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If you're one of the lucky ones you managed to secure themselves an iPhone 4 today (or even the past two days if you're really lucky) you've no doubt marveled at how thin it is, how crisp the Retina Display is, and maybe you've even found someone else to do a FaceTime call with… but what about loading it up with some games? Since we haven't gotten our own iPhone 4's yet, we haven't really been able to put together a "games that are really awesome on the iPhone 4" listing, but I figured we'd start out by compiling a list of some of our favorite games in the App Store.

If you think this looks a lot like our 2009 Buyer's Guide, that's because it does. However, we've updated the list with some of our recent favorites and kept some of the old ones. In the interest of space, we had to drop many off the list, but that doesn't reflect the quality of those games. If you're looking for more suggestions, please check out the 2009 Buyer's Guide for additional titles we also loved.

If you want to play games on your new iPhone, you're in for a treat.

iPhone Classics

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor – We choose Tiger Style Games' Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor for our 2009 Game of the Year first and foremost because it's a great game, but also because it perfectly represents the promise of iPhone gaming. Spider is an original concept built specifically for the iPhone by a small self funded team. It's this low barrier to entry which provides customers with a huge selection of games including unique and polished gems like Spider. You really should experience this one. (Review, App Store)

Doodle Jump – While we have to give props to PapiJump as the clear inspiration for Doodle Jump, Lima Sky has managed to take the game to a whole new level and succeeded in creating a true iPhone classic. Doodle Jump has sold over a million copies to date and even been casually referenced on primetime TV sitcoms. Every day we hear from up and coming developers who claim they have come up with "the next Doodle Jump" but so far Lima Sky's title hasn't truly been dethroned. (Review, App Store)

Flight Control – Another iPhone game that will go down in history as one of the classics for the platform. Firemint's CEO Rob Murray took some of his free time during last year's Christmas break to whip up a prototype of a game that eventually became Flight Control. The game has single handedly defined a genre on the iPhone of "line drawing" games and has been endlessly imitated. Flight Control is also one of the few games available at the iPhone 4 launch with high-resolution graphics for the Retina Display. (Review, App Store)

Fieldrunners – One of the original tower defense games on the iPhone, and still the best according to many. Fieldrunners was named one of Time Magazine's Top 10 video games of the year in 2008, and since then the game has seen updates adding OpenFeint support as well as additional maps. (Review, App Store)

Angry Birds – We really liked Angry Birds when it was first released, since then it has become a complete App Store sensation with amazing staying power near the top of the top 10 paid app listing. In the game you fling an array of angry birds with different abilities at pigs. Of course it isn't that easy, as the pigs have fortified themselves in makeshift forts. Angry Birds has seen many updates, and now comes loaded with a surprising amount of levels to play through. (Review, App Store)

Only on iPhone

Zen Bound – Ok, technically this started life as a PC Game, but Zen Bound didn't really come into its own until it became an iPhone game in 2009. The game just came to life on the iPhone with multi-touch and tilt controls along with mood and music to perfectly and completely engross you as a player. An experience as much as a game. (Review, App Store)

Eliss – A multi-touch masterpiece. Eliss delivers a unique, challenging and undeniably iPhone experience. Pinching and combining on-screen planets without letting them touch make for some frantic and riveting gameplay. (Review, App Store)

Sway – The unique multi-touch "swinging" controls of Sway may have ultimately been its downfall. If you can master the steep learning curve of the game's controls, an amazing iPhone platforming experience awaits. (Review, App Store)

Space Ninja – A great use of the iPhone's accelerometer that allows you to dodge enemy fire and invoke slow motion "bullet time". Since its original release, 3GS enhancements have been added as well as a new "magnet fluxor" that allows your ship to briefly repel bullets. (Review, App Store)

Arcade

Tilt to Live – Tilt to Live is a game that draws you in with its edgy personality and inescapable 'just one more go' gameplay. It is gorgeously crafted and presented and has a wicked sense of humor to boot (just take a look at the loading screens to see what I mean). Completing its challenges and unlocking weapons has the added benefit of enabling you to achieve even higher scores and multipliers, meaning even those not normally counting themselves as completionists may be eager to experience the width and breadth of what Tilt to Live has to offer. An update added two new game modes since its initial release, making a great game even better. (Review, App Store)

