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As you may recall back when Star Wars: Trench Run [$4.99] first came out back in November, we weren't too kind in our review. Basically, in the game, through a series of levels that feel a lot like different Star Wars themed shooter mini-games sewn together with clips from the movies, you re-enact the various events leading up to the original destruction of the Death Star. There wasn't much gameplay to be had in the mission mode, and arcade mode wasn't particularly compelling either.

The latest update adds three new levels and introduces four new ships: The Millennium Falcon, the Y-wing, along with both standard TIE fighters and Darth Vader's own TIE fighter. The new levels focus on flying the Millennium Falcon either attacking TIE fighters as you ferry Princess Leia back to the Rebel base or flying over the Death Star trench protecting three Y-wings from TIE fighters and turret fire. The third level also has you protecting the same Y-wings in arcade mode attempting to survive as long as possible.

While I'm sure there are some people out there who will absolutely love the fact that they're piloting the Millennium Falcon or getting in dog fights behind the controls of Darth Vader's TIE fighter, ultimately nothing that has been added provides any more depth or variety to the gameplay. Star Wars: Trench Run still retains the mini-game feel, and like most video games based on movies, its greatest asset is the included licensed content.

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If there's one thing the App Store is sorely lacking, it's competent dungeon crawlers. Sure, there are tons of great roguelikes, but nothing has come close to scratching the itch that Diablo originally created for me. Pixel Mine's Underworlds [99¢ / Free / HD] is a favorite of mine that has been updated with new content a few times, and Gameloft's Dungeon Hunter [$4.99 / Free / HD] is a lot of fun, but otherwise my thirst to slay legions of monsters and collect mountains of loot has gone unquenched on the iPhone.

This is where it sounds like iPhone developer 3D ATTACK is comes in, as they're hard at work on Dungeon Legend, a classic dungeon crawler that takes place in a full 3D environment with a customizable camera system that you can rotate and zoom around your character. The developers are reluctant to reveal anything about the story just yet, but have assured me that the game will be about much more than "just go and kill whatever monster comes your way."

3D ATTACK has released the following teaser video, which doesn't show a whole lot, but it's not hard to imagine how good the rest of the game could look if this is what the environment is going to look like:

The 3D ATTACK team are all in their mid 30's and list off Diablo, Baldur's Gate, and Dungeons & Dragons as their influences, and they're looking to get the "pen and paper feel," as they put it, in to the game. Dungeon Legend is going to have an original soundtrack, and multiple character classes and quests to complete.

The game isn't scheduled for release until later this year or early next year, but given the severe lack of dungeon crawlers on the App Store, it's not hard to get excited for another one even with only vague details and a release that is months away.

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If there's one thing the App Store is sorely lacking, it's competent dungeon crawlers. Sure, there are tons of great roguelikes, but nothing has come close to scratching the itch that Diablo originally created for me. Pixel Mine's Underworlds [99¢ / Free / HD] is a favorite of mine that has been updated with new content a few times, and Gameloft's Dungeon Hunter [$4.99 / Free / HD] is a lot of fun, but otherwise my thirst to slay legions of monsters and collect mountains of loot has gone unquenched on the iPhone.

This is where it sounds like iPhone developer 3D ATTACK is comes in, as they're hard at work on Dungeon Legend, a classic dungeon crawler that takes place in a full 3D environment with a customizable camera system that you can rotate and zoom around your character. The developers are reluctant to reveal anything about the story just yet, but have assured me that the game will be about much more than "just go and kill whatever monster comes your way."

3D ATTACK has released the following teaser video, which doesn't show a whole lot, but it's not hard to imagine how good the rest of the game could look if this is what the environment is going to look like:

The 3D ATTACK team are all in their mid 30's and list off Diablo, Baldur's Gate, and Dungeons & Dragons as their influences, and they're looking to get the "pen and paper feel," as they put it, in to the game. Dungeon Legend is going to have an original soundtrack, and multiple character classes and quests to complete.

The game isn't scheduled for release until later this year or early next year, but given the severe lack of dungeon crawlers on the App Store, it's not hard to get excited for another one even with only vague details and a release that is months away.

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Back in October of last year we posted about KF Lab's teaser video for the upcoming sidescrolling platformer A Skeleton Story. We had almost no details at the time aside from a brief synopsis of what the game was about, but the absolutely fantastic artwork and animation found in the trailer had us more than excited for the game:

Since then, the developers have posted a whole set of screenshots in the official thread on our forums. From the looks of it, A Skeleton Story is going to be a two-button platformer with oodles of upgrades you can buy via an in-game store– A formula that has been very successful in other games on the App Store.

