The iOS port of PC indie point-and-click favourite Machinarium will be exclusive to the iPad 2 when it hits the App Store next month.

As reported by Pocket Gamer, the game is too beefy for the first iPad or iPhone 4, and developer Amanita Design refuses to cut content to squeeze it in.

"Unfortunately, the game is performance and memory demanding, so we decided not to make any compromises and make it available only for iPad 2," explained studio founder Jakub Dvorský.

The game has been submitted to Apple for final approval and, all going well, should be up for download on 8th September.

Amanita's delightful puzzle adventure first launched on PC back in October 2009, winning an 8/10 from Eurogamer. See our Machinarium review for more.

An iPad version of acclaimed indie PC adventure Machinarium arrives on the App Store later this year, creator Jakub Dvorský has confirmed.

The Amanita Design boss told Pocket Gamer that he hopes to have the game on sale some time in August, insisting the port is "almost finished, but we still need to fix a lot of small bugs and test it properly. It should be ready during the next month...hopefully."

As revealed earlier this year, a PlayStation 3 version is also in the works though Microsoft has showed no interest in an Xbox Live Arcade release.

Dvorský's quirky adventure won a glowing 8/10 from Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead when it first launched on PC back in 2009.

"Machinarium is a treat for the senses that demands more of your brain, a paradoxically gentle yet punishing riff on a genre that, until now, had been revived but sadly defanged for modern players," read his Machinarium review.

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The sun's shining. The sky is blue. That can mean only one thing: it's time to reduce your risk of skin cancer and sit inside and play games until your eyeballs bleed.

This week there were way too many releases to do the download scene full justice, so we'll try to get to G-Rev's shooter Strania next week, as well as the likes of Dino D-Day (Dinosaurs! In World War II!), Dungeon Hunter and the various PSP Minis and DSiWare nuggets that invariably look rubbish at first glance, but turn out to be rather good.

So, queue up those downloads, draw the blinds and ignore the warmest start to April in living memory.

Machinarium

• Mac App Store - £5.99
• Previously released on Steam for PC and Mac - £14.99
• PC version on Get Games - £4.95

There's a fair chance that Machinarium passed you by when it first emerged 18 months ago. That's the problem with the indie/download scene: keeping up with the dozens of really interesting titles that crop up all the time is like a full-time job in itself.

However, the really good stuff tends to keep rising to the top, and Amanita Design's decision to chuck Machinarium up on the burgeoning Mac App Store (and, shortly, port it to PS3 and Wii) does it no harm at all.

For those of you with fond, fraying memories of the golden era of point and click adventures, it's easily one of the most charming games to appear in the genre. Everything from the Tim Burton-inspired art style to the one-room-at-a-time puzzle design is absolutely first rate.

Despite the complete absence of dialogue, the game's tale of a tiny robot's journey to foil a thuggish plot is similarly adorable. Telling the story through occasional thought-bubble sketches, Amanita brings more character to the world through subtle touches and simple animation than most games ever manage.

Unlike most adventures, the game effectively feeds you one problem at a time, meaning that you cannot progress to the next area until you've solved the latest challenge. Although the it runs the risk of frustrating through such limitations, the inclusion of a helpful – but non-spoilerific – hint system keeps you invested even when you're stumped.

Perhaps the only thing that stops the game from being perfect is the slightly fussy way you can only interact with objects if they're within reach. When all you want to do is click on something, having to waddle across to it first can be a little testing.

But with so much in its favour, you'd probably forgive Machinarium if it cussed your mother. In fact, if you don't buy it, I'll cuss your mother.

8/10

Red Faction: Battlegrounds

• Xbox Live - 800 Points (£6.80)
• PSN - £7.99

While the world waits for the fourth in the Red Faction series to appear, what could be better than to toss out a downloadable teaser offering in the weeks leading up to its release?

But what worked for Dead Rising 2 doesn't really hang together in this instance. For one thing, Battlegrounds is little more than a tenuous twin-stick shooter spin-off which has almost nothing to do with the series it's based on.

What you get is essentially a collection of 16 against-the-clock challenges set inside terraformed arenas, and these act as your 'training' for the online modes.

Sometimes the sole aim is to survive an onslaught for as long as you can, while other times you'll have to wipe out a certain number enemy waves in the shortest possible time. Other challenges task you with capturing and delivering flags, or just destroying designated targets one after the other.

Despite its solid production values, it doesn't take you long to realise that Battlegrounds isn't destined to be regarded as another great-value download classic. The uninspired single-player content lacks spark and purpose, and there's nothing that the XP and medal system can do to lure you back once you're done with each level.

Online, it fares even worse, largely because the arenas aren't big enough. In the free-for-all deathmatch, for example, you seem to continually respawn next to an opponent, and matches boil down to whoever's fortunate enough to pick up a power-up first. Team Deathmatch and Capture The Flag are less painful, but only just.

Some committed souls might eke a few hours of mild entertainment out of Red Faction: Battlegrounds, but only if they try really hard. It might not be irredeemably terrible, but there are so many better games in the download scene. Don't waste your time on this forgettable spin-off.

5/10

Video: We play Red Faction: Battleground's trial.

Cell

• Xbox Live Indie Games - 80 Microsoft Points (£0.68)
• Also available on Windows Phone 7.

It's a pity that Hemisphere Games never got around to porting the magnificent Osmos to consoles. But when you leave the door wide open like that, you can bet someone else will come along and take full advantage.

And that's exactly what 2.0 Studios has done with Cell. Just like Osmos, the premise is to grow your cell by absorbing smaller ones around you. Just like Osmos, you propel yourself around the playing field by ejecting a tiny piece of yourself. And just like Osmos, it's a thoroughly zen experience.

