights work different from most nights of the week on the App Store because iOS developers just love setting the release dates for their games to Thursdays. Being a global market and all, the App Store has different regions governed my different time zones. Because of this, things get released in New Zealand first since thanks to their proximity to the International Date Line, it becomes Thursday there before everywhere else. Things slowly trickle out until 11:00 PM Eastern when everything finally hits the US App Store.

Here's what's coming tonight:

Anomaly Warzone Earth, $1.99 / HD – Forum Thread – As mentioned before, we couldn't be more excited for this game. It's essentially tower defense in reverse with a whole heap of sci-fi stylings on top of it. We've had our hands on various pre-release versions, and couldn't be more happy with the game.

Cado, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – This seems to be a physics-based puzzle game where you've got to roll a ball into a hole. It might not be the most innovative thing ever, but I'm digging the simple doodle-based art style.

Candy Boy, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – A match three with puzzle platforming mechanics? That actually sounds just crazy enough to work. I'm curious to see how well each genre compliments the other.

Defender of the Crown, $2.99 – Forum Thread – The Amiga classic comes to the App Store in all of its retro glory. Manomio has redone the controls to require no typing, and I expect this port to be just as awesome as their previous retro ports.

Exitium: Saviors of Vardonia, $1.99 – Forum Thread – Action RPG's have been fairly successful on the App Store between both Zenonia and Inotia as well as other series. Exitium seems to follow in their path with some incredibly awesome looking graphics.

Flick Soccer!, 99¢ – Forum Thread – Full Fat Games is applying the awesome gameplay found in Flick Golf to the sport of soccer (or fútbol or whatever they call it outside the land of liberty) and I'm expecting it to be just as much fun.

Full Deck Hold'Em, $2.99 – Forum Thread – We've had our hands on a preview copy of this game for a few days now, and just when you thought that everything in the world of iOS poker had been done, GRL Games adds video chat. It's amazingly fun playing online, as the video feed makes you feel like you're actually playing poker with a friend instead of just playing an online game.

Fossil Feast, 99¢ / Lite – Forum Thread – This release from Namco has you in charge of piloting a pterodactyl and eating everything in sight. An upgrade system seems like it'll add some depth to the game.

Julius Styles – The International, $2.99 – Forum Thread – It's finally here. Wesley Snipes' game! I'm still not entirely sure what's involved in it, but the iTunes description mentions a morality system. That's always fun.

Let's Golf! 3, Free – Forum Thread – I love Hot Shots Golf which basically means I've loved all the Let's Golf games. This most recent one takes a freemium approach to things, which seems like it could work well depending on how Gameloft implements their payment system.

NyxQyest, 99¢ / Lite / HD / HD Lite – Forum Thread – This platformer leans heavily on Greek mythology, which could potentially be really cool, and you play as a girl with wings which sounds pretty awesome to me.

Pickpawcket, 99¢ – Forum Thread – This game pits cats against dogs to… steal art. Get it, you're a Pickpawcket. Stealth mechanics seem to be the name of the game here.

Pigs in Trees, 99¢ / HD – Forum Thread – In this game, you play as a pig in an airplane defending his tree from birds. (Sound familiar?) The art looks great, and there's always room on my iPhone for another line drawing game it seems.

Rugby Kicks, Free – Forum Thread – As an ignorant American, I'm not entirely sure what you do in rugby but it seems to apparently involve kicking a ball for points. The iTunes description makes it sounds like there's a lot of customization and depth, so if you're into rugby this might be a freebie to try.

Spacelings, 99¢ – Forum Thread – This space-based puzzle game requires you to adjust your tractor beam to suck up lost space cadet dudes. I like the premise, and although it's hard to see in the video, the game seems to have some great looking graphics.

Zen Wars, 99¢ – Forum Thread – The makers of Legendary Wars seem to have realized that the best part of any RTS-like game is base building, and built an entire game around that. There's even online Game Center multiplayer to see who can construct the best cannon-packed base.

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Game Doctors’ undead battle game, Zombie Smash [$.99 / HD / Free / HD Free], is now cheaper and boasts a new online mode courtesy an update-job that wormed through certification this afternoon. The new mode is a head-to-head “Battle Game Mode,” which will have you, basically, defending and attacking the zombie horde as usual while a friend does the same. The man who holds out the longest wins.

