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Find that trendy USB cable, people. iOS 4.2 has been released for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. For iPad owners, this ushers in a new age of tablet use. An age where people can put all their Apps in folders, use Game Center, multi-task, switch Apps quicker with a double tap of the Home button, and enjoy the fruits of a unified e-mail inbox. If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, 4.2 is still a worthwhile update which includes tons of little fixes, tweaks, and the addition of things like AirPrint and AirPlay.

iOS developers have had builds of 4.2 in their hands for some time, so you'll notice that a lot of your games will already have the functionality built in as soon as you update your iPad's firmware via iTunes. It's not a stretch to expect that the more on-the-ball developers, such as ZeptoLabs, will add the functionality soon-ish.

While this is a big day for iPad owners, we should note that nothing of substance is being seen for the first time here. All the functionality of iOS 4.2 has been completely dissected by users who have been fiddling with the developer builds over the past few weeks. Earlier this month, TiPB offered a great synopsis of everything new and exciting in iOS 4.2 for both the iPad and iPhone which are worth checking out if you're new to this whole 4.2 thing.

Give it a try and let us know what you think! I'm upgrading as you're reading this and salivating over the opportunity to put my messes of apps in folders on my iPad like a civilized human being.

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Now it's even easier to fit in a Monster Dash [$.99] quickie between boring work-related stuff like Mail checking and .PDF reading. A new update for the action platformer is now live on Apple's servers, adding "lightning speed" (read: much faster) App switching capabilities. Never get caught looking at Monster Dash instead of Hannah Montana fan fiction again, am I right guys? Oh, wait…

Halfbrick also let us know that Monster Dash is now a universal app courtesy of this update and, according to the studio, the game has been completely optimized for play on the tablet. I've spent some time with this version and can confirm that it works just as well as its iPhone and iPod Touch counterparts. Go nuts if you already own it.

But should you grab Monster Dash for the first time, you might be asking yourself? It's always best to check our review first when it comes to such things, but trust me here (Spoiler Alert!) Monster Dash is a wicked awesome iOS joint. Its blend of run-and-gun, whacky guns, lightheartedness, and survival platforming (think Canabalt [$2.99]) is definitely worth your less-than-a-dollar, silly head.

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Tokyo's Apple Store was recently host to a "Game Nights at the Apple Store" event where EA presented a slideshow with a surprising amount of information regarding upcoming titles for both the iPhone and iPad. We've known some of these have been in the works for a while, but this is the first time for many that we've either seen any kind of screenshot or any solid release information. Japanese iPhone site 4gamer.net was in attendance, and provides the following photos of the slideshow:

First off, Reckless Racing, formerly known as Deliverace is a game we were following quite a bit before it got picked up to be published by EA. Since then, we haven't heard much about the game aside from wondering when it was finally going to be released.

According to the above slide, it's slated for this month. EA almost always releases their games on Thursdays, so we're likely either looking at a release late at night next Wednesday, or the following week. Next up is NBA Elite 11, a 5 on 5 fully licensed basketball game that takes advantage of the Retina Display:

A client for EA's free flash game portal pogo.com is also on its way. The slide mentions the game will be ad supported, with additional content available via a subscription. We'll have to see how this plays out on the device, and if the subscription they're referring to is Club Pogo or something that will be exclusive to the iOS app:

Much like Reckless Racing, I expect the above two games that EA has listed as October releases to pop up late next Wednesday or the following Wednesday. Moving on to November releases comes Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. We've been increasingly impressed with the Need For Speed series on the App Store, and I'm thinking Hot Pursuit will continue the tradition:

Next up is Pictureka!, an iPad game that sounds like a fast paced version of Where's Waldo? [$2.99 / HD]. It comes with pass and play local multiplayer for 2-4 people, and promises an art style that's both truly engaging and wacky. I'm not one to pass up on anything wacky:

Monopoly is finally coming to the iPad, which is allowing me to cross off yet another board game from my list of games I want on the device. The iPad exclusive features sound really rad, such as the auto-rotating tabletop mode… And I can't wait to see what in the world the new "cheating" mode entails. A mini game where you steal money from the bank while the rest of the players are getting drinks or going to the bathroom? We'll have to wait until December to find out:

