It was nearly a year and a half ago that 2D Boy announced that their critically acclaimed indie title World of Goo would be coming to the iPhone. After more than a year of waiting, Word of Goo finally did hit the App Store, but for the iPad rather than the iPhone or iPod touch. The game was absolutely fantastic on the iPad though, earning 5 stars in our review and garnering our iPad Game of the Year award for 2010. World of Goo was a great success on the iPad too, but despite this 2D Boy still wasn't sure that the game would ever reach its originally intended platform of the iPhone.

In late February, 2D Boy confirmed that World of Goo was indeed officially coming to the iPhone and iPod touch. Today this long-awaited version of World of Goo is finally available in the App Store at a special introductory price of 99� for the first 24 hours. What's more is that owners of the iPad version World of Goo HD will get a free update that makes the game universal, so if you own an iPhone or iPod touch you'll already be able to play it on those devices in addition to your iPad.

One thing to note is that World of Goo requires a 3rd generation device or higher, so make sure you have the proper equipment to handle the game before downloading. Both versions of the game are supposed to support Retina Display devices, but due to an apparent bug it currently does not. 2D Boy is looking into the issue and will issue a fix to the problem as soon as possible. Also, after the introductory price of 99�, the game will jump up to its regular price of $2.99, with the universal HD version staying priced at $4.99.

Despite the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod touch, World of Goo still plays wonderfully and contains all the same content that appeared on the iPad last December. The biggest difference is that you can pinch to zoom on the iPhone version, which can be helpful in certain situations.�Players in our forums are really enjoying World of Goo on the iPhone and iPod touch, and if you've ever been interested in the game but didn't own an iPad then now is the time to get in on the fun.

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One of our very favorite dual-stick shooters, Bug Heroes [Free], has just received its most significant update yet. Bug Heroes is a blend of dual-stick shooting and tower defense, and pulls the mixing of these genres off beautifully as we noted in our original review. After the 1.1 update in early February which added universal iPad support and Game Center, today Bug Heroes has been updated to version 2.0 which adds more new features than you can shake a stick at, and to celebrate the game will be free for the next few days.

You can check out the extensive log of changes in the Bug Heroes app description, which include a ton of bug fixes and balance tweaks, but the main attraction in this latest update is the addition of 6 new playable characters downloadable via IAP. These include a Fly Bandit, a Worm Demolitions Expert, a Stick Bug Wizard, a Ladybug Fencer, a Termite Builder, and a Grasshopper Monk. Each of the new characters bring their own unique style, equipment, and abilities which offer new ways to play through the game.

These new characters are available in 3 different IAP "Hero Packs" which are 99� apiece and each come with 2 playable characters, 1 new level, 6 new enemies for that level, and 1 new turret. For those that don't want to buy anything, this update has some new things for you as well. There's a brand new Picnic level for the Coliseum, piercing bullets for the Ant, an evade ability for Spider, and a boomsticks weapon for Beetle. Players will be able to choose from any 3 characters that they own to form their own style team to play through the game with, offering a ton of different combinations for different strategies.

We already really liked Bug Heroes before, and this latest update adds so much new content that it's practically a completely new game. It should be noted that whatever current game you have in progress will be reset after downloading the update, so make sure to finish things up before updating if you're interested in not losing your progress. If you haven't yet checked out Bug Heroes, it's highly recommended to pick it up while it's currently free. Even without any of the IAP packs, you are getting a ton of fun content in the base game and can choose to add more content as you go with the availability of the new character packs.

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There's certainly no shortage of endless high score games in the App Store. Whether you're seeing how high you can jump in the sky, how far you can fall down, or how long you can run to the right, you're pretty much covered on the iOS platform (though curiously, I can't think of one single game where you run to the left, but I digress). The newly released Squid Drop [99�] from developer Nor Eagle is of the falling downwards sort, and although the concept is dead simple I've actually been enjoying it quite a bit due to its variety, excellent control, and adorable main character.

In Squid Drop, you'll move your squid left and right by sliding your finger across the screen, avoiding hazards as he dives deep below the sea. Since you're diving down, your score is calculated in negative numbers which can be sent to an in-game online leaderboard. Occasional bubbles can be collected which temporarily protect you from all objects in the game while simultaneously doubling the score you earn. There's also coins which can be picked up for an additional bump in your score, though making a dash for coins can often result in an accidental death, so there's a certain risk associated with your greed.

Visually the game is very attractive with simple silhouette-style characters against different color backgrounds. The tune that plays during the game is also undeniably catchy, but what I really like about Squid Drop is that there are a ton of different level types to play. One level has you avoiding enemies that rapidly swim up in your direction, another has you collecting keys to unlock previously impassable barriers to progress. It seems like every time I think I've seen it all, the game throws a new style level at me, and it really adds variety to the core gameplay.

The thing I do not like about this, however, is that high scores are based off of your best runs out of all the level types. Inevitably, some levels are easier to get higher scores in than others, and ideally there would be separate leaderboards for every game type. Also, while there are in-game leaderboards and achievements, it would be nice to have actual Game Center support to add some more weight to these features. Finally, I'd like to be able to choose any of the level types separately in addition to the random mode the game currently employs, so I could practice certain levels without having to wait for them to be chosen for me by the game.

