Whenever anybody brings up the question "what game would you love to see on iOS?", it's almost always a guarantee that somebody will bring up developer 5thCell's Scribblenauts series, which has led a fairly successful life on the Nintendo DS platform since 2009. The gameplay hook of typing in words to create objects in the game world, which then help you solve the puzzles in the game, is a hallmark of the Scribblenauts series and would be a perfect fit for iOS devices.

Well, Scribblenauts enthusiasts, your time has come as 5thCell and Warner Bros. Interactive along with Iron Galaxy Studios have just released Scribblenauts Remix [$4.99] into the US App Store.

Scribblenauts Remix is sort of a "best of" version of the previous titles in the series, developed specifically for the iOS touch screen. There are 40 levels taken from both the original Scribblenauts and its sequel Super Scribblenauts, as well as 10 brand new levels that are exclusive to this iOS version. Additionally, there is Game Center support, iOS 5 iCloud saves across separate devices, and literally tens of thousands of words within the in-game dictionary, ensuring there's no lack of items to create to solve the various puzzles.

We'll put Scribblenauts Remix through the wringer and come back with a full review soon, but early impressions in our forums are extremely positive and if you're already a fan of the Scribblenauts series then chances are you've already hit the buy button before finishing reading this post.

Mos Speedrun [Free] from developer Physmo is a retro-inspired platformer that was released this past April. I pretty much fell in love with Mos Speedrun when I reviewed it upon release, and the game has only gotten better since then with updates that have added things like new levels, a fun video replay feature, and support for the iCade.

So basically, Mos Speedrun has been one of my favorite platformers on iOS, and has only been getting more awesome with the developer's commitment to updates. Now, for the first time ever, you can snag Mos Speedrun for the incredibly reasonable price of FREE.

It should go without saying, but if you somehow don't have Mos Speedrun yet, then you need to run straight to the App Store and pick it up during this free promotion. It's Universal, and plays wonderfully on either the iPhone/iPod touch or the larger-screened iPad.

Physmo has also hinted that another set of new levels is currently in the works, so even if you blast through the 25 included levels (plus additional web levels which can be found on the Physmo website) then you can look forward to some more in the very near future. At any rate, don't miss your chance to pick up this gem of a platformer while free.

Zero dollars is the final asking price for Forever Drive [Free], Supermono Studios' latest and easily its most ambitious project to date. The game cleared certification and hit the App Store just yesterday after an unfortunate setback or two kept the game from hitting as planned.

We've covered Forever Drive exhaustively over the last month or so, but it's unusual approach to the racing genre still hasn't lost its luster with us. In brief, it's a game that leans a lot on its users, asking them to create all of its 2D tracks and colorful instances. Each and every race you participate within the game is a product of its sharp track editor, and you'll be encouraged to make your own whenever you're not busy with the driving forever part of the core experience. Here's a little teaser from one of our pre-release report-y things:

With�Forever Drive,�Supermono Studios is taking a way smarter approach to user-created content design: instead of asking players to shape entire experiences, it asks that they mold a fraction of a blip of an infinitely expandable super-highway. By managing expectations before you even start creating, Supermono is freeing you from failure and the game's players at wide from having to filter out tons of garbage. Most user-created content leaning titles, including Media Molecule's venerable series, don't enforce any kind of control or creative constraint, which makes�Forever Driveunique, and as we've been discovering, pretty fun.

Zero dollars isn't a lot, so even if the idea of the game sparks some sort of reaction from your squishy grey matter, you may as well give it a spin. We'll definitely get you a full review in the near future, though, if you're the cautious type.

We first told you about Pixel N Texel, a new development studio comprised of two former id Mobile and Method Studios alumni, back in late July when they announced their upcoming iOS action RPG Fara.

The brief teaser trailer for Fara really caught our attention due to the game's stylized visuals that had an almost painted look. Fara also seemed interesting in that it really is trying to fully utilize the iOS platform, with special attention paid to being able to manipulate objects in the environment with your finger and control certain aspects with tilt functionality. This is enhanced further with the use of the Box2D physics engine, which also gives an element of weight to the objects in the game and the characters during battle.

After a couple of months of relative silence as Pixel and Texel toiled away at Fara, today they have posted to their website a brand new trailer that features a more substantial look at the gameplay:

Besides the new trailer, which looks quite stunning, the developers have also announced today that Fara will be available later this month, on October 21st.

I've seen plenty of these types of ambitious projects with small development teams seem to get stuck in perpetual development, with dates getting pushed back and work on the game never seeming to end. It's refreshing to see this two man team releasing news for their game along with a release date that's just over a week away. This is especially true since I've been looking forward to Fara quite intensely since it was announced, and I selfishly would love to get my hands on the game as soon as possible.

We'll have more on Fara when it releases later this month.