EA Sports Active has been popular on consoles, and now is coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The following slide isn't really clear how involved the app will be, but hopefully it includes some cool GPS or accelerometer integration for tracking your performance instead of being yet another calorie/workout logging app. The features list upcoming post-launch gyro support, so we'll have to see how that all works:

Last, but certainly not least by any means is Dead Space 2. This confusingly named third person shooter is apparently going to bridge the story between Dead Space and its sequel, making this something more along the lines of Dead Space 1.5 than Dead Space 2. (This confusing sequel numbering reminds me of the Angry Video Game Nerd episode on the subject.)

I can see Dead Space being absolutely amazing on the iPad, and if they do it right, an iconic example of just how good and immersive an iPad game can be. It's not entirely clear from the slide if the game is going to be iPad exclusive, or for the iPhone as well since the header mentions the iPhone, but the bulleted list below mentions it being graphically enhanced for the iPad. Either way, Dead Space on the XBOX 360 was incredible, and I have a feeling it's going to be either just as awesome on iOS devices, or just as disappointing as Mass Effect Galaxy [$1.99]– I'm not sure there's much room in between.

Of course, we will post more as soon as we get any more information on any of these games.

[via 4gamer.net]

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Earlier this month we took a look at Neuroshima Hex [$2.99], the iPhone adaptation of a strategy-heavy boardgame based in the Neuroshima universe. This game world straddles several sci-fi cliches and includes things like nuclear war, a sentient robotic revolt, mutants, humans doing whatever they can to survive, and even somewhat intelligent carnivorous plant life. Adapted from the tabletop Neuroshima game, Neuroshima Hex features four of the main factions and is fast-paced enough that calling it an "action" board game seems appropriate.

Like many strategy games with unique rulesets, Neuroshima Hex is fairly complicated. Playing the game involves selecting one of the four factions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, then playing with a 35 tile "deck". Players start by placing their headquarters on the game board, and the rest of the game revolves around attacking the enemy HQ while defending your own utilizing the tiles you draw at the start of your turn. Your deck of tiles consists of three different types, tiles that contain different types of units, modules which buff those units, and instant action tiles that do things like destroy or slide a unit, or even initiate combat.

The issue with all this is that the learning curve of the game is less of a curve and more of a wall, as the developers didn't do much to make the game approachable to newbies aside from including a brief tutorial video. There is a help section in the game, but is isn't convenient at all to refer to while you're actually playing. Once you get a hang of strategically using your hex tiles to attack the opponent as well as deal with their threats on the game board Neuroshima Hex is a lot of fun… But as suggested in the thread in our forums getting there requires reading additional material on the game or even printing out a quick reference guide PDF.

In comparison, Carcassonne [$4.99] features a fully interactive voiced over tutorial that did an absolutely fantastic job at introducing new players to the game. Carcassonne is also host to some great online multiplayer options while Neuroshima Hex only comes with single device multiplayer. Thankfully, the developers have posted in our forums acknowledging these issues and plan on addressing them in the future.

Neuroshima Hex is a fun fast paced strategy game, and if you already know how to play, you'll likely have a great time jumping right in to this iPhone port. If you're intrigued by hex grid strategy games, and this is the first you've heard of Neuroshima Hex, just be aware that you've got quite a bit of work in front of you as you climb the steep learning curve.

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Wayne Whatford over at Revolutionary Concepts dropped us a line to let us know that '80s arcade classic Karate Champ – both the iPhone [link] and iPad [link] versions — is on sale this weekend for $0.99, down from $1.99 and $2.99, respectively. This marks a great chance for iPad users who grabbed the iPhone version early on to checkout the version tailored for Apple's tablet, featuring split-screen, head-to-head, two-player action.

In other news from the studio, forum readers may have noted the thread recently started by Revolutionary Concepts, challenging readers to guess what the initials of an upcoming game stand for. Those initials are "U. o. T." and some of the suggestions readers have been making are … well … amusing. The studio indicates the game is being created with just two criterion:

1. It should have ZERO Buttons or onscreen controls of any kind, making it immediately accessible to anyone.
2. Deliver it to you guys in just 2 weeks from start to finish!

