With Dragon's Lair's port to the iPhone and iPod Touch, EA Mobile and Digital Leisure are banking that the game's nostalgia and its basic simplicity have found the perfect medium - an impulse buy on a mobile platform. But does Dragon's Lair still feel the same on the small screen?

Loved
Bona Fide Dragon's Lair: This is a scene for scene port of the 1983 classic, which started the short-lived but much beloved craze of laserdisc games. You can dial up your nostalgia however you want it. Arcade mode will present you the game and will randomize its scenes the same way you played them in the cabinet 25 years ago. "Home mode" includes additional scenes that were cut from the arcade version, allows you to immediately replay levels you fail, and will be most familiar to those who played ports of this on the PC or Mac in the past. You can give yourself three, five or unlimited lives in both modes, the latter being most useful if you're trying to finally make it all the way through. Just know that you will not record a high score with unlimited lives unless you actually do finish the game. Finally, the correct-move beep can be enabled, both as a gameplay assist, and also to complete the full arcade experience.

Hated
The Move Guide: You have a movement assist feature in this game that will light up the correct direction (or sword button) to press to advance the scene, if you just want to see the game all the way through. On some levels, the sequence of moves you must make is faster than what the guide can display. The level with the black knight on the electrified floor is a perfect example, and very frustrating to die repeatedly when you think you're doing what you're told. But when the guide does work, you're just watching the controls, and not the scenes as they play out, which are the point of the game in the first place. You can't enable or disable the guide mid-game, in case you run into a tough spot and need help for just one section. Even playing without the guide, Dragon's Lair was and always will be a very difficult game of pinpoint reactions with a small window of opportunity to execute them. Unlike its cousin Space Ace, which was a breeze to play on the iPhone, Dragon's Lair's trial-and-error process includes finding not only the correct move, but the correct millisecond to make it - even when you think you know when to do it. For example, I remembered that making it past the swinging "socker-boppers" was pegged to pressing forward when they both lined up - Dirk's grunting was a second cue. But the screen is small and the speaker can be blocked by how you hold the device, making picking up such things very difficult. The game still works, but you're going to die a ton of times before you get the hang of how to move through a level, even if you know the correct moves or have them presented to you by the guide.

The Pause that Doesn't Refresh: You'd better really want to finish Dragon's Lair because you will be playing it all the way through in one shot if you're trying to beat it. Which, once you get the hang of this game, won't take long. But getting the hang of it will. If you pause anywhere in the middle of a level, you return to the beginning of that level. OK, fine, I can plan my bathroom breaks accordingly. What I forgot to do was put the phone in airplane mode, because any incoming call ends the game where you are and reboots it. Incoming text? You're back to the title screen. Whether because no effort was made, or it was a limitation with no workaround, players have no way to preserve their state in this game.

If it's your first encounter with Dragon's Lair, this version is not ideal. Find a playable DVD or PC port instead. If it were any other game, honestly, I would have given up. But I just had to see Dirk get all bug-eyed and shriek "Wow!" the first time he spies Daphne, who really knows how to sex up the protips. ("To slay the Dragon, use the magic sword...!" she purrs.)

Then again, I don't know a soul who ever beat Dragon's Lair in the arcade, and my friends and I fired stacks of quarters down it, often without ever successfully passing a level. So I have been conditioned to the abuse and have paid lots more than $4.99 for it. If Dragon's Lair has a problem, aside from the pause/interruption issue, it's one very common to iPhone/iPod Touch games, and I've complained about it relentlessly. You must obscure what you're looking at to control the action. And it's on a small enough screen to begin with. So it's telling that I got through a lot of these levels with no recollection of what it looked like doing so, and that's half the fun - and point - of the vintage laserdisc games.

