Earlier today we posted the news that due to a license agreement expiring between THQ Wireless and Star Wars IP owners LucasArts, the iOS title Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner [$2.99] would no longer be available in the App Store after the end of this month. This also led to strong speculation that all THQ published Star Wars games would need to be removed as well.

We got this information from Kotaku, who since posting their original story had sent word out to all parties involved for further clarification. Earlier today they received confirmation from THQ that indeed all Star Wars games would be getting pulled, then just a few short hours later they were told the exact opposite. In a response email sent to Kotaku, a THQ Wireless spokesperson stated "All Star Wars apps will be available until further notice".

Personally, that response doesn't strike a ton of confidence in me that the Star Wars apps won't be pulled sometime in the future. But for now, it seems that they're safe. Josh Shabtai of Vertigore, the studio that created Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner, is trying to push forward with his planned updates for the game which include an iPad 2 optimized version (the game doesn't currently work properly on that device) and a Battle for Endor expansion. Vertigore is currently waiting to find out if they'll be able to release these updates.

Likely after this story made its way around the 'net THQ realized that there could potentially be some bad PR fallout from pulling those games, so have tentatively struck a deal with LucasArts to keep them around. Kotaku is currently awaiting an official response from the LucasArts folks, so I guess this could still all take a turn for the worse should they decide against this latest turn of events. We'll keep you updated if we find out any new information on this situation.

[via Kotaku]

Remember the Gameboy Camera? There are many reasons not to be aware of it ranging from "I wasn't alive at the time" to "I try not to buy every silly accessory Nintendo releases," so I'll lay down what this wonderful little gadget was all about: It was the late 90's, everyone and their little sister had their own Game Boy to play either Pokemon Red or Pokemon Blue, the mass proliferation of camera phones was still a decade away, and digital cameras were both clunky and expensive. Enter Nintendo, with a portable four-shade barely-greyscale digital camera with the hilariously low resolution of 128�112. It even had a thermal printer (which no one I know owned) that hooked up via the link cable port to print your photos to tiny stickers.

Check out this horribly 90's TV commercial detailing the features of the device:

While apps like Camera+ [99�] and Hipstamatic [$1.99] boast features that actively try to make your photos look better, Dezro's 8-Bit Pocket Camera [99�] sends your photos back in time to the aforementioned glory days of the Gameboy Camera… with shockingly accurate results.

Using a few different on-screen controls you can tweak out your 8-bit photos, then save them as virtual stickers with a number of different boarders. There's even Twitter and Facebook support for posting your stickers online. If you even have the vaguest of fond memories of the Gameboy Camera, 8-Bit Pocket Camera is an app you need on your iPhone.

Here's a weird one: NBA Jam [$4.99] on consoles won't be receiving a roster update that reflects all the mid-season moves teams made as the NBA trade deadline closed, but the mobile version of the title will � and has. Starting now, one can go on a massive losing skid as the Knicks led by Carmelo "Defense Is For Babies" Anthony or, even better, get some insight into Deron Williams' surely deep, deep depression as a member of the Nets.

As if roster updates weren't enough, EA has also thrown in some "tweaks" to the core experience. The patch notes aren't available online, but I'm assuming some of the bugs users have been freaking out about since release have been addressed.

Don't mind that Felton guy. He's gone now, too!

If you've been on the fence about NBA Jam, well, this is as good of a time as ever to get into the experience of the terrific arcade basketball title, especially since EA is obviously willing and able to update the game with current rosters � something even the console owners won't be getting after dishing out 40+ dollars for their version. We can point and laugh at these guys now, right? Finally!

Surely at some point in your life you've (either purposefully or accidentally) let a helium filled balloon loose into the air which then potentially went on to travel hundreds of miles before finally deflating enough to come back to Earth. There's no shortage of sites detailing the dangers to wildlife of actually doing this, but what if you still want to release some balloons but without littering or causing other potential problems? Well, that's where Floonr [Free] comes in.

Using this app (Calling it a "game" is likely a bit of a stretch.) you're able to scroll around Google Maps to see other balloons that have been launched, as well as launch your own. These balloons float about as they would in the real world, until they eventually crash land in 150 miles or so. You can attach messages to your balloons and other people can comment on your balloons. Also, unlike a lot of real-world GPS-based games, there seems to be a surprising amount of activity in the app.

There's a hefty amount of completely optional IAP such as stickers to add to your balloons as well as "power-ups" of sorts that do things like let your balloons float either longer or faster. I'm not entirely sure what the point of buying these is, but at least the option is there I suppose. Floonr isn't a killer must-have app by any means, but it's really cool how they've applied the activity of releasing balloons to a smartphone app and I've had a lot of fun reading what (often silly) messages there are attached to balloons virtually soaring overhead.

I absolutely loved handheld LCD games growing up, and was constantly harassing my mom to buy whatever the latest one was that I would spot at the toy store so I could add it to my collection. In the pre-Game Boy era, there was just something so fascinating to me about having a little video game that I could tote around wherever I went. Of course, my brain would have exploded out of my skull had I known that a few decades later I'd have a device as powerful as an iPhone in my pocket, but I still hold a special fondness for those simple monochrome screens of yesteryear.

Apparently, the folks at Dawn of Play have a tender spot in their heart for the LCD era too, as evidenced by their game Monkey Labour [99�]. Monkey Labour is a lovingly crafted riff on Nintendo's Game & Watch handhelds, but with its own unique gameplay. It was released back in December, but a recent update added some interesting new graphical features and gameplay tweaks which caught my attention. While LCD game recreations are nothing new on the App Store, none have come close to the level of detail contained in�Monkey Labour.

The game starts by showing a 3D rendered Monkey Labour handheld system, and the main menu is the back of the system itself � complete with imprinted product codes and removable battery lid. Starting a game flips the system over to show the LCD screen and buttons. Tilting your device and viewing the screen at an angle reveals all of the silhouettes of the game that are used to create the illusion of animation, just like a real LCD screen. When elements of the game are in motion, a subtle shadowing effect recreates the slow response time of an LCD screen. Best of all, touching the game screen will create dark pressure marks just as it would on a real liquid crystal display.

These tiny details shoot the novelty factor of Monkey Labour through the roof for an experienced LCD game player, but luckily it also has solid gameplay to go with it. You play as a robot named Mobot who must travel back and forth along the bottom of the screen bringing logs to throw on a furnace. Your monkey boss moves along a platform above tossing bricks down at you which must be avoided. As you throw more bricks into the fire, the flames grow larger and will eventually ignite one of three leaks in a pipe above your monkey boss's head. Time it just right, and you can torch the monkey increasing your score and adding to a multiplier.

The game mechanics and two button control scheme in Monkey Labour work very well, and it will take fast reaction speed to earn any sort of meaningful high scores. One nice addition is Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards for comparing high scores, which is something that wasn't possible with original LCD games. It's also a universal app, and although I prefer playing it on the larger screen of the iPad it feels more authentic to a classic handheld on the smaller screen of the iPhone or iPod touch.

Just like the classic games that inspired it, the gameplay in Monkey Labour is incredibly simple on the outside but contains subtle complexity and depth which is hard to master. Fans of old LCD games should definitely check it out as the attention to detail is stunning and the game itself is quite fun. Younger gamers who grew up on more advanced systems might not see what all the fuss is about, but also might appreciate seeing what it was like for us old folks who gamed back in the day. Players in our forums have been enjoying the title, and just for the ability to relive my childhood experiences Monkey Labour is well worth the download.