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The remarkably popular Doodle Jump [99¢] is officially coming to the iPad, according to Lima Sky's Igor Pusenjak. They've actually been hard at work on the iPad version since they first got their hands on the devices, but instead of simply rushing a high resolution version of the same game to the App Store, the Pusenjak brothers are experimenting with all kinds of different graphics sizes, screen orientations, and features for a truly great Doodle Jump iPad experience.

In other news, Doodle Jump has been downloaded over 4,000,000 times so far, easily making it one among the very best selling games on the App Store. Lima Sky also has updates planned over the next three months to add even more awesome stuff to the game.

If you're somehow unfamiliar with Doodle Jump, you simply must check it out. Doodle Jump is an extremely simple tilt-controlled jumping game that is both easy enough to be fun for casual players in the early game, and challenging enough to allow for a hardcore ceiling of online high scores that reach in to the millions.

App Store Link: Doodle Jump, 99¢

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Majic Jungle Software has just posted a new video demonstrating their upcoming Chopper 2 game played on an iPad while being controlled by an iPhone over Bluetooth.

While not an entirely practical way to play your iPad games, it's also something we're itching to try when it comes out.

As we previewed in March, Chopper 2 is a rewrite of the original game with 3D graphics, numerous different landscapes and a realistic physics system. Chopper 2 is said to be in late stages of development and should be coming soon. It will be released for both iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.

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For those of you who had issues installing Espgaluda II onto your 3rd Gen iPod Touches, the new update now fixes that. Along with a few other bugs being fixed:

- Fixed install error for 3rd generation iPod touch
- Fixed issue where sound does not play when receiving a call
- Fixed issue where save data is not saved under certain conditions
- Fixed issue where some achievements do not unlock due to data not being
saved.

The game is a bullet hell-style shooter by Cave Co. that we reviewed earlier this month and really loved.

However, due to the number of projectiles in the game, Espgaluda II requires a 3rd generation device. This includes the iPhone 3GS, 3rd Generation iPod Touch and even the iPad (works great even in pixel doubled mode).

In addition to releasing an update to the full version, a free Lite version is now available to try out to see how you like the game. It is also suggested that you install the Lite version to confirm that the game is compatible with your device.

Compared to the full version, the Lite version only includes the first stage, one character, one difficulty mode, and OpenFeint is not integrated.

Here is a video of the game in action:

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $8.99, Espgaluda II Lite, Free (Both games; 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch or Pixel-Doubled on iPad only)

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Nearly a year ago I took a look at PDJ Apps' iPhone homage to Inner Space (ok, that's a joke) Nano Fighter [App Store] and found it to be a decent dual-stick shooter in the vein of Robotron and Geometry Wars. It's not the best or most feature-packed shooter I've encountered, but it makes for a fun few minutes of shooter action on the go. Pavel Doichev has recently released Nano Fighter for iPad [App Store]. And it can be described in pretty much the same terms as the iPhone original.

In Nano Fighter for iPad, as with the iPhone original, you take the helm of a microscopic vessel working your way through a host organism, battling various immune systems and bacterial baddies. It's a level to level progression, and each level is only one minute long, so the difficulty ramps up pretty quickly. It's a decent shooter that delivers real intensity

I was somewhat disappointed to see that the iPad version, although designed for the device's larger, high res screen, features sprites that appear to be simply up-scaled renditions of those from the iPhone version. As well, there's something about the controls of the iPad version that come up short as compared to the iPhone original — it's hard to articulate. Nano Fighter, for these reasons, actually feels a better fit for the iPhone than for it's new, larger sibling.

All that said, right now Nano Fighter for iPad is going for $.99, a half-price introductory sale that should last a few days more. My advice is to grab it now if you're a fan of the iPhone version and are looking for some shooter fun on your new iPad. When it jumps up to $1.99, we might recommend that iPad users just grab the $.99 iPhone original to run at 2x scaled. It's fun to play on both platforms, but I'd hoped for a little bit more from an iPad rework.

