When Mighty Fin [$0.99] first hit the App Store back in June, it was a fun but flawed experience. The levels were bleak and a bit samey, the music was repetitive and the endless levels were dull, dull dull (something that was fixed in the game's first big update). Still, we enjoyed what there was of it at the time, so learning that Launching Pad Games is releasing a major update this week that addresses literally every remaining concern we had is, well, pretty awesome.

The game is going Universal, so all you iPad owners can finally get in on the fun. Mighty Fin looks fantastic on the big screen, and its one-touch control works just as well on whichever device you choose. New music has been added for each area, all in keeping with the game's original sound. Oh, and I should probably mention that the game's level count will literally double when the update hits, and the new levels are super cool. Interest piqued?

Where the game's first eight areas were largely dark and gloomy, this new batch is exploding with color. I suspect Shady Sal slipped Fin some high-grade hallucinogens to brighten his vacation up, because the little dude ends up swimming through places with names like Candy County, Ninjaville and Tomorrow Town. Ninjaville looks like something right out of Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa. It's glorious. And no worries about the game being too easy � these levels are vicious. Regular mode is tough enough, and Survival is downright killer.

Seriously, if you haven't picked Mighty Fin up yet, you should mark this Thursday, August 18 on your calendar. If you have it, pull it out again. If new levels alone aren't enough to reignite your interest, then think of the costumes � 32 new ways to dress Fin up. Could we ask for anything more?

EA has made another move to bolster its position in the casual and mobile space. Fresh off a $750 million (or more) acquisition of PopCap, the publisher has acquire Bight Games, the creators of a few notable iOS IPs, the Facebook free-to-play and iOS resource game Trade Nations [Free], and the helping hands behind a gaggle of licensed titles, including�NBA JAM [$.99 / HD] port and Legends of Wreslemania [$2.99].

While this acquisition comes as a surprise of sorts, the space EA continues to buy itself into shouldn't. EA has acquire numerous social and mobile developers over the last year or so, cementing the fact that it wants in on the emerging digital market in a bad way.

The purchase price hasn't been made public, which according to Venture Beat, indicates that EA didn't have to pay much for the Canada-based developer. But how much is "not much" after a $750 million dollar acquisition, right?

In an EA.com bog post, EA executive Barry Cottle suggests that EA's familiarity with the studio and the growth of the F2P model factored into the decision.

"At EAi, many of us already know Bight as a partner � we have worked with their talented team to develop several of our successful mobile games to date.

"Bight deepens our expertise in one of the fastest-growing segments of mobile games at an important time. We look forward to having them join our team at EAi when the deal closes later this month."

In other news, I've started my own mobile company. My catalogue is small (0) and my experience in social is "suspect," but I'm open for a buy-out, EA. Just saying.

While Nintendo hilariously won't admit that its struggling Nintendo 3DS is competing against the mobile market in addition to the traditional handheld one, Sony made it clear this afternoon that phones are the PS Vita's biggest and stiffest competition. How? By confirming tons of support that is typically reserved for phones. Twitter, Skype, Facebook, and Internet browsing will be available as tack-on apps on the PS Vita at launch. Also, the publisher is planning to put every single game that comes to the Wi-Fi and 3G-enabled platform up for download.

This news comes on the heels of news that Sony was loaning PS Vita dev kits to indie devs, which for us at least, indicates that its serious about courting the same kinds of developers that flourish on the App Store.

Provided pricing stays at sane levels, PSN on the Vita seems like it has the potential to be a really interesting platform in the future. I mean, imagine downloading an Uncharted game for the same price as, say, a Final Fantasy Tactics [$15.99]. That would be competitive, which is a word that we never use when discussing Nintendo's troubled e-Shop.

But, to be clear, that's just tinfoil speculation �- our collective, TIME-award winning guts are pretty convinced that even the downloads of retail, package games will continue to sit at retail, package prices. To be fair, though, PSN is definitely the most flexible of the three big platforms, so anything is possible.

We'll keep our eyes on the $250 PS Vita as its 2012 launch creeps ever closer. The gamer side of me really wants it to succeed, but man, it's going to one heck of a climb to the top � if it's even possible for it to get there anymore.

[Via 1UP]

Whether or not you realized it, chances are you're already familiar with COPPA, or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. If you've entered your birthday to access something, or have ever checked a checkbox to verify you're over 13, you've seen COPPA in action. In a nutshell, it's a fairly outdated set of guidelines that need to be abided by online when dealing with children. When it was first drafted in the late 90's, the Internet was a vastly different place, and the existing laws have been more or less shoehorned into dealing with all the new technology and types of Internet-enabled applications that no one even dreamed of in 1998.

