At E3, Gameloft was also demoing two new rhythm games that are coming to the iPhone by the end of June: DJ Mix Tour and Guitar Rock Tour 2. Both games bring the traditional formula of tapping to music that has been seen on the iPhone already. The biggest advantage to these games are the officially licensed songs that will be familiar to most.

DJ Mix Tour is aimed towards electronic/dance music fans and includes songs such as Poker Face, Just Dance, Womanizer, Get The Party Started, Open Your
Heart, Four to The Floor, Cry For You, and more. In all it contains 16 licensed hit songs.

Meanwhile, Guitar Rock Tour 2 offers 19 songs including I Love Rock & Roll, Helicopter, and Paranoid.

Both games should be coming out in June.

At E3 on Tuesday, Vir2l Studios demoed to TouchArcade a few gaming titles they will be releasing in the coming months.

AMF Bowling

AMF Bowling is a popular existing mobile game that Vir2l is porting to the iPhone.

AMF Bowling is a more stylized version of bowling with over-the-top characters each with their signature move after you build up enough Psyche points. The game is played across 12 different environments with 12 different characters. Some of the environments listed for the mobile version of the game include Route 66, Spielgasse, Hong Kong Penthouse Palace, Studio 77, Ten-pin Shrine, Highland Bowling, Deep Space Lanes, and more.

The controls of the game were simple but enjoyable. It starts with a simple two-tap swing — the first tap to start and the second tap timed to give you the maximum power. Once the ball is released, however, you control the direction of the ball with the accelerometer. A simple mechanic, but one that gives you more a feeling of participation over some of the other App Store bowling games.

AMF Bowling is due for release in June.

Legend of WuKong Warrior
Legend of WuKong Warrior is an interesting take on the side scrolling platformer. The game features an intersting mechanic that we've seen before in games such as Skybound [App Store] and applies it to a side scroller.

The game combines the use of the accelerometer and swipe controls to maneuver your character through the levels. Swipes below the character draw small cloud platforms for him to jump upwards. Ongoing swipes continue to elevate the character while accelerometer controls provide direction. Enemies provide obstacles which must be dealt with using swipe attacks.

The game will include 20 levels and is not due for release until July. We'll be very interested to see how this game turns out.

Sexy Lexy

Now this one hardly seems like a game, but it is… well, sorta. Sexy Lexy is a high quality rendered companion which you interact with using a series of gesture swipes. Each successful swipe on the right locations unlock additional animations, and after you find all the right spots, you move on to the next level.

Each level, of course, is marked by new seductive animations and a bit less clothing. In the end, despite its clearly adult nature, the game itself will fall somewhere in the PG-13 arena. Vir2l reports they are working closely with Apple to ensure the App is suitable for App Store release. We should see this one sometime in July.

At E3 Expo, Gameloft also gave TouchArcade a hands on with their upcoming Real Tennis 2009 sports title that will be showing up in the App Store as early as next week.

Real Tennis will offer sports gaming fans another solid title from Gameloft as it seems to offer the same level of depth that we've come to expect from Gameloft's sports titles such as Let's Golf and Real Soccer 2009. The app combines accelerometer, joypad, and even gesture controls to the game of tennis.

The basic controls worked intuitively, with movement controlled by the on-screen joypad and swinging with a virtual button. When serving, the accelerometer is used to target your serve. Specific gestures with the button are said to invoke different types of strokes, but I didn't get a chance able to master it in my brief time with the game. You can play as one of 8 different fictional players with different attributes. Different locations offer different surfaces which affect how the ball plays.

The official list of features includes:

• 8 players entirely modeled in highly detailed 3D graphics.
• From Paris to New York or Stockholm, play in 7 stadiums on 3 different surfaces – clay, grass and synthetic – each providing a different experience.
• Local Wi-Fi Multiplayer to challenge your friends in real time!
• Controls making the most of the iPhone/iPod touch features
• Serve by tilting your iPhone!
• A wide array of strokes for a deeper experience: Lob, drop shot,
  smash and more.
• A Career mode that lets you join a tennis tour just like a real professional player.

Gameloft's video shows how the game looks, while we have a hands-on video that we will post shortly.

The game is expected as early as next week and will be priced at $5.99.

EA has a large booth here at the E3 expo. Tucked in with the mobile games were a couple of iPhone titles that we hadn't heard much of yet.

EA had an early build of their real-time strategy game Command & Conquer for the iPhone. The game is expected by the end of the year and has been adapted to the iPhone's full touch screen. The demo unit they had only had a single large "sandbox" mode for show purposes but the full version will have full campaign mode.

