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Hasbro and EA have released the first screenshots for the official iPhone and iPod Touch version of Risk. An official Risk game was first announced back in 2009 and will finally be making its way into the App Store this summer.

The iPhone version offers both AI adversaries or up to 6 multiplayer opponents. Risk-like strategy games have been very popular on the iPhone, so an official version is a welcome addition. Data sheet from the upcoming iPhone version lists the following features:

• THE ORIGINAL WAR GAME TRADITION LIVES ON IN AN EXPLOSIVE NEW WAY – The updated look and feel also captures the powerful tradition of the authentic RISK experience. Strategize over the world map, attack with a “roll” of the dice, and fortify your advances with the same rule set as the classic board game.
• ENGAGE IN MULTIPLE MODES OF BATTLE – Test your power against strong AI opponents, each featuring unique strategies and even emotional responses. Escalate the action in two Multiplayer modes. Challenge up to 4 of your greatest rivals via WiFi or Bluetooth, or up to 6 with Pass ‘n Play.
• CRUSH YOUR OPPONENTS AND ACHIEVE HONOR – Attack enemy forces, and transfer and fortify your armies in phase-based warfare. Track the progress and relative strength of opponents with easily accessible in-game statistics. Earn an extensive list of achievements as your armies dominate territory after territory.
• STAY ON THE MARCH BACKED BY AN INSPIRING SOUNDTRACK – Stirring sound effects and morale-boosting music enhance the feelings of struggle – and triumph!

It appears multi-player is limited to local Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or pass-and-play options. The game is due out this summer.

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Last month we posted an exclusive look at the upcoming iPhone version of the '90s classic puzzle / platformer Qwak, which started life on the BBC Micro and later came to the Amiga. We're happy to report that the game has just gone live in the App Store [link].

In Qwak, you control a duck (get it?). Your objective is to guide this green duck through level after level of platforms, fruits and gems (worth points), bouncing enemies, power-ups to help demolish said enemies, and keys to unlock goodies as well as the level's exit gate. Your duck can run, jump, and fire volleys of egg projectiles to knock out the baddies. Grab a bonus item and watch a hail of colorful fruit rain down upon you. Take too long on a level and meet a hail of spikeballs. In a nutshell, I call it frenetic, fun, and rather fruity (to be alliteratively wanton).

I've spent some time with the prerelease build of the game that developer Jamie Woodhouse provided, and it's been lovely to play. It's a touch-controlled game with a left / right control in one corner and jump and egg-fire controls in the other. The vibrant visuals move about the screen as smooth as glass on the iPhone 3GS test device and a very Amiga-sounding score accompanies the action. It feels both retro and highly polished. It's a game platformer fans won't want to miss.

See our previous article to read our interview with Qwak author Jamie Woodhouse.

App Store Link: Qwak, $2.99

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WWDC 2010 is about to kick off. We are on the scene to cover new Apple announcements as well as meet with game developers about their latest creations. Apple is widely expected to launch the new iPhone as well as provide more details on iPhone OS 4. As always, there will likely also be a few surprises. Live coverage available at MacRumors amongst other sites.

Developers attending the conference should contact us by email to arrange meetings. Stay tuned.

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Rocketcat Games' much anticipated successor to Hook Champ has just been submitted to the App Store. The final version of the game has reportedly changed significantly since we first saw it in April. According to Kepa Auwaue:

17 levels that involve exploring for treasure and secrets. There's unlockable levels and equipment for beating these levels as fast as you can. And there's still a very in-depth Endless Survival mode, where you run from a crushing Avalanche. There's 60 different sections for Avalanche Mode alone, many of which have secret alternate paths. Avalanche Mode alone has more content than most games that are just a single-level pick up and play mode. All this, and the fun stuff from Hook Champ is still there, such as upgrades, extensive leaderboards, ghost races, and so on.

First day buyers will get two exclusive hats and an early buyer's discount. Here's the latest gameplay video:

Here are some of the latest screenshots:

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PosiMotion is responsible for quite a few games and apps on the App Store as well as gizmos like the G-Fi VS. Recently they've entered the iPhone and iPod touch accessory market with the PosiMotion Helix Gaming Grip, a grippy molded piece of plastic that you can snap your device in to in order to quite literally get a better grip on it.

Shaped a little bit like a Batarang, the Helix is cleverly designed to allow you to snap your device in to place in both a horizontal and vertical orientation. If you own an iPod touch, there is a secondary plastic piece you need to use in order to make it fit, and using this adapter didn't have any effect on the feel of the Helix. There are slots on both sides of it to route wires through, as well as a hole for the iPhone camera.

