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Back in March, Radiangames had to take down its neon-tinted arcade shooter Super Crossfire from iTunes, due to a trademark clash with an online F2P FPS. For those to you who missed out on the game, don't despair, as an updated version will be making a welcome return to iTunes soon with a new name - Super Crossfighter.

Alognside various minor fixes, this updated version of the game has rebalanced victory points and upgrades, with enemy shots designed to be more visible. The game now also supports iOS7, MOGA, and Bluetooth controllers during gameplay, with iCade support also improved. Alongside this release, all of Radiangames' iOS library will on sale from now through Sunday evening, cutting the price of each game down to $0.99.

Super Crossfighter is set to fire its way onto the App Store sometime soon at the time of writing, where it will be free for a couple of days so owners of Super Crossfire can get their hands on it. After this period, the game will go up to its usual price of $1.99.

Ballistic SE - $0.99
CRUSH! - $0.99
Fireball SE - $0.99
Fluid SE - $0.99
Inferno+ - $0.99
JoyJoy - $0.99
SideSwype - $0.99
Slydris - $0.99

As nice as it was to see such a strong representation of mobile games and devices at E3 this year, it also means more work when trying to figure out which were the most noteworthy. Seriously, there was a lot of great stuff on display and picking just a few to highlight wasn’t easy. With that said, here are our notables from E3 2014 in no particular order.

Phonejoy

I stumbled upon the Phonejoy completely by accident, but I’m very glad I did. It’s nice and compact, well-made, and easily attaches to iOS devices of any size and in any orientation. Unfortunately the version that’s available now isn’t MFi, but one is in the works - and you can be sure that once we find out about a release date we’ll be sharing that info with you. Until then, the current Phonejoy model will still work just fine with other games that still support third party controllers like the iCade.

Final Fantasy VII G-Bike

Square Enix has apparently been developing an iOS game based entirely around that Golden Saucer mini-game from Final Fantasy VII without bothering to tell anyone about it. For shame, Square Enix. But while Final Fantasy VII G-Bike seemed to pop-up out of nowhere, it’s definitely looking like a badass runner/driver/whatever you want to call it. Would that other 3D runners had this game’s sense of style and production values!

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

I’m a Monster Hunter nerd, sure, but the reason Freedom Unite has made the list is because it genuinely impressed me. It looks like a fantastic port, plays very well, and even manages to add a couple of elements that the original PSP release was missing - namely legitimate online play and a lock-on feature. As someone who’s already sunk hundreds of hours into the original Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, I simply can’t wait to get my hands on this one when it officially comes stateside.

The Gamevice

I’ve yet to get my hands on the final version of the Gamevice, but the “beta” version I was able to play around with last week was definitely cool. It’s uses are sadly limited to only the iPad Mini, but the combination of controller and iOS device make for a great handheld gaming setup. And because the Gamevice is essentially in two separate pieces that attach on either side of the Mini, it should also be pretty easy to tote around. Just in case.

Hitman Sniper

Between Hitman Go [GET LINK] and now Hitman Sniper, Square Enix Montreal is definitely a developer worth keeping an eye on. What could have been something as basic as a first-person shooting gallery with a Hitman theme is actually a very clever (and unorthodox) approach to something sort of like a puzzle game. It isn’t just fun to play around with the various interactive elements in each level, either. The constant competition with other players who are close to your rank on the leaderboards also acts as a great incentive to keep aiming (*rimhot*) for the high score.

Just Dance Now

I don’t dance, and there’s about a 99% chance I’ll never play Just Dance Now when it comes out, but I couldn’t help but be impressed by what I saw at Ubisoft’s booth last week. The game is being developed with accessibility as its main focus, which is something I wish more developers took the time to consider. And not only is it being made to work with older iOS devices, it’s also supposed to take it easy on your bandwidth. So it’ll run on your old clunker and won’t double your phone bill if you end up playing over 3G/4G. Seriously, big thumbs-up to Ubisoft for this one.

???

I can’t name names, I can’t mention developers, and there’s a good chance I can’t talk about genre. But if I’m obscure enough I don’t see the harm in saying that this thing I played that I can’t go into detail about was actually a whole lot of fun and probably the biggest surprise for me personally at the show. I know that’s not much to go on but it’ll all make sense in time. Suffice it to say, when a developer really cares and knows what they’re doing just about anything can be a hit.
[Please note that the game in-question has nothing to do with Futurama. I just like Futurama and needed an image.]

Popular tactical RPG Record of Agarest War started out on consoles, and was brought to Android, but now it's finally on iOS.

In a somewhat surprising move, the game was released to the App Store with very little fanfare. Still, it's here now so why not check it out? All the hours upon hours of gameplay, massive combos, monster capturing, giving birth to the next generation's hero (for up to 5 generations), and more are present and accounted for - it's just been shrunk down. Pretty cool, right? It's a wonder nobody's been talking about it.

You can grab Record of Agarest War off the App Store now for $14.99. Additional dungeon DLC and in-app purchases are available.

