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Football fans (soccer, in the US) are in for a treat in sometime in Q2 of this year when X2 Games releases X2 Football 2010, a follow-up to their popular X2 Football 2009 [App Store]. We've recently received details and pre-release screenshots from the developer

This new release sees the addition of over 150 national teams, 10 national leagues, and features online multiplayer for head-to-head action (via Bluetooth, local WiFi, or online).

A core innovation to X2 Football 2010 is the introduction of the Dream Team mode. In Dream Team mode, players must use their skills to try and create the ultimate team of their own. It goes like this: you start out with an initial draft of weakly skilled players and compete in the multiplayer, tournament, and quick match modes to accumulate tokens. Users can then spend these tokens to scout for quality players from across the globe to build up the ultimate Dream Team.

Technical Director Charles Chapman commented,

"We were always confident that X2 Football 2009 would be successful, our entire development team are football fans and this, in turn, lead to the creation of a game that met with world-wide acclaim. But we never, ever want to rest on our laurels.

We've taken on board a lot of feedback from users and have rewritten large parts of the game from the ground up as well as adding more features. Our aim is to ensure that X2 Football 2010 continues in the same tradition that its predecessor set upon first release."

The game features improved AI as compared to the 2009 release and faster gameplay for users with iPhone 3GS / 3G iPod touch devices.

Stay tuned for more info on this release as we get it, as well as a full review when it lands in the App Store.

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At this point we've posted about Freeverse's Warpgate so many times that linking to the various previews over the last year just seems excessive. From its very beginnings at WWDC '09, Warpgate piqued my interest, and as information slowly leaked out of Freeverse regarding the game's development, it seemed like it was set to exceed even my wildest expectations– Provided they could live up to nearly a year of pre-release hype.

Warpgate HD [App Store] was among the initial batch of games available along side the launch of the iPad, and was the first game I loaded up following unboxing mine after waiting what seemed like an eternity to sync. Since then, Warpgate has sucked me in in the worst way. Describing games as "addicting" or "addictive" has become the absolute worst cliche of the App Store, both in descriptions and game reviews, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a better way to describe my attraction to this game.

To give some perspective, things I love in video games in no particular order includes anything to do with space, massive game worlds, warring factions you can take part in, an impressive sense of scale, and as much randomization as possible to provide endless replay value. Warpgate has all of these things and more.

Obviously set in space, Warpgate is host to a gigantic galaxy map that you slowly explore through a seamless set of campaign missions. Once you complete the initial tutorial, and start in on the "real" game, procedurally generated missions begin appearing that have you flying places, delivering things, getting in to battles with other ships, and other objectives. Because of this, the game never technically ends.

Warpgate is remarkably open, so much so that if you're the kind of gamer that requires a rigid goal structure with a concrete "end" to a game, it might just drive you crazy. The end goal of Warpgate is whatever you want it to be. If that means grinding up reputation with the space pirates and piloting the biggest, baddest battleship in the entire galaxy, killing everything in your path, you can. Or, on the opposite side of things, you can be completely lawful and play your cards so you're in good standing with all the factions of space.

Or, if you don't care about that, and you just want to have billions and billions of space bucks, Warpgate is conducive to that play style too. There's an entire dynamic economy in game and if all you want to do is ferry around commodities between planets selling low and buying high, you can. In-game news feeds will help you keep an eye on the pulse of the universe, and you can often make an insane profit by quickly delivering huge loads of much needed cargo to planets that show up in the news.

If you don't like power gaming these kinds of games, and just want to have fun in space, that works too. Warpgate seems to be balanced in a way that both rewards power gaming the economy and in-game faction system as well as being conducive to casual gamers just bouncing between campaign missions without getting too involved in the other parts of the game. Mostly, playing the in-game markets is optional, and you might only have to participate in buying and selling commodities if you're low on money and need to buy an expensive quest item or want to further upgrade your ship's weaponry.

Alternatively, if you really don't want to grind up money to buy things, there's an in-game store where you can buy a huge battle cruiser and tons of space bucks for a few real dollars. Other than that, you can just follow the campaign missions and have a great time.

It seems like App Store gamers are always clamoring for depth in games, something that has become exceedingly rare as pricing across the board has hit rock bottom. Warpgate has depth on top of depth. To give you an idea of how much content is in the game, the galaxy map is host to 36 star systems. Those star systems are home to 120 different plants and space stations. While you're marauding around the galaxy, you can pilot one of 172 different star ships, and equip your ship with the 60 included weapons. It's really just insane how much is packed in to this game.

As far as an iPad game is concerned, Warpgate HD is great. Since the launch of the device, we've played almost everything worth playing, and it seems like the control method that I've been preferring the most is one where you can comfortably rest the iPad in your lap, holding it with one hand, and playing with the other. This is exactly how Warpgate works.

