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You may not have noticed since it was a short-lived situation, but just before this past weekend Retro Racing [99¢], the fun old-school style top-down racer from Mr. Qwak, was pulled from the App Store. The sole developer behind Mr. Qwak explains the cause for the removal in a blog post on his website, but in short it was due to trying to change his Apple developer account from personal to business and hitting a few snags along the way.

The real bummer is that Retro Racing had just launched last month and was doing pretty well, selling between 1000-3000 copies a day. It sure sucks when that number abruptly drops to 0 when you aren’t expecting it. Mr. Qwak advises not making changes to your developer account during a new release period like this, a lesson he learned the hard way.

The good news is that Retro Racing has returned to the App Store, and before the removal business happened it had received a great new update. First off, the previously iPad-only same-device multiplayer mode has been enabled for iPhone and iPod touch users. It’s tiny, but it works, and I appreciate its inclusion since the local multiplayer is one of my favorite parts about Retro Racing.

The next big addition in this newest update to Retro Racing is 3 new levels, with more levels already planned for future updates. One of our biggest gripes with the game in our review was that it was so short, so it’s nice to see that being addressed. Finally, iCade support has been added to the game, which seems like a perfect fit for the style of game that Retro Racing is. You can see Retro Racing in action on the iCade in this gameplay video from the developer.

I like Retro Racing quite a bit, and am happy to see the developer account situation sorted out and the game back on the App Store. The new update is nice too, though I still have one outstanding gripe: landscape support. The game feels so cramped in portrait mode on the iPhone that I find I can only play it effectively on the iPad. Granted, it feels awesome on the iPad, but still. Maybe that option can be added in the future, but everything else about Retro Racing is top-notch, and if you hadn’t checked it out previously be sure to give it a look now that it’s back.

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I must be biologically programmed to react instantly to anything that reminds me of The Legend of Zelda for NES. Take Carota! [$1.99], for instance, which is a puzzle game starring a rabbit named Thaddeus who’s been knocked down a hole and must proceed through 50 levels of puzzling to make it back to the Earth’s surface. Must have been a deep hole, yeah?

Anyway, if you’ve ever played Zelda (and who hasn’t), you’ll recognize that some of Carota’s levels take place in a room that looks awfully like the rooms of the Zelda dungeons. And so, the nostalgia begins…

It’s really no more than a hat tip though, which I appreciate, since I’ve played plenty of Zelda clones. Carota! is anything but, going in favor of an interesting little puzzle dynamic where you turn blocks with the touch of a finger in order to guide your rabbit to the door.

This sounds very simple, and in the beginning, that is just what it is. You can drag blocks around the screen in order to craft this path, but in order to clear a level, you must use a certain number of blocks or the door will not open. This is no problem at all when your goal is to use four. It gets somewhat more complicated once you have fifteen. Did I mention the blocks also disappear after you waste enough time? Yep, there is that.

You do have a few options at your advantage, however — you can introduce new blocks in at anytime (and you’ll get a preview of what each block is, in the upper left hand corner), and you also have access to a speed button which makes your bunny friend go just a tad faster. Both of these resources are invaluable as the levels become more difficult. Since Thaddeus only walks in one direction most of the time, you’ll have to be crafty about making sure you turn blocks at just the right moments to keep him moving, too. Oh, but he always turns left at forks. And he cannot walk back on a tile he has already crossed. Have you got all this written down?

Keep that pen out. In later levels, there will be more new blocks for you to learn to work with, such as blue ones that are slippery. To say that Carota! gets difficult later down the line would be a bit of an understatement. You’ll have quite a bit going on to manage if you can progress, and that’s when one of the game’s fatal flaws comes in — it’s not always 100% responsive to touch when you are trying to move blocks around. It’s mostly responsive, but I did have a few issues where I had to drag my finger across the screen several times when trying to move a block, which meant losing the precious few seconds I needed and Thaddeus fell to his doom.

Carota! will time you as you progress through each level, so if you want to try to improve your score, the option is there. To tell you the truth, though, some of these levels drove me so crazy, I don’t think I would ever want to play them again. If you’re a high score rockstar, however, OpenFeint and Game Center are waiting for you to get in there and show off your high scores.

I liked the concept of Carota! but I thought it could have been executed better. If the controls were as responsive as I expected, I think it could have helped with the challenge of later levels, but fighting against that issue and the difficulty at the same time made me feel as if I was struggling to have a good time. When the formula works, it works well, but if you don’t have a high tolerance for punishment, you might want to spend that $1.99 elsewhere.

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Swordigo [$1.99] shouldn’t be as refreshing as it is. We were playing through better hack and slash adventures twenty years ago. But the genre has stumbled en route to the App Store, and we’ve been left waiting for a classic of the mobile era. Swordigo might just be the one.

Touch Foo is building a reputation for impressive games. Soosiz [$1.99 / HD], the studio’s first release won our hearts with a combination of novel design and great controls. Swordigo has all the things you’d expect from a good hack-n-slash: boss battles, sword combat, spell slinging, character upgrades and a ton of exploration. We’ve seen it all before. So why is it so utterly satisfying?

Scarcity is part of the reason. But Touch Foo has done more than create a game in an under-represented niche. It’s done an outstanding job of building it in the process.

