Wizards has already detailed all the features, but it includes life counters, a card search, a deck builder, and even the ability to test your deck to see what a sample hand would look like-- All with full card art. With everything though, there's a catch. Magic: The Gathering Toolbox will initially be free, but as they release new sets of cards being able to access those cards for deck building inside of the app will require "a small fee to update the deck builder with the latest content." No word yet on what that "small fee" will be.

As a Magic player, I'm totally stoked to see Wizards branching out to do a little bit more with the game. Now, Wizards, how about you take a look at the Magic Online client next, eh?

I've heard more than a few developers attempting to create similar tools for the iPad, but all of them have hit various roadblocks in the Apple approval process because they all (in one way or another) allowed you to get code and assets onto the device and execute it. Codify sidesteps this by coming with a wide variety of assets, but unfortunately all of your creations will be trapped on your own device. Right now, there's no way to export (or import) anything, although Two Lives Left have told us they've submitted an update to Apple that has this functionality and they're planning on working with the approval teams to come to some kind of solution.

Either way, Lua is easy to learn and even with your prototypes stuck on your own iPad Codify can be an incredibly useful tool. If you come up with a game idea, you can quickly toss it together and see if it's worth pursuing. In fact, I'd almost say keeping these prototypes trapped on your device is a good thing as it serves as a fantastic rough draft to then redo in a more serious development environment.

Being an official app, it sure doesn't seem to skimp on features. Not only is it universal, but it also sports all the functionally you need to use it as your main TeamSpeak client. It's got multi-server connectivity, both push to talk as well as voice activation. There's even support for common admin functions, contact management, and text messaging.

If your online Dungeons & Dragons group uses Ventrilo, there still isn't a great option for iOS devices. There's VentBL [99¢] which will help you manage your server, but you won't actually be able to use any of the voice functionality.

So, having totally written that off long ago, imagine my surprise when I stumbled across PipClock [99¢ / Lite] randomly browsing the App Store today. In a nutshell, it takes the "dashboard" style clock and weather apps, but applies a glorious level of Fallout-esque style to it. Seriously, just check out the screenshots:

The functionality is basically what you'd expect out of one of these sorts of clock and weather apps, although everything has a wonderful Fallout spin. For instance, here in the "Ruins of Los Angeles" in "California's Wastelands" it's 85 degrees out with "poisonous fog not detected". Oh, there's a faux geiger counter built in too. Each element also has subtle animations, with static, scan lines, and even sparks.

Since upgrading to an iPad 2, I've been looking for a good use for my original iPad outside of checking to make sure games we're reviewing still run on it. With PipClock, I'm thinking I might have to relegate it to night stand duty as PipClock just looks too awesome to not be running all the time. It's universal too, so you could do the same with an old iPod touch if you've got one laying around.

Dragon Fantasy - There's already a thread in our upcoming games forum, but here's the gist- Muteki, like most of us old school gamers grew up with all kinds of fantastic old school RPG's. The battle system is basic, the graphics are pixelated, and the story is gloriously cliche... And that's just the way we like it. Dragon Fantasy is an homage to these games of yore.

Give it a look:

Next up was Game Studio, a neat little utility that we got a semi-secret look at during GDC earlier this year. It's in the same vein as Game Salad and other similar easy game creation suites, except this one exists entirely on the iPad. My favorite feature of it is the drag and drop game logic portion.

Check out this extensive walkthrough:

Last, but certainly not least, was a look at an impending update for Super Jetpack Dragon IV [Free / HD]. It shifts the gameplay style from an endless running kind of thing to a level-based platformer. It's pretty neat, and more features and functionality in existing games is always welcome around here.

Take a look:

Oh also, on the subject of PSN being down, if you're like me and really only use your PS3 for watching BluRays, don't forget to claim your free games. Even if you weren't really affected by the downtime in any real way, you're still eligible for two free PS3 games and two free PSP games. The selection is surprisingly decent, too.

On a somewhat related note- If you're a proud PS3 console warrior and your pride has taken a substantial hit over the last month as you were the brunt of countless "PSN is down" jokes from your Xbox 360-loving friends, don't forget to also download i360Emu [Free]. It's a shockingly accurate emulator of early Xbox 360's, or, it was, before they changed the power-on animation.