Despite a couple of minor negative points, Squid Drop is a really enjoyable game. The nice silhouette style of graphics is simple but effective, and for what is essentially a black blob with eyes the little squid in the game oozes personality. The controls are also spot on, allowing for precise movements through some of the trickier passageways in the game. As a funny bonus, one of the monsters in the game is named after everyone's favorite TouchArcade editor Eli Hodapp, and it's striking just how well they nailed the look of Eli in the game.

Squid Drop won't set the App Store ablaze as the next fully featured console-like game, but it offers a good dose of simple fun if you're looking for a new high score time waster, and the players in our forums have been enjoying it as well.

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It's Wednesday again, which means one thing around these parts: New Zealand game release extravaganza. If this is your first New Zealand Wednesday, here's how it works- When a developer sets a specific release date for their game, it becomes available for download in that region when that date hits. All of these games were set for release on 4/14, and since it's already 4/14 in some areas of the world, these games are already available for download there. This gives us a rare sneak peek at what is coming, unlike the usual "Oh hey, this is on the App Store now!" that we get the rest of the week. All of these games will be available at 11:00 PM EST, or potentially earlier if you buy your iOS games from Asian or European App Stores.

Anyway, here is what is coming out this evening that we're looking forward to:

Resident Evil Mercenaries VS, $2.99 � [Forum Thread] � Capcom's first online multiplayer enabled iOS title is a Resident Evil-based shooter with oddly high hardware requirements (for how poor the graphics look, anyway). You'll need a 3rd generation device or newer to compete in the 2v2 online team matches with various familiar Resident Evil weaponry on the three included maps with the hilariously descriptive names of "Dock," "Fort," and "Castle." We're likely going to need to wait a few days to review this one, as with any online game, it needs a community of players first.

You Don't Know Jack, $2.99 � [Forum Thread] � Twenty "episodes" worth of questions are included, and there's even an iPad version. I'm totally excited for this, as the You Don't Know Jack series of games have been amazing over the years. There's even talk of updates and additional episodes, although it isn't clear whether these will be free or available via IAP.

Streets of Rage 2, $2.99 � [Forum Thread] � I'm not sure what to say here, it's Streets of Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis wrapped in Sega's emulator. I could probably write a review for the game without even playing it, but more than anything else, I'm just disappointed that they're not releasing more of their fantastic RPG back-catalog since teasing us with Phantasy Star II [$2.99].

The Relic, 99� � [Forum Thread] � A cool looking universal hack and slash which seems to come packed not only with what's being described as an "epic adventure," but also an experience system laden with upgrades. I'm liking the massive swarms of enemies in the above video, which is something I feel a lot of iOS hack and slash games are sorely missing.

A.I.R. Defense, 99� � [Forum Thread] � Despite the incredibly vague iTunes description, this game looks like it could be a lot of fun. Judging by the video above, it seems to combine elements of line drawing, castle defense, and tower defense in to one very bright game. I'm always open to try variations of games that dabble in multiple genres that work well on iOS devices.

(Trailer for PSP version of the game.)

Coconut Dodge, 99� � [Forum Thread] Believe it or not, you're looking at the PSN game of the year for 2010. I'm not entirely sure if that means Coconut Dodge is just that good, or the competition amongst PSN games is just that bad. Either way, I'm incredibly anxious to try it as according to the iTunes Description, the game has taken home several perfect 10/10's on the PSP which seems strange for a crab-based avoidance game.

Color Collider, 99� � [Forum Thread] � This looks like a neat universal puzzle game by Capcom with gameplay that revolves around positioning the colored triangles to get the balls at the top of the screen into the appropriately colored buckets at the bottom of the screen. I'm a sucker for physics-based puzzle games, and the color changing element sounds like a lot of (complicated) fun.

Air Penguin, 99� � [Forum Thread] � A penguin-based bouncing game where you bounce from floating ice platform to floating ice platform while avoiding hungry sharks and other obstacles. Featuring both a 100-level store mode and an endless survival mode, Air Penguin is entirely tilt based and seems to be packed with Game Center achievements as well.

Men vs Machines, Free � [Forum Thread] � What do you get when you take Gun Bros and re-skin it with a steampunk theme? I think we've found out! With that being said, the concept behind Gun Bros was really great, so if you had a lot of fun with Gun Bros, and want to start over again with steampunk weaponry, here's your chance.

Bug Village, Free � [Forum Thread] � Another freemium game from Glu today, this one puts you in the driver's seat of building a vibrant village of bugs. I'm oddly digging the art style, and am curious to see how far you can get in the game before hitting the inevitable time sink and pay wall.

Elemental Rage HD, $6.99 � [Forum Thread] � We previewed this game recently, and as a lover of all things Metroidvania, I'm totally excited to play through it. An iPhone version is in the works as well, and is expected to launch in the next couple of weeks.

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