Mika Mobile's side-scrolling follow-up Zombieville USA 2 will miss its summer launch window, but development is still rolling. In an e-mail update given to us alongside a hip new teaser trailer, the studio said it's in the final testing phase with the game and hopes to get it out of the door a little later this month. It added "we'd rather ship a good game slowly than a crappy one today," which is a sentiment we totally agree with.

From what we're gleaning, Zombieville USA 2 is primed to be a significant upgrade. It'll boast new faces, an assortment of shiny new weapons and interesting firing mechanics, and some cool character customization, of course, but it'll also introduce 3D movement that actually let's you dodge enemies and a fresh new take on the level formula by the way of mission-based play.

Mika Mobile announced Zombieville USA 2 earlier this August. In the same month, it also 2011-ized the original game [$1.99]�with Universal support, retina display visuals, and support for "fast app switching." We hope to grab a build and report back to you in the near future, but until then, we definitely suggest you keep yourself busy with the first romp.

Mediocre's Sprinkle [$.99] got a little bigger and presumably a smidgen more controversial with its fans this afternoon. In a new update, the studio added Game Center support and tacked on two new levels to Sprinkle's initial world. It also added a new juicy 12-level world to the core game, bringing the level count up to a healthy 60. In a strange twist, this update also packs in a separate six-level content update exclusively for those who grabbed the game's IAP back when it was available.

If you haven't been keeping records at home, Sprinkle came under some fire after its initial release for offering level unlock functionality via IAP. Medicore removed the IAP, but kinda left those paying owners a little high and dry in the process � until now, at least. We just wonder how that same crowd who let their feedback be known will respond to this move.

Regardless of reception, giving levels to IAP owners strikes us as a particularly interesting way to do business. We're stoked to see how this pans out down the road, especially if IAP opportunities come back to Sprinkle. Pay a little, get a little PLUS bonuses seems like a good deal to us. If that model is viable or not is an entirely different question altogether.

Anyway, Sprinkle has an update, so go check it out. If you're not on the Sprinkle train yet, you may want to consider hopping aboard. It's a good game, we swear.

Don't count out the possibility of a handset version of Botanicula. In a chat with Pocket Gamer, Czech dev Amanita Design said it was at least considering the idea of bringing the mind-meltingly gorgeous point-and-click "exploration game" to phones. Fleshing that comment out, it cautioned that Botanicula for phones is "still just an idea and we need to carry out a few experiments before we can talk about it seriously."

Botanicula was revealed earlier this month and is currently slated for a release at some point in early 2012 across the PC and Macintosh. Its premise goes a little something like this: five bug-like friends go on a journey to "save the last seed from their home tree which is infested by evil parasites" and, apparently, spiders.

"Mind-meltingly gorgeous" is probably an understatement on my part, by the way. Botanicula is… just, wow. We sincerely hope a touch version will prove viable for the studio.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

Like most, I think of myself as a reasonably intelligent person. I'm no genius, but I'd like to believe I've got a few brain cells to rub together. SpaceChem Mobile [$5.99], a puzzle game that's just made its way from PC to iPad, shakes my confidence about my own intelligence � and then it leaves me feeling brilliant, just moments later.

Zachtronics Industries' puzzler hit the PC indie scene earlier this year, wowing critics and players alike. I tell you this to keep you reading, because the other shoe is about to drop: this is a game about chemical synthesis. And it's not some sort of dolled up, sexy chemical synthesis. This game puts players to work creating chemical products from their raw elements in the simplest terms possible. You'll be bonding one chemical symbol to another, creating workflows out of color coded paths to move them along. And you'll (probably) love it.

I say "probably," because SpaceChem isn't for everyone. You'll need a heavy dose of curiosity and creativity, plenty of patience and just a dash of masochism. But if you're still reading this review after seeing the screenshots and learning what it's about, I'm pretty sure you'll love this game.

As mentioned, SpaceChem is all about chemical synthesis. You're responsible for turning elements and compounds into the required chemical products, and then mass producing them. At the game's most basic, a level requires you to bring in two elements, bond them together and output the correct compound. To facilitate this process, you have a pair of red and blue waldos, remote manipulators that will follow the paths you lay down and the commands you place in that path. You create the program, and they'll follow through, red on red, blue on blue.

From that simple input/output beginning you'll learn to break and create bonds, combine and discard the fruits of multiple reactors and set up conditional commands. The outputs get more and more complicated, but the game largely lets you muddle your way through unassisted. Aside from introducing you to each new command with a tutorial screen, you'll be left on your own to work through each level. This left me hitting my head on any number of walls while I worked my way through, but there are few feelings as good as finally solving a tricky level and watching your quota fill up.

Each time you get that thrill, though, there's another level waiting to defeat you. There over 40 levels to work through in the main campaign, and most leave you longing for the comfort of your last completed level. Once you're through those, there are well over 100 more puzzles available in ResearchNet with more to come. These are community created and carefully curated, and yes, you can contribute your own assignments as well.

