Xurge [$0.99] doesn't try to wow you with a particularly deep gameplay experience or with awe-inducing graphics. Rather, Xurge is one of those retro-style games that seeks to get you hooked on simple gameplay that becomes progressively more difficult and challenges you to simply get better at what it offers. As far as simple arcade games go, Xurge does a good job of hitting its mark.

Xurge doesn't bother trying to create any kind of story to serve as a backdrop to your gameplay. You can discern that there are alien invaders attempting to take over your planet, and the only thing between them and world domination are your four cannons. Obviously, the goal then becomes to take out all the invaders with said cannons before the intruders take them out. Before a cannon can be fired, however, you must tap on it to prime it. Once primed, taking a shot is as easy as pressing the big 'Fire' button on the screen.

To further complicate matters, your cannons can be primed in two different modes, each designed to take out different colored enemies. In addition, random bombs will be coming down on the sides of the screen, which must be destroyed by tapping on them. Aiding in your planetary defense are power-ups that occasionally appear after taking out certain invaders. Power-ups range from increased firepower to a slow mode, and can provide a short-lived advantage.

All these elements lead to a certain situational awareness that must be kept in order to last long in Xurge. Not only do you have to make sure that the right cannon is primed, but you have to make sure it is in the right mode and firing correctly. As the later levels increase the tempo (and variety) of the baddies, gameplay becomes frantic, but still enjoyable. One complaint is in the delay between tapping a cannon and having it primed, but I believe this is a deliberate choice to add some tension to the later parts of the game when precision and speed are essential to survival.

Xurge seems to embrace its retro-inspired feel in all facets, and does a good job doing so. Everything from the 16-bit pixelated visuals to the catchy MIDI-esque music screams nostalgia. More importantly, the 16-bit heritage does a good job of complementing the overall feel of Xurge, rather than being any sort of hindrance to it. Of course, if pixelated graphics aren't your thing, then odds are you probably aren't going to appreciate the artistic style of Xurge.

If you're a fan of retro-themed titles and are looking for a new arcade game, Xurge isn't a bad choice to check out. It combines a simple, yet enjoyable gameplay experience with longevity features such as achievements, Game Center and OpenFeint support, and a fair amount of difficulties and game modes. Sure, the gameplay is a bit basic, but what it does offer is executed well.

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Sierra On-Line's edgier point-and-click adventure franchise, Leisure Suit Larry, will live a new life in this fascinating age of revivals and downloadable games. Replay Games, an outfit headed up by an old Sierra employee, has managed to grab the ancient IP and plans to release an HD version of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards in Q4 2012. This will be followed by several other re-makes and maybe even a new game or two if things pan out.

We wouldn't be feeding you this information if the games weren't slated for the iPad and the iPhone, but in case you're curious, Lounge Lizards HD is also slated for every other platform under the sun, including PC, Mac, XBLA, PSN, Android, On-Live, and Gaikai. Original creator Al Lowe is "working closely" with Replay Games on the re-makes, which should help these games realize their new potential on touch devices and other mediums.

"I'm overjoyed to see Larry released from his digital dungeon after all this time, and be placed in the hands of someone who understands him and wants to see him, brought back to the forefront by people who love him and understand him," Lowe told EGM exclusively.

Leisure Suit Larry first debuted in 1987, and even though it saw a re-release in 1991, it's still a crazy old property. Here's to hoping that the formula that made the games so great back in the day still holds up.

[Via EGM]

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Super Cyclone [99�] is a challenging 2D dual-stick shooter released by Miniclip.com and UK-based developers�PlayerThree.� It involves shooting aliens, dodging and blasting asteroids, collecting pick-ups and trying to stay alive long enough to protect the star-gates from waves of alien attack.

Whereas most dual-stick shooters occur within a rectangular playing area, the space battles in Super Cyclone are set within a circular zone. In the center of the playing area is a star-gate. The invading aliens want to breach the star-gate, to gain access to our planetary system. You're on patrol to ensure that doesn't happen, by shooting them all down. If any enemy-spawning alien nests enter the star-gate, it's game-over.

