Point-and-click beauty�Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: The Director's Cut won't be the last Broken Sword game to grace the App Store. Game creator Revolution has announced that its sequel � and an improved one to boot � will be hitting iOS�"very shortly."

Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror: Remastered, as its being called, will feature fully animated facial expressions, sexier visuals, Game Center support, Dropbox save integration for cross-platform saves, and the same awesome context-sensitive hint system that appeared in the Shadows of the Templars iOS. And as if that wasn't enough, it'll also hit the App Store with higher quality music and a new digital comic created by artist Dave Gibbons.

Here's a story breakdown via Revolution's official blog:

The story sees the return of George Stobbart and Nico Collard. While investigating a ruthless drug gang, journalist Nico Collard unexpectedly comes across an ancient artifact. Little does she know that the ornately carved obsidian stone will lead her, and her adventuring companion George Stobbart, into a mysterious escapade of intrigue and deceit, in which they must overcome powerful forces and antagonists who will stop at nothing to fulfill their evil ambitions.

No doubt this is exciting news for the droves you who loved the original Broken Sword as much as we did on our iPads and other iTouch devices. We'll be sure to get our hands on this one as soon as we can and relay the, hopefully, good word on it.

Just the other day, big news broke regarding the iOS port of the web-based game The Witcher: Versus broke: Chillingo, the publisher responsible dropping games like Toki Tori [$2.99 / Lite] and Minigore [$.99 / HD] on the App Store, will be handling the publishing duties.

In the press release announcing this move, CEO of Versus developer one2tribe, Wojciech Ozimek, spit HUGE game about the port. Here's what he said:

"Fans will still find epic duels in The Witcher: Versus; however we have revolutionized the gameplay for iOS devices so they quickly discover new possibilities and features unseen before.

Chillingo is the ideal partner to publish our game based on their proven track record � we wanted to ensure that our title is introduced properly with new consumers so they can discover the immersive, addictive adventure at their fingertips."

The Witcher: Versus is a menu-led fighting game. It's, essentially, turn-based�Mortal Kombat with UI-assigned actions. In the game, you pick attacks and defensive patterns in the game's interface while another person does the same. Fight outcomes are then decided based on what you picked versus what he picked. If you didn't block an attack, that's counts against your health and so on.

So, you have to wonder what the revolutionized gameplay in the iOS version is. I got in touch with Ozimek to see what was up. Turns out that The Witcher: Versus will be able to talk to the web-based version and vice versa. Good, strong cross compatibility is the big deal here.

"The key revolutionary solution is direct interaction between iPhone and Internet browser players (more platforms to come soon). In The Witcher: Versus you can freely browse the arena for challenges and fight players for both platforms using the same combat sequences, same items etc.

Furthermore, one you set up an account in the game you can use the same details to log into the game from both the iPhone and browser. All your character's stats, items, rank and other information will be stored and accessible no matter which platform you currently use"

If you're a fan of Versus, that's some pretty hip functionality. Games like these need a lot of attention from the player and we all don't sit in front of computers during the day. But do we always have our phones on us? Oh, yes, we do. Another huge benefit of this cross-compatibility is there will be a huge player base on day one from the existing web game. These are exciting times we live in.

Like many iOS games around this time of year, Zepto Lab and Chillingo are readying a holiday themed edition of everybody's favorite feed-a-candy-that-is-swinging-on-a-rope-to-a-tiny-monster game, Cut the Rope. Unlike some games, however, Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift will actually be a standalone game rather than an update to the existing one. Don't go throwing a fit just yet though, as you won't be required to make an additional purchase since Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift will be launching for free.�I had a chance to experience the game first hand at the EA Mobile event last week, and it's looking like another great edition in the epic struggle to feed Om Nom.

