On this week's episode of The TouchArcade Show, we push through discussions about feral dogs, the Mindfreak, and accents in order to bring you the latest, hottest, and best-est in iOS game news and chit-chat. At the top, we dig into unreleased titles like Adventure Bar Story before we dive into more known quantities, like say, Triple Town. Post-break, we weigh in on heavy stuff like the Zynga vs. NimbleBit, uh, issue, and of course, get to a few of your listener questions.

Oh! We also had a special guest this week: Joseph Leray. If you'd like to give us a listen, go ahead and do so via the links below. Additionally, you could subscribe to our feeds at iTunes and Zune. All the cool kids do the latter.

iTunes Link: The TouchArcade Show
Zune Marketplace: TouchArcade.com Podcasts
RSS Feed: The TouchArcade Show
Direct Link: TouchArcadeShow-036.mp3, 33MB

Here are your show notes:

GAMES

• Adventure Bar Story
• End Night
• Ash II: Shadows [$2.99 Silver Edition / $4.99 Gold Edition]
• Triple Town [Free]

FRONT PAGE

• Zynga Rips Off 'Tiny Tower'
• Unofficial 'Dominion' App Hits The Store
• Tweet-Land Has A Release Date

Let's wind the clocks back to Tuesday when news hit that Zynga was relentlessly ripping off NimbleBit's Tiny Tower [Free] with their Canadian pre-release "beta" of Dream Heights [Free]. Dream Heights is basically identical to Tiny Tower in every way, except for the lack of the Bitbook and a different art style. News of this spread like wildfire, and it wasn't long before even the mainstream media was reporting on it. (These are crazy times we live in, I tell you.) Well, Zynga has been silent on the matter as far as we can tell, which you'd think would result in a dead story.

Not so fast though, as Glu also seem to be anxious to hop on the relentlessly ripping off Tiny Tower bandwagon with a similar Canadian release of Small Street [Free]. Small Street is arguably an even bigger knockoff than Dream Heights with the only changes being the tower laid vertically into a street and the elevator car replaced with a taxi.

Fans of Tiny Tower will find these screenshots curiously similar:

I guess when it rains it pours in regards to cloning NimbleBit games. The only question left, is which company is going to release their own Tiny Tower knockoff next?

What happens when three visionaries get together and tease an awesome game? You get The Other Brothers, which is certainly has the look and style of a next-level iOS joint. On the other hand, you also get almost nothing in the Fine Details Department, and that's a monumental bummer considering the promise on display. I mean, just look at that.

The first post on the game's new blog describes The Other Brothers as "a pixelated family fun adventure [game] of running, jumping, collecting, racing against the clock ..." with a suitably mysterious twist. A Kotaku post has some more concept-y type of art if you'd like to see a lot more than what's on display in this post. We're on a mission to get a lot more details, so definitely stay tuned.

[Via Kotaku]

Where's My Water [$.99 / Free] keeps getting bigger, better, and ... harder? Earlier yesterday, Disney polished off yet another update to the playful puzzle title, adding in some neat story elements and a total of five free puzzles and many others via IAP. The package itself has been dubbed "Cranky's Story." We'll let the boilerplate do the explaining:

Cranky is the toughest alligator around and he has worked up an appetite from sabotaging Swampy’s water supply. He eats anything, especially all the rotting and disgusting junk found in the dumps and sewers. Cranky will not eat vegetables however, and now his food is covered with vegetable-like algae. Use the dirty purple water to clean off Cranky’s plate so he can eat!

Disney says that upon IAP unlock, users will get "50 super-challenging puzzles... and enjoy a completely new way to play." Catch that? Looks like these guys are hoping to court you now. Oh! And apparently, the "Cranky's Challenge" part of this content pack is "a game within a game," so, uh, prepare for that.