One of the coolest things about SpaceChem is that each level has a near-endless number of potential solutions. Each solution you come up with is ranked against the community, so you'll know if you could have done better, with fewer cycles spent or symbols used. Then you can go back and increase your efficiency. If you're so inclined, you can also see what players from the desktop version have done by visiting SolutionNet. It's cheating, a bit, but it's also extremely educational to learn how efficiently other people are pulling these things off.

Playing SpaceChem feels like learning a new skill. It's a slow education, but you can build on what you learn until you no longer feel like you need to start each challenge from scratch. The light-bulb moments are frequent and motivating. This game should feel like work, but it's insanely fun.

Unfortunately, the iPad version is missing a little bit of the desktop version: namely, the story and boss battles. The boss battles didn't work with the iPad's setup, and the story had to be chucked without them. So if you can't bear to go without, you might want to consider making your purchase on desktop. But everything else about this port is top notch. After an early patch the interface works beautifully on the touch screen. The music is fantastic, and, for what it's worth, the game looks as good as it could on any desktop monitor.

SpaceChem is an easy purchase to recommend. It's not as if I can tell you to buy it if you're into puzzle games about creating workflows for chemical synthesis � you're looking at a rare breed. If any part of you thinks you might be interested in such a thing, then congratulations, you're the target market. Play SpaceChem. If you don't, you're depriving yourself of one of the smartest, coolest puzzle games around. Why would you want to go and do a thing like that?

Xurge [$0.99] doesn't try to wow you with a particularly deep gameplay experience or with awe-inducing graphics. Rather, Xurge is one of those retro-style games that seeks to get you hooked on simple gameplay that becomes progressively more difficult and challenges you to simply get better at what it offers. As far as simple arcade games go, Xurge does a good job of hitting its mark.

Xurge doesn't bother trying to create any kind of story to serve as a backdrop to your gameplay. You can discern that there are alien invaders attempting to take over your planet, and the only thing between them and world domination are your four cannons. Obviously, the goal then becomes to take out all the invaders with said cannons before the intruders take them out. Before a cannon can be fired, however, you must tap on it to prime it. Once primed, taking a shot is as easy as pressing the big 'Fire' button on the screen.

To further complicate matters, your cannons can be primed in two different modes, each designed to take out different colored enemies. In addition, random bombs will be coming down on the sides of the screen, which must be destroyed by tapping on them. Aiding in your planetary defense are power-ups that occasionally appear after taking out certain invaders. Power-ups range from increased firepower to a slow mode, and can provide a short-lived advantage.

All these elements lead to a certain situational awareness that must be kept in order to last long in Xurge. Not only do you have to make sure that the right cannon is primed, but you have to make sure it is in the right mode and firing correctly. As the later levels increase the tempo (and variety) of the baddies, gameplay becomes frantic, but still enjoyable. One complaint is in the delay between tapping a cannon and having it primed, but I believe this is a deliberate choice to add some tension to the later parts of the game when precision and speed are essential to survival.

Xurge seems to embrace its retro-inspired feel in all facets, and does a good job doing so. Everything from the 16-bit pixelated visuals to the catchy MIDI-esque music screams nostalgia. More importantly, the 16-bit heritage does a good job of complementing the overall feel of Xurge, rather than being any sort of hindrance to it. Of course, if pixelated graphics aren't your thing, then odds are you probably aren't going to appreciate the artistic style of Xurge.

If you're a fan of retro-themed titles and are looking for a new arcade game, Xurge isn't a bad choice to check out. It combines a simple, yet enjoyable gameplay experience with longevity features such as achievements, Game Center and OpenFeint support, and a fair amount of difficulties and game modes. Sure, the gameplay is a bit basic, but what it does offer is executed well.

Sierra On-Line's edgier point-and-click adventure franchise, Leisure Suit Larry, will live a new life in this fascinating age of revivals and downloadable games. Replay Games, an outfit headed up by an old Sierra employee, has managed to grab the ancient IP and plans to release an HD version of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards in Q4 2012. This will be followed by several other re-makes and maybe even a new game or two if things pan out.

We wouldn't be feeding you this information if the games weren't slated for the iPad and the iPhone, but in case you're curious, Lounge Lizards HD is also slated for every other platform under the sun, including PC, Mac, XBLA, PSN, Android, On-Live, and Gaikai. Original creator Al Lowe is "working closely" with Replay Games on the re-makes, which should help these games realize their new potential on touch devices and other mediums.

"I'm overjoyed to see Larry released from his digital dungeon after all this time, and be placed in the hands of someone who understands him and wants to see him, brought back to the forefront by people who love him and understand him," Lowe told EGM exclusively.

