Developer PopCap has just dropped the price of their wildly popular zombie defense game Plants vs. Zombies down to 99� for a limited time. This is the first time this game has ever seen a price drop from its normal price of $2.99. Plants vs. Zombies debuted on the App Store back in February and immediately skyrocketed into the top 10 overall paid apps list, and hasn't dropped out of the top 50 ever since.

Chances are that there aren't that many of you out there who don't already own Plants vs. Zombies, based on the incredible sales numbers, but for those of you who have been on the fence this whole time now is your opportunity to pounce on this game. If you aren't sure what the heck Plants vs. Zombies is, then check out our extensive review of the iPhone version from when the game was released back in February.

<!-- PHP 5.x -->

Back in March of last year Fish Labs rolled out their space trading title Galaxy on Fire, giving folks like me who missed out on the 1984 classic Elite a chance to make a name for themselves out there among the stars. It's a great game that debuted with some difficulty issues, but they were resolved in short order and its universe has been enjoyed by many. Tonight, the studio released a new challenge for space jockeys everywhere, the sequel Galaxy on Fire 2 [App Store] for the iPhone, with an iPad version to follow close behind.

The game places you in the role of space fighter pilot Keith Maxwell who encounters a space anomaly and ends up adrift through the galaxy, to be rescued by a benevolent miner who helps you get back on your feet. You'll quickly find you've not only been transported to to the other side of the galaxy, but that you've woken up 35 years in the future. Kind of like Sigourney Weaver.

Your goal is to get back to your home system on the other side of the galaxy, but achieving that goal is going to take some time, and what better way to fill that time than by taking on various missions across the region's 20 star systems. You start out with a relatively weak, modestly outfitted ship, but there's money to be made and upgrades to be had along the way. Jobs ranging from cleaning up space garbage to mining asteroids to transporting goods to hunting pirates to rescuing kidnapped officers can be had in the various stations in each system on the vast star map. And, if that seems too harrowing, money can be made in the simple buying and selling of simple commodities from one station to another. Like father of the genre Elite, it's a game you can take at your own pace.

Each star system consists of a handfull of planets, each with a space station � there are 100 in all � complete with a hanger in which to buy and sell goods as well as a Space Lounge. In each station's lounge can be found individuals of many sorts, most of whom are eager to do business with you. Some want to send you to a neighboring planet to do their bidding, while others seek to send you to other systems much father afield, requiring a multi-leg journey across the star map, involving jumpgates that can send you to strange and distant systems. And all this against the backdrop of the tyranny of the evil alien race known as the Voids.

Seeing real success in the game required careful ship and equipment choices. For instance, some ships offer up the valuable contents of their cargo holds when destroyed, but without a pricey tractor beam, you can't touch them. The same goes for asteroid mining � without the proper gear, that booty is beyond your reach. It's all about successful missions and wise income management.

The game offers a choice of virtual stick or tilt-based controls with contextual action buttons to fire primary and secondary weapons. In addition, there are two view modes: standard and free view, which allows for swipe-based, any-angle� camera controls of the battlefield action with pinch and spread zoom support. The free view mode is an opportunity to partake in some real eye-candy, allowing you to contrive cinematic aspects through which to view the game's impressive starfields and volumetric dust clouds which take advantage of the iPhone 4's Retina display, where available. (And a different vantage can actually be helpful in a heated battle against a swarm of space pirates.) An option setting offers three different detail settings, the default being the highest on our iPad test system.

Hitting various gameplay milestones (returning to base nearly mangled, talking to more than 20 traders, etc.) will trigger in-game achievements, which are tied to integration with both OpenFeint and Apple's Game Center.

While I enjoyed the time I spent with the original Galaxy on Fire, the sequel feels a more well-rounded and immersive. More polished. Everything just kind of flows together more smoothly this time around. And, while I've spent a significant amount of time with a pre-release build, I've really only scratched the surface of the gameplay the title has to offer.

The space trading / commerce genre is certainly not a sparsely populated one out there across the many available gaming platforms. And in the App Store, Fish Labs isn't the only gig in town. But of the games of this sort I've spent time with, Galaxy on Fire 2 is the most approachable and satisfying on the platform, so I highly recommend it.