Dragon's Lair was developed by Digital Leisure and published by Electronic Arts for the iPhone and Ipod Touch on Dec. 7. Retails for $4.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played all game types; completed Home mode. Died, like, a billion times, though.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Need for Speed Shift iPhone is very much a driving simulator instead of a traditional racing video game with it's unrealistic boost pads and such. All the cars and licensed and handle fairly realistically and the real thrill of the game comes from the visuals. Because true fans of the driving sims don't care about body damage or getting the cops to chase — they just want to see that glistening BMW slide through the corners like a warm knife through butter.

What Is It?
Need for Speed Shift on the iPhone ditches the plot-driven antics of Need for Speed Undercover and focuses purely on the driving. The game features both quick race and career modes, career having four tiers with 28 events total with three difficulty settings throughout the game (Rookie, Pro and Expert — also you can create a custom level by choosing stuff like steering assists and manual transmission, etc.). There's also multiplayer on WiFi for four players and via Bluetooth for two.

What We Saw
I eventually managed to complete a single racing track with the default car and then got schooled in a two player match. It went something like this:

EA Mobile Producer: Oh... I must've left the settings on Pro, so maybe you're not getting the brake assists...

Me: No, I just suck. It's cool.

How Far Along Is It?
Very, very final. EA declined to give a release date but there is no way we'll be waiting longer than about a week to see this in the App store.

What Needs Improvement?
Graphics Create Class System: Unless you have the 3Gs iPhone or the super-high end iPod Touch, you won't be getting the full benefit of the beautiful graphics in this game. There are also nifty special effects you can really only see on these higher end devices. So what we have here is a game that rewards the rich and punishes the people who bought iPhones and iPod touches last year or before. For shame!

Damage Only Shows Up In Cockpit Mode: Due to some weird licensing rules where car companies demand complete authenticity in damaged car models, EA Mobile was unable to include damage to your car in the game unless you're in the cockpit view. And even then, it's just some paltry shattered windshield — none of that dramatic crushed hood that I kind of expect to see after ramming into a guard rail at 80mph.

You Have To Hold The iPhone Perpendicular To The Floor: The game uses the accelerometer to control the car. You tilt the iPhone as you would a steering wheel and tap in any of the four corners around your car to trigger the brakes for that wheel. This presents a problem for me, because my natural gaming pose is to the hold the iPhone parallel to the floor and look down at it. Holding it up in front of my face makes my arms tired — and I'm pretty sure people on the bus will stare at me.

What Should Stay The Same?
Yay! Cockpit Mode! Because the game makes you twist the iPhone like you were turning a steering wheel, I find it very helpful to have the cockpit view in the game so I can see a real steering wheel turn when I tilt the iPhone. Also, it really shows off the detail of the game.

A Lot of Licensed Material: There are 20 licensed car models that are fully customizable and 20 licensed music tracks that actually don't suck. That's a lot of material for one tiny iPhone game and it definitely raises the quality level.

Multiplayer: Racing really only feels like racing when you're up against other human players. There's just something about knowing that that person can make mistakes that gives you a competitive spirit — and it's always fun to talk smack back and forth during the race.

It's Sooo Pretty: I really wish I could afford an iPhone 3Gs — the graphics were smooth enough to make me want to lick the touch screen*.

*Never lick your touch screen — aside from being plain gross, it's dangerous. Do you have any idea how much bacteria is on that thing?

Final Thoughts
Here's how the demo ended:

Me: Stop pity braking! I can see you up there... Just finish the race and end my shame already.

EA Mobile Producer: Aw. Demo fail. But you still have to finish the track even after I beat you.

Me: *crashes into wall*

My personal favorite is probably still Bart's Nightmare on the Super Nintendo — because it was the only game that I could beat that my big brother couldn't. His claim to fame is still the old NES game, Bart vs. The Space Mutants. But both of us will always remember The Simpsons Arcade game from Konami as the ultimate Simpsons video game. It was the only one we could get our parents to play with us, and they only one we never ever beat because we always ran out of quarters in the dream world.

