App Store fads come and go, and I think it's safe to say that the endless runner has been on its way out for a while now. These days it's all endless flying, jumping and swimming. So consider me officially surprised that Temple Run [$0.99], a brand new endless runner by Imangi Studios, has captivated my attention for days.

As we noted in our time with the game at WWDC, part of the appeal is the third-person chase view. Temple Run isn't unique in employing this point of view, but it does add a delightful sense of urgency to the game. You never quite know what will be around the next corner � until it's about to smack you in the face.

Corners are something you see a lot of in Temple Run. The game eschews the more traditional one-button jumping control of most runners for a swiping method that still allows for one-handed play . You can swipe up to jump, down to slide, and left or right to turn. This control setup is risky � it's much easier to mess up a swipe than a tap � but it works. Though the world is randomly generated, the addition of twists, turns and crossroads makes it feel more organic, like more of an adventure.

An Indiana Jones aesthetic extends that sense of adventure even further. You control an explorer who has just claimed an ancient idol. The guardians awaken and prepare to devour you � so you run. In your journey, you'll travel across the remnants of ancient temples, leap over flaming statues and dive beneath the roots of massive trees. A slip up can kill you, but even a couple minor stumbles can give the guardians the chance they need to catch you. It's basically a chase scene that would fit into any Indiana Jones film � though it probably wouldn't end with Indy's gruesome death in that case.

While you're dodging death, you can tilt your device gently to collect coins that appear on either side of the path. You'll collect hundreds each time you set out for a run, and they actually go to a good cause: powerups. There are four powerups to unlock, and each one adds something fun to the game like invisibility or bonus coins. They can each be upgraded to become stronger or more valuable. You can also purchase a resurrection item that you trigger by double tapping on the screen. Once you do, it will save you from your next death.

The coins you earn in-game should be more than enough to purchase powerups and upgrades at a reasonable pace. If you really want to get ahead of the pack on the Game Center leaderboard, you can pay cash for coins � but it isn't remotely necessary.

Any endless runner worth the name will give you high-tension situations and that "one more time" compulsion. But Temple Run is probably the only one that also makes you feel like a daring archaeologist with a penchant for deadly situations. So yeah, it's good. Check it out, and stop by our discussion thread when you do.

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If you've been waiting for Final Fantasy Tactics for the past few months… Tonight is the night. In fact, there's so many awesome games coming tonight that I'm just skipping the normal pleasantries of easing everyone into the game releases via a smart introduction.

Instead, I'll just go over how this works for first timers out there. iOS developers are able to set specific release dates for their games/apps. Since the App Store is a global market with tons of different regions, and time zones exist, that particular date arrives earlier in some corners of the world than it does other. New Zealand due to their proximity to the International Date Line gets first crack at new releases, followed by Asian markets, then European markets before things finally appear in the US App Store at 11:00 PM Eastern.

Arenas, Trial of Valor, $3.99 � Forum Thread � This universal online turn based strategy game has a feature list that has piqued my interest. There's both a PvP and PvE battle system, five types of arenas, ten available races, thousands of unique objects with more on the way, along with hundreds of different spells and creatures. We'll have to see how big of a component the online stuff is, as a $3.99 price tag combined with a (somewhat) obscure online game never seems to be conducive to building a large online pool of players.

Colosseum Heroes, 99� � Forum Thread � These sidescrolling beat 'em ups have been surprisingly popular on the App Store, and Gamevil seems to have nailed the formula very well. Multiple skills to use, along with several playable characters fighting their way through seemingly endless waves of varied bad guys. It looks like there's oodles of things you can customize, with 7 levels of 126 different spells.

Cut The Rope: Experiments, 99� / HD � Forum Thread � ZeptoLab seems to be following in the footsteps of Rovio's Angry Birds Seasons and are going it alone in self publishing this Cut The Rope pseudo-sequel. Anyway, it's safe to say that if you even vaguely enjoyed Cut The Rope, this is a game you need. More of the same with a few new twists is hardly ever a bad thing.

Desert Quest, Free � Forum Thread � I'm not entirely sure I'm sold on the gameplay of this game, but I think the art style is really slick. It's free too, so it seems worth checking out if for no reason other than it has a cool look to it.

Emberwind, 99� / HD � Forum Thread � This game puts you in charge of a gnome fighting off a legion of gremlins. It sounds crazy, and it looks crazy from the above trailer which seems oddly reminiscent of obscure 16-bit era action-centric platformers. We'll see how that all translates to gameplay, and I'm curious to see how the controls work.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions, $15.99 � Forum Thread � This game hardly needs an introduction. It's Final Fantasy Tactics… Finally on the iPhone after months and months of delays. We're overjoyed it's finally here.

Frankenstein Matchmaker, $1.99 / Lite � Forum Thread � This word game comes with the odd premise of needing you to match various words in order to make Frankenstein some love connections. Hopefully its difficulty level is adult-appropriate, as it seems like it could be a little on the simple side.

Kickin Mama, $1.99 / Universal HD � Forum Thread � If you've found yourself awake at night wondering what would happen if you combined Peggle-like gameplay with kicking babies… Well, here's what happens. This game.