Free copies of the game go to users with the closest (or funniest) guesses, at launch.

Whatford also indicated that his studio's iPhone adaptation of the Data East laserdisc classic Road Blaster is progressing nicely. The only time this game has been seen outside of Japan is in the Sega CD port which not only suffered from the same horrid video compression of all Sega CD games, but also got renamed to Road Avenger. Revolutionary Concepts have completely remastered the game, and when it is finally released, it will play at 60FPS at full iPhone 4 or iPad resolutions. They've also completely redesigned the dashboard of the car, added in tilt controls, and made a whole list of other tweaks. The studio is hoping for an end-of-month release for Road Blaster, we're told.

Whatford tells us that various, unspecified titles will follow shortly behind Road Blaster. Stay tuned.

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Being so involved in video games, I fully admit that I'm often woefully unaware of really awesome board games and it isn't until they get an equally awesome port that they even pop up on my radar. A couple of days ago I hadn't the slightest idea what Neuroshima Hex! was, but after watching the trailer and checking out the game, it's high up on my most anticipated game list. Neuroshima Hex! is a tactical hexagonal board game set in the Neuroshima tabletop RPG universe. This universe is host to fantastic things like nuclear war, rebellious sentient artificial intelligence, carnivorous vegetation, mutants, and humans that are just trying to survive in the middle of all this.

The board game is playable by up to four players (or single player against AI opponents), utilizing four different factions each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The goal of the game is to take over the enemy headquarters by placing tiles on the board. There are a number of videos on YouTube detailing exactly how the game is set up and played, and it sounds wonderfully complicated.

Neuroshima Hex! is being released this month, and after seeing exactly how awesome board games could be on the iPhone with Carcassonne [$4.99], I'm really excited for the game. It's fully licensed, features all of the original art, and there's even plans for an iPad version in the works.

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Deceased Pixel, developers of Tabletop Pong Classic [$1.99] and Snake HD [99¢] just revealed their next game to the world: Super Mega Worm. The game isn't entirely an original concept, as it already exists as a Flash game called Effing Worms which itself is based off a game called Death Worm. Regardless, the Flash version is a lot of fun, and I love games with pixel art, so Super Mega Worm is right up my alley.

According to the trailer, the premise of the game is that humans have destroyed Earth doing, well, humany kind of stuff. Earth unleashes its last defenses to restore balance to the planet– A gigantic worm that eats everything. It's unclear from the trailer whether or not Super Mega Worm features the evolutionary upgrade system that makes Effing Worms so awesome, but I've got my fingers crossed. Super Mega Worm is coming soon, and we plan on taking a closer look at the game as soon as it is released.

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Shortly after the release of Revolutionary Concept's iPhone port of arcade classic Karate Champ [99¢], we reported that they were hard at work on a native iPad version. This new version would take advantage of the higher resolution and larger screen of the iPad, as well as include a same-device multiplayer mode akin to the old tabletop arcade machines of the past. This feature alone is incredibly enticing, and has been implemented successfully in games like Space Invaders HD [$4.99] and Fruit Ninja HD [$4.99] with entertaining results.

Those who are anticipating this new iPad version will be happy to know that Revolutionary Concepts has sent word that Karate Champ XL is now in the final phases of QA testing, and should be submitted to Apple sometime this week. That means we should hopefully be seeing the title available in the next week or two, barring any sort of fuss from Apple. They've also sent over some fresh new screens of the game straight from the iPad to whet your appetite (click any image to enlarge):

The game is indeed looking very nice despite being a port of a 25+ year old game. What's more astonishing is the fact that due to the iPad screen being the wrong proportions in comparison to the original arcade screen, Revolutionary Concepts has actually redrawn portions of the levels in an authentic 8-bit style to fill in the gaps of the extra space, so you'll actually be seeing more of the Karate Champ landscape than you ever could have before. Additionally, the arcade cabinet facia has been redone in HD and looks absolutely crisp and realistic.