You control your ship either by touching anywhere in the game world to fly there, swiping in the direction you want to fly, or touching one of the icons on the side of the screen indicating the direction of a planet, warpgate, or other point of interest. Context sensitive buttons appear to allow you to warp through a warpgate, land on a planet, scan another ship, answer an incoming communication, or fight another ship.

The camera is controlled using all the same familiar multitouch gestures such as two fingers to rotate and pinching to zoom in or out. Speaking of zooming the camera, this is one of my absolute favorite things about the game. With a pinch of your fingers you can go from seeing the minute details of your ship, then instantly and fluidly pan the camera all the way out to show all the nearby planets. This level of zoom control and sense of scale is so cool that the first hour or two that I played the game I couldn't help myself but just constantly zoom in and out.

If you're looking for a fast paced action game, Warpgate is not it. While narrowly escaping from pirates as you just barely warp before getting hit with a missile that would destroy your ship can be exciting, by and large the game is fairly slow. You will spend a lot of time watching your ship flying from place to place, and when you're actually fighting, combat isn't anywhere near as interactive as I had hoped it would be.

When you tap the button to enter a battle, the screen zooms, twists, and blurs just like a Final Fantasy. The game then quickly loads in to a battle sequence where your ship will be flying in a swarm with the other ship (or ships) you're fighting. You don't have any control over your ship's movement at this point, and all you really do is choose when to fire what weapons by mashing buttons that appear on either side of the screen and select the target you're firing on. It gets the job done, but feels surprisingly remedial compared to the rest of the game. If there's one area that Warpgate needs improvement, it's in fleshing out this battle system to add some strategy beyond mashing your weapon buttons as they come online.

Originally designed as an iPhone game, the non-HD version of Warpgate will be available on the 13th, Warpgate will intelligently scale across the entire iPhone and iPod touch family, enabling the different graphical effects depending on what device you're playing on. If you're playing the game on a 3GS or 3rd generation iPod touch, you'll see all kinds of fancy shader effects. If not, the game should still look good without them and run at a great frame rate to boot. Aside from the smaller screen size and a reworked user interface, the iPhone version of the game will be identical to the iPad.

iPhone Warpgate compared to Warpgate HD.

While I'm having a great time with Warpgate, one thing really makes me nervous about a game of this scope. There's no way to manage your game saves, back up your game, or anything like that. I have invested hours upon hours in to Warpgate, and I'd hate to think that I could lose it all from some update SNAFU, iTunes sync weirdness, and the countless other things I've run in to in the past that have resulted in random save game data loss. Especially with an iPhone version on the horizon, there's nothing more I'd love to see than some kind of online Plus+ powered save game synchronization between devices, or anything else to add some kind of security that my massive space empire is here to stay.

Overall, in my eyes, Warpgate has completely delivered on the months of pre-launch hype. Playing the game on my iPad feels like the future, and something that you would see some space kid playing on a similar tablet device in an 80's sci-fi movie. The mood of the game is great, the graphics are phenomenal, the in-game soundtrack has an epic feel to it, and even the icon is cool. Sure, the battle system could use some work, but that is just a small part of an otherwise remarkable game.

Warpgate HD is currently my favorite iPad game, and if you've ever enjoyed a space conquest game in the past, this is a game you need to download. If you don't have an iPad, the iPhone version will be coming April 13th, so keep an eye out for that.

App Store LInk: Warpgate HD, $7.99 (iPad only, iPhone version coming 4/13.)

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Here at GDC 2010 we had the chance to meet with Benjamin Zuckerer of CipSoft and have a look at the upcoming iPhone version of their popular TibiaME mobile MMO.

TibiaME is an exclusively mobile, top-down 2D MMO that made its debut on Nokia platform devices six years ago and has been growing its community ever since. At present there are approximately 50,000 active players in the game world, which consists of 67 islands, with 16 levels each. The islands exhibit a variety of different terrain types, such as forest, dungeons, ice, and "undead."

TibiaME places the player in the game world as either a warrior or a wizard. The islands of the world are peopled by other online players and a host of enemy characters that range from squirrels to demons — 56 types in all. There are magic-using boss monsters to contend with, as well. During the demonstration we were given of the pre-release iPhone client, there was no lack of activity in the world, as can be seen in our demo video.

While the iPhone version of the game client ties into the same game world that has been running these six years, it is a complete, ground-up rewrite that has been under development for a year and a half. The 20×20-pixel character graphics of previous versions of the game have been redrawn at a rather more detailed 50×50 pixels for the iPhone version, a new user interface has been implemented, and fight sequence animations have been added to the mix, as well.

The iPhone release will make its debut mid-year and follow the "freemium" price model. The base release can be downloaded free of charge and offers two (of the total 67) islands to explore. Characters playing in this mode are limited to a maximum of level 20 experience. Those wanting to experience the full game world can buy play time in blocks of one (5 euros) or 4 months (12 euros). Any character that has been built up in the pay model will retain all stats in the event an unrenewed block of time, but will be unable to level higher without the purchase of additional play time. The developer estimates that the base, free play experience delivers about one month of engaging play for the typical user.

