Whatever I saw (and at this point, it's reduced to a hazy recollection), it didn't look as nifty as this trailer. And it didn't look half as good as the game itself plays — but I'll tell you more about that tomorrow when an embargo expires.

For now, get a look at the slick trailer/game tutorial and ask yourself if all iPhone apps shouldn't require such polish and humor.

"Where to find" button... I lol'd.

So should we be suspicious of this "sequel," considering its short development time? Or will it show that a great game is a great game, no matter the "rush"?

LOVED
Now In The Third Dimension: Rolando was strictly 2D. But the sequel is quasi-3D, with gameplay still side-scrolling, but with backgrounds now 3-dimensional. While this doesn't make much of a difference to how the game plays, it makes a big difference to how it looks, as the sequel looks far more polished - and a lot less like a flash title - than the original.

Are You Ready Mr. Scruff: Top British DJ Mr. Scruff featured on the first game's soundtrack, and he's back for the sequel with an expanded presence. The whimsical nature of his music is a perfect fit for this game, as evidenced by the fact he makes a guest appearance in his own level. As a Rolando, of course.

The Main Course: Despite being widely regarded as the best game on the iPhone, the original Rolando still felt a little...flat. A little empty. Lacking in charm, too similar to LocoRoco. The sequel dispels those notions. Big advances have been made with the characters and "story", level challenges and presentation, leaving us with a game that's far more polished and well-rounded than the first.

A lot of people think Rolando is the best game on the iPhone. It's so not. Rolando 2 trumps it in almost every regard, building on the first game's near-perfect control scheme by improving the visuals, increasing the amount of variety and, perhaps most endearingly of all, pumping the game full of something the first title was lacking: charm.

It's the first game I have ever played on my iPhone that felt truly substantial, as though I were playing a DS or PSP game, and considering the quality and reputation of other iPhone games, I can't think of a bigger compliment to pay the game.

Rolando 2 was developed by HandCircus, and published by ngmoco for the Apple iPhone. It was released on the App Store on July 2, and retails for $9.99. Completed singleplayer storyline.

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With the game's sequel Rolando 2 due out this week (July 1), publishers Ngmoco want all eyes focused squarely on the new guy, telling Touch Arcade:

Basically, we want the spotlight on Rolando 2 when it hits the App Store. We're not discontinuing support for Rolando, we're just discontinuing sales. And Rolando may return to the App Store in the future, but if and when it does we'll want to include Plus+ support for it.

It's not a travesty, since the sequel will probably just be "more of the same, only better", but those wanting in on the series' ground floor, know you only have a few days left to pick up the original.

UPDATE - Ngmoco have since issued a statement, which reads "You've roared and we've listened. Rolando will stay put on the App Store."

'Rolando 2' Coming on July 1st, Original 'Rolando' to Be Discontinued? [Updated with Clarification] [Touch Arcade]

MTV Multiplayer, the website that used to be Totilo's playground, spoke to Ngmoco co-founder Neil Young on the subject of the new, more powerful, more expensive iPhone that Apple announced on Monday. He explained that the company that brought us Rolando and Star Defense plans to continue releasing games that play across the entire iPhone family, rather than branching off to 3GS specific titles.

That doesn't mean the company won't be taking advantage of the new device's increased abilities. The solution, which the company is implementing in the upcoming iPhone first-person shooter, LiveFire, tears a page out of the PC game development handbook.

"We're scaling the imagery based on the performance of the device, so if you've got a 3GS, the game's going to look better and run at a great frame rate. And if you're on an iPhone 3G, the game will look a little bit different, but the frame rate will be the same, 'cause obviously performance and speed are actually an important part of a cool first person shooter gameplay experience."

A perfect solution to delivering a similar game play experience across platforms with different technical specifications. They are sharp, those Ngmoco folks.

ngmoco: No Plans for iPhone 3GS-Exclusive Games [MTV Multiplayer]

The $5 iPhone game was already stuffed with 36 levels spread out over four worlds and has received mostly favorable reviews.

There's even a free version now, if you're not sure you want to take the plunge and drop $5 on the game.

Neil Young, founder of iPhone game developer and publisher Ngmoco, wrote in Facebook that Rolando Lite would be "coming soon."

While he didn't offer up any other details about the new version of Rolando, lite versions are typically a free sampling of an iPhone game.

I loved playing through Roloando, so I'd highly recommend grabbing this up from the App Store if you have an iPhone.

But a tilt-control puzzle game with catchy music and interesting art should be a sure thing, right?

Loved
Concept: Combing the tilt-a-world idea of LocoRoco with the ability to touch the screen to interact with the landscape and those ball-like Rolandos is a perfect fit for the iPhone. The game's on-the-fly save system, which updates the home screen's icon for the game, is another nice touch. It's obvious this is a game plugged deeply into all of the iPhone's abilities.

Depth of Play: The game starts out feeling an awful lot like LocoRoco. In fact, it feels so much like the Playstation Portable game initially that it aggravated me. But as you work your way through the game's 36 levels, Rolando quickly comes into its own, moving past what the PSP title did to deliver a different experience, one with much more depth and difficulty.

Controls: Tilting your iPhone back and forth gets the Rolando balls rolling across the scenery. Tapping the screen gets them to jump. Pretty familiar stuff. But later on you get to draw lines that characters can roll across, explode bombs with a touch, shift conveyor belts, open trap doors, even defy gravity.

Rolando is a surprisingly deep and enjoyable game, so far the most enjoyable game I've played on the iPhone and I've played a lot. While the character design never managed to completely win me over, I eventually came to love Mikko Walamies' swirling backdrops.

The real delivery, though, is in the game's clever level design and use of the iPhone's accelerometer and multi-touch surface. This game does things that could not be done on any other gaming platform and it pulls it off without feeling like a gimmick.

Rolando was developed by Hand Circus and published by ngmoco:) on Dec. 18 for $10. Finished the game.

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Navigating the storm of games that have appeared in Apple's App Store since it launched earlier this year is a complete pain in the ass, and since I don't keep up as much as some of the other Kotaku editors do, lists like Rose's are a godsend, despite a few selections I wouldn't entirely agree with. For instance, Enigmo, Guitar Rock Tour, Trism, and Hero of Sparta would have definitely made my list. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes, however? Not even close. Ngmoco's Rolando takes top honors for the year, despite being released only 15 days ago, which just goes to show that quality doesn't need a head start.

It's probably best to look at the article as a list of suggestions, rather than a definitive list. It plays it safe on several levels, but it did contain a few titles I didn't know about that I am now quite happy to own.

The top 20 iPhone games of 2008 [The Boston Herald]

I have been playing around with Rolando since yesterday and so far it has it's brilliant moments, if you can get over the whole "This really looks and feels an awful lot like LocoRoco" thing. That world-tilting puzzle adventure will set you back a whopping $10.

Stay tuned for my review of the game, once I make my way through the rest of the game's levels.