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Just a couple of weeks ago we brought you the first screens and info from the upcoming sequel to early App Store classic Blue Defense! titled Blue Defense: Second Wave. Since then, we've been able to spend some time with a work-in-progress build of the game and check out how Second Wave plays compared to the original. So far, it's shaping up really nicely. It takes the core gameplay of the first game and adds some interesting new features and a lot more content, retaining the simplicity that made the original such a joy to play but adding just enough depth to offer a really different experience.

The basics of Second Wave remain the same. You'll fight off waves of enemies with a perpetually shooting cannon firing from the center of the planet which you're trying to protect. A population of about 7 billion people act as the life of your planet, with that number dwindling with every enemy that penetrates your defense. If the population hits zero, the planet is lost and it's game over.

One of the biggest changes this time around is the ability to fire multiple cannons at once. Touching the screen at any time brings up an aiming reticule and a new stream of fire, with multitouch support for adding up to five additional streams along with the first cannon. A quick double tap on the screen locks an aiming reticule in place at that point on the screen, which can be dragged around and set anywhere you want to direct more firepower. You can set up to ten of these locked streams in addition to the five you can add by touching. Coupled with the normal cannon, that's a whopping sixteen streams of fire at your disposal.  These screens were taken from an iPhone 4 and showcase the Retina Display support in Second Wave (click to enlarge):

While this may seem like an unfair advantage, the game intelligently balances this out by making every stream share from the same pool of firepower. For example, one stream of fire will rapidly spray many bullets in one direction. Adding a stream cuts this in half, with less bullets firing more slowly out of each stream. This gets divided with each stream added, and by the time you get to the full sixteen, each stream is very slowly shooting just one bullet out at a time.

The ability to add streams adds a tremendous amount of strategy in how you choose to play the game. It's such a big help to be able to quickly direct additional fire towards incoming enemies from any direction, or lock a stream of fire towards a dense group of enemies. Besides the ability to add streams of fire, you also get a new weapon in the form of the planet cannon. Touching your planet and swiping in the direction you want to fire launches a humongous beam of destruction that's as wide as the planet itself. The planet cannon vaporizes anything in it's path, but comes with limited uses.

Here's a short video of the preview build (no sound in this build):

These additional offensive options take Second Wave to a new level, and I haven't even gone into the gauntlet mode yet. Gauntlet mode is essentially a campaign that has you defeating set levels with predetermined numbers of waves and various difficulties, but we'll leave some of this for when the game is released. The major stuff is done and it's just entering the polishing phases now, so it shouldn't be too much longer before we'll be taking a look at the final version of Blue Defense: Second Wave.

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One of the most underrepresented sports on the App Store is ice hockey, which is perplexing as even if you aren't really a fan of the sport itself, hockey has historically made for a fun video game. Back in early April we finally got an attempt at a real ice hockey game for the iPhone, Hockey Nations 2010 [$3.99/Lite]. While it looked and controlled fairly decently, it was missing that intangible aspect that made it a fun game to play. In what was somewhat of a surprise release, seasoned sports game developer 2K Sports has brought NHL 2K11 [$1.99/Lite] to the iPhone. While not the prettiest game around, it's an absolute blast to play and features a full season mode, official NHL teams and players, and more options than you could ever possibly need in a portable hockey game.

NHL 2K11 controls similarly to Hockey Nations with an analog stick for player movement and three virtual buttons for performing actions. There are separate buttons for passing and shooting on offense, with the power of each determined by how long you hold the button down. On defense these same buttons serve to change players and perform checks. The third button gives your player a speed boost on offense or defense. Your actions can differ based on where you are in relation to other players allowing for simple poke checks or full blown body checks. Passing also works really well, letting you bounce the puck off the boards to a teammate or set up for a one-timer. The controls are really uncomplicated but still allow for depth and strategy.

