Semi Secret Software, the studio behind Canabalt, has announced that its working on a brand new iPad game alongside Greg Wohlwend of Solipskier [$.99] fame. According to a tweet from Semi Secret, this'll be its first new game in over a year.

Get ready for a crusher: we don't know much about this collaboration. The aforementioned tweet links to PlayHundreds.com, an undoubtedly artful web site that's teasing something relevant, but not immediately apparent. We realize this isn't a whole lot to go on. Semi Secret is pretty good at this game development thing, though, so we're OK with assuming that this is worth keeping an eye out for.

This is cool, guys. Below, you'll get your first look at Beat Sneak Bandit's silhouette mode. There are four of these babies in every chapter, but you can only access them by collecting the "bonus" small clocks scattered about in every level. Developer Simogo is telling us that you'll unlock one for every ten clocks, and that these levels are locked away because they bolster the real challenge of the rhythm meets stealth title.

We aren't the only dudes digging Beat Sneak, by the way. It's up for Best Mobile Game in the IGF awards, and has received honorable mentions in Excellence in Visual Art, as well as Excellence in Audio. Not too shabby, eh? Then again, this is the studio behind Bumpy Road [$2.99]. So awesome.

Earlier this week, Certain Affinity announced the "impending arrival" of a "new" version of Age of Booty for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Being developed in a partnership with Chaotic Moon, Certain Affinity promises that the duo has taken what fans didn't like in the 2008 original and has piled on new stuff, including fresh interfaces and visual flair, based on consumer feedback. Twitter and Facebook are also being jacked in, alongside new levels and new "strategic opportunities."

Take note that this isn't a true continuation or a follow-up. This is Age of Booty with new stuff (see above image), and hopefully some key improvements. And, hey, even though it's not all-new, Age of Booty on iPad and iPhone sounds like a cool thing. We're hoping to give you some impressions in the near future.

Ayopa Games' and Drowning Monkeys' next title is a 3D, close-quarters strategy RPG with the usual trimmings: ghouls, ghosts, swords, sorcery, dungeon crawling, and leveling are all a part of the package. It's as functionally classical as its name, Dungeon Crawlers, implies, and nothing mechanical I've seen seems to be breaking any mold.

There is this one thing, though. It's kinda quirky. In the opening moments, one of the party members clearly references Ghostbusters. Roy, the healer, carries around a weapon called "The Unreturned Library Tome." When you search the first weapon rack you find, it calmly tells you that while there's tons of weapons here, none of them are indeed yours.

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We've been incredibly excited for Farsight Studio's upcoming Pinball Arcade since we first heard about it this past October. Following their critically acclaimed Pinball Hall of Fame Gottlieb and Williams collections that have appeared on various platforms over the years, Farsight is now working on what they hope to be the ultimate pinball video game with Pinball Arcade. Featuring tables from historic pinball companies like Bally, Stern, Williams and Gottlieb, Pinball Arcade is also set to be updated and expanded frequently following release and should eventually contain at least 50 classic pinball tables, making for the ultimate virtual collection.

Pinball Arcade is slated to hit just about every platform you can think of, including iOS. Last month, we checked out a trailer that showcased several of the tables in action, though the footage didn't seem to specifically be from an iOS device. However, their most recent video demonstrates the Tales of the Arabian Nights table from Pinball Arcade running on an iPad 2, and it looks absolutely fantastic:

Pinball Arcade is scheduled for an early 2012 launch – which is like, now – and I've got my money on us seeing it in the App Store before the end of the month. The first tables to launch with the game are Tales of the Arabian Nights, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Theatre of Magic, and Black Hole. They hope to add 2 new tables per month via updates, and each month a different table will be featured as "Table of the Month" and offered at a discounted rate. For launch, the first Table of the Month will be Tales of the Arabian Nights, which will cost 99¢. The other 3 tables will run either $1.99 or $2.99 each, according to Farsight's Twitter.

Be on the lookout for Pinball Arcade to hit hopefully really soon and check out our forums for some discussion on the game.

[Thanks Jeff!]

Alright. Enough with the funny business here. Someone at Apple really needs to get priming the ol' App Store game release pump. After the massive holiday rush, everything just feels lackluster in comparison. This week has a few more releases than last week's "Oh hey here's four games" post, but not many more.

Anyway, here's what's coming out tonight. This is the same song and dance as all previous weeks, in that these games should all be magically available in the USA at 11:00 PM Eastern.

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Scribblenauts [$.99] developer 5th Cell isn't one-and-done with iPhone and iPad. This Thursday, actually, will see the release of its second game, a "micro-platformer" called Run Roo Run. It looks remarkably 5th Cell, and according to exclusive details given to Joystiq, it certainly sounds like a game we'll definitely be getting into.

In a nutshell, Run Roo Run is an extremely cutesy and heavily instance-based runner -- think, Canabalt [$.99] but with levels and a kangaroo. The experience is sliced and diced into a series of 420 individual levels that are, also, divided cleanly into chapters that all introduce new obstacles or other new elements, like, items. Each week 5th Cell plans to push 10 more additional levels to the game without the need to update.