There will be 25 brand new levels to play through in Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift, and of course the entire game is drenched with the sights and sounds of Winter holidays (formerly known as Christmas). Most interesting, however, is the introduction of holiday socks (formerly known as Christmas stockings). These always come in pairs, and basically act as teleports for Om Nom's candy. Drop a piece into one and it will pop out of the other, giving you yet another way to transport candy to his gaping maw.

Besides the 25 new levels and the new teleporting socks game mechanic, Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift will also feature Game Center with new achievements to unlock. While the OCD part of me that hates having multiple icons for essentially the same games (I'm looking at you Robot Unicorn Attack series) wishes this was just an update, I really can't look a holiday gift horse in the mouth. Who knows, perhaps sometime down the line this edition will be added into the original Cut the Rope. Be on the lookout for Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift as it should be available in time for Christmas.

Indie development studio Manomio, whose proud motto is "in retro we trust," first grabbed our attention last summer when their Commodore 64 for iPhone [link] emulation app was rejected by Apple, putting some of the App Store's boundaries under the spotlight. Happily, though, C64 eventually got the green light and has been warming the hearts of retro gaming enthusiasts for just over a year, now. It's beautifully executed and is a favorite here at Touch Arcade.

Early this year, Manomio let us know that they had a whole lot more retro heart warming in store and shared details of their upcoming Amiga emulation system, now known as iAmiga, that would allow them to license and release various classic Amiga titles to be faithfully rendered on your iPhone screen. On hearing this we were � readers and editors alike � thrilled at the prospect of enjoying some of the true gaming gems that sit among the vast library of Amiga releases. A short tech demo video was provided in short order, showing two games in play, that served as quite a teaser, making us very anxious to get our hands on the studio's latest.

I'm happy to report that, yesterday, Manomio CTO Stuart Carnie was merciful enough to finally put an end to our suffering and provide us with an exclusive early build of the iAmiga system, packed with a bundle of sample games, to put through its paces. Yea, it's dirty work, but somebody's got to do it.

After spending some serious time with the iAmiga system, I can tell you that, for an early build, it is�truly impressive. While it's true that a few of the games that I tried glitched at some point, the vast majority ran perfectly and buttery smoothly on my iPhone 4. I'm talking about totally accurate sound, flawless graphics, glass smooth animation � just as if the games were being played on the standard config Amiga 500 that iAmiga emulates. Right now there are keyboard, mouse, and joystick input systems that can be activated with a tap, but (especially in the case of the keyboard) they are quick and dirty solutions that will be replaced with much more refined components before anything lands in the App Store, Stuart assures me. The overall portrait / landscape control mechanics, like those found in the studio's C64, will be preserved, however.

As for what's under the hood of the iAmiga system, Manomio has taken the UAE4All Amiga emulator and tied it to Stuart's own ARM assembly optimized, emulated 68000 CPU core. In the name of performance, the core relies upon the ARM7x architecture and, as such, only iPhone 3GS / 3rd gen. iPod touch devices and up can play. iPad support is coming, as well.

The original plan was to take this emulator and wrap it around various licensed Amiga titles and release them as stand-alone games. That's still part of the plan, but as certain App Store restrictions have loosened a bit of late, there will likely also be a sort of Amiga shell app released that that allows the stand-alone games to be played in a richer Amiga emulation environment that may offers things like OpenGL ES 2.0 shader effects to add scan-lines, CRT glare, and even TV-out and iPad play using a tethered iPhone as a controller. Just the kind of things that make die-hard retro nuts rather weak in the knees.

Stuart has given the okay for us to record and share sample gameplay footage of his emulation system, and so I've put together a fairly lengthy mix of 10 Amiga games that you just might remember.

The games shown in the video are the following, in order: Defender of the Crown, Battle Squadron, International Karate +, R-Type, R-Type II, Speedball, Stunt Car Racer, Shadow of the Beast, Virus, and Xenon 2: Megablast. It should be noted that this list does not represent the list of games that will necessarily be coming to the App Store through the iAmiga system � these are games simply used to test the system in its developmental state. (In fact, some of these I added from my own collection of Amiga disk images.)

