Developer Halfbrick Studios has just released another significant update to their endless running high score game Monster Dash [99�]. The Australian dev has noted that they are shooting for a fairly frequent update schedule to Monster Dash, in similar vein to the treatment that their other top-selling game Fruit Ninja [99�/HD] has received. The first Monster Dash update was released at the end of August, and included a motorcycle powerup that protagonist Barry Steakfries could collect to plow over the countless monster enemies. In addition to the motorcycle, a number of gameplay tweaks and a couple new achievements were a part of the last update that we posted about when released.

This newest update takes things even further than the previous one did. An entirely new level, Yeti Heights, is now a part of the regular rotation. This snow themed level features abominable snowmen climbing up the walls in the foreground to reach the path of Barry while a twisted rendition of Jingle Bells plays in the background. Along with this new level comes a new rocket launcher weapon that can lock on to enemies and does splash damage to anything around the point of impact. The rocket launcher can be a bit tough to use early on in the game, as you aren't moving fast enough to get out of the way of the rocket's explosion. But further on when the game is moving at a fast clip, it can prove an invaluable weapon.

The final big addition to Monster Dash in this update is the inclusion of Apple's Game Center social network for leaderboard and achievement tracking. As with other games that had previously used OpenFeint for these purposes, the Game Center works in harmony with OpenFeint and you're given the option of which service will be the dominant one when initially starting the game. All of your previous scores and achievements will automatically transfer over to Game Center and you can switch between either service at any time from the About screen at the title.

As a small word of caution, since Game Center is still such a new service it can act a little wonky sometimes in certain games. When I first fired up the new update I had trouble logging in to Game Center and getting it to recognize Monster Dash as a Game Center compatible game. Eventually it did work after multiple tries, and while the achievement and high score transfer worked just fine it seems that my friends and recent games list in Game Center have been reset for some reason. A couple players in our forums have experienced problems as well, though it seems most people have been able to play the updated version without a hitch.

I wouldn't let these minor issues deter you from downloading the new update though, as the benefits that it adds outweigh any fussing that may need to be done to get Game Center to work. If you have yet to pick up Monster Dash, make sure to check out our original review as it's definitely one of the best endless running style games in the App Store and we can't wait to see what's in store for future updates.

Matt Rix's Trainyard [99� / Free] has actually been available on the App Store for quite a while now, but it wasn't until the recent Retina Display update that it popped up on my radar. Trainyard is a puzzle game which, as the title hints, involves routing trains around.

The games begin with a long tutorial (almost too long) that goes over all the basics of the game. In a nutshell, everything takes place on a 7�7 grid which begins filled with two or more train stations, one that the train comes from and one that the train needs to go to. Initially routing these trains around only involves drawing track between each color coordinated station, but before long you'll be routing multiple colored trains from the same originating stations through various switched pieces of tracks to several different stations. Some puzzles even involve combining trains. For example, one of the levels has a red and blue origin station and a purple destination station. On this puzzle, you need to lay track so the trains collide (oddly enough making one purple train instead of crashing), then send it to the purple station.

All of the elements of Trainyard go together very well, and the variety of the different included puzzles is impressive. What I like most about it though is that unlike a lot of puzzle games where there is usually only one solution (or a slightly more difficult solution to collect whatever bonuses some games have), many Trainyard levels have hundreds. I know this because of yet another clever feature in the game that allows you to submit your solution to an online solution database that shows all the unique solutions to each of the levels that have been submitted. This is useful not only if you're stuck, but also if you beat a level and want to see if someone did it more efficiently (or in some cases, much more convoluted).

Trainyard is currently the target of a limited time 99��sale, and I really recommend picking up the game if you've been looking for another great puzzler to sink some time in to. Unlike many train routing games, Trainyard doesn't require fast reactions at all, making it perfect for even the most casual gamers. Also, if you're interested in a behind the scenes look at what went in to Trainyard Matt posted an incredibly comprehensive blog post on his adventures in game development that's also worth checking out.

Hexage has been responsible for a number of cool iPhone games including the puzzler Totemo [99� / HD] which we enjoyed quite a bit in our review and Radiant [99� / HD]. We've got some details on their next title, EVAC, and I really can't wait to give it a try.

EVAC is a maze game that incorporates elements from several genres. You play as a bright pink square set in a Pac Man-like maze filled with aggressive red squares that will stop at nothing to pursue you through it. From the sounds of it, levels can be completed in a number of different ways� from playing stealthily and avoiding the red squares entirely, trapping them, flat out destroying them, or using other tactics. Online leaderboards are included, and the game is coming loaded with a soundtrack of electronic music by Kubatko.

The trailer looks awesome:

If all goes as planned, EVAC will be released sometime next month. I really like the art style of the game, and really look forward to playing it.