What is really impressive about NHL 2K11 is the absurd amount of options at your disposal. There's typical game settings like difficulty, toggling penalties, choosing NHL or international style time and icing rules, and more. You can set line changes to automatic, manual, or turn them off completely. A ton of different camera angles and zoom options are available including locking the camera in place. A season mode lets you choose a team and play through an entire season in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Rosters can be altered, saved, and loaded with or without a trade deadline and salary cap. What's in NHL 2K11 is comparable to what you would find in a full console sports title, and caters well whether you're looking for a casual hockey experience or something in-depth.

Even with all of the great features in NHL 2K11 it does have some shortcomings. Players are blocky and comprised of low resolution textures, which is pronounced when the game zooms in during replays. This isn't as noticeable with the default overhead camera in the game, but the tiny players are still pretty jagged, especially on the iPhone 4. While the visuals are not the best, they don't distract from the game too much as you can still tell what is going on, but they could stand to be better. The game description warns NHL 2K11 isn't compatible with first gen devices, but players in our forums have been able to run the game, just with a lowered framerate. You can always try the lite to see how it performs if you have an older device. Additionally, the AI in the game doesn't always make the smartest choices, and the audio portions of the game are lacking. Overall, NHL 2K11 has some “rough around the edges” spots, but overall none of these issues really diminish the fun of playing the game.

It wouldn't be hard for NHL 2K11 to claim the title of best ice hockey game on the iPhone, since the competition is sorely lacking. But it surprisingly goes above and beyond and offers a truly full-fledged NHL experience on a mobile platform. Even with such a robust experience, the game supports fast app switching and saving during season play which makes it well suited for on-the-go gaming. And on top of everything else, it's just incredibly fun to play. EA's NHL offerings have typically been favored over the 2K series on consoles, and it will be interesting to see if EA decides to throw their hat into the iPhone hockey arena. Until that time, however, 2K Sports NHL 2K11 is the clear cut choice for hockey on the iPhone.

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First time iPhone developer vol-2 just released their inaugural game on the App Store this afternoon. No, Human [$1.99] is a physics-based puzzle game set in space which begins with an amusing conversation between the humans proclaiming they will conquer the universe and the universe simply responding "Oh really?" From there, you're walked through a brief tutorial which explains that in order to rid space of humans, you must flick fireballs at various satellites, space stations, and/or rockets to clear each level.

50 levels are included, and as you progress through the basic levels you eventually come across targets that have shields which must be hit twice to destroy. Further on, you come across asteroids in space with their own gravitational push or pull that must be intelligently used to arc or repel fireballs along with others that have to be ignited by existing flaming fireballs before they can be flicked. Gameplay is basic and fairly linear with most levels only having one viable solution. Also, playing through all 50 levels only took me (and others on our forums) less than an hour.

But neither the short play time or simple gameplay kept me from enjoying the game one bit. In fact, I'd say it's one of the better physics-based puzzlers I've played recently because it's just dripping with minimalistic style. Each level has a clever title which oftentimes is a vague hint for how you should complete the level. At the end you're met with an equally witty remark fitting the theme of purging the universe of humans which persists through every aspect of the game.

You could easily complain about the length of the game, the limited replay value, the extremely basic implementation of online scoring, and a number of other things. However, it isn't often that I come across an iPhone game that I enjoyed enough that I played from start to finish in one marathon session. I almost like that No, Human plays this way, as it feels like an oddly complete experience. The game doesn't drag on long enough for you to get tired of it, and instead I just found myself saying "Wow, that was cool" as I completed the 50th level and my overall score was displayed.

No, Human satisfies quite a few things from my checklist of what I like to see in iPhone games as well in that it does a good job of resuming when you quit the game, it's universal, and even looks great on the Retina Display of my iPhone 4. The developer is active in our forums, and the web site even mentions a potential expansion pack in the works.

If physics puzzle games are your thing, this isn't a game you want to miss.

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Earlier this month we brought you a preview of Dodonpachi Resurrection, the newest bullet hell shooter for the iPhone from developer Cave, who have previously brought Espgaluda II [$8.99/Lite] to the App Store. Dodonpachi Resurrection is a reimagined version of the arcade game Dodonpachi DaiFukkatsu, the fifth game in the Dodonpachi series. Resurrection will feature a mode faithful to the arcade game as well as an entire mode unique to the iPhone version. Due to all of the action that can take place onscreen at any given time, the game is restricted to owners of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3Gs, 32 and 64 gig 3^rd gen iPod touches, and the iPad.

