Back in January of last year, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars stormed onto the App Store and showcased just how robust a gaming experience could be possible on the iPhone. You essentially got a full-fledged GTA experience, comparable to and in some ways exceeding the versions released for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, for roughly a third the price. Even more than a year and a half later, it still stands as one of the best games on the iOS platform.

Chinatown Wars was easily worth its price of $9.99 when it released, and was a complete steal during the few price drops its seen in its lifetime, most recently being $4.99 this past February. But today, Rockstar is dropping Chinatown Wars to its lowest price ever. Currently you can pick up the title for just $2.99 for both the regular and HD versions of the game.

Really, $2.99 might as well be 99� for a title of this caliber. There is so many hours of gameplay in this game that for 3 dollars there really isn't a better ratio of content to price available. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of time you can waste just getting lost causing mischief in the sandbox world of Chinatown Wars. If you really need more convincing, check out our exhaustive original review as well as our look at the iPad native version. But at this price, if you haven't jumped on GTA: Chinatown Wars yet for whatever reason, now's the time to do it.

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Taito's Groove Coaster [99�] is an experiential music and rhythm game that mixes fun, upbeat, and jazzy tracks with a psychedelic and retro-informed visual aesthetic. At its truly mechanical core, it's just a tap game that has you drum on your iPad whenever a bubble crops up on a neon rail, sorta like a one-note Rock Band. While that's not necessarily entertaining in the year 2011, Groove Coaster's constituent parts manage to overpower its simplicity, making for a game that's a pleasure to pick up and thrum alongside, lack of depth and flaws be darned.

It's easy to be wooed by Groove Coaster's striking vector graphics presentation in the same way that it was hard to look beyond another Taito title's visuals in Space Invaders: Infinity Gene [$4.99]. But even without the trains of retro baggage behind Groove Coaster, it manages to feel aged, yet refined and re-imagined in the same way. It's a unique approach that really adds a certain flavor to the action and adds to the experiential edge of the project.

The thick wire-frame rail guiding all the action, by the way, isn't static: it zigs, it zags, it ducks, and it circles alongside a given music track's ebb and flow. Your cursor, which can be an assortment of objects including Taito-branded characters, helplessly runs along these tracks, speeding up and slowing down with the beat as thematic particle effects, ranging from flowery explosions to plain ol' particle-vomit, crop up all over the place. Groove Coaster is a music game, sure, but it's also a visual treat in addition to an audio one.

In this vein, the backgrounds and their respective effects are cool, too, especially as they morph and throb thematically as songs change tempo.

It's not all great � there's an exceptionally fundamental flaw nestled within the visual design. Sometimes, instead of ratcheting up the intensity of a song and the beats you need to hit, Groove Coaster uses its presentation to conceal your cursor and thus hamper your ability to hit the glowing "beat" orbs. This comes off as a tactic to obscure its fairly rudimentary play, and a needless one at that. So, what? This game is easy to play. Who cares?

I'm not sure how to classify the music used in the game. There's a mix of J-Pop, new wave, house, and other fast-paced highly electronic stuff. Most of it, actually, appears to be pulled from other Taito titles, but they all seem to fit with the visual stylings. In particular, Arkanoid DS' "Happy Smiling � More Happy Mix" sticks out in my head as on of the best songs, as its thematic qualities and the music line up pretty well.

Most songs introduce some neat visual elements and mechanics to the fold. "Happy Smiling," for example, is the first level to add a merry-go-round of beats that swirls and rotates as you hit (or miss) each one. As you move up in difficulty, new "beats" are added that make you do things like swipe and flick, or even hold and jiggle your finger. All of the songs seem to have a new mechanic, which makes for some compelling replay opportunities.

Oddly, but somehow fittingly, Groove Coaster features a fairly advanced "perks" system. As you beat levels in the game, you increase your own experience level. As you do, you unlock new avatars and upgrades that net you bigger bonuses or special in-game perks. It's a pretty standard carrot-on-the-stick approach, but it's effective. Additionally, you can purchase IAP items and avatars that do the same things these bonuses do, except they really push it to the max. I'll stress that the IAP options feel entirely, well, optional.

Groove Coaster is a good game with a fundamental flaw. It also has a few nit-picky problems, too, like it's spectacularly abrupt ending and horrible "How To," but the strength of its presentation, music, and RPG-lite systems make up for anything that could sour the experience. I'm generally not too into music games, and for what it's worth, I'm suggesting this one to whoever will listen. It's fun, it's sharp, and it's an experience.