One really interesting thing that popped up during the Joystiq interview about Run Roo Run was the subject of its inspiration. The initial idea came from Space is Key, an insanely awesome flash game that you've got to play right now.

[Via Joystiq]

Last week, we told you about Glitchsoft's upcoming Star Marine: Infinite Ammo, a run 'n gun shooter that looks to capture the magic of classic action platformers like Contra and Metal Slug. A game like Contra demands precision in its controls due to the hectic action on screen, and it's hard to say whether or not that type of precision can be possible with virtual touch screen controls. Star Marine is hoping it's found the answer to this problem by taking a dual-stick approach to its control scheme, which is looking pretty good so far.

In our preview last week there were just screenshots for Star Marine, but Glitchsoft has just released a trailer for the game so you can get an idea of what it looks like in action.

From the trailer, a few things stick out at me as looking particularly awesome. It appears there are quite a few weapons to use, including one that looks a lot like the infamous spread gun from Contra. Also, I really like some of the enemies that are absolutely humongous, sometimes filling up the entire screen. Finally, Star Marine incorporates a feature that slows down your descent when you're falling through the air, giving you a better opportunity to lay waste to the enemies on the screen. I imagine this coupled with the dual-stick controls will allow a game like Star Marine to be quite playable with a touch screen.

Star Marine: Infinite Ammo is scheduled for a release this week, and we'll be looking to get our hands on the title to see just how well it turned out when it hits the App Store.

Raising Big Poppa Pump hasn't been easy. He gets hungry at weird times and doesn't sleep through the night. He also isn't the cleanest pocket monster I've ever owned. But I have a feeling that all this time spent grooming, teaching, and playing with him will lead to something truly rewarding. I'm talking about evolution, man -- an incredible change that takes place because I've proved that I'm an awesome owner.

Big Poppa Pump is my little monster dude in Hatchi, Portable Pixel's game for those of us who remember the Tamagotchi so fondly. The two games -- and I use that loosely -- are pretty similar. You hatch an egg that contains a monster, and then that monster becomes your digital pet. As an owner, you'll be responsible for feeding, cleaning, entertaining and even applying first-aid to the little one.

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As a kid growing up with my NES and Super Nintendo, there weren't many things that were as bad ass as the Contra series. These action platformers featured tough main characters, tons of sweet weapons, huge boss battles, and bullets flying everywhere – basically everything a 10-year old boy could ever want. Destructopus [99¢] developer Glitchsoft's latest title Star Marine: Infinite Ammo takes heavy cues from that classic Contra series, as well as similarly strong action games like Rapid Reload and Metal Slug. And so far, it's looking pretty awesome.

One of the biggest issues that pops up when talking about a game like this on iOS is controls, as the Contra games were brutally difficult back in the day even with physical controls, and they demand a degree of finesse that's really difficult to achieve with virtual touch screen buttons. Glitchsoft hopes to avoid any control issues by using a clever dual-stick setup which will allow for a range of movement and abilities to the main character while still allowing him to fire in any direction at the same time.

Time will tell whether or not a game in the vein of Contra or Metal Slug can be accurately translated to a touch screen device, and I'm definitely eager to find out. Word on the street is that Star Marine is already approved by Apple and is slated for a launch sometime this month, and you can be sure we'll check it out then. In the meantime, jump into some Star Marine discussion in our forums.

Update: Glitchsoft got in touch and informed me a few of these screens are a wee bit outdated, so here's a few new screens that are a bit more fresh:

Zeboyd Games radical 16-bit parody RPG, Chtulhu Saves the World, is coming to mobile devices this year. And sooner than you'd think. On Twitter, lead designer Robert Boyd says the studio held this announcement until work was almost finished, and he expects the game to hit at some point this quarter. Nice guy!

Meaningful details, like, how this version will control, if it'll include any extras, or its price point aren't being discussed at this time. A note on the game's blog does say that more information is coming in the next few weeks, but since we're so nosey we've reached out to Zeboyd for more anyway.

If you've played Breath of Fire or an old-school Final Fantasy, you'll be able to get your head around Cthulhu's systems and mechanics pretty quickly. The awareness of what genre its in, the sharp improvements it makes, and the humor is what makes it pretty great. Here's hoping the mobile ports rock just as hard.

Thanks to the holiday iTunes freeze, it's been weeks since we've seen a proper release onslaught. Naturally, being the first proper Wednesday night following the freeze you'd expect iOS developers to release the proverbial kraken as the previously plugged supply line of games gets freed up, right?

Well, that doesn't really seem to be the case. The good news is, Super Crate Box is coming out tonight, and we've had a great time with a preview copy of the game. So, definitely snag that.

Here's the full list:

Asteroids 2012, $2.99 - Forum Thread - This space flyer comes with multiple game modes, control types, and even an augmented reality mode. With Atari's latest stint of getting games removed from the App Store, it might not be a bad idea of snagging this before they catch wind of the title if it looks interesting to you.

Lunar Racer, 99¢ - Forum Thread - It's from the creators of Super Stickman Golf, which is more than enough for me to give Lunar Racer a download. Oh, and floaty backflip-filled racers always seem to be fun.