Espgaluda II – Bullet hell at its best on the iPhone. Even not being a huge fan of the genre, we fell quick and hard in love with Espgaluda II. It is the best 2D shooter experience in the App Store with great touch controls. Note: It will only run on the latest generation devices. (Review, App Store: iPhone 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch, or pixel-doubled on iPad)

Cubed Rally Racer – This fantastic racing game features retro-inspired 3D graphics and completely randomized tracks which range from a walk in the park to iPhone-smashingly difficult. If you were a fan of RC Pro Am back in the day, pick this one up. (Review, App Store)

Platformer

Babylonian Twins – Sixteen years in the making, Babylonian Twins delivers an amazingly challenging yet satisfying iPhone and iPad puzzle platformer. In many modern platformers, I've felt like I'm just mindlessly going through the motions to make it to the end of each level. Babylonian Twins, however, really keeps you enthralled throughout. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Super QuickHook – A sequel of sorts to Hook Champ, Super QuickHook utilizes a similar swinging mechanic with updated "16 bit" graphics and a brand new completely randomized survival mode. If you love this one, don't miss out on the original Hook Champ (Review, App Store)

Retro Games

Karate Champ – Revolutionary Concepts' iPhone conversion is done superbly. The dual-stick control mechanism is handled via on-screen joysticks which, while no match for physical controls, work rather well. As far as I can see, aside from the necessary control alterations for the iPhone's touch screen, Karate Champ for the iPhone is a perfect conversion. (Review, App Store)

Broken Sword – The remake of this 1996 point and click adventure was wonderfully brought to the iPhone. The story and all around high-quality production values of Broken Sword sucked us in. Whether you're an old fan of the original game, a newcomer to the series, or even someone who's never played a point-and-click adventure before, Broken Sword is a game with mass appeal that will draw you in. (Review, App Store)

Racing / Driving

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – A great adaptation of a DS/PSP game, Chinatown Wars offers a level of depth rarely seen on the App Store. If you complete everything in game, playtime will need to be measured in days, not hours. The weapon targeting system can use improvement, but barely detracts from an otherwise phenomenal game. (Review, App Store)

Jet Car Stunts – A remarkably fun jet car racer/platformer that had us coming back again and again due to its great controls, fresh visual style and mind boggling levels. The only real complaint we've seen voiced has been the relative difficulty of the game, but, honestly, that's what made it so addicting. (Review, App Store)

Real Racing – Perhaps we should have categorized this as a "classic", but Real Racing was the first iPhone racing game that really blew us away. The great graphics, perfect controls and AI all combined to make this one of the best iPhone racing games that still holds up today. Like Firemint's other game, Flight Control, Real Racing also has been recently updated with high resolution graphics for the iPhone 4's Retina Display. (Review, App Store)

Casual

Fruit Ninja – This oddly popular game puts players to the task of slicing all kinds of fruit that is thrown up from the bottom of the screen. Swiping with your finger controls your virtual sword, and combos are awarded based on how many fruit you can slice in one swipe… Just look out for bombs. (Review, App Store)

Canabalt – This isn't a particularly deep game. In fact, the average gaming session is probably measured in seconds rather than minutes. But with its simplicity and style, it managed to keep us coming back again and again. You can try out the identical Flash version for free at Canabalt.com. (Review, App Store)

Boost 3D – We might not have been too over the top about the game when we first reviewed it, but over time we realized that Boost 3D is a game that we love to play. There's something hypnotic about this tunnel runner that had us coming back to play it again and again. (Review, App Store)

Harbor Master – Among the first of the avalanche of Flight Control inspired games, Harbor Master mixes things up by having the player dock cargo ships and send them back out to sea on a variety of different levels– Each with a different layout and some with additional gameplay elements such as pirate ships to shoot or sea monsters to fight off. (Review, App Store)

Word

Bookworm – A game that should need no introduction, Popcap's word searching classic fits great on the iPhone. The touch controls work effortlessly, and the gameplay is perfect for the casual play style of many iPhone gamers. (Review, App Store)

