The match three section is arguably the most overstuffed virtual aisle of the App Store, second only to Doodle games, and more recently, Angry Birds knock-offs. Regardless, developers keep making them, I keep trying them, and rarely do I find one that I'd play over match three staples like Bejeweled 2 [99�]. Dungeon Raid [$2.99] is a rare exception to this, as it not only has solid matching gameplay with a clever twist, but it also has entirely too many things that I like in video games, making it incredibly hard to put down.

Dungeon Raid begins with you inputting your character name and selecting a difficulty. Don't worry if you can't come up with a good name, the game will suggest tons of random names that fit wonderfully in to any fantasy setting. From there, you're greeted with one of several random introductions to the game explaining how it is that your character has come across this dungeon. These intros are awesome, so I highly recommend actually reading them instead of instinctively mashing buttons to make large blocks of text go away. (I think we're all guilty of this on some level.)

The matching component of the game is quite similar to Azkend [$2.99 / Lite] (Which is another fantastic matching game.) in that instead of swapping pieces around like Bejeweled, you draw chains of similar blocks with your finger. These chains can go any direction, including diagonally, often resulting in massive board clearing matches. In fact, with only five types of blocks, huge chains are quite common.

By now you might be scratching your head wondering why I'm piling shovels full of praise on to a matching game with a matching component that's so simple that it usually doesn't take much skill to clear half the board in one move. Well, it's because of the layer on top of all this that makes Dungeon Raid the game that stole my entire day today. You see, each match you make serves a purpose, and deciding what you're going to match when seems to require quite a bit of strategy, and often some luck, as you never know what's going to replace the blocks you just cleared.

Strategy comes in to play because while Dungeon Raid may initially appear to just be a simple matching game, there's a fairly complex subset of RPG elements that drives everything you do. Enemies are represented by skulls on the game board. "Killing" an enemy involves matching skulls with enough swords to total up more damage than their hit points (which is displayed to the right of each enemy). After every match, every enemy on screen damages you, and special enemies also appear randomly which have increased hit points and other special abilities. One such ability involves their attacks "poisoning" you, at which point you take constant damage until you match healing potions. (Matching healing potions, as you can probably guess, heals you.)

Each skull cleared awards experience. Earn enough experience, and you level up, getting the option of increasing two of your character's attributes. These range from random active special abilities usable with cooldowns, or just flat out increasing your statistics which passively boost how much you're healed, how much damage you do, and things like that. Matching shields repairs your armor, and adds to a upgrade bar. Once your armor upgrade bar is full, you're given the option of improving one of your items, imbuing it with magical properties to increase your health, experience earned, or other effects. Having your armor repaired reduces the damage you take from enemies, so it's important to keep collecting shield blocks regardless.

The last type of block is the coin block. Clearing coins adds cash to your coin purse, and with enough coins saved up you're able to buy brand new items with better statistics than your old items. Also, matching health potion blocks when your health is full does nothing, and matching swords by themselves without skulls also serves no benefit aside from clearing our unneeded sword blocks from the game board. Matching more than three of a particular block gives a bonus, potentially allowing you to collect more of whatever resource it is your matching.

The game is over when your hit points reach zero, and while Dungeon Raid initially starts fairly simple, the more you play the more intense it gets. For instance, when faced with an entire game board full of skulls (often with special enemies as well) and you're forced to figure out whether you've got enough health to handle taking damage for a few turns while you clear blocks to set up a massive skull-slaying chain. Alternatively, you could dispatch the skulls in smaller groups, which potentially would allow you to take less damage and sneak some healing if you're lucky enough for the skull blocks to be replaced with healing potions. Or, assuming they're not on cooldown, you could bust out whatever special abilities your character learned while you leveled up.

Each play through is different too, as the items, abilities, and equipment upgrades you're offered are completely random. One game it might make more sense to play as more of a wizard-type character, focusing on training up active abilities with each level. Alternatively, on another play of the game you might find yourself constantly increasing the raw statistics of your character, focusing on damage, defense, or a balance of the two. Some abilities seem quite powerful, such as one that increases the effectiveness of healing potions. If you have access to this ability early in the game, it can substantially alter how you choose your matches since you can let skulls stay on the game board a little longer as completely healing yourself is as simple as popping that ability off and matching some potions.

The variety and depth of gameplay is just insane for a game, which at the end of the day, is just a simple match three with an entirely too clever RPG layered on top of it. Hell, I don't think I've ever been able to bust out a 1,000 word review on a match three, and that's saying something. Dungeon Raid is an effortless recommendation. It boasts a tutorial that is incredibly approachable, making the game appropriate for even the most casual of puzzle gamers, while offering a top-end that's full of strategy, a bit of luck, and an entire trail of character development decisions. In other words, download this game now.

The watchful european eyes of the ElectricPig recently spotted an Angry Birds [99� / Free] cameo on German TV. The 5:21 long video features a number of interesting things. First off, they visit the home offices of Rovio, showing some behind the scenes looks at how Angry Birds levels are made and they even revealed that the Angry Birds team is now 40 people strong. Following that, there's a brief segment on casual gaming with appearances from both Doodle Jump [99�] and Cut the Rope [99� / Lite]. Around the 4:20 mark, the new Angry Birds Seasons [99� / Free] Valentines Day update is revealed.

Now it isn't exactly a surprise that Rovio is updating Angry Birds Seasons with a Valentines Day levels, but it is neat to see a sneak peek of what these levels will look like beforehand. Also, while I knew the Android version had ads, I had no idea they were so obtrusive. It really pays to have an iOS device sometimes.

[via Pocket Gamer]

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Someone at the top of a large company believes consumers are dropping their PC and gaming handhelds in favor of their mobile phones.