As far as what we will be seeing in the way of iOS Amiga releases, Manomio has licensed various titles from Cinemaware, so Defender of the Crown, It Came from the Desert, Wings, and others are on the way. The studio is currently in licensing discussions with several other IP holders to secure additional titles for iOS release, including Factor 5 (Turrican I, II, III), The Bitmap Brothers (Xenon II: Megablast), Magnetic Fields (Supercars), Cope-Com (Battle Squadron), and Archer MacLean (IK+). Additionally, they are in talks with an unnamed major mobile publisher that's very interested in putting Amiga classics in the hands of today's gamers.

As you can see from the video, what we're in for is a wave of excellent games that are retro, true, but not so retro that they lack mainstream appeal. (Yes, the Amiga was that advanced 25 years ago.) This is big news, not only for iOS gamers, but for mobile gaming in general. In my personal experience, Amiga emulation has been quite a bit more difficult to manage than other age-old platforms on proper Macs and PCs due to the complexity of the original hardware. The thought of having easy access to these games in a tap-and-go fashion � even standing in line at the bank � is just amazing. I call this some of the very biggest news in iOS gaming that we've ever covered and can't wait until all of you out there get a chance to enjoy these great Amiga titles on your iOS devices, as well.

For readers unfamiliar with�the Amiga, it is a 16-bit computer released by Commodore in 1985. A far more complex system than the C64, the Amiga featured a powerful central processor (the same found in the early Macintosh), various custom co-processors, and a multitasking operating system that, together, enabled audiovisual feats previously unseen in a consumer system at that point in time. While it did not see enormous popularity in the United States, it was wildly popular in Europe and is considered by many to be one of the very best game platforms ever created. InfoWorld called the Amiga the "third milestone" in computing after the Apple II and IBM PC.

We'll be tracking Manomio's iAmiga project closely and will pass along any further details that emerge, as we get them.

Tabletop games are tactile beasts, but few rely on feedback as much as Jenga. You start the game with a block spire, perfect and tall. And then you chip at its fortitude as blocks are removed. The recipe for success, I think, is one part attention and two parts confidence. But both require touch. You need to feel that loose block and gauge it versus others before you pull it. Feedback.

This is why Jenga for iOS [$2.99 / HD] struck me as strange. Sure, you can approximate the actual game with a touch screen, but can the sheer physicality translate to digital? Because without it… well, you won't really have Jenga.

The answer lies somewhere between "yes" or "no." Video Jenga looks like the real thing and the blocks respond like the real thing. In fact, the game even tries to capture that hide-and-seek aspect of physical Jenga. When you touch a virtual block that is integral to a tower's stability, a red highlight appears, steering you clear. The loose blocks, however, are tinted in shades of white and pink � safe colors.

Pulling a block in Jenga matters. Once you identify a block you want to get rid of, you need to be slow and exact. The video variant approximates this via a bow-and-arrow-like interface in which the block is the arrow and you are the string. Pull it back softly and to the center of an invisible bow and then the block is removed.

Pull it too hard or grab a piece that matters and the tower crumbles.

What Jenga lacks is something that simply can't be translated to games: weight and substance. All the visual clues in the world can't replace what a Jenga feels like to play, and as a result, there's a brutal disconnect.

But that isn't to say that this is a wash. Jenga for iOS works and it provides a true enough interpretation of the tabletop game. What doesn't translate is reality and that's never, ever been recreated in a video game in any satisfactory regard. Even life simulations fail here.

Give Jenga a shot if you're hankering for the game without the mess, or actually, if you ever wanted to try a zany arcade version of the game. The game's "Arcade Mode" assigns point values and weird bonuses to colored blocks, which is a cool twist on an otherwise bland experience. There's also a pass and play mode, too, if that kind of thing is your bag.