Find your sync cable and grab your dungeon masters, friends, and loved ones. The oft-teased Universal update for Carcassonne [$9.99] is now available, meaning you can now play the tabletop-game-turned-App on your iPad without having to maximize or deal with UI not intended for use on the device's much larger screen.

As a result, the game's price has also been raised to $9.99. Bummer at a glance, but if you haven't purchased Carcassonne, don't see this as a deal breaker -- the original game is a fantastic port of the beloved tabletop game and it appears as if the iPad update is just as good.

Granted, my time has been limited, but I haven't spotted a single bruise. The UI looks sharp and reacts well and the touch controls are solid, too. Heck, even the visuals remain appealing. It's like The Coding Monkeys spent a lot of time on this update or something, right?

Oh, the parties I am already planning. If only I can convince my "cool" friends that playing Carcassonne is more fun than drinking jungle juice. Challenges. Life has them.

Is the video game killing the board game? I don't know, man, but I think you can argue that tabletop licensors themselves are doing a brilliant job driving nails into their products' respective caskets. Take a look at digital storefronts and you'll see classic tabletop-properties-turned-video-games like Carcassonne [$9.99] and Connect 4 [99¢] lined up next to non-traditional games like The Maw or Battlefield 1943. It's weird.

I think the reason why licensors choose to peddle digital versions of their games extends beyond obvious cold business realities. Games like Connect 4 translate well to digital, first of all. But more importantly, these games operate as touchstones. You remember sinking your sister's Battleship [99¢] battleship. This stuff has emotional weight.

For me, no other game conjures as many memories as Monopoly [$9.99]. This is why I buy the game so damn much. And while it's oft been digitized, until this afternoon, the game hasn't been put on the platform that makes the most sense: The iPad.

So, let's talk about it.

Foremost, this is a faithful recreation of the board game. All the pieces, all the house rules, the buildings, and the properties are present and accounted for. Furthermore, the game's presentation nails the actual board, making for a nostalgic and satisfying experience. Seriously, look at this thing. It's a perfect and slick recreation.

What's missing is all the tactile stuff: piece movements, money exchanges, card pick-ups, and property flip-flops are automated. This isn't a huge deal, but there is a small part of me that still wants to move my Top Hat Of Doom across the board and I just can't get that from this version of the game.

The dice, however, aren't automated. You'll need to grab and roll the dice with a touch and a swipe in order to progress. It's a cool touch, but also one that shows off how wonky the game's physics engine is. When rolled, the dice respond like rubber balls surround by an invisible wall, needlessly bouncing off its unseen surface. The bad dice physics also showcase a bad camera that needlessly attempts to follow the die's ridiculous bouncing. It's jarring in that "The Blair Witch Project" sort of way.

Other unautomated actions include auctions and trades. These, of course, require some bits of intuitive UI and active participation. Surprisingly, the AI holds up pretty well in both these realms -- it's savvy without being too know-it-all. It's also pretty good at housing up its properties on top of getting what it needs, so look out.

Monopoly has several game modes. There's a "Play Now" option that lets you play with up to four AI. And there's also a "Tabletop Mode" which offers pass-and-play opportunities with others. On an iPad, this is almost perfect since the touch screen is so large. I had a good time with another, at least.

I'll mention that there's a "Teacher Mode" that instructs how to play the game while you actually participate in a session. There's also a "Local Network Play" option that operates as implied.

It feels funny to talk about all this tech voodoo about Monopoly. This version does such a great job at recreating the feel of the game, conjuring up those memories, and sating that itch to play the actual board game, that you tend to forget that it's just an iOS title. Come to think of it, this is what really matters. Go buy it already.

2D Boy's World of Goo has a ton of history behind it. It was originally released completely DRM and license-free for the Mac and PC (as well as the Wii nearly a year later) and saw amazing reviews from the gaming press. This is where you'd expect the story of the game to then end in 2D Boy making tons of money and everyone living happily ever after, as PC gamers are constantly harping on developers about restrictive copy protection (like StarForce) or cumbersome CD key systems is what drives them to piracy. Sadly, not long after its release, despite all the critical acclaim and awards, 2D Boy's publisher filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy as only 1 out of 10 people playing World of Goo had paid for it.