To keep the game fresh, the developer has been in the practice of releasing a series of updates over the course of a year: 12 small that alter various game details, and 2 large, bringing new features and notable enhancements.

The only stand-out negative we saw about the title is its complete lack of any in-game music or sound effects. The iPhone version will allow the user to play tracks from their iTunes song library, however. And, of course, the main stand-out positive is the six years the game has been live and the sizable community that has grown within it, a most iPhone MMO's can't point to.

See our gameplay video for a look at the action in the pre-release client.

TibiaME for the iPhone is expected to debut mid-2010. Additional screenshots of the game can be seen at CipSoft's TibiaME Facebook page.

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Tag Games is on a roll lately between the recently released B-Boy Beats [App Store] and the upcoming Astro Ranch which was submitted last week and is expected to be approved and appear on the App Store any time now. Since our last look at the game, I've been able to spend a considerable amount of time with the pre-release version and as a fan of both Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing games, I'm digging Astro Ranch.

The basic premise of the game involves the character you choose at the beginning crash landing in to a neighborhood filled with aliens who surprisingly enough are more than willing to get you started with a house to live in, a barn to keep all your stuff in, and a plot of land for you to raise your various crops and livestock. The interface is all touch driven, and works surprisingly well with how many different things in the game are controlled with very similar gestures.

Walking around in game is just a matter of touching where you want to go, and entering a house just involves tapping on the door. When you get down to business and need to interact with the various tools required to farm, managing your inventory is just a matter of tapping a button on the lower right corner of the screen, then from your inventory you can equip anything you can use. Using the equipped item is a matter of touching and dragging a button on the top right corner of the screen and drawing a line with your finger ending on whatever you want to interact with in the game world.

These basic controls can be seen in the following gameplay video, which is just me completing the first parts of the tutorial:

From the time I've been able to put in to it so far, Astro Ranch seems to be a surprisingly deep game. I have yet to master the in-game economy which seems to be completely dynamic, and my farming output is fairly pitiful right now, but appears to be progressing nicely. Mini-games and silly quests your alien neighbors send you on serve as excellent distractions for when you tire of farming, and it always feels like there's something to do.

As mentioned previously, Astro Ranch is expected to appear on the App Store any day now. Tag Games is only waiting on Apple approval, and shortly thereafter the game will be available for download for $2.99.

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Lazy 8 Studios (through Chillingo) has just released an iPhone version of their 3D mechanical puzzle game Cogs [App Store]. The iPhone release is an adaptation of their PC original, which is currently a finalist in the IGF 2010 Excellence in Design category.

Cogs is a mechanical puzzler that challenges you to bring to life a series of increasingly complex machines by way of arranging sets of tiles, gears, pipes, and the like in such a way as to connect varying energy sources to their ultimate outlets across 50 different 2.5D and 3D environments. And the whole thing is done up in a lovely steampunk motif (the best cogs are, of course, brass). There are carts to set rolling, balloons to inflate, helicopters to build, and rockets to launch. The sliding tile mechanic makes it feel something like Puzzle on (brass and mahogany) steroids.

Cogs presents you with three different modes of play. Inventor Mode, which is really the core gameplay mode, takes the player through all of the game's 50 puzzles, starting with the easy and moving towards the maniacal. The other two modes are Challenge modes that provide access to any puzzles unlocked in the Inventor Mode and are great for getting off a quick round or two on the go. Time Challenge presents any unlocked puzzle in an easier-to-solve configuration than Inventor mode…but each puzzle must be completed within 30 seconds. Move Challenge mode, in contrast, is all about taking time to decide the most efficient route to a puzzle's solution — each puzzle must be solved in 10 moves in this mode.

Score rankings and achievements are tracked through Chillingo's own Crystal game network.

The game features a well-done touch system that takes the iPhone's screen out of your way and puts you in simple control of these seemingly real objects. It's a simple tap (or swipe) to move a tile — and you can move more than one at a time by tapping on the first tile in a row to move. Two fingers on the screen allows for drag-based rotation of the various puzzle objects. Although the original is a PC title, Cogs was definitely meant for a touchscreen.

Cogs is addicting, brilliant, and frustrating. A casual puzzler, it is not. Oh, the game takes it easy on you for the first few puzzles in order to instill within you a false sense of mechanical mastery. Shortly thereafter, however, the puzzles get downright cruel. You'll discover that the next level, a mere flat board of pipe tiles, has pipe pieces on not one but both sides. Or try your hand at ringing an array of bells in perfect synchronicity with a wildly varying array of hammer cogs to deal with. It's a case of "must…defeat…this…game…" where one might not always call achieving victory "fun," but rather "necessary — for sanity's sake." It can be maddening, but in the loveliest sort of way.