Our video walks through some of the controls and gameplay of the release.

Video removed per EA's request

Chillingo and developer h.grenade have provided TouchArcade with the final build of the much anticipated space shooter Circuit Strike One.

We recorded this first hands-on gameplay video that shows the game in action. Those with just casual familiarity with the game might think that the game looks like many of the multi-directional survival shooters that have recently invaded the app store. Developer Shay Casey explains, however, that the game is actually a zero-g physics game much like Asteroids.

The real key can't be said enough – it is a zero-g physics game just like Asteroids so do not try and keep your thumb on the thrust.

Casey says that once you get used to the controls there is a great payoff "allowing maneuvers like strafing, 180 degree j-turn style attacks and more. …. Once you get the hang of it and the controls "click" for you it opens up a world of possibilities."

The game also features an Airbrake, Reverse Thrust and an invincible "Bullet Time" mode. Our skills aren't up to speed quite yet (as you can tell in the video), but the game looks great and you can get a feel for it through this hands on video (played on an iPhone 3G):

Circuit Strike One has been submitted to the App Store and is due any day now. We've been following this one for some time, and glad to see the release is almost upon us.

Mobile developer Mountain Sheep has provided us details and screenshots of its upcoming 3D action shooter Minigore, to be published by Chillingo.

Minigore puts you in control of a little square fellow known as John Gore, using two virtual sticks in an iDracula-like control arrangement.  Your mission is to defend John from "the Furries," hairy, round creatures with particularly sharp teeth.  The Furries come in three shapes and sizes: the small Minifurry, the Furry, and the lamentable Giant Furry.  But be warned — blast a Giant Furry and the problem only gets worse; it will split into several Furries which, if destroyed, themselves split into Minifurries.  It's Russian Nesting Dolls with a vengence.

The developer speaks a bit about the game's inspiration.

On the gameplay front Super Stardust HD is certainly a really big source of inspiration, but it was iDracula that showed us you can really make dual stick gameplay work on the iPhone…. Other stuff that has been really inspiring is the old PC-game Alien Phobia II and the mother of all classics, Pac-Man.

In Pac-man, you had the powerup that allowed you to turn the tables and eat everything in your way, right? Enemies included. In Minigore, we're taking a similar approach. We allow you to get out of a tight spot by turning the game of avoidance into a game of catch. Except we do it with style! You collect four-leaf clovers that grow from the blood of your enemies. Once you get a certain number of them, your inner beast is triggered. In the beast mode you're literally on fire and you can then run around and eat all the Furries nearby. It lasts for while, then the beast is tamed and you transform back to normal….

The beast mode opens up many interesting gameplay mechanics with bosses like the Wormwolf, which will headline one of the updates after launch. Normally, it tries to spiral towards you and you have to move out of the way. Shooting the worm makes it drop clovers but doesn't harm it. When you've picked up enough clovers you transform into the beast form and you can just stand still and the Wormwolf will spiral straight into your mouth! The thing is, it takes a while to eat such a large creature and the beast mode won't last forever, which means you need to step out of the way in time.

As mentioned by Mountain Sheep, updates bringing extra characters and features will follow the initial release.  The developer indicates that they are determined to bring a very high quality title to the App Store with this release and, as such, are taking their time in implementing the final details.  Minigore is expected to debut in June for a price of $.99.

See the developer's teaser video for a closer look.

We are expecting a video from Mountain Sheep showing more of the in-game action very shortly. Stay tuned.

In June, iPhone gamers will have both E3 Expo and Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) to look forward to. While, WWDC will likely be more directly iPhone relevant, TouchArcade.com will be present at both conferences reporting on the latest in iPhone and iPod Touch gaming.

Our last expo visit to GDC brought you the first looks of titles such as UniWar, Freeballin', Touch Pet Dogs, Dexter, Glyder, Zenonia and much more.

We expect the combination of E3 and WWDC to be much larger in terms of iPhone gaming announcements from both established companies as well as indie developers. We are happy to set up meetings with any iPhone gaming developer. Please contact us at tips@toucharcade.com to set up a time and place. Meanwhile, if you feel you have a particularly notable never-seen-before iPhone or iPod Touch game to demo in time for WWDC, we may have a special press opportunity for you (contact us here).

E3 Expo takes place from June 2-4th in Los Angeles, CA and Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference from June 8th-12th in San Francisco, CA.