What Is It?
The Simpsons Arcade for the iPhone is a beat 'em up, much like the Simpsons Arcade of yore — but other than that, it's a totally different game. Featuring six levels with a boss and mini-boss each, the game stars Homer Simpson at the center of a plot involving Mr. Burns' sinister plan to suck Springfield's resources dry. The control scheme uses a virtual joystick and two virtual buttons that give the appearance of playing the game in an arcade cabinet.

What We Saw
I played the Krustyland level and saw sections demoed at the beginning of the game, at the end of the game and at Channel 6 News where you fight Bumblebee Man as a mini-boss.

How Far Along Is It?
Near final. EA declined to give a specific release date, but all the levels and sounds were in place and everything looked pretty finished.

What Needs Improvement?
A Little Slow On The Combos: Homer can perform punch-kick combos as well as an area-affect shoulder-check or belly flop that you can follow up with a second attack. It's great when it works, but it takes some work to master the timing needed on the virtual buttons. Worse, since you're not getting that physical feedback of pressing a real button, you're not always sure if you messed up the combo because you were late on a button press or because the touch screen didn't pick up on it.

Can't Store Family Members: Bart, Lisa, Maggie and Marge show up in gameplay whenever Homer finds a pickup with a family member's face on it. This triggers a Family Frenzy attack where said family member will show up on screen for a short time and help Homer attack enemies. For tight spot situations, it's not a bad system — but I wonder if it would be more fun to hang on to those family icon pickups until you assemble the whole Simpsons clan for some kind of super attack. It'd definitely reinforce that family feeling I remember having while playing the old arcade game with my parents and brother.

What Should Stay The Same?
Authenticity: EA got a lot of the main cast of the Simpsons (Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer) and a Simpsons writer (Michael Price) to work on the game. The result is a product that not only looks, feels and sounds authentic — but one that can take as many risks as it wants with the story and dialogue. For example, when you're playing through the Channel 6 level, you can hear Kent Brockman making snide news reports on the loud speakers and every menu selection results in Homer yelling "D'oh!" or "Whoo-hoo!" That would get old if these were knock-off voices or the writing was a hollow imitation of a real Simpsons writer — but because it's the real deal, it's actually quite pleasing.

Homages Galore: There are a couple of mini-games in Simpsons Arcade iPhone — and one of them is a direct throwback to the inflatable heads bonus level in the old arcade game. Dedicated Simpsons fans will have a lot of fun picking out all the homages to other Simpsons exploits throughout the game. Also, Binky the Rabbit of Matt Groening's classic Life in Hell comic series appears on all the loading screen. Awesome!

A Complete Gaming Experience: It's nice to have a portable game that's actually paced for portable play. I can easily imagine picking up and putting down this game while waiting in line at the movies or during a long commute. I just might have to resort to using headphones because all the "D'oh!"s are sure to piss off other commuters who easily recognize the Simpsons but can't join in on my fun.

Final Thoughts
Sorry guys, Comic Book Guy isn't in the game. You'll find plenty of other character cameos, but EA felt that Comic Book Guy was way overused.

After giving you Lucille Bliss, also the voice of Smurfette, as one of the voices for Princess Daphne in the game, we asked for the second. The correct answer was Vera Pacheco, also known as Vera Lanpher, Vera Lanpher-Pacheco, or Vera Day. We accepted any of those four as correct responses.

Pacheco was actually the head of assistant animators for the project, which until it brought in Bliss, used only one other professional voice: the narrator of the title sequence. Sound engineer Dan Molina supplied the voice of Dirk the Daring.

Thanks to EA Mobile for supplying the prize, and thanks to all who entered!

Here's the lowdown on the swag up for grabs: It's a Blu-Ray version of the game, which you'll remember was a series of animated sequences that you successfully advanced by joystick or button. So that means not only is this playable on a PS3, it's playable on anything with Blu-Ray capability. It also features full 1080p bonus material. You can see all the info here.

The pot sweetener: the case is signed by Dragon's Lair creators: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and Rick Dyer. Bluth was the lead animator, with artists Goldman and Pomeroy helping to create the game's signature visuals. Dyer was the president of Advanced Microcomputer Systems, and is credited with the concept that became the game, an eye-popping hit in the arcade days of 1983.