App Store Link: Nano Fighter for iPad, $.99 (limited time)

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Argharta Studio has finally submitted the second episode of 1112 to the App Store. The original installment of the series was first released in November of 2008 and was a highly anticipated point and click adventure for the iPhone. The follow up episode is finally arriving soon.

Louis has arrived in New York in a rather mysterious way… Help him discover why he has ended up in New York and follow his adventure promising unexpected developments and encounters.

Agharta has released new screenshots as well as a trailer video.

Features found in episode 2 include:

• All new advanced graphical design and artistic direction
• 25 new larger than life environments
• 14 new characters
• Various puzzles, each with a specific gameplay
• An incredibly responsive Multi-Touch user interface
• Original score
• Elaborate interactive narrative
• Totally redesigned game engine

The first episode had somewhat mixed user reviews, so we'll be interested to see how the game has progressed in the time since. It seems they've redone much of the game engine and gameplay for episode 02. The game will be coming for both iPhone and iPad.

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iPhone developer TouchGrove, who brought us the retro '70s LED Football [App Store] for the iPhone and the entertaining Air Harp [App Store] for the iPad, has released another retro remake, Castle Bash [App Store] for the iPad.

Castle Bash is a remake of Atari's 1980 arcade release Warlords, which is probably best known for its release on the Atari 2600 console in 1981. Rated the 25th greatest video game of all time by Game Informer, Warlords allows up to four players to compete in a castle defense bout that's something of a combination of Breakout and Elimination / Quadrapong.

Warlords presents a game screen consisting four castles, one in each corner, each of which must be defended by a movable shield that can slide along the castle walls. The shield is used to deflect a fireball that bounces about the play area, knocking out bricks on impact with a castle wall. If a wall is breached and the fireball knocks out the king inside, that player gets zero points for the round, while the last player standing gets one point. The game allows for one to four human players to get in on the action.

Castle Bash is pretty much an exact rendition of the Warlords formula. The game allows either one or four human players to man each castle, the latter scenario making great use of the iPad's large screen for tabletop group gaming. There is an Arcade mode which is just one round of quick play, as well as a Tournament mode that brings round after round of play. The game's visuals are straight up retro, with blocky, glowing pixels that, along with the simple, "blippy" sound effects, will take anyone familiar with the Atari classic right back to the early '80s.

Castle Bash, like Warlords before it, is a rather simple game by today's standards — we're talking 30 year-old gameplay, after all. But it is entertaining. In fact, Warlords was recently released on the Xbox Live Arcade. The only real complaint I have with the title is the need to trace a finger along the line of the castle walls to move your shield. The arcade and 2600 releases used spinners / paddles, which would've been better approximated with a simple, linear touch slider. It's definitely more of a preference than a deal-breaker, though.

App Store Link: Castle Bash, $2.99

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One of the early classic iPhone games PapiJump is now available for the iPad. We first discovered PapiJump back in August, 2008 and found it to be a surprisingly fun experience. The game later inspired Lima Sky's Doodle Jump which has also been a massive success.

While Lima Sky is still putting the final touches on their iPad version of Doodle Jump, you can play PapiJump on the iPad for free.

I can't say PapiJump for iPad is anything more than a novelty, but it plays differently than you might expect. The iPad version will play in both landscape and portrait, though I found the landscape (steering wheel hold) more natural. In contrast, the iPhone version has always been a one-handed portrait affair. Sunflat has also added swipe and touch controls to the iPad verison.

App Store Link: PapiJump for iPad, Free

Meanwhile, James Cameron's Avatar from Gameloft is now available in an iPad version.

The iPad-optimized version does not appear to have any new content, but does have improved graphics and reconfigured controls for your iPad-enjoyment.

