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The multi-award winning game Edge [$.99] by Mobigame returns to the App Store again, in the U.S. and United Kingdom. If you haven't heard by now, there has been an ongoing legal battle over a trademark dispute on the name "Edge". Resulting in the game being pulled off the App Store multiple times and being resubmitted with different names like EDGE, EDGY, and Edge by Mobigame. Well it looks like the battle is over, as the game has reappeared and Mobigame says:

Thanks to us the word "edge" is now free to exist on the App Store like on any other marketplace, and games like Mirror's Edge, Shadow Edge, Killer Edge Racing or Edge by Mobigame can live on our iDevices.

Edge is a game where you are in control of a colorful cube that you must guide through multiple 3D isometric mazes, packed with puzzles to solve and challenges to overcome. With the choice of touch or accelerometer controls, as you can see in the video, the game requires quick thinking and skill to make your way through all the mazes.

Overall, Edge is a great game that we thoroughly enjoyed playing and recommend that you pick it up. Especially since, the game is on sale this weekend to celebrate its return to the App Store once again. Normally $4.99, the game is currently only $.99, so now is a better time than ever to pick up this excellent game. And hopefully Edge is here to stay for good.

App Store Link: Edge, $.99

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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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So what is Scoggins Erasers? According to the latest Telltale Games (Sam & Max) dev diary for the game that begs the question, it's a supplier of pencil erasers for the US' second-most prestigious place: the White House.

Of course the dev diary for the recently revealed iPhone puzzle game, Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent, dishes out some sweet, sweet additional details.

According to game designer Mark Darin, FBI Puzzle Investigation Division Agent Nelson Tethers is on a peculiar case. Scoggins Erasers has stopped sending erasers to the White House and are instead are puzzles. Tether, being the PID's only agent, must figure out these puzzles and apparently unravel the secret of Scoggins, Minnesota in process.

In the video Darin re-confirms what we knew about the game stemming from an event in San Francisco last week.

"We're combining what we do with adventure games, the exploration of scenes and interaction with other characters, with self-contained brain teaser puzzles inspired by games like Professor Layton," Darin says, adding later that the game draws additional inspiration from TV shows like the X-Files and Twin Peaks.

As reported earlier, Puzzle Agent hits all iDevices this June. And if you're interested, the foremost prestigious place in the US is that rest stop along US-41. You'll never smell the unique and colorful smells there anywhere else in the country. Period.

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This short video uploaded to youtube shows off the ability to run an emulator on the iPad to play SNES games, while using the Wii Remote to control the character. The game being played is Super Mario World on snes4iphone [$5.99 from Cydia].

The jailbreak for the iPad has not even been out a week yet, and you can clearly see the great possibilities that can come out of this device. As the jailbreak community continues to release new iPad specific applications, that Apple does not allow in their own AppStore, expect to see some really creative ideas unfold.

If your not too sure what jailbreaking your iDevice means, Gizmodo has posted a great overview on what jailbreaking is, how easy it is, and some other common FAQ's regarding jailbreaking. But as always, like the Gizmodo article clearly points out:

And remember, be careful! Jailbreaking is unsupported and something that's very new to the iPad. If in doubt about a particular Cydia app, err on the side of caution. You're better safe than sorry, really.

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Perhaps our iPads aren't as tied to the App Store's selection of games as some of us might have come to believe. Leave it to David Perry, founder of Shiny Entertainment, to change our perception.

In a post on his blog, the Gaikai co-founder revealed a picture of a prototype version of his browser-based streaming service working on an iPad. The game he chose to show off with it? Blizzard Entertainment's ever-popular PC MMO World of Warcraft.

Gaikai proper is a cloud-based browser-binded streaming service. The goal is to move consumers away from installs and having to upgrade their computers with parts. Gaikai's servers hosts the game, and all of its files, and streams them into browsers. This allows users to get the full game experience without hassle.

Gaikai is currently in beta.

Speaking with Eurogamer's Digital Foundry about the image of World of Warcraft running on the new Apple device, Perry revealed that it's running in 1024-by-768. He also revealed other details, and called the picture a "teaser."

"All iPad inputs are streamed through a translation system to the server, so we can re-map anything to anything in real-time. We hide a virtual keyboard off to the side, so you can type as well (like to login). It's just a teaser as the iPad just arrived, once they are done with the video optimization we will show it off."

This isn't the first time we've seen World of Warcraft running on an Apple handheld. Last year we watched a video of the MMO running on an iPhone courtesy of the Vollee client which promises to be able to do what Gaikai will do for PCs, but in our phones instead.

According to Digital Foundry, Gaikai for the iPad is a ground-up, HTML5-designed effort. If Gaikai, as an app, ever progresses beyond this tantalizing prototype stage, it's hard to tell if Apple will clear it as an App Store purchase. We don't need to lick a frog to predict that it'll at least experience some sort of scrutiny.

"I'd prefer to play World of Warcraft on my iPad more than just about any app they (Apple) permit. I'm not sure blocking great stuff is a good strategy," Perry told Pocket Gamer in a recent chat.

