Yesterday developer Chaoji Li unleashed iDOS to the world. For 99�, you were able to download a surprisingly fully functional version of Dosbox, a cross-platform program that emulates an IBM compatible PC running MS-DOS, tweaked to ridiculous lengths to work with the touch interface of iOS devices. We posted about it late yesterday morning, and within a few hours the story was picked up by TUAW, Gizmodo, MacRumors, Engadget, and many other media outlets before Apple ultimately pulled it from the App Store entirely a few hours later.

Originally we suspected that this might be the first of many full featured emulators appearing on the App Store following Apple easing up on approval guidelines, but after spending some time with iDOS, it became clear that someone obviously was asleep at the wheel in Apple's approval department. First off, iDOS allowed root access to the file system of the iOS device it was run on via use of simple DOS commands to navigate outside of iDOS's app directory. Secondly, it allowed for execution of absolutely any external DOS-compatible code from games to compilers to entire operating systems. (Some have even installed Windows 95 within iDOS.) As if things couldn't get worse from there, iDOS also came bundled with Dig Dug and Ms. PacMan, two games that Namco not only owns, but is currently selling on the App Store for $2.99 and $4.99 respectively.

Even with the new approval guidelines those three things are in serious violation of the developer agreement, and as such it wasn't much of a surprise to see iDOS quickly removed from the App Store. However, chances are, this won't be the last time you hear of the project. Chaoji Li has already submitted an update to Apple removing Dig Dig and Ms. PacMan, and intends to restrict file system access if Apple also feels that's a problem. Of course that leaves the glaring hole of complete code execution of any random executable you download and drop in to iTunes. One could be quick to jump to the conclusion that this means that iDOS is doomed to forever live in jailbreak purgatory as the freely downloadable DOSPAD, but I'm not so sure. Simply put, iDOS doesn't follow the rules Apple set for apps that are listed in the App store; but this aspect isn't important to understanding why iDOS is important.

Nostalgia gaming currently is bigger than it's ever been before as more and more people who grew up with video games as a main part of their childhood come into adulthood, and don't seem to have any problem spending money to relive those memories in remakes, sequels, and re-imaginations of their favorite games of the past. The Monkey Island remakes are an excellent example of a game studio taking completely classic intellectual property, refreshing it, and releasing it to both a crowd of new gamers and old gamers anxious to once again accompany Guybrush Threepwood on his quest(s). Similarly, iDOS allowed both new and old gamers to play a nearly limitless supply of classic DOS games on their iOS devices.

Much like using Dosbox on your Mac or PC, quite a few games require a bit of tweaking to run optimally, but this is hardly any different from the original releases of these games. (Or as someone put it on Twitter, often times coaxing the game to run on your ancient PC via jumper settings and other wizardry was half the fun of playing it.) Regardless, quite a few games run phenomenally on iDOS right out of the box. The thread on our forums is full of people posting positive results when attempting to run all kinds of retro games and programs. I spent an embarrassing amount of time playing The 7th Guest on my iPad yesterday, with a stupid grin across my face the entire time.

Adding all these things together when leveraged with the power of the App Store, results in the ingredients for a true renaissance of iOS retro gaming. The rate at which our story yesterday expanded to other massive blogs and media outlets proves that there is an immense interest out there for a plethora of classic PC games that iDOS is capable of running on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Chaoji Li proved that playing these games is entirely possible via his iOS-customized spinoff of Dosbox, and, with a little tweaking, many of them run quite well. The current pool of retro remakes and other inspired titles on the App Store (as well as other platforms) and their associated success proves people are willing to pay for them.

This brings us back to the issues that Apple will have with iDOS. Frankly, it does too much, is way too open, and there's likely no way for Apple to look the other way in the entire purpose of the emulator: To execute whatever remote code you drag into iTunes. When emailing back and forth with Chaoji yesterday, I asked him what he thought about another possible alternative for the direction of iDOS.

What if developers leveraged the power of iDOS, or, more accurately, the open source nature of both Dospad and Dosbox to release individually tailored versions of iDOS with a specific game embedded and the emulator extensively tweaked to run that game well? id Software is already using Dosbox in this exact way to re-release both Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D on Steam. Sega has used their own Genesis emulator to release Sonic and other classic games on the App Store. The only thing stopping developers from doing the same thing with any number of classic PC games is tracking down who owns the rights to them, licensing the IP for distribution on the App Store, and tweaking iDOS to exclusively load that content. Chaoji told me he's even willing to help making the entire wrapping process easier in any way he can.

If you're an iOS developer out there trying to come up with what your next project will be, consider looking up who currently holds the rights to your favorite retro game. Since most of these games are freely distributed as abandonware, you might find that the owners may be willing to strike an amazingly reasonable deal with you, or just give you their blessing to breathe some new life into their projects of the past for nothing at all. As mentioned previously, the market is there, the software is there, the distribution network is there.

All we need to start the revolution�is developers willing to answer the call.

Thanks to IzzyNobre for the awesome photos, and forum members for screenshots.

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In July of last year, Team17 released their classic artillery battle game Worms [$2.99/HD] onto the App Store. It was great to see such a beloved franchise hit iOS devices, but unfortunately the game was plagued with a number of problems. Performance was subpar even on a then-new and more powerful iPhone 3Gs, and fans complained of certain missing weapons and lack of online play. The game was updated a number of times which resulted in much improved performance, but the promise of additional weaponry and online matches never actually materialized, though they did add a very nice Bluetooth multiplayer mode to the game.

