Remember back in November when Geoff told us about a Minecraft clone for iOS devices? Minecrafted, it was called. It didn’t last long in the App store, getting pulled promptly for using the original game’s code. Since then there has been a square-shaped hole in the App store just waiting for something Minecraft-y to fill the void. Sure, there have been other iOS imitators, but nothing that brings the full Minecraft experience to an iPhone or iPad. That will change later this year, when the crafty minds at Mojang bring an official Minecraft app to iOS devices.

As Mojang head, and Minecraft creator, Markus “Notch” Persson revealed to Gamasutra, the port will be handled by Aron Neiminen, a new addition to the Mojang team. The iOS version of Minecraft won’t necessarily include all of the features of the browser and downloadable original, but instead have the features which “make sense” on a touch-screen device. Which features that refers to is still unknown, so while fans need not yet rage about a watered-down port, expectations should also be tempered for a portable supplement to the original game. There’s no release date yet for the official Minecraft app, with a tentative date of “later this year.” On the bright side, at least we now know an official Minecraft app is in development.

Gamasutra

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It’s been a long time coming, but Curve Studios’ PSN action platformer Explodemon finally has a release date and price. PS3 gamers in the US can get their hands on Explodemon through PSN on February 8 with a European release following the next day on February 9. It won’t break the bank either, priced at $9.99, 9.99 Euros, or £7.99, depending on the currency of choice where you happen to live.

The game looks like an absolute blast, if you’ll pardon the expression, with heavy influences from the SNES-era of platformers, or back when Capcom turned Disney licenses into quality games instead of stealing from indie developers.  Who ever said good things don’t come to those who wait?  I’ve been waiting almost two years for Explodemon, and in two weeks it will finally be here.

We knew that Mr. Minecraft would be joining the cast of unlockable characters for Super Meat Boy‘s PC debut, but there were still five more mystery characters left unknown.  Well knock that number down to four, because we now have confirmation that VVVVVV‘s Captain Viridian has made the cut.  The confirmation comes from Destructoid, who yesterday hosted an all-night play session of Super Meat Boy to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research.  The charity drive was started by Super Meat Boy composer Danny B, whose sister suffers from the disease and who pledged that all sales of his soundtracks during this weekend would get donated to MS research.  To celebrate donations reaching $2000, Edmund McMillen let out the news about Captain Viridian’s appearance in the PC version.

What he didn’t reveal is how exactly Captain Viridian will play.  I imagine he’ll need to flip gravity horizontally as well as vertically to work with many of the game’s levels, but this is purely speculation.  Terry Cavanagh will also be making some exclusive VVVVVV inspired levels for Super Meat Boy on PC, most likely with the PC version’s level editor tools.

Danny B is still donating proceeds from his soundtracks to MS research through the end of the weekend, so those in need of some awesome music (Super Meat Boy, Canabalt, Gravity Hook, and Glorg, for example) and want to support a good cause should head over to his Bandcamp page.

Super Meat Boy is a fantastic game, but it isn’t without its own set of bugs and quirks.  No, I’m not talking about the kill screen levels, those are just hard.  More along the lines of a rare save bug that sometimes stops the game from saving until you restart.   Currently the best way to avoid the bug is to avoid pressing Y too quickly when the replay starts (for more security either watch level replay to completion or exit to the level select screen between levels).  But that will soon change thanks to a title update that “will fix all known bugs” according to Team Meat’s Twitter.  The title update should be finished up this week and submitted to Microsoft for certification soon.  How long certification will take is anyone’s guess.  It could be a day or, as was the case with a recent title update for Monday Night Combat, it could be a week or more.

There’s more reason to be excited about the title update than just bug fixes though.  20 new levels for “Teh Internets” and a new music track will also be added to the game as part of the title update.  The levels will be part of a new chapter titled “I Meat Boy” and will be the first new set of levels added since the game’s release.  They’re an “amazingly challenging” batch according to Meat Boy creator Edmund McMillen, so they will likely add several more hours of obscenity yelling entertainment.

