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When the App Store first launched, I don't think anyone imagined that the iPhone would be such a marvelous platform for retro gamers. The amount of games out there that are either direct ports or heavily inspired by classic titles has been absolutely awesome both for fans of these vintage games and newcomers who are getting to experience the roots of video gaming for the first time.

Revolutionary Concepts, the guys behind the phenomenal port of the LaserDisc arcade game Cobra Command [$2.99] just revealed a video of their next game, Karate Champ. The attention to detail is absolutely astounding, between the arcade style cabinet controls, the gameplay itself, and even the announcer voice which is a dead ringer for the Commodore 64 SAM voice.

Released to arcades in 1984, Karate Champ was one of the first fighting games. It later made its way to the Apple II, the Commodore 64, and the NES among other platforms. According to Revolutionary Concepts, it will be submitted to Apple this week and it will launch at $1.99 as soon as it is approved.

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A couple weeks ago, we reviewed Motocross Challenge, a long lost Gameboy Advance game that never came to be which found new life on the App Store. Despite being more than 5 years old it actually turned out to be a really great experience on the iPhone. Solid controls, a polished interface, OpenFeint integration, and a high fun factor combined to make for one of the best motocross games on this platform. Now it's gotten even better as version 1.2 has gone live and adds real-time multiplayer through OpenFeint, as well as a much requested tilt calibration option.

Previously, multiplayer was restricted to OpenFeint friend challenges. You could pick from any track to race 3 laps as quickly as possible and then send that time to any of your friends to see if they could top it. It was nice and actually worked pretty well within the game's structure, and this feature is still kept intact with the latest update. But most likely you'll forget all about the challenge system once you've had a taste of the exciting real-time racing.

Upon choosing Multiplayer from the main menu, you'll select the new option Vs. World. It will bring you to a bike selection screen where you can choose from your available unlocked motorcycles. While you're doing this it's quietly matching you up with people in the background. A few moments later, the players are set and the race begins on a randomly selected course. There's only the option of racing in 3 lap races online, no trick attacks, but it's incredibly simple to get into and a ton of fun. Where you place in the race earns you points that you'll collect as a badge of honor for how well you do and how much you play, similar to an online ranking.

Also noteworthy in this release is the addition of a tilt calibration. You must start a race and access this option from the pause menu, which is a bit clunky but works as advertised. The real star of this update is the online racing which adds unlimited replayability to this already fantastic game. If you have Motocross Challenge, give the update and online multiplayer a try. If you still haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing yet, now would be a great chance to join in on all the fun. A new Lite version is also now available.

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The AppStore being the bottomless font of creativity and innovation that it is, developers are constantly finding new ways to engage us with our devices. Tactility is a big draw card here, with simple concepts such as Fruit Ninja proving a hit thanks to the very cool way that we interface with the game. Brainium Studios provided another example of something fresh earlier this year, but their game was pulled due to a new publishing arrangement. Thankfully, it has now re-emerged as Hand of Greed – dodge the blade! [AppStore].

Hand of Greed is an avoidance game with a twist, forcing you to literally put your hand in the hornet's nest. Where Fruit Ninja had you do the slicing and dicing, Hand of Greed makes you the subject of the slashing– tasked with avoiding the whirling on-screen blades to collect each level's treasures simply by tapping on them. Each time you unsuccessfully jab at a target, the screen is caked with blood and a gut-wrenching stabbing sound emanates from the device, along with a sharp vibrate.

There are 50 levels overall in Hand of Greed spanning over 5 differently themed worlds. Each level is beautifully rendered, with the exceptionally crafted blades stealing the show and occupying most of the screen real estate. This is especially true of the latter levels, where you'll have to face off against a number of wicked looking knives that you certainly will not find in the kitchen.

Each level provides several wave of different treasures to collect, with bonus points awarded for collecting chains of like-treasures. The object of each level is to clear it in its entirety without being sliced more than three times. To help, power-ups are slowly introduced along the way, and provide benefits such as refilling portions of your life bubble located at the top of the screen. They're sorely needed too, as Hand of Greed features a sharp incline (pun intended) in difficulty that requires you to study closely each blade's pattern or face being shredded instead.

Scores are accumulated at the end of each level and high scores recorded on the OpenFeint leaderboards. There are also 17 achievements to unlock, with most of them remaining secret until discovered to further up the ante.