Broken Thumbs Apps' parent company W3 Innovations recently found themselves under the legal hammer and (so far) is the first company to be investigated for mobile apps. Their "games" include Zombie Duck Hunt [Free], Emily's Dress Up & Shop [Free], Pocket Home [Free] and more. In the complaint, the FTC alleges that W3 Innovations "collected, maintained, and/or disclosed personal information" via these kid-targetted apps. Specifically, W3 Innovations is said to have kept a list of over 30,000 email addresses as well as personal information gathered from both Emily's games.

Aside from being obvious freemium timesink-ware, Broken Thumbs Apps series of games don't really do anything out of the ordinary for many similar games. The source of these complaints seems to be the games asking for kids to enter their name, as well as being given the option to leave comments on a blog related to the games, which of course is all saved online.

W3 immediately agreed to settle with the FTC, ponying up the $50,000 fine as well as deleting all associated data. As much as it sucks to be made an example, iOS developers should take note that the FTC now seems to actively be policing COPPA violations in iPhone apps. It's likely better to be safe than sorry in these kind of cases, so if you're responsible for something that could even vaguely be construed as kid-centric and you're not using appropriate age gates before collecting data, it might be time to think about an update rectifying that sooner rather than later.

[via Ars Technica]

A new trailer for Fish Labs' graphically gifted new-fangled version of Galaxy On Fire 2 [$9.99] has surfaced on the Inter-webs. As we've reported previously, this new sheen is presumably the result of Fish Labs' Tegra 2 versions of the game, except ratcheted up for the Mac and the all-powerful iPad 2. It looks amazing.

Sadly, Galaxy On Fire 2 Full HD � that's its real, full name � is still set to be a stand-alone product. In an old message board post, Fish Labs told our community that this decision allows for a different pricing model and keeps consumers from being confused with the new screenshots and videos. Also, a new game means the studio won't have to mess with any conflicting version bugs, especially in the game save arena.

In case you didn't catch the text, this is still a beta preview of the title. It is slated for a full release later this fall across iOS, Android, Windows, and the Mac. No pricing has been nailed quite yet, but I'd imagine we'll hear about that pretty soon as its release spirals ever closer.

In case you're not aware (and we can't blame you) chain surfing is an "extreme" street-sport which involves balancing on a hanging chain-fence strung between two posts, for as long as possible, whilst possibly performing tricks.

Words can't do this strange activity justice, so check out the clip below, for a little introductory chain surfing demonstration:

Chain Surfer [$2.99] has been released for iOS devices, so now you can go chain surfing from the comfort and safety of your own sofa. This is the first release from developers 4:20 Digital, but the graphics, animations and sound-track are all pretty solid, which is surprizing as I thought this might be a joke game, given the unusual premise. Mind you, if balancing on a beam and doing flips can be an Olympic gymnastics event, then who's to say that someone balancing on a wobbly chain, outside the supermarket at night is a lesser sport?

The controls are a mix of tilting and gesture recognition. You start by tilting the device lift-and-right to get the chain swinging, then once you're achieving some decent height and momentum, you can bust out some tricks by drawing the appropriate gestures with your finger.� For example, a downwards swipe does a 'hang-10', a left-right swipe pulls a 'front side 360', while drawing a circle performs a 360 degree flip in that direction. Skaters will be familiar with the moves.

The gesture recognition is pretty good, but not perfect, with some gestures needing to be repeated. Although to be fair it's difficult to know if that's my fault, or the game. Perhaps more practice is required. Before playing, you can try-out the tricks in the "Tricktionary" screen (that's right, trick + dictionary = trickionary). This screen lists all 14 moves and the associated finger gestures, some of which involve both taps and swipes. The gesture has to be completed while you're nice and high, or you'll wipe-out and eat some concrete.

There's three modes of play, although only Arcade mode is unlocked initially. Specific tricks are� requested, and the necessary gestures are listed on the screen to help you out. Freestyle mode requires no tilting as the chain sways automatically, letting you focus on gestures and choosing your moves to gain high-scores by doing trick-combos. The hard part is that combos only occur if you don't repeat the same move within 2 tricks. And finally, "Against the Clock" mode gives you two-and-a-half minutes to show-off for points, with extra time awarded for tricks and combos.

