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Back in January, we got pretty excited about the Parrot AR.Drone Quadicoptor. The Parrot AR.Drone remote control quadricopter is controlled by creating its own WiFi network that either an iPhone or an iPod Touch connects to. The Parrot AR.Drone is then maneuvered using the accelerometers of the iPhone combined with a video feed from the forward facing camera on the drone itself. A smart piloting system intelligently compensates for wind and other environmental conditions, and utilizing a second camera which faces the ground can perform a stationary flight on its own.

We had some hands-on time with it back at CES, and were impressed:

Of course, the big question on everyone's mind was "when" and "how much". Ars Technica reports that the Parrot AR.Drone will finally go on sale this September at a price of $299. The device itself is only so exciting on its own, but combined with its open SDK, Parrot is hoping that developers will take advantage of the device's controls and cameras to create augmented reality games. At least a couple of these titles are said to be available at launch.

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I have immense respect for Backflip Studios. They are one of the few iPhone development groups that has been able to leverage one of their early successes and build it into a strong and sustainable business.

The company was founded by Julian Farrior (pictured left), Dale Thomas (pictured right) and Tom Blind in April 2009. Their first game was Ragdoll Blaster and launched on May 15, 2009. Three weeks later, they launched Paper Toss for free. Paper Toss, of course, went on to be massively popular to the surprise of everyone including Backflip. But Backflip recognized the value of having such an incredibly successful free app and used it to both generate revenue for the company and also help launch its other games up from obscurity.

After their first year, Backflip has generated $3.5 million in net revenue and has expanded to 8 full time employees and over a dozen contractors. 60% of their revenue comes from direct App Store sales while 40% comes from advertising. Of the 11 apps (including Lite versions) they've released, they've seen 8 of them reach the top 5 overall rankings, and they presently serve 1 million unique players a day.

We spoke with Backflip's Julian Farrior and Dale Thomas today at WWDC 2010 and got a look at their upcoming projects. Farrior reports that they have been aggressively ramping up production of games and has 4 new games coming in the next couple of months. He provided us hands on demos for them. They included one paid game and three free games:

• Tunnel Shoot – tunnel shooter developed with Team Phobic
• Graffiti Ball – level-based physics game
• Ninjump – casual jumping/climbing game
• Buganoids – retro-styled circumferential shooter

Julian and Dale walk through the gameplay of each in this video:

We expect they'll continue with their great success. Tunnel Shoot is the first title to be delivered on June 24th with Graffiti Ball, Ninjump and Buganoids each following every 2 weeks. Julian Farrior is an active participant in our forums as Backflip Studios.

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At WWDC 2010, we got a chance to meet up with New Zealand developer David Frampton who had his latest creation in hand to show off. Frampton was a long time Mac developer turned fulltime iPhone developer after the success of his original App Store launch title Chopper. Reminiscent of Choplifter, Chopper put you in tilt-control of a chopper with missions to save your comrades while taking on enemy forces.

After a year in development, Chopper 2 hopes to add a number of improvements to the game. Frampton has worked hard on improving the graphical engine for the game. The sequel offers a 3d terrain over which to fly as well as offering both iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch support. The level designs have also been tweaked by adding a variety of goals. Goals can include saving your men, pick up and drop off goals, as well as defending a structure from spawning enemies. The game comes with 4 different terrains each with 3 different missions. Meanwhile, these 12 missions come in 3 different difficulties offering 36 total distinct levels.

One eye-catching feature that Frampton will be adding to the final version is the inclusion of the Bluetooth remote control that allows the iPhone to act as a controlled for the iPad version.

The game will come in a single universal binary that can be used on either device and includes the remote functionality within. So, a single purchase can be used for both devices.

We shot some video of the current version of Chopper 2 at WWDC. This shows a couple of terrains as well as the Bluetooth iPhone/iPad interaction.

Chopper 2 is expected to be complete in the next couple of months and the base price is going to be $4.99 (Universal) but with an introductory sale.

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Admittedly, I have shied away from board games on the iPhone; very few of them offering the accessibility and multi-player fun of dusting off an old classic and sitting around a coffee table with friends. Even still, I had never heard of the award-winning German tile-based board game named after a world heritage listed French castle prior to our preview last month. But that's all water under the bridge now, as Carcassonne [App Store] is definitely hot right now and set to rocket up the App Store charts.

