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We recently posted screenshots and details of the upcoming turn-based strategy puzzler Stoneship in an exclusive granted us by Cyan Worlds. Today, the studio pointed us to a brief video they have posted that provides a look at the game in action.

The upcoming Stoneship: The Curse of a Thousand Islands represents "a lighthearted new direction" for Cyan Worlds, the studio indicates. The game is a casual, top-down, turn-based, strategy puzzle game "with a bent toward the whimsical," we're told. Stoneship sets you and your first mate on the high seas, charged with exploring, controlling, and protecting vast oceans and islands, under continual threat of a pirate siege. There are eighty three included levels to play through, with additional levels to come later via update.

Cyan tells us that the game is nearly complete, but that they are considering slightly delaying its release in order to integrate Apple's GameCenter functionality, what with the iPhone-maker's recent announcement that we will see its arrival in the upcoming iOS 4.1. If GameCenter integration does not make it into the initial release of Stoneship, it will join a planned update that includes additional maps and other gameplay features.

Stay tuned for a close look at Stoneship: The Curse of a Thousand Islands we'll be posting as soon as we have the game in hand.

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Last week, in a post featuring new screenshots from the upcoming iPhone version of Riven from Cyan Worlds, we pointed to clues of a new, previously unheard of forthcoming title spotted on the studio's website. At the time, all we saw of Stoneship was an ad banner commanding, "Never let your timbers be shivered!" and a tiny screenshot. Today, Cyan shared with Touch Arcade exclusive details and screenshots to help give readers a feel for what Stoneship is all about.

The upcoming Stoneship represents "a lighthearted new direction" for Cyan Worlds, the studio indicates. The game is a casual, top-down, turn-based, strategy puzzle game "with a bent toward the whimsical," we're told. The game sets you and your first mate on the high seas, charged with exploring, controlling, and protecting vast oceans and islands, under continual threat of a pirate siege. There are eighty three included levels to play through, with additional levels to come later, it appears.

Granted, there's still room for gameplay specifics and other details on this one, but what we've got does paint an overall picture. And the screenshots provided us should help flesh out that picture, further.

Cyan plans to submit Stoneship to Apple in the next few weeks and, as well, confirms that Riven for the iPhone is still on track for a release this fall. We expect to post a full review of Stoneship coincidental with its release in the App Store. Stay tuned.

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For all the remarkable games we are seeing nowadays on the App Store, we are blessed with very few epic RPGs. It seems that developers are still unwilling to invest in the content heavy, quest-driven adventures that many other platforms routinely enjoy. Publisher Nate Games has thoughtfully identified this gap in the market and have given us the next best thing– a direct port of a critically acclaimed 2009 title for the PSP– Crimson Gem Saga [$9.99] by Atlus Games.

As the name would suggest, Crimson Gem Saga is indeed an epic by definition, weighing in at a satisfying 30-40 hours of story-driven, turn-based combat and exploration of a colorful, mythical world. Crimson Gem Saga makes no delusions, drawing strongly from the tenets of the Dragon Quest series in doing little to crack the molds of the genre, but focusing instead on bringing that traditional RPG experience in as fine a package as possible.

The wrapper to that package comes by way Killian, a tightly wound chevalier graduating from military academy and ready to embark on a new life in the big wide world. It's a setting told ad nauseum by RPGs, a factor that Crimson Gem Saga doesn't shy from. Wholly self-aware, Crimson Gem Saga instead colors that grey backdrop with a surprisingly well written, often humorous dialogue and a host of jaded protagonists alway at each other's throats– an interaction practically unheard of in JRPGs.

To look at Crimson Gem Saga, one would have to agree that it delivers abundantly in eye candy. The game is portrayed with a mixture of highly detailed and diversely animated sprites (for both characters and world objects) and painted, layered level design. In many ways, Crimson Gem Saga aspires to the likes of Star Ocean, with the same colorful and richly populated world and detailed anime dialogue sequences rounding out the game's visual spectacle.

Undoubtedly the meat of any RPG is in its combat system, where you'll be spending the majority of your time over the length of the story. And combat remains largely derivative in Crimson Gem Saga. You won't find any complex limit system or interwoven skill trees to get your head around; but on the iOS devices, that is actually a blessing. The most difficult concept to master is the eventual use of linked attacks, where certain powerful skills are only made available if particular characters have consecutive turns. Otherwise combat is straightforward but constantly challenging, maintaining its lustre throughout the game.