Cave has sent word via press release and their official Twitter that the release date for Dodonpachi Resurrection is August 26^th and that it will be launching for a special introductory price of $4.99. This introductory price will last for the first four days after release and then rise to the regular price of $8.99.  Additionally, a lite version will follow after the full game is released, although no date for the lite has been specified.

Here is another look at the latest trailer:

We're eager to get our hands on Dodonpachi Resurrection, as I'm sure many other players are as well. You can pass the time until then by joining the discussion thread in our forums where you can find additional screens of the game. We'll have more on Dodonpachi Resurrection when it goes live on the App Store this Thursday.

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No long-time aerial combat fan can be a stranger to NovaLogic's Comanche helicopter combat series. Known for its comparatively realistic terrain rendering thanks to its use of voxel technology, the series culminated in the 2001 release of Comanche 4 for Windows PCs. A recent banner spotted on NovaLogic's website seems to indicate that iOS gamers may soon get the opportunity to deal out some death and destruction from the cockpit of a RAH-66 gunship.

Mixed in among a number of promotional graphics on NovaLogic's site, the banner in question depicts an iPhone 4 with the silhouette of a Comanche helicopter rendered on its screen, along with a blueprint side-shot sketch of the craft shown below phrase "Coming Soon." Since we became aware of the banner a few days back [ thanks Kamil ], we've sought confirmation and any details on this upcoming title through several NovaLogic channels, sadly with no success.

The Comanche series made its debut in 1992 and is centered around the Boeing / Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter gunship which was in development / prototyping at the time of the games' releases. And, while the Comanche program was cancelled by the U.S. Army in 2004 before fielding, NovaLogic's Comanche series stands as a rather unique and satisfying combat simulation experience — and one that's definitely more sim than simple arcade, first-person blaster.

See a game trailer for Comanche 4 for Windows, featuring in-engine play samples.

Having enjoyed Comanche 3 and 4 on the PC in days past, the prospect of a new iteration of the title on today's iOS devices — which are far more powerful than the PCs of the games' day — with full accelerometer / gyroscope controls has me pretty excited. You can be sure we'll pass on any details we're able to dig up on this upcoming title as soon as we get them.

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Lima Sky's Doodle Jump [99¢] has been consistently updated with new things since its inintial release in March of last year. The Doodler has jumped through holiday snow, Halloween graveyards, lush jungles, the vastness of space, the fields of the World Cup, and now he takes to the seas in a recent update. Also, the latest update which just hit the App Store adds high resolution Retina Display graphics for the original, space, and underwater theme with the rest coming soon:

Doodle Jump has been downloaded over 5 million times, and since its initial release has become a pop culture phenomenon with mentions on sitcoms, talk shows, and even appearing on the costumes of dancers at Lady Gaga concerts. If you've got an iPhone 4, make sure you grab the latest Doodle Jump update ASAP.

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About a month ago, Gameloft's N.O.V.A. [$4.99/Lite/HD] received a nice update adding high resolution graphics and gyroscope aiming for players of their Halo-inspired first-person shooter with an iPhone 4. Today, their Call of Duty-inspired shooter Modern Combat: Sandstorm [$4.99/Lite/HD] gets the same treatment with its new update. Our impressions for this new update are pretty much the same that we had for the N.O.V.A. update last month, and what was once old feels relatively new again. The game looks as crisp as ever on the Retina Display, and gyroscopic aiming allows for much finer precision while leaving your hand free to mash away at the fire button.

This new update isn't the only news out of Gameloft today, as they have also released a teaser trailer for the sequel to Modern Combat: Sandstorm which is so far only known as Modern Combat 2. The trailer is, well, interesting to say the least:

Unfortunately the video doesn't demonstrate any gameplay of Modern Combat 2, but it's certainly good for a laugh, and it definitely makes me wish I had an iPad capable of shooting rockets (is there an app for that yet?). The video pegs the release for Modern Combat 2 as this fall, so most likely Gameloft will be offering more information and showing off the game in action in the coming weeks. Until then there is a discussion going in the Modern Combat 2 thread in our forum, and if you're an iPhone 4 user or have an iOS4 device capable of fast app switching, make sure and download the new update for the original Modern Combat: Sandstorm and check out these new features.

