Last month we previewed some screenshots from the upcoming real-time tactical strategy RPG Battleheart from developer Mika Mobile, of Zombieville USA [$1.99/Lite/HD] and OMG Pirates! [$1.99/Lite] fame. Battleheart is unique in that it uses an interesting line-drawing mechanic to control players during the real-time combat. You'll tap a character from your party to select them and then drag a line out to a location that you want them to move to, or drag to an enemy that you want that particular character to attack. With multiple enemies attacking at once, you can send off a character to attack one of them and while they are battling select another member of your party to take on one of the other enemies.

It sounds like an easy enough mechanic to use, and should provide for some frantic battling during the game. This first gameplay video of Battleheart does a great job at demonstrating the battles in action:

There are some other details about Battleheart that Mika Mobile has divulged in the upcoming games thread in our forums. You'll choose a party of 4 characters from a selection of 8 different classes. Each class will have a selection of abilities that you assign your character based on damage, survivability, control, or a mixture of abilities. In addition, there will be passive traits for your characters in what Mika describes as a simplified "talent" system. Each class will have about a dozen powers of traits of which you'll be able to select roughly half for each character.

Another interesting part about the party system is that while your party will consist of 4 active characters at a time, you will have the ability to keep additional characters in reserve as well as encounter new party characters throughout your journey that can be swapped in and out of your party. Only the active party members will gain experience and level up though, so it's mostly in your benefit to keep the same core group active in your party, but the option to mix things up will be there too. Enemies will include various melee, ranged, and support type enemies to battle, and bosses are something that is currently being worked on as well. The enemies will also encompass a simple priority system in how they attack you, so your most powerful and heavily armored party members will generally be the first ones they focus on.

Battleheart is currently about 99% finished, with all of the major functionality of the game already complete. Now Mika Mobile is just focusing on adding content like additional enemies and spells and polishing any rough edges in the game. They are shooting for a December release, though will only release the game once they feel like it's 100% complete and ready to go. Also of note, the game will feature universal iPad support and graphics made for the Retina Display. We're definitely looking forward to the game, as are many players in our forums, and we'll bring you any new info on Battlehearts as the game pushes towards its tentative December release.

Hidden object games aren't hard to find on the App Store. They range from the classics like Where's Waldo [$2.99 / HD] to games with crazily specific themes like Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan [99�] to games that straddle genre lines such as Gourmania [99� / Lite / HD] that mix in time management or other gameplay mechanics. Time Geeks: Find All! [99�] offers the same basic gameplay, wrapped around some absolutely fantastic pixel art that is dripping with pop culture references. (In fact, finding these pop culture references while you're playing makes the game even more fun.)

The core of the game is history mode, in which the time geeks in their strange time traveling helicopter visit 8 different locations on a mission for various objects. Playing the game in this mode involves the game showing you what you're looking for, at which point you have a set amount of time to find it in the cluttered game world. How quickly you find it determines how many stars you're awarded, and the location of each object is totally randomized, adding quite a bit of replay value usually not found in these kinds of games. Also, playing through history mode unlocks an array of simple but fun mini games and a few new game modes. You can even create your own island to find things on.

Something that sets Time Geeks apart from other hidden object games is the frantic pace the game sets for itself. In addition to the countdown timer constantly ticking, the screen is often cluttered with clouds, spaceships, and the time traveling helicopter that the geeks themselves are riding in. In order to get a clear view of the ground, you'll need to be constantly panning around and changing zoom levels, forcing you to play the game much differently than most of these types of games where you can take your time and just slowly scan the scenery.

If you've ever enjoyed a Where's Waldo book (or the game), or really any other hidden object game on the App Store, Time Geeks: Find All! is a game you need on your device. (And our forum members agree.) The pixel art is great, the graphics look amazing on the Retina Display, and the randomization of the target items in games means you can play through it again and again.