It's a winning formula that is as simple as it is effective. Though there's not a lot of depth to the game, it's a terrific time waster that should keep you occupied for a long while, largely thanks to its gruelling difficulty (which may very well be too much for some). Just don't show it off to anyone with a queasy stomach or penchant for fainting at the sight of blood.

App Store Link: Hand of Greed – dodge the blade!, $0.99.

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It's kind of crazy to think how much has happened since November of last year when we had the guys from Crescent Moon Games on the fourth episode of our podcast just before the release of their first iPhone game, Ravensword: The Fallen King [$4.99 / Free]. They've since released the game and it became both a critical and financial success. Following the coattails of Ravensword comes several ambitious projects.

The first of which is the obvious Ravensword sequel, along with Ultra Kid: Mystery of the Mutants, Rimelands: Hammer of Thor, and the game they're revealing their involvement in tonight: Aralon: Sword and Shadow.

Aralon: Sword and Shadow actually has a great story behind its development. It turns out, the game has been in the works by Galoobeth Games since before Ravensword was even started. The two developers, Jason and Sam, have built the framework for an insanely impressive RPG, but neither are artists. The models were rough, the animations were mediocre at best, but if you looked past all of that, you could see something amazing.

Crescent Moon Games along with artist Mark Jones, famous for his work on everything from the Elder Scrolls series to Arkanoid for the Amiga, are giving Aralon the sprucing up it badly requires to turn a great RPG with bad graphics to what they're hoping to be the best 3D RPG on the App Store.

Aralon: Sword and Shadow is going to sport a feature list that is going to be difficult to beat. They're promising over 30 hours of gameplay, a faction system, crafting and gathering skills, and hundreds of items to equip your character with that also will change your appearance. In addition, there will be four character classes: Warrior, Ranger, Rogue and Mage, each with a unique play style in three playable races: Humans, Elves, and Trolls.

A primary quest will send you through every part of the Kingdom of Aralon, with many optional side-quests to add even more depth to the game. Different enemies will use different battle tactics, and you'll even be able to acquire mounts to quickly travel.

In talking to Crescent Moon Games about Aralon, I've asked them multiple times if they really want to promise all of these things. According to them, almost all of this is already programmed and all they need to do is spend the next four months or so making the game look as great as it plays.

As a fan of RPG's, it's hard to not get excited when developers promise epic gameplay experiences filled with deep stories, tons of character customization, and everything else. We're going to keep a close eye on all of the projects Crescent Moon Games has cooking, and I'm hopeful that Aralon: Sword and Shadow will be just as awesome as it has been described when it finally launches.

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Freeverse's space conquest game Warpgate [$4.99 / Free] and the high resolution iPad Warpgate HD [$7.99 / Free] both recently had free versions appear on the App Store. If you've been on the fence, you really should give the free version a try, especially with the recent 1.2 update that added save game portability via the Plus+ network.

When Warpgate HD first launched along side the iPad, we loved the game in our review, and later found the only differences between the iPhone and iPads version of the game were minor UI differences. Here's what you're getting in to in the Warpgate universe:

Obviously set in space, Warpgate is host to a gigantic galaxy map that you slowly explore through a seamless set of campaign missions. Once you complete the initial tutorial, and start in on the "real" game, procedurally generated missions begin appearing that have you flying places, delivering things, getting in to battles with other ships, and other objectives. Because of this, the game never technically ends.

Warpgate is remarkably open, so much so that if you're the kind of gamer that requires a rigid goal structure with a concrete "end" to a game, it might just drive you crazy. The end goal of Warpgate is whatever you want it to be. If that means grinding up reputation with the space pirates and piloting the biggest, baddest battleship in the entire galaxy, killing everything in your path, you can. Or, on the opposite side of things, you can be completely lawful and play your cards so you're in good standing with all the factions of space. …Read More

One of my main concerns from our initial review was the inability to manage your save game data. Since Warpgate is a game you can keep playing for a very long time, not being able to secure my game data from the horrors of iPhone syncing and updating SNAFU's after potentially investing weeks of playtime in to the game made me very nervous. Warpgate 1.2 not only adds online save game storage via the Plus+ network, but these game saves are also portable between devices and versions of the game.

If you own the game for both the iPhone and iPad, all you need to do is open the game's options screen, upload your game save on one device, then do the same thing to download it on to the other device and you will be right where you left off. What's even cooler, is that if you download the lite version for either the iPad or iPhone, you can upload your game save, buy the full version, download it, and keep all of your progress.