Now Team17 has just released Worms 2: Armageddon [$4.99] to the App Store, and it essentially feels like what the first game was always meant to be. There is an incredible amount of weaponry in Worms 2, and local multiplayer with up to 4 players or 2 player battles online. A single player campaign contains 30 missions to play through across 5 brand new locations, with tons of different modes to try out. Also, many options are available to customize the look and sound of your worm teams as well as a number of unlockable items to earn.

In many ways, Worms 2: Armageddon feels more like Worms 1.5. The UI feels just like the last game, slightly clunky but manageable. The graphics also don't look any different, save for when running on the iPad, and the lower resolution visuals stick out on a Retina Display device. Online play is a nice addition but I can't help but wish for full 4 player support, as that's when Worms is really at its best. Overall it's a good game if you're a fan of Worms and are looking for the best available version for your iOS device, but if you were expecting leaps and bounds of progress over the first game then you will likely feel disappointed with this latest installment.

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Developer PopCap has just dropped the price of their wildly popular zombie defense game Plants vs. Zombies down to 99� for a limited time. This is the first time this game has ever seen a price drop from its normal price of $2.99. Plants vs. Zombies debuted on the App Store back in February and immediately skyrocketed into the top 10 overall paid apps list, and hasn't dropped out of the top 50 ever since.

Chances are that there aren't that many of you out there who don't already own Plants vs. Zombies, based on the incredible sales numbers, but for those of you who have been on the fence this whole time now is your opportunity to pounce on this game. If you aren't sure what the heck Plants vs. Zombies is, then check out our extensive review of the iPhone version from when the game was released back in February.

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Back in March of last year Fish Labs rolled out their space trading title Galaxy on Fire, giving folks like me who missed out on the 1984 classic Elite a chance to make a name for themselves out there among the stars. It's a great game that debuted with some difficulty issues, but they were resolved in short order and its universe has been enjoyed by many. Tonight, the studio released a new challenge for space jockeys everywhere, the sequel Galaxy on Fire 2 [App Store] for the iPhone, with an iPad version to follow close behind.

The game places you in the role of space fighter pilot Keith Maxwell who encounters a space anomaly and ends up adrift through the galaxy, to be rescued by a benevolent miner who helps you get back on your feet. You'll quickly find you've not only been transported to to the other side of the galaxy, but that you've woken up 35 years in the future. Kind of like Sigourney Weaver.

Your goal is to get back to your home system on the other side of the galaxy, but achieving that goal is going to take some time, and what better way to fill that time than by taking on various missions across the region's 20 star systems. You start out with a relatively weak, modestly outfitted ship, but there's money to be made and upgrades to be had along the way. Jobs ranging from cleaning up space garbage to mining asteroids to transporting goods to hunting pirates to rescuing kidnapped officers can be had in the various stations in each system on the vast star map. And, if that seems too harrowing, money can be made in the simple buying and selling of simple commodities from one station to another. Like father of the genre Elite, it's a game you can take at your own pace.

Each star system consists of a handfull of planets, each with a space station � there are 100 in all � complete with a hanger in which to buy and sell goods as well as a Space Lounge. In each station's lounge can be found individuals of many sorts, most of whom are eager to do business with you. Some want to send you to a neighboring planet to do their bidding, while others seek to send you to other systems much father afield, requiring a multi-leg journey across the star map, involving jumpgates that can send you to strange and distant systems. And all this against the backdrop of the tyranny of the evil alien race known as the Voids.

Seeing real success in the game required careful ship and equipment choices. For instance, some ships offer up the valuable contents of their cargo holds when destroyed, but without a pricey tractor beam, you can't touch them. The same goes for asteroid mining � without the proper gear, that booty is beyond your reach. It's all about successful missions and wise income management.

The game offers a choice of virtual stick or tilt-based controls with contextual action buttons to fire primary and secondary weapons. In addition, there are two view modes: standard and free view, which allows for swipe-based, any-angle� camera controls of the battlefield action with pinch and spread zoom support. The free view mode is an opportunity to partake in some real eye-candy, allowing you to contrive cinematic aspects through which to view the game's impressive starfields and volumetric dust clouds which take advantage of the iPhone 4's Retina display, where available. (And a different vantage can actually be helpful in a heated battle against a swarm of space pirates.) An option setting offers three different detail settings, the default being the highest on our iPad test system.

Hitting various gameplay milestones (returning to base nearly mangled, talking to more than 20 traders, etc.) will trigger in-game achievements, which are tied to integration with both OpenFeint and Apple's Game Center.

While I enjoyed the time I spent with the original Galaxy on Fire, the sequel feels a more well-rounded and immersive. More polished. Everything just kind of flows together more smoothly this time around. And, while I've spent a significant amount of time with a pre-release build, I've really only scratched the surface of the gameplay the title has to offer.

The space trading / commerce genre is certainly not a sparsely populated one out there across the many available gaming platforms. And in the App Store, Fish Labs isn't the only gig in town. But of the games of this sort I've spent time with, Galaxy on Fire 2 is the most approachable and satisfying on the platform, so I highly recommend it.

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