Now. Here's how we're gonna give this away. We'll ask a trivia question, and you must email its correct answer to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom within the next 24 hours. DO NOT POST THE ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS. We will choose a winner at random from all the correct guesses.

Here's how to play.

1) Send your answer to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom
2) The subject header of your message must include the words Dragon's Lair Contest. You should probably cut and paste those words to the subject header now.
3) Your answer must be received by 4 p.m. US Mountain time tomorrow, Sunday Dec. 12. 2009.
4) Your answer must be spelled correctly to be eligible.
5) Do not post the answer in the comments. Comment submissions are not eligible.

We'll pick a winner from the correct answers and, if it's you, we'll have to ask for your full name, address and phone number to have it shipped.

Alright here's the question:

Princess Daphne was in fact voiced by two women in the original Dragon's Lair. Lucille Bliss, the voice of Smurfette, was one. Who was the other?

Remember, correct answer, correct spelling, correct subject header. Thanks!

The beautifully animated game of memorization, reflex and Princess Daphne rescue is available for a paltry sum, just $4.99 USD. That's a guarantee that I'll, once again, invest in another copy of Dragon's Lair, realize how terrible I am at such things and put it aside.

But the early reviews on iTunes appear to be mostly positive. Maybe another crack at Dragon's Lair is worth the download?

The game will feature an arcade mode, faithful to the content of the original cabinet game, and a home mode that includes extra scenes. Space Ace, the other Don Bluth animated game on the iPhone/iPod Touch, was $4.99. No word on price point here, and delivery is listed as just "December 2009."

Man, I remember this thing cost 50 CENTS. You whippersnappers probably have no idea what balls it took for an arcade game to charge that in 1983. I never beat it in the arcades but I did 15 years later on a port to the Mac - after dying about 80 times. On the first board.

Lead on, adventurer ... your quest awaits!

Not only have a slew of new, blockbuster titles come out for the emerging platform, Apple finally realized that maybe they should wake up and start touting the gaming benefits of their smartphone and media player.

This is by no means all of the iPhone and iPod Touch games we reviewed this year, but it's a quick look at some of the more memorable ones. Don't forget, just because they're download only, doesn't mean you can't present a list with the iTunes card you give someone.

Any we missed? Any you would suggest for a friend?

Asphalt 5

Price: $6.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: Racing
Subject Matter: Gameloft brings Burnout's adrenaline-amping crashes and Ridge Racer's wind-in-your-hair thrills to the iPhone with Asphalt 5.
Value: A strong competitor to the PSP's racing games, Asphalt 5 offers three modes-quick race, career, local and online multi-player, 33 cars, 12 tracks, vehicle customization, and unlockable stat-boosting babes.
Buy it for: Gamers ready to go vroom.
Read the Full Review

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Price: $9.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: Real Time Strategy
Subject Matter: EA brings its over-the-top real-time strategy series to the iPhone, allowing on-the-go gamers to wage war wherever they please.
Value: While things like C&C's cheesy cinematics didn't make the leap to the iPhone, the platform's touch screen display is ideal for RTS style gaming.
Buy it for: RTS players looking for a mobile strategy game.
Read the Full Review

Doom Resurrection

Price: $6.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: First-person touchscreen shooter
Subject Matter: Loosely based on Doom 3, Resurrection is an impressive port of the demonic sci-fi FPS that's easily controlled with the iPhone's accelerometer.
Value: As iPhone games go, Doom Resurrection is priced almost right, offering a solid campaign, but not much more.
Buy it for: budding space marines who enjoy killing hellspawn between phone calls.
Read the Full Review

Dungeon Hunter

Price: $6.99
Rating: 9+
Genre: Diablo-esque action.
Subject Matter: Dungeon Hunter has gamers play as a fallen prince back from the dead to save the kingdom from his evil wife. Plenty of dungeon crawling, loot gathering and virtual button-mashing in this game.
Value: A single play-through of the game can take 25 hours, and there are three character classes to play with. This is probably the best value you'll find on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Buy it for: fans of adventure games like Diablo and light role-playing titles.
Read the Full Review