Who doesn’t have fond memories of playing Oregon Trail.  Of course, most people didn’t so much play the game as name their entire party after their friends and see how quickly the whole wagon could die off, but it was good times none the less.  The developers at The Men Who Wear Many Hats remember those times, but thought the original game was missing something.  And by something, I of course mean zombies.  And thus Organ Trail was born.  I first met The Men Who Wear Many Hats and saw Organ Trail during a meetup of Indie City Games in Chicago, and am glad to see a playable build finally released on the net.

And you know what, Organ Trail is actually a great adaptation of the classic game.  A station wagon replaces your wagon, and fuel replaces oxen, but it all still functions essentially the same.  One difference is the hunting minigame, which was smartly adapted into scavenging for food while fighting back wayward zombies instead of shooting zombies for food.  The game is still in beta at this point, but is entirely playable.  Future updates will add features like a save system, music, an updating map, more minigames, and possibly a more involved barter system.

Organ Trail – The Men Who Wear Many Hats

Hot on the success of Monster Dash on iOS platfroms, Halfbrick now brings us Barry Steakfries’ original adventure for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.  Originally released as a PSP Mini, Age of Zombies throws Barry through time to blast zombies and spout out one-lines that would make Ash Williams proud.  Halfbrick has been very successful with the $1 price point on iOS in the past, but for Age of Zombies Halfbrick is aiming high at $2.99.  And even at the higher price point, Halfbrick has another winner.

GAMEPLAY

On the PSP and PS3 Age of Zombies was a twin-stick shooter, and the iOS version carries over that control scheme quite well.  Virtual joysticks appear on-screen under your thumbs and can be easily used to move Barry and aim his gun at the oncoming hordes of undead.  It’s a control scheme found in dozens of iOS titles, and while it does mean a decent portion of the screen is covered during play, it works well with the limited options available on Apple’s devices.  Age of Zombies does a better job with it than most though by having the joysticks appear wherever you set your thumbs down.  With the iPhone’s limited screen real estate it is a huge improvement to be able to adjust on the fly what area of the screen my thumbs cover.

Barry Steakfries’ arsenal might not be the most original, consisting of genre staples like SMGs, shotguns, and flamethrowers, but the way they are used is fairly unique.  When you pick up a weapon power-up, every zombie you kill with that weapon counts toward a combo meter.  When you run out of ammo or pick up any other weapon (including another power-up of whichever weapon you are currently using) the combo is broken and you collect a score bonus based on the combo you built to that point.  This encourages a bit of restraint in terms of how you ration the power-ups that are dropped in the level, which can become a challenge when trying to balance 40+ zombies coming at you from all sides.

And of course, let’s not forget about the zombies themselves.  As Barry travels through prehistoric times, 1930′s Chicago, ancient Egypt, feudal Japan, and into the future the zombies change to match his new surroundings.  This isn’t just a cosmetic change, as certain time periods introduce new enemy types with new attacks.  This is topped with a boss battle in each time period, like a showdown with a zombified T-Rex.  Between the different zombie types and weapon-based combo system, Age of Zombies does a nice job of breaksing up what could have easily become an all too repetitive shooter.

If there is a downside to Age of Zombies, it would be the game’s length.  With only five levels (consisting of three short stages each) to the game’s story mode, it doesn’t have quite the same replayability as Halfbrick’s other iOS games.  To extend the game’s length there is also a survival mode, allowing you to enter any of the time periods and fight as long as possible to secure a place on the leaderboards.  And while the gameplay is incredibly addicting in the survival modes, the real draw for me in Age of Zombies is the story so I seldom found myself motivated enough to actually select that menu option.