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LambdaMu Games brought us Infinight [$1.99 / Free] earlier this year, and as we noted then, it's one heck of an atmospheric game. We anticipated big things from them in the future, but Dice Soccer [Free] isn't quite what we were expecting. Still, dice and soccer � has there ever been a more perfect pairing? Peanut butter and jelly has nothing on this one.

I kid, but they do make a surprisingly good fit. When you're up against AI opponents, there's always an element of trying to beat their numbers with your numbers. Dice Soccer just lays that process bare, and puts you in control of everything but chance itself.

Each match you play in Dice Soccer is split up into individual interactions, like taking possession of the ball, progressing down the field, and eventually shooting at the goal. For each, your line of three players is reduced to a roll of three dice. If the total of your dice is higher than the opposing line's total, you move on to the next step. If they beat you, they'll take possession and try to press the advantage.

If this sounds far too luck-based, don't worry � you're given much more control than you'd expect. Though the dice are six-sided, there aren't six set results. Each player has his or her own selection of possible results, and most have special abilities on top of that. Luck will always play a part, especially in one-on-ones against the goalie, but you can strategize both in team building and in applying your bonuses each round. Once you've unlocked a few players, you'll be able to work on stacking your deck for crazy combos. I wish for multiplayer, if only so I could imagine the other player's grief when I roll a 36 to his 4.

My other wish is for a slightly faster experience. Each match is made up of a number of turns, and turns are long. The rolls take just a little too long, the animations are just a little too slow. Everyone seems to be enjoying a mellow day out on the field, occasionally leaving me as a rather bored observer. It gets worse when you're evenly matched with your opponent � instead of watching a lazy day of scoring, you're watching while the teams swap possession back and forth while they run down the clock. Not that that's unlike some soccer games I've seen, but I'd still prefer something a little more fast-paced.

If you've got the patience to stick it out, though, Dice Soccer will give you more content than you can handle. There are 75 matches to play, and more coming. There are three leagues of increasing difficulty and tournaments in each. There are also 50 Game Center achievements to earn, and each of those achievements unlocks something new for your team, usually one of the 80 available players. Those players all have their own individual looks, powers and backstories, too. You can even recruit the team streaker.

The crazy thing is that LambdaMu has laid all of this out for free. There are a few unlockables that need to be paid for, but nothing game-changing. Of course, the game gives you plenty of opportunities to sink in a lot of cash, but you only need to do so if you want to unlock players quickly or buy unique outfits. We keep hearing developers say that they've looked at the freemium market and want to retool it to make games they'd find fun, and this definitely feels like one of those games. It's fun to play, it's more than just a time sink, and you really don't need to pay to enjoy yourself.

If any combination of dice games, deck-building and soccer sound fun, you really need to give Dice Soccer a shot, and be sure to stop by our forums to read further impressions or leave some of your own.

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I'll just get the bad news out of the way first: No Final Fantasy Tactics this week, it seems. The good news, though, is that unless there's some substantial SNAFU with Squeenix and the Apple approval process, we should be playing FFT next week. (Assuming of course they don't hold the release date for marketing reasons, which would be evil for how highly anticipated this game is.) Oh! And there's even more good news! There's a ton of great releases out this week that will keep you busy until you're waist-deep in turn-based bliss next week.

If you're new around here, here's how these Wednesday release posts work: Developers are able to set specific release dates for their games on the App Store. Since the App Store is a global marketplace (which recently includes 33 new countries) and due to the modern-day wizardry that is time zones, these release dates happen at different times. New Zealand, for instance, gets first crack at everything because of their proximity to the international date line. Us North Americans get our games last, at 11:00 PM Eastern. Everyone east of us gets 'em earlier, basically whenever it gets close to being Thursday in your neck of the woods.

Here's some noteworthy games being released:

Dice Soccer, Free � Forum Thread � This game has me torn. As an American, I have to muster some serious effort to care about soccer, but I love dice games. Nissa had a great time with a preview version of this game, and her review will be up closer to its US release tonight!

Gesundheit!, 99� / HD � Forum Thread � We had a great time with an early copy of this game that we got our hands on. Hand drawn art combines with an adorable premise of a pig with allergies. Seriously, it's good.

Groove Coaster, 99� � Forum Thread � Brad has had his muscular hands all over this game today and plans on providing a review closer to the US release. It's from the same mind that brought us Space Invaders: Infinity Gene [$4.99] which basically makes it an automatic purchase for people who enjoyed the style of Infinity Gene. Wait, you haven't played Infinity Gene? You should fix that.

