This week in another splendid episode of TAS, we discuss a lot of different stuff. Puppies and big quads leads off the discussion, as Jared paints us a word picture of his visit to EA HQ in Redmond, CA. Later, we dive into the games he saw at the event and the news that broke during it, and we also find the time to talk about beards, F2P, rat infested trees, and the hottest games on our minds.

Captain America even rears his red, white, and blue head in a podcast that tends to go off the rails at the oddest of times.

You can listen just below, of course, via direct download or stream. You could also give us a listen via the iTunes podcast aisle or the Zune Marketplace, as doing so awards more experience points than streaming it especially if you rate us. (And very well might be part of the iTunes podcast featuring voodoo!)

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-007.mp3, 50MB

Need some show notes? We got your back. Below you'll find all the relevant links to our discussion topics, including reviews to some of the games we talked about. Convenient!

GAMES

• Swords & Soldiers [$2.99 / HD]
• iCade, The Dungeon Saga [$1.99 / HD]
• DeathSmiles [$4.99 / Lite]

FRONT PAGE

• Origin for iOS Revealed
• Realm of the Mad God On Mobile? It Could Happen
• Pokemon Coming To The App Store
• F2P Revenue Overtakes Premium In App Store

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If you're anything like me, you've been wondering, "When in the world is Rocketcat Games going to release something that doesn't rely on a swinging mechanic?" Don't get me wrong, HookChamp, Super QuickHook, and Hook Worlds are all fantastic games, but I doubt I'm alone in looking forward to what Rocketcat would release outside of the hook and swing world. We're getting a first real glimpse at their next game today, Mage Gauntlet, which seems to be a beautifully pixelated homage to the classic action RPG games of yore.

Check out some screenshots:

The real awesomeness is contained inside of the trailer:

Details are a little vague right now, but Mage Gauntlet is built around a "more action, less grinding" quest philosophy centralized around the main character, Lexi. You're looking to become a wizard's apprentice, and your journey starts out with a quest to prove yourself. Equipped with a magical gauntlet, Lexi is able to absorb and launch magical energy. The spell system involves destroying "certain objects" to power-up your gauntlet with a completely randomized spell. You can hold four at a time, and these are accessible through a menu.

There's a full loot and leveling system complete with character customization through three different stats that you can build your character with. 50 levels will be included with release, along with an unlockable additional game mode. More levels and modes are planned after release. Oh, and there's boss fights, loads of different enemies, and lots of secrets and achievements. Scoreboards aren't initially included, but the future game modes I mentioned will introduce them.

Mage Gauntlet will be priced at $2.99, with an initial $1.99 sale. Like other RocketCat games, early buyers will get a pack of hats to customize your character with as well as a in-game pet that follows you around. We'll be following the release of this game closely, and hope to have a full preview in the next couple weeks.

Com2Us's ultra-Korean Puzzle Family (Free / $1.99) is now available worldwide. It's full of crazy-fun minigames, but to get in on all the fun you're either going to need to pony up some cash, or invest some substantial time playing. Here's the deal: you start out with three of the game's eight minigames available to play. One is unlocked for free, one is unlocked by connecting Puzzle Family to your Facebook account, and one is unlocked by signing into Com2Us's gaming hub. If you want to unlock anything else, it's going to cost you stars. You can earn stars by playing the games (but slowly), or you can pay to get them in larger amounts. Unlocking all eight games is going to take a serious investment of your time, or more than a couple of your hard-earned dollars.

So if you're someone who wants to pay for a game upfront and have it all available to you, give this one a pass. But let me just say one thing first: Puzzle Family is really, really fun. Most of the minigames are takes on matching games, but they're interesting takes. If you can resist the siren song of IAP, you can easily get by with the three unlocked games in the free version and have a lot of fun while slowly working towards unlocking the rest of the content.

Flick and Fly, the included game, is a match-3 style game where you flick grumpy-faced blocks into each other to make and clear matches. They'll slide until they hit something, so setting up combos takes some (quick) thought. Hide and Seek also has you matching faces, but these ones are two-sided. Tap them to flip them around and swap their colors to make matches. In Shanghai Pop you'll match pairs of blocks, but they have to either be touching or be free on one side.

If you choose to spend your stars on more games, you can unlock the following:

• Order the Order, which gives you a three-symbol pattern to find in the field.
• Who's Next, which has you locate three different colors of critters in ever-increasing numerical order.
• Boing Boing, which is pretty much Puzzle Bobble.
• Copy Copycat, a flipping puzzle that needs you tap squares to flip those around them and match a specific pattern.
• Tap on Time, a timing game about tapping the right square at the right moment.

