That's right, my retro-loving brethren, Bounty Bob has tunneled his way into the App Store thanks to Magmic's release of Miner 2049er [free] for the iPhone and iPad (universal).

For those unfamiliar, the original Miner 2049er is a platform game that was highly popular in the early '80s home computer scene. Released in 1982 by Bill Hogue through Big Five Software, the game puts you in the shoes of Bounty Bob on a mission to search through Nuclear Ned's abandoned uranium mines in search for the elusive Yukon Yohan. The treacherous mines, fraught with ladders, chutes and hydraulic scaffolds � not to mention the radioactive creatures that roam the levels � must be cleared by walking over every section of the platforms. There are 10 levels in all, which was quite a few, for its day. Miner 2049er was the inspiration for Matthew Smith's Manic Miner.

Magmic released a licensed, updated mobile version of the game in 2007, which received an�IGN Editor's Choice Award and won the Best Revival category in the Best Of 2007 IGN awards. It features both a Classic mode with graphics similar to the Atari 800 original, as well as a vertically-scrolling Modern mode with new, rather more detailed visuals along with certain new twists, like an elevator fashioned from a girder dangling from a crane. Miner 2049er for iOS is an adaptation of that release, featuring tilt controls as well as several types of multitouch options.

Miner 2049er for iOS is a free download that includes 4 of the Modern mode levels, only. An in-app purchase of $0.99 unlocks the 10 Classic levels as well as all 10 of the Modern mode levels.

The game plays pretty much as you may remember it � both in the Classic and Modern versions � but with iOS controls, and there you have a number of options. The default control mode is tilt, which can be switched over to a touch-to-go-there mode or a joystick-left or joystick-right mode. The controls work about as you'd expect, but I find joystick-left to work best. Magmic indicates that a soon to be released update will tweak controls a bit and make joystick-left the default control mode. An additional 20 levels "at-least" will be coming in an update for users who have purchased the level pack, as well.

Unfortunately, I experienced a bug on my iPhone 4S test device that Magmic hadn't yet seen reported: at the App Store password prompt to buy the additional levels, the keyboard would not pop-up, leaving me unable to do so on that device. It worked fine on the iPad 2, however. It's unclear right now whether this is a 4S-specific issue but, at any rate, the folks at Magmic say they will look into it right away.

For fans of the original, Miner 2049er is an instant grab. But, then, it's free � so it can't hurt to check it out if you're remotely intrigued. As mentioned, some things about the game are a bit shaky right now, but I feel that they will be worked out in short order, based largely on how responsive the folks at Magmic have been to my inquiries.

Miner 2049er developer Magmic also brought us The New York Times Crosswords Daily and Boulder Dash Rocks.

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Bumpy Road [$2.99] developer Simogo is peeling a corner of the curtain off its next big thing. In a new teaser trailer released this morning, viewers are shown the briefest of glimpses at an array of whimsical characters, clocks, and other items clad in crimson and plastered against a black background. In the text of the video, Simogo teases that this unnamed project will have rhythm, puzzle, and stealth elements.

On our interview podcast, Simogo's Simon Flesser mentioned this game, but he was careful with the few details he shared. Regardless, we came away from the whole of the conversation believing that the studio was primed for another App Store success. Simogo gets what makes an iPad and iPhone unique in the video games space, it understands simplicity, and it obviously has a ton of talent to spare. We're pretty stoked for this � whatever it turns out to be.

My guess? We're looking at game where you'll use music to guide an avatar sneakily through some sort of construct. Like, Metal Gear Solid Meets Rock Band. Or maybe this is actually Simogo's take on�Waterworld 2 and I totally convinced Simon to make the game happen.

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Rovio Mobile is setting its phasers to "tease" this week. After the release of a Halloween-themed video suggesting a new bird or something would be coming to Angry Birds Seasons [$.99 / Free /�HD], it has released an equally suggestive image of what looks to be a new bird on its Facebook page. "The Angry Birds have a big surprise for you," the photo posting exclaims, somehow. "Can you guess what it is," it asks, just before it also tasks users with sharing the photo with their friends in order to unlock more hints.

