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A long time ago, in July of 2010 to be exact, a little iPhone game by the name of Prisoner 84 [ $2.99 ] from Hidden Games had me sleeping with a nightlight. See, Prisoner 84 is a 3rd person survival horror game, and despite being on the tiny screen of my phone, it managed to pack in one of the most creepy experiences that I’ve had on any platform.

Now, I don’t want to oversell anything here. At face value, Prisoner 84 is a fairly basic, slow-paced 3rd person action game. It can be completed in just a couple of hours (or longer if you really explore), the various puzzles in the game are pretty straightforward, and the graphics aren’t really anything to write home about.

However, don’t let any of that turn you off. Prisoner 84 absolutely nails one aspect of horror games, and arguably the most important one: atmosphere. Footsteps echo in the otherwise dead silent halls of the cellblock setting. Soft murmurs and growls suddenly sound off in the distance. Gruesome scenes of violence hint that there’s something out there responsible and those who came before you weren’t so lucky. It can be downright chilling.

I could go on and on about how much I love the mood of Prisoner 84, but you can just read all about it in our original review. Really, what I’m more interested in talking about is the substantial update that has just hit this nearly two-year old game. Prisoner 84 launched in 2010, and aside from a maintenance and bug fix update that hit shortly after release, it’s been untouched since. That’s why I was completely blown away to see an update waiting for me in iTunes just the other day.

The game is now Universal and runs at Retina resolution on the iPhone 4 models and the new iPad. Also, on iPads and 4th generation devices additional graphical flourishes and more detailed character models have been included. The original release of Prisoner 84 sported some really blocky characters, and post-update things have really been improved.

It also looks fantastic in Retina resolution, though there are plenty of low-res textures you’ll run into that remind you you’re playing an older game. Still, from where Prisoner 84 was at originally, the difference is night and day thanks to these improvements. (Trailer is from the old version, FYI).

Rounding out the update is multitasking support, an improved user interface, and various gameplay tweaks – all welcome additions. I love when developers spring new updates on their customers, even if a game is years old, and if you missed out on Prisoner 84 before then now would be a great time to check it out. Just keep in mind that it is very slow-paced, and because it’s an older game it’s not quite as cutting edge visually. But if you can appreciate a moody atmosphere that will creep your pants off, then Prisoner 84 is among the best on the App Store.

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Morphing drug pushers into plumes of viscera and leg parts has never been easier, thanks to the latest update to Midway Arcade. The arcade collection app, which features tons of classic arcade titles including NARC and Rampage, now features iCade support. We spent a moment or two in the app this morning and can confirm that the added support is sharp. We can also confirm that NARC is still the greatest game that has ever been made.

Version 1.0.1 rolls in a few more notable tweaks. The Spy Hunter looping theme bug has been fixed, d-pad support has been added for Root Beer Tapper, and that nasty DLC crash bug has finally been annihilated. Neat!

Midway Arcade still doesn’t have the greatest ports on the planets, but what it does offer works well enough for our needs. Check it out if you’re into Midway’s older stuff. Here’s a list of what it has as of this posting, and note that a couple of these are being sold across two $.99 DLC bundles:

• Spy Hunter
• Rampage
• Defender
• Joust
• Root Beer Tapper
• Arch Rivals
• Gauntlet
• Gauntlet 2
• Wizard of Wor
• APB
• NARC
• Total Carnage

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Shaun Inman’s The Last Rocket [ $2.99 ] is a game that you can tell is going to be special inside of about 30 seconds of playing it. We absolutely loved it in our review, and with the various tweaks and fixes the game has seen since release (including Retina iPad support), it’s an even greater effortless recommendation. Gameplay in a nutshell consists of piloting a rocket through 64 rooms filled with all sorts of obstacles. It sounds simple, and it is, but the best part about The Last Rocket is that it doesn’t just use chip tunes and pixel art for the sake of having a “retro” feel. Instead, the entire game, from top to bottom, is just as much at home on the screen of your iPhone as it would’ve been on your NES in the mid-80’s.

The eBook is available direct from Shaun Inman’s site for $9.99. It’s a DRM-free iBooks-friendly ePub which features an exhaustive account of the game’s development including notes, drawings, screenshots, and much, much more. Fair warning though, the eBook is chock full of spoilers, so make sure you’ve played the game first. If you’re the kind of person who loves behind the scenes looks at game development, this isn’t something you should miss.

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The latest update to Mass Effect: Infiltrator [$4.99] isn’t enough to make the most soured Mass Effect fans out there happy with Iron Monkey’s vision, but it has added a shred of new content and a couple of much-needed tweaks to the core game.

The most attractive feature of version 1.0.3 is the addition of manual aiming. From the options menu, users can now disable Infiltrator’s funky “tap-to-aim” mechanic and choose what to kill and when manually. The automatic aiming mechanic, which has been “improved” in this update, too, felt broken at launch, and made tough fights way tougher.