"I guess the point is that once we get our player written for iPad, we can run absolutely anything on it that same day."

Until that fateful day, though, we can just drool and wish.

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Venan Entertainment, most famously known around these parts for Space Miner [99¢ / Free] gave us a look at their upcoming game, Ninjatown: Trees of Doom this week. Loosely based on the Nintendo DS game Ninjatown, Trees of Doom is a high-scoring jumping game like Doodle Jump [99¢] set in the Shawnimals universe, Ninjatown: Trees of Doom has players jumping between two trees, avoiding obstacles and picking up power-ups while seeing how high they can go.

One thing that stuck out in my time with Ninjatown was how well the game scales up as you climb higher and higher. It starts very easy with only a few enemies to avoid and some branches to fling off of, and as you get further, the volcano in the background erupts, new enemies emerge, and day turns to night.

You can see how this all plays out in the new trailer:

Your ninja is controlled by tapping either side of the screen to jump, and when you're on a tree branch, dragging down aims where you fling yourself next. It has a bit of a learning curve to it but it doesn't take very long before you're flying up the screen without even thinking about it. This brief hands-on video shows the game in action on an actual device:

Ninjatown: Trees of Doom should be landing on the App Store very soon. If you're like me and find yourself oddly sucked in to these kinds of jumping game, I recommend keeping an eye out for it.

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Telltale Games, the creators of Sam & Max [App Store] and Tales of Monkey Island, revealed a new iPhone-bound puzzle game last afternoon at a San Francisco-based event.

It's called Puzzle Agent, and according to IGN's write-up, it seeks to jump outside the usual Telltale mold by integrating the studio's signature story-telling with Professor Layton-style, scene-based puzzles.

The game's visual art is the product of former Telltale designer Graham Annable, the creator of Grickle. His pen and ink, purposefully crude approach comes through prominently in Puzzle Agent.

Players will be controlling an FBI Agent named Nelson Tether and apparently will be tasked with uncovering what hidden mysteries the desolate and snow-laden Scoggins, Minnesota holds.

Telltale Games started teasing Puzzle Agent via a splash page on their official website earlier this month. The page featured the Agent standing in the forefront of an old factory. A sign just behind the Tether's shoulder read "Welcome to Scoggins."

It's possible the secret of Scoggins has something to do with the little red gnomes that appear when mousing over objects on this splash page.

Telltale only showed a brief video of the game at the event, but the developer did share that the game will have a hint system tied to Tether's love of chewing gum.

Puzzle Agent will hit the iPhone and iPad, as well as several other platforms, this June. Unlike Telltale's other IPs, Puzzle Agent might not be the first in a line of episodic titles based on Tether's adventures. According to IGN, this is the flagship project for the Telltale Pilot Program, a program designed around gauging interest in a title before tossing it into the usual episodic model.

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Electronic Arts has released its newest addition to the FIFA franchise, FIFA World Cup. This installment is targeted towards the upcoming international soccer tournament that arrives every four years, known as World Cup. The host nation for 2010 is South Africa, in which FIFA World Cup features as the theme for the game.

FIFA World Cup offers 105 of the official international teams, and 10 stadiums and locations from South Africa to play on. There are 6 different game modes to play; Kick Off, FIFA World Cup, Penalty Shoot-Out, Captain Your Country, Local Multiplayer, and Training mode. With 4 levels of AI opponent difficulty settings, players of all skill levels can enjoy, including: Amateur, Semi-Pro, Professional, and World Class.

The first thing people want to know about are the controls. With the previous FIFA 10 [$6.99] game on the iPhone released last year, the main complaint was about the controls. I'm happy to say that the controls in FIFA World Cup are much improved. The learning curve has gone way down thankfully, to a new layout of buttons. Instead of A, B, and C buttons, there are now Pass, Shoot, and Skill buttons for more clear controls. There is also no more complicated "Slide from A to B and back to A to make a 1-2 pass". More natural controls are implemented like, holding longer or double tapping the button for a different desired action. Another new feature is that the player your facing will have a blue indicator above their head, notifying you that if you pass the ball, it will go to that player. It's an extremely nice addition, allowing you to have better precision on your passes. The indicator will turn red if a long pass is available to be made. And also, there are through-ball indicators placed on the ground in yellow to let you know a through-ball can be made and in what direction.

Where I expect people to spend most of their time is playing in the World Cup tournament. Here you can pick any of the teams, even if they haven't qualified for the real tournament, and lead them to victory. You can choose to play your way through the entire qualification stages and then progress to the finals, or start off at the finals in group play and make your way through the last few rounds of 32 teams in 8 groups to make it to the championship match. As you play through, you can see standings from each group, next matches, manage your team, player performance charts, and more.

Here is a video with some gameplay so you can see the new features:

Overall, the game plays great and is a good improvement over EA's first FIFA game, they have learned from their mistakes to provide a better soccer game for the iPhone. With the top-notch graphics, a well-balanced AI, and an enjoyable soccer experience, it's hard to pass this game up if you are a soccer fan waiting for the World Cup to start.