Madden NFL
Price: $9.99
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: EA Sports delivers its bestselling Madden franchise to the iPhone for the first time.
Value: Fully licensed, with all of the teams, players and game modes from the console version of the definitive NFL video game title.
Buy it for: A great stocking stuffer for any football fan with an iPhone or iPod Touch.
Read the Full Review

Metal Gear Solid Touch

Price: $0.99 to $9.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: Third-person touchscreen shooter
Subject Matter: Metal Gear Solid Touch brings 20 stages lifted from Metal Gear Solid 4 but focuses more on arcade-style touchscreen shooting than the stealth gameplay that Solid Snake is famous for.
Value: Depending on how much you pay (the game was marked down to 99 cents recently) MGS Touch offers a decent amount of replayability and cool items to unlock.
Buy it for: the serious as a heart attack Metal Gear fan who doesn't have access to a PlayStation.
Read the Full Review

NBA Live
Price: $9.99
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: The NBA goes mobile in EA Sports' first port of its popular pro basketball simulation.
Value: All teams, all players, plus season, playoffs, and pick-up-and-play modes, with customizable rosters.
Buy it for: Any hoophead with a gadget fixation will love having a full basketball sim in his or her pocket.
Read the Full Review

Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition

Price: $6.99
Rating: 9+
Genre: Shooter
Subject Matter: Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition is a screen-tapping, stop-and-pop, suspense shooter.
Value: With a dozen settings and two dozen timed stages, this iPhone title is worth the money.
Buy it for: Resident Evil fans, shooter fans, anyone interested in gaming on their phone or Touch.
Read the Full Review

Rock Band

Price: $9.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: Music
Subject Matter: It's Rock Band. It's on the iPhone. Yeah!
Value: Packed with 20 tracks, Rock Band has a set list that boasts the likes of Foo Fighters, the Pixies and Joan Jett. Players can jam on all four instruments. Multiplayer supports up to four.
Buy it for: Music game lovers on the go.
Read the Full Review

Rolando 2

Price: $4.99
Rating: 4+
Genre: A charming side-scrolling puzzler.
Subject Matter: This sequel to last-year's must-have iPhone game, Rolando 2 introduces more story, character development and challenges.
Value: This is the first time Luke has ever played an iPhone that felt truly substantial.
Buy it for: fans of LocoRoco, Rolando or cute, cleverly-crafted puzzle games..
Read the Full Review

Space Invaders Infinity Gene

Price: $4.99
Rating: 4+
Genre: Shoot em up
Subject Matter: Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a re-imagining of 70s classic arcade game Space Invaders.
Value: One of the most played games on my iPhone, Space Invaders Infinity Gene offers you 19 levels with a number of interesting new weapons. But almost more importantly, the game can create levels on the fly designed around music played from your iPhone or iPod Touch's music library.
Buy it for: fans of Space Invaders, fans of shoot-em ups, fans of fun.
Read the Full Review

Star Defense
Price: $.99
Rating: 9+
Genre: Tower defense
Subject Matter: Defend a planet outpost from an amazingly orderly bunch of aliens walking there way along the paths that lead from landing port to your base.
Value: It's just a buck, and it's a ton of fun.
Buy it for: Fans of tower defense and globes.
Read the Full Review

Streets of Rage

Price: $4.99
Rating: 12+
Genre: Genesis brawling side-scroller
Subject Matter: This is a straight-up emulation of the Sega classic for the Genesis with chop-socky music and over-the-top tiny graphics.
Value: Not much of a deal here even at $5. It's a straight, troubled port.
Buy it for: With a bad framerate and problematic controls, only hardcore fans of the game and nostalgia freaks should get this.
Read the Full Review