This update also works in more in-game rewards and has incorporated facial scarring for Ezno. Make too many Renegade choices and the world will know, as he’ll slowly morph into a space version of Freddy Krueger. New iPad performance tweaks have been added, too.

Interestingly, this update also works in a bonus mission that has users playing as a Turian attempting to escape a Cerberus medical bay. Aside from the mechanical issues, our biggest problem with Infiltrator is that it’s just a shooter. Mass Effect is about character, emotion, and story, and Infiltrator never latched onto these aspects in any meaningful way. Missions like this are a step in the right direction.

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Ion Racer [$0.99] from Nawia Games (makers of Flick Champions) is an endless tunnel runner with a visual style that looks suspiciously like Wipeout (a franchise we’d love to see on iOS). Unfortunately, any similarities with the futuristic racer are skin-deep, as Ion Racer stays close to its roots, offering a score-based reflex-oriented endless gameplay experience. Unfortunately, gameplay stagnation, a somewhat heavy reliance on IAP, and some minor control issues hold this title back.

Like most ‘endless’ games, gameplay in Ion Racer is score-based. Players guide their ship along a never-ending corridor filled with blue and red barriers along with small orbs called ions. Running into red barriers takes away a bar of shield strength, and if you lose your entire shield, the run ends. Blue barriers, meanwhile, offer additional points or shield bars and should be hit as much as possible. Ions serve as a perpetual source of points and energy to refill your energy meter.

The energy meter adds a small amount of strategy as it allows you to enter into either focus or strike mode. Focus temporarily slows down your ship, allowing you to dodge red barriers with ease (focus also increases the score multiplier of ions). Strike provides a burst of speed which also lets you smash through red barriers without a shield penalty. Both focus and strike modes offer some variety to what is otherwise an exercise in collecting ions and avoiding red barriers.

Ion Racer features a currency/upgrade system that is simultaneously interesting and frustrating. On one hand, there are a few different ways to collect kions, the in-game currency. Players earn kions by either collecting ions or passing missions which reward a small amount of kions for completing all objectives. You never feel like you’re not working towards a greater goal, which is essential for replayability.

On the other hand, kion collection just doesn’t occur fast enough. Individual runs typically provide a small amount of kions, with missions offering a bit more (although objectives quickly become difficult). Meanwhile, ship purchases and upgrades cost a lot more than you’d typically earn. Ion Racer also has perks ranging from auto repair to a score multiplier, which are one-use extras that cost a decent amount of kions to purchase. Suffice to say, folks looking to partake in even a modicum of upgrades and purchases are in for a lot of playing.

Of course, IAP comes to the rescue to address the perpetual grind. Based on the entry price, as well as the current state of its IAP, I don’t have too big of a problem with Ion Racer’s implementation as it seems like you could alleviate a great deal of the grind for a decent price. Still, kion rewards should be tweaked somewhat to provide non-IAP driven gamers an easier time.

Controls are another frustrating aspect of Ion Racer. The game defaults to a tilt-based scheme that has the potential to offer precision but feels unreliable. The second, touch-based scheme places left and right buttons on each side of the screen. While the touch controls feel more stable, they are a bit more imprecise in practice. Neither scheme necessarily leads to a poor gaming experience, but they could have been implemented better.

The biggest issue I have with Ion Racer is that the game never really evolves beyond what you see at the onset. You can buy different skins and upgrade attributes, but the gameplay never really feels different. Even the environments hardly change, with the same futuristic tunnels with each run. It’s a shame, because the visuals are excellent and, when combined with the framerate and sense of speed, look very much like Wipeout.

I feel as if the Wipeout vibes may have created unrealistic expectations in Ion Racer. As it stands, it’s still a decent endless racer that’s a bit heavy on the IAP with issues that can be addressed in future updates. As long as you understand that this isn’t a true racing title (and thus, not a Wipeout clone), you should enjoy the experience.

TouchArcade Rating:

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Today’s Dark Meadow [$5.99] update smells like damage control, but that’s not a bad thing for the folks expecting the premium title to stay premium. With the latest update, all the costs of weapons and amulets have been converted back into gold from Sun Coins, robbing the incentive to buy the weapons with real-world currency. Also, creator Phosphor Games has tweaked loot drops to “be more generous” and has tooled around with health drops. As explained on our message board, this is a permanent shift for the app.

Back in March, Phosphor caught wind that free-to-play was The New Thing and planned to update its offering with F2P mechanics. Fans weren’t pleased, and so Phosphor decided to release a free version of the game instead. Oddly, it then decided to stick all of those elements into the paid one anyway, which didn’t make people happy, either. But, hey, now the app is basically back to normal. Neat!