Words with Friends – Asynchronous online multiplayer not-quite-Scrabble that can either be played for free with in-game ads or without for a couple bucks. A recent update added push notifications to tell you when it's your turn and according to Newtoy, the average player spends 1.5 hours each day playing. (Review, App Store)

Strategy

Carcassonne – A fantastic rendition of the classic board game, Carcassonne can be played with 8 different AI players, locally, or online with push notifications. It also has high resolution graphics already in-game to take advantage of the Retina Display. (Review, App Store)

Plants vs. Zombies – Popcap's breakout hit for PC has come to the iPhone — and it's great. Popcap took the standard tower defense formula and greatly simplified it. Instead of a path to build towers along, you drop seeds in your yard which then grow in to plants that have various offensive or defensive capabilities. While it does lack a few gameplay modes from the original, the iPhone adaption is very well done and highly recommended. (Review, App Store)

Land Air Sea Warfare – There are quite a few options for RTS fans available on the App Store, but all of varying degrees of quality and none that felt "just right". That all changed last month with the release of Land Air Sea Warfare. LASW gets it “just right”, offering a full console-like RTS experience with brilliantly executed, easy to use touch screen controls.(Review, App Store)

Sword & Poker 2 – This strange game is the sequel to the original Sword & Poker <a href="which we loved in our reivew. In the game you play an RPG battling monsters by placing poker hands on a 5×5 grid. The concept sounds crazy, but works very well. If nothing else, give the lite version a try. (Article, App Store, Lite)

Chess with Friends – The iPhone equivalent to snail mail correspondence chess– You can play the ad-based version for free, or upgrade to the premium version to play without ads. Recently added push notifications that alert you when its your turn and an endless supply of human opponents makes this the best chess game available on the platform. (Article, App Store)

Role Playing

Chaos Rings – One of the most ambitious RPG games we've seen so far for the iPhone. The graphics and gameplay are exactly what you'd expect out of a Square Enix RPG. Battle in parties of two in classic turn-based battles as you make your way through a story that's just as ridiculous as any other Japanese RPG. (Review, App Store: iPhone)

Space Miner – It's probably no surprise that this game topped our list for February. Space Miner: Space Ore Bust has an unusually broad appeal successfully mixing shooter and RPG genres into a humorous and well scripted package. Whatever sort of gamer you are, don't miss out on this one. (Review, App Store)

Pocket Legends – This free online multiplayer game for both the iPhone and iPad that is a ton of fun and playing in a party with your friends is especially impressive while you're playing via 3G as the netcode does a great job in providing a lag-free experience. Additional content is available via in-game DLC, but you can really get a good feel for the game before you ever need to buy anything. (Review, App Store: iPhone, iPad)

Sports

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 – A surprisingly competent port of the classic skateboarding game. Everything is included from the original, and once you get used to the virtual controls, you'll be performing endless combos in no time in the many included skating locations.(Review, App Store:iPhone)

X2 Snowboarding – X2 Snowboarding from Exient is a highly enjoyable romp on the slopes that sets itself apart from the crowd in graphics, controls and gameplay. With a great sense of speed and immersion, this is our snowboarding game of choice for the iPhone. (Review, App Store / Lite)

X2 Soccer 2010 – The followup title to their 2009 title, X2 Soccer 2010 is one of the top soccer game experiences right now on the App Store. X2 Soccer 2010 is complete with great AI, impressive 3d graphics and solid controls. (Review, App Store)

To see other iPhone games we've rated, check out the sidebar where you can find: 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2.5 Stars. All of what we have considered to be the best iPhone games are filed under Best iPhone Games, and I'm sure this post will be filled with comments from people suggesting their own favorite iPhone games that we left out of this list.

Good luck to everyone in line today looking to get an iPhone 4, we'll have much more iPhone 4 coverage as soon as we get ours in our greasy little hands.

