Best of FingerGaming: From Game Center to Hybrid 2

[Every week, Gamasutra sums up sister iPhone and iPad site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent portable game platforms, as written by editor in chief Danny Cowan and authors Tucker Dean, Jason Johnson, and Ryan Hibbeler.] This week, FingerGaming covers Gamevil's Hybrid 2 and the introduction of Apple's Game Center social network. Also within are the lists for top-grossing, most-downloaded free and paid Apps from Apple's store, as well as reviews for Phantasy Star II and Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night. Here are the top stories from the last seven days: - Top-Grossing Game Apps: Spider-Man and Slice It! Climb iPhone Charts "Though Madden NFL 11 falters in iPhone sales, the enhanced iPad version remains extremely popular, and challenges Angry Birds HD for today's top chart spot." - iOS 4.1 Software Update Now Available, Introducing Game Center "Apple's Game Center application is a unified gaming network that brings leaderboards and achievements to supported App Store games. Users will be able to search for recommended titles, track their friends' latest gaming accomplishments, and challenge rivals via Apple's multiplayer matchmaking service." - Gamevil Launches Action-RPG Sequel Hybrid 2: Saga of Nostalgia "Hybrid 2 expands on Eternal Whisper's brawling with new player skills and abilities, including a set of new 'extreme infinite combo attacks.'" - Sega Revives Dreamcast Classic Chu Chu Rocket for iPhone and iPad "The iPhone version of Chu Chu Rocket will feature all of the single-player puzzle levels found in the original Dreamcast release, along with a multiplayer mode playable over a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection." - Review: Phantasy Star II "Phantasy Star II is a masterpiece, but playing it on the iPhone is like playing Chopin on a beginner's keyboard. Its magnitude is lost." - Top iPad Game Apps: GTA: Chinatown Wars, Slice It! Make Impressive Debuts "The iPad version of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars manages to take third place in its first few hours of release. Com2uS claims second place with Slice It!, while Angry Birds HD remains seated at the top." - More from Sega: Kingdom Conquest, Altered Beast, Gunstar Heroes "Sega revealed its upcoming iOS-exclusive MMORPG Kingdom Conquest, along with emulated versions of the Sega Genesis classics Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes." - Review: Castlevania Puzzle – Encore of the Night "Between the overly stats-heavy combat and the seeming irrelevance of the actual puzzle game, there's not much to enjoy here beyond a few twangs of nostalgia for Symphony of the Night." - Top iPhone Game Apps: Zombie Highway, Slice It! Makes Chart Debuts "Mobile publisher Com2uS enters the iPhone charts this week its item-halving puzzler Slice It!, while Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja and Clickgamer's Angry Birds finish as the platform's biggest sellers." - Firemint's Flight Control Sells 3 Million Units "Flight Control, originally released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in March of 2009, has since seen a number of free content-expanding updates and the release of an HD version designed specifically for Apple's iPad."