Semi Secret Software’s Canabalt [ $0.99 ] certainly wasn’t the first endless auto-running platformer around, but it’s definitely one of the most high profile and arguably set off the trend off hundreds of similar running games coming out on the App Store since its release in October of 2009.

While some of the games that followed expanded on the core idea with additional character moves, items and powerups, new environments and more, Canabalt always played it cool with its simplistic elegance, a finely-tuned masterpiece that did so much with very little. Even today, two and a half years later, Canabalt is still one of my favorites in the genre that it helped establish.

So, just because Canabalt never felt like it needed anything doesn’t mean that the game’s creator Adam Saltsman hasn’t had some ideas for updates. In a new post on the Semi Secret blog, he explains that recently he’s been thinking long and hard about what sort of new features would make sense for Canabalt while still retaining the simplicity that made it such a hit in the first place.

What he came up with was not necessarily what can be added to Canabalt to make it better, but what can he take away instead. Wait, what? Take things away? Canabalt is already so minimalistic, what on Earth is there to take away? Well, how about the buildings for starters.

That’s just a teaser shot showing just where Adam’s head is at in this whole thing, and we don’t know if such a radical idea will necessarily make it into the game. In fact, Semi Secret is being pretty hush hush regarding just what new features actually will become a reality, but they have committed to a few. First, a local two-player mode (which we heard whispers about back in March), eight new hardcore game modes with associated leaderboards, and Game Center achievements.

Best of all, these things will be coming as a free update to Canabalt, and although we don’t have any sort of timeframe for release just yet we should be hearing more details about it soon. Also, don't forget that Canabalt is part of the humongous Because We May sale that's currently running until June 1st.

In the midst of the two year anniversary celebration of Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja [$0.99 / Free ] which includes a huge new update hitting the App Store sometime tomorrow, the Australian developer hasn't forgotten about their five o'clock shadow-wearing bad ass Barry Steakfries, star of such iOS titles as Monster Dash [ $0.99 ], Age of Zombies [$0.99 / Free ], and Jetpack Joyride [ Free ]. They've just released a new trailer revealing Flash the dog, a helpful sidekick for Barry who is coming to Jetpack Joyride in a future update.

As you can see, Flash is a helpful pup, grabbing coins for Barry and riding along in his own doggy versions of the various vehicles in the game. Also part of this update is the new gadget the Dezapinator, which will cause some of the zappers in the game to fizzle out and fail, and the Turbo Boost which will drop rings that explosively propel your forward. Finally, new DJ Headphones are available in the shop and offer up a remixed techno version of the game's music.

The only bummer is we don't know just when this update for Jetpack Joyride is going to hit, but we imagine it will be really soon, and in the meantime you can get back to trying to teach your dog how to use a jetpack.

Update: Via Halfbrick's Twitter (and the astute commenters below) both updates are coming out today.

Updated update: All the updates are now available!

Everybody’s favorite fruit slicing arcade game Fruit Ninja [$0.99 / Free ] originally launched back in April 2010, and to celebrate its two-plus year anniversary on the App Store the Halfbrick team are currently touring around Australia in search of the best Fruit Ninja high score and they have a big new update releasing for the game later this week.

In the animated trailer below, we meet the merchant Gutsu and his piggy sidekick Truffles who will offer new powerups in exchange for Starfruit, the new in-game currency. These items will allow you to do things like swat away bombs, add additional time on to a game, and cause massive berry explosions.

The Fruit Ninja update is set to hit this Thursday the 24th, and it’s pretty crazy to think of how well Halfbrick has supported the title over the past 2 years, and how far it’s evolved from its initial release. It sounds like they don’t plan on stopping any time soon either, with more new content planned for the future.

As mentioned, Halfbrick are currently jetting around their homeland holding several high score competitions for a chance to compete in a finals tournament in Sydney at the end of the month. Some crazy scores are getting set already, and you can follow the team’s exploits as they post photos and blog about the tour on the Halfbrick website.

How do you feel about endangered species? Does your heart ache for the poor creatures that, through no fault of their own, are being driven to extinction? If so, you might want to join up with Adult Swim and PikPok's Extinction Squad [ $0.99 ], the bloodiest game about conservation I've ever seen.

As the story goes, the surprisingly well-preserved Chuck Darwin, father of evolution, has found a lost colony of dodos. Seems like a miracle, but then the terrible truth is revealed: the scent of dodos causes other animals to jump to their deaths. Animals are killing themselves by the thousands, so Chuck pulls together his extinction squad to save 'em. Running back and forth with a jump net, the squad bounces the suicidal animals to safety, earning points, coins and the occasional surprise in the process.