The good news despite all that is 2D Boy is still around, and they've been hard at work on an iPad version of World of Goo that's scheduled to launch on December 16th for $9.99. If you've never played the game before, you're going to be in for an absolute delight. The goal of each of the levels is to use the various goos to construct structures to reach the end pipe of each level where they're sucked up in to a huge tank. It isn't a new gameplay mechanic at all, as tons of developers (even on the App Store) have built strikingly similar structure building games before.

Where World of Goo pulls ahead of the pack is in its remarkable presentation. Everything in this game flows together flawlessly, from the difficulty curve to how the graphics combine with the music, to the various silly cut scenes and introductions of new goos, and more. This is all enhanced by the new multitouch interface which allows you to drag around multiple goos, build and move the camera at the same time, and more. It feels so natural that I'm not sure how I played the game with a mouse before.

Next week is going to be insane with even more pre-holiday releases than today, but if you own an iPad, make sure you save ten bucks to download World of Goo. Even if you've played through it before, it's such a substantially different and better experience on the iPad that I cannot recommend it enough.

Alright Street Fighter fans, you've spoken loud and clear and Capcom has heeded your cries. Last month, we posted about the latest update to Street Fighter IV [$9.99] for iPhone. In this update, a brand new multiplayer mode was added that will auto-connect players into a match via Bluetooth if they are within range of each other. Also, two new playable characters were added to the roster of fighters, Sagat and Dee Jay. This is nothing new by now, as Street Fighter IV has been one of the most well supported titles in the App Store with a ton of new content and characters added in updates since the game was initially released last March.

Something was different about this last update though. Sagat was available right out of the gate, but in order to unlock Dee Jay one would have had to engage in 3 Bluetooth multiplayer matches with another device owner who also had the game. This made sense from the developer's perspective, as they had just come out with an interesting new multiplayer mode and would like to entice players to check it out by rewarding them with a character for doing so. The problem though is that many players in our forums and elsewhere didn't know anybody else with an iOS device, or if they did those people weren't avid gamers who owned a copy of Street Fighter IV. This left people frustrated as they had no way of unlocking Dee Jay, unless they happened to own multiple devices and could play versus matches against themselves (which is exactly how I ended up unlocking him).

Well, this is a problem no more, as the update released earlier today addresses this issue by allowing Dee Jay to be unlocked by beating Tournament Mode with every character or by the 3 versus matches requirement. Now, this isn't exactly a cake walk either, as it will take a significant amount of time to work through Tournament Mode with everyone. And I know what you're thinking, you clever player - that you will just change the round count to 1 to speed up the process. But not so fast, as Capcom figured you would try some shenanigans like that and requires that you keep the round count at 3 in order to unlock Dee Jay. At any rate, it's nice to know that even if it takes a little effort, you can now play as Dee Jay without relying on interacting with other human beings. If you have yet to unlock Dee Jay, make sure to grab the latest update for Street Fighter IV and hop into Tournament Mode to get started.

Rock Band fans have got another installment to keep them tapping -- or perhaps, in this case, singing -- to the beat with EA's recent release of Rock Band Reloaded in two versions, one for the iPhone [link] and one for the iPad [link]. This latest release is the first iOS Rock Band that features the (rather forgiving) new vocal recognition mode where gameplay consists of singing right along with the available tracks.

And, speaking of available tracks, there are 27 free tracks (some of which must be downloaded) along with four pay tracks that can be purchased at $.99 for a bundle of two. The complete list follows.