To get just a tad more specific, Capcom is the latest publisher starting to buy into this, and as MCV reports, is funneling money into several iPhone gaming projects. The kicker is this little wrinkle: Capcom sees smartphones as universal gaming platforms. Everyone has one!

"The casual gamer that used to play on the PC and the hardcore gamer that used to play on a dedicated gaming portable now plays on their smartphone," Capcom Interactive's president Midori Yuasa told MCV in a recent interview.

"The iPhone and larger smartphone markets are extremely important to Capcom as, like no device before, smartphones have the potential to become a universal game platform.

"We have a lot of stuff on the horizon for both hardcore and casual gamers, so 2011 is shaping up to be huge on Capcom's mobile front."

Look, the Nintendo DS is huge, both worldwide and in the US, and while sales might be dragging of late, there's a lot, and I do mean a lot, of Nintendo DSes out in the wild. In fact, the DS has sold so well over its life span that publisher Nintendo is preparing to give consumers a new handheld called the Nintendo 3DS later this year. It wouldn't make this business decision if the cold, hard reality wasn't that people still want handhelds.

But Yuasa does have a point. I mean, where the hell is your PSPGo? It's definitely not in your pocket like your iPhone is right now. And really, that's the most compelling argument when it comes to smartphone gaming trumping traditional handheld gaming. As my brother Eli says, the best handheld gaming platform is the one that's always in your pocket, similar to how the best camera is the one that you have on you when you need it.

We're still in a period where no one is sure what'll beat what, but I think, for once, that this statement isn't as insane as it once was � and it's even less insane when you stop to consider just how much awesome is available on the App Store for pennies compared to the recently announced 3DS game pricing ranging from $40-50.

[via MCV]

Most everyone who owns an iOS device has heard of Fruit Ninja by now. The definitive fruit slicing game debuted in April of last year, quickly rose up the ranks, and has maintained a steady position in the top of the App Store charts ever since. Fruit Ninja has been downloaded and enjoyed by millions of people, but I don't think any of those millions have taken their passion for the game quite as literally as the comedy group The Misunderstoods.

As Kotaku has pointed out, two members of that group have decided to try and find out what it would be like to be a "fruit ninja" in real life. Or perhaps they just couldn't afford an iOS device and wanted to join in on the fun. Either way, the results are pretty hilarious.

Note: Both of these videos contain shirtless dudes and a couple of naughty words. Either of these things may not be suitable for your current viewing location. You have been warned.

Oh, hey there, pretty funny right? Since you seem to have made it past our first set of warnings, let me offer up one last one for you: Kids, don't try this at home. You don't need to be messing around with knives, destroying your mother's groceries and making a mess in the garage. Leave that to the professionals. For a safe way to be a fruit ninja, grab a copy of the game if you haven't already, as it's one of the most solid purchases you can make on the App Store.

[Via Kotaku]

Last week indie developer James Gamble released his newest iOS game SpikeDislike [99�], and I've been enjoying it a lot ever since (while simultaneously beating my head against the desk due to its difficulty). The goal is to move your bouncing ball to the right as far as possible while avoiding an endless series of spiky objects. As the name implies, you dislike these spikes, as hitting just one will instantly end your run. SpikeDislike is a game that is painfully simple to play, incredibly difficult to master, and even harder to put down.

Your ball will bounce automatically at its own pace, and holding down on the screen will advance it to the right. Spikes are set at various heights throughout the level, and each one you successfully jump over (or bounce under) will net you a single point. A gauge at the top will slowly decrease after clearing a spike, and quickly jumping additional spikes before the gauge runs out adds a combo to your score. Play continues in this fashion as you see how high of a score you can rack up before fatally running into one of the spikes.

It's so simple, yet strangely compelling. The single control mechanic works perfectly, so you always have good control of you ball. The difficulty lies in the risk/reward factor of the combo meter. Playing it safe and carefully jumping each spike one by one will ensure you live a long time, but you'll never approach a meaningful score in this fashion. Trying to move at a brisk pace so as to keep your combo going is what this game is all about, and you can reach some pretty insane scores if you manage to keep it up.

SpikeDislike originally launched with just a single game mode, but has already been updated with a lot more options. You can now choose from 3 overall difficulties, as well as 3 different speeds for the movement of your ball. There's the choice of two different paths of spike placements or the option of having them be randomly placed. Each combination of these options has its own high score associated with it, too. Additionally, there are 4 different graphical skins for the game, which are all various types of retro goodness.

SpikeDislike is one of those games that is frustratingly fun. Every time you die you know exactly what you did wrong, and it's both quick and easy to jump in and give it another shot making it hard to quit playing. The number one thing this game is missing is online scores, as it's just tailor-made for such a thing, and hopefully the developer can add Game Center functionality in the future. He is active in our forums taking in any feedback or suggestions, and although it won't be everybody's cup of tea, SpikeDislike is a simple and fun challenge that's worth checking out.

The folks at iLounge have stumbled upon an intriguing bit of news. It seems that the company Desk Pets, who create tiny robotic toys that are designed to distract you from getting actual work done at the office, are coming out with a new toy called Tankbot that will be controlled using your iOS device of choice. Besides controlling it directly from your device, Tankbot is also equipped with IR sensors that will let it be controlled using hand gestures, or navigate around on its own.

There isn't currently any video of the device in action, but this render of an early prototype gives you an idea of what Tankbot will be like.

This is along the lines of other iOS controlled toys like the remote control robotic balls GearBox prototyped last summer, or the Parrot AR Drone which we reviewed extensively when it was released. Unlike the $300 AR Drone though, Tankbot should be available for under $20, which is right in my spending sweet spot for cool things that I don't actually need. The Desk Pets Tankbot will be available in 4 different colors and is expected to launch this June.

[Via iLounge and Engadget]