The tilt-and-gesture controls are an uncommon combination, because when you're busy tilting your device, it's difficult to suddenly draw gestures accurately. The player must suddenly stop tilting, scribble a quick gesture which ends at the peak of their swinging motion, then quickly return to tilting. Unfortunately, this combination of controls was always likely to feel awkward. And it does.� For this reason I prefer Freestyle mode, which has no tilting.

Chain Surfer has Game Centre and Openfeint integration for the three game modes and two difficulty levels plus 25 achievements.� The difficulty levels are amateur and professional, although let's get serious, there's no professionals; surely no-one is getting paid to chain surf out there! (…Are they?) Although, next time you see a chain fence, I bet some of you will be tempted.

This morning Time Magazine released their yearly feature, "The 50 Best Websites of 2011," where they "honor the scrappy newcomers and established players that make the Web so useful, entertaining and just plain indispensable." I'm not sure if we're technically a scrappy newcomer or an established player, but it's awesome to see TouchArcade getting this kind of recognition.

TIME cites our reviews, the forums, and our recently rebooted twice-weekly podcast The TouchArcade Show as reasons for inclusions. (And speaking of podcasts, this is probably a good time to subscribe if you haven't already.)

Anyway, I suppose this is an excellent time to thank the whole team here at TouchArcade who work their collective butts (fingers?) off wading through the ever-thickening jungle that is the gaming section of the App Store. We've got some awesome people at work here between Jared who stays up all night like an old bearded man in a light house, Brad who takes time out of his busy weightlifting schedule to manage and produce the podcast, as well as our team of freelancers both new and old who tirelessly crank out reviews all week long. So seriously, thanks guys, and thanks to everyone who makes the forums an awesome place to hang out.

[via TIME]

In this week's bonus edition of The TouchArcade Show, I do my best not to embarrass Eli in front of Unity CEO David Helgason. Helgason walks us through the formation of Unity, how it operates currently as a powerhouse engine company, and gives us a glimpse into the future of the engine across every platform, not just iOS. If you're into the nuts and bolts, or just want to know a little bit more about the engine that powers just about every game you play, this is definitely the show for you.

As usual, you can listen by streaming or downloading the podcast just below. If you're into subscriptions, we encourage you to grab us on iTunes and the Zune Marketplace. Feel free to shoot us a glowing review or three while you're at it, too.

�

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-Bonus-009.mp3, 20MB

This week's interstitial music is once again from Overclocked Remix. The re-mixer we've went with this week is the awesome always "Maze Dude." Here's the two tracks:

• Doom II: Hell On Earth � "Barrels 'O Fun"
• Doom II: Hell On Earth � "Gothic Sandy"

If you want to get in touch with us, you can do so via the Internet! Our e-mail inbox is podcast@toucharcade.com, and you can catch us on the Twitters and the Facebooks. Thanks for listening and we'll see you a little later this week.

The auto-running genre is one of the most saturated on the App Store, and although there are many excellent games that use that particular formula, there are far more mediocre or just plain bad games trying to cash in on the genre's popularity. It's because of this that it's hard to get excited when I see new running games released, similar to how I throw up a bit in my mouth every time another match-3 rears its head.

Cynical attitude aside, when a new running game comes out that's actually good, it deserves to get some attention, even if it's the billionth one I've played. This brings me to Brain in Jar [99�], the debut title from independent developer�Java Soda Games, a new auto-runner that qualifies as one of the good ones. It doesn't really reinvent the genre in any way, but it has a great visual style and the gameplay mechanics are honed near-perfectly, making it an incredibly fun game to get into. Not to mention, you play as a brain in a jar escaping human capture from a lab, which should be a wild enough notion to pique anybody's interest.

Brain in Jar isn't an endless runner, rather it's made up of 25 increasingly difficult levels that are randomly generated with each play through. Your jarred brain makes its escape by way of a sturdy metal cart which can propel itself through each level thanks to your telekinetic powers. You have the ability to jump and double jump, and a few levels into the game you get the power to control your movement speed, slowing down or speeding up using left and right arrows.

It's these game mechanics that make Brain in Jar so successful. They're simple, mind you, but done very well. Jumping is super responsive and has that certain something that makes it just "feel" right. I'd liken it to how jumping and moving in a Mario platformer just feels so much better than similar games. Also, the ability to control your speed adds another layer of strategy that sets this game apart from other runners, and again Java Soda really nails the feel of controlling your character this way.

Another highlight to the gameplay are the obstacles in each level, which get more dangerous as you progress. These are typically science lab-ish items, like computer desks and metal bookshelves. What's clever is that some of these items can be dealt with in multiple ways. For instance, you don't have to jump over a desk or table, as some of them you can just ride right under. Or with bookshelves you can just jump right through the open spaces in the shelving rather than trying to jump the entire thing.

