As the name suggests: HD. The original release of Galaxy on Fire 2 was already visually impressive, we were amazed at how it looked both on the iPad and on the retina display.

Galaxy on Fire 2 HD (Universal: $9.99)

After seeing a couple cool demos of the game in action on the Tegra 2 tablets, we had been anxiously awaiting to see it in action on the iPad 2. Galaxy on Fire 2 HD is optimized for not only the iPad 2, but also the iPhone 4S. And it is amazing.

As we mentioned in our previous review, the game takes place in vast space, and from the start you notice a lot more details on everything: ships, asteroids, stations, and even combat. You can tell, it’s been optimized, and the best part is: no lag.

The only thing you’ll notice is that if you’re playing on the iPhone 4S, your device will get *very* hot. But hey, that’s to be expected right? As for the rest of the game, the original review still stands, as the gameplay is the same. Galaxy on Fire 2 is a pretty big game, with tons of side missions, and tons of locations to go to.

There are lots of stuff to buy, better ships, better weapons, better equipment such as shields and trackerbeams. There are lots of way to make money in the game. One of the ways is freeliance missions what you can find in space longe in any space station. You will find all kinds of missions in there. Another is mining or even becoming a pirate and stealing large ships cargos.

Overall, this is one of my favorite iOS games, and it’s one of the best ones as well. This HD version makes everything look tons better, which if you already played the normal version, is hard to imagine. I would highly recommend picking up this game.

What’s New

HD graphics. We saw some demoes of the Android version, with Fish Labs showing off some impressive graphics on the Tegra 2 tablets. When we found out the iPad 2 was more powerful, we immediately looked at them.

It took a while, but it’s finally here and it’s great. The game is optimized for the A5 chip, meaning it’ll look splendid whether you choose to play it on the iPad 2, or on the iPhone 4S. I personally prefer it on the iPhone 4S, because the top-notch graphics paired with the retina display brings some pretty spectacular graphics for a game I’m running on my cell phone.

Suggestions

I’ve but one complaint of the game: save states. One of my favorite things about GoF2 when I first played it was that you could load your saved game from OpenFeint on whichever device you wanted to play it on. GoF2HD still has that, in fact it also has iCloud saving.

The only downside is that, at least for now, the HD version won’t load your save file from the regular version. Fish Labs has said they’ll be bringing that ability over once they release the Valkyrie HD DLC.Until then, it’s just a minor issue, and an excuse to start from scratch. I’ll miss the pimped out ship I had built over time on the regular version though.

Conclusion

Galaxy on Fire 2 is a great iOS game, easily one of my favorites. Galaxy on Fire 2 HD gets the existing game, and makes it a visual treat on the latest generation devices. I don’t mind replaying the game at all, and the visuals just add an incentive for playing it. I’d highly recommend picking it up for your iPhone 4S or iPad 2.