Best of FingerGaming: From Song Summoner to Mirror's Edge

[Every week, Gamasutra sums up sister iPhone site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent -- and increasingly exciting -- portable games platform, as written by editor in chief Danny Cowan and authors Louise Yang and Jonathan Glover.] This week, FingerGaming reviews Tecmo's retro roguelike The Isle of 8-Bit Treasures, as well as checking out the top free and paid iPhone games of the week. The site also looks at FTC recommendations on mobile game ratings, and highlights recent releases like Song Summoner and Hills and Rivers Remain. Here are the top stories from the last seven days: - Top-Grossing Game Apps: Monopoly Takes On Call of Duty "Boosted by Black Friday discounts, EA's Monopoly and Tetris move up past Bejeweled 2 to take second and third place in today's top-grossing app charts. Call of Duty: World at War Zombies finishes at first place for the second week in a row." - Song Summoner: A Music-Based Strategy RPG from Square Enix "Song Summoner's gameplay is heavily influenced by the player's music library. Players can use songs stored on their iPhone or iPod Touch to build an army of creatures to battle the game's hordes of mechanical beasts." - FTC Targets Mobile Games Industry in Report on Violent Media Marketing "In a report to the U.S. Congress regarding the entertainment industry's marketing of violent material to children, the Federal Trade Commission noted concerns with the widespread availability of age-inappropriate content in Apple's App Store and other mobile storefronts." - Top Free Game App Downloads for the Week "iFarm sees a drop in popularity after last week's chart-topping debut, falling to fourth place in today's rankings. A demo version of PressOK's physics puzzler Finger Physics rises up to take its place at the top." - Review: The Isle of 8-Bit Treasures "While the game is by no means as big or as deep as Nethack or Rogue, it's a fantastic example that proves that roguelikes are possible on the iPhone. Thanks to the 3 classes, I can see many hours spent hack-'n-slashing away in 8-bit dungeons." - Paper Toss Developer Earns $125,000 in Monthly Ad Revenue "The six-member team at Backflip Games has earned more than $1.75 million from its iPhone apps in the company's first seven months of business. The team attributes its success to effective use of in-game advertising and cross-promotion." - Top-Selling Paid Game Apps for the Week "Last week's top title JellyCar 2 drops to tenth place in today's rankings, as Black Friday sales boost a number of other titles up the chart. EA's classic version of Monopoly takes first place this week, with Tetris trailing close behind." - Square Enix Releases iPhone Strategy RPG Hills and Rivers Remain "Hills and Rivers Remain offers real-time strategy action with a JRPG coat of paint. Early impressions have likened the experience to Galcon, with an added dose of drama via between-level cutscenes." - Mirror's Edge Coming Soon to App Store "While the 2008 console version of Mirror's Edge was distinctive for its first-person platforming, the iPhone edition adopts a side-scrolling viewpoint. Mirror's Edge will include 14 levels when it launches in the App Store next year."