These multiple paths come more into play as you get deeper into Brain in Jar. Eventually, as one example, there will be lasers trying to shoot you down in your tracks. You can fire back, of course, but you can also seek shelter under a table in some circumstances. The best part about this is how it tends to all happen on the fly. You might be cruising along and have to double jump a giant bookcase, then slow yourself down so as not to run into a ceiling mounted turret, casually dropping down and racing under a desk as the turret futilely fires at you from above, the desktop shielding you from its blast.

It's these organic action sequences that really put a smile on my face while �playing Brain in Jar, and help me forgive some of the game's shortcomings. For one, while the 3D backgrounds and objects look good, they never change, and the scenery tends to feel pretty repetitive. Secondly, there's no endless mode. The standard Normal mode is certainly challenging enough, and the Hard mode will really test your skill, but with the random nature of the levels and the running gameplay it seems strange not to include some type of endless survival mode. To that effect, Game Center integration with achievements and leaderboards would be a great addition to add some variety and replay value to the game.

While there aren't a ton of bells and whistles in Brain in Jar, what it does do it does extremely well, almost better than any of my other favorite running games. The developers seem keen on adding more to the game through updates too, as they've said in our forums where members are enjoying the game as well. If you aren't totally burnt out on auto-running games and want one with a comical sci-fi style and excellent mechanics, then give Brain in Jar a spin.

The third episode of Agharta Studios' conceptually brilliant and artistically inspired adventure game series, 1112, has been submitted to Apple and if all goes as planned it should be available on the App Store this coming Tuesday the 23rd. Regardless, it's out the door and essentially finished after a year or so in development, which is an incredible about of time for a touch game.

Agharta sends word that this episode, naturally, introduces new characters and locations to explore. More importantly, it features several fresh multi-touch "experiences" or puzzles, as well as an intense soundtrack. To get a taste of the latter, just watch this:

We're also being told that Episode 3 features a longer campaign than the initial two episodes combined. Does that make up for the wait? I don't know, but we'll definitely be diving in as soon as we possibly can. Man, that trailer was awesome.

Pocket Warriors [$4.99] is an action hack-and-slash game, with 2d cartoon-style graphics, from WitOne Games.� It's based on killing� monsters and leveling-up your weapons through combat. But you're not alone on this quest, as your party consists of two little warriors � a male and a female, who must work together to protect the village from monsters and dragons. In the thread in our forums, Pocket Warriors is likened to a 2D version of the Monster Hunter series, and it provides many hours of monster combat, with 3 chapters, each containing 12 missions for a total of 36 quests.

Your adventure starts in the village, as you prepare for battle. There's a weapons trader selling both weapons and magic spells,� a blacksmith offering weapon upgrades, the village chief dishing out quests, and your own home for depositing items and storing stuff. After interacting with these four places to prepare, you can walk through the village gates to hunt the next available monster. There's often no minions, just straight to the boss!

The monsters are the real stars of this game and fortunately they're varied and creative, so it's a pleasure to unlock and confront them, one by one. There's 14 monsters shown in your "Monster Book", such as fire-dragons, hell-crabs and stone giants, each of which looks and behaves differently and has unique weaknesses. The key to this game, as with any boss-fight, is to study how each monster behaves during combat and then exploit this to defeat it, using weapons and magic.

How does the combat work? Well, this is a hack-and-slash game, but it's a slowed-down version of this. There's buttons for moving left / right, attacking, defending, switching characters, and magic spell slots (up to 3, if acquired). There's definitely some button mashing while attacking, but you also need to constantly withdraw and attack strategically, depending on the monster being fought. I found the block button slow and unreliable, so generally preferred to back away. String together ten successful attacks and the monster will drop some material, which you can grab for weapons upgrades. The goal is to defeat the monster before it reaches the village or kills either of your party members, which leads to a reward of coins and materials.

The male and female warrior use different types of weapons, with swords, lances, axes, bows and magic maces being available. The cost of upgrading these weapons with game money is not cheap, so some grinding is necessary, whereby you fight low-level monsters over again to earn the money and materials needed for upgrades. Once weapons are upgraded to a high level, you can hold down the attack button, then release to launch a super-attack.