App Store Link: FIFA World Cup (U.S.), $6.99, FIFA World Cup (International Version)

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Last Gladiators Ver.2010 is a port of a 1995 pinball game for the Sega Saturn. In a world where there's so many different options to satisfy your pinball needs available on the App Store, some aspects about this release will stick out like sore thumbs. The price, the dated graphics, a lack of features, no online scores… the price. It can be kind of a hard sell on the surface. But make no mistake about it, this is hands down the best pinball gameplay available for your device. If I'm going to be trapped on a desert island with my iPhone and can only have one pinball app, I want it to be Last Gladiators.

Let's get right to the elephant in the room, the cost. The app itself is $4.99, and comes with the Gladiators table. The other three tables that make up the original Saturn game are sold separately as DLC for $4.99 apiece. Yep, $4.99 for each additional table. I know that most of us who were fortunate enough to have grown up during the arcade era have probably spent well more than five bucks playing a good table for a couple of hours. So asking that much for a table you can play infinitely that fits in your pocket doesn't sound unreasonable. In the App Store economy, however, it's equivalent to an arm and a leg. The pricing alone means this game won't be for everybody.

Pricing aside, Last Gladiators does everything right in the gameplay department. It's amazing that with all the different pinball games that have been released on iPhone, none of them have ever quite felt like playing a real life table. This one's different, this one feels right. The physics of the ball and the design of the tables are nearly perfect. I'm not going to go into specific table detail (a video of each one can be seen in the thread in our forums) but all four feature multiball and more rounds and missions than I can even count. The instructions run 30+ pages for each table so you can familiarize yourself with every scoring nook and cranny, and also get an idea of just how much depth is on offer here.

This isn't the most visually impressive pinball game, after all it is 15 years old, but it still manages to have a great look that functions well. The table designs are more akin to the pinball tables of the late 80's and early 90's, rather than the highly complex mechanical behemoths of the later 90's. A neat effect is a scaling ball, so it looks smaller while in the back of the table and quite a bit larger as it's near the flippers. Handy on-screen indicators point you towards active goals, and it's always clear what you're supposed to be doing even for a beginner. There aren't really any iPhone specific features, and as far as ports are concerned this is pretty bare-bones. This is basically the Saturn game reworked with touch screen controls, and that's about it.

If you're a pinball fanatic, and just want the best experience regardless of price, then you owe it to yourself to drop $5 on the initial Gladiators table. It will keep you busy for a long time, and you can always decide to splurge on the extra tables sometime down the line when you're ready for something new.

There's no official lite version available, but you can try Ultra Legend Pinball which is basically the Gladiators table with slightly reworked functionality and Ultraman artwork. I hesitate a bit recommending this, as it's entirely in Japanese and the Ultraman version of the table isn't nearly as good as the original, but at the very least it gives you and idea of what the Last Gladiators tables are like. Whatever your feelings on the pricing of Last Gladiators, it's a stellar game that shouldn't be missed if you're looking for an accurate simulation of pinball.

App Store Link: Last Gladiators Ver.2010, $4.99

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We first saw the beginnings of Freeverse's Flick Baseball at WWDC last year, and I can only imagine how long it had been in development before then. Much like the recently released Warpgate [iPhone: $4.99 / iPad: $7.99], it's immediately evident that a lot of time and effort went in to this game.

Flick Baseball is a full 3D baseball game that looks and plays a lot like a fleshed out version of Com2Us's Homerun Battle 3D [$4.99 / Free] with 3D players, tilt to aim batting, and some extra features such as being able to control your runners and where your outfielders throw the ball. Since Homerun Battle 3D is still one of my favorite iPhone games, I'm really happy with how Freeverse seems to have captured a very similar batting mechanic that works extremely well.

I've barely begun to scratch the surface of Flick Baseball, as we'll be saving that for our in-depth look in our full review, but this is a very complete baseball game. You can play both 3 and 9 inning baseball games in two different difficulty modes, and the entire game is driven by this crazy subsystem of player statistics. Some players bat better than others and as such have a much larger hit zone when they swing, and others require your aim to be practically perfect when batting to hit. There are tons of other stats that control every attribute of each player of your team.

34 teams are included, and you can build your own team with a custom name, lineup, uniform color, roster, stats, and everything else. You could likely spend hours doing nothing other than building custom teams in this game if you wanted to. There are full 11, 33, 66, and 165 game season modes with all kinds of stat tracking, a playoff mode, and the games even change from night to day depending on the actual time of day it is in the city you're playing at.

Here is a video of me playing a couple innings, which features a lot of strike outs and a beginner's luck home run:

Flick Baseball should be available May 3rd, so keep an eye out for a full review and another video of me (hopefully) hitting nothing but home runs with my tricked out custom baseball team. So far I'm really enjoying the game a lot, and look forward to getting deeper in to it.

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