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Last month the free version of Bar Oasis [99¢ / Free] hit the App Store, and really took me by surprise by how oddly unique the entire game is. There are some elements of time management, a tilt-powered drink pouring gameplay component, and a fairly captivating story told through your encounters with the various customers of your bar. I had some minor annoyances playing the game, but thankfully the free version is fully featured enough that you will be able to tell whether or not you can deal with these before jumping in to the paid game.

The center of the game, which strangely enough is barely touched on in the iTunes description, is the first person narrative that begins with you stumbling across the Bar Oasis, seeing a job posting, and deciding to try your hand at mixing drinks. You are instantly hired by a character known as "the Boss", who shows you the ropes and explains that drinks are never poured using jiggers because pouring straight from the bottle looks so much cooler. (A point that is hard to argue.) This is where the tutorial begins, as the Boss shows you around the bar and explains how to mix drinks.

The main view of the game has you facing across from your customers, and swiping right or left moves from seat to seat. Swiping down shifts the view to the shelves behind the bar where you will find various bottles of liquor and glassware. Just like when looking at the bar, swiping right or left switches shelves, and swiping up takes you back to the bar. When the game starts, you have a bare minimum of available liquor to mix with, but as the game progresses you slowly unlock more types of booze to make even more complicated drinks.

Dragging up looks below the bar where you'll find a cash register and telephone, along with a menu and recipe book. Mixing drinks feels a lot like a time management game, as you're balancing seven different customers with indicators that show their mood which changes based on how long they're waiting. When a customer arrives, you slide them a coaster, take their order, then consult the menu to select their drink. From there, you turn around to the liquor shelves, select the glass and ingredients, then proceed to pouring.

Pouring drinks requires tilting the iPhone like a bottle, and pouring out the various liquors in to your glass. It's cool the first few times you do it, but begins to get repetitive especially since when you mess up when pouring a drink you have to go all the way back to the menu, re-select the drink, pull all the ingredients off the shelf, and start over again.

The game continues like this, with more and more customers entering the bar, each with their own associated story they reveal as you get to know them. Overall, it's a really cool experience, but you will need a lot of patience to make your way through the whole game. Everything seems to take a very long time, from switching screens from the bar, to below the bar, back to the liquor shelves, and when you're making drinks. It doesn't take a very long time until you get tired of the different screens fading in and out, and all the different popup confirmations you need to tap through to make drinks.

The pay off is in the story, which you will either get sucked in to or be annoyed by its pacing. There is a LOT of text in this game, and it's often presented in single sentences which also take a long time to get through. Personally, I read extremely quickly and often find myself annoyed with any RPG that restricts how fast you can blow through text. You can tap to make text appear quicker, but it still feels like the whole pace of the game is much slower than it should be.

Bar Oasis is a game you really should try if you've found yourself sucked in to games like Phoenix Wright [$4.99] and other story-driven RPG's. The lite version features a full tutorial, and it won't take long at all for you to determine whether or not this is a game you can get in to or if like me you're frustrated by the slow pacing. The full version features a full story mode and 100 drink recipes that you slowly come across and can access in the secondary "Make Drinks" mode where the game acts like a virtual recipe book of sorts.

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Today is the day that all the wonderful things we heard about during the WWDC keynote regarding the future of the iPhone OS, now officially dubbed iOS 4, are available to everyone. This update is completely free, and only requires you to plug your device in to the computer you usually sync with then waiting for it to download and install in iTunes. There are over 100 new features in iOS 4 according to Apple, but so far my favorite two are folders and multitasking.

With folders, you can now have up to 2160 apps on your device, and multitasking now allows for apps like Pandora Radio [Free] to continue playing in the background. For a listing of the other features, take a peek at the Apple iOS 4 Software Update page.

One unfortunate thing to come out of this update is that first generation iPhone and iPod touch users are being left in the dust. If you have an older device, you will be stuck in 3.0 land, and only the third generation iPod touch, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 are capable of multitasking.

Before updating your device make sure you not only do one full sync to back it up, but you also check and make sure there aren't any issues reported with your favorite games running on iOS4. For instance, ngmoco just tweeted warning players of Eliminate [Free] and Touch Pets Dogs [Free] of potential performance issues while playing the game on iOS 4.