Waterways

Price: $.99
Rating: 4+
Genre: Puzzler
Subject Matter: Winner of the 2008 Japan GameGam Competition, Waterways is a puzzle game with cows, ducks and water.
Value: For a penny shy of a dollar you can't go wrong with this portable game.
Buy it for: Puzzle enthusiasts who want a some brain teasing on the go.
Read the Full Review

Zenonia

Price: $2.99
Rating: 9+
Genre: Adventure role-playing game.
Subject Matter: Zenonia follows a young man named Regret as he searches for answers to the mystery surrounding his birth after the sudden death of the man who raised him.
Value:With about 20 hours worth of play and the ability to choose good and evil paths, this is a no brainer.
Buy it for: fans of The Legend of Zelda.
Read the Full Review

Loved
Under control: Honestly thought I'd hate the controls, considering this is five-on-five basketball with not a joystick in sight. But getting the hang of them - specifically knowing how much space your juke moves take up, so you can finish a dunk or pull-up jumper - you can run some entertaining, mostly arcade ball with occasional flourishes of realism. (Though, dunks and drives to the basic seemed to be a little too easy, allowing you to brute-force your way out of trouble most of the time.) A blue ball button controls both quick passing and your jukes (by flicking it in one of four directions) and so sometimes, you'll make a crossover when you want to kick out to the nearest man. But the offensive setup capably handles the most difficult part of video game basketball - ball distribution. Pressing and holding the blue button allows you to select a player to receive a pass, in case you have a man free on the wing and the AI isn't highlighting him. And a clipboard icon allows you to call basic plays, like a pick-and-roll or isolation. Defense, I didn't like how your man instantly became a step slower as soon as you switched over to control him. It made defending in transition - and the computer is much better running and gunning than running set plays - a total crapshoot. After a while you learn how to play a guy off the ball, get him in position, and pick up easy steals and blocks, which are your main forms of active defense as the rest is handled by AI.

The Full Package: Like Madden, EA Sports shoehorns as much of its full console experience into this device as possible. You have a season, playoffs and a quick game mode at three levels of difficulty, for both AI and how fouls and penalties are called. At the easy level, backcourt violations, going out of bounds and three-second violations are nonexistent, and they give you breathing room to run your game without turning your learning process into nonstop punishment. In season mode you can go right up to 12 minute quarters and 82 games if your commute is that long. Trades and roster management are enabled, but the former is more like "move players as you wish," because there is no trade AI. (Hello, Dwight Howard-for-Nene trade!) Three-minute quarters for me produced enough results in the 30-40 point range to be satisfying.

Hated
Some Inconsistencies: My wi-fi access is on by default, and I was struggling with some bad framerate drops until I switched it off on a hunch. That seemed to help but there are still some inexplicable lags that make this finesse game feel a little clumsy. Although this is a device and not a game limitation, it feels very cramped playing on an NBA halfcourt with 10 guys on this size of a screen, from the broadcast angle. You can switch to a baseline view that magnifies things but I found the constant camera zooming and movement to be a little dizzying. Contesting shots and going for rebounds, especially in traffic, left me wondering whether I'd grabbed the miss or recovered the ball after a block. Marv Albert's commentary isn't helpful in telling me, either, as misses are either "Comes up short!" or "Off the mark!" or "Rejected emphatically!" His presence lends authenticity but is very, very repetitive. And finally, there were some puzzling AI sequences at the lower difficulties, especially in the final possessions of a quarter, where the opposing team would do things like pass the ball between two guys, repeatedly, or hold the ball until a 24-second violation sounded the horn.

NBA Live has enough of a learning curve, and a large enough price, to be a serious purchase and not an impulse buy. Those who enjoy video game basketball can pick it up easy enough. But you should have a lot of time or desire to play it on your mobile for you to see value in the title, because it requires exploration. It's clear NBA Live on the iPhone is also meant as an entry product to get you to think about its larger sibling. Ultimately, it succeeds, and does so without resorting to fun-size cop-outs like three-on-three, or dumbed-down controls.