For those apparently hiding under the same rock as I have been; Carcassonne is a board game played with 71 tiles, artistically depicting fortified structures, fields, cloisters and roads (these being the key elements of the game). Tiles are randomly drawn and played on the table in turn by each player, of which there are up to 5 players at once, and placed next to each other so that each landmark aligns perfectly. Points are awarded by placing one of your limited tokens, your 'Meeples', on an element of the tile you've just played; be it road, structure or field. Points are scored both during the game and at the end, with completed city structures awarding bonus points.

Carcassonne has undoubtedly raised the bar high for spit and polish. Every menu, game screen or tutorial is painted in gorgeous wooden hues as a tribute to its hand-crafted, table-top origins. The tutorials themselves comprise both fully-voiced demonstrations and a thoughtfully illustrated game manual which does wonders to explain the initially abstract scoring system.

Carcassonne isn't a difficult game to grasp, but it does have an extraordinary amount of depth. Advanced considerations such as where to play your farmer Meeples (which aren't retrievable after placing them) so that they are in the largest field possible supplying the most completed structures (thus scoring points) will often prove the difference between a game otherwise left largely to luck of the draw.

These strategies especially come to the fore in heated games of four or five players, where you have to contend with multiple playing personalities– be they aggressive players who will continually try to block or steal your developments, or the passive contender silently building a formidable point-massing fortress in a forgotten corner of the board. Carcassonne accommodates this fantastic multiplayer gameplay from every conceivable angle. Impressively, you can have a taste of multiplayer on your own, with a local mode able to add up to 4 computer-controlled opponents of 8 varying difficulty levels from easy to evil.

The real fun though comes from matching wits (and trading blows) with real people. The aforementioned local mode also allows for 5 Pass-and-Play players to be added, or for WiFi or Bluetooth devices to join your game too. Internet games (over both 3G and WiFi) on the other hand can be quickly arranged between two people through the "Quick Game" option, where the game will search for an available contender. Fair warning though, these games are timed to keep the pace flowing, so leaving the game for prolonged periods will award the game to your opponent instead.

The bulk of your multiplayer though will be spent by creating games with friends. Your friends list can be added to by having Carcassonne send an email link to friends, providing them with a link that when opened on their iPhones which appends you to their in-game friends list. Herein lies our only rub with Carcassonne. We're not sure why the developers chose this method of connecting friends, as it forces you from the game for no justifiable reason and just feels clunky against the backdrop of an otherwise flawless interface. A system where you can invite and add friends from within the game would be far better, particularly for those who may not use the email application on their iOS devices.

Internet games between friends are otherwise painless to setup, with a wax-sealed invitation received by all friends, after which they can opt to refuse the invite, or wait until the game leader commences the game. We say the bulk of multiplayer will be played like this, as utilising the friends list has a distinct advantage over quick play mode: gameplay becomes completely asynchronous and the quick game timer is dispensed with.

The developers have also included ELO rankings for added bragging rights. Your ELO rating goes up and down when you win and lose internet matches, depending on the relative skill level of your opponent. It's a terrific addition that is even further improved by the high score tables pitting your friends against each other.

There is still one important gameplay mode to cover: the newly added Solitaire mode. Solitaire mode has a completely different scoring system, where you start off with 1000 points and each tile added reduces that score. The objective is to complete set targets which increasingly get harder as you complete them. You start the game having to build a 2-tile road and 2-tile structure, and as each is completed their tile number increases by 1. You are rewarded for keeping your playing field as compact as possible, with penalties imposed for expanding its borders. Every order of tiles in Solitaire is also recorded and fixed with a unique code (craftily, the name of the town), which you can share with your friends so they can attempt the exact same challenge. Unfortunately, friend challenges are processed via email, and though not a huge deal, does detract from the game's magic (particularly as you have to remember your friends' email addresses each time).

Carcassonne is a shining example of how to do a board game right on the iPhone. The developers have promised continued support which will see a universal iPad update coming later this year and In-App DLC for what we hope is most of the nearly 20 expansion packs available for the original game– some of which allegedly turn the gameplay on its head entirely. Carcassonne is wholeheartedly recommended to board game veterans and newcomers alike.