Splashtop is a remote desktop client that streams your PC or Mac screen directly to your iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone with amazingly fast response times, and full streaming audio. Installation and setup couldn't be easier. All you do is install the desktop software and download the app and you're up and running. Keep in mind, using Splashtop outside of your local network will require fiddling with port forwarding, and unless you've got an insane internet connection, will bring the response time down to be almost unplayable. However, on the same network, Splashtop is basically a 1:1 representation of what is happening on your PC, and is totally enjoyable to game on.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest limitation while using Splashtop is the somewhat inevitable control issue as you're playing games meant for a controller, keyboard, and/or mouse using an odd touchscreen setup. There is an onscreen keyboard but it obscures too much of the screen to be usable. The onscreen arrow keys are nice, but most games require more than just 4 buttons to play.

Windowed games work OK, but for Splashtop to really shine, you need to be playing something fullscreen. I've found that using the OnLive service is by far the best way to game with using this setup. OnLive allows fullscreen play and automatically sets the resolution to your iPad or iPhone's screen. Also the menus are very controller friendly, and these days OnLive not only has a great selection of games, but has tons of free trials.

Puzzle games seem to work great, as they're mostly mouse controlled which translates well with how Splashtop interprets your touches as mouse movements and clicks. Anything more complex than that really requires a controller. The developers of Splashtop have attempted to remedy this issue by offering the Splashtop Remote Touchpad [99¢] app which you can run on your iPhone or iPod touch, but we've had much better luck using Joypad [$2.99 / Free] which we've already reviewed and liked quite a bit for playing emulated games.

Using your iPad running Splashtop and your iPhone running Joypad, you can do a surprising amount of PC gaming on your iPad. Sure, the setup couldn't be more convoluted since you're using two iOS devices, a reasonably specced out gaming PC, and two different paid apps to do it, but how else are you ever going to be able to play World of Warcraft on your iPad?

Games designed with simple controls in mind work fantastic with this setup. I was able to finish Braid using my iPad and iPhone with minimal interruption or lag. Sure, it might have been better to play with a real controller, but the novelty factor of being able to run (and play) a ridiculous number of PC games this way is sky high.

Depending on your home network, and how powerful your PC or Mac is, most people should be able to duplicate my setup easily with similar results. Keep in mind there are a lot of factors in play when using a remote desktop client like this. This laundry lists includes the speed of your host computer, the overall wireless climate in your area, how fast you can typically transfer data over your WiFi network, how low your local ping times usually are, and more. As mentioned in the Joypad review, if you live in an area where the WiFi selection list on your computer scrolls for ages, there might not be anything you can do to improve things.

While this review has focused on the gaming potential of Splashtop, the amount of things you can do with it is incredible. You're able to use anything you can on your computer, with great response times and audio. Also, seeing how well OnLive works this way really makes me wonder when they're going to turn the OnLive Viewer [Free] into an OnLive Client.

UPDATE: Since we posted this earlier today, it seems like Splashtop has gone free. According to the iTunes description, it's today only, so don't miss it!

When bag space is at a premium, you rarely have room for any "unitasker" as Alton Brown puts it, which sadly leaves many traditional gaming accessories without a place in my mobile arsenal. I've made a special exception for the Fling iPad joysticks, but I haven't had an actual USB gamepad for ages. Normally this isn't much of an issue, but since 2011 is the 25th anniversary of both the Metroid and Zelda series, I've taken it upon myself to replay both series in emulators as carting my originals (and associated consoles) around just isn't realistic.

This is where Joypad [$2.99 / Lite] comes in. Utilizing a small iOS app combined with a companion program running on your Mac or Windows PC, you can use your iPhone as a game controller. Setup is simple, and basically just amounts to having both your computer and iPhone on the same wireless network while having both the iOS app and the companion program running. In the Joypad Connect computer program you'll then select one of the pre-sets for mapping buttons to keys, then select your iOS device from the list of devices and you'll be good to go. If you're playing an emulator or game that uses different keys, you can create a new profile for that, and go to town mapping the controls it uses to the virtual buttons of Joypad. It all works really well.

This will be somewhat obvious if you've played the various emulated games that Sega has released on the App Store, and other classic titles released by other developers... but often times these classic games simply require the precision and tactile feedback of a real controller. So, how well Joypad works is largely dependent on two factors: 1. How good you are at handling virtual controls. 2. The control demands of the game you're emulating and whether or not those will even jive with Joypad. Specifically, games that require super-precise D-pad dancing aren't so great. Also, games that require you to hold down more than two buttons can be hit or miss depending on what buttons they actually use and how often you need to use that button combination.