I've spent significant time with various pre-release builds of Cogs over the last few weeks and I can say that it's, at the moment, my favorite iPhone puzzler and one of my very favorite iPhone games in general. I really can't imagine much in the way of a negative that a puzzle fan could posit against this game. But if my praise doesn't convince, grab the free PC demo version and give it a try to get at least a feel for the game.

Cogs is being sold in an interesting way in that you pay as you go, buying incremental packs of ten levels for 99¢ a pop. For the initial 99¢ you get the first ten levels, which basically amounts to the puzzles that make up the Cogs tutorial. Beat that, and the next ten levels are 99¢, beat those and ten more are 99¢, and so on. If you buy the game and all four DLC packs, Cogs will run you $4.95 and should take around 10 hours to complete if you try to beat every challenge in the game.

App Store Link: Cogs, 99¢ (Plus 4 DLC Packs @ 99¢ each)

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I'm not sure what it is about dual stick shooters, but it seems like our forum members just go crazy for them. Guerrilla Bob [$2.99] was released just moments ago, and after spending a considerable amount of time with the pre-release version of the game, I think it's safe to say that dual stick shooter fans will feel right at home playing Guerrilla Bob.

Featuring multiple weapons, a level progression (instead of simply an open arena like most dual stick shooters), and even a ridiculous plot line that focuses on a battle between Guerrilla Bob and Minigore's John Gore, it almost seems like the developers of Guerrilla Bob went down a wish lists of our forum members and turned them in to a game.

Impressions (if you could even call them that) are being collected in our forums and so far seem overwhelmingly positive. We'll post a full review soon, but in the meantime, if you love dual stick shooters, Guerrilla Bob is a safe purchase.

App Store Link: Guerrilla Bob, $2.99

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [App Store] was quietly released into the App Store this evening. Chinatown Wars for the iPhone seems to lie somewhere in between the DS and PSP versions in regards to graphical quality, but as far as pure GTA gameplay, everything so far seems intact. (Complete with an awful lot of swearing.)

Much like other versions of the game, screenshots barely do it justice. Liberty City in motion on the iPhone is amazing, and all the jagged edges in the screenshots quickly fade away when you're racing down a street, under elevated train tracks, and through alleys as you escape the police. The realtime clock in-game also changes the lighting of the city, shifting from the orange glow of a sunset to the street lights turning on at night. It really looks awesome.

The basic premise of the game involves a man named Huang Lee, the son of a Triad gang boss who was recently sent to sleep with the fishes. He flies in to Liberty City with a heirloom sword his father won in a poker game, deciding to deliver it to his uncle. Of course things never go as planned, and not long after landing Huang finds himself in the middle of a gunfight and winds up getting kidnapped. After stealing the sword, the assailants assume Huang is dead, and looking to dispose of the body drive the car he's in off the side of a pier. In the same vein of other GTA games, story isn't really anything revolutionary, but it gets the job done.

Chinatown Wars is controlled very similar to Gameloft's Gangstar, with virtual buttons and a joystick that handle all the driving, running, shooting, and other activities in game. The iPhone port of Chinatown Wars retains the stylus minigames that filled the DS version, appearing in a little popups where you do things like tap to smash the window of the car you were trapped in at the beginning of the game, slide your finger around to turn a screwdriver to start a car you're stealing, etc.

When the Nintendo DS version was first released, I devoted hours to playing through the game. So far the iPhone port seems like a faithful reproduction with quite a few expletives. I obviously don't have the full text scripts of both games to compare, but everything I've come across so far has fit with what you would expect out of a GTA game, and it would appear that very little if anything was actually censored for the App Store release.

Chinatown Wars seems to be a complete GTA experience. You have your apartment that serves as your character's hub with a "Fruit" computer you can check emails on, a garage you can stash a car in, and when you're on the road there is a full GPS system with a map of Liberty City that you can plot your destination on to easily get from one side of the city to the other. There's all kinds of stat tracking that will tell you everything from how many bullets you've fired to how many fish you've fed and in-game options that offer all kinds of different tweaks to the interface and gameplay.

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

We weren't initially sure if this release was intentional, as we expected some amount of pre-release fanfare from Rockstar, but we are going to be working on a full review of this version of the game.

App Store Link: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, $9.99

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While the App Store had clearly been a huge success in 2008, the continued growth and explosion of iPhone game releases in 2009 was beyond everyone's expectations. The number of apps in the App Store soared past 100,000 with hundreds of new games being released every day.

We sat down trying to figure out the best iPhone games of 2009 and found the task of narrowing down the list to a select few to be near impossible. Instead, we've organized our year in review into categories with what we feel is an excellent cross section of games from 2009. If you just got an iPhone or iPod Touch for Christmas, this list is an excellent starting place to catch you up.

