Last October, one man indie developer Owens Rodriguez released Alien Space [$1.99/Lite], a dual-stick shooter set in � where else? � space. It's not easy releasing a new game into a genre that is literally flooded with great games, but Alien Space managed to hold its own against the competition with excellent controls, interesting enemies, cool weapons, and a great upgrade system; and it had a fairly loyal following of fans in our forums.

Shortly after the release of Alien Space, Owens started kicking around the idea of creating an alternate version of the game that was based around a retro arcade look rather than the contemporary space setting of the original. We took a peek at an early version of this project back at Macworld in January, and after a slightly longer development cycle than was intended, Alien Space Retro [99�] popped into the App Store just before this past weekend.

Alien Space Retro includes the same 30 campaign levels and survival mode from the original game, plus it has several new features beyond the slick retro graphics that are available as in-app purchases. There are 4 new weapons � 2 heavy and 2 light � that are available for 99� each, or all together as a pack for $1.99 which will also include any future additional IAP weapons for free.

Aside from the weapons, there is also a brand new game mode called Lost in Space available for a 99� IAP. In this mode there are no enemies or weapons, rather you are lost in an asteroid field with a heavily damaged ship where even the slightest collision will cause you to explode. Basically, you're a 1976 Ford Pinto. To make matters worse, your energy level is constantly depleting as well, so you must be on the lookout for crystals dropped by asteroids colliding into each other in order to keep your energy level afloat.

The new Lost in Space mode is definitely my favorite part about Alien Space Retro. There is an entirely different strategy to dodging asteroids and the energy depletion factor ensures you're constantly on your toes, in my case usually in a state of panic. If you aren't the type that's fond of IAP, the campaign and survival modes included in the initial price are excellent on their own, and provide a ton of gameplay. Just be aware that it isn't a whole lot different than the original Alien Space, aside from the retro visuals.

That retro eye candy sure is nice though, with Retina Display support and more particle effects than you can shake a stick at. It's also a universal app and plays wonderfully well on the iPhone or iPad. If you aren't a fan of the retro look, and I know there are some of you out there, then consider picking up the original Alien Space if you haven't already. If you were already a fan of the original game, then the new goodies in Alien Space Retro are certainly worth checking out, and players in our forums seem to be loving the game quite a bit as well.

Connectrode [$0.99] has it rough. At a glance, you might mistake it for a match-3, and it ain't easy to stand out on the app store as a match-3 these days. It's probably even worse when you're an awesome puzzle game that just happens to look a bit too much like one.

So let's clear up that assumption. While there's a fair bit of color matching in Connectrode, there's no sliding or swapping to deal with, and no timers to beat. Instead, you're presented with a board of static, adorable computer chips. The only way to clear them off the board is to link them up with their matched partners, and to do that you're given a series of colored connectors. These connectors can link chips up with each other if you match their colors, but you can only place them in spaces that are in a clear path from the top. Close off a section of the board and you won't be placing anything into it until you clear some chips out of the way.

That one little limitation may not seem like much, but let me assure you � it is. If you give Connectrode less than your full attention, it's easy to slip up and place a connector somewhere that blocks off not only the connection you're trying to make, but, say, the whole lower half of the board. Coming back from that might be hard, or it might be impossible.

If you manage to clear an entire board, you're awarded a high score. This gets interesting, because the boards are randomly generated. Traditional leaderboards don't quite work for this set up, so Deep Plaid Games had to come up with a more creative way to share scores: when you complete a level, you can share your score with friends on Facebook or Twitter, and it includes a link that allows them to play a copy of your level. If you're a purist, though, the developer has mentioned on our forums that Game Center integration is on the to-do list, presumably for sharing your top score on each of the game's four difficulty modes.

In the meantime, you can spend some time perfecting your high scores. Earning streaks (clearing chips multiple turns in a row) gives you a nice bonus modifier, so you'll need to plan your line completion carefully to get the best possible score. You also earn bonuses for clearing more than two chips in a combo, and for clearing a color without leaving any single orphaned chips behind. Add all the factors together, and you'll find a game absolutely requires you to plan a few moves ahead if you want a score worth noticing.

Connectrode is everything I look for in a puzzle game. The game design is smart, and strikingly creative. As an added bonus, the art and interface are colorful and cute, and the music is quite cheery. If you like puzzle games that require strategy and thought, you'll definitely want to pick this one up.