I've yet to encounter any serious issues in the games I regularly play, and many games and apps have had recent updates that have added iOS 4 compatibility. This is just something you should potentially be aware of before mashing that check for updates button in iTunes.

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After a tumultuous release, where Apple seemingly played yo-yo with its iTunes availability, Pro Zombie Soccer [App Store] is finally here to stay, and aren't we glad for it! Comfortably one of the more anticipated titles here at Touch Arcade, Pro Zombie Soccer is developed by the 6-man operation at Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team, whose founders have notched titles such as Plants vs Zombies and Worms into their belts.

That pedigree shows from the start– particularly where the artwork is concerned– an outstanding PvZ-stylized canvass of highly detailed, inked environments and characters make up the world of Pro Zombie Soccer. A world filled with the Zombification of everything from burly meat-cleaver weilding butchers to schoolgirls to riot-shield weilding zombie swat teams. And a lone, street-kid with a love of the world game.

The soccer-inspired gameplay of Pro Zombie Soccer begins on a stage very familiar to anyone who has played PvZ (and let's face it, who hasn't?). Zombies attack from the right of the screen, lumbering towards your lone hero armed only with a round ball at his feet. That's where the soccer gameplay starts and ends though, with the game playing out more as a sidescrolling shooter from thereon in.

By swiping up and down with your left hand you control Jax's shot angle, as you take aim at the approaching decaying horde. Releasing your thumb will let fly a thunderous kick, tearing apart zombie limbs with abandon before the ball graciously returns to your boot. It's a simple game mechanic that belays some pretty frantic action, particularly in the later game. Kicks can be charged by holding down your thumb before releasing, resulting in a power shot that is necessary to kill certain zombies.

The Zombies themselves have a range of personalities, and though most can be killed by kicking the ball into their heads (successive headshots build multipliers that are critical to hitting the highest echelons of scores), some require a more reasoned approach– our favorite being the gargantuan, viagra-induced zombie that requires a 'nutshot' to take down. Ouch!

There are three powers available to Jax as he builds up momentum; the lightning kick; the piercing kick; and the indomitable Laser attack (which sees Jax fire a kick into the heavens to knock an orbital laser off-course to reign destruction on your Zombie adversaries). Though they do alot to disperse the otherwise straightforward gameplay, we were a little disappointed to see them made available so early on. Spreading their introduction across more levels would have made their individual usage a little more special. As it is, you have access to all three from very near the start, and so the gameplay tends to get repetitive as it is almost always best to resort to the room-clearing laser attack.

The plot and level mechanics do somewhat remedy the repetitive gameplay. Just as levels start to feel same-ish, a well-placed surprise pops up that turns the game entirely on its head. One such instance sees an entire level devoted to the piercing kick, a bloodbath resulting as a million zombie limbs explode all over the screen. These aren't the exception to the rule either, as from halfway through it is clear that each subsequent level continues a headlong run into the realm of insanity.

There are 20 levels all up in Pro Zombie Soccer spread over 8 different environments. The levels can be played through in about two hours, which unlocks a hardcore mode (which pits you against way more zombies) and a Zombie Odyssey, survival mode. Though it's not the most content-heavy game out there, if the story mode was any longer it might have taken away from the game rather than added to it. Certainly any additional levels (if they are added as DLC) would need new gameplay mechanics to keep them interesting.

All told, Pro Zombie Soccer injects something a little different into the soccer games we're being bombarded with leading into the World Cup. Its PvZ feel is just as much a reference to its great artwork as it is to its quality finishing. Hardcore mode should provide just enough challenge for those who breeze through normal mode, and Crystal integration ensures all your scores are recorded, and your actions in-game are rewarded with craft achievements. What really makes Pro Zombie Soccer stand out in the end though is its entertaining story sequences and gameplay tie-ins, and a finale that is just plain epic. At only $0.99 (limited 66% off World Cup sale), it's a good time to pick it up.

Note: For those of you toying with OSi4, an update is already in the pipeline to resolve current errors with the yet-to-be-released OS and PZS should be ready to go for it soon.