2009 iPhone Game of the Year

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor – We choose Tiger Style Games' Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor for our 2009 Game of the Year first and foremost because it's a great game, but also because it perfectly represents the promise of iPhone gaming. Spider is an original concept built specifically for the iPhone by a small self funded team. It's this low barrier to entry which provides customers with a huge selection of games including unique and polished gems like Spider. You really should experience this one. (Review, App Store)

Classics

Doodle Jump – While we have to give props to PapiJump as the clear inspiration for Doodle Jump, Lima Sky has managed to take the game to a whole new level and succeeded in creating a true iPhone classic. Doodle Jump has sold over a million copies to date and even been casually referenced on primetime TV sitcoms. Every day we hear from up and coming developers who claim they have come up with "the next Doodle Jump" but so far Lima Sky's title hasn't truly been dethroned. (Review, App Store)

Flight Control – Another iPhone game that will go down in history as one of the classics for the platform. Firemint's CEO Rob Murray took some of his free time during last year's Christmas break to whip up a prototype of a game that eventually became Flight Control. The game has single handedly defined a genre on the iPhone of "line drawing" games and has been endlessly imitated throughout the year. (Review, App Store)

iDracula – iDracula was one of the original dual-stick survival shooters. It wasn't the first, but it's the one that popularized the concept and opened the doors to a ton of play-alikes. (Article, App Store)

Only on iPhone

Zen Bound – Ok, technically this started life as a PC Game, but Zen Bound didn't really come into its own until it became an iPhone game in 2009. The game just came to life on the iPhone with multi-touch and tilt controls along with mood and music to perfectly and completely engross you as a player. An experience as much as a game. (Review, App Store)

Eliss – A multi-touch masterpiece. Eliss delivers a unique, challenging and undeniably iPhone experience. Pinching and combining on-screen planets without letting them touch make for some frantic and riveting gameplay. (Review, App Store)

Sway – The unique multi-touch "swinging" controls of Sway may have ultimately been its downfall. If you can master the steep learning curve of the game's controls, an amazing iPhone platforming experience awaits. (Review, App Store)

Space Ninja – A great use of the iPhone's accelerometer that allows you to dodge enemy fire and invoke slow motion "bullet time". Unfortunately, a recent 3GS update adds some strange and distracting visual effects, though the developer is said to be working on making those optional in a future release. (Review, App Store)

Arcade

Meteor Blitz – This is the best space shooter we've seen for the iPhone. It delivers 6 unlockable worlds with a good variety of enemies, perfect dual stick controls, and a lot of fun. The art and animation are top notch with all the flourishes you'd expect. (Review, App Store)

Space Invaders Infinity Gene – A really fresh and amazing modernization of the classic Space Invaders formula. Great controls, plenty of unlockables, as well as a unique music-based level generator. (Review, App Store)

Pac Man CE – Developed by the original Pac-Man designer, Tōru Iwatani, Pac-Man Championship Edition succeeds in breathing new life in to this arcade classic. With great controls, colorful graphics, and fast-paced game modes, Pac-Man Championship Edition is by far the best Pac-Man game on the platform. (Review, App Store)

I Dig It / I Dig It Expeditions – Take your tractor turned subterranean digger underground to search for valuable diggins to save the family farm. In the sequel, you take your digger on the road and search for lost treasure in several different environments including the antarctic and even underwater. Both games in the series are worth owning, although Expeditions does offer improvements over the original. (Review, I Dig It / I Dig It Expeditions)

Platformer

Rolando 2 – Sequel to one of the iPhone's early original games, Rolando 2 did great justice to the series with 3D level effects, more great music and larger levels. (Review, App Store)

Soosiz – This game adopts the usual trappings of a traditional 2d platformer but perfectly mixes in a gravity defying mechanism that turns out to be a lot more than just a cute gimmick. Combine that with great controls and a ton of content, and you have one of our favorite iPhone games. (Review, App Store)

Hook Champ – Take the same swinging gameplay mechanics popularized by other games, add an RPG style equipment upgrade system, seamless online leaderboards, and fantastic pixelated retro graphics and you've got Hook Champ. (Review, App Store)

Retro Games

Saucelifter – A wonderful Choplifter-inspired action shooter with great controls that should appeal to both retro and modern gamers. (Review, App Store)

Rogue Touch – The definitive version of Rogue on the App Store. Consistently updated throughout the year based on community feedback, and enhanced for the iPhone. All the brutal difficulty of the original remains, and there's even online leaderboards tracking the wealthiest saviors of the Amulet of Yendor. (Review, App Store)

Sword of Fargoal – By far the most approachable roguelike, Sword of Fargoal is a classic dungeon crawler with randomly generated levels which provide nearly infinite replay value. Aside from being a fantastic game, Sword of Fargoal also serves as an excellent example of how retro ports should be done. The iPhone version preserves the look and feel of the original while adding new OpenGL effects and other modern graphical flare. If you've never played a roguelike before, Sword of Fargoal is a great introduction to the genre. (Review, App Store)

