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Following EA's lead of their massive 99¢ sale, quite a few other developers are slashing prices in hopes of being on the charts for the influx of new iPhone 4 owners powering up their devices for the first time today or tomorrow and checking out this "App Store" they've heard so much about. We're going to be putting together another "So you just got an iPhone…" post similar to the one we did last year for the launch of the 3GS, but in the meantime you might not want to miss some of these sales as there's no telling how long they will last:

• Assassin's Creed™ – Altaïr's Chronicles, $4.99 → 99¢
• Brothers In Arms® 2: Global Front, $4.99 → 99¢
• Build-a-lot, $2.99 → 99¢
• Castle Of Magic, $1.99 → 99¢
• Cooking Dash, $2.99 → 99¢
• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2, $9.99 → $4.99
• Deer Hunter 3D, $2.99 → 99¢
• Diner Dash, $2.99 → 99¢
• Family Guy: Uncensored, $1.99 → 99¢
• Ferrari GT: Evolution, $1.99 → 99¢
• Gangstar: West Coast Hustle, $4.99 → 99¢
• Geometry Wars™: Touch, $9.99 → $4.99
• Golden Axe, $2.99 → 99¢
• GT Racing: Motor Academy, $4.99 → 99¢
• James Cameron's Avatar, $6.99 → $4.99
• N.O.V.A. – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, $4.99 → 99¢
• Parachute Ninja, $2.99 → 99¢
• Ragdoll Blaster 2, $2.99 → 99¢
• Shrek Kart™, $4.99 → 99¢
• Sigma , $1.99 → 99¢
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2, $5.99 → $3.99
• Super Monkey Ball 2, $5.99 → $3.99
• Streets of Rage, $2.99 → 99¢
• Truckers Delight: Episode 1, $2.99 → 99¢
• UNO™, $4.99 → 99¢
• Vampire Origins, $6.99 → $2.99

Of course there are always tons of sales taking place on the App Store, this is just a short listing of popular games with price drops. Head on over to AppShopper to see a list of popular games and all games with recent price drops.

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Nearly two years ago now , Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D by developer Polarbit was amongst the first batch of games released onto Apple's fledgling App Store. At the time, it was an impressive example of what could be achieved on a mobile phone, and glimpsed at a bright future for iPhone gaming. Looking back on it today, however, the decidedly lackluster graphics, stuttering framerate, and deplorably short draw distance mar the otherwise very enjoyable gameplay. It's still a good game, but in the time since its release a number of competing kart racers like Shrek Kart and Cocoto Kart have raised the bar considerably in terms of graphics and notable features like online multiplayer. Now, Polarbit has reentered the fray with a sequel that – for the most part – addresses the downfalls of the original, delivering a largely familiar but wholly expanded upon experience with Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2.

The most immediately noticeable improvement in Crash 2 is the visuals. The scenery is detailed and brightly colored, and thankfully the dreadful draw distance of the first game is nonexistent. The levels are cleverly designed with multiple pathways, varying track elevations, and many different shortcuts waiting to be discovered. The character and kart models are notably better this time around, consisting of a higher polygon count and much more detail and personality. The framerate can still get choppy when there is a lot of action onscreen at once, but it's hardly ever bothersome and is significantly better than the original's. The load times are a bit long, and the audio can stutter while loading on occasion. Some users are reporting the game crashing, although this was infrequent in our time with the game. Also of note is the excellent music and sound effects throughout that bring the game to life without ever feeling overbearing.

Gameplay-wise Crash 2 features the familiar drift-heavy, combat-intensive racing found in it's previous iteration, as well as most every other kart racing game since the inception of Super Mario Kart. It's a proven formula that's executed quite well here, but can be highly unforgiving. One wrong turn or attack from an opponent can cost you an entire race, but this can work to your benefit too, allowing you to come from behind and still win. It can end up being frustrating to race near perfectly only to lose at the very last stretch of track because someone launched a missile into your backside. This is par for the course in games like this, however, and the frenetic fun outweighs the frustration. Touch or tilt controls are available, and while the tilt felt a little more comfortable I found the touch option allowed for more finesse while turning. The controls are really responsive, and either option should be suitable for most people.

The number of different game modes in Crash 2 is quite impressive. The standards are here, such as Arcade, Time Attack, Cup races and more, but some others that offer more non-traditional racing. For example, Mission Mode presents one specific objective for each of the 12 courses. You may need to accumulate a certain amount of points by drifting, or collect a number of different items, all while still placing 3^rd or better in the race. These different modes offer a fun way to play through the game's content while staying fresh and engaging, although sometimes the requirements to complete them can be brutally difficult. There's a total of 10 characters, 12 courses, and 8 modes in Crash 2, the majority of which are unlocked as you progress through the game.

One standout feature is the ability to race online against players from all over the world. It works incredibly easily, as you just type in a username and connect to a lobby showing available rooms to join. You can create your own room as well, and as host can pick which mode and track to play. The types of online games are standard races, knockout-style Eliminator mode, and Collection where the goal is to be the racer who collects the most crystals by the end of the race. Our experience racing online worked well and was relatively lag-free, and adds a tremendous amount of replayability to the title.

In the end, Crash 2 is just what you would expect out of a sequel. They've taken all of the great elements of the first game, refined them, and added a ton more content on top. If you were a fan of the original game, then you should no doubt enjoy this one even more. If you have yet to pick up one of the many kart racers on the App Store, then Crash 2 is likely your best option. It feels as close as you can get to something like Mario Kart DS on this platform. The overly difficult challenges and somewhat cheap combat mechanics will likely frustrate some more than others, but overall the game is a lot of fun. With a ton of content, beautiful graphics and presentation, excellent online play, and the pedigree of one of the App Store's first classics, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 is definitely recommended.

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

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

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

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