Where Crimson Gem Saga falls short is in its seemingly lazy port; something of a curse of crossing the platform barrier. The on-screen buttons are just plain ugly, something that could be forgiven (though we wish there was an option to hide them entirely) if the implementation was otherwise acceptable. But this is not the case, with the menu system providing a saga of its own to overcome. Context sensitive areas on the screen aren't readily understandable, and the swiping mechanic is backwards and overly sensitive. Granted, hours of playing the game does eventually train you to negotiate the UI's hitches, but do expect initial frustration.

Compounding these issues are a few major bugs encountered; from a game-stopping cutscene crash we experienced on our first play through (fortunately, not on our second), to a widely experienced upgrading item crash. And voiced dialogues are terrific when they do work, but also intermittently cut out and seem to arbitrarily skip sequences. The silver lining to all this is that the developer has already responded to complaints on our forums with a patch being worked on to address some of these problems.

Notwithstanding the above, Crimson Gem Saga is a well-rounded title whose whole certainly exceeds the sum of its parts. Its traditional approach to RPGs meshes well with its witty dialogue to deliver a surprisingly engrossing adventure. Though combat is simple, even the average encounter is never a push over and so remains fun and engaging. The characters too are infectious and constantly at odds with each other; giving rise to some very funny dialogue and pop gaming culture references. If you can endure the clumsily ported menu system, then Crimson Gem Saga will reward you with a notoriously rare, epic RPG on the iOS platform.

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There's been a host of high profile vertical shooters released on the App Store, from the hardcore Espgaluda II [$8.99 / Free] to the whimsical Doodle Flight [99¢, but one game that's quietly flown under the radar is Gamelab's Roswell Fighter [99¢ / Free / $1.99 (HD)]. Released last October, it offered solid shooting action, exceptional graphics, and a charming theme thick with 1950's UFO paranoia that managed to win over a modest group of fans despite not getting much exposure. With a recent update adding two brand new levels and a native iPad version released last week, now is a great time to give Roswell Fighter a look.

The action in Roswell Fighter is above average, although nothing groundbreaking. Using either touch or tilt controls, you'll pilot your plane across 11 different levels, doing your best to blast down an onslaught of aliens who are invading Earth. Your main cannon can be upgraded multiple times, and a few special weapons can be collected throughout the game to further enhance your offense. One such weapon uses collected orange stars dropped by defeated enemies to fill a gauge that unleashes a devastating laser. Another brings two wingmen to your aid for a short time, increasing your firepower to nearly the whole width of the screen. And of course, there's a screen clearing bomb you can collect and use. It's pretty standard stuff, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The developer does throw in some elements to break up the more traditional gameplay, with mixed results. At times, a short “quick time event” will pop up and task you with appropriately pressing a series of buttons in order to continue on. It's a nice idea, but ultimately feels too simplistic to really add much to the gameplay besides a brief break in the shooting. Other times you'll be avoiding environmental hazards, such as giant saws and gears, or a maze-like path of mines. These sequences actually test your ability to fly precisely, and feel a bit more successful than the QTE portions. At the very least it's nice to see a developer trying some new ideas while treading such familiar territory.

While the gameplay itself is certainly engaging enough, it's the look and style that really sets Roswell Fighter apart from other shooters. The backgrounds are beautifully detailed, and look especially crisp on the iPad. The enemies are all rendered in 3D, and despite some slightly jagged edges, have a nice colorful look and good variation in design and attacks. There's a few boss fights throughout the game that feature huge enemies with multiple hit points that must be destroyed. The bosses tend to be rather easy, but are pretty impressive to look at.

The first 6 levels take place on a war torn Earth, but midway through level 7 your craft comes upon a mysterious hangar in Area 51. After flying through the hangar, and a short QTE, your plane emerges as an alien infused fighter jet. The Earth is then promptly blasted into two by the aliens, and you take your fight into orbit. The rest of the game has you battling through space, adding new enemies and attack patterns, with the final level taking place on the alien's home planet.

It's these changes in scenery and gameplay that make Roswell Fighter fun to play. The space portions have a high level of action, and the final level in particular is both challenging and graphically breathtaking. The first portion of the game on Earth is fun as well, but maybe lasts a bit longer than it should. If anything, these last levels serve as a reward for those who play through the whole game, and I would love to see some more levels based on the alien's home planet in future updates or a sequel.

When played on the iPad, Roswell Fighter really shines. The game is fun on the iPhone, but like any game that is controlled with your finger, a sizable portion of the screen can be obstructed at times. This issue is completely eliminated on the large screen of the iPad, as even with your finger all over the screen, it never seems like you're covering much of the action. The HD version only has a $1 premium over the iPhone version, and is recommended if you own an iPad.