Ninja Fishing, 99� � Forum Thread � Despite a hefty amount of drama with Radical Fishing, Ninja Fishing looks like it could be pretty cool� Especially if they deliver on all the planned updates mentioned in the iTunes description.

Puerto Rico HD for iPad, $7.99 � Forum Thread � This game is based on a board game which I have no experience with but it's apparently won all kinds of international gaming awards. It's rated incredibly highly on boardgamegeek.com, which has a massive amount of information on the game.

Shift 2 Unleashed, $4.99 / HD � Forum Thread � We loved all the previous Need For Speed games for iOS devices that EA has released in the past, so it would stand to reason this one would be just as good. Like most EA franchises, this seems to include tons of incremental improvements and boasts Origin support as well.

Snowball Run, 99� � A simple looking endless running avoidance game, only this time you're running towards the camera instead of away from it… And you play as a yeti.

Super Granny, Free � Forum Thread � The iTunes description is a little vague on how the digging mechanic of this game works, but it sounds a lot like Lode Runner and it looks a lot like Lode Runner. And hey, I remember my grandma liking Lode Runner, so it makes sense in a roundabout way.

Taco Master, 99� / HD � Forum Thread � This time management game puts you in charge of making… Tacos! (If the title wasn't a big enough clue on that for you.) Also, the trailer seems to be voiced by the guy from Zombo.com.

Temple Run, 99� � Forum Thread � We've had our hands on Temple Run a few times in the past, and it's safe to say if you love endless runners this is a game you need to get.

Toss The Ball, Free � Forum Thread � Namco's latest foray into casual gaming involves, as you may have guessed, tossing balls. It's free, and offers different bonuses for coming back every day, but the question is, is tossing balls compelling enough for you to want to?

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Last month we checked out the trailer for an upcoming platformer called Roboto from developer Fenix Fire Games, and thought it looked pretty promising. You play as a hoverboard riding robot who is chasing his female robot crush all across the galaxy, in an effort to win her affection. Gameplay appeared to fall somewhere in between a traditional platformer and a fast-paced endless running game, which seemed like a good combination.

Then last week, Roboto [$2.99] was released in the App Store, and after playing through the game it mostly delivers on all the promise that was expected from the trailer. The visuals and level design are the brightest points of Roboto, but a couple of technical shortcomings and less-than-ideal controls hold it back from true greatness. Fenix Fire is already in the process of addressing these issues though, and with just a small bit of post-release update love Roboto could be one of the finest platformers available on the entire iOS platform.

Right off the bat you'll notice that Roboto is simply stunning visually. The crisp and colorful graphics look fantastic on the Retina Display, and there are loads of little details that give the game a great sense of character. Gameplay is strictly on a 2D plane, but the entire game is rendered in 3D and the usage of the foreground and background give a great sense of depth as you play. Killing an enemy might shoot a gear right into the screen when it explodes, and background elements like huge wrecking balls will swing into the foreground, looking like they might burst right through the screen.

Roboto's moves consist of running left or right, jumping, hovering, and shooting. Holding down the jump button will cause Roboto to hover for a short period, a la Princess Toadstool in Super Mario Bros. 2. Roboto's actions will expend an energy meter at the top of the screen, which can be replenished by collecting various energy pickups spread throughout the levels. If you run out of energy and come across a point where you need to hover over a gap, you're pretty much screwed, so it's best to keep a close eye on your supply and not overuse any of your moves.

The real brilliance of Roboto lies in its level designs. They are each designed to be completed speed run style if you choose, but if you slow down and take your time there are plenty of items to collect or enemies to defeat. At the end of each of the 30 levels in the game, your score is tallied based on completion time, enemies killed, remaining energy, and whether or not you collected each of the 3 gears hidden in the level. This gives Roboto great replay value, as after merely completing a level it can be a nice challenge to go back and try to get 100% for everything and land a huge score. Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards adds to this as well.

My biggest gripe with Roboto is the absolutely terrible control stick used for moving your character in the game. The stick is seriously temperamental, and sometimes will drop whatever direction you're moving without you even realizing it. This can make the game infinitely frustrating, as you'll literally be hovering over a gap and will suddenly drop right into it due to no fault of your own. I've easily died more times from this one issue than from any enemy or challenge in the game. Luckily, Fenix Fire has posted on their Facebook page that an update will hit soon that adds separate left and right arrows for movement, which I think will be a much better option. But right at this moment, the control issue drives me absolutely bananas.

Another issue worth considering is that for such a graphically intense game, performance has been spotty for some players. It's not really consistent, either, as I've had almost no issues running the game on my iPhone 4, except for very minor stutters when a ton of things happen onscreen at once. Conversely, some members in our forums cannot even play the game at all due to an abysmal frame rate grinding things to a halt or the game simply crashing on them. The developers also mention on their Facebook that performance optimization is coming in an update as well, but again, as of this writing you may or may not have any luck getting the game to run consistently well, or at all.

Roboto has all the makings of a classic platforming game. It's one of the most visually impressive games I've seen in some time, and the gameplay itself is well designed and a lot of fun. If the controls and performance issues can be ironed out sufficiently, then Roboto will fall into the "must have" category of iOS platformers. Right now though, expect to be frustrated with the touchy control stick and potential for some technical hangups that might prevent your from playing the game. If you're on the fence, it might be worth waiting to see how the update resolves these issues.

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