STYLE

Age of Zombies looks fantastic on any iOS screen.  It looks even better than it originally did on the PSP, and that already was no slouch.  In a top-down isometric perspective, the zombies that already stole the show in Monster Dash show even more personality as they follow Barry around each level.  The levels themselves deserve recognition of their own, featuring bright colors that pop on the portable screen, but are never a hindrance in distinguishing Barry or his undead adversaries from the surrounding area.  It’s a shame that playing the game requires you to cover up so much of the screen with your thumbs, preventing you from seeing all of the detail put into every frame.

STORY

Ah, now here is where Age of Zombies shines brightest.  The evil professor Brain has sent zombies back in time, and it’s up to Barry to go back and fix the time-space continuum and save the day.  The writing is often hilarious, completely self-aware, and enough to dethrone Duke Nukem as the king of videogame one-liners.  In his review of Monster Dash, Arsen lamented the lack of story to give context to Barry and the crazy world he inhabits.  Well, Age of Zombies is exactly the story that was missing in Monster Dash.  How can you say no to robot zombies?  Yes, there are robot zombies.

OTHER

Age of Zombies is a great shooter for iOS devices.  Better than the original PSP Minis version, in fact.  Add in support for both Open Feint and Game Center, and you’ll have leaderboards and achievements to last you a long time.  The main story mode might be short, but it’s comic gold that you won’t want to miss out on.  Leaderboard addicts will love the survival mode, unlike the PSP Mini version those leaderboards are online to offer competition from around the world.  If you like to laugh, then Age of Zombies might be the only iOS action game you’ll ever need.

You’ve probably never heard of Jeklynn Heights before, but that’s because there hasn’t been a one-stop resource for info about the game.  That’s all fixed with the game finding a new homepage.  Why is a game forming a homepage news, you might ask?  Because it gives me an excuse to talk about the surreal game that is Jeklynn Heights.

From what I’ve heard of the game so far, Jeklynn Heights sounds like what would happen if Tim Burton were in charge of the Battlefield series.  All matches take place at night in the town of Jeklynn Heights, a place of twisted architecture and where sanity is a rare commodity.  The people in the slums and the town square fight each other for control of “Orbs of Egression,” the only means of escaping the torturous town.  Along the way each team will also capture sanity posts, which act as spawn points for your team as well as granting the player sanity (aka experience points) to level up your character and abilities.  The combat also seems to heavily favor melee weapons, with a timing-based combo system that should make multiplayer matches quite interesting.

Aside from the benefit of giving us all of this juicy information, the Jeklynn Heights homepage also allows players to pre-register an free account ID to reserve a user name for when the game launches.  A pre-register account also allows you to donate to the game’s development, and receive exclusive beta access and news updates in return.  Whether you register now or not through, Jeklynn Heights is definitely a game to keep an eye on.

Skullpogo isn’t exactly a new game, but with Halloween just around the corner it seems appropriate to give the game a proper review.  After all, Halloween isn’t all just ghouls, ghosts, zombies, and things to scare you senseless.  No, sometimes Halloween can be about a funny little skeleton on a pogo stick bouncing on bats and vampire pigs.

GAMEPLAY

Controlling Skullpogo couldn’t be simpler.  You move your bouncing skeleton from side to side, bouncing on bats, pigs, zombies, and all manner of creepy crawlies, using one of three control schemes.  You can either use virtual left and right buttons, slide your finger across the screen, or tilt controls.  All three work excellently, with tilt controls being my own preferred choice.

The goal of Skullpogo is simply to get as high a score as possible by bouncing pigs, bats, zombies, chickens, and any other critter you can come across.  This is easier said than done though, since a combo isn’t simply accomplished by bouncing on consecutive critters, you also have a time limit to contend with.  After each successful bounce a meter in the top left corner begins counting down, and your combo only continues if you bounce again before the count down finishes.  To help in this regard, you also have three buttons on the side of the screen for controlling your bounce height.  Nothing is more frustrating than building up a huge combo only to lose it all because you flew too high and couldn’t land on another pig in time, so learning to manage your height is essential.

