One of my favorite games that never seemed to get a lot of attention is Noodlecake Games' Stick Golf [99�/HD], which was released in May of last year. Far from being a traditional golf game, Stick Golf was more of a 2D artillery style game where each shot required figuring out the correct trajectory to launch your ball in order to get it into each hole in as few shots as possible. This particular gameplay fit extremely well as a golfing game, and Stick Golf featured a ton of content with 16 different 9-hole courses that ran the gamut from fairly typical to wildly fantastical.

Then this past December, the sequel Super Stick Golf [99�/Lite] was released, and improved upon the original in practically every way. It contains all of the courses from the first game plus 13 brand new courses, and it introduces special ball types that you can use for extra abilities like more powerful shots or saving yourself from landing in a water hazard. Due to a trademark problem, the game is now known as Super Stickman Golf, and the original game will eventually be renamed to Stickman Golf as well, but this minor name change doesn't diminish the fact that the Stickman Golf series is a total blast to play.

Last week, Super Stickman Golf received its biggest update yet, adding online multiplayer through Game Center for 2-4 players. Unlike what you might expect from online play in a golfing game, which is typically turn-based, Super Stickman Golf's online play takes place in real time. Everybody in the game takes their turn simultaneously, and the winner of each hole is the one who can get their ball into the cup first. Matches can be played on any of the courses in the game, and special balls can be used too granted you've unlocked them in the single player campaign or by way of the IAP Pro Shop.

The multiplayer in Super Stickman Golf is way more fun than it has any business being. The simultaneous play is extremely frantic as you race against other players to be the first to land your ball in the cup. It is a bit difficult to find 4 player matches online at the moment, but Noodlecake is working on improving this issue for a future update. Also, multiplayer can be played locally over Bluetooth or WiFi if you have buddies who have a copy of the game. Best of all is that you can try out this multiplayer yourself for free, as the lite version of Super Stickman Golf contains 3 exclusive courses complete with the online matchmaking through Game Center.

I've always really liked the Stickman Golf series as a single-player experience, but after finally getting around to checking out the new multiplayer I'm even more impressed with just how much fun it is. Players have been loving the game in our forums as well, and there's no reason not to at least grab the lite version of Super Stickman Golf to check out the fantastic new multiplayer feature.

It's crazy to think that Pocket Legends [Free] came out a year ago. I've heard that one year equals seven in dog years, but with how fast the App Store moves, I'm not even sure what one App Store year would equate to. Lots more. Anyway, Pocket Legends is a free to play MMO of sorts that works quite a bit like Guild Wars both in actual gameplay and with the amount of expansion content they have for sale.

Well, to celebrate the game's anniversary, all of that expansion content is free for a limited time. Better yet, all of this is entirely cross platform and universal, so you can play with friends online regardless of whether they own an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or even an Android device. We reviewed the game last year, but honestly, so much has changed that you're probably better off spending some time on the official quick start guide to get an idea of what the game is all about now.

This promotion will persist for the next two weeks and allows complete access to Balefort Castle, Fathom Crypts, The Lost Expedition, The Ancient Swamps, Balefort Sewers, and The Alien Oasis Trilogy areas. In other words, you'll be able to play through the entire game from start to finish for free. These areas get switched back to their previously paid status on May 4th, so if you actually want to blow through the game for free, you better do it before then.

Fantastic news, guys. The folks over at Telltale are creating another new series of games based on a popular multi-media brand � a brand with proven staying power, a brand that deals with hard issues with aplomb, a brand led by the visionary Dick Wolf. That's right. Telltale has announced that it's partnering with NBC Universal to put out some Law and Order: Los Angeles video games in 2011 for the PC, Macintosh, consoles, and of course, mobile platforms.

Who needs the next Monkey Island [$6.99] episode when this is in the pipe, right?

Not much in the way of detail is available at the moment, but PR has advised press that the game will focus heavily on interrogation and investigations. Also, courtroom drama has been confirmed. Again, I remind you, DICK WOLF.

"Law and Order: LA fits very well with the style of episodic entertainment experiences Telltale has been building since our very first days," said Telltale co-founder and CEO Dan Connors in a fancy statement. "The talents and skills that we've been building at Telltale are ideally suited for the structure and storytelling approach of televised procedurals like Law and Order."

Dick Wolf.