Yes, this is the picture. It's really big.

It's not just us who think a new bird is on the way � the posting is brimming with fans who agree that a new character is coming. But before we jump off speculation cliff with our safe bet, we should note that it's totally possible a new enemy-type or pig could happen, too, in any iteration of the stupid-popular game. Sure, it's unlikely considering the Halloween tease, but hey, crazier things have happened. Like the self-flushing toilet. Who saw that coming? The answer is no-one, I think. Except the dude who invented it. Good dude, I bet. Probably a little messy.

Anyway, one of the Earth's most popular franchises might be receiving a new character. I'm guessing you're already grumbling in the comments column, but as an FYI here: a lot of people really care about this stuff and it's not like Angry Birds is a bad game. It's pretty fun.

[Via App Advice, Pocket Gamer]

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There has been a rush to get casual versions of more complex game-types onto the App Store since it launched, and in the case of BlowFish Studios' and Crescent Moon Games'�Siegecraft [99�], the goal seems to have been to create a casual RTS game with Angry Birds-esque physics.

You take control of one of two weapons throughout the campaign, a catapult and a crossbow. To shoot, you need to slide your finger to move and aim the crossbow, or touch and pull back to shoot the catapult. This works considerably better on an iPad than an iPhone since you have more room to pull back and aim. You'll have a set number of tasks to complete throughout the campaign, but most fall in two categories: attack and defend. That said, you'll always essentially be defending, since you can't move your weapons. Even the attack portions mostly just require you to kill off enemies so your soldiers, which you don't control, can get through.

That's the basic essence of the game and it continues throughout with little deviation. As you progress, you'll unlock coins to purchase weapon and ammo attachments�via in-app purchase or campaign-grinding, but the core of the game doesn't shift, nor does the strategy you need to employ to win. You can, for all intents and purposes, think of this as a slightly more strategic Angry Birds and you'll get the general vibe. You'll get six campaigns from three different races, but they're all the same when it comes to how you'll be playing.

The nice part is, you'll be able to play any level in any campaign at any time. While some of them are easier if you buy weapon upgrades, they're all available to you at any time. The downside is that the menu screen is a bit confusing and it takes a few more taps than needed to get back to your place in the campaign. It also means it's not a linear experience, so despite there being words like "races" and "campaign," it's not a story-driven affair.

It's a simple game with simple ambitions, but it can get�repetitive�quickly because it never feels like you're progressing through it.�That doesn't mean the game doesn't get challenging as it moves on, because it certainly does, but the basics of the level design and the skills you need to win aren't as diverse as they could be.

There are also a few iOS 5 specific features, including cloud saving and online multiplayer. The cloud saving only marks stars received and doesn't seem to transfer coins earned as far as I can tell, which makes the feature a bit of a bust, since that's the only reason you'd really want to hop across devices unless you're concerned with your place on the leaderboards. The multiplayer isn't exactly what you'd expect from playing the campaign � where the single player is real-time, the online component is turn-based and asynchronous. This makes for much slower gameplay, but it also means you can pick up and play at any time without worrying about staying around the whole time.

More interesting is the iPad specific, single-screen multiplayer, which is far more entertaining. It takes the simple gameplay from the single player and pits you against someone on the opposite side of the screen. It doesn't take much to get into it and it's incredibly entertaining for short bursts of time. This is the one facet where it's nice the gameplay doesn't require a lot of headwork because anyone can start playing immediately, simply point and shoot and you're done.

The game looks great, with a few added tweaks to the graphics for iPad 2 owners, and it's nice it's available in one single universal version. Even on older devices, the visuals are well done and although the areas are small, the scope is presented in a way you feel like the battles are larger than they really are.

By the end of it all, Siegecraft feels like it could have been much more. While the easy to pick up and play gameplay is nice, I can't help but think there was more that could have gone into the campaign to create a better sense of progression. Where you start is essentially the same place as where you'll end up, which is too bad, because the core of the game is interesting enough to warrant a look.

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