A couple of months ago we reviewed Big Bucket Software's The Incident [$1.99], a fun, pixel-art packed spin on climbing games. That same review explained the basics of the game:

The game is controlled by tilting your device right or left to move, and tapping on the screen to jump. You're able to move objects around by walking in to them, and sometimes you can flip falling junk around with a well timed jump underneath whatever you're trying to move. Seven levels are included in the game, starting with the street and ending in space. Each level consists of its own height goal, and you just need to stay on top of the falling pile of junk to climb upwards. This sounds simple enough, and the first few levels are fairly easy, but it doesn't take long until things are falling so fast that you will have your fingers crossed that a health powerup spawns or a checkpoint is near.

The main drawbacks of the original were lack of any kind of online scoring to speak of, no endless mode (an odd omission given the nature of the game), and even though it was universal, the tilt controls left a little to be desired on the iPad. All of these things have been fixed in this update. A new endless mode has been implemented, scores sync to Game Center, and they've even implemented a new controller mode to use your iPhone or iPod touch as a controller with the iPad:

There's also some new objects to avoid, the game has been enhanced for the Retina display, and there's even a whole pile of tweaks and fixes. Overall this is a fantastic update to an already great game. If you already own The Incident, download this ASAP. Otherwise, I'd seriously consider checking out our review and giving it a try.

Pac-Attack [$2.99] is a new puzzle game from Namco featuring everybody's favorite ghost-munching yellow circle. You may already be familiar with the game from its original SNES/Genesis release, or from one of the many Pac-Man compilations over the years. This new iOS version is a bit different from the original, featuring graphics that are more akin to the retro Pac-Man rather than the cartoonish look of the 16-bit offering and an online competitive mode through Facebook. Gameplay remains largely the same, however, and if you liked the original game then you should also like Pac-Attack on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Pac-Attack plays similar to Tetris or other block clearing puzzle games. Groups of three blocks consisting of solid pieces, ghosts, or Pac-Men will drop from the top of the playing field. Filling an entire row with solid blocks clears that row, and when you drop a Pac-Man block he'll make his way down into any available spaces in his path eating ghosts along the way. The solid blocks and ghosts both abide by gravity, so if there are openings below them they will fall down to fill the space, adding a bit of strategy to how you lay down blocks. After eating a certain number of ghosts a fairy will appear as a block at the top of the screen and will eliminate any ghosts in the eight rows directly below where you place her.

There are three main modes in Pac-Attack. The first is aptly named Pac-Attack mode, and is essentially an endless high score run which has you earning points by clearing the board as the game progressively speeds up, and if you blocks reach the top of the screen it's game over. Before starting the game you can choose one of four difficulties as well as the starting speed of the falling blocks, which is a nice touch.

Next up is Puzzle mode which features 100 different preset levels in which the goal is to clear all the ghosts on the board. The groups of blocks you receive are predetermined and must be placed in just the right way so that Pac-Man can run down the board and gobble up every ghost. This mode is a lot of fun, but can be incredibly hard as you get farther into the 100 levels. Finally there is Scramble mode, which is essentially a timed version of Pac-Attack mode that lets you compete with your Facebook friends.

Pac-Attack isn't an incredibly remarkable game, but it is well made and can be pretty fun if you enjoy Tetris-like puzzle games. The graphics are sharp and controls work really well, offering four different onscreen button layouts or a direct dragging option. The Puzzle mode is where I spend most of my time, and there are some fiendishly clever game boards contained in that portion of the game. The Scramble mode with Facebook Connect is nice, but I would have much preferred Game Center integration for high score tracking. If you have a soft spot for Namco's famous mascot, or have nostalgic feelings for the original game, then give Pac-Attack a look.

Tokyo's Apple Store was recently host to a "Game Nights at the Apple Store" event where EA presented a slideshow with a surprising amount of information regarding upcoming titles for both the iPhone and iPad. We've known some of these have been in the works for a while, but this is the first time for many that we've either seen any kind of screenshot or any solid release information. Japanese iPhone site 4gamer.net was in attendance, and provides the following photos of the slideshow:

First off, Reckless Racing, formerly known as Deliverace is a game we were following quite a bit before it got picked up to be published by EA. Since then, we haven't heard much about the game aside from wondering when it was finally going to be released.