Yesterday we posted a highly speculative article regarding Apple potentially changing the App Store charting algorithms to put less weight on the sheer number of downloads an app has, and instead potentially prioritize other metrics that better represent what people are actually using rather than downloading and deleting for bonus credits in freemium games/apps. Well, quite a bit has happened since then, and according to our Xoom-using friends at PocketGamer.biz Apple has started actively rejecting updates to apps that offer any kind of virtual currency in exchange for downloading another app.

It all comes down to the gloriously vague phrasing of 3.10 from the iOS developer program license agreement which all developers need to agree to in order to be listed on the App Store:

Developers who attempt to manipulate or cheat the user reviews or chart ranking in the App Store with fake or paid reviews, or any other inappropriate methods will be removed from the iOS Developer Program.

Where, err, "things" get real is when you consider that the companies behind these pay per install programs have since turned into multi-million dollar businesses, many fueled with scary amounts of investor cash. Tapjoy in particular, which is the largest pay per install outfit is funded to the tune of $40 million dollars. However, Apple clearly isn't happy that these companies are gaming their charts, while making millions doing it, and as the keeper of the App Store walled garden it's totally within their rights to pull the plug.

What this will do to the freemium game market as a whole is hard to predict. If our assumptions yesterday about the new algorithm are true, and Apple sticks to their guns rejecting games that include any kind of pay per install service, many developers are going to need to substantially alter not only how they develop and market their games, but potentially also how they do business as a whole in the free to play sector.

[via PocketGamer.biz]

Remember all the fuss in the various discussions both on our forums and in the comments thread of virtually every Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [$4.99] regarding it being iPad only? It's totally understandable, especially considering the early previews were all on iPhones, but somewhere along the development the team switched gears to the iPad, which obviously resulted in the iPad game hitting the App Store first.

Well, we just got word that all the iPhone version of the game will be launching this Thursday for $2.99. In addition, much like World of Goo [$2.99 / HD], the existing iPad app will be updated to be universal. And if all goes as planned with this week's release, the universal update and the new iPhone app will hit at the same time. I for one would really love it if this recent trend in making "HD" versions universal catches on like it seems like it might be.

If you haven't yet, check out our Sword & Sworcery review for more information on the game. We loved playing through it on our iPads, and expect the iPhone version to be just as awesome.

Early last month, we were quite impressed with the video for Simogo's upcoming platforming game Bumpy Road. Not only did the game feature incredibly charming graphics and music, but it employed a unique gameplay mechanic that I hadn't quite seen before on the iOS platform. As a happy couple drove along in their car, you could manipulate the ground below them with a simple touch of the screen, raising the elevation to either push them forwards or backwards or to bump them up into the air. It seemed like a great idea, and a perfect fit for the touch screen.

Simogo has since given us a preview copy of Bumpy Road, and after playing around with the game for the past few days I'm even more impressed with the mechanic in practice. It works just like you would expect it to from watching the video, and the springy response of the ground manipulation makes for an interesting take on platforming. Interacting directly with the ground feels very intuitive, but it also takes some practice in order to get the car doing what you want.

The one level available in my preview build of Bumpy Road is an endless, randomly generated level full of platforms to jump on and treacherous pits to avoid. As you drive along, you'll collect an assortment of different gizmos that act as fuel for your car. Filling up your fuel gauge will send you rocketing along in a silent film-style sequence for a short period of time, letting you concentrate on collecting as many gizmos as you can. Some platforms also have special features like springs that shoot you into the air or timers that will cause the platform to disappear from right beneath you if you aren't careful.

At the end of a run, your score is calculated by the total distance you were able to travel, as well as bonus points for all the different types of items you picked up along the way. In addition, there are also special "memories" you can collect, which are photos that unlock in a gallery and tell you the life story of the couple riding in the car. There's just something endearing about these characters and the entire game in general, and I find myself looking forward to learning more about their lives by collecting photos, which is a unique attachment to have for an endless-style game.

The full version of Bumpy Road will contain the endless level Evergreen Ride as well as a second level called Sunday Trip which is focused on time trials. Game Center will be included for leaderboards and achievements, as well as Facebook and Twitter integration. I've really enjoyed my time with Bumpy Roads so far, and I think that its special mix of visual splendor and unique gameplay could make for a really successful entry in the App Store. Simogo hopes to have Bumpy Road out sometime next month as a universal app, and until then you can drop by the thread in our forums where members are discussing the game.