Unfortunately, because of the size of the Warpgate game save files, automatic online game save storage like many other Plus+ games simply isn't realistic. According to Warpgate producer Bruce Morrison, Warpgate game saves can grow to upwards of 500 kilobytes once you get farther in to the game. In comparison, Flick Fishing, another Freeverse game that handles all of the Plus+ game save data automatically only uses around 5 kilobytes to save everything it needs.

Warpgate's implementation of online save storage is a little ugly, but it works. It's really great to be able to play my same game on both my iPhone and iPad, and the ability to roll your progress in the lite version straight in to the paid version is really cool. If you haven't yet, you really should give Warpgate a try, or at least download the free version. Aside from being a fun space conquest game, it also looks really great on the iPad.

App Store Links:

• Warpgate, $4.99
• Warpgate Free, Free
• Warpgate HD, $7.99
• Warpgate HD Free, Free

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The evil Mr. Demon, for reasons unknown, has it out for the poor inhabitants of Ninjatown. He took to their homes in its critically successful DS release and looks to be at it again when creators Shawnimals team up with Venan (of Space Miner fame) to bring Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! [App Store].

Ninjatown: Trees of Doom for the iPhone is a wholly different affair to the strategic Nintendo DS combat game. It is a lighthearted, Doodle Jump-esque adventure, with enough twists to the gameplay to give it its own distinct flavor, even before the iconic overly cute ninjas are factored in.

In Trees of Doom you take control of a solitary Wee Ninja, tasked by the Ol' Master Ninja to climb the Trees of Doom and take the fight to Mr. Demon minions. Of course, being of the Ninja persuasion, there's no way you'll be scampering up that tree with your shins — instead you propel yourself upwards by jumping deftly between trees and using branches to fling you on high. It's all very Crouching Tiger.

Naturally, Mr. Demon objects to your shenanigans and sends a horde of demon-like (but still very cute) monsters to stop you in your tracks. If that still isn't enough, the Trees of Doom are aptly named– presenting their own hazards in the form of evil ooze and slippery bark to avoid, lest your quest be met with a long drop and short demise.

Your Ninja is controlled by tapping either sides of the screen (the two trunks). Simply tapping will cause your Ninja to make a small leap, while holding down your finger will cause him to push off into a higher leap. These both need to be mastered to make it to the top and avoid the many pitfalls along the way. Of course, being a Ninja there may be times when you need to move vertically up a trunk, which you can do so by simply pressing the side your Ninja is presently on. Branches are another helpful tool, which can be directed to fling your by swiping down on the screen, an on-screen arrow allowing you to control where you ninja ends up.

As in Doodle Jump and similar games, there are a raft of power-ups to collect on the way, all aimed at helping you inching just that little bit further than last time. Granted, I don't think any game has had anything quite as bizzare as the Mucho-Mucho Moustachio though, a giant moustache that your Ninja clings to as it carries him skyward. There are also the standard ninja-fare smoke bombs though and gum balloons that can be inflated to encompass you in a shield of sorts. The Plus+ network records your highest climbs, as well as a large list of challenging achievements to attempt.

Trees of Doom's real appeal though comes largely thanks to its crisp, richly colored artwork. Sure, the game itself poses an interesting spin on the usual tilt or tap mechanic, requiring quite a bit of dexterity and skill to land precision jumps, but at the end of the day we know what these games are about. They're about high scores and quick games that keep you coming back for more. Trees of Doom does all these things, and looks great to boot. If you like Doodle Jump and other see how high you can go games, and you like Ninjas (who doesn't) then this is definitely a worthwhile pickup.

App Store Link: Ninjatown: Trees of Doom!, $1.99.

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Just like Freeverse's recently released Warpgate [$4.99 / $6.99 (HD)], Flick Baseball [$2.99] has had a development cycle that borders on legendary for an iPhone game. We first heard of the game in a guest article by Freeverse developer Mark Andersson, and didn't actually see it in motion until a few months later when we played a very basic (and different looking) build of the game at WWDC. Later, we posted a preview trailer that had such an impact on Baseball fans around here that it seemed to slightly overshadow the release of Gameloft's Derek Jeter Real Baseball that popped up on the App Store in the following weeks.

After our preview from last week, I've spent a considerable amount of time with the game. Essentially, if you're looking for an in-depth 3D baseball simulation game, you're going to need to keep waiting– But if you're like me and prefer sports games that have an arcade feel to them, then you'll enjoy Flick Baseball.