Free songs:

• A Jagged Gorgeous Winter by The Main Drag *
• A-Punk by Vampire Weekend
• Am I Crazy by Little Fish *
• Blood Doll by Anarchy Club *
• Bodies by Drowning Pool
• Call Me When Your're Sober by Evanessence
• Can't Let Go by Death of the Cool *
• Day Late, Dollar Short by The Acro-brats *
• Dearest (I'm So Sorry) by Picture Me Broken
• Entangled by Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives *
• Get Clean by Anarchy Club *
• Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar
• Hella Good by No Doubt
• Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran
• I Get By by Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives *
• In Bloom by Nirvana
• Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down
• Night Lies by Bang Camaro *
• Pleasure (Pleasure) by Bang Camaro *
• Peace Sells by Megadeth
• Remedy by Seether
• Rock'n Me by Steve Miller Band
• Seven by Tijuana Sweetheart *
• So What'cha Want by Beastie Boys
• The Perfect Drug by Nine Inch Nails
• White Wedding (Part 1) by Billy Idol
• Your Decision by Alice in Chains

Pay songs:

• Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly *
• Mean Woman Blues by Roy Orbison *
• Requiem for a Dying Song by Flogging Molly *
• You Got It by Roy Orbison *

( * denotes DLC tracks )

Rock Band Reloaded features Facebook integration, local (WiFi and Bluetooth) multiplayer, and a new Expert Mode for those wanting more of a challenge. The iPhone version supports the Retina display where available.

What's up, Street Fighters? Time to get your Sagat and Dee Jay on. Capcom's update for Street Fighter IV [$9.99] is now live on Apple's servers, meaning you can now pick the two aforementioned characters in regular and versus play. This update also adds in a hip Blue-tooth local matchmaking feature that auto connects people within range of each other, as well as a "Player Cards" feature that tracks stats of the people you happen to face.

I grabbed a screen of Sagat for your viewing pleasure. I didn't grab one of Dee Jay, as he's a locked character. To unlock him, you'll need to compete in Versus three times, which might be really hard if you don't have a pal with the game. That said, Capcom shot over an image or two, so problem solved on my end!

SAGAT

Surprisingly, a search of the App Store won't reveal much in the way of Tolkien's epic high-fantasy trilogy. We've seen many other movie adaptations converted to games, but nothing in the way of the Fellowship's desperate plight to Mt Doom. It's strange then that Glu Mobile has championed the well known licence on the App Store, and has done so in the form of a tower defense game, The Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense [$6.99 / HD].

Thankfully, Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense isn't your typical tower-defense clone. Obviously, this is largely due the vast source material it draws from, using the entire Lord of the Rings adventure as a tapestry to bind each of its 18 levels together. You'll encounter goblins in the Mines of Moria, fight with the Rohirrim in the Battle of Helms deep and fend off Nazgûl a-plenty on your way to defeat Sauron. There are 7 iconic battle locations all up and a host of familiar enemies to mow through.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, what really sets apart Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense is the way it uses the heroes of the fellowship as your typical TD towers. Maps in Middle-earth Defense aren't comprised of static paths bordered with designated areas where you place your towers. Instead, in much the same way as Fieldrunners handles TD, the path the enemies take can and must be manipulated by you to succeed. To do so, you'll be able to build a variety of different barricades with wood earned after each wave. Barricades each have different abilities, such as slowing or damaging creeps that pass by them. Though you are limited where you can build, it is up to you to decide what paths to open or close.

Once your path is determined, you must then place your heroes. Ranged heroes operate much like your typical towers, attacking from static positions. Melee heroes however, roam around their area picking fights, and so can get up close and personal with a creep wave hitting them constantly as they pass. Heroes can be upgraded with earned gold, improving their attack power, speed, range or skills. The latter is unique to Middle-earth Defense, as each warrior Hero (there are support heroes too, such as the hobbits) has a skill that can be periodically activated to dramatic effect. Effective use of skills such as Gandalf's meteor shower or Gimli's axe tornado are pretty much essential for getting past the harder levels, as the game does get quite difficult at times.

The individual creeps and heroes in Middle-earth Defense are a mixed bag-- some look terrific, whilst others are barely recognizable. This can be attributed to the somewhat jaggy models and darker textures experienced on the 3GS device we tested the game on, though we're thrilled (and surprised!) to see that a Retina patch has already been released which sharpens things up significantly. Unfortunately, this doesn't remedy the fact that animations are only just serviceable, and that heroes are sometimes indistinguisable and easily lost amidst the chaos.