According to the above slide, it's slated for this month. EA almost always releases their games on Thursdays, so we're likely either looking at a release late at night next Wednesday, or the following week. Next up is NBA Elite 11, a 5 on 5 fully licensed basketball game that takes advantage of the Retina Display:

A client for EA's free flash game portal pogo.com is also on its way. The slide mentions the game will be ad supported, with additional content available via a subscription. We'll have to see how this plays out on the device, and if the subscription they're referring to is Club Pogo or something that will be exclusive to the iOS app:

Much like Reckless Racing, I expect the above two games that EA has listed as October releases to pop up late next Wednesday or the following Wednesday. Moving on to November releases comes Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. We've been increasingly impressed with the Need For Speed series on the App Store, and I'm thinking Hot Pursuit will continue the tradition:

Next up is Pictureka!, an iPad game that sounds like a fast paced version of Where's Waldo? [$2.99 / HD]. It comes with pass and play local multiplayer for 2-4 people, and promises an art style that's both truly engaging and wacky. I'm not one to pass up on anything wacky:

Monopoly is finally coming to the iPad, which is allowing me to cross off yet another board game from my list of games I want on the device. The iPad exclusive features sound really rad, such as the auto-rotating tabletop mode… And I can't wait to see what in the world the new "cheating" mode entails. A mini game where you steal money from the bank while the rest of the players are getting drinks or going to the bathroom? We'll have to wait until December to find out:

EA Sports Active has been popular on consoles, and now is coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The following slide isn't really clear how involved the app will be, but hopefully it includes some cool GPS or accelerometer integration for tracking your performance instead of being yet another calorie/workout logging app. The features list upcoming post-launch gyro support, so we'll have to see how that all works:

Last, but certainly not least by any means is Dead Space 2. This confusingly named third person shooter is apparently going to bridge the story between Dead Space and its sequel, making this something more along the lines of Dead Space 1.5 than Dead Space 2. (This confusing sequel numbering reminds me of the Angry Video Game Nerd episode on the subject.)

I can see Dead Space being absolutely amazing on the iPad, and if they do it right, an iconic example of just how good and immersive an iPad game can be. It's not entirely clear from the slide if the game is going to be iPad exclusive, or for the iPhone as well since the header mentions the iPhone, but the bulleted list below mentions it being graphically enhanced for the iPad. Either way, Dead Space on the XBOX 360 was incredible, and I have a feeling it's going to be either just as awesome on iOS devices, or just as disappointing as Mass Effect Galaxy [$1.99]� I'm not sure there's much room in between.

Of course, we will post more as soon as we get any more information on any of these games.

[via 4gamer.net]

iPhone mega-publisher Chillingo has announced earlier today that their casual physics-based puzzler Cut the Rope [99�] has reached the one million paid downloads mark worldwide. This news comes just ten days after the game's release, and according to Chillingo this makes Cut the Rope the fastest selling iOS game to date.

Although they don't specifically mention details, it's assumed that the one million number is inclusive of both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game. But really, that's just nitpicking. The rate at which Cut the Rope has risen to the top is simply incredible. When we said during our original review that "Cut the Rope is one of those games that you could tell was going to be something special…" I don't think that we imagined it would be the kind of meteoric rise that we've seen in the past ten days.

Chillingo and developer ZeptoLab have noted that they are currently working on new updates for Cut the Rope that will add additional content to the game. Currently Cut the Rope is the #1 overall paid app in the US App Store, as well as most other major markets around the world. It rocketed into that spot within just the first couple days of release, knocking App Store phenomenon Angry Birds [99�] from its perch at the top. If you have yet to pick up Cut the Rope, we really cannot recommend it enough as it's one of the most engaging puzzle experiences on the App Store and suits the platform perfectly. We'll be keeping an eye out for the promised updates to the game, and are anxious to see just how far Cut the Rope can ride this current wave of success.