Leisure Suit Larry first debuted in 1987, and even though it saw a re-release in 1991, it's still a crazy old property. Here's to hoping that the formula that made the games so great back in the day still holds up.

[Via EGM]

Super Cyclone [99�] is a challenging 2D dual-stick shooter released by Miniclip.com and UK-based developers�PlayerThree.� It involves shooting aliens, dodging and blasting asteroids, collecting pick-ups and trying to stay alive long enough to protect the star-gates from waves of alien attack.

Whereas most dual-stick shooters occur within a rectangular playing area, the space battles in Super Cyclone are set within a circular zone. In the center of the playing area is a star-gate. The invading aliens want to breach the star-gate, to gain access to our planetary system. You're on patrol to ensure that doesn't happen, by shooting them all down. If any enemy-spawning alien nests enter the star-gate, it's game-over.

The main controls are a standard dual-stick shooter configuration, with the left stick used for navigation and the right stick for 360 degree firing. There's a button for launching missiles and another for weapon selection. A couple of users in our discussion forum found the navigation controls "twitchy", but personally I had no problems making the ship move and fire where I wanted.

When you destroy an alien craft, a yellow "heart" appears for collection (although it doesn't actually resemble a heart). These increase your score multiplier and are converted to coins once the level is completed, so grab them quickly before they disappear. If you don't collect the hearts, you'll have absolutely no chance of reaching the difficult scores required to achieve a three-star level score.

You can double tap (and hold) the right stick to make your ship spin around rapidly, like a …super cyclone. In this mode your ship can destroy enemies and attract any floating pick-ups or yellow "hearts" in the vicinity. The cyclone feature also causes overheating, as shown on a "cyclone meter", so if you spin too long your ship explodes, depleting one of your three lives.

Your craft is protected by a shield system, which weakens with each attack or collision. To restore the shields power you need to find a quiet area and stop shooting briefly. This forces a quick change of pace, which is a nice interlude from the often frantic and crowded battles.

Your ship is also equipped with a radar system, which displays small icons around your craft, which are color coded to represent different enemy types, pick-ups, or appearing enemy nests. The direction to your star-gate is also shown, to keep you orientated. Asteroids don't show up on the radar, so you need to stay alert to dodge or shoot incoming hunks of space-rock. If you shoot asteroids, they break into smaller pieces, as in the classic Asteroids game.

The enemies evolve as you progress, learning new behaviors and acquiring new technology (such as stealth technology, so they don't appear on the radar), making them harder to beat in later levels. Some enemies become more aggressive as you progress, while others turn cautious, but more deadly.� One example of enemy evolution is that the alien nests gain the ability to fire weapons in 360-degrees, in addition to spawning multiple aliens to chase you around. There's reportedly 24 different enemy evolutions of behavior in total (not to be confused with 24 different enemy ships, which there's not).

The star-gate starts to spin when it's about to release a special pick-up item. This might be a new type of weapon and ammunition, such as a barrage of heat seeking missiles or rapid fire. You need to grab any pick-up's quickly before they float off into space.

You can purchase weapons and ammo-packs in an in-game store, using money earned by collecting yellow hearts or via in-app purchases (which are not necessary).� Your default weapon is a plasma cannon, but you can also buy or pick-up heat seeking missiles which cause splash damage, pulsar shots with fast and wide spread, or ION bolts with extra range. The store includes some "coming soon" slots, which the developers plan to fill with additional weapons, new ships, and possibly a wing-man.

There's four sectors to play, each with seven levels, making 28 levels in total. Each time you clear a level by surviving the waves of attack, the next level is unlocked. By the time you reach sector B, things are frantic and several enemies will be swarming around you. Fortunately, this game is level-based, so you're not starting from the very beginning each time.

Although Facebook integration is provided, they haven't included Game Center leaderboards, which is unusual for a points-based shoot'em-up which already has Game Center achievements. Also, they seem to have forgotten a Game Center achievement for completing sector D. However, the developer advises leaderboards will be added in a coming update and in the meantime the best scores are being recorded.

The current version has a few teething problems. It erratically freezes when the pause menu is accessed and achievements are sometimes awarded more than once, but the developer is releasing fixes for both of these issues. Also, the tutorial pages flick by automatically and there's no option to replay it, unless you erase the game data and re-start from scratch. The pick-up items have labels which are too small and disappear quickly, leaving you wondering what you picked up. And lastly, a vague� "Achievement achieved" message appears when you satisfy a Game Center achievement, but it doesn't say which achievement. These notifications overlap the left stick and appear inconveniently under your fingers, so the message is partially obscured.

Super Cyclone has some fun ideas, such as the star-gates and alien nests, which ensure the gameplay is more interesting than simply shooting enemies endlessly. This game is available on the Miniclip website so you can try it in your computer browser for free; although rest assured it handles much better on our touch screens.