Glu Mobile have otherwise done a great job of maintaining the standards of the license. The musical score is not overstated, and is actually worth listening to as you're battling wave after wave. Short cutscenes describing each scene and text dialogue between characters abridging each level are well written and give context to your encounters. There is also a Challenge Mode which is unlocked after completing the tutorial that allows you to attempt each of the Story Mode environments with unlimited enemy waves, in an attempt to post your best Game Center or Facebook score.

Finally, there are a host of trophies (achievements) to earn in Story Mode that unlock additional characters and environments in Challenge Mode. We're happy to see that Glu Mobile haven't skimped on content, as there's a heap to do here; and with 3 difficulty levels you can honestly expect several hours worth of gameplay all considered. Certainly don't expect to breeze through your journey to the Black Gates.

Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense is an interesting take on the saga for its first journey to the small screen. Though an unusual use of the licence, it is not an unwelcome one, as Middle-earth Defense does enough different to make it stand out from the very crowded tower defense market, not the least of which is provide great context for your battles and an interesting and well-known story to keep you engaged. There is one minor setback though-- while we don't usually comment on price, it is obvious that use of the Lord of the Rings licence does bring with it a slightly elevated hit to your hip pocket. If that doesn't phase you, we can certainly recommend Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense as a challenging and entertaining TD clone that should pose a pleasant surprise to cult fans and fans of the genre alike.

Capcom's Street Fighter IV [$9.99] is the gift that keeps on giving. First they released Zangief and Cammy as a free update, and later they added both E.Honda and C.Viper. We just got word from Capcom that this update gravy train isn't stopping anytime soon, as they just announced Sagat will be the next fighter included in the game. Also, since they've been releasing these updates with not one but two fighters each, it wouldn't surprise me at all for them to announce another character soon.

In addition, the way local multiplayer works is being tweaked. From the sounds of it, whenever two devices are running the game with Bluetooth enabled as soon as they get in range of each other they will auto-connect for some multiplayer action. We thought Street Fighter IV was great in our review and it's really hard to not get behind a game that has seen so many substantial free updates with even more on the way.

Flight Control HD [$4.99] won't be the only Firemint joint to receive a multiplayer update when iOS 4.2 hits the iPad. Real Racing HD [$9.99] will get its own as well, the studio has revealed this morning.

Specifically, this update will usher in four-person competitive races via Game Center across an unspecified number of levels. Currently, as Firemint reminds us in the press release, the game supports up to six-dude local multiplayer via Wi-Fi or head-to-head play via Bluetooth.

Game Center will give Real Racing HD online some structure -- once the update hits, you'll be able to get into games via random matchmaking or join up with friends who've bothered to sign up for Game Center and dig Real Racing HD.

iOS 4.2 is slated to hit whenever Apple feels like releasing it later this month, potentially as early as Friday if recent rumors are true. There's been some new talk since our post yesterday indicating that network AirPrint has been removed from the update, but nothing has been confirmed.

G5 Entertainment has recently released a new update to the iPhone/iPod touch version of their transport management simulation game Virtual City [$4.99/Lite]. In our original review of Virtual City last month, we found it to be a well crafted simulation that required keen skill and strategy to complete the many scenarios contained in the game.

A couple weeks ago, Virtual City HD [$9.99/Lite] launched for the iPad, and in addition to offering higher resolution graphics and a reworked UI to suit the larger screen it also boasted a sandbox mode with 5 different maps where you were free to build and maintain your own city from the ground up. This latest update to the iPhone version of Virtual City adds the same sandbox mode and 5 maps of its iPad counterpart. In addition, there is now Game Center integration and improved Retina Display support (as originally Virtual City only had partial Retina Display graphics).

If you own Virtual City then make sure to grab the latest update to take advantage of these new features. While the $2.99 introductory price for the game is now over, based on the many positive impressions in our forums the game is still a great buy at its current price of $4.99, and there are many happy customers of the iPad version in that forum as well.