Impressions are flowing in thick and fast from our forum readers, who also seem overwhelmingly enamored by Carcassonne. For iPad users, a free universal update will come later and it has been reported that Carcassonne in its current state scales extremely well.

App Store Link: Carcassonne, $4.99. (Introductory Sale Price)

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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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The incredible hype surrounding Pixelbite's upcoming Reckless Racing (formerly Deliverace) has been growing fervidly since we previewed the game back in March. But disappointingly, the game's release keeps getting pushed back, and when we'll actually be able to have the complete game in our hands remains uncertain.  This delay has allowed a competitor to steal much of that thunder, and for gamers who are looking for something similar that's available right now, LilRacerz [99¢] is a new top-down racing game from developer Blast One.

While not quite as ambitious as Reckless Racing, LilRacerz is a fun arcade-like experience with excellent graphics, a ton of tracks, and plenty of upgradeable vehicles to unlock. If you were ever a fan of Super Sprint or Micro Machines games on systems past, then this is as close as you can currently get to those classics on your iPhone. There are a couple of minor issues with the game, but any negatives are quickly forgotten as the core racing gameplay is so incredibly enjoyable.

There are 17 different tracks in Lilracerz, spread across 9 cups in 3 difficulty leagues. You'll race on desert, ice, dirt, and tarmac courses, and each surface handles as you would expect. The purposely floaty physics and handling of the vehicles can cause some miscues while racing, but is also what makes it such a blast to play. Some races you'll beat your very first try, blowing away the AI racers, and some races will take multiple retries before completing. One wrong move can spell the end for a race, but this inconsistent difficulty doesn't really diminish the overall enjoyment of the game. The nicely detailed 2.5D graphics give a firm nod to the 16-bit and arcade eras while still being impressive in a modern sense. An awesome chiptune soundtrack accompanies the action, adding to the retro-feeling vibe.

The weakest aspect of the game is the somewhat flimsy upgrade system for your vehicles. You'll collect money spread across the track as well as by completing races which can be used to purchase upgrades in grip, acceleration, speed, or steering. I seemed to be able to play a huge portion of the game with the very first stock vehicle, thus collecting an enormous sum of money and fully upgrading my later unlocked vehicles in one shot, rendering the whole thing kind of pointless. It's not really a huge issue, and could easily be tweaked in a future update.

Speaking of updates, the dev has been actively discussing ideas in our forums such as a hard mode, reversed tracks, night time racing, and new vehicles. There's even talk of some kind of multiplayer functionality, which would indeed be a very exciting addition to this fun single player game.  One nice addition already included is Crystal implementation, with many achievements to unlock and a leaderboard for every track.  Once you've beaten the single player campaign, going back to compete for times online is a great way to extend your play time.  If you're looking for some fast-paced arcade style racing, you can give LilRacerz a test drive for it's current sale price of 99¢.

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Backflip Studios, who brought us Ragdoll Blaster and the recently-released Strike Knight, has joined forces with Team Phobic (Bounce On, Bounce On 2) to shortly bring us Tunnel Shoot, a … tunnel shooter … somewhat reminiscent of Boost 3D, but with a little more neon glow.

Gameplay involves zipping down a series of tunnels festooned with obstacles and enemies bent on your destruction.  Don't crash, don't blow up, and hold onto your hat.

See the developers' gameplay video:

Tunnel Shoot looks like fun — we're anxious to give it a try when it makes its App Store debut in mid-June.

And, while we're talking Backflip Studios, have a look at Ragdoll Blaster 2 [App Store],  which is on sale this weekend for $0.99 (down from $2.99).

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It's Memorial Day weekend for those in the states, and in honor of this holiday weekend, both Glu Games and Igloo Games are running sales on a notable list of App Store titles.