There are a whole load of other screenshots and concept art in the thread, and KF Lab has even teased some gameplay videos. This is really all we know about A Skeleton Story right now, but so far the screenshots look great, and the trailer was fun to watch again. Of course even the best art in the world won't make up for gameplay, but we're hopeful with how long the game has been in development that A Skeleton Story will play as good as it looks.

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Justin Smith, the man behind cult phenomon (and the best bear-driving-a-car simulator we've ever seen) Enviro-Bear 2010 [99¢], has just sent out a tweet showing in-game video of the iPhone port of So Long Oregon, Let's Go Find El Dorado (previously known as F*** Oregon, Let's Go Find El Dorado on PC). Developed under the newly monikered Captain Games studio, So Long Oregon is the punk rock alternative to the classic edutainment title The Oregon Trail.

The game is a right to left scrolling wagon combat/racing game, featuring subtle nods to concepts found in the original Oregon Trail. You'll race against other wagons across the great North Western terrain, but rather than ending up in Oregon (which “only has dirt”), your settlers decide to hang a louie and make their way south towards the gold-rich hills of Northern California. Wagons can shoot, catch diseases, and feature incredibly silly physics as they launch over mountains and crash into woodland creatures.

Information and video taken from the So Long Oregon website:

Drive a wagon across the American west, then veer south in search of the legendary ancient lost city of GOLD known as "El Dorado". Oregon only has dirt! Wouldn't you rather be rich?

Test your conestoga wagon driving skills in 4 Challenges, including the Historical Oregon Trail for those of you who don't want gold.

Compete for high scores and achieve achievements on the OpenFeint power-up system.

Experience physically accurate terrain collision rendering. So much more than just going left!

For those of you who were endeared towards the simple graphics of Enviro-Bear should be pleased to know that So Long Oregon features a similar visual style, as well as a comically absurd premise. You can follow along at the game's website or on Jusin's Twitter as more information becomes available, or sound off in the thread in our upcoming games section. We'll be looking forward to getting our hands on this game which is said to be coming “really really soon”.  The PC version (complete with the original F-bomb in the title) can be downloaded here.

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iPad owners are in for a treat heading into this weekend, as TowerMadness HD has gone free for today. Not only is it a rare occurrence to get a full fledged iPad editioin of a game for free, but this particular game normally sells for $7.99. TowerMadness HD is a fully 3D tower defense game, and the iPad version features same device multiplayer for head to head competition. We previewed the game back in May shortly before it's release, and you can take a look at our review for the original iPhone version that was released over a year ago for more information.

This short developer video showcases the added multiplayer mode of the iPad version:

Even if you're not typically a fan of tower defense games, there's no reason not to give TowerMadness HD a spin during this free promotion. More information and player impressions can be found in the game's thread in our forums.

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RatRod Studio, the creators of Mike V: Do or Die [$2.99] recently released their second game on the App Store. Drift Mania Championship [99¢], as the title would imply, is a racing game that emphasizes on drifting. If you've never played a game that requires drifting, or have never been an irresponsible freshly-licensed teenager behind the wheel of a car in an empty wet or snow covered parking lot, drifting is intentionally oversteering your car to lose traction in your rear wheels while going around a corner. When performed well, this results in awesome sideways sliding at high speed, or, when done poorly, ends in an embarrassing spinout.

Drift Mania Championship combines so many great things in to one racing game that I can hardly believe they're selling it at 99¢. Everything from collaborating with the DMCC Drift League, licensed music, a great physics engine, replays, online leaderboards, as well as multiple cars, difficulties, tracks, and a really well-done control system, makes picking up Drift Mania Championship should be a no-brainer to anyone interested in racing games.

Part of drifting any car, either in a video game or in real life, involves accurate control of your car's speed. Drift Mania Championship accomplishes this with a clever control setup where you steer your car by tilting, and control the accelerator by sliding your thumb up and down the right side of the screen. The lower left corner is home to a button to pull your car's hand brake, and keeping control of your car while maintaining speed and sliding sideways requires precise use of both. On your first race there is a brief tutorial that you read through that teaches you how to drift, and while it would be nice to have something a little more interactive, it does the trick. If you find yourself spinning out too often, just take it slow until you get a hang of exactly how much you need to steer in to turns to not lose control.