It's nice to see them going the extra mile in bringing the game to the iPad, and with the extra visual enhancements and the same-device 2 player mode it should be well worth a purchase even if you already own the iPhone version of the game. Speaking of the iPhone version, it has recently dropped to just 99¢ in anticipation of the iPad release, and will remain there until Karate Champ XL is finally available.  Check out our review of the iPhone version of Karate Champ, and join in on the discussion thread of Karate Champ XL in our forums while waiting for the game to release.

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Last week at EA's "Hot For The Holidays" event in New York City I was able to sit down and get a considerable amount of playtime in with the predictable yearly sequel of Madden NFL 11 which EA plans on releasing for both the iPhone and iPad with the launch of the console game on August 10th. One of the first things EA showed me in the demonstration was a side by side with Madden NFL 10 [$6.99] and the difference was remarkable. Immediately you notice higher resolution textures everywhere and stadium crowds that actually look like people instead of just a solid multi-color texture, something that was extremely noticeable that you can see in the screenshots of our Madden NFL 10 review.

The player models have also gotten a makeover as well, and appear to have a much higher polygon count as the stick figure models of last year's game are nowhere to be found. The animations seem improved, and the shadows below the players actually represent what they're doing instead of the small dark circles of Madden NFL 10. Weather effects are greatly enhanced too. It was really amazing seeing both 10 and 11 running next to each other, as the difference almost looks like a jump in console generations.

There are a heap of new features in Madden NFL 11, but what interested me the most was the new GameFlow system. With this enabled, instead of needing to wade through endless menus selecting plays that (in my case anyway) you're not even sure are appropriate for that particular point in the game, GameFlow will choose the best play for you. According to EA this takes in to account numerous different factors such as field position, score, and many other factors to make sure you're always using a play that makes sense.

This not only works great on a mobile device where quick play sessions are generally preferred, but also for casual sports players like me who enjoy football games but always just randomly choose whatever play has the most interesting looking lines squiggling about. Speaking of squiggling lines, the Hot Routes system from Madden NFL 10 has been totally reworked and similar functionality has been brought to the defensive portion of the game.

At any time when playing Madden NFL 11 you can pause the action and draw where each of your players should be going with your finger. You can completely customize offensive plays like this, and even save these custom plays to be later recalled using audibles. On the defensive side of things, instead of just randomly tabbing through players and running them towards whoever has the ball on the other team, you can similarly pause the action and customize the routes of each of your players.

The goal behind this was to make playing defense more fun, and it seems like EA succeeded. More often than not in football games it seems like playing defense was always just a clunky necessary evil while you waited to get possession of the ball again. Now that you can actually have precise control over your team, playing defense is actually quite enjoyable as you can easily use your own strategies instead of just controlling one player while the AI handles the rest of your team.

Aside from all the standard game modes we've come to expect from a Madden game, Madden NFL 11 will also include "vintage voltage football," which sounds identical to Chillingo's Super Shock Football [99¢ / Free / HD]. EA even went out and bought an electric football game to make sure the experience was similar to the original tabletop game. It sounds like a lot of effort is going in to this extra game mode, as they've even had custom announcer clips recorded to fit the action that takes place in an electric football game.

Like most Madden games, Madden NFL 11 is a substantial improvement over last year's game. The new features they're adding in should enhance the gameplay significantly on the iPhone, and I'm especially looking forward to the game automatically choosing the best play for me. Stay tuned for August 10th, as we'll have an in-depth look at the game as soon as it hits the App Store.

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Last week we took a look at the faithful and highly enjoyable iPhone port of the 1984 arcade fighter Karate Champ [App Store]. We've been having fun with the game since it hit the App Store and are happy to report that the developer, Revolutionary Concepts, will soon be bringing a native iPad version of Karate Champ to the App Store.

Karate Champ HD will take specific advantage of the iPad's larger display and, most interestingly, will feature a split-screen, head-to-head two player mode for tabletop gameplay, as illustrated in the above mock-up provided by the developer.

We'll be sure to pass on additional details on the upcoming iPad title as we get them.

App Store Link (iPhone version): Karate Champ, $1.99

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