Earlier this month I convened with the panel of judges in Marseille, France that made up the International Mobile Gaming Awards to go through the over 500 games submitted. After a day of some incredibly intense (and incredibly jet lagged) judging, we had our list of finalists which were just recently revealed. We've already reviewed almost all of these games, and if you're missing any of these games from your collection, they're all worth picking up:

Best Casual Game

• CreaVures [Coming Soon]
• Hector [$4.99 Episodes 1, 2, 3]
• Jetpack Joyride [Free]
• Sprinkle [$1.99
• The Blocks Cometh [99¢]

Best Mobile Social Game

• Charadium II [$1.99
• Funpark Friends [Free]
• Poker Pals [99¢]
• SpellCraft School of Magic [Free]
• The Pirate King [Free]

Best Real World Game

• CityRace.me [Coming Soon]
• Flatmates [Coming Soon]
• Meatspace Invasion [Free
• NBA: King of the Court [Free]
• Shadow Cities [Free]

Best Sports Game

• Bike Baron [99¢]
• Flick Tennis: College Wars [$1.99]
• Sports Car Challenge [Free]
• Touchgrind BMX [$4.99]
• Trial Xtreme 2 [$1.99]

Excellence in Gameplay

• Battleheart [$2.99]
• Contre Jour [$2.99]
• Death Rally [Free
• Draw Race 2 [$2.99]
• Infinity Blade II [$6.99]

Most Innovative Game

• Forever Drive [Free]
• Kodo [Coming Soon]
• KuraKuraMaze [Free
• Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [$4.99]
• Wild Chords [Free]

The winners will be announced at Mobile World Congress at the International Mobile Gaming Awards summit on March 1st. Also, if you'd like to vote for which games you think should win, head on over to the IMGA site and start voting.

I used to think I had a knack for strategy games. Then I checked out RoboHero [Free], a turn-based tank puzzler from Bravado Waffle Studios. Now, I’m not so sure if I have the chops to handle a game of this difficulty. While the game incorporates relatively simple (and slow) gameplay, this is buttressed by a wide variety of weapons and puzzles, along with a difficulty that’ll either keep you coming back for more or giving up in frustration.

RoboHero places you in the role of Blue Robo, the last defense for Earth in its fight against an evil robot army. As a last resort, you’re sent to the robot ship in order to infiltrate and destroy all the forces. As you progress through the game’s story mode, you’ll unlock new weapons and face new enemies and obstacles. However, the goal of the game is always to either get to the other side of the level or take out a certain amount of enemies.

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Last month, after basically zero pre-release hype, we were pretty surprised to see Batman Arkham City Lockdown [$2.99] pop up in the App Store. Perhaps even more surprising was that NeatherRealm Studios, developer of the recent (and excellent) Mortal Kombat reboot on consoles, was behind the iOS title.

And, even more surprising still, Batman Arkham City Lockdown was actually pretty freaking awesome. It was built using the Unreal Engine, so the graphics were definitely up to snuff. And the gameplay took a tiny page out of the Infinity Blade handbook, having you face off against baddies in one-on-one battles using swipe controls to dish out the pain. The combat didn't quite have the complexity of an Infinity Blade, but it was fun nonetheless.

Now, Batman Arkham City Lockdown has just received its first ever sale, dropping from its normal $5.99 price point down to $2.99 for a limited time. If you're wondering if this is the game for you, then be sure to give our full review a read for some insight. Personally, I had a ton of fun with Arkham City Lockdown, and thought it was well worth its original price. For $2.99 I think it's a steal, especially if you're a fan of the Batman, as the developers have done a wonderful job of making the game feel like a fully realized Batman experience. Definitely check it out and take advantage of the sale while it lasts.

Did you know that penguins spend up to 75% of their time underwater, looking for food in the ocean? Or, if Chillingo’s recent Greedy Penguins [99¢/Lite] is to be believed, they spend 85% of their time on ice floes, waiting for you to feed them, 10% of their time playing guitar and burping, and 5% of their time getting eaten by ravenous Orcas.

