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During WWDC this week we met with Michael Schade, a developer of Galaxy on Fire 2 by Fish Labs, who walked us through some of the features of the upcoming iPad game and gave us a brief hands on. This sequel of Galaxy on Fire [$5.99 / Free] has similar roots, and actually started as J2ME game that weighed in at a meager 1 megabyte. Galaxy on Fire 2 is a space conquest game, with a massive galaxy map to explore, multiple factions to align yourself to, a dynamic economy, and tons of other neat features that all add up to an impressive amount of depth.

Specifics are a bit vague at this point as the iPad game is still in development, but from our time with it we were shown an extensive listing of achievements to unlock, as well as just the tip of the iceberg of ship customization with all kinds of different weaponry. As you play through the game, the faction system will become an important gameplay component as the missions you choose to do effect your standing one way or the other with the various organizations floating about space. Combat seemed to work similar to the original Galaxy on Fire, with completely free and open battles in space with whoever you feel like shooting at (or running from).

Fish Labs recently released a developer diary discussing the art of the game. What piqued my interest the most from this is the screenshots showing the clear evolution of the Galaxy on Fire series of games.

Starting with the original J2ME version compared to Galaxy on Fire for the iPhone:

And finally, Galaxy on Fire 2 for the iPad:

Fish Labs plans to launch the game on the iPad in September for $9.99 with an iPhone version coming later at $7.99.

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During WWDC 2010, we had a chance to talk with Owens Rodriguez and have a quick look at his upcoming iPhone shooter, Alien Space.

The game, which strikes me as something of a cross between Asteroids and Super Stardust HD (and, as such, Meteor Blitz), is a dual-stick space shooter featuring 50 levels, various upgradeable heavy and light weapons, and online achievement tracking and leaderboards via Apple's Game Center.



Alien Space is pretty much a one-man effort, with Rodriguez working on the code and graphics assets in his spare time over the past year and a half. His Alien Space Facebook page provides some history on the title. According to Rodriguez, the game should be finished in late July.

Have a look at the developer's trailer video, which our forum readers seem to be liking.

Although I only spent a short time with the game during the conference, I came away impressed. We'll take a detailed look at Alien Space once we have the release version in our hands. Stay tuned.

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French development studio Coladia first crossed our radar back in December 2008 when they announced that they were developing an iPhone port of their Mac prehistoric point-and-click adventure Secret of the Lost Cavern [App Store]. The game went live last year, as did their iPhone port of point-and-click adventure Return to Mysterious Island [App Store].

We had a chance to meet up with Coladia here at WWDC and to hear about a few iPad titles they've got in the works.

The existing iPhone versions of Return to Mysterious Island and Secret of the Lost Cavern are rather abbreviated titles as compared to the PC originals (or Mac ports). CEO Frédéric Aloe informed us that his studio is currently readying iPad ports of both titles that deliver the complete original game experience to Apple's largest touchscreen device. Both iPad titles clock in at around 800MB in size.

Additionally, Coladia is bringing a feature-complete iPad port of Destination Treasure Island to the App Store. As the studio sets up the title,

Four years have passed since the end of the adventure recounted in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel. Jim Hawkins has become an upstanding adventurous young man, attentive to those around him. Imagine his surprise when, one morning, he sees a parrot enter his bedroom window : none other than Captain Flint, Long John's own companion. The bird brings him a message from his master. In the message the old pirate announces that he has buried a marvelous treasure on the secret isle where he retired : Emerald Island. Jim is going to have to hurry though. Pirates, old enemies of Long John, are on his trail.

The iPad version of Return to Mysterious Island should be appearing in the App Store any day now. Destination Treasure Island is set for a release late this month, while Secret of the Lost Cavern is slated for release in September. All titles are expected to launch at an App Store price of $9.99.

Coladia plans, in time, to bring most of the adventures of PC studio Cheops', responsible for the original aforementioned titles, to the iPad with full PC assets and a touchscreen interface.

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CDE Humble Gaming was at WWDC 2010 showing of their upcoming trading card game Arena 9. Game developer and long-time Magic: The Gathering player Jeff Lyndon described how they were trying to create an iPhone suitable experience for a collectible card game.

High amongst their priorities was an accessible game that was easy to learn, but also one that didn't overwhelmingly advantage those who had simply collected better cards. The game revolves around a collectible cards that are earned by the user. An initial set is provided, but over time, new cards can be collected by earning in game experience or through in-app purchase. Cards are organized into 5 card decks that you can take into battle.