They're all wrapped in Puzzle Family's colorful, haywire style, with lots of cute and completely ridiculous imagery. And they're also very fun. You're on a tight timer in all the games, with either time or HP running down whenever you stop making matches or miss your timing, so they always feel frantic. In a pinch you can use a skill, which gives you a little more HP or time, but be warned � in the free version of the game, you can only earn them back by viewing ads, and in the paid version you can earn them back at a rate of 10 per day.

That's the main difference between the paid and free versions of Puzzle Family, by the way: ads. There aren't any in the paid version. You also get 3000 stars to start with, so you can unlock a couple more games. If you like the game, I'd recommend going for the paid version sooner than later, since your progress doesn't seem to carry over � it's a better deal than buying the stars in the shop.

The metagame aspects of Puzzle Family are a little lacking. There is no Game Center integration, just Facebook leaderboards. The urge to earn stars helps offset the lack, though � a high score is nice, but earning a ton of stars is much more satisfying. Even once you've unlocked all the minigames, you can use your stars to buy dress-up items for your stick-figure avatar, and those items give you more HP, higher scores and such. Your scores also feed into an experience system, of sorts � each "level" moves your little Puzzle Family to a new home. They start off living in the gutters, so there's nowhere to go but up.

I can see why Puzzle Family is so popular: there's lots to see and do, I'm always stimulated, and the stars do a great job of hitting the "reward" switch in my brain. So far our forum users are loving it too. I do wish the game were less mercenary in its approach, but if you pay, you're paying for a collection of very fun games. Few of them would stand on their own, but all eight together make an argument that's hard to resist.

I've always thought the early Fallout games would work great on the iPad, (and to some extent they do, if you were able to download iDOS before it got pulled) but like many ancient PC games, the Fallout IP is securely locked up in a twisted web of developers and publishers that have been bought and sold over the years. In the case of Fallout it was originally an Interplay project, which got rolled into Bethesda, which now is part of ZeniMax. There's even been some brutal legal drama as who owns the rights to a Fallout MMO has been duked out in courts. What I'm getting at, is I'm not holding my breath for an iOS Fallout anytime soon.

So, having totally written that off long ago, imagine my surprise when I stumbled across PipClock [99� / Lite] randomly browsing the App Store today. In a nutshell, it takes the "dashboard" style clock and weather apps, but applies a glorious level of Fallout-esque style to it. Seriously, just check out the screenshots:

The functionality is basically what you'd expect out of one of these sorts of clock and weather apps, although everything has a wonderful Fallout spin. For instance, here in the "Ruins of Los Angeles" in "California's Wastelands" it's 85 degrees out with "poisonous fog not detected". Oh, there's a faux geiger counter built in too. Each element also has subtle animations, with static, scan lines, and even sparks.

Since upgrading to an iPad 2, I've been looking for a good use for my original iPad outside of checking to make sure games we're reviewing still run on it. With PipClock, I'm thinking I might have to relegate it to night stand duty as PipClock just looks too awesome to not be running all the time. It's universal too, so you could do the same with an old iPod touch if you've got one laying around.

We did our best to stay rational amidst the rampant speculation that Nintendo was getting into the App Store with the release of Pokémon Say Tap in Japan this summer. For one, it isn't a move that makes sense. Nintendo puts its own titles on consoles and handhelds that it owns and sells exclusively. Also, Nintendo is keen on ragging on the App Store and saying Apple has it all wrong, so why would it bother with an app?

The word that we trusted was that this was a The Pokémon Company release, not a Nintendo one. The Pokémon Company is an affiliate of Nintendo and are the marketing managers of a brand that expands well beyond the confines of video games and into the realm of TV, toys, and other forms of media like a trading card game.

Turns out that this information was accurate. Nintendo of America, in a recent chat with Giant Bomb, flatly denied any Nintendo involvement with the project and said Nintendo content will continue to stay on Nintendo platforms. Pokémon Say Tap is a The Pokémon Company marketing tool. That's it. Period.

"On July 1, the Pokémon Company announced that it was launching a free Android and iOS application in Japan called [Pokémon Say Tap]. The Pokémon Company routinely launches applications for cell phones and PCs as a way to promote its non-video game products, such as a music CD and Pokémon TCG cards in this instance," Nintendo of America said in a statement given to Giant Bomb.

"Since they are intended purely as promotional tools, not as unique video games, Nintendo is not involved in any way," it said. "… Nintendo has no intention or plans of publishing its IP on non-Nintendo platforms. This is an example of a promotion by a key Nintendo partner and has no bearing on Nintendo's overall strategy."

