Holy crap. No, seriously, holy crap. Pixowl Inc, in collaboration with Bulkypix, are poised to unleash something major on the App Store. It might look like a simple toy at first, but make no mistake: The SandBox is packing some seriously intense concepts behind that cute facade.

When The SandBox first caught my attention, I thought it looked like a nifty little pixelated world-building game. In a way, it kind of is. However, I was thoroughly unprepared for just how many different aspects of this created world could be manipulated. Water will flow down hills, erode stone into sand, turn dirt into fertile soil, evaporate in extreme heat and freeze in extreme cold. Flowers and trees can grow. Weather will develop based largely on the environment. Players can even make rudimentary circuits to do anything from heating to creating light.

The SandBox is still very much in beta at the moment, but that’s no reason not to get excited. What’s already implemented is pretty amazing, actually. A lot of specifics are still up in the air, such as the final number of “story” levels (currently around 20), price and release date. It’s kind of a shame because this is all so cool, but then again it’s probably best not to rush things. Although the super-curious or anxious can try to get in to the beta. No guarantees, though. Regardless, be sure to keep an eye out for The SandBox whenever it does hit the App Store.

Egg Ball and BulkyPix are about to release a new platformer on the App Store. Please hold all sarcastic golf claps until I’ve finished. It’s not exactly an under-represented genre, but JAZZ: Trump’s Journey certainly looks to be a stand-out title.

It’s not just the traipsing through New Orleans circa the 1920′s. It’s also the awesomely stylized graphics, as well as the plot (inspired by the life of one Louis Armstrong no less) involving bringing jazz music to life for the first time in human history. Then there’s the way the game’s music will build, layer upon layer, as Trump begins recruiting musicians. There’s so much about this game that sounds awesome.

Of course, we’ll have to wait for it to come out before knowing if it lives up to expectations. It certainly looks like it will, though. Fortunately it won’t be an incredibly long wait. JAZZ: Trump’s Journey is scheduled for a universal January 19th release. No word yet on a price but I’m going to assume that whatever it is, it’ll be worth it.

In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. Bulkypix, in collaboration with Kobojo, are adapting PyramidVille for Apple devices. Dubbed PyramidVille Adventure this time around.

This is looking to be more than a mere straight port, however. While the developers have indeed carried the Ancient Egyptian city-building and citizen-gathering mechanics over, they’ve gone and added some new stuff as well. Players will be able to find special items that allow them to build special structures such as the Great Sphinx, as well as take part in a new collection of mini-games that can actually reduce the amount of real-time waiting required for various actions. And, of course, the entire interface has been redesigned for iOS with touch controls and the like.

Those looking to become the next Ramses (or Cleopatra!) will still have to wait a bit before they can experience the 6 million player strong Facebook phenomena on the go. PyramidVille Adventure isn’t set to come out for another month or so, towards the tail end of January. It’ll be free-to-play, and universal, so once it does come out there won’t be much of a reason to avoid it. Aside from the obvious ones like “free time” and “loved ones” anyway.

It’s amazing to think that it’s been almost 20 years since gamers were first tossed into the supremely unfortunate shoes of Lester Knight Chaykin. The brilliant young scientist went and got himself stranded in what might very well be the most hostile alien world ever, and boy was it ever tough to get him to relative safety. Learn from Lester, kids: Don’t mess around with nuclear energy.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Another World (a.k.a Out of the World to US folks) was one heck of a tough adventure game. In fact, it was entirely possible to die (horribly) within seconds of gaining control of the main character. And it didn’t let up much until the credits finally rolled. Poor old Lester seemed to be on everyone and everything’s list.

This month, iOS users will finally be able to experience one of the most beloved (and bemoaned) trial-and-error adventures ever thanks to DotEmu and BulkyPix. However, this isn’t just a straight port. Even long-time fans would do well to check this out once it’s released as there have been a number of interesting additions.

First, there’s the at this point by-the-numbers HD upgrade. Worry not, purists, the visuals can be changed back to their original look at any time. Second, a new “intuitive” touch control system has been developed, but a digital pad option is also available. Third, the music and sound effects have been totally remastered. A bullet point in the press release that admittedly has me a little nervous. Achievements make an appearance as well, naturally. Lastly, and most importantly, there are now three difficulty settings: Normal, Difficult and Hardcore. Difficult is what we old-timers experienced “back in the day,” while Normal is a bit easier and Hardcore is even harder somehow. As someone who has to this day never been able to fight my way to those credits, I’m anxious to try out this so-called Normal mode. Hardcore not so much.