Beneath a Steel Sky – An iPhone adaptation of the classic point and click adventure. While we loved the compete overhaul of Secret of Monkey Island which is absent from this release, Beneath a Steel Sky delivered something even better: great iPhone controls. A classic adventure game that is worthy for both fans and newcomers to the series. (Review, App Store)

Racing

Real Racing – Perhaps we should have categorized this as a "classic", but Real Racing was the first iPhone racing game that really blew us away. The great graphics, perfect controls and AI all combined to make this one of the best iPhone racing games that still holds up today. (Review, App Store)

Need for Speed Shift – EA's latest entry in to the genre can easily stand next to the best racing games on the platform in terms of the amount of included licensed materials, different game modes, and overall fun-factor. With control settings and driving assist options that range from the game practically playing itself to a competent racing simulation complete with a manual transmission mode, Need For Speed: Shift is a must-have for any fan of racing games. (Review, App Store)

2XL ATV Offroad – We described this as a "console quality" iPhone racer. The game is technically impressive with beautiful graphics and manages to combine it with varied tracks, a proper career mode and Wi-Fi multiplayer to deliver one of the best racers in the App Store. (Review, App Store)

Jet Car Stunts – A remarkably fun jet car racer/platformer that had us coming back again and again due to its great controls, fresh visual style and mind boggling levels. The only real complaint we've seen voiced has been the relative difficulty of the game, but, honestly, that's what made it so addicting. (Review, App Store)

Puzzle

Toki Tori – A cute and challenging puzzle platformer that has been excellently adapted to the iPhone. Beautifully animated and ramps up nicely to provide plenty of gameplay. (Review, App Store)

Bobby Carrot Forever – Another excellent level-based puzzle game that requires you to navigate obstacles in order to collect all the carrots and reach the exit. 60 levels provide a refreshingly challenging puzzle game that offers well over 15 hours of gameplay. (Review, App Store)

Casual

Canabalt – This isn't a particularly deep game. In fact, the average gaming session is probably measured in seconds rather than minutes. But with its simplicity and style, it managed to keep us coming back again and again. You can try out the identical Flash version for free at Canabalt.com. (Review, App Store)

Boost 3D – We might not have been too over the top about the game when we first reviewed it, but over time we realized that Boost 3D is a game that we love to play. There's something hypnotic about this tunnel runner that had us coming back to play it again and again. (Review, App Store)

Harbor Master – Among the first of the avalanche of Flight Control inspired games, Harbor Master mixes things up by having the player dock cargo ships and send them back out to sea on a variety of different levels– Each with a different layout and some with additional gameplay elements such as pirate ships to shoot or sea monsters to fight off. (Review, App Store)

Labyrinth 2 – The sequel to the game that pioneered the marble rolling genre on the iPhone before the App Store even existed, Labyrinth 2 takes the standard wooden labyrinth game and adds even more obstacles, fantastic 3D graphics, and a full featured online level editor. The user created content community has already exploded and you can load up Labyrinth 2 every day and have a new batch of levels to play through, all of which download almost instantly inside of the game. (Review, App Store)

First Person Shooters

Eliminate Pro – We know some readers were unable to get past this game's pay model, but we've logged more hours in this game than almost every other… and we never paid a single penny for it. Online FPS deathmatch with our friends and quick sessions throughout the day kept us playing this regularly. (Review, App Store)

N.O.V.A. – Drawing inspiration from Sci-Fi console classics, NOVA is a surprisingly complete and full featured iPhone first person shooter. With an epic single player campaign that will take you several hours to complete, graphics which are among the best currently available on the platform, and four player online deathmatch modes, NOVA has successfully lived up to the insane amount of pre-release hype. (Review, App Store)

Word

Bookworm – A game that should need no introduction, Popcap's word searching classic fits great on the iPhone. The touch controls work effortlessly, and the gameplay is perfect for the casual play style of many iPhone gamers. (Review, App Store)

Words with Friends – Asynchronous online multiplayer not-quite-Scrabble that can either be played for free with in-game ads or without for a couple bucks. A recent update added push notifications to tell you when it's your turn and according to Newtoy, the average player spends 1.5 hours each day playing. (Review, App Store)

Weird/Funny Games

Enviro-Bear 2010 – The best bear driving a car simulator available on any platform. Aside from just being a really crazy game, Enviro-Bear 2010 features some really clever interactions between items and if you survive long enough you'll even earn yourself a slick coon skin cap. (Review, App Store)

Must Eat Birds – This simple slingshot-powered pastry defense game is delightfully Japanese, its ridiculous premise is rivaled only by "maximum bake" mode which must be experienced to truly appreciate. (Review, App Store)

