Fresh iPhone Games for Dec. 23: Secret of Mana, Epic Truck, Robo Kill

It’s almost Christmas, and if you’re looking for an app to gift to a gamer on your list, you should think about Square Enix’s action-RPG, Secret of Mana. This old-school Playstation game from the mid-1990s is beautiful, with a great soundtrack, and lots of cartoony monster-squashing action. Read more about Secret of Mana along with some other cool games in today’s Fresh Games list below.

Secret of Mana (iPhone) $8.99

This popular action-role-playing game from Square Enix hit U.S. shores in the mid-1990s on the Sony Playstation and stands as a classic in the genre. Secret of Mana features real-time battles and 32-bit cartoon-style graphics. Now ported to the iPhone, the game is pretty much the same as it was back then, but updated with touchscreen controls and an innovative control scheme that lets you access all the abilities the game features from a single, ring-shaped menu.

In celebration of the release of the game, Square Enix is also offering the original Secret of Mana soundtrack on iTunes for 25 percent off until the middle of January. It’s one of the great classic video game soundtracks, and if you’re at all into that kind of thing, both Secret of Mana’s new app and the soundtrack are worth owning.

Epic Truck (iPhone) $0.99

This off-road truck side-scrolling racer mixes touch and tilt controls and adds some strong physics to make your truck feel like a real vehicle, which can pop wheelies and flip over based on how you drive. You’ll blast through 10 races and the game includes Game Center support for its 23 achievements and online leaderboards.

Epic Truck was updated recently to improve the game’s controls, adding the ability to reverse to the breaking touch controls and a more responsive gas button. The game also includes more control over your truck’s tilt, which affects its grip on the ground and they way you land jumps.

Robokill (iPhone) $0.99

You’ll take on 460 rooms filled with enemies in this top-down two-stick shooter, which originally was an iPad exclusive and has just been moved to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPad version has been well-received in the press as far as two-stick shooters are concerned, so if you’re a fan of the genre, this is one to grab while the price is low.

Robokill takes you to a space station orbiting Mars, where you’ll have to take on hordes of robots. As you pound through each of the rooms of the station, you’ll gain experience you can use to grow your character and unlock new weapons and abilities. Robokill features some strong graphics in a genre that often skimps on them, plus an original soundtrack to go with your automaton-fragging.

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