Sunside Games caught us dead bang this morning with the reveal of some rather impressive visual tech in its upcoming action-adventure game, Crow. In a nutshell, Crow is a guided flight combat game where you, as a crow, collect orbs, power-ups, and take out enemies and bosses in some pretty crazy good-looking environments. In an e-mail exchanged with a Sunside representative, it was lightly compared to Nights into Dreams, if you needed an analog.

Outside of that core experience, there's a second mode that'll let you mosey around an open world at your leisure, checking out all the sights Sunside has made in the game's impressive platform, Radiance.

Purely judging from the press release we got this morning, it seems like Sunside is pretty high on this new-fangled tech. Crow will deliver "unsurpassed visuals and immersions in a fully 3D world, which has never before been experienced in mobile gaming," the studio wrote. Big words!

We'll definitely be keeping our eyes on Crow as it hurdles towards release this winter. We expect to get some hands-on time in the coming weeks, and we'll definitely report back to you whenever we can. Additional screenshots of the game are available on its web site.

On the heels of an epic price-slashing maneuver that saw Pocket Academy and its latest game Grand Prix Story go for a paltry $1.99, the simulation gurus at Kairosoft have murdered the original asking price of Mega Mall Story [$1.99 / Lite] and Hot Springs Story [$1.99 / Lite]. Both titles are $1.99 for a "limited time." They usually sit at $3.99, so you'll save a couple of bones if you decide to take the plunge.

And plunge you should, as both of these titles are totally worth the reduced asking price. Earlier this summer, I called Mega Mall Story the most "complete simulation" from the studio yet. Hot Springs Story, though it�requires some effort to push beyond the cultural barrier,�is solid, too.

As a side-note, it appears as if we'll be missing out on a new game from Kairosoft this month. Last month, we speculated that it's SimCity-like title, Edo Town, would make it out of the door worldwide in early October. It's still a possibility, but we're thinking that these sales are an indication that a new game isn't coming.

Spilt Milk Studios' Hard Lines [Free], a fun line-racing puzzle game with a touch of�Snake thrown in for good measure, has received a big ol' new update. Starting now, the game boasts four additional power-ups on top of the pre-existing assortment, two new game modes, a brand-spankingly fresh in-game currency, and an in-game shop to boot. Oh! It's also free at the moment, though that'll probably change in the next few hours.

As is the norm nowadays with huge updates, a lot of the new additions speak to a pricing model change for Hard Lines as whole. The in-game currency, "Hard Cash," can be purchased straight-up with IAP or found in the game as pick-ups. With it, you can upgrade the new power-ups for use in whatever, including presumably the game's two new modes: Daily Challenge and Lionel's Hard Cash. The latter mode is an optional paid mode that offers a lot of Hard Cash in return for your investment. The full update notes, which mention several smaller improvements, can be seen here.

We loved Hard Lines and will continue to post this update. If you still haven't seen it, we'd suggest just grabbing it now while it's silly cheap. Our glowing review, however, is located here if you want some reading material before going in.

Here's a wild one: Zynga is apparently in talks to do a FarmVille [Free]�movie. Speaking with IGN the other day about an actual video game, Toy Story writers Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen teased that they're in discussions with the mega-publisher to pen the possible flick.These chats seem insanely early, as the duo couldn't even name-drop FarmVille and Zynga, according to IGN, is refusing comment on the matter.

"So, yes, we will continue writing movies. We are also working on several new and very exciting opportunities. We're in conversations with Zynga to do something with one of their brands. Can't really say too much on that front yet, but 'Old MacDonald' didn't have a factory, if you get our drift," they said.

If this seems really stupid to you, we regretfully remind you that movies based on incredibly shallow games like, say, �Resident Evil and BloodRayne, have been made and actually shown in theaters. Of course, there's been plenty of video-game-to-movie adaptations that haven't panned out over the years, so it's not like a FarmVille movie is a lock. It's definitely not.

[Via IGN]