Much like the accessories you can snap your Wii controller in to while playing Mario Kart, having a grip on your iPhone that vaguely resembles a steering wheel doesn't add much immersion despite the "the authentic feel of being behind the wheel" that PosiMotion claims using the Helix evokes. So while playing Real Racing when using the Helix didn't exactly open my eyes to a whole new gameplay experience, the Helix definitely does excel in providing a comfortable grip for serious iPhone gaming sessions.

Now that there are games like Chaos Rings, and other extremely in-depth iPhone games that you can spend entire days playing, it seems that all too often I'm curled up on my couch with the end of the iPhone sync cable jamming in to the palm of one hand with the headphone cable rammed between two fingers of the other for hours. For me, the main advantage of the Helix was the onboard cable management that makes playing iPhone games for extended periods of time substantially more comfortable. Also, having something more to grab on to other than a thin iPhone (or even thinner iPod touch) really seems to put an end to the hand strain that anyone with large hands undoubtedly has experienced while clutching their device for hours.

Strangely enough, while the cable management is my favorite feature of the device, not much thought seemed to go in to making sure there are enough room to actually route the cables. When you've got a sync cable and/or headphone cable plugged in, both wires are subjected to severe bends and while I have more iPhone headphones and sync cables than I can shake a stick at, seeing the near 90 degree bend the Helix puts in your headphone cables would definitely make me nervous if they were my only pair.

It's hard to say how much need there is for a Helix Gaming Grip. What has always made the iPhone so awesome to me is that it is always with me and I don't need anything else to play everything on the App Store short of my iPhone and maybe its charger. The only situations where I'd throw the Helix in to my bag short of long flights or long car rides. It does substantially improve the ergonomics of holding the iPhone, but it's hard to say how many iPhone gamers actually play games in long marathon sessions.

The PosiMotion Helix Gaming Grip is available online and from Best Buy for $20. If the thought of having something more substantial to grip your iPhone with has piqued your interest, take a peek at it next time you find yourself strolling down the iPhone and iPod touch accessory aisle.

Disclaimer: We received a review unit to test this device. PosiMotion is also an advertiser on this site.

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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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Earlier this month we posted that Konami announced Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 will be coming to the App Store. Konami has updated their blog on the controls, camera angels and some screenshots that will be featured in PES 2010 for the iPhone.

The first screenshots for Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 for the iPhone and iPod Touch have been revealed and show off the replay feature and in-game layout.

The controls in any game can make or break the user experience, which is why the Konami team is spending a lot of time on the control layout for PES 2010. Of course they have the classic controls with a virtual joystick and virtual buttons on screen, but they have also come up with a new unique iPhone control method called "one-touch". The "one-touch" AI assisted control mode takes advantage of the iPhones capabilities and keeps things simple. No buttons or joysticks on the screen, just the accelerometer and the screen as one giant input zone.

The unique one-touch mode with accelerometer and multi-touch comes with great AI assistance so to ensure the best possible gameplay experience. This is a new way of approaching controls for a football game.

Konami has also been posting in our forums, and answering users' questions about the upcoming game. Of interest, they have said that the licensing of player and team names "will be comparable to the PSP", and that "there are about 100 animations for player and goalkeepers in the game".

With a new intriguing control method, great visuals, and player licensing, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is shaping up to be promising soccer game for the iPhone. There is no release date set for the game yet, but last week they were about to enter the beta testing, so hopefully we will get to play PES 2010 sometime this summer.

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It's no secret that we at TouchArcade are big fans of Donut Games. They have a reputation of consistently delivering fun games with simple mechanics, wonderful pixel art, a polished interface, and a ton of replay value. This rings true yet again as their latest game, Cat Physics, has been released to the App Store. In essence a physics based puzzler where you must get an object from point A to point B, Cat Physics has all the charm and replayability you've come to expect from Donut games, and appears to be another great entry.

The goal of Cat Physics is to successfully direct a ball from one onscreen kitty to another. The layout of each level, placement of the goal cat, and many different obstacles work to prevent you from completing this seemingly simple task. To aid you, moveable arrow icons can be placed in the path of the ball, launching it in the direction of the arrow displayed on each icon. How many arrows are on each level and what direction they point is always fixed (aside from occasional moving arrows), so it's up to you to figure out the best way to utilize them to complete a level. Scoring is based on getting the ball from the starting cat to the receiving cat in as short a distance as possible.

The level designs can be quite clever, and it's a challenge to figure out the best way to deal with the objects in the ball's path. These objects can affect your ball in many ways, and include tiny catapults, teeter-totters, teleportation vortexes, breakable barriers, and more. It takes a lot of trial and error, but is very rewarding when you finally find the best solution. There's 50 unique levels to play through, as well as the lovely 3-star system (think Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals for each level) that is a hallmark of many Donut games. Similarly, an out-of-game online leaderboard for total scores is included. Gaining 3 stars on every level would be a tall order for even the most adept gamer, and there's certainly a lot of content and replayablity here for your money.