Greedy Penguins is a bird-centric physics puzzler (what a concept!) that revolves around you finding ways to get incredibly stressed-out fish in the mouths of the correspondingly-colored penguins. You tap the fish to drop it from its hook and get it rolling, then through a combination of timing and obstacle-clearing, get it to the right-colored penguin. Once your penguin is successfully fed, he coughs up ice cream, which you tap to feed each level’s companion and get bonus points when completing the level, garnering a one, two, or three-fish rating.

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Fingle [$0.99] should come with a warning. Maybe "Caution: always bring protection"? I mean, sure the iPad is great for co-op games with the fam, but not this time. This time, things might just get a little... heavy.

Finger twister isn't new, but Fingle is a finger twister game with one purpose: flirtation. A cheesy soundtrack, suggestive backdrops and more than a few double entendres might be enough, but Fingle doesn't settle for enough. Your fingers will stroke hers, or his. You'll make terribly lewd gestures at one another. Fingle takes its premise all the way.

Here's how you play the game: there are squares, and there are boxes, and the two must meet. Some are yellow, some are white. Your fingers rest on one set, hers on another. And then you do as you're told.

At first this is simple. Drag a box here, hold it there. Your fingers might brush up against one another. Then things heat up. One player finds himself stroking his hand over the other's. It gets pretty steamy.

Sort of, anyhow. There are a few rules you have to follow to get the full effect. You can't really play solo, for, um, obvious reasons, and you need to use one hand each. Two hands is easier, but it's a lot less fun. Stick to those rules, and one of you will basically end up in the other's lap before long if you want to pull off some of the moves.

So you can see why you don't want to play with a stranger, or your Grandma. You might also not want to play for too long. While Fingle starts out very flirty, it actually gets pretty hard over time. If one of you has small hands, long fingernails or sweaty palms, you might find it a bit out of your league. Nothing kills the mood quite so much as frustrated failure.

There are over 50 levels to work through, so as long as you know your limit you'll be fine. If you're actually playing to tease, work through the first level pack or two. It starts out slightly subtle and gets suggestive quickly. If you're playing for a challenge, something that's totally possible, work your way through all the rest. Fingle is missing a lot of the traditional game structures we're used to -- scores, points, achievements and the like -- but it's certainly a good time for two people who are comfortable with a little touching. The design that has gone into this game is truly charming, so it's hard to say no.

In all seriousness, you need to know your audience if you're going to play. You can definitely go at it platonically for a laugh, but first be sure you both know where you stand. And you could certainly make someone extremely uncomfortable if you're not at the point where cheesy 70s-style music, suggestive sound effects and light touching is okay. Fingle is the sort of game that could start out funny and end up sexy, or start out cold and end up with a slap to the face. Judge carefully, and stop by our discussion thread to let us know how it goes - just keep it work safe, tiger.

Earlier this week we let you know that Reckless Racing 2, the sequel to Polarbit and Pixelbite's 2010 top-down arcade racer, would be hitting on February 2nd. Hey, that's like… a week away or something! In preparation of the impending release, the developers have unleashed a brand new trailer for the game, and it's looking rather stunning. Check it out:

The trailer also reveals some details about Reckless Racing 2. The game will feature 24 tracks to race on, which are also said to be longer than those found in the first game. You'll also have 18 cars to choose from, each of which can be customized in both appearance and in performance with parts that can be bought from an in-game shop. Finally, there is a progressive single-player campaign to play through, as well as many more options for things like camera views and controls.

You can bet we'll be all over Reckless Racing 2 when it hits the App Store next week, and as always you can find even more discussion on the game in our forums until then.

Way back in 2010 when Monster Dash [$0.99] was released it felt a tiny bit lacking. Not that it wasn't a fantastic game, but it could have used a little more depth. You know, upgrades to earn, a complex mission system, maybe eventual retina support?

Now there's no need to worry about any of that. Not because One Epic Game [$0.99] brings any of that to the table, mind, but because Jetpack Joyride [Free] came out a year later and blew its predecessor out of the water. So why is it we're still seeing retreads of an older, lesser product? Could it be, she wonders, because Grip Games forgot their own game's roots when bringing it back from PlayStation Minis?

