The iCade is here. It started as an April Fools joke and became a reality. We got ours this evening and wanted to share a few unboxing photos. Its Bluetooth controls work right out of the box with all 100 games in Atari's Greatest Hits [App Store] and so far it's been a blast to play with.

We'll post our full review of the system tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Way back in October of last year, just before Halloween, we learned that an official Evil Dead game was in the works. For fans of the 1980s cult-classic horror flick, this was some pretty exciting news, especially with how faithfully the announcement trailer mimicked the original trailer for the actual movie. Unfortunately, since that announcement, the Evil Dead game has somewhat fallen off the radar, with very little new information being released for the title.

The project most certainly was not dead though, as developer Trigger Apps has been occasionally popping into our forums to let our members know that the game is taking longer than expected, but is still very much on the way. In fact, if plans go as expected, Evil Dead will be available sometime next month. There aren't a ton of details just yet on exactly what the gameplay will entail, but we do know that you'll be playing through all the major events of the movie plus some additional events unique to the game.

Trigger Apps has released a new batch of in-game screenshots for Evil Dead, which you can check out below (click to enlarge):

We expect that more information will slowly be revealed as Evil Dead nears its release next month. Be sure to follow along with the upcoming games thread in our forums for even more information and discussion of the game. Evil Dead will be launching for 3rd generation iPhone and iPod touch devices as well as both iPads, and we'll have more details as we get closer to the release in the coming weeks.

There's a way to simulate 3D visuals on devices with front-facing cameras. Researchers Jeremie Francone and Lawrence Nigay have proved that with i3D [Free], a brand new app that is available on the App Store right now for the generous price of $0.

Is it a game? No. It's a proof of concept that uses a device's front camera to track a user's head in order to trick their eyes into seeing 3D through 'a small window.' But while it has no use as a game, the overall tech shows promise as a middleware tool that could, maybe, grant more adventurous developers the ability to make their own 3D scenes.

The thought that Apple devices, or even other handhelds with front-facing cameras, could someday be able to spit out 3D � illusion or not � is an interesting one. Nintendo's next generation portable, the Nintendo 3DS, is centered on its use of glasses-less 3D. If that hook were to become not so unique, what would be the point of picking up the device?

Zelda and the other gang of first-party games are always compelling reasons to side with a Nintendo product, of course, but without its hook, the 3DS is just a DS with a pricey screen, a charging cradle, and a better stylus.

Let's say i3D's tech actually becomes a big-time, licensed tool. What would that mean for developers on the Nintendo e-Shop? Would they even bother releasing their cool and unique games on the 3DS, or would they go to the App Store first?

If not, how quickly could we see ports of these titles land on the App Store at the service's often rock-bottom prices?

We asked ourselves a similar, though non-3D specific question, upon learning that the e-Shop was delayed until later this June. You just have to wonder, given the history of Nintendo's support of third-party and also the lackluster reception of its electronic stores, if the 3DS is the actual digital platform studios want to target. Or if it'll just be a jumping off point like the PSP Minis initiative has proven to be.

Of course, the nuts and bolts of the 3DS' 3D stuff and i3D are different and probably incompatible… but if i3D is as good as we think it is, then a studio could successfully translate its vision to Apple devices. Should be good for us, at least, presuming this stuff catches on.

[Via Mac Rumors]

A one-man games development guru has decided, with the visual might of the Unreal Development Kit, to add a new dimension to Crush the Castle [$.99] catapult games. I'm not talking about time, here; nah, I'm talking about 3D.

It's a good idea, and if plans stay firm, you'll be able to check out what "Archer X" is coming up with a little later this month or in June. So far, he's drained two months into the project and is looking for some feedback based on the video embedded just below.

The game you're seeing is called "Bizango Blast" and there are a few twists that separate it from its influencers. First, and most important of all, is the catapult. As of right now, it appears as though you'll be locked into a singular perspective before firing � one that will require you to fire your balls of tower-death into specific weak slabs or points of interests in order to wreak havoc within and outside objects.