But some of the original spirit of its source inspiration has been lost in translation. Most obviously, the visuals are nowhere near the beautiful standard of Osmos – though, to be fair, that applies to more or less every game ever made.

But the gameplay doesn't quite hit the mark either. Rather than opt for large, expansive levels that take time and patience to conquer, Cell opts for a much more stripped-down approach that makes it relatively simple to clear levels quickly.

On the plus side, 2.0 Studios does throw in some interesting new ideas, such as gravity wells that you have to steer clear of, and cells that think like you and try to grow at the same time. In addition, the ethereal electronica that accompanies your journey is outstanding.

So while you'll probably start out determined to dismiss Cell as a cheap knock-off, there's a grudging acceptance that 2.0 has actually built on the ideas in interesting ways. And for the price, you can't really complain.

7/10

Video: On cell now.

The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile

• Xbox Live Arcade - 800 Microsoft Points (£6.80)

It's well documented that I enjoy killing things, but even my more psychotic urges have their limits.

As insane, side-scrolling beat-'em-ups go, this sequel to Ska Studio's indie hit delights in putting ideas of sensible moderation to the sword. Obliterating everything in the most frenzied, violent way possible is once again the name of the game, as you battle through 50 increasingly claret-splattered stages in the name of revenge over something presumably important.

The unremitting bleakness has a certain stylistic charm, but such is the relentlessness of it all, Vampire Smile is too intense to digest for more than a few levels at a time. It's an-all-you-can eat banquet at gunpoint.

But if you've got the appetite, the content is almost overwhelming. Two intertwining story campaigns provide the main meat, along with hefty side servings of co-op play, as well as various standalone battles to compete in if you enjoy leaderboard bragging rights. It's even got a 3D mode if you enjoy looking silly in your own home. (It made my eyes hurt after about 30 minutes, though.)

There's no question that the whole package is extremely polished. The dark, twisted artistry is a hellish vision like no other, but whether you'll get on with the endlessly repetitive button-mashing combat is another matter.

At its best, the lightning-fast dodge mechanic adds twitchy strategy, and the presence of unlockable special attacks and multiple weapons to discover lures you through the chaos. But when it boils down to it, there's only so much limb-severing a man can take.

6/10

Video: The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile's first 15 minutes.

Chime Super Deluxe

• PSN - £7.19

Zoe Mode's wafting music-creation block puzzler felt like something of a work-in-progress when it first emerged on Xbox Live Arcade.

You'd settle down and have a thoroughly pleasant time, laying down irregular shapes, and trying to create as many 'quads' of 3x3 or more as possible within a time limit. The more quads, the more 'coverage', and the more notes layered on top of the basic backing track. It was forgiveable that there wasn't much in the way of modes or content, because it was all for charity.

A year further down the line, though, and its arrival on PSN addresses many of the niggles that people had with it in the first place. Zoe Mode has added a handful of new songs, for a start, as well as a glassy new visual sheen, beefed-up lighting effects and generally jazzed-up presentation.

More significantly, this Super Deluxe version adds both four-player (offline) co-op and versus multiplayer modes, giving the gameplay an entirely different slant. If you're feeling benevolent, working together in co-op mode to get that elusive 100 per cent coverage is a pleasantly chilled way to pass the time.

But if you're in a destructive mood, then, equally, being able to pinch each other's quads and generally cause havoc with each other's coverage adds a welcome competitive dimension to what was once all about feeling the love. The absence of online play is a bit of a shame, but maybe that'll find its way into the Super Duper Deluxe version. We can but hope.

7/10

2009 PC point and click adventure game Machinarium will launch on PlayStation 3.

Speaking at Nottingham Trent University during a GameCityNights events, creator Jakub Dvorský confirmed the game will launch on PlayStation Network later this year.

Dvorský's company Amanita Design will explore a release on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, too.

However, an Xbox Live Arcade version is off the table because, according to Dvorský, Microsoft turned down the game.

"We were already refused by Microsoft to bring the game to Xbox," he told CasualGaming.biz.

"They weren't interested because the game was already released for Mac and Windows, and Microsoft demanded it as part of an exclusivity deal.

"We're not interested in Microsoft anymore."

Meanwhile, Dvorský announced he has begun development on three new games.

They are point-and-click adventure games Samorost 3 and Botanicula (screenshots below), and interactive music video Osada.

Samorost 3 is at least two years from release on PC and Mac. Botanicula is due out by the end of this year. Osada will launch as a free download from Amanita Design's website soon.

Dan Whitehead returned an 8/10 in Eurogamer's Machinarium review, saying, "Machinarium is a treat for the senses that demands more of your brain, a paradoxically gentle yet punishing riff on a genre that, until now, had been revived but sadly defanged for modern players."

Jakub Dvorský, the Czech creator of superb 2009 point and click adventure game Machinarium, will unveil his follow-up work at the GameCityNights festival in Nottingham on 25th March.

Details are under wraps, but we're promised the world premiere of two brand new games.

The Amanita Design founder will also talk about his work on upcoming movie Kooky, his life in the industry and whatever else you lot want to ask him about.

Also attending is graphic designer Cory Schmitz, who specialises in video game inspired art. Some of that's below.

The event takes place at Antenna, Beck Street, NG1 1EQ, from 6pm. Entry is strictly 18+.

Dan Whitehead returned an 8/10 in Eurogamer's Machinarium review, saying, "Machinarium is a treat for the senses that demands more of your brain, a paradoxically gentle yet punishing riff on a genre that, until now, had been revived but sadly defanged for modern players."