Game Center support as well as voice chat support have been added. The former we can really get behind, but the latter? Well, let’s just say we’ve heard enough of what 12-year-olds have had to say when they think they’re alone and anonymous.

As for the sale part, Zombie Smash is now 50 percent off from its usual price. On the smaller devices, it’s sitting at an agreeable $.99. On the iPad, it’s just $1.99. That’s a deal for us — we’re huge fans of the game, as we established in our review. If you're still gun shy, you can also download the various Lite versions of the game.

Lastly, some bugs have been addressed in this latest update. The pesky zombie unlock issues have been addressed, as well as those Camp 2 Night woes for people with old school phones and iPod Touches. Oh! And now you can see boss energy bars, as well as monitor your own damage better courtesy an enhanced alert system. As if we needed to be reminded how much we suck.

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Firaxis Games’ spiritual successor to Civilization II’s Space Race conclusion, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, might see new life in this generation. The all-seeing eyes over at NeoGAF have spotted two unique and new EA trademarks for the game (simply Alpha Centauri) across the US and Europe, which begs the question of what exactly the publisher plans to do with the sci-fi inspired, turn-based strategy property.

Trademarks are a slippery slope in the gaming arena. It’s just as possible that we’ll never see Alpha Centauri in a new form as it’s possible that we could. EA isn’t talking and I seriously doubt it will until it has a marketing campaign good and ready. Also, to be crystal clear, the trademarks are for “computer game software” and “online computer games.”

One place we’d love to see the game again would be, naturally, on the iPad. Turn-based games function pretty well on the platform in general, and provided any possible new form of the game keeps to the original’s roots, we see ourselves having a blast with it. Heck, we’d even take a straight-up port of the 1999 game. Fingers crossed.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

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Pocket God [99¢] is an App Store phenomenon that just doesn't stop. Originally released all the way back in January of 2009, Pocket God has now seen it's 40th major content update, which basically blows away every other iOS game imaginable when it comes to updates. Looking back on it, if you flipped out a buck on the game back when it was first released, how far that dollar has gone is just incredible. Similarly, the amount of content included in Pocket God now is just nuts, to the point that I don't really even know where you'd start if you just downloaded it today.

The latest update, entitled "Battle of the Gods plays off the previous update where players collected idols. These idols are now used for what amounts to almost rock paper scissors Pokemon-style battles with your pygmies. You can get a look at how this all works in the associated trailer that was just released:

The "Battle of the Gods" update should be slowly propagating throughout the App Store now, so if it isn't appearing for you yet just wait a bit and it should. We've got to tip our hat at Bolt Creative's Dave Castelnuovo and Allan Dye for sticking with Pocket God for so long. I mean really, 40 updates? That's just nuts. Also, if you haven't yet, be sure to give Pocket God: Journey to Uranus [99¢] a try as well.

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The classic iOS fruit-slashing game Fruit Ninja [99¢] made the jump to Xbox Live Arcade today. The concept behind the game is identical with the major difference being how the game is controlled. Instead of swiping with your fingers, Fruit Ninja Kinect utilizes the Kinect accessory to allow you to wildly flail your arms around to slice fruit. This is all presented in a really clever way, with your body appearing as a silhouette behind the fruit on the screen.

Take a look at the awesome release trailer:

Fruit Ninja Kinect is available for 800 Microsoft points, which equates to $10. You can find it just by searching around the Xbox Live Arcade section on your Xbox 360, or you can get it from Microsoft's online marketplace. There's even a free demo you can try. Yes, I realize this is TouchArcade, not XboxArcade, but come on, how cool is it to see an original iOS game hopping to consoles utilizing new and crazy control methods? I can't wait to give it a try.

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With adventure games seeing a serious revival on iOS, it should come as no surprise the ports keep on coming. Case in point, Beeworks Games took to bringing over Success' Touch Detective [Free] from the Nintendo DS, a five-year-old game that never saw massive sales on its initial release, but is given new life on iOS. The game got lukewarm reviews when initially released, but an innovative release methodology on iOS helps break it apart from the rest of the pack.

With each of the game's four chapters you'll be taking on the role of Mackenzie, a fledgling detective who has just received her first case. In the demo chapter, you'll need to solve the mystery of stolen dreams, and in later chapters you'll solve a disappearance, an assault and help a stranded person. There are also a series of side missions and a bonus escape the room mini-game.