Three tracks are included along with three difficulty levels hidden away in the options. One car is unlocked initially, with an additional car unlocked for finishing first on each track as well as a fifth car for finishing first in all three tracks. Placement in the races is determined by your total score which seems to be computed by how long your drifts and how fast you're going with bonuses offered for style, chaining drifts together, and other things. At the end of each race you're shown a replay that highlights your best drifts, and you're given the opportunity to upload your score to the global leader boards which already seem to be loaded with scores that I'll never be able to beat.

The current down side to Drift Mania Championship is that while it's being sold as a universal game, it seems to be entirely broken on the iPad. As with the recent Trism update, Drift Mania Championship attempts to run at the native iPad resolution, but all the interface elements are out of whack which makes you unable to play the game. The game being released as universal seems to be unintentional, as the game's FAQ mentions a separate HD version being released later. Needless to say, if you plan on playing this game on your iPad, I'd avoid it for now.

If you don't care about the current lack of iPad compatibility, Drift Mania Championship is one of the better games I've played that rely on drifting your car around. The controls are great, and while it would be nice to have more than three tracks, there could be a sizable amount of replay value through unlocking all the cars and competing in the online leaderboards. Aside from the iPad issues, people on our forums are really enjoying the game, and as long as you plan on only playing it on your iPod touch or iPhone, Drift Mania Championship isn't hard to recommend, especially for 99¢.

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Digitoys / Yoot Saito has released some info on their upcoming iPad game The Tower… but it's entirely in Japanese. Google translator offers us this interpretation.

You, as the chief executive of the Bill to extend the building is the only person allowed in the building and see all the information. Your mission is to extend the building while residents pay attention to their stress, is to increase the population goes. Residents in the building is sensitive to stress. The building will go out with higher stress. Set up tenant offices and restaurants, elevators and moving equipment set up, equipment is arranged to move stress-free building is available to residents, please environmental facilities and maintenance rooms and even the security station.

Up a little more residents in the building environment to provide a satisfactory their grade goes up. Population of 15,000 building your personality over time. "Cathedral" to set up 100 ground floor, a holiday, a wedding will be here on a pair of couples. Then you is the best title "TOWER" won will witness the miracle of sight and.

Yeah, so far we're not getting much of a "this is going to be available in English" vibe. We've dropped them a line to get more information. In the meanwhile, here's a gameplay video they've also posted:

The company has also announced an Air Hockey game for the iPad called 4 Strikers Hockey. We'll let you know more if they get back to us.

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It was just a couple weeks ago that we were previewing the iPad version of the iPhone hit Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. At the time, developer Tiger Style had yet to submit this enhanced version of their critically acclaimed game. Well, good news Spider fans, as since that preview the game had been submitted and approved, and is now available for download from the App Store. As mentioned, this version includes some extra features that set it apart from it's iPhone counterpart. From our preview:

Like similar HD releases, Spider HD is little more than the iPhone game with the resolution of everything cranked up to fill the screen of the iPad. This allows you to see much more of your surroundings, making clues regarding the secrets of Bryce Manor much easier to spot than on the iPhone version, where your somewhat limited viewpoint could result in missing certain things if you weren't properly exploring some levels. Also, like most games built around fantastic art, the entire game experience is so much better in high resolution.

All four of the game modes from the iPhone game are included, as well as a brand new two player "sidekicks" game mode where two spiders are on screen, and each spider is controlled by the finger nearest to it. It's actually a surprising amount of fun, as like most games played in cooperative mode it's entirely up to you whether you want to help each other build webs, or simply race all over the screen trying to munch up bugs before the other player.

This developer video demonstrates the high resolution visuals, larger play area, and iPad exclusive same-device multiplayer:

If you're an iPad owner who's never played Spider, then now is the best time to become familiar with the franchise as Spider: Bryce Manor HD seems to be the definitive version of the game.  Besides the additions mentioned above, it also includes all the Director's Cut content that was added to the iPhone version towards the end of last year.  As always, further impressions are being collected in the game's forum thread.

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The large screen followup iPad version to the popular game Fruit Ninja has finally arrived. Fruit Ninja is a simple game at its core but one that we really enjoyed

It's a bit of a shooting-gallery type experience but one you are swiping to slice rather than tapping to shoot. You're only allowed to miss 3 pieces of fruit before it's game over — but beware, slicing a single bomb (thrown up randomly) will result in an instant game over.

In fact, it's so simple, that it's hard to explain the appeal. The overall game is put together quite well, and the swipe mechanism is strangely satisfying.

The iPad version supports up to 8 finger swipes across the screen and adds a two player split-screen mode that is featured in the video:

As with the original, global high scores are tracked via OpenFeint. The iPhone version also remains available for $0.99 and has sold over a million copies.

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