As someone who was completely engrossed in the console wars of the 16 bit era, I took great pride in boasting about all the things Sega did that Nintendon't. (Of course as soon as I discovered RPG's on the SNES I flip flopped, but I digress.) The original Sonic the Hedgehog was an amazing game, and the rest of the series on the Genesis was just as good, if not better as they introduced both Tails and Knuckles. Unfortunately, with the advent of 3D gaming came 3D Sonic, and since then Sonic games haven't really been the same. Sure, there have been some fantastic 2D Sonic games for handhelds (the Gameboy Advance ones were particularly good), but the flagship Sonic games have been bad for years. That is, until today.

Sonic 4 [$9.99] has likely been in development for quite some time now, but was only first announced in late 2009 as the cryptic "Project Needlemouse" which was later revealed to be a return to classic 2D Sonic gameplay. Since then, the Sega hype machine has been in full force releasing various mysterious updates to the Sonic 4 web site, teaser trailers, screenshots, and development delays. In other words, Sonic 4 has a lot to live up to.

Sonic 4 is being released in episodes, with today's release as the first installment. Episode 1 comes packed with four zones: Splash Hill Zone, Lost Labyrinth Zone, Casino Street Zone, and Mad Gear Zone. Each of these zones are flavored with themes from classic levels of Sonic's past, with Splash Hill and Casino Street by far being the most memorable. Each zone is host to three acts and a boss fight. After beating the zone's boss, you unlock Time Attack mode which switches the game in to what Sonic games are best at: Going as fast as possible. Also worth mentioning are the two levels that are exclusive to the iPhone, but until the other versions of the game come out it remains to be seen how much different these exclusive portions are.

Controls are surprisingly decent for a game series originally designed with a physical controller in mind. By default you use a virtual joystick of sorts and a single button which handles everything else. Alternatively, a tilt control mode is included, but I found touch controls to feel far more natural. Like previous Sonic games, you can spin dash, and Sonic 4 implements a new lock on system of sorts which targets enemies and obstacles you can jump on to. When the game targets something, tapping jump sends Sonic shooting that direction, allowing you to precisely bounce off multiple enemies with ease.

Since Sonic games are all about speed, performance is arguably just as important as gameplay. Because of this, I busted out my entire library of iOS devices to see just how good of a job Sega did at optimizing Sonic 4 for the iPhone. After syncing the device to everything from the original iPhone to the iPad and iPhone 4, I'm more than a little surprised by the results. Performance obviously suffers with older devices, but Sonic 4 is completely playable even on the original iPhone. Oddly enough, the 3rd generation iPod touch seems to boast the highest frame rate, followed by the iPad pixel doubled, then the iPhone 4.

The level design is classic Sonic, with tons of loops, corkscrews, rings, recognizable power ups, and bonus stages. While Sega seems to have succeeded in bringing back the classic Sonic feel, the content included in the first episode seems like a tease after so much waiting. Sonic 4 is a ton of fun, but it's over before you know it, and without online leaderboards of any kind, I'm not sure how much appeal there will be in replaying levels for higher scores or lower times.

While the performance is certainly good enough to be fun, it's nowhere near the solid 60 FPS I had hoped for-- even on newer devices and to make things worse, Retina Display support is nowhere to be found. The first episode of Sonic 4 will also be available on the Wii via WiiWare, the Xbox 360 via XBOX Live Arcade, and the PS3 via PSN in the next couple days. So, if you own any of those systems, you can consider waiting to see how those versions of the game are reviewed, especially considering the fact that Sonic 4 will be in 1080p on both the PS3 and 360. Otherwise, if you're looking for a very fun taste of what a Sonic game should be like on the iPhone, we recommend Sonic 4... Just be fully aware that it will likely leave you unsatisfied with an intense longing for the release of the next episode, and I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing or not.

Capcom's Street Fighter IV [$9.99] not only is proving to be a fantastic fighter for the iPhone, but also one of the best supported games we've seen from big-name developers who historically haven't had that great of a track record when it comes to free content updates. We loved the game when it was first released, as evident in our review. Since then, both Cammy and Zangief have been added, and this most recent update includes E.Honda and C.Viper. Each come with two costumes, their own associated set of moves, and combos to master. Also included are some new costumes for Ryu and Chun-Li available via in-app purchase.