Another World is set to release September 22nd (9/22) for $4.99. That’s $5 I’ll gladly toss into the ether for the chance to play this classic whenever and wherever I want.

Fans of Benoit Sokal’s puzzle/pixel hunter PC games were undoubtedly excited when BulkyPix released the remake of Paradise, retitled The Last King of Africa. The Last King of Africa was only part of the original PC game and was a decidedly simplified version due to the switch to the 1st person view, but it was widely regarded as a good genre experience. The game offered fantastic (but short) 3D cutscenes, well written dialogue, and the occasional puzzle to break up the pixel hunting.

The Last King of Africa 2 makes up the second part of the trilogy, continuing Maurania’s quest to figure out her identity and to find her way home. The game features:

· An amazing game for the iPhone from Benoît Sokal, master of adventure (Syberia)
· Beautiful graphics and impressive cinematics
· A unique atmosphere with dozens of different places to explore
· A story filled with riddles and thrilling encounters
· Many different and unique characters
· An interface perfectly adapted to the iPhone’s tactile screen
· Various riddles and puzzles to solve thanks to the iPhone’s functions
· Hours and hours of entertainment

The Last King of Africa 2 will be coming to the iPhone in November, so be on the lookout. Also, The Last King of Africa will be out shortly in HD (iPad) sometime in early October for $2.99, so don’t miss out on the enlarged first part of the trilogy.

In the midst of the huge Q4 launch schedule, the cult classic, Gobliiins, as well as the rest of the trilogy, are being ported to the iPhone in all of their original glory. The Goblins trilogy was a quirky Atari/Amiga game series from the early 90′s that became one of the first hits in the puzzle platformer genre (The Lost Vikings, Babylonian Twins).

In Gobliiins, you are given control of a team of three goblins, each with a unique skill. There is a warrior goblin (BoBo), a magician goblin (Hooter), and a technician goblin (Dwayne), all three of which have completely different attributes and can take advantage of completely different items. All of the levels/puzzles take up only a single screen but are filled with all sorts of challenging puzzles and traps, all of which must be completed using all three of the goblins special skills.

The first game in the series, Gobliiins, should be out sometime in October (if the pattern holds, October 15th), with the rest of the games coming out in the following months. The second game in the series, Gobliins 2: The Prince Baffoon (November 15th), only has two controllable goblins, but has levels that span more than the single screen. The third game, Goblins Quest 3 (December 15th), stars only a single goblin, but has much larger levels to defeat.

Be on the lookout for the release of Gobliiins… hopefully we’ll have a review up soon after the launch. I’m pretty excited to get my hands on it.

At GDC I had a very quick chance to try out a new zombie (yes, another zombie game) game from Bulkypix called Undead: The Last Refuge. This one is, honestly, very similar to Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. It’s a very fast FPS that really shows off what the iPhone 3GS can do. The framerate is as good if not better than CoD. The movement and animation is very fluid and quick as you can see in the demo below.

Later in the video you see 32 zombies on the screen at the same time. CoD maxed out at 9 if I remember correctly. Very impressive.

We’ll have to wait for the game to drop before we can see if it’s a really good game. I only had a chance to play a partial level and honestly had pick my chin up off the floor, I was that impressed with the 3D engine they are using. The game should launch by the end of the month for $2.99.

Hit the jump for the full marketing text about the game and a feature list.

Description: The coming of the Apocalypse had been announced for centuries, so we were not to know that it was so close. The dead have risen from the ground and destroyed everything in their path.
You have managed to survive until now, but you are alone and cut off… How long will you be able to survive?

Features:

• Experience fear and stress in a battle for your survival.
• Enjoy being in an entirely 3D-modelled environment with impressive graphics.
• Take on the hordes of dozens of zombies coming to drink your blood. A totally new scenario for the iPhone/iPod Touch.
• Let your weapons do the talking as you drive back your assailants.
• Use OpenFeint to survive and achieve success. Beat the highest scores to become world number one.
• Challenge your friends on Facebook or Twitter by posting your highest scores.