Each of the different actions that make up the baseball game has a mini-game feel to it. Batting works just like Com2Us's Homerun Battle 3D [$4.99 / Free / $4.99 (HD)] where you tilt your device to move around a transparent crosshair of sorts to line up your bat. Tapping the screen swings, and you can advance bases by tapping on them in the corner of the screen.

Pitching is a guessing game of sorts that you play with the AI controlled batter. You select a pitch, then tilt the device to aim where you're going to throw and tap the screen to let it fly. If you choose the same pitch as the AI batter, they get a power bonus if they hit the ball. When your pitching luck runs out and the batter lands a hit, Flick Baseball automatically has your team field the ball. While most fielding is automatic, for fly balls, you contribute by playing a timing-based mini-game where four baseball gloves come flying out of each corner of the screen. In this instance, catching the ball requires you to tap the gloves as they intersect.

Once one of your fielders have the ball, using the same interface as running bases you can tap to throw the ball. While none of these areas of the game feel particularly technical, they are still fun. Also, if you don't like batting (or fielding), you can skip entire innings to only play the portions of the game you enjoy.

Skipped innings are calculated based on the statistics of your players, which serves as a fairly in-depth subsystem that controls the entire game. As you go through a game your pitcher's stamina decreases and it becomes harder to aim your pitches. Each batter's accuracy controls the size of their tilt-controlled hit zone. Many other player stats run the rest of the game.

If you're serious enough about baseball to want to play through entire seasons, you can do that as well, and skip as many games as you'd like just like skipping innings. And if you really get in to the game, you can build entire customized teams where you can tweak, modify, and fiddle around with nearly everything imaginable to create your own team filled with players that have silly names and ugly uniforms.

As I mentioned before, if you're the kind of person who wants a highly detailed in-depth baseball game, Flick Baseball isn't the game for you. Everything in Flick Baseball seems to be optimized for quick pick up and play sessions that focuses more on being fun than overly technical or difficult.

Eventually, Flick Baseball will be available in two flavors: The "Pro" version that is available today, and a free version sponsored by Chevy that is being put together by Small Planet which is still waiting to be approved by Apple. It will retain all the core gameplay elements, but you'll be missing out on things like season mode and team customization.

App Store Link: Flick Baseball Pro, $2.99

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Carcassonne developer The Coding Monkeys has confirmed with us that the iPad version of the upcoming Apple handheld title will be a universal update to the initial App Store release this summer.

Just don't expect the update to hit in the immediate.

According to developer Martin Pittenauer, The Coding Monkeys haven't started work on the larger version of the game. Instead, they've focused their efforts on the iPhone and iPod Touch versions slated for release in May.

"The iPhone version will be released this month and we plan to start work on the iPad after that," developer Martin Pittenauer told us via e-mail.

"We poured a lot of love into the game already and feel the iPad version deserves the same level of attention, so it's hard to make promises for a release date right now. But we plan to have the game universal later this summer."

Universal updates allow handheld Apps to run natively on the iPad, which avoids creators from having to juggle two similar Apps on the Store at the same time.

The Carcassonne update will be free for purchasers of the App, but the price of the whole package will be raised from its initial $4.99 price point once the update goes live on iTunes.

"Once the app is universal we will end introductory pricing and sell the game for $9.99," Pittenauer told us in a later e-mail. "So, if you buy early, you essentially get a discount on the version that runs on iPhone, iPod, and iPad."

Despite being universal, the iPad version of the game will have its share of differences according to Pittenauer. Most of which are planned to stem from the iPad's larger touch screen size.

"We will try to use the available space to streamline some parts of the user interface and adopt more of the emerging 'feel' of the iPad platform," he said.

"We are also still thinking about the dimensions of the device and its implication for the multiplayer user interface. Other than that it will mainly differ by size."

But Pittenauer believes neither version will have a leg up on the other.

"We don't think any version will be better per se, but they will have different strengths."

"The iPhone version is very portable while being very easy to play thanks to pinch-zooming and its UI. The iPad version will have room to see more of the game board, but isn't as practical on the go. And as the game will be universal, both versions complement each other perfectly anyway."

Visually, the game appears to be capturing the board game feel. The big question is if the  game's mechanics and components do the same. Pittenauer tells us that bringing the board game to life via our iDevices is the point of the project.