Battle will primarily be on-line against live opponents. While single-player (offline) mode does exist, it's primarily intended for practice and training as experience points aren't earned.

Battle is waged on a 3×3 grid. Each player's hands is in plain view to the other player, and cards are placed on the grid in alternating turns. The goal is to win as many cards as possible by "turning" opponents cards to your own. The initial rules are simple. If the adjacent number on your the card is higher than the opponent's number when side-by-side, then you turn the other card to your own. Additional rules, however, such as lining up same numbers on two sides or surrounding an opponents card with similar elementals can act as special moves. In addition, the board also has randomly placed elemental-marked tiles that either enhance or detract from a card's power if placed on that space.

Each battle should take about 3-4 minutes and a matchmaking system tries to match you with a comparable opponent. The game is expected to launch during the first week of July and will be free for the base game. Additional cards can be purchased in packs or can simply be earned with enough experience points and wins.

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Illusion Labs' latest iPad game Foosball HD just went live on the App Store after a quick approval process. We previewed the game earlier this week at WWDC.

Focused around a multi-touch interface, the Foosball HD allows two players to compete with each other on a virtual foosball table.

Each player has control of their respective players and can move their men using simple swipe controls. Forward and Back move the players horizontally on the field while Left and Right spin them in the appropriate direction.

We had a great time playing Foosball HD at WWDC as did many others. Illusion Labs' Anders Mårtensson had the game in tow at our TouchArcade developer mixer last night and the game had a constant crowd around it, yelling and cheering for goals. While the game comes with a single player mode, the multi-player is where the game shines.

With familiar gameplay, solid controls and a great implementation, Foosball HD delivers on one of the early promises of the iPad, in-person social gaming. Early adopters are also enjoying it in our forums.

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One of the most beloved and recognizable classics in the relatively short history of video games is Konami's Frogger. The timeless gameplay of getting your character from point A to point B, while navigating a busy highway and hazardous river, has spawned many variations during the years and is still fun even today. Banzai Rabbit (formerly called Frogman) is the newest game from Revolutionary Concepts, who most recently brought us the excellent port of Karate Champ, and it takes the very basic premise of Frogger and turns it on its ear with new gameplay twists, gorgeous 3D graphics, and a comic book style storyline. The overall experience feels more like an actual evolution of the Frogger series than any of the spinoffs ever have.

The story starts in a lab, where scientists are experimenting with building teleportation pods. During some commotion, test lab rabbit Banzai escapes his cage, leaping into one of the pods (with a stowaway flea coming along for the ride as well). The pod then activates with two scientists inside, one getting fused with Banzai and one getting fused with the flea. The results are rabbit and flea humanoids. After the dust clears from the accident, the enemy now known as The Flea plots world domination and kidnaps beautiful lab assistant Mary Beth. Having strong feelings for her, Banzai plots how to stop him, and thus the story begins. Ok, it's basically the plot from the 1986 film The Fly mashed up with elements of Spiderman, but it works pretty well in setting up the story for Banzai Rabbit.

The game is set across 34 levels in various locations such as city streets and railyards. You must guide Banzai from one side of the level to the other while avoiding the hazards laid out before you. On the other side of the map is a human who has been infected by The Flea, and if you don't make it to them in time then they will turn into a fly. Once you rescue that person, the perspective of the level flips around and you must make it back the way you came to save a human who's now on the opposite side from you. This continues until you've rescued 5 humans per level. Two different powerups can be collected, one that let's you jump over one of the hazards if need be, and one that slows down time for a short period making it easier to maneuver between the obstacles. It all comes together extremely well, taking a classic mechanic and wrapping it around some new ideas and fantastic visuals.

The area where the game falters is in terms of difficulty. More specifically, a brutally hard, teeth clenching difficulty. George Costanza couldn't beat this. The levels start to pick up in pace and complexity about a third of the way through the game. It took countless retries to pass some of these levels, which was bad enough, but at about the midway point of the game I completely hit a wall. There was just no way for me to progress, despite trying over and over. Collecting mutagen orbs spread throughout each level allows you to continue. You start the game with 5 lives, and can earn more through bonus levels and by rescuing humans. It takes 10 mutagen orbs to continue once you lose all lives. I started the level where I got stuck with 60 some odd orbs, and went through them all without blinking an eye. That's at least 30 lives wasted on a level where I didn't even rescue one human. Once you run out of orbs, you must frustratingly start completely over from level one. It's just flat out too difficult. I consider myself a fairly accomplished gamer, and have a fondness for the overly challenging games of the 80's and 90's, but I concede to Banzai Rabbit. He beat me. Some truly hardcore players may love this type of challenge, but I highly doubt normal to casual players will have the fortitude to see the game through.