NBA Live by EA Sports was developed by EA Mobile published by Electronic Arts for the iPhone and iPod Touch on Oct. 23. Retails for $9.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played all game types and difficulties.)

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Due out later this month, Command & Conquer Red Alert for the iPhone and iPod Touch puts you in the boots of either to Soviets or the Allies as you fight touch-screen battles across 12 different combat levels. Many of the features of the series' PC versions are present in the portable versions. You still build your base, research new technologies, and command your troops - it's just now you do it with a tap of your finger rather than a click of your mouse.

Further utilizing the iPhone's capabilities, C&C Red Alert will allow you to zoom in and out of the battlefield using multi-touch controls, making it feel a bit more like you're playing with the future of the RTS genre rather than a port of something ages old.

Definitely an interesting proposition, but personality has always been a major factor in the success of the Red Alert series. If EA mobile can pull it off, I'll be very impressed.

EA Mobile: Command & Conquer Red Alert for iPhone and iPod touch [Facebook]

The multiplayer works very much the same way as it does in the console version, only without the bad singing. 4-players link their iPhones together using Bluetooth and go to town in any of the game's 20 included tracks. It's definitely less of a logistical mess than the console version, but I'm not sure I'm quite ready to see random groups of people on the streets jamming together on their iPhones. Not without the desperate urge to hit them.

Rock Band coming to iPhone with 4-way Bluetooth multi-player mode! [IntoMobile]

The current mobile version of Rock Band features 25 licensed songs from artists like the Beastie Boys and Smashing Pumpkins. Plus, there's multiplayer jam sessions and the ability to perform lead bass, drums, guitar & vocals.

No telling how much — if any — of that will make it onto the iPhone version. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what EA Mobile says beyond their ambiguous Twitter announcement.

Note: This screen is from the Rock Band Mobile game.

Rock Band Coming to iPhone [IGN]

The announcement looks to have come by way of EA Mobile's Facebook page, which enthusiastically notes that Rock Band Mobile will offer "25 legendary songs from great bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Beastie Boys in high-quality MP3 sound." Like its less mobile peers, Rock Band Mobile features drum, guitar, bass and vocal play, which appears to be all touchscreen based.

According to the official release, Rock Band Mobile will be launching on Verizon first this September 16.

Here's the 25 song strong tracklist for Rock Band Mobile.

30 Seconds to Mars - Attack
30 Seconds to Mars - The Kill
AFI - Girls Not grey
Angels & Airwaves - It Hurts
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Blink-182 - All the Small Things
Blondie - Hanging on the telephone
Finley - Tutto E'Possibile
Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly
Foo Fighters - Everlong
George Thorogood and the Destroyers - Bad to the Bone
Jethro Tull - Hymn #A43
Joan Jett - Bad Reputation
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
Motorhead - Ace of SpadesCollect
Rise Against - Give It All
Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
Steve Miller Band - Take the Money and Run
Tempted - Squeeze
The All American Rejects - Move Along
The Go Go's - We Got The Beat
The James Gang - Funk No. 49
The Pixies - Debaser
The Presidents of the United States of America - Ladybug

Rock Band Mobile [Facebook via NeoGAF]

Although the news release says only "September 2009," (October '09 in the rest of the world), an accompanying email to Kotaku said the game would be available "in time for opening day on the App Store." That is Thursday, Sept. 10. No price was suggested in the news release.

EA let slip Madden - as well as FIFA - was in the works for the iPhone back in July, so this is not a total surprise. Today's announcement, however, certifies that Madden, at least, will be an actual football game, and not the adjunctive iPhone app for the management of your console season - a product already announced.

From these screenshots, the control mechanic looks similar to that of NFL 2010 - virtual analog stick, and specialty buttons aligned to whatever player (or side of the ball) you're manipulating. In a news release, Madden 10 on the iPhone also promises a season mode, the same as NFL 2010.