Glu games on sale:

• Deer Hunter 3D, $2.99 → $0.99
• Family Guy Uncensored, $1.99 → $0.99
• Super KO Boxing 2, $2.99 → $0.99
• Build-a-lot, $2.99 → $0.99
• Bonsai Blast, $2.99 → $0.99
• Glyder, $4.99 → $0.99
• Glyder 2, $2.99 → $0.99
• Transformers G1: Awakening, $1.99 → $0.99
• Taxi Fight!, $1.99 → $0.99
• Stranded: Mysteries of Time, $2.99 → $0.99
• Mini Golf Wacky Worlds, $2.99 → $0.99
• Cooking Star, $1.99 → $0.99
• Beat It!, $2.99 → $0.99
• Alley Gator, $1.99 → $0.99

Igloo games on sale:

• Dizzy Bee, $2.99 → $0.99
• Dizzy Bee 2, $2.99 → $0.99
• Bed Bugs, $1.99 → $0.99
• Flippin', $2.99 → $0.99
• Igloo Games Arcade, $4.99 → $2.99

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Daredevil Dave: Motorcycle Stuntman! is the inaugural release from developer M-Digital Media (aka schplurg, long time TouchArcade forum member). It places you in the role of a stuntman traveling the globe earning money by performing insanely dangerous motorcycle jumps, and looking stunningly handsome while doing so. The goal is to land each stunt in as few tries as possible, so as not to blow all your profits on expensive medical bills from crashing. It's an entertaining blend of strategy and action wrapped in a very humorous package, and is quite impressive for being the very first game from a new indie developer.

The game's main Tour mode consists of 18 different stunt levels, unlocked one after the other. Certain elements of each stunt are randomized each time you play, such as the length of the jump or height of objects like flaming hoops. Your job is to determine the appropriate angle of the launch ramp and proper speed you must travel to land safely intact on the other side. You would think that important details like these would have been carefully calculated before attempting such deadly feats, but Dave doesn't do things that way. He strongly believes in appearance first, safety and planning second. Thus, the task of properly negotiating him across each jump happily falls on you, the player.

Each level in Daredevil Dave is incredibly imaginative in design and objective. Sure you'll be jumping over busses, through rings of fire, and across canyons (you know, typical daredevil stuff), but there's also more exotic challenges like a lava jump inside a volcano and launching over a tank of man-eating sharks. Figuring out the best way to land each jump takes trial and error, and thankfully there's a Practice mode where you can try each one as many times as you wish. It's imperative that you do so, as each failed attempt in Tour mode can be costly, but is made slightly arduous by forcing you to back out to the menu each time you want to practice. Also, scrolling through each level one by one in this mode can be a pain. However these UI issues are only a minor annoyance, and could easily be more streamlined in an update.

Upon starting a level, you're shown a zoomed out side-view of the area where the stunt takes place. Here you can see what components make up the jump, the distance between the starting and ending ramps, and adjust the launch ramp angle. Once you've scoped out the scene to get an idea of what you're supposed to do, and have set your ramp incline, you exit this screen into a first-person view of Dave on his motorcycle, complete with handlebars and a speedometer. Dragging an onscreen throttle accelerates you towards the launching ramp, but no steering is required. There are also a couple of options if you prefer having a different angle on the action, but unfortunately there's no replay function for reliving particularly memorable moments.

Successfully landing a jump is a satisfying feeling, but at the same time it's even more satisfying to spectacularly crash and burn in a failed attempt. Luckily the developer realizes this, and once you've beaten all 18 levels of the Tour you unlock Injury mode. This is basically the opposite of Tour mode as you try to purposely crash Dave in the most elaborate way possible, with your score being based on how large of a hospital bill you can rack up. Dave can be lit on fire, chopped up in helicopter blades, run over by freeway traffic, attacked by sharks, and more. Put simply, crashing is a blast, and if you like games like Stair Dismount or Max Injury there's a lot of that same type appeal in Daredevil Dave.

The core of the game is a trial and error trajectory game, but there's so much personality and creativity in this game it's hard not to like it. Between the humorous dialogue, Dave's Duke Nuke'Em style one-liners, and the brutally painful looking bails, I was grinning the entire time I played. The gameplay is fun and well-suited to the iPhone, and there's a good amount of challenging content. There's a few rough-around the edges aspects to it but at it's $0.99 sale price, it's still a bargain for the amount of entertainment. Don't feel bad if you find yourself purposely steering Dave into the shark tank for your own sadistic pleasure – I do that too.

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