I realize I'm making a pretty big deal about this, but it's honestly the one thing that can keep me from wholeheartedly recommending Banzai Rabbit. I'm not alone, either, as I've only made it halfway through the game and am sitting comfortably atop the Agon leaderboard. Is halfway really the farthest anyone has made it? It's not always necessary to completely beat a game when reviewing it, but you should at least have a pretty broad understanding of what the game offers. I feel like I'm missing out on a big part of Banzai Rabbit that's awaiting me in the second half of the game, not the least of which is the story (I imagine the hero saves the girl, but I'd like to see it).

Luckily, Revolutionary Concepts has been listening to the feedback in the game's forum thread, and will likely address the difficulty in an update. If you feel up to the challenge, Banzai Rabbit really does have a lot to offer, just don't expect to see all of it any time soon.

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Pankaku is about to release a sequel to their Lightbike game called Lightbike 2. The original Lightbike was a Tron lightcycle inspired game that was released in January 2009. It was playable and did well on the charts, but we thought the gameplay was a little boring at the time.

Clearly inspired by the newest Tron movie, Lightbike 2 looks far from boring.

Pankaku reports that they've made great improvements to the visuals as well as adding new gaming elements including "jump" actions, 3D stages, and customizable cycle bodies. They've also incorporated online multiplayer with up to 4 people at the same time.

The game will be coming out tonight and will be free. Lightbike 2 is powered by their own social networking service Pankia which promises massively real-time multiplayer gaming features. This game seems to be a demo of their social gaming platform which also supports the usual friending features and more.

App Store Link: Lightbike2, Free

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Pankaku is about to release a sequel to their Lightbike game called Lightbike 2. The original Lightbike was a Tron lightcycle inspired game that was released in January 2009. It was playable and did well on the charts, but we thought the gameplay was a little boring at the time.

Clearly inspired by the newest Tron movie, Lightbike 2 looks far from boring.

Pankaku reports that they've made great improvements to the visuals as well as adding new gaming elements including "jump" actions, 3D stages, and customizable cycle bodies. They've also incorporated online multiplayer with up to 4 people at the same time.

The game will be coming out tonight and will be free. Lightbike 2 is powered by their own social networking service Pankia which promises massively real-time multiplayer gaming features. This game seems to be a demo of their social gaming platform which also supports the usual friending features and more.

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As we've had our time spent in meetings and activities this week at WWDC, several notable games have been released that have been getting some positive feedback in our forums. Here's a roundup of a few of them and links to their discussion threads.

2XL TROPHYLITE Rally

The latest racing game from 2XL games, this time they've applied their skill to a rally racing game. See our discussion rhread for impressions.

SuperBlox

A game we first saw some time ago as a preview but finally came out last week. Superblox has been generating positive impressions on our forums.

Pac Match Party

A Pac-Man Match 3? Crazy, I know. Even crazier? People seem to be liking it. A Flash version remains available for web play.

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The fine folks at Cowboy Rodeo are putting their port of 1992 Amiga classic Pinball Dreams free today and despite being a nearly 20 year old game, Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams [Free] offers up some great pinball action, even a year and a half after it's initial release. From Blake Patterson's original review:

I am a huge fan of the original and its various sequels and, years ago, spent days playing them on various Amigas.  I can say with authority that the iPhone version is actually more enjoyable than the Amiga original.  All of the nice elements of the original are here, but in a far more convenient (pocketable) package.  What's more, while the iPhone and Amiga feature the same horizontal pixel resolution, the iPhone's display is twice as tall (pixel-wise) as the Amiga's, and so only slight vertical panning of the table is needed to track the ball on the iPhone (where the vertical panning in the Amiga version was extreme).

If you're a pinball fan and have somehow not already bought Pinball Dreams or tried the lite version, then right now is an excellent time to see what you've been missing. The “video game” feel may turn off some real life pinball table purists, but at the time of it's original Amiga release it was considered to be quite revolutionary and is incredibly fun in it's own right.

If you enjoy Dreams, the sequel Pinball Fantasies [$5.99] is available as well. With 4 tables in each game you're getting a grand total of 8 different tables for 6 bucks. Plus, with this increased support of Cowboy Rodeo comes increased odds that we'll see the third game in the series, Pinball Illusions, ported over sometime down the line. On any account, for a game that has never dropped below $3.99, Pinball Dreams is a must-download during this free promotion.

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