Another thing we're noticing in the footage is the focus on non-destruction. In Angry Birds [$.99 / Lite / HD], the object is kill pigs nestled within the game's obstructions. With this, the goal is to avoid cracking eggs that are dropped into various locations inside or outside the various structures you'll be destroying.

There's still some work to go, but Bizango is looking radical so far. It certainly has a cool visual style and, hey, the promise of power-ups is always a plus in our books.

We'll be keeping an eye on this one, for sure.

Earlier this year, Playground State, a small five-man indie development studio headed up by two brothers, announced plans to release a set of serial FPS games under the umbrella of a franchise called "Knights." A bit of buzz followed. The series had all the makings of a promising one, but after funding fell through, we're left wondering if there is a slice of hope for the first game in the series, Knights: Spiral Islands.

Spiral Islands was the first of two known serials in Knights. The other was being called Humming Bell Station, though that was being put on the backburner until Spiral Islands was complete.

In both, you would have been given the reigns of a space knight who had to best the evil was thrown at you. In an interesting twist, Knights wasn't just going to be a standard shooter; the studio had plans to break up the games into bite-sized chunks, each of which would present a different style of play. A co-op, a narrative-led single-player, and a competitive component were all mentioned at the time of announcement.

The catch with Spiral Islands is that it needed funding. Playground State started up one of those trendy Kickstarter project pages asking for $10,000. It also threw around the number $25,000, and even talked about what it would do with $70,000 or above in the video.

As you can see, Spiral Islands had a cool crab monster. Also, it was a UDK-powered game that would, potentially, see releases on the NGP, iOS, and the PC.

One of the core design ideas that Playground floated to potential sponsors was that the game would be "infinitely expandable." Playground would have continued to scale Spiral Islands alongside new hardware revisions on any platform and pledged to release a lot of new content that would fit snug with the older stuff.

"The scenarios are as variable as we can stretch our imaginations, and the same applies to gameplay and art style," the page reads.

"Ranging from single player narratives to multiplayer arenas, co-op play, and everything in between; cutting edge graphics or 8 bit � Knights is intended to be like a music playlist that goes on and on in endless variety."

The bad news is that Sprial Knights didn't reach its $25,000 content-complete, or even its much smaller $10,000 dollar, goals. The cut-off was April 12, 2011. The end sum of the cash collected as $1,500.

Oddly, Playground State went silent well before the cut-off date. Its last updates hover around the March 10-11 timeframe on all its media � its Twitter, its Facebook, its Web site, and its Kickstarter page. We're not sure happened here, but if Playground did somehow get money from a publisher that might go to explain the complete radio silence.

Regardless, Knights: Spiral Islands looked awesome and did receive some support. I reached out to Playground State to get an update, see what the silence was about, and if there are still plans to release the title. I'll let you know when I know.

It's hard to believe it's already WWDC (and E3) season already. The always-accelerating fast-paced nature of the App Store (and mobile devices in general) have made this year absolutely fly by. Anyway, if you're unfamiliar, WWDC is Apple's event which falls around the same time every year and is usually kicked off with a keynote address by Steve Jobs. While this event is entirely Apple-centric, E3 is all about video games of all kinds. Unfortunately, these two events fall on the same week this year, which is going to make covering both events pretty tricky, to say the least.

To determine which days I'm going to be spending at which events, I really need developers to get in touch with me! Think of this as an iOS-specific battle of Team Edward versus Team Jacob. Which event corresponds to which Twilight heartthrob I'm not entirely sure of, but it's important you get in touch with me all the same.

There are two ways you can contact me to set up a meeting at either event:

1. Solve this CAPTCHA to get my Google Talk name (which is also my email address, hence the anti-spam captcha) and shoot me an instant message. Assuming I'm around, I'll be able to get you booked into a meeting slot and collect all pertinent pieces of contact information very quickly
2. Send an email to tips@toucharcade.com with either "E3 2011 Meeting" or "WWDC 2011 Meeting" in the subject line so I can filter your message properly. Include what days you're going to be at the event in question, contact info, and anything else you feel is relevant to booking a meeting with us.