Heli-Awesome, 99� � Forum Thread � As we should have mentioned when we first caught wind of this game, Heli-Awesome looks Hella-Awesome. (See what I did there? Eh?) It's a tilt-controlled see how far you can go kind of game, and it seems like I've always got room on my phone for another one of those, particularly if it involves spiders with propeller butts.

Hungribles, 99� � Forum Thread � Hey it's the weekly physics-based ultra-cute puzzle game with tons of levels, updates coming, and a three star grading system! Sure, it's the same old song and dance, but I seriously just can't stop playing games like this, and if the iTunes top charts are any indication, neither can you.

Mad Wheels, 99� / Lite / HD � Forum Thread � Judging by the above trailers, the developers took Twisted Metal and turned it into a isometric 3D racing game… And you have no idea how OK I am with that. Three game modes are included, but the cherry on top has got to be online multiplayer. I can't wait for the player base to build up to play.

Pollen Count 99� / HD � Forum Thread � This game features that all too familiar line drawing mechanic to help bees pollinate things. According to the iTunes description, it's even the best looking casual game on the App Store. Anyway, a variety of bees are included to mix up gameplay, and there's even zombie bees. Yeah, that's right, zombie bees.

Ranger Rocket, 99� � Forum Thread � I really couldn't tell you how you play this game, but the iMovie trailer template sure makes it feel epic. A wide array of enemies are included, that must be dealt with using various power-ups, and I guess a black in white to color mechanic comes into play somehow too. Mysterious. I can't wait to try it.

Roads of Rome HD, $2.99 � Forum Thread � This is a PC game that has made the hop to the iPad. Roads of Rome is a time-management game centralized around building the Roman empire. That's certainly a much more intriguing premise than a beauty salon!

Roboto, $2.99 � Forum Thread � This 2.5D cel shaded hoverboard powered platformer just looks awesome. Just watch the trailer. There's even a free Flash version you can try out online.

Silent Ops, $6.99 � Forum Thread � This third person action adventure game features three different agents with different abilities, a 7 level single player campaign, and online multiplayer. Oh, it's even universal, a trend that I really hope Gameloft keeps up.

Silverfish MAX, $2.99 � Forum Thread � We were totally stoked about this when we heard about it a few days ago. We loved the original, so playing it on the iPad with the iCade naturally should be totally awesome.

The Marbians, Free / HD � Forum Thread � This free fling-powered physics puzzle game looks awfully nice, and it has an incredibly well done trailer… Which really makes me wonder what the catch of it being free is.

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Normal people would call Healbot [Free], an app that aims to help people "practice the World of Warcraft healing mechanic anywhere you have your iPhone or iPad," stupid, but I think those same normal, mildly unaware people would be surprised by how much traction World of Warcraft-anything gains. It's a big MMO with a huge player base that seems to love absolutely anything that even vaguely relates to it.

Also, what World of Warcraft player wouldn't like to get better? Raids are fun and all, but if you or your pals are causing boss wipe after boss wipe because of poor or unenlightened play or performances, you're going to be looking for help.

At its core, that's what Healbot tries to do. Kotaku breaks down the mechanics like this: the game features six health bars, five of which represent your and allies. The top bar is a boss character's pretend bar. As you play, all of these bars lose health at different intervals, and since you're a healing wizard as the game's namesake implies, it's your job to cast different healing spells to bring up the allied bars as the boss is drained of life.

And, yeah, that's all there is to it. It's impossible for me to evaluate if it can actually make you a better healer since I don't want to give my life away to Blizzard, but I imagine that it can, at the least, give relative newbies a sense of what to do and when in a hectic boss fight.

I wonder if future updates will attempt to add in specific bosses and their attacks? Now that, I think, would probably make this invaluable.

[@lpollet via Kotaku]

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The isometric, online-focused competitive shooter we talked about a couple of weeks ago on our fair podcast, Deadlock: Online [Free], is getting its first update. It's a doozy by update standards, as it adds two new maps to the fold: Jungle and Desert Compound. We're not too sure of the specifics on these, but with names like the and images like the ones below, we don't really need them. We get it. You get it. We're all happy.

This update also packages in a bunch of tweaks and fixes, which I'd imagine will thrill those of you out there actively participating in the game. Specifically, Crescent Moon is adding in a latency meter on custom game types. It's also adding in region tags so you know where the host is and why his latency seems out of control. On the bug front, the update will stamp out the 'double point' flag glitch, you'll now respawn instead of watch people play, and killed the name counter that hovers over dead folks.

We're told this update is expected to land within the next two weeks, so keep an eye out for it. You can stare at those screenshots or play more, oh I don't know, Deadlock while you wait. We won't mind.