Keep dreaming those Nintendo dreams for Nintendo-published and created releases on the App Store. Mario and the rest of the bunch aren't coming in the foreseeable future, as was made clear in this statement. You'll have to keep buying the latest Nintendo handhelds if you want in on some Nintendo action.

[Via GiantBomb]

How much of a multitasker are you? If you're anything like me, you've probably got a dozen tabs open in your browser, three other programs on your desktop and a game or two waiting on your phone. But that might just make you a singletasker with a short attention span. If you want to prove that you're pro at juggling tasks, pick up VineKing [$1.99 / Free]. It will put even the best multitasker to the test.

In VineKing, the green lands of the world have been destroyed, leaving nothing but cold stone, lava, and monsters. As the last Vine King, its your job to bring back the luscious greenery that once existed, but the forces of darkness won't give up easily. Each of the game's 30 levels is a piece of rock that you need to win back, and you only have one tool: the vine that grows from your head.

The vine can be used in two ways. To reclaim ground, draw a path over it. When the vine whips out, the rocks will shatter beneath that path and grass will grow through. To defeat the monsters that come to steal back the ground and destroy the Vine King, tap on them. Those two tasks will keep you occupied, but there's a problem: you only have so much vine to work with. Once your green meter goes dry, you're toast. To keep fueled, you need to collect the seeds that pop out of the cleared ground and from defeated monsters, but while you're sucking up seeds you're completely vulnerable.

While you're balancing those three tasks, the monsters are hard at work taking back the ground you've cleared. As the game becomes more difficult, it's easy to play yourself to a stalemate � as you clear more land, more monsters show up and take it back while you fend them off. To keep from getting overwhelmed, you can upgrade the Vine King. Each time you complete a level, you're ranked for how many seeds you picked up, how many monsters you destroyed, and so on. That rank translates to coins that you can use to purchase upgrades, like faster vines and better seed storage.

You'll need a well-upgraded Vine King and quick fingers to master later levels. As you progress, the monsters get faster and more aggressive. The levels also get more unfriendly, with lava pits that burn your vine and crystals that block your way. I found that grinding earlier levels for coins made later ones more manageable, but skilled multitaskers might be able to get by with less. You'll want to go back to earlier levels either way, to collect Game Center achievements and earn gold rankings.

VineKing is very loveable, with charming art and a soundtrack that keeps things stressful. It's also a strikingly original game. Our forum users seem to love it, and there's a lite available if you remain unconvinced. You'll be giving your drawing, tapping and gathering skills a workout in no time.

Yesterday the gaming media at large descended upon EA's Redwood Shores headquarters in order to do 3 things: watch dogs catch frisbees, eat from a wide variety of lunch trucks, and play a ton of upcoming video games. The first two activities were definitely enjoyable, but the real fun was being able to check out some of the excellent titles that are coming out soon on iOS and consoles. Some of what was being shown from EA and from Chillingo we already took a look at during E3 last month, so here is a look at some titles which weren't previously covered.

Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed � A sequel to the original Need for Speed Shift that launched in 2009, this time around you're getting twice the number of cars with more than 40, including one that is exclusive to the iOS version of the game. The visuals are also a step up, and one of the new things that caught my eye is the new helmet cam option. Instead of just a regular interior camera view, you can actually race right from the driver's first-person perspective. It's a subtle change, but one that adds a dramatic effect to the gameplay. NFS: Shift 2 Unleashed should be available sometime next month.

One Man Army: Chain Reaction � According to Chillingo this game was created by a single mom developer, and I would say it falls in the category of "why didn't someone think of this before?". One Man Army is a turret defense style game with an added tower defense element. The two genres mix together pretty well too. There's a lot of strategy in placing your towers correctly but also some real time action as you blast away at the baddies with your turret as well. The game is currently only slated for iPhone and iPod touch, but was shown off to me on an iPad in pixel doubled mode.

Dream Track Nation � We first learned of Dream Track Nation with a trailer that was released back in April, and the game is now set to launch in just a couple of weeks. Dream Track Nation is a side-scrolling stunt racer of sorts that uses a pretty wacky physics system. The best way I can describe it is like JellyCar [Free] without the jelly. One of the big features will be a level editor which allows you to upload and share your own tracks with others online, as well as check out their creations. In this video, after a quick run through a level, you can see the level editor in action. Although we didn't actually end up putting together a usable course, you should get an idea of how simple the process is.

Anomaly Warzone Earth � Easily my favorite out of the games that were at this event, it's easy to see why Anomaly Warzone Earth won an Apple Design Award at WWDC this year for the Mac version. Now it's getting set to hit iOS next month, and is even better with the touch screen interface. It's also another game I'm surprised nobody thought of before. In it, you take on the offensive role in what would be your typical tower defense game. You'll choose the vehicles and route of a convoy as it makes its way through levels filed with enemy towers. The interface works beautifully, and the strategies needed with the typical tower defense roles reversed are fresh and engaging. The game is also quite beautiful, to boot.

