Best of GameSetWatch: From Bloody Checkers To Astro City

[Every week GameSetWatch editor-in-chief Eric Caoili rounds up the latest news/media for obscure and offbeat games from Gamasutra's sister site and alternative video game blog.] In this latest collection of links to mostly ignored games and gaming news, we cover bizarre but unique Xbox Live Indie game Bloody Checkers, an awesome iPhone skin paying tribute to Sega's Astro City arcade cabinets, and more. GameSetWatch's highlights from the last week: Bloody Checkers is Everything You'd Ever Want From a Game - "Bloody Checkers is actually an adventure game with some resemblance to the King's Field series (minus the combat) -- in between games of checkers, players must wander a labyrinthine castle, find treasure, and solve puzzles." So Jelly: Astro City iPhone Skin - "Artist Matt Schulz/Smear Attack posted this beauty, an iPhone skin inspired by Sega's Astro City candy cabinets you'll often find in rows at Asian arcades (and at distinguished game centers in the West, too), last night." Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation's Secret, Sweet Note - "I love when a new story pops up about hidden messages some developers have concealed in their game's code, only visible to those who bother to muck around with a hex editor years later." 2011's First Half: A Review - "So far, 2011 has been a spicy nacho adrenaline rush mixed with a refreshing burst of cool ranch." Musical Tributes Planned For Seiken Densetsu, Other SquareSoft Classics - "Recently announced was a massive 20-disc package to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Seiken Densetsu, the series from which Final Fantasy Adventure and all the various Mana games have stemmed from. Well, we finally have a look and it's a massive beauty." WarGames Remake On The Way From King Of Kong Director - "One of the true classics in annals of video game-related cinema, 1983's WarGames, is being remade for today's audience. ... Little is know about the reboot, other than it's a safe bet that all the recent headlines that hackers of today have been making find their way in, especially given their connection to the world of electronic entertainment. Plus how video games as the basis of simulations for very real world situations is practically the norm. "