When Sony unveiled the NGP and talked about its PlayStation Suite initiative for the first time earlier last week, you may remember that the publisher didn't use the magical word "exclusive" when describing the PSS' connection to Android. That was a deliberate move so it could keep the communication and creative channels open � a point that SCE CEO Kaz "Ridge Racer" Hirai talked around in a roundtable discussion after the event.

"We have a completely open stance. With carriers and with hand set makers," Hirai said according to Andriasang.com. "There are a variety of OSes," he said. "But we're focusing first on Android. There's also Windows, iOS and so forth, but we don't have the resources to make it compatible with everything from the start."

This is the NGP, FYI.

We speculated that Sony could bring PSS to iOS, and while this isn't anywhere near a confirmation, we're more aware now that Sony is willing to, at least, entertain the idea of doing so. But there are a few stumbling blocks.

First, all games that go through PSS will be certified by Sony and funneled through its own closed system, presumably similar to iTunes in theory. Apple, of course, already certifies its own stuff and has its own digital delivery system. I can't see Apple being fans of having a system on top of a system, so that's block one.

Block two is that devices that will use PSS will need to be PlayStation Certified. There are a billion Android handsets out there, so this helps Sony keep the amount of SKUs it needs to certify games for down (probably way, way down). It also gives Sony a measure of control over what needs to be on a phone. I can't see Apple playing ball with this either. Can you imagine a flip iPhone or iPod Touch that has a PlayStation d-pad? Yeah, me neither.

Still, this is interesting to hear from Hirai and we'll no doubt keep our eyes on this initiative as it blossoms into a beautiful flower. A lot of you, including me, don't think PSS will ever come to the iOS, but hey, we live in a world where a lot of crazier stuff has happened. Can you believe that, like, 300 Spartans kept an entire army at bay for a couple of days? Insane!

When Sony unveiled the NGP and talked about its PlayStation Suite initiative for the first time earlier last week, you may remember that the publisher didn't use the magical word "exclusive" when describing the PSS' connection to Android. That was a deliberate move so it could keep the communication and creative channels open � a point that SCE CEO Kaz "Ridge Racer" Hirai talked around in a roundtable discussion after the event.

"We have a completely open stance. With carriers and with hand set makers," Hirai said according to Andriasang.com. "There are a variety of OSes," he said. "But we're focusing first on Android. There's also Windows, iOS and so forth, but we don't have the resources to make it compatible with everything from the start."

This is the NGP, FYI.

We speculated that Sony could bring PSS to iOS, and while this isn't anywhere near a confirmation, we're more aware now that Sony is willing to, at least, entertain the idea of doing so. But there are a few stumbling blocks.

First, all games that go through PSS will be certified by Sony and funneled through its own closed system, presumably similar to iTunes in theory. Apple, of course, already certifies its own stuff and has its own digital delivery system. I can't see Apple being fans of having a system on top of a system, so that's block one.

Block two is that devices that will use PSS will need to be PlayStation Certified. There are a billion Android handsets out there, so this helps Sony keep the amount of SKUs it needs to certify games for down (probably way, way down). It also gives Sony a measure of control over what needs to be on a phone. I can't see Apple playing ball with this either. Can you imagine a flip iPhone or iPod Touch that has a PlayStation d-pad? Yeah, me neither.

Still, this is interesting to hear from Hirai and we'll no doubt keep our eyes on this initiative as it blossoms into a beautiful flower. A lot of you, including me, don't think PSS will ever come to the iOS, but hey, we live in a world where a lot of crazier stuff has happened. Can you believe that, like, 300 Spartans kept an entire army at bay for a couple of days? Insane!

Last June at WWDC, we spent some hands-on time with the then upcoming Alien Space from indie developer Owens Rodriguez. We really enjoyed the title even in its work-in-progress state, and were looking forward to its release later in the year. Then this past October, Alien Space [99�/Lite] finally launched a bit later than Owens had anticipated and it somehow slipped under our radar, though it has been highly praised by the members in our forums (nothing gets by them).

I've since spent a good amount of time with Alien Space, and can confirm that it is an incredibly solid dual-stick shooter. It features a 30 level campaign, a Survival mode, a suite of upgradeable weaponry, and incredibly intelligent enemy AI which makes for some frantic space battling. The real standout feature though is the absolutely spot-on controls that rival any of the other top dual-stick shooters in the App Store in terms of responsiveness. All of these factors combine in Alien Space to make for a great gaming experience.

At Macworld this year, I once again met up with Owens to discuss his current project which is an alternate version of Alien Space. This upcoming separate game will be a retro re-skin of sorts to the original game, though with at least one brand new game mode in addition to the Campaign and Survival modes.

