Tetris, Spore, Scrabble and Sudoku – EA’s iPhone lineup

I had only so much time to spend ogling iPhone games at EA's Showcase – but really, what's the point of a mobile game if you can't experience it on the fly? So, in one whirlwind tour, I took in Spore, Scrabble Bonjour, Sudoku and Tetris and now I'm regurgitating for you everything I can remember from the brief blitz. The most amazing iPhone game at the EA Showcase was Spore Origins – even if it hadn't been up against such visually uninteresting things as Scrabble and Sudoku.Set to release at the same time as the PC version of Spore, it might be a while before we see the final product. But this primordial version looks mighty good and I had a fun time tilting the iPhone this way and that to guide my single-celled organism through a sea of sperm-shaped DNA thingies. Eating these things filled up my DNA meter and when I was at full, the level ended and I could spend the DNA points on upgrading my microbe. While not as detailed as the Creature Creator, it's just as addictive on the iPhone to pinch and stretch your creature's spine into different shapes while adding multicolored coats of paint (er, skin). I made my little guy look like a dildo I gave a friend for Hanukah last year and moved on to face off against a PR rep in Scrabble Bonjour. Scrabble for the iPhone is already out, but Scrabble Bonjour introduces a new multiplayer function so you can face off against other iPhone users. A new feature called Best Word is also in play where – if you're stuck – you can have the game suggest the best possible word choice for you and make the move. Watch out, though – not only do you only get to use it four times, but it also tells your opponent you wussed out and used it, thus leaving you open to mocking. Scrabble Bonjour was developed by the same team that made the Facebook app, so pop on over there if you want an idea of what it looks like, or if you're like me and you can't afford an iPhone. Next on my iPhone gaming blitz was Sudoku and I'm the first to say I utterly suck at it. The backgrounds were highly stylized and very pretty, though and I appreciated that the hint button actually fills in a square for you instead of making you feel bad for using it with some sort of text admonishment. I put it down and moved on to Tetris; but it'd be really hard to screw up Tetris on a handheld device, so I just satisfied myself that the color scheme wasn't hideous and the music was still the same before I thanked the PR lady and got the hell out of there so the raving pack of journalists behind me could have a turn. Keep your eyes on the iPhone app store for each of these titles, but remember, Spore could be a while… Check out our ultimate guide to iPhone games.