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This afternoon I chatted with Brian Howard, founder of InMotion Software, who explained that the next iteration of the I Dig It series was submitted to the App Store today. After downloading a preview build of the game and installing it on my iPad, I can say with utmost confidence that iPad-owning fans of the I Dig It games are going to be in for a treat.

If this is the first you've heard of these games, here's what you've been missing: Around the time of WWDC last year, the original I Dig It [99¢] hit the App Store, and if it wasn't for a surprising amount of people talking about the game at the event, it likely would have never even appeared on our radar at all. In the game, you pilot a retrofitted farm tractor turned subterranean digger in attempts to raise $100,000 to save the family farm. Luckily, the ground under said farm is absolutely chock full of valuable things to dig up, and gameplay amounts to drilling tunnels, collecting diggin's, and selling your spoils to purchase various upgrades for your digger.

I Dig It was a huge success, topping the iTunes sales charts in a number of countries including the United States, so a sequel was only natural. I Dig It Expeditions [$2.99 / Free came next, expanding on the original gameplay of I Dig It as you take your digger on the road and search for archeological treasures in exotic locations such as the Antarctic tundra, the South American Amazon, and even under the ocean.

We loved both games in our reviews (I Dig It, I Dig It Expeditions) and lite version of Expeditions is on my short list of games I automatically recommend to anyone with a new iPhone asking me what games to try. So what's new with the iPad HD edition? Well, first off like many iPad adaptations of iPhone games, you can see substantially more of the game's environment. Also, your digger's radar has been moved from a completely separate screen to a mini-map that is always in the top left corner. These two things alone really improve the game, as being able to see more of your elaborate tunnel system and not needing to page back and forth between the radar makes for a much better overall experience.

The content of I Dig It HD is similar to Expeditions, although not exactly; so even if you've made it all the way through Expeditions, the HD version should still be worth playing. Also, there are new iPad-only challenges not found in the other games. However, the absolute coolest addition to I Dig It HD is the included level editor which fully utilizes the iPad document handling system to allow you to create, share, and import custom levels made by other people.

According to InMotion Software, the editor is what they're calling a beta, and is a little rough around the edges. Regardless, it still works well enough. Much like the document handling of the iWork suite, you can import/export custom levels via iTunes or by either emailing or clicking a link to a .idigit file. Even in its current state, it seems like there is quite a bit of potential if the level sharing community takes off– Something InMotion Software is waiting on to determine how much more development effort to invest in the level sharing and creation system.

As mentioned previously, I Dig It HD has already been submitted to the App Store, and barring any unforeseen rejections or other issues, should be available very soon. As far as how many of these enhancements will make their way to the iPhone, according to Brian Howard, the ability to import community created levels is a "real possibility" but due to differences in screen size they don't see a level editor on the iPhone.

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Rock Pocket Games' latest title, The Package [99¢], hit the App Store a little more than a week ago. As soon as we saw the screenshots in iTunes, we had to give the game a try. Truthfully, The Package had been on our list of games to review since then, but every time I'd sit down to write about the game I'd end up loading it up on my iPhone and toiling away trying to solve the 20 included levels instead of actually reviewing the game.

In fact, how long this review had been in waiting should serve as a great indicator of how much I've been enjoying the game. Some of my favorite games on the App Store are similar physics puzzlers, and they all work very well on the device because they don't require any kind of quick movement, and all of them can be put down for a few moments if you need to attend to something else without really even needing to pause the game.

If you're also a fan of these kinds of physics games, the premise of The Package will instantly be familiar to you. Taking place in some kind of crazy futuristic warehouse, you must get the package from the start to the green zone at the end of the level. This goal is accomplished by positioning various items in the game world such as fans to blow the box, ramps for the box to slide up, springs for the box to bounce off of, and other things.

The 20 levels increase in difficulty quite nicely, and much like Enigmo, it didn't take me long to get stumped to the point of experimenting for an embarrassing amount of time moving the different puzzle pieces around to get the box to where it needs to go. If you're an over-achiever, there are even golden packages for you to collect in game for additional bonuses. Also, the graphics of The Package are some of the best looking I've seen from a game like this, with third-generation device enhancements that are enabled if you're playing on a device that supports them.