App Store Link: James Cameron's Avatar for iPad, $9.99

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Gameloft's Naomi and Josh are back again to bring us another look inside of Gameloft. Like most of their video podcasts, they include a good mix of things you've likely already seen if you follow TouchArcade closely along with some new reveals.

This one is much longer than their other video podcasts, so if you don't want to sit through the whole thing, you can skip to these points of interest:

• 0:00 – Gameloft visits the New York City Fifth Avenue Apple Store and talks to some people about the iPad, along with interviewing some of their own developers who discuss how great the iPad is going to be for gaming.
• 2:51 – iPad trailers for HD versions of Shrek Kart, Brothers in Arms 2 Global Front, Hero of Sparta, and Avatar
• 5:13 – Blokus overview, including some tips and video of what playing the actual board game looks like.
• 6:26 – Iron Man 2 gameplay iPhone gameplay footage, as well as revealing that the game will be simultaneously coming to all three devices. They're not clear as to whether or not this means Iron Man 2 will be universal, or if the iPhone version will simply launch with the iPad HD version.
• 8:02 – Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction gameplay video combined with an overview of the iPhone exclusive Potomac River level which apparently is going to feature a rails shooter portion.
• 8:45 – Gameloft officially reveals Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within. They don't show any gameplay, but the cinematic trailer is pretty cool.
• 10:45 – Explanation of the various contests Gameloft is currently running to get free games and even a trip to their offices in Paris
• 11:45 – Gameloft closes their video podcast with a brief Q&A and revealed that their games generally take a year to develop from early concepts, to actual development, testing, and everything else.

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NimbleBit is holding another Freebie Friday on April 23rd, this time the free game being offered is their newest release, Dizzypad for the iPhone. It's already gone free for those of you who want to jump on it early.

We gave Dizzypad 4 stars back in February for being a fun casual game.

The goal is to simply get as far as you can while jumping from lily pad to lily pad. Each lily pad is spinning in place, and a well timed tap on the screen will launch you forward. The trick is to wait until you are facing the right direction and off you go. Sounds simple, eh?

In addition to making their iPhone version of Dizzypad free for the day, Nimblebit has announced that Dizzypad is coming to the iPad as well. The iPad version of Dizzypad will be freemium, where you will get the classic game mode, 30 unlockable frog skins, and plus+ with awards and leaderboards included. In addition, there will also be three new game modes available to purchase through DLC for $1.99 each:

Sliders: A fun twist on the classic mode. Test your timing with pads that slide back and forth instead of rotating in place!
Memory: Be a froggy matchmaker and test your memory by picking frog pairs. Guaranteed to sharpen your wits!
Battle: Duke it out on the pond with a friend in this 2 player mode! Try your best to gobble each other up until your frog grows the largest.

Dizzypad for the iPad has already been submitted, so expect to see it soon in the AppStore.

Here's a video of the iPhone version in action:

App Store Link: Dizzy Pad, Free (Today Only)

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Owners of the original iPhone will remember the dark days before the App Store or even the original jailbreaks and third party software when games and apps consisted of nothing more than clever web pages, usually loaded to the brim with javascript. The games were basic, and the "apps" consisted of little more than simple database-powered applets and tip calculators, but they did the trick.

Akihabara is a HTML5 toolbox filled with all kinds of neat goodies that creative developers can use to make browser games. On the Akihabara web site there are five demo games ranging from a simple Tetris-like game to a basic Zelda clone. The cool part is, these games work on every modern non-Internet Explorer browser, including the browsers of the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and apparently even other touchscreen phones like the Palm Pre.

Depending on what platform you're playing on, all of the proper controls appear on screen or you use the keyboard and arrow keys. On the iPhone, virtual controls pop up at the bottom of the screen and while they're not as responsive as a native game, it's still pretty amazing to think you're essentially playing a web page– Without even a smidge of Flash.

All of the games on the Akihabara site are free, and really worth a spin both because they're really impressive pieces of web development but also so you can appreciate what things were like before the App Store came around.

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