I can't wait to see everyone at both events. Also something to keep in mind, I'm local to the Los Angeles area now, so if you're in town for E3 and are going to be staying an extra couple days so we don't necessarily need to meet up specifically during the event, that will help me out considerably to know that!

The movie 'Kung Fu Panda' introduced us to the animated characters of Po (a food-loving panda with a heroic destiny, voiced by Jack�Black) and his trainer, Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman). In 2011, the joke-cracking panda returns in 'Kung Fu Panda 2'. To tie in with the soon to be released movie sequel, THQ has released the game�Kung Fu Panda 2: Be The Master [99�].

A first glance, this game is extraordinarily easy to describe. It (currently) contains two games, each of which is described as a "scroll" which Po must complete as part of�his on-going training. The first scroll, named 'Paws of Power', provides endless�Fruit Ninja type gameplay whereby you swipe objects propelled onto the screen. The second�scroll is named 'Feet of Fury' and involves Doodle Jump type gameplay, with tilt controls being used to maneuver between platforms in order to jump higher.�Refer to this gameplay video to see the obvious similarities to these popular titles:

Both of the games are skinned with Kung Fu Panda graphics, which likely will appeal to kids and fans of the movie. Whereas Fruit Ninja swipes are directed at�pineapples, watermelons and apples while avoiding bombs, Paws Of Power takes aim at bowls of noodles and training dummies modeled on Po's foes, while avoiding bee-hives. Likewise�in Feet Of Fury, the power-ups include bowls of noodles, bamboo stilts and chairs with rockets attached. In the background is the "Waterfall of Agony". High scores and 42 achievements are maintained via Game Center.

The game advertises that two additional scrolls (games) will be released in future upgrades. Any developers with popular games must be wondering if their�titles will become the inspiration for scrolls 3 or 4. One TouchArcade user jokes in the thread that we'll see 'Angry Pandas' in the next update, referring -�of course � to Angry Birds.

At the end of the day, I only have two minor gripes with this game. The screen orientation changes abruptly between landscape and portrait when you switch games and I felt this transition could have been implemented better. And the "Trophy Case" menu does not explain how to obtain trophies and lists "Kung Fu Training Master" without any explanation of what this means. Presumably unlocking these achievements involves the other two scrolls being accessible, but there's no way to tell for sure right now.

Kung Fu Panda 2 delivers two games which, although not as good as the originals, are well implemented casual games, which are fun to play. By the time four scrolls (games) are�provided, assuming the next two are of a comparable quality and provided free, this title will be pretty good value for a dollar. If you for some reason don't already own Fruit Ninja and/or Doodle Jump and are totally stoked for the impending release of the Kung Fu Panda 2 movie, this is the game for you.

A couple of months ago, Illusion Labs revealed their new upcoming iOS title Touchgrind BMX by way of a very nice looking trailer. Touchgrind BMX is a follow-up of sorts to their� highly popular skateboarding title Touchgrind [$4.99/HD] that made waves on the App Store way back in November of 2008 for it's fantastic graphics and excellent use of multitouch.

Touchgrind BMX is a similar title in that you'll be using multitouch to pull off tricks in object-filled environments, though obviously using a bike rather than a skateboard. Also, the game uses a nice behind-the-bike view, rather than the strictly top-down view of Touchgrind, which is a welcome change and allows you to get a much better perspective on the action.

Another cool feature in Touchgrind BMX will be the ability to create HD replays of your runs and then export them to your computer or upload them to YouTube to share with the world. The developer has put together this little teaser video which shows an example of a replay from the game:

We have learned that Illusion Labs submitted Touchgrind BMX last week, and that the game will be available this Thursday the 26th for $4.99. It will run on all devices except the very first generation iPhone or iPod touch, but it is recommended for 3rd generation devices and up. No word yet on if an iPad version of the game is planned.

Touchgrind was one of the first iOS titles that really opened my eyes to how impressive multitouch technology is on my device, and as a huge fan of that game I'm really excited to check out Touchgrind BMX. There's a discussion thread for the game going in our forums, and we'll definitely be taking a look at Touchgrind BMX when it hits later this week.