"As boardgame geeks, we hope to make players feel like they are playing the original in the real world."

"That's why we favor a very traditional view of the table and decided against unnecessary 3D gimmicks for our version. We also love the social aspect of board gaming, so we tried to retain that as much as possible by adding all sorts of multiplayer variants (pass-around, local network, internet) and in-game chat."

At the end of the day it's up to the players to judge if the digital version of the board game feels like the board game. We'll have to hope and see.

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In just a few days Fabulapps plans on releasing its first game called CrossRoads in to the wild. CrossRoads is yet another line drawing time management game, but it sets its self apart by adding a few extra gameplay features all wrapped in a slick art style.

Similar to existing games on the App Store like Car Mania [99¢], you guide cars to their destinations by drawing lines on a map. Fabulapps takes this concept a little farther by adding unique events that occur on each map. For example there is a map were you have to crush zombies in your path as you route cars around. On others, you will need to pop balloons, shake clouds off the screen, and break ice when your screen freezes over.

The feature that most piqued my interest is the multiplayer mode, which allows you to play against another player with the game via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Similar to the multiplayer found in Flight Control [99¢] and Harbor Master [$1.99 / Free], you will be able to route cars off your screen and on to your opponents to add even more vehicles for them to manage.

CrossRoads will launch with 4 included maps (one as a free download) and 3 additional maps available as in-app purchases. Each add-on map includes new music, special effects, and new vehicles. The game should be out sometime this week for $1.99.

For more details on the game as it nears release, take a look at the thread on our forums.

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At first glance you might dismiss Domino's Adventure [App Store] as being just another generic Rolando knock-off, and that's understandable as they do share similarities in look and gameplay. But beneath the surface lies a brilliantly designed platform experience that admittedly draws influence from many different areas, but melds them together in a way that's uniquely its own. An incredibly fun physics system, simple controls and a demanding test of your dexterity combine to make Domino's Adventure a pleasure to play. It's a pretty short ride, but at only 99¢ it's definitely one worth taking.

The protagonist, Domino, is a circular alien that has crash landed on Earth and must traverse 20 increasingly difficult levels to get back to his lost spaceship. Left and right arrows in the lower corner of the screen roll the character in either direction, while simple jump and spike buttons sit in the opposite corner. Which corners these controls are located in can be configured in the options. There's tilt controls available if you choose, but I far preferred the virtual touch controls. Domino jumps higher the longer you press down, and the spike button gives him a pointy circumference for clinging to walls and ceilings.

It's certainly taking a page out of Rolando's book, especially in regards to the Royal Spikey Commando character, but never comes across as a malicious rip-off. If anything, it's merely because these particular gameplay mechanics are so solid and entertaining. Any feelings of déjà vu are quickly forgotten anyway once you start making your way through the exciting level designs.

The physics in the game have a floaty and fun feel, and make for some pretty crazy experiences. For example, you may encounter a series of planks standing on end, set up like dominoes. You'll need to jump into them, knocking them down onto each other creating a bridge for you to cross. Even better are the many instances that have you knocking one of those planks over onto a line of rotating gears which propel the plank forward while you ride it like a surfboard, reminiscent of something from a Super Mario Bros. game. Each level is progressively more difficult and cleverly designed, and I found myself constantly being surprised with each new one.

It's very casual-friendly, with unlimited lives and checkpoints spread throughout the game. At the end of each level it tells you how many lives you used, the time it took to beat, and how many of the 5 gold stars you collected. Sadly, it doesn't do anything with these stats, and the game is just begging for some sort of online leaderboard or achievement implementation. There is incentive to collect the stars as you can unlock three more skins for Domino at set star intervals, but unfortunately nothing extra happens when you collect all 100. I'd really like to see something special if you can beat every level with just one life, which would be quite a task for anyone to complete.

I'm happy to say that Domino's Adventure is only “inspired by” like games, and not some dreadful rip-off. It feels like a lot of love went into it, and it turned out to be so much fun that I was sad when it came to an end. You can expect to get a few hours or so of playtime completing all the levels and collecting every star, which isn't bad but leaves you wanting more. There's just something so enjoyable about playing, I'm really hoping for some more levels sometime in the future. Still, there's more than 99¢ worth of entertainment in what's already here and if you enjoy platforming games like Rolando, Soosiz or Bounce On, don't miss out on Domino's Adventure.

App Store Link: Domino's Adventure, 99¢

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