Be on the lookout for the EA and Chillingo titles shown here and the ones we saw at E3 to hit the App Store during the next several months, and you can check out our upcoming games forum for individual threads to discuss each game with the TouchArcade community.

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Kairosoft's Game Dev Story [$.99 / Lite] is now even cheaper than it was a week ago when the studio put it on sale. The simulation game that puts you in the shoes of a game creator, designer, administrator, and event planner is now $.99 instead of $1.99 or its standard $3.99. That's a total of two dollars worth of savings in celebration of the release of Pocket Academy [$3.99 / Lite]! Exclamation marks!

Hot Springs Story [$.99 / Lite], the simulation game that has you designing the perfect bathhouse with cutesy buildings and services, has joined the sale as well. It's now $.99 cents as well instead of its usual $3.99. It's a totally different game than its predecessor, but you'll see flashes of the same carrot-on-the-stick design, as well as other holdovers, including art and the upgrade systems.

We've written about both games at length in their respective reviews, so make sure to give those a read if $.99 isn't pushing you over the edge. Both games are great, though, I think you'll find, and offer a lot of content for your dollar.

Pocket Academy debuted a couple of weeks ago. It's a mash-up of these two games that revolves around a school setting. It's remarkable in that it's more about the people than it is about building the perfect school. I love it for that and we gave it a glowing overall review. Definitely check it out if you're a fan (or become a fan) of these two games.

Ant Raid [$2.99] isn't a knockoff of Nintendo's Pikmin. I want to get that out of the way up front. It has a few things in common with Pikmin, sure, and it does a pretty good job of scratching that itch while Nintendo takes its sweet time bringing out the next sequel, but the game stands well on its own.

So now that we've covered what Ant Raid isn't, I probably ought to tell you what it is: a real-time strategy game that forgoes micromanagement for simple tap-and-target style gameplay. Your units are the titular ants, who circle around your base. Tap and hold to select a group of them, and then tap a target to send them off after it. Sometimes that target is a resource like pine needles or berries, other times it's an enemy � a mutated snail or bee that's coming to destroy your base. Once they dispatch their foes or gather their resources the ants return to base, ready for new orders.

The controls keep the targeting system simple, but Ant Raid also requires some strategy. Enemy units come in three colors, and each gives you energy toward special abilities. When you gather enough blue energy, you can make your ants immortal for a time. Red makes them super fast, and if you can trigger red and blue at the same time, you get gold ants that are both speedy and immortal. Green energy is a special case � it unleashes divine power, letting you interfere directly by tapping on enemy units to smite them and dragging resources to the base to gather them. A large part of the game's challenge lies in deciding when to unleash these powers, and in maintaining enough energy to keep them going.

Without any serious resource management or unit building, Ant Raid runs the risk of being a smidge too casual, but despite the lack of any hardcore RTS features it manages to stay challenging. Keeping your ants alive is goal number one. Each enemy has its own pattern of ant-murder: snails knock out all attacking ants when they die, while beetles flip on top of ants and need a second wave of attackers to polish them off. You'll need to keep enough ants alive to revive their fellows and take out the enemy. With large swarms constantly rushing your base, you need to think on your fingertips to ensure all the enemies are engaged but none have a chance of obliterating your army. If you can't move quickly, your base will get slammed.

These skills will be put to the test across Ant Raid's 104 levels. Story mode takes up the first 60 of those levels, and faces you with the task of curing the vicious insects of their pesticide-induced mania. Once you complete story mode, you unlock 40 challenge levels across 4 levels of difficulty. You can replay all of the levels to try to get 3-star rankings. There are also 4 endless survival levels that unlock as you progress through story mode. These have a clever twist: the number of ants you have available in each of them corresponds to the number of stars you earn in story mode.

Aside from a less-than-inspiring story and mediocre cutscene design, I like nearly everything Ant Raid offers up. The game benefits from being built specifically for iPad, and takes advantage of the screen real estate. The levels look great, the controls are solid and very rarely frustrating, and there is a ton of content (including 47 Game Center achievements and 5 leaderboards). Some of the goals in later story mode levels get repetitive � build flags in every level, then collect berries, then build flags, then collect berries � but the ramped-up difficulty kept me interested despite the repetition.

Ant Raid might be a little light for the serious RTS crowd � its focus is on frantic action far more than management or organization. For anyone who wants some strategy in their action games, though, it's a perfect fit.