The controls work well, although after being spoiled by the massive touch areas of the puzzle pieces in Enigmo Deluxe for the iPad, I can't help but hope they eventually release an iPad version of the game. The Package shares similar issues with all physics games in that in once you advance to levels that require complicated positioning, grabbing and manipulating the correct pieces can get tricky, but it never caused more than a few easily fixable mistakes.

At the launch price of $3.99, The Package was a little hard to recommend as there are tons of other games with far more content and very similar gameplay available for much less. However, at its current sale price of 99¢, this should be an instant-purchase for any fan of physics puzzlers, especially if you have an iPhone 3GS or 3rd Generation iPod touch.

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Fruit Ninja developer Halfbrick seems to have something fun up its sleeves for the iPad platform, but that doesn't mean the studio has bid adieu to the iPhone. The studio's Apple handheld title Fruit Ninja [99¢] has received a substantial content update — one that Halfbrick reckons doubles the content from the original release of the game.

"Zen Mode" is one of the update additions, ushering in a timed no-bombs, no-lives romp. It's apparently a gift for those who have mastered the fine art of fruit slicing, which is something that I have yet to do.

But if I were any good at the game, I'd receive a "combo award" at the tail end of Zen Mode. This award is another new feature that, essentially, displays someone's best combos at the conclusion of the new mode and presents some sort of "award" (barring they have any fine, fruit-slaughtering motor skills).

Marry this new award system to the newly-created "Combo Attack" feature, which tosses out a modifier for one swipe kills of multiple fruit, and the fact that Halfbrick has added lime and red apples to the fruit slaughtering fun, and you've got yourself a new way to approach and play the game. Neat, right?

Like Halfbrick said, it's a big update.

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Originally released in late 2008, Pangea Software's Enigmo [$1.99] is about as close as you get to a classic App Store puzzle game, even though it started its life as a Mac and PC game all the way back in 2003. The original Enigmo has won numerous awards including "Best iPhone Game" at Apple's WWDC in 2008 as well as winning the 2008 Austin GDC Independent Games Festival Showcase. In other words, Enigmo for the iPhone is great, and its sequel, Enigmo 2 [$1.99] is just as good if not better. So, it stands to reason that their iPad game, Enigmo Deluxe [$6.99] is also in line with what we've seen in the past from Pangea.

If this is the first you've heard of the Enigmo games, the basic gameplay mechanic involves placing different things in the game world to route liquid from the origin dropper to the jar of the same color. This can mean placing a platform to change the angle the liquid is falling, then placing a bumper to bounce the liquid higher, then placing a sponge to collect the liquid and drip it in to the jar.

The farther you get in to the game the more and more elaborate these puzzles become, until you eventually just get stuck and find yourself hopelessly pouring over Google search results for hints if you're anything like me. As I already mentioned, I liked the original Enigmo a lot, but levels that required tons of different items to solve almost always involved some frustration with the controls as you're always zooming in and out to accurately grab and maneuver things around the game world.

Among the other improvements of the iPad version, having the extra screen real estate to never really need to fiddle with the zoom level too much while always being able to manage the pieces in game has made playing Enigmo a lot less frustrating. Fat-fingering the wrong item and breaking your wacky Rube Goldberg machine of liquid redirection was always a little irritating, and this seems to be a thing of the past on the iPad.

Other improvements include an impressive level editor that allows you to share your creations with any other version of Enigmo via the File Sharing functionality in iTunes. These level packs are even cross-platform, so you can send your levels to a friend who has the PC version or vice versa. A number of third party level packs are already included, and if you're the kind of person who gets in to creating and trading custom created levels, I could see really getting sucked in to Enigmo Deluxe.

If you loved the iPhone version of Enigmo and see yourself getting involved with the custom level packs, Enigmo Deluxe is worth the upgrade. However, if you missed Enigmo the first time around, and enjoy challenging physics puzzles, look no further than Enigmo Deluxe for the iPad.