What Touch Detective nails best is its implementation of in-app purchases. Instead of offering a quick glance at the game in a demo, you'll get the entire first chapter for free, which, depending on your ability to solve absurd puzzles, will give you an hour or two of playtime. You can pick up the additional chapters individually for $3.99 each, or buy the whole pack for $8.99.

While the folks over at Telltale are busy pushing along the rebirth of adventure games and trying to drive the genre forward with logical puzzle elements, Touch Detective sticks to its roots and instead offers  idiotic puzzles that take absurd amounts of trial-and-error tapping to solve. For instance, in the first chapter, you're tasked with repairing a butterfly net, which you have to do by combining it with a spider web. On no planet and at no age-range does this logic work. It plays to the genre's roots and for fans of very early adventure games, the busted logic of Touch Detective won't be as ridiculous as it is to new comers. Even still, nobody wants to relive the cat-hair moustache of Gabriel Knight 3.

Despite the niggling problem of logic-defying puzzles, Touch Detective is full of charm and wit. From the heavily lined artwork to the bizarre cast of characters, the game keeps itself interesting by offering you a world worth exploring. This comes to shape in the goofy dialogue, the hair brained internal monologues of Mackenzie and the amusing item descriptions.

The port from DS to iOS works well, with touch implementation working as naturally as you'd expect. Touch Detective does a good job of not feeling like a port and while it certainly could have been brought over in the same, awkward dual-screen setup of the original, Beeworks instead decided to utilize the bigger screen to its advantage. Subsequently, it looks and controls great and the art-style really shines.

It's rare we get to make more than a passing mention on the writing in an iOS game, but Touch Detective, for all its faults, features dialogue and scenarios well worth comment. The actual overarching story isn't particularly noteworthy, but the rest of the writing is enjoyable and might occasionally cause you to actually chuckle out loud. It's weird in a way that few games can be and although slogging through hundreds of text bubbles is an art only a few can appreciate, it's at least well worth the effort.

It's unfortunate the puzzles in Touch Detective aren't better, because the presentation of the game alone makes it worth checking out. The interface is one of the best in any adventure game released on iOS and the charm is so thick it's hard not to get a little enjoyment out of playing it. If you have the tenacity to deal with the trial-and-error style of the puzzles, you'll enjoy your time with it.

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The horrible thing about You Don’t Know Jack [$2.99 / HD] is that once you finish it, you really, really finish it. All the answers and questions repeat, and there’s nothing to go back to. For what it’s worth, the game has been updated with two more mini-episodes on the house, which should give you a few more minutes of play. This update also rolls in a few bug fixes.

In other YDKJ update news, creator Jellyvision is readying a “six-pack” of new episodes. No price or date was given in the patch note announcement, but we’re guessing it’ll cost you a few bucks via IAP. Not only do the console versions of the game have a similar setup, but the focus on the “free” part of these latest episodes implies that others will cost later. Two-player multiplayer is also in the works, according to the notes in the HD version.

Chances are that this coming six-pack won’t be the last, and that’s good news. You Don’t Know Jack is a great trivia game, but it definitely needs freshened up with more unique content. I’ll be jumping in again, no doubt.

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We're not patent lawyers, but we wanted to brave the legal waters just one more time in order to bring you this update on the unfolding Lodsys drama: Apple is still insisting on intervening in court on behalf of App Store developers despite a reported initial rebuke from Lodsys. It's recently responded to Lodsys' response of Apple's first go at intervention. Provided Apple is allowed to intervene, this should take a lot of pressure off of the sue-ees — at least, that's our best take from our armchair positions.

FOSS Patents is reporting on this brief, which popped up earlier this week. In the article, it outlines a pretty snappy summary of the arguments Apple has put together. Point four sums up what’s going on from its perspective pretty well. Apple fears that developers might drop the store if things get too murky:

"Apple's License lies at the heart of this case, Lodsys has already sued numerous significant Apple customers and threatened dozens of others, and a boycott of some of Apple's core products by App developers has been proposed." 

Earlier this July, Lodsys turned its sights from independent developers to the big dogs. Electronic Arts, Atari, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, and Rovio Mobile are all now included in the battle, according to an earlier FOSS Patents report.

This is a fight over a patent for IAP and links to upgrade to other versions of games, so it’s hard to believe that Apple will let this one go. To be frank, it’s hard to believe that companies with the deep pockets of EA and Rovio will either, but I suppose we’ll see. One horribly slow step at a time, folks.

[Via Foss Patents, TUAW]

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