* Over 100 hours of gameplay
* 59 outstanding soundtracks
* Full 720p HD graphic assets
* 40 cut scene videos
* Fully voice acted with 16,000 character voices
* Over 400 different Magic spells and Battle skills
* Over 400 Enemies and Characters
* Capture monsters to join your army
* Story stretching 5 Generations of heroes
* Enhanced battle system including combo system, break and overkill
* Support for full touch interface, virtual on screen controller and iCade support
* Automatic save backup to iCloud.
* Support for Leaderboards and Achievements through Game Center.
* Language: English text with Japanese voices.
* Airplay support
* universal application

Frank Condello is the solo developer behind Chaotic Box, now well-known for dEXTRIS, which has surpassed one million downloads and become one of his most popular games. Condello has been at work on the App Store for years now, but this stands as one of his biggest releases yet. Condello was gracious enough to take the time to answer some questions about dEXTRIS, and what it means for him.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has been given the remastering treatment by Sega and Christian Whitehead, who presided over the Sonic CD remake and original Sonic the Hedgehog remake that released earlier this year. Available as a free update to the previously-emulated version on the App Store, Sonic 2 contains some cool new goodies along with widescreen and iPad support.

Unlike Sonic CD and the original Sonic the Hedgehog, which were both games that only let players control Sonic in their original versions, Sonic 2 was much more comprehensive with its characters. Tails made his first appearance in Sonic 2. Knuckles showed up later, but was patched in to the game for people who locked-on Sonic 2 to Sonic & Knuckles. However, Tails has been given the ability to fly where users couldn’t control it in the Genesis original.

Thus, the big addition to this game is Hidden Palace. Sonic 2 is pretty well-known for having had a few levels left on the cutting room floor, discovered through leaked betas. One of the most intriguing pieces that was abandoned was a level called Hidden Palace. While the name and perhaps its giant emeralds were reused in Sonic 3, how it would fit into Sonic 2 was never quite known and this level in particular has only been found in an unfinished form. But now Christian Whitehead has gotten to add the level to the game, finished it up, and given it a proper conclusion - including a brand-new boss fight.

Finding the level isn’t too difficult: one particular quasi-bottomless pit near the middle of the game that would just kill players with spikes has become the entrance to Hidden Palace. You’ll probably discover it accidentally. Or, just watch the video below!

There’s still a good selection of secrets to be had. To access level select, go into No Save Mode, and tap on the letters S-E-G-A in order. Then, tap and hold with two fingers on the title screen to access the level select. Here you can select any level, including Hidden Palace.

You can use the Sound Test to put in cheats. Playing 4–1–2–6 will give you all 7 Chaos Emeralds. Playing 1–9–9–2–1–1–2–4 will unlock debug mode; tap in the upper left corner to turn into an item. Use the + and - icons that appear to cycle between icons. There’s some unused item boxes that can be placed, and ones that only appear in the two-player mode.

And oh, that’s been preserved too - and now the two-player race mode supports Game Center online multiplayer. There’s no iCade support, but MFi gamepads are supported.

Even beyond the new additions, considering that Sonic 2 is a game that holds up incredibly well to this day even without any additions, this is a must-have for fans and anyone who has yet to play this classic. The game is a free update to those who owned the previous original emulated version, and is available now.

The original Sonic the Hedgehog has been remastered for iOS, a la Sonic CD. Under the care of Christian Whitehead and his Retro Engine, the team at Sega who helped guide the port along, and Simon Thomley, aka "Stealth," who helped put Knuckles into a Sonic 1 ROM, the original Sonic game is now even better, with tons of new extras for long-time fans. Oh, and it's not a new app, though it certainly could have been - this is a free update to the original Sonic 1 release for iOS, which was just an emulated version of the Genesis original.

The game itself is a faithful port, with some tweaks added. It's now friendly to multiple aspect ratios, including widescreen, which may still come to Sonic CD. The spin dash has been added as an option, which does make the game a bit easier. Spike behavior has changed to be more player-friendly and more like the later games in the series.

But it's the extras, both big and small, that are worth getting excited about. Because the game has been rebuilt in the Retro Engine to the specifics of the original title, it's possible to add new things in. Tails and Knuckles are unlockable by beating the game and getting all the Chaos Emeralds. This is one of the harder Sonic games, so good luck.

It's the even more deeply buried tweaks that are more fun. iCade support is in the game, which comes recommended for two reasons: physical controls make this game a lot better, though the virtual controls are better than the emulated version and have plenty of options to configure them. But more importantly, iCade usage helps unveil one of the game's coolest secrets that may be inaccessible otherwise. Don't read any further if you don't want to find out. SPOILERS!

Start up a new game in "No Save Mode" and input Up-Down-Left-Right on the controller. You'll hear a chime. Tap Start, and you'll see a level select screen. Initially, it's a bit of sacrilege as it's different from the Sonic 1 level select, but it lists plenty of neat options. All the characters can be played immediately. Individual game behaviors can be changed. Items from Sonic 2 and/or 3 can be added. The game can be played with 7 Chaos Emeralds instead of the original's 6. Plus, there's a sound test. Pretty much the only missing thing is the debug mode!

This might not be the end to the secrets: Tails' name can be displayed as Miles "Tails" Prower when starting a game as him by tapping the letters in the famous SEGA logo to spell AGES. The developers have been in the Sonic Retro forums teasing out other secrets, so there's plenty of options here.

That this all has been presented as an update to the emulated version, when Sega could have easily justified it as a new purchase - and I'd have defended it too - is a killer deal for Sonic fans. Casual fans will love getting a better version of this game. The hardcore fans will love all the additional goodies. Much like Sonic CD, this is how a port should be done. Of course, there's two other main series Sonic games to potentially be ported, and don't forget Knuckles Chaotix!