There are also a slew of power-ups and power-downs to collect with a range of effects.  Some drop bombs to clear enemies below you, others freeze your combo timer, and some reverse the controls or drastically cut the height of your jumps.  Once you’ve cleared enough enemies, a giant golden power-up appears that takes you to the next level.  There’s not really a way to die in Skullpogo, fitting since the skeleton character is already dead, but there is a time limit for each level that ends your game if you don’t find the golden power-up in time.

STYLE

The pixel art in Skullpogo is simply gorgeous.  The skeleton pogoist and all of his farmyard adversaries pack a lot of personality into the tiny iPhone screen.  It’s almost impossible not to be won over the first time a pig sprouts wings and turns into a vampire pig, or seeing a fat zombie’s expression as you bounce ineffectively on its stomach.

There are two visual styles to play through, either Halloween themed or farm themed.  Halloween is the default them and during this season clearly the star of the show.  But the farm theme is no slouch either, replacing bats with crows and zombies with chickens and cows.  It’s not just a simple sprite swap though, as the new farm animals behave differently with chickens jumping in the air and the aforementioned vampire pigs only appearing in the farm stages.

STORY

Seriously?  You’re a skeleton on a pogo stick stomping on pigs.  There is no story to tie it all together, but I’m not sure that one could be put in to do the absurdity the justice it deserves.  Skullpogo is one of those rare cases where the lack of story and context actually ads to its charms.

OTHER

Skullpogo is one of those iPhone gems that just works, and sucks away the hours as you play over and over again to top your high score.  The addition of Open Feint for friends lists, leaderboards, and achievements is just icing on an already delicious Halloween treat.

There’s a free version available for the PC, but there’s so much more packed into the iPhone release that the $1.99 price tag is definitely justified.  And unlike so many quick addicting iPhone games, you’ll likely be playing Skullpogo long after the Halloween theme is in season.

In what is clearly a response to the popularity of Unity 3D’s robust API, Adobe announced their new “Molehill” API for Flash this week.  Molehill is a new low-level API allowing developers to access a system’s GPU for more complex 3D visuals than Flash ever supported before.  For example, Flash 10.1 currently renders thousands of non z-buffered triangles at around 30 Hz, while the Molehill API will be able to render hundreds of thousands of z-buffered triangles, in HD at full screen no less, at around 60 Hz.  This isn’t a replacement for the existing 3D APIs in Flash 10, rather Molehill will be another tool available to developers, so developers familiar with those won’t be forced into using the new kid on the block if they don’t want to.

Using Molehill will require at least DirectX 9 on Windows or OpenGL 1.3 for MacOS and Linux systems.  On mobile platforms, Molehill will run on OpenGL ES 2.0.  For systems that aren’t up to the task there will also be a software solution through a rasterizer called SwiftShader.

Molehill should be in the hands of developers in the first half of next year as part of an upcoming Flash Player beta program.

If you haven’t been playing Super Meat Boy for the past week, you’ve been missing out.  Not just missing out on a great game, and it is a truly great game, but also on some ridiculously catchy music.  Fans, myself included, have been not so patiently waiting for the soundtrack’s release, and now it is finally here for your aural pleasure.  Well, technically it’s not here, but rather on composer DannyB’s bandcamp page.

For the small sum of $3.99 (or more if you’re feeling generous) you can download all 33 tracks, adding up to over 90 minutes of meaty music.  The soundtrack spans musical styles ranging from electronic rock, orchestrated pieces, and even a vocal track or two when you include the five remix tracks from artists George Dziov, Inverse Phase, Mattias Häggström Gerdt (anosou), C418 and Josh Whelchel.  Also note that in late November there is going to be a physical special edition of the soundtrack available with extra tracks, including some that didn’t make it into the final game.  I’m not nearly that patient though, and have the soundtrack even playing right now as I write about it.

Go on, download the Super Meat Boy soundtrack now at MeatBoyMusic.com