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Wings of Valor [ $1.99 ], the “Wings of Fury” spiritual remake by Idea Spoon, is a rare gem in the app store - a game that might not sell you on its screenshots alone, but is an automatic purchase for gamers “in the know.”  Based on a classic game for the Amiga/PC/Apple II, Wings of Valor has a familiar, nostalgic feel to it, with all the best parts of an arcade shooter and a surprisingly complex strategy sim.

The base gameplay is straightforward and simplistic, as illustrated by the image-only help file.  Take off from your carrier, and destroy your targets. Targets range from islands, to other planes, to ships, and you’re given an entire (unlockable) arsenal for dealing with the threats. For people such as myself, who never played the original, it may take you a few tries to even get off the ground. For instance: mashing the engine button over and over to get it started (just like a real old plane!), or trying to fly off the right side of the carrier and taking a bath instead. Missions are relatively quick, and can easily be squeezed into a bus ride, a work break, or any spare 5-10 minute period of time.

Once you get in the air, the game plays like a dream. Lovingly handcrafted visuals and spot on controls make you wonder why the side-scrolling fighter pilot genre died off so long ago. Aerial combat is a joy, pure and simple: the banks, the arcs, the turns, it all manages to feel “simulationy” and “arcadey” at the same time. Touch controls suffer somewhat from the usual lack of physical feedback, but not as much as you would think with this sort of game.

Dogfighting lacks a bit of challenge, as the enemy AI seems all too easily confused when you turn around directly behind them and light up their tail. Strafing runs are exciting, and can prove to be a test on resources - are you more of a T-16 piloting, womp-rat bullseyeing sharpshooter, or a light-up-the-jungle, empty the plane sort of carpet-bomber? The game plays into both strategies, but the latter sort will have to get very used to landings/takeoffs while they return to their ships to replenish their arsenal.

The camera work is spot on, zooming in as you approach the ground, adding to the feeling of speed. The music is old-timey, “Welcome to the world of tomorrow!” radio static fanfare, and adds to the retro feel. Sound effects are sufficiently explodey and ratatatty, and the particle effects are excellent, whether it's planes smoking and plummeting to the earth or water kicking up as you bring death to dozens of unseen ocean critters. It is incredibly difficult to believe that the entire game was put together by a single person.

With plenty of challenges, unlockables, an upcoming iPad version, and promised updates to the visuals and AI, Wings of Valor makes for a very attractive package at $1.99. For people who have boldly proclaimed the death of classic gaming at the hands of iOS, I can only gesture wildly in this direction - here is a game with no IAP, no freemium model, just classic, old-school gameplay at its finest.  Whether you’re a fan of the genre or completely new to this style of game, here is a something that is very worth your time.

The first time you have a bogey on your six, you tear off straight upward at top speed, and see the stars for just a second before stalling out, turning back towards your prey, spitting hot death, you'll get it. Get it?

In mid-March, Ubisoft and RedLynx released MotoHeroz [Free / Free (HD)] an iOS port of the WiiWare side-scrolling platform racer that felt like a close cousin to the studio’s crazy popular Trials HD series. We enjoyed MotoHeroz in our review despite its somewhat tough progression and overall high level of difficulty. Still, for fans of hardcore trial and error games that tasked you with perfection through repetition, MotoHeroz was money well spent.

Today, however, no money needs to be spent in order to enjoy the punishment that MotoHeroz offers. A brand new update has hit and to celebrate both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game are currently free. The update contains two new level packs each with their own new vehicles, as well as support for having 3 online friend leagues going on simultaneously.

If you haven’t checked out MotoHeroz yet, it’s definitely worth a look while free. The difficult nature might be a turnoff to some, but I personally found the challenge welcome and have enjoyed playing certain levels over and over again until you have that run that’s just right. Now with new content added, it looks like I’ll be getting sucked back into that cycle once again, which I’m definitely not complaining about.

After seeing Monster Shooter: The Lost Levels [ $0.99 ] for the first time, you might be wondering why another dual stick shooter is necessary on iOS, considering the hundreds of others already available. The answer isn’t always an easy one, but let’s just say that Monster Shooter shows why we shouldn’t just be writing off the genre altogether.

Monster Shooter tells the story of alien battles from one planet to another, all with the ultimate goal of saving a kitten with a runny nose. These naughty aliens want to wreak havoc and torture the poor kitty, and are even traveling anywhere in the galaxy as to not be captured.

As the kitty rescuer, you travel from planet to planet in a level-based format, and are shooting down enemies in a dual stick style shooter. The controls of a shooter are of the upmost importance, and they work well in this game especially with the multiple options available. If you’re finding the aiming to be a difficult affair, you can turn on the auto aim option and then you’ll only have to tap when you want to shoot, rather than where. Having the option of a fixed d-pad is also a nice touch, meaning you can play in whatever way suits your style best.