From the controls to the upgrade mechanics, nearly everything in Swordigo works better than you might expect. On-screen directional controls are so often awkward, but they’re flawless here. In the eight hours I spent with the game I only bungled one or two jumps with my hand out of place, a better than reasonable margin of error. And that eight hours of content? That’s just for the main game. If you’re inclined to hunt down every last treasure chest (and earn the related Game Center achievement), expect to put in more time.

The art might be a problem for some. I’ve never been comfortable with Touch Foo’s style. The critters and character design in Soosiz grated on me, and the transition to 2.5D hasn’t helped. The environments are decent if repetitive, but it would be generous to say the character models have the detail of a Playmobil figure. You might be inclined to skip the game because of that. Don’t. The hero looks better as the game goes on, and you won’t notice the look when you’re knee deep in rock-solid gameplay.

You also shouldn’t look to this game for an original story—Swordigo goes well beyond nodding to Link and his crew. I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing—it’s a charming homage, and it’s also unobtrusive. Touch Foo clearly spent its time elsewhere, designing an impressive platforming experience and a fun set of customizable upgrades. Some of the latter can be bought with the not-rupees dropped by enemies and unsuspecting bushes. Others are found tucked away in secret treasure chests.

Early on, there isn’t much to do. You’ll have a sword and a jump button and can only do so much with the combination. But your toolbox expands as the game’s four spells are introduced. Three can be used against enemies, and all four let you interact with the environment in new ways. You can shoot switches with your magic bolts or blow up hidden walls with bombs. Boss fights take advantage of those abilities, and there are unique challenges in nearly every new area. Because of this, Swordigo stays novel for its entire length, never relying on familiar tactics for long.

If a challenge can be defeated using spells or objects from the environment, the game plays beautifully. Sword combat, on the other hand, is a bit stiff. Your attacks run in a pattern, and you’ll often need an overhead swing at just the moment you slash forward. Enemies seem designed to exploit that weakness in the most frustrating ways, firing just over your sword’s reach or swooping down and hitting you in the face. Thankfully death is rarely a problem—falling takes you back to the last ledge with a sliver of health lost, while anything more permanent drops you at the most recent checkpoint. You can also teleport between checkpoints, so it’s trivial to take a trip back to town to shop or heal.

So while there are frustrations and a handful of small bugs, they’re blips in a solid eight hours of entertainment. Whether it ends up as a hidden gem or a genuine hit, Swordigo will have earned its place in any number of hearts. Touch Foo may be treading familiar ground, but it does so with great skill. If you’re up for a good old fashioned adventure, this is where you want to be. You might also want to be in our forums—it’s dangerous to go alone.

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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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Here’s a story that has multiple layers of coolness, or, as Shrek would say (Yeah, I’m going there.) it’s like an onion. It all started back in September of last year at the 360iDev conference. 360iDev, in case you haven’t heard of it, is a great get-together for iOS developers because it’s still small enough that you can attend it and actually have a pretty good chance of meeting everyone there instead of just falling into the sea of people that show up for a massive convention like GDC. One of the things they seem to do at every 360iDev is a game jam, or, a marathon game development session where developers crank out workable games from start to finish overnight.

TUAW’s Mike Schramm attended the last one, but, instead of covering it for the site he decided to jump right in and build his own game. He blogged the whole thing, which I’ve found to be incredibly interesting to see what it’s like when a blogger jumps to the other side of the fence, so to speak. At events like these, we’re used to just showing up, hanging out, pestering whoever we can, and saying peace out… Not actually slogging through the whole gam jam process and coming out with an workable product entitled Antithesis [ ].

Original concept sketch on the left, final screenshot on the right.

The concept for the game is cool too. It’s a Pong battle, so to speak, where you control a black paddle and defend against a stream of black balls, while an AI-controlled white paddle does the same. The line in the middle shifts back and forth between both sides depending on who is playing better in a series of waves. Like most game jam titles, it isn’t the deepest game in the world, but it’s really cool reading the whole process and seeing the game in various stages of development then finally playing the end product.

Game Jam photo courtesy of RetroDreamer.

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What’s the next thing on Ravenous Games‘ plate? Spoiler: it’s not another League of Evil. Allow us to introduce you to Burger Cat, a side-scrolling 2D puzzle / platform game that’ll revolve around an unnamed cat and his epic quest to find “his delicious destination.” Ravenous says the title, which is nearly done and should launch as a Universal app some point this April, features 60 levels and several different kinds of puzzles: tools such as decoys, springs, and even umbrellas will see you through.

We’ve included the images in this post that Ravenous dropped on our message board, but you might want to swing by that thread anyway. The studio is asking our community to help it name the cat, and you’re more than welcome to throw a suggestion its way. We’ve been screaming “Dr. Meow Meow” at our screens for the last hour. It might not make sense, but c’mon.

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At the beginning of February, the team behind the action platformer Terra Noctis [99¢] announced their new iOS project called Spellsword (no relation to Rocketcat’s upcoming game). After dishing out scant details for Spellsword in our forums, the team has been quiet for the last month or so while toiling away at the project. Today they’ve sent along the first video for Spellsword that finally shows the game in action.

The core gameplay in Spellsword is arcade-style action platforming similar to Super Crate Box [$1.99], but with lots of cool upgradeable items like hats, rings, amulets, and special powers. It will also be more structured and goal-oriented than SCB with 90 missions slated for the release version as well as unlockable endless arenas. It’s looking pretty sweet so far, and it sounds like Spellsword is very near its completion, so expect to hear a release date sometime in the near future.

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