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I'm not sure what it is about evil seafood from space. I thought Velocispider [99�] did a great job addressing that danger with its deadly mecha-squiddies, but it looks like Two Lives Left is set to hammer the message home in the newly announced Crabitron � you can't trust crustaceans. But you can play one, if you're patient.

Two Lives Left is the studio responsible for the excellent Wheeler's Treasure [$2.99] and Pilot Winds [Free] if you're trying to place the name. Here's what they have to say about the game:

Presenting CRABITRON, an iPad game where you take control of a Giant Space Crab. Use your humongous claws to terrorize the universe. Smash, crush and pull spaceships apart to eat their space captains! Deflect missiles, absorb lasers and even fight the devious Space Sharks of the Seafood Nebula. Find awesome and creative ways to use your claws to satisfy your ever increasing appetite… for destruction!

Sounds awesome, right? Ripping stuff apart � I can get behind that.

I had a chance to get my hands on the game for a very brief preview, and I don't think we'll be disappointed. The controls are perfect � you pinch your finger and thumb together (like a claw, natch) to control each of the Giant Space Crab's claws. You drag your claws around the screen to grab ships that pass by, and pinch your fingers closed to crush them. Then you shovel them into your mouth, because Giant Space Crabs have giant appetites. You also need to deflect projectiles back at the pesky humans who are coming to kill you.

It's early days still, so while I'd love to be able to tell you a lot more, you're just going to have to wait. How long? Two Lives Left ain't telling. Hopefully the brand-spanking-new trailer will tide you over, and we'll be back with more details when we have them.

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Is Chillingo moving to free-to-play? That's a huge question and it's one we asked ourselves when we saw a re-tooled, free-to-play-ized version of Monster Mayhem [Free] hit the App Store this week. The original game, which we reviewed back in 2010, didn't ask for cash in exchange for digital cash that you can exchange for weapons. This one does. Also, it wasn't free like this one is, which you know, is sort of the point of free-to-play.

It's not a secret that free-to-play is the dominant kind of game on the App Store, so why wouldn't a publisher like Chillingo start really digging into free-to-play? That's probably a question it asks itself a lot, but no, this doesn't signal a larger move. In a response to us, the publisher said that it will continue to institute additional functionality into games where it makes the most sense. For Monster Mayhem, an older game, optional IAP downloads did. But the publisher will continue to offer standard, premium downloads as it has and said it will.

I'll add that this is a pretty normal tactic for older games: World of Warcraft, actually, just opened up a lot more of the early game to new players for the price of $0. You could also cite titles like Turbine's Dungeons and Dragons MMO or even Lord of the Rings Online. Of course, the biggest free-to-play move in the recent past was Valve's Team Fortress 2.

If anything, free-to-play gets the game in more people's hands and opens up the potential for crazy revenue. Take the Dungeon and Dragons MMO for example: game has done crazy money since switching formats.

I wouldn't count out a larger move in the mid-to-late future from Chillingo, but as of right now, nothing big is up.

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In another "important dude said this" story, we bring you the upbeat words of EA CEO John Riccitiello in a recent interview with games industry web site, Industry Gamers. When the EA head honcho was (apparently) quizzed about his thoughts on the Wii U's middling power and its late-ish launch, Riccitiello offered up an answer with a measure of dismissiveness about cycles and consoles in general as the digital download-only future looms. His sole surprising (and headline-worthy) statement was that consoles are only 40 percent of the total games industry now.

"I would argue that one of the least interesting things about the games industry was that every 5 years you'd see a new console or platform from everybody at about the same time with about the same or similar upgrades or services," he said.

"You'd sort of harvest it and then it'd cycle back. We got used to it. It's what seemed normal. But it's not a particularly smart way to run an industry… bulges in technology investment followed by harvest."

"And let's be realistic. Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have?"

He, like the company he leads, is heavily invested in a digital future and, of course, his words need to reflect that. Fleshing out those thoughts, Riccitiello said that the iPad, a relatively new platform in this current generation, is the fastest growing platform that the company supports. But, he also noted that a console that marries the iPad with a console is a good move.

"We have a new hardware platform and we're putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn't exist 18 months ago. So the idea that we're categorizing the industry as being [cyclical]… Nintendo is off cycle with what?"

"I mean, the point of reference is gone. And so Nintendo is bringing out a new platform that brings together some of what we're learning from new media and new platforms like the iPad and then integrating that with a console. It's the perfect time for that in the industry".

Wait, only 40 percent? Wow � well, I mean, who doesn't take a rational look at the industry as it is right now with all the social games and mobile titles and think, "well, I bet consoles aren't so important now." But 40 percent? No wonder the Wii U does what it does considering the penetration of other platforms.