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One glance at Jumping Knights [ $0.99 ] ought to pretty much explain the premise - it's Doodle Jump with a tokidoki-inspired art style. I was expecting to pick it up, go a few rounds, and be able to name it as a clone and get on with my day. Except hours went by, and I was still playing, and thinking with tinges of guilt about the To Do list that I was ignoring. A little more time spent, and I had forgotten completely what a To Do list even was. Responsibilities? Don't be silly, I just got sight of the princess, which means I'm getting closer. Who cares about grocery shopping?

Jumping Knights might share a lot of format similarities with Doodle Jump, but one can't help feel it's embroidered on the concept. In fact, Jumping Knights is actually one of those genre hybrids that I always tend to be so crazy about, a la Puzzle Quest. It takes a cute, cartoonlike world and puts you in the role of a determined little knight,  jumping from platform to platform with a trusty sword in hand. Just like Doodle Jump, control is managed by simply tilting the phone left and right.

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There's an overabundance of cute things on the App Store, as anyone who takes time to prowl it knows. Whether or not something will be equally as fun as it is cute is always a mystery, but in this case, Pinch Peeps [ $0.99 ] has managed to pull off that oh-so-desirable perfect balance between sickeningly adorable and fun to play.

The retro gamer in me loves when games are pared down to the absolute basics, and that is the case with Pinch Peeps. There is one gameplay mechanic, which you'll simply repeat for the whole of the game: pinching your fingers together. In each of the two modes (Timed and Endless), you'll be faced with the challenge of matching pairs of cutely-shaped blobs with eyes (called "peeps") to rack up points.

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Way back in November of 2010, Playcreek released Death Worm [$0.99 / Free ], an official enhanced remake of the popular Flash game of the same name. By that point, we had already been enjoying a retro-inspired version of the "giant killer worm" formula for a few months with the excellent Super Mega Worm [$0.99 / Free ], but in our review for Death Worm we noted that both games offered decidedly different experiences and could happily coexist together.

Other people seemed to like Death Worm too, as this week Playcreek is celebrating hitting the 5 million download mark by releasing a big content update. The first new item on tap is a new ice-themed stage for the campaign, and more than 20 new enemies have been added to the game including a Mega Boss battle. A new trailer showcases the different features found in the latest Death Worm update.

The other big addition in this update is a brand new mini-game called Countdown. It tasks you with collecting lizards underground within a certain time limit and while avoiding hazards, with each lizard collected resetting the clock to allow you to keep going. Finally, there are a set of new achievements and some new in-game music to rock out to.

Death Worm is a game I thoroughly enjoyed when it came out in 2010, and the new update has reignited my interest once again. Definitely check it out if you’re into playing as a giant killer worm and enjoy challenging arcade games.

Late last month Everplay and FruitFireForge released Spellsword [ $0.99 ], a game we really enjoyed in our review. It took the arena-style action platforming of Super Crate Box [ $1.99 ] and added a ton of variety in the form of RPG-like upgradeable items and abilities. Even though the two titles shared a core idea, Spellsword really stood on its own as a different experience.

However, one of the main problems we had with the game had to do with the controls. They worked well on the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod touch, but failed to scale very well to the iPad’s big screen. Today’s update addresses this very problem by allowing you to move the virtual buttons to wherever you feel is most comfortable. Also, an new option for “Pro Swipe Controls” has been added that makes the movement controls center on wherever you place down your thumb.

Speaking of options, there’s an actual Options screen you can access from the main menu. It’s here you can configure the controls and also some basic stuff like volume sliders, an option for disabling hints, and a new option to reset your current character if you want to start over.

In addition to all the new options, Everplay has also sent over a teaser for a new upcoming level which you can see above. This new stage will contain new enemies as well as new items for your character to unlock. No word on just when this new level will hit, but it shouldn’t be too far off. In the meantime enjoy the latest update which tightened up an already great overall package in Spellsword.

Big Pixel Studio’s Off the Leash [ Free ] hit earlier this year, and basically did for tilt-based avoidance games what Jetpack Joyride [ Free ] did for the cave flyer. By that I mean it took a tried-and-true gameplay mechanic and fleshed it out to the max by dropping it into a game with attractive visuals, a mission-based progression, and tons of unlockable items and upgrades.

Yesterday a big update hit for Off the Leash that added some welcome new content to the game. The big ticket items are a brand new track and field themed location to perform your evasive dog actions in, and a new character named Charlie the Man Dog. Yep, Man Dog. He’s a man dressed up in a dog suit in case you didn’t gather that from his name, and he cracks me up to no end. He's also the fastest out of all the characters in the game.