Hi, How Are You – A wonderful tribute to the life, music, and art of Daniel Johnston– And a fun puzzle platformer game with great cell shaded graphics to boot. If you've never heard of Daniel Johnston, Hi, How Are You is a good place to start. (Review, App Store)

Battle Bears – The ridiculous premise of this survival shooter involving a bear commando mowing down swarms of pink bears that spew rainbows when they die is worth the price of admission alone. As if the game couldn't get more silly, a recent update added a Colbear boss, zombie bears, and even a rap theme song.
(Review, App Store)

Cult Classics

Minigore – This dual stick shooter isn't necessarily any better than other dual stick shooters on the platform, but the extent that it has managed to captivate our community is rivaled by very few games. Stricken by problems with Apple's approval process, MiniGore is only now beginning to see the features Mountain Sheep intended on implementing long ago. (Review, App Store)

Pocket God – It's hard to even categorize or summarize Pocket God. Existing somewhere in between a entertainment app and a collection of mini games, Bolt Creative has managed to amass an army of millions of fans worldwide by consistently releasing free content updates and making players feel like they're a part of the project by constantly interacting with and implementing ideas generated by the community. You KNOW you like Pocket God. (Review, App Store)

Strategy

geoDefense / geoDefense Swarm – Whether you prefer open field or fixed path tower defense games, the geoDefense series are among the best available on the platform. Featuring difficulty levels that range from difficult to really really difficult, geoDefense is balanced in a way which will always keep you on your toes. (Review, geoDefense / Swarm)

Defender Chronicles – This odd hybrid between a tower defense game and an RPG has seen an absolute ridiculous amount of content added to it since its initial release. 20 different types of units, hundreds of items, multiple difficulty levels and game modes along with online leaderboards and voiceovers make Defender Chronicles among the best in its genre. (Review, App Store)

Chess with Friends – The iPhone equivalent to snail mail correspondence chess– You can play the ad-based version for free, or upgrade to the premium version to play without ads. Recently added push notifications that alert you when its your turn and an endless supply of human opponents makes this the best chess game available on the platform. (Article, App Store)

Role Playing

Zenonia – While the amount of grinding to level up may have lessened the experience for some, Zenonia still seems to be the benchmark that most RPG's are compared to amongst our community. The game will take you around 40 hours to complete, and the five included character classes will tempt you to play through it multiple times. (Review, App Store)

Underworlds – A great dungeon crawler with tons of monsters to slay and loot to pick up. Underworlds was the first of its kind on the platform, and a recent content update made it even better.
(Review, App Store)

Inotia: A Wanderer of Luone – The sequel of The Chronicles of Inotia sports considerable improvements to nearly all aspects of the game. Multiple character classes, a well designed battle system, mercenaries that can be added to your party, and a surprisingly full featured online component combine in to a game that will be hard for fans of roleplaying games to pass up. (Review, App Store)

Ravensword – While this RPG may lack some gameplay elements which have become standard in modern games, it marks an amazing accomplishment in iPhone development. Created by a team of two, RavenSword features an expansive and beautiful open world filled with quests to complete, hidden areas to find, and countless monsters to slay. (Review, App Store)

Physics

Peggle – If you don't know what Peggle is by now, you must have spent the past few years on Mars with your eyes closed and fingers in your ears. Inspired by pachinko and loaded with style, gratuitous graphical effects, and the Ode To Joy, this may be the perfect casual game. (Review, App Store)

Ragdoll Blaster – Fire ragdolls out of a cannon to complete over 100 different levels. Frustrating at times, Ragdoll Blaster is fun enough to keep you coming back for more– Even after you've spent the last 15 minutes retrying the same level so many times that you lost count. (Review, App Store)

iBlast Moki – The goal is to get the Mokis from point A to point B through the use of bombs, ropes, balloons, wheels and more as you traverse through the 6 worlds and 70 levels. The overall quality of iBlast Moki as well as the inclusion of a level editor with sharable levels make this game really stand out. (Review, App Store)

Sports

Baseball Superstars 2010 – Not only a great baseball game, it is also packed with RPG elements that add an amazing amount of depth. Aside from playing standard games of baseball, both super batters and super pitchers can be leveled up in season modes. These characters can be customized in a number of ways, allowing for hours upon hours of gameplay with each character. (Review, App Store)

Homerun Battle 3D – This one will always be known as Baseball Slugger to us, but since changed its name to Homerun Battle 3D. If you're not a sports game fan, don't let the sports theme throw you off, Homerun Battle 3D is one of the best. It also represented the first massively successful online matchup system we've seen in the App Store allowing you to easily compete head-to-head against others around the world. (Review, App Store)

Backbreaker Football – While nowhere near as deep as the "full" football games on the platform, Backbreaker is probably more fun. The game is laid out in series of challenges where you guide your player to the end zone, hopefully scoring bonus points by "showboating". (Review, App Store)

Let's Golf – The closest thing available on the App Store to Hot Shots Golf. This arcade golf game features 63 holes, local multiplayer, and different control modes that appeal to both casual players and those looking for a slightly more technical game of golf. (Review, App Store)

Conclusion

We spent weeks sorting through the hundreds of games we've reviewed this year, and found excuse after excuse to keep adding to the list. Even so, there were still plenty of games we quite enjoyed that didn't make it to this list. Feel free to add your suggestions to the comments if we missed one of your favorites.