Owens told me that he was a huge fan of the original Asteroids back in the day, and wasn't completely satisfied with the role that asteroids played in Alien Space. As such, the main focus for this new mode is to somehow base the gameplay more heavily around the asteroids that are floating around the galaxy. Additional modes, weapons, or enemies are also a possibility for the new game, though nothing is set in stone currently.

Here's a short video of the new retro-themed Alien Space. It's still in progress, so the explosions and some of the weapon effects haven't received the retro treatment yet, but it should give you an idea of the direction the game is going:

Owens is shooting to have this new Alien Space in the App Store by mid-to-late March, barring any sort of hang ups. If you haven't yet checked out the original game, it's currently on sale for 99� and there is a lite version to try as well. We'll take a look at this new version of Alien Space with the old-looking style when it launches this March.

Last June at WWDC, we spent some hands-on time with the then upcoming Alien Space from indie developer Owens Rodriguez. We really enjoyed the title even in its work-in-progress state, and were looking forward to its release later in the year. Then this past October, Alien Space [99�/Lite] finally launched a bit later than Owens had anticipated and it somehow slipped under our radar, though it has been highly praised by the members in our forums (nothing gets by them).

I've since spent a good amount of time with Alien Space, and can confirm that it is an incredibly solid dual-stick shooter. It features a 30 level campaign, a Survival mode, a suite of upgradeable weaponry, and incredibly intelligent enemy AI which makes for some frantic space battling. The real standout feature though is the absolutely spot-on controls that rival any of the other top dual-stick shooters in the App Store in terms of responsiveness. All of these factors combine in Alien Space to make for a great gaming experience.

At Macworld this year, I once again met up with Owens to discuss his current project which is an alternate version of Alien Space. This upcoming separate game will be a retro re-skin of sorts to the original game, though with at least one brand new game mode in addition to the Campaign and Survival modes.

Owens told me that he was a huge fan of the original Asteroids back in the day, and wasn't completely satisfied with the role that asteroids played in Alien Space. As such, the main focus for this new mode is to somehow base the gameplay more heavily around the asteroids that are floating around the galaxy. Additional modes, weapons, or enemies are also a possibility for the new game, though nothing is set in stone currently.

Here's a short video of the new retro-themed Alien Space. It's still in progress, so the explosions and some of the weapon effects haven't received the retro treatment yet, but it should give you an idea of the direction the game is going:

Owens is shooting to have this new Alien Space in the App Store by mid-to-late March, barring any sort of hang ups. If you haven't yet checked out the original game, it's currently on sale for 99� and there is a lite version to try as well. We'll take a look at this new version of Alien Space with the old-looking style when it launches this March.

Another game I checked out at Macworld this year is the upcoming Look Again from developer Smappsoft, who have previously brought Chinese 13 Card Poker [$4.99] to the App Store, along with various other non-game apps. Look Again is actually a very clever idea for a game. The basic premise is that there are 12 designs bordering the screen and one image made up of 3 overlapped designs in the middle. The goal is to choose which of the 3 outside designs comprise the main image.

It's a simple idea but one I haven't seen used before. This video explains the gameplay in Look Again really well:

Smappsoft is hoping to have Look Again available within the next month. The core gameplay is complete, and they are just tweaking things like difficulty and the final amount of levels. Initially they are expecting to have at least 100 levels, and can change around the difficulty by having the center image comprised from 2-5 images or having the outer row of images do things like rotate, flip, and disappear. Game Center will be integrated as well for tracking achievements and high scores.

We'll take a closer look at Look Again when it becomes available sometime in the next month or so.

Another game I checked out at Macworld this year is the upcoming Look Again from developer Smappsoft, who have previously brought Chinese 13 Card Poker [$4.99] to the App Store, along with various other non-game apps. Look Again is actually a very clever idea for a game. The basic premise is that there are 12 designs bordering the screen and one image made up of 3 overlapped designs in the middle. The goal is to choose which of the 3 outside designs comprise the main image.

It's a simple idea but one I haven't seen used before. This video explains the gameplay in Look Again really well:

Smappsoft is hoping to have Look Again available within the next month. The core gameplay is complete, and they are just tweaking things like difficulty and the final amount of levels. Initially they are expecting to have at least 100 levels, and can change around the difficulty by having the center image comprised from 2-5 images or having the outer row of images do things like rotate, flip, and disappear. Game Center will be integrated as well for tracking achievements and high scores.

We'll take a closer look at Look Again when it becomes available sometime in the next month or so.