Riccitiello had more to say about processing power and Nintendo, of course, but you'll have to get those words through the link.

[via Industry Gamers]

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At the beginning of last month we learned that developer Godzilab was currently in the process of making a sequel to their 2009 hit physics puzzler iBlast Moki [$2.99/HD]. iBlast Moki 2 will feature similar bomb-blasting physics gameplay as the first game but with many new level elements and Moki characters, as well as an improved level editor.

Since our first post about iBlast Moki 2, Godzilab has posted additional screens and new information about the game on their Facebook page. One nugget of information they divulge is that there will be many new Mokis, including this little yellow guy on the right who the developer notes is from the Steam World levels in the game.

Another new element, the pink paint bomb, is shown in the gameplay screen below on the left. The paint bomb will blast its insides all over the ground, creating a rubbery surface for the Moki to bounce off of. In the gameplay screen on the right, you can see a mechanical structure which will move a rudimentary vehicle carrying a couple of cute little Mokis (click images to enlarge):

One of the most exciting new prospects of iBlast Moki 2 is the revamped level editor. Godzilab has improved the editor by adding new features like curves, joints, and many other new elements for even greater flexibility in creating levels. As a testament to how robust the level editor is, they admit that every level in this new game was actually created using the same level editor that will ship with the final product.

Being such a huge fan of the original iBlast Moki, it's getting pretty painful having to sustain myself on these little tidbits of information that Godzilab keeps trickling out. I'm dying to get my hands on the final game, which they are hoping to have out sometime this Summer, though nothing is concrete. There's an active thread in our forums for discussing iBlast Moki 2 as we all impatiently wait for the release, hopefully sooner rather than later.

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Lavafish Studios' Squirmee and the Puzzling Tree [99�] might look like another iteration on the tried and true one-screen puzzle game action of the App Store, but even though it initially follows the formula, it quickly turns into a brutally difficult game that will tax your brain and force you to rework your inner circuits to get through it.

You play as Squirmee, a blob-ish thing with the power to manipulate your environment as you attempt to rescue your sister from the top of a tree. To do so, you'll need to move along a track to get to a star at the end, the quicker you do so, the more stars you're awarded.

While it might not make sense until you've actually played it, Squirmee and the Puzzling Tree is a lot like Super Meat Boy flipped on its head. Instead of controlling an avatar, you're controlling the environment, but the same perfectly timed actions are required.

What sets Squirmee apart is its intuitive, albeit slightly complex control scheme. Each of the objects in the game � whether it's the buzz saws, the platform you travel on, the enemies, or the globs of goo � are color-coded. Each color behaves differently depending on the gesture you use. Some stop when you touch the screen or only move when you're not touching the screen, while others can be rewound with a touch and a slide. Each color has its own pattern and reacts depending on how you gesture. Because of the rewind slide, the universal app works a little better on iPad, but once you get the hang of the controls, both work well.

That's all well and good while you're working with only one or two colors, but when the game starts throwing three or four iterations at you, it becomes an incredibly complex, often brutal experience. That's not a bad thing by any means, but consider it a fair warning. Squirmee requires not just multi-tasking, but the ability to see multiple core game concepts at once and utilize them to get through a level. You'll often be required to stop time for a moment, flip it back and reverse it the next, all while keeping an eye on the buzz saw that only moves when you don't touch the screen. It's brilliant in much of its level design, but it's unforgiving in its difficulty.

Thankfully, the game features a skip button that lets you bypass frustrating levels. You'll be able to get through and experience most of the 75 levels even if you get stuck, provided you can at least beat the boss at the end of each level. It might seem like a cop-out, but Squirmee isn't as accessible as it might look, so the skip button is a conceit that works well here. It's a good thing controls work well as the game's frustrations don't stem from the feeling you're getting cheated, it's all about you and your ability to master each screen.

There's no cliché more apt as a description for Squirmee than "looks can be deceiving". The cartoon graphics and collect-three-stars system might sound like an indicator for simplicity, but the game complicates things quickly. It's by no means a bad thing, but it's certainly something to be aware of. Cartoon graphics aside, this is not your typical physics based puzzle game.�There is full Game Center support for leaderboards, but it only tracks your time on each of the three worlds as a whole instead of each level. It might have been nice if the leaderboards included each stage, just to add a bit of an award system to keep you moving along.

If you've been itching for a complex, difficult puzzle game, you won't find much better in the App Store, but be forewarned, there is a reasonable chance you'll be tossing it across the room by the end of it.

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