Overall, Roswell Fighter does everything extremely well and is one of the better shooters available. It really is a beautiful game, and we were surprised at how fun the game was to play on the iPad. If you stick through the slightly sluggish first half of the game you'll be treated to a highly satisfying second half. My strongest point of contention is with the game's music, which sounds era-appropriate but doesn't fit in well with the onscreen action at all. Luckily, this can be disabled in the options. Besides that there's really not much to dislike about Roswell Fighter, and at 99¢ and $1.99 for the iPhone and iPad versions respectively (as well as a lite version), it's a real bargain for such quality content.

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Disney has pulled a proverbial rabbit out of its hat (or hole?) by surprising us with a timely Alice in Wonderland [App Store] puzzle-platformer to tie-in with the upcoming film release.

Our early impressions from playing through the first few levels are definitely positive, with a range of puzzles providing some fresh if challenging gameplay elements. Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond The Mirror, the game's full title, pits you in the shoes of Alice who finds herself back in Wonderland on another inane adventure. By tapping on Alice you are able to change between four other characters including the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare; each with their own abilities to help Alice navigate through the various puzzles you'll encounter each level. The game's write-up and feature list as provided by Disney is as follows:

Play as Alice and solve a series of puzzles with help from the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and other memorable characters from the movie. Explore a world filled with whimsical settings, optical illusions, challenging puzzles, and formidable adversaries.

Master unique abilities with the help of Alice's friends:

• Freeze time with the White Rabbit
• Make objects appear or disappear with the Cheshire Cat
• Use the power of Telekinesis with the March Hare
• Transform objects from one world to another with the help of the Mad Hatter
• Unlock Hidden Objects in Alice's Journal with your GPS, Camera, Photo Library, and by playing the game!
• 100's of puzzles and challenges to complete

The graphics in Alice in Wonderland are a rich, cell-shaded affair that bring out the child-like madness of Wonderland beautifully. In a way they remind us of the hit multi-platform indie game Braid (most definitely a welcome thing), which is fitting as some of the gameplay elements are very Braid-esque too, with stopping and starting time and objects featuring heavily from the get go.

Our review is still cooking but we'll have it hot out of the oven for you shortly. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Lite version which offers up a brief tutorial level to give you a taste of the gameplay.

App Store Link: Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond the Mirror, $4.99, Alice in Wonderland Lite, Free.

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It takes a lot to stand out amongst the crowded rhythm game section of the App Store (or any section of the App Store, really) but Big Blue Bubble's Thumpies [App Store] manages to easily set it self apart. Crazy graphics combine with an interesting gameplay mechanic where each level has you tapping out beats that layer on top of each other until you've eventually formed a fairly complex song.

The most immediately noticeable thing about Thumpies is the art style which seems to be this odd combination of Where the Wild Things Are, the Madballs toys from the 80's, and the Fire Gang from the movie Labyrinth. The entire game is dripping in whimsical charm between the sprawling tree that makes up the level select menu, butterflies fluttering around everywhere, and even the backgrounds of each level that pulse with the beat of the music.

After selecting one of the unlocked songs (of which there are 16 in total) and then choosing one of three difficulties, the Thumpies will then fall from the sky to bounce on top of tree stumps and mushrooms and you must tap the screen when and where they land. This is simple enough when there is only one spherical creature bopping around the screen, but as the songs increase in difficulty, even more pads for the Thumpies to land on are introduced along with additional Thumpies you will need to manage at once.

If you're like me and not particularly musically minded, juggling all these Thumpies in the air to the beat of the song (especially when Thumpies are landing on half-beats) can be deceptively difficult. On top of this, there are additional Thumpies that can be unlocked by collecting and saving up differently colored butterflies that will be floating around as you're tapping out your beat. As soon as they appear on screen you need to try to tap them because if one of the Thumpies flies by them they will munch the butterfly right out of the air.

Completing each section of the song requires you to fill the meter at the top of the screen. The meter increases when you successfully tap in time with the beat, and decreases when you miss a beat. When the meter is full, the Thumpies cheer, the portion of the song you just completed where you were tapping out the bass beat merges with the rest background music, and you begin the next section of the song which might have you tapping out some crazy vocals to add. When a song is complete, you're scored on your accuracy, and the next song (or songs) leading up the branches of the level select tree is unlocked.

Thumpies is an amazingly creative game, and thanks to the multiple difficulty levels should be approachable enough for kids and challenging enough for adults. The thread in our forums is filled with people who are leaving absolutely glowing reviews of the game, and I find myself in agreement with all of them. If you enjoy rhythm games at all, you really need to give Thumpies a spin.

App Store Link: Thumpies, 99¢

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