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It seemed to make more sense this month to do our ratings a little earlier than usual to make room for our upcoming best of 2009 articles. With the pre-holiday release rush we've seen, it seems unlikely that there are going to be that many more games coming out this month especially with the iTunes connect holiday downtime– But any games released after this post will be included in January's ratings.

Our final scores are not the product of any traditionally objective measures such as graphics or sound, but simply reflect the games we would most recommend to others.

December was a huge month for some great iPhone game releases, this month's "Best iPhone Games" are highlighted here:

5 Stars

Need For Speed: Shift – Racing games seem to be a natural fit to the tilt controls of the iPhone and EA's latest entry in to the genre can easily stand next to the best racing games on the platform in terms of the amount of included licensed materials, different game modes, and overall fun-factor. With control settings and driving assist options that range from the game practically playing itself to a competent racing simulation complete with a manual transmission mode, Need For Speed: Shift is a must-have for any fan of racing games. (Review, App Store)

N.O.V.A. – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance – Drawing inspiration from Sci-Fi console classics, NOVA is a surprisingly complete and full featured iPhone first person shooter. With an epic single player campaign that will take you several hours to complete, graphics which are among the best currently available on the platform, and four player online deathmatch modes, NOVA has successfully lived up to the insane amount of pre-release hype. (Review, App Store)

Sword of Fargoal – By far the most approachable roguelike, Sword of Fargoal is a classic dungeon crawler with randomly generated levels which provide nearly infinite replay value. Aside from being a fantastic game, Sword of Fargoal also serves as an excellent example of how retro ports should be done. The iPhone version preserves the look and feel of the original while adding new OpenGL effects and other modern graphical flare. If you've never played a roguelike before, Sword of Fargoal is a great introduction to the genre. (Review, App Store)

4.5 Stars

Labyrinth 2 – The sequel to the game that pioneered the marble rolling genre on the iPhone before the App Store even existed, Labyrinth 2 takes the standard wooden labyrinth game and adds even more obstacles, fantastic 3D graphics, and a full featured online level editor. The user created content community has already exploded and you can load up Labyrinth 2 every day and have a new batch of levels to play through, all of which download almost instantly inside of the game. (Review, App Store)

PAC-MAN Championship Edition – Developed by the original Pac-Man designer, Tōru Iwatani, Pac-Man Championship Edition succeeds in breathing new life in to this arcade classic. With great controls, colorful graphics, and fast-paced game modes, Pac-Man Championship Edition is by far the best Pac-Man game on the platform. (Review, App Store)

Driver – An excellent port of the PlayStation/PC game, Driver includes all of the content of the original with updated graphics and an iPhone-friendly interface. Players complete missions in four full in-game cities and on top of that there are additional game modes that are just as fun as the single player campaign. (Review, App Store)

The rest of December game ratings can be seen in their respective rating categories (also found in the sidebar navigation): 5 Stars, 4.5 Stars, 4 Stars, 3.5 Stars, 3 Stars, and 2.5 Stars.

As always, we expect there will be some debate about relative scores, but keep in mind that everyone's personal ratings may vary based on individual tastes.

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At GDC back in March, Touch Arcade had the opportunity to sit down with Engineous Games and spend some time playing with a pre-alpha version of their rather unique, upcoming title ,Sketch Nation Shooter, in which you're not only the game's player…but also its designer. An interesting proposition, eh?

Sketch Nation Shooter allows users to create their own games by drawing a player, enemies and a level on a piece of paper and taking a picture of the drawing with their iPhone camera. Users can then share their creations with their friends and other users. Our unique image recognition technology automatically detects the objects drawn and calculates collision boundaries. Sketch Nation Shooter is the only game to incorporate the iPhone camera in such a way. iPod Touch users can import their drawings through the Photo Library. After the drawings are imported into the game, users will be able to place enemies and powerups as well as set their properties in our easy to use in-game editor and then play with their unique creation.s

We were quite impressed with the image capture technology in the game that we saw and feel sure that iPhone gamers will have a good time experimenting with this one when it hits the App Store early next year.

The pre-release game has since won AppFire's AppStar contest. Watch the video to see how it works.

Engineous views their technology as a development platform more than just a single game, so while their first release will be a shooter, they intend to apply the tech to games of other genres such as tower defense, platforming, etc. Have a look at the developer's Sketch Nation blog to track development of the game and stay tuned for more details from Touch Arcade as we get them.

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