The more minor additions in this update include a new baseball cap and an awesome Land-a Panda [$0.99 / $1.99 (HD) / Free (HD)] hat to buy in the store, a set of new missions bringing the total up to 99, and a couple of wallpapers to trick out your device. Off the Leash was loads of fun before, but new goodies are always a welcome addition. If you haven’t checked it out yet you can grab it for free in the App Store, and be sure to check out our original review.

On the iOS platform, nobody has done as much for the 2D scrolling arcade shooter genre than Japanese developer Cave. For the past 2 years, they have consistently delivered high quality ports of their stellar back catalog of games to the App Store. They have yet to really have a misstep either, providing you have an especially unquenchable thirst for bullet hell-style shooters.

Cave’s iOS games come with several hallmarks, like touch controls that are arguably even better than physical controls, plenty of variety in scoring techniques, and a staggering amount of screen-filling explosions and interesting enemies and bosses. Their latest release Bug Princess 2 [$6.99 / Free ], which hit early last month, is no exception. It’s the sequel to last December’s Bug Princess [$4.99 / Free ] and you might also know it by its original name Mushihimesama Futari. It is widely considered by fans to be the best and most challenging entry in the Mushihimesama series.

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Donut Games has seemingly always had the philosophy of making small, simple games that only have a few bits of gameplay to speak of. Bubble Pig [ $0.99 ] continues that trend by having one touch gameplay that is both fun and rewarding time after time.

While pigs don’t exactly fly, their rubbery skins and rotund bodies do lend well to bouncing, and Bubble Pig’s gameplay takes full advantage of this. Bouncing the pig around each level is easy; all you have to do is tap where you’d like the pig to bounce to, and he’ll continue to bounce automatically in that direction.

One-touch controls can feel too simplistic if not done well, but this game manages to do it without making it feel like an effortless experience. As some of our forum posters have pointed out, the gameplay is remarkably similar to Bean’s Quest [ $0.99 ] or Superstar Chefs [ $0.99 ].

Making the pig bounce all around the level may be fun, but you will need to complete goals along the way to keep things moving smoothly. Using the pig, you’ll need to activate switches scattered throughout each stage, with the level completing once you’ve hit them all. What makes the stages fun isn’t just moving around and hitting the switches however, the gimmicks involved in each stage are.

Just about every level has a unique gimmick you’ll need to overcome, keeping things fresh each time you play. In one level, you may need to dodge angry foxes that threaten to slaughter your poor pig, or perhaps you’ll need to navigate a series of pipes to find all of the switches in another. Having a new type of concept introduced in almost each new level will keep you thirsty for more and more every time you pick up the game.

Also scattered through each level are various fruits and coins for you to collect. Collecting these items (especially all of them if you can) will reward you with achievements and a special star rating for each level. To further incentivize collecting, you can also compare scores with your friends to make sure you’re as hot as you think you are. Sharing and comparing is key for longevity in these types of games, so it’s nice to see the leaderboards and achievements integrated so tightly.

We’ve probably all come to expect by now that Donut has a unique style that every one of their games uses, and Bubble Pig is no exception. Each stage is colorful and the animations are incredibly smooth, keeping with the standards already set. Being a universal app also helps, as playing on the iPad makes controlling the pig a bit easier, and the colors pop just a bit more.

Bubble Pig is one of those games that achieves a great balance between being straightforward, while still managing to be challenging too. Dismissing the game as being too formulaic would be unfair, as it manages to be very fun despite its simplistic premise.

Ballistic SE [$1.99] and Fireball SE [$1.99] creator, Luke Schneider, has been porting another Xbox Live Indie Game to the iPhone and iPad. Inferno+, which features newer high resolution assets for retina screens, is coming later this month or earlier next. Luke dropped us a really awesome slow-motion teaser trailer that shows off a smidgen of the game's creative twin-stick action, which seeks to combine elements of Geometry Wars (!) with the structure of Gauntlet (!!).

Luke describes the trailer in his latest blog post, shedding some light on what he's trying to shoot for:

While the launch trailer will cover a lot more of what’s in Inferno+, for the teaser video above I only wanted to show a single quick sequence to give a taste of the game. Obviously it’s in slow motion, and zoomed in a bit, so I cheated a little, but I think that’s OK.

We've been pretty impressed with what Luke has released so far, so count us in for a day one download. Whenever we get a final build, we'll shoot you a review. Hah. Get it? It's a twin-stick shooter. We're going to shoot our thoughts at you... like you'd fire bullets in a shooter. We crack us up.