On top of that, the same release also promises adjustable game-speed, hot-route audibles, full roster management that includes trades and free agents, and authentic stadium settings. These are all features not in NFL 2010. The voices of John Madden and console announcers Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth also will call your action.

Here are two more screens, of Packers Vikings QB Brett Favre, and Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker.

Based on the images, we can see character customization as well as open-world neighborhood and potential inter-Sim interaction. What we're not seeing is the spiffy stuff mentioned at Apple's 3.0 Update event—namely that The Sims 3 for iPhone will let you play music from your own library and has in-app commerce features, letting you purchase game items from the iTunes App Store while playing.

Additional features in The Sims 3 iPhone listed in a press release sent to TouchArcade also say the 10-hour game will feature four mini games – cooking, fishing, gardening and house repairing.

Official word says you can also make your Sim fall in love, but it's not clear if Whoo-Hooing will be part of the touch control experience.

But when I arrived at the EA Mobile hands-on session, the only game they had to show me was Scrabble. Which came out like a year ago. What gives?

Well — to EA Mobile, what's important here is "delivering on the promise of mobile." To do that, says VP Travis Boatman, a company has to have a great device to work with with a great operating system and a great merchandising-distribution platform.

"We've always believed in mobile," said Boatman. "We're in this for the long haul. And it's not going to stop here."

So when we got Scrabble on both Facebook and iPhone last year, that wasn't the end of it for EA Mobile. With the release of the Apple 3.0 firmware for the iPhone, they've connected the two versions so you can play against up to four people cross-platform (well, cross iPhone/PC).

I have to admit, this is pretty slick. You can see the moves your PC-bound buddy makes without refreshing the screen on your iPhone and you can even carry on a chat in the chat box.

But as nifty as it is, it's still not Wolfenstein RPG.

Look for the update to your Scrabble app sometime tomorrow or — if there's some SNAFU on the Apple side — sometime over the next few days.

Whether that's on top of the 1,000 employees EA already announced it would let go as part of a restructuring plan is unclear and we're waiting to hear back from the publisher on clarification. The cuts are said to affect both contractors and regular full-time employees.

According to the source, EA Mobile has already shed 45 staffers, with QA testers being let go at the end of this month.

EA did not yet comment on the validity of the rumored layoffs. We'll update when and if they do.

It's extremely difficult to screw up making a Monopoly game. The entire blue print is there, and has been for some time. Heck, it even turned out OK for the 8-bit NES. So what's different about the iPhone version? Not a whole lot, but as you probably guessed, you'll be touching and swiping all the way to free parking!

The first thing you'll notice is the entire game is rendered fully in 3D. Not just the pieces and board itself, but the table, chairs, and even the background environment is completely viewable. Speaking of environments, as the subtitle implies, this game has a bit more of an international flavor. The press release even asks such rhetorical questions as: "Why buy Baltic when you can own Istanbul?" The names of properties are different (damnit! I always loved buying St. James Place) and there's "Did You Know?" facts on the Chance and Community Chest cards.

One of the new features EA made sure to highlight was the fact you could roll the dice by giving your iPhone a good shake or two. This may be an issue on tight flights or bus rides, however. The PR rep there pointed out there's no time limit to rolling. You could, essentially, roll forever before "letting go." This could turn into a fun drinking game, I think.

For multiplayer, you can have up to four players connect via Wi-Fi or simply play "Pass 'n Play" mode where each player can take turns on the same iPhone. Also, one feature it has that I think should be mandatory in any co-op related online game is having the AI take over for players that have to leave abruptly.

Overall, it's looking like it has everything you'd want and come to expect out of a Monopoly game nowadays. The touch screen makes buying and trading properties a cinch, and the multiplayer can help satisfy your friends on an extended trip.

I usually make a point of keeping my mouth closed in front of game publisher/developer people. See, I think I have tons of great gaming ideas. I blurted out randomly something about how it would be a good idea to create a Star Wars Edition of this game for iPhone.

The EA rep agreed with me.

Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition will be available for the iPhone and iPod Touch and is scheduled for release this month.