As fantastic as Cat Physics is, there were a couple of blemishes that stuck out a bit during my time with the game. First, the arrow icons can require some extremely precise placement in order to maximize your score, and it sometimes seemed difficult to move them in the tiny increments that I needed too. Possibly due to my own fat fingers, so your results may vary. A more fundamental problem is that some of the levels are just flat out too easy. Like, you-don't-even-have-to-do-anything easy. Sometimes you can just let your ball go, and it will safely find the goal by default. You likely won't be getting any high scores by doing this, but still it would be nice to have a bigger level of user interaction required out of some of the levels. It's more of a problem in the first half of the game, with the latter half being sufficiently elaborate in design and challenge. Neither of these issues do much in diminishing the enjoyment of playing.

If you're already a fan of Donut Games, chances are you were downloading this the moment you read the title. And chances are you're satisfied yet again. If you're new to them, then Cat Physics is an excellent chance to get yourself acquainted. Even if this particular game doesn't strike a chord, they make an assortment of games to suit just about every type of gamer, all at incredibly low prices. This latest offering is another winner, and comes highly recommended.

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Splinter Cell: Conviction on the X360 and the PC evoked mixed reactions from reviewers and consumers alike as it departed from the traditional stealth-centric Sam Fisher formula and opted for a more aggressive, guns-blazing approach. Gameloft's portable adaptation follows in the same vein, but also seems to introduce some of its own issues.

From the onset it is clear that Splinter Cell Conviction is one of the better looking games on the App Store. This can be attributed predominantly to its terrific looking and varied level themes, from grand historical Maltese buildings to dock-side marketplaces and even a trip to the middle east, Splinter Cell: Conviction does a great job keeping the eyes engaged. The storyline on the other hand is fairly disengaging; cycling through the usual cliches and predictable plot-turns as Sam seeks revenge for his daughter's murder.

As with most 3rd person games on the App Store, Splinter Cell Conviction is controlled with a virtual analogue stick and on-screen buttons. These buttons are context-sensitive, the action button changing between firing your weapon at range and grappling enemies when up close. Though the context-sensitive controls should work well, we felt that they haven't been executed as well as they could have.

The stick-to-cover button doubles as the multi-kill button, but often when the multi-kill option is present, Sam will instead opt to stick to cover (despite that button not even being visible at the time it was pressed). In fact, we found the cover system to be unresponsive in general, often impeded our control of Sam. Only designated objects can be used as cover (despite some looking blatantly like they are there solely for cover), and when in cover, even the slightest movement of the analogue stick can cause Sam to jump out in the open.

A similarly arbitrary feel permeates the shooting system in Splinter Cell Conviction, arguably the largest aspect of the revised not-so-stealthy gameplay. Rather than being able to shoot at whatever is under your cross-hair, it appears that Sam can only engage in enemies when the crosshair turns red. On many occasions, this is despite the enemy being in plain sight and well within range. In other situations, Sam can headshot an enemy at great range with a pistol– when the red crosshair permits of course.

The AI is another problematic area, but not to the degree that some readers have suggested in our forums. Enemies will sometimes run at Sam without restraint, gratuitously falling to his bullets, and at any difficulty level below the hardest, will take a very, very long time to take Sam down. Enemies seem to be a more than a little light sensitive too, often ignoring Sam despite him standing on their toes, so long as he remains out of the light. Despite this, enemies flow thick and fast and provide enough of an obstacle to keep the pace up and Sam constantly engaged.

As do the levels themselves, as though they are predominantly about taking cover and dispatching enemies, they are varied in both theme and substance too. Some levels force Sam to engage with the few gadgets at his disposal, such as peeking under doors or throwing camera grenades to get an edge over his enemies (though usually these are not at all required to actually complete a level). Another level has Sam aboard a speed-boat, a graciously on-rails sequence that lets you deviate from the ordinary pace of the game and mow down approaching enemies with a chain-gun. It's good fun that helps break up the 11 available levels.

Ultimately though, we think Splinter Cell Conviction's biggest problem is how successfully it recreates that Splinter Cell feel. If the game didn't look and sound so great, then its obvious mechanical and AI hitches wouldn't seem so glaring in contrast. While we may be holding the game to somewhat higher console-like standards as a result, that feeling is something that was inescapable and interfered with our overall enjoyment of the game.

App Store Link: Splinter Cell Conviction, $9.99.

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