Mediocre's Sprinkle [$.99] got a little bigger and presumably a smidgen more controversial with its fans this afternoon. In a new update, the studio added Game Center support and tacked on two new levels to Sprinkle's initial world. It also added a new juicy 12-level world to the core game, bringing the level count up to a healthy 60. In a strange twist, this update also packs in a separate six-level content update exclusively for those who grabbed the game's IAP back when it was available.

If you haven't been keeping records at home, Sprinkle came under some fire after its initial release for offering level unlock functionality via IAP. Medicore removed the IAP, but kinda left those paying owners a little high and dry in the process � until now, at least. We just wonder how that same crowd who let their feedback be known will respond to this move.

Regardless of reception, giving levels to IAP owners strikes us as a particularly interesting way to do business. We're stoked to see how this pans out down the road, especially if IAP opportunities come back to Sprinkle. Pay a little, get a little PLUS bonuses seems like a good deal to us. If that model is viable or not is an entirely different question altogether.

Anyway, Sprinkle has an update, so go check it out. If you're not on the Sprinkle train yet, you may want to consider hopping aboard. It's a good game, we swear.

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Don't count out the possibility of a handset version of Botanicula. In a chat with Pocket Gamer, Czech dev Amanita Design said it was at least considering the idea of bringing the mind-meltingly gorgeous point-and-click "exploration game" to phones. Fleshing that comment out, it cautioned that Botanicula for phones is "still just an idea and we need to carry out a few experiments before we can talk about it seriously."

Botanicula was revealed earlier this month and is currently slated for a release at some point in early 2012 across the PC and Macintosh. Its premise goes a little something like this: five bug-like friends go on a journey to "save the last seed from their home tree which is infested by evil parasites" and, apparently, spiders.

"Mind-meltingly gorgeous" is probably an understatement on my part, by the way. Botanicula is… just, wow. We sincerely hope a touch version will prove viable for the studio.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

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Like most, I think of myself as a reasonably intelligent person. I'm no genius, but I'd like to believe I've got a few brain cells to rub together. SpaceChem Mobile [$5.99], a puzzle game that's just made its way from PC to iPad, shakes my confidence about my own intelligence � and then it leaves me feeling brilliant, just moments later.

Zachtronics Industries' puzzler hit the PC indie scene earlier this year, wowing critics and players alike. I tell you this to keep you reading, because the other shoe is about to drop: this is a game about chemical synthesis. And it's not some sort of dolled up, sexy chemical synthesis. This game puts players to work creating chemical products from their raw elements in the simplest terms possible. You'll be bonding one chemical symbol to another, creating workflows out of color coded paths to move them along. And you'll (probably) love it.

I say "probably," because SpaceChem isn't for everyone. You'll need a heavy dose of curiosity and creativity, plenty of patience and just a dash of masochism. But if you're still reading this review after seeing the screenshots and learning what it's about, I'm pretty sure you'll love this game.

As mentioned, SpaceChem is all about chemical synthesis. You're responsible for turning elements and compounds into the required chemical products, and then mass producing them. At the game's most basic, a level requires you to bring in two elements, bond them together and output the correct compound. To facilitate this process, you have a pair of red and blue waldos, remote manipulators that will follow the paths you lay down and the commands you place in that path. You create the program, and they'll follow through, red on red, blue on blue.

From that simple input/output beginning you'll learn to break and create bonds, combine and discard the fruits of multiple reactors and set up conditional commands. The outputs get more and more complicated, but the game largely lets you muddle your way through unassisted. Aside from introducing you to each new command with a tutorial screen, you'll be left on your own to work through each level. This left me hitting my head on any number of walls while I worked my way through, but there are few feelings as good as finally solving a tricky level and watching your quota fill up.

Each time you get that thrill, though, there's another level waiting to defeat you. There over 40 levels to work through in the main campaign, and most leave you longing for the comfort of your last completed level. Once you're through those, there are well over 100 more puzzles available in ResearchNet with more to come. These are community created and carefully curated, and yes, you can contribute your own assignments as well.

One of the coolest things about SpaceChem is that each level has a near-endless number of potential solutions. Each solution you come up with is ranked against the community, so you'll know if you could have done better, with fewer cycles spent or symbols used. Then you can go back and increase your efficiency. If you're so inclined, you can also see what players from the desktop version have done by visiting SolutionNet. It's cheating, a bit, but it's also extremely educational to learn how efficiently other people are pulling these things off.

Playing SpaceChem feels like learning a new skill. It's a slow education, but you can build on what you learn until you no longer feel like you need to start each challenge from scratch. The light-bulb moments are frequent and motivating. This game should feel like work, but it's insanely fun.

Unfortunately, the iPad version is missing a little bit of the desktop version: namely, the story and boss battles. The boss battles didn't work with the iPad's setup, and the story had to be chucked without them. So if you can't bear to go without, you might want to consider making your purchase on desktop. But everything else about this port is top notch. After an early patch the interface works beautifully on the touch screen. The music is fantastic, and, for what it's worth, the game looks as good as it could on any desktop monitor.

SpaceChem is an easy purchase to recommend. It's not as if I can tell you to buy it if you're into puzzle games about creating workflows for chemical synthesis � you're looking at a rare breed. If any part of you thinks you might be interested in such a thing, then congratulations, you're the target market. Play SpaceChem. If you don't, you're depriving yourself of one of the smartest, coolest puzzle games around. Why would you want to go and do a thing like that?

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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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