While you control one character in combat, your secondary character is automatically controlled. They rush into battle and flee automatically, which sounds great and helpful, except sometimes their battle-skills suck and they die, which leads to defeat. You can switch characters to try and save them, but then your primary character is controlled automatically. It would be better to either have some limited control over the secondary character, or to ensure they don't directly cause your quest to fail. Some users even suggested it would be better to go into combat alone. The developer has recently joined our forum thread and advises he'll improve the automated AI controls.

Pocket Warriors has some lovely atmospherics which make the game pleasing to play. Some backdrops include the plains, wilderness, forest, and a lost temple, each with quality sound effects, such as birds, sheep and frog noises in the background. There's also several spelling mistakes and the character name field accepts lengthy names, spanning multiple lines, which can ruin the display of in-game dialog � so don't do that! But none of this detracts from the basic pleasure of defeating monsters, using the cute little warriors that reside in your pocket.

Hey, guys, Phoenix [Free] is reborn! Developer Firi Games' bullet-hell shooter is now available in HD form on the App Store. It's also free to download on both the iPhone and iPad, though it's supported via IAP content. We took a nice, hard, and long look at the original Phoenix back in October 2010 and dug what it had to offer. The integration of HD visuals in this particular version is a welcome and awesome addition to an already visually impressive bullet-hell style shoot-'em-up.

Where you'll be limited by the IAP is in ships, and oddly enough, leaderboard support. I guess the latter illustrates that Firi is confident that people who jump in will click with the action, and then get hooked to the scoring mechanics.

These screens and this launch trailer pretty much say all you need to know on a conceptual level. On a technical note, Firi is telling us that this will continue to run on 3rd gen iDevices, despite the whole "re-master for 4th gen" thing this project has going for it.

Spellsquares [$1.99 / HD], an atmospheric word puzzle game from Benthic Games, hit the App Store with its iPad version back in June. We missed out on it then, but we picked the game up on its iPhone release this month. It's right at home on the small screen, maintaining an enchanting mix of exploration and challenging puzzles.

In Spellsquares' story mode, you find yourself wandering a castle with a mystery to solve. A mysterious stranger has left notes to guide you on your way (kind of him, since you're out to foil his nefarious plan). Each door, treasure and point of interest is blocked with a word puzzle that you'll need to solve. The puzzles are crafted like Sudoku for words. A square grid is laid out with a few letters already in place. A pool of available letters sits to the side. Your job is to use those letters to make words in every row and column at once � easy puzzles require three-letter words and the hardest require five. Solving them takes a little bit of logic and a touch of vocabulary. Once you factor in hints, you'll also need a dash of strategy.

As you explore the castle, you'll discover hidden coins in every room. Those can be taken back to the Oracle, a ghostly automaton that entreats you to pick a card, any card. In exchange for your coin, you'll receive one of three hint items to help you on your way: two that reveal correct letters in single squares, and one that will confirm every correct letter you've placed in a particular puzzle. The hints are plentiful, but they aren't unlimited. Conserve them, but don't go overboard. There's no benefit to making it through the game without turning to hints aside from personal pride.

I found the game challenging enough that I was pumping coins into the Oracle fairly often, but your mileage may vary. If you find the game too easy and you didn't choose the hardest mode, restart and push it up a notch. Rushing through on Easy and then replaying on Medium or Hard will be a disappointment. The puzzles are the same; they just give away fewer revealed letters, so you'll be redoing puzzles you've already solved.

Spellsquares' story barely deserves to be described as such, but I don't count that against the game. It's a familiar tale: evil wizard does something evil, and an anonymous hero comes to uncover the mystery and defeat the plot. It serves to add a sense of exploration and purpose to the puzzling, and does an admirable job of that. Exploring the castle wasn't a thrill, but it was a nice break to clear my head between puzzles.

The story comes to a conclusion after you explore 14 rooms and solve a few dozen puzzles. But the game isn't over at that point. Completing the game unlocks Quick Play mode, with 60 puzzles of varying difficulty. You're given no hints for these ones, so they'll add a dose of challenge if you're still hooked.

An excellent user interface rounds out the Spellsquares experience. It isn't flawless � I found trouble placing letter tiles in lower squares at times, for instance � but it has one feature that every similar game should learn from. You can walk away from a puzzle at any time, and when you return your tiles will still be where you left them. If you need to head back to the Oracle mid-puzzle or you decide to move to a different room and return later, your progress remains intact. Saved me a headache or two, that's certain.

With over 100 puzzles to work through, Spellsquares offers the word-puzzle fan a lengthy and entertaining experience. It won't last forever, but its well-crafted puzzles are a joy to work through once. If you missed out when the iPad version was released, now's your chance. While you're at it, pop into our discussion thread to share your impressions.