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Hey, remember that time we were like, "oh sure, Junk Jack is coming to the iPad, but it's not going to be for a long time"? Well, you should remember, because it was just last week. Anyway, the story goes that the game's developer PixBits has been so involved with just updating the game in general, that making it iPad-friendly was kind of on the back burner, at least until the iPhone version became more fleshed out.

However, it sounds like they might have overestimated how difficult the transition to the iPad would be, because we've heard from the developer that progress on a Universal update for Junk Jack is moving forward much more quickly than they had expected. They've sent over a load of work-in-progress screens of the game from the iPad, which you can check out below.

We've been told that the Universal support won't go live with the very next update, which sounds like it's pretty near completion, but PixBits is hopeful that it will be included in the update that follows. We'll be sure to keep tabs on this and let you know just as soon as you can get diggin' on the big screen with Junk Jack.

Man, these digital platform companions apps come out of nowhere. Today, Valve, the creators of Half-Life and everyone's favorite PC download platform, Steam, announced Steam Mobile [Free]. It's what you think it is, which is to say, it's a companion-y type of experience that'll let you chat with Steam friends, view Steam groups and profiles, check out video game screenshots, and just about anything else Steam-related, including sales.

Best part? It's available right now across iOS and Android. Worst part? This particular version is still in "closed beta." To get in, you'll need to sign into Steam through the mobile app as a way to "express interest in the beta." Users will be rolled into the beta eventually.

Steam sales are deadly for our collective wallets under normal circumstances when we're sitting at our computers. I'm not sure I'm ready to live in a horrible future where I'll be able to impulse-buy $2.99 PC games from the toilet.

Alright, so even though Meanwhile for iOS [99¢] isn't normally what would come to mind when you think of iOS games, it's something that I bet most people out there aren't aware of. Also, if you're the kind of person who likes Choose Your Own Adventure style books like the variety of gamebooks we've posted about in the past, this will be right up your alley. Maybe you've got kids that like comic books, Meanwhile would be equally perfect in that situation.

I first heard about its physical book form, which is worth checking out just so you can see the clever way its all laid out. You make decisions in the comic book, then follow colored lines to the next panel you should be reading. The amount of decisions included is just silly, as the book boasts 3,856 different possibilities. The plot follows a kid named Jimmy who goes from deciding if he (or, you, as the reader) wants vanilla or chocolate ice cream to deciding the fate of the world after encountering mad scientists, time machines, robots, and tons more.

The comic is targeted at kids in grades 4-6, so if you're an adult looking for some hard-hitting plot points, you'll likely be disappointed. If, however, you're just into comic books and want to check out a really clever implementation of a Choose Your Own Adventure style comic, this is 99¢ you have to spend. The way they adapted the actual book to iOS devices is fantastic. I particularly enjoy how you still see irrelevant (to your particular story path) panels as you read through the comic, which really just makes you want to replay it over and over again to figure out how to get to something you saw that was particularly crazy.

It's on sale today only, due to an update landing which adds completely re-mastered high resolution art. So, don't wait too long or it'll be back up to $4.99.

First, the news: IKAROS [$.99] creator Riverman Media has finally dated Pizza vs. Skeletons. The wonderfully bent, 100-level pizza rolling game is currently in submission and set to release this February 25 as a paid Universal app. Perhaps as a commentary on current iOS trends, Riverman notes on its blog that this release will be "the whole game, for one price" and all updates will be free forever.

And now for a reminder, because hey, it's been a really, really long time since we've talked about Pizza vs. Skeletons. May 2011, actually, was the last time we had anything meaningful to say about the project, which at the time, the developer  was struggling to pitch. "How do you hype up something that has no clear genre, a nonsense plot, and a main character that's a thirty foot tall conglomeration of cheese and tomato sauce?” the reveal blog post asked.

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