Typically I'm not a big fan of the sim-management type games. Back in the day I was hopelessly addicted to SimCity on the SNES, but future iterations of that game and of similar franchises just never appealed to me. They all seemed a bit too complicated, or required a hectic style of time and resource managing that turned me off to them, and nothing has quite captured the particular mix of simplicity and subtle depth from that classic SNES title. That changed yesterday when I discovered Kairosoft's Game Dev Story [$3.99] on my iPhone. It offers a sim-management experience that's not overwhelmingly complex, but at the same time has a lot of different elements that meld together well to create compelling gameplay. Plus, it's just a ton of fun to create your own games and see them go on to be huge successes (and sometimes total flops).

In Game Dev Story you'll play the president of a fledgling game development company as you direct your crew of designers, artists, and coders in an effort to create a string of successful video games over a 20 year time period. Beyond just making games, you'll need to grow your own brand name by running a game convention booth, attending awards shows, advertising, and managing an ever-changing fan base. As your company expands, you'll have the opportunity to move into larger offices and hire a bigger team of employees, all of whom can be leveled up and trained (at the expense of �higher salaries) so as to create better games. If you really become a big company, and have employees with the right skill sets, you can even create your own console and compete with the well established big boys in the hardware game.

To start off, though, you're just a tiny company with a few employees and a small amount of start-up capital to work with. You can choose to make games for home consoles or PCs, but each console requires you to purchase a license before you can develop games for it. To earn some extra funding for licenses or projects, outside contract work can be accepted. It's not the most exciting work, but it will pay the bills and help you earn enough money to make games of your own. Once you have the money to make a game, you'll choose which platform, genre, and style of game you want to make. Your own employees can be used to create the story, graphics, and sound, or you can source out that work to other professionals for a fee. A number of factors can affect how your game sells, including your fan base, what time of year you release (holiday season is best), and how the media reviews the game.

One aspect I especially liked about Game Dev Story is how it parodies every major console released for the last 20+ years, and loosely mimics their individual success levels. So when Intendro introduces the first portable game system the Game Kid, you can bet it will be a really popular system to support given the Game Boy's history. However, when they come out with the newfangled Virtual Kid, with its headache-inducing 3D goggles, you'll see it disappear from the market fairly quickly. These are the types of things that you must consider before shelling out the dough for a console license, although one extremely popular game can rewrite the history of a failed console as well.

While the gameplay in Game Dev Story is fun and engaging, the overall presentation falls a bit flat. The 16-bit style pixel graphics are charming and certainly get the job done, but they are a far cry of what is capable from even the oldest iOS devices. The screen size is also oddly small, with plenty of wasted space on the top and bottom. It almost seems as if it's a port from a different device, like an older smartphone or PDA, but I couldn't find any information to that effect. The menu navigations work just fine and the game is still very easy to play, it just seems strange. Another minor annoyance is that despite having an in-game manual hardly any of the game mechanics are explained very well, although the game is simple enough that you catch on after playing for a bit.

Game Dev Story won't impress you with stellar visuals or an iPhone specific feature set, but it is a well thought out and thoroughly enjoyable time sink, and is even more intriguing if you're familiar with the last few decades of video game history. It took me roughly five hours to play through the 20 year career of my company, and at the end of that time your highest selling game and biggest profits serve as the final score, though you can keep playing beyond that time period indefinitely if you choose. There really is just something about this game that keeps me coming back for more over and over again. Further impressions and help discussion are taking place in our forums, and if you've ever had a hankering to create your own video games then Game Dev Story is one you should definitely check out.

The New York Times confirms rumors that started last week that iPhone game company ngmoco was on the verge of acquisition. Japanese company DeNA will indeed be acquiring iOS game developer ngmoco:

DeNA, the Japanese social gaming giant, said Tuesday that it would acquire Ngmoco, a Silicon Valley iPhone game developer, for $400 million � one of the largest deals ever involving an iPhone application developer and another sign that the iPhone is fast becoming the hottest gaming device on the market.

Ngmoco had previously received about $40 million in funding throughout its existence. The acquisition was approved by DeNA's board and is expected to officially close in the next couple of weeks.

DeNA founder Tomoko Namba cites "social gaming" as the big tide in gaming and is seeking to expand into the western market with the acquisition.

Ngmoco was founded in 2008 just as the App Store launched. We first reported on the company's founding back in July, 2008. Ngmoco was responsible for some of our favorite early iOS titles including Rolando, Dropship, WordFu and more. Recently, however, they've transitioned into freemium/social gaming with titles like We Farm, We City, and Touch Pets Dogs.

Retro-inspired Fumes Stunt Racer arrived in the App Store this evening. The Stunt Car Racer inspired title just appeared for $1.99.

The game offers 15 different tracks as well as support for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch as well as Retina Display support. A full list of features include:

• Classic stunt racing action
• Fifteen tracks, ranging from Easy to Hard difficulty
• Controllable and rewarding driving physics
• Great racing atmosphere
• Polished and responsive Touch and Tilt driving controls
• OpenFeint integration for online leaderboards
• Universal binary supports iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
• Retina Display support