The main controls are a standard dual-stick shooter configuration, with the left stick used for navigation and the right stick for 360 degree firing. There's a button for launching missiles and another for weapon selection. A couple of users in our discussion forum found the navigation controls "twitchy", but personally I had no problems making the ship move and fire where I wanted.

When you destroy an alien craft, a yellow "heart" appears for collection (although it doesn't actually resemble a heart). These increase your score multiplier and are converted to coins once the level is completed, so grab them quickly before they disappear. If you don't collect the hearts, you'll have absolutely no chance of reaching the difficult scores required to achieve a three-star level score.

You can double tap (and hold) the right stick to make your ship spin around rapidly, like a …super cyclone. In this mode your ship can destroy enemies and attract any floating pick-ups or yellow "hearts" in the vicinity. The cyclone feature also causes overheating, as shown on a "cyclone meter", so if you spin too long your ship explodes, depleting one of your three lives.

Your craft is protected by a shield system, which weakens with each attack or collision. To restore the shields power you need to find a quiet area and stop shooting briefly. This forces a quick change of pace, which is a nice interlude from the often frantic and crowded battles.

Your ship is also equipped with a radar system, which displays small icons around your craft, which are color coded to represent different enemy types, pick-ups, or appearing enemy nests. The direction to your star-gate is also shown, to keep you orientated. Asteroids don't show up on the radar, so you need to stay alert to dodge or shoot incoming hunks of space-rock. If you shoot asteroids, they break into smaller pieces, as in the classic Asteroids game.

The enemies evolve as you progress, learning new behaviors and acquiring new technology (such as stealth technology, so they don't appear on the radar), making them harder to beat in later levels. Some enemies become more aggressive as you progress, while others turn cautious, but more deadly.� One example of enemy evolution is that the alien nests gain the ability to fire weapons in 360-degrees, in addition to spawning multiple aliens to chase you around. There's reportedly 24 different enemy evolutions of behavior in total (not to be confused with 24 different enemy ships, which there's not).

The star-gate starts to spin when it's about to release a special pick-up item. This might be a new type of weapon and ammunition, such as a barrage of heat seeking missiles or rapid fire. You need to grab any pick-up's quickly before they float off into space.

You can purchase weapons and ammo-packs in an in-game store, using money earned by collecting yellow hearts or via in-app purchases (which are not necessary).� Your default weapon is a plasma cannon, but you can also buy or pick-up heat seeking missiles which cause splash damage, pulsar shots with fast and wide spread, or ION bolts with extra range. The store includes some "coming soon" slots, which the developers plan to fill with additional weapons, new ships, and possibly a wing-man.

There's four sectors to play, each with seven levels, making 28 levels in total. Each time you clear a level by surviving the waves of attack, the next level is unlocked. By the time you reach sector B, things are frantic and several enemies will be swarming around you. Fortunately, this game is level-based, so you're not starting from the very beginning each time.

Although Facebook integration is provided, they haven't included Game Center leaderboards, which is unusual for a points-based shoot'em-up which already has Game Center achievements. Also, they seem to have forgotten a Game Center achievement for completing sector D. However, the developer advises leaderboards will be added in a coming update and in the meantime the best scores are being recorded.

The current version has a few teething problems. It erratically freezes when the pause menu is accessed and achievements are sometimes awarded more than once, but the developer is releasing fixes for both of these issues. Also, the tutorial pages flick by automatically and there's no option to replay it, unless you erase the game data and re-start from scratch. The pick-up items have labels which are too small and disappear quickly, leaving you wondering what you picked up. And lastly, a vague� "Achievement achieved" message appears when you satisfy a Game Center achievement, but it doesn't say which achievement. These notifications overlap the left stick and appear inconveniently under your fingers, so the message is partially obscured.

Super Cyclone has some fun ideas, such as the star-gates and alien nests, which ensure the gameplay is more interesting than simply shooting enemies endlessly. This game is available on the Miniclip website so you can try it in your computer browser for free; although rest assured it handles much better on our touch screens.

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