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Into the whole Chthulu mythos but not that interested in obscenely lengthy, difficult board games? Then this is the perfect time to hop in to Elder Sign: Omens [$3.99 / HD]. The dice game made its original transition to iOS with only one Ancient One, Azazoth. As we mentioned in our review, Azazoth has a habit of devouring the lives and sanity of every team of investigators you bring in until you happen on a great team and some good luck.

This week’s long-awaited update brings in two new Ancient Ones. The rather unimpressive-sounding Yig is included, and Cthulhu is available as an in-app purchase. Yig gives players a better starting point. He’s much less malevolent than Azazoth, both easier to seal away and quicker to wake. He also brings with him a few monsters and adventures that are a little less likely to leave your investigators inconsolable, mindless wrecks, or, you know, dead.

For those already adept at putting down Azazoth, you might want to do it again: you’ll unlock a new investigator that should add a little more variety to your playthroughs. Then you can grab the Call of Cthulhu campaign for a much bigger challenge.

The new campaign takes you back through the museum, but this time with a new goal: discovering the intent of some mysterious intruders (they probably want to raise Cthulhu, just sayin’). Once you do that, it’s off to the Pacific Rim to search for the lost city of R’lyeh and prevent the rising of Cthulhu. You do this by collecting extra investigation tokens, so you’ll have to balance succeeding at adventures and hoarding your tokens.

There are 30 new adventures to be had in the Call of Cthulhu campaign, each more horrifying than the last, no doubt. There are also four new investigators that you can use in any of the campaigns, and a fifth that’s unlocked when you complete Cthulhu. That’s a lot of new ways to play, whether it’s solo or pass-and-play with friends. And as usual, this update brings with it all sorts of fixes and tweaks that should smooth out the cultist-hunting experience, like skippable scene transitions and lowered memory requirements.

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In tomorrow’s update for SpellTower [$1.99], creator Zach Gage is giving fans a lot of reasons to stick with his beautiful word game. On top of adding new iPad support, night colors, tweaks, and various fixes, Gage is finally implementing a bluetooth battle mode, which looks as great as it sounds. We’ve got video of it just below, in fact.

If you’ve somehow missed out on SpellTower, now’s a good of time as ever to take the plunge. It’s a remarkable word game with a ton of clever puzzle games and its designed with elegance in mind. It ended up being one of our Game of the Year contenders, as it was easily the standout word game of 2011. Give it a look.

UPDATE: Sometimes things don’t go as planned, unfortunately. Some approval process stuff is holding back the update. The new release date is April 12th.

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In tomorrow’s update for SpellTower [$1.99], creator Zach Gage is giving fans a lot of reasons to stick with his beautiful word game. On top of adding new iPad support, night colors, tweaks, and various fixes, Gage is finally implementing a bluetooth battle mode, which looks as great as it sounds. We’ve got video of it just below, in fact.

If you’ve somehow missed out on SpellTower, now’s a good of time as ever to take the plunge. It’s a remarkable word game with a ton of clever puzzle games and its designed with elegance in mind. It ended up being one of our Game of the Year contenders, as it was easily the standout word game of 2011. Give it a look.

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Back in 2009, Com2uS released Homerun Battle [Free / Free ], which was known as “Baseball Slugger” at the time. We loved it in our review, as it was among the very first iPhone games that featured really slick and seamless realtime multiplayer. Gameplay in a nutshell amounted to getting thrown into a random match with another real person to compete in a home run derby. It was really hard to put down because you could see what your opponent doing in a little picture-in-picture window in the corner of your screen, which only encouraged you to try harder when you see them blast a ball out of the park.

Com2uS followed up Homerun Battle with the sequel Homerun Battle 2 [$0.99 / Free ]. We had a love/hate relationship with the game in our review. We loved the improvements over the original, but hated the insane IAP implementation which was one of the more blatant pay-to-win schemes we’ve seen on the App Store.

Thankfully, Com2uS has listened to player feedback and went back to the drawing board with the balancing of the game. As an established player, it’s a little hard for me to get a feel for how equipment scales as I’ve already got some pretty great gear on my dude. But, if the IAP model Com2uS used previously scared you off, give the game a try again. I’d be very interested in hearing how people feel the power and unlock curve is now. Also, for a limited time the price of the premium version has been lowered to 99¢.

Aside from balance tweaks, the latest update also adds a bunch of new equipment to work towards and a Hell-themed stadium.

In other Com2uS news, they’ve also just released a new free to play game, Magic Tree [ Free ]. When I tried the game it gave me a Frontierville-like vibe, but it comes packed with 3D almost Animal Crossing-ish visuals. Check out the trailer:

So, consider downloading that if it seems interesting. More importantly though, give Homerun Battle 2 another shot. Game balance and IAP was a major point of contention on our forums. If you were one of those people miffed by this game originally, it’s worth a second look now.

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