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Last week during the QuakeCon keynote address, John Carmack pulled an iPhone 4 out of his pocket and shocked the audience by showing a demo of id Software's next game, Rage, running on the device. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Rage will have elements of racing games and first person shooters. There's also said to be RPG elements in the game as well, making it sound similar to both the Fallout series and Borderlands. Information is still limited as the game isn't slated to launch until 2011, but either way the following demonstration is beyond impressive:

We've spoken at length with John Carmack at length in the past, where he's mentioned potential upcoming id Software titles such as Doom 2, Quake Classic, and the rest of the id back catalog coming to the App Store. Wondering what the state of all these projects were, we once again pow wowed with Carmack to see what he's been up to since we last spoke.

According to John, id has restructured a lot last year and several people from the mobile team has since been sucked in to other big projects, and they've only recently got the mobile team staffed back up to the proper size for iPhone development. Carmack admits that after releasing Doom Classic [$6.99] he hadn't even opened up Xcode until last month to start working on Rage technology.

Currently, id is completely focused on Rage, and John isn't sure when they will get back to the classic games "even though it makes a lot of sense." He also explained that while both Doom II RPG [$3.99] and Wolfenstein RPG [$1.99] have done well on mobile phones, their performance on the App Store has been less than ideal, leading to the decision to not bring the Orcs & Elves games over to iOS.

Carmack admits he's had a lot of fun working with iOS 4 recently, and wished he had more time to devote to it. And while it's more than a little disappointing that we won't see the classic id games anytime soon, with how impressive the Rage demo was, I'm A-OK with John Carmack and the rest of the id Software team working on the forefront of iPhone development instead of focusing on porting retro hits– I doubt I'm alone in that.

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Tiger Style's Spider is a game that we really just can't say enough good things about. The iPhone game, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor [$2.99] was our game of the year in 2009, and Spider HD [$4.99] is great on the iPad. There's also the pseudo-lite version of the game, Spider: Hornet Smash [Free] which is totally worth checking out if you've yet to try Spider just to see how the mechanics of being a spider in the game work. We loved Spider in our review, and the development of the game itself is also fairly interesting which was covered in both an interview and a talk at GDC Austin.

An update just hit the App Store for Spider that among other tweaks finally adds Retina Display support which has made the game look even more amazing. One of my favorite things about Spider always has been the great hand drawn art style that encompasses the whole game, and the high pixel density of the Retina Display now makes Spider even more visually impressive.

Spider has been out for just over a year now, so if you've had it chilling in your iTunes library instead of synced to your device, now is an excellent time to do so if you own an iPhone 4. Otherwise, if you're looking for another game to show off just how great things can look on the Retina Display, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor is a worthy pick.

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Bas Tossings' Loopy Laboratory has gone free for the day. The game was originally released in October 2008 — nearly 2 years ago. I really enjoyed the game at the time:

One iTunes reviewer has described this as a remake of Chip's Challenge/Tile World which it does seem to resemble though the developer says he was inspired by a number of older puzzle games which came together for this project.

The game is set in the laboratory of the evil Dr. Heissenbad. You play the character of Lara. Your job is to escape the laboratory by collecting batteries to turn off electrical fences — at least that's what the developer description said. But there's actually a lot of variety in the level obstacles and battery collection is only one small component. There are 50 levels of play in all with a gradually increasing difficulty.

Loopy Laboratory is a level-based puzzle game where you need to collect all the batteries on each level. The same 1.0 version still runs will on the iPhone 4 and iOS 4.0.

The game has a certain charm that I really enjoyed at the time. My main criticism was that it stayed too easy for too long, and unfortunately the developer never followed up with additional levels. I do recommend picking it up while you can.

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