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Following on the heels of the recent rerelease of Edge [$2.99] comes Mobigame's next title, Truckers Delight: Episode 1 [$2.99], an episodic retro styled arcade racer. Based on an incredibly not work safe video filled with pixel art, cartoon nudity, and many other potentially offensive things by director Jérémie Périn, Truckers Delight: Episode 1 seems to be based on just the first segment of the video in all of its 8-bit glory. Presumably, the other portions of the video will be coming as their own episodes in the future.

In Episode 1, you play as a truck driver chasing a girl in a sports car down the highway. The iTunes description mentions similarities to the classic Sega arcade game OutRun, which couldn't possibly serve as a better comparison. Tilting the phone controls your truck, and all you do is chase the girl, ramming her car whenever possible for points. A countdown timer is constantly ticking away which is refreshed by passing checkpoints, and during your pursuit you will need to fend off angry police, bikers, and avoid a constant onslaught of traffic that will slow you down.

Several power ups can be picked up during your adventure. So far I've come across three: A set of horns that allow you to ram other cars off the road easily, a rocket booster that sends you flying towards the next checkpoint, and a tongue attack point multiplier. You can also honk the horn of your truck, this doesn't seem to do anything, but I can't seem to help myself from doing it almost constantly.

Truckers Delight: Episode 1 includes an odd amount of cartoon nudity for a game on the App Store. Not only does it include the first portion of the original video, but when you pick up the power up to let your tongue fly, it quite literally results in an on-screen explosion of naked women.

I've actually had a surprising amount of fun with Truckers Delight. Mobigame did a great job of nailing the feel of endless retro racing games, and the difficulty ramps up nicely requiring quite a bit of concentration as you dart between oncoming cars in your 18 wheeler. Truckers Delight features online leaderboards which are already loaded with scores that are about twice as high as my best score, and it's hard to not get in to the catchy soundtrack included with the game.

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"You're doing very well," a machine voice blurts through a state-of-the-art monitoring system. "Please be advised that a noticeable taste of blood is not part of any test protocol, but is an unintended side effect of the Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grille, which may, in semi-rare cases," it adds, "emancipate dental fillings, crowns, tooth enamel, and teeth."

Rarely does a game hit with the impact of Valve Corporation's Portal. An instant success among critics and fans alike, the downloadable puzzle game carved itself into the enthusiast hive mind. Part of the reason is due to the quirky, yet sinister GLaDOS, a machine overseer of the game's unique sterile observatories. Its one-liners (see above), fictitious warnings, and promises extract chuckles within a  serious tonal framework that challenges without bringing users to their knees.

Of course the bigger reason for its success is tied to the game's name. Portal is a first-person game built with the Half-Life — called "Source" — engine. But unlike its Source counterparts, Portal shirks conventional teeth-gnashing, bullet-spewing visceral action. Solving and casual exploration composes its core, with the characteristic portal gun being the chief object of accomplishing both these concepts. When fired twice, the portal gun opens up teleports that users can then use to navigate and interact within their white-walled, three-dimensional world.

Portals are key to discovering new routes within each of the game's many confined puzzles (the protagonist is trapped in a series of "tests") that need to be solved before another can be tackled. Reduced to the essentials, most puzzles break down into a traditional "keep the button pressed and a door will open" mold but there are other spots of puzzle design at work. Momentum, platforming, and even threat avoidance all have a place.

// There's nothing like Portal yet on an iDevice (even though some brave legal ice-skaters may still be porting the title with Unity – see video above). I've yet to discover a narrative with the same wrinkles or even design with the same complexity and care. But there's no reason to keep yourself from exploring what Portal has to offer; Until May 24th, 2010, developer Valve is offering a download of the game for free.

A Macintosh version is now available for free as well. Valve just opened up their Steam platform, which is something like iTunes for videogames, to the Cupertino crowd. The celebration, I suppose, is in full swing — over 60 titles are to be available soon for Mac users, with more are set to come each Wednesday… but none are free like Portal.

I realize Portal isn't an iDevice title — although that idea tickles me — but it's silly to ignore how unique and compelling Portal is. If for whatever reason you don't have the hardware to run the game right now, go ahead and give it a download anyway. It'll stay tied to your Steam account forever, just like an iTunes App Store download. Oh, and do enjoy the cake on your way out.

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