Another issue I've randomly run in to is that Joypad is highly dependent on a low-latency WiFi network. It has worked great in most locations, but this week I've been staying in an area of Barcelona with so many WiFi networks that my menu to select them on my Mac scrolls for ages. With the local WiFi signal spectrum this jam packed, I've had issues just browsing the Internet, so it's not much of a surprise that Joypad also suffers. I don't expect this to impact most people, but if you live in a super-crowded urban environment just be aware that your game controls will only perform as well as your local WiFi climate will allow.

That being said, Joypad is without a doubt one of my favorite non-game apps that I've tried lately. Sure, it was released almost a year ago now, so it's very existence will likely be old news for some. However, if you're like me and never really had reason to look for something like Joypad before, now you know about it. $3 for the app is also considerably cheaper than any worthwhile USB gamepad, and while it is by no means a substitution for real physical controls, it sure is a great travel companion.

Kotaku recently took a look at noted photographer Tray Ratcliff's release of 100 Cameras in 1 [App Store], a new photography app that hands out Game Center achievements in an effort to get people to take more photos, and to have fun with them.

"I think it is fun to have some sort of comparative measurement of your experience with the app," he said. "The more you use it, the more achievements and points you get. We also use the achievements to encourage you to discover all the features of the app that you might not otherwise see.

"I think it's fascinating how achievements are both completely unnecessary but really satisfying! Also, there's something about being rewarded when you were not really expecting it. It's like a small Swiss child running up to you in the street and offering you a piece of chocolate, just for being an awesome dude."

100 Cameras in 1 features an impressive 31 different pieces of chocolate to be doled out by the small virtual Swiss children that are the app's integrated achievement system. Taking certain paths through the app or using a certain set of filters triggers the various achievements, which are as interestingly named as the 100 different visual filters that the app places at the user's disposal. Thanks to its ability to combine multiple filters, some rather interesting effects can be rather easily achieved.

I like what Ratcliff and developers Lavacado have done here, both for the creative, outside-the-box use of achievements as well as for delivering a solid, artistic photo application. I'm anxious to see what other non-game areas are well met by the use of achievements. Chase Bank, Wells Fargo -- an in-app check deposit seems well worth an achievement, eh??

What's got us scratching our heads about this is that it's no secret that the iOS platform is a fierce competitor not only to the Nintendo DS, but also to Sony's own PSP. Historically, console rivals have taken great pride in the exclusivity of their associated networks. You can't access PSN via a Xbox 360, much like how you can't access Xbox Live via a PlayStation 3. Microsoft has even had apps removed that connect to Xbox Live profiles.

Either way, we're incredibly curious what these additional features are going to be. Just for the sake of wild speculation-- The Psx4iphone emulator available for jailbroken devices can run PSone games at respectable frame rates on newer iOS devices, meaning that eventually this PlayStation app could technically be capable of running the same PSone classics currently available for sale on PSN. Realistically, we don't ever see that happening, but at the same time... Who ever thought we'd be playing Sonic games on a non-Sega console?

We'll have to wait and see what this app evolves in to, but in the meantime, I can't help but wonder what Marcus thinks of all this.

To use the Mobile Armory you will need a World of Warcraft or Battle.net account, with most of the features requiring an active World of Warcraft subscription. If you're lucky enough to play on the hand full of servers currently supported, using the existing Mobile Armory app you will not only be able to buy items on the in-game auction house, but also sell any item from your character's bags, bank, or mailbox as well as manage all the gold generated from said auctions.

Currently, this functionality is free but limited to 25 total transactions a day, a number which will be increased at launch, according to Blizzard. At the conclusion of the beta test, the auction house features of the Mobile Armory will split in to free and paid functions. Without paying for anything, you will be able to browse and view the auction house along with getting real-time notifications when your auctions sell, expire, or you are outbid or win an auction. For $2.99 on top of your existing WoW subscription you'll be able to do all the buying and selling mentioned previously.

Towards the bottom of the new Remote Auction House site is a chart that details the feature differences of the two subscription tiers.

AlcheMo opens the door for countless existing mobile games to land on the iPhone platform...but is this a good thing?  If developers go the extra mile of taking advantage of AlcheMo's ability to utilize the iPhone's accelerometer and multitouch technologies, it could be.

AlcheMo will open the door.  Time will tell if the neighbors are welcome.