Streetbike: Full Blast, 99¢ - Forum Thread - Chillingo adds another entry to the somewhat scarce motorcycle racing section of the App Store. The cityscapes of the game vaguely remind me of Ridge Racer, maybe that's just me.

Street Wrestler, $2.99 - Forum Thread - As pointed out by forum member Rlan, this seems to be an iOS port of the XBLA game Lucha Fury. The bad news is, Lucha Fury wasn't exactly the greatest game, and it's not entirely clear just yet what if anything was changed in the porting process.

Super Crate Box, 99¢ - Forum Thread - Everything you need to know about this game was probably covered in our preview. The only other thing you should know: Download it.

Transformoid, 99¢ - Forum Thread - A Breakout-style brick breaking game with a vaguely steampunky theme. It seems that the main gameplay gimmick revolves around a curved paddle.

Hey, guys, remember when Tamagotchis were a thing? I hope so, because a big part of why we're so excited about Portable Pixels' Hatchi is directly tied to nostalgia. Our all-seeing eye recently caught a first-look posting of the app on our message board, and we couldn't be more pleased with the find.

Hatchi is a fine-looking Tamagotchi-style, er, throwback that provides a similar same kind of experience. You'll feed, teach, train, and clean your digital little animal and then, as a result, forge some sort of emotional bond to it. Basically, it's like a dog that can't do the annoying things like, say, pee on the carpet or drool.

Tamagotchis were huge for a spell and we had more than a few hanging from our keychains, so we're pretty stoked to give this mobile iteration on the idea a shot. Portable Pixels has submitted the app for review, so it should hit within the week.

Some of you are unfamiliar with Vlambeer's Super Crate Box. Let's fix that real quick -- and for the pleasant price of $0. Hit up this web site, download the client, give it a few minutes, and then come back to us. We'll wait. We're patient.

We on level, yet? If you were playing along with us, you've discovered that SCB is a quirky 2D side-scroller that has all the action of a Mario plus the fury of a frenetic shooter. Enemies spew from the top of an instance-based level, and it's your job to evade or kill them while also collecting devilish crates that dispense weapons. The play is blazingly fast and chaotic, and the rewards -- all the new guns, new levels, and new characters -- come at a satisfyingly awesome drip. It's hard to put down, to say the least.

We've asked for so much of your time up-front because what you saw is what you're going to get in the upcoming iOS version -- Vlambeer and co-developer Halfbot nailed it; this seems like nothing short of a great port, based on our hands-on with a final build.

Functionally, some things have changed. Touch controls -- two buttons and two movement arrows -- have replaced the keyboard inputs. I also think the action has seen the slightest dip in speed, perhaps to make up for users' natural lag-time with the virtual controls.

Don't take this the wrong way; the action is still oh-my-god fast in comparison and somehow, someway, the development duo managed to make it all feel good on iPad and iPhone. Your delightful little avatar, which is always random, responds sweetly to your nudges and frantic pulls. The shooting part of the equation, also feels pretty satisfying with the button.

It might take users a few minutes to get accustomed, but the buttons translate. The game's formula also seems to, too. Got a few seconds? Great, because 90-percent of the time you won't last that long anyway if you come across a disc launcher. Have some minutes? Play a ton of sessions, and unlock some new stuff to play around with the next time you're able to pick up your device and give it a go.

Probably the biggest challenge SCB on iOS faces as it sees a release is the usual one: grabbing the attention of the casual base. The look is easy on the eyes, but its remorseless play is definitely geared towards the core crowd. It doesn't seem to have an answer for players who want a little less chaos... or disc launcher.

This isn't a problem with us, though, so whatever. We dig the arcade vibe. Super Crate Box will see a release on January 5th as a Universal app. We'll have a full review around then, so stay tuned.

If you've been listening to our show, you already know that Rocketcat Games has plans to release a free-to-play RPG based in its Mage Gauntlet [$2.99] universe. Earlier this morning, Rocketcat dropped another first-look at a class for that game on its Facebook page. It even threw out some information on what it's shooting for with the title.

"The Spellsword is essentially the same as Lexi from Mage Gauntlet. Anti-magic dash move, finds randomized single-use spells, while also being very strong in melee. However, he has low health compared to almost every other character."

"Despite the similarity to Mage Gauntlet mechanics, we'll be taking a lot of time to improve things with the Spellsword. The heart system will be replaced with a health bar system, allowing for things like armor that actually reduces damage.

We're also looking into altering the equipment a bit. Some ideas include making some of the swords change what your charge-attack does, the spell-critical robes being replaced with new effects, and the spell trinkets adding secondary effects to the specific spell."

In brief, Rocketcat's Next Game will be a randomly generated dungeon crawler that jives with the spirit of Mage Gauntlet. Players will have different classes to choose from, and other classes to unlock via an in-game gem currency system. Since it's free-to-play and all, those gems will be also be available as optional IAP downloads.

Rocketcat seems pretty serious about sharing stuff for this title on its Facebook, so go give that a follow if you're into what it's doing next.