If you haven't picked up Street Fighter IV yet, now is a fantastic time to get on board. Capcom did an amazing job adapting the controls to the touchscreen of the iPhone, the graphics look great, and you really can't argue about four additional characters being added since release for free. Hopefully Capcom keeps the update train rolling.

Early last year Namco released Time Crisis Strike [$4.99], an iPhone version of their Time Crisis series that has been extremely popular in arcades and on home consoles for the past decade and a half. The game is an on-rails shooter that utilizes a unique (at the time) cover mechanic that allows you to lie in wait for the most opportune time to pop out and take shots at the enemy. The Time Crisis games are certainly fun, but the iPhone version lost much of the magic in its transition to the touch screen. What really makes Time Crisis enjoyable is actually aiming a light gun at the screen and reacting quickly to shoot at enemies while strategically taking cover when you needed to by stepping down on a pedal built into the arcade cabinet. Lacking these two key elements, Time Crisis Strike lost a lot of its appeal on the iPhone, which we explained in our review.

Earlier tonight, Namco released a sequel to the iPhone version titled Time Crisis 2nd Strike [$9.99]. After briefly checking out the game, it offers much of the same gameplay that was in the first. The graphics and framerate are much better this time around, but not Retina Display optimized. One really nice change is the option to disable tilting the device to duck and reload, instead using a button in either of the lower corners of the screen. Also, there are multiple weapons to use including a pistol, machine gun, shotgun and grenade launcher. This mixture of weapons is a welcome change and adds a bit of variety to the simplistic tap-to-shoot mechanic. There is a prologue level plus 3 episodes to play through, all tied together with some fairly decent cutscenes and story.

If you enjoyed the first Time Crisis Strike, then you should enjoy Time Crisis 2nd Strike as well. It's definitely an improvement over the original, although it still feels lacking compared to other platforms that feature physical guns and foot pedals to engage in the action. Impressions are being collected in our forums, and if you're interested in a new entry in the Time Crisis saga for your iPhone you can pick up Time Crisis 2nd Strike in the App Store right now.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [$9.99 / Free] hit the App Store in late January of this year and we absolutely loved it in our review. Prior to its release, there were quite a few good Grand Theft Auto-like games, but none ever really approached the depth and complexity of a true Rockstar game. Chinatown Wars blew everything out of the water with a full Grand Theft Auto experience, complete with tons of missions to complete, a ridiculous amount of cars to steal, and even touchscreen based mini-games for various in-game tasks.

Chinatown Wars worked fine on the iPad, but like so many games with controls designed and optimized for play on the iPhone, it definitely needed some tweaking. Also, pixel doubling wasn't very kind on the game's graphics. Rockstar responded by releasing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD [$9.99] which is the same game from a content perspective, with completely redone controls and graphics for the larger screen of the iPad. The in-game lighting has been improved, polygon counts have been increased, and explosions even look better.

If you own an iPad, and you've ever been remotely interested in Grand Theft Auto games, Chinatown Wars HD is a game you need on your device. There just isn't anything else like it on the App Store, the higher resolution graphics look great, the controls work well, and overall it's really hard to find anything to complain about other than this it its own app instead of a universal update to the existing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the iPhone. However, with any luck, Rockstar might just roll these high resolution graphical assets in to a Retina Display update for the new iPod Touch and iPhone 4.

Moments before the Apple keynote is scheduled to start today, Rockstar announced Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD for the iPad. The game sounds like it will feature the same content of the existing iPhone version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the iPhone, with HD graphics and modified controls like most HD-ized games.

Chinatown Wars will be available on September 9th for $9.99. For more information on the iPhone version of the game, buzz on over to our comprehensive review from when it originally was released. During keynotes, Apple has historically shown gameplay footage of yet to be released big name titles from large publishers like EA and Gameloft. If we're lucky, maybe we'll see Grand Theft Auto on the iPad today.