<!-- PHP 5.x -->

This isn't the first time that Fish Labs has dropped the price of Galaxy on Fire 3D [Free] to free, so if you missed it last time, here is your chance again. Galaxy on Fire is a space shooter that was really impressive when it was first released, but hasn't exactly aged well compared to similar recent game releases such as Gameloft's Star Batallion [$6.99] or even Freeverse's Warpgate [$4.99 / Lite / HD]… But it's still pretty awesome. If you're looking for something to do while you wait for Galaxy on Fire 2 to show up on your country's App Store, get crackin' on playing the original.

If you're in New Zealand, or other areas of the world where it's currently Wednesday, Galaxy on Fire 2 is already available for the equivalent of $6.99 USD. We'll have a review ready tonight after the game hits the US App Store at 11:00 PM EST tonight, but in the meantime you can check out the thread in our forums where anticipation has been growing all day.

<!-- PHP 5.x -->

Ever since Apple eased up their App Store approval guidelines, all kinds of crazy things have been getting released like the fabled GV Mobile+ [$2.99] and other apps that have been stuck in approval purgatory for months (or even years). Some emulators slipped through the cracks either by appeasing Apple's wishes such as Commodore 64 [$4.99] and others that were inexplicably approved, then immediately pulled like Nescaline. Late last night iDOS [99�] was released. Based on DOSbox, an open source DOS emulator, iDOS is a universal app that has PC keyboard support, mouse support, multiple screen modes, and more.

Forum member Menneisyys posted the following two screenshots of iDOS running Spellcasting 101 both on his iPad and on his 4th generation iPod touch (Yes, it even runs at Retina Display resolution.):

iPad left, iPod touch right. Click for full size.

Currently we've got a fairly active thread on our forums with people trying various games running in the emulator and there's another thread on the DOSPAD forums with even more compatibility testing going on. We're going to have our own retro fetishist Blake Patterson take a closer look at iDOS very soon, so if you've got any questions or want to see any specific games tested that aren't mentioned in the threads I linked, drop a comment and we'll try to include it in our followup post.

In the meantime, if you're even remotely interested in emulating old DOS games, this is 99� you need to spend. While iDOS technically seems to comply with all the new approval guidelines, it's hard to say whether or not this was an accidental approval or if iDOS truly does have the blessing of Apple. In any case, I'd download it now in the interest of being safe rather than sorry if the powers that be change their mind.

UPDATE: Just for an idea of exactly how deep the iDOS rabbit hole goes, and what the emulator is actually capable of: After blasting this link out to everyone I know, my friend Sam successfully installed Windows 3.0 and is currently playing Windows Solitaire on his iPad:

This is unreal. The capabilities of this emulator is insane.

Update 2: Mark just posted the following video in our comments of him running Space Quest:

Update 3: It seems that Sierra adventure games work great in the emulator, here's a screenshot of Freddy Pharkas � Frontier Pharmacist sent to us by Fish of Four Player Coop.

Update 4: Assuming your monocle hasn't blown completely off your face yet, forum member Audioteknika just got Warcraft II running:

Update 5: Aaaaannnd just like that it's gone.

Update 6: Even though it may seem like the fun is over, if you're a jailbreaker you can download this same emulator for free. It's called DOSPAD and here's how to get it. Also, just for fun, one last screenshot of The 7th Guest running from a CDROM disc image, complete with music:

<!-- PHP 5.x -->

G5 Entertainment has recently released a new update to the iPhone/iPod touch version of their transport management simulation game Virtual City [$4.99/Lite]. In our original review of Virtual City last month, we found it to be a well crafted simulation that required keen skill and strategy to complete the many scenarios contained in the game.

A couple weeks ago, Virtual City HD [$9.99/Lite] launched for the iPad, and in addition to offering higher resolution graphics and a reworked UI to suit the larger screen it also boasted a sandbox mode with 5 different maps where you were free to build and maintain your own city from the ground up. This latest update to the iPhone version of Virtual City adds the same sandbox mode and 5 maps of its iPad counterpart. In addition, there is now Game Center integration and improved Retina Display support (as originally Virtual City only had partial Retina Display graphics).

If you own Virtual City then make sure to grab the latest update to take advantage of these new features. While the $2.99 introductory price for the game is now over, based on the many positive impressions in our forums the game is still a great buy at its current price of $4.99, and there are many happy customers of the iPad version in that forum as well.

<!-- PHP 5.x -->